Sabbatical Year

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A few months ago, I spoke to another professor at work who I knew to be a practicing Jew, about some things I read in the book of Leviticus. He explained that, although they are not sure exactly, this year was the Sabbatical Year, or the year in which the Jews have been commanded to let things rest. For some reason, these passages had stuck out in my mind this summer as I read the Old Testament anew, for the first time in many years.

I have loaned and gifted much money in the course of my life. A few weeks ago, a man I know to whose wife I once gave money to help them meet their financial obligations pulled me aside to thank me and warn me against continuing the practice. I explained to him that "because I have been given much, I too must give". I have saved and lived as I have for the support and benefit of my own family, but in the absence thereof, I chose to reach out and bless others.

Today, in accordance with the Law of the Sabbath, which I choose to live, I hereby forgive all debts as yet outstanding and owed to me. Regardless of the amount, keep the money. Pay it forward if you like, but I hold you accountable for nothing more. I know that in the Year of Jubilee that begins tomorrow, the Lord will, as with Job, bless me with more than I had at the beginning.

Granted, I may not be correct in the timing. I am not a Jew. Jesus, however, was, and I will follow him as best I know, and he would have us forgive those indebted to us if we wish forgiveness of his father. Let the Lord judge between me and thee.

Thanks to the Little Guys

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It's a little known fact, but since I know a little Tongan and I know a few Tongans who are themselves far from little, I wish to draw attention to the heroic men of Tonga who served in Iraq in support of the coalition. Although they withdrew their last platoon just prior to Christmas in 2008, they still were there.

Psi bay (phonetic). Well done and Godspeed.

Memo From the Dark Side

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I really love Sam Waterston. He's been one of my favorite Law and Order stars of all time. Tonight, I saw him do something amazing. I saw him stand on Lexington Green.

I know as well as any bloke that Law and Order is just a TV show. I know that actors are symbols. Symbols are given power by people, and so I choose to make this symbol a power by sharing it with you.

Tonight's Law and Order season premier, upon which I happened by complete chance, dealt with a lawyer from a previous administration who tried to avoid prosecution by virtue of connections. Even an official from the current administration stepped forward to block Sam Waterston's character, so as to prevent prosecution for their dirty laundry after they leave office.

The DA's office pointed out that they don't want a county prosecutor able to take down a federal official, except that this is EXACTLY what should be possible. The Created is not greater than the Creator. Shall the ax boast itself against him who heweth therewith? Yet, the federal government, which came after the states which came after the people who settled them, claims hegemony over all that gave it life and attempts to hold ours at ransom.

In his closing statement, the ADA says:

it is not disloyal to hold our officials to the highest standards of conduct and
it is not disloyal for you the people to decide what you want done in your name

There are those who do not want you to speak. Harry Reid once wrote me back and basically told me that I'm stupid. Others stopped holding town hall meetings. They don't know you. They don't consider themselves responsible to us or responsible for anything. They should. We pay them. We hire them. We will fire them.

Whatever you feel about torture, feel this about government. No official, servant to the people, has the right to railroad you. No politician or bureaucrat, obstentiously engaged in the "general welfare" has a right to ignore an individual's welfare. They may sit on their thrones and consider themselves safe. King George III made that mistake. When General Gage said, "If you think five thousand men enough, send ten thousand", and the king ignored him, he sowed the seeds for his own loss of empire.

Like Patrick Henry said, "millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us." People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of the people.

The Guy's a Keeper

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So how many of these apply to you?

#1. Keeper clue: He has his act together.
This seems like a no-brainer, but it's a good place to start. "It's very important that you two be able to have a lot of fun together, so a party boy or a screw-up will probably not work out for you," says Mira Kirshenbaum, a family and couples therapist and author of Is He Mr. Right? "No matter how charming he is, if he is still struggling to grow up, it will get very old, very fast."

#2. Keeper clue: He puts you first.
Picture a delicious platter of grilled steak. Does your man offer it to you first to pick the best piece? He does if he's a keeper! "When it comes to taking the best piece of meat or offering it to you, that's a metaphor for how he'd always put you first the rest of your life," says Rachel Greenwald, author of "Why He Didn't Call You Back: 1,000 Guys Reveal What They Really Thought of You After Your Date."

#3. Keeper clue: He's not afraid of your germs.
You know a guy is really into you when he can't stay away, even when you're bedridden and snotty. "When you're sick with the flu, he says, 'Let me come over and take care of you,' rather than, 'Oooh, you sound really contagious... call me when you're feeling better,'" Greenwald says.

#4. Keeper clue: He's a family man.
He asks about your family, and he seems to genuinely want to hear about them. "Interest in your family shows that he thinks about you as a whole person, and he knows that being with you means understanding and accepting your relatives too," says Sarah Harrison, senior editor of yourtango.com.

#5. Keeper clue: He makes time for your friends.
In the beginning of your relationship, does your man show an interest in meeting your besties? And does he follow it up with a plan, like hosting a low-key dinner party? "Friends are an important part of your life, and his knowing them makes him more involved with you." Harrison says. "Plus, he'll have to deal with them at some point, so initiating it himself shows maturity."

#6. Keeper clue: He's your biggest cheerleader.
When your guy calls your mom to tell her about your promotion before you do, that should tell you something. A man who is supportive of you and your goals is typically a guy who doesn't "feel threatened by your success," says Kirshenbaum. "He knows who he is and where he's going," which means he can ultimately be there for you.

#7. Keeper clue: He remembers the little things.
Does your man really listen to you? You'll know he's a keeper if you tell him you have a big scary work meeting and the next time you talk, he asks how it went. Or if you tell him you left your sunglasses at his house and he remembers them on your next date. "Following up on things you say to him means he pays attention to you -- always a good sign," Harrison says.

#8. Keeper clue: He's happy when you're happy.
This is the guy who "goes to a chick flick with you on Friday night rather than an action film -- not because he actually wants to, but because it makes you happy," says Greenwald.

#9. Keeper clue: He makes you the best you can be.
A guy who makes you feel like the luckiest woman alive -- like you can (and should!) be your confident, fabulous self -- is worth hanging on to. "It's not just about how you feel about him but more about how he makes you feel about yourself," Kirshenbaum says.

...Apparently Not I

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When I went up to the department office at work yesterday just before noon, I ran across the department chair who bore bad news. Apparently, after this semester, I will no longer be allowed to teach until the furlough program created by the governor to alleviate state expenditures comes to an end. It technically counts as "overtime" and by the governor's mandate, no state employee is allowed to work overtime. They grandfathered me in for this semester since it's already underway, but I will no longer be teaching your children until further notice.

The good news is that Dr. J gave me the impression that once the crisis ends I will return to the opportunity. We fear more or greater cuts in the future, and I don't budget based on the teaching money, but it sounded like I will return to the classroom as soon as the governor will let me.

Let me impress upon you that this mandate comes from somewhere higher up than the department. Ultimately, it goes back to Governor Gibbons who, instead of cutting excess personnel, hit all of us with a shotgun blast.

Unfortunately for the students we serve, this means that students will suffer. Instead of professors who love teaching and excel at it, they will sit in class with teachers like Professor O, who are present physically but whose ultimate motives seem to lie somewhere other than in the presentation of an education to the students.

I have enjoyed very much the opportunity to work with these fine young men and women. With this new knowledge, I promise to dedicate myself more fully for the remaining 27 hours I have in class with them and give them the best I can to spur them to success now and in the future.

On my honor.

Hopefully some day soon I will return to the classroom. Meanwhile, I will do my best to do my duty in the office to which I am appointed with due diligence.

Who's Teaching Your Children?...

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My students complained in lab Monday night about their lecture professor, so I went with them to their lecture Wednesday night before my other night lab section. Let me simply say that their concerns are well founded. Their teacher displayed no excitement for her position and no love for teaching as a profession. Here are some of the things she said:

basically, the stuff I addressed in lectures is all you need to know.
I will not pull random facts I didn't address in lecture for the test.
Learn something else you don't know.
I don't want you to ignore chapter one...
the exam is worth...did you look in your syllabus?
I didn't bring any of my notes with me.
It's explained pretty well in your book.
Whatever it does in the cell.
It's getting a little too detailed.
I don't want to go there. It goes into serious detail.

and my personal favorite:
Oxidation is when an atom loses an election.

I didn't know they were on the ballot.

The Erised Principle

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In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Dumbledore tells Harry that the Mirror of Erised was one of his most ingeneous devices to thwart Voldemort. I think that historical political philosophers would have liked this maneuver, as I will attempt to explain.

Yes, I aspire to lead. I do not really like to be in the limelight or be out front, but I do not like how people of low character and little discernment arise to positions of power. The Stone in the movie represents the ultimate power- power over life and death. According to the Founders, this power was reserved to our Creator, and every power man has over man is by the grace of God.

I am like Harry. I want to find the stone, to find it but not use it. If the people of this country gave me power, it would be so that I could get as much of it back to them as possible.

Only a person who wants to find the Stone, find it, but not use it, should be able to get it.

Litmus Tests

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As a scientist, I have used litmus paper for the better part of 10 years to determine the chemical nature of substances. As an adult, I have used other litmus tests to measure the disposition of people with whom I have had cause to interact. Some people say I should abandon them, and although I seem to have as a result few friends and few close relationships, I use them to protect myself from getting burned.

Just as acids and bases can burn sensitive parts of your body, associations with the wrong types of people can burn sensitive parts of your psyche. A few years ago, I made changes to my life, and I continue to do so, as a way to protect myself from people who would do me harm. Sometimes it works better than others.

Years ago, my paternal grandfather, who often recited poems, taught me this one:

You Tell on Yourself
You tell on yourself by the friends you seek,
By the very manner in which you speak,
By the way you employ your leisure time,
By the use you make of dollar and dime.

You tell what you are by the things you wear,
By the spirit in which you burdens bear,
By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By the records you play on the phonograph.

You tell what you are by the way you walk,
By the things of which you delight to talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat,
By so simple a thing as how you eat.

By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf:
In these ways and more, you tell on yourself.

—Author Unknown

So, I grew a beard, kept an old sedan, and adopted a mostly vegetarian diet.

People tell me that I am too critical of people. I can usually tell within about 10-20 minutes of conversation about how likely I am to get along with someone. Based on their interests, the topics about which they like to speak, and what priorities they set, I can tell that although they are nice people, we share very few values on which to build a lasting relationship.

Very few people ever evaluate the world. Some of them do pro/con lists or some sort of actuarial analysis, but they also think too much with their heads and too little with their hearts. Most people value very little the things that are of the highest value. I am very blessed in most aspects of life where others may envy me, but until they serve my highest choice of Home and Hearth, they are but a means to an end.

Where your treasure is, there shall your heart be. You'll be in my heart.

Seven of Eight

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Lately, I have developed a new phrase to describe how well I've done. I am richly blessed, and I will define that for you because my best friend liked the categories.

They are:
Educational
Vocational
Financial
Physical
Personal
Intellectual
Spiritual
Familial

The first seven of those are very well. The last, because a large portion of it lies outside your control, remains as yet unsatisfied. The first serve the last, because it is my highest choice- to start a family.

May God soon fulfill the righteous desire of my heart. 7/8

Franklin's "Thus I Consent" Speech

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Since I had not seen it all before, in continuance of our celebration of the Constitution, here are Franklin's words following the signing of said document, as delivered by James Wilson:

"Mr. President I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them: For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. Most men indeed as well as most sects in Religion, think themselves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ from them it is so far error. Steele a Protestant in a Dedication tells the Pope, that the only difference between our Churches in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrines is, the Church of Rome is infallible and the Church of England is never in the wrong. But though many private persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as of that of their sect, few express it so naturally as a certain french lady, who in a dispute with her sister, said "I don't know how it happens, Sister but I meet with no body but myself, that's always in the right — Il n'y a que moi qui a toujours raison."

In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the Builders of Babel; and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats.

Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die. If every one of us in returning to our Constituents were to report the objections he has had to it, and endeavor to gain partizans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects & great advantages resulting naturally in our favor among foreign Nations as well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity. Much of the strength & efficiency of any Government in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends, on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of the Government, as well as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its Governors. I hope therefore that for our own sakes as a part of the people, and for the sake of posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution (if approved by Congress & confirmed by the Conventions) wherever our influence may extend, and turn our future thoughts & endeavors to the means of having it well administred.

On the whole, Sir, I can not help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me, on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument."

I promise to commit it to memory. I encourage you to do in kind.