Canti-cide or Parody?

Top of the evening everyone...

There is a discussion about canti-cide versus parody in my house.  Changing a word here and there is canti-cide.  Rewriting an entire stanza enters the world of parody.  As one might be able to guess, canti-cide might warrant criminal charges.

Examples:

Canti-cide, based on "The Boxer," by Simon and Garfunkel:

I am just a rabbi though my story's seldom told...

Parody:

What do you call it when an aging hippy becomes a vegetarian?

This is the dawning of the age of asparagus, age of asparagus, asparagus, asparagus.

Broccoli and cauliflower, jicama and sprouts abounding.  No more pork chops or f'let mignons, golden living dreams of scallions, mystic crystal watermelons, and the cow's true liberation asparagus, asparagus.

This was a long introduction to this blog entry.  Since the advent of COVID omicron, I have had a song in my head that would not go away.  The rest of the lyrics finally came together this evening.  I humbly apologize at this time to Simon and Garfunkel.  The original song was Kodachrome.  

This rendition is called "Omicron."  The tune is the same.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

Omicron

When I look back on all the shots I got in high school,

It's a wonder I get sick at all.

Though all these medications haven't hurt me,

I can see the writing on the wall...

 

 

Omicron...

All your vaccines don't matter

There's no thought about the data

Outside your quarantine hotel window

It's a sunny day o' yeah...

 

I've got CDC shot records

I'll show you all the photographs

O' please just don't stick

That darn swab up my nose

 

If you took all the girls I knew when I was single,

And brought 'em all together for one night.

They would all get stopped right at the border,

Due to new rules just put in tonight...

 

Omicron...

 

Vaccines should take my omicron Vaccines should take my omicron Vaccines should take my Omicron away-ay-ay.

That requires a backbone That requires a backbone That requires a backbone today-ay-ay.

Vaccines should take my omicron Vaccines should take my omicron Vaccines should take my Omicron away-ay-ay.

That requires a backbone That requires a backbone That requires a backbone today-ay-ay.

STEM versus Sociology...

 Good evening to all.

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

We watched Star Trek Into Darkness last night.  Gavi and Jennifer had a dandy time towards the end going through all of the reasons that none of it made any scientific sense.  Injecting Kahn's blood into a tribble would not bring the tribble back to life.  And please note, this is not only a trouble with tribbles.  It would not bring Captain Kirk back to life either.  The space flights from one crippled to ship to the other would never have worked.  The list goes on.  (Please note: there are things that Star Trek got right also, but that is not the point here.)

After dissecting all of the scientific reasons that none of it could work, we finished watching the movie.  The end is quite dramatic, with the prototype of a massive starship crashing into Star Fleet headquarters in San Francisco.

I then pointed out that with all of the scientific analysis that Jennifer and Gavi put into this, there was no need.  Science was not necessary to prove that it is complete fiction and fantasy.  Sociology would be adequate.  How?  It is very simple.  As this massive starship crashes through San Francisco, not one person was taking video on a cell phone.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

Semper Fidelis

Marine Corps Hymn 

Summertime...

 And I was a bit queasy...

Okay.  I apologize for that one, and I was only seasick a couple of times.

I disembarked from the ship today.  My thanks to the crew of USS HOWARD are endless.  I had a great time, made some great friends, had an amazing pizza at a restaurant (kosher!) in Long Beach, CA, and crossed the Pacific.  As we passed each time zone, we set the clocks back one hour.  During my evening prayer over the ship's 1MC (intercom, all you civilians out there), I told everyone that for all of those times we have all complained that we needed one more hour in a day, we had it several times.  The downside to it is that we lost a day as well.

My ship's summer got completely changed.  The ship just completed a change of homeport this morning upon pulling into Japan.  Change of homeport is a big deal.  Families have to pack up and move.  Things must happen on a certain schedule.  As all of the preparations took place, the Russians decided to have the largest naval exercise since the end of the Cold War.  HOWARD was surged forward to keep an eye on them, and to keep them away from our aircraft carrier that was out there at the time.

A couple of things that the Russians might wish to consider...

1.  That was quite the refuelling at sea.  The Russians slowed down to three knots to get it done.  

The US Navy does things a little differently.  Take a look at this picture:

You will notice that there are two ships in this picture.  The second ship is a US destroyer on the other side.  If you are having trouble seeing it, note the slanted mast.  Given that my vantage point in taking this picture could not have been on either of the two ships therein, you must wonder where I was.  I was on my own ship.  The middle ship is the gas station at sea.  She refuelled both of us simultaneously.  And no, we were not going at three knots.  We were at about 13 knots.  Okay...they will learn eventually.

2.  The strike group commander decided also to give the Russians a visual demonstration of our capabilities.  He informed the pilot of what we were going to do.  Then, the aircraft carrier rapidly increased speed, essentially outrunning the helicopter and forcing it to land on one of the support ships.

Maybe the Russians will learn.  In the meantime, they are out of their league.

R/SCG

Azure...

Good evening everyone.

This blog entry is from late June.

Azure...it is sadly not a word we get to use often.  Azure is a shade of blue, normally associated with the sea.  Thus, one who is traveling in the area of the French Riviera is somewhere along la Côte d'Azur, the Azure Coast.

I am somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right now, underway on a US aircraft carrier.  As with all US carriers, it is nuclear-powered.  Shortly, I will transfer to a guided missile destroyer, which will be my home for the next month or so.

Whatever else is happening, I go outside every day.  On my first day on board, the deep blue of the ocean very much caught my eye.  You may remember the closing few minutes of "The Shawshank Redemption."  Morgan Freeman's character Red has decided to break parole.  He is on a bus to find Andy, the main character of the story.

While on the bus, his character is sitting quietly, staring out the window.  The voiceover is Morgan Freeman.  One of the lines is "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams."

We had a liberty port in Hawaii.  Jennifer came out to visit.  The last time we were there was 20 years ago.  This time, we did not need babysitters.  We took this picture on the eastern side of Oahu.

To Morgan Freeman's hope about the Pacific, it is.

Have a good evening everyone.

R/SCG

Flag Etiquette at Sea...

Top of the afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am in Japan right now, where it is Monday.  If you are seeing this blog entry on Sunday, I would like to tell you that Monday is turning out to be a good day.

In international law, national flags fly at the same height.  The implicit message is that no nation is greater than or less than any other nation.  In United States federal law, no flag is allowed to fly above the ensign of the United States.

And yet you just watched my previous blog entry.  There is a flag above the ensign of the United States.  How could this be?

Technically, my initial statement stands.  No flag will fly above the ensign of the United States.  What can fly above the ensign of the United States is certain pennants, and very few of them at that.  The difference is in the number of corners.  A pennant only has three corners.

Which pennants fly above the ensign of the United States?  A ship's commissioning pennant will fly above the ensign.  As well, it is customary to fly a chaplain's pennant above the national ensign when religious services are in progress and are being led by a chaplain (chaplain only, and not a lay leader).

In the video from the previous blog entry, you will note that the pennant flying above the ensign is in the shape of tablets and has Hebrew writing thereupon.  It took eight weeks to get that video.  I was the Jewish chaplain.  The video was taken while I was embarked on USS HOWARD (DDG 83).

R/Chaps

"One Nation, Under God..."

 

I Need a New Travel Agent...

Top of the evening to all....

I need a new travel agent.  I should have read the fine print.

My flight from Honolulu out to the luxury cruise liner was loud and the air conditioning did not work.  A small bag of pretzels would have been lovely.  Instead of an announcement stating that the captain has turned on the seatbelt light, the flight crew suddenly started waving hands wildly.  We all put our heads against the seat backs.  The plane touched down on the cruise liner and stopped in less time and space than necessary to slow a car down from highway speed.

Was there a welcome?  Noooo.  They rushed us off the plane quickly.  Everyone seemed to think that taking in the new scenery was of secondary concern.  Getting off of an operational runway was far more important.

Okay...my connection was supposed to travel to my next stop on Sunday.  Well, that did not happen.  It got put off until Monday (thank you Vladimir Putin).  Then it got put off until Wednesday.  Now I think it is Tuesday.  I would not have minded so much that it was put off, except that I had packed to travel before they passed the word.

Well, at least I have a room.  And the price was sweet.  And the travel agent made sure it was close to the airport in order to make my connection.  Now I know why it was such a great price.  It was very close to the airport.  My amazing lodging is three decks directly below an operational runway.  Planes landing on this runway come in at takeoff speed.*  The ship shakes as they come to an abrupt halt. 

-----Break-----

And now more seriously, all of those great movies cannot capture the drama and excitement of seeing an aircraft carrier flight deck in operation.  To watch a plane come in at takeoff speed and just stop was exciting every time.  On the other end, to watch the same planes go from being at rest to being launched off of the carrier deck in an instant will never get boring.

Transfer to my new duty station will be Tuesday morning.

Have a good evening everyone.

R/Chaplain

*By the way, planes always come in to the carrier at takeoff speed.  If the arresting cable snaps, or if the plane just misses one of the cables, the pilot needs to be at speed to take off again immediately.  One way or another, the plane is going off the ship.  Whether it goes back up or down into the water depends on a pilot's quick reflexes.

Open and Accountable Government

Top of the evening to all.

Tomorrow will be my last day of this COVID-19 quarantine.  This one is utterly ridiculous.  Why?

I came back from the US approximately 14 days ago.  A day or two after my return, there was an Expert Panel Report.  Canada's Minister of Health appointed this expert panel.  Amongst other things, the expert panel reported that:

1.  There is no reason to require quarantine after day 8 and three negative nasal swab tests.

2.  There is no reason to require quarantine for those who are fully vaccinated (I am in that category).

I have sent numerous e-mails to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Health.  In those e-mails, I have asked the following questions:

1.  Why is being completely immunized not sufficient to allow a person out of quarantine?

2.  Why is the completion of eight days and three nasal swab tests not sufficient to allow a person out of quarantine?

3.  Are there lingering concerns that the Expert Panel did not address?  What are they?

4.  Do you trust the findings and recommendations of the Expert Panel?  If so, why are you not implementing policy?  If not, why is there an Expert Panel?

5.  Will the government implement policy based on the Expert Panel's recommendations?  If so, when?  If not, why not?

6.  Why will the Minister of Health not offer any communication on the decision-making process?

Mr. Trudeau spelled out his policy on Open and Accountable Government.  In section G:6, he states that "communicating with the public is an important obligation of the government.  Communications must be factual, timely, and clear."  The lack of any response to the report of the Expert Panel is a betrayal of the promise of Open and Accountable Government.  

Mr. Trudeau, Ms. Hajdu, when will you give a clear response to the report of the Expert Panel?  If there is good reason for maintaining the quarantine, we are prepared to hear it.  We also deserve to hear it.  

We are waiting.

R/SCG

Quarantine

 Good evening to all.

I am in the middle of an entirely unnecessary quarantine right now.  It is with dismay that the powers that be seem unwilling or unable to give even a single reason for maintaining it.

I wrote the lyrics below a few weeks back.  The original song is Those Canaan Days.  It is from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

I humbly apologize to Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

"Those COVID Days," 

     sung to the tune of "Those Canaan Days"

 

Do you remember the good years in North York?

The summers were endlessly gold.

New condos were under construction.

The winters were always too cold.

 

We strolled down the Danforth together,

And everything 'round us was fine.

Now even though our arms are bare, we only get one shot in there,

Et maintenant, we cannot go outside.

 

Chorus:

     Those Trudeau days, we used to know, 

     Where have they gone?

     Where did they go?

     Eh bien, raise your berets, 

     To his sunny ways.

 

Do you remember those wonderful parties?

The splendour of Canada's cuisine.

Poutine, beaver tails, and IPAs, 

The most amazing we have ever seen.

 

It's funny, but since we've had COVID, 

We've gone to the other extreme.

No one comes to dinner now, 

We'd only mask-shame them anyhow,

I even find I'm missing Trudeau's dreams.

 

Chorus:

 

D.S. 

It's funny, but since we've had Justin,

We've fired an abusive GG.

It seems we all misjudged the lad.

He's clearly nothing like his dad.

And how we miss that charity called WE.  (To Coda)

 

Coda:

 

     Those Trudeau days, we used to know, 

     Where have they gone?

     Where did they go?

     Eh bien, raise your berets, 

     To his sunny ways.

 

     Eh bien, raise. your berets, 

     To his sunny ways.

It Bears Repeating...

Good morning to all.

In 2014, there was a significant conflagration between Israel and the murderers hiding behind the general population in Gaza.  At that time, President Obama's press secretary made strong statements regarding Israel's right to self-defence.  

If history is not repeating itself right now, it is at least rhyming.  President Biden, the Secretary of State, and the press secretary have all echoed the Obama administration most emphatically.

Back then, I wrote the following blog entry: Provide for the Common Defence.  

The only thing that would be different between that blog entry and this one is that Rav Jen was in Israel the last time.  This time, Jesse is in Israel (please note that he is in Jerusalem, which is presently quiet).

Other than that, every word stands as is.

וישבו איש תחת גפנו ותחת תאנתו ואין מחריד

May all be able to sit under vine and fig and never be afraid.

R/SCG

Is There Another Way to Write This Headline?

 Good afternoon to all.

My sympatico e-mail logs out to ctvnews.com.  There is an article there about large rocks blocking a road.  Here is the headline: 

"Boulders block Boulder Canyon road near Boulder, Colorado, Boulder County's Sheriff's Office says."

I would like to compliment the person who came up with that headline.  To use the same word four times is quite an impressive feat.

Have a good day.

R/SCG

To the Nice Folks at WaPo Redux...

 Top of the evening to all...

Back in January, numerous news organizations reported that then-President Trump had put substantial pressure on the Secretary of State in Georgia to find illegal votes.  Someone in the know leaked the contents of a phone call between the two people.

Yesterday, the Ides of March, the Washington Post published a long correction, stating therein that Mr. Trump had been misquoted.  On the one hand, there is a difference between a misquote and a fabrication.  On the other hand, at least they published a correction.

The late Senator from the State of New York and former US Ambassador to the United States Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said that we are all entitled to our own opinions.  We are not entitled to our own facts.  With great respect to Mr. Moynihan, I would add that inventing facts does not actually create facts.

When I wrote about this back in October, I wrote that "democracies require tenacious, nosy, and noisy reporters as a check on absolute power."  The Washington Post deserves partial credit here.  They got one out of three.  They were certainly noisy.  However, being overly noisy ultimately cannot hide the failure to be overly nosy.  Being overly noisy cannot turn pure laziness into tenacity.

One out of three is bad, and quite disappointing from the paper that gave Woodward and Bernstein free rein to pursue a two-year investigation into the Watergate break-in.  Katharine Graham would not be pleased.  

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

Leadership...

 Good evening to all...

Leadership...it is a tough term to define, but I know when I see it, and I know it when it is lacking.

It has been lacking of late, in both the US and in Canada.

Whatever else President Biden will get right or wrong, I accept that his politics will differ from mine, and that is okay.  Leadership fails, however, when the nightmare taking place in China is chalked up to "cultural differences."  Sorry...no.  When a population is systematically segregated, raped, and prohibited from speaking its preferred language, that is not a cultural difference.  That is genocide.  To chalk it up to cultural differences is a disgrace to the Uighur Muslims.  It cheapens the sacrifice of the Jews of Europe, of the Armenians, of the victims of Pol Pot, and of so many more.

Would that such a failure be limited to one country.  For the Prime Minister to skip out on a vote on this very issue goes beyond poor leadership to outright cowardice.  For the PM: I accept your premise that what happened in Canada with First Nations and residential schools was genocide.  What criteria did you use to reach that conclusion?  What is different in the case of the Uighurs that you have not reached a similar conclusion?

Four years ago, VADM Mark Norman was relieved of duty as Vice Chief of Defence Staff.  More than two years of legal wrangling ensued, during which PM Trudeau openly said that it would end up in court.  He said this prior to any charges being filed.  Ultimately, a very skilled lawyer ripped the Crown's case to shreds.  It never made it to the courtroom.

Meanwhile, the officer who relieved VADM Norman is being investigated for sexual misconduct while in uniform (and probably while out of uniform).  He recently retired from active service.  I remind everyone though that a commission is lifetime.  Any officer can be called back to duty right up until death.  When COVID began, numerous retired military physicians were called back into active duty.  General Vance can be called back if the investigation of his conduct goes beyond the point of investigation.

This brings us to his successor, ADM McDonald.  After just a couple of months in the position, he has now stepped aside, also under an investigative cloud.

On one side, we have an admiral who did his job.  On the other side, we have a president and a prime minister unwilling to call genocide for what it is, a general who had a reputation for sexual misconduct, and now an admiral also with a leadership problem.  One out of five people took the risks that the uniform demands and did not blink when people of lesser character tried to throw those risks back at him.  One out of five demonstrated leadership.  The other four....I am disappointed.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

20 January 2021, 1700 GMT, 1200 EST

 Dear Mr. President,

As you assume the Oval Office, I wish you the utmost in fortune, opportunity, and luck.  Without stating what my vote was, it is my deepest hope that you and your administration will earn my vote in four years.

I note the election results and commend you for earning the highest popular majority in the history of the United States.  It is important to note that former President Trump earned the second highest number of popular votes in the nation's history.  To dismiss over 70 million Americans as illiterate, gun-toting zealots is not in the best interests of the country.  Please be a president for all of us.

No person is without flaw, and no person is without success.  I urge you then to look at all that your predecessors have accomplished, to keep in mind their failures and shortcomings, and to build on their successes.

Very respectfully,

Rabbi Sean Gorman

LCDR, CHC, USN

That's Twice!

 Good evening to all.

I just finished watching the most recent episode of "The Good Doctor."  In this episode (season 4, episode 6), there is a young man suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  He had seen his friends die in a roadside bomb explosion while on his third combat tour.  Worse, his job was to detect those bombs before they could be a threat.  He was exhibiting flashbacks, significant behavioural issues, nightmares, etc.

On a related matter, my spouse and our daughter have been binge-watching "Grey's Anatomy."  In that show, one of the doctors is also a combat veteran.  Lo and behold, he too is suffering from PTSD as a result of his experiences while on deployment.

Hospitals are great, I suppose.  Still, the military chaplain sees this and feels no small amount of frustration.  Why do I feel some frustration?  I am glad you asked that question.

This is our job.  This is what we do.  We are good at it.  Every service has a Wounded Warrior Program.  There is a similar program here in Canada.  It would be nice to see the writers on these shows mention something about these programs, and even write something into the scripts.  

And on a related matter, these issues are also part of the reason that hospitals have chaplains.  Again, it would be nice to see that written into the scripts from time to time.  I point out here that the position of the chaplain is absolutely connected to patient care.  It is also connected to care for the staff.

Last, in one of the smarter moves of recent history, the Province of Ontario updated its laws.  For first responders suffering from PTSD, the legal presumption is now that this PTSD is work-related.  There is no requirement of proof.

I am now sending a note to the Facebook page of the "The Good Doctor."

Have a good evening everyone.

R/SCG