An event called "The People's Climate March" took place in New York City this past Sunday to demonstrate against "climate change." Typically, these anti-capitalist, mini-Marxists spouted slogans, buzz words and misinformation designed to win support and sympathy for their movement. I thought it would be informative to examine just two of their mantras and check them for accuracy and intellectual honesty.
One of the campaigns of environmentalists is to urge people to use paper bags instead of plastic bags at the supermarket. Paper or plastic. Well, they say the correct answer is paper. Or is it? Mull these numbers over while you're bagging your groceries.
1. Paper bags cost 3 times more to manufacture than plastic bags.
2. The manufacturing process for paper bags causes 50 times more pollution than the process for plastic bags.
3. Paper bags take up 5 times more space in landfills than plastic bags.
Finally, there is one glaring inconsistency in the paper versus plastic argument. We are constantly being told how we must preserve our trees and forest acreage, but replacing plastic with paper will result in even more trees being cut down.
The other mantra of the climate change mini-Marxists is their stand against big oil and fossil fuels, and their advocacy of bio-fuels.. They tell us ethanol can save the planet from filthy air and filthy oil companies. Ponder a few of these numbers while filling up your tank.
1.Fuel mileage with ethanol is 25% lower than gas.
2 .40% of our corn crop goes for ethanol, which, in turn, raises the price of food commodities.
3. Corn production erodes the soil 20 times faster than the soil is formed.
4. Burning ethanol produces carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, which are 2 gases that help create acid rain.
5. Producing a gallon of ethanol conusmes more energy than it produces.
6. Ethanol companies receive 5 billion dollars a year in taxpayer subsidies.
7. If every vehicle in the US converted to ethanol, it would require that 90% of our cropland be used exclusively for corn production.
8. Because ethanol is corrosive it cannot be transported via pipelines, and therefore, it must be transported by truck and train, consuming even more fuel.
One last note. The theme of the People's Climate March was climate change. It is important to realize they did not use the term "global warming," since there has been none since 1998. They are hedging their bets, so no matter which way the environment goes, they can smugly raise their hands and say, "See, we told you so." This intellectual dishonesty proves that the environmental crusade is not about saving the planet, but about furthering socialist political and social agendas.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
THE TWIN DESTROYERS
A literary journal named Black Book Press published a poem of mine several years ago commemorating 9/11. I thought it would be an appropropriate time to post it.
THE TWIN DESTROYERS
Evil arrived sheathed in a metallic skin,
a winged hypodermic needle
injecting terror and death
into the American psyche
The Twin Towers pointed skyward,
a pair of monuments to free minds
and unfettered intellects,
where dreams and reality meld and mutate
Mohammed's tribes sprang from their caves
like rabid bats, fueled by random emotions,
blinded by a thousand years of darkness,
hating what they do not understand
Where the Towers challenged the heavens,
the tribes wallowed
in the muck of superstition,
force their only path,
myths their only blessed truths
Evil hates achievers,
for the world of evil is constructed
on pain and suffering,
where mindless sacrifice is the highest value
So erect more towers
to heights the tribes cannot scale,
and let the tortured alloy of our hearts
provide the impenetrable material
What intellect builds,
tribalism seeks to demolish,
so be ever watchful
of those twin destroyers of humanity:
Faith and force
THE TWIN DESTROYERS
Evil arrived sheathed in a metallic skin,
a winged hypodermic needle
injecting terror and death
into the American psyche
The Twin Towers pointed skyward,
a pair of monuments to free minds
and unfettered intellects,
where dreams and reality meld and mutate
Mohammed's tribes sprang from their caves
like rabid bats, fueled by random emotions,
blinded by a thousand years of darkness,
hating what they do not understand
Where the Towers challenged the heavens,
the tribes wallowed
in the muck of superstition,
force their only path,
myths their only blessed truths
Evil hates achievers,
for the world of evil is constructed
on pain and suffering,
where mindless sacrifice is the highest value
So erect more towers
to heights the tribes cannot scale,
and let the tortured alloy of our hearts
provide the impenetrable material
What intellect builds,
tribalism seeks to demolish,
so be ever watchful
of those twin destroyers of humanity:
Faith and force
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
RAY RICE AND WEED: UPSIDE DOWN JUSTICE IN THE NFL
The Ray Rice fiasco in the NFL is a perfect example of how we have our priorities screwed up in our culture. Rice coldcocks his wife with a vicious left hook in an elevator, knocks her unconscious, then drags her lifeless body out of the elevator as if it were a fresh carcass.. And for this he was punished with a ridiculous 2 game suspension. Meanwhile, another NFL player, Josh Gordon, failed a drug test for marijuana and was suspended for an entire season.
Is it just me or is justice completely whacko and out of kilter? According to the National Football League, smoking weed is 8 times worse than beating a woman unconscious. Apparently the NFL values a smoke-free environment more than the safety and wellbeing of women.
The problem here is two-fold. First, too many people are completely ignorant regarding marijuana, and have swallowed all the hysterical anti-weed propaganda. Second, we have a tendency to put our athletic stars, regardless of the sport, on a pedestal and treat them like gods and heroes who can do no wrong, especially if they play for our team. And if they do do wrong, well, give them a slap on the tush and let them play, because our team needs the wins and we need the goddamn entertainment. What Americans need to do is quit idolizing athletes, especially the ones who beat their partners, string together DUI'S, and father kids out of wedlock that they never bother to raise.
So let's start small. Let's turn off sports for 30 minutes each week and open a freakin' book. The women of this country will thank you for it.
Is it just me or is justice completely whacko and out of kilter? According to the National Football League, smoking weed is 8 times worse than beating a woman unconscious. Apparently the NFL values a smoke-free environment more than the safety and wellbeing of women.
The problem here is two-fold. First, too many people are completely ignorant regarding marijuana, and have swallowed all the hysterical anti-weed propaganda. Second, we have a tendency to put our athletic stars, regardless of the sport, on a pedestal and treat them like gods and heroes who can do no wrong, especially if they play for our team. And if they do do wrong, well, give them a slap on the tush and let them play, because our team needs the wins and we need the goddamn entertainment. What Americans need to do is quit idolizing athletes, especially the ones who beat their partners, string together DUI'S, and father kids out of wedlock that they never bother to raise.
So let's start small. Let's turn off sports for 30 minutes each week and open a freakin' book. The women of this country will thank you for it.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
WEIRD NUMBERS GAME #10
1. 1.5 million gallons of water are used everyday in Walt Disney World.
2. 71% of people polled want the US to continue bombing Isis.
3.In 1970 there were 89 breweries in the US. Today there are approximately 3200.
4. Only 30% of aging is due to genetics. The other 70% is determined by lifestyle.
5. Only 63.4% of people between the ages of 18-29 are employed.
6. According to the US Department of Justice, violent crimes have decreased by 70% since 1993.
7. FBI reports from 2012 show that of all criminal suspects killed by police, 52% were white, 31% Black, and 12% Hispanic.
8. Wine was first produced 8,000 years ago in the Caucuses.
9. It is estimated that 5 million golfers have stopped playing the game in the past decade.
2. 71% of people polled want the US to continue bombing Isis.
3.In 1970 there were 89 breweries in the US. Today there are approximately 3200.
4. Only 30% of aging is due to genetics. The other 70% is determined by lifestyle.
5. Only 63.4% of people between the ages of 18-29 are employed.
6. According to the US Department of Justice, violent crimes have decreased by 70% since 1993.
7. FBI reports from 2012 show that of all criminal suspects killed by police, 52% were white, 31% Black, and 12% Hispanic.
8. Wine was first produced 8,000 years ago in the Caucuses.
9. It is estimated that 5 million golfers have stopped playing the game in the past decade.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
THINGS WE THINK WE KNOW
Someone once said that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. It could also be said that misinformation that passes for fact can be a dangerous thing because it can distort issues and prejudice our thinking. Below is a list of nine items that our "common wisdom" has ordained as fact. Some are serious, others are silly. How many of the nine have you regarded as fact?
Myth 1: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women.
Fact: While 43,000 women a year die of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease kills a half million women annually.
Myth 2: Cinderella's slipper was made of glass.
Fact: In the original version of Cinderella written in Old French, her slippers were made of white squirrel fur, or "vair." Subsequent translations mistook "vair" for "verre," which means glasss; hence, Cinderella has been wearing glass slippers ever since.
Myth 3: Our forests are swiftly disappearing.
Fact: We have more forest acreage than a century ago. According to the US Forestry Service, the US grows 22 million cubic feet of wood a year, while cutting down 16.5 million cubic feet a year, a net increase of 36% annually.
Myth 4: Teen smoking is on the rise.
Fact: Recent studies have found that 15% of current high schooler seniors smoke at least a half pack daily, compared to 20% of seniors in 1979.
Myth 5: The number of police officers killed in the line of duty is increasing.
Fact: Figures from the US Bureau kof Statistics show that in 1973, 134 police officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide. Forty years later that number fell to 51 officers killed.
Myth 6: Sharks must keep moving or die.
Fact: While most species of shark breath by swimming with their mouths open, other species, such as the sandtiger, bull and lemon sharks can breath without having to swim.
Myth 7: The term "shyster" is derived from Shylock, the Shakespeare character.
Fact: "Shyster" is actually derived from the name of an unscrupulous American lawyer named Scheuster, who practiced law in the 1840's.
Myth 8: Urban sprawl is rapidly overtaking our nation.
Fact: Cities and suburbs comprise a mere 3% of the total US land area. In fact, according to the Pacific Research Institute, the amount of government protected land has tripled in the past 30 years.
Myth 9: Lemmings are furry little animals who leap off cliffs.
Fact: Lemmings, which are members of the rodent family, do not follow one another into the sea to drown. Being migratory animals, they leave their home areas when food grows scarce, and will forge rivers and streams in search of food. Unfortunately, sometimes they attempt to swim across bodies of water that are too deep for them to negotiate. The result is that large numbers of the animal perish.
Myth 1: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women.
Fact: While 43,000 women a year die of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease kills a half million women annually.
Myth 2: Cinderella's slipper was made of glass.
Fact: In the original version of Cinderella written in Old French, her slippers were made of white squirrel fur, or "vair." Subsequent translations mistook "vair" for "verre," which means glasss; hence, Cinderella has been wearing glass slippers ever since.
Myth 3: Our forests are swiftly disappearing.
Fact: We have more forest acreage than a century ago. According to the US Forestry Service, the US grows 22 million cubic feet of wood a year, while cutting down 16.5 million cubic feet a year, a net increase of 36% annually.
Myth 4: Teen smoking is on the rise.
Fact: Recent studies have found that 15% of current high schooler seniors smoke at least a half pack daily, compared to 20% of seniors in 1979.
Myth 5: The number of police officers killed in the line of duty is increasing.
Fact: Figures from the US Bureau kof Statistics show that in 1973, 134 police officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide. Forty years later that number fell to 51 officers killed.
Myth 6: Sharks must keep moving or die.
Fact: While most species of shark breath by swimming with their mouths open, other species, such as the sandtiger, bull and lemon sharks can breath without having to swim.
Myth 7: The term "shyster" is derived from Shylock, the Shakespeare character.
Fact: "Shyster" is actually derived from the name of an unscrupulous American lawyer named Scheuster, who practiced law in the 1840's.
Myth 8: Urban sprawl is rapidly overtaking our nation.
Fact: Cities and suburbs comprise a mere 3% of the total US land area. In fact, according to the Pacific Research Institute, the amount of government protected land has tripled in the past 30 years.
Myth 9: Lemmings are furry little animals who leap off cliffs.
Fact: Lemmings, which are members of the rodent family, do not follow one another into the sea to drown. Being migratory animals, they leave their home areas when food grows scarce, and will forge rivers and streams in search of food. Unfortunately, sometimes they attempt to swim across bodies of water that are too deep for them to negotiate. The result is that large numbers of the animal perish.
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