I Too Have A Dream….

Of course my dream is a little different than Dr. Kings, and illegal in at least 38 states, but hey, a dream is a dream.

Today we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, a man I greatly admire. I’m afraid that if the good Doctor were alive today he would be disappointed in what we as a people have done with his dream in the nearly 40 years since his untimely death. Oh sure, we have a black man as a viable candidate for the President of the United States as well as a black Secretary of State, the second African-American in a row to hold that position. And when you look back on the world that Dr. King left behind, a world with separate lunch counters, separate water fountains, and segregated schools, it seems like we have come a long way since Martin Luther King, Jr. first espoused his dream.

And yet I can’t help but feel that we have so much further to go, and the people stopping us from getting there aren’t the southern white racists and Klan members, but the white liberals and the “so-called” black leadership in this country.

Lets get this out of the way first: There ARE some white racists out there who really want to “keep the black (Hispanic, gay, etc…) man down”, and there is no room in America for these people. These people are antiquated idiots, and I will not give them a platform for their hate speech. That being said, these people represent a miniscule amount of our population, and yet if we listen to these voices on the left, those group’s views are the same as the vast majority of the right. Folks, it just ain’t so.

And if Dr. King could hear the words of his “successors” – and in reality no one could succeed Dr. King – I think he would be appalled. Compare any speech made by King with a speech – any speech – by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or Louis Farrakhan, and there is only one conclusion you can come to: There is no comparison. Dr. King spoke of progress, he spoke of opportunity, no matter how slim that light of hope may have been. Sharpton, Jackson, and the others speak of the exact opposite, no matter how slim the notion of racism is.

Consider this: The Washington Post in 1995 wrote about black, white, Hispanic and Asian views on race. Pollsters asked middle-income members of each race whether “past and present discrimination” is responsible for your group’s problems. 84% of blacks answered “Yes”. When middle-income whites were asked whether “past and present discrimination” holds blacks back, only 30% answered yes. Granted, a black person can probably answer this question with more experience than a white person.

But here’s where it gets interesting. When Hispanics were asked if “past and present discrimination” was responsible for holding them back, 43% said yes. Yet when Blacks were asked if “past and present discrimination” was responsible for holding Hispanics back, 58% said yes. In other words, 30% more blacks perceived discrimination against Hispanics than did Hispanics themselves. And when Asians were asked if “past and present discrimination” was responsible for holding them back, 31% said yes. Yet when Blacks were asked if “past and present discrimination” was responsible for holding Asians back, 41% said yes. Again, 30% more blacks perceived discrimination against Asians than did Asians themselves.

So what does this mean? Well, there is room for interpretation, but the way I see it is that for the last 40 years – after we lost Dr. King – Black Leadership has been preaching that every problem facing the black community is due to racism, which means that no one is preaching that blacks themselves have the power to determine the course of their lives. Look, one of my favorite shows, one that I watch each and every day (thank you TiVo) is Cops. And I have seen numerous times where the cops have arrested a black man for whatever – car theft, selling drugs, burglary – and the perp is screaming “racism, racism”, despite the fact that he was caught red handed, sometimes caught by a black cop. Explain that?

As for white liberals, one of the main reasons that we are facing some of the issues we are is due to white liberal condescension. Two of the greatest problems facing the African-American community today are a 70% out-of-wedlock birthrate (with the teenage out-of-wedlock birthrate at nearly 90%), and a 44% high school drop out rate. But when was the last time you heard anyone in a liberal position talk about these issues. Don’t strain yourself, because I doubt that you can come up with one. And yet the fact is that an African-American currently below the poverty level who graduates from high school and refrains from either fathering or mothering a child, has a 94% likelihood that he or she will rise above the poverty level. It’s a no-brainer, and yet liberal “compassion” – which is actually liberal condescension – ignores this problem, a problem if properly addressed and worked on, would all but eliminate the economic gaps between the races.

Of course Dr. Kings greatest speech was the “I Have A Dream” speech, and to me the most powerful line in that speech was “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Wow!. And then consider this. The California chapter of the NAACP is condemning the choice of Chinese Sculptor Lei Yixin, who was chosen to sculpt the Martin Luther King monument on the Mall in Washington D.C., saying an African American artist should have been commissioned as the lead artist. So apparently that not judging “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” only counts with certain colors of skin. Shame on you NAACP! Imagine if a black artist had been chosen to create a monument to Ronald Reagan, and there were protests that only a white artist should create the monument. Imagine the outrage, and outrage there should be. But again, we’re talking about liberal condescension here, so yeah, it makes sense.

And what about the outrage that Oprah is experiencing? Alright, I know this doesn’t really fit todays topic, or maybe it does. Consider this from the Times Online: AMERICA’S favorite television presenter is paying a painful price for her intervention in the US presidential campaign last month. Oprah Winfrey has been dubbed a “traitor” by some of her female fans for supporting Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. Winfrey’s website, Oprah.com, has been flooded with a barrage of abuse since the queen of daytime chat shows joined Obama on a tour of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in mid-December."

So if Oprah supports Obama she’s “abandoning” her gender, if she supports Hillary she’s abandoning her race. You know, I remember the good old days when we choose our candidate based on WHO they were, not WHAT they were.

A Good Run While It Lasted

I'm still fighting a nasty bug, so today's post will not be too long. I just want to take a moment and congratulate the New York Giants for earning a trip to the Super Bowl by defeating my Green Bay Packers. It was a tough loss for me, but at least it was a lose that I feel we deserved. Eli Manning did a terrific job of controlling the ball, and the Giants just flat out beat the Pack.

At least now I can root for the Patriots to win it all and end up with a perfect 19-0 season. I knew that a Packers-Patriot Super Bowl was going to be a tough win for us, and it's going to be a tough one for the Giants as well. Who knows though, if Eli plays like he did today, they just might pull it off.

And this time I can say "There's always next year" and actually believe it. Look, the Pack won their division, and so did my Cubs, so this has been a better year than most for me. We'll see you next year Brett........

Cheating today.....

I'm sick. I hate being sick, but not as much as my wife hates it when I'm sick. Apparently I'm not a "good" sick person, and since I need to be better for the big packers game tomorrow, I'm taking a break today.

So today I'm going to pass along an e-mail I got titled "New Rules for 2008" By George Carlin. I'm not sure if it was really written by George Carlin. It seems that an awful lot on the internet these days are attributed to George Carlin, but whether it is or it isn't, it's still pretty good. Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow following the Packer's victory. Here it is:

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for classmates.com<http://classmates.com/> ! There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days--- mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Lobster?

New Rule: Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged . I have a better description for these kids: 'Lucky bastards.'

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards,you're a dope. If you're a kid, the cards are keep sakes of your idols. If you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: Do you have two of them? Good, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket, water, but, without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop screwing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his ass will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a 'decaf grandee, half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low, and One NutraSweet,' ooooh, you're a huge asshole.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering My PIN number, pressing 'Enter,' verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want Cash back, and pressing 'Enter' again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you Spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it translates to 'beef with broccoli.' The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly sins. ESPN Recently televised the U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait, they're already doing that. It's called 'The Howard Stern Show.'

New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&Ms. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: And this one is long overdue: No more bathroom attendants. After I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex with George Michael. I can't even tell if he's supposed to be there, or just some freak with a fetish. I don't want to be on your webcam, Dude. I just want to wash my hands

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to hear '27 months.' 'He's two' will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.

New Rule: If you ever hope to be a credible adult and want a job that pays better than Minimum wage, then for God's sake don't pierce or tattoo every available piece of flesh. If so, then plan your future around saying, 'Do you want fries with that?'

And Tomorrow, A New Baby (Oh I hope not)

Yesterday, a new job. Today, a new car. Okay I didn't get a new car, but the little lady did. And as much as she loved her old Ford Explorer, I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am that the new SUV - A Honda CRV - gets almost twice the milage of the old Explorer.

We loved that car, but it's time was up. We're through with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, so we don't have much of a need for a seven seater any more. And now that Blake is in college and has his own car, it's usually not any more than Cindy, Madison and Myself, so the Honda is a perfect fit. And when we bought the Ford gas was $2 a gallon, and since it is now over $3.50 in California, the Honda REALLY makes sense.

And the bottom line is that Cindy is happy, so I'm happy too.

That's all for today - It's been a long evening at the dealer, so this is all I have time for. More tomorrow

Anticipation.....

Anticipation. God how I hate anticipation, and I’m not talking about that Carly Simon song. Okay, I hate that song too, but I’m talking about the real anticipation here. And I don’t care if you are anticipating something good or something bad, anticipation sucks. Okay, it probably sucks more if you’re anticipating bad news, but….. do you get where I’m going with this?

The reason I bring up anticipation is because I have been living with it for the last week, in reality for almost two months now. About six weeks ago I interviewed for a new job, and considering that this was a retail management position – and this was the beginning of December – there were a lot of other things going on to slow down the hiring process. It was after the first of the year that I heard back from the District Manager who had first interviewed me. She liked me, so now it was on to the HR Director.

Of course that interview didn’t get set up for almost two weeks, so there was more anticipation there. That interview went well, I thought, and I was pleased at the end of the interview when the HR manager said she wanted me to do an on-line assessment. I figured, why have me do an assessment if they weren’t still interested? And the assessment was one of those where they have about 200 questions and you answer if you agree or disagree with the statement. Of course agree or disagree is too easy, so you have to totally agree, kind of agree, sometimes agree, and so on. Of course following this assessment there are a whole new set of anxieties. Did I answer that right? Will the answers I provided eerily match those of the Unabomber? Why did I say I kind of disagreed when I only sometime disagree on question 24? Anticipation.

The good news is I didn’t have to freak out for long. I got a call the next day to set up an interview with the Zone Manager, a gentleman in charge of over 150 branches. Hey, they wouldn’t waste THIS guys time if they weren’t interested, right? Or maybe he just had to have a conversation with someone whose test scores showed a level of psychosis unmatched in company history. So last Friday, I had my final interview.

Now I’m on top of the world. Sure, the anticipation level has just been turned up to eleven, but I felt so good about that interview, and I knew my phone was going to ring Monday with an offer. Except it didn’t. More anticipation, but hey, Monday’s are busy days at the district office, of course they weren’t going to call on Monday. What was I even thinking? Idiot!

But then they didn’t call on Tuesday. Well hey, maybe she’s in meetings on Tuesday, surely she’ll call on Wednesday. But she didn’t, and going into today the anticipation had been replaced by a creeping sense of dread, and as the day wore on it was being replaced once again by nauseousness.

Now I’ve interviewed for jobs before that I ended up not getting, and in some cases it really wasn’t such a big deal, mainly because I could take or leave the job I was applying for. And I am currently employed, so it wasn’t like I HAD to get this job or my family would be on the streets. No, what caused so much anticipation this time was the fact that I REALLY wanted this job.

And at 3:00 this afternoon, I got it. You are now looking at – okay, you’re not really looking at me, but you know what I mean – you are now looking at the new General Manager of Borders Books in San Luis Obispo, CA (See picture at right). Sure, I’ll miss Target (where I am currently the Logistics Manager), and I’ll miss the fact that my current job is two miles from home while my new job is 25 miles away. I’ll miss the fact that I currently fill my gas tank once every three weeks. But I am going to love my new job. Books, Music, DVD’s – all things that I really love. And I sure as heck am not going to miss going to work at 3 am to oversee a truck getting unloaded.

Who knows, I might even go out and by that Carly Simon CD? Nah…….

Political Correctness Gone Wild….

I’ve never been a big fan of political correctness. Okay, I HATE political correctness. And just when you think they’ve gone as far as they can, they always take it to another, unbelievable level.

Below is the Student “Code of Responsibility” drafted by Bergen Community College in New Jersey

In the full knowledge of the commitment that I am freely willing to undertake as a student, I promise to respect each and every member of the college community without regard to race, creed, political ideology, lifestyle orientation, gender or social status sparing no effort to preserve the dignity of those I will come in contact with as a member of the college community. I promise to Bergen Community College that I will follow this code of responsibility.

1. Honesty, integrity and respect for all will guide my personal conduct.
2. I will embrace and celebrate differing perspectives intellectually.
3. I will build an inclusive community enriched by diversity.
4. I am willing to respect and assist those individuals who are less fortunate.
5. I promise my commitment to civic engagement and to serve the needs of the community to the best of my ability.

Now are all of these things admirable? Well, I doubt that there are many out there opposed to honesty, integrity, and such. But to REQUIRE respect? What is that all about?

And before you say “Yeah, but this is just a symbolic action meant to provoke honest debate”, consider this quote from a college spokesperson today: "The pledge would not be optional .... If you don't agree, it is President Ryan's vision that you cannot attend the school."

And exactly what groups are we applying this “respect” to? Sure, race, creed, and gender are pretty black and white. But what about “Political Ideology?” Do we need to respect White Supremacists or the Klan? Do we need to respect Communists, Socialists of Fascists? And let me ask you this: Do you really think that the liberal minds that came up with this “code” respect conservatives or pro-military groups?

Look, I think that the university has a responsibility to make sure that no member of any group is denied their rights. Should a university force you to like and respect, for example, gay people? No, I don’t think they should. Should they stop you from attacking – verbally or physical – someone because they are gay? Of course they should.

Hey, I know this is a radical idea, but how about we increase respectability for groups through education, understanding, and open dialog. And how about we also understand that certain groups (such as the white supremacists, or any color supremacists for that matter) don’t deserve our respect.

And having read this code, does it surprise anyone that the banner below is prominently displayed at the top of the Bergen Community College website – almost as big as the name of the college? Liberals!

On a completely unrelated note, I think Mike Huckabee has officially torpedoed his campaign (Not that it was all that strong to begin with.) Huckabee told a Michigan audience the following on Monday:

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the Living God. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

While I think most of the arguments for “Separation of Church and State” are full of water, I think Mike stepped over the line on this one. Sure, this will play well with evangelicals, but there are not enough evangelicals out there to push Huckabee into the White House, and he needs to broaden his base. Statements like this ain’t gonna do it.

Political Tidbits......

U Citizens United, a conservative group, must abide by campaign finance laws if it wants to run ads promoting its anti-Hillary Rodham Clinton movie, a federal court ruled Tuesday. The court ruling means the group must either keep its ads off the air or attach a disclaimer and disclose its donors.

Campaign regulations prohibit corporations and unions from paying for ads that run close to elections and identify candidates. Citizens United argued that the advertisements promoted the movie and should be treated as commercial speech as opposed to political advocacy

Now if promoting this movie truly violates campaign regulations, then so be it. My question though is why THIS movie can’t be promoted, but Farenheit 9/11 which did identify a candidate (Bush), was allowed to be promoted. Seriously, does anyone have a legitimate answer for that?

By the way, you can view the trailer for the movie and purchase it here: http://hillarythemovie.com/trailer.html

U Okay, here’s what I propose: We should pick a week – any week – an for that week the Obama and Clinton camps should run on nothing but race and gender. Then, once that week is over, no one brings up either of those subjects again. Okay?

Look, we have had numerous veiled racial comments thrown out this week, most of which have been blown out of proportion. For example, Hillary’s comments about Martin Luther King, Jr. and LBJ. Technically, what she said was correct. Was it a little insensitive, especially coming as close as it did to MLK’s birthday? Sure it was. Was it racial? Probably not.

So lets get it all out there, and deal with it. Rather than apply meaning to every little comment, lets just address it, and then bury it. Of course this will never happen, so the other option is to just grow up and act like adults. Yeah, I don’t see that happening either.

U All of this implosion on the Democratic side has been very interesting to watch, and honestly I don’t know who to root for. Oh, being a conservative it’s unlikely I would vote for either Obama or Clinton (and lets face it, those are the only two with a shot – pick up your ball and go home John and Dennis). And frankly, I would rather run against Hillary than Obama because I feel she has more skeletons in her closet than Jeffery Dahmer. But, on the off-chance that the Democratic Nominee actually gets elected, I can certainly live with an Obama White House more than I can a Hillary one. And while some polls show that Clinton would be a stronger candidate, I disagree.

And lets face it, we are not talking about an off-chance, are we? Right now – not knowing who the nominee is going to be on either side – I’d say it’s fifty/fifty as to which party takes the White House. And regardless of who the nominees are, it’s going to be a tight race. Honestly, I think I’m going to have to stay with Obama, because just now as I was thinking of the POSSIBILITY of a Hillary Presidency, I pee’d myself a little.

U Well, we had another Democratic debate tonight. If you’re like me, you need a little….shall we say “incentive” to get through these debates. I used to play a drinking game where I took a shot every time the candidate dodged a question and answered it with a completely different twist. I found that this generally puts me under the coffee table about ten to twelve minutes into the debate.

Not wanting to do that, I revised the rules, and tonight we only took a shot every time Hillary mentioned that she had “35 years of Experience.” Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I had better go and lie down…..

I've Got The Music In Me....

I love music. All kinds of music, and I always have. People who are around me when I have my Ipod on “shuffle” are driven nuts, as we go from AC/DC to Dean Martin to Ray Charles to Dr. Dre to Garth Brooks to Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods to.... well, you get the picture. And I am very fortunate because I married a women who loves music just as much as I do. It used to be that if we ever had a fire the first thing to grab was the photo albums. Now, it’s the IPods.

And then there are the kids. The kids too are big music lovers, but their tastes tend to veer away from ours. Well, at least the Boy. Blake is a big hard rock/metal fan, and while we share our appreciation of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC, even those bands don’t register with Blake anywhere near the level they do with me. Madison is a different story. Being an eleven year-old girl she’s into Hannah Montana and High School Musical, but Madison is also a huge country music fan. Where did that come from?

Look, I don’t have a problem with country music. Country music was huge in our house when I was growing up. My dad wasn’t a huge music fan, but when he did listen to music, it was always country. And every Saturday afternoon we watched The Porter Waggoner Show, and then on Sunday afternoon it was Hee-Haw. But how did my daughter get hooked on country? To be honest, I have absolutely no idea.

If there was ever any disappointment with regards to my kid’s musical taste, it is the fact that I have had little luck in influencing their tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to control what my kids listen to, I’m merely trying to expand their tastes. I’ve pretty much given up on Blake, but with Maddie I’ve had more luck, mainly because I’m the one driving the car (and controlling the radio).

And then, on Christmas morning, everything changed. Madison got the one thing she really, really wanted for Christmas: Guitar Hero III. For those of you unfamiliar with Guitar Hero, it is a video game for your system (in our case, a PlayStation II) in which the game controller has been replace with a guitar shaped controller. In the game you play classic rock songs on your guitar. And apparently, as you play the song, you gain a whole new appreciation for the classics. My daughter now knows all the words to “Slow Ride” by Foghat, and even Blake has been caught humming “Smoke on the Water”.

And then today, I noticed that I hadn’t seen my daughter for awhile. She wasn't in the sun room playing Guitar Hero. She wasn’t in the backyard on her trampoline, nor was she in her room. Finally, I found her on the computer in our bedroom. “What are you doing?” I asker her. “Downloading Cheap Trick videos on YouTube,” She responded. I have never been so proud. Excuse me, I have something in my eye…….

Speaking of having something in your eye, yesterday The New York Giants defeated the favored Dallas Cowboys yesterday. And at the press conference after the game, Terrell Owens, the Cowboys oft-cocky receiver came very, very close to breaking down. His lip was quivering, and I’m sure that behind his sunglasses his eyes were welling up. On the bright side, Owens is now the frontrunner in the Nevada primaries.


"Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed." -- Albert Einstein

“Replace the word ‘world’ with ‘Clintons’” – Bob Peters

Pat, I'd Like To Try To Solve The Puzzle.....

Today I’m going to talk about Global Warming. Actually, Pat Sajak is going to talk about Global Warming. Sajak? We’ll, what you may not know is Pat Sajak got his start on T.V. as a meteorologist. Does that make him an expert? No, but I think it makes him more knowledgeable than the average man on the street. Plus, look at his wife!

The reason I am discussing this today is two-fold. First, I found this article on a link over at my friend Jody’s blog last night, and I found the article interesting. Secondly, I used today to clean out my garage, something made possible by near 80 degree temperatures today. Thank you global warming.

I’m kind of on the fence as far as this discussion goes. I do believe there is climate change, I do think that man contributes to it, but I think it’s miniscule. Sure, we’ve had a number of record setting years lately, but if you look at the average temperature by year from 1900 to 1980, six of the top years were in the 30’s. And then it got cooler, so much so that in the 70’s these same scientists were predicting the coming Ice Age.

The earth’s temperature fluctuates. Does that mean we shouldn’t worry about it? Of course not, I think we all need to do our part. That means looking for a high MPG car next time you buy one, turning off lights when you’re not in the room, putting on a sweater instead of turning up the heater – you know, the stuff your mom told you to do.

What bothers me about the “Al Gore” crowd is that most of them are so certain that they are right that they refuse to even debate the subject. Why? Look, I’m pretty darn sure the earth is round, and I have no problem arguing with those who think it’s flat. And what Sajak is doing in this article is not saying that one side or another is right. What he is saying is, hey, before we make huge, drastic changes, lets ask a few basic questions first. What’s so wrong with that?

Man-Made Global Warming: 10 Questions – By Pat Sajak
The subject of man-made global warming is almost impossible to discuss without a descent into virulent name-calling (especially on the Internet, where anonymity breeds a special kind of vicious reaction to almost any social or political question), but I’ll try anyway. I consider myself to be relatively well-read on the matter, and I’ve still come down on the skeptical side, because there are aspects of the issue that don’t make a lot of sense to me. Though I confess to have written none-too-reverentially on the subject, I want to try to put all that aside and ask ten serious questions to which I have been unable to find definitive answers:

1. What is the perfect temperature?
If we are to embark on a lifestyle-altering quest to lower the temperature (or at least minimize its rise), what is our goal? I don’t ask this flippantly. Can we demonstrate that one setting on the global thermostat is preferable over another? If so, what is it, and how do we get there? And, once there, how do we maintain it? Will we ever have to “heat things up” again if it drops below that point?

2. Just what is the average temperature of the earth?
At any one time there are temperature extremes all over the planet. How do we come up with an average, and how do those variations fit in with our desire to slow global warming?

3. What factors have led to global warming in the past, and how do we know they aren’t the causes of the current warming trend?
Again, I don’t ask this in a judgmental way. There is no argument that warming cycles (or cooling, for that matter) have been a part of earth’s history. Why are we so sure this one is different?

4. Why is there such a strong effort to stifle discussion and dissent?
I’m always troubled by arguments that begin, “Everybody agrees...” or “Everyone knows...” In fact, there is a good deal of dissent in the scientific world about the theory of man-made global warming. A large (and growing) segment of those who study such things are questioning some of the basic premises of the theory. Why should there be anything wrong with that? Again, this is a big deal, and we should have the best information and opinion from the best minds.

5. Why are there such dramatically different warnings about the effects of man-made global warming?
Predictions of 20-foot rises in ocean levels have given way to talk of a few inches over time. In many cases, those predictions are less than the rises of the past few centuries. Whatever the case, why the scare tactics?

6. Are there potential benefits to global warming?
Again, I don’t ask this mockingly. Would a warmer climate in some areas actually improve living conditions? Would such improvement (health, crop production, lifestyle) balance any negative impact from the phenomenon?

7. Should such drastic changes in public policy be based on a “what if?” proposition?
There are some who say we can’t afford to wait, and, even if there’s some doubt, we should move ahead with altering the way we live. While there are good arguments for changing some of our environmental policies, should they be based on “what it?”

8. What will be the impact on the people of the world if we change the way we live based on man-made global warming concerns?
Nothing happens in a vacuum; there are always unintended consequences to our actions. For example, if we were to dramatically reduce our need for international oil, what happens to the economies of the Middle East and the populations that rely on oil income? There are thousands of other implications, some good and some bad. What are they? Shouldn’t we be thinking about them and talking about them?

9. How will we measure our successes?
Is the measuring stick going to be temperature, sea level, number of annual hurricanes, rainfall, or a combination of all those things? Again, do we have a goal in mind? What happens when we get there?

10. How has this movement gained such momentum?
We’ve faced environmental issues throughout our history, but it’s difficult to remember one which has gained such “status” in such a short time. To a skeptic, there seems to be a religious fervor that makes one wary. A gradual “ramping down” of the dire predictions has not led to a diminution of the doomsday rhetoric. Are these warning signs that the movement has become more of an activist cause than a scientific reality?

Just asking

The Pack, The Quake, And Bob Actually Defends The Clintons

Once again I have nothing worthy of an entire post, so here are a few more random ramblings.

U Go Pack: Wow, what a game. Seattle gets two quick touchdowns off of Packer fumbles and goes up 14-0. This had me nervous because the pack has only been down by 10 or more twice this season, losing both games. But then the pack exploded, tying it up before the first quarter was over (and tying the NFL record for most post-season points in a single quarter), and then exploding to win the game by 22 points in a huge snowstorm.

And now, for the first time in 10 years the Packers are in the NFC Championship game. New York or Dallas? Well, we won’t know until tomorrow – and the Giants have been as hot as the Cowboys have been cool lately. Giants win and we’re back in Lambeau next week. Cowboys win and we travel to Dallas, where Brett Favre is 0 and 9. Go Giants…..

U Snow Falls In Baghdad: Lambeau Field I understand, but Baghdad? Yes, snow fell today in Baghdad for the first time ever in recorded history. Do you know what this means? I have spent the entire afternoon compiling a list of things I promised to do if Hell froze over. This means that I will have to vote for Hillary, and there are a couple of girls from college that I owe phone calls to. Oh the humanity….

U Snow I Can Take. Earthquakes? Not So Much: I don’t know if there is anything “Biblical” about this, but just as I am typing the phrase “Hell Freezes Over” we experience a 3.1 earthquake. Now 3.1 isn’t huge, but any earthquake you can feel freaks me out. Four years ago, two days before Christmas, we were hit with a 6.5, which is pretty huge. All of the shelves in my garage went over, spilling every paint, stain and solvent I had on Cindy’s Explorer. The buffet with all of Cindy’s grandmothers good china went over, losing everything. Our fireplace pulled away from the wall, and the kids playhouse, which was supported on four 12 x 12 posts, came down.

Being two days before Christmas, the kids were home and could have been in that playhouse. Thank God they weren’t up there. And in my daughters room all of the dresser drawers shoot across the room. Thank god they weren’t there either. But my daughter and her friend were sitting right in front of the big screen T.V., which had it been on the opposite wall, it would have fallen right on top of them. But given the “wave” nature of earthquakes, all of the items on the east side of the house remained fairly stationery.

In my son’s room, the action was very violent. Everything moved towards the middle of the room, and despite the fact that everything that was on a shelf was now on the floor, the room seemed strangely cleaner than it had been in weeks. Could be my imagination though. Anyhow, ever since that day, and the several hundred (yes, several hundred) aftershocks that came after, I’ve had a, shall we say, healthy respect for earthquakes. Coming from the Midwest, where I had a healthy respect for tornadoes, I can honestly say that I’ll take an “I know it’s coming” tornado over a “What the hell was that” earthquake any day.

One last earthquake related item. In the picture on the right you see the rubble of the “Acorn Building” in downtown Paso Robles. The Acorn Building fell, killing two. If you look at that picture, you will see that three doors down from the Acorn building is a green awning. One year prior to the quake that building – the one with the green awning – Housed “The Yardstick Fabric & Crafts”, a fabric store owned by my wife and myself. We had made the decision to close, and had we not my wife, and possibly my daughter, would have been in this mess. Thank god for small miracles. Okay, maybe not that small.

U Well, I Was Waiting For This: Yesterday I commented about Bill Clinton’s “Fairy Tale” remark regarding Obama’s stance on the Iraqi war. Well today it seems Clinton is taking flack from “black leadership” regarding the comment, which they interpreted as not only attacking Obama’s stance on the war, but also his overarching message and his drive to be the first black president.

Look, I’m not in the habit of defending the Clinton’s, but this is B.S.. If you read or listen to Clinton’s original comments, it is obvious that he is talking about the war, nothing else.

Look, I have no problem whatsoever with our having America’s first black president, or Jewish president, or Hispanic president, or even America’s first women president (but God please, not THAT woman). But if that means that every time they say or do something, or everytime somebody criticizes their actions we’re going to pull out the race or the gender card, then count me out. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with pulling the card out whenever an obvious slight to race or gender has been made, but if you need to “read into” comments, then there probably wasn’t anything racially charged there to start with.

I was surprised that, in an effort to explain the difference between the New Hampshire exit polls and the actual vote, several commentators suggested that some people would have told pollsters that they voted for Obama when in fact they may not “be ready yet” to vote for a black man. What sense does that make? Like saying that you voted for Clinton or Edwards makes you a racist? I just don’t get it.

U One Last Thing: Go see “The Bucket List”. Good movie.

Slow News Day

Crazy day, not enough time to really get in deep on any single topic, but there are a few things going on that I thought I’d comment on.

U Dennis gets his way: Well this kind of came out of left field. It seems that Dennis Kucinich is unhappy with the New Hampshire results, and has called for a manual recount, and surprisingly, he’s getting it. Well, he’s getting it because he’s paying for it, so because of that, I don’t have a problem with it.

Now Dennis only got 1.4% of the vote, so I don’t think that he’s calling for a recount because he thinks he won the thing, but because he thinks that there are “serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors” about the integrity of the primary results.

Do I think they are going to find anything? Probably not, BUT if they do find that Clinton didn’t actually receive the votes she did, her candidacy is over. But before you take that as me stirring things up, know that I really think nothing will come of this

U In other political news Bill Clinton today said “There’s nothing ‘fairy tale’ about his (Obama’s) campaign. It’s real, it’s strong, and he might win.” Clinton said this today in a phone interview for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s Radio One network talk show.

Clinton said his “fairy tale” remark on the eve of the New Hampshire primary at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and had accused Obama of misrepresenting himself on the Iraq war.

Now personally, I’m a believer that you shouldn’t speak out about something you know nothing about, which means that I fully support Bill Clinton in his attacks on Obama. Why? Well think about it, is there really anybody out there who knows more about misrepresenting their stance on the Iraq war than Bill Clinton? I Didn’t think so.

U You couldn’t make stuff like this up: Animal rights group PETA has asked the jail housing a man accused of murdering his girlfriend and possibly eating her body parts not to feed him meat.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals faxed a letter Thursday to the Smith County Sheriff's Jail in Tyler, Texas, asking that 25-year-old Christopher Lee McCuin be placed on a strict vegetarian diet to prevent him from being "involved in any senseless killing" while he's behind bars, said PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich.

"Only in a culture where people routinely kill and eat living, feeling beings — corpses — would anybody think to kill and either eat or pretend to eat a human corpse," Friedrich said in a phone interview.

You might be surprised to know that I actually understand where PETA is coming from here. I too believe that there is a special place in this world for all of God’s creatures, and it’s right next to the mashed potatoes.