The Joke Is Over

I don't understand why Christians aren't more outraged.

Rick Santorum claims in his campaign to represent the moral high ground as a devout Christian, and yet he has taken it upon himself to decide the validity of other Christians' beliefs. Whether he's decrying modern protestants as having strayed from Christianity as he sees it or claiming in 2008 that there's no such thing as a liberal Christan, Santorum's Christian supporters should feel angry and betrayed by his preachy exclusion. It's a wonder how he thinks he has the right to, on the national political stage, decide what is a "real" Christian and what isn't, and it's an even greater wonder that the Christians he disowns are seeming to take his declarations lying down.

When Santorum began his presidential campaign a lot of attention was drawn to the redefinition of his last name, a Google problem that plagued him for most of the campaign. If it weren't for the ineptness of the other candidates he probably would never have recovered. Well, now the joke is over as he attempts to define Christianity for tens of millions of people.

The truly upsetting part of Rick Santorum's sermons is that they're not sermons - they're campaign speeches. The proper place for someone to argue about the nature of Christianity is in church, not on the road to the White House. The danger should be evident, especially after he announced that he doesn't believe in the separation of church and state while at the same time demonstrating why it's essential. Everyone suffers when a fringe ideologue tries to codify his narrow definition of faith into law. That's called theocracy, and we just spent 10 and a half years fighting it in Afghanistan.

What troubles me the most, however, isn't about Santorum at all. In difficult economic times humans tend to grow ever more attracted to extreme ideologies, as was the danger during the Great Depression - luckily FDR was a good enough statesman to lead the country through, while I don't think Obama has the same tact. The biggest problem is that Santorum is allowed - even encouraged - to make his offensive claims virtually unchallenged by the news media. Ever since Sarah Palin's "gotcha" questions, candidates have rarely been held accountable by the blatant lies, slanderous exaggerations, or simply outrageous language: whether it's barely veiled sexism, false claims about the poor dying due to lack of health care, explicit racism, or innumerable hate speeches against homosexuality. Such glaring attacks on women, poor and middle class people, non-whites, same sex couples, and Christians should not simply be allowed to stand. I don't understand why this man can not only scathingly despise people on a national forum but promise to enact that hatred into discriminatory law, a bully in the oval office, without being held accountable by journalists. It's sickening. It's like they're stenographers, publishing Santorum's verbal abuse word for word as if his saying it made it true.

It was a great relief to me that Mitt Romney won in Michigan yesterday. I don't like him very much, but I'm scared to death of Rick Santorum. I don't believe either of them have much of a chance against Obama in November, but whoever wins the primary will have a big impact on the course of politics to come. If Romney wins we will mostly see a debate over the economy and the role of government in alleviating the situation of the struggling poor and middle class, the difference between collective responsibility and extreme individualism. If Santorum wins the subjects will mostly be about the varying religiosity ("moral character") of the candidates and the degree in which religious conviction should influence public policy.

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Two important message for all you lovely folk who subscribe via email:

1) I love you. I know this is a relationship with a lot of readers, but we can make it work.

2) Just a heads up: When you're reading everything in an email browser, you sometimes miss out on embedded gold, like my paragraph formatting (so far you've read almost 3 paragraphs) or the following video:



So if something feels like it's missing in the post, that's probably because it really is. You might have to actually visit the blog page itself to get the full experience.

But you're perfect. Don't change.

"Job Creators" Has A Subliminal Message

Like a lot of people suspicious of trickle down economics, I have a real problem with the recently-made popular phrase tossed around by the right: "Job Creators" in reference to wealthy employers. Not the problem that many leftists rightly point out, that the wealthy aren't necessarily creating jobs and often do just the opposite, but instead the subliminal message it implies.

After all, there is a sliver of truth buried within the phrase's propaganda: a work/money trade, also known as a job, isn't possible without an entity with money to offer. The phrase "Job Creators" reminds us that the working classes don't hire, which is why concentrated wealth is necessary.

That overinflated emphasis on the working class's reliance on the wealthy elite is what bothers me most of all. It serves to diminish the importance of workers in our society, portraying them as marginal and dependent on the upper classes, who are in turn implied to be superior and essential. It's just true enough to appear as unbiased while concealing a dangerous undertone.

In the end, the expanded use of "Job Creators" is another example of the widespread and growing hatred of the poor within the country, especially as perpetrated by the far right. I'm sure there are plenty of other language games people are using to paint the lower classes in an irrelevant and selfish light and to subtly idolize the obscenely wealthy.

Will truth win out over perception? Can we think of the rich as job creators without forgetting the invaluable contributions of the working poor to our society? Not if the wealthy are "Job Creators" and the poor are the "Moocher Class."

Bullying Is Bad

It's something we learn when we're children, running home in tears after being cornered by the big kids, jostled around, called names, threatened for our differences - either interpreted or blatant - jeered at, made to force back our tears. It is said that everyone had a bully growing up, and if you can't remember his name it was probably you (unless you're a weird loner kid like I was, who mildly participated on either side off and on). It feels horrible to be bullied, and the easiest reaction to succumb to is that of revenge.

We can see a prime example of grown men engaging in this juvenile behavior that, I'm becoming more and more convinced, is one of the most difficult habits to grow out of. First, we have popular sex advice columnist and LGBTQ activist Dan Savage, of whom I am an unashamed fan, who famously redefined Rick Santorum's last name as a disgusting reference to anal sex in 2003; luckily for the now current presidential candidate because of his inexplicable success in the Republican primary yesterday, that definition is no longer the first result when you enter his name into Google. Explaining why he did it (to Santorum and not other politicians who hurt the LGBTQ cause, such as Obama), Dan Savage says:

It was Santorum equating loving, committed same-sex relationships with dog f***ing and child rape... Santorum argued in favor of states being allowed to arrest, prosecute, and imprison Americans—gay and straight—for private, consensual, adult sexual conduct. Santorum cemented our enmity when he went on to compare gay relationships to incest and Islamic terrorism.

I can read the pain in Savage's words here, and I can't blame him, someone being bullied to such an extreme - even more than bullied: denied basic civil rights - just "for the way he loves." The same pain is evident in his recurring blog post theme "O They Will Know We Are Christians When..." where he vilifies the Christians who vilify homosexuals.

But along with the pain there is a toxic hatred, and the bullying has reversed course. Savage himself writes like an insecure bully, and his prank on Rick Santorum is comparable to cyber bullying. Now we have two bullies - Santorum and Savage - fighting their hateful battle on the national stage with rights and legislation on the line. Christians and Republicans who support the LGBTQ cause feel alienated by Savage's hate, and moderate right-wingers who want smaller government are alienated by Santorum's righteous hate. And as the nationwide bullying epidemic increases, the country bears witness to speeches like this one, riddled with groundless hatred:



And the result? Polarization. Is it any wonder a moderate president like Barack Obama could be ridiculed as a godless Socialist by Republicans and a right-wing Republican in disguise by progressives at the same time? There's no room for moderation in a battleground of intimidation and fear.

Of course it's not just Rick Santorum and Dan Savage who perpetrate bullying (remember this charming video from Rick Perry?). But it's a pertinent example because Savage often voices support for anti-bullying legislation to protect gay children in schools, while Santorum feels for some reason I can't quite fathom that Obama is doing all he can to destroy God in America, as the video above shows.

How can two people be so vehemently against bullying while being such bullies themselves? No self-respecting teacher would allow such behavior in the classroom, so why is it politics as usual?

This endless cycle of hurt and pained revenge doesn't have to continue. We don't have to put up with such bigotry, both on the right and the left. I don't want to live in a country where the side that bullies best gets the rights and protections of law. If we truly want a country where we coexist and work together for a better future, the America that belongs to everyone as I learned about in school, we cannot tolerate this blatant manipulation of bigotry and bully tactics to gain power and influence. There will always be repression and discrimination as long as the bigots and bullies, the very people the Constitution was written to protect us from, run our country.

But most importantly of all: Don't hate! Don't hate Republicans, Liberals, Muslims, homosexuals, fundamentalists, Jews, or even other hateful people. Don't respond to hatred with more hatred, or else you will have become the very thing you hated in the first place! And if that happens America will become a country of slaves to avarice, oppression, and injustice.

I would like to leave you all with a beautiful story read on the Moth by Ernesto Quiñonez about the dangers of bullying based on his experiences growing up in Spanish Harlem. Surviving from his own pained and hateful lashing out, he says:

Prejudice is so evil that it can creep up on you, and before you know it you yourself have become the bigot.

Please listen to it here. It's one of the best uses of 12 minutes I can think of.

Ben Mayer Goes To Portland Part II

With Ben's final day in Portland we returned to the Columbia River Gorge, this time to Eagle Creek. This time I only had my 55-200mm lens, usually reserved for bird-watching. Not usually the best for landscape or waterfall photography, but I had to make do. But there were certainly perks. Snow on the ground being one of them, the incredible blueness of the river being another, along with its huge swelling flow, so big that the popular view of Punch Bowl Falls was completely covered by the fast-moving river. And as a final bonus I got to see easily missed Metlako Falls (as shown above) and sexy Loowit Falls.

Punch Bowl Falls as seen from above. I took this shot with the lens that no longer works. As you see, it does indeed generate photographs with recognizable content. However, the colors are duller and darker. I must fix it.

Impact! Eagle Creek hammers into a rock.

A side stream makes its way to Eagle Creek. This time of year, with all the snow melt, the canyon walls practically oozed streams like this one, complete with a host of seasonal cascades and waterfalls. Gorgeous!

A surfable rapid in Eagle Creek

The top of Lower Punch Bowl Falls, which boomed impressively... not the small falls I jumped off in the summer!

Sexy Loowit Falls has that seductive curve at the base. I'm not sure how tall the falls truly is - I've heard 60 and 100 feet... very different figures, but I'd err towards the 100 side - but it sure it elegant. Between the swirling pool and the voluptuous twist at the bottom... what a model!

This is the last photo I took with my broken 18-55mm.

Snow covered the hills as we walked by. It made a better picture in my mind than in reality. As was many pictures of the day with the lens I wasn't used to.

Eagle Creek

Loowit Falls as seen from later on the trail.

Loowit Falls meets up with Upper Punch Bowl Falls. They both fall into the same pool. Rats. I guess this means Loowit's already taken.

Metlako Falls is 100 feet tall and can only be seen downriver from a lookout ridge. This is the only view you get. But to get there you have to follow a trail that looks like it's leading you amiss - it's not marked until you get there for some reason. Anyway, here it tumbles into Eagle Creak, making its own cloud of mist above. We could see the cloud of mist for about a quarter of a mile before we reached the waterfall. Beautiful.

Ben Mayer Comes To Portland Part I

My cousin Ben was in town for the last couple of weeks taking a class to become a wilderness first responder (congrats, cousin!). With the couple of days he had left before returning to Michigan we went on a couple of hikes, checking out the amazing unique beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. Luckily the first day was also Courtney's day off so we all got to spend the day together and see a number of waterfalls:

First stop was Multnomah Falls. Now way could Ben come all the way out here from Michigan and not see this.

Next was Horsetail Falls, which raged much stronger than last time I saw it.

Just above Horsetail Falls sits Ponytail Falls, also much stronger than I remember. I didn't dare venture near the stream this time.

The trail joined up with the Oneonta Gorge trail where we saw Middle Oneonta Falls. Lower Oneonta Falls is only accessible by stream wading because the Oneonta Gorge is so narrow, and Upper Oneonta Falls is only seen by a steep scramble off trail. I didn't think it was worth it, so we only saw the middle falls.

Finally we came to our destination: the 100-foot tall and aptly named Triple Falls. Below is the gang: Me, Courtney, Ben, and two of Ben's friends.

We had some extra time so we also did the short walk to Latourell Falls. These waterfalls are different beasts in winter flow.

A side stream falls towards Triple Falls

An experimental shot I took of Ponytail Falls, with 8 seconds exposed of a tree and 2.5 seconds exposed of the waterfall.

Multnomah Falls billows

The stream just above Triple Falls

The river just above Triple Falls

Multnomah Falls and the river flowing from it

A stream makes its way to Triple Falls

Seeing double at Triple Falls

Latourell Falls. Moments later I took a nasty fall and broke some of the plastic on my 18-55 mm lens and now it won't stay attached to the camera body. It was a terrible loss and hopefully won't be too expensive to fix.

Lincoln City Retreat

While now isn't exactly the time of year one expects to spend a weekend on the beech, that's exactly what I did to say sayonara to January. I was just there for a full day, but I got to see the sun rise over the beech and an inland waterfall, as the weather was surprisingly pleasant along the Oregon coast.

Before I show pictures of Drift Creek Falls, I want to include directions for how to get there. There aren't very good directions online and sources are conflicting about what to do, as I discovered. Here's what you do:

- From Lincoln City, head east on S Schooner Creek Road. You can get there by turning east onto SE 48th pl. which turns into Schooner after about a mile.

- After a few miles, turn right (south) on S Anderson Creek Road.

- You should come to signs for Drift Creek Falls Trailhead in a couple of miles, telling you to turn inland (east) onto S Drift Creek Road. Take that road and follow it and the signs for 10 miles.

Okay, on to photos!

Drift Creek Falls stands at 80 feet tall, and the flow was so high that the small opening was barely enough to contain the falls. You can see the results of a recent avalanche due to a similarly roaring flow.

Dawn on the coast

Drift Creek Falls blows blue with power. Perhaps it was the mist in the air reflecting light, but it was still pretty cool. Down below, a couple of guys get as close to the falls. Later they went swimming in a nearby pool and one lost his wallet. Don't worry - he found it eventually.

Sandy beeches

I took this picture entirely by accident on the trail to Drift Creek Falls. I think my hand must have slipped and I took the shot by accident. Good thing my lens cap was off! It has a really cool watercolor feel to it.

A suspension bridge hangs about 240 feet above the ground, passing above the 80-foot falls. It results in some interesting views of the falls.

The river rages on.

The weather was so beautiful that on my first night I went down to the water and tried taking pictures of the stars. Stars! Stars I haven't seen since moving to Portland due to cloud cover, and yet here I could see the Milky Way. I figured I'd try some super long exposure shots that show how the earth moves and makes star swirls. This one was supposed to be for 20 minutes but camera ran out of batteries after 15, so this is the only one of its kind I managed.