It's OK to Kill US Citizen Without Due Process

In the War on Terror--or whatever it may be called today--President Obama has asserted the privilege of being able to order the targeted killing of an American citizen.  According to the Washington Post, Anwar al-Aulaqi has been added to the CIA's kill list, after having been on Joint Special Operations Command's (JSOC) kill list for some months.  The Muslim cleric is linked to an attempt to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day and the Fort Hood killings.

Now, Aulaqi may well be the scum of the earth (or not, as there are always 2 or more sides to every story), but to claim the right to whack one particular U.S. citizen opens up that mighty slippery slope of "where does it end?"  Having ventured one step down that road, what'd be wrong with taking another step with another bad guy?  You're not on the side of the terrorists, are you?

The operative words are due process.  It's one of the things that supposedly makes us the good guys.

Please read more at Emptywheel....

Does it strike you as odd that we're targeting US citizens with no judicial process? Does it strike you as odd that we've got two entirely separate sets of lists on which Americans can be targeted to be killed? Does it strike you as odd that we've now got an apparent turf battle over who gets to kill al-Awlaki?

...and more yet at Shakespearessister

"Barack Obama is claiming the right not merely to imprison, but to assassinate far from any battlefield, American citizens with no due process of any kind."

Tiger's Mindset

Since he's back in the news....

I'd credit this if I could, but I can't seem to locate the original link. So my disclaimer is that the following quote, made in reference to Tiger Woods, is not mine.  And, nope, it's not about sex.  What the writer does say is so much more interesting--to me--than if it had been about Tiger's marital issues:

Like so many other mega-celebrities who become famous too early, it's as though they never properly develop the part of their brain that controls this question: "How can I win over the person I'm talking to right now?" When you become famous too early, you don't have to win over anyone. You just have to exist. You become constantly wary. You start watching what you say around people you don't know. You measure any potential friend or business partner by one question: "What do they want from me?"

Now, me on the other hand, I go thru life being open, trusting, and unwary, not willing to default into suspicion unless there is clear evidence that someone is snaking me. Sure, I get burnt on occasion, but by and large it's been a reasonably successful strategy for nearly 6 decades. And it's a lot less work than always being on one's guard.

Of course, the linkage to UltraRunning?  Seems to me that UltraRunners, on the whole, are open and trusting people, quite unlike the Tiger model above.  Maybe it's all that backcountry time, when we can ponder our great fortune at being able to run in such places, revel in our easy comraderie with our running peers, and smile at the sheer joy of living.  When we're in the moment, it's just the running--and this "no-demand" pact with the backcountry seems to extend to everyday life.

For the Children

This past Easter weekend was magnificent, weather wise—the temperature was at near-record highs, the sky was blue, life was good. We had a large family gathering at our home on Saturday, some 18 people, ranging in age from my father-in-law, at age 82 probably one of the youngest WWII vets (he saw service in 1945 as a 17 year old) to granddaughter Miss Sophia, who arrived a month ago. Mister Tristan was the next youngest, at just over 2 years of age.

This family, as do all families, has had its share of grief, of sadness, of tragedy….and joy, happiness, and contentment. This weekend’s gathering was happy and tranquil, and to a large extent all about the children--the Easter baskets full of treats nestled in their (fake) grass, the colored eggs, the egg hunt, the bean bag toss in the back yard….

When I think, say, of the recent issues of the sexual abuse and cover-up scandal rocking the Catholic Church, or Tiger Woods’ recent difficulties as he re-enters tournament play, I can’t help but think that if we so-called “mature” people would ALWAYS guide our actions by the credo, “Is this good for the children?” then we’d all be much better off. Especially the children.

In the case of the Pope and high ranking Vatican officials, naturally we first must observe that the actual abuse of a child, of course, is wrong. But then when they put protecting the welfare of the Catholic Church as an institution above that of protecting the welfare of defenseless children, they committed an unconscionable, unforgiveable act. When Tiger Woods chose to dally with women outside of his marriage, he deliberately chose to place his desires above the welfare of his children. Again, unconscionable.

Our children are a gift, and as children do not have the ability to defend themselves. That’s up to the responsible adults.

For the children….remember and act upon it.

To connect this to UltraRunning (and of course this’ll be a stretch!), I strive mightily to not have my ultra pursuits negatively affect my wife and family. But the fact remains that when I’m away doing ultra things I am torn between the need to be home versus the need to keep myself sane and healthy via running. Balance in all things, but whenever in doubt, the default setting must be to always choose in favor of the children.

(Photo credit here.)

"First" Run

Took the whole week off running since the 100 last Saturday. Went out today (Monday—I’m taking a long weekend!) for a slow and gentle 3 miler now that the blisters on the soles of my feet are not tender any more.

The run went fine, looking forward to rejoining my noontime running buddies out on the perimeter probably tomorrow for 6.

Official Umstead Results

Results are official.  It's hard for me to believe that one week ago I had just finished the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run.  Click on 2010 Results for all the nitty gritty detail.

Official results: I ran 22:35, placing 56th of 133 finishers.  Not bad for a 58 year old grandfather!

Economics and UltraRunning

I'm not an economist but I can follow economic discussion and theory if it's provided in layman's terms. Anyone with half a brain must know by now that at the macro level, this nation's revenues and expenditures are out of whack, and probably unsustainable.

Dave Johnson at Seeing the Forest (scroll down on that site to see his post for March 30th, entitled Dear Deficit Commission, It's Not Hard) does exactly that in 4 simple charts, that lay out the deficit, tax rates, Federal debt, and the Defense budget. I can't even steal a quote to insert here because 90% of Dave's post consists of simple charts--and I mean simple as in 6th-grade-understandable--with only a couple of words to amplify.  Here's one of his 4 charts for a teaser:

Please click over there to see the whole post at  http://seeingtheforest.com/

Oh, the UltraRunning connection: our leisure time is intimately connected to our financial well being.  We can run if we otherwise are secure in our lives.  And economic security is no longer a given....

A Feminist Perspective

One of my (almost) daily reads is Echidne of the Snakes. I consider myself to be a feminist, and strive to improve my understanding of women's issues by reading some feminist blogs such as Echidne's.

When I went there on Wed after not having visited the site since last week, I found not only 1 post that I thought was worthy about sharing with the Mister Tristan audience, but 4 such posts. Note: the blog is continuous, sequenced by date, so you'll just need to scroll down to see the separate posts mentioned below:

1.  Repentance During The Holy Week of Christianity (30 March): about the Pope's complicity in covering up the rape of children. 

They tell us that they are speaking on behalf of a divine source, after all. They tell us how we should live our lives, what is wrong and what is right. For all this they get freedom from taxes, lots of kowtowing and respect. Something has to be given in return, and at a minimum that something should be higher ethical standards of personal behavior.

2.  The Black Widows (also 30 March): about the recent Russian female suicide bombers.

"While there is no single reason women decide to give up their lives, experts say they have usually suffered a traumatic event that makes them burn with revenge or question whether they want to live. This can be the death of a child, husband or other family member at the hands of Russian forces or a rape. Russian authorities have said the women are sometimes drugged."

And why do men become suicide bombers or terrorists? What drives them to do that? That question is not asked as often which is insulting to men. It's as if all men could just become suicide bombers and we don't really have to wonder about the reasons they have, however distorted they may be.

3.  Stripped Bare (29 March): about banning strip clubs in Iceland, and particularly the variations in how newspapers covered same.

That's where we stand: The Icelandic ban on strip clubs is under lifestyles/women and the U.S. coverage is a concern about spending tax money on the titillation of men who work for the Republican party.

4.  A Small Corrupt Clique of Men Shouldn’t Rule Anything by Anthony McCarthy (27 March): another about the corruption in the Vatican hierarchy (and, I hasten to add, NOT against the rank and file ordinary Catholics who do good work from within the church).

The use of scripture to explain things is a sometimes thing and, at times, a two edged sword. The vast variety of texts by different authors writing in various conditions and of varying experience passed down to us in copies of varying textual quality and authenticity, lends itself to contradiction. But I don’t believe the text in which Jesus said that people who corrupted children would have been better of drowned with a millstone around their neck is really ambiguous. Pope Benedict has had a hand in corrupting children. Many Cardinals such as Bernard Law have permitted the abuse of children...But this pope, who has been among the greatest proponents of the revival of confession, is stonewalling on his own, disqualifying, sins. The hypocrisy of the conservatives in control of the hierarchy doesn't seem to have a bottom.

Emotions and UltraRunning

I know I promised NOT to post anything more regarding the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run until results are posted on the web site--but I fibbed. After all, this blog purports to be about the "softer side of UltraRunning" so I'd be remiss if I did nothing but Chuck Norris posts, right?

UPDATE: I see that esults are now up!!

With that stirring introduction, I'd like to explore and share some of my emotions experienced during this 100 mile run. After all, I had plenty of time to think...22 hours and 36 minutes.

I think that many, if not most, UltraRunners experience some intense emotions during an ultra. Mine ranged from overt crying with real tears, thru choking up and being unable to speak, to peaceful going along with the moment, to outright euphoria.

I actually cried real tears as I crossed the finish line. It was the culmination of so many months and miles of hard work that finally paid off, and all those pent-up emotions came pouring out when the volunteer at the timing tent at the finish said "Well done!" and handed me my silver belt buckle (silver commemorating a sub-24 hour finish). I shook hands with my pacer, Rob, whom I did not know in advance, who had volunteered to pace anyone who wished a companion runner overnight. I was indeed lucky that he joined me for my last lap and I think that Rob also felt lucky to be part of my final lap (at least it added another dimension to pacing beyond just any lap of the course).

Earlier I had gotten choked up when I was telling the story to someone I was running with of my 6 year old granddaughter, Miss Doodybug, who had had a very rough landing during her birth. Among several problems, she had a hip dysplasia issue that necessitated a body cast being put on her, from armpits to toes, as soon as she came home from the neonatal ICU. This lasted some 3-4 months during which time we were not sure whether she'd ever even walk. The cast had a hole the size of your hand on Miss Doodybug's bottom into which a diaper could be stuffed, pad-like, to catch her waste. The cast was cut off and replaced every month or so as she grew.

Now Miss Doodybug not only walks, but runs normally. When they cut off her final cast, I kept one of the toe parts and attach it to my running pack for every race, for inspiration (note that at that time, it'd still be well over a year until we'd know if she could walk).

The cast reminds me NEVER to take my running for granted--it is a gift.

Also I got all choked up while running in Lap 6 with another pacer, Judy, when she shared the info that she was a left a widow by her healthy husband's unexpected death at age 53, and then again when we parted ways at the finish line with a hug. Her steady companionship truly anchored the middle of my run and enabled my strong finish.

Most of the time I was just cruising and enjoying the run. After all, what's not to like--running in the woods all day with 250 of my closest friends that I haven't yet met?

I did experience some feelings of euphoria during the late afternoon, shortly before sundown. I realized that I was running ahead of plan to the point that I was going to complete my 5th lap during daylight hours, leaving only 3 laps for the overnight.  Also that a finish was inevitable unless the wheels fell suddenly, completely and unexpectedly off**. As I was walking up the hill around mile 10.5 or so, just past the Sycamore Creek bridge, I suddenly felt supremely alive, vibrant, and full of the possible. I wanted to hug myself and leap and dance and stick my arms out like I was an airplane and shout just out of sheer exuberance.

Running ultras has so enriched my life, providing me a range of physical, mental, and emotional experiences far beyond what I would have experienced as a sedentary person.

**Note: it's interesting how your experiences affect what you think of as normal--UltraRunning truly gives you a different perception of distances and what's doable.  A measure of my insane confidence at this point was that I still had 36.5 miles to cover and felt like it was in the bag....

Like I said above, Miss Doodybug's cast reminds me to NEVER take running for granted--it is a gift.