Postal Service Cuts or Cut the Postal Service

The U. S. Postal Service is requesting to drop a day of mail delivery because of financial concerns. 

I have the answer:  UPS and FedEx.

Seriously, the Postal Service is suddenly the most visible and glaring example of our government at work. Of course, UPS and FedEx charge a little more on most items, but that's what the USPS is going to have to charge if they want to operate in the black. Additionally, of the significant mail that I receive, I think that 95% of it could arrive electronically. As for the junk mail, well, maybe the government could find somewhere else to send that. 

And they want to run our health care?!?

Life, Liberty, and Some TV Channels

Subject: $40 coupons from the U. S. Government for TV converter boxes.
Problem: Why?
Conclusion: The U. S. has already converted to Socialism.

Next: Government radios installed in every home so we can be "informed."

We Agree on Something

Merlene Davis of the Lexington Herald-Leader titles her column "What if 52 percent voted not to let blacks drink at the fountain?" in a piece aimed at the reaction of voters to gay marriage proposals on the ballot.

Looking at all of this from a different angle, we should ask: Can a vote of 52% make something right or wrong? If it's a tax increase, then democracy seems a reasonable way to decide whether the tax increase should be allowed. However, would a vote of 52% also make murder legal? Actually, the vote would be couched in different terms: the vote would be to outlaw the prosecution of murder...voters would not be voting about whether murder was right or wrong, voters would be voting about whether the prison system and the taxes involved should continue to go to supporting the legal system, or something like that.

I agree with Davis that a 52% vote should not decide such matters. If gay marriage is ethically right, then voters should not be making such a decision. The irony is that in a world of relativism with no absolutes, it is often public opinion which is asked to determine what is permissible. But when public opinion backfires in this system, many cry "foul."

So then, where does a society derive its basis for right and wrong?

Taxation and Representation

Thinking a little more about the call for increasing taxes on wealthier Americans (by revoking current tax cuts which have them paying only 35%)...

Shouldn't those who pay more taxes have more votes in a democracy where "no taxation without representation" is supposed to be true?

If a person pays 35% of his earnings in taxes, shouldn't he get 20% more representation in the government than the person paying only 15%?

Small Print Revision on AIDS

This story is not exactly making headlines, so I thought it would be worth pointing to the FRC Blog which sheds a little light on some new admissions about the spread of HIV/AIDS:

Heterosexual AIDS Pandemic Won't Happen

I'm not suggesting that AIDS is not a problem that needs great attention. However, the energy and resources devoted to handling AIDS treatment and AIDS research has apparently been blown out of proportion as compared with the need concerning cancer, heart disease, and other leading causes of death.

The release of the World Health Organization statement has scarcely been covered. A Google News search brings up less than 70 news articles around the world. Compare that number to the more than 2,800 articles on the latest news about the Guitmo Prisoners, just for a little perspective.

According to Cornell Scientist David Pimentel, turning corn into fuel is most costly in terms of resources than it is worth. He is quotes in this article as saying "Abusing our precious croplands to grow corn for an energy-inefficient process that yields low-grade automobile fuel amounts to unsustainable, subsidized food burning."

Here are a few of the facts:

• One acre can produce enough corn to make 328 gallons of ethanol. The gas used to produce this corn before being converted is about 140 gallons. At prices at the time of his analysis, the cost per gallon of ethanol (still in the raw form of corn) would already be $1.05.
• In processing, 131,000 Btu are needed to produce one gallon of ethanol. The energy value of one gallon of ethonal stands at only 77,000 Btu. Result: negative Btu's.
• For the average car to travel 10,000 miles in a given year using ethanol, 11 acres of corn must be harvested.
• For every car in America to use ethanol for a year, 97% of our land must be used to grown corn.

Overheard on the News

I did a double take with my ears this morning when listening to the news report from the Wall Street Journal (XM Channel 166.) The update was concering the 0.6% growth in the economy as reported. However, the follow up on the report was something to this effect: "But it is still up to the American public to determine whether or not the economy is in a recession."

Clearly numbers mean nothing. Instead, we live in a culture more driven by opinion - and opinion poorly shaped by the media, at that. Maybe I just do not understand higher economics...

Playing Politics

This "pact" below is a better version of what I have been saying for some time about the presidential race and the next President. Lost in the polarization of the past 18 years in politics is the respect that we should have for the President of the United States. No matter now much I may disagree with him (or her), I disagree more fervently with the kind of extreme rhetoric which has been employed by those opposed to the political decisions being made.

My Non-Derangement Pact if Barack Obama Wins the Election conservativeintelligencer.com

HT: TruePravda

Executive Experience and the Presidency

Here's a chart showing the executive experience of U. S. Presidents prior to becoming president.

For some time I've been thinking that the position of Governor is a greater experience for a would be President than other political offices. I had also wondered how many former Presidents were Generals.

The chart is interesting - I'm not going to pretend to be able to give deep analysis. Just a few observations:

• John Kennedy was the last President to have had only experience deriving from the Senate
• Prior to JFK, the previous President to have had not executive experience was Abraham Lincoln
• 4 of the last 5 Presidents had experience as Governors
• Eisenhower was the last General to become President

Stem Cells: Adult Variety

What the mainstream press does not like to cover:

http://www.frcblog.com/2008/03/patients_first_current_adult_s.html (video at Family Research Council of real live people who have been medically helped by adult stem cells.)

What Is a Locker Room Anyway?

Michael Wilbon's column today titled "Sexuality Disclosed, Ignorance Exposed" is a prime example of the PC police pressure to think like everyone else lest you be labeled "ignorant" or "backward." I have the utmost respect for Wilbon as he is one of my favorite people in the sports media realm, but here at the crossroads of morality, politics, and sports, questions arise to which Wilbon does little or no justice.

Wilbon starts his column by making a direct relationship between the plight of race and the plight of sexual preference, two things which are completely unrelated and yet get referenced so often you would think that homosexuals are all from a continent where every person was genetically homosexual (and somehow reproduced...) This entire topic, though, should be the subject of another entry at another time.

Taking just one aspect of this whole debate into focus: I must ask the question: What is this locker room thing all about to start with? Why are there even dressing rooms?
The question especially gains some momentum as Wilbon quotes some NBA players who express their worries about a homosexual player making sexual passes at them. Wilbon identifies such statement as ignorant.

In attempting to come up with the origin of the sports locker room to begin with, may I suggest a few reasons these locations have evolved:

1. As a place to stash one's belongings securely (hence the term "locker room")
2. As a place to gather as a team before a team event
3. As a place to change clothes in private (though not complete privacy)
4. As a place to shower, use the restroom, etc.

And there may be other factors involved. In the meantime, consider #'s 3 & 4. Except for the exhibitionist (which is still illegal, I believe) most people prefer to undress and/or get dressed in a secluded spot where they will not be seen by the general public, and more important that they will not be seen by members of the opposite sex. While it seems that this is traditionally more important to women than to men, it does remain important to both sexes. So, this then brings up the very point of issue about the location referred to as a locker room. These have traditionally (and apparently ignorantly by Michael Wilbon's standards) been labeled "Men" for men and "Women" for women. Am I right?

So, in our apparently backward culture we have always divided up men and women in their locker rooms for some reason. Is it merely because they are not usually on the same teams so a women's basketball has their own locker room just like the opposing men's team would also have a separate locker room? No, because obviously there is a common standard that is applied to the arena of being undressed because of the sexual nature of wearing no clothes. If a man knowingly enters a women's locker room where women are, he will most likely face some sort of legal action. Such entry is illegal in order to protect those who have taken shelter in this very place for the purposes of their own privacy. Women are not called "heterophobes" because they desire to have privacy from those who might look upon them sexually. In the same way, men are not called "heterophobes" for desiring a similar right of privacy.

So now in our progressive day and age when all things are permissable, is the locker room to become a thing of the past? Is any man who decides to get dressed in the locker room rather than on the bench going to be labeled "some-sort-of-phobe"? I'm sure that I'll be labeled even for posing such a question, but it begs to be asked: If being homosexual is equivalent but different from being heterosexual, then what is the future of the sports locker room? Maybe there should be locker rooms for heterosexual males, heterosexual females, and then an additional one for homosexual males and one for homosexual females. But wait, wouldn't it make more sense for homosexual males and females to dress together since there is no sexual attraction involved? But wait yet again, wouldn't it be wrong for two homosexual males to dress in the same locker room? (I mean, we're talking about committed, monogamous relationships with high standards here, right?)

I imagine the only solution is for locker rooms to be more like dressing rooms with completely individual stalls for getting dressed and also individual showers. I guess it's a good idea to buy stock in bathroom tiles as there's going to be a lot of remodeling.

James Spann to Air Thoughts on Global Warming Controversy

Birmingham meteorologist James Spann will be defending his position on Monday night on FNN with Hannity & Colmes and on CNN with Glenn Beck.

Global Warming? Not So Fast...

James Spann is a Birmingham-area meteorologist for ABC's 33/40. He has been one meteorologist (there may be others) who has responded to Heidi Cullen. Heidi Cullen's statements at the Weather Channel have raised quite a few eyebrows as she has boldly ridiculed anyone who denies her view of global warming, even going so far as to call for the revoking of their meteorologist certification. Her actual words from December 21st:
"I'd like to take that suggestion a step further. If a meteorologist has an AMS Seal of Approval, which is used to confer legitimacy to TV meteorologists, then meteorologists have a responsibility to truly educate themselves on the science of global warming."

James Spann writes an interesting op/ed that raises issues not only with Cullen's extreme statements, but with the "foregone" conclusion that society has caused global warming. Among the interesting points that Spann makes are the record high temperatures for the month of January in the state of Alabama. In a blog reply he writes: "The warming in recent years is statistically no different from the “global warming” in the decade of the 1930s. Our warmest January temperatures on record in Alabama came in 1949 (81 degrees on January 10), as well as 1932, 1937, 1943, 1950 among others."

One Question in the Debate
What Spann brings up is something that I have wanted someone to address: namely, what about all those other "hot" years in the past? Recently quite a fuss was being made about the fact that NYC had no snow - the latest since some year they stated from the 1800's (let's say it was 1883.) So, my question is: what about 1883? There were obviously warmer winters in years prior to the impact of the industrial revolution.

Average temperatures are just that - averages. Averages are developed over all the years on record (I assume) and then we state that the average temperature for January 19th in Birmingham, AL is 53. While it will actually be fairly close to that today, there really is about a 40-50 degree range that one might expect for a high temperature on January 19th.

Global Warming
As far as the WARMING thing goes, all the facts point to a difference in temperatures now as compared to previous decades. Are we in a warming trend? Yes. James Spann and nearly every meteorologist would agree. Does the earth go through warming and cooling trends? Again, "yes" seems to be the widely accepted answer.

So, what is the cause? It seems that it is too soon to tell. Hindsight may prove or disprove many of the current theories on global warming. Stories may be told about the winters of '01-'07 the way most people talk about the winters in the last '70's being the coldest ones they've experienced.

Church, Politics, and the IRS

al.com: NewsFlash - IRS investigating liberal Calif. church

New Islands

Apparently, global warming is causing new islands to appear. What about the rising oceans?

CNN Poll Lacking

Headline: "Poll: More Americans blame Bush for 9/11"

According to CNN, 45 % of Americans now blame the Bush administration for 9/11. These results come as part of a poll that is really asking the wrong question. Unless one buys into the bologna conspiracy theories of 9/11, the question itself is completely leading in nature. The actual question reads:

"Overall, how much do you blame each of the following for the September 11th terrorist
attacks -- a great deal, a moderate amount, only a little, or not at all?"

Okay, that's a fair question. Then one would expect "the following" list of possibilities to include maybe Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabia, or Florida.

But no.

The two possible answers: the Bush administration or the Clinton administration.

Clearly one of the two must be at fault!? What about the Bush 41 administration? What about Kennedy? Eisenhower? FDR?

Out of the possible answers, the most popular answer with reference to both the Bush administration and the Clinton administration was actually "Not at all" (the correct answer.) "Not at all" scored a respectable 35% for Bush and 36% for Clinton.

Also worth noting is that in the "complete results" that are posted here, the only two questions we are allowed to see are questions #21 and #27. A person's response to poll questions is often affected by the other questions that are being asked. If question #20 reads: "If President Bush had made a phone call to Mohammed Atta the day before the attacks, do you think that would constitute a government conspiracy?" then the next question is going to be a little harder to answer with any objectivity.

Come on, CNN, do you really think that nearly half of Americans blame our government?

Truth in Advertising

What the world thinks is going on is evidently more important that what is really going on. With the kind of instant media we have in 2006, wars are evidently fought as much in TV images as in the trenches.

Read Michelle Malkin's The Great Ambulance Hoax

or

one of those responsible for uncovering the hoax.

How To Conduct a Counter-Terrorism Press Conference

In light of the news today concerning this terrorist plot headline and the subsequent press conference on TV, I have concluded that there exists an un-publicized memo in the hands of all authorities that outlines the proper way to conduct these press briefings. Though my reconstruction may be in slightly different words, I think I have formulated the majority of the original document birthed with 9/11.

1. As many levels of governing authority and law enforcement as possible should be present and included in a speaking role in the announcement.

2. All of the speakers who step to the podium (more is better) should repeat the news of what has just taken place.

3. Language should be stern. Faces must be grim.

4. The American flag must be visible (otherwise you may be accused of lacking patriotism.) You cannot have too many American flags (see also the aftermath of the 2000 Presidential Election.)
5. Terrorists are not "alleged." They are guilty until proven innocent.

6. All cities should conduct press conferences with strong rhetoric on terrorism. Even if terrorists could not find your town using Google, this rhetoric will help your re-election.

7. No matter how delighted you are to be on national TV, you must act perturbed to be taking questions from the press.

8. If there are not many details you can reveal, just be repetitive. Remember that the longer you speak the more times the television network can replay the loop of footage they have of likely unrelated "terrorist" events or the ever-important terrorist training camp.

9. "I don't know" is not an acceptable answer. "I can't comment on that," however, makes you look supremely in control.

10. No news is too small. Any plans classified as terrorism are newsworthy.

The Death of Death?

Birmingham fights back against crime! Well, sort of...

In a procession of church leaders that included Birmingham's mayor Kincaid, several hearses were being borrowed for an event that intended to raise awareness of the problem. From the news blurb:

“We must bury murder,” said Bishop Calvin Woods, Birmingham chapter president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which organized the march. “We must
bury drugs. We must bury disrespect. We must turn from death in this city to
celebrating life."

Meanwhile, the city's 54th murder of 2006 occurred near the route to be taken by the procession. The victim, who died later of gunshot wounds, was found in broad daylight.

Immigration From USA To Mexico

This is a revealing account:
Immigration From USA To Mexico