The old maxim could very well be true that when Opportunity knocks, you need to be ready. In my case, though, Opportunity seems to be playing a rousing game of Ding-Dong-Ditch-It with me instead.

Last month, for the second time this year, i lost out on an internal promotion at my company, DoubleClick, that many of my colleagues thought i was sure bet to get.

This time, i was applying for a role as Commercialization/Readiness Manager, which can best be described as a project manager for the process of releasing new products to the market (Commercialization) and managing their code releases (Readiness).

It sounded like a very interesting role: a high-visibility position with lots of exposure to many different areas within the company, and some good experience with project management. And i already have a great working relationship with the other person on the Commercialization team.

As with the Development Team Manager opening i applied for in January, i became one of two finalists for this Commercialization Manager position. And, again, i was passed over by the hiring manager, this time in favor of the other finalist — someone who had worked directly for him for several years (and who had then left the company several years ago — involuntarily, when we spun off one of our divisions).

This rejection was, naturally, another bitter disappointment for me — made all the worse because i was given nothing but praise all through the interview process. In fact, the hiring manager told me in The Rejection Call that i really had no weaknesses he could point to as a differentiating factor in his decision. In other words, he said there were no skills that i needed to strengthen. As he put it to me, he simply had two outstanding candidates for this one opening, who had nearly identical interview scores, and he chose to go with this other person. (Of course, he neglected to mention that this other person had worked for him for several years; i found this out from someone else.) Basically, it seems that, faced with having six of one and half-a-dozen of the other — a good dilemma, from his perspective — he chose to go with the known commodity (i.e., not me).

And i have to admit that i do not begrudge him this choice; i think most people would probably make the same decision he did, myself included. My frustration stems from the fact that what i got from this whole process (8 interviews) were some nice verbal pats on the back and encouraging feedback re: my skill set and job performance, but once again was left with nothing to show for it.

Furthermore, what exactly am i supposed to take away from this process? What i hear is: “Gosh, John, we really like your work, and you’re well qualified for this position. But, we’re going with someone else… –Oh, but it’s not you.” Pardon my acronym, but W… T… F…?!

Imagine, if you will, my experience this year: you have applied for two different internal positions, and during this process — entailing a dozen interviews in all (4 for the first opening, and 8 for this latest one) — you have been showered with glowing praise, received copious positive feedback, and much encouragement. And after all this… you still end up in the same job. I mean, i don’t want to sound ungrateful for the opportunity, but if i’m to believe what the people who interviewed me have said about me, shouldn’t DoubleClick be more actively working to move me into a leadership position?

At least this time around, everything in connection with this interview process and rejection was handled relatively well — as opposed to the Dev Team Manager hiring process and rejection, which was one of the most unprofessional experiences in my entire life. I nearly left the company right then because that experience left such a bad taste in my mouth, but was held back by the fact that i really do like my company, overall, and the people i work with. And besides that, well, i didn’t have another job to fall back on (yet).

After this latest experience, though, all i can do is shake my head and wonder, What on earth do i have to do to get ahead at this company? I am very close to running out of patience with them.

Which leaves me with this quandary: Where the hell am i supposed to go from here? –Do i stick around DoubleClick, given our impending merger deal with Google (the #1-ranked company to work for in the USA), and hope that some new opportunities will open up there? Or do i just say, “Screw it!”, pull up stakes emotionally and try my luck elsewhere?…

What complicates this situation even further is that, serendipitously enough, my boss got promoted right as i was finishing this interview process last month. So his old job, as manager of my team, is now open. –And, being a glutton for punishment, i’ve decided to apply for this opening, too. I figure, hey, what do i have to lose? It’s another good opportunity; i’d be working with my current team, and i’d still be able to work for my old boss (whom i really like). So who knows? — maybe this third time will be the charm.

So, i am now in the middle of yet another, even more grueling interview process: 8 interviews completed so far, another half-dozen or so more to go (i think).

Unlike these last two interview processes, though, i have set my expectations very low: i fully expect not to get this job — primarily because i am not based in NY, where our HQ is, and we are a very HQ-centric company, and also because there’s some very good competition for this role. But that doesn’t mean that i’m not going to give 110% to try and get this job; i’m just mentally preparing myself for the disappointment ahead of time.

Sad, i know, but at this point, given my experiences this year, this is almost a necessary defense mechanism; i don’t think i could handle another rejection if i set my hopes too high.

Anyway, i’ll update the blog as soon as i know whether i’m being offered this job or not. Stay tuned…

I’m now on Day 46 of my South Beach Diet, and so far, it has been a resounding success! I have gone from 202 pounds when I started, on June 11th, down to 183.5 pounds this morning, July 27th. So, nearly 20 pounds lost so far, in just 6 1/2 weeks.

Here’s a chart of my progress so far (as a project manager, did you expect me NOT to have this all in a spreadsheet?):

Of course, i do need to make a full disclosure here: as you can see, i am not just adhering to the South Beach diet plan, but am also working out 2-3 times per week on my recumbent bike. And I have to admit that I’m not just doing a leisurely 30-minute ride; i am hauling ass for 30 minutes, trying to maintain an overall pace of 25 MPH through various resistance “terrain” programs. But doing this workout only every third day has still made a significant, positive impact on the pace of my weight loss.

For a while after i finished Phase I, my weight was fluctuating, without much overall loss. Then, about 10 days ago, my metabolism apparently kicked into another (higher) gear. Since then, i’ve been able to add more distance to my 30-minute bike “rides”, and i’ve lost another 3 pounds. And people are definitely noticing now that i have not only lost a lot of weight, but look more svelt, too.

Nice to hear, given that my 25-year high-school reunion is just 8 weeks away. =)

So, anyone out there reading this who’s thinking about starting the South Beach (or any other low-carb-based) diet, know these two things:

1. Phase I — the first two weeks — really is going to be rough, no matter what the books and guides tell you. Phase I sucks. You’re going to hate it. But it’s completely worth the pain, because it weans your body off its dependency on carbs (mostly). Think of it as rehab for your body to get it off of carbohydrate addiction.
2. If you do start South Beach — or Atkins, or The Zone, or any other popular diet plan — it is absolutely USELESS to change your eating habits without changing your exercise habits, too. If you can’t commit to starting a regular exercise regimen — even if it’s only a brisk 30-minute walk per day (or every other day) — then forget it; don’t waste your time, because you’ll never keep off the weight you’d lose on the diet. I’ve tried dieting with and without an exercise regimen, and i can clearly tell the difference adding exercise makes to the success of your weight-loss plan.

World’s shortest (and probably oldest) diet book: Eat right and exercise regularly.

Anyway, i’ve already surpassed the weight-loss goal i set for myself for the end of July. Woo-hoo!! So, if i can just stay on Phase II and keep losing another pound every week or so, i’ll be able to hit my target weight — 176.5 pounds (80 kg) — by mid-September!

How does this keep happening?

For a while there, I was doing pretty well with writing regularly in this blog, but the end of June and the first two weeks of July were absolutely insane, and then my blog unexpectedly went down about 10 days ago because my web hosting service, One World Hosting, updated their installation of WordPress (the tool I use for writing this blog), and their new version was incompatible with my own custom installation. *sigh*…

So, the blog has now been fixed by One World Hosting (who were actually very responsive and professional), and i’m free to catch up on — *ack* — five weeks of life that seem to have gone by — *snap* — just like that.

What’s happened in the past five weeks? Well, let’s recap:

• I lost out on another new job opportunity within my company, DoubleClick, in mid-June;
• we went to Saugatuck for a Rienstra family reunion in late June;
• Michelle and i went to see The Police in concert at Wrigley Field on July 5th, as a 15th anniversary present to ourselves;
• we went to a couple more White Sox games and a Cubs game as a family (slightly insane);
• I threw Michelle a surprise 40th birthday party (a process that was even more insane) at a local Irish pub here, to which about 30 family and friends came;
• i’m now interviewing for my boss’ old job, as manager of the Escalation Management Team (EMT) — a last-gasp attempt at career advancement at my company;
• we’re in the midst of a massive room rearrangement in the house that will leave all the kids upstairs and us down in the guest bedroom;
• and, we’re prepping for two weeks of travel and vacation, with a week of hosting two Japanese kids from Iwate-ken (where Michelle and i met) sandwiched in between.
• Oh yeh, and then we’re going to try and completely redecorate our main bathroom by the end of Labor Day weekend.

Yes, the break-neck pace of our life continues. Even so, i plan to write an entry for each of the above items in the next week or so (in all my copious spare time…).

But first, an update on my South Beach diet. =)

I started the South Beach Diet last week — my second go-’round with the SBD. (The first time was three years ago, after turning 40.) Been thinking about doing it ever since the beginning of the year, but have been making excuses and procrastinating. I just haven’t had the inspiration to put myself through that regimen again.

Well, my pants have started feeling a little bit (*cough-cough*) tight around the waist lately, so i decided to weigh myself a couple weeks ago, and was not pleased with the results: I was up to 202 pounds (92 kg) on my 5′ 9″ (173 cm) frame.

That did it. I promised myself years ago that anytime i crossed the 200-pound threshold, it would be crash-diet time. So, it was time to suck it up and just do it!

Now, the South Beach Diet doesn’t really fall into the “crash diet” category, but you can certainly lose weight fast if you are disciplined and stick to the plan — or rather, The Plan — and follow the diet’s guidelines. The SBD is geared to help you lose 7-13 lbs. in the first two weeks, known as Phase I, and around a pound a week after that during Phase II.

The first two weeks of the SBD are, to my mind, by far the worst to endure. The SBD is similar to the Atkins Diet, in that you are allowed almost no carbohydrates whatsoever for those two weeks. The SBD is a bit more lenient than Atkins, though, with what you can eat; besides lean meats of many varieties, you can eat all the veggies you want (except carrots and potatoes), and some low-fat dairy, too — in addition to lots of eggs. Lots of nuts, too. There are other foods you can nibble on, but high-protein, very-low-carb foods are the mainstay of your diet during Phase I.

Now, the first time i did the SBD, Phase I was excruciating for me. That’s because i am an admitted carbo-junkie. I mean, i’m willing to bet that probably 80-90% of my food intake is heavily carb-based. I LOVE carbs. So, taking carbs away left my body almost in shock back in ‘04. I had awful food cravings (for carbs) for the first week or so of the SBD.

But so far this time around, after one week, Phase I has not been nearly so hard as the first time. (Maybe my body knows what is happening this time around…) I still get hungry in the mid-afternoons, and i can tell my energy level is a bit lower than normal, but Phase I has been very doable thus far. But, man, am i getting sick of eating nothing but meat, eggs, and veggies, and snacking on nothing but nuts. =P

However, my results after one week have been immediate and significant: 8 lbs. lost!

Now, i have to confess that in conjunction with starting the SBD, i’ve also started a new exercise regimen: 30-minute workouts on my recumbent bike, 3 x/week. So maybe the weight loss is not completely attributable to the diet. But, i had similar results back in ‘04, so it’s not just the exercise. I also plan to add resistance weight training to my regimen when Phase II starts next week, which i hope will keep the weight loss progressing and add more muscle tone.

Completely coincidentally (honest! i swear!), the day i started the SBD, something arrived in the mail that confirmed i made the right decision to start this diet now: the invitation to my 25-year high school reunion in late September. =)

I’ll post my progress with the SBD every week or so during Phase I and Phase II. Maybe I’ll inspire one of my dozens of readers to do the same!… –Nah, the only posters to my blog seem to be spammers. =(

After almost 9 years living in Oak Park, we are finally starting to feel like we are establishing roots here. Or rather, we are finally letting ourselves become rooted in this community.

When we first moved here to Oak Park almost 9 years ago, in 1998, we thought that this — our first — house, on the SE side of town, would be our “starter house.” That is, we would live here for 3-5 years and then, once we outgrew this house, find a bigger, nicer house in the central, more “upscale” area of Oak Park. Either that, or one of our jobs would take us elsewhere, and we’d have to relocate.

Well, neither of those things ended up happening, and here we are in mid-2007 still in our same house. One reason is that the boom in the housing market has seen the value of houses in our area go up by an average of 15-20% per year since 1998, the year we moved in. In fact, we could barely afford our own house now if we were in the market. What we bought for $149,000 back then we could apparently sell for $370,000+ now. Yikes! So, we couldn’t move to a bigger house now unless we mortgaged ourselves to the hilt, and now that we are just a one-income family, we are disinclined to do that.

We’ve also been somehow reluctant over the years to commit to this neighborhood, mentally. Because we always thought in the back of our minds that we’d be moving in a couple of years, max, we thought, “Why make the investment in building relationships with the people on this block?” (Such is the mindset of a couple that has moved every 2 years, on average, for the previous decade.) So, until very recently, we made friendly with folks on the block, but never took anything beyond a casual acquaintanceship. There are other reasons behind this (quite ridiculous) mentality, but that is a topic for another entry…

Anyway, ever since Michelle decided to quit her job at Cendant last summer, we’ve been seriously considering a move ‘back’ to West Michigan, where I grew up and still have friends and family. I even went so far as to send out resumes to companies in the greater Grand Rapids-Holland area and interview for a couple jobs late last year. But nothing ever became of those efforts, despite assistance from friends and family in the GR area.

And so, finally, this spring, we experienced an epiphany: we have no idea how much longer we’re going to be in this house, but we’re not moving anytime in the foreseeable future, so we might as well invest ourselves more deeply in this neighborhood and community, and in this 84-year-old house. (Of course, now that we’ve finally fully committed ourselves to this place — where we’ve been for 9 years already — i’m sure some new job opportunity will come up in the latter half of this year that will relocate us out west somewhere. *sigh*…)

Anyway, as part of this involvement in our neighborhood, we’ve both made big new commitments. Earlier this year, Michelle joined the board of our neighborhood association here, called SEOPCO, which stands for South East Oak Park Community Organization. Its goals are, predictably, to promote neighborhood interests and represent the residents of this part of Oak Park at Village Board meetings; hold monthly neighborhood meetings; and the like. Michelle has already been given several projects to run, which has given her a chance to brush up on some rusty professional skills, and her membership on the SEOPCO board has given us interesting new insight into the village’s politics. (It ain’t pretty.)

As for me, in late May, at a neighborhood meeting with our new Resident Beat Officer (RBO), i was somehow wheedled into becoming our new Block Captain, which sounds impressive but basically means i get to organize our two annual clock parties, communicate with everyone on the block, go to Village Board meetings, and interface with our RBO about block problems — like the nightclub just a block away from us, on the Berwyn side of Roosevelt Rd., the subject of an upcoming entry. Wheeee!

Add to this our already-deep involvement in our church, and we’re actually starting to become rooted here in Oak Park. Who’d'a thunk? Certainly not us…

Our weekend has been a non-stop whirlwind of events: the kids’ and our own. In short, we are starting to experience the manic lifestyle of people with school-age kids. Our kids are now involved in quite a few sports — gymnastics, swimming, tee-ball, soccer — and are also going to friends’ birthday parties and having play dates, etc., quite often. And the logistical problems of carting our kids everywhere is being compounded by our own increasing involvement in the Oak Park community: Michelle and I are involved with two different choirs; I’m a member of the church Council and the Diaconate; Michelle teaches Sunday School and is on the Ministry of Christian Education; Michelle belongs to a local book club; we are starting to have dinners and parties with local friends; etc., etc.

I write this not to try and impress anyone with our hectic lifestyle (we know others whose is even busier), but simply to record for posterity what life was like for us at this moment, so that 15-20 years from now, we can look back at this time and laugh, “We were absolutely insane.” This is what our schedule was like yesterday, Saturday, June 2:

5:45 am — Michelle gets up with Samuel, while I get an extra hour of shut-eye. (We take turns doing this, so tomorrow will be my turn to get up with him…)
7:00 am — Get up. Michelle showers and dresses while I eat breakfast with Gabriel and Daniella; we review schedule and to-do list for the day. (We’re disorganized enough to need to do this.)
7:30 am — Get kids dressed and in the car to take Michelle to our church (Pilgrim UCC) so she can help with the Ministry of Christian Education-sponsored Rummage Sale.
7:45 am — Go back home; make more breakfast for the kids, and coffee for me.
8:15 am — Clean up; unload dishwasher from previous night and re-load it with breakfast dishes.
8:30 am — Continue the never-ending cycle of laundry…
8:45 am — Go online and pre-register Gabriel for the fall AYSO socccer league. This takes longer than planned because I sign myself up to be a volunteer asst. coach, for which I need to complete several forms for a background check, including personal and professional references. I’ve filled out applications for real jobs which have involved less time and effort…
9:30 am — Still online, call Michelle at the rummage sale and scout out gifts for Gabriel’s friend, Max, to whose birthday party he and Daniella are going in half an hour’s time. (We have obviously not had time to get Max a gift beforehand.)
9:50 am — Get all 3 kids in car and drive to Wonder Works Children’s Museum on the north border of Oak Park, where Max’s birthday party is being held.
10:20 am — Having dropped off the kids at the party, head over to Longfellow Center down in the south end of Oak Park (near us) to drop off Gabriel’s soccer registration, with Samuel in tow. Wait in line with Samuel for about 20 mins…
10:50 am — Head down to Toys ‘R’ Us in North Riverside Park Mall plaza to get Max’s gift. Call Michelle several more times to discuss gift options.
11:30 am — Check out with Max’s gift in hand; head back to our house to wrap it. Make Sammy a snack. Grab the last of the coffee.
11:55 am — Head out of the house back up to Wonder Works to pick up Gabriel and Daniella. Check Sammy’s diaper, which hasn’t been changed since 7:30. He’s soaked through it and his shorts. –Oops! Quick change it.
12:15 pm — Pick up kids at Wonder Works. Takes monumental effort to get Gabriel out the door, because he is having so much fun he does not want to leave.
12:40 pm — Pick up Michelle from the church on the way back to our house.
12:50 pm — Michelle makes lunch for the kids and gets them down for their naps, while I take out all the seats from the van and head back to the church to help with the rummage sale clean up. Load up the van with unsold items: a rowing machine, clothes, two short filing cabinets, a lamp, two boxes of books, etc.
2:00 pm — Leave church and stop at home to drop off a clothing rack we had lent to the Rummage Sale; continue on to drop off other stuff at the nearby Salvation Army store. Michelle gets Gabriel ready for his tee-ball game.
2:30 pm — Arrive back home; Gabriel heads to his tee-ball game with Coach Don (Cundari, who lives across the street). I unload a few items the Salvation Army store wouldn’t take, then put all the seats back in the van.
2:45 pm — I grab a quick shower and change.
3:15 pm — Back in the car to go watch Gabriel’s tee-ball game. Michelle does other household chores — including continuing the never-ending cycle of laundry — while the other kids nap.
3:25 pm — Watch Gabriel’s game — the only ‘down time’ I would have all day. Gabriel goes 2-for-3 with an RBI.
4:55 pm — Gabriel’s game ends; another loss for his team, the Twins — this time 25-20 to the Yankees, leaving the Twins with a 2-10 record with one regular-season game remaining. Gabriel takes the losses much better than I do…
5:05 pm — Stop back at home to get Gabriel changed out of his uniform and into his bathing suit, then run him over to his next party, at his friend Miles’ house. Michelle gets dinner ready for the other kids.
5:30 pm — Michelle starts getting dressed for her Sing To Live concert at 7:30.
6:00 pm — Gabriel and I leave the party at Miles’ house and head home. Babysitters arrive shortly thereafter.
6:15 pm — I drive Michelle to our church, where her concert is being held.
6:30 pm — Back home, I get myself and Gabriel and Daniella dressed for the concert.
7:10 pm — Leave for the concert. Sammy stays with the babysitters. He is not at all happy about this…
7:30 pm — Michelle’s Sing To Live concert begins.
8:05 pm — Intermission. I drive the kids back home so they can get ready for bed, then I drive back to the concert.
8:45 pm — Concert ends. I help take down the stage and restore the sanctuary to pre-concert state for services the next morning.
9:15 pm — Michelle and I go out for a treat at Oberweiss, since she hasn’t really had any dinner.
10:00 pm — Head back home, where we read through the day’s (mostly junk) mail and get ready for Sunday.
10:20 pm — Take care of Daniella, who is somehow still awake, and is running a fever of around 101 F.
10:30 pm — Watch the end of Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Michelle’s beloved Cleveland Cavaliers finish off my beloved Detroit Pistons in the only match-up in all of sports where we are on opposite sides.
11:00 pm — Continue the never-ending cycle of laundry…
11:30 pm — Off to bed, for a few hours of blissful sleep until….
2:30 am Sunday — …we are rudely awakened (as happens every Saturday night) by the idiot drunks coming out of a recently-opened hip-hop nightclub located 1 1/2 blocks away. The patrons of this club park their cars all along our street, and feel no compunction about shouting, arguing, honking horns, or urinating on the lawns in our residential neighborhood. It’s a lot of fun — like Wrigleyville but with less-classy drunks.

More on that fun in my next entry, where I will talk about being selected as the new Block Captain.

Do Republicans — or at least, those who claim to be true conservatives — fully understand the impact of the Orwellian PATRIOT Act that this administration and (formerly-)Republican-led Congress have foisted on us? Or the extent of damage that it and other Bush administration policies have done to our cherished — and constitutionally-protected — civil liberties?

Let’s begin with what I think is the most egregious assault so far on our American civil liberties: the suspension of habeas corpus, which if you’re not familiar with it, is defined in Wikipedia as:

the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. The writ of habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

Habeas corpus is one of the cornerstones of our legal system; one which helps make ours the best judicial system on earth. Our Founding Fathers considered habeas corpus so important, in fact, that they protected it in our constitution, which states:

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. (Article One, Section 9)

But that privilege is going by the wayside now, thanks to the PATRIOT Act, and epitomized by our government’s prison at Guantanamo Bay (not to mention Abhu Graib). And this makes me mad as hell.

Neo-cons have used the argument that if we do not fight and defeat the “terrorists” — a poorly-defined term in itself — over there (in the Middle East), they are going to follow us back here and fight us in our streets and homes, threatening our freedom. Now, that claim may seem ludicrous to anyone capable of rational thought, but if that is how the Bushies and neo-cons think (and obviously some other Americans share that view), let’s turn the tables on their argument.

First, I start from this premise: The suspension of habeas corpus is the legal and moral equivalent of a terrorist attack on our country. Any assault on my civil liberties, as defined and protected in the constitution, is to my mind no different than a terrorist attack, in that both assault my personal freedom. After all, if I cannot feel safe from arbitrary state action, especially in my own home, to what extent am I really living in a “free” country?

Next, let’s look at one (of the many) rationales put forth by this administration and its neo-con supporters for justifying the war in Iraq. Why are we fighting a war in Iraq? To prevent terrorism and safeguard our freedoms, they say.

OK. So, then why do we have the writ of habeas corpus protected in our constitution? To prevent illegal imprisonment (arguably a type of state-sponsored terrorism) and safeguard freedom — individual freedom.

If we let our government suspend this right, and allow full search-and-seizure in our homes, our personal freedoms are no longer as secure. Letting the government wiretap — or worse, search — anyone’s house without a warrant, and allowing the gov’t to detain anyone it so chooses without an official criminal charge, sets a dangerous precedent. It could lead us down a path to fascism and totalitarianism not unlike Nazi Germany or the former USSR. Not saying it will, but why take that risk? Isn’t individual liberty the very reason most people came to this country in the first place?

Finally, to reword the neo-con war rationale above: If we don’t fight and defeat the PATRIOT Act now, the government is going to follow us all into our houses and we will lose our personal freedoms.

Sound impossible? Sure. No doubt that is an alarmist and extremist viewpoint, and highly unlikely ever to happen.

But, if you think that the suspension of habeas corpus will end at Guantanamo Bay — or certainly outside our borders — are you willing to bet your constitutionally-protected civil liberties that it will?… I’m not.

Been a while since I talked some politics. I’ve been avoiding doing so mainly because every time I sit down to write about the latest scandal in this morally repugnant Bush administration, I get so riled up I can’t get to sleep afterward. But, this whole Alberto Gonzalez mess and the Iraq war funding fiasco finally pushed me over the edge. Figured it’s time I started blowing off some steam.

First, let’s talk about the state of democracy in this country. I would like to postulate that we barely even have a democracy now. Exhibit A: the percentage of people in this country who don’t even bother to vote in presidential elections, let alone local ones. A few weeks back, France held their presidential election, and the voter turnout there was 85%. Meaning, almost everyone who could vote, did. Compare that figure to our last presidential election in 2004, which had the biggest voter turnout in recent U.S. history: 60%. For almost every other election, the voter turnout rate has hovered around 40%.

So, in the birthplace of modern democracy, we cannot even get half of our registered voters to bother voting in most elections? Wow, is that pathetic. But even worse, it means Americans are apathetic. I hope this isn’t news to all you non-voters out there, but AMERICA IS NOT A DEMOCRACY IF YOU DON’T VOTE!

No matter what your political persuasion is, the fact remains that our right to vote is one of the most important and powerful tools we have in shaping and controlling our government, at all levels — but especially the local level. It’s a right that millions of people have fought — and hundreds of thousands have died — to protect for us. And we all know this; yet even after 9/11, we don’t seem to be taking a higher stake, collectively, in our government than we were before 9/11. I just don’t get that. Have Americans really grown that cynical and apathetic about government by the people?

Let me ignore that issue for now. In terms of improving voter turnout, though, maybe we need to change the day on which we hold elections. They’re almost always on Tuesdays, a practice that began way back in the mid-19th century for reasons (farming, travel) that are no longer valid. We should think about changing Election Day to a Friday (go vote, then have a three-day weekend to celebrate or mourn), or even Sunday, like France and many other democratic countries do. And if not that, then for crying out loud, could Congress please at least make Election Day a national holiday? It’s the most important day in the year for our democracy! Can’t we justify a holiday to celebrate our right to vote? After all, we celebrate Independence Day, and we have Labor Day to celebrate work, right?

I suppose there is some political justification why Election Day is not a holiday, but my assumption is that the voter turnout would be a whole lot higher if it were. And unless you are an amoral cynic like Karl Rove who wants to take more voters off the rolls (which makes one little less than a traitor, to my mind), more people voting means more interest in what our bodies of government do and how they do it. That can only mean a better, stronger democracy for all of us. Can’t it?…

Next: I discuss the suspension of habeas corpus, spawned by the heinous, Orwellian PATRIOT Act.

Thank God that there is still room in the increasingly crowded — and right-wing-leaning — news & talk show world for people like Bill Moyers.

I think i first saw Moyers on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart a few years back, and was impressed with his approach to and analysis of the news. About a month ago, he did a guest spot on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher — a podcast which I listen to religiously (I can’t watch it, since we no longer subscribe to HBO) — to promote his new show on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal.

I don’t have much time to watch TV , though — except for The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and my sister’s show, Ms. Adventure — but to my delight, i found the podcast of the Bill Moyers Journal on iTunes, and have started listening to the weekly broadcasts. Now, i admit that i have a slightly liberal bias when it comes to the news (as if the fact that i like The Daily Show and Real Time hadn’t already tipped off anyone to that), but Moyers’ show is a breath of fresh air — and good journalism — in an increasingly jingoistic talk-show environment here in the USA.

If you have not seen or heard Moyers’ show, you owe it to yourself to at least watch the premiere episode, called “Buying the War.” It is at once illuminating, sickening, and terrifying. Nothing I have yet seen has left me more distressed about the state of our democracy and our “free” press than this show. The damning evidence it presents against the Bush administration’s false pretenses for dragging this country into war in Iraq makes me wonder why more of Bush’s inner circle, including Bush himself, are not already in jail, or facing impeachment — or a firing squad.

Ah, but that’s a topic for another day… Anyway, the podcasts of Bill Moyers Journal i have heard so far are all good exposés on political corruption, malfeasance in office, and other things which should alarm any voting citizen of this country. Check it out; you’ll be glad you did — or incredibly depressed. But at least you’ll be well informed.

As noted in Part I of this entry, Gabriel started Little League a month ago, and had his first real baseball game two weeks ago. So, how did he do? Have a look for yourself.

This is Gabriel getting his first base hit — which, despite the photo here showing the ball in flight with some decent air under it, was a mere blooper between third base and the mound that he beat out for a hit. Hey, you take what you can get at age 5 and in your first game.

And, ya gotta admit, Gabriel’s form looks good, especially for a rookie: good posture and weight balance, good hand position, good follow-through. Once G-dog (as his Uncle Thomas calls him) learns this game some more, he’s going to have a really sweet swing.

And, as noted earlier, he already has good wheels. On a team of 5- to 9-year olds, Gabriel is one of the three youngest but is the second or third fastest on the team already. Here he is scoring his first run, after getting a single, moving to second on another infield hit, and then scoring on a double.

For the record, in his first official at-bat, Gabriel hit a sharp ground ball right back to the pitcher, who threw him out. Gabriel then singled and scored, grounded out sharply again, and then singled in his fourth and final at-bat, driving in a run and then scoring his second run. Gabriel’s break-out performance earned him “Player of the Week” honors from his coach. Woo-hoo!!! (OK, not really. He got POTW for bringing post-game treats for the team. But there is some truthiness to that statement.)

And finally, here is a photo of Gabriel playing left field. Given his intent expression, he is obviously taking instructions from one of the bench coaches… I hope… There are several metaphors that would fit here, of course: Gabriel is already outstanding in his field (buh!); Gabriel is out in left field (BUH!)…

Gabriel has played several positions so far. He’s been platooning with the other first-year players in the outfield, which is where the rookie kids are usually put to start off with, since they really aren’t ready or able to handle being infielders yet. But he’s mostly played LF and CF, where he can utilize his blazing speed to chase down balls that get through the infield (as they frequently do, unfortunately).

Gabriel has also played catcher, which — given the fact that this is tee-ball, so there’s really nothing to catch — has to be the most useless field position in all sports. The sole task of the “catcher” in tee-ball is to place the ball on top of the tee for the hitter, and then get the heck out of the way. You may as well equate being the catcher in tee-ball with being the designated hitter in the American League. Hey, but at least the catchers in tee-ball are out on the field…

We’ll report back later in the season on Gabriel’s progress. We’ll have video from one of his games up on the site, too — as soon as I can figure out how to transfer stuff from my digicam to my PC…