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While doing some research Monday, I stumbled across a site called Newsmeat, which has a search engine for political contributions over $200 dating back to 1978. Out of curiosity, I plugged in my name. I was more than a little surprised when it indicated I contributed $353.35 in August 2004 to a political action committee known as America Coming Together (ACT).
Since I didn’t recall the organization, let alone a contribution to it, I went to the campaign finance reports at the FEC site. Sure enough, on page 4,878 of ACT’s quarterly report filed in mid-October 2004, there’s my name, home address, occupation and law firm. It also shows ACT supposedly received the $353.35 from me on August 21, 2004.
Needless to say, I was quite intrigued, what with the odd amount of the purported contribution and the fact I remembered neither the organization nor any contribution. Turns out ACT was backed by George Soros and was a liberal group with the goal of defeating Dubya in the 2004 election. It disbanded in 2005. According to the excellent search function at Open Secrets, I was one of 18 South Dakotans to contribute $200 or more to ACT. I don’t know any of the other contributors and it would be interesting to know if the others made the contributions attributed to them.
While it sounds like the type of group I would support, my Quicken program shows no contribution to ACT in 2004 or at any time. In fact, the amount listed on the FEC report exceeds my total political contributions in 2004, all of which went to two state legislative candidates and a state ballot issue committee. Given the accuracy of the personal information in the FEC report, I really wonder who or what “borrowed” my name to funnel money to this PAC.
POLITICS, n. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary
Okay, it’s time to come clean on an obsession. But I have to thank Sam at Book Chase for leading me to this column by David McKie in The Guardian for giving me the courage. It came came only because they showed me I am not alone.
My (our) obsession? Whenever I see pictures of bookcases in newspapers, magazines and the like, I am compelled to attempt to decipher the titles of the books. In fact, my fascination has gone so far to lead me to pause DVDs (usually documentaries) to see what books are on the shelves in the background.
Like my fellow addicts, I seem to think seeing what books a person owns tells me more about that person. The basis for my belief? If you look at the overflowing bookshelves in my house, I think it would be impossible not to come away with an idea of the topics that interest me, particularly since I am one of those who tends to winnow out various books as shelf space decreases. That means that the books you see are likely to be the ones I found most important to me.
So, if you ever see me with my head perpendicular to the normal alignment of a a newspaper or magazine, I’m likely snooping in someone’s bookcase.
When a book and a head collide and a hollow sound is heard, must it always have come from the book?
Georg Lichtenberg, The Waste Books
The danger isn’t in the war; it’s in the attitude that makes war possible.
Philip K. Dick, The World Jones Made
Truth be told, I am a very fortunate man with an excellent life. This month I will have been married 26 years to a woman I love more today than ever (and who, for reasons I will never ever ever understand, says the same about me.) I have three bright, self-reliant and basically wonderful kids, with wonderful being a gross understatement. I have a Chocolate Lab the entire family cherishes (who, sadly, has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer). I have a good job and a standard of living that exceeds probably 75 percent or more of South Dakotans.
Still, anyone who knows me would tell you I tend to be a tad glum. You know the old saw about whether you see the glass as half full or half empty. I’m more likely to say, “What effin’ glass?” For a variety of reasons, I am working to change that. As has so often happened in my life, there is occasional serendipity. One leads to the title of this post.
There’s a variety of podcasts to which I regularly listen, including that of To The Best Of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio. (Aside to South Dakota Public Broadcasting: you are doing your listeners a disservice by not carrying this program, one of the most intelligent and enjoyable public radio shows around.) In late April, TTBOOK did a program called “Hope Springs Eternal.” Among the segments was an interview with Danny Wallace, the author of Yes Man, a recounting of his year-long s experiment to “say yes more” and to as much as possible.
During the course of the interview, Wallace said something that, given my state of mind at the time, reached out and grabbed me. In fact, it grabbed me so much, it led me to adopt “just say yes” as a new mantra. Here’s what Wallace said:
Yes is a word of risk. No is a word of comfort. No’s a word which means nothing’s gonna change, nothing’s gonna be different because you’re closing yourself off in this little circle, this little protective bubble of no. But when you say yes, that’s when you step out of that circle and you put yourself up to the whims of life.
Whether out of routine, predisposition or whatever, I realized I’ve said no a lot. That little protective bubble, while safe, can also be boring, wearing and stifling. I’m starting/trying to say yes to opportunities, options and things I may have just blown off before. Some of them will be discussed in future posts.
Now I’ll also perhaps discover which adage is more correct: you can’t teach an old dog new tricks or it’s never too late to learn.
Looking up and down this road
I’ve been here before
Can’t be here no more
Title track, Jackson Browne, I’m Alive
The Sioux Falls Stampede are bringing home the first Clark Cup in franchise history after defeating Waterloo 3-0 tonight. Quite an accomplishment for a team that started the season 0-5-1 and spent much of the season in or near last place in the USHL’s strongly competitive western division.
The coaches and players, especially goalie Matt Lundin, caught a lot of flak in the first half or so of the season. But Lundin proved his worth, supposedly playing a superb game in the semi-finals and, of course, getting a shutout in the championship game. It earned him the final four MVP award.
Personally, I think last year’s team, which lost a championship series to Des Moines, may have been a bigger powerhouse. But no one can dispute that this group pulled together as a team. It lead them not only to a league-best record in the second half of the season but the championship that was the goal of every other USHL team eight months ago.
Congrats and best wishes to the players and coaches. Too bad it also means I gotta wait until the fall to see live hockey again.
You’re looking for players whose name on the front of the sweater is more important than the one on the back.
Herb Brooks
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