Blaine and Drake and the Beaches of Maui

One exciting benefit of being a grandparent is watching a grandchild experience something wonderful for the first time. Over an extended spring break earlier in March, Alice and I had the opportunity to share a trip to Maui with Erin and her boys. The number of times the Erin, Alice and I have been to Maui are many now; but, not counting a trip when Blaine was 4 months old, this was their first real experience with the Island and, more specifically, the Pacific Ocean. It was great fun to watch them taste it, feel the power of it, and begin to appreciate the beauty and life of the ocean. I think we visited over a dozen different beaches during our stay.

Dancing with the waves on their first day on Maui (Kamehamehi Iki park, Lahaina)

They got braver as the morning went along

Trekking to Black Rock on Kaanapali Beach

Even Blaine slowed down at times to just sit and watch the waves come in
(Oheo gulch)

Tide pools proved one of the best ways to explore ocean life (Honukeana Bay)

Sunset at "Canoe" Beach(Hanakao'o beach), Lanai in the background

Blaine told his mom he was going to move to Maui when he was 12. I should be retired by then; Good planning Blaine!

A Red Herring

Sometimes when teaching English, I taught a unit on logical thinking, reasoning and fallacies. Fallacies were always interesting; not only because they had great names; "Slippery Slope", "poisoning the well", and "begging the questions"; but students could always quickly recognize the fallacies and see real-life examples.

The recent focus on collective bargaining in many states is a nice reminder of the fallacy known as "Red Herring". Basically the fallacy of the red herring is that attention is diverted from the issue being discussed by drawing attention to another issue that is not closely connected to the original issue.

For state governments the issue of huge state deficits can be difficult to discuss if the focus is on the underfunding of programs or poor management of funds. Attacking the collective bargaining rights of public employees serves as an effective red herring.

There is little doubt that collective bargaining has led to abuses by some unions. Unions that zealously protect worker's rights often result in abuses that are difficult to justify when looked at from a distance. These abuses include a reluctance to modernize at the expense of union jobs or making dismissal of marginally effective union members very difficult.

For some governors and legislatures collective bargaining has become a boogie man that must be dealt with; but it will not seriously address the issues of state deficit budgets or faults in the education system or governments that continually rewards the top 1% of wage earners over the middle class.

The next year and half of political theater will continue to provide examples of fallacies of reasoning that people need to recognizing.