Thankful for...ok, I'm a Little Late

Yeah, yeah, I know I am a little late on giving up some thanks for the year.  But, hey, I was grading, sleeping, cooking, eating...all things I am thankful for.

Ok, I am going to combine this thanks stuff with one of my passions--college football.  Seems ok to me at the moment, now that the regular season is done (I do not count conference championship games as part of the regular season).  For my two cents, this was a fine example of a collegiate football season.

I am thankful to Stanford for beating the Ducks, and to USC for proof that Lame Kiffin is well, lame. 

I am thankful that Washington State stunk the season up, as I am no big fan of Mike Leach even though I have a PhD from Texas Tech.

I am thankful to BYU for deciding they could go college football alone--how's that working for you BYU?

I am thankful that Colorado State did not go winless, but McElwain has a lot of work to do with this program.

I am thankful for Baylor, who proved they were a fluke with RGIII and still beat Kansas State.

I am thankful for Texas A&M, they are proof that expansion is about money, but does not mean bad football.

I am thankful for Urban Meyer, who has now made expectations higher than reality for Ohio State (anyone remember what happened the last time OSU was 12-0, they lost to an SEC team--coached by Meyer).

I am thankful that Penn State did not fold up and go the way of the dodo bird this season.

I am thankful that the John L. Smith era at Arkansas was brief.  Woo Pig Sooie.

I am thankful that the people over at the barn finally realized what everyone else realized a few years back--Chizik is a barely average coach not worthy of an SEC program.

I am thankful that Bama is in a position to play for the SEC championship and the National Championship (particularly since I have academic ties and regional ties to this team).

My Guy Lost, Now What?

Well, my guy lost last night, wasn't even close--Sorry Virgil H. Goode, Jr. it was just not meant for the Constitution Party to win the White House, for the 1.6% of us who could not hold our noses and vote for either the current bum or the wantabe the bum it really didn't matter.  However, A lot of other people's guy lost last night too.  Romney only got 48.1% of the votes cast and currently tallied.  So, now what?

First, Barrack Obama won, he got 50.3% of the votes.  Great, he got 50.3% of the votes, which means there is no mandate from the people.  Sorry, but barely getting 50% of the population to support something is not impressive.  If you offer enough people a free ride on the backs of the rest of the population they will vote for you--and what does it mean--not much really and everything really.

Second, what it means is socialism.  50.3% of the population of the country think that redistribution of the gains of the wealthy is good for the country.  Redistribution be it through taxes or outright taking of property is still the hallmark of socialism.  So, 50.3% of the population has trapped the other 49.7% of the population in a socialist spiral.  Thanks 50.3%.

Third, don't read into my statement a great deal of sympathy toward Romney either.  Only 48.1% of the population liked Romney.  Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.   Do you really think that the 48.1% if they were the majority of votes cast would not have trapped the rest of us in a downward spiral as well?  If you do, come see me, I have real estate for sale.

Ok, so this is my two cents.  Duck, run for cover, start doomsday prepping now.  No, really, my two cents, it will take drastic behavioral adjustment and economic collapse to right the ship and get the majority of the country to move back away from socialist principals of nanny state control of minutae of life and redistribution of wealth policies.  In the meantime, I take solace in the fact that life will find a way and I will find a way to navigate the socialist control of government at the national level in the U.S.

p.s.  what will the first legal challenge to the CO and WA recreational marijuana laws be and when will we see this challenge? 

The North Koreans are Coming, The North Koreans are Coming...

Ok, not really, but hey I remember watching Red Dawn in the theater with my dad when it first came out way back in the stone ages (1984).  So I will probably go see this one...

Tibetan Self-Immolation Count

Tibetan Self-Immolation Count:  60

seven in the last two weeks

Buddhist vs. Muslim in Myanmar

As I mentioned in a previous blog, the problem I am most concerned about in Myanmar is the sectarian violence of Theravada Buddhism versus other population groups in Myanmar.  Well, my fears are being borne out in Myanmar in the last few days.  In Rakhine State, on the Bay of Bengal side of Myanmar, the Rakhine population (primarily Buddhist) and the Rohingya population (Primarily Islamic) have begun fighting in earnest.  According to an article in the AP 56 people have been killed and 200 homes destroyed in the last few days.  This violence is greater than that sparked in June of this year when a group of Muslim men were accused of raping a Buddhist woman and is part of a larger wave of violence since last October that has left at least 84 people dead and over 100 wounded.  Disappointing to me is the lack of a statement by the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi in regard to the violence.

Top 5 Worst Nobel Peace Prize Awards

The awarding of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union requires me to think for a few minutes about the prize and particularly upon silly, or down right stupid, award recipient decisions. I mean really, you could not come up with a deserving individual--heck you could give it to Aung San Suu Kyi for a second time (she was awarded the prize in 1991) easier than giving it to an organization.  What about the Syrian or Lybian activits that all of teh peace study people have run around touting in the last year?  Heck, I'd even feel better about doing a 1939-43, 1948,, 1955-56, 1966-67, 1972 (years in which no peace prize was awarded (there are more of these if you want to go further back, but I was being lazy and just making a point here so I did not go back further). Since I like giving my two cents in the form of lists, here are my top 5 worst Nobel Peace Prizes.

5) 1965 UNICEF

The United Nation's International Children's Educational Fund.  Children are great, I love my kids, as a Christian I love your kids too, in a charitable way.  I love organizations that support kids (I serve on boards that support kids locally).  Does any of this love earn a peace prize?  No.  Supporting kids has not remedied the exploitation of children around the world.  UNICEF did not deserve the prize in 1965 nor any year of its existence.

4) 1988 UN Peacekeeping Forces

Seriously, what was up with this award.  Peacekeeping forces prior to 1988 were even less successful than those after 1988.  And those since 1988 include the peacemakers who use force to try to end conflict situations.  Wow, come wear a blue beanie and we'll recognize you as a world class peace operator.

3) 2001 UN, Kofi Annan

Well, well, well.  Kofi himself and the UN.  Kofi, let us remember, was the UN under-secretary who in 1994 decided not to allow the UN peacekeepers in Rwanda to confiscate weapons caches that were used to arm the Interhamwe and kill 800,000 to 1,000,000 people.  He and the UN really deserved to be recognized for championing peace in the world.

tie 3) 2007 IPCC, Al Gore  

Since when is harping on global warming and carbon emissions worthy of recognition as a peace generating enterprise?

2) 2012 European Union

What is the recognition for?  Did the EU keep the peace since the end of WWII?  No, I believe that was largely a strong U.S. presence and then a strong NATO.  Did the EU keep the peace after the cold war?  No, that would be a strong NATO.  By the way, the EU dropped the ball concerning the former Yugoslavia and that turned out very peacefully. 

1) 2009 Barrack Obama

Well, in the future I might do something that might make a difference in bringing peace to the world.  So, since I am not George W. Bush, and I might do something different in the future than my predecessor presidents of the U.S., I deserve this award and accept the award.  Well, in the future I might think more of Obama as a peacemaker, but currently not so much.

Okay, so I gave you six (with a third place tie), I could give more, but wanted to keep it sort of short.  And, I did not want to go Jimmy Carter (2002) bashing here, as Jimmy has enough detractors in the world.  It would also have been too easy to bash Amnesty International (1977).

I'll give you my top two most worthy recipients:

2)  1991 Aung San Suu Kyi--you rock woman, keep it up.
1) 1929 Frank Billing Kellog--you really can't outlaw war, but hey, you gave it a real shot.

Are You Kidding?

Anyone read the story today about the airport police office in Philly discharging a confiscated weapon and discharged the firearm instead.  Let's see here, if I pull this the bullets will come out...  Moron, firearms do not accidentally discharge, there are internal safeties built into nearly every firearm manufactured in the last 20 years to avoid accidental discharge.  The biggest safety of all is often forgotten...