Apr

30

2008

The story of Bridget McCain

Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments

It sometimes worries me when I think how the best we can hope for is a McCain presidency. But those worries are tempered by stories like this.

(I)n 1991 Cindy McCain was visiting Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh when a dying infant was thrust into her hands. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life, so Mrs. McCain brought the child home to America with her. She was met at the airport by her husband, who asked what all this was about.

Mrs. McCain replied that the child desperately needed surgery and years of rehabilitation. “I hope she can stay with us,” she told her husband. Mr. McCain agreed. Today that child is their teenage daughter Bridget.

…(T)here was a second infant Mrs. McCain brought back. She ended up being adopted by a young McCain aide and his wife.

“We were called at midnight by Cindy,” Wes Gullett remembers, and “five days later we met our new daughter Nicki at the L.A. airport wearing the only clothing Cindy could find on the trip back, a 7-Up T-shirt she bought in the Bangkok airport.” Today, Nicki is a high school sophomore. Mr. Gullett told me, “I never saw a hospital bill” for her care.

I disagree with much of what McCain stands for, and saying I distrust his conservatism is an understatement. But while his decisions could end up causing problems unintended by him, and I have no illusion that he sometimes postures for political gain, I suspect “Doctor McCain” has a rather hippocratic view of politics: first, do no harm. Stories like this one suggest he is capable of doing much good, once the ethical gymnastics of an election are behind him.

Apr

25

2008

Don’t EVER call me an Environmentalist!

Filed Under Science | 6 Comments

You would be hard pressed to find another person who enjoys and relishes the beauty that the natural world possesses and the awe it inspires more than me. The most memorable times of my youth were spent at a lakeside cabin in Canada enjoying the beauty of the lake (above and below the water), the surrounding forest, and the abundant fauna. I have had the great good fortune in my life to experience the pre-historic, Jurassic Park feel of the Everglades, the wide-open splendor of the High Desert of the American Southwest, the Shire like rolling hills of the Midwest Prairies, and the deep rooted agelessness of the forests of the Appalachians. To me, a guy who grew up in the shadow of a major metropolitan city and has seen my share of ornate churches, there is no greater Cathedral than a moonless night in the country – away from all the light pollution – under the blanket of a universe of stars. I will actually stop, as often as possible, to smell the roses and listen to the birds, and remind myself of the wonder of the world God has Graced us with – and thank Him for it, and for giving me the ability to appreciate it all. We are all part of this world, and to not recognize the wonder and majesty of it all is to deny the wonder and majesty of God.

But don’t you ever – EVER – call me an Environmentalist! Rachel Carson was an Environmentalist !

Others, such as writer Paul Driessen, describe the fear of DDT as a “country club anxiety,” a luxury of rich Westerners who can afford organic foods and all-natural cosmetics and clothing. They will never contract malaria. Meanwhile, Africans – many of whom are lucky to afford any food at all – have made it clear that they’re willing to accept the risk of potential side effects if it means avoiding the very real threat of malaria. Two weeks ago, Uganda initiated a program to spray houses with DDT, even though it will probably hurt their trade with the U.S. and the European Union. As Ugandan businesswoman Fiona Kobusingye told reporters, “I lost my son, two sisters and two nephews to malaria. Don’t talk to me about birds. And don’t tell me a little DDT in our bodies is worse than the risk of losing more children to this disease. African mothers would be overjoyed if that were their biggest worry.”

I’m not saying the environmental movement is entirely without merit. Nor am I a “global warming denier” or a person who believes in messing up the environment just for fun. But a movement that values a bird’s life over a human life is hard to accept and even harder to respect.

Thanks to Rachel Carson and the banning of DDT, 20+ million people have died. (a VERY conservative number I might add) Now, Al Gore looks upon himself as the new High Priest of Global Warming and head of the church of Environmentalism. Given the news about food shortages around the world thanks to the push by Environmentalist Al (remember, he cast the DECIDING VOTE in 1994 regarding the US Govenment Ethanol mandate) toward Ethanol production, one has to wonder how many people will suffer and die this time!

I care a great deal about the environment and the natural world, but if these two short-sighted do-gooders are examples of the quintessential Environmentalist, I think I’ll pass on that label, thank you.

Apr

21

2008

Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle…

Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment

Are any other words really needed here?


BTW, if for some unknown reason you cannot understand my title to this post, or what this video is illustrating, you are not the Enlightened, Progressive or Free Thinking individual you believe yourself to be.

Hat tip to Dean’s World).

Apr

15

2008

Pushing past the burnout.

Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment

I think the length and disappointments (at least for us Conservatives) of this political season has taken a toll on all of us. For the past few weeks I haven’t been watching the news or going to any of my traditional web sites as much as I had been because, frankly, I’m burnout. I am, like many of you I’m sure, just so tired of the lies, the baby kissing, the lies, the ass kissing, the lies… and the disingenuous spin about how the lies that these politicians are telling us aren’t really lies at all but just a demonstration as to how us rubes and peons out here in flyover country don’t really “Get” what those in the Gentry all understand to be true.

Despite my political burnout, I decided to go out to Townhall.com the past few days and see what I may have been missing. Not that I needed to really “catch up” on anything – politics is too much like Daytime Soap Operas; just jump back in, watch, and in a relatively short time you’ll have no trouble knowing who is sleeping with whom, who’s dying of an incurable disease, which character has come back from the grave, and who stabbed who in the back. You know… same shit, different day!

Anyway, I’m glad I did decide to visit there, because I got to read two of my favorite columnists: Walter E. Williams and Thomas Sowell. I appreciate and enjoy Professor Williams mainly because I have had the pleasure of hearing him as a substitute host when Rush Limbaugh is out, and Thomas Sowell because… as we here at TBR have often said, he is one of the smartest and wisest people in the world.

Enjoy:

Political Loathsomeness – Walter E. Williams

A Living Lie – Thomas Sowell

Apr

10

2008

Observations on the passing scene…

Filed Under History | Leave a Comment

What is leadership?
“Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.” - Albert Einstein

What is Racism?
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

What is the Truth?
“The sting in any rebuke is the truth.” - Benjamin Franklin

What is Freedom?
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning.” - Frederick Douglass

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