HOUR OF DARKNESS

On saturday, March 29, between the hours of 8pm to 9pm everybody on the planet was supposed to turn off their lights as a symbolic gesture in our fight against climate change and the destruction of our environment. I didn't turn off my lights, and judging from my drive through the neighborhood at that hour, neither did any of my neighbors. Either everyone was too engrossed reading War And Peace and didn't want to stop, or most folks aren't really ardent believers in global warming. Attempting to plunge us into darkness for an hour truly was an ironic act of symbolism, because radical environmentalists would love nothing more than to usher us into an era of darkness. It is the mindset of the Luddites, the flat-earthers, anti-intellectuals and those who despise the human race and would choose any insect or dweller of the ocean floor over the wellbeing of your son or daughter.

They rationalize their actions by saying that even if we can't prove that global warming is real beyond the shadow of scientific doubt, we need to take drastic measure now, just in case it is true. That is the strategy of shamans, witch doctors and other assorted mental deviants. Let us examine this premise in more concrete terms. Let us suppose you receive a physical from a doctor who then tells you that he believes you have bone cancer and that you should have both legs amputated. You ask him if he's positive in his diagnosis. He says he's not positive but he's pretty sure, and anyway, why take the chance? Would you submit to such drastic action on the basis of your doctor being "pretty sure" ? Of course you wouldn't. You would get a second and maybe third opinion before agreeing to have your legs cut off.

So why do we allow radical environmentalists to scare us into drastic actions on the basis of their being 'pretty sure" about the unproven theory of climate change? Instead of cutting off our legs, they want to turn off our lights, stop our cars and end every activity that enhances our survival and brings pleasure to the lives of human beings the world over.

I would bet that fifty thousand years ago there were people who attempted to snuff out the fires in the caves of Europe. Had they been allowed to do so, no one would have experienced the uplifting experience of reading War And Peace.

RANDOM RAILS

Hillary has come back from the dead with wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. I get a sense that white and Hispanic middle Americans are having second thoughts about electing a candidate of African American descent. It may not be right or noble, but it is a part of human nature, particularly given race relations in this country over two centuries...

So the Russians have elected a new president. Can anyone seriously believe this will change the course of that country? What the Russian people actually elected was a form of alien body snatching. Putin took over the body of another middleaged Russian, and although the face and voice may be different, it is still Vladimir Putin who is running Mother Russia...

Could this be where the American nanny state is leading us? British newlyweds attempted to emigrate to New Zealand. The New Zealand oficials said the young man could stay in their country, but they would not permit the young bride to enter. Why not, you ask? Because she was considered to be too overweight, and the New Zealand nannies said she would present a strain and drain on their healthcare system. You just wait until the US liberal do-gooders mandate scales at the entrance of all restaurants. Exceed your desirable body weight and you will be barred from admittance. Big government advocates in this country need to consume a huge steaming bowl of leave-me-the-hell-alone!

WE'RE BAAAAACK

There haven't been any recent posts because my lovely wife and I took a 7 day Caribbean cruise on Freedom of the Seas. Absolutely delightful. What made this cruise extra special was the fact that we shared it with my son Craig, his lovely wife Amy, and our 2 beautiful granddaughters, Lillian Eve and Camille Grace. Those are memories we will savour for the rest of our days. Thanks, guys.

DRUGS AND BASEBALL

Given the problems facing this country and the rest of the world, one would think that Congress would have better things to do than hold hearings to determine whether or not overpaid prima donna athletes ingested performance enhancing substances. Why should it matter to Congress? If Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds or any other baseball star took steroids, how does that negatively impact my life or yours? The only life it directly effects is the user's. As a baseball fan, I have discussed this issue with other fans, and virtually no one is outraged. The subject is usually met with a shrug and an admission that no one is really surprised that this sort of cheating goes on. If the fans couldn't care less, why should the Federal Government? Even the players themselves have not risen up in outrage over the use of Human Growth Hormone and steroids by some of their fellow players.

The Government's involvement is wholly unneccessary in attempting to police this problem. There is a very simple solution, and it doesn't require an act of Congress. Simply test every major league baseball player at regular intervals, and make public all the players that tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Then let the fans decide if they want to support these cheaters or not. If fans are sufficiently outraged, they will no longer purchase tickets to the games, buy souveniers and jerseys, and stop watching the games on TV. Baseball owners will get that message loud and clear. On the other hand, if the fans and fellow players know who the cheats are and still don't care, why should anyone else? And is it really cheating and fraud when everyone is aware of who is doing it, while allowing it to continue?

We take sports way too seriously in this country. If a bunch of millionaires want to inject themselves with potentially health threatening substances that pose no threat to anyone else as they do so, then I say let them. It's their livelihoods and lives.
Let Congress tackle truly serious issues--like holding Congressional hearings to investigate substance abuse by Congressmen.

END OF A MYTH

Now that Super Tuesday, 2008 has been relegated to the history books, it is time to lay to rest the myth of America being a racist nation. Barack Obama won 13 of the 21 states in question and is now neck and neck with Hillary Clinton in the all important delegate count. Exit polls showed that Obama garnered 80% of the Black vote--certainly no surprise; but exit polls also showed that he received the majority of white male votes--the very group that is typically cast as the most racist. In truth, the African American community, as well as leftists, love to characterize white Americans as racist, bigoted, white supremist rednecks. We are constantly told about the huge racial divide in this country and how racism permeates every institution. If this were true, then Barack Obama would have been soundly defeated on Super Tuesday. In fact, if white Americans were the racists we are constantly being told we are, Obama wouldn't even have gotten this far. He would have remained a mere blip on the political radar screen and forgotten months ago. Instead, he has a genuine shot at being the very first African American presidential candidate of a major political party in our history. Win or lose, the fact that he has gotten this far is proof enough that the hairshirt of racism that this country seems to wear with sado-machochistic glee should now be shed. Martin Luther King would be proud. We finally have become a color-blind nation.

RANDOM RANTS

If anyone is still unconvinced about the moral degeneracy of Islamic fundamentalists, the latest suicide bombings in Iraq should lay those doubts to rest. Islamic fascists strapped explosives to two women with Downs Syndrome. The subsequent blasts killed nearly 80 people. It is hard to conjure up a more vile act. Someone please name me another religion that has recently strapped explosives to mentally handicapped individuals for the purpose of killing innocent men, women and children...I didn't think you could.

For decades the automobile has been the bane of radical environmentalists and Greenies of all stripes, including Al Gore, Ralph Nader and Bill Clinton. They see the family car has the embodiment of corporate greed and capitalist excess and crass materialism, not to mention a defiler of nature. For them the solution is obvious. Dump the oil burners in favor of electric cars. It's that simple. The only reason we don't, we are told, is because of a conspiracy of those evil oil companies. Let's put aside the paranoid conspiracy theories and deal with scientific fact. The reason we're not all driving electric cars is because Detroit (and Japan and Germany)have been unable to perfect the technology. The batteries are heavy, cumbersome, in need of frequent recharging, and unable to generate sufficient speeds. Lithium-ion batteries--the kind that power laptops and other accessories--looked like the solution. That is, until those laptops began to catch fire because of the batteries. Not quite the safety and security required for those soccer moms driving minivans filled with kids.There is a lesson to be learned from all this. Beware of those who clamor for ends without means. Leftists would have us snap our fingers and presto! We would be living in a world of alternative energy. Never mind the tiny problem of how we get there and how we acheive this goal. They demand the ends without ever considering the means. That kind of mindset is the hallmark of the anti-intellectual.

The Mississippi state legislature is considering a bill that would make it a crime for restaurants to sell food to obese people. Talk about your nanny state. What has this country sunk to when the government outlaws feeding people? How is a restaurant owner to determine who is or is not obese? Will they need a scale at the front of their establishment? How about a tape measure to measure waist size as you enter? How about this for a law? Any legislator deemed to be obese must immediately resign his or her fat ass from office.

SCARY SCARY SCARY STUFF

Although at this point I have no real favorite in the Republican horse race, until several days ago I felt you could do a lot worse than elect Rudy Giuliani president. Now I'm not so sure. What changed my mind about Rudy was a quote he made concerning his concept of freedom. It reads like a passage from Orwell's novel "1984." Quote Rudy: "Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what to do."
According to Rudy's definition, freedom is allowing government to run your life. Joe Stalin couldn't have said it better.

While we're on the subject of government running your life, the California Energy Commission is considering instituting regulations requiring any resident installing a new furnace or thermostat to install a programmable communicating thermostat (PCT).
This thermostat would allow the government to control the temperature setting in your home by remote control. That means whenever the government declares an energy emergency, it would have the ability to dial up or dial down the temperature in your home, and you would not have the ability to override it. How scary is that? Regardless of your health, regardless of whether there are elderly or infants in your home, regardless of your own personal comfort level, the government would ultimately decide how warm or cold your own home would be. I'm feeling a chill running down my spine and it has nothing to do with the weather. When the government can decide how hot or cold you will be, you have crossed the over the line from individual freedom and liberty, to being mere chattel of the state.