• Priorities

    Climate Progress:

    Independence Day may be the best day to ask ourselves — what is the greatest, preventable threat to Americans’ life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness (LLPH)…

    Between Homeland Security and the Pentagon, we spend billions of dollars every month to try to prevent terrorism…

    But unrestricted greenhouse gas emissions are by far the greatest preventable threat to Americans’ LLPH (see “Is 450 ppm politically possible? Part 0: The alternative is humanity’s self-destruction and Part 2: The Solution“). Yet the government spends virtually nothing to fight global warming — certainly no significant amount of new money has been allocated for this major threat (the Clinton Administration tried, but the Gingrich Congress reversed that effort, reducing or zeroing out every program aimed at climate mitigation or even adaptation).

    Maybe you heard about a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Global Warming as Mass Neurosis,” and you’re not hip to the threat. If so, here’s a rebuttal.

  • Gun nuts on the vine

    There was an interesting AP story about gun related deaths earlier this week. It mentioned the percentage of gun deaths due to suicide: around fifty percent (of those states that keep such statistics – which seems to imply not all of them do), and it’s implications. I thought it was interesting stuff, but I would have left it at that if I hadn’t seen the comments made by other Newsvine users. It was the standard gun-nut fare: how commie liberals would never “get” guns, or America’s God given right to have ’em.

    Well this commie-liberal couldn’t keep his fingers still. You might have noticed another bit of writing that owes it’s existence to my emotional flare-up (from another story on Newsvine), a few posts down.

    I tossed out a question for their consideration: did they think the framers intended for the constitution to stand, as is, for all time? I know, I had to ask THAT question. What can I say, I’m incorrigible. I went on to agree the constitution protected the right to own guns, but I questioned the need to guarantee that right forever. That’s some kind of gall, right? That’s when I was told I clearly didn’t understand the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the founding fathers, the joys of gun ownership, the nature of freedom, and it’s utter dependence on an armed citizenry.

    All of this enlightenment didn’t come to me right away, which is too bad. Life kept me away from Newsvine for several days. By the time I returned, the last comment was a couple days old. I thought about posting another comment. I even typed one up. But would anyone care at this point but me?

    I hate to think my poor fingers’ efforts were in vain… so, I’m posting it here. (This is your cue to stop reading.)

    Read more

  • The trap

    Most of you are familiar with the concept of a trap. It’s generally someplace you don’t want to be. If you are there’s often no way out… or if there is, it involves pain.

    I’ll draw a picture for you in fifteen words or less.

    “John, why didn’t you have Adam do his homework when you got home?”

    Point of clarification: Adam was in bed and the assignment was due the next day.

    Let’s see you wiggle your way out of that one. We’ve all heard stories about animals gnawing off a limb in exchange for their freedom, but I’m kind of fond of mine – all of them. Short of falling on my sword (or sharpening my teeth), was there anything I could do or say to get myself out this? I didn’t have any excuses. There were no gas leaks in the neighborhood. His assignment wasn’t a victim of spontaneous combustion. We don’t have any pets. I haven’t suffered any sharp blows to the head (yet). The only way I was going to get out of this was some variation of the mea culpa dance. I could score a perfect 10 and there would still be a little pain involved.

    So I went the other way with it. Having learned nothing from our fearless leader’s adventures in foreign policy, I tried a little offense on for size.

    “Cheryl, Adam is three years old. He’s not even in pre-k. Isn’t giving homework at this age a little silly?”

    ZING! Oh man that felt good! My two seconds of pride started when my lips stopped… and ended abruptly with a stern “I’m not amused” look. A lesser man might fold like yesterday’s mail* from such a look.

    As it happens, I’m a lesser man. Adam hasn’t missed an assignment since.

    *If you know what I meant by that, could you please let me know?