"Charlie Wilson's War" (2007)

My Netflix queue is generally filled with a lot of old, lesser-known, forgotten, or foreign movies. That just tends to be my taste. I usually am attracted to stories, and can be intrigued by certain directors and actors. I've always liked Tom Hanks. In fact, that he has become one of the film industry's biggest and most bankable stars is something that I never expected years ago when he was doing stuff like "Splash" and "Bachelor Party". He is not a hearthrob by any means. Yet he makes good movies most of the time, and "Charlie Wilson's War" is one of those films, based on a book and presumably some degree of truth, that catches my attention. Why? Because honestly, it demonstrates how some of the bigger and most unusual decisions in government have beginnings that are suspicious and questionable, if not outright misguided. Tom Hanks plays a congressman from Texas who hasn't accomplished a whole lot in his career, makes embarrassing decisions, but tends to get re-elected on sheer likability and I assume lack of strong opposition. I probably don't need to elaborate on why that particular aspect of the story is near and dear to my heart. What also resonates for me is that Wilson basically starts a covert war purely by a situation grabbing his attention, and he wheels and deals support for his cause that snowballs from a $5 million budget appropriation to one-hundred times that. Somebody somewhere once said that people would be very disturbed by how their sausage and politics are made, and "Charlie Wilson's War" is a not-so-subtle reminder of that. Julie Roberts plays kind of an odd role- she really isn't in the movie that much, and Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the consummate behind-the-scenes mover. The film ends rather abruptly, but still made me chuckle because I believe there have been over the years some decisions made in Grand Ronde that also were personality driven.

Airport Ordeal

On Monday August 18, I was scheduled to fly to Las vegas for a seminar on Tribal Constitutions, hosted by that organization that seems to specialize in issues almost unique to Indian Country, the Falmouth Institute. It had been some time since I last traveled anywhere of note in the line of Tribal business, and given my experience in tribal government, this particular seminar was of high interest to me.
Problem is, I never made it. Generally, you have to board a plane flying to your destination in order to actually arrive at your destination. Makes sense.
I've learned over time, even long before the ridiculous security lines post 9/11, that when dealing with a non-refundable plane ticket, arrive early. There are few feelings as crappy as watching your own flight take off without you. I did arrive early, the standard two-hours as recommended, only to find the flight was delayed by nearly two hours anyway. Passing the time in an airport can be a real challenge, but I made do thanks in part to my iPod and the nearly 20GB's of music I've amassed thanks to CD burning technology and eMusic. I must say the Radiohead's new album, the one they posted on their website last year for fans to download and pay what they wish, is fantastic.
After boarding the plane, it became apparent that the flight was not destined to leave that day. While we taxied onto the runway, our pilot politely informed us that he did not feel right about taking off with doubts about some of the machinery, and after some time drove the plane back to dock, while mechanics scurried in and did what they do. A couple of updates indicating we'd be airborne in "a while" proved false, and after nearly three hours we the passengers were discharged after being told that the pilot and crew had timed out, and the airline would quickly search for a new crew. We could, if we chose to stick with the flight, be arriving early in Vegas the next morning. Seeing that I'd be destined to sleep through most of the first day of a two-day training, I took the same option that seemingly most of the rest of the passengers did, which was rebooking, and in my case, hoping that Falmouth would be lenient and allow me to transfer the seminar fee to some other time, which I believe they would. My bag would not be taken from the plane, meaning I'd be making a return trip to the airport within two days.
I am not trying to bore people with this posting. What I am trying to do is share how travel can be so unpredictable, and how a few hours can make a world of difference. All in all, I spent nearly eight hours at the airport on Monday, and went nowhere. I made a point to remind myself to write about the ordeal on this blog because my feelings at that time were very vivid. It dawned on me how some Tribal members must feel about Council at times. When things go wrong, almost instinctively we just want somebody to blame, even though in some circumstances there really is nobody to blame. Machinery fails, schedules collide, details get overlooked. But for a while, I was feeling no less frustrated than the portly fellow across from me who threw his carry-on into a chair and swore rather loudly, despite the presence of children, after speaking with an airline representative and my guess is realizing that it might be some time before he left this airport.
What surprised me most, though, and this might actually be somebody's fault, was the lack of foresight for these kinds of situations. For one, if a crew is due to be off work within a few hours, I don't quite understand why that wasn't thought of before loading passengers onto the plane. Obviously they couldn't time out mid-flight. Second, it never occured to me how in considering situations like this, at least one restaurant wouldn't be open for stranded passengers. Portland Airport was a ghosttown of food options, with only a candystand to make do for nearly 100 passangers, many of whom would have to wait for a replacement crew and flight for who knows how long?
It was hardly a traumatic experience, and I am sure to one day get another chance at that seminar. But I guess my ultimate point is that as a policy setter myself, I've come to look at these kinds of situations through the lense of policy-making, thinking almost instinctively about what rules I'd have made in order to ease the frustrations of a group of people who thought what would be a simple two-and-a-half hour flight would leave them stranded, hungry, and uncertain of when they'd be going anywhere. In other words, one of the worst feelings in an airport not involving terrorists.

A Question or two

I wrote a letter to the Smoke Signals recently. The subject was the "Leno Letter", which appeared to be a major topic in the last issue, as there were a handful of letters, just as there were a couple before. How to interpret people's responses I am not entirely sure. I feel the former Council member Leon "Chips" Tom made some good points. Conversely, it was hard to argue with the letter the Leno clan assembled in response to the anonymous mailing. There are some impressive resumes among them that make the letter seem outlandish, though not entirely.
The substance of my own letter addresses that somewhat, but really I chose to focus on the history of those kinds of letters and more importantly tactics. It is very possible that my letter will add fuel to the fire, or even stir some critical thinking on the issue. Naturally, it could do nothing. Maybe people have moved on. But I doubt it. That is definitely not the case with Tribal Council, looking at the latest Record of Instruction lying on the table in chambers.
If anybody wants to know my opinion, I am not sure what sort of outcome Council members who are pushing for the investigation are looking for. Since right around 2001 or 2002 there have been mailings to the members that were political in nature and not from candidates. In other words, it is hardly new. I have given up on questioning how and by what means the numerous individuals have gotten a hold of mailing lists. Every year there are numerous mailing lists handed out during elections, which creates a whole line-up of "suspects", and then there is the fact that some of Council and in the organization have close relatives and/or political allies who would have access to not only mailing addresses, but phone numbers. To speculate on where any single possible list would come from is not really worth the time. Whenever it is this oncoming investigation takes place, I hardly expect the findings to shed light on anything. I don't believe the author the Leno Letter to be so stupid as to use work resources, assuming they really are an employee, to facilitate that letter. It is a hunt that will probably not yield the desired results.
But still, the issue of a mailing list has weighed heavy on my mind for a couple of reasons. Okay, actually, just one. And that is I am dying to curiosity to know why it would be that the campaign literature mailed out this year appears to be diverging, at least when addressed to me, to two different addresses. Because I have switched addresses the last few months, I would be very interested to know why letters would go to my old address, while some find their way to my new one. Almost all other Tribal literature, like Smoke Signals, Tilixam Wawa, and other mailings all have no problem making their way to my new address. So why some candidates would get that address, and others the old one, is a little bit of a mystery to me. Not that I plan on putting out a committee sheet to conduct an investigation, but with the present one looming, a guy can't help but wonder, right?

Misguided Energy

Today we had multiple meetings about address labels, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The age-old concept of “I got a few calls from Tribal members about such-and-such, so we’d better do something about it” prevailed today. When I look back on some of the more important issues affecting us today, from losses in the portfolio, to the sustainability of the health plan, to the numerous Tribal families waiting on edge for some sort of enrollment news, it saddens me to see that this is the kind of stuff that we are choosing to focus on.
I haven’t actually gotten a copy of the most recent mailout, but from what I’ve been told it was a letter from the “Goods”, which might have more to do with the pseudo-fuss being kicked up about it than anything. But in the present context, on the heels of the now infamous “Leno letter”, I suppose non-Tribally sanctioned mailings are going to start becoming taboo. What I take from all this is a reminder that as a body Tribal Council has almost the final and ultimate say in just about whatever goes on. We can grossly mal-adjust our priorities and duties to the membership on a whim. Let’s not worry about the portfolio right now, even if that means potentially losing tens of thousands of dollars each and every day. No, let us seek the author behind this political letter, devote Tribal time and resources to it, and bring this derelict to justice. That matters most.
It probably sounds as if I am in a bad mood with this posting, and in all probability I am. But for whatever reason today the biggest and perhaps least likely to be solved anytime soon problem became painfully clear…again. When your Tribe is developing political parties, and some might say we have two major ones, then one of the worst situations to be in is to have an electoral system set up to where elections, and with it the authority of one-third of the governing body, are up for grabs each and every year. When non-incumbents are supporting incumbents and trying to retain their majority, then discussions like what happened today are the norm. Political tactics, strategies, and campaigns go year-round, and the preservation of power takes priority over the more vital decisions. There are no off-years in which to make the tough but necessary decisions.
All of this gets worsened by the fact that with a low voter turnout, a majority, and with it the authority of a governing majority, can be secured with no member of that group getting more than 20% of the vote. There is no wonder then that extremely large families, and the alliances thereof, have become so influential politically. Family reunions are chances to campaign.
I suppose what happens here in Grand Ronde is probably not vastly different than what occurs in other Tribes. That point has been made numerous times before. But the real challenge is can all of that change. I believe it can. It starts with term limits, and election reform, among other things.