Political Correctness Will Destroy History

What is wrong with leaving well enough alone with things that do no harm but are accurate reflections of who we were and are?

When I read that a new edition of Huckleberry Finn will not have the words Nigger nor Injun in it I was disgusted beyond words. How dare anyone rewrite great literature! It's akin to painting clothing on, say Venus Anadyomene by Titan which, by the way, dates back to 1525.

Venus Anadyomene

It's a malady creeping across our  culture and it's dangerous.  Just last spring a group in Texas won a battle to put a conservative slant on the content of their textbooks.  Parents dictate to schools which novels their children are allowed to read using the  most lame of excuses.  This is no way to teach.  More importantly it is no way to learn!

I remember the book  Little Black Sambo?  Do you?  And the restaurant that bore the name Sambo's?  The original book was about an East Indian boy, not a black, but somewhere along the way it was decided it was hurtful to black children and the name was changed to Little Brave Sambo.

As for the restaurant, the owners picked up on the theme thinking it fun using a combination of their names.  So much for fun.

Let's move on to the names of sports teams.  No longer can you use Squaw, nor Redskin among others.  Now we have rough and tumble mascots like the Banana Slugs and Fighting Blue Hens. There are teams that will strike fear into the hearts of their opponents.

It goes on to the world stage.  If Ahmajinedad had his way there was no holocaust. Actually there is a British Bishop who holds the same belief.

It makes me wonder what is and what is not true.  More and more we have to read dozens of periodicals and listen to a broad spectrum of news shows and punditry to get even a feeble grasp of what actually is.

As the trend grows there will be more and more doubt.  Soon people will no longer question.  They'll accept whatever sound bite they happen to hear.  It's already happening in politics and why partisanship is so prevalent.

That much, at least for the present time, I'm willing to sort through.  But don't mess with the classics; what books tell us.  They are our only link to the past.  Before people were inclined to  impose their own views before truth.

 Without that we can but live from day to day with no sense of who we were, who we are and who we're likely to become.  Those are treasures about to be lost and there will be no treasure hunters to seek them out because they won't know they exist.

Parenting Isn't What It Used To Be!

We're all aware of what models often do to stay as slim as necessary for their work. They starve themselves. Bulimia. Anorexia. It's often tragic and totally unnecessary as far as the people who purchase what they are selling are concerned. Most of us don't look like they do nor would if we could!

Fashion. I often wonder how trends get started. Copying celebrity I understand. However, the current trend here, wearing next to nothing, ie; shorts, flip flops and the like in winter weather, is sheer stupidity and laziness on the part of the parents. And the kids.

The rationale is, one, they won't catch cold because it's a virus; two, school lockers aren't large enough to accommodate winter wear and they don't want to have to lug it around; three,  parents allow it because it's the latest fashion!

Funny, when I was in school our lockers were plenty big enough to accommodate winter coats. Perhaps there is too much other 'stuff' kept in them?

As for fashion? Well, the kids have their ideas. My parents had theirs too and when it was too 'far out' it was nixed. I would never, ever have been allowed to dye my hair any number of colors from magenta to purple. And never, never ever would I have been allowed to pierce my nose, lips or any other body part except maybe my ears. Forget tattoos! The interesting thing, and puzzling, is that I would never have questioned my parent's authority on this. Or anything else for that matter.

Now to the practicality of the matter. Running around in shorts and flip flops may not cause healthy youth to catch the virus. Note I say healthy. Those who sit behind computers all day don't tend to develop good immune systems.

Then there are the what ifs. What if Mom's car breaks down on her way to pick up junior. He's left standing in the cold for a half hour or an hour rather than five or ten minutes. What if it begins to snow. There are possible results far worse than a cold. Hypothermia. Frostbite.

Understand this. We're not talking about temperatures in the mid-30s. We're talking about temperatures hovering around zero. The weather people are always cautioning us about leaving our pets out too long in these temperatures. And they have coats!

No, when a parent says you have to choose your battles with your kids, the generational gap is glaring.

No. You're the parent. I'm sorry my Mom and her generation aren't around to give a few pointers.

Pardon My Gas

Oil and Gas fuel our cars and heat our homes. Not the sun, not ethanol and certainly not the wind. Not on a realistic scale anyway.

I'm wondering if anyone in Congress realizes what our energy policies and roadblocks are really doing to our economy. I've been reading lately that sales of battery powered and hybrid cars are slim to none. Why? They just aren't practical. I was reading an ad this morning where you can go all of 100 miles on one charge. That means I could barely get up to Sandpoint to visit a friend, and back.

How many wind turbines does it require to produce enough energy to supply a town the size of Coeur d'Alene for a year? Where would we put them anyway?  And how do we get the power to the grid?  How do even more remote places do it?  They don't.

Solar panels? The same thing. Not practical when the "sun don't shine".   Ethanol for your car gives poorer mileage and is hard on the engine.  What's the point other than giving subsidies to farmers.  Eat the corn!  It's good for you!

I'm not saying these ideas are all bad. I am suggesting we're cutting off our nose to spite our face with technologies that are not yet ready for prime time. If not in this country, certainly nowhere else.

Consider China's up and coming love affair with the automobile. Consider the expanse of that country. To get from point A to point B in a battery powered car is laughable. Forget ethanol, forget solar and wind. Good old gas power is the up and comer.

Third world countries too. As they develop industry it isn't going to be powered by solar or wind but gas, oil and coal.

Hampering the exploration for and development of fields in this country and off shore makes no sense. Isn't it better to use our own? Consider, too, that world market I just outlined. Who is going to supply them? Canada? China? Venezuela? All the gas and oil producing middle eastern countries?  Getting rich. Healthy economies. Oil at $90 a barrel. Why? Because they can. And we're stuck with it because we deny ourselves sources of our own.

I hope Congress will be happy commuting on bicycles. Of course it will cut down the length of their sessions which isn't all bad. It will completely destroy what's left of the airline industry. And every other industry that uses oil in any phase of manufacturing - be it an ingredient in a product or a lubrication for machinery.

Unintended consequences. That's what our government policies do best at creating.

For me, I'll stick to our 10 cylinder Ford 250. Driven at a reasonable speed we get reasonable mileage. We get to our destination in reasonable time and safely in a reasonably sized vehicle.

I ride my bike around the neighborhood. What's next? Hair shirts? The only one's around here are on the dogs. Where they belong.

Political Lip Service

Here we are two days into the new year. I have a few thoughts that I should readdress in about six months to see if I'm right.

From just what I've heard on the talk shows today, I think the Republicans are going to have trouble with the Tea Partiers. Many of them have never served in public office; therefore they don't know how the game is played. For the most part I don't think they care. That could be good or bad. If they cause division within their ranks, the Republicans are sunk. It will be interesting to see if the leadership can handle them. I have my doubts.

The leadership has additional problems. The Democrats. They still hold the Senate. And Nancy Pelosi is still their leader in the house. I don't expect to see a climate of cooperation in either.

Then there is the President. He says he's willing to listen to anyone who has a good idea. The problem is is just what is a good idea? Remember the one time he sat down with Republicans during the health care debate? They came in with a slew of 'good ideas'. All of which Obama ignored. He won, as he reminded them. The definition belongs to him. I don't expect him to give much ear time to the Republicans after an initial display for the sake of public relations.

It's far too soon to even be asking whether or not Obama will be a one term President. Right now the Republicans have no one really attractive to dangle in front of us as an alternative. Those with real potential say they will not run.

The biggest worry to me is if Obama gets a second term, any move toward the center he may make now will disappear. He is not a man of the center, never has been and never will be. On that he is not evolving!

This is where we have to especially observant. If we really want the intrusion of government into our lives as has already begun, give him his second term. If we do not, we may have to swallow our distaste and vote Republican for that reason alone.

It never seems to change. Hold your nose and vote or don't vote. I wonder which choice will prevail.

Big Sis Is Taking Her Show On The Road!

The urge to post has been overwhelming. Especially since there is so much going on that's receiving little play. But then, it is a holiday and the last for awhile.

I just have to weigh in on Janet Napolitano once again. She has always struck me as being a very frightening person. It's because of the way she wears her power. It's with an iron fist paired with an exterior so blank I often wonder if what's inside is merely programmed. And not too well.

Oh, that's harsh. I'm sure she's a very nice lady. And this post has me chuckling over the ironies of our world. Here, in America, we have some of the most invasive security measures in existence. The fight over that is not yet over.

But the irony of Napolitano and her department advising the Afghans on how to better protect their borders is what's overwhelming me! Two things in particular. The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is so porous the Taliban and al Qaeda come and go at will. They smuggle weapons and drugs. Hmmm. That she is familiar with a similar situation cannot be denied. Were I the Afghans, I'd suggest she tend to her own house first. Besides, why shouldn't we be first? We are her country!

The second thing that has me chuckling is the supposition she  might recommend security measures like we have. You know. Full body scanners! With the Muslim views on modesty I see that as a big no. With the scanners inability to pick up explosives if properly placed anyway, why bother?

Gee. Why can't the same arguments work for us?

One other little stickler in the source material. The article says the idea of including more of our government agencies in the war and nation building effort in Afghanistan was the brain child of the late Richard Holbrooke.  Nation building effort?  Where did that come from?  But of course it is.  We're just not supposed to say it.

The serious side of this is I'm sorry Holbrooke died. I'm wondering if this isn't an idea that should have died with him.