- The Minnesota Twins announce that they will have a closer-by-committee. Is his name Camel by any chance?
- Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians has the best bat speed in two years. MLB is rumored to be considering testing his bat for steroids but haven't figured out how to get a urine sample.
- Rafael Perez of the Indians is slated to be their set up man. Bets are that he is working hard to set up Tribe fans for a major disappointment.
- MLB has ruled that mop-up relievers cannot take a mop to the mound - they will have to pitch around the mess.
- The Players Association has filed a grievance claiming that teams are discriminating against short pitchers. It has been observed that anyone under 5'10" is automatically designated as a short reliever.
- In another grievance, The Players Association claims that long relievers are overworked.
- The Tea Party has been seen demonstrating against lefty players.
- Opening Day baseball will be replaced by TGFB (Thank God For Baseball) Day! Its a mouthful , but its a long season. Play ball!
3/28/10
Heard Around Baseball's Spring Training Camps
Decisions, Decisions
Just as Fuji The Toyota and I were at peace with the sudden acceleration syndrome, the Japanese automaker announced a new option .Some nitwit at Toyota decided to give a customer who is unhappy with the feel of the accelerator after a car is repaired, the option of replacing the accelerator pedal at no charge
.
Feel of the accelerator? I asked Fuji for the umpteenth time how its accelerator was feeling and the response was, "OK, for the umpteenth time!" I felt the accelerator myself and it felt cold and hard. As far as I know that's what an accelerator is supposed to feel like.
Still, why would Toyota make such an offer? They must know more than they are letting on to. As for Fuji declaring that there is no problem, it is understandable. No one wants to volunteer for surgery. But again what does Toyota know that they don't want me to know. I'm sure they are hoping that Fuj's accelerator feels fine to Fuji and myself.
The problem is now every time I take Fuji out for a drive, I'll be feeling the accelerator and that's worse than texting. In spite of Fuj's reluctance to undergo more surgery perhaps I should declare that the accelerator does not feel fine. On the other hand, if the surgery is truly unnecessary I may end up with an unhappy Fuji and an accelerator that still does not feel fine.
Is there something wrong with Toyota's original accelerator fix? Should I put Fuji through more surgery? Am I insensitive to the feel of an accelerator? Based upon all the bad press , should I just assume that the pedal doesn't feel fine? Decisions,decisions! Fuji isn't going to be of much help in reaching a decision especially since the media is reporting that Americans have switched their preference in autos to Fords. Fuji is in a funk. Maybe the warmer weather will perk Fuji up. In the meantime I'll sleep on the accelerator replacement.
Ed Note: I woke up from my sleep on Fuji's accelerator in a start. I had a nightmare - Fuji might just be a lemon! That's OK, I like lemonade. Maybe the only way I can get a good nights sleep is to replace that damn accelerator pedal - at no cost of course. For sure I'm no longer sleeping on a cold, hard accelerator pedal!
.
Feel of the accelerator? I asked Fuji for the umpteenth time how its accelerator was feeling and the response was, "OK, for the umpteenth time!" I felt the accelerator myself and it felt cold and hard. As far as I know that's what an accelerator is supposed to feel like.
Still, why would Toyota make such an offer? They must know more than they are letting on to. As for Fuji declaring that there is no problem, it is understandable. No one wants to volunteer for surgery. But again what does Toyota know that they don't want me to know. I'm sure they are hoping that Fuj's accelerator feels fine to Fuji and myself.
The problem is now every time I take Fuji out for a drive, I'll be feeling the accelerator and that's worse than texting. In spite of Fuj's reluctance to undergo more surgery perhaps I should declare that the accelerator does not feel fine. On the other hand, if the surgery is truly unnecessary I may end up with an unhappy Fuji and an accelerator that still does not feel fine.
Is there something wrong with Toyota's original accelerator fix? Should I put Fuji through more surgery? Am I insensitive to the feel of an accelerator? Based upon all the bad press , should I just assume that the pedal doesn't feel fine? Decisions,decisions! Fuji isn't going to be of much help in reaching a decision especially since the media is reporting that Americans have switched their preference in autos to Fords. Fuji is in a funk. Maybe the warmer weather will perk Fuji up. In the meantime I'll sleep on the accelerator replacement.
Ed Note: I woke up from my sleep on Fuji's accelerator in a start. I had a nightmare - Fuji might just be a lemon! That's OK, I like lemonade. Maybe the only way I can get a good nights sleep is to replace that damn accelerator pedal - at no cost of course. For sure I'm no longer sleeping on a cold, hard accelerator pedal!
3/25/10
Discovered In China
There is hardly a piece of hardware, an electronic gadget or clothing that does not boast “Made In China”. Soon scientific and technical journals will recount new discoveries labeled “Discovered In China”.
A recent article in the New York Times, “China Drawing High-Tech Research From U.S.” highlights the growing tendency of American corporations, the likes of Applied Materials, Intel and General Motors who already have manufacturing facilities in China, to establish advanced technology research labs there also, thus aiding China to develop a high-tech economy that increasingly competes directly with the United States.
Chinese universities churn out engineers with master’s degrees who can be hired for $730 a month. This is not lost on Western companies, providing a further incentive to do their technology research in China. If that were not enough, many Chinese cities and regions offer the companies subsidies which are becoming increasingly rare at home.
The United States became a power by making things. It became a superpower through its research and development facilities. Our manufacturing facilities are slowly rusting away. How long before our R&D becomes second rate? How long before our supply of scientific and engineering graduates dries up? How long before corporations start moving their headquarters to China? How long before our service economy relegates us to an ex-superpower? How long before we need to start learning Chinese as a second language? Exaggeration? Yes, but I hope that somewhere in our complex bureaucracy someone is trying to come up with ways of preserving our ability to innovate and manufacture. McDonald and Wal-Mart jobs should not be our future.
A recent article in the New York Times, “China Drawing High-Tech Research From U.S.” highlights the growing tendency of American corporations, the likes of Applied Materials, Intel and General Motors who already have manufacturing facilities in China, to establish advanced technology research labs there also, thus aiding China to develop a high-tech economy that increasingly competes directly with the United States.
Chinese universities churn out engineers with master’s degrees who can be hired for $730 a month. This is not lost on Western companies, providing a further incentive to do their technology research in China. If that were not enough, many Chinese cities and regions offer the companies subsidies which are becoming increasingly rare at home.
The United States became a power by making things. It became a superpower through its research and development facilities. Our manufacturing facilities are slowly rusting away. How long before our R&D becomes second rate? How long before our supply of scientific and engineering graduates dries up? How long before corporations start moving their headquarters to China? How long before our service economy relegates us to an ex-superpower? How long before we need to start learning Chinese as a second language? Exaggeration? Yes, but I hope that somewhere in our complex bureaucracy someone is trying to come up with ways of preserving our ability to innovate and manufacture. McDonald and Wal-Mart jobs should not be our future.
3/22/10
I feel better already
The President has not yet signed the Health Care Reform bill but I feel better already. You may not know it, but hidden somewhere in this complex bill is language mandating that we reform our life styles - take my word for it. I'm glad that health care reform is leading me to a healthier life. I'm salivating at the prospect of lowering my health care costs. Can't write much longer, I'm late for my Cardiac Rehab session. In the meantime , bravo Obama and Pelosi!
3/21/10
Does Sudden Stopping Trump Sudden Acceleration ?
It’s been about five weeks since Fuji the Toyota underwent its accelerator implant. Fuji has recovered nicely, thank you. By the way, we received the official recall letter last week . I would guess it arrived about six weeks after all the fuss about sudden acceleration problems. As they say, better late than never.
I talk to Fuji frequently trying to keep its spirits up considering all the bad mouthing going on about Toyota's. Fuji especially enjoyed the conversation we had about “ sudden stopping”.
I once owned a Chevy Corsica in the early ‘90s which had a little problem. The engine would decide to take a breather at the most inopportune times, like when tooling down an interstate at 70mph. If that were happening today, they would call it a sudden stopping problem. There was no recall. The media ignored the problem. The dealer refused to admit there was a problem. The Corsica knew there was a problem.
I’m not sure which is worse, sudden stopping or sudden acceleration. Of course Fuji feels its sudden stopping. To make a long story short, I solved the sudden stopping problem by getting rid of the Corsica in favor of a Volvo. Thus started my streak of buying foreign brands like Honda's, Nissan's and Toyota's. Somewhere in the streak I reverted back to a domestic brand, a Saturn. The Saturn behaved very much like a Japanese car and I liked it a lot. I guess that's why GM dropped the brand.
I know this recall headache will continue for awhile. As I told Fuji, keep up the aspirin regimen - this too shall pass. More importantly, I reminded Fuji that " we have nothing to fear but fear itself".
I talk to Fuji frequently trying to keep its spirits up considering all the bad mouthing going on about Toyota's. Fuji especially enjoyed the conversation we had about “ sudden stopping”.
I once owned a Chevy Corsica in the early ‘90s which had a little problem. The engine would decide to take a breather at the most inopportune times, like when tooling down an interstate at 70mph. If that were happening today, they would call it a sudden stopping problem. There was no recall. The media ignored the problem. The dealer refused to admit there was a problem. The Corsica knew there was a problem.
I’m not sure which is worse, sudden stopping or sudden acceleration. Of course Fuji feels its sudden stopping. To make a long story short, I solved the sudden stopping problem by getting rid of the Corsica in favor of a Volvo. Thus started my streak of buying foreign brands like Honda's, Nissan's and Toyota's. Somewhere in the streak I reverted back to a domestic brand, a Saturn. The Saturn behaved very much like a Japanese car and I liked it a lot. I guess that's why GM dropped the brand.
I know this recall headache will continue for awhile. As I told Fuji, keep up the aspirin regimen - this too shall pass. More importantly, I reminded Fuji that " we have nothing to fear but fear itself".
3/19/10
Stressful Stress Management
As part of my Cardiac Rehabilitation, I attended a session on Stress Management. After listening to the good doctor talk about deep breathing exercises, biofeedback, setting goals communicating, forgiving, on and on, I came to one conclusion - managing stress is too stressful, I'd would much rather cope with it. If you think this is bullshit , I don't really give a damn. Who asked for your opinion anyway! Be calm my heart, the stress will soon go away. If it doesn't, just take several deep breaths and exhale slowly. Better yet, a good, laxative might just do the trick.
3/16/10
One more health care reform suggestion if its not too late
From what I’m told there is a big push on to get some sort of a health care bill through Congress maybe as early as this week. If its not too late , I’d like to see some language put into the bill that all generic drugs must have a user friendly nickname. Considering that the bill hardly resembles the health care reform we were promised, one more provision to drive the drug companies up a wall won’t hurt.
What am I talking about? If you are unfortunate enough or fortunate enough, depending on your problem, to be taking prescription drugs it would be nice to be able to clearly tell a medical provider what you are taking. For instance, suppose you are constantly going to the John because of an enlarged prostate. Solution, take one Flomax a day. Now along comes the insurance company which advises you that if you want your insurance prescription benefit to kick in it will be necessary for you to take one tamsulosin hydrochloride per day. It’s a generic form of Flomax. The problem I have with this switch is that its quite a mouthful. The pills aren’t larger. The name is too long and one that only a trained pharmacist is comfortable with. Why can’t generic Flomax be called something like Maxflo or Controlflo.
There are other examples. Pity the individual who suffers from a gastro-esophageal reflux disease. One Nexium a day provided the relief needed. Now it is strongly suggested that the Nexium should be replaced with one lansoprazole per day. I can hardly type the name , no less pronounce it. Why not call the drug Belchstop.
For those of you who are depressed ( I’m sure this post has worsened your condition), you may have been enjoying the benefits of Paxil. No longer, you need to take paroxetine, a name which would depress anyone at the thought that it was a necessary medication. Wouldn’t Parox do the job?
Fosamax is a foe of osteoporosis. Reportedly it has fought the good battle but if you want to get it paid for by your drug benefits be sure your doctor prescribes alendronate. Again, why not something like Genfosamax or Maxfos? Either one is easier to pronounce and signifies that it can lead the fight against osteoporosis.
I do not want to stir up added debate in Congress over this issue. If its going to give Pelosi and Reid fits, I will not be upset to see my suggestion thrown into the trash. I probably should deal with the FDA anyway.
What am I talking about? If you are unfortunate enough or fortunate enough, depending on your problem, to be taking prescription drugs it would be nice to be able to clearly tell a medical provider what you are taking. For instance, suppose you are constantly going to the John because of an enlarged prostate. Solution, take one Flomax a day. Now along comes the insurance company which advises you that if you want your insurance prescription benefit to kick in it will be necessary for you to take one tamsulosin hydrochloride per day. It’s a generic form of Flomax. The problem I have with this switch is that its quite a mouthful. The pills aren’t larger. The name is too long and one that only a trained pharmacist is comfortable with. Why can’t generic Flomax be called something like Maxflo or Controlflo.
There are other examples. Pity the individual who suffers from a gastro-esophageal reflux disease. One Nexium a day provided the relief needed. Now it is strongly suggested that the Nexium should be replaced with one lansoprazole per day. I can hardly type the name , no less pronounce it. Why not call the drug Belchstop.
For those of you who are depressed ( I’m sure this post has worsened your condition), you may have been enjoying the benefits of Paxil. No longer, you need to take paroxetine, a name which would depress anyone at the thought that it was a necessary medication. Wouldn’t Parox do the job?
Fosamax is a foe of osteoporosis. Reportedly it has fought the good battle but if you want to get it paid for by your drug benefits be sure your doctor prescribes alendronate. Again, why not something like Genfosamax or Maxfos? Either one is easier to pronounce and signifies that it can lead the fight against osteoporosis.
I do not want to stir up added debate in Congress over this issue. If its going to give Pelosi and Reid fits, I will not be upset to see my suggestion thrown into the trash. I probably should deal with the FDA anyway.
3/13/10
Daylight Borrowing Time
Daylight Savings Time enters our lives on March 14. Once again we will go through the ritual of "springing forward" one hour at 2 AM, Sunday, March 14. I'm supposed to be enthusiastic about the prospect of saving daylight but I'm not. For more years than I care to say, I have saved daylight. One would think that I could withdraw some of those savings in the middle of winter and enjoy daylight twenty-four hours a day whenever I liked. Such is not the case. I tried it and found that the account was empty. There is some scientific explanation for this rip off but I prefer to blame it all on Wall Street. Daylight saving is no different than dollar savings. You save and save and then find that some MBA found a way to deinvest your savings.
Actually on March 14 we will be changing our clocks to "Daylight Borrowing Time". That's right, come Fall I must return my daylight savings and a receipt will not be required. That being the case, why should I bother to save. Better that I sleep through 2AM, Sunday March 14.
Actually on March 14 we will be changing our clocks to "Daylight Borrowing Time". That's right, come Fall I must return my daylight savings and a receipt will not be required. That being the case, why should I bother to save. Better that I sleep through 2AM, Sunday March 14.
3/12/10
I came, I saw, I got the finger!
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement regretting the timing of the 
announcement that still more Jewish housing was to go up in Jerusalem . He couldn't’t leave it at that. He had to indicate that he agreed with the substance of the announcement, thus effectively giving Vice-President Joe Biden the finger.
announcement that still more Jewish housing was to go up in Jerusalem . He couldn't’t leave it at that. He had to indicate that he agreed with the substance of the announcement, thus effectively giving Vice-President Joe Biden the finger.So where does our push for peace between the Israeli’s and Palestinians go from here. Not very far. As I pointed out in my 7'28'08 post “ Joined At The Hip”, until the United States tempers its unqualified support of Israel there will be no peace in the Middle East. Israel has a right to exist but the Palestinians also have a right to a homeland. In return for our support The United States must insist ,not request, that Israel make meaningful concessions to the Palestinians. No administration to date has been willing to go that far. Perhaps a little finger probing will do the job.
3/8/10
Blogging Is Not For Sissies
While staring at my computer monitor, wondering if there was a blog post hiding there somewhere, I succumbed to a little web surfing. Sure enough there was a blog post hiding among all the pixels. I brushed the pixels around and there it was , an article in the Christian Science monitor which posed the question “ Has blogging peaked”? Obviously this was a must read article since I’ve wondered the same thing about my own personal blogging.
The article points out that “the demands of blogging have pushed many to abandon the form for faster, simpler word bursts on Twitter or Facebook". No surprise there, even TV network newscasts keep reminding you that they are on Twitter and would like you as a friend and it seems that you are anti-social if you are not on Facebook. After all you might even connect with someone you knew fifty years ago ( wonder why you have not maintained the friendship?). It turns out most of the blogger dropouts are the young bloggers or should I say texters. Again, no surprise. Faster, simpler word bursts or FSWB is the way to go for our young people.
Without my quoting the whole article ( I’m sure you will access it once your done with your tweets and have looked up your ancient prom date) , suffice to say that a key point that it makes is that good blogging is intensive. You can’t just blurt anything out, you have to think it through. And that is the post that was hiding in my computer monitor.
If my delete button could talk it would ramble on about all the posts I have deleted after concluding that they were posts for posts sake. My constantly changing the header of my blog and the title of my blog are evidence of doing something trivial instead of concentrating on coming up with a quality post.
I’m not alone in wrestling with the intensity of good blogging. A number of blogs I have followed are now in Blog Limbo ( as far as I know the Catholic Church has not heard about this, so let's keep it strictly in the blogosphere). Others are in Blog Purgatory, their owners constantly searching for a platform. Unfortunately some blogs I have visited have perished in Blog Hell. On the positive side, there are blogs I visit whose owners publish quality posts day after day. I realize that this paragraph would be much more interesting if I listed blogs that I visit regularly along with their links and a classification of Blog Limbo, Blog Purgatory, Blog Hell or Blog Heaven but I’m too chicken to do that. Besides ,all the blogs that I follow are great. Why else would I visit them?
Back to my blog. I’m not about to give up. At times my posts may resemble “tweets” and I may wax sentimental about some event or person in my past but I’m not ready for Twitter or Facebook. Life has moved on fast enough, I’m not looking for faster ways of communicating. Besides I’m not one of those bloggers trying to communicate with a vast audience. I’m just blogging for blogging’s sake. Its an ego trip. That’s my post for today. I have thought it through and deemed it worthy of publishing. By the way did I mention that blogging is not for sissies!
The article points out that “the demands of blogging have pushed many to abandon the form for faster, simpler word bursts on Twitter or Facebook". No surprise there, even TV network newscasts keep reminding you that they are on Twitter and would like you as a friend and it seems that you are anti-social if you are not on Facebook. After all you might even connect with someone you knew fifty years ago ( wonder why you have not maintained the friendship?). It turns out most of the blogger dropouts are the young bloggers or should I say texters. Again, no surprise. Faster, simpler word bursts or FSWB is the way to go for our young people.
Without my quoting the whole article ( I’m sure you will access it once your done with your tweets and have looked up your ancient prom date) , suffice to say that a key point that it makes is that good blogging is intensive. You can’t just blurt anything out, you have to think it through. And that is the post that was hiding in my computer monitor.
If my delete button could talk it would ramble on about all the posts I have deleted after concluding that they were posts for posts sake. My constantly changing the header of my blog and the title of my blog are evidence of doing something trivial instead of concentrating on coming up with a quality post.
I’m not alone in wrestling with the intensity of good blogging. A number of blogs I have followed are now in Blog Limbo ( as far as I know the Catholic Church has not heard about this, so let's keep it strictly in the blogosphere). Others are in Blog Purgatory, their owners constantly searching for a platform. Unfortunately some blogs I have visited have perished in Blog Hell. On the positive side, there are blogs I visit whose owners publish quality posts day after day. I realize that this paragraph would be much more interesting if I listed blogs that I visit regularly along with their links and a classification of Blog Limbo, Blog Purgatory, Blog Hell or Blog Heaven but I’m too chicken to do that. Besides ,all the blogs that I follow are great. Why else would I visit them?
Back to my blog. I’m not about to give up. At times my posts may resemble “tweets” and I may wax sentimental about some event or person in my past but I’m not ready for Twitter or Facebook. Life has moved on fast enough, I’m not looking for faster ways of communicating. Besides I’m not one of those bloggers trying to communicate with a vast audience. I’m just blogging for blogging’s sake. Its an ego trip. That’s my post for today. I have thought it through and deemed it worthy of publishing. By the way did I mention that blogging is not for sissies!
3/7/10
An arm and a leg
It’s not unusual these days for the citizenry to get up in arms and arrange for a tea party at the very thought of a tax increase but they tend to forget that it costs an arm and a leg to run a government that is responsive to their needs. In return for that arm and a leg , we expect government to get its act together and get its arms around the problem. Once that is done and the government starts lending a hand, we must be willing to pay the piper. Borrowing body parts is not cheap.
If it starts costing us two arms and a leg, it will be time to ask for a prosthetic. If it gets to two arms and two legs, it will be time to ask for a scooter ( made in China), free of charge of course. Perhaps after a modest deductible.
If it starts costing us two arms and a leg, it will be time to ask for a prosthetic. If it gets to two arms and two legs, it will be time to ask for a scooter ( made in China), free of charge of course. Perhaps after a modest deductible.
3/3/10
Its not the guns, its the criminals?
A potentially groundbreaking gun-rights case came before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. Once again the gun control debate makes the front pages.
In almost any gun control debate the argument is made “Its not the guns, its the criminals! A gun cannot think or act on its own“. That settles the debate. It would be foolish if not insane to challenge that statement. One has no choice but to agree that criminals are the culprits when it comes to thefts and murders. That inanimate instrument of terror called a gun is merely being misused by some low life or mentally challenged individual. If we go through the trouble to deprive the criminal of that gun or at least make it very difficult for him to possess a gun, he will only resort to the use of some other instrument of terror such as a knife, an ax or even his fists. It goes without saying that if someone is bent on killing, he will kill. End of debate!
Not so fast. I submit that we cannot acquit the gun whenever blood is shed on the streets Yes, guns cannot think or act on their own but with a little help these dumb instruments of destruction can wreak havoc. Ask any gun and they would tell you that if they had a brain in their chamber they would never allow a criminal to discharge them. Ask a criminal what his weapon of choice is and the odds are that it is a stupid gun that cannot think or act on its own. In the hands of a ventriloquist even a dummy can talk and in the hands of a human , guns will kill. Just as we pass laws in an attempt to thwart criminals we are entitled to pass laws controlling guns. The guns are guilty by association and are not entitled to a free pass because they cannot think or act on their own.
In any gun control debate the wisdom of our Founding Fathers is also invoked. I came across this comment that someone posted in connection with a news article concerning gun control:
“So let me get this straight, our current political class is wiser than our Founders? The Founders predicted and foresaw all the problems we face as a society and we would prudent to heed their great wisdom.”
The gentleman was implying that our Founders in their profound vision had the social problems of today in mind when they crafted the Second Amendment. Beyond thinking of a militia which could rise up to defend the country, I doubt that the Founders had anything more in mind. Still gun owners and the NRA would have us believe that what they had in mind is that you and I not only have the right to arm ourselves for "sport" but we have the right to bear arms in order to defend ourselves against those whom we feel threaten us.
We tend to lay a lot at the doorstep of our Founding Fathers. Granted, they did a remarkable job in launching a new nation which would eventually be the most powerful in the world. On the other hand, to credit them with predicting all the problems we face as a society along with rights to surmount them is tantamount to deifying them. Credit them with the great wisdom reflected in dealing with the problems of their era. If we could bring them back to deal with the problems of today, I venture to say that they would not deal with them anymore effectively than today’s leaders. I doubt that they ever foresaw the diverse society which exists in America today. Our Founders were mere mortals with strengths and weaknesses. They deserve adulation but we need not worship them.
The gun control debate will go on and on. Crime statistics will keep climbing. We all will feel threatened and our streets will resemble the streets of Dodge City. Unfortunately there is no Wyatt Earp in site. In their infinite wisdom is this what our Founders foresaw?
( Were the Founders carrying as they deliberated on the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of The United States?)
In almost any gun control debate the argument is made “Its not the guns, its the criminals! A gun cannot think or act on its own“. That settles the debate. It would be foolish if not insane to challenge that statement. One has no choice but to agree that criminals are the culprits when it comes to thefts and murders. That inanimate instrument of terror called a gun is merely being misused by some low life or mentally challenged individual. If we go through the trouble to deprive the criminal of that gun or at least make it very difficult for him to possess a gun, he will only resort to the use of some other instrument of terror such as a knife, an ax or even his fists. It goes without saying that if someone is bent on killing, he will kill. End of debate!
Not so fast. I submit that we cannot acquit the gun whenever blood is shed on the streets Yes, guns cannot think or act on their own but with a little help these dumb instruments of destruction can wreak havoc. Ask any gun and they would tell you that if they had a brain in their chamber they would never allow a criminal to discharge them. Ask a criminal what his weapon of choice is and the odds are that it is a stupid gun that cannot think or act on its own. In the hands of a ventriloquist even a dummy can talk and in the hands of a human , guns will kill. Just as we pass laws in an attempt to thwart criminals we are entitled to pass laws controlling guns. The guns are guilty by association and are not entitled to a free pass because they cannot think or act on their own.
In any gun control debate the wisdom of our Founding Fathers is also invoked. I came across this comment that someone posted in connection with a news article concerning gun control:
“So let me get this straight, our current political class is wiser than our Founders? The Founders predicted and foresaw all the problems we face as a society and we would prudent to heed their great wisdom.”
The gentleman was implying that our Founders in their profound vision had the social problems of today in mind when they crafted the Second Amendment. Beyond thinking of a militia which could rise up to defend the country, I doubt that the Founders had anything more in mind. Still gun owners and the NRA would have us believe that what they had in mind is that you and I not only have the right to arm ourselves for "sport" but we have the right to bear arms in order to defend ourselves against those whom we feel threaten us.
We tend to lay a lot at the doorstep of our Founding Fathers. Granted, they did a remarkable job in launching a new nation which would eventually be the most powerful in the world. On the other hand, to credit them with predicting all the problems we face as a society along with rights to surmount them is tantamount to deifying them. Credit them with the great wisdom reflected in dealing with the problems of their era. If we could bring them back to deal with the problems of today, I venture to say that they would not deal with them anymore effectively than today’s leaders. I doubt that they ever foresaw the diverse society which exists in America today. Our Founders were mere mortals with strengths and weaknesses. They deserve adulation but we need not worship them.
The gun control debate will go on and on. Crime statistics will keep climbing. We all will feel threatened and our streets will resemble the streets of Dodge City. Unfortunately there is no Wyatt Earp in site. In their infinite wisdom is this what our Founders foresaw?
( Were the Founders carrying as they deliberated on the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of The United States?)
3/2/10
Health Care 101
Several months ago, when there was still a faint hope for effective health care reform, I read T.R. Reid’s, “ The Healing of America”. In Reid’s book he details how other developed countries such as France, Germany, Japan, Canada and The United Kingdom provide universal health care, the results of which have a better outcome at a lower cost than health care in the United States. All developed countries except the United States consider health care for all a right. This is emphasized in Japan where their revered elderly even have the right of house calls. Not -for -profit health insurance companies which are not beholden to stockholders, well paid salaried doctors and nurses, low prescription costs through negotiated drug prices all contribute to making low cost health care available for all. The book is recommended reading if one is to better understand the ramifications of doing little or nothing to contain health care costs in this country. All those grey heads indulging in “tea parties” will find themselves hurting bad if our legislators don’t come up with health care reform.
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