No News, Part 2

I was watching the Colombian news this morning and it struck me - our news really isn't as relevant to us as Caracol is to its people. In addition to the sports, weather, and major news stories for the world and the country, they always impart some sort of cultural or societal information and go to the various regions of the country to get their take on whatever the subject happens to be. From watching the Colombian news for a few weeks I can learn about how to eat right, cultural food traditions from all over the country, what various regions feel their contribution to Colombian culture is, how language and dialect varies throughout the country, favorite vacation spots and how (and why) the preference for beach, mountain, or jungle resorts changes depending on their state of origin, and many other things (including history, science, technology, etc...).

In a country of 30 million people with a struggling economy that has been mired in civil war for over 50 years, journalists can bang out a spectacular 60 minute news program (with commercials) filled with relevant news from the country, the region, and the world, and report what's significant, regardless of where it's happening. In contrast, in a country of 300,000 million people with one of the strongest economies in the world, the news from America will be 30 minutes long, have possibly one ACTUAL story that MUST be relevant to Americans, will contain NO cultural or societal analysis, and will avoid (all all costs) any REAL questioning of the government or its politicians.

And CNN.com's new format has made this information MUCH more difficult to find:
3,576 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
26,350 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

And Now For Something Incredibly Frightening

c/o The Department of Homeland Conspiracy

Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack

Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city

As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, (why the concerns? Is there something you're not telling us) a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension (ending) of some (all) civil liberties.

Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group (Bush & his Dick) producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (The attack "they" didn't stop) Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order. (Oh no "we"can't have that)

The efforts to prepare a detailed blueprint for survival (who's Survival? the governments?) took a step forward last month when senior government and military officials and other experts, organized by a joint Stanford-Harvard program called the Preventive Defense Project, met behind closed doors (why the the closed doors? what do "they have to hide?) in Washington for a day-long workshop.

The session, called "The Day After," was premised on the idea that efforts focusing on preventing such a strike were no longer enough, and that the prospect of a collapse of government order ("they" seem obsessed with keeping ORDER) was so great if there were an attack that the country needed to begin preparing an emergency program.

Please read the rest of the post here.

Homosexuality in America

There's been a fury of research about the gays lately. I think it's probably an attempt to neutralize the issue so that it's not a large part of the upcoming election. One researcher thinks that a person's homosexuality can be perceived by the way they walk. If that's true, I'll be watching the Republican National Convention VERY carefully. More Americans are beginning to believe that if a person IS gay, he or she was born that way. I think that would stand to reason as I can't imagine people would choose to be ostracized by a majority of their society, such as the military and the Christians. Maybe this is our biological answer to overpopulation and the homosexual community should be celebrated as humanity's saviors.

Faith-Based Decisions

The Supreme Court seems to be making a lot of decisions based on faith and very few based on justice lately. One of the most recent involves giving millions of tax dollars to faith-based charities with the justification that taxpayers do not have the "standing" to challenge the White House. What the HELL does that mean? We don't have the "standing"? Aren't we the ones who pay their salary? Aren't we the ones who elect them? And we don't have the political standing to sway their decisions or forced them to make moral and ethical ones.

But to show I'm not biased, I agree with the Supreme Court's ruling on the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case. Though I think the student has a right to free speech, and the school shouldn't be able to do anything if he's talking, say, in the cafeteria, about doing bong hits for Jesus, to put it in writing at a school-sponsored event is a violation of school policy and he should have been punished. Parents have the right to expect that their children won't be exposed to advertisements seemingly promoting drug or alcohol use (though I believe profanity should be allowed).

3,566 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
26,129 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

Thinking Green

I don't believe in supporting the movie industry. I think it has sold out in a variety of ways, and I'm not going to get into them now. I haven't gone to see it yet, but I feel I should support Evan Almighty for its work in creating a green set. Whatever your stance on Global Warming, it goes without saying that humans need to reduce their impact on the environment. I applaud Universal Studios, director Tom Shadyac, and The Conservation Fund for setting a new standard for making movies.

In the same general vein, Big Ideas for a Small Planet on the Sundance Channel has become one of my favorite series. It has given us a lot of great ideas for things we can do around the house and organizations we can get involved in to help reduce our carbon footprint.

And in totally off-the-wall environmental news, a lake in Chile has disappeared recently. It's probably not due to Global Warming, though a rise in the suspected earthquakes may be connected to climate change.

War is never good for the environment, but it's GREAT for overpopulation:
3,557 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
26,129 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq (at least we'll have a use for some of those plastics)

Stop the Hate

On Flimsy Sanity there is a discussion going on about racism. Several people have taken the "what can you do" approach, and that it really disturbing for me. The don't-make-waves culture of America has gone to far and everyone is so concerned about Political Correctness that they have completely forgotten about Actual Correctness.

It is NOT okay to be racist. It's just not. Don't make excuses. Don't say, "everyone has to hate someone". Don't laugh uncomfortably and walk away. It is WRONG to hate someone because of their race. Yes, everyone has a right to their opinion, but if their opinion is offensive or intolerant, YOU have the right to call them on it. all you have to do is say, "I am not a racist person and I would really appreciate it if you would not make those comments/jokes around me." How hard is that?

It is NOT okay to proselytize. Again, let's not make excuses. It is not okay for someone to come to my home and try to convince me that the way I am living my life is wrong. It is WRONG to try and make everyone think that if they don't believe what you believe, they are going to hell. You shouldn't have to hide inside, turn the TV down, and pretend you're not home. Open the door. Say, "I am an adult. I know all about religion and I am not interested in hearing what you have to say. I don't appreciate you coming to my home to tell me that how I'm living my life is wrong. Please don't come back here again." Then shut the door.

Human Chow

"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are." This quote opens every Iron Chef, but I'm not sure where it comes from. I think it's a fitting way to tell about the culture of a people. I really started thinking about this after seeing a report about cereal companies no longer being able to use licenced characters like Shrek to market to children. I think this is great, especially since cereal is a part of the obesity problem in America. I think puppy chow has more nutritional content than most cereals.

We are an institutionalized and industrialized nation, which is why it's so easy to have a bowl of cereal in the morning (serving size: 1/2 cup) instead of an actual breakfast. Cereal is supposed to be part of a balanced breakfast, which should also include an egg (or other protein), some sort of fruit, and the milk poured into the cereal. In MANY it's cost prohibitive, but the rest of us have no excuse. A 20 oz. box of Cheerios costs $5.29. A dozen eggs costs $0.94. Bananas cost about $0.69 per pound. People who can afford it and choose not to do so are simply lazy.

3,519 US soldiers killed in Iraq
25,950 US soldiers wounded in Iraq

Gr8

I'm really surprised that more people haven't been writing about this, though I guess at this point the G8 Summit is an exercise in futility, at least where the US is concerned. These world leaders get together, and President Bush, with all of the intelligence of an eight year-old says, "I don't have to do what you say. Nanny, nanny, boo-boo." And the other world leaders do... NOTHING. No one, not even Merkle will put him in his place, nor will they explain to him that the US is not the only country in the world, nor is it the one with the largest population. At some point its citizens, or more likely the citizens of the world, are going to call the government on its bullshit, and THAT will NOT be pretty.

Save Some Energy!!!

Move your thermostat down 2° in winter (or leave it at 65 and put on a sweater) and up 2° in summer (or leave it at 76 and put the quilt away for the season). Turn the thermostats WAY down or off when you leave the house, and LEAVE THE HOUSE often. If it’s too hot or too cold to do things outside, go to public places that are being heated or cooled anyway. Remember that heating and air conditioning is a luxury, not a necessity in most places throughout most of the year. Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner. Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Really, how much does a filter cost? It only takes a minute to change.

In Other Countries...

I am getting a little tired of the argument that because something isn't working perfectly in another country, that it cannot possibly work here. Why do people assume that Americans, with all their intelligence and ingenuity, would not take an idea and run with it? Why do they assume that we cannot make something our own. Yes. There are problems with Universal Health Care in other countries. Okay. What can we do to minimize those problems? Yes. France has issues with immigration, too. Does that mean it's okay for us to have an old an outdated system that causes us nothing but problems? Absolutely not! And you say that I've lost hope. our education system is leaving millions of children behind a year, but let's not look at Japan, Switzerland, or Canada, because those countries have problems, too. Just ignore that their students have fewer problems and higher test scores. If a system has ANY PROBLEM AT ALL, it MUST be a failure.

I'm also annoyed at how often this principle is applied to politicians, as in, "they're all corrupt" or "they all spin information". Does this make it right? HELL NO!!!! This is play yard mentality that I attribute partially to the American education system, but that's besides the point. Yes. ALL politicians lie about one thing or another. Does that mean we should accept it when they do, especially when those lies do something like SEND US TO WAR WITH A COUNTRY WHO DIDN'T ATTACK US? Are you kidding me? If all of your children lie instead of just one, does that make it more acceptable?

And does ANYTHING make this more acceptable:
3,501 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
25,830 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

People Are DYING

While we're in the middle of dealing with my sister's never ending health care problems, I thought it might be a good idea to focus on the system as a whole. The American health care system is failing horribly, as evidenced by Michael Moore's new film 'Sicko'. Universal Health Care is the way to go, and surprise, surprise, some of the candidates have plans! (Though they're not QUITE universal). and before we get into the whole, "a welfare state is a bad thing" debate, let's just discuss the fact that many people who HAVE health insurance and full-time jobs still can't afford proper health care because what they need is not covered on their plan. Kusinich probably has the best ideas, for this as well as most other things, so it's a pity that he'll never be elected (some TV stations are editing him out of the debate completely).

Some other health care stories: Stressed-out moms are at higher risk for mental health problems. It's too bad that psychologist appointments aren't fully covered under most health plans, especially if you need to see someone more than six times a year - and that includes family counseling, individual therapy, and marriage counseling. Military Veterans don't get much more help than the rest of us, so it's a good thing we're supporting our troops.

These people no longer need health care: 3,494 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
These people will need health care for the rest of their lives: 25,549 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq.