Tuesday, January 31, 2012

et ceteras


Random thoughts about random things:


Mitt Romney
Half of Romney's "policy adversaries" claim he is a big-government guy who won't allow market forces to operate. The other half claim he is a laissez faire vulture capitalist. It can't be both, guys.

Meanwhile, his "social conservatism" critics openly doubt whether he is authentically against abortion because he identified himself as "pro-choice" in years gone by...Have they forgotten that none other than Ronald Reagan started out "pro-choice" before his thinking evolved with the passage of time? Because they never expressed doubts about him...Are these people so wedded to their notions of ideological purity that they deny mankind's capacity to grow and advance? If so, I have to wonder if, in some cases, their rigidity really is a symptom of anti-Mormon bias.


Joe Paterno
JoePa was scapegoated in the worst of ways. Ever since the Sandusky scandal blew up, media blowhards and other self-righteous types have stridently accused Paterno of failing some kind of moral test because he reported the Sandusky allegations to his bosses but not to "the authorities." Problem is, he did report it to the authorities.

In fact, Paterno went straight to the head of campus police. And for the record, the campus police department is an actual police department, just like the State College Police Department; it has jurisdiction for what happens on campus while the State College Police Department has jurisdiction for what happens in town. Because the incident he was told about took place on campus, he reported it to the proper law enforcement agency.

What was he supposed to do after that, considering that he did not witness the alleged incident? Was he supposed to assume he had a better grasp of the facts, and the law, than the authorities whose job it is to investigate and indict -- and then start talking to state or federal authorities? I find it nauseating when I hear holier-than-thou journalism majors pretending to know what they would have done in that situation.


Winter
It is being widely reported that this winter is a mild one in the United States. I find it refreshing that people aren't rushing to blame the phantom that goes by the name "global warming" or, alternately, "climate change." There have been more storms erupting from the sun over the past several months than there were over the previous several years, so it makes sense that this winter is not abnormally cold like the last few were.

But then again, even with the uptick in solar activity, this winter actually is colder than usual in some places. Alaska and Canada -- two of the places that yesterday's prophets of doom said would be most affected by global warming -- are going through one of their worst winters in recorded history, with temperatures of minus 79 degrees recorded right before a thermometer broke a few days ago (it is presumed that it then dropped to minus 80 or lower, which would be colder than anything ever recorded in North America). Plus, down here in the lower 48, record snow has fallen in the usually mild city of Seattle. The bottom line is that Nature does what Nature wants to do.


Super Bowl XLVI
In a word, or actually, in two words: Go Giants!








3 comments:

Barb said...

I have friends going to the Super Bowl. I can't imagine attending, actually - too much noise for me! As a former Penn State season pass holder, I think Joe Paterno's fall from grace at the end of his life is terribly sad. The question I keep asking myself is: What is a person's ethical responsibility beyond simple reporting of a crime? I'm not sure what the answer to that one is. Sometimes questions have no answers - or no easy ones, at least. Hope your Family is well, John.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi John, Interesting thoughts.. I have been wondering what your thoughts were down there in Florida --having to hear all of that horrible negative campaigning. I just hate it!!!

Poor Joe Paterno.. I think he died of a broken heart.. He certainly did alot of good at Penn. State for many, many years.

We are a house divided here. George is for the Patriots and I am for the Giants. Of course, we'll enjoy the commercials as much as the game I'm sure... ha
Betsy

Fred Alton said...

Hi, John! I've notice it before - but it really shows up in this blog. YOu are a very serious thinker about important subjects. Thanks for sharing your views on the Romney. I do have that bias to some extent as I know that officially the Mormons believe that the devil is Jesus' brother. On Paterno - I'm with you all the way. I feel he did the best he could have done by reporting the matter to the proper authorities. Climate Change is another area where I think our mis-guided friends have wasted a lot of time and money. I read in the Bible that, "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Genesis 8:22
As for the Super Bowl? I think that's a bowl of grits to pour on top of my fried mullet, or maybe red snapper! Right? ☻ ☻ ☻