NewsBusted

The Ever-Uniting Topic of Global Warming

What a great way to end my semester in International Relations. We talked about global warming and the Kyoto Protocol, which thankfully the US has not signed. So, as my second installment of correcting poor political positions, I will write on the topic of environmentalism and the role it should play in government. The fact is, regardless of what CNN and NBC and CBS and Al Gore might tell you is that global warming is a debatable theory. Yes, ice is melting off of Antarctica ... in one isolated area! What pro-global warming activists won't tell you, or might not even know, is that much of Antarctica is actually GAINING ice. It's not like the entire continent is about to melt. Also, in an Inconvenient Truth by the NOBEL PRIZE winner Al Gore (are you kidding me?) he quotes a study saying that a valley of, I believe, California is going to be under water in the future. However, he fails to say that the study says that there is an equally probable chance that that valley could be a desert at that same time in the future. Thus, my point is that you can't trust these pro-global warming activists-->they will never give you the full truth. Also, the founder of THE WEATHER CHANNEL, John Coleman published a blog for ICECAP (http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-blog/comments_about_global_warming/) saying: "It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus." Need I say more? I'm not sure about you, but I'm going to trust John Coleman over Al Gore. Coleman has no stake in whether global warming is occurring, Al Gore has a nice chunk of change invested in this idea. I'd urge any of you who are still avid proponents of global warming to check into some more conservative sources than CNN and the national news outlets. Get a fair and balanced view. Finally, I'd just like to say America has bigger things to worry about than this issue. Because it is such an unproven idea, the federal government needs to be worrying about a war, economy, healthcare, national debt, etc. Those are the things the government should worry about. It shouldn't sign the Kyoto Protocol which costs America billions and billions of dollars each year and only makes 36 countries make significant changes. It is an unfair resolution. The point I'd like to leave with you is that whatever environmental issues are serious, those are up to you and me individually. Recycle when you can. Use fluorescent lights. Don't buy gas-guzzling vehicles. Be green individually. Don't complain that the government doesn't have a comprehensive "green" policy. Clean the world up individually.

Political Cheap Shots in Good Movies

One of my favorite movies is V for Vendetta. The plot is compelling. The score is great. The theme resonates with viewers. The acting is above average. It's based in London (I love movies set in England). The writing is spectacular. Everything about it makes it a fantastic movie that I would recommend to any movie fan. However, this makes it all the more frustrating that it is smeared throughout with political jabs at President Bush and conservative values. It takes only the tiniest of brains to realize that Adam Sutler, the dictator, is supposed to be an exaggerated Bush and his government is the result of what could happen if we give him too much power because we are afraid of the outside world. His logo is even somewhat similar to a swastika. It's frightening to think the movie might be comparing Bush to Hitler. One ironic bit in the movie is that there is a national television station (the only viewable station for citizens) that resembles CNN, but it is portrayed as propaganda for the conservative party. Funny, though, that CNN is JUST THE OPPOSITE in real life. It is the station one would turn to if they only want to hear one side of an issue. Another anti-conservative theme is that the dictator has all homosexuals taken from their homes and put into one of Creedy's black bags (which means they will eventually die. This is what happens to all of those who revolt against the dictator.) The hero of the movie, because she inspired V, is a lesbian who was black-bagged for being homosexual. I'm not saying we should throw homosexuals in prison, but it seems like this movie is trying to say that Bush's anti-gay-marriage policy will lead to killing gays because it is not tolerant. The problem is that liberals like to say being tolerant means that you have to agree with them. That's actually an intolerant idea. Real tolerance is allowing someone to have a differing view from yourself and agreeing to disagree. Not necessarily agreeing. All in all, this is a great movie in a theatrical sense. I just hope that as you watch it you can filter out the repeated political potshots.

Chavez's Proposal Fails

Big news out of South America. Hugo Chavez's addendum to Venezuela's 1999 constitution did NOT pass due to a 51-49 vote by the people. One of the possible amendments was that the president would be able to be re-elected an infinitely. There would be no two-term limit. Hopefully this result is an accurate view of how Venezuelans feel about the socialist leader Chavez. This guy is in the loon clique along with Castro, Ahmadinejad, and bin Laden. Thankfully he will not be an infinite dictator like Castro. We already have the problem of crazy leaders in four different regions of the world at the moment. It is comforting that at least one of these four leaders will be out of power in four years.

BCS needs to be ammended or eliminated

Missouri beats Illinois in St. Louis. Missouri beats Kansas in Kansas City (with a 60/40 fan split in favor of KU). Missouri is ranked higher in BCS than the Jayhawks and Illini. Kansas goes to Orange Bowl. Illinois goes to Rose Bowl. Missouri? The Tigers get the Cotton Bowl. This doesn't make sense at all. Let the only BCS bowl be the championship game if this kind of result happens. BCS is only here for a 1/2 matchup. That's why it was instituted. To have rules governing four other bowls is silly. It only makes for unnecessary controversy. Or college football could go to a playoff system. Each BCS conference gets one team in the bracket. Top two ranked teams get a bye. Fight for the championship. If you can't win your conference, you don't deserve a shot at the National Title. But ALL conference champs should get a shot. The only hitch in this argument is what to do with a Hawai'i or Boise State. Possibly then, any non-BCS conference champion that is ranked higher than the lowest of BCS conference champions gets into the playoff. If this causes the bracket to be uneven, one at-large bid will be given to the highest ranked team not currently in the playoff. Wow, that sounds WAY more fair than the current BCS system.

God's Working

As I walked down Virginia Avenue I thought about where I wanted to eat lunch. Plaza or Rollins? I've gotten a bit sick of Plaza lately, so I was thinking I wanted Rollins. A minute later I found myself en route to Plaza, I had forgotten to keep going to Rollins. I stopped, thought about turning around, but decided to keep on to Plaza and get Rollins for dinner. After I grabbed my food inside i was looking for a place to sit and decided on an area where i have sat maybe three times ever before. I ALWAYS sit toward the drink station in the back and NEVER sit up front by the door. Anyway, as I set my stuff down a woman asked me where I was from and what high school I went to in St. Louis. She was with her husband and son (a junior at Lafayette High) on a college visit. We ended up talking about how general college questions, but more specifically what it's like to be a Christian on campus at Mizzou. I asked her how she pegged me as a person to ask about this and she pointed out I was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat, so I was from the same hometown as them, and then that she had prayed to God that they would be able to talk to a Christian while they visited to answer questions. She told me I was the answer to her prayer. I thought for a moment about that and realized how true that statement was. I was in the dining hall that I didn't plan on being at and sat in an area that I never sit in and she so happened to be sitting right next to me looking for a Christian to answer questions. How else can you explain that except as an answer to prayer and God's plan? A mere coincidence it was not.

Health Care: The Socialist Plan v. Rationality

To begin my banter against poor politics, I will begin on the subject of health care. The oh-so-brilliant democrats who are in congress and running for president seem intent on creating a universal health care system free to Americans. John Edwards guaranteed that this would happen if he becomes president. (You know, because someone who lost to John Kerry in the 2004 primary who lost to George Bush is going to beat Hillary and Obama in 2008 primaries and then take down Romney or Giuliani in the Big Boy's Fight. The dream is over Johnny boy.) This could quite possibly be the worst idea in the republic of the USA's entire history. So-called free health care to everyone is called SOCIALISM. That's a french idea. NOT AMERICAN! Beyond that fact it's amazing how democrats get away with calling universal health care FREE. Really? Who's going to pay the doctors? The government. And who pays the government? You and I do! Thus, "Free healthcare" equals higher taxes and the bloated government making decisions as to what kind of treatment you can receive. This kind of system is what Canada uses, but they have huge, long lines to get procedures. So yeah, maybe they found out what's wrong, but they also die waiting to get surgery. Oh, and when you have someone else choosing your healthcare package and paying for it, you inevitably pay MORE than you would with private healthcare. Another problem with universal healthcare-->without having profit as an incentive, doctors will have less incentive to become the best doctors they can be. No competition = poor results. If you aren't afraid someone is going to be a better doctor and is going to take your patients, you have no reason to work hard to be better. So, how about privatized healthcare. Private means YOU CHOOSE! You choose how much you want to pay for. The more you pay for, the more you get. Unfortunately the world isn't foolproof, so people are going to get sick above their healthcare plan level once in a while. However, this problem isn't going to be fixed by universal healthcare. So, a quick recap: Universal-->government chooses. Privatized-->you choose. Universal-->hidden costs are more expensive. Privatized-->costs are less expensive than paying government. Universal-->government has more power. Privatized-->you have more power. The only issue with privatized insurance is that the poor don't have enough money to buy quality insurance. Ok, so give the poorest 10% of Americans vouchers that they can supplement with more of their own money for private healthcare. There it is, socialism defeated for another day.

Time To Rebuke the Socialists. Oops, I mean Democrats

Well, three times a week I sit in my International Relations course and listen to ridiculously poorly informed students who clearly suck in all of the propaganda that mass media floods into America's living rooms via TV. As I watch TV occasionally myself, I frequently get a gag-reflex from something I hear democrats, media members, and even sometimes republicans say. To help myself understand my views better and to help you, my reader, to become a bit more educated, I will begin a series of posts dedicated to rebuking stupid political stances. I am going to begin the unpropagandization of America one post at a time.

Recitatif

In my English 1310 course I was assigned the short story Recitatif by Toni Morrison. The entire story is about two girls, one white and one black, who got to know each other at the age of eight at St. Bonaventure orphanage. Years after they leave the orphanage, they see each other in a diner. Later they see each other in a ritzy grocery store. Even later in life they see each other in a picket line for school integration. Finally, they see each other in a coffee shop soon before Christmas. The most interesting part of this story is that Morrison does not tell which character is white and which is black. However, she makes statements about each character and their mothers that cause the reader to make assumptions on the race of either character. The incredible thing is that these assumptions could easily go either way depending on biased opinions that the reader holds. If you want to reevaluate the way you think about blacks and whites, read this short story. It really is enlightening.

Lyrics' Power

Hey, I haven't blogged in a while, so here I start again. I was listening to the Beatles a few days ago in a friends car. Someone was talking about how great they were and everyone who knew the lyrics (not me) was singing along. This really got me to thinking about how incredibly powerful musicians are. Rather, all musicians have a great deal of power, but only some truly harness it to cause a great effect. John Lennon clearly harnessed the power. He's been dead for decades yet people who weren't even alive when he was alive repeat the words he once wrote as if they are gold. People say this dead man was a genius and they get excited when they hear his words in a song. That is a powerful legacy to leave behind.

Driscoll

Hey, if anyone is looking for some engaging, Biblically based sermons, check out http://www.marshillchurch.org/sermonseries/ . So far I've watched three on Philippians - The Rebel's Guide to Joy - and they were great. He makes great use of video and is actually interesting to listen to.

Bottled Water

Still, the greatest business moment in the history of man has to have been the moment when some guy said, "Hey, let's put water in a plastic bottle and sell it!" Since whenever that moment occurred, dozens of "brands" of water have flooded the marketplace. Only six letters in the alphabet can claim that no water brand begins with it: J,L,Q,U,X,Y are the only letters that are not used to begin the name of a water brand. If you want to feel like you are doing the environment a favor, you can drink ethos water. If you want to feel exotic and tropical, you can drink Fiji water. If you want to feel exclusive and French you can drink Perrier. Honestly, there is a "type" of water for every walk of life. I have even seen MACY'S water (yes, as in a DEPARTMENT STORE) selling for $1.50. What a perfect way to prove the luxury of the West, by PAYING for water.

The Homeless

I read an article from The Papyrus (Greenville College's student-run paper) yesterday. One of the articles was about the Shak-a-Thon. This event gives students a taste of a vagrant's life by fasting for 36 hours and sleeping outside for two full nights. Students built a community of cardboard box homes together on a field on campus. Students talked about how it was hard to think or function due to the cold conditions and lack of food for their brains. I just thought this was an interesting way to better understand the life of the homeless, even though it was only for two days. Sometimes I think about the homeless, maybe you even think about them sometimes. We feel sorry for them, sometimes we blame society, sometimes we blame them. So maybe we help them for a day or two. But when we go back to our daily routine they stay homeless and stay stuck on the streets. They have it rough everyday, every hour. When I go to bed tonight I'll be warm and comfortable. Some homeless guy is going to be freezing cold with no one around. That sucks.

Good Times in Biology 1010!

My biology teacher began shoving the THEORY of evolution down my throat last Wednesday. I found this a bit objectionable, all of the things she was claiming in a public classroom. Thus, a friend and I went to her office after the second class on evolution to talk to her about our objections (she wouldn't let us object in class, just in her solitary office). After our 20 minute talk, it was evident that my professor was not going to teach a fair class, so we left. Now I have two meetings with the vice-provost and assistant vice-provost next week. Can't wait to chat with them about the curriculum in Bio 1010. My major complaints are that differing theories are not being taught (only evolution), important terms are being misused (she won't differentiate between micro and macro evolution), and she is speaking in declarative sentences about a theory (she's essentially speaking as it is proven to be true). One of the reasons I am so excited about this is because of how I got here. I went to Westminster Christian Academy prior to Mizzou, and there I learned all about evolution, but also about Intelligent Design. I got an UNBIASED education on this subject, so now I am able to point out all the ways that my Mizzou education is BIASED. Also, I originally signed up for a different Bio section with a teacher who teaches evolution as the THEORY that it is. I didn't want this teacher I currently have. However, I'm now in this situation. I honestly believe God has put me in this situation to be a voice for truth and justice on one of many liberal universities. Whether or not the university makes any changes due to my actions, I will still stand as a light for truth in a class filled with darkness.

More on "Question"

I realize God wants us to enjoy his creation, but I'm just trying to figure out exactly how much enjoyment is too much in light of so many people in this world living without being able to enjoy creation.

Question

As long as there is such disparity in the world between affluent countries and bitterly poor countries, can it possibly be ok to live in affluence and not work to help the poor people? Living a morally upstanding life in America, but not working to help the poorest of the poor elsewhere: is this solidly alright, semi-ok, or simply wrong? Is it ok to have a nice house, flatscreen tv, and lexus so long as I give 10% to God, fellowship with others, and live a "moral" life while people starve to death and die from AIDS every day in Africa? Is that possibly ok in God's eyes? I seriously do not know. But I want to find out.

Great Guitar

Hey guys, if you like acoustic guitar, check out Andy McKee on YouTube. He's got some great stuff. Drifting and Rylynn are two of his best.

Life is a car

When I was a kid, I had this idealized, beautiful, exciting, fantastic idea of life. It was kind of like how one has an idea of what a city is like from things they've heard about said city, however, said person has never been there. But when this person actually goes to this city, it is not at all like the city in his mind. Thus, as a kid I thought of life as one way, and as I've grown, I've come to recognize it is quite another experience than what I dreamed up in my mind. So as a kid, everything that I had never experienced seemed exciting in different ways and expectations were formed in my mind. Yet, when I live out these experiences, they are clearly not the same as experienced in my mind. This "mind experience/expectation" is sort of a base standard, though, that I use to gauge my actual experiences. However, even if my real experience is actually better (according to some higher standard of which I can't describe), I will still be disappointed because I never lived out my dream experience. Real experiences can never satisfy expectations from dream experiences. Essentially at first glance, life is like a new car. Shiny on the outside, perfectly clean inside, new car smell, 0 miles, beautiful. It seems like it is going to be so great. Then I start driving this car and inevitably dirt gets on the exterior, the inside air gets stale, and the windshield wipers leave marks on the windshield. Within weeks this once new car seems more like a liability and I'm at a loss for how I ever thought this thing was going to be cool. Life is a shiny car in my mind, but when I get out and live out these assumedly "shiny" experiences, they inevitably are not going to live up to expectations. However, even though I realize that expectations have quite a negative effect on my attitude toward life, I keep making up more expectations. Is it even possible to not have expectations/pre-conceived notions of places/experiences/people?