Saturday, September 04, 2004
Friday, September 03, 2004
Audience boos as Bush offers best wishes for Clinton Recovery.
This was on the radio and the TV and if there were boos, they were too quiet to hear. What is it with the Associated Press? Now they're making up stories out of whole cloth to make Republicans look bad.
Boo update.
This was on the radio and the TV and if there were boos, they were too quiet to hear. What is it with the Associated Press? Now they're making up stories out of whole cloth to make Republicans look bad.
Boo update.
Just a few minutes after President Bush completed his acceptance speech last night, John Kerry gave a speech in Ohio. I think the Economy is pretty good, at least it is in my extended family. Within the last four years, I was able to refinance my house at historically low rates (4.5%), my wife owns her own business and that is going great guns, my own work is going strong and although Terrorism may come again to America, it has sure missed a lot of oppotunities to come: conventions have gone off well, the Olympics have gone off well (Americans were not heckled off the stage), major sporting events have gone off well, major entertainment venues (Oscars, Emmies, Grammies) have all gone off safely.
The unemployment rate is 5.4%, the economy is growing rather strongly, the President has managed to push through some Medicare drug help for seniors, the President has managed to create a Homeland security department. It seems to me that when Bush is finally convinced that an idea is good, he gets behind it, strongly. "No Child Left Behind," "Homeland Security," and the new Security Czar are all examples.
Kerry's upset because years ago he helped to paint Vietnam veterans with one large brush as war criminals and they, those veterans, have not forgotten or forgiven. Kerry blames this on President Bush and not on himself. Even though there were endless hits on Kerry's senate record during the Republican Convention, I heard no hits against his service in the Navy. Zell Miller made mention of Kerry's anti-war activity, but nothing about Kerry's actual service. The Swift Boaters are all over Kerry for both his service and his anti-war activity. Blaming this on the President is transparently desperate. Kerry's speech last night was a speech full of 9/10 thought. I like President Bush's idea to start privatizing Social Security, for example, but I hold no ill-will that he didn't get to it in these last four years. I understand there were other priorities and Kerry, apparently, doesn't.
The unemployment rate is 5.4%, the economy is growing rather strongly, the President has managed to push through some Medicare drug help for seniors, the President has managed to create a Homeland security department. It seems to me that when Bush is finally convinced that an idea is good, he gets behind it, strongly. "No Child Left Behind," "Homeland Security," and the new Security Czar are all examples.
Kerry's upset because years ago he helped to paint Vietnam veterans with one large brush as war criminals and they, those veterans, have not forgotten or forgiven. Kerry blames this on President Bush and not on himself. Even though there were endless hits on Kerry's senate record during the Republican Convention, I heard no hits against his service in the Navy. Zell Miller made mention of Kerry's anti-war activity, but nothing about Kerry's actual service. The Swift Boaters are all over Kerry for both his service and his anti-war activity. Blaming this on the President is transparently desperate. Kerry's speech last night was a speech full of 9/10 thought. I like President Bush's idea to start privatizing Social Security, for example, but I hold no ill-will that he didn't get to it in these last four years. I understand there were other priorities and Kerry, apparently, doesn't.
Catholic School
Last night was my first ever back-to-school night at a Catholic school. My older kids all went through public school and my kindergartener has just started in at our church school. Some terms are different, PTA is called something else... "HASA" for "Home and School Association." The school is much smaller than public school, and our priest spoke right up about sex problems other schools have been having and how our school will deal with and try to prevent such problems.
I must say, I saw many such problems when my kids were in middle school and high school in the public schools. Since the late 1990's, it has seemed to me that kids have been more and more out of control, sexually speaking, and that is one of the reasons we have gone private. I was pleased to hear the problem addressed publically and openly, unlike the public schools where it is swept under the rug and somewhat tolerated.
Our priest also spoke of what he expects of the kids during Mass, both at school and on the weekend. He asked for parents' help in training the children to behave and act properly. This is also a breath of fresh air, since religion is totally absent from discussion at public school.
My little girl and I are both learning about the Catholic Church. Each Wednesday, the kindergarteners meet first thing at the church and pray the rosary, learning the Hail Mary and the Our Father. She will have her Catholicism imbedded in her school days while I must focus on my own effort.
I must say, I saw many such problems when my kids were in middle school and high school in the public schools. Since the late 1990's, it has seemed to me that kids have been more and more out of control, sexually speaking, and that is one of the reasons we have gone private. I was pleased to hear the problem addressed publically and openly, unlike the public schools where it is swept under the rug and somewhat tolerated.
Our priest also spoke of what he expects of the kids during Mass, both at school and on the weekend. He asked for parents' help in training the children to behave and act properly. This is also a breath of fresh air, since religion is totally absent from discussion at public school.
My little girl and I are both learning about the Catholic Church. Each Wednesday, the kindergarteners meet first thing at the church and pray the rosary, learning the Hail Mary and the Our Father. She will have her Catholicism imbedded in her school days while I must focus on my own effort.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
I just saw an amazing speech, by Democrat Zell Miller at the Republican Convention. Here's the text. But reading the text will, in no way, convey the incredible anger and hurt Miller portrayed against his own party. If you didn't see it, try to catch it on CSPAN late tonight, or tomorrow. Miller also had good words for President Bush, "I like that he's the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday morning," he said.
I happened to watch CNN and Judy Woodruff, Greenfield and Wolf Blitzer all teamed up on Zell Miller and bashed him for minutes, Miller stayed strong on his convictions.
ABC's Stephanolopus says, "Miller's speech was too hot and will backfire, it will convince no one who isn't already voting for Bush."
Miller is on Chris Matthews show on MSNBC for a long time, Matthews is his normal, shouting self and Miller is having none of it, telling Chris Matthews to "Get out of my face." and "you're not going to just run over me like you did that girl on your show the other night." (Michelle Malkin). All the talking heads are using the Democrat talking points, saying that Dick Cheney voted against a lot of the same weapons systems that John Kerry did... but Zell Miller has documentation that Kerry didn't just vote against the systems as part of larger bills, like Cheney, Kerry stood up and gave speeches against the Military budgets... Miller is being pounded by all the anchors and he's giving as good as he's getting.
Never really have seen the like of this.
I happened to watch CNN and Judy Woodruff, Greenfield and Wolf Blitzer all teamed up on Zell Miller and bashed him for minutes, Miller stayed strong on his convictions.
ABC's Stephanolopus says, "Miller's speech was too hot and will backfire, it will convince no one who isn't already voting for Bush."
Miller is on Chris Matthews show on MSNBC for a long time, Matthews is his normal, shouting self and Miller is having none of it, telling Chris Matthews to "Get out of my face." and "you're not going to just run over me like you did that girl on your show the other night." (Michelle Malkin). All the talking heads are using the Democrat talking points, saying that Dick Cheney voted against a lot of the same weapons systems that John Kerry did... but Zell Miller has documentation that Kerry didn't just vote against the systems as part of larger bills, like Cheney, Kerry stood up and gave speeches against the Military budgets... Miller is being pounded by all the anchors and he's giving as good as he's getting.
Never really have seen the like of this.
Monday, August 30, 2004
The Texas High Court says that fetuses are not people. The British seek global support for fetal stem cell research.
The Britsh want reproductive cloning to be illegal, but theraputic cloning to be allowed. In other words, it's OK to clone a human if you intend to destroy the clone, but it is not OK to clone a human if you intend the clone to live. As a science fiction fan, let me tell you... this is exactly the horror story many books have predicted. Robin Cook's "Chromosome Six" for example (however unlikely it appeared at the time), discusses creating genetic matches for rich people so the rich would have body parts when needed. Much the same as "Coma" where people are put into comas and then killed for their parts. Now the world is seeing the future. Babies are started only, only for their parts... in fact, it is illegal for babies to be started other than for their parts.
If you make your living on your home computer and you come home to find your fifteen year-old has taken it apart to see how it works, and has, in fact, destroyed it by prying off the surface mount components, are you pleased because somewhere down the road the things your teenager learned will be put to good use?
I don't doubt God's power to instill humanity into Man, however Man be spawned. Neither do I doubt God's displeasure at the destruction of Men for the sole purpose of tinkering, no matter how altruistic the reason.
The Britsh want reproductive cloning to be illegal, but theraputic cloning to be allowed. In other words, it's OK to clone a human if you intend to destroy the clone, but it is not OK to clone a human if you intend the clone to live. As a science fiction fan, let me tell you... this is exactly the horror story many books have predicted. Robin Cook's "Chromosome Six" for example (however unlikely it appeared at the time), discusses creating genetic matches for rich people so the rich would have body parts when needed. Much the same as "Coma" where people are put into comas and then killed for their parts. Now the world is seeing the future. Babies are started only, only for their parts... in fact, it is illegal for babies to be started other than for their parts.
If you make your living on your home computer and you come home to find your fifteen year-old has taken it apart to see how it works, and has, in fact, destroyed it by prying off the surface mount components, are you pleased because somewhere down the road the things your teenager learned will be put to good use?
I don't doubt God's power to instill humanity into Man, however Man be spawned. Neither do I doubt God's displeasure at the destruction of Men for the sole purpose of tinkering, no matter how altruistic the reason.
