Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Adventures Through the Looking Glass

The political landscape continues to get curioser and curioser. Living and working at Texas A&M during the first year of Obama's presidency provides plenty of opportunity to see and hear white folks find new ways to dissemble, believing all the time that the fact that we have a black president is a cosmic mistake that will soon be righted. Most days I get to leave that strange world outside my door.

I just sat through a phone call, however, which might have been a telemarketing campaign for Dick Morris' new book. The call, which was represented by the woman who placed the call as a one-question survey, consisted of a monologue by a breathy Dick Morris congratulating me on being one of the biggest conservative supporters in my area (!) and describing his book not only as the
most important work
he's ever done but also as a battle plan for a Republican recapture of congress in 2010.  

After listening to Morris rehash canards such as "death panels" a male operator got back on the line, inquired whether or not I had been able to hear the recorded message and then posed the survey question: "Do you support Obama's expansion of health care, withdrawal of troops from the middle east, and biggest expansion of government in history?"

I responded "No, but mostly because I think he's not gone far enough on healthcare, drawn down the troops fast enough, and that President Bush's presidency saw the biggest expansion of federal government in history. " The flustered pollster sputtered a thank you and hung up. My questions are 1) what misguided intern put my name on a list that was obviously intended for an uncritical sample and, 2) this seriously can't be anything else but a marketing ploy for Morris' book, right, or is this characteristic of the work he does? I wonder if I'll actually get the free signed copy promised in the recorded message?

Sunday, October 04, 2009

WFIK Makes CNN Top 10 Heroes!



Help Brad win $100K and bring Wheechairs for Iraqi Kids some much-deserved attention. This prize would fund 285 new wheelchairs!

Please vote!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Universal, Single-Payer Health Care: Not Just For the Un- and Under-Insured

I sent the following account to my representatives (and selected others) today.



This letter is to describe my experience today trying to access health care while on vacation in San Antonio, TX. The reason I believe this anecdote will be of interest is that I think my experience is a microcosm of the ills plaguing health care reform and access in our country.

I am employed at Texas A&M University, and have Scott & White health coverage through my employer. While vacationing with my family in San Antonio, I began to have pain in my eye, and after it grew worse after two days, I decided to see a doctor. I studied Scott & White’s website and then contacted the TAMU Employee Services office as well as Scott & White’s help line and determined that since there were not any network providers in San Antonio, I could be seen at an Emergency Room for $150 or an Urgent Care facility for $40. Armed with this information, I researched Urgent Care facilities in downtown San Antonio. Finally I discovered that Alamo City Medical Group’s 24-Hour Urgent Care facility was just blocks from my hotel. This was especially fortuitous since this was the only Urgent Care facility listed in the downtown area.

I walked to the Riverwalk Urgent Care center, checked in, completed paperwork and had my medical history taken by the nurse before the receptionist informed me that Scott & White wouldn’t pay any benefits for my visit (this despite my working for one of the largest employers in the state of Texas, and Alamo City Medical Group’s brochure claim that “we accept all Major Network Insurances”) and suggested I call Scott & White to locate a clinic that would be covered.

I called Scott & White for the second time, and spoke with another friendly but unhelpful associate, who suggested that I call information to find an Urgent Care facility since Scott & White will accept Urgent Care billing from any clinic. I relayed this information to the Alamo City Medical Group Urgent Care receptionist, who then let me know that they have two different tax IDs, one of which is Urgent Care, the other is Family Practice, and that they are only contracted with certain providers to bill as Urgent Care. Ultimately, I discovered that my options were to pay Alamo City Medical Group’s $140 (minimum) office visit charge or find an ER and pay my $150 copay. I decided to just wait until I get home next week to see a doctor instead.

While this might not be the best decision medically, it is the only one that I felt comfortable making considering my family finances and how I had been treated as a health care consumer. What I discovered was that, even though I have insurance, and even though I did the due diligence necessary to find an appropriate doctor while out of my regular coverage area, the most attractive option offered to me is to visit an Emergency Room.

The national health care debate has highlighted the overuse of Emergency Room medicine for reasons other than medical emergencies. My experience today has underscored that one reason for this is the general availability of the Emergency Room and the relative stability of this definition across insurance providers. My experience today would have been far different if there was some sort of regulation of the term “Urgent Care,” which seems to be loosely used by Alamo City Medical Group when it is in fact a technical term in the medical industry. I would have experienced no issue at all if we instead had a national, single-payer health provider.

I have to admit that in the grand scheme of things, my little malady pales in comparison to the chronic pain and illness that millions in our country suffer every day. These uninsured and underinsured are often the poster children for universal health care, but I hope that my experience helps illuminate the fact that fully-insured Americans stand to benefit from a health care system that is seamless and transparent, too. To that end, I strongly encourage you to fight for a universal, single-payer plan such as the Conyers-Kucinich plan, HR 676. Why an expensive, expansive, and ultimately handicapped plan like HR 3200 is even being considered is beyond me, and suggests that insurance lobbies have more clout than voters. Please consult this beautiful comparison of HR 676 and HR 3200 and fight for health coverage that will benefit all of us.

Respectfully,



Jonathan Kotinek

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Meaning of Names

I love that my name combines the two best friends in the Bible. I've grown up knowing this, and that my name meant something to the effect of "a Friend from God."

With the new addition to our family (and mulling new boy names since we've used both of our pre-selected boy names!), I wanted to see how well our names fit us.

I surfed over to www.behindthename.com/ and found out what each of our names mean. The results are startlingly accurate, I thought:

Jonathan (the LORD has given) David (Beloved) - Beloved given by God

Sarah (lady or princess) Ashley (ash tree clearing) - Princess of the Meadow

Anthony (similar to Greek “anthos” - flower) Noah (rest, comfort) - The Flower of our Comfort

Samuel (God has heard) Isaac (he laughs) - The Lord has heard my Joy

As alluded earlier, we had pre-selected two boy names and two girl names (and decided the order in which these were to be conferred). The two girl names are:

Ashley (ash tree clearing) Marie (love) - Love in the Open

Emma (whole or universal) Elizabeth (my God is abundance) - My abundance is from God

The closest we've come to picking another boy name is below. Ashley liked the name Ashton, and I have promised to consider Robert if we ever have another boy:


Robert (bright fame) Ashton (ash tree town)- Well-known in the Woods

 Update 10/6/11: Instead of Robert Ashton, Ashley has decided she likes Jacob Fionn instead (and no, we don't have immediate need for another name):

Jacob (supplanter) Fionn (fair) - Overtaken by Beauty


Wednesday, July 08, 2009

A Perfect Prayer

My own "rule" of prayer has grown from the prayers provided in the Red Prayer Book published by the Antiochian Archdiocese. Since these prayers can get a bit lengthy as a group event (especially if one of your group is a two-year-old), we typically just say the Trisagion and Lord's Prayer with Noah on the way to school and before bed.

After Pascha, we added the Paschal Troparia to our prayers (with Noah enthusiastically singing along). More recently we've added "Jesus Loves Me." Noah asks to sing these songs as "Trampling" and "Jesus."

The most recent addition to our family "rule" has been the addition of personal commemorations. This started, I feel certain, as a made up song while driving (probably home from church). Noah probably asked me to sing a song about mommy. I responded by singing "I love mommy" three times in the same way that we sing "Lord have mercy" in triplicate as a response in the litanies. At prayer time, this has evolved to be a series of short songs about everyone in our family, as well as their dogs, and sometimes Noah's shoes. It goes something like this:

Noah: Sing mommy

All: I love mommy, I love mommy, I love mommy

Noah: Sing daddy

All: I love daddy, I love daddy, I love daddy

Noah: Sing baby

All: I love Samuel, I love Samuel, I love Samuel

Noah continues racking his brain to remember all of his aunts and grandparents and our dogs. At times he pauses, obviously deep in thought, to try to remember who he has left out.

Noah: Sing Granddad

All: I love granddad...

After he can think of no one else, Noah smiles, very pleased. "Everybody," he exclaims.

All: I love everybody, I love everybody, I love everybody.

I can't think of a more perfect prayer. From the mouth of babes, indeed.

Pork Loin with Mint Cherry Reduction

Monday night we had Samuel's godparents over for dinner. I had planned to cook steak pinwheels (stuffed with Parmesan and spinach), but when I pulled the meat out of the refrigerator, it had turned a greenish-grey and smelled dead. This was at about 6:00 PM, and we were expecting our dinner guests any minute. I rushed off to HEB (where I had purchased our just-discarded dinner the previous Friday) to try to salvage dinner.



HEB didn't have any more steak pinwheels, so I opted for some fresh pork loin and hurried home. As I was throwing together some ensalata caprese as an appetizer and talking with our guests it occurred to me that my friend Lisa Moorman of A Cupcake in Paris would appreciate the story, so I broke out the camera and resolved to make a blog post out of dinner.

Roasted Pork Loin

6 fresh pork loin chops

Worcestershire sauce

sea salt

pepper

Mint Cherry Sauce


1 Can Bing Cherry pie filling

6-8 mint leaves, chopped

Preheat oven on the Low Broil setting. Lay your pork loin chops out in a roasting pan. Using a fork, pierce the chop all over to allow your salt, pepper, and Worcestershire to soak in. Grind generous amounts of sea salt and black pepper over your chops. Soak each chop in 1-2 Tbs of Worcestershire sauce. Place roasting pan on middle rack and broil approximately 20-25 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit for medium well chops.

Put cherries and mint into a small skillet. Cook on medium-high heat until juices boil. Using the back side of a spoon, smash cherries and stir. Continue to reduce cherries until the sauce doesn't run in when you stir through with your spoon.



I served my chops with a fresh herb salad tossed with halved cherry tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese and a rice pilaf of white, brown and red Texmati rice with lentils. The meal paired nicely with the Savioun Rose de Anjou graciously provided by our guests.



How's that for "off-the-cuff"? Besides the pork loin, the rest of these ingredients were literally in the pantry. Necessity, again, proves to be a wonderful inspiration.

Samuel Isaac

Turns out that Baby K #2 is a boy as well! Samuel Isaac was born Wednesday, July 1. He was 20 inches long and 8 lbs 13 ozs at birth.

If you're paying attention to details, you'll notice that as I'm writing this, Samuel has turned one week old. His was an uncomplicated, if super quick, delivery. We were able to leave the hospital late last Thursday evening, so I didn't have much in the way of downtime at the hospital to blog. This is a good thing.

Adjusting to life with child number two is vastly different because there are already daily rhythms that need to remain as constant as possible (e.g. dropping off and picking up from school, dinner, bath & bedtime). Instead of us reshaping our world to the new child as we did with Noah, this is more of a collaborative effort. I expect that Samuel will learn to sleep in his own bed much earlier than did Noah.

I'm doing my level best to keep pictures updated on the Picasa site.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

"Western" Approaches to Eastern Christianity

Gordon Atkinson, aka Real Life Preacher, has become something of a celebrity in Texas Orthodox circles after having blogged about his first contact with the ancient Christian worship at St. Anthony the Great church in San Antonio, TX as part of his sabbatical leave from Covenant Baptist Church, also in San Antonio.

Reading Rev. Atkinson's description of his first visit, I was reminded of the statement of Prince Vladimir of Kiev's envoy, after visiting the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in the late tenth century
We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere on earth. We cannot describe it to you; only this we know, that God dwells there among humans, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places. For we cannot forget that beauty.


Seeing Orthodox worship new again through Rev. Atkinson's eyes, I was moved to tears at the overwhelming beauty of the Liturgy, as well as its strangeness to the western ear and eye. He did an outstanding job of relaying that sense of being part of something bigger than human scale, something that isn't necessarily easily comprehended by human intellect or senses, because its not intended or directed toward us.

Rev. Atkinson seems somewhat amazed at his reception and celebrity in Orthodox circles. Permitted to speculate, I think that he is seen as a convert on the brink. What we know that Rev. Atkinson might not yet understand is that once you start engaging the historic church, you either end up in an Apostolic communion, or leave Christianity altogether. We American Orthodox are particularly interested in high-profile stories of conversion because, like the consumer-driven lifestyles we lead outside of church, we are looking for celebrity endorsements of our own desires. (It's OK, go Google "Celebrity Orthodox Christians". I'll wait).

I was discussing this phenomenon with a friend several weeks ago, and we both felt that this trend was regrettable. To be clear, I'm always very happy when someone finds their way to the Orthodox church, but the emphasis on the high-profile convert seems antithetical to the conciliar heart of Orthodoxy. More to the point, the celebrity endorsement par excellence is the Pope. This economy of endorsement and reinforcement is Western in approach.

Finally, to get the point of this article (which ultimately has nothing to do with Rev. Atkinson, though he was a convenient vehicle to get to the point) is that I propose a different phraseology to delineate orthodox from non-orthodox thought. I fervently pray every day for the unification of Orthodox churches in America. I expect that this will ultimately result in an uniquely American expression of the Orthodox faith (as has been the case in Greece, Russia, Albania, Serbia, etc.). While an American church would encompass Canada and Latin America as well, certainly the United States will have a huge impact on that expression. I've long held that the U.S. is a system of government founded on economic freedom and entrepreneurship. Part of that entrepreneurship is adaptation and pastiche. U.S. culture is at its best when it has adapted and adopted beautiful cultural expression from elsewhere. I hope that an American Orthodoxy would do the same (as a very small example of this, my family has adopted the Serbian tradition of Slava to pay homage to a Christian heritage that was not Orthodox).

So, if there is to be an American Orthodoxy, it will be western, so "Western" is no longer as useful a term to denote something that is non-Orthodox. I would propose that most of what is antithetical to the Orthodox faith in western culture arises out of post-enlightenment thought, and so I'd suggest "Post-Enlightenment" as a useful substitute for "Western." Getting back to my example, a consumerist approach to celebrity "endorsement" of Orthodoxy is a post-enlightenment approach to faith. It begins in my presuppositional authority and looks for a faith that fits me, instead of my submission to objective Truth.

I'm guilty of this. My entree to Orthodoxy was Frank Schaeffer's Dancing Alone. I found it (and more importantly, read it) because Frank is Francis' son. I became intrigued by Orthodoxy because it satisfied my own longing for room in my faith tradition for the mystical. We American Orthodox, by and large, are protestant in the way that we approach the faith. We have an embarrassment of riches with respect to the number of parishes, and so we pick and choose (I like that priest, or I like the politics of this parish) where we will worship or even if we will worship (there isn't a church of my jurisdiction locally).

My hope and desire for Rev. Atkinson is that his struggles will pay dividends for his family and his church, and I hope that along the way, the blemishes of American Orthodoxy don't get in the way of simple Orthodoxy.

True to each other as Aggies can be...

I'm incredibly disappointed that the beef between Texas A&M President Elsa Murano and Texas A&M University System Chancellor Mike McKinney has resulted in Pres. Murano's resignation. Murano's announcement comes just one day before a special meeting of the TAMU Board of Regents called specifically to discuss the continued employment of executive-level leaders.

The scheduled meeting marked the first official action on the part of the board since McKinney started the public beef by making a statement to the press regarding his contemplation of combining his position with that of Pres. Murano's. A public records request by KBTX the following week revealed that McKinney had rated Murano poorly in an off-schedule review and that Murano took exception to the ratings and had rebutted them point-by-point, copying the entire board.

I must admit that when Murano was named to the presidency, I was incredibly skeptical of her qualifications. The presidential search committee--composed of current students, faculty, former students, community members, and members of the board--forwarded a list of three finalists in August 2007, none of whom were selected. The search committee was unceremoniously disbanded with no clear way forward.. In the background of this process, rumors surfaced that Governor Perry had hand-selected a candidate with ties to the military and his undergrad years. Of a sudden, in a hastily-called meeting in late November 2007, the Regents apparently decided to offer the job to Murano, a decision announced about a week later. Murano took office on January 3, 2008.

The university community was understandably guarded about Murano with her hire in this context. A number of personnel changes in upper-administration did nothing to ease concerns, and the unceremonious firing of Dr. Bresciani from the position of Vice-President for Student Affairs (where he was a much-loved fixture) and the selection of the arguably under-qualified Gen. Joe Weber painted Murano's decision-making in a poor light to many at the university.

Fast-forward to the controversy this month, and I have to say that despite my previous evaluation of Murano, she acquits herself well in her rebuttal of McKinney's review. I find that, though I've not agreed with all of her decisions, I think that A&M is better for her having been president (as opposed to, say, McKinney). Paul Burka at BurkaBlog speculates that Murano got in trouble by stepping out from beneath the Perry/McKinney thumb and poking into shady political dealings. I think that that makes the whole situation stink worst of all.

Updates Coming Soon!

Howdy! And Happy New Year (seeing as how this is my first post of 2009)!

So...here's a few quick updates:

Our Summer Honors Invitational Program (SHIP) is keeping me busy this summer, along with thirteen New Student Conferences for the largest freshman class in TAMU history.

Baby K #2's arrival is imminent. The due date is July 9, but Noah came at 37 weeks, which would be this coming Friday.

Also, this Friday is Ashley's and my tenth wedding anniversary. Happy Juneteenth! We've invited friends and family to join us in celebration as we (finally!) have our marriage blessed in the Orthodox church. If you missed it, here's the invite:


Those following Texas A&M in the news know that there is a lot of foolishness at the executive leadership level. Pres. Elsa Murano, the first woman and first Hispanic (Latina? What appellation do Cuban expats prefer? Weigh in on comments) submitted her resignation today in what will hopefully only be the start of changes at the top...I'm hoping that the BOR shows McKinney the door tomorrow. So long as "governor good-hair" doesn't get the spot I'll be happy.

Look for new blog posts on all of the above (well, perhaps not on SHIP and incoming freshman) soon. Also, I plan to weigh in on the Real Live Preacher's sudden celebrity in Texas Orthodox circles.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

More on a post 11/4 World

After posting, I thought: "How overplayed is this phrase?"

Turns out, not so much.

What Should Obama Do? points out that we are (hopefully) more farsighted in a post 11/4 world.

Kyle Pfister at Just Sayin' Is All chronicles the voting queue this morning as a step "toward a post 11/4 world."

In a Post 11/4 World...

A Lexis-Nexis search for the phrase “post 9/11 world” in all English-language print and broadcast transcript outlets returns 999 hits since September 11, 2001. That such a context-loaded phrase has become shorthand for the change in our lifestyle is obvious from within, but what does it mean from a perspective outside of that experience? We can point to various watershed moments in history after which the paradigm for normality shifts and “everything changes.” I believe that today, November 4, 2008 is another one of those days.

As a short preface, I should explain my position vis-à-vis the presumptive president-elect. I campaigned for Dennis Kucinich during this election as I did during the 2004 election. I have been vocal about my feelings that Barack Obama might make a good president someday, but not yet. I have worried that in order to get to where he is in as short a time as he did, that he must be in someone’s pocket. I’ve echoed concerns that an Obama presidency will certainly be more polished, but isn’t likely to be more transparent. I have spoken openly that its just as wrong to vote for Obama because he’s black as it is to vote against him because he’s black.

I did cast a ballot for Barack Obama, not because I like his policies or think that he’ll make necessary changes; in fact, I think that he’s not likely to be radical enough in changing our foreign policy writ large with the so-called “War on Terror” being a prime example of our folly nor will he go far enough in nationalizing health care to truly make such a system workable and affordable. Essentially, I voted for change. For the hope that if enough people cast ballots the way I did, that states like Texas can’t be presumed to vote one way or the other.

The Obama campaign has promised things like “change,” and “hope.” While what Obama means by these words isn’t exactly clear (especially since his stance on many issues is centrist, maintaining status quo). When I step back and look at this election as a referendum on race, however, these words do make a kind of sense. I think that they’ve resonated with black Americans as well, since the greatest fears and hope we have seem to revolve around Obama as a “first and only.” Though I would be quick to criticize someone whose only rationale in voting for Obama was race, I certainly see Obama’s racial identity as a value-added component of his presidency.

Given the recent history of presidential elections in this country, there is reasonable concern that a post 11/4 world will reinforce the state of racial affairs in the United States. Even if Dick Cheney hasn’t rigged all the voting machines and purges of registered voters fail to effectively disenfranchise black voters, there is significant buzz among white Americans that “we’re not ready for a black president.” This statement really has very little to do with any person in particular or black people in general, but about the mindset of the people who think and say such a thing. They mean, I think, to say that there’s no way that a black person is capable of holding and executing such a powerful and prestigious position as President of the United States of America. Such a thought causes so much cognitive dissonance in these folks that they are literally scared for their way of life. For good measure, the Republican machine has cultivated rumors about Obama’s citizenship, his religion, his attitude toward gays, and his ability to serve in the CIA or FBI as fodder for those Republican voters who are too sophisticated to be swayed by a racial argument. A post 11/4 world might very well mean a retrenchment for openly racist Americans who would view Obama’s defeat as a victory for the Lost Cause.

A post 11/4 world might also bring that ray of Hope that Obama preached to us. Yes, an Obama victory means that he will no doubt be considered a race representative, and that his gaffes will be attributed to some supposed defect of the black condition instead of his own foibles. But the opposite is also true. The inescapable presence of a black man in position as what has often been referred to as the “most powerful man in the world,” suggests that white folks will have to do daily battle with the little racist thoughts that are so pervasive as to constitute a sort of “background radiation.” For our part, seeing one of our own in the Oval Office gives a reason to hope against experience that sometimes the system will work for us. We can only get over so many times before it becomes the rule instead of the exception. Certainly the man down the street, the lady at your grocery checkstand, and the kid in your daughter’s classroom aren’t going to stop holding racist beliefs or making racist comments or viewing every black person differently in 11/5, but those beliefs and comments will be on notice.

Finally, what this contest is about is Change. Whether the post 11/4 world brings a resplendent victory for Obama or chilling defeat for racial progress, we will be forced to enter into a conversation about who we are as a nation (including who “we” encompasses), what we believe, and where we are going. The necessary prerequisite to that conversation is a common vocabulary, and that vocabulary requires a common experience. Up till now, it has been the peculiar prerogative of white privilege to deny the subjective experience of discrimination. Life after this election means that we have to examine why racism has been so persistent in the way that Americans think and act.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Former Student Coordinates Care Packages For Troops

For several years, Brad Blauser ’92 has been a shining example of the kind of selfless service that all Aggies should strive to emulate. As a civilian contractor in Iraq, Brad has coordinated the donation and delivery of care packages for troops, wheelchairs for disabled Iraqi kids, and study bibles for soldiers. The following is his latest request for assistance in sending care packages to the troops:

Here's a list of commonly requested items for care packages (feel free to deviate and get creative), and the address where to send the boxes:

Brad Blauser
DLS Corp
APO, AE 09342

1. Comfort foods! Twinkies, doughnuts, cupcakes, Little Debby snacks, sweets, no chocolates (they'll melt on the way over), other things off the snack aisle. Health foods go over well also with the athletic/health conscious crowd. Any liquids need to be in sealed zip-lock bags or we end up with soggy boxes.
2. Pictures of yourselves / your kids and a hand written note of encouragement to / kids drawings for the troops. This makes each box personal for each of them. Troops will stop and read the letters before they'll even check to see what's inside the box. Maybe even include a self-addressed pre-stamped envelope. BE SURE to include a return email address of the donor - you're much more likely to hear from them as mailing letters takes much more effort here than sending a thank you email.
3. DVDs of the top 10 movies at Blockbuster.
4. Packaged coffees – ground up.
5. For the ladies - if you're doing gender specific packages - anything from Bath and Body Works or someplace similar.
6. Blade replacements for the Gillette Mach II or Fusion razors.
7. White crew socks.
8. DEET pump spray repellants.
9. PX Gift Cards from AAFES.
10. Re-hydrating drink mixes to add flavor to bottled water.
11. New toothbrush (SOFT).
12. Long Distance Phone Cards.

Now's a good time to start organizing groups to gather funds and items to send care packages to the troops for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. As the time gets nearer, I'll post the addresses of Chaplains / units in areas who will need them most. Contact me with questions or ideas if you'd like to run them by me!


For more information about Brad’s multiple missions and to get involved, visit the following links:


Invite WFIK to be your MySpace Friend!
Invite WFIK to be your Facebook Friend!
Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids
CNN Report (Article) on Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids
CNN Report (Video) on Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids
Study Bibles for Soldiers

Opposing the Bailout

Below is the text that I've sent to both my senators today:
Dear Senator,


Please do all in your power to oppose the Paulson-Bernanke bailout plan. I understand that there are arguments against the plan from all different sides: from Democrats who think the bill lacks enough regulation as well as from Republicans who are opposed to the expansion of our government as well as our debt. I identify as a Democratic Socialist, but think that the plan proffered does not establish safeguards against another crisis, nor does it give the taxpayers who will fund the bailout any share in a fiscal rebound.


Bad mortgages are only one part of a larger economic downturn, and issues such as the evaporation of industry and jobs and the high cost of healthcare need to be addressed as part of a comprehensive solution. The companies responsible for creating a financial disaster through insufficient vetting of borrowers and predatory lending practices should be held accountable and, if necessary, be allowed to fail. The American public needs an economic and cultural wake-up call. We need the long, painful process of a depression to re-learn fiscal responsibility, the value of strong industry led by empowered workers, and a sense of frugality but also a sense of generosity.


I hope that you will be proactive and passionate in your opposition to this legislation, as well as look for sound ways to guide our country through the financial crises yet to come. Thank you for your service!


Jonathan Kotinek


Sunday, September 14, 2008

No need to wait til 2009

Previously, I speculated that the changeover from analog to digital television signal next year might provide the richest opportunity for a breakdown of the consumer economy that keeps our (relatively) highly educated and highly mobile populace from proving Marx & Engels' thesis.

To recap quickly, the elimination of the "opiates" of our working-class populace (television, movies, fast food, consumer goods -- all had cheaply) would provide occasion for those people to evaluate their status vis-a-vis the persons for whom they work. Since ours has become a service industry based economy, the elimination on a significant scale of any of these commodities would also create a large number of jobless people (who are also presumably more dissatisfied with their position in life).

The massive damage caused this weekend by Hurricane Ike has been likened to the hurricane of 1900 that destroyed Galveston. While the casualty reports (so far) don't show a parallel (thank God!), one possible parallel has yet to be explored. At the time that it was destroyed, Galveston was poised to overtake New York as the nation's biggest port and richest city. Houston is currently the nation's fourth (or fifth, depending on your source) biggest city and was the only major U.S. city with a growing economy (LINK?) going into this weekend. Massive power outages, floodwater and wind damage, and displacement of people are likely to put a huge dent in that growth.

This kind of disaster, both in economic and human terms has just as much, if not more, potential to act as a watershed moment for the downfall of the American economy (and political system).

A good doomsday prophet always hopes to be proved wrong, and that is the case here (tongue firmly in cheek...I don't claim to be good nor a prophet). Be mindful and watchful if you can, and if you can't do anything else, pray for those affected by the disaster.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Fly High...Part II

After a month-long stint as a delivery driver for DoubleDaves in Northgate (where my mad cleaning skills from Freebirds were not appreciated...) I found a job at the University Police Department. I stayed at UPD until I finished my undergraduate degree. About a month before graduation, I ran into Pierre at the corner store by my house and he asked if I ever thought about coming back to Freebirds. I told him I would if he would give me an interesting opportunity, and that is how I came to work at the Freebirds corporate office at a time of great change.

The office was located in a small suite in a non-descript one-story building on Lincoln. Pierre brought me in as a Project Manager. Project Management was a new concept for me and Freebirds, so I got to build the position to suit me. Tom was in the office then as HR manager, and had built an incredible framework for Freebirds employees...book scholarships, training, regular opportunities to share suggestions. I learned about Gantt charts and watched Devon as he created the Freebirds brand from scratch (with a little magic from Corel). We tried (with limited success) to launch a Freebirds employee newspaper (the original title was "Bird Crap") and even tried to get it printed on news stock. I got to help Devon first find a place and then set up the mock-up of the Shepard Plaza store in a warehouse in north Bryan. It was serindipitious that the warehouse had tens of thousands of old soda crates; we used them to make the mock-up life size and three-dimensional.

I started developing my computer abilities during this stretch, too. I created the first internet to fax order system for the 'Bird, and got it set up with the help of Brian B. The big project that I had great hopes for and saw die on the vine was Bird TV. The concept was to put cameras in each store and send live feed of people waiting in line at one store to all other stores. Ironically enough, the project bogged down because the cables from the cameras to the computer were getting too much interference from electronic pollution in the store, and the cost of setting up DSL in each store was prohibitive. When I left the Project Manager position, I got to hire two people to do my job: one for operational projects and another for personnel projects.

A special memory from my time in the office was the development of a business plan. In developing the Freebirds plan, we referenced others, including Chipotle's, which referenced Freebirds as a model. We also, at that time, were dealing with a trade dress infringement suit with a little place in Dallas (across the street from what would become the first Dallas location at Lovers and Greenville).

I was HR manager for a short spell after that. I was there long enough to get moved into the new office building on Longmire. I instituted a policy of having a presence in every store, every day, and felt that I made a real difference. Before long, though, I was looking to get back to the operations side of things and work more closely with the great people I was seeing in the stores. The GM position at the Rock Prairie store opened up, and I jumped on the opportunity. It had been several years since I had been in the store, but I got caught up to speed quickly. The biggest challenge for me was learning the kitchen and paperwork expectations.

I inherited April as an Assistant GM. I was ready and willing to work with her, but she didn't like my management style (or something) and left not long after I got there. Her parting words to Crane and Craig were "have fun on your sinking ship, boys." I don't think either were too disappointed, however, since they both became Assistant GMs. I have to brag and say that the Rock Prairie store, at that time, was the best of all the stores. I had great morale...my store had the lowest turnover of all locations, and Freebirds turnover was about half of industry average in the first place. I demanded a very clean store and hard work, but felt that I gave a lot of opportunity to those who stepped up. I created a payscale that gave regular raises for skills acquired as well as time in service. Our food was the best quality too, thanks to Bob. People that made Rock Prairie worth working at: James, Craig, Erin, Bob, Derrick.

It was during my stint as GM that Pierre (or Alan?) brought in a brand consultant. I don't remember the guys name, only that he had us read The Flight of the Buffalo. That brand consultant was, I think, the beginning of the end. But, he did provoke a marketing challenge that gave each store a small budget (Crane did a music festival in our parking lot with ours) and solicited ideas for a company-wide strategy. Intrigued by the success that places like Joe's Crab Shack and In-and-Out Burger had with innuendo in their advertising, I mocked up a shirt with a burrito on the front and the words "Eat me." Our suggestion was that this shirt could be a customer loyalty reward. When I presented the idea in a group meeting, it got batted around a bit before I shouted out "Unwrap My Monster." If you've seen the shirt you know the rest is history.

I finally left Freebirds for the second time because I realized that my vision wasn't in sync with that of my superiors. I had bought into the promise of Freebirds, Alan's plans for growth, and expected that what we needed were well-trained highly dependable managers to go and grow these stores. I invested a lot in training, but still managed to average 15% on my bottom line. The Texas Avenue store was setting the standard at around 20%, so I wasn't cutting the mustard. My only regret is that I cashed out my ghost stock when I did, instead of holding on to it until Pierre sold the company last year.

All of which brings me back to my experience last night. A bright new sign advertising that "Tacos...are back" reminded me that I'll never eat my favorite Freebirds meal again: grilled steak tacos, nor my second favorite, a loaded quesadilla crispy from the butter on the grill. About 15 people walked in behind me, and the shift manager planted himself on the register, the grill guy retreated to the grill, and the runner started changing out tomatoes. The remaining three or four (!) rollers looked like they were in molassess. My server was friendly enough, but in sort of a generic way. When he ran out of sour cream on my first burrito, he kind of shook the gun once or twice, shrugged and asked if I wanted anything else. I explained that I'd like the rest of the sour cream portion, to which he made no reply but started to go roll up the burritto. Thankfully, he was an incredibly slow roller, and I was able to get his attention after calling his name four times and explaining that I was willing to wait for him to go get more sour cream since I'd also like it on my second burrito.

I know well enough that kids that work in food service don't get paid enough to care, but at one time Freebirds was enough of an experience that we worked hard anyway. It makes me sad to see it sink to mediocrity, if nowhere else at least in my mind, because it held forth such promise once. I used to make the comment that Freebirds and Chipotle were different like Bennigans and Chili's were different. They make basically the same food, but if you want a Monte Cristo, you don't go to Chili's. I fear that, in my heart at least, that analogy is broken on both sides now.

Fly High...Part I

I had Freebirds for dinner last night for the first time in a long while. The experience was disappointingly blase, and in ruminating on the visit and my time with Freebirds, I felt compelled to compose something of an ode to the 'Bird that was. This memory is dedicated to Tom Thweatt, who was with me at Freebirds during the zenith of the development of the culture. My apologies to Pierre, Alan, Charles, Burt, Chris...and any of the old guard who might take offense.

My Freebirds Story

Like most of the good things that have happened to me, my "career" at Freebirds was an accident. Conrad and I, on a rare, coincident day off from Discount Tire stopped into a very deserted Freebirds one July morning. Being the young, recent high school graduates that we were, we both ordered Super Monsters. I think that was the only Super Monster I ever finished at a single sitting. Before we left the store that morning, Barry had hired both of us, and we had both quit Discount Tire by the end of the week.

There are a number of great memories from that first semester working at the Bird. The Freebirds on Northgate was, at that time, the only Freebirds anywhere except for the Santa Barbara store. I learned most of my management style from Charles: work harder than anyone else, and never expect anyone to do something that they've not seen you do. I don't recall all the names of my trainers. Besides Charles, there were Louie and Teri...and one other that I completely failed to recognize when she showed up after a shift dressed to go out (Robin?). I tracked more for the front of the house, concentrating on becoming a "grill god," while Conrad picked up the special power of steak cutting. In those days we cut the steak from big briskets right in the store. I worked a catering event for a Halloween party at 3rd Floor Cantina not long after I started. That was a blast!

Before too long both Conrad and I were shift managers, and Lee had joined us at the apartment and at Freebirds by then and he was managing shifts as well before it was all said and done. I'd have to look at HR records to be clear on exactly when it all happened. I remember Nema being the GM of the store, but Barry was still around then too. The whole store was a great community both in and out of work. Many of us lived in small frame houses rented from Culpepper Realty (courtesy of Jim Elmquist) just north of campus. Pierre would sometimes drop in after closing and make tacos for his group of friends. I remember that when I was promoted to shift manager, Barry told me that I was the youngest and quickest to make it there and it happened because I "worked like I got paid more than I did."

One task I secretly relished was cleaning the fatigue mats. I'd load them up in the back of Barry's ancient white van (that had been purchased as surplus from the university), take two rolls of quarters, and take the mats to the car wash just northwest of the intersection of Villa Maria and Finfeather. I'd spray down the mats, scrub them with the soapy brush, and rinse them before loading them back in the van. It was a nasty, smelly job, but Barry told me that any leftover quarters were mine to keep, and that was how I paid for laundry. One glorious summer I got to be a personal assistant for Pierre, which meant that when I wasn't running errands, I got to bounce ideas around with him. The only other person that I've found as much creative synergy with in conversation is Blake Godkin.

There were great times and good friends at Freebirds then: Brandon, Christos, Allison, Conrad, Lee, Charles, Burt...so many. The first time I left Freebirds was just after the Texas Avenue store opened. I had helped collect bricks from the rubble of what had been Deware Field House and been part of cleaning them off in the field next to what was then Brazos Brewing Company (now Blue Baker). Pierre treated everyone that wanted one a brew. I wish I had taken him up on the offer. In November of 1997 the corporate office for Freebirds had started to take shape, and a Human Resource manager had been hired. Disappointed that I hadn't even been asked to interview, I asked Barry for some background. I had heard rumors that the position was being created and had indicated interest early the summer before. Barry told me that the hire had needed to take place quickly (it had happened while I was at Ft. Leonard Wood for BCT & AIT). Further, he said, I could expect not to see any further promotion so long as I had my military obligations. After telling Barry that he had violated Federal Law, I made arrangements to leave.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Be the Change...

Mahatma Ghandi, in the statement "Be the change you want to see in the world," echoed the words of St. Seraphim of Sarov who said, "Acquire peace and thousands around you will be saved." Few political leaders in the U.S. are doing as much as Dennis Kucinich to wage peace and call the Bush43 administration to account for the direction they've taken the country.

Rep. Kucinich is working to deliver one million signatures in support of his articles of impeachment by September 10. If you are so inclined, I hope that you'll sign on and do what you can to effect this change.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Up with Dennis...

Hello friends. I just watched Dennis Kucinich's speech "Up with America" from the DNC this past week. I still struggle to fathom that we can't see clear to think of this energetic, inspirational, and insightful man as "electable." The disgrace that he suffered at the hands of the media in collusion with the DNC is unconscionable...and yet he is the image of love stumping for the Dems.

This literally brought tears to my eyes. God bless you Dennis. I hope someday we can get this man and his vision into a position to move our country in the right direction, and I hope we do it before its too late.

Monday, August 04, 2008

More on Beijing 2008

Last month I commented on a Slate.com story about boycotting the Beijing 08 Olympic Games. This week I was directed to an editorial in April's Economist highlighting the spectacular failure of the IOC's "quiet diplomacy":

A DEVELOPING country gets the Olympic games as an acknowledgment of its new, exalted status. An authoritarian government, awash with money, exploits the chance to project a peaceful, progressive image. Critics of the regime use the games as a chance to demand more democracy and human rights. There are demonstrations, forcefully broken up.

This is the story, more or less, of the Beijing Olympics 2008—so far. But it also describes the run-up to the Mexico City Olympic games of 40 years ago. Then, the protests ended in a massacre, an awful sign of how far governments can go to protect a cherished sporting show.


In "honor" of the start of the 08 games I'm wearing this shirt by Thread Pit on Friday: