"Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
It's about time we had some good news to blog about. Presented here is this week's (or this years) good news:
The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, has reversed Judge Sonia Sotomayor's decision in New Haven Connecticut's Ricci v. DeStefano lawsuit.
For those of you who have been living in a subterranean cave somewhere for the last several weeks, this case is a victory for true civil rights.
From Wikipedia, "In November and December 2003, the New Haven Fire Department administered written and oral examinations for promotion to Lieutenant and Captain.[3] The City's Department of Human Resources issued an RFP for these examinations, as a result of which I/O Solutions ("IOS") designed the examinations.[4] Under the contract between the City and the New Haven firefighters' union, the written exam result counted for 60% of an applicant's score and the oral exam for 40%. Those with a total score above 70% on the exam would pass".
To make this unnecessarily long story short, the bottom line is: Mr Ricci passed the test for Lieutenant, but the City of New Haven threw out the results of the test because no black firefighters received scores high enough to qualify for one of the eight open positions for lieutenant.
It seems the city was afraid some black firefighters would sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
As it turned out, Frank Ricci sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
However, Barack Hussein Obama's choice for Supreme Court Justice, Ms. Sonia Sotomayor, in an appellate court decision, ruled that the city of New Haven was correct in rejecting the test scores. We must assume she based her decision on her "empathy" for the black firefighters who didn't study as hard for the test as Mr. Ricci.
This, unfortunately, is the kind of decisions we can expect from a Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor should she be confirmed to the SCOTUS.
Supreme Court Justice Souter was right when he described Ricci vs De Stafano as a case of a "Damned if you do, damned if you don't situation".
But, to the Supreme Court's credit, they reversed Sotomayor's obviously racist, biased opinion.
The press has labeled this action as a "reverse discrimination" case, but that's not what it is at all. The term "Reverse Discrimination" is a misnomer. It implies there is no discrimination at all. One either discriminates or one doesn't. Just because the so-called victim is white instead of black, it is no less discrimination than it is if the victim is black.
In either case it is discrimination.
Now, the good news isn't only that justice was finally served in the Ricci case.
It's also good news that Judge Sonia will have this case to answer to when she undergoes scrutiny from the Senate in her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Along with the fact that 60% of her cases have been overturned in higher courts. If her nomination is rejected by the Congress, Obama will have to wait a little bit longer to complete his Marxist takeover of the Supreme Court, and the United States. A small victory, I admit.
To me, it's a no-brainer.
Sotomayor is totally, completely, absolutely unqualified to be a Supreme Court Justice, and this case may very well be the deciding factor in her confirmation process.
That's assuming the lawmakers have a sense of justice of their own.
Which, I admit, is perhaps asking a little too much of our erstwhile Senators.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A Tale Of Two Icons
"There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble." ~ Washington Irving
OK. I was going to write an entry about the "Cap and Tax" bill being approved in the House of Representatives yesterday. But, I confess that I don't understand the implications of it well enough to make an intelligent comment. Yet.
But then, before I could do the appropriate research, the news about the death of Michael Jackson grew legs, and before one could say "Billie Jean is not my love", stories about him were plastered all over newspapers, blogs, television, and radio.
In this morning's local newspaper there is a headline story, and no less than three related stories on the front page alone, and still more on the back, plus a commentary by what can only be described as, a columnist with a schoolgirls crush on Michael Jackson.
(as an aside, the columnist claims she remembers Jackson from a concert she attended before she was two years old. Anyone want to take bets that's a lie?)
All speaking in glowing terms about the so-called "King of Pop".
"Queen of Pop" would be more accurate, but still an overstatement.
It would be a vast understatement for me to simply say I am deeply disturbed by this level of hero worship. Why?
Does anyone remember who else died on Thursday?
Let me try to put things in perspective.
On one hand, we have a woman who many describe as an accomplished model and actress, or one who others may describe as a somewhat mediocre actress who nevertheless produced an iconic poster.
But this woman was also a brave fighter. A woman who sought to bring real awareness to the plight of millions around the world also affected by Cancer, through a self -produced documentary film that was shown on network TV just a short time before she lost her valiant battle with the horrible disease that took her life.
She left this world with the message that there is indeed dignity in dying.
There are many more positive adjectives that could be used to describe her, but mere words fail me.
Farrah Fawcett was an inspiration for all those who value integrity and self-worth.
She will be missed.
On the other hand, we have a freak. A man (or whatever) who had so many phobias and so much greed and selfishness that he shut himself away from the world, afraid of exposing his oft altered face to the world for fear he might catch some virus. A man who was afraid to come out into the light of day except to parade himself in front of an adoring media. A man who was so ashamed of his race and his color and his culture that he tried everything humanly possible to change himself. To alter his very physical appearance to hide his true identity.
A life exemplified by fear and shame.
Yes, he recorded music. I will even give him credit for being one of a few recording artist who had an instinct for perfection. His recordings were nearly flawless in their production.
But, he was also a pedophile. One of the lowest creatures to ever emerge from the cesspool of licentiousness. This man took depravity to a whole new level. What do his adoring fans say of the many children whose lives he literally ruined? Not one blessed word.
How tragic.
Michael Jackson doesn't deserve tribute. He deserves scorn.
There is not one positive moral value to be garnered from a study of his life and death.
No positive, moral message to teach our children and grandchildren. Except to be wary of men who say they love children.
He will not be missed.
So, I am outraged by the shameless adoration being shoveled out en masse for this monster, and by the lack of respect for a beautiful woman who's life exemplified courage, dignity, and integrity.
Shame. Shame. Shame.
OK. I was going to write an entry about the "Cap and Tax" bill being approved in the House of Representatives yesterday. But, I confess that I don't understand the implications of it well enough to make an intelligent comment. Yet.
But then, before I could do the appropriate research, the news about the death of Michael Jackson grew legs, and before one could say "Billie Jean is not my love", stories about him were plastered all over newspapers, blogs, television, and radio.
In this morning's local newspaper there is a headline story, and no less than three related stories on the front page alone, and still more on the back, plus a commentary by what can only be described as, a columnist with a schoolgirls crush on Michael Jackson.
(as an aside, the columnist claims she remembers Jackson from a concert she attended before she was two years old. Anyone want to take bets that's a lie?)
All speaking in glowing terms about the so-called "King of Pop".
"Queen of Pop" would be more accurate, but still an overstatement.
It would be a vast understatement for me to simply say I am deeply disturbed by this level of hero worship. Why?
Does anyone remember who else died on Thursday?
Let me try to put things in perspective.
On one hand, we have a woman who many describe as an accomplished model and actress, or one who others may describe as a somewhat mediocre actress who nevertheless produced an iconic poster.
But this woman was also a brave fighter. A woman who sought to bring real awareness to the plight of millions around the world also affected by Cancer, through a self -produced documentary film that was shown on network TV just a short time before she lost her valiant battle with the horrible disease that took her life.
She left this world with the message that there is indeed dignity in dying.
There are many more positive adjectives that could be used to describe her, but mere words fail me.
Farrah Fawcett was an inspiration for all those who value integrity and self-worth.
She will be missed.
On the other hand, we have a freak. A man (or whatever) who had so many phobias and so much greed and selfishness that he shut himself away from the world, afraid of exposing his oft altered face to the world for fear he might catch some virus. A man who was afraid to come out into the light of day except to parade himself in front of an adoring media. A man who was so ashamed of his race and his color and his culture that he tried everything humanly possible to change himself. To alter his very physical appearance to hide his true identity.
A life exemplified by fear and shame.
Yes, he recorded music. I will even give him credit for being one of a few recording artist who had an instinct for perfection. His recordings were nearly flawless in their production.
But, he was also a pedophile. One of the lowest creatures to ever emerge from the cesspool of licentiousness. This man took depravity to a whole new level. What do his adoring fans say of the many children whose lives he literally ruined? Not one blessed word.
How tragic.
Michael Jackson doesn't deserve tribute. He deserves scorn.
There is not one positive moral value to be garnered from a study of his life and death.
No positive, moral message to teach our children and grandchildren. Except to be wary of men who say they love children.
He will not be missed.
So, I am outraged by the shameless adoration being shoveled out en masse for this monster, and by the lack of respect for a beautiful woman who's life exemplified courage, dignity, and integrity.
Shame. Shame. Shame.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Royal Majesty
"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." ~ William Congreve
This song was on a record album that my brother owned. I think it was recorded around 1969 or so. It was produced and recorded by the Earl Scruggs Revue, and it featured a bunch of artists from all genre's of music.
This particular cut features Tracy Chapman, The Pointer Sisters, Joan Baez, Bonnie Bramlett, and Charlie Daniels, in that order.
It's a gospel song. I think it's funny, now, that Joan Baez had to get her anti-war statement into the lyrics. And Bonnie Bramlett seems to add a reference to drugs in her verse.
This song was on a record album that my brother owned. I think it was recorded around 1969 or so. It was produced and recorded by the Earl Scruggs Revue, and it featured a bunch of artists from all genre's of music.
This particular cut features Tracy Chapman, The Pointer Sisters, Joan Baez, Bonnie Bramlett, and Charlie Daniels, in that order.
It's a gospel song. I think it's funny, now, that Joan Baez had to get her anti-war statement into the lyrics. And Bonnie Bramlett seems to add a reference to drugs in her verse.
Memories And Introspection
"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it." ~ Michel de Montaigne
Today's post is just a sort of a personal catharsis for me. It is written to help me cope. Don't read it if you don't want to.
Over on Facebook, a member of my high school graduating class, Karen W, has posted photos of our 40th High school reunion that was held earlier this month. I wasn't able to go.
Memories rushed back to me, as Firesign Theatre says, "like a hot kiss at the end of a wet fist"
So, I made a request to add me to her friends list. So I can comment. I don't know that she will add me. I don't think she likes me very much, if at all.
I had a tremendous crush on her in High School, but I doubt she ever knew that. I went to my 10 year reunion, and while there, I asked her to dance. She declined. It was kind of a slap in the face to my mind. It still hurts somewhat.
I got over it, but...
It probably wasn't anything personal at all, and she probably doesn't even remember the encounter. She most likely had her reasons, and they probably don't include whether she liked me or not.
OK, at this point you're likely wondering why I seem to think she would dislike me.
When I was in high school, I was extremely obnoxious, believe it or not! Seriously. If anyone thinks I'm obnoxious now, believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to know me then. I have improved tremendously since then. And, I'm still a work in progress. I don't remember if I shared any classes with Karen, but I'm sure my reputation preceded me.
Memories are funny things, you know? I really don't remember much of my school days. I've always assumed that I blocked unpleasant memories out, hence, there are few things left to remember.
My School days are not memories I consider particularly pleasant.
Here are some things I do remember:
As I mentioned, I had a crush on Karen, and I don't think she ever knew. I was shy. Really. At least, with the girls. She had an ever-present boyfriend, named Paul. He was at this years reunion. Karen has pictures of them standing together. Almost as if they had never gone their separate ways after school was over. They still look good together, only now, I don't fantasize about making him disappear.
Then, there is a picture of Deb M, and Vickie W, and Bill T. All I remember about Deb is that she was a cute girl and still is.
Vickie? Up until now, I thought Vickie was dead! Her name was very similar to one of BTK's victims and I had always assumed that's who she was. Fortunately, she wasn't. Not so fortunate for the girl I thought she was.
I think Bill was on the Basketball team, but I may be mistaking him for someone else.
Mark H: His name is familiar, and I still remember his yearbook picture, but that's all I remember about him. He was the classmate who was charged with finding me to invite me to the reunion, and since then, he has sent me several personal messages. As if we are old, dear, friends. That's OK. Can't have enough friends, right?
Sharon R: The girl I was assigned to march beside into our graduation ceremony. By the way, she didn't remember who she marched in with until I told her. I don't think I knew her well then, but she has become a friend to me on Facebook. Apparently, she has never married. But, I don't know. I haven't asked.
Ray K. and Karen H: Knew who they were but didn't know them. I do remember Karen wore a pair of really ugly white framed glasses! They would probably be back in style now. I remember Ray as a nerd.
Then, there's Paula S. Ah, Paula! Paula was my first wife. Well, not really. During a Sadie Hawkins day dance and race at our Junior high school, Paula threatened to catch and marry me. She did. I was the shortest boy in school at the time, and she was the tallest girl. What a sight that must have been! From the photos, she's still tall.
Susan O, Rosie M, Debbie H, and Tim B: Susan was a cheerleader, and so was Debbie.I didn't know them well. Oh, I forgot to mention, Karen W, the girl I had the crush on, was a cheerleader, too.
Rosie: Her locker was right next to mine. She was a delightful girl with a great sense of humor. Her and I talked everyday because of the placement of our lockers. She's a teacher now.
Tim, I found out at the 10 year reunion, is a doctor now. He was a nerd in High school.
Gary M: He married a girl who lived just around the corner from me. I played sandlot sports with her younger brother. He was pretty talented. We once convinced Gary to play some tackle football with us in the vacant lot across the street from my house. He broke his ankle in the game. Sandy, who later became Gary's wife, was pretty angry at us for that, but he was the one who stepped over the curb! Later, when I was living in Kansas City, I attended a state Championship football game in Lawrence, Kansas. My old High school defeated Lawrence High School for the State Championship that year. I ran into Gary there.
Don A: In the current photo, he looks much the same as he did then, except older. I seem to remember him wearing a light blue short sleeve dress shirt. I doubt he wore it everyday, but that's how I remember him.
Funny what you remember.
Ah, Stephanie F: Stephanie was a particularly nice girl in school. She always treated me with respect and kindness, and I had something of a crush on her, too. I even considered asking her out, but I didn't have the nerve. Good thing I didn't. As it turned out, she was secretly married all through her senior year. To a semi-professional football player. She looked like Nicki Cox, the actress.
Sheila A, and Barbara K: I remember their names, but that's about all. Except I think Barbara slumped a little when she stood. Maybe not.
Peggy B: I remember she was nice. And cute. And short. Seems her and I were not enemies.
Bruce B, and Brigette V: Bruce was Peggy S's boyfriend, and I remember he went looking for me once, and not to exchange hello's and greetings, either. Something a little heavier than hello's and greetings. There was a misunderstanding, as I recall. He was under the impression I had insulted his girlfriend, Peggy. I had not. The fight (or beating) never took place.
Brigette was head cheerleader. She wasn't the best looking cheerleader at all. She was actually pretty plain, but she had a wonderful effervescent personality, that more than made up for her physical shortcomings. She sat next to me in one of my classes. She was always friendly and bubbly. I liked her. Everyone did. After school, she seemed to drop out of sight. She didn't attend the 10 year reunion and there was speculation that she was having a hard time making a life for herself. I don't know if that's true or not, but here she is, at the 40 year reunion, so she didn't die, at least.
I don't know of any of my High School classmates who have died. Every year, in our school, a student died. It was always a senior. Except when my class were seniors. That year, it was a sophomore. Weird, huh?
Memories. Some good, some bad.
Which leads me to look back at my life over the years, introspectively.
I wonder if others are as dissatisfied with things as they turned out as I am. I look back over the years and I see a life littered with missed opportunities, lost chances, wrong decisions.
I rarely took a risk. I allowed myself to be pushed to the side and watched many of my friends go on to bigger and better things.
I took a chance once that worked out rather nicely, but for the most part, whenever I took a chance, it didn't.
I answered an ad for a job, and when I was interviewed, it turned out that it was to be a direct sales job that paid only a draw against commission. I am not good at sales. I have trouble justifying a high price in my head, so consequently, I cannot justify it to customers.
I didn't want the job, but I was unemployed, with a newborn baby, and just about to fall back onto Welfare. The only reason I took the job was the first two weeks were to be paid training. $250.00 a week guaranteed for two weeks. I figured I could stay for the $500.00, and look for something better in the meantime.
I stayed with the company 13 years, and was quite successful, until surgery on my vocal chords to remove a possibly malignant growth afforded me the opportunity to look at what I was doing with my life, and I didn't like what I saw.
So, I quit.
As it turned out, that was fortunate for me. A few years later, law suits and government intervention put that huge nation-wide corporation completely out of business. If I had stayed, I would have been forced out of my job.
In one of the rare personal conversations with one of my brothers, he hung his head, shook it slowly, and said, "Mark, you are the unluckiest person I know".
He is the luckiest person I know.
We all know we make our own luck, right? Remember the old truism, "The harder you work, the luckier you get"?
That's true. Except with my brother. I'm not kidding. Fortune literally falls into his lap. You would like to hate him for that, but you can't. He's just too nice a guy. He is also very humble about his continual good luck. Who can hate a guy like that?
But that, too, has it's drawbacks.
As I explained to him in the same conversation, "If anything catastrophic ever befell you, you'd turn into jelly. You aren't used to calamity. You'd fall apart". He acknowledged that is true. On the other hand, Catastrophes happen to me every day. They are like water off a ducks back to me. Every setback I experience is only a minor speed bump in my road. I pick myself up and go on as if nothing happened. I believe I am stronger for my experiences. My brother agrees.
This, I believe, is God's way of preparing me for future calamities in my life and my family's lives. When the pain sets in, I will be the one they will look to for comfort and guidance. Because I can handle adversity.
I have been trained well.
Don't get the wrong idea, though. I don't want that responsibility. I'd rather let someone else, someone more competent, someone smarter, someone who enjoys being responsible, someone who can take criticism better, do the job.
But if this is my lot in life, I will accept it, and work with what I have, and be what God created me to be.
Like it or not.
Today's post is just a sort of a personal catharsis for me. It is written to help me cope. Don't read it if you don't want to.
Over on Facebook, a member of my high school graduating class, Karen W, has posted photos of our 40th High school reunion that was held earlier this month. I wasn't able to go.
Memories rushed back to me, as Firesign Theatre says, "like a hot kiss at the end of a wet fist"
I wanted to make some nice comments on the photos, but I am not on her Facebook friends list, which apparently is a prerequisite to making comments about anything to anyone, specifically, on Facebook. I still don't understand Facebook yet, although I have enjoyed posting some of my blogposts in the "notes" application. I think---at least, I hope they bug my Liberal relatives.
So, I made a request to add me to her friends list. So I can comment. I don't know that she will add me. I don't think she likes me very much, if at all.
I had a tremendous crush on her in High School, but I doubt she ever knew that. I went to my 10 year reunion, and while there, I asked her to dance. She declined. It was kind of a slap in the face to my mind. It still hurts somewhat.
I got over it, but...
It probably wasn't anything personal at all, and she probably doesn't even remember the encounter. She most likely had her reasons, and they probably don't include whether she liked me or not.
OK, at this point you're likely wondering why I seem to think she would dislike me.
When I was in high school, I was extremely obnoxious, believe it or not! Seriously. If anyone thinks I'm obnoxious now, believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to know me then. I have improved tremendously since then. And, I'm still a work in progress. I don't remember if I shared any classes with Karen, but I'm sure my reputation preceded me.
Memories are funny things, you know? I really don't remember much of my school days. I've always assumed that I blocked unpleasant memories out, hence, there are few things left to remember.
My School days are not memories I consider particularly pleasant.
Here are some things I do remember:
As I mentioned, I had a crush on Karen, and I don't think she ever knew. I was shy. Really. At least, with the girls. She had an ever-present boyfriend, named Paul. He was at this years reunion. Karen has pictures of them standing together. Almost as if they had never gone their separate ways after school was over. They still look good together, only now, I don't fantasize about making him disappear.
Then, there is a picture of Deb M, and Vickie W, and Bill T. All I remember about Deb is that she was a cute girl and still is.
Vickie? Up until now, I thought Vickie was dead! Her name was very similar to one of BTK's victims and I had always assumed that's who she was. Fortunately, she wasn't. Not so fortunate for the girl I thought she was.
I think Bill was on the Basketball team, but I may be mistaking him for someone else.
Mark H: His name is familiar, and I still remember his yearbook picture, but that's all I remember about him. He was the classmate who was charged with finding me to invite me to the reunion, and since then, he has sent me several personal messages. As if we are old, dear, friends. That's OK. Can't have enough friends, right?
Sharon R: The girl I was assigned to march beside into our graduation ceremony. By the way, she didn't remember who she marched in with until I told her. I don't think I knew her well then, but she has become a friend to me on Facebook. Apparently, she has never married. But, I don't know. I haven't asked.
Ray K. and Karen H: Knew who they were but didn't know them. I do remember Karen wore a pair of really ugly white framed glasses! They would probably be back in style now. I remember Ray as a nerd.
Then, there's Paula S. Ah, Paula! Paula was my first wife. Well, not really. During a Sadie Hawkins day dance and race at our Junior high school, Paula threatened to catch and marry me. She did. I was the shortest boy in school at the time, and she was the tallest girl. What a sight that must have been! From the photos, she's still tall.
Susan O, Rosie M, Debbie H, and Tim B: Susan was a cheerleader, and so was Debbie.I didn't know them well. Oh, I forgot to mention, Karen W, the girl I had the crush on, was a cheerleader, too.
Rosie: Her locker was right next to mine. She was a delightful girl with a great sense of humor. Her and I talked everyday because of the placement of our lockers. She's a teacher now.
Tim, I found out at the 10 year reunion, is a doctor now. He was a nerd in High school.
Gary M: He married a girl who lived just around the corner from me. I played sandlot sports with her younger brother. He was pretty talented. We once convinced Gary to play some tackle football with us in the vacant lot across the street from my house. He broke his ankle in the game. Sandy, who later became Gary's wife, was pretty angry at us for that, but he was the one who stepped over the curb! Later, when I was living in Kansas City, I attended a state Championship football game in Lawrence, Kansas. My old High school defeated Lawrence High School for the State Championship that year. I ran into Gary there.
Don A: In the current photo, he looks much the same as he did then, except older. I seem to remember him wearing a light blue short sleeve dress shirt. I doubt he wore it everyday, but that's how I remember him.
Funny what you remember.
Ah, Stephanie F: Stephanie was a particularly nice girl in school. She always treated me with respect and kindness, and I had something of a crush on her, too. I even considered asking her out, but I didn't have the nerve. Good thing I didn't. As it turned out, she was secretly married all through her senior year. To a semi-professional football player. She looked like Nicki Cox, the actress.
Sheila A, and Barbara K: I remember their names, but that's about all. Except I think Barbara slumped a little when she stood. Maybe not.
Peggy B: I remember she was nice. And cute. And short. Seems her and I were not enemies.
Bruce B, and Brigette V: Bruce was Peggy S's boyfriend, and I remember he went looking for me once, and not to exchange hello's and greetings, either. Something a little heavier than hello's and greetings. There was a misunderstanding, as I recall. He was under the impression I had insulted his girlfriend, Peggy. I had not. The fight (or beating) never took place.
Brigette was head cheerleader. She wasn't the best looking cheerleader at all. She was actually pretty plain, but she had a wonderful effervescent personality, that more than made up for her physical shortcomings. She sat next to me in one of my classes. She was always friendly and bubbly. I liked her. Everyone did. After school, she seemed to drop out of sight. She didn't attend the 10 year reunion and there was speculation that she was having a hard time making a life for herself. I don't know if that's true or not, but here she is, at the 40 year reunion, so she didn't die, at least.
I don't know of any of my High School classmates who have died. Every year, in our school, a student died. It was always a senior. Except when my class were seniors. That year, it was a sophomore. Weird, huh?
Memories. Some good, some bad.
Which leads me to look back at my life over the years, introspectively.
I wonder if others are as dissatisfied with things as they turned out as I am. I look back over the years and I see a life littered with missed opportunities, lost chances, wrong decisions.
I rarely took a risk. I allowed myself to be pushed to the side and watched many of my friends go on to bigger and better things.
I took a chance once that worked out rather nicely, but for the most part, whenever I took a chance, it didn't.
I answered an ad for a job, and when I was interviewed, it turned out that it was to be a direct sales job that paid only a draw against commission. I am not good at sales. I have trouble justifying a high price in my head, so consequently, I cannot justify it to customers.
I didn't want the job, but I was unemployed, with a newborn baby, and just about to fall back onto Welfare. The only reason I took the job was the first two weeks were to be paid training. $250.00 a week guaranteed for two weeks. I figured I could stay for the $500.00, and look for something better in the meantime.
I stayed with the company 13 years, and was quite successful, until surgery on my vocal chords to remove a possibly malignant growth afforded me the opportunity to look at what I was doing with my life, and I didn't like what I saw.
So, I quit.
As it turned out, that was fortunate for me. A few years later, law suits and government intervention put that huge nation-wide corporation completely out of business. If I had stayed, I would have been forced out of my job.
In one of the rare personal conversations with one of my brothers, he hung his head, shook it slowly, and said, "Mark, you are the unluckiest person I know".
He is the luckiest person I know.
We all know we make our own luck, right? Remember the old truism, "The harder you work, the luckier you get"?
That's true. Except with my brother. I'm not kidding. Fortune literally falls into his lap. You would like to hate him for that, but you can't. He's just too nice a guy. He is also very humble about his continual good luck. Who can hate a guy like that?
But that, too, has it's drawbacks.
As I explained to him in the same conversation, "If anything catastrophic ever befell you, you'd turn into jelly. You aren't used to calamity. You'd fall apart". He acknowledged that is true. On the other hand, Catastrophes happen to me every day. They are like water off a ducks back to me. Every setback I experience is only a minor speed bump in my road. I pick myself up and go on as if nothing happened. I believe I am stronger for my experiences. My brother agrees.
This, I believe, is God's way of preparing me for future calamities in my life and my family's lives. When the pain sets in, I will be the one they will look to for comfort and guidance. Because I can handle adversity.
I have been trained well.
Don't get the wrong idea, though. I don't want that responsibility. I'd rather let someone else, someone more competent, someone smarter, someone who enjoys being responsible, someone who can take criticism better, do the job.
But if this is my lot in life, I will accept it, and work with what I have, and be what God created me to be.
Like it or not.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
All Generalizations Are False
"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation." ~ Henry Kissinger
It's not because the Republican party is hypocritical or corrupt that the Republican Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford made a stupid, hypocritical, colossal blunder in having an affair. Because overall, it isn't (as far as I know).
But, that won't stop the Democrats from making that presumptuous charge.
Here are just two of the comments posted about Sanford's revelation of his affair:
"Once again, the Republicans prove they are the bigger enemy to the 'sanctity of marriage' than the gays and lesbians".
"That is normal for a republican! Know wonder that our gov is screwed UP!"
Obviously, that particular charge applies only to him. It's not like the Republican party leaders ordered him to commit adultery. Or, to announce it publicly. Indeed, the Republican party, more than the Democrats, stand for personal responsibility. And, in this case (as all other similar cases), Governor Sanford is the only one who bears responsibility for his actions.
To his credit, he acknowledges that fact.
I hate it when some Republican politician does something stupid. I love it when some Democrat does. Because the entire party automatically becomes suspect.
And, I admit, that is just plain wrong.
One simply cannot, in all honesty, fault the entire party for something some idiot member of the party did. But, by the same token, haven't many of us been guilty of projecting the same onto the Democratic party?
Well, yes, but then the Democratic party is normally the party that defends rather than condemns such behavior.
Nevertheless, wait. Watch. And see.
The media and the Democrats and the Liberals will be making that connection:
Governor Mark Sanford is a hypocrite and corrupt, therefore, the Republican party is hypocritical and corrupt.
It follows as night follows day.
It's not because the Republican party is hypocritical or corrupt that the Republican Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford made a stupid, hypocritical, colossal blunder in having an affair. Because overall, it isn't (as far as I know).
But, that won't stop the Democrats from making that presumptuous charge.
Here are just two of the comments posted about Sanford's revelation of his affair:
"Once again, the Republicans prove they are the bigger enemy to the 'sanctity of marriage' than the gays and lesbians".
"That is normal for a republican! Know wonder that our gov is screwed UP!"
Obviously, that particular charge applies only to him. It's not like the Republican party leaders ordered him to commit adultery. Or, to announce it publicly. Indeed, the Republican party, more than the Democrats, stand for personal responsibility. And, in this case (as all other similar cases), Governor Sanford is the only one who bears responsibility for his actions.
To his credit, he acknowledges that fact.
I hate it when some Republican politician does something stupid. I love it when some Democrat does. Because the entire party automatically becomes suspect.
And, I admit, that is just plain wrong.
One simply cannot, in all honesty, fault the entire party for something some idiot member of the party did. But, by the same token, haven't many of us been guilty of projecting the same onto the Democratic party?
Well, yes, but then the Democratic party is normally the party that defends rather than condemns such behavior.
Nevertheless, wait. Watch. And see.
The media and the Democrats and the Liberals will be making that connection:
Governor Mark Sanford is a hypocrite and corrupt, therefore, the Republican party is hypocritical and corrupt.
It follows as night follows day.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Blogpost Number 779
"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light." ~ Dylan Thomas
I used to think my blog had relevance. I used to think it was important.
And, I wanted to make a difference.
Before the 2008 Presidential election. I wrote several blog entries warning readers of the negative implications of voting for Barack Hussein Obama for President. I pleaded with readers not to vote for Obama because he is a Marxist, and would ultimately lead America to destruction. I made my case as strong as I could.
Obviously, I failed.
And, what lone voice crying out in the wilderness wouldn't? Stronger voices than mine have met with the same unfortunate results.
I'm not the only one who attempted, unsuccessfully, to influence America's vote.
So did Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, and Ann Coulter, and Mark Levin. So did thousands of editorial and opinion writers. So did thousands, perhaps millions, of bloggers.
Few listened. Obama won, anyway.
Out of millions of blog posts, and articles, and talk radio shows, some people have changed their minds about politics. But not many.
I don't think I have changed any minds with my blog posts.
And now, everything we bloggers and radio hosts and editorialists have predicted is coming to fruition.
Obama has proven to be every bit of the pathological narcissist we said he is. He is every bit the Marxist. The Socialist. Whatever.
His takeover of banking institutions, automobile manufacturers, Insurance companies, etc, along with his ongoing efforts to insert his government into all phases of private industry (especially health care), and indeed, even private citizenry is evidence of the man's oft predicted intentions.
If our warnings continue unheeded, by 2012, Obama may very well be the dictator of a nation no longer considered a Constitutional Republic.
We are watching the Socialization of America take place right before our eyes. And still there are so many who see these predictions coming true and deny it's happening.
It defies logic.
What can be done?
Most Rev. Gregori, in a comment on one of my previous posts, said, "Just using blogs, faxes, emails, tea parties, demonstrations, and marches are not going to do it. It will take real action."
I beg to respectfully disagree.
The fact is, tea parties, demonstrations and marches are real action. That was proven during the years we were engaged in Vietnam. Do you realize America never lost a single battle during that campaign? How did we lose that war? Or, for those who don't believe we lost, how did that war end in a tie?
It was the voices raised by the vocal minority. It was the marches. It was the demonstrations. It was the outcry of dissent.
It made a very real difference.
The Government, from the President on down, acquiesced to the growing dissent and eventually withdrew American troops from a war we were winning.
So, our protests may seem to fall upon deaf ears, but we must not surrender. We must not rest. Although the sails are torn and the ship battered, we must do what we can to keep the ship of state afloat. Eventually, if we roar loud enough, we will prevail.
Ok. So my blog is irrelevant. I am unimportant. I don't make a difference.
It matters not. I will continue to voice my opinion, even if it's unpopular. Even if I am the only one who voices a particular opinion. Even if all who reads this opposes me. Though targeted by slings and arrows, I will stand my ground. I will keep my integrity.
I will not surrender.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light." ~ Dylan Thomas
I used to think my blog had relevance. I used to think it was important.
And, I wanted to make a difference.
Before the 2008 Presidential election. I wrote several blog entries warning readers of the negative implications of voting for Barack Hussein Obama for President. I pleaded with readers not to vote for Obama because he is a Marxist, and would ultimately lead America to destruction. I made my case as strong as I could.
Obviously, I failed.
And, what lone voice crying out in the wilderness wouldn't? Stronger voices than mine have met with the same unfortunate results.
I'm not the only one who attempted, unsuccessfully, to influence America's vote.
So did Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, and Ann Coulter, and Mark Levin. So did thousands of editorial and opinion writers. So did thousands, perhaps millions, of bloggers.
Few listened. Obama won, anyway.
Out of millions of blog posts, and articles, and talk radio shows, some people have changed their minds about politics. But not many.
I don't think I have changed any minds with my blog posts.
And now, everything we bloggers and radio hosts and editorialists have predicted is coming to fruition.
Obama has proven to be every bit of the pathological narcissist we said he is. He is every bit the Marxist. The Socialist. Whatever.
His takeover of banking institutions, automobile manufacturers, Insurance companies, etc, along with his ongoing efforts to insert his government into all phases of private industry (especially health care), and indeed, even private citizenry is evidence of the man's oft predicted intentions.
If our warnings continue unheeded, by 2012, Obama may very well be the dictator of a nation no longer considered a Constitutional Republic.
We are watching the Socialization of America take place right before our eyes. And still there are so many who see these predictions coming true and deny it's happening.
It defies logic.
What can be done?
Most Rev. Gregori, in a comment on one of my previous posts, said, "Just using blogs, faxes, emails, tea parties, demonstrations, and marches are not going to do it. It will take real action."
I beg to respectfully disagree.
The fact is, tea parties, demonstrations and marches are real action. That was proven during the years we were engaged in Vietnam. Do you realize America never lost a single battle during that campaign? How did we lose that war? Or, for those who don't believe we lost, how did that war end in a tie?
It was the voices raised by the vocal minority. It was the marches. It was the demonstrations. It was the outcry of dissent.
It made a very real difference.
The Government, from the President on down, acquiesced to the growing dissent and eventually withdrew American troops from a war we were winning.
So, our protests may seem to fall upon deaf ears, but we must not surrender. We must not rest. Although the sails are torn and the ship battered, we must do what we can to keep the ship of state afloat. Eventually, if we roar loud enough, we will prevail.
Ok. So my blog is irrelevant. I am unimportant. I don't make a difference.
It matters not. I will continue to voice my opinion, even if it's unpopular. Even if I am the only one who voices a particular opinion. Even if all who reads this opposes me. Though targeted by slings and arrows, I will stand my ground. I will keep my integrity.
I will not surrender.
Friday, June 19, 2009
What Was In My Head When I Awoke
Actually, What got in my head was Sheryl Crowe's version, but embedding is disabled on that video.
I don't have control over what I'm thinking when I wake up. Sheryl does an outstanding version of this song. I don't have to like her to like her music.
Overall, I like Rod Stewart better anyway. So here's Rod Stewart.
I don't have control over what I'm thinking when I wake up. Sheryl does an outstanding version of this song. I don't have to like her to like her music.
Overall, I like Rod Stewart better anyway. So here's Rod Stewart.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
ObamaCare: Problematic At Best
"The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty." ~ Eugene McCarthy
There is a point buried deep within all this debate about America's health care system, and whether it is adequate, horrible, or the best in the world:
There is no health care system in America.
There is, however, a free enterprise system, and that has worked very well since this country's inception.
In this free enterprise system, ideally, people in America are free to avail themselves to any kind of health care they think is best for them. Medical personnel, including not just doctors and nurses, but pharmaceutical companies and all health related occupations, can charge patients with what the market will bear for their products and services.
Somewhere along the way, a few enterprising men (and, presumably, women) saw a need for a business opportunity that would not only provide them with a living, but help Americans afford the rising costs of health care. It's called insurance.
Now, most Americans recognize the need for some kind of health insurance.
We also recognize that all of us have a right to either purchase health insurance or not. Some people buy insurance policies, and, for one reason or another, some don't.
Contrary to Liberal belief, Americans do not have a right to health care. We have the specific rights enumerated in the Constitution.
Health care is not listed among them.
But, unfortunately, most Americans need health insurance in the event of health problems. Also unfortunately, the cost of health insurance rises along with the costs of health care.
Many Americans cannot afford adequate health insurance. If we can't afford health insurance, we surely can't afford health care.
This is the point Obama is continually trying to make.
He wants us to believe that ObamaCare will solve these problems.
But it won't. And it can't.
The only way Obama's health care plan could work right is if he either requires payment for health care, or substantially reduces the costs of health care. And if he charges, who will he charge? If he reduces the costs, how will that effect quality?
I am all in favor of reducing the costs of health care to a point where every American can afford them, but how can he do that without violating the Constitutional right to free enterprise?
Will he force medical personnel and all medical related industries to stop charging fees for their services and products?
I know how to solve the health care crisis (if there is one) in this country:
All health-related personnel and industries must voluntarily offer their services and products for free. Obama can't Constitutionally compel them against their will to work for free. So, it has to be voluntary.
But wait a minute. If all medical personnel and industry start working for free, how are they to make a living? The only thing I can think of is they would all have to get regular jobs, such as Walmart, or McDonald's etc, to earn a living for themselves and their families and do their medical thing in their spare time.
Of course, this brings us back to inefficiency, exactly what ObamaCare will cause.
Impossible? Ridiculous? Unworkable?
Yes.
But no more unworkable than Obama's naive health care plan.
There is a point buried deep within all this debate about America's health care system, and whether it is adequate, horrible, or the best in the world:
There is no health care system in America.
There is, however, a free enterprise system, and that has worked very well since this country's inception.
In this free enterprise system, ideally, people in America are free to avail themselves to any kind of health care they think is best for them. Medical personnel, including not just doctors and nurses, but pharmaceutical companies and all health related occupations, can charge patients with what the market will bear for their products and services.
Somewhere along the way, a few enterprising men (and, presumably, women) saw a need for a business opportunity that would not only provide them with a living, but help Americans afford the rising costs of health care. It's called insurance.
Now, most Americans recognize the need for some kind of health insurance.
We also recognize that all of us have a right to either purchase health insurance or not. Some people buy insurance policies, and, for one reason or another, some don't.
Contrary to Liberal belief, Americans do not have a right to health care. We have the specific rights enumerated in the Constitution.
Health care is not listed among them.
But, unfortunately, most Americans need health insurance in the event of health problems. Also unfortunately, the cost of health insurance rises along with the costs of health care.
Many Americans cannot afford adequate health insurance. If we can't afford health insurance, we surely can't afford health care.
This is the point Obama is continually trying to make.
He wants us to believe that ObamaCare will solve these problems.
But it won't. And it can't.
The only way Obama's health care plan could work right is if he either requires payment for health care, or substantially reduces the costs of health care. And if he charges, who will he charge? If he reduces the costs, how will that effect quality?
I am all in favor of reducing the costs of health care to a point where every American can afford them, but how can he do that without violating the Constitutional right to free enterprise?
Will he force medical personnel and all medical related industries to stop charging fees for their services and products?
I know how to solve the health care crisis (if there is one) in this country:
All health-related personnel and industries must voluntarily offer their services and products for free. Obama can't Constitutionally compel them against their will to work for free. So, it has to be voluntary.
But wait a minute. If all medical personnel and industry start working for free, how are they to make a living? The only thing I can think of is they would all have to get regular jobs, such as Walmart, or McDonald's etc, to earn a living for themselves and their families and do their medical thing in their spare time.
Of course, this brings us back to inefficiency, exactly what ObamaCare will cause.
Impossible? Ridiculous? Unworkable?
Yes.
But no more unworkable than Obama's naive health care plan.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Big Lie
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
As much as I dislike insurance companies, I still recognize, in this country, they have the inherent right to exist. The United States of America was founded on principles of freedom and liberty.
The Government has no right--repeat---no right, to take over any private business. No way, no how. Not AIG. Not any banks. Not GM. Not Chrysler. These companies have been openly taken over by Obama and his Marxists cohorts.
And hardly a whimper has been heard from the people.
Now comes proof positive that Barack Hussein Obama and his Marxist allies are conspiring, surreptitiously, to put private insurance companies out of business.
This isn't only an unconstitutional takeover of private business. This is a purge, in the grand tradition of Josef Stalin.
In their own words, Obama and his co-conspirators have revealed their true intentions. Obama tells his sheeple he wants to give us a free choice between private medical insurance and Nationalized Health Care, but the following video reveals he is lying. Watch this:
The destruction of America as we know it is well underway. They already have many private companies. Now he is going after private insurance companies. I think we all know where this is going.
What we don't know for sure, is, who's next?
As much as I dislike insurance companies, I still recognize, in this country, they have the inherent right to exist. The United States of America was founded on principles of freedom and liberty.
The Government has no right--repeat---no right, to take over any private business. No way, no how. Not AIG. Not any banks. Not GM. Not Chrysler. These companies have been openly taken over by Obama and his Marxists cohorts.
And hardly a whimper has been heard from the people.
Now comes proof positive that Barack Hussein Obama and his Marxist allies are conspiring, surreptitiously, to put private insurance companies out of business.
This isn't only an unconstitutional takeover of private business. This is a purge, in the grand tradition of Josef Stalin.
In their own words, Obama and his co-conspirators have revealed their true intentions. Obama tells his sheeple he wants to give us a free choice between private medical insurance and Nationalized Health Care, but the following video reveals he is lying. Watch this:
The destruction of America as we know it is well underway. They already have many private companies. Now he is going after private insurance companies. I think we all know where this is going.
What we don't know for sure, is, who's next?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Is Insanity Covered By Obamacare?
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." ~ Albert Einstein, (attributed)
On a personal level, I am in favor of Nationalized Health Care. I mean, who wouldn't prefer free health care over having to pay, even if one only has to pay a small co-payment?
I have a job but my job has no benefits. No pension. No paid vacations or sick leave. No 401k.
And no health or life insurance.
No benefits at all besides a paycheck, which sometimes is quite good, but sometimes not.
But understand, I'm not whining. I knew when I accepted the job there were no benefits. I just thought I would make enough money to buy my own insurance. I was wrong.
I needed a job. I was offered this one. I accepted it. And now, I have to live with the consequences of my decision. I accept that.
For you Liberals out there, that's known as accepting personal responsibility, which I believe is the core of Conservative ideology. I know personal responsibility is a foreign concept to Liberals.
Ah, don't get me started.
I have recently been experiencing intense pain in my left ankle. Sometimes the pain is so extreme, it seems to spread upward into my knee. Sometimes, I can barely walk.
I don't know what's wrong. I don't know how to relieve the pain. Pain pills do nothing. My wife tells me I need to see a doctor, but I can't afford that. She says it could be PAD, or a blood clot, or neuropathy, or a complication from my Diabetes type II, or arthritis.
I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway. I can't afford treatment.
As an aside, inexplicably, the pain just went away this week, after several weeks of continual pain. It hasn't come back. Yet. Perhaps a prayer was answered. In any case, I'm fine, now.
This is why I say, on a personal level, I am in favor of free health care. Yes. Free health care.
Certainly not Obamacare.
On an intellectual level, I am totally against National Health care. All models of Socialized medicine (for that's what it really is) has failed, and will always fail. Every where it's been tried, it has failed. Why?
Well, to begin with, if health care is free, people will take advantage.
I grew up near McConnell Air Force base in Wichita, Kansas. Many of my friends and classmates were children of Air Force personnel. Health care, (in case any of my readers don't already know this) in the military, is free. Or at least, this is what I understand. Some of my readers who are veterans may need to correct me on this one.
Anyway, I was often surprised at the things my Air Force friends would run off to the emergency room at the Air Base hospital for. Small cuts and bruises. Twisted ankles. Headaches. Colds. Sniffles. It was a ridiculous waste of free services to my mind.
And these services were paid for by the Defense Department. Expenses of the Defense Department are paid for by--guess who?--The American Taxpayers.
Now, imagine this situation amplified to include all Americans (and illegal immigrants, too). Can anyone in their right mind not see the snafu that would ensue if free health care were available to all, regardless of their ability to pay for their own health care?
Can you imagine the incredible amount of tax money that would have to be collected to pay for all these needless expenses? Not to mention the necessary expenses, such as Cancer treatment and medication, etc?
How does the Government propose to cover these enormous expenses?
Well, we can't be absolutely sure, but from the evidence gleaned from actual investigations into the viability of Socialized Medicine in other countries, it would appear that, in order to meet these expenses, Government health care programs are contingent on many varying factors, such as age of the patient, the stage of advancement of the pertinent diseases, the approval of certain types of treatment (including medicine), and a quota on the number of procedures allowed.
These contingencies are to be decided upon by a commission or a board appointed by our beloved leader.
In his book, "Liberty and Tyranny" Author Mark Levin cites a the case of a woman in Oregon, a state that already has a state run health care program. She had an advanced stage of cancer. She wanted a new drug that would help ease her pain, but the state run health commission determined that her cancer was too advanced, and since it was too late to save her life, her request for this medicine was denied.
She did, however, receive an unsigned letter from the health commission, informing her that she was allowed to exercise her right to assisted suicide, which is also legal in Oregon.
This is the kinds of things we can expect under any kind of Government run Nationalized Health Care program in this country.
It's been tried in other countries and even in some states here in America, and it has been found wanting.
What was that quotation I placed at the beginning of this post?
Ah, yes. Insanity.
On a personal level, I am in favor of Nationalized Health Care. I mean, who wouldn't prefer free health care over having to pay, even if one only has to pay a small co-payment?
I have a job but my job has no benefits. No pension. No paid vacations or sick leave. No 401k.
And no health or life insurance.
No benefits at all besides a paycheck, which sometimes is quite good, but sometimes not.
But understand, I'm not whining. I knew when I accepted the job there were no benefits. I just thought I would make enough money to buy my own insurance. I was wrong.
I needed a job. I was offered this one. I accepted it. And now, I have to live with the consequences of my decision. I accept that.
For you Liberals out there, that's known as accepting personal responsibility, which I believe is the core of Conservative ideology. I know personal responsibility is a foreign concept to Liberals.
Ah, don't get me started.
I have recently been experiencing intense pain in my left ankle. Sometimes the pain is so extreme, it seems to spread upward into my knee. Sometimes, I can barely walk.
I don't know what's wrong. I don't know how to relieve the pain. Pain pills do nothing. My wife tells me I need to see a doctor, but I can't afford that. She says it could be PAD, or a blood clot, or neuropathy, or a complication from my Diabetes type II, or arthritis.
I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway. I can't afford treatment.
As an aside, inexplicably, the pain just went away this week, after several weeks of continual pain. It hasn't come back. Yet. Perhaps a prayer was answered. In any case, I'm fine, now.
This is why I say, on a personal level, I am in favor of free health care. Yes. Free health care.
Certainly not Obamacare.
On an intellectual level, I am totally against National Health care. All models of Socialized medicine (for that's what it really is) has failed, and will always fail. Every where it's been tried, it has failed. Why?
Well, to begin with, if health care is free, people will take advantage.
I grew up near McConnell Air Force base in Wichita, Kansas. Many of my friends and classmates were children of Air Force personnel. Health care, (in case any of my readers don't already know this) in the military, is free. Or at least, this is what I understand. Some of my readers who are veterans may need to correct me on this one.
Anyway, I was often surprised at the things my Air Force friends would run off to the emergency room at the Air Base hospital for. Small cuts and bruises. Twisted ankles. Headaches. Colds. Sniffles. It was a ridiculous waste of free services to my mind.
And these services were paid for by the Defense Department. Expenses of the Defense Department are paid for by--guess who?--The American Taxpayers.
Now, imagine this situation amplified to include all Americans (and illegal immigrants, too). Can anyone in their right mind not see the snafu that would ensue if free health care were available to all, regardless of their ability to pay for their own health care?
Can you imagine the incredible amount of tax money that would have to be collected to pay for all these needless expenses? Not to mention the necessary expenses, such as Cancer treatment and medication, etc?
How does the Government propose to cover these enormous expenses?
Well, we can't be absolutely sure, but from the evidence gleaned from actual investigations into the viability of Socialized Medicine in other countries, it would appear that, in order to meet these expenses, Government health care programs are contingent on many varying factors, such as age of the patient, the stage of advancement of the pertinent diseases, the approval of certain types of treatment (including medicine), and a quota on the number of procedures allowed.
These contingencies are to be decided upon by a commission or a board appointed by our beloved leader.
In his book, "Liberty and Tyranny" Author Mark Levin cites a the case of a woman in Oregon, a state that already has a state run health care program. She had an advanced stage of cancer. She wanted a new drug that would help ease her pain, but the state run health commission determined that her cancer was too advanced, and since it was too late to save her life, her request for this medicine was denied.
She did, however, receive an unsigned letter from the health commission, informing her that she was allowed to exercise her right to assisted suicide, which is also legal in Oregon.
This is the kinds of things we can expect under any kind of Government run Nationalized Health Care program in this country.
It's been tried in other countries and even in some states here in America, and it has been found wanting.
What was that quotation I placed at the beginning of this post?
Ah, yes. Insanity.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Dan Is An Idiot
"Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it." ~ Samuel Johnson
My "brother from another mother", Marshall Art, has a post up at his place which has spawned an interesting comment thread.
In it, Dan Trabue, once an annoying little gnat who pestered me here on my humble blog (Well, he's still an annoying little gnat, but doesn't annoy me here at my place anymore), made an absolutely idiotic point, and I responded by calling him an idiot (which I've done many times, because, frankly, he is an idiot).
He doesn't visit here anymore.
Well, he might visit, but he restrains himself from commenting (I mean, arguing). He finally got tired of having his stupid idiotic little argumentative comments rejected.
Now, Art tells me I have to stop stating the obvious, that Dan is an idiot.
So, I have cordially invited Dan to re-visit my blog so I can call him an idiot.
Dan, in case you accept my invitation, You're an idiot.
My "brother from another mother", Marshall Art, has a post up at his place which has spawned an interesting comment thread.
In it, Dan Trabue, once an annoying little gnat who pestered me here on my humble blog (Well, he's still an annoying little gnat, but doesn't annoy me here at my place anymore), made an absolutely idiotic point, and I responded by calling him an idiot (which I've done many times, because, frankly, he is an idiot).
He doesn't visit here anymore.
Well, he might visit, but he restrains himself from commenting (I mean, arguing). He finally got tired of having his stupid idiotic little argumentative comments rejected.
Now, Art tells me I have to stop stating the obvious, that Dan is an idiot.
So, I have cordially invited Dan to re-visit my blog so I can call him an idiot.
Dan, in case you accept my invitation, You're an idiot.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Disjointed Thoughts
"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursel's as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, And foolish notion" ~ Robert Burns
Just a few things I've been thinking about instead of blogging lately.
1. A couple of days ago, I was driving my wife and her father to Richmond. They both had doctor's appointments with the same doctor.
We were passed along the way by several men on motorcycles. Each one of them had a World War II style German helmet on his head, and all were wearing a sleeveless jacket with the name of some motorcycle club (or gang) embroidered on the back.
My father-in-law, who is 86 years old and almost completely deaf, looked at the bikers and made this comment:
"You've seen one, you've seen them all."
I nearly lost control of the car laughing.
Isn't it interesting how people tend to dress and act alike just to fit in?
I guess I need to explain that statement, but I don't know exactly how. Let me share an experience I had some years ago to illustrate what I mean:
I was entering a recently built high rise office building in Kansas City, and standing outside the entrance were several young upwardly mobile professionals. They were all dressed similarly, and all were smoking cigars.
Now, the act of smoking cigars was a recent trend among the "upper crust" at that time. I would be willing to wager that those young people standing outside the Sprint PCS offices that day would have never considered smoking a cigar until they found out it was the trendy thing to do. After all, young Americans at that time had just recently started joining the campaign to exercise regularly and eat healthy, etc, and that included the cessation of smoking cigarettes.
So, what's the deal with cigars?
Well, naturally, anybody that's anybody smokes cigars so they had to also. I'm not really bothered by conformity, but, what happened to individuality?
2. I heard something on Mark Levin's radio program a while back, and I wanted to reference it for this blog at the time but I didn't know where to find the information. Not until I reached the pertinent chapter in Levin's book, "Liberty and Tyranny".
Dr. John Brignell, retired Professor of industrial instrumentation at the University of Southampton in Britain, composed an actual list of alarms raised in the international press that are intended to warn us all of impending serious threats to the human race that is caused by and/or will be caused by Global Warning. Here it is:
A complete list of things caused by global warming:
Acne, agricultural land increase, Afghan poppies destroyed, Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, African summer frost, aggressive weeds, air pressure changes, airport malaria, Agulhas current, Alaska reshaped, moves, allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra to burn, Arctic warming (not), Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, barbarisation, beer shortage, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird loss accelerating, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds return early, bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down, blood contaminated, blue mussels return, bluetongue, brain eating amoebae, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, coast beauty spots lost, cockroach migration, coffee threatened, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral fish suffer, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , coral reefs twilight, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened, creatures move uphill, crime increase, crocodile sex, crops devastated, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), danger to kid's health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, deadly virus outbreaks, death rate increase (US), deaths to reach 6 million, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, dig sites threatened, disappearance of coastal cities, disasters, diseases move north, dog disease, Dolomites collapse, dozen deadly diseases - or not, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, earthquakes, earthquakes redux, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, pikas, polar bears, possums, walrus, toads, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, salamanders, tropical insects) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, fainting, famine, farmers benefit, farmers go under, farm output boost, fashion disaster, fever, figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fires fanned in Nepal, fish bigger, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish catches rise, fish deaf, fish get lost, fish head north, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flames stoked, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food security threat (SA), football team migration, footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frog with extra heads, frostbite, frost damage increased, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, geese decline in Hampshire, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier grows (California), glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, golf course to drown, golf Masters wrecked, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, gravity shift, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, haggis threatened, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harmful algae, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, health risks, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, HIV epidemic, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health risk, human race oblivion, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hurricanes fewer, hurricanes not, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice age, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, icebergs, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of cats, invasion of crabgrass, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of king crabs, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, jet stream drifts north, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lawyers want more, legionnaires' surge, lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, locust plagues suppressed, lush growth in rain forests, Malaria, mammoth dung melt, mango harvest fails, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, Melanoma decline, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, minorities hit, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up, mountains green and flowering, mountains taller, mortality lower, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, National security implications, native wildlife overwhelmed, natural disasters quadruple, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean acidification faster, ocean dead zones unleashed, ocean deserts expand, ocean waves speed up, oceans noisier, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, penguin chicks frozen, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, pines decline, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plants lose protein, plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar tours scrapped, popcorn rise, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, rabid bats, radars taken out, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rape wave, refugees, reindeer endangered, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, Russia under pressure, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, seismic activity, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, skin cancer, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, soaring food prices, societal collapse, soil change, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders getting bigger, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid population explosion, squid tamed, squirrels reproduce earlier, stick insects, stingray invasion, storms wetter, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tigers eat people, tomatoes rot, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, truffles down, turtles crash, turtle feminised, turtles lay earlier, UFO sightings, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, uprooted - 6 million, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, violin decline, volcanic eruptions, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, war, war between US and Canada, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, wasps, water bills double, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whale beachings, whales lose weight, whales move north, whales wiped out, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine - England too hot, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World at war, World War 4, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
If you doubt any of these were actually presented as threats resulting from Global Warming, you can click the link, and then click any of the threats listed, and it will take you to each article in question.
Whew!
I'm thinking maybe the EnvironMENTALists would have a bit more credibility if they didn't contradict themselves so often and if they didn't try to convince us that everything in the world is a serious crisis.
I mean, seriously. Outdoor hockey is threatened? In who's world is that a crisis?
As it is, they simply look like tin-foil hat wearing over-the-top alarmists. It's difficult, if not impossible, to take anything they say seriously.
3. My nephew (my older brother's oldest son) just received his Doctorate in Education from Eastern University in Pennsylvania. He is an extremely intelligent young man, and a devoted Christian. He is also a Liberal Democrat.
He is so smart, in fact, that he and his father (my genius brother) almost beat my youngest son and I in a game of "Trivial Pursuit" a couple of Christmases ago.
Almost.
I have never lost a game of "Trivial Pursuit" in my life, although another brother came very close once. Fortunately, my winning streak remained intact because his wife made him quit playing and go home. He was ahead, too.
I'm glad he is henpecked.
And my oldest son gave me some pretty intense competition once, but I prevailed in the end.
But I digress.
I have a hard time understanding how someone with my Dr. Nephew's obvious intelligence, education, and Christian faith could possibly be a Liberal, let alone a Democrat.
The Democrat party's platform of support for immorality, sexual perversion, abortion, racism, inequality, class warfare, atheism, taxing, and spending seems to me to be completely illogical, and, dare I say it? Stupid. These things are, to me, antithetical to intelligent Christians.
I'd ask him how he could support such obvious anti-Christian ideologies, but ... he's family, and I don't want to incite a divide between us. Family, to me, is more important than ideological differences. I won't jeopardize our family unity.
I guess I'll never know.
Just a few things I've been thinking about instead of blogging lately.
1. A couple of days ago, I was driving my wife and her father to Richmond. They both had doctor's appointments with the same doctor.
We were passed along the way by several men on motorcycles. Each one of them had a World War II style German helmet on his head, and all were wearing a sleeveless jacket with the name of some motorcycle club (or gang) embroidered on the back.
My father-in-law, who is 86 years old and almost completely deaf, looked at the bikers and made this comment:
"You've seen one, you've seen them all."
I nearly lost control of the car laughing.
Isn't it interesting how people tend to dress and act alike just to fit in?
I guess I need to explain that statement, but I don't know exactly how. Let me share an experience I had some years ago to illustrate what I mean:
I was entering a recently built high rise office building in Kansas City, and standing outside the entrance were several young upwardly mobile professionals. They were all dressed similarly, and all were smoking cigars.
Now, the act of smoking cigars was a recent trend among the "upper crust" at that time. I would be willing to wager that those young people standing outside the Sprint PCS offices that day would have never considered smoking a cigar until they found out it was the trendy thing to do. After all, young Americans at that time had just recently started joining the campaign to exercise regularly and eat healthy, etc, and that included the cessation of smoking cigarettes.
So, what's the deal with cigars?
Well, naturally, anybody that's anybody smokes cigars so they had to also. I'm not really bothered by conformity, but, what happened to individuality?
2. I heard something on Mark Levin's radio program a while back, and I wanted to reference it for this blog at the time but I didn't know where to find the information. Not until I reached the pertinent chapter in Levin's book, "Liberty and Tyranny".
Dr. John Brignell, retired Professor of industrial instrumentation at the University of Southampton in Britain, composed an actual list of alarms raised in the international press that are intended to warn us all of impending serious threats to the human race that is caused by and/or will be caused by Global Warning. Here it is:
A complete list of things caused by global warming:
Acne, agricultural land increase, Afghan poppies destroyed, Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, African summer frost, aggressive weeds, air pressure changes, airport malaria, Agulhas current, Alaska reshaped, moves, allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra to burn, Arctic warming (not), Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, barbarisation, beer shortage, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird loss accelerating, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds return early, bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down, blood contaminated, blue mussels return, bluetongue, brain eating amoebae, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, coast beauty spots lost, cockroach migration, coffee threatened, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral fish suffer, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , coral reefs twilight, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened, creatures move uphill, crime increase, crocodile sex, crops devastated, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), danger to kid's health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, deadly virus outbreaks, death rate increase (US), deaths to reach 6 million, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, dig sites threatened, disappearance of coastal cities, disasters, diseases move north, dog disease, Dolomites collapse, dozen deadly diseases - or not, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, earthquakes, earthquakes redux, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, pikas, polar bears, possums, walrus, toads, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, salamanders, tropical insects) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, fainting, famine, farmers benefit, farmers go under, farm output boost, fashion disaster, fever, figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fires fanned in Nepal, fish bigger, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish catches rise, fish deaf, fish get lost, fish head north, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flames stoked, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food security threat (SA), football team migration, footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frog with extra heads, frostbite, frost damage increased, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, geese decline in Hampshire, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier grows (California), glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, golf course to drown, golf Masters wrecked, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, gravity shift, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, haggis threatened, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harmful algae, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, health risks, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, HIV epidemic, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health risk, human race oblivion, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hurricanes fewer, hurricanes not, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice age, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, icebergs, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of cats, invasion of crabgrass, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of king crabs, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, jet stream drifts north, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lawyers want more, legionnaires' surge, lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, locust plagues suppressed, lush growth in rain forests, Malaria, mammoth dung melt, mango harvest fails, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, Melanoma decline, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, minorities hit, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up, mountains green and flowering, mountains taller, mortality lower, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, National security implications, native wildlife overwhelmed, natural disasters quadruple, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean acidification faster, ocean dead zones unleashed, ocean deserts expand, ocean waves speed up, oceans noisier, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, penguin chicks frozen, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, pines decline, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plants lose protein, plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar tours scrapped, popcorn rise, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, rabid bats, radars taken out, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rape wave, refugees, reindeer endangered, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, Russia under pressure, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, seismic activity, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, skin cancer, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, soaring food prices, societal collapse, soil change, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders getting bigger, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid population explosion, squid tamed, squirrels reproduce earlier, stick insects, stingray invasion, storms wetter, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tigers eat people, tomatoes rot, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, truffles down, turtles crash, turtle feminised, turtles lay earlier, UFO sightings, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, uprooted - 6 million, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, violin decline, volcanic eruptions, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, war, war between US and Canada, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, wasps, water bills double, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whale beachings, whales lose weight, whales move north, whales wiped out, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine - England too hot, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World at war, World War 4, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
If you doubt any of these were actually presented as threats resulting from Global Warming, you can click the link, and then click any of the threats listed, and it will take you to each article in question.
Whew!
I'm thinking maybe the EnvironMENTALists would have a bit more credibility if they didn't contradict themselves so often and if they didn't try to convince us that everything in the world is a serious crisis.
I mean, seriously. Outdoor hockey is threatened? In who's world is that a crisis?
As it is, they simply look like tin-foil hat wearing over-the-top alarmists. It's difficult, if not impossible, to take anything they say seriously.
3. My nephew (my older brother's oldest son) just received his Doctorate in Education from Eastern University in Pennsylvania. He is an extremely intelligent young man, and a devoted Christian. He is also a Liberal Democrat.
He is so smart, in fact, that he and his father (my genius brother) almost beat my youngest son and I in a game of "Trivial Pursuit" a couple of Christmases ago.
Almost.
I have never lost a game of "Trivial Pursuit" in my life, although another brother came very close once. Fortunately, my winning streak remained intact because his wife made him quit playing and go home. He was ahead, too.
I'm glad he is henpecked.
And my oldest son gave me some pretty intense competition once, but I prevailed in the end.
But I digress.
I have a hard time understanding how someone with my Dr. Nephew's obvious intelligence, education, and Christian faith could possibly be a Liberal, let alone a Democrat.
The Democrat party's platform of support for immorality, sexual perversion, abortion, racism, inequality, class warfare, atheism, taxing, and spending seems to me to be completely illogical, and, dare I say it? Stupid. These things are, to me, antithetical to intelligent Christians.
I'd ask him how he could support such obvious anti-Christian ideologies, but ... he's family, and I don't want to incite a divide between us. Family, to me, is more important than ideological differences. I won't jeopardize our family unity.
I guess I'll never know.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Rambling
"A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment." ~ Willis Player
My second son, and third child, has been here. He drove here from Wichita, Kansas, where he had been living with my 88 year old mother, because he was laid off, and couldn't find another job in Wichita, so, he moved here in hopes of finding a job. He says he did his research and there are more jobs to be found in this area of the country than many others. There may be better areas of the country than this one for employment but he can't afford to get his own place to live, so he must go where he has relatives who will allow him to live with them until he gets back on his feet.
That may be a long time. Well, he can't stay here.
I am not being mean. It's just that my wife and I live in what is referred to as an "active senior community", and single people under 55 aren't allowed to live here. I call it an old folks home. My wife and I are one of maybe three couples living here who are under the age of 60. We are the young ones. Two ladies who live here are over 100 years of age!
Anyway, the reason I haven't been blogging lately is I've just been too busy with my son being here, and have had less time on the computer. Plus the big television is in the same room as the computer, and if I am blogging, he watches the TV, and frankly, his taste in programming is in direct juxtaposition with mine. I can't stand the stupid programs he watches. Then, there's his video games.
I retreat into the bedroom and watch the little TV while he plays and watches his programs.
Ok, that is a long way of explaining why I haven't been doing much blogging. Now he's moved into my 86 year old father-in law's house, under the condition that he will help him around the house while he looks for gainful employment.
And I have time for blogging. Except I am trying to find a more steady job myself. With hours and compensation I can count on week after week, and benefits.
OK. I've learned something from my son since he's been here. My son has the infuriating habit of bringing up subjects that I have passionate feelings about, and then refusing to hear my opinions of them. Such as politics. The Economy. Social issues.
He says he likes Obama, and that he really believes Obama is trying to help the country.
He thinks homosexuals are normal, and their lifestyle choice natural.
He thinks abortion is an acceptable form of birth control.
He thinks Obama's economic policy will make poor people rich and make rich people poor.
He thinks talking to terrorists will convince them to stop killing people.
My wife just called him over at her dad's house and asked him if he wants to go to church with us this morning. He said, "No." He said, That's one reason he moved out here. So he doesn't have to go to church. My mother used to make him go to church with her every Sunday.
He knows nothing of politics, the economy, and social issues except what he's heard on "The Daily Show" with John Liebowitz, aka Jon Stuart, apparently the closest thing to anything remotely connected to the aforementioned subjects he pays any attention to at all. And he doesn't want to know.
When I try to explain to him why all these things are incorrect Liberal thinking, he insists he doesn't want to talk about it.
All he cares about is death metal music (by bands I never heard of) with obscene lyrics. Avant Garde Movies with obscene themes and language. Violent video games, with obscene material and language.
How do you talk sense to someone who refuses to listen?
And then, it struck me. This is the mindset of most Liberals.
My second son, and third child, has been here. He drove here from Wichita, Kansas, where he had been living with my 88 year old mother, because he was laid off, and couldn't find another job in Wichita, so, he moved here in hopes of finding a job. He says he did his research and there are more jobs to be found in this area of the country than many others. There may be better areas of the country than this one for employment but he can't afford to get his own place to live, so he must go where he has relatives who will allow him to live with them until he gets back on his feet.
That may be a long time. Well, he can't stay here.
I am not being mean. It's just that my wife and I live in what is referred to as an "active senior community", and single people under 55 aren't allowed to live here. I call it an old folks home. My wife and I are one of maybe three couples living here who are under the age of 60. We are the young ones. Two ladies who live here are over 100 years of age!
Anyway, the reason I haven't been blogging lately is I've just been too busy with my son being here, and have had less time on the computer. Plus the big television is in the same room as the computer, and if I am blogging, he watches the TV, and frankly, his taste in programming is in direct juxtaposition with mine. I can't stand the stupid programs he watches. Then, there's his video games.
I retreat into the bedroom and watch the little TV while he plays and watches his programs.
Ok, that is a long way of explaining why I haven't been doing much blogging. Now he's moved into my 86 year old father-in law's house, under the condition that he will help him around the house while he looks for gainful employment.
And I have time for blogging. Except I am trying to find a more steady job myself. With hours and compensation I can count on week after week, and benefits.
OK. I've learned something from my son since he's been here. My son has the infuriating habit of bringing up subjects that I have passionate feelings about, and then refusing to hear my opinions of them. Such as politics. The Economy. Social issues.
He says he likes Obama, and that he really believes Obama is trying to help the country.
He thinks homosexuals are normal, and their lifestyle choice natural.
He thinks abortion is an acceptable form of birth control.
He thinks Obama's economic policy will make poor people rich and make rich people poor.
He thinks talking to terrorists will convince them to stop killing people.
My wife just called him over at her dad's house and asked him if he wants to go to church with us this morning. He said, "No." He said, That's one reason he moved out here. So he doesn't have to go to church. My mother used to make him go to church with her every Sunday.
He knows nothing of politics, the economy, and social issues except what he's heard on "The Daily Show" with John Liebowitz, aka Jon Stuart, apparently the closest thing to anything remotely connected to the aforementioned subjects he pays any attention to at all. And he doesn't want to know.
When I try to explain to him why all these things are incorrect Liberal thinking, he insists he doesn't want to talk about it.
All he cares about is death metal music (by bands I never heard of) with obscene lyrics. Avant Garde Movies with obscene themes and language. Violent video games, with obscene material and language.
How do you talk sense to someone who refuses to listen?
And then, it struck me. This is the mindset of most Liberals.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Eulogy For A Monster
"The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones" ~ William Shakespeare
Mr. George Tiller, of Wichita, Kansas, is dead. He was ruthlessly gunned down in the lobby of his church by a man who may, or may not be, an opponent of abortion.
Interestingly enough(at least, to me), I was raised in Wichita, and my first apartment after leaving my parent's home was directly across the street from Mr. Tiller's Schlachthaus. I didn't know what horrors took place within it's walls at the time, and even if I had known, I wouldn't have cared. At that time, I was not opposed to abortion, but study of the Bible changed my mind. It took God to change my heart.
For those readers who have been languishing somewhere beyond the earth's gravitational pull for the last several years, George Tiller was a provider of abortions.
Even late term and partial birth abortions.
No pre-born baby was too viable to escape his scalpel.
I do not call him a doctor. Doctors are sworn to preserve life.
I do not rejoice in the death of this man.
I will miss him, as I miss Dennis Rader, aka BTK, another infamous Wichitan. Both were serial killers.
Make no mistake. The man who shot Mr. Tiller down is guilty of murder. He took another man's life. There is no justification for what that man did. He is a murderer, plain and simple.
He is just as guilty of murder as Mr. Tiller and Dennis Rader.
He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He should be executed for his crime, and probably will be.
For he did not only kill George Tiller. He grievously wounded the pro-life movement in America as well.
Unlike Mr. Tiller, the man who murdered him will have to endure the humiliation of a murder trial and consequential punishment. Barring an insanity plea, he will be convicted. There were more than two eye witnesses to the crime. That is all that the law requires for a conviction.
Motive is not necessary to obtain a conviction in a case such as this.
Besides, the Liberally pro-abortion biased media has no doubt already convicted him. And, in this case, that is justified.
Murder, even the murder of a modern day Josef Mengele, is still murder.
Nevertheless, let me make one thing perfectly clear:
Those misguided souls who think that the slaughter of innocents will be abated somewhat now that the chief Mengele is gone are wrong. There are others waiting to fill his shoes.
And, since he will now be considered a martyr for the proponents of our nations own holocaust, I predict the number of late term and partial birth abortions will increase.
May God have mercy on us all.
Mr. George Tiller, of Wichita, Kansas, is dead. He was ruthlessly gunned down in the lobby of his church by a man who may, or may not be, an opponent of abortion.
Interestingly enough(at least, to me), I was raised in Wichita, and my first apartment after leaving my parent's home was directly across the street from Mr. Tiller's Schlachthaus. I didn't know what horrors took place within it's walls at the time, and even if I had known, I wouldn't have cared. At that time, I was not opposed to abortion, but study of the Bible changed my mind. It took God to change my heart.
For those readers who have been languishing somewhere beyond the earth's gravitational pull for the last several years, George Tiller was a provider of abortions.
Even late term and partial birth abortions.
No pre-born baby was too viable to escape his scalpel.
I do not call him a doctor. Doctors are sworn to preserve life.
I do not rejoice in the death of this man.
I will miss him, as I miss Dennis Rader, aka BTK, another infamous Wichitan. Both were serial killers.
Make no mistake. The man who shot Mr. Tiller down is guilty of murder. He took another man's life. There is no justification for what that man did. He is a murderer, plain and simple.
He is just as guilty of murder as Mr. Tiller and Dennis Rader.
He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He should be executed for his crime, and probably will be.
For he did not only kill George Tiller. He grievously wounded the pro-life movement in America as well.
Unlike Mr. Tiller, the man who murdered him will have to endure the humiliation of a murder trial and consequential punishment. Barring an insanity plea, he will be convicted. There were more than two eye witnesses to the crime. That is all that the law requires for a conviction.
Motive is not necessary to obtain a conviction in a case such as this.
Besides, the Liberally pro-abortion biased media has no doubt already convicted him. And, in this case, that is justified.
Murder, even the murder of a modern day Josef Mengele, is still murder.
Nevertheless, let me make one thing perfectly clear:
Those misguided souls who think that the slaughter of innocents will be abated somewhat now that the chief Mengele is gone are wrong. There are others waiting to fill his shoes.
And, since he will now be considered a martyr for the proponents of our nations own holocaust, I predict the number of late term and partial birth abortions will increase.
May God have mercy on us all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
