Would you want his Job

The ignorant fringe (both Republicans and Democrats, expect Obama to have everything fixed by his inauguration. We are well aware that radicalism is just that, and is not unique to any political party. It is not even a part of either of the two major parties, but exists somewhere on the fringe of both.

If anyone was listening, or heard anything above the noise and heat of the political campaigning, they heard the current administration's spokespersons acknowledge that this economic downturn has not yet bottomed out. A lot of this, I'm sure was political rhetoric to cover their own bare hind parts in the event their candidate was elected President.

Those that expect The President to have a fix for the economy, and a resolving of conflicts in the middle East are going to be disappointed. These things didn't come about overnight, and they won't go away in a like manner.

Why do we need a veto proof Congress? If they are truly doing their jobs of representing the American People, . . . .no, I guess I'm an idealist, or pretty naive to believe that the body politic can and will always work for the good of all Americans.

Somehow within the past several years, the words negotiate and compromise have been removed from the American (as opposed to English) language. What ever happened to The Loyal Opposition? The differing parties have always had their own ideas how to run the government, but they once tried to make their policies palatable enough that they would be acceptable to the most people. Not so now, both parties have the attitude that it's "my way or the highway."

Somewhere since World War II we lost the idea that this is a country for all, and that everyone has an equal opportunity to be the best they can.

How can we call our country a free enterprise any more when most of the larger banks and many of the large manufacturers are standing in the welfare line? Yes, welfare line. Call it bail out or whatever you wish, but it's still welfare. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck . . .

Our core industries are still stuck in the post WWII era when most of the world was rebuilding from the ravages of that war, and the US was the only one able to supply what Americans were demanding. Meantime, American Manufacturing went to sleep, and foreign interests came in and gave people what they wanted instead of what a Ford or Westinghouse wanted us to have. They have not yet become aware that they are going to have to compete on the other country's playing field and by his rules.

America Grows Up!!!

America, we have finally grown up! We have come a long way from being skeptical in 1960 of a Catholic President, to the election 48 years later of a Black American. It's time to do away with this business of hyphenated anything ; African-American, Hispanic-American, Japanese-American, or any other mongeralization .

I may not have it exactly correct, but we are at that point where those prophetic words of Dr. martin Luther King Junior have come true: "The time will come when men are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin."

We have been hindered in our quest for being the best we can be by denying to some the opportunity to be part of that greatness as individuals and a nation. I am optimistic that we have finally gained the momentum to make that happen, and we can be called "An equal opportunity Nation".

Although I had good feelings about the results of this Presidential Election, I was pleased by the reassurances that were given Sunday evening on CBS TV's "Sixty Minutes" by our new President and first lady. I have read some criticism of the dress and demeanor of the new first lady, but bear in mind she is not a clone of the President, but is her own person. You only have to look back to Eleanor Roosevelt to see the different personalities that first Lady's have brought to The White House. I certainly hope that Michelle Obama is not forced into a mould not of her own making, and she will be able to withstand the controversy and criticism that surrounds people in public life

Especially amusing and informative were the little exchanges between husband and wife, instead of a President and first lady. There was an air of honesty about these exchanges, and not some phony attempt to show that they are just ordinary people. Face it, ordinary people are not elected to the Presidency, but they need to be able to empathize with all people, and have an understanding of who and what they are. Some of our Presidents have come from humble backgrounds, and they should not forget that, and at the same time it shouldn't hinder them from doing the duties of the office they have chosen and to which they were elected.

For the past sixteen years, we have had divisive elements and controversy surrounding our Presidents. We have seen a people being divided by similar events that divided us during the Vietnam era. It was one ideology against another - so called Conservatives against So called Liberals. What ever happened to the "loyal opposition", and going along to get along? the words negotiation and compromise were removed form our language. Everything should be open to negotiation and compromise.

Religious and moral differences have reared their ugly head. We have had, and still do, religious groups that are trying to push their agenda, that their form of religion and dogma is the only way. It is almost as if religious war has broken out. Islam is not the enemy, but other Christians with differing beliefs. These groups have, in effect, made their God very small, narrow, and one way. Is there no longer room in this country as our Founding Fathers envisioned it, for all religions to be able to worship without fear, and with freedom?

No, it is not God that has narrowed His view, but it is we the people, who have let our narrow, bigoted, prejudices govern us instead of being tolerant and understanding of the religions of others. If you claim Christianity, as many Americans do, you were told by the founder of Christianity to take His message to all the world, but not to force it on them. As a matter of fact, Christ said that if they would not accept His message, to move on and present it to those that would.

The South Rises Again!

From the 1930's until the 1960's, the Old South was known as "The Solid South. Solidly democratic, that is. One of the last of the turncoat Democrats is Trent Lott. Most of the others have already died out. The break up of the solid south coincides with the civil rights movement. Most of the white South were staunch segregationists, and active Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan still existed. For the most part, they depended on fear tactics rather than actual physical violence. It was sometime in the early 1950's when the last person was lynched in the South. The last open confrontation was not between the Klan and Blacks, but was a Klan Nazi confrontation in Greensboro NC on November 3, 1970, billed as a Death to the Klan event.
This is one of the accounts of what happened:

http://www.ictj.org/en/where/region2/517.html

The big split and Exodus of Democrats from their party came on the heels of Lyndon Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Johnson, a good old Southern boy, had betrayed the Democratic Party, and even the whole White South when he signed this act.
Some 44 years since, there is still resentment in the South. It may take another generation or two before the South is reconcilled to the fact blacks are humans and Children of God same as whites.
A lot of this is stirred up by evangelical and fundamentalist sects who claim that the Bible teaches and endorses slavery and the idea of the superiority of the white race. Genetically this superiority has not been proven. and in my opinion, the idea that one person can own another person is morally bankrupt, and a crime against nature.
Even with voting Republican in the Presidential race, Much of the South maintained a Democratic State government. Since the end of reconstruction in the late 1800's, North Carolina has elected only two Republican Governors. It can be counted as one of the more progressive states in the South, with the city of Charlotte having become the banking center for 10 of the natrion's largest banks, and has outgrown Atlanta as one of the most populous cities in the South, and according to the 2000 census, ranks 16th in the whole country.
The South, for the most part has remained anti labor. Organized labor unions are scarce, and Southern workers still have lower paying jobs on the average. This is something else I have never understood; why , with the known Republican objection to labor unions, does the lower paid workers of the South continue to reject them. The largest union buster that has ever occupied the White House, Ronald Reagan, is almost a deity in the eyes of Southern Republicans.
But the days of a Republican lock on the South seems to be coming to an end. Virginia and North Carolina both moved into the ranks of blue states this election. North Carolina even ousting their non-resident Republican Senator, to make their contribution to a strong Senate Democratic majority.
That old saying, "The South will rise again" has finally become true, and once again, Southern Democrats, black and white will assume their rightful places of leadership in this great nation

New Leadership

Barack Obama is not just the President of Democrats, but is President of all of us. He is a leader in so many ways that George Bush was not, or could not be.

The people elected Barack Obama, while George Bush was appointed by the Supreme Court.
Bush owed the people nothing, which he demonstrated in so many ways.

From the Bush administration we will be left with the largest deficit in this country's history, a still sinking economy, and the largest economic welfare giveaway for the largest banks and corporations, and many of them still holding their hands out for their tax break incentives for sending our jobs and economy overseas. We have to start saying no to this socialistic corporate welfare even if it means some of our old time American plants close their doors.

Who is contributing to the well being and improvement of our infrastructure? Honda, for one. Currently they are constructing two plants in Central North Carolina. Jet engines to be manufactured in one of the plants, and in the other, a new business class plane to use that new engine.

Both Obama and McCain called for change, and indeed we must change. There will be sacrifices to make. We have been involved in some type of military conflict in every decade since World War II. On the domestic scene, you could hardly tell a war was going on.

Those of you old enough to remember the Second World War, or have heard your parents and grandparents talking about it heard about shortages, rationing and making do with what we had. In the last time this nation stood together as one, almost everyone contributed to the war effort.

There were no new automobiles to be had, and even had there been, no gasoline to put in them. All of this was directed toward the war effort. Coffee and sugar were in short supply. Meat was rationed at the supermarket. Cigarettes and tobacco products went to our servicemen first.

Women en masse entered the labor market, taking jobs that women traditionally had never held before. Most of the available manpower was off fighting a war, while their wives and girlfriends were building the tanks, planes, and ships that were being used to fight and win this war.

When Korea and later, Vietnam came along, we were tired of wars, killing, and shortages. We wanted our cake and eat it too. And we did a pretty good job.

But somehow it wasn't the same. Not everyone contributed to the war efforts, and many even protested to them. Instead of being a uniting factor, they caused the divisions which today still mar our society. Not everyone agrees with war, that's true, but everyone can believe in America, and its leaders. Leadership is a factor greater than two to one over everything else.

For too long we have suffered from leadership vacuums all over. We need a strong leader at the head of this country, Not only there, but throughout the whole of this country - leaders in business, industry, commerce, education and religion. We need, too, to rearrange our priorities and focus once again on the things that mean the most to the most people.

We cannot neglect the majority while a close knit, almost impenetrable minority follows its own agenda at the expense of the rest of us.

America can once again be the land of the free and the freely united.

We have elected a man who says he can show us the way. Let us not only follow his lead, but use his example and inspiration to develop our own leadership abilities.

The Campaign for President - Countdown to 11/04

Everyone that brings out a listing of comparisons of taxes/tax cuts proposed by either Presidential candidate has slanted them toward their party affiliation and beliefs. They are usually full of inaccuaries which may or may not be deliberate, such as failing to mention a proposal by the opposition candidate.

And by the way, even if all the figures shown were accurate, they are proposals only. Congress has the say on budgets and taxes even if they are vetoed by the President. Current laws will prevail until Congress works out a budget that will please everyone, or make compromises - a word that Republicans seem to want to ignore.

Speaking of ignoring, both Republicans and Democrats are ignoring the massive National debt which has been amassed by the current administration in the past eight years. What do they plan to do about it? Our creditors will not carry us indefinitely.

Neither candidate has really addressed the war in Iraq, or the unrest in most of the areas of the middle East. Up until now, if there has been a comprehensive plan to conclude the war in Iraq, and avoid war in other middle eastern countries, it's been in the minds of the heads of the current administration, and no real plan has been suggested or made known. As far as we know, plans of the current administration, and plans of the two candidates have not been revealed if they in fact exist. So currently the whole of the United States is wallowing in the sea of indecision with the rudder on the ship of state broken, and no plans how to repair it. Our domestic policies have led us to the current financial crisis. What are their plans to solve that?

Putting it bluntly, we're in a mell of a hess.

The greatest problem a new President will have, in my opinion, is to work toward healing the idealistic division that currently exists ion this country. This is affecting everyone. Never before have Republicans and Democrats been so far apart in their philosophies of how this country should be run. At one time, as I mentioned above, compromise was not a four-letter word, but was a place where common ground, and give and take were the operative tools. No one should expect to get everything they desire, and need to learn to understand that. We should always be prepared to give up something we desire in favor of the best interests of ALL the people, but first we're going to have to learn what these interests are. They are so wildly opposite, it's going to take work to come to a consensus on that.

First, Let's find that common ground and work from there with nothing held back. Put everything on the table.

Idealistic? Of course it is, but worth a try, because so far, nothing else has worked.

National Problem or World Crisis?

For the past seven years or so, we have watched as the economy made a steady decline, but were reassured that there was no problem, and various benchmarks were cited, unemployment, rate of inflation, etc. Most of these reported were compiled by S.W.A.G, known as Scientific Wild-assed Guess. So much for formal studies and analyzing economic conditions. We have been assured by our leaders that everything was fine.
I don't know how many noticed, but several times in the past few years, the normal monthly reports on employment, GNP, and GDP were delayed or missing altogether. Just within the past few weeks, when our elected officials realized they had dug themselves a hole they couldn't get out of, have the global ramifications of this depression been acknowledged, and even now, we're not being told the whole truth.
There will likely, even now, be rebuttals to this post, but this time it's not a matter of whether the cup is half empty or half full. IT IS COMPLETELY EMPTY, yet still the diehard loyalists will not acknowledge that.
The root cause of this crisis is obvious; the steady rise of crude oil prices. These prices go through a network of brokers and speculators and are next to impossible to pin down, and with no paper trail to anyone or group in particular.
The appointed Monarchy in this country is hostile to any talk about alternate fuels, and they have dragged along their loyal sheep to agree with their every pronouncement.
Most of these alternate fuel sources and techniques have been dismissed with the standard line that they are not practical or cost effective, or too complicated - all code words for "we can't make the big bucks on them that we have on crude oil. How much higher does crude oil have to go before someone will discover that money can be made on those alternate fuel sources? The technology to produce them has been known and available for years, some even for centuries. Wind power, for example. During its long life, wind power has done nearly as much as crude oil, or the refined products thereof. It has powered ships; most of the earth was explored, conquered, and settled by wind power. Holland was recovered from the sea centuries before anything except physical labor and wind power were even thought of.
Wind and water power once turned the generators and turbines of the world to generate electricity.
Not until the second half of the 20th Century did the United States become totally electrified. Many rural areas were still in the dark. My grandparents did not have access to commercially generated electricity until the late 1950's - both sets of them. It wasn't a matter of affordability for them so much as it was a reluctance of power companies to go into rural areas where instant profits weren't available. Some solved this problem by establishing their own power networks and buying the electricity from the power companies to operate these grids. My grandfather, for one, solved his electrical problem by impounding a small creek on his farm, installing as generator connected to a water wheel same as once used in every grain mill throughout the country, strung wires, and brought electricity into his home. It was crude compared to what we have today, and the D.C. power he was able to generate had unique characteristics of its own. Steady lights depended on the water wheel turning the generator at a constant rate, and that wasn't always easy to accomplish, but he did have electricity!
I didn’t forget the obvious, the primary source of all life and energy/fuel on the earth. The sun! The possibilities of solar power will be discussed another time.
What I'm trying to say is that we are not putting forth the effort to improve and make use of these technologies that have been with us for so long. Are we lazy, or what? Where is that once admired Yankee ingenuity? Perhaps necessity will once again become the driving force to economic recovery and energy/fuel independence.

Which Way America?

Deregulate and privatize, the watch words of the Republican party. What have they deregulated and privatized that didn't turn to dust? How many states have tried privately run prisons? A few years ago this was to be the big thing. Are they still being used? Have they been as cost effective as they were advertised?
There's an old saying that "if it's not broken, don't fix it.".
Social Security and Medicare - two of the most successful government programs ever to come out of Washington.
A few years ago when Republicans wanted to "privatize" SS, they used the scare tactics they have become so adept at using. When objections are raised about issues such as these, they come out with all sorts of worst scenario outcomes, just as with "the great corporate welfare giveaway", which, I'm afraid won't do the job Washington is telling us, except for banks and corporations and their already overpaid CEO's. The majority of us want to know how it will affect Joe Six Pack.
I don't understand; why is it that the Blue Collar workers remain so loyal to the Republican Party, when they are getting the short end of the stick? They don't get the tax breaks, or have available the tax loopholes that the more affluent have. Stock Market? Many of them think that is where cattle are bought and sold.I don't mean to denigrate these Blue collar workers and laborers, because they are what is holding this country together. True, they are on the low end of the social and economic strata, but they are ever so necessary.
It is not their fault they are born poor. It's an accident of birth. Yes, we have all heard and read stories how someone through hard work and perseverance rose up to become a Captain of Industry, but those stores are the exception.
For me personally, I am just one generation from those Blue Collar laborers, and I know what it was like to grow up in that environment.. Materially, I am better off than my parents, as are most people of my generation. (depression/pre- WWII). The generation that followed mine likewise was in general better off than mine. But all that is changing. Economists are saying this won't be the case for the generation after that (my grandchildren).
What once seemed endless horizons in this country has now become a struggle just to survive. Have we reached the end of our time of greatness? Is it now time for us to take our place among those other former great nations?
What are the forces trying to bring this about, and are there forces trying to negate this?

True Christians??

Conservative "Old Pol" Republican who has been around too long, try to convey an air of superiority (I've always wondered what that smell was), and believes that they have the answers to everything. They believe if an idea didn't originate with a Republican, it's not worth considering. If religious at all, they have set themselves up as the gatekeepers of Christianity, their state Religion, which is not open anyone except Conservatives. No one except white Caucasians need apply, either to the Republican Party or their State Religion.
Their State Religion is not true Christianity! True Christians believe in and follow the teachings of Christ, and is a Religion of love, salvation, compassion and concern. True Christians believe in helping their fellow humans regardless of their status or position, and without regard for race, or national origin.
Christianity is an all inclusive belief and philosophy. Conservatism is a cult of the philosophy of men. The two cannot be combined. You cannot be a conservative and also a Christian.

Consider this:

Christianity teaches to love your neighbor as yourself. Conservative says, you have to be kidding, I'm number one.
Christianity; If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn your other cheek to him also.
Conservative, "The hell you say". A person has to defend himself.
Christianity teaches to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Conservative says I look out for number one. It's his fault he is poor. He was too lazy to work like I did, and yes, I lied, cheated, and stole. That's the only way to get ahead in this dog eat dog world. Why should I GIVE someone like that anything. I worked hard to get what I have, and I'm going to keep it.

Christ's teachings were unconditional. There was no test to see who deserved it. As a matter of fact, He said no one deserved anything, but was given what they have by the Grace of His Father, God. Such gifts as we have received should be shared with others. What good are these things or "stuff" going to do you when you are dead? I've never seen a Brinks truck following a hearse to the cemetery. All you accumulated and so selfishly kept for yourself is now someone else's.
I read every day where someone is referring to "those godless liberals", and first, I would remind them that the founder of Christianity, Christ, was a liberal. He was executed for his beliefs and teachings.
Conservatives, who is this Christ you claim to be following? Certainly not the Christ of the Bible. And just like the early Christians were persecuted, you are persecuting those true believers today.
You have tried to take Christ away from true believers, and have made Him your own creation while denying the True Christ to the true Believers.

Who is The True Christ???

Qualifications for President

Why is so much being made out of experience or lack of it a factor in being President of the United States? That has no importance at all.
Hold on now, before you scramble for your computer to bawl me out for ignorance or worse!
First, let me ask a question:

What experience and qualifications is needed to run for the office of President?

If you answered anything but be a Natural born citizen of the United States, and over 35 years of age, you got it wrong. According to the Constitution, this is all that is required.
There's probably more qualifications required to be a greeter at Wal-Mart.

Think about it. We can elect a person to be the leader of over 300 million people who doesn't have to have any experience at anything at all. That's pretty sobering, isn't it? I hope you sleep well tonight.

They don't have to prove emotional or mental stability at all. Illiteracy or being a high school dropout doesn't disqualify a person either.

Is this some cruel trick that the framers of the Constitution have pulled on us? I don't think so. More likely it was their belief in people that they would all do the right thing.
It's possible that doing the right thing is enough, but even that must be by consensus. And perhaps those founding Fathers planned it that way so that one person wouldn't try to force himself or someone else on all the people.
Not much more was needed then in an agriculture and trading society. The question is do we need more today?

Let's look at the Constitution: Except for the first ten amendments, which were included in the original document, there have only been 17 amendments to the Constitution, one of which was repealed. So in 232 years, we have only had a net of 16 amendments, for an average of one amendment every 14.5 years.

That's a pretty good indication the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing, and had great faith in humankind. Occasionally, we get a clinker, and most of them have known their limitations, and the electorate takes steps at the next election to set this right.

This says that we should all do whatever is necessary to assure the Constitution is not neglected or something else offered as a substitute.

Do you Remember When?

This is for you mature adults here. Mature like old, ripe, and maybe rotten (too mature).
Take a trip with me back to the 1950's and 1960's when life was less complicated than now. TV was in its early beginnings, black and white, that is, color was just a dream. We had only gotten color movies just before World War II. There were no computers, and jet planes were still military planes. Bell Labs had just announced the transistor, which they claimed would replace the vacuum tubes in radios, and change the radio and television industries.
Remington Rand, I believe it was, had just announced the world’s first computing machine, UniVac, and claimed blinding speed calculating great quantities of numbers.
Hard drive meant heavy traffic and rough roads getting to grandmother's house on Sundays. If someone had mentioned software, you might have thought it was a frilly nightgown.
When we drove up to a service station, we bought gasoline for our car, but got lots more than that. The words "service station" meant that an attendant would come out, pump our gas, raise the hood and check the oil, and water (radiator fluid wasn't called coolant then. We put water in the radiator in the summer, and added anti-freeze in the winter. The attendant also checked the air pressure in our tires, and added more air to them if needed. He would also wash your windshield if it needed it. All of this and more for a 30¢ gallon of gas. Actually, no one bought just a gallon of gas unless it was for their speedboat, and the gas was usually mixed with oil because many boats used two-cycle engines. This was the era of big, high powered, fast, gas guzzling cars. Why not? Gas was cheap, and the supply unlimited.
Even though the end of WWII did not bring an end to conflicts, and the Korean war, things were a lot different in the '50's. We did not have to commit all our domestic production to the war effort. We were having our cake and eating it, too, and letting the good times roll. Our economy was booming, with no end in sight.
But the end did come. In the LBJ Administration, we began to see rising inflation, coupled with higher prices and increasing wages. This was not leveling out, as wages and prices kept spiraling upward. Then, in the 70's during the Carter administration, all of a sudden we began hearing reports of a gas shortage. Yep, here it came big time. I won't bore you with the details of waiting in line for hours for 5 gallons of gas, and the price had increased to over 40¢ per gallon!

Since then, gas has been generally available, but with ever increasing prices. One thing however, did disappear. The Service Station. Yes, gone was the owner-operator neighborhood station. The oil companies had been quietly closing them down, and replacing them with gas stations and food marts. The old 7-11 food marts were among the forerunners of this. The pumps were still out front, but no smiling, pimply-faced youngster came out and asked, "fill 'er up, mister?" You drove up to the pump, got out of your car, and pumped your own gas. Even members of the fairer sex who once would never have dreamed of doing so, have learned how to use a gas pump. It has now narrowed down to two methods of paying for your gas; either you pay before you pump, or pay with a debit or credit card. If you're filling up and pay cash, you may have to make more than one trip inside because you have over or under estimated the amount of gas you need.
This is the classic case of pay more and get less. You got a real bonus if your full service station also had someone available that knew a little more than average about cars. If you drove in with a broken fan belt, or busted radiator hose, someone could repair or replace it for you. Fixing flat tires was routine. To get most of this kind of service done now, you will have to go to a garage, or maybe learn to do it yourself.
Over the years, cars have become more complicated, and it's sometimes difficult to locate even fan belts. I'm sure those who grew up with these nightmarish machines have no more problems with them than many of us did with the simpler cars of the 50's and 60's.
In some ways, I miss these earlier times, but I still contend that "The Good Old Days" are right now.
Consider these things:
Who ever heard of a lifetime warranty on an automobile? Used to be 90 days, tops. Tires that would last 50,000 miles or longer? 6,000 miles or longer between oil changes? Coolant (anti-freeze) good for 5 years? Engines running over 200,000 miles with no major problems. Many vehicles to choose from that get 30 miles to a gallon of gas. Safety features unheard of such as shoulder harness, air bags, better crash resistance, anti-lock brakes. If we had a seat belt, chances are we installed it ourselves, and felt like we were ready for the race track. Bodies that don't rust out in two or three years. GPS equipment so we know where we are at all times, and CD stereo music that rivals home theater systems, and with changers that will provide several hours of continuous music. TV or DVD for rear seat passengers, most common in vans and SUV's.
One thing more and I'll quit.
If you read "the funnies" as I did, you will likely remember the comic strip, Dick Tracy. He was a police detective who had all kinds of neat things. The one I remember the best was his two-way wrist radio, a cumbersome looking box that he wore on his wrist which gave him communications with headquarters. Real Buck Rogers stuff! Now what do we have?
The bane of many drivers. The Cell Phone! Instant communications with nearly anyone around the globe that we carry in our shirt pocket. The bane of many drivers? Yes, the person using his phone in high speed traffic and not concentrating on his driving. Some states are attempting to address this problem, and are requiring either hands free equipment, a speaker phone, or banning cell phone calls while driving altogether. Kind of interesting, but there is a need for some uniformity throughout the country, or the knowledge of what different states require.
Ok, take and read this, and reply if you are so inclined, or ignore it, whatever you wish to do, but have a go0od day, and may your next gas purchase be at a discounted price.

Drilling for Oil and other harmful practices

Electrical Power plants do not have to be hydrocarbon consuming monsters that belch great clouds of pollutants into the atmosphere. The majority of our power generation comes from burning hydrocarbons such as coal, natural gas, and fuel oil.
Two sources of electrical energy which have thus far proven to have a low level of pollutants, and nearly zero hydrocarbon emissions are wind power and solar power. Another that seemed to have possibilities was using ocean currents and coastal rise and fall of tides to generate electricity.
In the U.S, it takes 10 years or better to bring a nuclear power plant on line. Why can't we take a cue from the French, which generates the greater part of their electricity from nuclear power plants? Their success comes from the fact that they have a standard design for all plants, so that they are not starting over every time they construct a power plant. We Americans tend to re-invent the wheel and all our nuclear power plants are developed and built from scratch. Surely we have learned enough about their construction that we shouldn't have to start over each time one is built. But then that's the American way with anything that requires government approval. Everyone that possibly can be involved is involved.
Look at schools and jails; the ones I am aware of are completely new from concept to design to construction. Is it any wonder that we are raising generations of lock step citizens that all think and act alike. If we have a future, where is our future leadership coming from?
Buildings that are made for the same purpose could be made with one design that is basically fixed although with some latitude for minor changes. I can envision a modular design of single units or classrooms. If you needed a school with 12 classrooms, you used twelve modules, 20 classrooms, 20 modules. These modules could be built at one site and transported to their final location and assembled there like building blocks. You might have the option of putting a different facade on the building so they didn't all look alike, but the basic engineering would be the same, and not require new approval every time a new school or jail was built. This could significantly cut costs, and get new buildings that are needed quicker. Instead of three to five years to build a new school or jail, it could be done in a third of the time for conventional construction, possibly less.
Politics and patronage builds more schools and jails than anything else. We need to change this. I have always maintained that schools and roads are not necessarily built where they are needed most, but where politicians want them. I think the same can be said for our power generating and oil refining businesses.
A recent catch phrase has been "think outside the box." I think to this we can add, yes, think outside the box, but think box - modular box(s).
One more question: How is it that a multi-million shopping center can be built from scratch, from preparing the land to occupancy and grand opening in several months instead of several years?
If drilling for oil is approved for these forbidden areas, take note of how long it takes to start pumping oil.

An Empty Life

Anyone who has ever served in any branch of the military has a feeling that those who have not served will never have. We're not super patriots, and damn few of us are bona fide heroes. I don't believe any of us draftees or enlistees, entered service with the idea of becoming a hero, and at the same time would not shirk from their duty, and if part of that was to be a hero, it was something expected from him as part of his job.

Before I get too far into this, let me give you my qualifications and credibility for writing this.:

I enlisted and served eight years in the United States Army from June, 1955 to May 1963, The first three years active duty, and the remaining five in the reserves. I spent over two years of my active duty in the Federal Republic of Germany, not with occupation forces, since the occupation was ended a few months before I was assigned to Germany. We were part of the NATO Peacekeeping forces, which at this time was quite large, because of a still divided Germany, and the Cold War under so much tension it could have snapped at any time.

During this eight years, I saw Soviet forces go into Hungary to try to crush the Hungarian Revolt, British and French planes bombing the Suez Canal, and the construction of the Berlin Wall. Any of these events could have triggered another conflict, and possibly World War III Fortunately, (or maybe because we were there?), none of these events escalated to major conflict, and some twenty years later, the Berlin Wall came down, Germany was reunited, and the Soviet Union broke up. Truly, we who served during that period were eyewitnesses to a major part of world history.

Recently, I have been looking back and asking myself what my life would have been like had I not served in the military.. I really think that there would have been something missing from it. Maybe a hollow place.

I've never talked about this to anyone that I served with, but I feel reasonably sure they feel the same way. It's something that is to me priceless. It is not something that took those years out of my life, but something that added much more to living and enhancement to my life. I have a much better appreciation for and a strengthening of my love for my country, family, and friends. It still is so rewarding, and like learning and knowledge, it's something no one can take away from me.

The Army I served in was like nothing you can imagine. Hollywood makes good movies, but they have not yet captured the essence of what the Army (or any branch of the military) is like. It is not as portrayed in a John Wayne movie, or a Rogers and Hammerstein Musical, i.e., "South Pacific". As good as these movies and Musicals are, they do not capture the full essence of Military service. There is no intent to put down any of these attempts to capture the real military, but truly it has to be experienced before you really know.

OPPORTUNITY MISSED!

I have been less than excited about the choice the Democratic Party has made for their Presidential candidate.. Make no mistake, the decision for Obama to run for President came from the (Chauvinist) powers that be.
Ted Kennedy and that bunch will not allow a woman, any woman to run for President. It was OK for Geraldine Ferraro to run for vice President with Walter Mondale, when the Party knew they were just the sacrificial lambs, because it was a foregone conclusioon that Republicans would win that year. It says something about the flaws in Democratic leadership that they have embraced blacks, but still consider women inferior. Even Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is just a token, and the real power of the Democratic Party still belongs to a handful of the "Good Old Boys", such as Teddy Kennedy and Howard Dean
This must be some kind of rebellion, because all their lives men and boys have been dominated by women, their, mother, girlfriends, wives, daughters, and Mistresses, and until they (we) have the maturity to admit it, it will be the same old, same old.
Hillary's speech last night clinched it! THAT was a real President talking! Too bad that opportunity has been lost, and I can see nothing but confusion and chaos in the future.
There is, however, a higher power dominating all of this, and it may be that He is letting all this happen (is this theologically correct?) and has chosen not to intervene. There are some that will say that we are living in the last days according to the book of Revelation, because men's minds and actions have become confused.
I fear thisa action has cost the Democratic Party the chance to regain the Presidency. There may never be another opportunity as good as this one.

Product Recalls

See complete article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202216.html

Is this the legacy of "Outsourcing", the practice of setting up or engaging manufacturers in other countries which have large labor bases, working for wages considerably lower than those paid in the United States. Some of the reasons for outsourcing are, tax incentives from the United States Government, the above mentioned lower pay, and a resulting increase in profits.
I'm not against profits, but has the pursuit of profits placed our safety and that of our families in jeopardy? The cases of lead containing paints raises the question. Lead paints have not been used in the United States for several years now, although we are cautioned to check older houses for the presence of lead in the paint. There are inexpensive testing kits that can be used by a h0meowner, or potential home buyer to check for the presence of lead.

We sometimes hear people complain that we have too much government regulation, that the governments of other countries do not have so many restrictive laws. Knowing the hazards of lead and lead poisoning, and its long term effects on humans, would you really want to take a chance? This recall by Mattel of several million lead contaminated toys has been estimated to cost them over thirty million dollars, which will mean decreased profits in the short term, and increased toy prices in the long run.
Closer monitoring of their suppliers is needed by Mattel and others, to assure that our standards for imported goods be observed. In the short term, this will mean increases in prices, but in the long term, it should give us more assurance that the products we buy are safe.

A REAL CHOICE?

This year's choices for a President presents a real quandary. I have been saying that we have the worst choice(s) I have ever seen for what will be my twelfth Presidential election.
Up until now, I have been loyal to the Democrat Party, but I'm disappointed that they are acting like Republicans. Voting for either candidate doesn't seem to be an option, and I've never seriously considered voting for a third party candidate, which would seem to be a futile gesture, as would a write in vote.
The average voter does not have a choice of who is picked to run for President. The Democrat Party has embraced blacks and now they are acceptable Presidential Candidates, but they still do not (like the Republicans) accept that a woman is capable of being President. I I think it was the power brokers of the Democratic Party, Ted Kennedy, Howard Dean, et.al., that promoted Obama at the expense of the best candidate (Hillary Clinton). They are just like the power brokers of either party; they cannot accept that a woman can do the job from which they have been excluded for over 200 years. Look at other countries throughout the world, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, India, Indonesia, The Philippine Islands, to name some who have had women leaders, and it doesn't seem to have hurt them at all, and may have even enriched them.
I have at times accused the Republican Party of having a mindset that is entrenched in the Nineteenth Century, but I realize that they are not the only ones. Sex is an accident of birth, and doesn't determine a person's capabilities. The little boys of both parties need to grow up!