Those three elections
There is speculation as to what the outcome of the November 3, 2009 elections will say about the current mindset of the electorate. I believe the races for Governor of Virginia and New Jersey, and the Congressional race in NY23 each tell a different story.
If the Republican wins in Virginia, it will tell me that the disinterested first-time voters of November, 2008, who voted to elect Barack Obama, voted then for personal reasons - personality, race, rhetoric, anybody but Bush, etc. - and have now drifted back into the "I couldn't care less" abyss.
If the Virginia Democrat wins, it will signal that those first time voters are still engaged - they just can't be reached by the pollsters.
If the Republican wins in New Jersey, I will read that to mean the voters are fed up with their incumbent Governor and no amount of campaign spending or high - powered endorsements will sway them.
If the Democrat wins, it will show us that big bucks and appearances by political big shots can still buy the votes.
If the Conservative wins in NY23, I will conclude that a majority of voters have opted to choose policy over party... that party label alone can no longer be a sure fire ticket to ride into office.
If the Republican wins, we will know that old time party loyalties are still a big factor.
If the Democrat wins, I guess we concede that third party candidates can still split the spoils and elect the one who should have been the runner-up.
Happily for me, in the Mountain Time Zone, I won't have to stay up too late to find the answers.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Due Date
Some Hollywood types are producing a movie which will carry that title. Some scenes for the movie are being shot near my home. That is the sum total of my knowledge about the upcoming film - except to say that Robert Downey, Jr., is in town, so we assume he is starring.
New Mexico is a big state - area-wise. At 121,593 square miles, it is the fifth largest state. With a population of under 2 million, it is only the 36th most populated state. (For comparison, New Mexico is more than twice as large as Georgia, but has only 20% of Georgia's population.
Those numbers mean lots of wide open spaces. Much of it is public land. White Sands Missile Range is 3200 square miles. That is about the size of South Carolina and is bigger than ten other states.
But, even on private lands, people are comparatively scarce - ideal for shooting movies.
Anyway, for "Due Date", the producers apparently want to run some cars off the side of an overpass. Now, in New Mexico, bridges on the U.S. Hiway system are quite attractive. I don't know what they are doing elsewhere, but when they build a bridge here, it is decorated in a Southwest motif and painted to match. Maybe that is why Hollywood likes this location. Maybe it is the aforementioned population scarcity.
Where U.S. Highway 70 runs through our town, there is a very nice frontage road along both sides of the hiway. If a stretch of hiway is blocked, it is very easy to divert traffic off at one of the exits, onto the frontage road, then back onto the hiway a couple of exits down the road, past the blockage.
New Mexico likes to host movie production companies. they pay the state to "lease" a chunk of our real estate. They hire a lot of local support people. The state was delighted to close down a short section of U.S. 70 for shooting film.
That is to say, the State Government is happy about the film shoot. A lot of New Mexicans are very unhappy about being inconvenienced ever so slightly. One reader of the local daily newspaper has even suggested a class action suit against the governor.
Since New Mexico is legally a bi-lingual state, you can call that either "selfish" or "egoista". means the same.
Some Hollywood types are producing a movie which will carry that title. Some scenes for the movie are being shot near my home. That is the sum total of my knowledge about the upcoming film - except to say that Robert Downey, Jr., is in town, so we assume he is starring.
New Mexico is a big state - area-wise. At 121,593 square miles, it is the fifth largest state. With a population of under 2 million, it is only the 36th most populated state. (For comparison, New Mexico is more than twice as large as Georgia, but has only 20% of Georgia's population.
Those numbers mean lots of wide open spaces. Much of it is public land. White Sands Missile Range is 3200 square miles. That is about the size of South Carolina and is bigger than ten other states.
But, even on private lands, people are comparatively scarce - ideal for shooting movies.
Anyway, for "Due Date", the producers apparently want to run some cars off the side of an overpass. Now, in New Mexico, bridges on the U.S. Hiway system are quite attractive. I don't know what they are doing elsewhere, but when they build a bridge here, it is decorated in a Southwest motif and painted to match. Maybe that is why Hollywood likes this location. Maybe it is the aforementioned population scarcity.
Where U.S. Highway 70 runs through our town, there is a very nice frontage road along both sides of the hiway. If a stretch of hiway is blocked, it is very easy to divert traffic off at one of the exits, onto the frontage road, then back onto the hiway a couple of exits down the road, past the blockage.
New Mexico likes to host movie production companies. they pay the state to "lease" a chunk of our real estate. They hire a lot of local support people. The state was delighted to close down a short section of U.S. 70 for shooting film.
That is to say, the State Government is happy about the film shoot. A lot of New Mexicans are very unhappy about being inconvenienced ever so slightly. One reader of the local daily newspaper has even suggested a class action suit against the governor.
Since New Mexico is legally a bi-lingual state, you can call that either "selfish" or "egoista". means the same.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The real danger
in our schools.
There was Columbine. There was Virginia Tech. There have been others. People died simply because they were seeking an education at a time and place where some deranged person(s) struck out with deadly force.
Bodily harm is always a terrible thing. But another kind of harm is being inflicted in our schools.
At this moment, a six-year-old Delaware boy is both the threat and the victim. Think of it. This little boy is apparently being reared as a modern girly-boy by loving parents who sometimes send him to school wearing a tie. Thankfully my parents never did that to me during my first few days of elementary school. That was during the depression when farm boys came to school in bib overalls, homemade shirts and bare feet. If a boy had shown up in a tie, some kid may have strangled him with it.
But that attire is what this Delaware boy knew. Then there came a transformative event in his life... he became a Cub Scout! Suddenly he was thrust into the world boys love... learning about trees and bugs and birds. And getting the attire to match. A real Cub Scout uniform! Having once been a small boy, I can tell you he must have been euphoric.
Then, he came into possession of a thing that must surely have originated in boy heaven... a camping tool, akin to a Swiss Army knife, that consisted of a knife, a fork and a spoon, that folded up into a pocket full of treasure.
He surely ate a meal or two at home using this wondrous new thing. Since cafeterias are such an important part of modern schools, it follows that thinking about school must encompass thoughts of food. Logic tells you that he must have been bursting with pride at the thought of taking his new Cub Scout tableware to school, and being the only kid eating his lunch with such a modern thing.
Nope. It didn't work out that way. A teacher discovered his treasure, and he is being severely punished for bringing a "weapon" to school.
I am reminded of an incident involving my youngest son, when he was about nine years old. I was on a business trip to Washington. My wife and son were to join me for a little vacation time after my meetings concluded. Somewhere, my son had acquired a paper weight that had been fabricated from a real 50-caliber machine gun bullet. There were no explosives in the thing, but it certainly looked threatening. As they checked in at the airport, he played with his new toy. The airline person asked "What is that?". He told her: "A machine gun bullet!" My wife, of course, explained that it was really just a paper weight.
Being infinitely more intelligent than the officials at the Delaware elementary school, the airline person instructed my wife, "Okay, Mom, you take charge of this thing. Put it in your purse and keep it there as long are you are in the airport or on the plane."
The Delaware school official could have gently told the small boy, "The school has very strict rules about carrying a knife. Since your camping utensil includes a knife, I will have to take it and call your Mom or Dad to come to the school to pick it up. I'll bet an arm that the boy would have been puzzled, but would have instantly yielded to authority.
But, then, that would have required a small amount of common sense, something in short supply today. So, this small boy is sentenced to "Reform School", an experience which will leave who knows what permanent scars.
in our schools.
There was Columbine. There was Virginia Tech. There have been others. People died simply because they were seeking an education at a time and place where some deranged person(s) struck out with deadly force.
Bodily harm is always a terrible thing. But another kind of harm is being inflicted in our schools.
At this moment, a six-year-old Delaware boy is both the threat and the victim. Think of it. This little boy is apparently being reared as a modern girly-boy by loving parents who sometimes send him to school wearing a tie. Thankfully my parents never did that to me during my first few days of elementary school. That was during the depression when farm boys came to school in bib overalls, homemade shirts and bare feet. If a boy had shown up in a tie, some kid may have strangled him with it.
But that attire is what this Delaware boy knew. Then there came a transformative event in his life... he became a Cub Scout! Suddenly he was thrust into the world boys love... learning about trees and bugs and birds. And getting the attire to match. A real Cub Scout uniform! Having once been a small boy, I can tell you he must have been euphoric.
Then, he came into possession of a thing that must surely have originated in boy heaven... a camping tool, akin to a Swiss Army knife, that consisted of a knife, a fork and a spoon, that folded up into a pocket full of treasure.
He surely ate a meal or two at home using this wondrous new thing. Since cafeterias are such an important part of modern schools, it follows that thinking about school must encompass thoughts of food. Logic tells you that he must have been bursting with pride at the thought of taking his new Cub Scout tableware to school, and being the only kid eating his lunch with such a modern thing.
Nope. It didn't work out that way. A teacher discovered his treasure, and he is being severely punished for bringing a "weapon" to school.
I am reminded of an incident involving my youngest son, when he was about nine years old. I was on a business trip to Washington. My wife and son were to join me for a little vacation time after my meetings concluded. Somewhere, my son had acquired a paper weight that had been fabricated from a real 50-caliber machine gun bullet. There were no explosives in the thing, but it certainly looked threatening. As they checked in at the airport, he played with his new toy. The airline person asked "What is that?". He told her: "A machine gun bullet!" My wife, of course, explained that it was really just a paper weight.
Being infinitely more intelligent than the officials at the Delaware elementary school, the airline person instructed my wife, "Okay, Mom, you take charge of this thing. Put it in your purse and keep it there as long are you are in the airport or on the plane."
The Delaware school official could have gently told the small boy, "The school has very strict rules about carrying a knife. Since your camping utensil includes a knife, I will have to take it and call your Mom or Dad to come to the school to pick it up. I'll bet an arm that the boy would have been puzzled, but would have instantly yielded to authority.
But, then, that would have required a small amount of common sense, something in short supply today. So, this small boy is sentenced to "Reform School", an experience which will leave who knows what permanent scars.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Modern day Vandals.
Shortly before the Taliban were removed from power in Afghanistan, they discovered some huge stone carvings of likenesses of Buddha carved into the side of a stone cliff by ancient inhabitants of the area. The Taliban determined that these Buddhas were religious symbols and were an affront to Islam. They moved some artillery pieces in place and proceeded to shell the ancient carvings, causing considerable damage.
Before the assault, historians around the world pleaded with the Taliban not to destroy the ancient carvings.
After the assault, people everywhere protested the insensitive destruction of the antiquities. Today, some dedicated persons are painstakingly trying to repair the damage, stone shard by stone shard.
Something like that could never happen among a civilized people. Right?
During the first quarter of the last century, hundreds of thousands of Americans obeyed orders from their government to go to Europe to help end a bloody conflict there. When the World War ended, a group of surviving veterans wanted to create a permanent memorial to their comrades who had fought with them. In about 1934, they went out into California's Mojave desert and erected a cross for that purpose.
Was that a religious symbol? Probably. But, it was the way those American veterans (all of whom are now deceased) wanted to remember their comrades... men and women who had died in service of America.
Some Taliban-like judges have ordered the memorial disguised and want it removed.
Happily the U.S. Supreme Court is intervening.
Soon we will know if we are any more respectful of our forebears than were the Taliban.
Shortly before the Taliban were removed from power in Afghanistan, they discovered some huge stone carvings of likenesses of Buddha carved into the side of a stone cliff by ancient inhabitants of the area. The Taliban determined that these Buddhas were religious symbols and were an affront to Islam. They moved some artillery pieces in place and proceeded to shell the ancient carvings, causing considerable damage.
Before the assault, historians around the world pleaded with the Taliban not to destroy the ancient carvings.
After the assault, people everywhere protested the insensitive destruction of the antiquities. Today, some dedicated persons are painstakingly trying to repair the damage, stone shard by stone shard.
Something like that could never happen among a civilized people. Right?
During the first quarter of the last century, hundreds of thousands of Americans obeyed orders from their government to go to Europe to help end a bloody conflict there. When the World War ended, a group of surviving veterans wanted to create a permanent memorial to their comrades who had fought with them. In about 1934, they went out into California's Mojave desert and erected a cross for that purpose.
Was that a religious symbol? Probably. But, it was the way those American veterans (all of whom are now deceased) wanted to remember their comrades... men and women who had died in service of America.
Some Taliban-like judges have ordered the memorial disguised and want it removed.
Happily the U.S. Supreme Court is intervening.
Soon we will know if we are any more respectful of our forebears than were the Taliban.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
What has happened to our world?
In 1988, Joanna and I were fortunate to have spent a week in Rio. We thought it was the most beautiful city we had ever seen.
Never ones for guided tourist events, we just converted some cash and took off on our own. We rode public transportation, we rode taxis, we walked. A must see attraction was Rio's spectacular, modern cathedral.
We marveled at the sidewalks in Rio... hand-laid pieces of stone in varied colors, forming beautifully symmetrical patterns.
We shopped the open air leather market and the art market. Like every tourist, we loved the open air fruit and flower market, and the friendly people buying and selling.
We watched a street performer putting on a show with a pet lizard. We were impressed with the easy assimilation of people of all races, with no evidence of racism.
Yes, there are poor in Rio, living in the slums they call flavelas. But remember, these are not cardboard shacks or tents. They are permanent homes, mostly built of concrete blocks... not in keeping with modern building codes, but permanent, nonetheless. And remember, it never freezes in Rio, so this is hardly like living under a bridge in Chicago.
Against that experience, you can imagine my surprise this morning to turn on the TV and see video of a gunfight on those once beautiful streets... and a narration about the terrible crime rate in the city.
Closer to home, I also heard today that there have been 1,700 murders this year in Mexico. Ciudad Juarez, a city only forty miles from my home is one of the deadliest places. We used to visit Juarez about once a month and always felt safe and warmly welcomed.
So, what has happened? Is it all because of illegal drugs? Or is there more?
Okay, here comes my opinion: Yes, drugs are the core of much of today's violence. But that springs from a deeper problem. We used to adhere to the old adage discerning the difference between giving a man a fish, and teaching him to fish.
Once we clung to the latter. Then the misguided liberals became more powerful. They insisted we give the man a fish. Being basically a compassionate species, the fishermen acquiesced. But before long, it wasn't enough to give the man a fish. He now wanted it broiled and served with side dishes. And he no longer asked, he demanded. Gradually he expected more: like a share of the fisherman's profits if any fish were sold.
Generations raised on the take, saw drugs as a way to enlarge their riches and still do no legitimate work. Is it a surprise, then, that men of this generation - in Mexico and elsewhere - are now killing each other for rights to certain areas of these easy riches?
Can this cancer on mankind ever be cured? Only with a great deal of pain for those who have never truly known a day's work. In Europe, where the fruits of misguided liberalism are fully experienced, things are beginning to make a slow right turn. In America, where the liberals have only recently assumed full power, it is going to take a while longer.
In 1988, Joanna and I were fortunate to have spent a week in Rio. We thought it was the most beautiful city we had ever seen.
Never ones for guided tourist events, we just converted some cash and took off on our own. We rode public transportation, we rode taxis, we walked. A must see attraction was Rio's spectacular, modern cathedral.
We marveled at the sidewalks in Rio... hand-laid pieces of stone in varied colors, forming beautifully symmetrical patterns.
We shopped the open air leather market and the art market. Like every tourist, we loved the open air fruit and flower market, and the friendly people buying and selling.
We watched a street performer putting on a show with a pet lizard. We were impressed with the easy assimilation of people of all races, with no evidence of racism.
Yes, there are poor in Rio, living in the slums they call flavelas. But remember, these are not cardboard shacks or tents. They are permanent homes, mostly built of concrete blocks... not in keeping with modern building codes, but permanent, nonetheless. And remember, it never freezes in Rio, so this is hardly like living under a bridge in Chicago.
Everywhere we went was peace and tranquility.
Food in Rio restaurants was just wonderful. Someone ordered a seafood platter and we were all amazed at both the quantity and the quality.
And, there were those beautiful people! Think the girl from Ipanema, endlessly cloned.
Yep! We loved Rio. At no time, and in no place did we ever feel unsafe or threatened. The only mention of crime was that women were advised not to wear dangling gold jewelry which a thief could grab and run. But we saw no evidence of such activity.
Against that experience, you can imagine my surprise this morning to turn on the TV and see video of a gunfight on those once beautiful streets... and a narration about the terrible crime rate in the city.
Closer to home, I also heard today that there have been 1,700 murders this year in Mexico. Ciudad Juarez, a city only forty miles from my home is one of the deadliest places. We used to visit Juarez about once a month and always felt safe and warmly welcomed.
So, what has happened? Is it all because of illegal drugs? Or is there more?
Okay, here comes my opinion: Yes, drugs are the core of much of today's violence. But that springs from a deeper problem. We used to adhere to the old adage discerning the difference between giving a man a fish, and teaching him to fish.
Once we clung to the latter. Then the misguided liberals became more powerful. They insisted we give the man a fish. Being basically a compassionate species, the fishermen acquiesced. But before long, it wasn't enough to give the man a fish. He now wanted it broiled and served with side dishes. And he no longer asked, he demanded. Gradually he expected more: like a share of the fisherman's profits if any fish were sold.
Generations raised on the take, saw drugs as a way to enlarge their riches and still do no legitimate work. Is it a surprise, then, that men of this generation - in Mexico and elsewhere - are now killing each other for rights to certain areas of these easy riches?
Can this cancer on mankind ever be cured? Only with a great deal of pain for those who have never truly known a day's work. In Europe, where the fruits of misguided liberalism are fully experienced, things are beginning to make a slow right turn. In America, where the liberals have only recently assumed full power, it is going to take a while longer.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
About those uninsured...
I've been listening to all the pundits discuss the 40 million - or 47 million uninsured (whatever number is handy).
No one wants to say the cruel truth, so here it comes from this opinionated old man:
First, I must point out that I am not a "mean-spirited little weasel" as Don Imus described Jimmy Carter. At our house, I am not permitted to answer the doorbell. If the person at the door is a peddler, which they most frequently are, I will buy whatever they are selling. I just like people and admire the hell out of people who persist in the face of repeated rejection on people's front porches. Recently, when I was home alone, a man came selling magazines to support what seemed a worthy cause. I just didn't want any of his magazines, at any price, but I gave him a couple of bucks for his cause.
Back to the truth about the uninsured. Linda Halderman, a lady doctor on the west coast wrote a revealing piece which you can read courtesy of Investor's Business daily, at
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=507807.
Here are some excerpts:
"Upon questioning a pretty 46-year-old seeking wrinkle relief, I learned that four of her immediate family members had been diagnosed with breast or colon cancer before 50. Alarmed, I asked why she had not had the recommended screening mammogram for more than four years. She said that she knew already that her risk for developing breast cancer was likely higher than that of most women. "But I don't have insurance," she replied.
A screening mammogram could be obtained for about $90 and was discounted or free at local facilities every October for "Breast Cancer Awareness Month." She smiled when I proposed a deal: If she were to get a screening mammogram within 60 days of her treatment, I would offer a discount on what she paid me for cosmetic services.
"I'll think about it," she said, then shelled out over $400 for Botox injections that took me 10 minutes to administer.
Five months later, when she returned for her next wrinkle treatment, she still had not obtained a mammogram.
"I encountered patients who gladly paid upward of $1,000 in cash for laser hair removal treatments. The paperwork filled out during their initial consultation asked them to indicate whether or not they had health insurance. Several hair-removal patients reported being covered by Medi-Cal, the government-funded health coverage for California's low-income population.
"A friend of mine sells private health insurance plans. He told me of the 39-year-old father of two whose family was quoted a monthly insurance premium of $250.
"Are you kidding?" he said, refusing the coverage. "That's almost as much as my boat payment!"
"When serving in the rural health center in my community, my colleagues and I offered free or discounted care for a large number of patients. Many were covered by Medi-Cal or one of dozens of state programs paid for by the taxpayers of California.
The following items were commonly seen on patients or carried by their dependent children, who were also covered by subsidized programs:
• Cell phones and BlackBerry PDAs, including just-released models with a price tag of $400, plus an ongoing monthly service fee of $65-$150.
• IPods and portable DVD players.
• Game Boys and handheld electronic games.
• Artificial fingernails requiring maintenance every two weeks at a cost of $40-$60 per salon visit.
• Elaborate braided hair weaves, $300 per session plus frequent maintenance.
• Custom-designed body art, including tattoos covering the entire torso, neck and arms, as well as body jewelry piercing every skin surface imaginable — and a few unimaginable ones.
Custom tattoo work, particularly the "portrait-type" and "half sleeve" art popular in this area, runs from $100-$300 per hour and can require up to 20 hours of work, depending on the complexity of the design."
The cruel truth is that a lot of the uninsured prefer not to pay for health insurance, not because they are poor, but because they would rather buy a BlackBerry, or an elaborate tattoo, or Botox.
Sometimes people are honestly "poor" (out of money, that is) because of circumstances. I will help those folks when I can.
But for those who are "poor" by choice? Sorry, but my sympathy just ran out.
I've been listening to all the pundits discuss the 40 million - or 47 million uninsured (whatever number is handy).
No one wants to say the cruel truth, so here it comes from this opinionated old man:
First, I must point out that I am not a "mean-spirited little weasel" as Don Imus described Jimmy Carter. At our house, I am not permitted to answer the doorbell. If the person at the door is a peddler, which they most frequently are, I will buy whatever they are selling. I just like people and admire the hell out of people who persist in the face of repeated rejection on people's front porches. Recently, when I was home alone, a man came selling magazines to support what seemed a worthy cause. I just didn't want any of his magazines, at any price, but I gave him a couple of bucks for his cause.
Back to the truth about the uninsured. Linda Halderman, a lady doctor on the west coast wrote a revealing piece which you can read courtesy of Investor's Business daily, at
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=507807.
Here are some excerpts:
"Upon questioning a pretty 46-year-old seeking wrinkle relief, I learned that four of her immediate family members had been diagnosed with breast or colon cancer before 50. Alarmed, I asked why she had not had the recommended screening mammogram for more than four years. She said that she knew already that her risk for developing breast cancer was likely higher than that of most women. "But I don't have insurance," she replied.
A screening mammogram could be obtained for about $90 and was discounted or free at local facilities every October for "Breast Cancer Awareness Month." She smiled when I proposed a deal: If she were to get a screening mammogram within 60 days of her treatment, I would offer a discount on what she paid me for cosmetic services.
"I'll think about it," she said, then shelled out over $400 for Botox injections that took me 10 minutes to administer.
Five months later, when she returned for her next wrinkle treatment, she still had not obtained a mammogram.
"I encountered patients who gladly paid upward of $1,000 in cash for laser hair removal treatments. The paperwork filled out during their initial consultation asked them to indicate whether or not they had health insurance. Several hair-removal patients reported being covered by Medi-Cal, the government-funded health coverage for California's low-income population.
"A friend of mine sells private health insurance plans. He told me of the 39-year-old father of two whose family was quoted a monthly insurance premium of $250.
"Are you kidding?" he said, refusing the coverage. "That's almost as much as my boat payment!"
"When serving in the rural health center in my community, my colleagues and I offered free or discounted care for a large number of patients. Many were covered by Medi-Cal or one of dozens of state programs paid for by the taxpayers of California.
The following items were commonly seen on patients or carried by their dependent children, who were also covered by subsidized programs:
• Cell phones and BlackBerry PDAs, including just-released models with a price tag of $400, plus an ongoing monthly service fee of $65-$150.
• IPods and portable DVD players.
• Game Boys and handheld electronic games.
• Artificial fingernails requiring maintenance every two weeks at a cost of $40-$60 per salon visit.
• Elaborate braided hair weaves, $300 per session plus frequent maintenance.
• Custom-designed body art, including tattoos covering the entire torso, neck and arms, as well as body jewelry piercing every skin surface imaginable — and a few unimaginable ones.
Custom tattoo work, particularly the "portrait-type" and "half sleeve" art popular in this area, runs from $100-$300 per hour and can require up to 20 hours of work, depending on the complexity of the design."
The cruel truth is that a lot of the uninsured prefer not to pay for health insurance, not because they are poor, but because they would rather buy a BlackBerry, or an elaborate tattoo, or Botox.
Sometimes people are honestly "poor" (out of money, that is) because of circumstances. I will help those folks when I can.
But for those who are "poor" by choice? Sorry, but my sympathy just ran out.
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