2010

Ever notice the TV ads announcing new cars or whatever call it two thousand ten, not twenty ten?
The scifi movie 2010 was called twenty ten...and how lame would it be to walk around saying i was born in one thousand nine hundred and whatever, instead of nineteen whatever..
As of Friday, I am calling it twenty ten...
Ok, now time to say goodbye to 2009

Pre-Christmas Politician Rant

I was sitting in the park today, eating lunch in the warmth of my car, watching the ducks scamper around looking for whatever they eat...and listening to the radio, while snugly sitting there in my car under a cloudless winter sky.

I reflected on how over the summer and through the fall numerous news sources have informed me that " National health care is a tough fight" or on Fox "Health Care bill is dead" and thinking, whats so tough? As soon as they cobble together a big enough, bloated enough, cost ineffective bill, it surely will pass, they have the votes. I did not even contemplate the bribery factor to get the votes. Bribery, pork, whatever...there are otherwise good people in prison from congress for say taking a trip to Cancun in exchange for moving a bill through, or accepting a vacation or whatever. Yet apparently when its indirect, as in your state gets to NOT pay for something, and pass the buck to the other states, that's OK?

Is it any wonder that lately the "give me's" have taken center stage? The commentary on the radio was a repeat of JFK's inaugural speech, the one where he spoke moving words, and we all knew he meant it. Things that inspired us to be proud Americans, "...  Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." Tough words...and shortly thereafter tested, remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? 

The most recognised phrase, " And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." spoke of our need to serve our fellow citizens, to in some way serve our nation, in part to repay for the American heritage of freedom.

Yet by this time tomorrow, that will have ended. That national drive to do for ourselves, to achieve great things is being usurped by a continuous drive of government not of the people, but with a emphasis on what government can do for the people...things we used to do for ourselves...yes, sometimes with government help, but as a hand up, not a hand out.

As my (least) favorite Senator Chuckie Schumer put it so well in the stimulus debate...Americans don't care...Well, Chuck, Nancy and associates, hopefully in November 2010 we Americans will tell you to STFU...maybe. If Chuck is right, if we really don't care, well what can i say? How sad.

 

Swimming in the Snow- Nice France

This swimmer preferred to go for a dip in the snow-covered beach of Nice in southern France - at 6C (about 43F) the water was considerably warmer than the outside temperature

Why I have become a skeptic on Global Warmer/Climate Change

Earth Day 1970:

“The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age.”
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

The Malthusian Formula for Destruction is a stubborn theory. It has proven to have great shelf life as most of us are painfully aware. It has only been renamed as the Inconvenient Truth and such. At any rate, many now argue that maybe Malthus’ predictions aren’t wrong, only premature. Of course, growth has to stop when man runs out of arable land, water, oil, and other vital resources that keeps productivity and growth moving forward. Modern doomsday prophets have only upgraded the theory and added to the list of if/thens. All predictions like these (as listed below) usually lead to embarrassment because those who make them underappreciate the role of the market and human creativity in finding ways for better use of scarce resources and finding substitutes in place of them. 

That point is wonderfully illustrated between two professors who engaged in what has been called the Doomsday Bet. The was made between Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich in 1980. Ehrlich identified five metals that he predicted would become so scarce in just a decade that the loss of them would end economic growth as they knew it. Simon disagreed, and predicted that the price of those medals would actually decline because by then better efficiency and substitutes would increase. When 1990 rolled around, the prices of those medals had fallen and Ehrlich had to pay up. 

I am almost giddy

Giddy with excitement, after reviewing the performances coming up locally, and deciding to see whats available seat wise...and finding some exceptional good seats to see one of my favorite musical pieces, Scherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov...along with Mozart - Concerto for Piano No. 20 in d....next month. I told honey this morning about the tickets I bought, and so now i know of one night i wont have to cook, it will be a dinner out and a show...ahhh, something to look forward to!

 

Anybody reading this stuff???

I mean here's the deal...this is my page, at least the way its populated with my personal thoughts on things, the pictures, music I like, videos I like, etc.. But mostly the blogs. These are sometimes short and pointless, other times not. But its my time and effort, usually after a day of work, after cooking dinner, after doing dishes, when I have MY TIME to collect my thoughts and hopefully put something coherent on here.

I notice that most of the time two or three people are listed as reading the blog, sometimes one or NONE, and when I bash Obama, maybe 9 or more.

So I take from that that there is a lot of interest on here about national politics and how they suck, and not so much about me, my life, etc. Except the only reason I write about Obama is because his activities in office, his "leadership" is impacting my life, and yours.

So today on the drive home I hear that the "plan" is for me to pay taxes on my health insurance if I make a certain amount of money...I don't make that kind of money, but do worry about losing the insurance I have, and knowing my employer, they can't wait to dump the coverage and put it on the taxpayers.

Holiday Bloat

Do you know what the Holiday Bloat is?

 Its when you visit friends and family and get stuffed with food and drink, starting around, oh, Thanksgiving and probably lasting until January 2. Not opnly that, but if you work in a big organization, you get involved in section, unit, division  and HQ parties, and not only for those you work directly in, but ones your friends work in, or ones that have good parties, or like me, mayybe even at other organizations where they are clients...today is the 15th, and I have attended 5 luncheons or parties, and there are two more onmy schedule this week...this last weekend I felt so lousy, I decided to make a effort to eat VERY little and drink only water at these things, otherwise ..BLOAT.

I already am constantly fighting the battle of the flab, I dont need to add to it...I like my clothes and am not really wanting to ever go back to wearing tent sized clothes like 10 years ago..

Have a great time at the parties, just take it easy, and DON't drive if you drink alcohol...

ps- the cartoon isnt really me, but it could be if I didnt watch out...geez

- 2009 IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial Pipe Bands in Colorado Springs

My brother Dave and one of his sons are firefighters... he went to this event.
Dave is a deputy chief, and has a firefighter badge tatooed over his heart, and it isnt his badge number...my sister in law says it was a close friend of his badge number...he has been fireman since he was 18 , now he's 52 ...thats dedication... says he might retire at 40 years service

Handal's The Hallejuah Chorus from the Messiah

This is one of my favorite pieces of music for Christmas.

LTC Allen West

Remember hearing this story ? i do. LTC West fire his pistol into the dirt to get a prisoner to rev eal information about a planned ambush, saving countless Iraqi and American lives. In accordance with Army Code of Conduct, he turned himself in for doing so, believing the violation was justified. He nearly was court martialed for misconduct. A public uproar and support from people in the US persuaded the military to just let the guy retire...and  in lieu of a court martial get a  letter of reprimand (which for an officer in the Army is pretty much a career ender)

"...LTC Allen B. West, former battalion commander in the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq, ... will receive a letter of reprimand from his commanding officer, Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, and be allowed to retire from the Army with his pension and rank intact.

 An officer of unusually high integrity, the colonel had reported himself to his chain-of-command for firing a pistol near – not at – near, the head of an Iraqi prisoner to “get him to talk.” The tactic worked, and the prisoner divulged plans for an upcoming attack that could have cost several American lives."

Well, now he is retired from the Army, and is running for Congress in Florida>>>

 

A Peace Prize?

I awoke pretty early this morning, and unable to go back to sleep, got up and started getting ready for work...start the coffee, turn on TV...wait, whats this? Live broadcast of President Obama accepting his peace prize is Oslo?

I thought how bizarre the scene was, a man who won the prize a scant 1 month after taking office, and now giving a speech on the meaning of peace and war...

How ironic for him to accept now, just days after ordering a dramatic buildup of our troops in Afghanistan, a move many say was straight out of the previous administrations plans...

Sure, he talked about closing GITMO, and winding down our involvement in Iraq, but he also spoke of the discontent around the world where freedom is denied, and the growing threat of nuclear prolifieration... I how he can figure out how to act on these things, otherwise this was just rhetoric.