Today's News! (...for once...)

Of course, the BIG sports news of the day: Cardinals win the World Series after 24 years.(…I’m not a baseball fan…sorry…but it was definitely worth mentioning….being an old St. Louis bot..seriously…grew up in West County St. Louis…) GO BIRDS!

In a piece of science news, the Hubble telescope is basically dying. The questions is should we keep it alive? It’s possible to keep it going until 2013, if we put a shuttle mission on it in the next couple of years. Otherwise…
(...and your thoughts are...???...)

Speaking of figuring out what to do, it seems that Buyers don't want fuel efficient vehicles. Well…big shock that is. Fuel efficiency makes cars much more expensive in the market. (…I don’ think it has to…but look at prices for the more fuel efficient models…) Manufacturers are very good at creating markets for what they make. So why can’t they create the market for fuel efficient cars. Isn’t that what advertising (...as opposed to activism...) is all about?
(…on a side note…speaking as a Christian…how come we Christians aren’t leading the charge for fuel efficiency and alternative fuels?...You don’t have to worship the earth in order to care about it…or manage the resources we have ..well…just a thought…)

The economy, of course gives a good segue to election issues and news. Did you know that 30% of state candidates run unopposed? That’s staggering. Given the cost of an election, I can understand everyone not getting into it. But, for 3 out of 10 to be just handed their positions is amazing! If we believe in our political positions, and the benefits of a diverse political system, why are there so many of these?
(…personally, I find it really hard to believe that big of a majority of one party live in all of these districts…)

And, according to a CNN report, people believe there should less or no constraints for judges. Well, is constraints really the right word? Judges—federal judges anyway--were originally supposed to interpret law. However, judges have increasingly taken the stance of establishing and writing law from the bench. I think our judicial system needs to return to the original intended purpose. And, I don’t call that a constraint. For example, a federal judge gave a 30 minute eulogy/sermon before sentencing David Safavian 18 months. I’m not saying Safavian wasn’t guilty, but, given the “sermon” over Washington corruption, it was a pretty light sentence. That’s not what the bench is for. Personal opinions can and should be aired freely in this country. Legal opinions, however, should be spoken from the bench—not personal opinions.
(…not that Washington isn’t a corrupt place…on both political sides of the aisle…)

All of which leads us to …the Middle East…

Thought this comment from this article at CBS was interesting:

All goals in life have to have a plan and a timeframe in which to implement them.The failure of Al Maliki to set forth a plan and a timeframe suggest that he is not the U.S. ally or his own country friend.He is apppearing to be a weak leader,unabable to reign in the militias.If he cannot reign them in then there is no chance for Iraq to have stability with him in power.He appears to be more of a puppet of Al Sadr than a ruler of his people.Time for him to go.

I don’t have a problem with the Maliki’s comments about deserving to be treated as a legitimate government. I even agree! But, I do have a problem with his back and forth and not getting anything done—like reigning in the militias run by his brother Shiites. If not the US, he owes his own people that much.

One of the Palestinian groups involved claim deal is close for the Israeli soldier being held hostage. One soldier for 1400 prisoners. Something about it doesn’t seem right to me.
(…not a comment on rightful or wrongful imprisonment…just a comment on the general numbers…why is that Islamic terrorist groups can make such outrageous demands, and make us believe it is their right to get their demands met…I don’t let my kids get away with that…these are adults!...)

And, I’ll follow that with a couple of other notes on Muslim intransigence. The Taliban in Afghanistan refuse to negotiate with the government. Now, I admit they have some differences. But, how come the terrorists don’t have to learn to talk through things with others? They get to throw their little temper fits(…with grenades, rockets, bullets…) and we say we’re sorry and give them what they want. Take a look at France! They are still suffering violence a year later. Admittedly, it has slacked off here lately. But, that’s after an average of 112 cars a day have been getting torched. Now they are forcing people off busses at gunpoint and burning the busses!

(…OK…I’ll get off that soapbox and end that tirade…for now...and, I’ll end on a lighter note…)

Given all the problems we have with sugar and fried food, someone has really gone over the top. They have created a Frired Coke concoction! Doughballs, coke syrup (…talk about sugar concentration…), whipped cream, and of course…a cherry on top. As if we didn’t have cholestoral problems enough already...Well...Happy eating!