Bigotry In America

Bigotry is alive and well in America and it’s bilateral. Today 80% of black South Carolina democratic voters voted for Barack Obama but only 21% of white democratic voters voted for him. Even 79% of black women voted for Barack over Hillary. Other than his color, what is it that black voters see in Obama that is not apparent to white voters? Not much I think. Color is the dominant discriminator in BOTH cases. Is this any way to select the potential future leader of the free world?

All Hail Has Broken Loose

Climatologists predicted that in 2008 Southern California will have one of the hottest and driest winters in many years. However, we’ve have had more rain so far this season then all of last season and well above the average to date. In 23 years living in the Los Angeles area it snowed only once and hailed only 4 times. However, today we got a good sized HAIL STORM lasting almost half an hour. All this convinces me that so-called climatologists are incapable of predicting one year in advance much less 10 to 20 years. Does anyone know what climatologists predicted 20 years ago about the present? They were predicting man made GLOBAL COOLING. As Bill Clinton says: “GIVE ME A BREAK.”

Wii-itis

Wii is now the fasting selling video game because it not only appeals to children but also is a big hit with adults and senior citizens. The Wii games (bowling, tennis, golf, boxing etc. etc.) require the player to use there arms and legs to swing a virtual tennis racket or throw a virtual bowling ball. And therein lies the problem. There is a new ailment out there called Wii-itis. It is caused by overusing your Nintendo Wii video game. Some players (mostly seniors) overuse previously unused/underused muscles leading to pain similar to carpel tunnel syndrome. I played Wii bowling with my grandson Gregory (12 years old). Even though I lost it is a fun, challenging game. I wonder how long before Nintendo gets sued for selling an attractive nuisance and medicare gets swamped with Wii-itis claims!!

Bangladesh Cyclone Deaths

On tonight’s news we learned that a Cyclone in Bangladesh killed 580 people and in 1998 another Cyclone KILLED 158,000 PEOPLE!!! All this death and destruction occurred without the incompetence of a FEMA and incompetent Louisiana and New Orleans government. Just imagine how many more would have died if they had a Ray Nagin as their mayor.

When All Is Said and Done

A while ago I saw the results of a study on the effects of various political parties in power versus the stock market performance. The conclusion was that the stock market has historically gone higher when the Democrats are in power than when the Republicans are in power. However, the stock market has had it’s best historical performance when power is split between the parties for example a Republican President and a Democrat Congress or visa versa. The study concludes that a split government causes gridlock resulting in little new legislation, which is best for the stock market and, presumably, the economy. You may have heard the adage “When all is said and done, more will have been said then done.” A split government results in lots being said but little being done which is ideal for the economy and stock market performance.

Feeding The Soul

I’ve heard that food feeds the body, books feed the mind and music feeds the soul. Tonight our souls are well fed. We attended our fourth live outdoor concert on the Redondo Beach pier. These concerts are held every Saturday and Tuesday nights all summer long for a total of 19 concerts. No two concerts have the same genre and they always include audience dancing. The genre tonight was Zydeco and one of the audience dancers was almost as entertaining as the live music. What a great benefit of Southern California living.

Extremism (what I believe)

One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of extreme is: “exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected” I note lately that it is increasingly difficult to discuss the “ordinary, usual, or expected” without being contradicted by well meaning but misguided people who focus on the extremes. I am as guilty as anyone else. We tend to be the product of our environment that forms our beliefs and our judgments. Some people are influenced by daily newscasts, some by pop culture, some by their personal daily contacts, some are influenced by all or a combination of the above. A case in point is the impression of Muslims. If you watch daily newscasts you see suicide bombers, kidnappings and beheadings by Muslims on a daily basis. It would be reasonable to conclude that Muslims are violent fanatics. If you are exposed to Muslims in the US on a daily basis you see peaceful, gentle, hardworking people. It would be reasonable to conclude that Muslims are peaceful, gentle and hardworking people. I believe both of these views are in the extreme and do not represent the “ordinary, usual, or expected”. I believe that Muslims in the US are not representative of the vast majority of Muslims who happen to reside in countries that are governed by Islamic law. All of these countries are autocracies and most are theocracies. (Note that some of these countries CLAIM to be democracies but they are no more democratic than was soviet Communist Russia in the 60s that also held elections periodically but surprise, surprise, the communists always won.) This is what I believe: 1. I believe the vast majority of Muslims are very religious and feel so strongly about their religion that they are contented to be governed by people of a like mind. 2. As such, they do not crave freedom as we know it (i.e. freedom of religion and speech). 3. They hate (may be too strong a word) the west because we are non-believers and tolerate decadence. 4. I believe that some verses of the Qur'an in their historical and literary context sanction military action against non-believers as a whole. I also believe some verses of the Bible condone the same thing but there are fewer strict Bibelists (new word) than strict Islamists. This is what I believe based on my environment. What do you believe?