Right As Usual

MASSIVE failure. Well, expect for the green that the companies have received in the form of government subsidies and loans. I used to read Mother Earth News.  I actually put some of their ideas into play.  We recycled, reused, and otherwise followed the conservative - in the sense of conserving resources - guidelines. We never went full-out and built a model low-energy home.  Lack of funds was largely the problem - instead, we bought used houses - sometimes, VERY used. The fact is, low-energy, Earth-friendly solutions work best at the consumer level.  Stop energy leaks, keep the heating/cooling minimal, and enjoy the savings.  Don't pay the price for organic food trucked at a great distance - plant a garden.  Don't mandate what materials/energy savings for consumer goods should be - let the consumer decide - whether that's clothing (used is cheaper, and definitely Earth-friendly), appliances, or cars. Don't subsidize cars marketed to the wealthy - which is what Prius a...

I've long been fascinated by people who've experienced strokes or brain trauma.  My grandfather experienced his first stroke when I was quite young, and I watched his efforts to recover physical movement, memory, and control of thought processes.  He tended to repeat himself, as he had to when first working on recovery.  That repetition served to re-build his memories. This article, although not new, addresses some of the recent research on patients with either minimal consciousness or what has been called a "vegetative state".  Keep reading till the end - about the 4th page, it's clear that much of what doctors "know" about the possibilities of meaningful recovery is dead-on wrong. For that reason, I'm generally opposed to Living Wills that work in favor of pulling the plug too early, or even those that favor sedating the patient into an early death.  I've made my wishes known to my husband and children, and will be filling out the Right to Life...

I've been doing too much posting on Facebook (OK, it's easier than writing a coherent post, and MUCH quicker, leaving me an opportunity to have a life). So, here's some posts you need to see: From Right Wing News , some VERY disturbing quotes from people in the Obama administration.  I'm particularly disturbed about # 6. "One way to carry out this disapproval might be to insist that all illegitimate babies be put up for adoption—especially those born to minors, who generally are not capable of caring properly for a child alone. If a single mother really wished to keep her baby, she might be obliged to go through adoption proceedings and demonstrate her ability to support and care for it. Adoption proceedings probably should remain more difficult for single people than for married couples, in recognition of the relative difficulty of raising children alone. It would even be possible to require pregnant single women to marry or have abortions, perhaps as an alterna...

I was avoiding housework spending a FEW minutes browsing, and found a reference to In Humanae Vitae, the much-derided encyclical from Pope Paul VI, in 1968. The person linking the English translation said that the entire thing was only about 4 pages long.  This intrigued me, and I decided to read the actual document, rather than what I had previously depended on, excerpts and commentaries. It's worth reading, especially in light of recent developments with the Catholic Church and Obama's HHS. We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. (14) Equally to be condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. (15) Similarly excluded is any action which eithe...

He's a true treasure, that Sowell is. With all the talk about people paying their “fair share” of income taxes, why do nearly half the people in this country pay no income taxes at all? Is that their “fair share”? Or is creating more recipients of government handouts, at no cost to themselves, simply a strategy to gain more votes? Assistance from others is SUPPOSED to be short-term.  Only in rare cases (permanent disability, partial or total) is the help meant to continue.  What our Liberal government has done is TAKE money from those that earned it, to give to others, who have NOT. Examples: Taking from working-class taxpayers to give to upper-middle class kids to attend college - either directly, through grants, or indirectly, through loans. Taking from those who work minimum-wage jobs, so others can hold out for a better-paying job when unemployed. Taking from those who DIDN'T go overboard with home price, and subsequently lose value in the home, to give to those who b...