Preaching Green

                 As reported in the National Review, Maryland has instituted a ‘stormwater remediation fee.’ This assesses a tax on property owners directly proportional to the size of the impervious surfaces on their property that prevent rainwater from reaching the soil.

                Apparently, according to the report, churches in  Prince George’s County faced some of the steepest fees levied due to their sizeable facilities, large acreages and big parking areas. The churches reached a ‘deal’ with the county’s environmental department. They could ‘preach green’ and avoid a fee. The county Department of Environment director stated that the churches “don’t have to preach, per se”, they could also “provide educational programs to teach (parishioners) about how to be more sustainable.” Nice of the government to want more sustainable parishioners. I bet they thought they were ‘sustainable’ already.

                This is a very sad case of the clergy willing to compromise and tailor their message for a tax break and of a government willing to coerce them into supporting a political program. In recent years, the clergy has all too often been willing to be a vehicle of political-correctness and a vassal of progressives.

                Funny, though, I thought the left has been all about the ‘separation of church and state’. Those in the government are always performing its liturgies.

                There is no separation here. The government threatens to punitively tax the church and the clergy affix their mouths to Uncle Sam’s rear end.

                As the saying goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right,” (although they might help make a Jeremiah Wright). We have lost our moorings and strayed far away from our founder’s vision of ‘limited government by, of, and for, the people.’

                Both the government and the churches have put love of principal (money) above love of principle.  

                 *******************************************************************

                The Lord promised that floodwaters would never again cover the face of the earth. Apparently, He didn’t anticipate global warming.

Special Driver's Licenses

                   Ten States Now Offer Special Driver’s Permits For Illegal Immigrants.

                The Los Angeles Times article lamented the fact that the female illegal alien protagonist has a car but no driver’s license. She hasn’t been eligible for one in California- until now!- as she never obtained legal immigration status since arriving from Mexico 26 years ago. Incredibly, the article goes on to state that, “if she were stopped by police, she could be fined hundreds of dollars for driving without proper documentation and have her car impounded.”

                Why wouldn’t she be deported, as that is the proper legal remedy to the law she’s  breaking?

                The article goes on to quote her as saying, “It stops us from doing so many things that most people do, like driving to the beach or going to Magic Mountain.”

                Yet, soon she will have a chance to drive wherever she wants, when California becomes one of 10 states to allow immigrants in the country illegally to apply for special licenses. The California DMV will be opening  four new offices and hiring an additional 900 employees in anticipation of the onslaught of illegals looking to become licensed drivers. An extra $141 million has been budgeted to that end, as well.

                Democrats in the Legislature pushed the law through, claiming it will improve traffic safety. If the 9/11 hijackers had obtained driver’s licenses, would it have improved traffic safety? After all, a couple of them were essentially working on obtaining pilot’s licenses, but that didn’t appear to improve airliner safety.

                To be fair, we need to treat everyone equally. So, we need to come up with special driver’s licenses for others who’ve broken the law, maybe not even with their very first act in our country. I propose that drunk drivers should be issued special licenses that allow them to drive to Milwaukee or St. Louis;  or Lynchburg, Tennessee or the Sonoma Valley in California. Or to the beach and Magic Mountain . Why stop them from doing so many things that most people do? They are American citizens, protected by the Constitution. Think of their kids. It’s a hardship on them as well.

Don't Eat Beef?

Don’t eat beef.

Perhaps you’ve heard that message before. Now you’ll likely be hearing it again, albeit for a different reason. First, it was your health the government nannies were ostensibly concerned about. Now, that’s been trumped by their concern for the health of our mother the Earth. Yes, a government panel that advises the Agriculture Department will release its “recommendations” early this year. It will likely state, in part, that a dietary pattern higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods is “more health promoting and is associated with lesser environmental impact than is the current average U.S. diet.”

A 2014 study by the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ said that compared with other popular animal proteins, beef produces more heat-trapping gases per calorie, puts out more water-polluting nitrogen, takes more water for irrigation and uses more land. There is “compatibility and overlap” between what’s good for health and good for the environment, according to the panel. Once the recommendations are made, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments will write the final  dietary guidelines, expected to be released roughly a year from now.

“We need to make sure our diets are in alignment with our natural resources and the need to reduce climate change,” stated Kari Hamerschlag of the advocacy group Friends of the Earth. (I have to admit, I’ve never thought of my diet in terms of climate change). Additionally, Michael Jacobson of the ‘Center for Science in the Public Interest’ (an entity that sounds like it should be based in a ‘People’s Republic’) opined, “You don’t want to recommend a diet that is going to poison the planet.”

What’s really behind the constant attack on Big (red) Meat? Maybe we are being steered in the wrong direction. What about the milk-cow? We know how bad for the environment they are, expelling all that methane, all those greenhouse gases. They roam around in broad pastures, as well. Why isn’t “Big Dairy” being targeted?  I know many people who are lactose intolerant. That can’t be good for them or the environment.

Perhaps lobbyists from Chick-fil-A and KFC are behind this. “Eat… more… chicken.”

Seriously, I have a beef with this. When the government tries to tell us what we can and can’t eat, especially when it’s tied to “climate change”, it’s time to get out the collective cattle prod, push  back and reclaim our (natural) rights.

We all have a stake in that.         

                

Can't See The Forest For The Trees

                 Evidence suggests Minnesota’s climate is changing much faster than ever before stated a scientist with the Nature Conservancy.  Moreover, a new study headed by the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station was released recently. It states that Minnesota’s vast northern forests will look radically different a century from now due to global warming. The study “found” that tree species at the northern edge of their range will do better in years to come, but those at the southern end of their range will do poorly- or disappear altogether.

                The report’s authors claim the findings can help ‘forest managers’ plot the state’s forest of the future rather than let chance rule the transition. I thought everything in nature  was brought about by simple chance. Man screwed it up, but now man needs to meddle with nature again by planting certain types of trees in certain numbers in specific areas? We now have to impose an intelligent design on our mother, the Earth, is that it?

                The Nature Conservancy scientist also said, “It’s important to note that we aren’t certain on all of this stuff, so we need to hedge our bets, like an investment strategy, and not put all of our eggs in one basket. We’re trying to encourage diversity of species into the future.”

                Here are some other study findings of note.

                *The number of heavy precipitation events will continue to increase, and impacts from flooding and soil erosion may also become more damaging.

                *Forests may experience more drought stress during the growing season, as well as increased risk of forest fires and an increase in forest pests and invasive species.

                *Temperature increases will lead to longer growing seasons.

                So, to recap: flooding will increase dramatically, as will drought stress, of course. Diversity of species in the future is our goal, except for certain trees, ‘pests’ and invasive species. But, look at the bright side, despite the excessively hot, wet, dry weather, frequent damaging storms, soil erosion, forest fires, invasive species, ‘pests’ (locusts?), and the like, the growing seasons will be longer! Wow.

                Hedging our bets, indeed.

A Progressive Pledge?

                According to the National Review (via Campus Reform), a professor of American civilization at Metropolitan State University of Denver requires his students to recite a slightly modified version of the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each class.

                Among the statements in this oath he devised are:  the United States is reserved for “Republicans,” and that the nation is repressed “under Jesus.” It continues apace, claiming that its constitution offers “curtailed liberty and justice for all except blacks, homosexuals, women who want abortions, Communists, welfare queens, tree-huggers, feminazis, illegal immigrants, children of illegal immigrants, and you, if you don’t watch your step.”

                This is the exact opposite of reality. Republicans are constantly bashed and slandered. It is a sport amongst the elite media.  We certainly aren’t repressed by Jesus. Look at our movies and television, books and society at large. What is true is that we have repressed Jesus.

                If Mohammad was treated they way Jesus is in American popular culture, by now there’d be no studios or television stations left to continue the sacrilege…or viewers left to see it.

                There is a black man in the White House. We elected him. Twice. He is called “the President of the United States of America” and is supposed to be the leader of the free world. Fifty years ago, homosexuality was considered a mental illness, and now we have gay marriage. Abortion is not only still legal, many women want others to pay for it. Welfare queens, tree-huggers, and feminazis are all thriving.

                And that ‘black’ President? He just went around the constitution and the Congress in an attempt to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

                Communists? Communists, socialists, Marxist-Lenninists and the like are in academia, government and everywhere else. Socialists are firmly in control of the Democratic Party. We are in the process of normalizing relations with Castro’s Cuba.

                And this despite the fact that these ideologies have brought nothing but wont, suffering and death to every country that has ‘embraced’ them. In 1913, under the Czars, Russia was a net grain exporter. The ‘glorious’ October Revolution came about in 1917, and the Marxists took over. Stalin was named general secretary in 1922. Subsequently, under his communist leadership, up to seven million people starved. Russia literally went from net grain exporter to cannibalism in a little over ten years.

                There is one group that does have to be careful of what they say or risk facing abuse and oppression: people who disagree with these politically-correct, mainstream-media, elitist, coastal views. Pastors and Priests are being prevented from stating their biblicly-backed beliefs on homosexuality. Writers and commentators are being enjoined from publicly disagreeing with the idea of ‘climate change’ or ‘global warming.’ Conservative groups are being targeted by the IRS. The mythical ‘one-percent’ are being savaged. Tea Party members are being slandered as ‘Tea-Baggers.’ Democratic candidates sneeringly aver that those in the American Heartland “cling to their God and their guns.” (Though they, while certainly capitalizing the ‘D’ in Democrat, probably wouldn’t capitalize the ‘G’ in God. They ironically booed His late inclusion in their platform at their 2012 convention).

                Let’s pledge allegiance to sanity and logic, history and the truth.

                

Orangutans Are People Too

                “Orangutans are people, too” gushed the Associated Press headline (dateline Buenos Aires)!

                This was triggered by an Argentine court’s ruling that an orangutan that has lived 20 years at the Buenos Aires zoo is ‘entitled’ to some legal rights enjoyed by humans, including liberty from confinement.

                ‘Sandra’, the 29 year-old orangutan in question, was unavailable for comment.

                Apparently, that wasn’t an anomaly. Florida attorney Steven Wise of the “Nonhuman Rights Project” recently argued before a New York State appeals court that ‘Tommy the Chimp’ is a person, entitled (there’s that word again) to basic rights, including  freedom from imprisonment. Tommy is a ‘retired’ circus chimp currently living happily with his owner in Gloversville, N.Y.

In a cage complete with a stereo and cable television.

Mr. Wise would like Tommy and other chimps to be able to spend their retirement in a Florida sanctuary.

There is a Chimp Liberation Movement underway. I’m sure there will be a suffrage movement on their behalf soon, although they’d probably be able to vote in most precincts now, since no driver’s license or identification is required.

If liberals believe chimps and orangutans are their equals, I’m okay with that.

But when they believe that monkeys are humans and unborn babies are not…well, that’s when I ‘go ape.’

They  may  ‘liberate’  babies from the ‘prison’ of their mother’s wombs, but only after they kill them.

Unlike Sandra and Tommy, they won’t get the chance to retire in Florida…or live anywhere.

                

Progressive Regression

                                                     “Progressive” Schools

Progressive schools are here! I know, I know, schools have been, almost without exception, a  bastion of extreme liberalism for decades now throughout the West. But, they typically haven’t been specifically set up to be such, especially grade schools. Not to worry, though, the times they are a changin’. These schools are popping up all over the country now.

These students don’t just get the usual bash the U.S. fare. They are free to focus on any number of politically-correct topics. They can learn at their own pace with kids of different ages and pursue their own interests. Administrators say that these schools may well be the future of education. They say that the grade level model where everybody does the same thing doesn’t meet the kids needs anymore. These new schools typically have café-style furniture and low tables for group work. Sushi and Saki anyone? Students are free to wander around between rooms and even work on assignments while lounging on the floor. So much for ‘posture.’ Staff members are frequently called ‘advisors,’ not teachers.

A key concept amongst these bastions of brilliance is learning through community service, often via a school-wide project, such as building free libraries or cleaning up a local stream. (Or raising funds for an abortion clinic?). Might kids at these schools study only what they want, perhaps missing out on, say, math or English?

Report cards don’t include letter grades, of course, but normally indicate which modules a student has completed. Other ‘measurements’ include portfolios, ‘student reflection’ and ‘narrative feedback.’

It’s “Back to the Future” all over again. Schools such as these were fairly popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s. How did that work out for us?

Apparently we did not  learn anything from them.

Genetic Gender Selection, What Could Go Wrong?

                “I’d like her to have kinda feminine lines, with a soft, white, backseat, four-on-the-floor, and a black top, please.” Ordering a car? Nope. Baby.

                The sex selection business is here to stay. And that may be just the start. Those folks that want to be able to pick the sex of their child will  now have that ability due to modern medical technology. ‘Pre-implantation genetic screening’, or genetic gender selection, now makes it possible through amniocentesis, or even a blood test, to determine what sex the baby would be early on in the ‘pregnancy’. If you don’t like the result, just abort and try, try again!

                We all know what’s coming with gene-mapping, etc., etc. Ads in college newspapers already frequently seek egg and sperm donors, with height and SAT score ‘requirements.’ Will we soon be submitting ‘orders’ for a particular eye color, hip-waist ratio, aggression level, length of appendages, hair color, proclivity to be a good football player or musician? If we keep on this path, the answer is a simple, emphatic, “yes.”

                The possibilities are endless. Hitler would be jealous. Perhaps a ‘master race’ is finally at hand? This moves the entire childbirth process from an intensely spiritual, sacred, time of parental bonding, wonder, joy- and yes, worry- into the realm of manufacturing and assembly.

                What could possibly go wrong? “Does it come with a warranty? I sure hope there is a ‘Lemon Law’!”

                In Australia, pre-implantation genetic screening is illegal. The Aussies are worried about what happens to human beings when we use genetics to select our children’s traits.

                Good on ya’ then, mates!

Russian Fairy Tales

                Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual New Year’s Eve address to the nation to claim that the March annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region was, “the most important milestone in the country’s history.”

                Apparently, he doesn’t recall World War II. Ever been to, say, Stalingrad (Volgograd) Mr. President? Staving off becoming a part of the Third Reich and subsequently winning the war can’t compare to your annexation of Crimea? Well, that should make the Ukrainians feel better, anyway! Clearly, he has no intention of giving the Crimean peninsula back unless he’s forced to. And he doesn’t appear worried about that prospect. Nor should he be.

                He also touted love for the Motherland and stated, “It manifested to the full extent in the brotherly support of Crimea and Sevastopol residents, when they firmly decided to return home.” Putin should consider a second career in stand-up comedy, or perhaps contemplate writing children’s fairy-tales.

                “The brotherly support of Crimea and Sevastopol residents, when they firmly decided to return home?”  Did Putin’s military kill and wound Ukrainian soldiers because they were offering their brotherly support? It was President Putin who ‘firmly decided to return Crimean residents home’ by "annexing" them and massing Russian troops on- and over- the Ukrainian border.  How many Ukrainians have been killed by the Russians own ‘brotherly support’ since clashes started months ago? They were certainly returned home. To their maker.

I suppose South Korea has historically been experiencing the ‘brotherly support’ of North Korea, too, Mr. Putin?

An Affair To Remember

                Last July, letters and notes that the 29^th President of the United States, Warren G. Harding, sent to his mistress, Carrie Fulton Phillips, were unsealed and made public. It is abundantly clear, even in the classier prose of that day, that the affair was extremely passionate. Phillips, married at the time as well, and Harding were both in loveless marriages.

                Harding wrote her in 1913 stating, “There isn’t one iota of affection in my home relationship. It is merely existence, necessary for appearance’s sake.” On Christmas Eve 1910, the then future President wrote an impassioned love note to her on the back of a photograph of himself. “My darling,” he began, “There are no words, at my command, sufficient to say the full extent of my love for you- a mad, tender, devoted, ardent, eager, passion-wild, jealous…hungry…love. It flames like the fire and consumes. It racks in the tortures of aching hunger, and glows in bliss ineffable- bliss only you can give.”

                Not bad. Phillips kept those and dozens of other letters from Harding, some running 30 pages long, despite his request that she burn them. The roughly 900 pages show a very different side of a President who campaigned on a platform of “a return to normalcy.” While in office, Harding was dogged by political scandal. He died in office.

                Harding’s affair with Phillips began in 1905, according to James David Robenalt, author of the book, “The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War.” The book reproduces many of the love letters, and also examines suspicions that Phillips spied for the Germans in World War I. No proof of that has ever been found.

                Harding sometimes wrote to his lover in code. She was ‘Sis’ or ‘Mrs. Pouterson.’ He was ‘Jerry’. Together, they were ‘the Poutersons.’  They had secret meetings in Germany, England and Canada. They met in New York and rendezvoused on an ocean liner, where they began the day “with glorious kisses and fond caresses, and you were so superb,” Harding wrote in a later reminiscence.

                On January 2^nd, 1913, he wrote to her: “My Carrie, Beloved and Adored…I do love you so. I wonder if you realize how much- how faithfully, how gladly…how passionately. Yes you do know the last, you must have felt the proof.” And on September 15^th of the same year, recalling an amorous weekend in New York: “I do not know what inspired you, but you resurrected me, and set me aflame with the fullness of your beauty and the fire of your desire…imprisoned me in your embrace and gave me transport- God! My breath quickens to recall it.”

                History has largely judged Harding as incompetent and inarticulate. He was self-evidently not inarticulate! Neither was he incompetent. His letters also reveal his studied thoughts about the looming World War and other weighty matters. He also raised questions about America’s role in the world that are still being pondered today.

                His grand-nephew, Richard Harding, gave an address this past July to a room largely filled with historians. He told them, “It’s our hope and your responsibility not to be distracted by the sexually explicit prose that fills parts of these letters, but instead to use all the information in them to reassess the measure of the man. Warren Harding doesn’t need protection. He needs honest, hardworking and fair historians to tell us the story as they see it.” Good luck with that.

                 However, maybe the Democrats will now give him some grudging respect. Certainly, in this day and age, like Clinton post Monica, his approval ratings will rise.

                But for the wrong reasons.