First Presidential Beauty Contest 2012

We sat watching the Presidential debate last night. After it was over my wife, son and I discussed the outcome while watching the post debate commentators. I then checked Facebook for any enlightened comments. The theme that I noticed was that actual political truth and substance mattered little. Many, it seemed, were to make up their mind between the two candidates on the ability to debate louder, clearer, or how they held their eyes. This really taught me two things. First, we seem to be a country forever lost in the world of Hollywood and Reality TV. Actual points on Governing could be overlooked as long as you look good and talk in meaningless circles. Second, we don't investigate the issues for ourselves. The information is out there, or, at least most of it.
One candidate was very dynamic and eloquent, much more than the other. But, what did he say? Most of the questions were not completely answered. Even after months in the field campaigning these questions go unanswered. 
There was was individual on Facebook who attempted to debate me on the lack of trustworthiness the Presidents eye movement showed. She was telling me that I just don't know police psychology. So she decided her vote over were the President held his gaze while waiting for his turn to speak. Well, I know this person and I decided to walk away then to waste my night arguing over meaningless gestures. However, just for here, This persons experience in on the interrogatees side not the interrogators. As stated earlier I watched this with my son and wife. My wife's degree is in Psychology and health, My son has a BS in Psychology and one in Criminal Justice and a minor in Poly Psy. My degree is a combination of Sociology and Anthropology. We study people. I also have six kids, if you have kids you have spent that time staring down at the floor, smiling, while waiting for your kids to finish their very imaginative concoction of a story before you put them in their place.
I do not know who won the debate and I am not sure I care. I find it more frightening, not only, how much stock other people put into it, but  the things they pick out of it. Too little focus on issues and too much on style. I don't care about style, I just want a future for myself and my children.

I will be back

Sorry, I am a returning college student trying to get a couple of degrees. It has been a long semester. It can be difficult to go from reading journals all the time and/or writing papers to writing on the web. but "I'll be back" (in the voice of Arnold).
In the mean while!
Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse!

Tolerate those around you as you would have them tolerate you!

Pat Robertson: Gay people doing Gay things = Snow

Andy Borowitz Andy Borowitz – Sat Jan 1, 3:00 am ET

Creators Syndicate – VIRGINIA BEACH (The Borowitz Report) — Rev. Pat Robertson sparked controversy in today's broadcast of his "700 Club" program when he claimed that God created the blizzard currently battering the Northeast "to punish Americans who were planning to drive to do something gay."

__Explaining his theory, Robertson said, "Because of the bad road conditions the Almighty has made, any gay activities that people were planning on doing will have to be postponed by a day or two."__ Additionally, he argued, God shut down major airports in the New York area "so that people who were hoping to fly to do something of a gay nature would have to take a train or a bus, so it might be days before the gay thing they were going to do could occur."__

As for the millions of straight people in New York City who were also grounded by the bad weather, the televangelist said, "I think God probably wonders: If these people are really straight, then what are they doing in New York?"__

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20110101/cm_uc_crabox/op_4716464COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS SYNDICATE

It is kind of hard to add to this. Senility Maybe. He has always seemed to have issues with reality, but, Gay = Snow, Really?

Amazing how people who are afraid of Harry Potter come up with their own sort of magical world. If there weren't people that listened to him this would be funny. But he still has followers. For some the dark ages are still current.

This is a perfect example why I will always vote to keep education funded.

Better Panic!

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

From Nobel Prize . Org, The official site of the Nobel Prize.

Before I was 2 years old one of America's greatest peace makers was killed. He believed in equality for all people. Equality is a born right for all of mankind. Non violence was and is the only way to fight for it. It is very sad that as far as humanity has advanced over the last 200,000 years we still have to fight for peace. Think about how idiotic that sounds, to have to fight for peace.

Forty years later The United States of America has its first African American President. We have come a long way. unfortunately we still have a long way to go. Here in Idaho, and even from members of my own family, I still hear the rhetoric of ignorant racism. I do not know what the future of race relations will be, but I do know it is up to us, you and me, not the other guy to do something about it.

What can we do about it? Find the good things in all of us instead of only seeing the negative. Treat all as you would members of your family. Remember if we go back far enough we are all related in some form. Celebrate each individuals uniqueness. All people do not have to be similar to you to be have the same rights as you do. I am sure that as intelligent individuals you can come up with your own ideas of social advancement for mankind.

January 17th, Is the a day set aside to remember this man of peace. take time and think about him. Think about how far we have come since he left us. Think about how far we have left to go.

Better Panic

The Names

Rest In Peace!

Gabe Zimmerman

John Roll

Christina Taylor Green

Dorwan Stoddard

Dorothy Morris

Phyllis Scheck

Arizona Tragedy: The Blame

In the wake of the devastating shooting in Arizona the finger pointing has begun. Some wish to put the blame on Sarah Palin and the extreme right wing group the Tea Party. Although I do believe they are part of the problem leading up to things like this, the blame must be shared.

This is one country. We treat each other like enemies. Why? Because we have different political opinions? We spend way too much time fighting, arguing, and pointing fingers at each other, pointing out all of the differences. It is time to realize that we are all Americans. We all want what is best for our future, our future, all of us. We have far more in common that we do differences. We must remember that. We must find a way to teach tolerance with our voices and in our actions. All of the negativity heard every day cannot have a positive mental outcome for the community at large. Anger breeds anger. Anger has always proven to be destructive.

Argue intelligently and intellectually. Remember at the beginning of every discussion that we are related through citizenship and commonality. Remember at the end of the discussion that we are still friends with a common goal of good for the country. The future belongs to all of our children.

With all that said, we must realize that the shooter here was mentally unstable. Maybe he was easily guided by the in your face talk shows and news casts these days, but he is responsible for his own actions. I am not sure what if anything could have been done to prevent this. There does seem to have been some major warning signs. But that is past now. Let us remember the past and look to the future. Maybe with kinder, gentler words we can live in a kinder, gentler place.

My sympathies go out for the innocent victims of this tragedy and to those who will have to live with its outcome forever.

Better Panic

Getting the Kids Ready For A Life of Minimum Wage!

by Associated Press & KTVB

KTVB.COM

Posted on January 7, 2011 at 1:02 PM

BOISE -- Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter says the budget belt-tightening and government downsizing that defined his first term will become standard operating practices in his second.

The Republican was sworn in as Idaho's 32nd governor, and promised Friday to continue promoting a solid business environment as the state crawls from the economic downturn into recovery.

During his inaugural address, Otter also vowed to keep resisting mandates from Washington, D.C. He said "Responsible management of state government, spending, and pushing back against federal intrusion and our sovereignty are important" parts of his job as governor.

Otter also outlined the next four years saying the shaky economy will forever shape the way Idaho does business.

“You will see what started as emergency measures taken in response to the Great Recession's impact on Idaho become standard operating practices in our state government - permanent changes in how we do business, aimed at leaving a smaller, better-defined and more constructive imprint on our people's lives,” said Otter.

He also addressed the estimated 71,000 Idahoans who are out of work.

“My message to them is that those of us in state government are more committed than ever to addressing the root of our economic woes by tapping into the enterprising spirit of our communities, our families, and individual men and women to create new opportunities,” said Otter.

More of the status quo of Idaho. The rest of the Nation is struggling right now. But, as always, some states are better off than others. Obviously Idaho does not want to be one of the latter. As long as we have our State sovereignty, damn success. I can and will never be able to support a leader who disregards our future by cutting education and services to children.

NPR radio did a little checking. Before Governor Otter got up and told the world that he would not accept any of Obama’s stimulus money, he had already sent a letter to Washington breaking down what he plans to spend it on. He did not spend it on education or the poor.

(I Hope that future generations of Idahoans' will be literate enough to read a blog)

Better Panic Now!

Inauguration Day in Idaho!

Today is the inauguration day of Idaho’s now two term Governor, Butch Otter. I will not be joining in on the celebration.

Last year our esteemed Governor cut education by 7.5%. Idaho now is 48^th out of 50 on how much is spent per student, right behind, Utah and Tennessee. If this trend continues Idaho’s future economic successes will have to rely on importing an educated work force, because there will not be a home grown one.

Idaho has now hit a record 9.5% unemployment rate. Unfortunately this number does not consider those who gave up looking for work and those who are grossly under employed. Tipped employees, like restaurant wait staff, make $3.35 an hour plus tips. The tips are taxed at a 15% to 20% rate whether they earn that much or not. Most of the jobs that are out there, and it is slim, are now mostly minimum wage jobs. Idaho is a right to work state. This means no benefits, no sick pay, and no job security.

A single mother must make under $600.00 hundred dollars a month to qualify for welfare. If she does qualify she gets $300.00 a month.

All of this and still Governor Otter gets re-elected. In this state all he has to say is one bad word to keep his job, Liberal.

Idaho’s kids may have no future and we may not have any jobs, but, Damn it, at least we don’t have any of those Godless Liberals around here!

Well Mr. Otter, good luck on another term. I just hope we can survive it.

Better Panic!

Innu

http://anth.alexanderstreet.com/View/764512

If you take everything away from a people and leave nothing to replace what is lost, this is what you get. Especially a people in such isolation.

September Eleven Two Thousand and One!

Remember! Nine years ago today. 9/11/01, A day immortalized in sorrow.
It was a loss of innocence and innocent. A tragedy in lives and the American feeling of security. For many it was an even widening divide between the American and the Middle Eastern peoples. It is a divide that will ever increase as long as we direct our anger and hatred ubiquitously to all peoples of Islam. We, some as a nation and some more personally, lost an awful lot that day. It showed how painful it is to hate, for all sides. Al Queda is the guilty party, not all the people of Islam. The war against terror will be a rightous and winnable fight if we remember two things, who our enemies are and who our friends are. Don't hate those who wish to be your friend.

Never forget the loved ones lost! Never forget this day! Never forget those who saved so many and risked theirs lives doing so!

Better Panic!

God on his side!

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.
(Bob Dylan)

Too peaceful to be Religious! I don't understand the division that man brings on himself. I don't understand the hate that man brings on himself. I don't understand why people wish to live in fear. Violence breeds violence! The solution is obvious, put down your hate and get along. I don't pray to any God, but I won't hate you if you do!

Have a peaceful and loving day!

Better Panic

Sorry, and a little more!

Sorry I have been away for awhile. I hope to return fully soon. I am a father, a college student, and trying to survive in an economic wonderful time.

I will say today a little about the upcoming elections in some states: Do not forget the in the last 6 months of Bush's Presidency alone 4 million jobs were lost. During the eight years of his office, the rich received tax cuts, the middle class was left alone, and the poor lost services. We can not afford to go back to policies that brought to where we are today. Give Obama a little time. It always is quicker to jump into a hole than to climb. some of his stimulus packages are meant as long term fixes, not just short term band aids, healing takes time. Vote with heart, vote for the people, ALL OF THE PEOPLE!

Remember, love and respect your neighbors, it will bring a more peaceful and happier world for all of us and our children.

Better Panic

Warmest June on record globally

New Yorkers in the Bronx seek refuge from the heat June 10.

(CNN) -- Last month was the warmest June on record worldwide, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Warmer-than-average conditions were present across nearly all continents, including much of the United States, according to the organization's State of the Climate report, released Friday.

Although global sea surface temperatures ranked the fourth-warmest on record, the combination of land and sea anomalies pushed June 2010 past June 2005, previously the warmest June on record, the report said. June was also the fourth consecutive month in a row of record warmth worldwide.

Meanwhile, wetter-than-average conditions were present in southern India, southern China, southern Europe and the U.S. Midwest, the report said. In contrast, southwest Australia is experiencing record-setting rainfall deficiencies, with the lowest rainfall on record for the first half of the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The Bureau reported that all states and territories in Australia experienced drier-than-average conditions in June.

June also marked a record low in Arctic sea ice -- the 19th June in a row the sea ice has been below average.

"This is important, because sea ice reflects incoming solar radiation back to space," said CNN Meteorologist Taylor Ward. "Without the normal extent of sea ice in the Arctic, we can expect more radiation to be absorbed into the ocean, leading to more melting. It's what we call a 'positive feedback.'" The amount of sea ice in the Arctic has been steadily declining since 1990.

Warmer-than-average temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, also known as El Nino, have been contributing to the warmth. La Nina conditions -- cooler-than-average temperatures in the same region -- are beginning to set in, which could prevent more monthly records from being set. However, La Nina combined with record-setting warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures is expected to fuel an active Atlantic hurricane season.

The announcement of June's record-setting warmth comes during a period of extreme heat in the United States and Europe. Excessive heat warnings have been topping weather headlines in the United States for more than two weeks now, and Europe has been shattering temperature records as well, with a heat wave through the first half of July. Eastern Europe has seen the most significant temperatures, although much of the continent has experienced above-average heat.