The first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, Keith Ellison, D-Minn. announced that he wants to lay his hand on the Koran when he takes his oath of office in January 2007. Some conservative neoclowns such as Dennis Prager are crying foul, stating that doing so would undermine the very fabric that the United States was built upon. I must vehemently disagree.
When this country was established, the founding fathers stated that the people of the nation would have the freedom to choose whatever religion they deemed fit, and that there would be a separation of church and state. It is called Freedom of Religion. After all, the founding fathers were escaping religious persecution in England, and in so sailing to America, they became free to practice whatever religion, or no religion they wished. The latter of which is called Freedom from Religion. Now the Conservative Right continues to push the bible down the throats of those who don't ascribe to it. Sound familiar? Well that is what is happening in Afghanistan and to a lesser extent, Iraq right now, the forcing of religious dogma on an unwilling populace. Prager, in his article insists that America is interested in only one book, the Bible. Hogwash. There are millions of Americans who don't read the Bible and could care less about the Bible. Many of these people practice other religions and worship different deities; Muhammad, Lao-Tzu, Buddha, the Sun, the Almighty Dollar bill.
Swearing into office is currently done with the Bible, but not everyone in this country reads or follows the teachings of that great book, hence Ellison's insistence that he allow to swear in with the Koran, his religion's great book. It shouldn’t be much of an issue that he wants to be sworn in with his hand on the Koran, but events such as 9/11 changed all that. It seems that the right wing conservative neoclowns of this country want the citizens of this country to bow down to the Bible, and insist that no other religious book matters to the people that make up the fabric of this great nation. What Dennis Prager and his ilk are pushing is a religious war of their own, on a changing American demographic. Prager claims that allowing Ellison to swear into office on the Koran will do more damage to the "unity of America to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9-11." America is a nation where its citizens, of which Ellison is one, has the right to practice whatever religion they deem fit, not a nation where religion is forced upon its citizens.
As one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson said in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1779:
"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Uncle Ramon
My family and I paid a visit to my Uncle Ramon Sunday afternoon in Beverly Hills. He had flown into LA for a wedding and also to watch the Pacquiao/Morales fight. When I was young, I used to spend time at his house in Bacoor Cavite, and when he was in the States, he'd come to visit my mother, who is his niece. My mom wanted me to come so I went, because usually when he comes to town, I don't visit him so much anymore, but he is getting old, (he'll be 80 next year) and I still like to talk to him. I thought it would be fun.
My Uncle Ramon has led a very colorful life, in his 79 plus years and even though he calls himself "old and tired," he still gets up everyday to go to work in Makati city, he still combs his hair, and generally he is still handsome and very good looking in his old age.
I had several one on one conversations with B movie screen star Ramon Revilla, the man who I always call Uncle Ramon. People can say what they want about him. Playboy, ineffective politician, bad actor. But to me, he has always been a man who has taken care of me when I stayed in his house on Aguinaldo Highway in Bacoor. He has always been, and will be my Uncle Ramon.
We talked about everything and anything. We talked about Nascar, sports, his old amateur boxing days (He was a pugilist before he became a movie star, in part he says, to pay his college tuition, but when his mother found out, she told him to stop because they have plenty of money to pay tuition), surfing in the Philippines, where I had mentioned surfing at Matabunkay Beach in the 80s, he talked about Siargao, (a world class wave that has appeared in Surfer magazine several times) and how the waves were so high, and was astonished when I told him that I could ride them.
We talked about his early days, how he was "discovered" pumping gas at the family gas station in Imus, how he had told his mother to give the gas station to his brother, Carlos, my lolo, because he wanted to pursue his dream on the silver screen. He told me about his current work at the public estates authority, and how much of a bore his time in the senate was. And then he told me about his children. Not so much about them but how many he had. Pegged at 81. I grew up with his batch from the 60s to the 80s born to starlet Azucena Mortel. He told me that he has to continue working at his age not only to keep busy in his years, but also, he still has small children and needs to make sure that they are taken care of.
Then there was his revelation to me that even though he has 81 children, he has never held one of them in his arms when they were babies. I was pretty shocked when he told me that. I then asked him, "Not even Bong or Andeng?" And he replied, "No, not even one of my children."
Perplexed, I went on to ask him why. "I don't like to," he said. "They are too small, I am afraid I might break them." His niece Jacqueline was in the room and her husband Anthony was also in the room at the time, holding his newborn daughter. So I challenged him and told him, "Uncle Ramon, when your daughter Andrea has her first baby, I want you to hold your grandchild in your arms. Andrea will be thrilled." And he was hesitant. "I am scared," he said. and I said "No, you can do it." And then he replied to me, "I will try." I was thrilled to get that response from him. I cannot imagine a 79-year-old man with so many children, and he hasn't carried not one of his babies. He had put it off, claiming he was too masculine at first, then got down to it saying he was scared and might break the baby. He just doesn't know what it is like, and I am now hoping that Andrea will have a child soon so her dad can hold his grandchild in his arms. It will be a sight to see and I hope I am there to see it.
My Uncle Ramon has led a very colorful life, in his 79 plus years and even though he calls himself "old and tired," he still gets up everyday to go to work in Makati city, he still combs his hair, and generally he is still handsome and very good looking in his old age.
I had several one on one conversations with B movie screen star Ramon Revilla, the man who I always call Uncle Ramon. People can say what they want about him. Playboy, ineffective politician, bad actor. But to me, he has always been a man who has taken care of me when I stayed in his house on Aguinaldo Highway in Bacoor. He has always been, and will be my Uncle Ramon.
We talked about everything and anything. We talked about Nascar, sports, his old amateur boxing days (He was a pugilist before he became a movie star, in part he says, to pay his college tuition, but when his mother found out, she told him to stop because they have plenty of money to pay tuition), surfing in the Philippines, where I had mentioned surfing at Matabunkay Beach in the 80s, he talked about Siargao, (a world class wave that has appeared in Surfer magazine several times) and how the waves were so high, and was astonished when I told him that I could ride them.
We talked about his early days, how he was "discovered" pumping gas at the family gas station in Imus, how he had told his mother to give the gas station to his brother, Carlos, my lolo, because he wanted to pursue his dream on the silver screen. He told me about his current work at the public estates authority, and how much of a bore his time in the senate was. And then he told me about his children. Not so much about them but how many he had. Pegged at 81. I grew up with his batch from the 60s to the 80s born to starlet Azucena Mortel. He told me that he has to continue working at his age not only to keep busy in his years, but also, he still has small children and needs to make sure that they are taken care of.
Then there was his revelation to me that even though he has 81 children, he has never held one of them in his arms when they were babies. I was pretty shocked when he told me that. I then asked him, "Not even Bong or Andeng?" And he replied, "No, not even one of my children."
Perplexed, I went on to ask him why. "I don't like to," he said. "They are too small, I am afraid I might break them." His niece Jacqueline was in the room and her husband Anthony was also in the room at the time, holding his newborn daughter. So I challenged him and told him, "Uncle Ramon, when your daughter Andrea has her first baby, I want you to hold your grandchild in your arms. Andrea will be thrilled." And he was hesitant. "I am scared," he said. and I said "No, you can do it." And then he replied to me, "I will try." I was thrilled to get that response from him. I cannot imagine a 79-year-old man with so many children, and he hasn't carried not one of his babies. He had put it off, claiming he was too masculine at first, then got down to it saying he was scared and might break the baby. He just doesn't know what it is like, and I am now hoping that Andrea will have a child soon so her dad can hold his grandchild in his arms. It will be a sight to see and I hope I am there to see it.
Fiery tornado
Last night I had a major nightmare, so much so that I. . ., well anyway. It goes like this. I was in New York City writing at a writer's loft, when news of a fiery tornado had touched down in the city. The place I was in was a standard NYC flat, with living quarters on the first floor and an observation post/writing room on the second. It was really an airy affair that enabled you to go out and view the city lights. Well, anyway, some of us wanted to see where the tornado was heading so we went up to the deck to check it out. At first it seemed far away, but you could definitely see the fire laying waste to almost everything in its past. Then it got closer, and you could feel the heat. Soon it was upon us, just a few blocks away when the fiery winds started to scream and I had to force this girl out of the room to shut the ceiling door. The next thing we know, it is upon us and we all ran for cover in the bathroom, with some of us jumping into the shower. It got hot, then the wind suddenly died, and we escaped unscathed. But sadly the observation room was destroyed. We open the deck door and peered out, and found the deck and room half gone. The tornado had switched directions just at the last second sparing us and half the building. It was a pretty insane dream, as I could feel the heat and see the fire in the tornado. Pretty scary, it woke me up.
Monday, November 13, 2006
My punk Son
let me first say that I love both of my sons dearly. Both are two totally different individuals, and both get on my nerves every now and then. the one now on my DO not talk to list is Jeremy, my youngest. I have been asking him for weeks to get a study partner for Spanish class, yet he refuses to do so. In soccer, he refuses to high five one team mate, and because of this lack of sportsmanship, I feel he didn't make the all star team. He also thinks he knows more than the assitant coach, who has been around soccer a lot longer than Jeremy. He apparently doesn't know how to be a team member with this particular team, which I think has something like a 2-6 record. They suck really badly. But what really sucks is my son's disdain for one of his teammates. This particular fellow is a terrible soccer player, yet he has the most positive attitude on the team, the most vocal yet positive attitudes of all the player's I've seen on jeremy's four different teams. And what has gotten my ire with Jeremy, which caused me to give him the silent treatment (When I get pissed at someone, I won't talk to that person. Today is day two), is Jeremy's lack of respect for his team mate. He sucks, Jeremy says, and I tell him, he sucks but he has a positive attitude, something that Jeremy lacks. Which totally has me peeved. That and his lack of desire to do well in Spanish class. Oh well, if he doesn't make the grade in Spanish class, he will have nothing to whine about when I say we aren't going dirt biking, or fishing, or surfing, or any of the other fun things that father and son do together. "You want to go dirt biking? What are your grades like? They suck? well, too bad, we ain't going to the desert. Sorry, but I've been telling you for weeks, no monhts to get a study group going but you didn't listen. Conceited Jeremy is? Absolutely. And I am extremely disappointed in his behavior.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Irvine Lake
The boy and I went fishing at Irvine Lake on Sunday, hoping to land some of the bigger Rainbow trout that were planted there a few weeks ago. We left at around 430am just to get in line at the gate. good thing we left early, because the line formed fairly fast. When the gate opened at 6am, there were probably more than 60 cars waiting to get in. We were the 17th car. This has been the first time we fished Irvine Lake in about two years, and my boy wanted to try out his new Black Gold that he purchased in Hawaii. I just wanted to go fishing. The boy had packed all the rods that he wanted to bring, but decided he wanted to orphan an Old Garcia Conlon that he just fixed the tip on. He didn't want to bring it. he didn't trust it he said because some of the guides were showing rust. I said nonsense, and packed the 30 year old rod into the back of the truck. The Garcia is a fairly old, ultra light action rod that still does its job as we soon found out during the day we fished. I also brought along my old Daiwa Minispin, which I have had since the 1970s. This is a combo rod and reel that features a single ball bearing super ultra light reel matched to an ultra light rod. The boy has an identical one.
Anyway, we set up on the west shore, as that is where the reports stated all the fish were being caught. We baited up with some Powerbait and waited for the luck to play out. The first catch around us occurred when the guys a few yards down from us hooked into and landed a good sized sub 2lb Rainbow. That was around 7am or so. My boy finally hooked into a Rainbow that came unbuttoned right at the shore. Then about 30 minutes later, I hooked into a good sized 2lb Rainbow on Powerbait. Then about 40 minutes after that, I hooked into another bigger 3.7lb Rainbow on PowerBait. Then the boy gets a 2lb'er on PowerBait. The guy next to us helped land all the fish with his net. He also caught 4 trout during the course of the day and placed them into his basket. Then the boy hooked into a jumper, a whopping 4lb trout that jumped several times before we got it to the net. It was a good sized trout that fought pretty hard. Everything was caught on the dough. The funny thing is, three of the four fish were caught on the standby, the old Garcia Conlon that the boy wanted to leave at home, the rod with the cheap $19 Shimano ultralight reel spooled with four pound Yozuri Hybrid line that had been a nuisance on almost every reel we spooled the line onto. Twists and just basic crappy line. The other rods with regular 3lb line went untouched by the trout, though the Black Gold with 2lb line got a workout from the big trout the boy caught. So is it just dumb luck that the Garcia got the majority of the trout for the day, the line, or what. Who knows. All in all it was a pretty fun day at the lake, cold in the morning warming up when the sun came out, then the breeze hit, then glass in the afternoon. And the guy next to us safely released all his trout before he left. Plus, I also saw a raptor scoop a trout up right out of the lake. Don't know what kind of bird it was but it was pretty cool to see. the last time I saw that was in the early 1980s when I saw a Bald Eagle at lake Skinner do the same thing.
Anyway, we set up on the west shore, as that is where the reports stated all the fish were being caught. We baited up with some Powerbait and waited for the luck to play out. The first catch around us occurred when the guys a few yards down from us hooked into and landed a good sized sub 2lb Rainbow. That was around 7am or so. My boy finally hooked into a Rainbow that came unbuttoned right at the shore. Then about 30 minutes later, I hooked into a good sized 2lb Rainbow on Powerbait. Then about 40 minutes after that, I hooked into another bigger 3.7lb Rainbow on PowerBait. Then the boy gets a 2lb'er on PowerBait. The guy next to us helped land all the fish with his net. He also caught 4 trout during the course of the day and placed them into his basket. Then the boy hooked into a jumper, a whopping 4lb trout that jumped several times before we got it to the net. It was a good sized trout that fought pretty hard. Everything was caught on the dough. The funny thing is, three of the four fish were caught on the standby, the old Garcia Conlon that the boy wanted to leave at home, the rod with the cheap $19 Shimano ultralight reel spooled with four pound Yozuri Hybrid line that had been a nuisance on almost every reel we spooled the line onto. Twists and just basic crappy line. The other rods with regular 3lb line went untouched by the trout, though the Black Gold with 2lb line got a workout from the big trout the boy caught. So is it just dumb luck that the Garcia got the majority of the trout for the day, the line, or what. Who knows. All in all it was a pretty fun day at the lake, cold in the morning warming up when the sun came out, then the breeze hit, then glass in the afternoon. And the guy next to us safely released all his trout before he left. Plus, I also saw a raptor scoop a trout up right out of the lake. Don't know what kind of bird it was but it was pretty cool to see. the last time I saw that was in the early 1980s when I saw a Bald Eagle at lake Skinner do the same thing.
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