My Novels

Tuesday, January 22, 2002

Another beautiful sunny morning for riding the bike; it's now overcast, predicted to rain tonight and tomorrow and Thursday. Guess I'll have to resort to the ski machine, in that case.

Perhaps some of my political rants here seem to indicate I'm a Democrat, and though I do have leanings in that direction, I really am not for either political party. I see some aspects of both that are good and bad, and attempt to interpret these as I see them. For example, recently our small town voted against increasing property taxes -- mainly in an effort for more funding to the public schools. I voted against the increase too, since we own our home mortage-free.

One of the main problems here is that we haven't extended the city limits, and a great many subdivisions with $100,000.00 homes have been built -- and the parents send their kids to the city public schools, instead of a county system. The city schools have a better reputation than the county schools, but the out-of-district fees are way too low. So either we expand the city limits to include the suburbs, and get that extra tax...or we let these people pay about three times per child what they do now if they come into the city schools.

Also, we have a growing population of illegal Mexican immigrants who send their kids to our public schools; these illegals need to be sent back where they came from. I have nothing against legal immigrants, but those who come here illegally and are a drain on public systems, yes, I think they should be sent packing. Pronto. At any rate, we're going to have another property tax vote, and I again will vote NO, just like I think the majority will in the city.

Here's an observation: The other day I was browsing bloggers, and found this 16-year-old girl's blog. She wants to be a famous celeb musician/singer -- says that life is for doing what you want, and succeeding. Gee, from my older perspective, it stuns me that anyone could be this naive and uninformed. I cringe to think of the awful blows she's got coming in life. The odds are against what she wants, and more than likely, she'll end up in some job she dislikes, kids, etc, disillusioned. Additionally, she stated she COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT THE INTERNET. Give me a break! What kind of generation are parents raising that thinks they can't exist without the internet? Scary. I too like the net, but I COULD do without it, since I lived 45 years before I even went online.

When I think of those cosmic disasters that could befall Earth, I see individuals like this girl being the first to perish when it hits. Once a civilization's infrastructure is gone, no electricity...well, there's none of the amenities we American softies have come to know and depend on. It wouldn't take much to wipe us out, methinks.

And on that note, here's an interesting news item:


Whose Fault Is Fat?


Conventional wisdom says our obesity stems from laziness, lack of willpower or a fast-paced lifestyle that prevents healthy eating and exercise. We already spend up to an estimated $50 billion a year on diet and weight loss products — are we really just not trying hard enough?

While individuals surely bear responsibility for what they eat and whether they move, some nutrition and legal experts say we may not be entirely at fault.

Some say the food industry — particularly fast food, vending machine and processed food companies — should be held accountable for playing a role in the declining health of the nation, just as the tobacco industry ultimately was forced to bear responsibility for public health costs associated with smoking in its landmark $206 billion settlement with the states.


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Do we really, really want to sue the food companies for enticing us into eating less healthy food? This is utterly ridiculous. Why not sue the PR firms who do the ads? Are people so brainwashed they can't decide for themselves what to eat? Ain't Americans great, always looking to blame someone for our own faults?

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Here's someone who seems to prefer England to America:

Robert Altman Speaks

MAKING "Gosford Park" in England seems to have turned Robert Altman against the United States. "When I see an American flag flying, it's a joke," he fumed to the Times of London yesterday. "This present government in America I just find disgusting, the idea that George Bush could run a baseball team successfully - he can't even speak! I just find him an embarrassment." Altman's feeling is so strong, he's thinking of moving to London for good. "I'd be very happy to stay here," he tells the paper. "There's nothing in America that I would miss at all."


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So long till tomorrow....



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