Ohio High School Has 64 Pregnant Students

Here’s the money quote from the article:

“Experts, parents and students themselves struggle to explain why such pockets of high teen pregancy rates appear. Are teens getting appropriate sex education? Do they have access to birth control and are they using it consistently? Has the stigma of unwed motherhood lost its edge?”

I was going to, in the spirit of the times, blame this on Global Warming®. The high pregnancy rate must be a result of President Bush not signing the Kyoto Treaty. Everything else is…

Then I got thinking….I think it’s events like this, that despite the Kyoto Treaty provisions, are exactly what cause Global Warming®. What a dilemna we now face. There is no accounting for the destructive effect of excessive body heat generated by teens with nothing to do besides to practice (and sometimes succeed) at getting pregnant.

On top of wringing our hands over that, we need to raise the flag now about who is to blame for the damage to the Gulf Coast. These teenagers shouldn’t be allowed to escape the consequences of their actions that caused the two Category 5 storms!

We must now consider whether we will try to amend the Kyoto Treaty, or is we need to have a major worldwide conference, say in like Amsterdam. At least there, the residents would be open to the discussions….

Just a thought…

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post!

I began this story a few days ago. This mornings news is apparently trumpeting a change in society, yet what it really is is an announcement by the HBM/MSM is: “WE STILL GOT IT!”

I began to update the previous post, like this:

Update 9/30/05: Thank you News Media of the Main Stream for “changing the world.” You’d have done more for the country by telling tht truth…

I decided it may get buried in the background, so I did the best thing: Make more for you to read….

Anyhow, the MSM seems to have become imbued with some new spirit of control in the Vietnam era, when they found out how stilted reporting could end a war (without any insightful analysis as to the long term outcome, let alone the immedate carnage). They have continually tried to take on the President over Iraq, with not much success. I think they went after the hurricane stories to show they still could exert great influence over world events.

The sad part is their reporting was based on lies….

Ergo, the “new attitudes” are based on lies.

What a shame that they pretend to be for the greater good, yet all they really want is to be noticed and, more importantly, in control….

I will not hold my breath waiting for retractions, nor any more formal attempts to right this egregious wrong.

Re: Tom DeLay and moving money between companies, states, and candidates….

Dear concerned Democrat (who sees your party being continually beat up over stupid stuff);

Once again, I’ll remind you (as I did in some post a while back) that you’d most likely have better strategies and tactics if you could manage to attract some senior military officers to your side. They have the hands on experience to help you through the virtual minefield. Then again, your strident anti-war stance seems to drive away the very type of people who might be your best assets…and I said that before as well.

Now, to the topic at hand:

Remember when you tried to hang Tom Delay before over money from some lobbyist paying for trips (“junkets” I believe is the proper term)? The MSM got all whipped up, the crowds were chanting for blood, there was name calling, accusations….and then

(crickets chirping)….

It seems when the rest of the House representatives, who were in the forefront of the attack, reviewed their own dealing there were also “administrative irregularites” with their travel. Some of the problems were the same man who paid for Tom Delay had funded some democrats. Other issues involved that fact not being clearly stated on the travel reports. Other reports had not been submitted in the established time frame (30 days, I recall).

No wonder if got quiet. The same “crimes” of Tom DeLay had been carried out by Nancy Pelosi and others on both sides of the isle.

Hint: If a tactic causes you to lose a battle (and gracefully spares you from extremination), re-examine your plan and the specific tactics. You may have a good tactic, but it’s best used in other circumstances. Your timing may have been off, or…. you just might have done it before, and not even realized the cause of your own demise.

“Hey diddle diddle, right up the middle” tends to become very predictable, to the point the ambush awaits you and strategic defeat follows (for you, that is).

Check your play book. Make sure you read the basic instructions that tell you to make sure you’re clean of the “crime” yourself before you scream bloody murder. Another hint: If you only have one play in the book, have a strategic retreat and come up with other ideas. Here’s some wisdom I picked up from one of my commanders that might help out a little in this area.

And, if you’re so inclined, study the history of human conflict, there are lots of clues there that may help guide your decision making inn your quest to regain your power you so obsessively chase after.

Summary: I predict you’ll find a lot of people digging in the DNC and Democratically controlled PAC funds, and the same issues will arise for your own people. It will be ugly, as once again, you beat a retreat, with the enemy at your heels. The sad part is, you’ll have brought it on yourselves.

Enough counselling for one day. Get back to me if you need more help.

Signed,

A concerned citizen who is tired of infantile attempts to grab power when we have much better things to debate.

I’ve heard about this book, and right now, Neal Boortz has the author on the radio. He mentioned it has been on the NYT Best Seller List for six weeks, but…only two reviews so far, and by very “small” publications. He has had no call sfrom the “MSM” types….go figure….

I haven’t read this one yet, but one book I did read a few years back, after hearing one of the borhters who wrote it speak was Unveiling Islam.” Ergun Canor and his brother grew up Muslim and are now both Baptist preachers. I’d say their view of the Koran is exceptionally credible…..

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post!

On 9/9/05, I pondered the rising angst with “RED TAPE” in the context of not enough relief efforts for Katrina working well. That horrible stuff that binds us in inaction, particularly when we need any level of governmental office to do what we want right this very instant.

Today, I smirk with the about week long struggle in the papers and radio and TV media with the fervent calls for “accountability” and “oversight” and the need to “make sure the relief money is spent the right way!” when the issue of billions of dollars flowing to the Gulf Coast comes up.

I said this in the prior posting:

“The forms, reports and procedures you love to hate, define the “Red Tape” term. Here’s the real bottom line: They get there, to get in your way, directly, or indirectly, so you, the taxpayer, can have detailed oversight of where the money went and who approved or disapproved some action that now is putting a burr under your saddle.”

“RED TAPE” – We love to hate it, right up until it makes sure the other guy doesn’t get something we thing they should have….the difference is when we love it, it’s all of a sudden not “RED TAPE.”

Just a few weeks ago, Bill Whittle of Eject! Eject! Eject! posted a fine essay on “tribes”, that was very relevant due to the news reports of the chaos in New Orleans.

Update 9/27/2005: Here’s a link to an article I didn’t take the time to look for yesterday, that supports this post.

Back to the regular post

Today, I found it disturbing to hear at least two talk radio shows discuss the reality of the post-Hurricane Katrina social “unrest”…it seems there was some, but hardly any major crime committed. It seems, like the “body count” assessment being grossly inflated, the other stories of general lawlessness were grossly inflated. It’s not to say crime didn’t happen, but taking one “metric” of homocide, in a city where the going rate is about 200 murders a year, there are only 4 detected in the few weeks after the Hurricane. Remarkable.

As I heard more on this this afternoon, I recalled the “Tribes” essay of Bill’s. It’s cogent, and communicates a clear message, yet, come to find out, the degree of emotion used isn’t justified by the reality. Thos who commit crimes still need their full measure of justice, but “we” may have gone overborad in our assessment and therefore, have developed some further feelings about how to look upon those who remained in town during the storm.

Now, I believe, Bill could re-write “Tribes” presenting us with 3 tribes of people, the compassionate, the criminal, and the new third member, the Media. Alternatively, he could eliminate the second group and then just replace them with the Media as those juxtaposed from the compassionate.

The HBM (Has Been Media) is purposely positioning itself where the truth is irrelevant in their eyes, and therefore we should accept that their “yellow jouralism” tactics to make money are acceptable, as they are losing their audience.

I’m sorry, I’m not buying in….And, note to HBM types: Try the truth, it might hurt today, but in the long run, it’s a better strategy….

Update 9/28/05: The retired SEAL adds some fuel to the fire with this info….

Oxbow asks the hard question that I merely alluded to above….

Thanks to Mudville Gazette and Little Green Footballs Open Postings!

I’m blessed to live where the recent hurricanes haven’t visited….

I know the disaster relief and donation efforts are running at all time highs, but here’s a pitch for a cause that will be with us for some time: The Valour-IT project. It’s about helping get voice activated software and hardware for those service members who have been injured and have a difficult time using a computer. I’d venture to say that the effort every recipient of this wonderful project will develop a skill set that will allow them to enter the civilian work force, capable of communicating as well as the rest of use who are fortunate to have all our capabilities. Right now, it’s a win for the troops and their families and friends, tomorrow, it’s a bonus to the economy and their future employers and customers. Add to this, the spin off to let these wounded men and women become trainers for those who are likewise disabled…think about that power!

Lots of thoughts have been percolating over the last few weeks, yet I haven’t felt them sufficiently developed to begin to write about them. I’m sure I lost a few ideas along the way to here, but then, they most likely were stepping stones to the root issues…

I think the root issues have been swirling about in my mind for a few years, and now, the recent disaters have provided a backdrop to present them on. Not that I planned it that way, yet I believe it will facilitate a discussion, or thesis, as abstract thought seems to be a lost art form for so many any more. The other side of that coin is that when an example, such as Hurricane Katrina damage, people tend to focus on that presented scenario, and aren’t able to then apply, in a larger sense, how there are conceptual issues in the discussion that transcend the particulars. Those concepts are then to be used to both understand what happened, and to allow us to, in this case, not go there again.

This weekend will provide some time for me to post some of the things I’m thinking about. Topics such as “The Decay of Knowledge,” “We can fix this, but you’re not going to like how we do it,” “Before Cindy Sheehan, there was Shannon Faulkner” and “My analysis of which political party has caused more damage and human suffering by natural disasters” (I have no clue who will be the worst, as I haven’t done my homework yet, so I hope I can stay true to the scientific method and present a realistic picture for my small readership here).

Some of the posts may be editorials, some reserach paper format, and at least one, my attempt at satire, which, thankfully, I have a day job, so I don’t have to rely on that form of humor to support my life style.

As a teaser, a new term for general use came to mind yesterday: “Demokook.” I just can’t think of what else to use to describe those on the left hand end of our current political spectrum. Cindy Sheehan is a “scenario” I’ll present to undergird my new “concept.” It’s about my 4th original idea, but I place it in the public domain. Credit would be nice, but it’s not like it’s shareware or anything (you know, the software no one ever pays for)…..

From a historical standpoint, I have something for October 1st coming up. It’s militarily related, and another thing I got to be a part of, fortunately, in the aftermath, when the Navy had to make sure it didn’t happen again. It’s the way accidents (in this case) are handled, unlike Mayor Nagin’s method of recovery from disaster.

For the faithful visitors (I see you in the sitemeter logs), thanks for the “hits.”

Bill Whittle of Eject! Eject! Eject! has a well thought out article the discusses “tribes.” His logic, as usual, is exceptional. Part of his message that is so powerful is that tribal behaviors are not related to cultural things, but the attitudes we have today are the identifying factor in tribalism.

Read and be stretched in your own thinking about our human condition.

While scouting thru the sitemeter logs, I saw a referral from Dawn’s Early Light. I linked over and found a great synopsis of many places to get information on finding missing family members, as well as places to make your donations to…it was nice to see my blog at the top of the blogroll, too…Thank you, Dawn (I assume is your name).

I first found this first person account while reading Black Five. It’s worth your time to read about a man who decided to get off his butt and do something about the devastation along the Gulf Coast. What he did was remarkable in and of itself, but add to that a bad back and a Deuce and a 1/2 with no air conditioning being major parts of the story. The tale tells of the despair, the hope, the thoughtfulness and the bad elements of the human experience. He certainly doesn’t want any accolades, but he deserves them. Read and see through his eyes.

Neal Boortz was on a few minutes ago extolling WalMart’s ability to act faster than FEMA and I thought I’d next here some insightful analysis from him about how it is probably the most highly developed logistical system in the world, which has hundreds, if not thousands of outlets in any given state of the US.

WalMart is the biggest dog driving Information Technology, too. You know why? If you want to play in their arena as a vendor, you have to do it their way. Their way is huge, so huge, because of the vast product network infrastructure, that they have to have something that effective to make it happen, and they do. The skillful use of IT has kept costs down, and delivery track records amazing.

I’d say they could react so quickly because they have the “bases” and the established routes and cargo capacity doing the same thing pretty much every single day, and in most cases, it’s just routine for them to do the 24/7/365 thing like it’s no big deal. They are practiced. Good for WalMart. Home Depot and Lowes have similar capabilities, and I know from first person reports after the hurricanes last year, Home Depot flexed their system hard to make sure they were on time and on target, including have trucks stacked up in southern GA, just waiting for the storm to pass and the FL Troopers to give them the the go ahead to move south.

Neal Boortz incorrectly proclaimed that WalMart did such a wonderful job, because it’s a privately held company (there is some truth to this part) and because “THEY HAD NO RED TAPE!” You know, I can hove no red tape, but if I have no trucks, radios, computerized stocking systems and distribution networks, I couldn’t hold a candle to WlMart, nor the governmental agencies. Why? because it really has little to do with “Red Tape” anyhow.

What is “Red Tape?” To you who have not had the pleasure of serving within a government agency, it’s all those forms we have to fill out, and then the forms and reports we had to fill out. The many signatures required establish what defines “Red Tape.” All of those forms are the end result of procedures, which came to life as a result of something, more often than not, bad, occuring. In the case of the military, reports and forms and procedures are the reactionary result of accidents, or systemic shame. In the case of the non-military portion of the govenrment, I’d suspect many of those forms, reports and signatures are a result of the government getting ripped off, or systemic shame. Systemic shame in this context, is when some official does something from highly suspect, to plain old criminal.

The forms, reports and procedures you love to hate, define the “Red Tape” term. Here’s the real bottom line: They get there, to get in your way, directly, or indirectly, so you, the taxpayer, can have detailed oversight of where the money went and who approved or disapproved some action that now is putting a burr under your saddle. While it’s not directly your fault, it is your fault, as you expect (not unrealistically, I’ll concede) government officials to produce the trail of paper that got you/them/us to where you got unhappy.

What’s so wrong about that? After all, you hand over your tax dollars to the government and you expect it to be properly expended. In the process, procedures and policies and forms and reports are put in place so your questions can be answered. Do you think trhe Walton family will ever open their financials for your purusal? Yep, you got it right, fat chance….

Last year, after the four hurricanes crossed through Florida, it was discovered FEMA aid was paid to residents of Miami, where there was essentially no storm damage whatsoever. The “Red Tape” that seems so undesirable this moment as people try to help in Mississipp, Alabama and Louisiana will provide the path to nail the people employed by the government who were parties to the fraudulent claims, and also indentify the recipients for the monies. That’s a good thing, right?

So, give a rousing three cheers for “Red Tape,” for it is the mechanism by which you can see what your government does to you, or not for you, and you can then make more intelligent decisions when you walk through life and what ever local, state and federal elections come next.

The forms, reports, and most importantly, the signatures are yours for the asking through various levels of the Freedom of Information Act.

Update 09/13/2005: I found this today regarding WalMart’s data operation…simply amazing!

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post!