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Friday, July 04, 2008
If just isn't the Fourth without fireworks or a post about them.
JB and I had more than our fair share of experience with fireworks growing up. Our father used to regale us with tales of the various explosives that he and his siblings put to use on their farm in Northern Wisconsin. They had access to just about anything you could imagine up to and including certain pieces of US Army ordinance. These stories sparked an interest in fireworks that we itched to ignite. However, since fireworks were strictly banned in Minnesota during our childhood years, we could only wistfully dream of what it might be like to get our hands on any and had to be content to amuse ourselves instead with rolls of caps. Yeah, right. We quickly learned that although fireworks were illegal in Minnesota, they were not restricted in certain neighboring states. God bless federalism. Every year, we would find a connection who was making a trip to one of the Dakotas and gather up every nickel and dime we could squeeze together for our fix. Our wish list usually included a variety of items: Black Cats, bottle rockets (whistling and regular), Saturn missile batteries, Roman candles, larger payload rockets, smoke bombs, etc. One other thing we always got as well was Jumping Jacks. They didn't make much noise or explode, but their unpredictable movements and last second flame out made them a lot of fun (especially in water.) Because they were not particularly loud, we often used them quite openly without fear of attracting much attention. One pre-July Fourth summer day, we were doing just that in the woods behind our house with our neighbor. The woods weren't particularly thick or deep, but they did provide a nice area for us to romp around in. Our neighbor used to drag his leaves back into the woods every fall, so it was quite thick with them. It must have been a drier than usual summer. After tossing Jumping Jacks into the woods for some time, we suddenly noticed that the last gasp from one (or maybe more) of the 'works had ignited a blaze. Not a small one either. We tried to stamp it out without success. It was spreading and spreading fast. We were out of the reach of hoses from our homes, so we sprinted off and returned with shovels. We cleared a fire line around the inferno and eventually threw enough dirt to extinguish it. But it was a close call. Too close. There was a decent sized area with blackened, smoldering remains. In order to cover our tracks and avoid the wrath of our parents, we covered everything with dirt and then, when we were satisfied that no spark remained, we brought in more leaves to give no hint of what had just transpired. It was far from the perfect crime and I don't think we ever took the humble Jumping Jack for granted after that. Have a happy (and fire-free) Fourth of July. Labels: Misspent Youth Wednesday, July 02, 2008
One of the many interesting aspects of having kids is watching their growth and development play out in everyday life. It's like your own little human lab experiment unfolding in your living room. Nature versus nurture, genetic dispositions, birth order, gender differences, etc. it's all happening right in front of your eyes. If only my wife was more open to my idea of raising the next one in a box...
Anyway, after recent close observation of my particular subjects interacting in said environment, I've been able to confirm a theory that I first postulated more than thirty years ago: Little brothers are annoying. It would actually be more accurate to say, little brothers are incredibly annoying. Given all the frustration and pain they cause their older siblings, it's a wonder that they survive long enough to reach adulthood. From the moment they first achieve mobility, they're into everything and anything of their brother's. Their time, their space, their food, their drink, and most egregiously of all, their toys. The older brother had become accustomed to a world of order and routine. Now, in the form of his younger sibling, utter chaos has entered it. His understandable reaction is to resist this intrusion, but he quickly discovers that his ability to effectively respond is limited by the parameters of allowable physical contact imposed by his parents. He also learns--much to his dismay--that despite his relative inexperience, the younger brother has a cunning appreciation of said limits which he plays to his maximum advantage. A mere inadvertent touch on the arm will cause his brother to flail about wildly before crashing to the ground in order to feign injury in a dramatic performance most reminiscent of an Italian soccer player (only with less crying). So he has little choice but to come to recognize his brother's right to not only exist but also to annoy. It really doesn't seem fair. Then or now Labels: Children Tuesday, July 01, 2008
In today's WSJ, Bret Stephens looks at the three motives for belief in global warming:
The first is as a vehicle of ideological convenience. Socialism may have failed as an economic theory, but global warming alarmism, with its dire warnings about the consequences of industry and consumerism, is equally a rebuke to capitalism. Take just about any other discredited leftist nostrum of yore--population control, higher taxes, a vast new regulatory regime, global economic redistribution, an enhanced role for the United Nations--and global warming provides a justification. ***** A second explanation is theological. Surely it is no accident that the principal catastrophe predicted by global warming alarmists is diluvian in nature. Surely it is not a coincidence that modern-day environmentalists are awfully biblical in their critique of the depredations of modern society: "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." That's Genesis, but it sounds like Jim Hansen. ***** Finally, there is a psychological explanation. Listen carefully to the global warming alarmists, and the main theme that emerges is that what the developed world needs is a large dose of penance. What's remarkable is the extent to which penance sells among a mostly secular audience. What is there to be penitent about? As it turns out, a lot, at least if you're inclined to believe that our successes are undeserved and that prosperity is morally suspect. In this view, global warming is nature's great comeuppance, affirming as nothing else our guilty conscience for our worldly success. In "The Varieties of Religious Experience," William James distinguishes between healthy, life-affirming religion and the monastically inclined, "morbid-minded" religion of the sick-souled. Global warming is sick-souled religion. Labels: Global warming
Wild trade Brian Rolston to Lightning:
Knowing they had no shot to sign Brian Rolston before he becomes a free agent on Tuesday, the Minnesota Wild traded him late Sunday to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rolston and the Wild had been talking about a deal since the season ended in late April with a first-round playoff loss to Colorado. But the Wild had made three offers without a counteroffer from Rolston's agent, Steve Bartlett, and talks unofficially died last week. Not welcome news for Wild fans. Rolston was one of the few Wild players who has an established track record as a legitimate scorer. Yes, he was inconsistent at times, but you don't find many players with his skills and ability to finish. The only bright side of the deal is that at least he wasn't traded to Boston. Labels: Hockey Monday, June 30, 2008
Chester E Finn Jr. on the state of Ohio in Saturday's WSJ:
But the distance to be covered is vast. Ohio ranks 41st in the percentage of adults with bachelor's degrees. Though it has many fine colleges, their young graduates don't stick around. They head for the coasts or for "happening places" in between, none of which (with the partial exception of Columbus) happens to be in the Buckeye State. Bright Ohio kids aren't even enrolling in nearby colleges. The Cincinnati Enquirer recently reported that almost half the top seniors in local high schools were headed for out-of-state campuses. As jobs and young people exit, the remaining population ages. The Census Bureau projects that Ohioans over 65 will rise to 20% by 2030, up from 13% in 2000. Even some well-established cultural institutions are faltering. The 57-year-old Columbus Symphony is broke and canceled its summer season. There is not a single downtown in Ohio that could be described as "lively" in the evening. Looks the RNC made the right call after all when choosing the location for the 2008 convention. Labels: Politics-National
In the interests of our national sanity and mental health, I propose the following to all candidates, campaigns, consultants, cable teleivison talking heads, community organizers, staffers, pundits, pollsters, political talk radio hosts, policy wonks, political action committees, party hacks, bloggers, big-buck donors, and billionaire puppet-masters:
Let's give the country a much-needed break and take the month of July off from politicking and politics of any sort. No commercials, no speeches, no debates, no ridiculous rhetoric, no rubber chicken fundrasiers, no instant analysis, no mindless speculation, no gotcha journalism, no accusations of flip-flopping, no 24/7 coverage of the most inane of politcal matters, and no bumper-stickers. Let's spend the heart of the summer talking about barbecue, beer, baseball, beaches, and bombpops. Let's listen to music. Let's go to movies purely for fun. Let's read books (fiction) for pleasure. Let's all sit back and relax and not worry about the latest polls and who's up and who's down. For a month, let's all simply be Americans rather than Democrats or Republicans or progressives or conservatives or libertarians. Let's go about our daily lives without having to think, eat, drink, and breath politics and worry about whether your neighbor is a godless commie or a warmongering neocon. This month long moritorium will still allow plenty of time before November for us to debate to death each and every minute detail of difference between the candidates and explain again and again why this is the most important election in our lifetimes (just like the last one). You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Labels: 2008 Election Saturday, June 28, 2008
The problem with local school board referendums is that while you can occasionally band together with your fellow peasants to beat the beast back to its lair, you know that it's only a matter of time before it returns to terrorize your pocketbook. This is exactly what's now unfolding in
Robbinsdale District 281: Voters defeated a $9.7 million District 281 referendum in November 2007. Since then, the district has cut its 2008-09 budget by $5.4 million and is looking at another $6 million in cuts for 2009-10. The board made a preliminary decision to seek voter approval this fall at a work session June 9, following a presentation by Unite 281, a committee of parents who have collected 1,000 signatures from people supporting another chance to vote on a school referendum. This is a particularly revolting development (especially since I now live in District 281). The voters in the district rejected the referendum less than a year ago and now it's going to be back on the ballot again. One of the few good ideas that Jesse Ventura proposed was to not allow such referendums in "off" election years. This would have resulted in a better turnout from the citizens impacted by the referendum and also ensured that at least two years would pass between attempts. Meanwhile, residents of District 281 should get their pitchforks and torches ready. The beast is back. Labels: Education Friday, June 27, 2008
Farmers Enjoy Smashing Success With New Style of Demolition Derby (WSJ-sub req):
MILROY, Minn. -- Larry Lanoue climbed into his two-story-high, 13.5-ton combine, revved up the engine and rammed the harvesting machine straight into another one. Then he backed up, swung to his right and lunged forward, tearing into the rear axle of a third. The crowd of 1,200 at this tiny town's Race and Crash Day went wild. Forget monster trucks and funny cars. Across the Farm Belt, the new star of the demolition derby is the combine, a hulking harvester with a top speed of about 15 miles an hour and a sticker price that can top $300,000. At county fairs and local fund-raisers, farmers slam them into each other until only one remains mobile. Now that's a must-see event. You might ask what would possess someone to want to participate in such a spectacle: Milroy, population 271, had its first derby in 2004. The town, surrounded by corn and soybean fields in southwestern Minnesota, is home to a bar named Oasis, a Catholic church and no stoplights. Tim Zwach, a volunteer firefighter, organized the contest to raise money for the town fire department after hearing about a combine derby in another Minnesota town. The first Milroy derby attracted 13 combines, drew about 2,200 spectators and hauled in about $18,000, he says. "Every farmer in the world at one point or another would like to drive their combine into a brick wall," said Mr. Zwach, a jovial 38-year-old who farms 2,600 corn and soybean acres and pilots a fire-department-themed combine in the derbies. You gotta love that. And this. What a country. Labels: Farming
National political pundits, the McCain campaign, and panglossian local Republicans should note this article in today's WSJ (sub req) that confirms something that I've been trying to pound through people's heads for some time now; Minnesota is NOT A battleground state in this year's presidential election:
The McCain camp also apparently sees some opportunities in Minnesota, where it has run ads and where the senator has recently campaigned. Sen. McCain's best showing in the seven battleground states polled by Quinnipiac is in Florida, where he trails by four percentage points. In the new surveys of likely voters, Sen. Obama leads Sen. McCain by 52% to 39% in Wisconsin, by 54% to 37% in Minnesota, by 49% to 44% in Colorado and by 48% to 42% in Michigan. Quinnipiac polled 1,400 to 1,600 likely voters in each state. The polls have a margin of error of from 2.5% to 2.7%. That's a seventeen point margin people. Obama leads McCain among independents in Minnesota by twenty-one points and among whites by twelve. He's also ahead of McCain among Catholics here. This "battle" is over before it began and the McCain camp would be wise to employ their precious resources elsewhere. And for the last time, having Pawlenty on the ticket will NOT bring Minnesota into McCain. It would perhaps be a two-point swing at tops. However, from the same poll data there is a ray of light breaking through the Gopher State gloom: In Minnesota, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman is leading his Democratic challenger, comedian Al Franken, by 51% to 41%. The same respondents who favor Obama by seventeen have Franken down by ten? Now, that's something to smile about. Labels: 2008 Election
The people have spoken and not surprisingly you have said that Laura Ingraham has the worst guest hosts. This was actually the outcome I had in mind when I posted the poll, having spent the last several days suffering through Monica Crowley trying to fill in for Ingraham.
No offense to the ladies out there, but there is a reason there aren't many successful female political talk radio hosts (or hostesses) in the land (Ingraham is the obvious exception). There's something about the tonal quality of their voices and tendency to chatter excitedly that usually has me reaching for the dial post haste. Hugh Hewitt finished second to Ingraham in the poll and had he decided to have Carol Platt Liebau fill in for him this week, it might have been enough to vault him into the top spot. Like nails on a chalkboard her voice is. Labels: Media-National
The disturbing news is just trickling in that the Minnesota Timberwolves have traded their much heralded first round pick OJ Mayo for someone named Kevin Love .
Headlines from the Pioneer Press: Wolves draft Mayo, deal him Headlines from the Star Tribune: Wolves pick Mayo, swap him for Love in 8-player deal I'm stunned, saddened, and sickened. Not because I think it was a bad trade. I don't know enough about either player to judge this transaction properly. Rather, I'm aghast that newspaper headline writers in this town are given this opportunity and neither went with what needed to be cried out from the rooftops: Wolves: Hold the Mayo This is how you don't win a Pulitzer people. The Elder Adds: Or they could have gone with: Wolves Cherish Love Wolves Have Love For Mayo Wolves Give Up Mayo For Love (something I believe that JB recently did when his wife asked him to drop a few pounds) SP UPDATE:: It looks like some real journalism is actually being practiced elsewhere in the country. Headlines, The Associated Press: Hold the Mayo! Timberwolves send O.J. Mayo to Memphis for Love in 8-player deal Headlines, AOL Fanhouse: Hold the Mayo -- Kevin Love and OJ Are on the Move as Griz and TWolves Go Blockbuster Headlines, Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal: Hold the Mayo: Grizzlies get O.J. in deal with Wolves Headlines, The Sporting News: Hold the Mayo, and give me some Love Headlines, City Pages classifieds: Desperate for Love, Mayo Added to 8 Player Action SP UPDATE:: Correction, turns out that last one has nothing to do with basketball. Fraters Libertas regrets the error. Labels: Basketball Thursday, June 26, 2008
Last Wednesday, I had another chance to visit the Casa de Hogar Misericordia Orphanage outside of Chihuahua, Mexico. It's been over a year since my last visit and it was heartening to see that the grounds were looking good. They've planted some trees to help bring a bit of greenery to the dusty, desert environment.
 And the children were taking obvious pride in their care and upkeep.   It was also good to see that the clinic was well stocked with medicine and other supplies.  Apparently a group of doctors from a nearby town now visit the orphanage once a week to care for checkups and care. There are currently eighty-seven children living there. That is down slightly from years past when over a hundred kids were sharing the small facility. One of the challenges now facing them is that thirty-six of the children are boys between the ages of twelve and seventeen. And you thought you had some behavior issues with your kids. For obvious reasons, these older boys are segregated in their own area. They do have a wood shop with some pretty nice tools that were donated by a church in the US. They also are working on setting up a building where they could make their own tortillas to sell. They have the machines ready and just got the electricity hooked up. They hope that the older boys will get a chance to pick up some skills that will help them in later life by participating in these endeavors. And it gives them something to do. Because of the last minute nature of the effort, we didn't have a chance to raise as much money as we have in the past. But we were able to donate $600 for them to use for their most urgent needs. We asked them for the top three requirements. 1. Food 2. Cleaning supplies 3. A bus that works Currently, there are two buses, a van, and a old SUV (a Suburban I think) on the premises. These vehicles are used to transport the kids to school every day. Because of the various ages of the children and the reluctance of local schools to take too many at one location, they are forced to take the kids to five or six different schools in the region, some of them many miles away. The only vehicle that's in running condition right now is the Suburban. It doesn't take a logistics whiz to figure out that getting eighty-seven kids to multiple locations with one Suburban every day is not an optimal situation. When I asked if there any goods that someone in the US could provide that would really make a difference, the response was, "A bus." A bus that runs obviously. So if anyone has a bus that could be donated for such a purpose, drop me a line. This one for example hasn't served a useful purpose for some time. It would just need a little paint job to be perfect for the need. Stranger things have happened. As the founder of the orphanage Fidel Rubio said about the people who arrive from time to time to help out, "God brings them. I never ask them to help, they just show up."  Labels: Chihuahua Orphanage
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