The H1N1 Vaccine Shortage

As I sit here suffering from the symptoms of a confirmed case of H1N1 which I got from my grandson, I feel qualified to speak about the current panic gripping the nation. A panic which is causing selfish, self-centered and immoral people to horde medicine, against all expert medical advice, get a vaccine when they are not in a high risk group or even worse, attempt to make money on the misery and misfortune of others.

Yes I am really sick and feeling lousy; body pain and aches and temperatures as high as 103.7. Yes, I am worried about my grandson who being only 10 years-old falls into the category of those who are being disproportionately affected by this new virus. And yes I am worried about the thousands of people who are standing in line for as long as 16 hours in hopes to get the vaccine. But I can’t help but wonder what the feeding frenzy would be if President Bush were still in the White House and the nation was facing such shortage despite assurances a few months ago that there would be enough vaccine available by now to properly vaccinate at least the high risk groups.

If you are a moderate intelligent American with an open mind and a willingness to listen to both sides and then make up your own mind and you still believe that the media is not biased toward the left, just take a look at the any of the three major news networks in this country and notice the lack of public outrage and outcry over the shortage.

I don’t know that President Obama, or any other president for that matter, can do anything to accelerate the production of a vaccine which is created by a private for-profit organization: Is not like the President of the United States can pick up the phone and order a private institution to increase production even under emergency circumstances. And yet somehow I feel that if President Bush were still the president, the outcry would be heard around the world!

Remember a few weeks back when President Obama visited New Orleans to see the damage which still affects the city? President Obama, in what is a rare occurrence, was criticized for being making the visit two hours long. Residents felt that the president should have spent more time in the devastated city. That criticism was first reported in early broadcasts the next day but it was removed and absent from subsequent evening broadcasts.

It seems that any criticism of the president is quickly removed from the major news networks if it makes it to the broadcast at all!

If this is not enough to convince you, consider the latest salvo fired by the White House when they attempted to change Fox Network’s status from a legitimate new media organization to that of a “talk show” which is not entitled to have access to the president and one in which the president does not have to appear as clearly demonstrated when the President appeared in all three major network news casts to promote his health reform plan but refused to appear in any Fox News broadcasts.

The White House’ attempt to discredit and disqualify Fox News was so outrageous that the entire Press Corps rebelled against the move, choosing instead to fight for the First Amendment and not allow the president to go after a news agency simply because he doesn’t like the criticism.

When President Bush was president not a day went by where the major media outlets didn’t burn then President Bush in effigy for anything and everything.

Once again we witness that the facts don’t really matter and when it comes down to it, everyone, including the President and his administration, always tries to put the best foot forward.

Celebrating Life's Journey

This is the view from our camper as we spent two days at the Silver Strand State Park in Coronado, Ca.
The night was warm and had we any firewood, there might have been a nice fire in the fire ring.

As it was, it was great just sitting on lounge chairs and enjoying a very special bottle of wine given to us by a very good friend.

I’ve come to realize that there is no reason to lament birthdays. They are, after all, the natural progression of a life’s journey which begins at the moment of our birth.

Oh sure we miss the health, the once toned body, the ability to eat anything we ever wanted and not gain an ounce. Some of us miss the hair that once kept our heads warm in a cool evening like this one. Others might miss the good looks, but the experience gathered during the voyage, the serenity that comes from finally understanding that despite its ups and downs like is good when one takes the time to share the small details like the one above, the patience that prolongs those special small and sometimes fleeting moments of pleasure more than makes up for the loss of those things which in the long run, don’t matter.

Whenever I find myself at a place like this, I can’t help but miss those loved ones who are no longer with us. The many people who at one time or another have enriched our lives and have touched our hearts whether they ever knew it or not. I missed many people this day, but the knowledge that I too might be missed by someone, that

I too will someday complete my journey added peace to my day.
And I realize that despite all the history of mankind, the sea has been tenderly kissing the shores like passionate lovers, and that it will continue long after I am too a memory.

All told, while the time spent in this special place wasn’t particularly lengthy, it was quite special and memorable. Making it ring more true that is not the years in a life, but the life in the years.

Chicken Shit

When are airline travelers in general going to wake up and wise up? In what is perhaps the worse recession in 25 years, if not longer, airlines are holding the entire nation hostage with “chicken-shit” fares and added fees. It seems to be a game of chicken which the airlines are determined to win.

As fewer people can afford to go home for the holidays and stay home, the more airlines raise fares and fees for everything from booking on-line to reserving a seat. They claim that is a necessary move in order to survive, but what they don’t often reveal is that they are manipulating the law of supply and demand by cutting fights and seats and then raising the fare of the remaining seats. This game is going to continue until no one can afford to travel.

It seems that the airline industry is headed for a show-down with unknown consequences. Sooner or later someone is going to blink in this dangerous game. Either the airlines lower fares and eliminate this ridiculous fees and make up the difference with more people taking to the skies or they continue with the racketeering scheme and go bust, or worse yet, demand and expect a government bailout. After all, we can’t allow the airline industry to fail, can we?

I don’t know what will happen, but I do know that nature abhors a vacuum and that whether or not American airlines make it or not, other stronger, larger, more financially stable companies will fill in the vacuum. So I say, if American airlines continue what amounts to legal extortion and by it they fail, let them. We need a revolution in this country; shake things up and let politicians and corporations alike know that ultimately they work for us.

If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants." -Wiliam Penn

"Everyone and I mean everyone would like to live in an ideal world where there’s no poverty, no hunger, no wars, no crime, no corruption and above all; freedom. Freedom to choose, freedom from oppression, freedom to pursue whatever an individuals definition of happiness may be. And there lies the problem; freedom and Utopia are mutually exclusive for without some kind of moral code which dictates what behavior is acceptable and non-acceptable in a society where perhaps millions, if not billions of people need to live together there can’t be peace or even civility.

You cannot have an ideal world as long as everyone has the freedom to do whatever they like or want to do. Why: Because some people’s wishes are counter to the laws and rules which are needed and required for society to live in peace. Perhaps because men is inherently evil and only laws-may they be man-made or divine- can rule his behavior.

There are people who will use the freedom provided by the government to do things which are flat out illegal or immoral. Some of these people, if not all of them, do not believe that their activities or desires are necessarily bad, and that if it weren’t for laws which prohibit their activities, they wouldn’t be criminals. Take the organization NAMBLA-North America Men/Boys Love Association. Their sole purpose for existence and use of the First Amendment is to promote sexual relations between men and young boys! Should this be legal? Is this healthy for society, for boys, children? It shouldn’t be, but somehow some people believe that it is. Sounds like circular reasoning, doesn’t it? Well it is.

Freedom allows for greed and where there is greed there are going to be victims. When some people get rich through legitimate or illegitimate means some people will suffer. It’s that simple.

Almost as soon as the USSR broke up, crime- which had been tightly controlled by the suppressive government- spiked to never before seen levels. Pornography soon became its main export. And not only “regular” pornography but child pornography! So while some are getting filthy rich on this disgusting business, there are thousands of children who are victims and are suffering. This money buys weapons, drugs and bribes from officials who are paid to look the other way. In a country where poverty is still a problem, where people are hungry, cold in winter and hot in summer this is not hard to do.

These are just but two examples; there are thousands!

I am not making an argument for socialism or communism, or perhaps I am, I don’t know. I am simply trying to say that freedom without faith, without a moral code to dictate decent versus indecent behavior can not and will not ever lead to an ideal world.

WTF?!

What had President Obama done that warrants receiving the Nobel Peace Prize? What?! He's only been in office since January and so far he hasn't done squat! The President or Prime Minister of every country he's tried to meet with for peace has slammed the door in his face!

I think that awarding this pretigious prize to President Omaba is an excellent example of not only the politics involved, but how biased the entire world has become.

Mean People Suck!!

I fail to comprehend why there are people in the world who delight on being mean to others and only think of themselves. Where do these people come from? What has happened in their puny insignificant and miserable lives that motivate them to do this?

When I was a child I used to believe that the best way to put mean people in their place was either to insult them or just plain kick their ass. When you’re a child, you can get away with either or both. However as a grown man I’d be in jail all the time if I were to go around kicking the ass of these jerks that deserve to have their asses kicked or better yet, shot!

So I’ve realized that the best way to deal with these jerks is to just pity them. That’s right, pity them. Pity their miserable existence. Pity their miserable personalities and their lack of intelligence, education and in some cases; breeding. When people are that stupid, they are no better than the common dog who because of lack of intelligence, doesn’t realize he/she/it is a dog.

So for all your stupid miserable mean people out there-and you know you are-who can manage to read and stumble upon this blog; I pity your sorry ass, I really do because someday, somewhere, sometime that spirit IS going to catch up with your ass.

For Every Action, There's an Equal and Opposite Reaction

Actor and local San Diego resident Richard Dreyfuss is making the TV rounds promoting an initiative that he authored which seeks to bring Civics back into the classroom. A noble and desperately needed cause to be sure and I, a Republican, not only agree with his position but also applaud it.

Mr. Dreyfuss rightfully argues that society has failed in its responsibility to educate our children in some of the most basic and important aspects of life and that we HAVE succeeded in making our children more stupid. Dreyfuss, an actor himself, questions the fact that today’s children are getting their “civics” education from movies and pop culture and are incapable of balancing a check book, hammering a nail, or cooking a basic meal for their own sustenance. Dreyfuss goes on to say that the 21st century is and will be a challenge and if we do not bring civics back into our schools our children will have a really difficult time coping with it.

Mr. Dreyfus, who rarely attends film festivals, will attend the San Diego Film Festival being held this week in an effort to promote his initiative.

I hope that he succeeds in his attempts. However, I cannot complete this article without bringing attention to the fact that the class of Civics was one of the first casualties in schools due primarily to budget cuts which were necessary in order to finance the many social services which Mr. Dreyfus and his friends in Hollywood are so fond of.

Because of those cuts teachers were forced to agonize over which classes were absolutely necessary to prepare students for the rigors of college or just life. They believed, mistakenly so, that parents would fill the gap and teach their children what they themselves were taught in school when it came to civics. Whether parents just dropped the ball or were forced to work as a means to make ends meet and were no longer available for their children is debatable. But in any case civics was dropped and soon forgotten.

Whether Mr. Dreyfus’ efforts are born from his realization that his activism efforts had unintended consequences which he is now trying to repair or is just another attempt to be relevant we don’t know. But in order for his initiative to work he and others must understand that we cannot give away everything to everyone every time. Newton's physical law still rings true: For every action there’s an equal an opposite reaction.