THIS Is What America Should Be About

Today is a red letter day for private enterprise!  SpaceX successfully docked it's Dragon capsule with the International Space Station.  This is what happens when you get together a bunch of rich guys who share a dream.

Making it even better they are filling a gap left when NASA abandoned the shuttle program for more esoteric pursuits like mining asteroids and landing a man on Mars, technologies that are no where near ready.  That left the delivery of supplies and transportation of astronauts to others - mainly the Russians.

Maybe not for long.  SpaceX is expecting to be able to shuttle humans within a couple of years.  Even better, other companies are working on competing designs.  Even better, they are America companies.

Perhaps best of all are the people involved.  Take SpaceX mastermind Elon Musk .  Among other undertakings he co-founded the company that became PayPal, the iconic Internet payment platform.   He put $100 million of his own money into this project. You have to love it.  One successful venture is rolled over into another and another and another.  Take that you Occupy Wall Street types who think the rich never give back!

How many other ventures are out there under the radar?  Hopefully a lot.  Fracking for instance.  Successful on privately held land.  Verboten on public land where the government rules.

If you doubt free enterprise works, just look at this achievement and think again.  If we don't give people like these the freedom to succeed others will step in.  Sir Richard Branson comes to mind with his Virgin Galactic Gateway.  At least it's in New Mexico!

Who Is The Real Joe Biden?

Joe Biden wants to be President.  He likes being at the center of power.  I wonder if he has any chance at all.  Well, only if Obama wins a second term.  And if Obama doesn't dump him.  There is more to it than that, however.

The vice presidency is no longer merely looking after the boss's health and attending funerals.  It became so much more with Dick Cheney.  Biden himself was chosen for his purported strength on foreign policy; an area in which Obama was void.

He touts the party line like a good soldier even with his foot firmly planted in his mouth.  That in itself is a trait that will haunt him in any campaign.  But an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal entitled The Dumbing Down of Joe Biden makes me wonder how much such ambitions are worth.  The premise is that he is to take the heat in order to take the heat off his boss.  With Biden it's pretty easy since he is gaffe prone, but to do it willingly?  That's loyalty!  Or is he already dumbed down?

Wouldn't it be something if some time a Vice President backed out on his own because he didn't want to play jester in the Presidential court?  Or any member of the House or Senate would denounce bad policy of their own party?  Those days are gone forever if they ever existed.

Instead we get a daily regurgitation of talking points no matter how ludicrous.  We come to mistrust politicians because we wonder if they can possibly believe what they're saying.  If they even realize what they're saying.  Like Biden's diatribe yesterday about   Romney's business experience being no more qualification for the presidency than for being a plumber.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he seemed to sense another gaffe and apologized of sorts to plumbers and private equity "guys".  But did he really believe it?  Consider Obama's sum experience before being elected was as a State Senator, a U.S. Senator for less than one term and a community organizer.  Not exactly a strong pool of experience.  Especially when you compare it to the total of Romney's experience including a term as Governor of Massachusetts.

Regardless of what you think about any of the candidates, do you wonder if they've been so desensitized they're little more than robots with a singular goal?  To get elected.  It no longer seems to matter what the people want and need.  All that matters is being able to remain in the cocoon of power or to get there no matter how dishonest, mean spirited or just plain dumb you have to be.  It's troubling to me just how easy it comes to them.

Death Panels Do Exist

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, better know as the Lockerbie bomber, is dead.  Good riddance some say.  Others say not so fast, we've not yet learned who his accomplices were.  For better or for worse, however, he is dead.

Had he not been released on compassionate terms he'd have been dead three years ago when he was diagnosed as having but three months to live with the latter stages of prostate cancer.  Yet he lived - and lived - and lived.

Why?  Because, as hard as it is to believe, he received better medical care in Libya, his home country, then he did in Scotland.  It had nothing to do with his being in prison or that he had been convicted of a heinous crime.  It was because the medications needed were denied not only to him, but to any man in Scotland by it's National Health Service.  That to my way of thinking is death by committee or a death panel.

According to The Wall Street Journal the Scottish Medicines Consortium, the rationing body of the NHS, decided that although certain drug combinations were known to be effective the cost effectiveness had not been demonstrated.  NHS.  National Health Service.  Health care run by and dispensed by a governmental committee.  Take note.

Upon arriving in Libya Megrahi was given the medical treatment needed to prolong his life and he survived an additional three years.  Today the needed treatments are available to only those qualifying under certain circumstances because this Consortium insists the 3000 pound per month price tag isn't worth it.  Tell that to the man suffering from what doesn't necessarily need to be a death sentence.

You may feel Megrahi got what he deserved and the extended life was certainly undeserved.  I'm wondering if too many will look at his circumstance from that point of view rather than what's really at stake - an individuals ability to obtain life saving drugs is being dictated by a committee who is looking at nothing more than the price tag.

Could it happen here?  You bet it could.

Mob Mentality

All weekend the predominant news on television was the image of police in riot gear pushing back those protesting the NATO conference in Chicago.  Too often we see the mob aftermath of protests when ever and where ever the G8 meets.  There are the the mobs surrounding the Occupy Wall Street movement complete with murder, rape destruction, drugs and filth.  It seems the one I'm going to write about deserves a different name.  Maybe a Flash Celebration rather than a Flash Mob.

It was called a Flash Mob but actually it wasn't.  It was well planned and rehearsed  by students, past and present, parents and teachers rather than spontaneous.  That takes nothing away from the mob of students that showed up at our local mall Sunday to dance their way into the hearts of all who watched.  It was in honor of a very special teacher who was retiring.

It made me stop and consider what really makes this country tick.  It's kids and those who nurture them.  Our government officials, from local on up, are often considered to be acting like children.  I've concluded they give kids a bad name.  At least kids like these.

A couple of months ago Hub and I were shopping at the mall.  As is common, displays lined the aisles.  We looked at a couple and were absolutely spellbound by what we were seeing.  It was the handiwork of students involved in the Invent Idaho program.  These kids were so far ahead of any place I've ever been it was embarrassing.

Invent Idaho's mission is to inspire, encourage and recognize students for their inventions, designs and innovations.  If you think this country has little future in things scientific, think again.

The teacher these youngsters gathered to honor is the North Idaho Region and State coordinator of the program. We noticed when we were witnessing the display how many parents were present.  They obviously were strong supporters of their kids, the program and the teacher.

It's good tonic for my old brain to be exposed to such activities.  It tells me those making an impact aren't the politicians fighting for place and power or the media who pushes the most expedient agendas, but rather those who have little time to follow the "big picture" because they're too busy earning a living as best they can, raising their families and educating their children.  Along with this senior every now and then.  It's enough to make me want to kick up my heels and dance!

I've been aware for some time now that being constantly down is self-fulfilling.  I gave up blogging about local issues long ago because of the animosity among the powers and I wanted no part of it.  I'll hold to that as far as politics are concerned, but every coin has two sides.  This is a not particularly wealthy area except when it comes to it's ordinary, everyday people.  Thanks to them there is no place richer.

Let's all dance!

Sting

My blogging has been a bit sporadic lately.  It happens throughout the year.  Either Hub and I are away for some r&r, nothing in particular has caught my eye or there is so much it's hard to focus, or real life intervenes.

Such is the case today.  I sit at my keyboard typing with one hand because the other is about the size of a boxing glove.

It happened yesterday.  A perfect work-in-the yard Saturday.  The overnight temperatures had moderated to the point I felt safe planting some bedding plants.   The day went well.  I felt mellow from the fresh air, sunshine and exercise and decided to do one more bed before calling it a day.

Oh, well.  I don't know if it was a Bumbler or a Yellow Jacket, but whatever, my messing in the bed was not welcome.  Hence the boxing glove sized hand.  Hub, being the perfect gentleman, fixed the cold compresses, cooked dinner and did the dishes.  He didn't even complain when I hit my own bed ridiculously early.  There was nothing on the tube, I was too uncomfortable to read and my jammies were soaked from spilling ice water on them.

Things are better this morning though I'm making more typos than usual.  I'm going to trade today's chores for tomorrow's - laundry.  It's not too taxing.  Hopefully the hand will be closer to normal size and the fingers will at least bend.

It's okay.  It will let the G8 and the NATO conferences play out.  I've been cheered to read that former CNN and NBC anchor and reporter, Campbell Brown, has taken the president to task for condescending to women.  And just maybe I'll get the dirt out from under my nails before I have to start again.

If this blogger is to be, I must remember not to Bee!