Loons and Liars

After all the manufactured hulabaloo over President Obama's speech to school children from conservative talking heads, columnists, politicians, and demagogues who objected to his message of stay in school and learn to prepare for life, I'm convinced these sterling citizens are nothing but loons and liars. Perhaps, I should just say they are loony liars, particularly considering all the hysteria and misinformation these characters have spewed out about health care reform. How anyone can be sucked into the loony liars insane scenarios and webs of untruthful ideas is beyond me. Part of the responsibility for the absolutely idiotic reaction of many parents who forbade their children to hear an inspirational message lies at the feet of news media who smelled a story and made it stink by playing to the lowest common denominator of uninformed people. In this sense, the mainstream media are no better than the talking heads and bloggers who stir the pot of public opinion with a ladle of lies to whip up a broth of hatred for our president.

Dumb Dad Ad

In an ATT television ad for Internet service, pitiful pop can't find a network connection and his clued in daughter who knows all about wi-fi tells him, "The line is invisible". Pop replies, "I knew that." with all the confidence of a man facing a firing squad and hoping to survive. This ad is just another example of a long list of advertisements that denigrate the intelligence of males. I think it's time that men united to tell the corporate sponsors that this type of ad is not acceptable. This best way to do this is to visit one of the sponsors stores and tell a manager that you won't be buying their product as long as they keep insulting your intelligence. However, I don't think even male-backlash would help when the ads are most likely being produced and approved for airing by corporate flunkies barely out of their teens. The youger generation has clearly taken charge and the results are not pretty.

Perpetual Punishment

According to Christian religious tradition, perpetual punishment is what you get when you go to hell for sins not forgiven in this world. With the prevalence of the Religious Right in many state legislatures, is it any wonder that our prison populations are swollen as sentences are lengthened and more life sentences without parole are given to repeat offenders. The idea of eternal damnation, not only in the after-life, but in this life as well through a variety of means, is proposed for beyond the prison. Eternal probation is created for sex offenders who must register and exhibit a brand on driver's licenses and Web pages regardless of the nature of their crime. Some people would like for Michael Vick to be kept off the football field even though that's the only skill he has to make a lucrative living. He paid the civil penalty for his dog-fighting crime, yet some folks would ban him from football forever. Even pathetic Squeaky Fromm, the would be assassin of Gerald Ford, who has served 30-plus years in prison for her transgression, will be released from jail but will remain on probation until her natural life expires. How did the idea that punishment should be forever get in the heads of the self-righteous? Where is forgiveness? Where is rehabilitation? Well, at least the mob isn't demanding the gallows nowadays. Let's hope this trend abates or our society and civilization will revert to medievalism.

Miss California USA Controversy

The headlines (KC Star, May 13, 2009, A3) announced that Donald Trump had ended the controversy over Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, semi-nude photos which were uncovered after her comment on gay marriage was disapproved by its promoters. The Donald is quoted as saying, "We have reviewed the pictures carefully. We've made a determination that the pictures taken were acceptable. Some were risque, but we are in the 21st century." I saw some of Miss Prejean's pictures on the Huffington Post website. Donald's comment causes me to wonder what kind of pictures will be acceptable in the 22nd century. But, then, as long as the pictures are of a self-promoting aspirant to the world of fame via the beauty pagaent contestant path, who cares?

Confessions of a Cat Lady

Having more than one cat in your house may earn you the appelation of "Cat Lady". Actually, I think having two cats, or perhaps three cats, would cause one to be called a "Cat Fancier". Having four or more cats rightly deserves the title of "Cat Lady", provided of course, that the cat owner is female. If not female, I guess you'd call a male multiple meower maven a "Cat Guy". That's beside the point. What I am about in this blog is relating an interview that I had with a "cat lady", a keeper of six of the critters. I was interested in knowing where the obsession with feline house guests came from. I was lucky enough to find out from an avowed "Cat Lady" in a conversation that went like this:

Q. When did you first realize that you liked cats?
A. When I was just a toddler. My first pet was a dog. It wasn't very nice to me. My next pet was a cat. It was nice to me.
Q. How was it nicer than the dog?
A. Nicer isn't the right word to use. The dog bit me when I held it. The cat let me hold it and purred when I did. The dog wasn't nice. The cat was.
Q. Well, that figures. That is, I can see why you would prefer a cat. But, isn't one cat at a time enough?
A. It was for me at first, but I had two sisters and they liked cats, too. I had to share my cat with them and my parents usually wouldn't let us have more than one cat at a time. Occasionally, we had two cats, but that didn't feel satisfying.
Q. Besides being dissatisfied, how did you react to sharing one or two cats with someone else?
A. I went along with the idea of one cat at a time, but I promised myself that when I grew up and didn't have to share with my sisters anymore that I would have as many cats as I wanted.
Q. When did this multiple meower manifestation materialize?
A. After my first child was born. I found that I had to share a cat with another person again.
Q. Didn't your husband count as someone with whom you had to share a cat?
A. Of course not. The cat didn't pay any attention to him.
Q. How many cats do you have now?
A. I don't keep count, because I don't own them. They just choose to stay around the house and eat here. They are free to leave anytime they want.
Q. You have taken photos of them and given them names. Doesn't that assert a relationship beyond mere house guest?
A. Only to someone who is hung up on control. Anyone knows that you can't control a cat. They abide you, not obey you.
Q. Anything else you want to say about having multiple cats?
A. Yes, get a really absorbent cat litter and keep the litter box in the garage.

So, there it is. A "Cat Lady" is the product of unrestrained volition when it comes to harboring cats. Can't say it's a bad thing, it's just the way some people are.

Ammo and Gun Shortage

The morning TV news reporter was interviewing a gun store owner about an alleged shortage of guns and ammo. The store owner said that what he called a "shortage" was caused by fear of economic hard times where self-defense could become a priority and fear of government action that might end or restrict gun rights. The store owner claimed that the stockpiling of guns and ammo is due to people being motivated by fear. Does merchandise leaving a store create a real shortage in the traditional sense where demand exceeds supply? Stockpiling only causes a temporary shortage in one link of the supply chain. The store will restock as soon as its suppliers can deliver goods. In the short term, the "stockpilers" have a window of opportunity for profiteering, if others are sucked into the hysteria of irrational fear and create a greater demand. In the long term, should future government action indeed restrict the type of weapons and ammunition available, the stockpilers will be positioned to profit as others seek to obtain proscribed weapons and ammunition. For example, it is rumored that assault weapons will be banned and that each round of ammunition will have to bear a serial number to trace ownership. In this case, buyers would be forced to turn to a clandestine or "black" market to acquire banned goods, which would benefit "gun rights advocates" who stocked up on ammo and guns they had no intention of using personally. Frankly, I've got another name for them: entrepreneur. As always, follow the money.

A Bow, A Smile

The right-wingers are livid. They say that President Obama bowed to a foreign potentate, something an American never does. They say that President Obama smiled while shaking the hand of Chavez of Venezuela, something an American President should not do. The truth about the "bow" is that Obama bent over in front of the Saudi king to get a better look at the hem of his gown. Obama was trying to see if the tips of the cowboy boots sticking out from beneath it were the ones that W. had described (snake skin) and asked him to see if the king was wearing, as he promised he would the last time our favorite Texan was in Riyadh. I don't blame President Obama for not telling the news media what he was really doing. He wouldn't want to reveal a confidence he had with Bush II. As for the truth about the smile when greeting Chavez, who can keep a straight face when you feel a hand-buzzer. That Chavez guy is a real clown.

So, you don't buy these "truths". Then how about these reasons for-- The bow: Obama was amused when he saw the Saudi king in his native dress and bent over to keep from laughing in his face. The smile: On meeting Chavez, he smiled to show his pleasure at meeting someone who shared his opinion of George Bush.

One can make up many, many truths about why President Obama did what he did. Whatever the real reason or motive for his behavior, the one incontrovertible truth is that whatever Obama does is going to upset, outrage and inflame the right-wingers. So, who cares?

Kansas Trivia - Wierd Law

The El Dorado Times published a special section of its paper to celebrate Kansas Day called Kansas Facts and Trivia. Among the 50 entries, was this jewel: "At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas." The law was repealed, probably due to its un-Americanism. But, why was it enacted? Could it have been the cherry purist's lobby? or the ice cream crowd's equivalent. Was it a public health issue involving ice cream made with un-pasteurized milk? Whatever the reason, it's a good example of what legislatures do. We have an offender "branding" law on the books today that is every bit as goofy as this wierd law.

More on Legalizing Drugs

If drugs became legal to sell and consume, like alcohol, the question arises about what to do with the people who've been making their living by selling drugs on the street. My War on Drugs discussion friend (see earlier post of April 8, 2009) points out that wars always end with some violent, aimless men, especially on the losing side -- such as the Jameses and Youngers after the Civil War -- inflicting themselves on society and that the same problem would emerge with the end of the Drug War. On the bright side, my friend has a theory that more young people might stay in school, if they weren't drawn by the possibilities of selling drugs, Admittedly, my friend recognizes that the transition might be a difficult one. I think this is especially so, if other illegal pursuits were attempted in transition.

The book, Freakonomics, has an interesting slant on drug dealers. The author writes that the street pushers barely earn minimum wage and that they can only score financially by being at the top of the drug distribution chain. If that's the case, the pushers may find it more remunerative to pursue other employment. So, I agree with the idea that more young people might stay in school as a result of legalization of drugs. In case of the drug king pins, I imagine they are smart enough to find another illegal pursuit they can pursue without too much heat from the law or to go legitimate. It is possible that the legalization of drugs will have lasting positive consequences in spite of some transitory negative ones.

Nationally, there are several movements underway with the goal of legalizing drugs and ending the insanity of a hopeless war. I suggest that we should all consider the arguments on both sides of this issue before condemning the idea of legalization of drugs. This is the first step in public education. Eventually to convince Congress and the Kansas Legislature that drug laws should be changed, the focus of any legalization movement would be public education. Only if the public is overwhelming in favor of something will the legislatures be convinced to act. As for Kansas -- when changing laws is the goal -- this state is always last or next to last in adopting laws that the rest of the country embraces.

Tax Disconnect

I am amazed by conservatives (and even some liberals) who, throughout the protracted Iraq War, have advocated tax cuts. How can anyone in their right mind support spending for a foreign war without paying for it? If one approves of government expenditures for whatever reason, then it follows that they should support taxation equivalent to the expenditures. Case in point: Tax refunds are obviously money that the recipient has been able to do without. If tax rates were higher to support the cost of the Iraq War, the amount of refunds would be less. This tells me that people can afford higher taxes, while all along they are claiming the need for a tax cut. Let's get real and put our money where our mouth is.

Somali Pirates

These Somali pirates are a pest. Swatting at them as they attack shipping in the open seas is a temporary fix of the problem. How do you get rid of a pest, permanently? That's easy. You eradicate the pest's nests by attacking them at their source, Somalian ports from which they operate with impunity. Immediately, if this solution is pursued, objections would arise, claiming that such action would be a violation of the sovereignty of Somalia. However, does Somalia qualify as a sovereign nation? It is said that Somalia hasn't had a functioning national government since 1991. If that's the case, who can profess sovereignty? I would say that a land area without sovereignty is fair game for conquest by any force, be it a neighboring state, an international force or an aggrieved party like a victim of the piracy efforts. There can be no objection to the use of deadly force against the pirates by any group claiming control of Somalia, because they have not controlled the pirates. International and maritime law needs to prevent piracy by permitting the use of force against the pirates, rather than protecting them.

Legalizing Drugs

A friend and I talked at lunch the other day about legalizing drugs. What my friend had to say about it made a lot of sense. Leonard Pitts made a good case for the same conclusion in yesterday's K.C. Star. Perhaps, in these two events, there's an omen that more people will become aware of the need for a movement toward legalization. Doing so could certainly reduce our law enforcement costs, perhaps freeing up resources we could use more effectively to control illegal immigration or some other compliance problem. Other problem areas that could be addressed besides drugs are child pornography, identity theft, car theft, securities fraud, or home burglaries. Putting all those narcs on the street wouldn't be good for the unemployment figures. But wait, if we keep fighting crime, we won't save the money wasted on the War on Drugs or reduce our prison population. How do we get out of this mess? Perhaps, dumping the War on Drugs would leave enough money to bear down on some crime problems and still reduce costs for enforcement and prisons. Hopefully, the narcs could qualify as air marshals, teachers, counselors or other jobs that would be useful in improving society. More people need to weigh in on this and something has to change. Our drug "problem" isn't getting solved and we have too many people in prison with too many adverse consequences for them and the rest of us.

Countering Islamic Extremism

Retired General Abizaid, in an AP interview, said the United States has done a poor job of fighting Islamic extremism. Quoting Abizaid, "I don't blame it on any people. I just blame it on a bureaucratic system that has been unresponsive thus far to the challenges of the 21st century. We need to change that as a matter of national priority."

The "bureaucratic system" that the general refers to can be overcome. The Obama administration should bring together our foremost experts on all aspects of the Middle East, counter-terrorism, religious fundamentalism, economic development, and any other pertinent subject that could contribute knowledge to the development of an overall strategy to fight Islamic extremism through economic, educational, political, diplomatic, social, and other means. There are signs in both overt and subtle foreign policy changes that the Obama administration is leaning in this direction. Let's hope the effort gains momentum and some progress can be made toward making the world safer.

Take Back Our Country

A conservative Republican told me that, in the next Federal election, "We will take back our country". Maybe that's where their idea that individual freedoms can be curtailed in the name of national security originates comes from. If this country indeed belongs to the Republicans, does that mean that non-Republicans have to get their permission to travel in it? Are all non-Republicans, even if they arrived here via the birth canal, alien immigrants without civil rights? Does exclusive Republican ownership of this country explain the importance that Republicans place on patriotism. This attitude of prior franchise on this land that many conservative Republicans exhibit may be the culprit behind their seeming desire for Obama to fail. Obviously, many Republicans don't consider him as a legitimate occupant of the White House, either by birth or political party.

General Motors

So far all I have seen and heard of General Motors management initial response to its need to restructure is marketing changes. They're now offering a payment protection plan that's better than Hyundai's. They're emphasizing On-Star as a singular feature of GM cars. Payment protection isn't going to sell more cars. If your job is shaky, the last thing you'll do is add to your debt load. On-Star sounds great, but it's free only for the first year. When it comes time to start paying for On-Star "security", a car owner with a cell phone will think twice before paying a second cell phone (On-Star) bill.

Yet, GM still has a marketing problem. They are pushing the wrong products. The Cadillic Escalade SUV, that turns you on when you turn it on, may be the ticket for over-sexed drivers, but unfortunately they're a small segment of the market. And by the way, so are Hummer owners. The only way these models can justify their marketing expense is the sizable profit per unit from their sale. A comparatively fat profit on a small segment of the market doesn't come close to a comparatively slim profit on a large segment of the market.

GM's real problem is the attractiveness of their products. GM needs to lower prices and improve profitability of manufacturing its various models, while improving fuel economy for all models. GM needs to improve its hybrid car offerings. One of the dumbest things GM did was to spin off Delphi with all its technical expertise in batteries and electric motors just before hybrids were going to get popular. GM should buy Delphi back and dump all of its marginal model lines and convert their assembly lines into producing hybrid cars, pickups and local delivery trucks.

Running a tighter ship with a leaner crew will do more to improve GM's bottom line than all the hype. It's going to be a hard sell to all levels of GM's work force who act like they have a sinecure instead of a job.

Proof of Bloated KU Staffing

The 20% ticket discounts for faculty and staff at KU events (sports, Lied Center, etc.) are being discontinued, ostensibly to save jobs. The University's administration claims that the discounts cost KU $451,000 in lost revenue, which would provide funds for 11 employees. This claim is disingenuous, because sports revenue goes to the Athletic Department and other event revenue goes to special funds. Neither is affected by the state budget limitations. The claim of saving 11 jobs is nothing but propaganda. If retaining 11 jobs was the true motive, revenue enhancements could be sought in other areas: parking fees, library charges, rents, etc. Better than diminishing the benefits of employment, the University should reduce the workforce, an alternative that this administration is trying to obfuscate. If reducing a bloated work force wasn't possible, there would be no need to create a defense of non-essential jobs.

Unread Political Email

During the Kansas Senate's debate on the 2009-10 budget, the Kansas University Alumni Association asked me to contact my state senator and urge that KU's budget not be cut. I used the Association's Web site to send an email with a subject line that read "Kansas Higher Education Budget" to react to their request. Rather than parrot the Association's line, I took a contrary approach, telling my senator that KU was over-staffed and could do more to reduce spending in a time of funding scarcity. Shortly after sending my email, I received a thank you email from the Association for my support of KU's budget needs.

This week I received a follow-up email from my senator informing me that "The legislation which emerged asks higher education to cut its budget by eight tenths of one percent (0.8%). Higher education and K-12 are essentially held harmless in the current budget bill." The senator's email ended with, "Thank you for your email in support of funding for higher education. I appreciate your taking time to share your comments with me." Obviously, the senator's office didn't read my email, else they wouldn't have thanked me for supporting funding for higher education, which I did not.

What is the lesson taught by this sequence of events? In an email to elected representatives, all that counts is the subject line. So, put your opinion there, up front in an unambiguous way. Then, be really brief in your comments. You'll have a better chance of being read.

Shawnee-Mission Park Deer Over-crowding

Shawnee-Mission Park has a problem. It's 1,250 acres has 8 times the number of deer that the habitat can reasonably support. The solution is really obvious: expand the park to 10,000 acres. O.K., you scoff and say there's not enough land left around the park for that. Well, in a way there is. Between the park and the Kansas River lies a huge landfill of around 600 acres and along the Kansas River to the west and south of the river is a large undeveloped area. Check it out on Google Earth. The secret would be to provide a route for the deer to use to traverse the area between the park and the river and along the river to the north-south swathe of open land East of Desoto and North of K-10. That would take a lot of money, but preserving the open space would be a good thing. It would allow the deer population (and other wildlife) a habitat with access to open areas.

Shawnee-Mission Park is attractive to deer that enter the metro area, but once there they are somewhat trapped. I can't imagine that they are any more thrilled by the overcrowding that the park-goers are. I hope the biodiversity study the Park Board plans to do will come to the conclusion that more land area is needed.

Solving the world's problems, one at a time.

God's in Control

"God's in Control." That's the word from Joel and Victoria Olsteen, the smiling evangelicals, who have rented Yankee Stadium for "A Celebration of Faith" this week. If their premise about God's role is in fact true, then the Almighty either has a weird sense of humor or a perverse regard for mankind. Joel Olsteen, who advocates praying yourself to riches, has found his personal formula for riches: smiling, smiling and smiling to convey his message of personal prosperity to impoverished souls who'll attend his rally at Yankee Stadium, where his and his wife's books, DVDs and CDs will be on sale.

Tax Cuts - The Panacea for What Ails Us

Tuning in to Fox News this morning, after tiring of the Headline News bimbos, I found nothing but more bimbos showing more cleavage than their HLN counterparts. Instead of talking about the latest news like HLN, the Fox News talking heads, mostly female with a couple of angry or nerdy guys, were on politics, going on and on about tax cuts. I learned that tax cuts are the solution for anything. If you want economic growth, cut taxes. If you want more jobs, cut taxes. If you want more individual freedom, cut taxes. If you want to keep more of your earnings, cut taxes. If you want the country to recover from the recession, cut taxes. If you want to prevent slackers from surviving on the public dole, cut taxes. If you want smaller and intrusive government, cut taxes. Yes, cutting taxes is the one-size-fits-all solution to what ails us as a country. It's the universal panacea to fix everything.

More money in the accounts of the wealthy and high-earning is said to spur investment which creates economic growth, but who says it won't be made in a second or third home on a Caribbean island or in a foreign security. Investment is supposed to create more jobs, but this is true only when the investment is made in the means of production, i.e., factories and manufacturing equipment, but who says it won't be made in a foreign country rather than the USA. The point is that cutting taxes and achieving the desired result would require more government, not less, to insure that the additional money would produce the desired result. So, their goes smaller, less-intrusive government.

Would someone please explain to me the correlation between the extent of my freedom and my tax rate. If freedom and the tax rate are inversely proportional, that is, those with the lowest tax rate should have more freedom than those paying at a higher rate, why is it that the latter have more life style choices than the former. The answer is simple, they have more money, more than enough money to meet the necessities of life and still enjoy a better life with more options for education, recreation, wellness, travel, entertainment, etc. Why don't the right-wingers admit that their mantra of 'tax cuts' is nothing more than a slogan designed to garner donations from those who benefit most from tax cuts, the wealthy?

Personally, I want a strong national defense; modern, well-maintained public infrastructure; quality, accessible education; affordable, preventative health care and responsive emergency services; police and fire protection; national, state and local parks, libraries, and museums; and other government services like immigration law enforcement and a criminal justice system. I don't know how a constant diet of tax cuts can satisfy my desire for beneficial role government plays in modern society. Tax cuts and the reluctance of the right-wing politicians to increase taxes to pay for wars and heightened internal security is what caused the national debt to swell during Bush's presidency. Don't hype tax cuts to me. I ain't buying.

3.2 Beer Stays in Kansas Groceries

A Kansas Senate committee recently squelched a bill designed to permit grocery stores to sell full strength beer. For years, grocers have been limited to the sale of 3.2 beer, a story that has roots going back to Prohibition. When the grocers ask for the law to be changed, liquor store owners and their lobbyists go to work to defeat the proposal. I won't say that legislators have a personal relationship with the liquor providers, but one might wonder about that. The primary reason liquor store owners give for opposing sale of regular beer by grocers is that it would put some of them out of business. The "some" is estimated at varying percentages from 30% to 50%. The liquor store owners can be expected to protect their business interests, but the public should be aware that this is the same group who oppose opening their stores on Sunday and holidays, which would be a boon to tourism. The solution to the problem faced by the grocers is to buy out liquor stores as they come on the market. When the grocers own the same percentage of liquor stores that are claimed to be put put of business by allowing beer sales in groceries, the argument of loss of business will evaporate. Surely, like most things from the past, 3.2 beer will pass, only in Kansas it will take longer than in more progressive states.

Sebelius Sanctioned

Catholic bishops have told Governor Sebelius that as a Catholic she errs in her stance on abortion. They have conspired to deny her the sacrament of communion. Ultimately, the actions of the bishops will backfire on them. There are plenty of Catholics who do not accept the teachings of the church about abortion. That some church members have joined to support Sebelius shows us the tip of the iceberg. As the bishops exhibit an increasingly reactionary stance to modernity, i.e., embryonic stem cell research and abortion, one should expect a greater number of Catholic church members to be alienated from the teachings of the church. Thus weakened in their faith, support for the bishops will wane. Greater numbers will depart from the church, increasing the outflow of the once faithful to other religions or to a faithless life. The bishops can help themselves by silencing their pronouncements and fulfilling their duty of administering sacraments rather than denying them.

God's Will

No man knows the will of God. That's the conventional wisdom. It's a trait of God, being omniscient and unfathomable in knowledge and wisdom. At least, that's the way I understand it, according to what I've heard in church. That no man knows the will of God is also behind the idea of a prophet, one who speaks for God. The significant prophets have generally recorded most of their pronouncements of the will of God. Rather than attempt prophecy, some religious persons spend a goodly amount of their time trying to determine the will of God through study and interpretation of scripture. After all, if the Bible is the word of God, shouldn't his will be expressed therein? However. since "To err is human...", biblical scholarship and interpretation may not correctly produce the will of God.

The prophetic and biblical record on embryonic stem cell research and abortion are non-existent or less than meager. Being virtually without a source of information as to the will of God which remains indiscernable, wouldn't it be something if embryonic stem cell research and abortion were both sanctioned by the will of God. God is merciful. Would God not permit the discovery of life-saving cures? God is loving. Would God not love a woman who decided not to continue a pregnancy, an act that would be a matter between her and her God, to be decided on a case by case basis, according to the circumstances? Sometimes, an abortion would be good for the woman and sometimes for the nascent child. If God is merciful and loving would he not give a soulthat is said to enter the body upon conception and interrupted by abortion, a second chance at life.

The problem with the Religious Right's opposition to embryonic stem cell research and abortion rights is that it is entirely subjective, based on their religious beliefs, which have no more validity than the religious beliefs of others who have a different interpretation of God's will. Who's right? We will never know. This is the over-riding reason why the government has no business in prohibiting or regulating stem cell research or abortion.

Kansas Trivia - Continued

"Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States." El Dorado Times, January 29, 2009, Page 1B.

This bit of trivia, like the other 49 facts printed in the El Dorado Times, can be found on several Web sites. One of them is called 50States.Com, which gives the windiest city "honor"(?) to Dodge City at an average wind speed of 13.9 mph. Another web site, WikiAnswers.Com, sticks to the popular designation of Chicago, the Windy City, as the windiest, but doesn't give a speed value. ChaChaAnswers claims Blue Hill Observatory, Massachusetts with an average annual wind speed of 15.4 mph is the windiest.

In order to settle the question as to which city is the windiest and to stimulate the manufacture, distribution and installation of wind speed measurement equipment, a federal program is needed to pay for a wind speed indicator to be erected in each city in the United States. The ultimate pay off would be identifying the best lcoation for wind generators. Oops, perhaps this equipment already exists in weather reporting stations in cities. Never mind. The real question is, who researches and publishes these lists of state trivia, which appear in half a dozen Web sites and are used in numerous other commercial sites. Looks like the subject for a future post.

In the Stem Cell Debate

RSam Brownback, Kansas Republican Senator, commenting on President Obama's decision to rescind the Bush ban on federal funding of expanded research on new lines of embryonic stem cell research, as reported in the KC Star (3/10/09) said, "If an embryo is a life-- and I believe strongly that it is life-- then no government has the right to sanction their destruction for research purposes."

First, what does Brownback mean when he says, "If an embryo is a life...", and then in the same sentence changes his reference to the degree of animation of an embryo by saying, "... I believe ... it is life."?

The presence or absence of an article gives the word 'life' two different meanings. 'Life' preceded by an article suggests a defined existence. 'Life' without the preceding article suggests a general condition. So, which is it? Is the embryo, possessing 'a life', a human being in the fullest sense or is the embryo with 'life' a group of undifferentiated human cells, which, being capable of cell division, is considered as living. Life is the subject of biological studies. Study of 'a life' is the subject of psychology, sociology, anthropology, psychiatry, and other similar disciplines, none of which deal with the behavior of human embryos, if such even exists.

If an embryo is a human being, why doesn't it appear on the family tree? Why wouldn't any compensation for reproductive purposes received on its behalf be considered as taxable personal income? Why wouldn't disposing of an embryo be considered as an unlawful taking of a life? The answer to the preceding questions is evident: a human embryo, while alive, does not have a life. An embryo is not a human person.

Second, since embryos are not people, when the stem cells that constitute the early embryo, technically referred to as a blastocyst, are used in research, destruction of 'a life' does not occur.

The use of inflammatory language is a characteristic of religious zealots. Violent themes are the stock in trade of religious zealots in the self-styled 'right-to-life' movement, because they intend to appeal to the emotions of persons who are uninformed about embryonic stem-cell research.

Again, Kansas Trivia

"Kansas won the award for the most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981." The El Dorado Times, January 29, 2009, Page 1B.

First, let's do something about this awkwardly worded sentence. How about changing it to: Kansas won the most beautiful license plate award for its 1981 wheat design. There, that's better: 12 words versus 18 words. Now, let's learn more about this feat, thanks to the Internet.

A Web page containing the History of Kansas License Plates is provided by the Kansas Department of Revenue which issues our car tags. There is no mention of a 1981 award for the Kansas license plate design. If such an award was made, you would think the Department of Revenue would know about it. There are several possible reasons for this ommission: (1)they refer to the 1981 plate as displaying wheat "stocks" and the 1995 plate as displaying wheat "stalks", which indicates fallibility, (2) they don't respect the party giving the award as a legitimate judge of license plate quality, or (3) they aren't up on Kansas trivia for Web page purposes. Regarding reason (1) above, a Wichita State University student or alumnus would probably prefer wheat "shock", but technically a shock of grain refers to sheaves stacked upright in the field. My guess is that the 1981 plate reference to a "stock" is a misplaced homonym. But, I digress.

I found that Kansas won first place in a license plate design contest in the United States and Canada with its depiction of the buffalo -- the iconic symbol of the Great Plains -- in 1995, by virtue of the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association Inc. voting the state's "Home on the Range" personalized vehicle license plate the best in those countries, according to Michael Naughton, president of ALPCA. Naughton presented the award to Carmen Alldritt, director of vehicles at the Kansas Department of Revenue. ALPCA has about 3,000 members from the U.S. and 19 other countries. The Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, founded 1954, is an organization dedicated to the promotion of license plate collecting and research, the exchange of information and plates, as well as all fraternal benefits of sharing a common hobby interest with others throughout the world. It has issued awards for the best plates in North America since 1970.

In Wikipedia's ALPCA site there is a table showing Plate of the Year Award winners since it was first made in 1970. Kansas is shown as winning the award in 1980, the first year of a plate design showing gold wheat stalks on a blue background, and again in 1994 when the wheat design was used again. So, the trivia statement at the top of this post is not untrue. It is merely in error. Let's change that sentence to read, "Kansas won the most beautiful license plate award for its 1980 wheat design." Somebody tell DOR.

The Comma, A Misunderstood Punctuaton Mark

The Perrin-Smith Handbook of Current English, Copyright 1955, Page 388, states: "Commas mark a slight separation between ideas and grammatical units, similar to very brief pauses in speech." The handbook uses 15 pages to explain the proper use of the comma; when a comma should be used, when commas are usually optional, and when commas are not used. The handbook's best line is that, "A comma should always be used whenever necessary to prevent misreading or confusion of meaning."

The relevance of this advice about commas for today's writers might be questioned, because a handbook published over 50 years ago has the word, current, in its title. Of course, language changes slowly. 'Current' is obviously a relative term, and therefore appropo. One example of language change occurring at this time in regard to the use of commas is the tendency for writers and copy editors to diminish the use of commas, omitting them whenever they feel that meaning will not be lost for the lack of a comma. My personal preference is: when in doubt put in a comma, rather than leave it out. Others are seemingly pained to have to add a comma. Instead of putting in the punctuation, they say, "Let the reader do the work."

Lynne Truss, in her acclaimed book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, sums up the purpose of punctuation, "On the page, punctuation performs its grammatical function, but in the mind of the reader it does more than that. It tells the reader how to hum the tune." So, when you are reading along and your grasp of the writer's meaning stumbles a bit, look for a place to insert a comma, if only mentally, and see if that doesn't help you better understand what you are reading. If it does, you can mentally bonk the writer on the forehead, much like the V-8 juice commercials, and say, "You could've used a comma."

Kansas State University Trivia

"At Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine waterbeds for horses are used in surgery." The El Dorado Times, January 29, 2009, Page 1B.

While a waterbed for a horse may sound extravagant, what better way to secure the animal during surgery? The suspension of a sedated animal on a fluid table that flexes and molds to the horse's body is quite ingenuous. Actually, a surgical foundation, involving both water and a bed-like appearance, for working on an animal under anaesthesia is not the same waterbed that humans use for sleeping. The base for horse surgery can be seen on the K-State Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital equine surgery Web page. It is ironic that the cost of using the proper equipment for equine surgery: lifts, platforms, lighting, environmental controls, etc. can cause the cost of the procedure to exceed the monetary value of the animal being treated. Of course, I suppose the same could be said of some hospital equipment for treating humans. The horse is treated regardless of value for reasons both sentimental and scientific, and I guess the same could be said for humans.

Worst Drivers in the World

Keith Obermann has his nightly segment of the "Worst Person in the World". I thought I would take off from his idea to describe the worst drivers in the world. Today, on the way back home from the golf course, I was shocked by a woman driver who blew through a 4-way stop. Within a mile, an SUV approached my vehicle, lapping over the double yellow stripe. As I proceeded, I became trapped behind another SUV doing 25 in a 40 mph speed zone. A little further along my route home, while traveling in the left lane of a busy 4-lane arterial, the driver of a small sedan crossed in front of me to reach the left-turn lane at a signalized intersection, causing me to brake to avoid a collision. Almost home, on the same 4-lane street, I attempted to move into the center left-turn only lane to turn left into the entrance street of the subdivision where my home is located only to be surprised by a dark sedan that pulled into the same center left-turn only lane from a side street on the left, wrongly using this dedicated strip and causing me to brake quickly to avoid a collision. All of these driver's had one thing in common: they were talking on a cell phone, making them the Worst Drivers in the World. Someone please deliver us from these mobile menaces.

Still More Kansas Trivia

"South of Ashland, the Rock Island Bridge is the longest of its kind. It measures 1,200 feet long and is 100 feet above the Cimarron River."

What this trivia tidbit doesn't tell you is (1) what kind of bridge it is, (2) what type of traffic it carries, (3) where it really is, and the name of the bridge. The answers are (1) steel deck truss, (2) rail traffic (For those who have never heard of the Rock Island Railroad, it's a pretty good road.), (3) Seward County along side US Highway 54 about 11 miles northeast of Liberal in Southwest Kansas, and (4) Samson of the Cimarron. It is nowhere near Ashland. Some cub reporter or intern must have done the research for the trivia sheet the El Dorado Times paid money for. They should get part of their money back.

Now, do you have the full picture? Probably not, because to see the bridge immediately tells you that it is something special. It's a beast of a bridge on concrete pylons and seems to go on forever. It's the type of bridge that, if you're a photographer, you pull over and take a picture of it. For a look at the bridge and some more facts, click here.

Confidence Crisis

The current economic recession is being referred to by the news media as a "Confidence Crisis", a term used of ABC's Good Morning America. If such a condition exists, do you suppose the news media has had a hand in creating it. I notice that every news broadcast, pundit interview, talk show host and comedy routine is all about the economy's downside. A lot of these talking heads maintain that things are so bad with people loosing their jobs, homes and fortunes that despair and fear is all that people have left. The 6 o'clock news program has tips on how to be a savvy shoppper, where to find bargains, where to get freebies, how to find a job, and what educational opportunities exist to improve job skills. With all this unsolicited advice flying around, you'd think that, before the economy slowed and then retracted, no one knew how to do any of these things. Personnally, I wish the TV and radio hosts would move on. Sure, report the facts about the latest economic news and government initiatives to correct the problem or not, but give up the analyses. Chances are the media will still be talking about what people can do to cope long after the economy has rebounded, but no one will notice because they're all at work, out shopping or on vacation.

More Kansas Trivia

"A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins."

What's more, this largest grain elevator is only one of several huge granaries in that City. The east side of 'Hutch', as it is familiarly known among the locals, is a monument to the Wheat State. Obviously, these grain elevators serve as an inter modal collection point for the wheat harvest as both roadways and railways both serve them. Straight trucks haul the grain from the field to a local elevator where the grains are moisture tested, checked for foreign matter, and weighed, and then dried and stored for future shipment. Next, semi-trailer trucks haul the grain to larger elevators from which it is transferred to a food processor or to a port for shipment to an overseas market. The elevators also serve to store wheat for future delivery. I am sure that the functions of these mammoth grain storage facilities are a lot more complicated than I have portrayed, and I'd be interested in hearing more about them and there smaller local counterparts. If you haven't seen them, check them out on Google Earth.

Kansas Facts and Trivia

The El Dorado Times published a special section of its paper to celebrate Kansas Day. Besides "Kansas Facts and Trivia", the special profiled the other 49 states with such interesting facts as the state's capital, governor, name origin, bird, flower, motto, nickname, songm population, famous residents and what or who the state is the home of. Well. I guess it might be interesting, if you are bored with everything else that demands your attention. For example, did you know that the state motto of New York is "Excelsior", which is kind of Latin for higher or the best and not the packing material as we frequently think. The first Kansas fact is: A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing.

I have actually seen it. It's housed in a structure located on the highway through town. All I have to say is that's a lot of string. According to a web site called Round America:

"There isn't anything much in Cawker City except the World's Largest Ball of Twine, so I had no problem driving right up to it on the main street through town. This sucker is BIG. It's housed in a very nice open-sided building where you can walk right up to it and smell it and touch it. Frank Stoeber started the ball of twine on his farm in 1953. By 1957, it weighed 5,000 pounds, stood 8 feet high, and had 1,175,180 feet of twine on it. Stoeber gave the ball to Cawker City in 1961 before his death in 1974. When I visited in 2003, it weighed 17,578 pounds (that's almost 9 TONS). It has a 40-foot circumference, and it consists of over 7,019,145 feet of sisal twine. If stretched out, it would extend 1,325 MILES. Like I said, this baby is BIG."

It's interesting that whoever supplied the El Dorado Times with the trivia list needs to update the facts as to weight and circumference. Well, I guess they covered themselves when they said, "...it was still growing." The above report is now over 5 years old, so I guess I better make another trip to Cawker City to measure its circumference and make a new estimate of its weight. I'll bet the folks in Cawker feel like they're a prisoner to this monster ball of sisal twine that isn't as round as it used to be. Pretty soon it will look more like a haystack than a ball and they'll have to start calling it a stack of twine to advertise truthfully. The big question is how long this foolishness can go on and how will it end.

Journalistic Excess

In a story about the federal budget proposed by the Obama administration, the KC Star on Friday, February 27, 2009, used a lot of adjectives. The budget and related financial matters were referred to as: bloated, eye-popping, aggressive, unspecified, gargantuan, huge, large, significant, breathtaking, and expanding, to cite a several of the adjectives used. I guess the press thinks that the only way to interpret the President's budget proposal is to adopt the opposition's spin. Well, get over it. The country has about 300,000,000 people and who knows how many businesses and other organizations. I'd guess somewhere between 25,000,000 and 50,000,000 million. That's a lot of people and players. Is the budget supposed to get smaller. Nowhere in the paper's analytical piece, pawned off as news, was there any per capita comparative analysis or adjustments for inflation. Raw numbers, that sound big to people locked in a 60s mentality, were the order of the day. After splattering the front page of the paper with red ink stains and spots, I think they did enough to show that they can't cope with modern day amounts.

Cutting Taxes to the Limit

In the Johnson County Sun of February 11, 2009, Steve Rose, the publisher, wrote that, since 1995, the Kansas Legislature had cut taxes to the point that they don't have enough money to pay for the government's obligations. Legislative Research estimates that $7.6 billion dollars has been given up to tax cuts since 1995. In the current fiscal year, all the rax cuts will amount to $600 million. You can read Steve's Memo for yourself.

Back on January 26th, I discussed Kansas Budget Woes. Although I mentioned how nice it would be if our revenue had been greater so we'd have a reserve for times like these, I came to the conclusion that no matter how much revenue government collects, politicians will find a wsy to spend it. Too bad they don't have the courage to raise taxes or roll-back tax cuts when the money is needed for government's day-to-day obligations.

I personally can't see the harm in an increase in the income tax during a recession. Those that have incomes from still having employment can stand for a small part of their income to be diverted to state spending. The cost of collection won't go up and it will all be spent, rather than saved. There is a real mythology about the economic effect of taxes, mostly fostered by those who want to get reelected.

Colorado Plains Elevator

Another grain elevator ends up on paper. It's still used at harvest time . The quantity of grain that can be handled has been vastly expanded by the six large cylinders that flank and back-up the original building. It's typical to see an old elevator next to more modern structures, including large concrete silos. The new structures dwarf the original, whose function is altered from grain storage to equipment housing. A lot of scrap steel will be available when this early expansion is eventually replaced by a concrete one. Of course, that's true only if the price per ton makes salvage feasible. Otherwise, it will just sit there, oxidizing.

Registered Offender Branding

Mary Sanchez, KC Star columnist, in a commentary last Monday wrote about the new practice of the State of Kansas to add “Registered Offender” to the license to drive of persons convicted of sex, drug and violent crimes. She likened it to a “Scarlet Letter”. I believe that this “branding” is a violation of the “equal protection” clause of the U.S. Constitution. Persons who must have “Registered Offender” displayed on their licenses to drive are not treated equally under the law, because this marking has nothing whatsoever to do the privileges bestowed by a license to drive. No one is made safer by this branding. The only reason to attach such an appellation to a license to drive is to demean and, thereby, punish its holder, which the courts have already done.

Mary Sanchez ended her column by writing, “…it seems that human, or at least legislative, nature is to create pariahs out of ever-widening groups of people.” It should cease immediately by repealing the statute that permits it and order new licenses to be issued to replace the ones issued under this law. I urge you to contact your Kansas legislative representative to support repeal of this law for all offenders past and future.

Email to Congressman Dennis Moore

I was pleased to see a listing in the Sunday Kansas City Star of some of the "key elements" in the House-approved stimulus package. Frankly, I was skeptical about news media reports of GOP objections to the plan. I attributed the GOP complaints to their party line of tax cut, tax cut and more tax cuts. But, after reading the Star's partial list, I have to agree with the GOP House members who did not vote for the tomfoolery called a stimulus plan.

Too much of the plan that was adopted by the House appears to be money for pet projects, that perhaps have been neglected over the past 8 years, but won't have much immediate effect to stimulate the economy and would be better addressed through other means. For example, $6 billion for high-speed internet for rural and under-served areas. We are already paying a universal service fee on our telephone bills that should be used for this purpose without adding more debt-funded money. The reason a lot of rural areas don't have high-speed internet is that there are not enough users to make it cost-effective. Another example is $32 billion for a "smart" electric grid. Assuming the technology can be swiftly perfected, but knowing how difficult it is to get regulatory approval, acquire right-of-way for, and complete the construction of new transmission lines, this worthy goal will take too long for an immediate stimulus to the economy. Besides, a better source of revenue for this program would be electric service charges. Finally, to limit my examples to three, $20 billion to modernize health information technology systems will probably not be an immediate spur to employment, because I doubt if there are sufficient unemployed persons with skills in that area who would be put back to work.

All-in-all, the House-approved stimulus package is too grandiose and too complicated. I believe it should concentrate on tax relief, aid to the poor and unemployed and infrastructure spending for projects currently ready for bids. I can only shake my head at how such a spending spree could get through the House, but with the present Speaker, who wrongfully stuck her nose in the Turkish-Armenian dispute, it's no wonder that it passed. It's time House Democrats replaced Nancy Pelosi as speaker. A Congressional leader is needed who will focus on the real problems of this country and not use the present crisis to further pet projects of her supporters. How about some leadership in this area? As a senior house member, it's time to assert yourself for common sense measures that will provide immediate relief for the economy.

Apology to Iran

The New York Times reported that Iran's president, Mahoud Ahmadinejad, urged Washington to apologize for its actions toward his country over the past 60 years. Most Americans, upon hearing of this statement, would ask, "What should we apologize for?" Well, for starters, we should apologize for past actions in support of the former monarch of Iran. We should apologize for the actions of the CIA in twice thwarting popular revolutions and an opportunity for the creation of a democratic government in Iran. We should apologize for policies that lead to control of the country by Muslim clerics. Any student of the history of relations between the United States and Iran can find many more reasons for an apology from the United States. An apology would go a long way towards improving diplomatic relations and, thus, creating an atmosphere that could possibly deter Iran's nuclear ambitions. An apology would indicate that the U.S. was willing to abandon its past behaviors as a colonial overlord when it attempted to replace the United Kingdom's role in Iran. An apology would be beneficial in many ways.

The problem in getting an apology for Iran is that most Americans are unaware of our history in Iran. The Bush administration went out of its way to paint Iran as a villianous nation, part of an Axis of Evil. Yes, Iran's government has done despicable things in support of Islamic fundamentalist causes. But, our past actions could be considered despicable as well. The only way we can get past the past and address the future is by a reconcilliation that begins with an apology. I predict it will happen, after an apology is preceded by the right kind of publicity. Otherwise, it will be politically hard to do. Well, there's precedent. Nixon went to China. It is not inconceivable that Obama will go to Iran. Remember, you read it here first.

I Want A Tax Cut

Please cut my taxes. I mean, really cut 'em. Zero taxes, that's what I want. In the first place, I don't want the hassle of getting the papers together that it takes to file my tax return. I want to be able to decide how I spend every penny I am able to glom onto. I don't like to save money from month to month to pay real estate taxes every 6 months. I don't want to figure in the sales tax when trying to figure out if I can afford a major purchase. I don't like to have every little purchase bumped up by a 7-plus percent sales tax. I could drive more if part of the cost of a gallon of gas didn't include taxes. What's more, I wish my beer and liquor purchases weren't taxed, so I could by a better grade of spirits or an exotic imported beer without feeling like I was splurging. Come on, give me a break, no taxes, no how, no way.

There, in one fell swoop, I have outdone the Republican mantra of: Tax Cut, Tax Cut, Tax Cut. Never mind that government has to be paid for somehow. Public schools need money, too. Highways must be built and maintained, and so on. So, if you chant the mantra of Tax Cut, you are admitting that some taxes are necessary. But, if you are a chanter, what you're really saying is, "Let's argue about how much government we should have." You are also saying, "Let's argue about how much the economy can afford to have apportioned to taxes." And, finally, you're saying, "Let somebody else pay for government and all it does."

Well, we live in a representative republic, so we can have as much government as we want, with the caveat that the economy has absolute limits as to the amount of wealth that can be devoted to government. How do we know what that limit is? It's probably a matter of opinion, because surely if there were an empirical standard, it would have been determined by now, even if it varied by whether the economy was expanding or contracting. That thought brings us to the real question, Who pays? Of course, the other guy should pay. That's what is called personal politics. Like I said in the first paragraph, I don't want to pay taxes.

But I do pay them. We all pay them, except of course for tax evaders who under-report income, do work "off the books", engage in barter or use loopholes. I think we all should have been paying more taxes for the past umpteen years. Perhaps, the State of Kansas and other states wouldn't be facing a budget gap. Perhaps, the states would have enough cash reserves to see them through a lean tax time. Perhaps, we could have found ways to conserve our financial resources and, thus, compensate for slightly higher taxes. Perhaps, a higher Federal income tax rate would have avoided the deficits piled up from the war in Iraq or, in the alternative, the financial sacrifice would have made the war unpopular enough that our troops would have been pulled out sooner leaving the Iraqis free to settle their own problems. Taxes can actually be a good thing and we should be proud to pay whatever taxes are need to live in the greatest country on this planet.