Heros

What happened to our heroes? A hero used to be a person who put his or her life on the line to save someone else from death or serious harm. These days, people are called heroes for just being good neighbors, friends, or citizens, and even for just following their doctor's orders. Now a hero is a little girl who reports smoke coming from a neighbor’s house, marines working motor pool at a reserve center who were killed by a terrorist, a dog who wakes its owner to save him from a fire, or someone who finishes treatment for cancer and is cured. 

If these are heroes, what do we call the people who rush into burning houses to save lives, marines who die rushing onto the battlefield to save fallen comrades, or people who defend someone being assaulted? These days, athletes are called heroes because they are good at their sports, doctors are called heroes because they are good at their jobs, and people who are shot while sitting in a church are considered heroes because they died (had they lived they would just be called victims).

You may admire someone who has done something great, or have sympathy for someone who is sick, injured, or has been killed but these things are not heroic. Bring back the true heroes, the people who risk their lives doing heroic things.

Death penalty

There are those who say the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, even though the signers of the constitution believed in and used the death penalty. These same people say that a life sentence is a worse punishment for murderers since they to have sit in their cells and dwell on their crimes for the rest of their lives. So, if life imprisonment is a worse punishment than the death penalty, and if the death penalty is cruel and unusual, then it follows that a life sentence must be more cruel and unusual than the death penalty.

In 1995, Susan Smith received a life sentence for murdering her two small sons. After over 20 years of dwelling on her crime, what are her thoughts on the crime she committed? In a recent letter to reporter Harrison Cahill of The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina Smith wrote,

"It has been hard to listen to lie after lie and not be able to defend myself. It is frustrating to say the least. Mr. Cahill, I am not the monster society thinks I am. I am far from it. Something went very wrong that night. I was not myself. I was a good mother and I loved my boys. The thing that hurts me the most is that people think I hurt my children in order to be with a man. That is so far from the truth. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. I was not in my right mind. The only reason I lied is because I didn't know how to tell the people who loved Michael and Alex that they would never see them again. I didn't want to hurt them. I knew the truth would come out, but I had planned to kill myself first and leave a note behind telling what had happened. I didn't believe I could face my family when the truth was revealed."

So much for her seeing the error of her ways. She is just as repentant as Charles Manson was after 50 years of "contemplating" his crimes. He died in prison without ever repenting for his crimes.

Ethanol

People say we can become energy independent by using ethanol! Where will all this ethanol come from? It will come from corn, a renewable resource. How is this program working so far? Well, the government gives corn growers subsidies to grow more corn. Corn requires water. More and more people are being born and they require water. There is a shortage of water in farming areas. Increasingly, there has been a shortage of rain in farming areas. The farms are short on water and the corn crops are dying. No corn, no ethanol. The result, the government is having to give the corn farmers even more subsidies so they can stay in business. 

Questions, questions, questions

Why are there no calls for diversity on professional sports teams, such as football and basketball teams?

Why are rich CEO's who lead the corporations who make things that you want and use every day, manage medical centers that save your life and keep you healthy, provide you with gasoline so you can go wherever you want to go, etc. considered evil because they are paid a lot of money while those in professional sports, television, movies, music, arts, news media, etc. who are paid just as much money but produce nothing but entertainment are not considered evil?

Why are the billionaire Kock brothers considered evil because they support conservative politicians while billionaires George Soros and Michael Bloomberg who support liberal politicians are not considered evil?

Remember in 2007, the promises of change, no more politics as usual, and government transparency? Remember when Bush was incompetent because he had no exit plan for the war in Afghanistan (which are still fighting 8 years later with no exit plan)? Remember when presidents were presidential and not entertainers?

If women are paid 20% less than men for the same work, why don't companies hire all women and save 20% on labor costs?

Why are criticisms of Obama considered unfounded and racially motivated while criticisms of Ben Carson, Ted Cruze, and Marco Rubio are considered legitimate and not related to race at all?

Why does belief in a vast left wing conspiracy make you a nut case while belief in a vast right wing conspiracy makes you a viable presidential candidate?

Why is it that the current batch of presidential candidates is the best that the citizens of the greatest country in the world can come up with?

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Is that so?

On 17 August 2015, Elwood Robinson, the chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, laid out his 5-year plan to the board of trustees. One of his statements was "Most of our students come from families who earn less than $50,000 a year and are victims of racism and discrimination."

We may assume the family income number is true since it may be verified through the university's student financial records. However, what about the part where he said that MOST of the university's students were victims of racism and discrimination? Are we to assume this to be true because WSSU students are predominately black and everyone knows that MOST blacks are victims of racism and discrimination?

Horrified

Ever notice how politicians are so easily horrified and outraged. If they are  horrified  at a comment made by an opponent, what are they when they when they hear the confession of a mass murderer. If they are outraged by a painting in an art show, what are they when they see a the body of child that has been dismembered by an abortionist. 

Old quacks, new quacks

Remember the old days when people believed a person could read your palm and tell you about your future health. Remember when phrenology, making measurements of the skull, was used to predict certain personality traits. Scientists and other educated people said it was quackery. 

Now "educated" research scientists are saying that a crease in the ear lobe, receding hairlines, length of the fingers, fat in the eyelids, etc. indicate a higher risk for certain diseases.

Next researchers will be telling us that astrology is real.