Justice Wears A Blindfold for a Reason, Mr Bush

Kevin Ressler — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:13:43 -0500

Today, a verdict was reached in the war crimes trial of Salim Hamdan. If you don't know, Hamdan was the former driver of Osama Bin Ladin. He was captured in 2001 in Afghanistan. The prosecution says he was part of Bin Ladin's inner circle. The defense said he was a wage worker, low level, and without influence on terrorist attacks. The soldier who was a witness when Hamdan was captured said, during the trial, that he was not sure if this man was the driver of a vehicle carrying missles. Hamdan's plea at the beginning of the trial was not guilty.

Those are just some bare facts. I do not pretend to know the verdict. It is not my concern for the purposes of this article either. My issue is with the White House's deputy press secretary Tony Fratto's comment: "We're pleased that Salim Hamdan received a fair trial. We look forward to other cases moving forward to trial."

Goodbye, Thank You Pace e Bene

Kevin Ressler — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:31:27 -0500

My train itinerary says I leave the Bay Area this Wednesday. I'm not sure I believe it because that means I have been here for a full year. Further, I am not sure I believe it because that means I must face the prospects of being unemployed on Monday.

Still, it is true. My year of voluntary service with the Mennonite Church, and Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, has reached its inevitable conclusion. Now is the time for watery eyes, man hugs, and comments about keeping in touch. Though emotional, I am neither dying nor leaving the community.

Congress Should Retire, Take Up Sports Management

Kevin Ressler — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:55 -0500

As a regular reader of news, I sometimes notice patterns in coverage. Clearly anytime Britney Spears does something the media things it is worth the front cover for days and anytime a world event happens it is worth coverage for at least hours. Africa gets mentioned everytime the media gets criticized for its habits. Patterns are everywhere.

Recently, I encountered an interesting pattern in sports coverage. Someone gets busted for steroids, they plead innocent, everyone covers everyones back and points the blame elsewhere. After a few weeks or months of this game I call Responsibility Roulette, a new player joins the circus. Congress.

"Dutch Blitz!" Fun for the whole family

Kevin Ressler — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:59:47 -0500

My family is close with its extended relatives. As a child, highlights of my year always included family reunions. And, you guessed it, family reunions meant games, games, food, and more games. From basketball to Careers to puzzles, games were the prime activity.

Of all the games, though, my favorite by far was Dutch Blitz. Now, what is Dutch Blitz, you are most likely asking (unless you grew up Mennonite, Amish, or in close proximity to them). It is a Pennsylvania Dutch game labeled as being a “Vonderful Goot Game” which is a playoff of the phonetics of the PA Dutch accent saying “Wonderful Good Game”

Abortion, War, and the Distorting of Ethics of Life

Kevin Ressler — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:33:40 -0500

This piece was written by myself in collaboration with a wise and wonderful friend. Her insights contribute incalculably to this piece though she chooses not to be attributed. Still I wanted to note her and thank her additions and edits to the work. This piece was written in response to a Newsweek article by Anna Quindlin that can be read by clicking here.

First, I want to say that I agree. We societally care more about beauty than brains. The office of the President is far more "sexier" than the chamber of the Supreme Court. America loves celebrity, considers thin the most physically important attribute for beauty, hates "elitists" and "academics" and anyone who thinks they are smart. The proof is that there are exponentially more tabloids than newspapers in the newspaper racks, there are more celebrity news magazines than news magazines in the periodical rack, and more people go to blockbuster and pay for movies than go to the library and check out books for free.

That said, I don’t think there’s anything great about any of those 9 Supreme Court judges. Perhaps in her day Ruth Bader Ginsberg was termed a cougar, but it’s not 1962 anymore. Kennedy’s dead, and if the conservative powers that attempt to maintain the status quo have anything to do with it, Obama probably will be by fall. This isn’t the way of the world, but it is the way of the American empire. We may not have the political power we think we have. We can’t necessarily vote for change candidates because whether it is Kennedy or it is Lincoln or it is McKinley, they’ll shoot them. But we also shouldn’t settle for the alternative, because whether it is Bush or Nixon or Woodrow Wilson, we tend to find ourselves in prolonged wars of ego, not justice.

Letter Writing

Kevin Ressler — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:52:28 -0500

Letter Writing

By Kevin Ressler, Pace e Bene Office Manager

Whether romantic, argumentative, casual, or otherwise, communication can be a difficult task. To speak truly what one believes, or at least thinks in the moment, takes focus. At the same time, many times when we are speaking with another person our focus is compromised by any of an innumerable amount of things. Whether the intoxicating scent of a romantic interest, the rapid fire thoughts streaming through the mind during an argument, or something as simple as think of what to cook for dinner, our minds are rarely at such ease that we listen to the other person. And because we need to listen and hear the other person, we often speak without fully formulating our own thoughts.

Hungry? Nuke it! How Our Food Indicates Who We Are

Kevin Ressler — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:35:42 -0500

-Hungry? Nuke it! How Our Food Indicates Who We Are-

I noticed today, while at 7-Eleven looking for what to eat for lunch, that I was not simply hungry but hungry 'right now.' For a hitch, my stomach reminded me of a whiny child pining for food. I saw there was a frozen burrito, cheap and filling. Pretty much my requirements for the meal. Or so I thought.

But when it said that I had to open the package, microwave it on one side for 3 minutes, open the microwave, flip the burrito, close the door, microwave it for another 2 minutes, pull it out of the microwave, and then let it cool for a few minutes before consuming. I turned around and bought a hot dog. It was already warm. I could start eating it while I paid. The burrito simply wasn't fast enough.

Spiritual Collaboration-Meditation in Community

Kevin Ressler — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:45:20 -0500

Spiritual Collaboration-Meditation in Community

by Kevin Ressler

As human beings, we are communal. In Western culture, but also in many of the cultures in the world, we search for mates, and our society has moved into a direction of lifelong monogamy. We choose intimacy over promiscuity and companionship over recluse. Now, there are definitely cultures who have different constructs, but this is the prevailing nature of modern existence.

Still, often when we reflect, or do individual work, we do so individually. We meditate alone, we go to counseling alone, and even in group counseling we often have individual sessions. Undoubtedly, we are individual human beings. Still, the issues we often work on are how the world around us has impacted us. Bringing us again to the communal nature of being. It is a truth we may try to, but cannot run from. We do not have full control over our actions, decisions, or choices no matter how greatly we believe we do.

Ode to Nonviolence: A Pseudo-Sonnet Poetry Exercise

Kevin Ressler — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:00:13 -0500

Ode to Nonviolence: A Psuedo-Sonnet Poetry Exercise

A sonnet is a respected, difficult poetic form. I like how a sonnet looks, but sometimes it's difficult to sit down and right. So, I decided some of the rules are more important than others. I created this exercise to help me when I want to focus on something positive, as so many sonnets are love ballads, and praise or rejoice in something. And this exercise allows me to write one without much difficulty.

Stress Reduction: Live Longer And Less Violently

Kevin Ressler — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:05:22 -0500

It is well known that stress can contribute to an early, or premature, death. It builds up inside us, similar to cholesterol in our arteries. Death, itself, is not inherently violent. It is natural. At the same time it is important to recognize that death is a frequent result of a violent life or violent situations. These include, the obvious deaths we see reported in the news, but other, more hidden deaths as well.

On the face, it seems easy to recognize when death symptomizes violence. Simply, check if death is premature and when it is, the likely assumption can be made the it was borne of violence or a violent situation. That, however is truly only on the face of it.