John McCain's Farewell Statement

Senator John McCain died this past week. He was 81 years old. There was once a time when I was younger where I would say openly that if John McCain ran for President, then I was likely to vote for him. Sadly, his presidential campaign in 2008 became overrun by the idiocy of far right conservative politics in America. Adding Sarah Palin to the campaign and paying lip service to the fundamentalist right definitely weakened the campaign. Yet, there were still powerful McCain moments. The "No Ma'am Moment", when McCain responded articulately and strongly to a woman who claimed Obama was an Arab and she couldn't trust him, will probably be the best-remembered moment of his presidential run. Yet, his farewell statement, released to the American public following his death, may one day be his best remembered statement, especially as the words are poignant and meaningful at a time when the Trump Administration, xenophobia, and extremism (on both sides) are threatening the future of American democracy. I've copied the words of the statement below, for anyone interested in reading them. The bold highlights of the text are mine, but, truly, all the words are those of the now deceased Senator John McCain.

2008 presidential candidate John McCain, before a rally in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Oct. 26, 2008; AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

"My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else's.

I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America's causes -- liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people -- brings happiness more sublime than life's fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

'Fellow Americans' -- that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

I feel it powerfully still.

Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."

Wise Words from My Sister, on Love and Hate

My sister, Kelsey Lau

"I was going through some books today and stumbled upon my copy of Ellie Wiesel's book, Night, his autobiographical novel about his experience in the Holocaust.

His passing and the current political climate of the US prompts me to remind everyone that fear is often the greatest motivator of hate, and we have not been in short supply of either through the recent preliminary elections.

There will always be fear; hate will always fester, and you will always be challenged to lend the brightest of your light to the darkness. Just remember that it is you who makes the choice to either succumb to the things you fear or rise to meet them, and it is your responsibility to decide who it is you want to be and how you want to affect the world around you.

Maybe it's time for people to either revisit or experience for the first time the words and testaments of people like Wiesel, who have seen some of the worst of humankind, to remember why, when we are taught to love, there is a wisdom passed to us from lives we've never lived.

Be intelligent. Be informed. Do not let anyone tell you what to believe. Even me. But remember, you make a choice to react to the world in the way you do, and I sincerely hope that the choice you make is the one you think should ripple in this world. I hope you see the significance of the passing of Ellie Wiesel and realize how recent in history it was that hate was chosen over love, and decide whether you want to be the person who carries that consciousness with them or not."

Kelsey Lau (5 July 2016)

A recent photo of (left-to-right) Nick Ison, Kelsey, Me, and Ben Doyle.
Out for beers and memory making.

"Get Out of Boulder"

"Get out of Boulder!" Those are words that were said to me today at Alfalfa's Market by someone, based solely on her ridiculous assumption that I support Trump's presidential candidacy due to the fact that I was whistling a Beatle's tune while standing in line to order coffee. The woman and I had had a heated exchange of words after she heard me whistling. She said, "The only people I know who whistle are Trump supporters." I thought she was joking. I said, "Oh ya?" But then she got angry and said, "Well, are you?" I could see that she had a hate and an anger in her, and she thought she was somehow something special. I told her it was none of her business who I support in American politics. She then said to the clerk at Alfalfa's and another customer ,"This guy here is a Trump supporter!" 

I think in her mind she wanted them to riot against me and break out their pitch forks and torches. I told her to fuck off (and I said it loudly, which, it turns out, scared the cashier). She said, "You know, you're a fucking asshole" into my face (and, conveniently, so the cashier couldn't hear it), so I told her that she was ugly on both the inside and the outside. 

Later, this woman got the store's manager involved in the hopes that they would kick me out. That's when she told me I should 'get out of Boulder'. Think about that. Think about the hate and the anger and the fear and the ignorance in this woman's life for her to say something like that because she thought I was a supporter of Trump. Now, it truly is none of that woman's business, but I don't support Trump's candidacy. However, even if I did support Trump, the very idea that this woman thinks that anyone who disagrees with her should be kicked out of town is absolutely disgusting. That's no different than white bigots telling black people to 'get out of our town' based on the color of their skin. It's no different than Christians telling Muslims to 'get out of our town' based solely on what they believe. Telling someone to 'get out of our town' because of their political ideology (even if it's only your own unsupported assumption about their political ideology) is part of the problem with this nation. It's exactly that kind of ignorance and hate that has allowed us to get to the point where we may actually have a presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. We can do better as a nation. We can be more accepting of our differences while using reason, argumentation, and compromise to find a way forward. 

Sure, this is just one situation that happened to me (and the plural of anecdote most certainly is not evidence), but we've all seen this happening around the nation: die hard conservatives hating on liberals, using terms like "libtard"; people opposed to firearms automatically assuming that anyone who owns guns or is opposed to certain forms of firearm regulation are somehow "gun nuts"; Democrats and Republicans swapping insults of character as opposed to thoughtful considerations of positions; and the continued division of this nation through our politics and media. 

I most certainly won't "get out of Boulder" to assuage this woman's fears, nor should anyone in this nation be told to 'get out of our town" if they are contributing members of society. This stupidity and arrogance, driven from the very depths of our ignorance and fear, needs to be replaced by intellectualism and humility. I'm still pretty angry and frazzled over my altercation with that woman, but I won't let that drive me down to her level. If anything, it's just another indication to me that the time to work towards a better nation, steeped in education and enlightenment, is now.

Senator Jim Inhofe needs better glasses: A snowball cannot refute climate science

Sen. Jim Inhofe and his poor vision (ABC News)

Senator Jim Inhofe needs better glasses.  It appears that he's having a hard time seeing past his own nose.

In an attempt to refute climate science, Inhofe took a snowball out of a bag while speaking on the Senate floor on the 26th of February, 2015, and said, "I ask the chair, you know what this is? It’s a snowball, just from outside here. So it’s very, very cold out."  Inhofe appears to be suggesting that the occurrence of snow this winter in Washington D.C. negates the wealth of evidence and scientific understanding about the human influence on global climate.  It really seems that, if anything, Inhofe's stunt is just another reason to shake our heads at the lack of vision amongst some of our politicians.

This isn't the first time that Inhofe has tried to make some statement regarding his belief that scientists have fabricated anthropogenic impacts on the global climate.  Back in 2010, Inhofe and his family built a snow fort on the lawn of the National Mall in a mockery of climate science.  They called this snow fort "Al Gore's New Home".  In fact, Inhofe has been making such statements and attempted jabs throughout his political career.  Inhofe has been the Chair for the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works since 2003.  It's somewhat bewildering to think that someone who honestly believes a snowball can refute all of modern climate science can also hold the highest rank within a Senate committee which requires knowledge of the environment.  Here's a video of Bill Maher from back in 2009 where he considers climate change deniers, including Inhofe:

Maher's bashing of Inhofe is more than warranted.  To better understand the Anthropocene and the impacts of industrialization and human activities on the environment we must have scientifically literate world leaders.  Infrastructure development, coastal economies, weather-related dangers and costs, growing seasons and crop yields, and far more will all be impacted by the global climate.  Politicians like Inhofe are a threat to the future of our species and to our biosphere.  We need leaders who can see that there is more to the world than their own day-to-day experiences.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: A leader with greater vision

At least not everyone on the Senate Committee for Environment and Public Works has poor vision.  Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a politician from Rhode Island, took the Senate floor to rebut Inhofe's remarks later in that same day.  Senator Whitehouse has given many speeches on the Senate floor in support of science literacy and education with regard to the current and future effects of anthropogenic climate change.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Image: Stephen Crowley/NY Times)

Senator Whitehouse took out his iPad and brought up an image from the Earth-Now app, a free application developed by NASA to share global climate data with anyone and everyone (you can use this app to see where several of our Earth observing satellites are in their orbits and to map various physicochemical parameters such as air temperature, CO, CO2, sea surface salinity, and ozone).  Whitehouse points out that you can use this app to see the current polar vortex in the Arctic and how the cold air is being driven down to New England.  Whitehouse, highlighting the fact that these basic climate data are available from NASA, then said, "...you can believe NASA and you can believe what their satellites measure on the planet, or you can believe the Senator with the snowball."  

Indeed, Senator Whitehouse then points out four more instances in which one can side with a group or organization which supports the wealth of information from climate science or one can side with "the Senator with the snowball".  Although I usually oppose this pitting of side-vs-side on political issues (most issues are more complex than yes-or-no or red-and-blue), Senator Whitehouse is definitely a skilled speaker and gives a strong argument in support of scientific literacy from more than just the scientific viewpoint.  Here is Whitehouse's rebuttal:



Take home point from Whitehouse's rebuttal: you simply can't be scientifically literate if you agree with the Senator with the snowball.  The occurrence of snow on a winter day in Washington D.C. does not refute our knowledge of the changing climate.  2014 is now the hottest year on record, with higher average global temperatures than any previously recorded since the 1800s.  We still have the seasons and we're still going to experience hot summers and cold winters, but the general trend of warming at the global scale is still occurring.  It's hopeful to think that we at least have some politicians, like Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who support a scientifically literate populace and leadership with greater vision.

Frosty the Snowman has no idea about climate science

Let's face it, Frosty the Snowman was only imbued with knowledge about winter.  Still, in his various incarnations, Frosty has always known well enough to take off before the warming temperatures destroyed him because that's how the seasons work in the regions of our planet that get snow in the winter.  

We can learn a lot from the snow.  We can measure the pH of the water composing the snow and can study the particles of dust and debris mixed into the snow to learn about the chemistry of the clouds and the atmosphere where that snow formed.  However, a snowball, in and of itself, is not a refutation of modern science, science literacy, or our combined knowledge of the human impacts to the global climate.

There's plenty of snow here in Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. right now.  Maybe I'll go outside and make a snowball, without any pretensions that the weather in my backyard means that everywhere else is the same.  If you'd like a good laugh, here is some climate science denier busting by John Oliver of Last Week Tonight:




You can find 5 hilarious moments of climate denial busting, including the videos from Bill Maher and John Oliver that I posted in this blog, from Forecast the Facts at this link.



Update: 3 March 2015

Looks like I beat the Daily Show to pointing out the ridiculousness of Jim Inhofe's little snowball stunt: