The Unretired

Business Week magazine, in the December 15, 2008 issue (page 46), has an article on The Unretired. These are people who retired, but due to the economic downturn are now hurting financially, and in many cases going back to work.

A couple of quotes, just a few paragraphs apart, stood out to me:

These aren't just the spendthrifts or sloppy planners you would expect to run into trouble in retirement ... many are people who did everything they were supposed to do -- working for decades and regularly socking money away.

Peter Fay, like many of The Unretired, feels angry and betrayed. The 63-year-old built up a $1 million retirement account as an executive at companies including Chiquita Brands International and then at his own high-end flooring company in Scottsdale, Ariz. But with all his money in stocks, he's lost 50% of that this year, at the same time that his house has tumbled in value. He's drawing down his savings and applying for jobs at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Costco. "All the systems we grew up trusting during all those years of work -- you save your money, you trust in the government -- are no longer valid," he says.

Did you catch that? "all his money in stocks" This is doing "what they were supposed to do?" I know of NO reputable financial planner or advisor who would recommend a retiree (or near-retiree) have all his money in stocks, even in the heady days of the market of the last few years.

Quite the opposite. He (and/or his financial advisors) were apparently driven by pure greed. If history can't teach people that greed is ultimately bad for them, nothing will, I suppose.

Grammar

Grammar is important, but it's not the hallmark of great writing. Rather, it's a tool to help us express ourselves and understand others.
It's what separates "Let's eat children!" from "Let's eat, children!"

--Martha Brockenbrough
Errors that Aren't: 12 Grammar Rules You Can Toss Out the Window

Why they call us a "right-to-work" state

Section 12 of Article 15 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas:

Membership or nonmembership in labor organizations.
No person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of membership or nonmembership in any labor organization, nor shall the state or any subdivision thereof, or any individual, corporation, or any kind of association enter into any agreement, written or oral, which excludes any person from employment or continuation of employment because of membership or nonmembership in any labor organization.

The cost of college sports

I'm all in favor of co-curricular activities. Students need to be involved in sports, or music, or drama, or other activities outside their area of study in order to be well-rounded. For some students, it is the co-curricular activities that keep them in school. But I think the sense of proportion goes right out the window when it comes to college sports, and in particular college football.

Here are some interesting numbers from the December 2008 / January 2009 issue of Fast Company magazine (page 48):

-- The college football economy is worth an estimated yearly $6,000,000,000. (Yes, that's six billion dollars!)
-- Ohio State University had the nation's largest athletic budget last year: $109,382,222. That's nearly $110,000 for each of it's 980 athletes. (Except that when I do the math, I get $111,614.51 per athlete!)
-- Fox paid $330,000,000 to air all Bowl Championship Series games except the Rose Bowl from 2007-2010.
-- WINS: Merchandise royalties for the University of Texas doubled to $8,000,000 after it won the 2006 national championship.
-- LOSSES: NBC Pays $9,000,000 per year for the broadcast rights to home games at Notre Dame, which went 3-9 last season. Ratings have dropped 47% since 2005.
-- New Orleans got an economic boost estimated at $400,000,000 from hosting last year's national championship.
-- The 619 schools competing in NCAA football in 2007 tallied total attendance of 48,751,861.
-- Last season's 32 bowl games collectively drew 1,700,000 fans. Another 129,000,000 households tuned in to TV broadcasts.
-- Average home-game attendance in 2007 at Texas A&M's Kyle field: 82,207.
Estimated population in 2007 of College Station, Texas, home to Texas A&M: 80,315.

The Poetry of Dorothea Mackellar

I'm not sure how it happened, but my Australian buddy and I got to talking about poetry the other day. He began quoting a poem he'd learned in school. It's called My Country, and was written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968).

I just had to look her up, and what I found amazed me. Frankly, I'm not much into poetry. I've never really understood it, I guess. I'd rather read good prose anytime. But the poems I read from her were so moving, so touching ... it was obvious that she had worked hard to make sure every word was in just the right place to carry the exact shade of meaning she wanted. Her poems don't just paint pictures, they tug at my heart and pull me into her pictures.

I'll quote a couple of her shorter poems here, and if you want more I'll suggest The Official Dorothea Mackellar Site.

The Waiting Life
Since it befell, with work and strife
I had not time to live my life
I turned away from it until
Work should be done and strife be still.

My hands and head for use are free,
Nor does my own life worry me,
But docile as a spaniel waits
Until this present stress abates.

Tranquil it breathes, and waits, I know,
With all its joy contained. But oh
I hope when I have time to play
My life will not have run away!

This next one really surprised me at how much it touched my emotions.

An Old Song
The almond bloom is overpast, the apple blossoms blow.
I never loved but one man, and I never told him so.

My flowers will never come to fruit, but I have kept my pride -
A little, cold, and lonely thing, and I have naught beside.

The spring-wind caught my flowering dreams, they lightly blew away.
I never had but one true love, and he died yesterday.

If you have no time to read any more of her poetry, I hope you can at least read about "a sunburnt country" in My Country, which is probably her most famous poem.

Movie Review: Dancer, Texas Pop. 81

Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998)

Written and Directed by Tim McCanlies

Rated PG

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, Ethan Embry and Eddie Mills

From the DVD Jacket:

"Keller (Breckin Meyer) has wanted to leave Dancer, Texas since he was a child. At 12 he enlisted his best friends, Squirrel (Ethan Embry), Terrell Lee (Peter Facinelli) and John (Eddie Mills) in a solemn oath that they would all ditch Dancer after high school graduation. But when the boys gather on graduation night, each finds his own reasons to reconsider their vow."

The entire movie takes place in a 48-hour span from the Saturday morning of graduation day until Monday morning when the bus leaves town. The setting is Dancer, a very small town in the middle of nowhere, west Texas. It's the largest graduating class in school history, four guys and one girl. As mentioned above, the four guys have made a "solemn oath" that on the Monday following graduation, they would catch the bus for Los Angeles to find their fortunes. They even bought their bus tickets two years earlier.

Keller has lived with his grandpa ever since his parents died. Grandpa isn't getting any younger. Though Keller's dream is to go to LA, perhaps Grandpa needs him more?

Squirrel and his dad "the drunk" live in a trailer house on the outskirts of Dancer. The trailer sits at a precarious tilt. Seems his dad was drunk when he parked it, and never got around to leveling it ... been that way for 12 years. Squirrel can't wait to get out of there, but things may have changed during the weekend?

John is a natural-born rancher. His dad is adamant that at age 18, a boy becomes a man and is on his own. Nothing is handed to him, and dad owes him nothing. He's probably not going to be at home in a city of 13 million, but there's nothing for him on the ranch in Dancer. Or is there?

Terrell Lee's family is in the oil business. His domineering mother is insistent that he's going to go into the oil business with his dad as an executive in a white shirt. He needs to get out of Dancer to see what else there is, but can he stand up to his mother?

As events unfold, the whole town is abuzz with wondering how many (if any) of the boys will actually board the bus come Monday morning. One man even "smells a betting opportunity" and immediately starts taking wagers.

Tim McCanlies develops characters in an amazing way. His knack for that is evident in another of my favorite movies, Secondhand Lions. The one complaint I've read about this movie in online reviews is that "nothing happens". Well, there isn't any gory death, no car chase, no sex. But perhaps "nothing happens" is the very point of the movie? If you grew up in a small town, or care about someone who did, this movie will resonate with you.

The things I read ...

I was studying a manual on SS7*, and came across the following:

If you are one of those people who say that you will call home and let the telephone ring twice when you get to your destination safely, note that you have no guarantee that the telephone will actually ring twice—or even ring at all. You might hear two rings, but that does not mean the called party will hear two, or even any, rings because their power ringing pattern might be in an off period.

This is because the ringtone you hear in your ear when you're calling someone is generated at your local exchange, and is almost certainly out of sequence from the ring generator (called the "power ringing") at the far exchange. The circuit to the phone you're calling isn't completed until (if) someone answers. It's hard to believe, but those few seconds of leaving the circuit free (or not even using it if nobody answers) add up over thousands and millions of calls. Ultimately, it means the phone companies have to build fewer circuits to carry the same number of calls.
None of this is terribly important anymore ... cellphones have made the incremental cost of long distance calls so low (or even free) that we don't hesitate to call across the country to tell loved ones we arrived safely.

*SS7 stands for "Signaling System 7", the system which handles the setup and teardown of circuits for telephone calls. SS7 makes such things as caller ID and cellphone roaming possible. It is a fascinating system. Well, OK ... it is to me.

Thoughts on the election

Now that B. Hussein Obama has completed his purchase of the Presidency, a few thoughts.

I was on the campus of William Jewell College yesterday. Melissa says that there must be a budget line-item in the Obama campaign's books for sidewalk chalk. Sure enough, every few feet on all the sidewalks I was on, there was another "Vote Obama" message. One said, "Want more green cars on the road?" Another, "Worried about finding a job?" And another said, "Want affordable healthcare? Vote Obama."

The problem is, that few people (and least of all college students) stop to consider the cost of those options. Putting more green cars on the road, giving people jobs, paying for healthcare ... they all seem like good ideas, but they all have a cost. By conveniently ignoring the cost, the tax-and-spenders can buy votes with promises of things, and the voters just eat it up and march in lockstep to the polls.

In some ways, the cut-taxes-and-spend crowd is worse, because they want to buy your vote from both ends: What you'll get, and it will even cost less. Every politician tells us they want to cut out the porkbarrel spending, but it's those very porky projects that buy re-election votes. If a Congressperson truly turned down everything of a porcine nature for the home state, he or she would be out of a job come the next election, no question about it.

But giving people who won't work a bunch of freebies paid for by those who will is precisely the wrong way to build or sustain a great nation. It encourages mediocrity, or worse. When asked, "What is wrong with the redistribution of wealth, which Obama talked about as far back as a 2001 interview?", Senator McCain said it very well:

That is a bold, left-wing view of how you help people that's been tried in other countries. In America, you don't take money from one group and give it to another. You create jobs, create opportunities, and give people the ability to accumulate wealth. We have Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance. But to somehow say that when "Joe the Plumber" reaches a certain income level, we're going to take money from him and give it to somebody else, that's a fundamental contradiction of what made this country the strongest and greatest nation in the world.
Business Week November 10, 2008, p.20

Religious Minorities: Muslims in Germany, Christians in Turkey

Another interesting article from the BBC:

Free to believe?

One part that I found particularly interesting is where the Catholic nun said that she has no trouble whatsoever from her Muslim neighbors. Even the mayor of the city would like to turn the church back over to the Christians, but he's prevented by the national government. One assumes that the national government is under pressure from prominent religious figures (what the media likes to call "extremists").

It's a sobering lesson, when we think about the pressures that are exerted on our government by extremists ... and not just those of a religious nature. Do we forgive it when we agree with those exerting the pressure? Should we?

Surprise, surprise!

A story on page one of the October 23rd issue of the Manhattan Free Press says Hawaii is ending it's child health care plan after only seven months. Seems the do-gooders there had decided that the state should buy health insurance for any kid whose parents weren't paying for health insurance.

A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.

Duh. Did anyone seriously expect people to keep paying for something the state was giving away?

The Mafia in Topeka

I'm a card-carrying member of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Kansas. A few weeks ago, I got a letter from them announcing that Geary Community Hospital (GCH) of Junction City was about to be dropped from their list of contracting providers. Basically, I was told that if I expected to get much money out of BCBS, I'd better take my business somewhere other than GCH. Then I started hearing ads on the radio saying that GCH would lower their prices for BCBS members ... for now. But we'd better find new insurance, and quick.

Since I'm not normally a customer of GCH, it didn't really bother me much. I know that insurance companies work hard at putting the squeeze on medical providers, and BCBS squeezes harder than most. My only concern was that this might be the start of a trend. Would Wamego City Hospital or Mercy Regional decide to do the same?

In yesterday's mail, another letter arrived from BCBS. This one had all the tone of a Mafia boss announcing that a business owner had decided to continue paying protection money after all. It was all sweetness and light, but the tone between the lines was ominous. It comes down to this: GCH has agreed to BCBS's original proposal. And what will BCBS do in return? Well, read it for yourself:

We always wanted Geary Community Hospital to remain in our network and were disappointed to receive their cancellation letter. Rather than hold them to that letter, we decided to give them an opportunity to reconsider our original offer. I firmly believe it was in the best interest of our members in Geary County, and the surrounding counties, and the people of Junction City to be flexible in allowing the hospital to withdraw its cancellation letter.

--Part of a letter from Andrew C. Corbin, President/CEO, BCBS of Kansas

Can't you almost see the smiling Mafia boss, one arm around the GCH man, patting him on the cheek (but almost slapping)? Subtly hinting that everyone else had better keep toeing the BCBS line, or there would be trouble. If anybody else tries this, they might not be so kind in allowing them to withdraw their letter.

PS: As I mentioned, I carry a BCBS card, so don't anybody tell them I said this! :)

Two Stories

A man was just waking up from anesthesia after surgery, and his wife was sitting by his side. His eyes fluttered open and he said, "You're beautiful." Then he fell asleep again.

His wife had never heard him say that, so she stayed by his side. A few minutes later, his eyes fluttered open and he said, "You're cute!"

The wife was disappointed because instead of "beautiful," it was now "cute." She said, "What happened to 'beautiful'?"

The man replied, "The drugs are wearing off!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

An old man went to his doctor and said, "Doc, I think I'm getting senile. Several times lately, I have forgotten to zip up."

"That's not senility," replied the doctor. "Senility is when you forget to zip down."

Is Bush to blame?

In this week's Manhattan Free Press, publisher Jon Brake says:

For those who want to blame President George Bush for the market problems:
"In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits."
NY Times Article: Sept. 30, 1999

The fact is that no President is responsible for the mess. It's been coming for a long time, and is exacerbated by pressures like the above from various Administrations, Congresses, and shareholders. Blaming George W. Bush (Or Bill Clinton, for that matter) is akin to blaming Herbert Hoover for the Great Depression. Many factors, the majority of which were out of his control, came together to cause the problem on his watch.

Still, there is a good reason why Harry Truman had a sign on his desk stating, "The buck stops here." We humans have a tendency to need someone onto which to pin ultimate blame. Bush will be blamed for this one, even though it's the product of many decades of bad policy-making from members of both parties.

Selling Indulgences

In the October issue of Fast Company magazine (p.21), a reader writes a letter in response to an earlier article about the buying and selling of carbon credits:

Selling carbon credits clearly mimics the medieval practice of selling indulgences. There was no evidence they helped anybody get to heaven, but there was plenty of money to be made helping everybody feel better.

Ken MacDonald
Seattle, Washington

Computer questions and answers

Q: What should you do when you get an e-mail titled "Pictures of Sarah Palin nude!"?
A: Whatever you do, don't open it! It could contain a particularly bad virus.

Q: What should you do when you get an e-mail titled "Pictures of Hillary Clinton nude!"?
A: Whatever you do, don't open it! It could contain pictures of Hillary Clinton nude.

Four-time bride

A woman married three times walked into a bridal shop one day and told the sales clerk that she was looking for a wedding gown for her fourth wedding.

'Of course, madam,' replied the sales clerk, 'exactly what type and color dress are you looking for?'

The bride to be said: 'A long frilly white dress with a veil.'

The sales clerk hesitated a bit, then said, 'Please don't take this the wrong way, but gowns of that nature are considered more appropriate for brides who are being married the first time - for those who are a bit more innocent, if you know what I mean? Perhaps ivory or sky blue would be nice?'

'Well,' replied the customer, a little peeved at the clerk's directness, 'I can assure you that a white gown would be quite appropriate. Believe it or not, despite all my marriages, I remain as innocent as a first-time bride.

You see, my first husband was so excited about our wedding, he died as we were checking into our hotel.

My second husband and I got into such a terrible fight in the limo on our way to our honeymoon that we had that wedding annulled immediately and never spoke to each other again.'

What about your third husband?' asked the sales clerk.

'That one was a Democrat,' said the woman, 'and every night for four years, he just sat on the edge of the bed and told me how good it was going to be, but nothing ever happened.'

Some REALLY good news!

For a change, we have some really good news. My absolute favorite beverage is not only good for me, it may actually be better for me than water!

Read all about it here!

Antibiotic resistance increasing

Comes now this worrying piece of news from the BBC.

We are already to the point where anyone who uses antibacterial soap (outside of a clinical setting) is committing a crime against humanity. These soaps need to be outlawed for general public use as soon as possible.

The next step is that anyone who is prescribed an antibiotic will have to report to a clinic or pharmacy every day to be given that day's dose. Failure to appear should result in an automatic arrest warrant.

Perhaps before we get to that point, we need to criminalize the overprescribing of antibiotics. Doctors who prescribe antibiotics for known viral infections must be stopped.

Forget global warning. The real danger to humanity is bacterial, and we're working for their side!

The UK's view of our elections

I love to read the BBC News ... and other foreign news outlets. They have such an interesting view of us.

Today's take on last night's speech by Hillary Clinton at the Democrats' convention is a lot of fun to read. Here are some relevant quotes:

After all, the winds of change should be blowing against the Republicans and their president. But, everywhere you look in Denver, you find nail-biting delegates, nervous surrogates, defensive campaign staffers.

The rest of the world thinks that Mr Obama will be America's 44th president but, at home, the Democrats are the worried party.

To some extent, this is their traditional role. Like Woody Allen in one of his earlier movies, the Democrats excel at fretting, agonising, navel gazing and over-analysing.

The opinion polls, which have Mr Obama and his Republican rival John McCain neck-and-neck, prove that they have reason to worry.

The senator from Illinois has had an arid summer. He needs to have a bountiful harvest season.

But the other reason for anxiety is the Lady who broods in the wings. Of late, Hillary and Bill Clinton have not uttered a single public word of apostasy. They are toeing the line, gritting their teeth and swallowing their pride.

They are also economical with their enthusiasm. I am told that senior Clinton people aren't even sticking around for Obama's big stadium speech on Thursday. This is damning with faint praise.

And what has to be my favorite quote:

If Barack Obama wins the 2008 election, this will be remembered as a gracious salute from a defeated rival; if he loses and Republican John McCain gets the White House, then we might just see it as the first speech of Campaign 2012.

Read the article here.

No Concrete Proof ...

Scientists in Sweden are reluctant to say that there's any proof that Global Warming (at least on the scale the popular culture believes) is even occurring, let alone that humans are somehow causing it.

Click here to read the article.

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

I saw a couple of signs of note on Wednesday. The oil-change place at 4th and FRB had a sign on their marqee that said, "Ask about our Synthetic Specials". Well, of course, if I get a special, I want it to be a real one. But later that day, while I was eating lunch at Wendy's, I notice the table tent advertising their new Frostys. And there, in bold lettering, was the assurance that they were "...made with real ingredients." Duh.

Now if we could just get the oil-change place to offer real specials, and Wendy's to admit that their ingredients (while still "real ingredients") are synthetic, I think we might be onto something.

Expelled - The Movie

Norma and I went to see Expelled last night.

My reactions: It was pretty good, but it could have been great.

Ben Stein is an incredibly intelligent man, but he resorted to Michael Moore-like tactics in his film. He made himself look stupid on one occasion in particular, and made the people who didn't agree with him look stupid on a number of occasions.

In one particular case, he was talking to a scientist with a definite naturalistic worldview, and asking about how life began from some goo. The scientist said that one theory (among many) is that the molecules necessary for life were attached to crystals as they grew. In any case where crystals grow, there are "mistakes", and these "mistakes" could account for certain molecules getting together in particular ways. OK, I'll agree that this is patently stupid, but it doesn't bolster Mr. Stein's argument in any way when the film cuts from this interview to a clip of a fortune teller gazing into a crystal ball. It's a blatant attempt to make the scientist appear goofy, which he did quite well on his own.

The link between a naturalistic paradigm and the horrors of Nazi Germany was explored in great (if somewhat graphic) detail, and it's probably that part that earned the film a PG rating. Still, it was nothing adults shouldn't see. In fact, it is precisely the sort of thing adults need to see.

I'm still digesting what I saw. I won't recommend against seeing the film, I just feel that it could have been done with a bit more class. Mr. Stein has seen too many Michael Moore movies, I fear.

PS: I used my CB&G gift certificate yesterday to buy two books:
The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel
Darwin's Black Box by Michael J. Behe
I'm already a third of the way through Strobel's book. Expect a review soon.

Mitt Romney's Top 10 list

Mitt Romney's Top 10 List of reasons for quitting the race for US President, as he gave them at yesterday's Radio and Television Correspondents Association annual awards dinner:

10. There weren't as many Osmonds as I had thought.

9. I got tired of the corkscrew landings under sniper fire.

8. As a life-long hunter, I didn't want to miss the start of varmint season.

7. There wasn't room in the campaign for two Christian leaders.

6. Word leaked out that nobody had bothered to search my passport files.

5. I'd rather get fat, grow a beard, and try for the Nobel Prize.

4. I wanted to finally take off the dark suit and tie and kick back, in a light-colored suit and tie.

3. Once my wife Ann realized I couldn't win, my fund-raising dried up.

2. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.

1. There was a flaw in our campaign theory that as Utah goes, so goes the nation.



Source: Deseret News website, which cites youtube.com as their source.

Off the Bottle?

From Business Week magazine, April 14, 2008, page 47:

Many people drink bottled water because they deem it superior to the stuff that comes out of the faucet. Wrong, argues Food & Water Watch, a Washington (D. C.)-based non profit dedicated to consumer rights. In a report last year, the group blasted bottled water, declaring that Americans "think it is somehow safer or better than tap water ... but it is generally no cleaner, or safer, or healthier than tap water. In fact, the federal government requires far more rigorous and frequent safety testing and monitoring of municipal drinking water."
Americans drank 31.2 billion liters of bottled water last year. And the Pacific Institute, an Oakland (Calif.)-based sustainability thinktank, estimates that it takes approximately 17 million barrels of oil to produce the bottles all that water comes in. That, says the institute, is enough to fuel more than 1 million cars and light trucks for a year.

Why I'm not running with Ryun

One of the darkest days in recent history was in 2006, when the 2nd District of Kansas elected Nancy Boyda to the US House of Representatives. Fortunately, we get a chance to undo mistakes like that every two years. When I heard that Jim Ryun was planning to run against her this year, I immediately put what little support I can offer behind him. Of course, my main consideration was that anybody was better than Boyda, and Ryun hadn't done anything too offensive in his years in the House.

At a recent meeting of Pottawatomie County Republicans, I got a chance to listen to Ryun give a talk, and also to his Republican challenger, Lynn Jenkins. After the meeting, I saw that she was between conversations, so I went up and introduced myself. I told her that I was mainly interested in defeating Boyda, but I wanted to know what differentiated her from Ryun. Her answer, from long practice answering the same question, was concise, well thought out, and made a lot of sense. I hope I do her justice when I try to put the gist of it in here.

Mainly, she said, we've had two schools of thought for the last few decades. The Democrats want to tax us more and spend more. The Republicans want to tax us less and spend more. Neither scenario is workable, as evidenced by our huge national debt and continued deficit spending. Jenkins is a CPA, and has been an excellent State Treasurer as far as I can tell. As a CPA, however, she realizes that the cycle of spending cannot continue. She wants to cut taxes and reduce spending, something that is unthinkable in Washington.

If she's elected, she won't last long. People (read: voters) love politicians who bring home the pork. Nonetheless, I'm supporting Lynn Jenkins for 2nd District US House of Representatives. I hope all my readers (both of them) will give her a good look and see if you don't agree.

And we think our taxes are high ...

Strike that. We know our taxes are high. But not as high as Sweden and Denmark. News today from The Local, Sweden's English-language newspaper, tells that Swede's have finally dropped out of first place in the "Highest Taxes in the World" list. Sweden seems to be proud that their tax burden averages only 47.8 percent! Think of that ... half your paycheck going to be mostly squandered by the government. It boggles the mind.

Oh, here's the story.

Is there any hope for more nuclear power in the US?

Is there any hope for more nuclear power in the US? Probably not, as long as the news outlets are so biased against it.

Exhibit A:
Headline on CNNMoney website: "Nuclear Plant Shutdown Causes Massive Florida Power Outages"
Excerpt from the actual story: "A problem with the electrical grid in Florida caused power outages stretching from Miami up almost to Jacksonville that affected as many as 3 million people Tuesday and caused a nuclear plant to automatically shut down ..."
Truth: A problem outside the nuclear generating facility caused instability in the electric grid, so the power plant shut down (safely) as a precaution. The headline doesn't just give the impression that the plant was at fault, it blatantly says so.

The fact is that most Americans have an irrational fear of nuclear power. The amount of radiation release in the Three Mile Island incident was less than is released in the average chest X-ray. And Chernobyl ... well, that reactor was not built to any reasonable safety standard. The reactor building was not even encased in concrete. FAR more radiation occurred in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from the Chernobyl incident than from the one at Three Mile Island.

And here's something I didn't know: One big concern with nuclear power is the waste. Fortunately, most of the waste can be recycled and used for medical and other beneficial uses. France, which generates a huge percentage of it's power with nuclear plants, stores all of it's waste in a small room. We can't do that in the USA thanks to Jimmy Carter. He was concerned that terrorists and other countries might use waste to make bombs, so he outlawed ALL recycling of nuclear waste. Didn't make any difference. The bad guys have found many cheaper sources of what they want.

Until laws and attitudes change, we have little hope for the inexpensive, clean and safe power that the nuclear option offers.

There's an EXCELLENT article in this month's Imprimis magazine on the future of nuclear power in the USA. Well worth the 5 minutes or so it takes to read it.

Curses! Foiled again!

After months of saying, "This one ... no, that one ... no, the other one", I had finally come to a decision on who I would caucus for at the upcoming Republican shindig. I was honestly almost down to the "Eeeny, meeny, miney, moe" stage. Finally, last night, I decided that my choice had to be Mitt Romney.

Now comes news that Mr. Romney has dropped out of the Presidential campaign today.

Now what? My choices are down to Paul, Huckabee, and McCain ... unless I'm missing someone.

Paul is easy. I feel exactly like the editor of Go! Twenty-four/Seven who wrote, in this week's issue, "Ron Paul: Has some good ideas; is crazy as a loon."

I have some serious reservations about John McCain. And after reading what James Dobson had to say about him, my reservations are even stronger. But I'm not sure I can see myself caucusing for Mike Huckabee.

Well, back to the old "Eeny, meeny, miney, moe," I guess.

Pick a President like you'd pick a CEO

In the latest issue of Business Week (Feb. 4, 2008), Jack and Suzy Welch answer a question from a reader (page 88) asking, "What caracteristics would you say are most important when choosing a company CEO or the next U.S. President?"

They have long advocated six key business leadership characteristics, and they apply them to the problem of picking a CIC instead of a CEO. Most telling to me was the first one:

Take authenticity, the foremost quality business leaders must possess. It's equally crucial for a President, and for the same reason: trust. When President is trying to promote a major initiative or lead through a crisis, the nation can't be embroiled in a debate about his or her sincerity.

Well, there goes Hillary ... wiped off my list (still!).

Now I just have to look for that quality (and the other five) in the pool of candidates that are left. We're down to seven serious contenders now, and I honestly can't say I like any of them. I fully expect to enter the polling booth this November with my nose held, and vote more against one than for the other. I still haven't made up my mind which corner I'll stand in come caucus day ... and it's coming up quickly!

Dealing with negative people

From the web:

This is something to think about when negative people are doing their best to rain on your parade. Remember this story the next time someone who knows nothing and cares less, tries to make your life miserable:

A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her boyfriend. She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded, "Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty and full of Italians. You're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?"

"We're taking Continental," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"

"Continental?" exclaimed the hairdresser. "That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Rome?"

"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste."

"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it's gonna be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump, the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is surly and they're overpriced. So, whatcha doing when you get there?"

"We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope."

"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it!"

A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.

"It was wonderful," explained the woman, "not only were we on time in one of Continental's brand new planes, but it was overbooked and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28 year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot.

And, the hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million remodeling job and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!"

"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "That's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."

"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors. He asked if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me."

"Oh, really! What'd he say?"

He said, "Where'd you get the crappy hairdo?"