Epistolary

Some ancient forms of communication still attract adherents because of their power to engage the mind, heart and hands in service of sharing experience and observation. Good letters between people who care about the subjects deeply can certainly make for interesting reading. With that mind, I’ve edited the exchange that follows between me and my friend Marty who lives in Nevada. He checks in with me about the Mets and a few other little topics.

Marty: 29 Apr 20
It wasn't pretty tonight.

DMS: Sunday, May 1, 2011, 12:00 PM
That was a whippin'. Saturday wasn't a win, but they only lost by one run... sigh.


Marty: Mon, 2 May 2011 12:15:47 -0700
I never knew a win could be so painful. The Mets blew every opportunity they were given.

DMS: Monday, May 2, 2011, 5:00 PM
Painful for who, the fans or bin Laden?Ha, ha. Anyway... yes, they left a lot of men on base, but sometime you have to play those extra inning affairs in order to... awww, who am I kidding? They just fucking suck with RISP and it's been that way for the last five, six seasons. At least they're off a day and starting a homestand.

Marty: Mon, 2 May 2011 15:08:07 -0700

We need a clutch hitter on this team, Dave. Ike can't carry the load by himself.So, you think OBL is really dead, eh? No pictures, no video, no body...just a quick dump in the sea at an unknown place. If they have the DNA of 9 or 10 family members, do you think they were matched to OBL's DNA or someone else in the family?That's the problem with Washington these days...what do we believe and what don't we? Too many things are accepted at face value with no evidence. And, no, this isn't recent...how long has the Pentagon be around?We need people in Washington who are honest enough to admit they will lie.


DMS: Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 9:24 AM

The NY Times dropped the honorific for bin Laden, no "Mr." Not the only thing that's been left out of the story, as far as I can see. Quick and clean kill shot, body disposed of in less than 24 hours. Jack Bauer is still on the payroll, it seems. At any rate, this is a new chapter and it’s a nice set up for the 2012 election season. I can see it now, "Listen Mr. President, its simple. Focus on competency, achievements. And you got averting a depression (so we says) and you got bin Laden. None of them GOP jerks can say that." And none of them will. On the Mets: gotta get some thunder in the middle of the lineup. Beltran and Wright just ain't doin' it, but it'll come around. Believe.

Marty: Wed, 4 May 2011 00:23:43 -0700

PAINFUL!!!Something is bugging me, maybe you have an answer.
Supposedly, we got the "tip" on OBL about nine days ago. At that point, we sent in SEALs, Special Ops, you name it. Isn't it odd that right after we started this supposed mission, Robert Gates called it a day? Why the heck wouldn't he resign AFTER this mission, and say something like, "I stuck around to get OBL, I'm now passing the baton."? There are 100 things that don't really add up (IMO), but that kinda bothers me. Why would a guy be a party pooper before the party?I guess OBL being unarmed while reportedly having a 40 minute shootout with SEALs makes sense...don't ya think?Friggin’ Mets...what are we gonna do?

DMS: Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 9:23 AM

Lousy loss, that one. Went over to my neighbor's house for his homemade pizzas (delicious) and a few beers, and thought we looking at a nice start to a homestand. Too many LOB. Too many. And poor bullpen work by Buchholz. Garbage. Anyway, Gates had announced his retirement already and the Cabinet shuffle was underway as well. That's not necessarily the suspicious bit of this, timing-wise. What bothers me is the neat, tight storyline we're getting. The 40 minutes, yet unarmed (except for his favorite wife, Human Shield), is rather problematic, but I guess we'll be going over this like the Zapruder film for a while so it's best just to let it wash over you and sing "We Are The Champions".The SEALs probably encountered his Pakistani helpers and they put up a fight, until they realized it was best just to lead him out and give them a clean shot. What a world.

Marty: Wed, 4 May 2011 10:34:58 -0700

Hey Dave, I guess the solution isn't scoring six runs...if ya give up seven runs.

Good points. For what is a tremendous worldwide event, the secrecy behind it is pretty confusing. To wit --

1. We supposedly have OBL's wife in custody. What's her name, what’s she look like, no pictures...?

2. The SEALs who supposedly performed this mission are being given a secret ceremony. Why secret? Doesn't the entire world want to know who these heroes are, and watch them get rewarded?

3. The ship carrying OBL's body was full of sailors....yet none of them sent a text to anyone about OBL being on board, none took pics of anything and sent them to friends, nothing.

4. Where did this ship find a Muslim cleric so quickly to perform the supposed ritual? Who is he? I could go on for pages...you get my point. If the WH supposedly OK'd this mission 10 days ago, didn't they have ample time to figure out what to do when OBL was killed? Couldn't they decide in time what to do about releasing photos? They're acting like this was a total shock and they have to wing it, Here's a theory: OBL was found dead in a cave, let's say from natural causes. When the White House was notified, it said, "Don't tell anyone, we can make like our troops got the guy!" Can such a theory be disproved?

Do I dare watch the Mets tonight?

DMS: Wed, 5/4/11

Marty --Point 1 -- Damn good question. First she was a human shield, now she's uninjured. I don't know what gives.

#2 -- Secret ceremony? That's a good one. The only reason to keep it secret is to keep the SEALs identity safe from fatwa and jihad (the guys with the tailor shop down on 36th & 7th). Then again, you'd think they've already signed away their rights to consult on books, movies and the rest of it.

#3 -- Credit the good sense and stalwart nature of sailors (see: Capt. of U.S.S. Enterprise, the guy who made the homophobic videos) never to ever say anything about a secret mission. During WWII, maybe, but not now. It stinks more as time goes on.

#4 -- Standard issue for navy ships nowadays. Pick-a-chaplain, any chaplain. Sure. Sure. And as for telling the story to the public, it's in line with everything about the Obama Administration. Like the dog that chased the fire truck, didn't have a clue what to do with it when he caught it.

Marty: 4 May 2011 12:29:10

Dave,
You know by now that no pictures will be released. Interesting question:We're not releasing pics because the images would enrage our enemies. Yet....killing the guy won't? It's kinda hard to believe the strongest nation on Earth is bitch-scared of nuts with boxcutters, wouldn't you agree?

We could debate this for months...let's move on to what's important --A .251 team batting average and a 4.43 TEAM era isn't a recipe for success.

DMS: Thu, 5/5/11

No pictures and no words from Mr. Obama at Ground Zero, on today, his first visit at President. So that's that.
Agreed. We could chew it over for a while, but it does make me think of the Kennedy assassination: Oswald gets killed by Ruby, Ruby gets whacked and well, there's your story. Too simple, too pat. As for the Mets: no hitting + no pitching = no joy in Metville. The free agent solution is out, and blockbuster (read: Reyes) trading may be the only way to get the thumper and hurler we're looking for. And then there's Johan to look forward to. Like a trade in the midseason, without giving anybody up. Keep hope alive!

Marty: Thu, 5 May 2011 10:28:25 -0700

Dave,
Last night was horrible. The people in the seats caught a draft from the Mets bats whiffing all night long.Notice what's NOT in the headlines anymore? Slower than expected growth, job numbers coming in lousy, nothing about Libya, nothing about Syria and/or Iran, nothing about gas prices....kinda makes ya think something was planned just in time, don't ya think?In one regard, this White House is no different than the Bush one. They love to point to growing corporate earnings and gloat about them. Didn't the Dems crucify the big companies during the Bush years for ripping us off? Now, they rip us off and all's well with the Dems. What gives?There's very little difference between the two parties...one (GOP) will admit they'll screw ya; the other (Dems) will play the song and dance and still screw ya. $$$ knows no party affiliations, it's up for grabs by all.That's why I stand with the kooks who wear George Washington costumes at Tea rallies. They wave "Don't tread on me" flags, they denounce Socialism, they want drones guarding the borders, but more importantly....if not for them, would ANYONE in Washington be talking about how this country is the Titanic and the water filling the ship is the deficits and the debt? The Dems never cut anything, the GOP never cut anything, so who's the party that's trying to save this country? Both the GOP and the Dems have kicked the can to get us to where we are now...how can anyone still support either one of them?Even Ryan's "massive cuts" leave us with a $1 Trillion deficit next year. I don't know why it's praised by anyone...is that any kind of answer?Higher taxes can be absorbed in a good economy but they can't be absorbed in a bad one. Does anyone want higher taxes with $5 gas and 10% inflation on the way?There's only one solution: If the OBL pics are real, put them on pay-per-view...the whole country will pay to see them. Think of the revenue generated!

That's my sermon from the abyss.

DMS: Thursday, May 5, 2011, 4:14 PM
Marty: The headlines reflect the hottest, most visceral thing the reporters can grab hold of at the moment. That's always been true and will continue to be so until it doesn't lead if it ain't bleeding. White Houses are very much alike mainly because of the pressures of the job, the authority held within. W was excoriated for expanding presidential power with "enhanced interrogation" and the Patriot Act, John Yu's memos and the rest of it, but Obama has made no real moves to scale that power back or hand it over to an ombudsman or anything of the kind. That's because presidential power is like crack -- one hit is too many, a million will never be enough. My analysis isn't as narrow as that, though. The rip-offs you speak of will continue as long as the corporation is considered a person (except when they do something horribly wrong like spill a kajillion gallons of oil into the Gulf) who doesn't have to pay taxes and can influence elections through donations and thoroughly dominate our lives. They, the corporations, own this government and until somebody takes it back, we'll all be preaching from the same lip of the abyss. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm advocating your Tea Party-type foolishness, because deficit reduction of the magnitude Ryan has proposed and even the Bowles commission's recommendation isn't a real priority for our future growth. When there are more markets open around the world and demand ginned up to fill, we'll start getting back to fiscal solvency. Reducing a man's (or a nation's) debt means nothing until income actually grows again. So you're right, higher taxes on the public aren't the way out of this (right now). Taxes going up on the people who bring good things to life (nukes, "The Celebrity Apprentice", light bulbs we can't buy anymore) might help to do the trick, but that's only a suggestion based on my own view of fairness. The rest of the Tea Party stuff, in my view, is so tinged with xenophobia, lack of historical insight and outright bigotry that it's been discredited except on MSNBC and Fox News. As on general principle, I'd never pay-per-view anything. No cable. But especially not a hanging or an execution, even of the worst scumbag in the world. Okay, well maybe for the Philly Phanatic.

Marty: 5 May 2011 14:15:08 -0700

Thoughtful as ever, you sly fox! A couple of points, if I may:

1) The Tea Party is laced with racism? If that's true, please point to a speech by any Tea Party member where race is an issue. Booting illegals out and keeping them out is an issue...but do we have anything against keeping legal Mexicans (or anyone else legal) here? I'm Tea Party, and you're my friend, Dave....you could be purple with spots, I don't give a shit (as long as you like boobs, drink beer, and root for the Mets!)

1a) When we claim we want to being America back to the 1950s, we don't mean segregation, sexism, and all that jazz. In the 1950s, what was America? A manufacturing powerhouse with a booming economy and respected around the world. Kids could play outside, Americans weren't groped at airports, and other countries didn't dictate our policies. If those things are bad, than so be it!

2) Consider that the US now pays almost $600 Billion a year in interest payments. What could be done with that $600 Billion? In 10 years, the amount will double, leading to over $1 Trillion a year in interest payments. I doubt we'll ever see a balanced budget again, but wouldn't one be nice....to keep the total from reaching over $1 Trillion a year paid out?I remember the 2006 Dem rallying cry how deficits were going to hurt our kids and grandkids. Now, the rallying cry is if you cut deficits, it'll hurt granny and grandpa. But think about what deficits are doing to everyone....the Dollar Index is down 8% in 2011, commodities are soaring, inflation is soaring (if you include the things we use everyday like bread and milk), and nobody seems to be too concerned about it. That's a real danger!A point about corporate taxes:OK, GE and several others pay little or no tax for many reasons. Everyone wants that revenue taxed, right?Let's suppose the Government said, "OK big companies, you now have to pay 33% tax on all revenue." I picked 33% because it makes my example mathematically simple:Let's suppose right now a company sells a $1,000 product that's in high demand, and it's profit margin in 10% ($100). It pays little or no tax.Now comes a 33% tax on that profit margin....You think the companies would pay $33 for every $100 earned on an item? Consider this....The price of the item goes from $1,000 to $1,050. Then with a 15% profit margin (now $150, up from $100), the company pays the 33% tax....or, the $50 increase in sales price. The company still winds up with its 10% profit ($100 on the item), so who winds up paying the tax for the company? You got it...the consumer!

Aren't shell games fun?