Commentary for Monday 01/29/2007 The Road We Are On
Looking Down the Road: Where is this road taking us? It's getting
pretty disturbing these days. Jay Lenno goes on the street and asks passers-by some
very simple questions. The answers, while funny, are at the same time startling. Most
of the respondents have no clue who their national leaders are, nor do they have any
sense of history.
Rush Limbaugh goes into drug rehabilitation and reports that the
number one reason that otheres are in rehab is sex addiction.
Game Show 'Dog Eat Dog': The contestants here only seem to be able
to answer questions on 'Pop Culture' subjects. They miss questions dealing with
current events, history, and the nations leaders.
Imported Talent: Another sign of the times is that as a nation, we
are having to waive immigrant restrictions to have qualified research people. The
brainy foreigners get special treatment in order to come into this country. No
complaints, just getting it out there to make the point that the traditional American
youths are not seeking the educational levels needed by industry and research.
Other Things on Their Mind: Since the advent of our electronic
gadgets, you will find our young people taking advantage of all the mind massaging
elements that the pop culture has to offer. They are tuned in, turned on, and deaf to
any of life's seriousness. It is no wonder that we have to import the worlds talent
to fill the slots that demand a high degree of education.
It Makes One Wonder: With our neighborhoods filling up with
convicted sex offenders, how long it will be before they are in the majority? Don't
fool yourself about those who aren't on the convicted sex list yet. Pornography is
rampant, and the most unlikely persons will cast their lot for looser sex laws. Who's
going to protect your children if that happens?
So who Knows Where that Road is Taking Us? The future is up for
grabs. It appears that the traditionalist are fighting a losing battle at this point,
but you can never give up. Everyone possesses that spark of decency, and maybe
something will happen to rekindle that which is barely flickering at the
present.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
Here About our Cultural Ignorance, Thanks, Robert
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Commentary for Friday 01/26/2007 Bashing Bush Doesn't Help
Maybe the Bush Bashing Should End: For the longest, I have been
critical of President Bush's Iraqi policy. My reading of the tea leaves was that
there weren't enough troops to pacify Iraq, and that he was leading a very timid war.
But there is reason enough to step back and get another viewing angle on our efforts
to bring democracy to Iraq.
The Democrats and the Press: The Democrats and the press have worked
hand in hand together to discredit Bush and this war. They have sought to turn the
American people against our effort in Iraq from the start. They were determined to
not give President Bush any sort of victory whether domestic or foreign. They fought
all of his appointments, and in the Senate, the Dems filibustered every meningful bit
of legislation he proposed. Through all of the shenanigans by the left, President
Bush remained classy and respectful. There has been no bottom to the depths the
Democrats haven't sunk to torpedo this president. So with these thoughts in mind, I
wanted a closer look at why we were having such a hard time in Iraq.
Why not more men: The decision to put more men in Iraq had to have
been a hard one to make. Our army just isn't that big, and the additional troops will
mean a lot of normal troop rotations will have to be shortened. It is hard on the
men, and hard on the families involved. The President was loathe to initiate a draft
or dig deeper into the reserves. To have dug deeper into the reserves would have
meant older men with more dependents creating even more hardship to our
country.
What Happened to our Army? During the Clinton administration, they
sought to cut spending by cutting federal spending. Cutting the military offered
Clinton an opportunity to reduce the Federal budget without cutting key liberal
programs. He literally sliced and diced the military. This excerpt from a Biography
of Clinton says it all. "The statistics for America's defense during the Clinton
years reveal the deep-seated animosity of the administration toward those who served
in the military. The Army was cut from 18 divisions to 12. The Navy was reduced from
546 ships to 380. Air Force flight squadrons were cut from 76 to 50." You can read
the full text of this Bio at: Link to Clinton Biography
An honest Judgment: I believe that anybody who examines the
Presidents position will come away with a different perspective. Were there
misjudgments on Bush's part? Yes, and I think he has as good as recognized a lot of
them. Should mistakes mean fold up the tent and quit? No! Correct the mistakes and
finish. Nothing is as sweet as victory and Democrats everywhere are holding their
collective breath hoping against hope that this latest effort will fail.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
Here About Bush Bashing, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
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Commentary for Thursday 01/25/2007 This Web Site
Things are looking up: In the coming weeks, look for improvements on
Daylite Sun. I am in the process of coding an RSS feed to those of you who would like
an automatic update of the commentaries. Also in the works is a weekly cartoon
feature that will be a parody of current events.
I am excited about these changes. The commentaries will also be
divided by subject, and all of the archived commentaries will be searchable by
subject from the home page.
The changes won't be instantaneous. There are still some coding
issues that I am trying to overcome. This is a one person operation and between
research and website upkeep, I stay pretty busy.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
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Commentary for Wednesday 01/24/2007 Analysis Of the State of the Union Address
Stunning State of the Union Speech: I listened with attentiveness as
the President gave his 2007 State of the Union address. I found myself, even as
critic, once again, drawn to the Country's plight over the war effort in Iraq.
President Bush presented his case masterfully about the hazards of leaving Iraq
without a victory. His presentation also gave a glimpse of the victories in 2005, as
well as what went wrong during 2006. He never wavered in his determination to secure
a victory by leaving Iraq as an able ally in the Middle East.
The Democrat's Response: True to form, the new senator from Virginia
defined the Democrat stand of doom and gloom. He was all about leaving Iraq, and
managed to make contradictory statements about leaving Iraq. Go to this link to read
the entire text. There are numerous unsubstantiated claims that are spewed out in
true Democrat fashion. Text of Senator Webb's Respose
What Next: Jim Webb did a good job in contrasting the view point of
a futureless liberal vision versus a hopeful vision put forth by President Bush. The
health care provision as outlined by the President, would put more of the decision
making about your health in your hands, while the Nationalized Democrat version would
leave everything in the hands of the bureaucrats. The President would have a victory
in Iraq while the Democrats would tuck tail and try to TIVO the event by getting out.
What do the Democrats want to do next? Turn around and just say, " I'm sorry"! Has
anybody heard any plan from the Democrats on what their plan for the future is? How
would they tackle the problems facing our country? The only plan that has been
exhibited so far is to throw bricks at President Bush. How about a workable plan from
the Democrats on how to make us energy independent? They are truly vacant except for
their hatred for George Bush.
It is just dreaming: I realize that getting the two parties to
co-operate is just fanciful dreaming. But, I can't help thinking about what could
have been accomplished if they would work together. The war in Iraq might well be
over if we had shown a united front. Social security would have been solved. Energy
independence could have been solved. But no! We have to put up with the constant
bickering for power. Sometimes, the idea of a third party doesn't sound so bad.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
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Commentary for Tuesday 01/23/2007 Anticipating the State of the Union Address
State of the Union Speech: Tonight President George W. Bush will
deliver to the Nation and a relatively hostile congress, his State of the Union
address. This speech will not dwell on the war in Iraq, but instead will emphasize
other issues important to this nation. Will anybody listen? Will anybody care?
Approval polls are too low for much support: Those politicians
either seeking the presidency or looking to improve their own political ratings are
not willing to support a losing cause. Remember, politicians look out for their
political hide before anything else, including the welfare of the country. If
President Bush succeeds in Iraq, it certainly won't be because the Democrat Party
helped, nor will it be because of the steadfastness of the Republicans. The Democrats
have everything invested in a defeat for George Bush in Iraq, while those weak
Republicans are just being opportunistic. Privately, those weak Republicans have
written off the Iraqi War as a lost cause.
President Bush's stubbornness has to take the blame: A lot of
experts told him from the beginning that there wasn't enough troops to make this a
success. These advisors were given little credibility because we had enough troops
over there to whip anything that jumped up and said boo. The hard part was having to
admit that we didn't have enough troops to take control of both the borders and
police the civilians. What we did more or less was hope for 4 years that things would
get better. For 4 years we did little to quell the building rebellion or try stopping
the weapons flowing in from Iran and Syria.
Even bad decisions do not mean that we don't loose focus: We must
move on from the mistakes of the past. We must do what we need to do to make
corrections and make sure that Iraq is seen as a victory. This wouldn't be George
Bush's victory, but an American victory. Leaving before the job is done will turn
Iraq into a regional war with Sunni nations warring against Shiites. The Sunni
nations have already stated that they would join the Sunni's in Iraq if we left. How
does that affect us? The simple answer is oil. Oil is the lifeblood of this nation,
and if that oil falls into enemy hands, we will ultimately be drawn into a much
larger war. There is a lot more at stake than trying to make the President look
bad.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
Here About the State of the Union Speech, Thanks, Robert
Gross Back
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Commentary for Monday 01/22/2007 Is a Service Economy Good for America?
Chasing the Rainbow: The liberal economists who were instrumental in
reshaping our economy appear to have succeeded. For the past 40 years, we have been
changing over from a manufacturing economy to a service based economy. What is a
service-based economy? What is a manufacturing based economy?
Manufacturing Economy: The simple definition: Wealth creation by
taking relatively cheap raw material and turning it into something of value. Some
examples include: Industrial Manufacturers, Farming, Oil Refining and the entire
Petrol-Chemical complex.
Service Economy: The simple definition: Wealth creation through the
dissemination of services. Examples include: Importers, Repairers, Retailers, Banking
Sector, Lawyers, and Real-Estate Brokers.
Service oriented jobs generally pay less than manufacturing jobs.
This quote is from: http://www.truthinmedia.org/truthinmedia/Bulletins99/tim99-3-3.html
"For example, the average 1998 wage in the private services sector was $7.26/hr, as
compared to $12.30/hr in private industries, and $13.03/hr in government. Which means
that an average worker in the services business earns only 59% of that in industrial,
and 55% of that in government jobs. That's music to the ears of business owners and
managers, but a sad tune for the American wage earner."
Then we get statements like this: "Eric Fisher, associate professor
of economics at Ohio State, said in a commentary published this month that U.S.
economic activity in manufacturing is not declining, but its share of employment is -
from 25 percent in 1960 to 12.5 percent in 2002 because of labor-saving technology."
Interpreted; The manufacturing segment hasn't grown in 42 years, while automation has
helped industry to cast off 50% of their employees. You can be assured that the 50%
of discharged workers who aren't retired, are making less.
Summary: The number of jobs have increased dramatically, but the
earning power of the consumers is declining. Yes, there is an undisciplined
population spending borrowed money, and as long as the creditcard issuers are willing
to take on this debt, it will continue. My thoughts on this matter are this; If you
are smart, you will decrease your debt, save more, and slow down with the spending.
Nobody ever spent their way to prosperity.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
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Commentary for Friday 01/19/2007 Encore Presentation about Venus
Due to running late today, this is an encore commentary I published on Monday
11/20/2006
A Venus Greenhouse Gas Commentary: There is probably a better explanation
for the high temperature of Venus than the prevalent one of a "run away greenhouse
effect". Just looking at Venus it is immediatly apparent that it is shrouded in
clouds. Clouds bring up two obvious points: Point 1, that there has to be a
condensation of gases as they reach the cooler layers of atmosphere, and point 2, The
shroud is reflective enough to reduce solar heating.
Condensation of gases: The process of condensation in the atmosphere
surrenders heat and condenses the gases into vapor. A lot of heat is given up in this
process.
Planet Shrouded with Clouds: This should be pretty self evident on
its own. The cloud layers are thick and reflective to the sun, with minimal heat
absorbtion from solar sources.
So why is there so much heat at the surface? If you search Google
for 'Venus' you will find no explanation other than 'greenhouse' system out of
control. It could be said that a lot of heat never leaves Venus because it becomes
trapped between the surface and the thick cloud layer. But wait a minute! Just the
fact that the cloud layers exist, suggest a lot of heat transfer. Further, the shroud
acts as a shield from a lot of the solar radiation. The slow rotation period of Venus
may be more of a contributor than is credited.
It takes approximately 243 earth days for Venus to rotate once: The
Venus day is actually longer than its solar year. This fact alone sets the stage for
mischief. Venus is essentially baking on one side and cooling on the other. Most of
the cloud formation is accomplished on the cool side, creating a layered wind pattern
according to the amount of condensation at the various levels. The created clouds are
carried around the planet, yielding the shroud that we see through our telescopes.
The wind pump (a coined phrase) operates through a system of expanding gases on the
sunward side and shrinking gases on the side opposite the sun.
Surface temperatures that you read about are always quoted either
from the actual measurement from a Russian spacecraft which landed on Venus, or from
IR measurements of the atmosphere from various spacecraft. There is virtually no
information about the activities on the dark side of Venus. We've not landed a
spacecraft there, and radar can only map the surface of Venus. The one thing we do
know is that a lot of condensation, acid rain and evaporation are occurring. Without
those processes, it would be impossibe to have the clouds that we observe. I hope
that the new 'Venus Express' will provide data which includes a better picture of the
planet we call Venus.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
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Commentary for Thursday 01/18/2007 Illegal Immigration Crises
A look at Illegal Immigration: Pretend that there is no such thing
as 'the bad guys' streaming into this country. The assumption here is that all of
them are economic refugees. Why is that bad for this country? What is the harm?
It is a matter of Assimilation: Legal immigration is a process that
enables an Immigrant to live in this country; to understand and speak our language,
understand our institutions, and bestows upon the Immigrant all of the protections of
our Constitution. The process enables the Immigrant the ability to live in the U.S.A.
anywhere and be a part of the fabric of America.
Illegal Immigration: This process delivers to our country people
with none of the above attributes. Two of the largest deficiencies are an inability
to communicate with the citizenry, and no understanding of our institutions. The
language barrier is self explanatory, but what it means to be deficient in
understanding our institutions is not well understood. Our institutions include
knowledge of our government, and that all of our rights and privileges are derived
from the Constitution. Knowing how our government's function; local, state and
national, is fundamental to understanding the mechanism by which the rights bestowed
upon an American citizen are received. Those without the privileges of citizenship
are at a tremendous disadvantage and are subject to predation by every charlatan
businessman that does under the table business with the Illegal population.
For instance: South Texas is dotted with used car lots that cater to
the Illegal immigrant. They charge outrageous prices and interest because these
dealers understand that the hapless Illegal doesn't have the freedom to deal with
legitimate dealers. These Illegal immigrants do not participate in the democratic
processes and tend to live in enclaves together. These enclaves are structured like
the societies they left behind because they have not been taught about the American
society; therefore, they have no other structure to model themselves by.
Wage Competition: The workforce of so many people willing to work at
very low wages also forces American citizens to have to compete for those jobs. The
net result is a lowering of the standard for the American citizen. You would
understand if the job you had was suddenly undermined by those who would do it at a
much lower rate.
Summation: The first thing that needs to happen is the stopping of
people from entering this country illegally. Making those who are here illegally
citizens, should be avoided without them having to go through the process that gives
them an appreciation of this country. And only if the number of admissions do not
violate the annual amount given by law. That number is supposed to be set at the rate
that this country can absorb and assimilate these citizens into this country.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
Here About illegal Immigration, Thanks, Robert
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Commentary for Wednesday 01/17/2007 Graphics Drive Computer Market
Oh, Those eye popping Graphics! The images we view on a computer
display represent our interface with the computer. The market for bigger, more
realistic imagery is the driving force for most computer sales today.
Realism and computing power go hand in hand. A display of 1280 x
1024 pixels consist of 1,310,720 pixels. Each pixel is made up of three colors,
namely Red, Blue, and Green. Each of these color dots is the smallest addressable
pieces of the video display. They are also known as 'sub-pixels'. To deliver a
picture with a 1024 x 1280 resolution, there is a total of 3,932,160 sub-pixels to be
painted. Each of these sub-pixels, assuming an eight-bit value/sub-pixel, yields 256
different values/subpixel. 3 sub-pixels combined will yield 16,777,216 colors.
Handling this much data requires a lot of computing power. That brings us to frame
rates. A frame rate is the number of times the image is updated in a second.
Generally a frame rate of 24 fps (frames/second) and faster is required to keep from
getting jumpy motion. At 24 frames/second with a 16 million color possible scheme, we
have to move 94,271,840 bytes per second. Without a GPU (graphics processor) our CPU
(computer processor) would be overwhelmed.
The more elaborate the Eye Candy, the higher the cost: The
incredible amount of data movement to present realistic graphics, is the force
driving the economics for personal computers. Ordinary computer tasks such as word
processing, spreadsheets, and cartoon like games do not need such power. Realistic
imagery is also the driving force behind our ever-increasing demand for higher speed
over the Internet. The Internet has evolved into much more than information sharing.
We download all sorts of video clips and even full-length movies. Compressed imagery
is helping, but the load on our systems is being stressed more with every passing
year. It seems that as soon as a breakthrough in technology that allows for faster
data transfers, a usage is found for the increase in speed that creates a need for
yet more speed.
To keep up with these new technologies, all I can say to you is; be
prepared to increase what you pay for the privilege. Developing the technologies to
satisfy our appetite for the "wow" isn't cheap. My one prediction is that after we
exhaust our ability to titillate with a flat 2-D screen, somebody will develop a way
to display real depth. Not available now, but it will come. The new displays will
allow us to see behind objects on our depth-oriented displays by just changing our
viewing angle. Yum! Yum! I can't wait.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
Comment
Here About Computer Graphics, Thanks, Robert
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Commentary for Tuesday 01/16/2007 Making the Swap to Linux
Taking the Linux Plunge: Since 1980, I have either used a Tandy
operating system or a Microsoft operating system. This will be my first foray into
the world of Linux. There was an option to either download the Linux system or opt
for the physical disk and pay for the shipment. The system itself will not cost
anything. I chose the 'Ubuntu' distribution because of the good reviews about
'Ubuntu' in 'Maximum PC' magazine. This system comes with application software as
well as the tools to customize the software as you see fit. Even though I have been
involved with computers as both a programmer and an application user, I'm relieved to
know that there is extensive help available for Linux users online.
Goal is to get rid of Microsoft: Microsoft's heavy handed DRM
policies are at the root of my dissatisfaction with Microsoft. In a previous
commentary I outlined additional problems. They have violated my trust in a number of
ways. The most recent, was replacing media player with a different version without my
knowledge. That 'upgrade' left me without the ability to listen to the streaming
audio of some of the radio stations that I enjoyed, and caused me days of interaction
with one of their representatives,(located in China) to get my licensed songs to
play. The new version was not a security related upgrade, but rather an upgrade to
integrate music vendors and you with Microsoft's new 'Zune' MP3 player.
Upgrades that go beyond closing security loopholes violate the
reason that I allowed Microsoft to make changes to my operating system. When you
disable the automatic upgrades option on your computer, you are instantly peppered
with dire warnings about being at risk with the upgrade option off. What is a person
to do? To begin with, nearly all ISP (Internet Service Providers) already provide
firewall services for their subscribers. Ditto for the ISP provided email. The online
mailboxes are scanned for both baddies that infect your computer and spam that can
fill your mailbox. If you still feel as though you need additional security, there
are several security packages available that are very cheap and allow you to
customize them to meet your needs.
I will report on my Linux experiment in a future commentary. Weaning
me from Microsoft won't be easy, as I use a lot of their products on a regular basis.
However, I do look forward to testing the waters for a good alternative.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
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Commentary for Monday 01/15/2007 We Prepare for a Coming Ice Storm
Anticipating an Ice Storm: It doesn't happen often, but even in
Southeast Texas, we get a blast from the North. The weather forecasters have been
forecasting this freeze for well over a week now, and it is finally knocking at our
door.
The cold, we can deal with, but this freeze will be accompanied by a
lot of moisture. The freeze plus water portends a lot of bad things. Not the least
among them, downed power lines. For those of us with 'electricity only' as a heating
source, the prospects of this ice storm leaving us intact are small. Living in the
country makes the situation even more probable that the ice will put too much weight
on the lines and send them tumbling. Not a given, but the odds are on the side of a
power failure.
Finding an Alternate Source of Heat: There is a small window of time
before the freeze arrives where I live, so for the next two hours, I will be rigging
up a brand new kerosene heater to be on stand-by just in case power is lost. One last
note, be glad that we don't depend on kerosene for many chores, that stuff is
$8.00/gal if you buy it in single gallon cans, or if you buy it 5 gallons at a time
the stuff is $34.00 for the 5 gallons. Can you imagine kerosene selling for that
much? Kerosene used to be cheaper than gasoline, what happened?
Good luck to everyone out there who is having to cope with this
arctic blast. I know a lot of you have it a sight worse than what we will
experience.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
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Commentary for Sunday 01/14/2007 Defining Liberalism (Democrats)
A Case against Liberalism: Writing about liberalism is a lot like
herding cats. First order of the day is to start with descriptions of the players.
Even the definitions are not without controversy, but to make any assessment about
Liberalism, there has to be at least a perceived position, that can be summarized
into a description of the main players.
What I won't explore: Ancient arguments, which have been in
existence for hundreds of years. Even Confucian adherents from Old China could not
agree whether or not the profit motive was good or bad. There have been adherents to
both sides throughout human history. These comments are directed only to the late
19th century to the present.
Modern Conservatism: A non-secular derivative of capitalism. Today's
Conservatives are 'capitalist with a conscience'. Adapting traditional religious
values of honesty, charity, and compassion; conservatism has largely replaced the
capitalist secular model.
Modern Liberalism: Modern day liberalism is also an offshoot of the
capitalist system. By the nature of the beast, capitalism produced some of the
harshest and greediest eras of the United States and abroad. The capitalist system
was brutal to its workers, while the 'Capitalist' grew in power and wealth. Sympathy
for these employees grew and gradually turned into outrage over their condition. The
wide gulf between the haves and have-nots was no longer supportable. In the United
States, laws were passed to govern how wage earners should be treated, and last but
not least, trade unions were born to represent the workers giving them a voice in
their employment. Liberalism as we know it was born.
Liberalism as a movement: Empowering the struggling hard working men
and women in this society proved to be very popular. There were a lot of positive
developments that came from the emergence of wage earners who were now treated
better. They became consumers, which helped everybody. More jobs were established,
the ranks of the middleclass grew to majority status, and optimism about the future
of this country was high. Up until and through the 1950's, hard work was considered
the way to achieve life's goals.
The softening of Capitalism with liberalism was a good thing: Logic
should dictate; if a little does a little good, then a lot should do a lot of good.
However, this logic does not apply to liberalism. Too much control stifles a society
as Americans were beginning to realize. Politically, the people that were helped by
the Democrats (Liberals) now wanted to protect their newfound middle class status.
This new middle class found that the ever increasing Government regulations and taxes
were not only stifling freedom, but also creating a welfare society. A lot of them
changed loyalty from Democrat to Republican in an effort to protect against an
elitist led, Socialist form of government. This development meant that in order for
the Democrat politicians' message to be received, they had to appeal to those people
who still were not doing well in this society. The original victims of the past were
doing pretty good and resented the taxation and government intrusion into their
lives.
Modern Conservatism: The core of the new middle class were hard
working people with strong religious ties. They also shared a philosophy of
frugality, and had acquired a love for the independence brought about by their middle
class status. With their numbers, they reformed the old Capitalistic model (Not
without missteps though) to one of a more compassionate, caring model. Modern
Conservatism was born. Modern Conservatism is not to be confused with the older label
of being a Conservative Capitalist. There were a lot of people before modern
Conservatism who were considered to be Conservative only because they favored a
weaker central government. Anyone favoring a weaker central government was the
traditional definition of a conservative.
Liberals tend to be more secular: They have disdain for religion and
its universal code of right and wrong. Only those in government yield any power.
Order is maintained in a similar way as the modern totalitarian states. Because
liberals reject a philisophical position of right and wrong, liberal totalitarian
states need powerful police forces to maintain civil order. The liberal hierarchy has
at its top an elite group who would not deign to live as an ordinary citizen but
rather as someone above the fray. Liberalism thrives with the indolent and those
blaming others for their lack of success.
Liberals portray themselves, as saviors of the 'downtrodden': The
reality is much different. Keeping the 'downtrodden' down is the goal of the liberal
elites. Liberals cannot remain in power without the 'downtrodden'. It is their base,
their constituency, the one group that maintains them in power. That is why liberals
employ 'class warfare' as a weapon.
Class Warfare: Class warfare helps the liberal cause by creating the
illusion of being a champion against those who are 'mean spirited' and successful.
Liberal followers are led to thinking that those who are successful get that way at
their expense. In other words, they were cheated! Liberal leaders are well aware of
the past, and what happens to political loyalties when people are allowed to succeed.
Success must be thwarted at all cost. One of the challenges to the liberal leaders is
how to prevent their constituency from succeeding, and at the same time keep them
happy.
Maintaining Control: Since the liberal establishment is working to
prevent their constituency from succeeding, they define happiness in other ways. One
of the obstacles that get in the way is religion. Religion teaches a strict code of
right and wrong, and also personal responsibility. Why is religion an obstacle to
liberalism? In a word, sex. Not that sex is something new, but with religion out of
the way, and with abortion on the ready to cure any accidents, there is no reason to
not just enjoy sex in any flavor that suits you. Without religion or the fear of
pregnancy, who is to say that indiscriminate sex is bad? By destroying the global
principles of right and wrong, liberals calculate that you as a people would rather
sin than succeed. And logically it follows, if your life is one distraction after the
next, you aren't going to be able to succeed.
Robert welcomes your comment to this or any other of the daily
commentaries.
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Commentary for Friday 01/12/2007 Winning Millions with the Lottery
Winning the Lottery: Millions, and millions, and millions of dollars
for just guessing the numbers that will be drawn. Sounds easy, and if you hit, it
probably was easy. November 2007 will mark the 15th anniversary of Lotto Texas. The
Texas drawings are held twice weekly, and like most Texans, I faithfully bought a
ticket with 5 lines of 6 numbers twice a week with high hopes of that once in a
lifetime shot at becoming a millionaire.
Two years later--: My efforts had yielded $75.00 in winnings with an
investment of $1040.00. I didn't quit playing the lottery at this time, but I did
slow way down on purchasing lottery tickets. It took another 2 years for me to
completely quit buying those Lotto Texas tickets. Altogether, I spent an estimated
$2400.00 chasing that rainbow. I even felt a little guilty about not buying those
chances that could make me rich. "You know", I would tell myself, "Somebody will win
that money, it may as well be you." Truer words have never been spoken. Somebody did
claim the winning tickets every week it just wasn't me.
What if Math: I always used the same numbers when I played, maybe a
mistake but that was my logic. The lottery had to come to me instead of me chasing
the lottery. In almost fifteen years of drawings, my numbers have not made the
winners list. (of any sizeable amount)The bright side of this tale is the money I
didn't waste on the lottery. At the rate of $10.00/week for the 11 years that I
didn't play, I have to the plus side; managed to hang on to $5,720. Not bad, and I
consider it a win! Now if I would have only saved that $10.00 a week, I would really
be happy.
Comment
Here About State Lotteries, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Thursday 01/11/2007 The War in Iraq
The War in Iraq: President Bush set forth his agenda to quell the
violence in Iraq last night. All the while, in the back of my mind was this little
nag; 'To little too late'. Even though I don't like living in the land of 'woulda,
coulda, shoulda'; that is exactly where my thoughts were as I listened. This man was
desperately trying to give hope to those who feel defeated and rally those who still
believe. I will not join in the chorus of defeatism. He is already is under a
constant barrage of criticism from those seeking our defeat in Iraq.
The morning after the speech: The liberal left response was typical
of them, all criticism. They want a defeat in Iraq more than anything else. The
Democrats know that if we pull out prematurely, Iraq would become a large regional
war between the Sunnis and the Shiites. A large regional war will set the stage for
2008 politics. Democrats will blame an Iraqi defeat on the Republicans, as well as
the blaming Bush's invasion of Iraq for the wider conflict. This is, and has been
their strategy from the beginning. The Democrats will denounce any operation that
might have a chance to succeed; a victory for the U.S. in Iraq would kill their plans
for regaining complete power of the government in 2008.
It is all about Power From the Democrat perspective, consequences
mean nothing as long as they win in 2008. That is also the reason that they haven't
tried to help the United States win. Their constant negative barrages have given hope
to those that we are fighting. Our enemy is also aware of history and how we up and
left in Viet Nam without a victory. In that war, the left finally convinced the
public that we (The U.S.) couldn't win and that the war was wrong. It was a major
victory for the left. They are looking for the same type of victory from the Iraq
War. All of the millions who died after our pullout of Viet Nam didn't bother the
liberals. Nor will the deaths of the hundreds of thousands who will die by us pulling
out of Iraq before that fledgling Democracy can survive on its own. It just means
winning an election to the Democrats.
Comment
Here About the war in Iraq, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Wednesday 01/10/2007 Browsing Cookies Should be Abolished
<<p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0in" align="justify"> Computer
Privacy: Cookies today have evolved into spy ware. Whenever I run my anti-spy
ware program, the only thing that it finds are data mining cookies. Although these
cookies do not pose a threat to your PC, they are able to track your web surfing
activities and report them back to the cookie issuer. Enough of them can also slow your
PC down.
As a PC 'Junkie' I have nothing to hide, but it is still irritating
to know that everything I do on the computer is being spied upon by those wanting to
build a profile about me. The profiles built by these data mining cookies can be used
for a wide variety of purposes ranging between determining my likes and dislikes, to
malicious activities like identity theft and worse. In a previous commentary, I
listed cookies as one of the parts in Windows and all browsers that should be
abandoned.
Erasing Cookies: That is the counter argument, that you can just
erase the cookies. You can also set your browser to reject all cookies, but that is
also a non-starter. Some of the websites I visit, you won't get very far unless you
have cookies enabled. Why? These websites depend on cookies to determine if you have
been there before. Unless you log in and they have your name or email address, they
have no idea if you are a returning customer. True, they can get your IP address, but
most Internet Providers do not issue their customers a static IP address. Without a
static IP address, you can be anybody from your service provider. Your service
provider assigns you an IP address from a block of IP addresses, as they are needed.
Cookies have the advantage because they eliminate any confusion as to the user who is
logging onto their website.
Technology, along with willing accomplices like 'Microsoft' make it
possible for almost anyone to spy on just about all of your activities on a PC. There
are some browsers that do not do 'cookies'. Unfortunately, these browsers do not get
a lot of ink in the press. So without feedback about these browsers, I will not make
a recommendation for them. The only weapon I currently recommend is to turn off the
cookies, and stay away from the sites that insist that you have to have them enabled.
Eventually, these businesses will get the message, but the word has got to get around
for this to be effective. In addition, you can write or email Microsoft and other
browser companies and tell them to stop supporting cookies.
Comment
Here About P.C. Cookies, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Tuesday 01/09/2007 Man's Part in Global Warming
Global Warming revisited: There is a lot of counter information in
regards to the effects of CO2 in our atmosphere. Some of this information is
convincing enough to share. In an previous article I put forth the question; if CO2
is enough to cause the planet to warm up when our atmosphere contains only a fraction
of a percent of CO2, then why doesn't Mars heat up with an atmosphere of 95% CO2?
There is a well-written web site that has some of the explanation and I find it
credible enough to share.
It's all in the wavelengths: CO2 does indeed absorb heat, but it
only absorbs certain wavelengths of the spectrum. According to the folks at
http://nov55.com/index.html, the CO2 that is already in the atmosphere is
absorbing those wavelengths, and additional CO2 will not make any difference. This
would explain the Mars phenomenon. After a given quantity of CO2, there are no
additional effects.
CO2 on the rise: Let there be no doubt, that the amount of
atmospheric CO2 has been rising, and the earth has experienced a minute amount of
warming. (About 1 degree Celsius over the past 100 years) However, 97% of the
increase in CO2 is due to the warming of the oceans. Mans contribution to the rise in
CO2 is only a paltry 3% of the total. The bulk of the increase is a result of the
oceans being warmed, and not by CO2 in the atmosphere. Did you know that there are
over 1000-sub sea volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean? Then there are hot spots like the
one under Hawaii warming up the oceans. The oceans would be getting warmer even if
there were no CO2 in the atmosphere.
Land mass is cooling: In spite of what is happening with the oceans,
there is a cooling trend on the land masses. I'll make no predictions about the
future climate, but our standard of living will take one giant step backwards if we
allow the politicizing of what is happening to the climate.
Man may or may not be able to affect what is happening: Science
should be able to confront any global warming without the politicizing or hyping of
information that isn't truthful. I urge you to click on this link and read some of
the information that is not being distributed through the liberal media. http://www.nov55.com/index.html
Comment
Here About CO2, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Monday 01/08/2007 Democrats Have Designs on Illegal Immigrants
Monday 01/08/2007
Okay, now what: The Dems gave the Republicans a royal thumping in
November, so what now? Their most important goal is to have another Democrat victory
in 2008. So how do they intend to do that?
Democrat vision doesn't extend very far: Acquiring power is about as
far as they can see. This is amply demonstrated in several ways. First, they need to
achieve a defeat in Iraq. This is most important to regaining power. George Bush must
be denied any sort of victory there. The consequences of a defeat in Iraq doesn't
even matter. Acquiring power is first and foremost.
New Voters Needed: The new potential voters streaming into this
country illegally are the next targets. After all 12 million votes are hard to
ignore. They will strive to water down any immigration reform that attempts block
these intruders from becoming legal voters. Again, consequences do not matter, as
long as they can claim the votes and get their power back.
The Democrats have not forgotten the past: Allowing the baby boomers
to succeed was a big mistake, and they will not allow that to happen again. Once
people do succeed, they tend become conservative to protect what they have earned.
After all, their emergence into the middle class is what gave birth to the new
conservative movement. The Democrats challenge is to keep people wanting to succeed,
but never allowing it. As long as the Dems can charade as the champion of the
workingman, they stay in power. The trouble is, the conservatives have swelled their
numbers pretty substantially, and so the infusion of a whole different set of victims
that they can control is an imperative. Hello Mexican Brothers!
It's all about power, to hell with the consequences!
Comment
Here About the Democrat's Grand Vision, Thanks, Robert
Gross Back
|
Commentary for Friday 01/05/2007 Democrats Seek to Save Us
The expedient Solution: Most everyone has a pretty good idea of
right and wrong. At least that was a generally accepted notion until recently. We
only codified those general rules to determine the price a person would pay for a
transgression of that rule.
Politicians that receive compensation for legislation (bribes) is
illegal, unethical, and morally not acceptable. However, we find that it is a common
practice among lawmakers. The compensation may take different forms; travel expenses,
campaign donations, lunches, or the old favorite, cash. Lawmakers know whether a
particular 'perk' will be scrutinized or not.
Some graft is institutional: Once the practice of accepting
particular 'perks' is common, it fades into the background of being something that is
wrong. Some that fit into this category are; free lunches, golf outings, campaign
contributions, and expense paid fact-finding junkets. Even though they are common
forms of graft, they have been accepted to be as how things are in Washington. Some
of these items have to be declared to pass muster, but this is only a formality, and
makes everything all right. By placing minimum demands upon these politicians, they
can continue to skirt ethics without censure.
The new lobby reform act proposed by newly elected House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still skirts the major offenses, and generally
maintains the ability of congress to carry on as usual. However well received this
effort is by the press, it is actually not much more than hype. If the proposal had
outlawed the Lobbyist from making campaign contributions, then the Democrats would
have something to be proud of.
Comment
Here About the Democrat's reform measures, Thanks, Robert
Gross Back
|
Commentary for Thursday 01/04/2007 Looking Forward to a Walmart
Anticipation of Our new 'Wal-Mart: In the small town where I live,
anticipation is high over a new Wal Mart Super Center' that is being built here. The
new super center will replace the small Wal-Mart that has served us for the last 15
years. What is especially notable about the new store, is that it is a 'Super
Center'. That means the new store will have groceries.
An end to a 60 mile trip for groceries: Every week since we moved
here in 1992, we have had to make the 30 mile one-way trip to the city for groceries.
That is a lot of gas, and a lot of time just going to and from a store. Sure we could
shop at one of the small local grocery stores that are located here in town, but that
would mean having to pay confiscatory prices for food, and limiting ourselves to
comparatively limited choices. Even after we pay for the extra gas, we still realize
a nice savings by making the long drive into the city.
There is a lot of anti-Wal-Mart sentiment: That sentiment is not
well founded. Follow the money; who would be the main beneficiary of a unionized
Wal-Mart? Answer, the unions would stand to benefit the most. Who would be the losers
if Wal-Mart unionized? Answer, everyone that shops at or works at Wal-Mart.
A unionized Wal-Mart: The hiring of the elderly in part-time
positions has been helping those on fixed incomes from the beginning of Wal-Mart. The
union will want to convert these jobs to full time which would leave those elderly,
on Medicaid, part-time employees without jobs. (Social security recipients can only
make so much before the Government penalizes them.)
A unionized Wal-Mart cont. Wal-Mart hires a lot of young people at
minimum wage for the express purpose of giving them jobs. They really can do without
these positions, these jobs are entry level and meant for high school students and
drop-outs. A unionized Wal-Mart would be unable to continue giving these kids a
start.
Fewer Employees: You can also expect more automation and fewer
employees. Those automated check out stations are only the beginning. You will see an
accelerated move to automate all facets of the store. All mundane tasks are potential
targets for automation. Another large impact will be felt by the shoppers. While I
don't expect that unionizing will have much of an impact on prices, fewer employees
will take care of that, but gone will be the warmth and customer friendly practices
that is now enjoyed. Customers will be talking to electronic gadgets for help rather
than a live person. Online sales will be accelerated and enable further cuts in
labor. Wal-Mart is just now ramping up on their online related business.
So I say to the Wal-Mart detractors, "You ain't seen nothing
yet."
Comment
Here About Wal-Mart, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Wednesday 01/03/2007 We need a Change of Culture to Save Our Schools
No silver bullet for education: It is an easy mark for politicians.
Some want to increase spending, some want to test teachers, some want to test the
kids, while other's want to blame the parents and criminalize their behavior. The
President has instituted another form of the testing game, called 'No child left
behind act'. Our education system is fair game for any politician with another
cockamamie scheme for educating our children.
Would any of these schemes help? No, there is no single solution
that will solve the problem. Our schools have a cultural problem, not a teacher
problem, not a lack of funds problem, not a deficiency in testing problem, and not a
parent problem. It is our culture that needs correcting. As a culture, we are a "me"
society. Just how does that affect education you ask?
Me! Me! Me! Everything is for "me". Everyone sees school as
something different. For a lot of parents, school is a place to send the kids during
the daytime. Teachers see school as a job. The kids see school as a place to
socialize that they are forced to go to.
The Teachers: The teachers blame the parents for a lack of interest
in their children. They blame the parents for the lack of discipline that the
children have. Some school districts have even started fining the parents if the
students are tardy.
The Parents: Parents blame the teachers. They claim the teachers do
nothing but worry about attendance, because of the money. They just don't teach. It
is the schools fault.
The Students They don't know what the fuss is about. They have their
MP3 players, cell phones, the latest fashions, and a display on 'My Space'. The only
discipline they will see is if they bring a weapon or get caught with drugs.
Everything else is fair game.
Does this setting look like money is the problem? If you want your
schools to be able to educate your child, then everybody has to quit using the school
for their own purposes. The school is not a baby-sitting service; it is a place for
learning. The children need the parent's guidance and help in negotiating life.
Dumping the kids off at school is not the end of a parent's responsibility for their
education. Teaching is not only a job, but also a vocation that few are suited for.
Traditionally, schoolteachers were not paid very well for this reason. Just as honey
attracts flies, money attracts those who just want to make money instead of being the
dedicated teacher. These teachers bury into the bureaucracy and are hard to ferret
out of the system. Testing limits the opportunities for kids to learn. We have
winnowed our teaching down to just learning the test. Teachers are put under
unnecessary stress to teach the test. Higher test scores unlock the moneybox for the
school.
That brings us back to the politicians. They want better education,
but are limited to what they can achieve. More money into this system is certainly
not the answer. As I said, it's the culture. Until we are willing to change the
culture, not much is going to do anything.
Comment
Here About Our School System, Thanks, Robert
Gross Back
|
Commentary for Tuesday 01/02/2007 The Texans Are Given Short End of Stick
Poor Houston Texans: CBS plays games with their HDTV coverage of NFL
football games. Houston isn't a small market; FOX does quite well by broadcasting
their football games in HDTV. However, CBS is a no show. They refuse to broadcast the
Texans in high definition. The decision from CBS to not give Houstonians the clarity
of HDTV is a royal thumb in the eye to the fans of the Texans.
Could politcs be involved? Trying to reason out why CBS thumbs their
nose at Houston brings up more questions. Could the owner of the Texans be involved
with this decision? I don't know, but it may be a tool to encourage attendance. That
crappy analogue picture is enough to make a person want to go to the game in person.
Or, maybe it is the decision of the sports guys at the network. They may have a
pecking order of sportscasters with only certain ones getting the benefit of
HDTV.
Houston might be the victim of a perceived 'Big Game' Houston would
have to be deemed not worthy even before the season started. I doubt this one because
the schedules are set before the season when the best teams are only guesses. That
leaves CBS as a network. This guess would be that CBS has limited ability to
broadcast in HDTV. Limited ability should not limit Houston to every one of their
games televised in the crappy analogue format. You would think that they could at
least render some of their games in HDTV, especially when they play other large
market teams.
While I'm complaining about television and the NFL, I had to get a
subscription to the Denver Fox station KDVR in order to see the FOX NFL game while
the Texans are being broadcast. What is that? Is somebody worrying that the Texans
can't take the competition? I usually put both games on at the same time, picture in
picture, if the FOX game is interesting.
Try emailing KHOU Here is a link to where they receive and screen
their email, make a comment with your opinion:
www.khou.com/insidekhou/contactus/preemail.html
Comment
Here About Not Getting HDTV for Our Houston Texans, Robert
Gross Back
|
Commentary for Monday 01/01/2007 A Closer Look at New Years
We start anew: Celebrating the new year has been around since the
pre-history days. New years celebration is considered one of the most worldwide
holidays in existence. A look at some of the history of the calendar, and how we
arrived at January 1 as the day we celebrate the new calendar year is
interesting.
The Romans gave us the month of January: The second king of Rome
named Numa Pompilius reworked the original Roman calendar and added the months of
January and February. That older Roman calendar originally had just 10 months,
namely; Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October,
November, and December. That calendar only comprised 304 days, the rest of the year
was 61 days of winter that did not fall within the calendar. The reworked Roman
calendar became; Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September,
October, November, December, Ianuarius, and Februarius.
March was still held the 'New Years Day' of the period. Julius
Caesar changed all of that, because he re-organized the calendar again. He approved
the renaming of the old Quintilis (5th month) to be July after himself. Quintilis was
picked because that was the month he was born. A lot of days corrections were also
made but is out of the scope of this piece to go into. But for those of you who would
like more depth on the subject can go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_calendar
Emperor Augustus also got into the 'name a month' club and renamed
'Sextilis' into August. At the time, August only had 30 days, so not wanting to be
inferior to Caesar, he lengthened it a day to be on par with Caesar's month. It was
at this point that we almost had a calendar we could recognize and was fairly
accurate. Between the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar, there were still
some antics played. Several of the emperors renamed the months, but none stuck. I
urge you to read the history of the calendar, as it is interesting.
Our Present Calendar: We owe what were using today to Pope Gregory.
However, since it was considered a Christian calendar, some countries didn't accept
it until the 20th century. Even today in some countries, the Gregorian calendar is
used only diplomatically and officially. And by the way, it was Julius Caesar who
made January 1 the official day of the New Year. It took a lot of years for January 1
to replace the Vernal Equinox as the New Year.
I wish all of you the happiest of New Years, and hope that this year is
especially better than last.
Comment
Here About the Calendar. Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Sunday 12/31/2006 Saddam Gets His Justice
Tyrant, Caught, Justice: Saddam met his maker this weekend. I doubt
if it was a happy meeting for this would be master of the Middle East.
A Master of Miscalculation: The Iranians, during their Islamic
Revolution, purged most of the military leaders from the Shah's regime. That plus the
fact that the Iranians had American made weapons and some of these needed repair
and/or spare parts, all worked together to give Saddam confidence that he would
prevail against the Iranians. Saddam also expected the invasion of the
Arabic-speaking, oil-rich area of Khouzistan to result in an Arab uprising against
Khomeini's fundamentalist Islamic regime. All were miscalculations on Saddams's
part.
The war Result: The eight year stalemate did not settle the border
dispute with Iran, the U.N. settlement was only a cease fire. Iraq suffered an
estimated 375,000 dead and wounded with 60,000 taken prisoner. The Iranian cost was
also deadly with 300,000 dead and another 500,000 wounded. The Iranian cost was high
because of the human wave attack tactics that they employed.
Other Miscalculations: Kuwait had heavily supported Saddam in his
war with Iran. Saddam owed Kuwait over 14 billion dollars. Although they had several
meetings to try and resolve the debt, there was no resolution. Whenever Saddam tried
to use OPEC to reduce oil output and thus raise oil prices, Kuwait increased its oil
output to hold the price of oil down. Saddam saw this as an act of aggression on part
of Kuwait. His invasion of Kuwait was a gamble on Saddam's part, but he thought that
the United States would not make a determined effort to rescue Kuwait. He was wrong.
Once again, Saddam's recklessness cost thousands of lives.
His flirtation with W.M.D.'s finally did him in. Failure to be
forthright, and renounce his ambitions, he miscalculated again. This time it ended
his tyrannical, murderous, regime. -Good riddance!
Comment
Here About Saddam, thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Friday 12/29/2006 Those Pesky Hanging Chads
2000 Revisited: I just wanted to remind everybody lest they forget
how contentious the presidential election was in 2000. While the left charges that
not all the votes were counted, the image here says it all. This scene was being
repeated all across Florida, with party faithful trying to guess the intention of a
voter. Was this how the Democrats wanted to select their president?
I for one am grateful to the Supreme Court. They put a stop to that
madness. However the Democrat leaders would have no part in calming the waters. They
allowed the notion that George Bush stole the election to keep festering. Most of the
black voters in Florida think they were disenfranchised as voters. All the while the
Democrats were content to not have national unity. Al Gore took being a sore loser to
new heights.
In all of the subsequent recounts, George Bush won Florida, but you
heard no effort from the Democrats to get that message to their faithful. No, instead
they relished in fanning the flames, into an overt hatred of George Bush. Even today,
most Democrats think that the Supreme Court stole the election for George Bush. For
Shame Democrats.
>In a previous column, I chastised the Republicans for lack of
leadership, but that gap is miniscule compared to the Democrats. Because they failed
to present the truth about what happened in 2000, to their constituents, they managed
to create a division in the country that will be hard to mend. I will say to the
Democrats, it wasn't your ideas, nor any vision you possessed that propelled you to
win in November. You won on the back of a cynical effort to destabilize this
country.
As time progresses, you will find that your socialistic ideas are
still rejected by most Americans. You won in November on the cheap. You won because
of the divisions you created among Americans, and on the back of an unpopular war.
This was certainly not a mandate for your socialist ideas.
Comment
Here About The legacy of 2000, thanks, Robert
Gross Back
|
Commentary for Thursday 12/28/2006 Another Look at CO2 and Global Warming
Time to revisit the CO2 Theory? The CO2 engine just keeps on picking
up steam. There are some problems with the evidence about CO2 being the cause of the
minor warming we might be having. The best estimate I have come across is that the
earth's mean temperature has risen 1 degree Celsius in the last century. Well, that
may be true, but don't we also think that during the American Revolution, that the
earth was in a minor cold period? For whatever reason, the environmentalists have put
their sights on CO2.
There are problems with this. First, CO2 only makes up 0.1% of our
atmosphere at the most. The average is somewhat less. Then there is Mars with an
atmosphere of 95% CO2 in the atmosphere. They even have CO2 snow on Mars. If CO2 is
all it takes to create global warming, wouldn't you think that Mars would be 'cozy'
by now? Calculating a mean global temperature is also a problem. Do this exercise;
The NASA website has hundreds of reporting stations around the world. On the link I
am providing, NASA has a world map that is "clickable" so that you can choose any
part of the globe to look at the various mean temperatures at the locations of your
choice. When you make a selection by clicking on the map, you will be given another
screen with a list of the reporting stations in the area you just clicked on. Click
on the station of your choice and the next screen will be a graph that maps out the
temperatures for the years that are at the bottom.
The mean Temps are on the left of the graph. Looking at just one
place isn't going to get you much information. Be sure and look at what is happening
on different parts of the globe for that same year, and you will find, just as I did,
that if there is a warming trend in the northern hemisphere, the opposite is true in
the southern hemisphere. Try it and you will be amazed at the differences in average
temperatures. Here is the link.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/station_data/
CO2 caused global warming is beginning to look like a political
effort to degrade our economy, and our way of life. The evidence just isn't there
when it comes to linking CO2 with global warming. However, bogus laws that interfere
with industry under the guise of preventing global warming can alter our progress as
a nation. It is my belief that if there is a phenomenon that is going to cause the
earth to overheat, then our scientist should get on with non-political research to
discover the cause.
Comment
Here About Global Warming, Thanks, Robert Gross Back
|
Commentary for Wednesday 12/27/2006 Putting Pork Back on the Menu
Wednesday 12/27/2006
Pork modified to contain more polyunsaturated fat reduces total and LDL
cholesterol in women: That's the headline on 'Science Blog'. That is
potentially good news for those of us who have either cut back or quit eating pork
altogether. If these hogs ever go into production, it means that pork can once again
go on the menu. I don't recall if the result included men or not, but the report is
worth a read if you are interested. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2001/A/200110716.html
Pork has been improved to the point it probably should get better
press than in the past. Personally, I still don't eat it though. My experiences are
still vivid and I just can't bring myself to change ingrained eating habits. I can
remember as a youngster, the family would kill hogs every winter for consumption. We
killed, scalded, scraped and cut them up for their delicacies; hams, sausage,
shoulders, chops, cracklins, bacon, jowls and headcheese. The fat we rendered into
lard and placed in large tins. It was popularly said that the only thing not eaten on
the hog was the squeal and the toenails. Toenails are pulled off and discarded to get
the feet for pickling or cured for seasoning. Some of the intestines were cleaned and
put up as chitterlings, and some used as casings for the sausage. The stomach (hog
mauls), lungs (lights), tongue, liver, brains and heart are also preserved for
eating. Truly a wondrous food animal.
The dark side of eating too much pork This commentary is only my
personal recollections, but I assume that they are somewhat typical of most Americans
raised in the 40's and 50's. Our day always started with a good breakfast. Bacon or
sausage with eggs fried in the bacon grease. My mother kept a can on and around the
stove for saving those bacon drippings. Those drippings were used to swab the
biscuits with, for frying, and making piecrusts. To not prolong this piece, suffice
it to say that we had some kind of pork at least once if not twice a day. We didn't
associate our eating habits with what was killing the family. All too often, the
family members in their 50's and 60's were having strokes, and heart attacks. They
either died from them or were left debilitated because of them.
When I found out that I had high cholesterol, and having it
explained to me the source, I put two and two together. Pork was the first thing I
got rid of, changed my diet to include less fried foods and more veggies. My
cholesterol is now in a good range and I aim to keep it there. I will say that I wish
the researchers well in their quest to make pork a healthy food, because there is not
many meats that are as tasty as pork.
Comment
Here Your opinion about eating Pork, Thanks, Robert
Gross Back
|
Commentary for Tuesday 12/26/2006 Christmas is Over
The Aftermath: Ahhh! We have survived another spending frenzy
demonstrating, with our magnanimous gestures, the love we feel for friends and
family. After all it is the American way. Once again, in just this one episodic
event, we have contributed to the employment of millions, made stockholders the world
over happy, helped fill the state and local government coffers, and made our friends
and families feel loved and appreciated. Could there ever be a better holiday?
To those who criticize Christmas as being too commercial, I just
want remind them of the realities of gift giving. It must be remembered that any gift
you purchase to give to someone has to be made. The act of manufacturing the gift is
bread and butter to those that manufacture the gift. It is precisely because you have
the love in your heart to want to give something to somebody that creates the
opportunity for someone to provide the gifts that you purchase. Think about it, the
Christmas Season, in addition to the celebration of our Lord and Savior, is about
love. It is the love we have for one another that makes the Christmas season, not
because it is commercialized. Commercialization does occur, but it would not happen
if not for the love you have for those who are close to you.
Imagine if there was no Christmas. Millions of people would be
unemployed, many businesses would have to close, and you can also kiss the holidays
that you enjoy goodbye. The warmth and joy that we have this time of year would be
gone. Christmas is that one time of the year that we loosen the purse strings a
little and lead with our heart. It contributes so much to the health of our society
that trying to quantify it in terms of dollars and cents falls immeasurably short of
its real value.
Comment
Here About surviving Christmas, Thanks, Robert
Gross Back
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Commentary for Monday 12/25/2006 Merry Christmas
Salvation from God to All of Mankind
Merry Christmas to All
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