Just need to vent on various topics….warning, strong opinions on current world events to follow:
- Gulf Oil Spill – I am wondering when the Michael Moore film will be coming out chronicling the mishandling of the gulf oil spill by the Obama administration?? Not holding my breath. How in the world can we LAMBAST GW over his handling of 911 & Katrina, but barely say a peep about Obama’s reaction to the oil spill. What exactly has he or his administration done to help the situation other than make crude, public statements disparaging BP? Wasn’t he supposed to be the president that would be committed to protecting the environment?
- Gulf Oil Spill (Part 2) – This should not be a problem that is placed solely on the shoulders of BP. Why does it matter at this point who is to blame? This event is going to effect so much that we should be exhausting every available resource to stop the leak, and clean up the mess, instead of simply making antagonistic statements towards BP. And for this notion of boycotting BP gas stations??? That’s a GREAT idea. Let’s further financially cripple BP so that they won’t have the resources to continue working on the problem or the cleanup.
What about offering a One Billion Dollar reward to the first company / individual / etc. that can successfully stop the leak. Wouldn’t that be worth it? I mean, how many BILLIONS in economic impact is this spill going to cause? From the fishing industry to tourism to cleanup cost to ??? Instead, our current administration seems to be content to sit back in Washington and yell at BP, while the oil slowly destroys the gulf, and the Louisiana, Mississippi & Florida coastlines. We need a leader right now, and not a politician.
- Arizona Immigration Law – I just don’t understand the uproar. To quote one of my favorite movie lines…”I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!” Our country is in an uproar because Arizona is saying that they have the authority to enforce the LAW? To enforce that aliens are required to have the proper paperwork? Haven’t we been complaining about the problem of illegal immigration for years? I don’t get it? When I go to Honduras, I get stopped by the authorities almost once per day. If I can’t produce a valid US Passport, then they would take me immediately to jail until the proper paperwork could be produced. My understanding is that this is very similar to other countries in Central America, including Mexico.
- Nashville Flood Telethon Donations – Has any of this money actually reached the people who need it? I hear about all kinds of organizations providing bottled water, and what they describe as “basic necessities,” but what people really need is drywall, carpet, bathtubs, etc. Will any of this donated money actually go toward meeting these needs? Our local media has done a very poor job of providing information on exactly where this money is going.
- College Football / Basketball – From the USC violations & sanctions to the impending conference shakeups, it seems as though College Athletics is in disarray. College presidents are famous for always talking about how a football playoff system would negatively impact academics, but this is clearly a hypocritical stance. This impending shakeup is ALL about money, and so is the bowl system. I’m not necessarily a proponent of a playoff system over the bowl system, but I am a proponent of college football and basketball. I’m nervous about how this formation of 3 SUPER conferences (SEC, Pac-10, Big-10), and the elimination of the Big 12 will affect College Athletics, and particularly the schools that are not in these conferences.
- Stephen Hawking – Earlier this week, the famous scientist Stephen Hawking was quoted as saying that he was confident science would eventually disprove the existence of God. Interesting position coming from a man whose science can’t even explain the origins of the matter that (supposedly) randomly and accidentally resulted in the formation of the solar system, the earth, and human life. I wonder who actually has more “faith?” Me in my God, or him in his science?