January 20, 2011 Born to be Mild

My friend Susan says she never reads blogs because people don’t write what they really think in case they ever run for office.  I guess Susan expects that people are thinking extreme thoughts and coming up with extreme ideas and then toning them down for communication. (Susan didn’t actually say this, it’s just my interpretation of her original comment).

Maybe I do that.  But I’m not really sure.  Considering how little tact I have I’ve always thought I didn’t tone down what I think, I just blurt it out.  What I think just seems to come spurting out of my mouth and I’m left there thinking “I can’t believe I just said that.”  This happens to me at least once a day.

This is why I don’t think I could ever run for political office.

Here’s the thing:  if I cared enough to run for political office, I’d live, breathe, and eat politics.  But if you’ve noticed, although my blog title suggests that I’m going to write solely about politics, I’m just as likely to write about my cats or my lack of internet skills.

Maybe what Susan meant to say is that she doesn’t read blogs because most of them are BORING. 

January 17, 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President Obama

Today we honor a great American, Martin Luther King, Jr., who eloquently conveyed the concept of an America whose citizens were decent, non-violent, and color-blind.  Forty two years after his tragic murder, we are no closer to achieving those goals than we were during the Civil Rights movement.  Yes, we have lots of laws that prevent overt discrimination, however, racism and racial inequality continue to plague our nation and prevent us from becoming a truly democratic society.

I do not agree with every concept held by Dr. King (e.g. I don’t believe that black Americans should be compensated financially for historical wrongs), however, I do strongly agree with his position on the Vietnam War, non-violent protest, and racial equality.

It is fact that, unfortunately, many Americans are not of this mind.  It is fact, that, many Americans are uncomfortable with a black American president.  They may say, and may believe, that they are not prejudiced, and however, by continuing to insist that President Barack Obama is not a natural born American presents their hand and their true opinions. 

The State of Hawaii has put a copy of President Obama’s Certificate of Live Birth on line for viewing.  Copies of both Honolulu newspapers carried the announcement of Barack Obama’s birth.  The obstetrician who delivered Barack Obama made comment of it to his friend (a teacher at the Honolulu prep school that Barack Obama attended) over dinner, who remembers this because Barack’s father was the first black student to attend the University of Hawaii.  For those whom this is not evidence enough that Barack Obama is an American citizen by birth, then I dare say they also believe that the sun revolves around the earth and that babies come from storks that drop them down the chimney.

And here’s to Martin Luther King, Jr., who made our country a better place.  And a prayer that more people like him will stand up and be counted.

January 16, 2011 Pictures

I’ve been asked by several readers to include more pictures in my blog.  Unfortunately, the Google website where I’ve got my blog located doesn’t seem to allow it.  Also, I understand from several of you that you are having difficulty making comments or “friending” my blog, even those of you who have Google accounts.  I would have thought Google would have been more friendly.  Or, it may be that I just don’t know how to use it properly—a scenario as likely as “it’s Google’s fault”.

So, to make a long story short, I’m going to find a different blog site very soon, so please be patient.  Starting a blog seems to have challenges other than “what do I write about today?”  It requires technical skills that I don’t have yet.  For instance, I tried to join Facebook with our business and I couldn’t figure it out.  Those of you who have greater internet skills than I could please advise me.  Or do it for me on your next visit.

January 15 Government Employees

In yesterday’s post, I was pretty harsh on government employees.  Today I am here to tell you that, like in every demographic, you have your good ones and you have your bad ones.  Fortunately for all of us, I believe that there are more good ones than bad ones.  In fact, I can name several excellent government employees in our local County and City jurisdictions (Nate and Sean—this is a Kudos for you!).  These people are hard-working and are an asset to the community.

But it’s always the bad ones that seem to get the attention, isn’t it?  And from the public’s perspective, it’s those government employees who use their position as one of power, rather than public service, that are the worst.  You don’t generally find that kind of attitude in the private sector (Dell employees are quite accommodating), but government and utility employees are too frequently in the position of acting like God over their small portion of the universe.

As I become more familiar with the U.S. Constitution, it becomes clear that the intent of the  Founding Fathers was to protect the public from the Government.  Looking at the Amendments, it’s clear that the first 9 deal directly on this:

1.       The government can't prohibit practice of any religion, free speech, or the press (to print whatever they want whether it be true or false)

2.       The government won’t infringe on a citizen’s right to bear arms (although I do tend to think that it might be a good idea to establish a limit on how many rounds of ammunition are included in a clip so that if a mass murderer decides to go into a crowd, it limits the number of people that can be shot in one go-round)

3.       The government can’t make private citizens house and feed the army in their own homes (but it says nothing about taxing us to take care of the army in this fashion—which I’m not complaining about merely making an observation)

4.       The government can’t just barge into a citizen’s house to search or seize belongings.  They need a warrant that describes good cause for doing this

5.       No citizen can be held without being charged for a crime and no citizen can be charged twice for the same crime and no citizen can be forced to testify against himself and private property can’t be taken without appropriate compensation

6.       The accused must get a speedy trial rather than sitting in jail for years on end without a trial.

7.       Citizens have the right to a trial by jury (they can’t just be accused and have a government employee decide the verdict)

8.       Excessive bail is not required, nor excessive fines, nor cruel and unusual punishment (although "cruel and unusual" can be subjective)

9.       Just because it isn’t listed in the Amendments, the government can’t declare that they have rights over the citizens.  For example, the government can’t declare that they have the right to control sexual behavior of the citizens (although I know that many good, church-going citizens seem to think they should)

It sounds like in the old days, government employees had a tendency to abuse their positions and so the Founding Fathers put rules in place to prevent this from happening again. 

January 14, 2011 California Cell Phones

Governor Jerry Brown’s first executive order is to eliminate half of the state-paid cell phones:  48,000.  And that’s only HALF!  And by eliminating 48,000 cell phones, the budget will be cut by $20 million per year.  I didn’t realize that my state taxes were being used to pay for state workers to call their wives or boyfriends or kids.  Or to play Solitaire and surf the web and search for the nearest coffee hutch with the Starbucks App.  Had I known this, I would have been pretty pissed off.  And if 48,000 cell phones are being recalled, that still means there are still another 48,000 still out there!

What a rip-off that California tax-payers are paying for state employee cell phones.  What else are we paying for?  Meals?  Laptops?  Why can’t state employees pay for their own cell phones and then highlight those calls on their bills that are work related?

And it’s not just the state that is abusing taxpayer money.  Cities, Counties, Water agencies and other utilities are using taxes and rate-payer money for employee perks.  There was a local scandal last year when it was discovered, at the same time that water rates were going up and new cars were on the budget to be purchased, that water agency employees were using their agency-owned cars for personal use.  A water agency car was seen at the boat arena towing a boat for a day of water skiing or fishing.  And I’ve frequently seen a water agency truck in the chiropractor parking lot.  This is clearly an abuse of rate-payer funds.

Regarding California’s budget, maybe the Governor could eliminate some of the boards and commissions?  Some are important and I believe they should be strengthened (e.g. the Fair Political Practices Commission).  Others, however, don’t seem to be providing a very big bang for the tax payer bucks we’re paying.  For instance, why do we need both a Children and Families Commission AND a Child Development Policy Advisory Commission?  It sounds like there’s some overlap there.  And who are they advising?  And why do we need a Board of Chiropractic Examiners?  Or a Horse-Racing Board?  Or a State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology?   I don’t want to pay for any of these.  It seems like some industries have been cherry-picked for government oversight.  Some industries are more “dirty” than others—but chiropractors?  Barbers?  Give me a break.  If any industry needs to have oversight, it should be government and utilities!

January 11, 2011 Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

We bought a Toyota Prius a couple of years ago and we love the gas mileage:  45 MPG!  It has really made a difference to the amount of money we pay to Chevron every month.  Frank uses it to drive to his job and to run his errands.  However, if we have a long drive to San Diego, it’s our old SUV that we pack up because it is far more spacious and safer on the freeways that we have to share with semi’s, RV’s, and impatient speeders .  And the dogs aren’t allowed in the Prius and so it’s fairly fur-free, except for those stray pieces that have come off of our own clothes.

Apparently the Nissan Leaf is now being sold and driven around California.  A study performed by a market research company called NPD Group, Inc., concluded that driving behavior changes when gasoline prices reach $3 and driving patterns change when gasoline prices reach $4.  Uh, I could have told you that without a market research study!  According to the study, at $3, people are more likely to carpool or drive less.  At $4 people make more permanent changes like buy a hybrid vehicle (which is what we did last time the gas price was over $4), work from home, or get an apartment or house closer to work.

And rumor is that higher gas prices are coming.

We’re probably going to have to buy another gas-efficient car.  The Leaf has a driving range of only 100 miles, so it probably wouldn’t suit us with our rural address.  The Chevrolet Volt, which just came on the market, has a longer range because it also has a lithium-ion battery.  The Mini Cooper electric version also has a lithium battery (which is so big that the electric version is much heavier than the regular version), but you can only lease these vehicles rather than buy them.  And the small size wouldn’t be practical for toting around large dogs and groceries. 

I feel more comfortable with a hybrid car compared to an all-electric car.  It has an alternative fuel source so I don’t need to worry about running out of energy on Highway 88 in the middle of a January snow storm.  If I lived in a city, this probably wouldn’t be such an issue.

Of all the hybrids, the Prius continues to be the one with the best gas mileage—51 mpg in the city.

Electric and hybrid automobiles are on the rise.  The demand has been greater than manufacturing can keep up with (we had to wait 6 months to get our Prius).  The Japanese car companies saw the need and acted on it faster than the American and European car companies.    Will Ford, GM, or BMW be able to catch up with Toyota and Nissan?  Management of these companies underestimated the market for this technology and they are being punished for their short-sightedness. 

The next few years will be exciting to watch in the automobile industry.

January 9, 2011 Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

I’m shocked by the senseless shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a moderate Democrat from Arizona.  But as shocked as I am about that evil act, I am even more shocked by the response of many who claim to believe in the American ideals.  Conservatives are blaming the shooter as a “pot-smoking Liberal” while Liberals are blaming the Tea Party (and Sarah Palin) because Rep. Giffords was on her Target list.

First, let’s understand that Rep. Giffords was a Moderate.  And although she had the tag “Democrat” on her label, the important feature was that she was a Moderate.  How else could she have been elected THREE TIMES in a Republican state?  Because many of the Arizona Republicans are also Moderates!  And a moderate Republican is more likely to vote for a moderate Democratic candidate than a Tea Party candidate.  Politics is a spectrum, not a choice between black and white.  And those of us in the Middle are more likely to vote for others in the Middle, regardless of their political party.  I know, because I vote for both Republicans and Democrats on almost every ballot.  I vote for the person, and never the party. 

But in recent history, politics have become increasing partisan.  And when the number of extremists at either end of the political spectrum start to multiply, and the number of Moderates starts to diminish, then the Country becomes unbalanced as our government teeters and totters. 

This is especially disturbing when the symbology of one of the extremist groups suggest violence, such as Sarah Palin’s target list of elected leaders using a cross-hairs gun sight, and her urging to “don’t retreat, reload”.  Unfortunately, the Liberals have taken advantage of this marketing strategy (which is all it is), while Ms. Palin has been publically gracious toward the mourning families.  It’s a shame that everyone couldn’t put politics aside for one minute to mourn together this tragedy.

I read a comment by a Conservative who said that the shooter was just a Liberal who shot another Liberal.  Rep. Giffords may have been a Democrat, but she was not a Liberal; however, she was more liberal than the Conservative who made that comment.  And a comment made by a Liberal said that she may have been shot because she wasn’t supporting her Democratic constituents.   The shooter is best described as an emotionally unbalanced extremist, which is a term that can be used to describe extremists from either party. 

But the truth is not yet known because the political views of the shooter haven’t been made public.  It’s all speculation, each side pointing fingers at the other side.  And unfortunately for us Moderates, it means that all fingers are pointed at us.

January 7, 2011 Pet Names

Over the last 25 years that Frank and I have had pets, we’ve named them under themes.  We had our American Indian Tribe period (cats Modoc, Miwok, and Yurok and our dogs Siskiyou and Klamath); and we’re currently in our California Place Names period (cats Nevada and Sierra, and dogs Tahoe and Frisco).  Today at lunch we discussed what our next pet name theme will be.  We discussed the possibility of Lord of the Rings (Frodo, Gandalf, and Bilbo are all excellent pet names) or minerals (Kaolin. Feldspar, or Galena all have a nice ring to them).  I’m actually pushing for Biblical names.  There are some doozies out there that are just underused.  Yes, yes, yes, there are plenty of Matthews, Marks, Lukes, and Johns, but what about Achzib (one who runs), Laish (which means lion and would be great for a cat), or Ragau (friend).    Or how about Nobah (to bark or yelp), Tarea (howling), or Tob (goodness).  These are all great and under-used biblical names.

Here in the U.S., the Number 1 pet name is Max.  Number 2 is Tigger, and Number 3 is Jake.  These are all excellent pet names. People seem to name their pets based on 4 categories:

1.       Those that give their animals names that would be fit for humans (e.g. Jake or Sam, which is Number 9 on the pet name popularity list). 

2.       Those that prefer more typical pet names for their pets, such as “Kitty,” which is Number 10 or “Buddy,” which is Number 5 on the list. 

3.       Those that go for the more unusual names, such as our neighbor who named his dog Mokelumne—Mokie for short (after the river) and us (we named our dog Klamath, for crying out loud!)  Neither of these names will ever be found on a Popular Pet Name list.

4.       Finally, there are those people that wait until they know the personality of their pet before they name it.  Had we done this, our cat, Sierra would have been Pounce, our cat Nevada would have been Bitch, our dog Tahoe would be Lickatron, and our dog Frisco would be either Stink Wad or Sir Stinksalot (although our nephew Matt calls him Nutsack).

A psychologist could probably tell a lot about a person based on what they name their pets (or their children).  Could pet naming become a type of inkblot test?

January 6, 2011 California High Speed Rail

I was one of those Californians who voted YES for high-speed rail in 2008.  I’m excited about it.  I live in Northern California, but I have many dear friends in San Diego.  Driving down Interstate 5 several times a year gets really boring and frustrating as it gets more and more crowded.  As bad as it is, driving is still better than flying—(a) overall it’s only an hour or so longer, (b) I don’t have to sit in a squished seat next to a stranger who smells bad, (c) I get to bring as much stuff as I want, and (d) I don’t have to do a pole dance for the TSA staff before boarding the plane.

But can you imagine?  Once the bullet train is complete, it will only take 2½ hours to get from Sacramento to San Diego.

Construction on the bullet train is slated to begin September 2012.  It is projected that 150,000 construction jobs will be created and once complete, 450,000 commuter jobs supported.  That will certainly help California’s economy!

Of course, nothing of this magnitude could ever be constructed without controversy: 

1.       There are those who say no one will ride the bullet train because Californians love their cars too much.  Anyone who says this is obviously unaware that in the U.S., train ridership was the highest in history for the first 6 months of 2010 and continues to increase.

2.       There are those who complain that it will cost more than estimated (65 billion vs. 45 billion).  People who say this usually fail to mention that it would cost more to expand the freeway system or the airlines enough to support California’s growing traveling population.

3.       There are those who say it will cost too much for riders to be practical (round trip ticket estimates have increased from $55 to $105 for a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles).  Well, gas prices are going up and travel in general is getting more expensive.  And time is money.  Business travelers from LA who can get to San Francisco in 2½ hours will be at their meetings faster than those who chose to fly and are still sitting on the tarmac.

4.       There are those that complain that the first segment is a “train to nowhere” and we won’t have the money to finish and so will be stuck with this albatross.  Well, construction has to start somewhere and that particular section was chosen because it’s flat and straight and will be easy to build.  Let’s work the construction bugs out in an easy location and give the engineers time to plan the more difficult locals.

5.       Five hoity-toity towns on the San Francisco peninsula (Menlo Park, Burlingame, Palo Alto, Atherton, and Belmont) are trying to get the bullet train repealed because they don’t like the route through their cities.  I used to live in Palo Alto right next to the train tracks.  Adding another set of tracks to this route will only add 15 feet. 

My message to the critics:  Californians want (and need) a high-speed rail.  It won by a fair vote.  And I’ll be happy to use it once it is complete.

January 5, 2011 The Constitution

I read John Merline’s take on the recent decision by House Republicans to read the entire U.S. Constitution at the start of the new Congress.   First, I agree with the House Republicans that this is an excellent idea.  Too many of us (most of us?), including our elected officials, don’t really know what the Constitution says.  Everybody likes to quote it, but hardly anybody really has read it.  Second, I agree with Mr. Merline who contends that rather than letting some boring, unknown lawmaker read the constitution, let’s get some big names in there.  He suggests William Shatner (as Captain James T. Kirk), James Earl Jones, or Sam Elliot.  Some suggestions I’d add would be Kathleen Turner or Fran Drescher.  Any of these guys or gals could really give some character to the reading of the U.S. Constitution.

With all this talk of the U.S. Constitution, I decided I should read it, too.  So, I downloaded it from the internet and learned a few things right off the bat:

1.       The Constitution is comprised of a Preamble, 7 Articles, and 27 Amendments.

2.       The Constitution and the original 10 Amendments (the Bill of Rights) is 22 pages long (if the type isn’t too big and the margins aren’t too wide).  If you add in the other 17 Amendments the total number of pages is 32.

3.       The Constitution, when annotated with all the rulings made by the Supreme Court, goes from 20 pages (original) to 942 pages.  That’s just the 7 Articles.

4.       The 27 Amendments, when annotated with all the rulings by the Supreme Court, goes from 12 total pages to:

a.       1^st Amendment—Religion and Expression—264 pages

b.      2^nd Amendment—Bearing Arms—4 pages

c.        3^rd Amendment—Quartering Soldiers—2 pages

d.      4^th Amendment—Search and Seizure—80 pages

e.      5^th Amendment—Rights of Persons—132 pages

f.        6^th Amendment—Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecurtion—54 pages

g.       7^th Amendment—Civil Trials—18 pages

h.      8^th Amendment—Further Guarantees in Criminal Cases—42 pages

i.         9^th Amendment—Unenumerated Rights—4 pages

j.        10^th Amendment—Reserved Powers—14 pages

k.       11^th Amendment—Suits Against States—30 pages

l.         12^th Amendment—Election of President—2 pages

m.    13^th Amendment—Slavery and Involuntary Servidtude—10 pages

n.      14^th Amendment—Rights Guaranteed, Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship, Due Process and Equal Protection—384 pages

o.      15^th Amendment—Rights of Citizens to Vote—16 pages

p.      16^th Amendment—Income Tax—14 pages

q.      17^th Amendment—Popular Election of Senators—2 pages

r.        18^th Amendment—Prohibition of Intoxicating Liquors—4 pages

s.       19^th Amendment—Women’s Suffrage Rights—2 pages

t.        20^th Amendment—Commencement of the Terms of Office—4 pages

u.      21^st Amendment—Repeal of the 18^th Amendment—12 pages

v.       22^nd Amendment—Presidential Tenure—2 pages

w.     23^rd Amendment—Presidential Electors for D.C.—2 pages

x.       24^th Amendment—Abolition of the Poll Tax—2 pages

y.       25^th Amendment—Presidential Vacancy and Disability—4 pages

z.       26^th Amendment—Reduction of Voting Age—2 pages

aa.   27^th Amendment—Congressional Pay Limitation—2 pages

bb.  Total Pages = 1,106 pages

Pretty amazing, huh?  What I find interesting is looking at the topics with the most discussions by the Supreme Court:  Amendments 1 and 14.  I also find it interesting that Amendment 18, which was really the only Amendment that TOOK RIGHTS AWAY, was eventually repealed (thank God).

I haven’t read any of the annotated versions yet (just the originals), but I will and I’ll let you know what I think.  Or maybe I could get a celebrity to read them to me.

January 4, 2011 Spaying Our Kitten

I had to look it up—were we spaying or neutering our kitten?  I discovered that you neuter a boy kitten and spay a female.  Glad we got that cleared up.

She didn’t like it.  When we got our little tabby cat home yesterday, she was growling at us and quite perturbed at the whole experience.  And then, when we put the little kitty cone on her, OMG, she ran around and tried to get it off.  Of course, it didn’t help that we were laughing at her.  How could we not?  She was wearing a stiff Elizabethan collar contraption and her eyes were bulging in rage.   Fortunately, the drugs hadn’t quite worn off so she collapsed into a deep sleep soon after.

Pets are wonderful to have, and both lengthen a person’s life and increase its quality.  The shame is when people don’t take care of their pets.  I can’t watch that show Animal Cops anymore because when I see how some people treat their animals, it just makes me physically ill.  One time when I did watch it, there was this guy who had been starving his dog (who was chained up outside without any protection from the elements) and was subsequently sentenced to time in prison and had to pay a fine.  The guy was surprised by this and remarked to the judge that it was “just a dog.”  I was happy to hear the judge lay into him.

There are all kinds of laws to protect animals.  Some people may consider this intrusive into our private lives.  But it is hoped that these laws are a deterrent to those who may enjoy animal cruelty—particularly since people who are cruel to animals tend to also be cruel to other humans, such as children.  It’s unfortunate, but the human species doesn’t naturally behave well, and too many parents don’t teach their children that certain behaviors are wrong, and so we need these laws to protect ourselves from others.  I’ve come to the conclusion that the people who complain about too many laws in our lives are usually the ones who don’t want the laws because it interferes with their abuse of animals, children, or their spouses.  Some people say they want the “good old days” back when there weren’t so many laws.  Except, the “good old days” weren’t so good if you were a wife with an abusive husband or a child with parents that locked you in the basement and starved you. 

January 3, 2011 Putting Christmas Away

For the last week, my husband Frank and I have been slowly putting away all remnants of the Christmas season.  Christmas plates, holiday trivets, candles, various sizes of resin Santa Clauses, and all the shiny baubles have gradually disappeared so that now all that is left is the Christmas tree and the Dickens Village.  Over the 25 years that we’ve lived together, we usually have everything put away by the first weekend in January.  Frank is particular that the Christmas decorations are not completely removed before New Year’s.  I think it’s his way of keeping the holiday going for as long as possible.

Regarding Christmas Decorations, I put people into 5 categories:

1.       People that don’t decorate for the holidays

2.       People that decorate but then have all remnants of Christmas down by December 26 (my sister-in-law falls into this category, and I might mention here that she has a house that is extremely organized and tidy)

3.       People that decorate and get the decorations down before the end of January (this is the category I fall into)

4.       People that decorate and get the decorations down before Easter

5.       People who keep their Christmas lights up all year long.

Have you ever wondered why we decorate our houses for the holidays?  If you think about it, it’s a lot of work, the items we display can cost quite a bit of money, and we need houses big enough to store all the items that we display at different times of the year.  What is it about our culture that we want to surround ourselves with holiday totems?  Come February, I’ll put out valentines, and in July the house will be covered in red, white, and blue.   How have we become so convinced by corporate retailers that we must purchase these items?  And in our consumer culture, many of us buy disposable decorations meant to be thrown away after a single use (although I must admit I have some paper Halloween pumpkins I’ve had for almost 30 years).   This is a recent phenomenon, because I don’t think my great, great grandmother Sarah decorated her modest farmhouse with anything she BOUGHT.   It’s a failing of our species that we are so easily convinced to buy a certain item, or vote a certain way.  Oh well.  I have to go now and look for my box of valentines.

January 2, 2011 Global Warming in General

It’s a mystery to me why Global Warming, AKA Climate Change, AKA Green House Gases has been politicized.  Well, okay, it’s not a complete mystery.  Those that are making money by creating Green House Gases have convinced portions of the public that it’s a lie established by the environmentalists and liberal media. 

I’m not so easily fooled.  The data is irrefutable that our climate is changing.  But rather than listen to the scientists, some people instead believe radio talk show hosts or their next-door-neighbor or the executive of an oil company. 

Regarding Climate Change, which I think is a more accurate description and gets away from the yahoos who proclaim there is no global warming every time it snows, I put people into 3 categories.

1.       Those that believe that Climate Change is real and that humans have contributed substantially to it and can therefore do something about it.  I belong 100% to this category.

2.       Those that believe that Climate Change is real but that it’s a natural phenomenon so why bother changing anything.

3.       Those that don’t believe Climate Change is happening.  These are the same types of people who still insisted that the world was flat after Columbus returned from the New World.   Or who accused Galileo of heresy when he proclaimed belief that the Earth revolves around the sun.  All of us have friends and neighbors who fall into Category 3 and we will not convince them otherwise, so we’ll just have to love them despite their crazy notions.

Believing that humans contribute to Global Warming does not make me a radical environmentalist.  It means that I am able to see the evidence and interpret it in a logical manner.  The glaciers are melting—everyone can see that.  Hurricanes are becoming bigger and more frequent.  Global temperature has increased, as per the data below from NASA.

I believe that if we do something about climate change, like work to find alternative sources of energy, it will create new American companies and jobs (and we won’t be sending as much money over to the Middle East where our money is used to arm people who want to kill us)

Those that fall into categories 2 and 3 usually cite the controversy between scientists and that it’s not all agreed whether or not Climate Change is caused by humans.  However, my friends who say this to me usually don’t realize that those “scientists” that claim humans aren’t creating Climate Change actually work for the oil industry or other businesses that cause Green House Gas emissions.  Remember the Tobacco Industry and controversy over nicotine addiction and how it causes cancer?  Well, the Oil Industry is the new Tobacco Industry in their lies to the public.

Most of the fiscal conservatives that I hang around with actually fall into Category 1, but are more concerned that “going green” will cost too much compared to the risk that human extinction will happen in their lifetime.   I also have friends and relatives who I categorize as far right fringe (and fall into Category 3) and they have patiently tried to explain to me why Climate Change is a ploy by the liberal media to take away their freedoms.    

I’ll probably talk more about Climate Change in future posts because it’s one topic that seems to bring out the loonies, and I love commenting on loonies.

January 1, 2011, New Year Resolutions

For several years now, I have been resolved NOT to make New Year resolutions.  My rationale is that self-improvement is more likely to occur if I don’t attach strict guidelines to it.  I want to exercise more, spend more time in the garden, and spend more time writing, however, what kind of motivation would I have if I fail after 5 days to do these things?  I would most likely quit and wait until the next year before I try again.  Instead, I strive to do these things, but don’t beat myself up if I fail.

Too bad more people don’t try to improve themselves.    I put people into 5 Self-Improvement categories: 

1.       Those people that strive and achieve self improvement, whether it be something as small as resolving to make their bed every day, or those who lose 100 pounds and then go on Oprah to show off their new body in a bikini.  Real achievers seldom announce that they are trying to improve—they just do it.

2.       Those people who never strive to improve themselves because, for whatever reason, they don’t acknowledge that there is anything wrong with themselves in the first place.  We all know at least one person like this.  They are the ones who never apologize, never admit they are wrong, and are generally insufferable but we have to put up with them anyway because they are our boss or we are related to them.  I sincerely hope that none of you are married to someone like this.

3.       Those people who say they are going to improve, but don’t really try, and then tell everyone that they have made some grand improvement.  These are the people who rave that they have lost 2 pounds or haven’t smoked a cigarette in 3 days (although a discreet sniff test will reveal that they must have had a cigarette within the last hour).

4.       Those people that sigh and acknowledge that they need to improve but have an excuse for why they can’t.    “I don’t have time to work in the garden” or “I’ve tried to quit smoking 3 times now and it just doesn’t work” or “I know I need to save more money, but it’s important that I dress well for my job if I want to get ahead.”

5.       Those people that just don’t care if they improve or not.  They smoke, and don’t care that it’s bad for their health.  They are overweight but feel comfortable with their body.  They don’t have anything in their savings but as long as the rent is paid and there is food on the table, they don’t care if there is anything else. 

I must humbly admit that it is the last category I usually fall into, however, throughout my life I have also been in each of the other categories, including the first.