It isn't just the donors going elsewhere

Much is being made of the supposition that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won't be making a third attempt to become President in 2016 being caused by the fact his prior campaign contributors weren't clamoring to board his election train.  There is some truth to this, but other factors came into play.

One of them is the fact that he doesn't have a clear message that the undecided electorate will warm to.  Another is that no matter who the Democratic nominee is, were Romney to be the Repubican nominee; this would be used for campaign commercials:

Technically, Governor Romney was correct.  But that doesn't mean those people don't pay any taxes.  They pay FICA and Medicare taxes if they are working.  They pay federal excise taxes on gasoline and their telephone service.  They contribute to the economy, even if some of what they spend comes to them from the federal government.

Mitt Romney was wise to stay away from the race for the Republican nomination.  He might have had a better chance of winning than Sarah Palin would, but that is not saying much.

* * *

I did not know there was a Dear Abby type who answers financial questions, but there is.  The column that led me to learn this fact was from a man who inherited his father's entire estate.  The will his father left deliberately disinherited his other two children.  There were serious rifts between the deceased father and his two other children.  Now he's considering whether or not to share the estate with him.  The sister has made it clear that if he doesn't, she will cut ties with him.

The advice columnist said the best thing to do would be to share the estate.  I disagree.  Why?  Because I don't like ultimatums.  I loathe them.  Back in January of 1989 I was living with my girlfriend (future ex-wife #2) in an apartment that my stepsister called home.  One Saturday night she was lording it over us that it was her apartment and that if she wanted, she could kick us out.  So we'd better do what she wanted.

I went out the next morning and rented an apartment 11 miles away.  Don't try to force me to do something, even if it is in my best interest.  I guess I'm perverse that way.

I think this guy should go back to his sister and tell her that if she's going to maintain the position that if he doesn't share with her, she will never speak to him again.  Give her a chance to pull the ultimatum back.  If she won't, he should tell her she'll never see a dime for the sole reason that she demanded something he would have given her; had she been nice about it.

* * *

I'm kind of angry at myself.  The "limb-preservation" specialist I saw on Wednesday wrapped my leg with some "special" bandages. The instructions were to keep them dry and go back next week for a reevaluation.  Here it is Saturday afternoon and I've already had to remove the bandages. 

I had obtained two big trashcan liners for the purpose of wrapping the bandages to keep them dry. They worked quite well.  So I told the housekeeper not to dispose of them.  Naturally, she did.  I tried multiple re-usable grocery bags, but they leaked.  Now I do not have the bandages in place and they did a great job of encouraging healing and reducing the pain.

Next time I'm going to buy my own box of trash can liners, so I won't go through this again.  Live and learn.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

The only reason that the story of Bobby Kristina Brown isn't the top story on CNN right now is that ISIS has apparently beheaded another hostage.

A mosque in Downtown Los Angeles for women only?  Wonder what ISIS thinks about that?

Suge Knight doesn't need a personal assistant, he needs a personal criminal attorney at his side 24/7.

When Mark in the Mornings debuts next week on 100.3 The Sound, I'll be listening.  Hey, I was Mark and Brian listener #11 when they first came to Los Angeles.  It won't be the same without both of them, but it will still outshine anything else on FM in the mornings.

After reading about an auction of 1,000 items of Disney memorabilia, expected to bring over $1 million, I'm wondering if the old, unused E-tickets I have are worth anything.

Everyone who writes and has dreams of their work becoming a Hollywood movie needs to learn about the lawsuit filed by Tess Gerritsen against Warner Brothers.  I hope she prevails, based on her telling of the events.

Sly Stone may never see the $5 million he was awarded by a jury, but hopefully the $2 to $3 million the court already controls will be in his hands soon.

I knew that Miss Beverly Hills had suffered a wardrobe malfunction during the swimsuit round of the Miss California pageant, but I did not know there is an actress who renamed herself Beverly Hills.  I wonder if she was best friends with Holly Wood or Ana Heim?

Reading about the children of the late Casey Kasem demanding an investigation into possible elder abuse of their father at the hands of his wife Jean Kasem, I was reminded of this particular meltdown of his:

And of course, that reminded me of one of my favorite meltdowns of all time, instigated by a question from an old co-worker of mine, Paul Olden:

They didn't know

As they disembarked from the trains that had carried them to this place some 37 miles to the West of Krakow, the passengers didn't know that many of them had only half-an-hour to live.  They were taken from the trains, forced to march into rooms where they were stripped of their clothing and all their valuables.  They were then told they were going to the showers, ostensibly to be disinfected.

But the showers didn't dispense water.  Instead they filled the locked rooms with Zyklon B, a pesticide containing hydrogen cyanide.  The victims struggled greatly for a few seconds, trying desperately to breathe and failing.  Death came rapidly, after that brief period of intense suffering.

Such was the end of life for many of those who were taken to the concentration camp at Auschwitz.  Today marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which was done by the Soviet Union's Red Army.  No, President Obama's great-uncle wasn't in the Red Army, he was present at the liberation of Buchenwald.

Auschwitz was actually a number of camps and not all were in the business of exterminating their prisoners.  Monowitz was a slave labor camp, designed to provide prisoners to work at a factory owned and run by I. G. Farben, who manufactured Buna (a synthetic rubber) there.  There's no point in delving much further into the details of Auschwitz.

But since we will almost certainly lose the few people still alive who survived their time in that horrific place, we must continue to mark these anniversaries.  We must prevent this type of genocide from happening again on this planet.

* * *

Fee for service is a simple healthcare model.  Providers are paid fees for their services.  This is the model in use by Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) health plans.  HMOs are a different model entirely.  The HMO provides all medical care required by the person they are providing coverage to, with only nominal co-payments.

Then there is the capitation plan.  Under this type of plan an insurance carrier will pay a Primary Care Physician a flat fee for each person that chooses him or her as his PCP.  The monthly fee doesn't change based on the amount of care provided by the PCP.  So healthy patients cost less and the rest drive costs up.

The concept is based on the idea that if there is an incentive for the PCP to keep the cost of care low, they will do so.  The question is, does this provide a reason for "less" healthcare to be provided.  I'm not sure of the answer.

PPO plans can provide the same cost reductions, or at least close to the same level of savings, through reviewing for medical necessity.  If your doctor wants to give you an expensive test, all they have to do is justify the need for the test through submission of paperwork and copies of medical records.  It is true that this type of review system is less than perfect, and because of the litigious nature of our society, some doctors will err on the side of caution in ordering more tests than may be needed; in order to reduce their potential legal exposure.

As long as we are going to provide emergency treatment to anyone in this nation without regard to whether or not they have insurance and/or the ability to pay for care (and we need to keep dong that), then we need a solution to our healthcare mess.  Obamacare is an imperfect execution of the right idea.  Let's fix the execution and follow the lead of the rest of the world.  Healthcare SHOULD be a right.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

No matter how angry you are at the Franchise Tax Board, sending them a box of dog feces is a really dumb idea.  Worthy of a momentary chuckle, but not worth the backlash that is going to hit the person who did this.

I wonder if Tom Cruise ever licked the floors or the toilets at the Sea Org base during his stays there.

I will continue to go and see the annual WrestleMania but there's no chance I'll ever subscribe to the WWE Network.  Not unless they're going to pay me to watch.

Some actor has been arrested for installing hidden cameras in a condo he owns and rents out.  Will a picture be worth 1,000 days in Jail?

Maybe the feature of the Waze app that allows the public to know where police officers are operating isn't such a great idea.

The only people who really care if Bruce Jenner is going to transition from male to female are his ex-wife Kris, and a few nervous LPGA golfers worried that Bruce might join their tour.

Digital footprints will never replace tombstones and cemeteries but the comfort of a friend's FB page seems less comforting than visiting the site where they are "at rest."

Joel Gray decided to come out which takes guts.  Then again, we know he's a brave man, having been willing to take on the role of "Chiun" in "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins."  Fortunately for all involved, the adventure began and ended with this film disaster.

I'm glad Sly Stone will be made financially whole through the outcome of a lawsuit, but I must admit being surprised at the decision.  I would never have thought the Jerry Goldstein I knew would screw over a client to that extent.

Take the money and run...er keep it

Two professional poker players were driving through Iowa after playing in a World Series of Poker event in Joliet, IL.  They had just over $100,000 (their bankroll for playing poker) in the car.  They were stopped, allegedly for failing to signal before passing another vehicle.  During the stop, the Iowa police officers learned of the cash and they seized it.  Seems like a no-brainer.  Prove you aren't a drug dealer and you should get your money back.

That's not how it worked out.  Iowa wanted to keep the money and eventually struck a deal where they returned $90,000 and kept the other $10,000.  The duo had to fork over a third of that $90K to their lawyers and were out over $40,000.  Now they are suing.

Several phrases come to mind.  Due process.  Illegal search.  The cop claimed to have stopped the car because of failure to signal but the police dashboard camera proves that is untrue.  The driver did use his turn signal before passing.

The upshot is that CNN is reporting there is a company operated by a former CA Highway Patrol officer that teaches police officers how to be more successful in seizing and keeping money.  Police departments pay big money for this training, which supposedly pays for itself as the amounts they take from the people grow.

This is just wrong.

* * *

The Super Bowl (and the NFL) by the numbers:

Over 700,000 and 72

$50 million

2nd highest

Over $4,000 and 23%

Roughly 10%

9 million

$4.5 million
 
There are more than 700,000 footballs made for the NFL each season.  There will be 72 footballs used in the Super Bowl.  72 game balls.

$50 million is the amount spent on food to be consumed while people watch the Super Bowl at home, over and above normal food purchases.

On Super Bowl Sunday, people in the U. S. eat more food on that day than any other day of the year, with the sole exception of Thanksgiving.  2nd most.

The average price of a ticket to this year's Super Bowl is over $4,000 which is a 23% increase over last year's average.

Roughly 10% of the people who attend the Super Bowl will claim it as a business expense.

Domino's Pizza estimates it will sell and deliver 9 million more slices of pizza on Super Bowl Sunday than on an average day.

$4.5 million is the price of one 30 second commercial during the actual Super Bowl game.

What does all this means?  It means that the Super Bowl is a major economic engine.  There is lots of money at stake at all levels.  The NFL is all about putting money into the pockets of its owners.  And of course, its commissioner, Roger Goodell.  In the five year period that ended this past September, Commissioner Goodell earned $105 million in compensation.  That's over $20 million per year on average.  On the NFL's 2013 not-for-profit tax return, Roger Goodell earned over $44 million.  There was another $19 million spent on compensation for five other high level NFL executives.

So why in the world is the NFL itself a not-for-profit entity?  The NBA isn't.  Major League Baseball was, but gave up its 501(c)(6) status in 2007.  There are multi-million dollar salaries at the highest levels of the NHL and PGA and their status is also questionable.  The NCAA manages to operate while paying only two of its most highly compensated executives compensation of less than $2 million a year each.  No other NCAA employee earns more than $1 million a year.  Before you go talking about players in pro sports and coaches at the college levels, they aren't employed by the not-for-profits. 

The owners of the NFL's teams make a fortune.  The NFL itself made a net profit (referred to as a "surplus" in not-for-profit accounting) of more than $8 million last year.  I don't have all the data to see if they are plus or minus for their history as a not-for-profit, but I suspect they are in the "black".  So why don't they pay taxes? 

Lobbying.  The popularity of the league.  You tell me.

* * *

Lance Armstrong says he would dope again, but his answer requires listening to the whole answer.  "If I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't do it again, because I don't think you have to. If you take me back to 1995, when it was completely and totally pervasive, I'd probably do it again. People don't like to hear that." 

My thoughts on this quote from Mr. Armstrong harken back to a blog I wrote about 18 months ago.  http://fourohfouram.blogspot.com/2013/07/were-rules-made-to-be-broken.html talks about the path of professional bowler Don McCune from also-ran to champion because he found a way to change the equation through chemistry.  He made his bowling ball softer by soaking it in a solvent.  Within weeks after he began to win tournaments, 22 of the 24 semifinalists were doing the exact same thing.

Mr. Armstrong's rationalization is that if everyone else is doing it, you can't be competitive without doing what they do.  The rules for a competition are made clear before hand.  If you can't compete within those rules, cheating may provide a temporary way to win.  But in the end you end up losing a lot more than your victories give you.  It isn't really cheating if there isn't a rule against what you're doing.  But once that rule is in place, just follow it.
* * *

Random Ponderings:

I love dogs but I don't get the fascination with the upcoming 11th annual Puppy Bowl

The allegation that an African-American student at Yale was held at gunpoint by campus police is very disturbing.  The university has not yet addressed whether or not the police did draw their weapons.  If they did, they should be disciplined.

There was a news headline today about a drone being found at the White House.  I'm wondering how many late-night talk show hosts will turn this into a joke about Vice-President Joe Biden.

A French judge won't let parents name their daughter Nutella.  She will be Ella instead.  Made me wonder how Adolf Hitler Campbell, who was taken from his Nazi parents nearly two years ago.  He was six at the time and already threatening to kill people.

If you get bored today, search for a photo of Rashida Jones at the SAG Awards and try to interpret the Rorschach patterns on her dress.

If, and I repeat, if; the doctors took photos of themselves with Joan Rivers lying sedated on the operating table, they deserve to be severely disciplined by the medical authorities.  I hope Meslissa Rivers prevails in her lawsuit.

When a pageant contestant's bikini top comes off during the swimsuit competition does it improve or hamper her chances of winning?  Miss Beverly Hills had that happen to her at the Miss California competition and she only finished 4th runner-up.

If Bob Uecker and Donald Trump belong in the WWE Hall of Fame, so does the Gubinator.

Can Johnny Depp deliver box office gold in anything other than yet another Pirates of the Caribbean sequel?

I confess....well, I guess I've already confessed

I have written before in this blog about the fact that I actually pay a small fee annually to watch the annual offering of WrestleMania from the WWE.  Truthfully, it makes no sense to call it the WWE since the acronym now stands for World Wrestling Entertainment so there is no need to call it "the."  But I digress.

WrestleMania 31 is scheduled for March 29th of this year and I will take off from work an hour or so early in order to drive to the venue for the annual viewing.  Someone recently asked me why I watch wrestling when I know the matches are completely scripted, the outcome decided by writers who must follow the storylines created and closely watched by the McMahon family.  Anyone who thinks Vincent Kennedy McMahon isn't firmly in control is mistaken.

I'd love to poll the fans who paid high prices for tickets to see a live WWE event if they are aware everything they will see is scripted.  I'm convinced some of them think wrestling is a real competition.  In a way it is, but not as some might think.  The competition isn't in the "matches" we see on television or in the arenas.  It is between the so-called "superstars" as they try to move up the ladder to get into the main events.  To be part of the story when it comes to the "championships."

Considering that the venture of the WWE in creating its own "network" has been such a resounding flop that it caused Mr. McMahon to fall from the ranks of billionaires back into the more ordinary multi-millionaire ranks, it might be more interesting to look at the story in the boardroom rather than in the squared circle.

* * *

Until now I've always felt it was wrong for a baker to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.  Now I'm being forced to reconsider that belief because of something that happened in Denver.  A customer asked a baker to write anti-gay messages on two cakes shaped like Bibles.  The client also wanted a visual representation of a male same-sex couple holding hands with a big red X drawn over it.

I've tossed this around in my mind and I can't come up with a reason why the baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding is doing anything differently than the person who refuses to make the cakes described above. 

Either we have the right to refuse service to anyone or we don't.  Either we have the right to discriminate or we don't.  Since we should not have the right to discriminate as set forth in our civil rights laws, we have a problem.

One possible solution is that we allow bakers and other businesses the right to refuse to provide their products or services when doing so is promulgating "hate" speech.  What do you think?

* * *

Random ponderings:

Michael Moore didn't mention "American Sniper" in his comments about how snipers are cowards.  Seth Rogen's criticism of the movie was more direct, but still nowhere near what Bill Maher said when he labeled Chris Kyle as a "psychopath patriot."  All three of them should be grateful they will never be called upon to defend our nation.  I'm certainly grateful they won't be responsible for defending me.  Colonel Nathan R. Jessup, Commander Ground Forces Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has a message for all three.

I'm actually grateful that Donald Trump continues to float trial balloons about running for the presidency.  The notion of him having even a snowball's chance in hell of ever gaining the nomination of a major party is almost as funny as the "campaigns" of the late Pat Paulsen. 

Considering that Sarah Palin couldn't get elected dog catcher unless only her family was allowed to vote in the election, her chances of being considered a serious candidate died long ago.

If Mitt Romney does run for president in 2016, his slogan should be "I am "green," as evidenced by my relief in recycling failed political campaigns."

John Wayne's son Patrick had to deal with cops after he and his much younger wife got into an argument over a car he had purchased for her.  Apparently, while they're breaking up, he bought her a C class Mercedes and she felt she deserved at least an E class version.  Since footage of his acting in "The Green Berets" isn't easily available, here is one of his finest performances.

When you live in a community property state and you haven't hit it big before you marry, why have a prenuptial agreement?  The income earned during the marriage is community property.

If Robert Redford can't find a distributor for a film at Sundance, the film festival he co-founded, maybe he should just bankroll distribution himself.  He has the money.  I guess I should be grateful he didn't create a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money for distribution.  If you're an artist and you have the resources already, don't ask others to finance your projects.

I just discovered a much better open letter to Michael Moore than the one I posted recently, so I'll share it:  http://www.westernjournalism.com/green-beret-sniper-pens-scathing-open-letter-michael-moore/  This is the same guy who took Gwyneth Paltrow to task for comparing cyber-bullying to war.

Some open letters

An open letter to California's Attorney General Kamala Harris:

Dear Ms Harris,

Among the Democratic candidates and potential candidates to replace Senator Barbara Boxer in the 2016 election, you are clearly the best choice.  I don't consider the Republican candidates who may run in this race because the only way a California Republican could be elected to the United States Senate would be to move to another state and run there.

You are about to make a decision that will probably be used against you in the upcoming campaign, no matter which of the two choices you take.  You will decide if Prime Healthcare will be allowed to purchase six hospitals operated by the Daughters of Charity.  The commercials supporting this sale continue to run on radio.  I've already made my own thoughts on this issue clear (http://fourohfouram.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-are-you.html) and there is no need to revisit the reasons I am opposed to this sale.

What is important is that if you make the right choice and say no, one of your opponents will undoubtedly run negative ads talking about how you deprived a geographic area of hospital care.  That may be accurate if those hospitals really are forced to close, but the alternative of Prime Healthcare operating them is no better.  Daughters of Charity are first and foremost concerned with their patients and employees.  Those two groups are 2nd and 3rd in line in Prime's priorities, as making money is their primary interest (pun intended).

If you approve the sale, many will criticize you for allowing the people of this area to be gouged and treated poorly by Prime's business model.  It seems like a no-win situation.  That is why when you do turn down the application, you should make it clear that in analyzing the situation; the people impacted by your decision are better served with no hospitals than they would be by Prime hospitals.  Cicero said "the welfare of the people is the highest law" and that should be the determining factor in this decision.  I hope you make that the centerpiece of your decision.

Good luck in 2016

* * *

An open letter to Michael Moore:

I don't want to be accused of criticizing statements you've made by taking them out of context.  So here are your exact words:

"Lots of talk about snipers this weekend (the holiday weekend of a great man, killed by a sniper), so I thought I'd weigh in with what I was raised to believe about snipers. My dad was in the First Marine Division in the South Pacific in World War II. His brother, my uncle, Lawrence Moore, was an Army paratrooper and was killed by a Japanese sniper 70 years ago next month. My dad always said, "Snipers are cowards. They don't believe in a fair fight. Like someone coming up from behind you and coldcocking you. Just isn't right. It's cowardly to shoot a person in the back. Only a coward will shoot someone who can't shoot back."
So I sent out this tweet today:
https://twitter.com/mmflint/status/556914094406926336
And then I sent this:
https://twitter.com/mmflint/status/556988226486169600
But Deadline Hollwood and the Hollywood Reporter turned that into stories about how I don't like Clint Eastwood's new film, "American Sniper." I didn't say a word about "American Sniper" in my tweets.
But here's what Deadline Hollywood posted (note how they changed "snipers" to "shooters" in their headline):
http://deadline.com/…/michael-moore-american-sniper-oscars…/
Hollywood Reporter has since corrected their story:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/…/michael-moore-blasts-ame…
If they wanted to know my opinion of "American Sniper" (and I have one), why not ask me?
So here's what I think about "American Sniper":
Awesome performance from Bradley Cooper. One of the best of the year. Great editing. Costumes, hair, makeup superb!
Oh... and too bad Clint gets Vietnam and Iraq confused in his storytelling. And that he has his characters calling Iraqis "savages" throughout the film. But there is also anti-war sentiment expressed in the movie. And there's a touching ending as the main character is remembered after being gunned down by a fellow American vet with PTSD who was given a gun at a gun range back home in Texas -- and then used it to kill the man who called himself the 'America Sniper'.
Also, best movie trailer and TV ads of the year.
Most of us were taught the story of Jesse James and that the scoundrel wasn't James (who was a criminal who killed people) but rather the sniper who shot him in the back. I think most Americans don't think snipers are heroes.
Hopefully not on this weekend when we remember that man in Memphis, Tennessee, who was killed by a sniper's bullet."

Your basic premise is fatally flawed.  War is not about fighting "fair."  War is primarily about winning and you and your comrades in arms surviving until the war ends.  There have been plenty of armed conflicts that weren't a "fair fight." 

Germany's 1939 invasion of Poland wasn't a fair fight by any measure.  The Germans had nearly twice as many personnel, more than three times as many tanks and twice the number of artillery pieces.

When the U. S. went into Grenada in 1983 to force the 700+ Cuban soldiers who had invaded, more than ten times that number of U. S. military personnel deployed.  That doesn't seem to be very fair, does it?

Sniper school is one of the most difficult of the various special operations military training schools.  The failure rate can exceed 60%.  In some armed conflicts the mission of the sniper to get into position to take a shot may be more dangerous than taking the shot itself. The art of stalking the target is an extremely difficult skill to acquire.  Legendary U. S. Marine Corps sniper Carlos Hathcock went out to stalk a female North Vietnamese sniper known by the Marines as "Apache."  She would torture Marines and ARVN personnel, sometimes slicing off their eyelids so they couldn't close their eyes.  He was being hunted by the Viet Cong and NVA snipers with a bounty of $30,000 on his head.  There is no way on Earth his actions or any of his service can be described as "cowardly."

Your "review" of the film itself, which you shared after the initial tweets came out is accurate.

One last question.  The United States used snipers during WWII.  Your father and uncle may have served with them.  Did they call them cowards?

* * *

The regularity and quantity of my blog posts has fallen off in recent months and that is to blame for the current situation of low page-view numbers.  That's my fault.  So I'm going to commit to try to write some kind of entry daily from now on.  It may just be one or two items like those above, or it may be a full-on entry with ponderings and this day in history.  But I'd rather put out shorter entries more often and try to boost the readership instead of writing something and taking to long to complete the whole thing.  Feedback would be appreciated.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

I don't get it, did Kanye West steal the printers or not?  How would being racially profiled have anything to do with whether or not he committed a crime?   And how does this bear on whether or not he assaulted a photographer more than a decade later?

The appropriate punishment for the day care worker in Florida who was caught on video kicking a toddler would be to suffer from 100 kicks.  From every parent who had a child in that day care facility on that day.  20 parents = 2,000 kicks.

Draco Malfoy in Gryffindor?  Heresy! 

I get it that Lena Dunham has no filter, but maybe she should think about creating one after her uncalled-for comments about sex and the late Chris Farley.

Lindsay Lohan may be ill from her trip to Bora Bora but that's no excuse for not having completed her community service.  I hope she winds up in jail this time.  Long past due.

So basically, what "DeflateGate" is telling us is that Tom Brady likes it when his balls are softer.

Now that they have both had the experience of being cuffed and stuffed while their husbands were busted for DUI, maybe Hope Solo and Reese Witherspoon will become BFFs.

The fact a 19 year old woman from Colorado is going to spend four years in a federal prison for wanting to become an "ISIS bride" tells me I wasn't wrong about how 18 isn't an automatic barometer for determining adulthood.

Speaker of the House John Boehner has no business conducting his own foreign diplomacy.  Israel's Prime Minister should have turned down Speaker Boehner's invite to speak before Congress.

Do they call it "rush hour" because everyone rushes to get on the freeway and then not move?
Could someone tell the Kirksville, MO school superintendent who tried to dismiss outrage over a note from a meddling teacher as having been sent with "...the best of intentions" that the road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions?

* * *

January 23rd in History:

393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year old son Honorius co-emperor.
971 – In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song dynasty troops.
1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.)
1793 – Second Partition of Poland.
1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.
1855 – The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake and tsunami leaves nine dead in New Zealand.
1855 – The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, a crossing made today by the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.
1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke's Drift ends.
1897 – Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.
1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic.
1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as President of the First Philippine Republic.
1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
1937 – In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul begins, the first fighting of the New Guinea campaign.
1943 – World War II: Troops of Montgomery's Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces finally defeat the Japanese army in Papua.
1943 – Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
1943 – World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal Campaign ends.
1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
1950 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the "Frisbee".
1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Côte d'Ivoire are established.
1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty one villages.
1968 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship had violated its territorial waters while spying.
1973 – United States President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
1973 – A volcanic eruption devastates Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar chain of islands off the south coast of Iceland.
1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
1997 – Greek serial killer Antonis Daglis is sentenced to thirteen consecutive life sentences, plus 25 years for the serial slayings of three women and the attempted murder of six others.
2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
2002 – "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States in FBI custody.
2002 – Reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
2003 – Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10.

Famous Folk Born on January 23rd:

John Hancock
Saigo Takamori (the real-life inspiration for the character of Katsumoto in the film "The Last Samurai")
Edouard Manet
John Browning
George McManus
Sergei Eisenstein
Randolph Scott

Wally Parks
Ernie Kovacs
Frank Lautenberg
Jack Quinlan
George Allen
Chita Rivera
Jerry Kramer
Sonny Chiba

Arlene Golonka
Gil Gerard

Rutger Hauer
Anita Pointer
Bill Cunningham
Danny Federici
David Patrick Kelly
Chesley Sullenberger
Antonio Villaraigosa
Robin Zander
Richard Finch
Leilani Kai
Gail O'Grady
Mariska Hargitay
Tiffani Thiessen
Julia Jones

Thoughts on the State of the Union Speech

President Obama:  "The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong."

Reality:  Mostly true.  The Union is not as strong as it has been in the past, but is stronger now than at any moment in the aftermath of the fiscal crisis.  High marks for what the president has accomplished in this area.

President Obama:  "Will we allow ourselves to be sorted into factions and turned against one another — or will we recapture the sense of common purpose that has always propelled America forward?"

Reality:  We are a particularly polarized nation when it comes to politics.  The failure of the two major political parties to work toward compromise and consensus may have catastrophic consequences in our future.

President Obama:  "Tonight we turn the page."

Reality.  I'm ignoring all of the missteps my administration has made in the last six years and focusing only on the positive from now on.

President Obama:  "Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis."

Reality:  Depends on how you measure it.  The current labor force is more than 1% lower than it was ten years ago, when measured as a percentage of the total population.  Or more simply, at least part of the cause of the current unemployment rate being lower than it was before the crisis is because some people have given up on looking for work.

President Obama:  "Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over."

Reality:  Thousands of American military personnel are still in Afghanistan.  Their mission has been relabeled from "combat" to "support."  That doesn't mean they won't be attacked.  That doesn't mean they aren't at risk of death or injury.

President Obama:  "In two weeks, I will send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan. And in the months ahead, I’ll crisscross the country making a case for those ideas."

Reality:  Most of those ideas, good or bad, are DOA when they arrive at a Congress where Republicans are in control.  With their dependence on the Tea Party ideologues to maintain their iron grip on the House, there's no way the Republicans will allow a tax increase proposal to see the light of day.  Nor would enough of the moderate Republicans cross the aisle to vote for things that make sense.  In an era where the Republicans are more interested in punishing the IRS despite the reduction in tax revenues will follow, they will not offend the men who keep funding their reelection campaigns.

President Obama:  "So the verdict is clear. Middle-class economics works. Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don’t get in the way. We can’t slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns. We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, it will earn my veto."

Reality:  Middle-class economics does work.  Wasting time on even more attempts to overturn the ACA is stupid.  Relaxing the tougher regulations put in place to prevent another fiscal crisis is really stupid.  On immigration, it's long past time for meaningful reform, and that's much more important now so that the president can rescind his Executive Order on the subject.

President Obama:  "And that’s why my plan will make quality childcare more available, and more affordable, for every middle-class and low-income family with young children in America — by creating more slots and a new tax cut of up to $3,000 per child, per year."

Reality:  The maximum child and dependent care credit is currently $2,100 for a family earning less than $15,000 per year and spending the maximum amount of $6,000 on daycare annually.  It shrinks to a maximum of $1,200 per family once the earned income goes above $43,000.  So going from $600 to $3,000 per child is huge.  It isn't a bad idea, but I doubt Congress will approve the tax increases needed to pay for it.

President Obama:  "Here’s another example. Today, we’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers. Forty-three million workers have no paid sick leave. Forty-three million. Think about that. And that forces too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home. So I’ll be taking new action to help states adopt paid leave laws of their own. And since paid sick leave won where it was on the ballot last November, let’s put it to a vote right here in Washington. Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave. It’s the right thing to do."

Reality:  Maybe it is and maybe it isn't the right thing to do.  Before you decide, please read what former Senator George McGovern wrote about his foray into business.  http://digital.library.ucla.edu/websites/2008_993_056/Politician_Dream.htm.  Or if you prefer, you can read this excerpt, which is the part that relates directly to this particular presidential proposal:  "But my business associates and I also lived with federal, state and local rules that were all passed with the objective of helping employees, protecting the environment, raising tax dollars for schools, protecting our customers from fire hazards, etc. While I never doubted the worthiness of any of these goals, the concept that most often eludes legislators is: `Can we make consumers pay the higher prices for the increased operating costs that accompany public regulation and government reporting requirements with reams of red tape.' It is a simple concern that is nonetheless often ignored by legislators."

If you own a small business and suddenly you're being forced to provide your employees with seven days of paid sick leave a year, who is going to pay for it?  Can you pay for it without charging your customers higher prices?  Paid sick leave is an excellent idea, right up until the bill comes due.

President Obama:  "And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not smart for our future. That’s why I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college — to zero."

Reality:  As long as a way can be found to pay for it, this is an excellent idea.  But as an unfunded federal mandate to the states, it is not.

President Obama:  "Already, we’ve made strides towards ensuring that every veteran has access to the highest quality care. We’re slashing the backlog that had too many veterans waiting years to get the benefits they need, and we’re making it easier for vets to translate their training and experience into civilian jobs."

Reality:  Try telling that to the families of veterans who believe their veteran died while waiting for care from a VA facility didn't happen in time.  That is NOT the fault of President Obama, but his chosen Secretary of Veterans Affairs did not get the job done.  However, forcing him out and replacing him was the right move and President Obama's concern for veterans is genuine..

President Obama:  "So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than thirty times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come."

Reality:  Investing in our infrastructure is smart.  It creates jobs now and facilitates job creation in the future.  A stronger infrastructure means a stronger nation.  We cannot afford to waste precious resources on patchwork solutions.  The current system of water mains in Los Angeles is a perfect example of how not to maintain and improve infrastructure.

President Obama:  "This year, we have an opportunity to change that. Let’s close loopholes so we stop rewarding companies that keep profits abroad, and reward those that invest in America. Let’s use those savings to rebuild our infrastructure and make it more attractive for companies to bring jobs home. Let’s simplify the system and let a small business owner file based on her actual bank statement, instead of the number of accountants she can afford. And let’s close the loopholes that lead to inequality by allowing the top one percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth. We can use that money to help more families pay for childcare and send their kids to college. We need a tax code that truly helps working Americans trying to get a leg up in the new economy, and we can achieve that together."

Reality:  A system where General Electric can file a corporate income tax return that is 57,000 pages in length and gives a corporation that earns billions annually a tax credit of $5 billion is flawed.  A system that allows Burger King to merge with a Canadian corporation and move its headquarters to Canada to avoid corporate taxation is flawed.  A system that encourages the outsourcing of jobs to other nations is flawed.  These flaws must be fixed. 

Overall, it was a strong effort by the president, well-written and delivered with style.  The fatigue of a two-term president, usually burned out by this time was not present.  Well-played President Obama.  If only the bipartisan cooperation to get some of this ambitious agenda passed were present in Congress.

Monday, Monday

Today, Monday is not just another Monday.  It isn't:

Or

Or

In fact, my favorite sentiment about Mondays is this:

However, the third Monday each January is important.  More important that any of the other Monday holidays we celebrate here in these United States.  Here's a list of Monday federal holidays in 2015:

January 19 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Da
February 16 - President's Day
May 25 - Memorial Day
September 7 - Labor Day
October 12 - Columbus Day

There are 11 federal holidays in all.  Only one celebrates and commemorates one person, who was born in the 20th Century.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Why is it that of all the people born in the 20th Century, to this point only one is worthy of such a celebration?  Because no other man was so instrumental in fostering change in this nation; and while the changes need to go much further, without his efforts the South might well continue to have four restrooms in public facilities.  Two for whites and two for "coloreds."

Without Dr. King, retired General Colin Powell would not have been able to write about how magical it was to be able to go to a burger joint and purchase food at the front entrance.  Before he'd been turned away and told the only way he'd be eating those burgers was to go around to the back door and the waitress would sneak one to him (an offer he declined).  To list all of the changes that have come to pass because of Dr. King would take more than these tired fingers are able to type.

I'm not interested in those who seek to denigrate this great man's legacy by raising allegations against him.  None of us are perfect.  Our heroes all have feet of clay.  But Dr. King managed to soar above all of us in spite of those feet attempting to hold him down.  In spite of the FBI and the machinations of its director, J. Edgar Hoover.  It wasn't a loss of interest in his "other" wardrobe that drove Mr. Hoover to order surveillance of Dr. King.  It was his fear that Dr. King was an agent of change, and that fear proved to be well-founded (yes, I know that the rumors of Mr. Hoover's cross-dressing have been debunked).

How should we remember Dr. King?  As a true hero.  An amazing person worthy of the admiration he receives.  But perhaps we should remember him as he said he wanted to be remembered.  Speaking less than two months before his death, Dr. King said this:

"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. … I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others.

I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.

I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity."

This is how we should remember this remarkable man.  You changed the world, Dr. King.  RIP.

News Items and Ponderings - With one "rant"

There is a car dealership in Massachusetts that has incited anger across the land.  F & R Auto Sales in Westport called Palace Pizza and ordered $42 worth of pizzas and drinks.  Jarrid Tansey was the delivery driver and they handed him $50.  He left but had to return when his manager got a complaint call saying Jarrid had kept the change without permission.  A video of him returning the change was posted and went viral. 

 

 

 

Now the dealership's sales manager has apologized, said the man in the blue shirt isn't an employee and that the woman who said something about putting her foot up his a@@ has been fired.  A fundraising effort has generated more than $7,000 for Jarrid, mostly in donations of $7.  Reporter's note:  The people who mistreated this guy are idiots.  Yelp now contains hundreds of negative reviews, most linking to various versions of this video.  One even added a link to someone who posted a negative statement about the owner's employment practices on Craigslist.  One little incident has probably cost them tens of thousands in sales, and might just put them out of business.  Act in haste, repent in leisure.  OTOH, if someone with half a brain works there, most of those negative reviews can be removed for violating Yelp's TOS. 

 

* * *

 

Because he was present (and performing) at two night spots where there were shootings, Chris Brown has had his probation revoked.  The L. A. County Probation Department wants the singer to spend more time focusing on his community service and less pursuing his career, according to a report they filed with the judge.  A hearing will be held on March 20th to see if Brown will wind up in prison.  Reporter's note:  If he had no criminal involvement with these shootings, then revoking his probation isn't appropriate. 

 

* * *

 

In case you missed it, Jennifer Aniston copped a feel of Kate Hudson's posterior on the Red Carpet at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards.  Reporter's note:  So what?

 

* * *

 

Caesar's Palace has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Chicago. Some of their creditors have filed their own action in the bankruptcy court in Delaware, challenging the company's reorganization play.  These investors hold debt that is at the end of the line to get paid in the reorganization and they aren't happy.  Reporter's note:  These investors aren't individuals, they're in that business.  Caesar's hasn't shown profit since 2009.  Why in hell would they invest in something that risky and then whine when it goes bad?  Wonder if Mariah Carey, who just signed a big deal to take over the "residence" in their Vegas casino has insisted on money up front?

 

* * *

 

Women are going to be allowed to attend the U. S. Army's Ranger Training program, although at present they won't be allowed to serve in combat.  Those who can finish the grueling 62 day course will earn the right to wear the coveted Ranger tab on their uniforms.  Roughly 60 women qualified to attend the program.  Reporter's note:  It's tough to qualify just to get in.  See for yourself.  Do 49 push-ups within two minutes.  Now do 50 sit-ups within two minutes.  Run five miles in less than 40 minutes.  The chin-up requirement is a tad easier, six chin-ups, palms in.  To go through all that and then be denied the ability to serve in combat??

 

* * *

 

The Washington Times is reporting that billionaire George Soros contributed more than $30 million to support groups who were protesting in Ferguson, MO.  Reporter's note:  There is no question that when it comes to labeling the political position of media outlets, the Washington Times is definitely conservative.  I do find it interesting that the Wikipedia article on the Washington Times mentions its political leanings, while the same cannot be said of the Los Angeles Times (which clearly has a liberal editorial staff).

 

* * *

 

 For the first time in NBA history, a father will be his son's head coach.  Doc Rivers, who is the bench general for the Clippers, now has his son Austin Rivers on his roster.  Reporter's note:  The Clippers released Jordan Farmar to make room for the younger Rivers.  Last season, Rivers ranked 415th out of 437 players in the NBA in "RPM" (Real Plus-Minus) while Farmar ranked all the way up at 56th.  No, there's no nepotism at work here...

 

* * *

 

Arroyo Valley High School's Girls Basketball team recently won a game by an incredibly lopsided score.  The final score was 161 to 2.  Their hapless opponent, Bloomington High wasn't happy about the game and the margin of victory.  Seems that the Arroyo Valley coach kept a full-court pressure defense on throughout the first half, which ended with the score of 104-1.  Now Coach Michael Anderson has received a two-game suspension for his actions in running up the score this way.  Reporter's note:  While Coach Anderson has expressed regret, when his team was up by more than 50 points, it was time to turn off the pressure defense.  This is a no-brainer.  Even if you are preparing for a tough opponent, at that point it is definitely time to ease off the throttle.

 

* * *

 

An 18 year old has been arrested in Northwest England in connection with the cyber-attack that took down Xbox Live and Playstation consoles right around Christmas.  There are reports he may also have been involved in several "swatting" episodes.  Reporter's note:  It is a bit frightening that teenagers can take down such important systems with apparent ease.

 

* * *

 

For years, the organizers of the Northern Trust Golf Tournament, held in the Pacific Palisades, had relied on nearly 3,000 parking spaces on the VA campus located in Westwood.  Now, because of an ongoing lawsuit, the parking spaces are not available.  As a result, the tournament has demanded the VA return 2,000 tickets to the event that were donated for veterans to use.  Reporter's note:  The issue of the VA profiting by renting out parts of the large facility's North side is going to remain a mess until this lawsuit is resolved.  Doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.

 

* * *

 

There's no headline for this one.  I went and saw "American Sniper" today.  It is the first day the film has been in wider release.  Snipers and what they do is something I have long held a special interest in (my affinity for so many things is why I'm a major information junkie).  I've read "One Shot: One Kill," "Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills" and "Carlos Hathcock White Feather.  For those who aren't familiar with this amazing man, check his page on Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Hathcock.  As you'll notice, while he had 93 confirmed kills, the standard was different during Vietnam than it was when the subject of the movie "American Sniper," Chris Kyle was serving in Iraq.  CPO Kyle had 160 confirmed kills, out of 255 probable kills.  CPO Kyle only needed one witness to confirm a kill.  GSGT Hathcock needed three witnesses, one of needed to be an officer, in order for a kill to be confirmed.  GSGT Hathcock, who sometimes patrolled on his own, estimated his probable kill number as being over 300.  I don't mean to denigrate CPO Kyle's accomplishments, but I think Gunny Hathcock has been forgotten too soon.

 

You've seen it in the movies.  The sniper shooting the other sniper through his telescopic sight.  No?

 

 

Carlos Hathcock made such a shot during his time in Vietnam.  I was afraid that someone involved with "American Sniper" might have taken poetic license with his story and had him make a similar shot.  They did not.  There is some "creative license" taken with actual events during CPO Kyle's time in Iraq, but they do not harm or detract from the excellent job that director Clint Eastwood did in making this movie.

 

There is little public knowledge regarding the SEAL Sniper training program, but we know that the Army Sniper training and Marine Corps Sniper training programs both have attrition rates well in excess of 50%.  It is intensive, grueling training. Then again, that's a good description of SEAL training. 

 

The movie is excellent and Bradley Cooper definitely earned his Best Actor Oscar nomination.  He may not win, but he was brilliant.

 





When does adulthood begin?

In Connecticut, there is a 17 year old girl who doesn't want to undergo chemotherapy.  Known only as "Cassandra C" in legal filings, the State went to court to force her to be treated via chemotherapy.  Doctors testified that without it, she will die from high-risk Hodgkin's Disease.  With the treatment they estimate her chance of survival at between 80% and 85%.  Her mother doesn't want her to have this treatment, as she believes it will do more harm than good.

The law in this, and most states, says a person is a minor and not an adult until they reach the age of 18.  You can't vote until you are 18.  You can serve in the military at 17, with the approval of your parent(s).  You can be tried for crimes as an adult long before becoming one in the eyes of the law in every other respect.  In 2011, Jordan Brown was charged as an adult in a murder case in Pennsylvania.  While the judge's decision to allow him to be tried that way was reversed, there are other cases where minors stood trial as adults.

So why is it that a child can avoid almost any responsibility (except criminal) and not be allowed to make decisions for themselves, but the list of exceptions seems endless.  Some states allow any pregnant girl to obtain an abortion without any parental involvement.  In Delaware, only those girls younger than 16 must get parental approval for an abortion.  Why is it that 16 and 17 year old girls get to make an adult decision (I fully support this and other laws giving women the right to choose, I'm merely using this as an example to point out the contradictions regarding when one becomes an adult)?

Minors who enter into contracts before the reach the age of 18 can almost always void the contract, whenever they want to.  That doesn't mean minors can enter into contracts and receive services/products and then refuse to pay for them.  It is yet another example of inconsistency in this area.

If a minor can be held to answer for their actions in criminal court as an adult, then perhaps some teens should be able to make the decision whether or not to receive medical treatment.  I'm not 100% sure about this, but it is worth thought and discussion..

* * *

Lots of people are saying "je suis Charlie" in trying to show their support for the victims of the mass shooting at the Paris headquarters of Charlie Hebdo.  Are you?  If you are, I have a question for you.

Are you saying it because you're supporting freedom of expression rights, or because you agree with the sentiment of their cartoons?  Are you okay with a cartoon that shows the Prophet Mohammed as someone who beheads someone drawing a picture of him?  Of him having a child bride who he plans to make love to when she is only 9 years old?    I sure don't.

Let me be clear.  I am a staunch supporter of freedom of expression.  I don't agree with what the membership of the KKK has to say about people of color, but I will defend, to the death, their right to say it. There is a big difference here.

I don't agree with the anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo.  I am NOT Charlie.  But I grieve for those innocents who were murdered under a false flag of religion, and I support the right of everyone to freely express themselves.

On a related note, hate speech regarding any minority is labeled as abhorrent by so-called "progressives."  So why don't they have a problem with hate speech directed at the Christian Right?  Just curious.

* * *

Random Ponderings

Did you watch the Golden Globe Awards show?  Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were funny as usual.  George Clooney was gracious in accepting yet another award for awesomeness.  It was entertaining.  What I can't wrap my head around is why these awards generate so much interest?  Did you know that the voting membership of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is right around 90?  The judgment and opinions of less than 100 people generate world-wide interest in these awards and I just don't get why.  Great PR I guess.

The only part of George Clooney's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes that I didn't like was when he mentioned his age and I realized I'm older than he is.

Spending insufficient time in the sunlight may lead to a vitamin D deficiency but at least you don't have to deal with having a farmer's tan.

Just had a visual image of Taylor Negron in Heaven, delivering pizza to Ray Walston.

I don't need to read about the latest arrest of George Zimmerman to know he's a jerk and an ass.

Every time I see the video of "End of the Line" by the Traveling Wilburys, seeing Roy Orbison's guitar being rocked by a rocking chair as his voice is singing, makes me sad.

Interesting that two of the men who were members of the Tuskegee Airmen both died on January 5th.  Nothing sinister, but one of those coincidences.  RIP gentlemen, we honor your service.

I can understand the frustration Jennifer Aniston felt after the Golden Globes, waiting in the interminable line for the valet parkers to return her vehicle.  But dropping the F-bomb??  Watch at your own risk: 

The ad that McDonald's aired showing the marquees outside their locations, with messages of support in bad times, was a mistake.

The man who people thought tried to buy a child in a supermarket for $100 was actually telling the mother to use the money to buy something for her son.  He'd just found out it had been a good year for his business and he was trying to pay it forward.  Glad they cleared that up.

Did I really just listen to Bill Mahre say that "...hundreds of millions of Muslims support the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris?  That's ridiculous.

* * *

January 13th in History:

532 – Nika riots in Constantinople.
888 – Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks.
1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands by the Spanish, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death.
1607 – The Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.
1666 – French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier arrived in Dhaka and met Shaista Khan.
1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.
1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
1830 – The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins.
1833 – President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
1847 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.
1869 – National convention of black leaders meets in Washington, D.C.
1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
1895 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war's opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
1898 – Émile Zola's J'accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
1908 – The Rhoads Opera House Fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the opera Cavalleria rusticana is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, New York.
1913 – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University.
1915 – An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
1934 – The Candidate of Sciences degree is established in the Soviet Union.
1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
1939 – The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometers of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins, which will end in a major victory for France.
1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.
1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
1960 – The Gulag system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union is officially abolished.
1963 – Coup d'etat in Togo results in assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio
1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
1964 – Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Kraków, Poland.
1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison
1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
1974 – Seraphim is elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors.
1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding 1000.
1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy. There are 32 confirmed deaths amongst the 4232 passengers and crew.

Famous Folk Born on January 13th:

Jan van Goyen
Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (doesn't the title Archduchess sound sinister?)
Salmon P. Chase

Horatio Alger, Jr.
Sophie Tucker
Alfred Fuller
Gwen Verdon
Frances Sternhagen
Charles Nelson Reilly
Rip Taylor
Cabu
Richard Moll

Bruce Hart
Janet Hubert
Mark O'Meara
Little Oral Annie
Kelly Hrudey
Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Suggs
Trace Adkins

Penelope Ann Miller
Patrick Dempsey
Traci Bingham
Shonda Rhimes
Nicole Eggert
Michael Pena
Orlando Bloom
Liam Hemsworth