Negative Campaigning
Ξ October 28th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
Well, here we are heading into November which means the first Presidential Primary elections will be coming up in just a few short months. Of course that means we should all be preparing for the upcoming bombardment of negative campaign ads, repeated ad nauseum, over and over and over again, until we all just want to turn off our radios and TV sets and stay in bed all day.
Modern presidential politics is largely a money game, the outcome of which is often determined by which candidate is able to raise the most loot to spend on a nationwide slash and burn ad campaign. The days when candidates would get their message across while speaking “on the stump” are long gone. Those up-close and personal ”get to know me” events still take place, but their purpose nowadays is for creating soundbites for the news outlets to repeat ad nauseum, over and over and over again in the hopes that we’ll eventually start visualizing their opponent(s) as a little red guy(s) with horns and a pitchfork.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against campaign ads and media coverage of the electioneering in general. I think it’s important for those who choose to help decide who our next leader will be to learn about the candidates and what each of them brings to the table in regards to experience, intelligence, political views and moral character. But it shouldn’t take a constant barrage of negative ads aimed at ones opponent(s) to get that message across. But the sad fact is negative campaigning works, and it works extremely well.
As an electorate, we Americans by and large no longer vote for the person that we perceive to be the best, most qualified candidate who also happens to share our views. Instead, we now vote for the man or woman who appears to have the shortest horns and the smallest pitchfork.
The fact of the matter is, with few exceptions the candidates on both sides are decent people who want nothing more than to have the opportunity to do what they feel is best for the country while serving as its elected leader. Their visions for what is best for America might differ quite a bit from our own, but for the most part they’re still decent folks with good intentions. Unfortunately, by the time election day rolls around all of the negative ads have us believing that we have to choose between Hitler and Stalin, and that just isn’t so. And it doesn’t have to be that way…
When it comes to helping select the next President of the United States, we should all be able to rise above having to vote for the “lesser of two evils”. I hope that some day we’ll once again be able to feel good about exercising our constitutional right to pull that precious lever and help make the candidate of our choice the leader of the free world. I’m growing quite weary of stepping out of the voting booth with a bad taste in my mouth.
The Devastating California Fires
Ξ October 27th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
It’s a bit like a recurring nightmare: Every 2 or 3 years parts of southern California are scorched by out-of-control wildfires, leaving behind billions of dollars in loss and damage as well as needless loss of life. While this round of fires has been particularly devastating, it is hardly out of the ordinary.
Some folks are having a grand old time blaming the victims for their own losses, but I don’t believe that’s fair. Since many of the homes that have been destroyed this time around were located in developed areas instead of somewhere out in the woods, there was no real way for the homeowners themselves to prepare for such a fast-moving firestorm. As for the people who lost homes that were out in the woods, all I can say is it’s real easy to fall into the mindset of “It won’t happen to me!”.
All of that being said…
Yes, I believe it’s unfair to lay all the blame for the widespread destruction currently taking place in the Golden State on the homeowners, but they should consider this event a cold, slap-in-the-face style wake-up call. They should now understand that “it” can indeed happen to them, and they should take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent the next one from taking their home and/or life.
The first thing that needs to be done is to call in the bulldozers to “cut” a series of firebreaks: bare-dirt “buffers” between the woodlands and the densely populated areas. I know the environmentalists will scream bloody murder, but sacrificing a few hundred acres of trees and underbrush here and there seems like a reasonable and logical trade-off compared to the loss of thousands of homes and businesses to yet another out-of-control wildfire.
The same thing goes for individual homes located out in the woods. Firebreaks need to be constructed around each building, and they need to be wide enough to prevent the famous Santa Ana winds from spreading across them.
While we shouldn’t blame the fires’ victims for their own losses this time around, if those who were lucky enough to avoid the flames fail to heed the clear, stark warning they have received over the last few days, they’ll surely be to blame when their turn rolls around.
“Unanswered Prayers”
Ξ October 22nd, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Have you ever prayed for something, and when you didn’t get it you felt like your prayer had been ignored by God? Well, most Christians have felt that way at one time or another. 1 Peter 3:12 says “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” If that be the case, why does the Lord allow our prayers to go unanswered sometimes?
Well, the answer is, he doesn’t. God always answers the prayers of His children - it’s just that sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes we ask God to give us something or do something for us (or for somebody else) that simply isn’t in His will, therefore he cannot grant that wish. After all, God knows what is best for His children, even when we do not. Many times we are spared from unnecessary suffering or hardships because our Heavenly Father had the wisdom and compassion to tell us no.
Other times, the answer might not be a simple yes or no - often it will be “not yet”. In Romans 8:28 we read, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” You see, God has a master plan for each and every one of His children, and some of the things we ask for might very well fit into that plan, just not at the point in time in which we ask for them.
As a young child, I would occasionally ask my mom for an expensive toy, and her reply would often be “wait until your birthday” or “wait until Christmas”. And sure enough, when the appointed day rolled around, the toy that I had wanted so badly would be waiting for me when I got out of bed that morning. Her answer to my request hadn’t been yes or no, it had been “not yet”.
Unlike my mom, God doesn’t “answer” our prayers with words, He answers them with deeds - or the lack thereof. But rest assured, God always answers the prayers of His beloved children - always! We just have to be prepared to accept the answer He gives us and always remember that He knows what is best for us. Our kind, loving and supremely wise Heavenly Father always has a good reason when He says “no” or “not yet”. You can count on it!
Why I rarely watch television anymore
Ξ October 17th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
I rarely watch television these days because, quite frankly, there is little on worth watching. I remember how my family would gather around the only television set in the house in my younger years to watch “Walt Disney”, “Little House on the Prairie”, “Wild Kingdom”, “Hee Haw” or one of the other wonderful old shows that we used to “get” on the single snowy channel that we could “pick up” with the giant antenna on top of our house “up in the holler”. Now that was a classic example of “quality” trumping “quantity”.
Today however, I can sit and click the remote up and down through hundreds of channels without finding a single program that really catches my attention. I’m sure Cheria thinks I have the attention span of a fruit fly when I’m in command of the remote, but the truth of the matter is I’m just trying to find something worth watching! With just a handful of exceptions, there is simply nothing on the “airwaves” today that even comes close to the quality of the classic old TV shows of days gone by.
But as bad as the modern-day programming is, the “commercials” are even worse! As I flip through the channels searching for quality entertainment (usually without success), I run across Abe Lincoln and a smart-alecky groundhog hawking a prescription sleeping pill to a guy with the personality of an igneous rock. Next, my ears are bombarded by a headache-inducing noise that is passed off as music while the TV screen changes scenes so fast that I get dizzy and have to close my eyes for a few seconds until the “party” is over.
Next, I run across one of those commercials that has no sound at all, making me wonder if I suddenly lost what was left of my hearing or if perhaps my TV set is on the blink! And just when I think it can’t get any worse, up pops an ad for a company or product that isn’t even featured in the commercial at all except for a tiny, fleeting picture or logo at the very end (by which time most people have either changed the channel or stopped paying attention). Having to endure these crazy commercials often makes me not want to watch the few shows that I actually like!
Of course there are a few commercials that still manage to effectively promote their products without driving me completely bonkers. For example, who would have thought that a lizard with an Aussie accent and a couple of cavemen would be able to sell auto insurance, but they seem to be quite successful at it. At least their “shtick” is done in a calm, humorous and relaxing way that leaves you with a positive image of the company and product being hawked. Yes, there are a few decent commercials being produced today, but in my opinion the garbage spewing out of Madison Avenue far exceeds the cream.
Sometimes I wonder if the companies who are spending millions of dollars a year on all of those ridiculous television ads are getting any return at all on their “investment”. I suppose they are or their shareholders would surely stop them from shoveling cash down a rathole, but I sure miss the good ‘ole days when an attractive, well-dressed actor or model would hold up a tube of toothpaste or stand beside a shiny new car extolling the benefits of the product in a calm, friendly, matter-of-fact way. But then I miss the good ‘old days for lots of reasons…and I doubt that I’m alone.
This year’s fall colors…or the lack thereof
Ξ October 13th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Well, now that autumn has arrived here in southwestern Virginia it’s time for the “hills and hollers” to turn from the green of summer into a beautiful mosaic of yellow, orange, red and purple, but for the second year in a row it looks like the leaves are falling to the ground about as fast as they change colors. I’m afraid that once again we’re going to end up with just a handful of colorful leaves clinging to the lower branches with the upper halves of the trees looking quite bare.
I took another drive up scenic U.S. Route 58 towards Grayson County this afternoon to see if the foliage had gotten any more colorful than it had been during last week’s outing, but although there were a few more “reds” and “yellows” on the hillsides there were also a lot fewer leaves hanging on the trees. As I made the steady “climb” from Damascus to Konnarock, I noticed that “Straight Branch” was little more than a huge pile of dry boulders in many places with the ground around them littered with fallen leaves. The hot, dry summer has left our streams, rivers and ponds either empty or pretty close to it, and it has also induced the maple and oak leaves to simply fall from the trees with the slightest breeze or light rain - not a good omen for the photographers among us!
The Appalachians are usually quite spectacular this time of year, but I’m afraid that the autumn of 2007 is going to be a rather ”blah” one. I do hope I’m proven wrong though, and enough “turned” leaves will decide to hang around for us leaf peepers to get some pretty decent pictures. If not, I guess there’s always next year.
BibleGateway.com
Ξ October 10th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Things I like |
I often find myself needing to search the Bible for a specific passage that I plan to quote or write about in an article, and I have found an excellent resource that makes that task very fast and easy. It’s called BibleGateway.com, and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
The premise behind the site is very simple: They have placed the entire text of the Holy Bible on the Internet and allow you to search for a word (i.e. Gethsemane), a phrase (i.e. the Holy Ghost) or a specific passage of scripture (i.e. John 3:16). Almost immediately after clicking the “Search the Bible” button, a list of all the verses in the Bible that contain the term you searched for is displayed on the screen. You can then review the search results and either print or copy & paste the most relevant one(s) into a word processor or other program. You can even expand them to display the entire chapter if desired. Biblical research has never been faster, easier or more efficient than it is with the help of this wonderful tool.
You can choose from several dozen “versions” of the Bible for your search (including all of the “popular” ones), but you can set a “default” version in the preferences section. Personally, I use the King James Version exclusively so I have the script set to search that version automatically every time I use the site.
If you spend any time at all studying the Bible or looking for specific passages, you owe it to yourself to check out www.BibleGateway.com. You just might find that it’s the only Bible reference tool you’ll ever need!
Visit http://www.biblegateway.com.
Why can’t Wal-Mart display the latest technology?
Ξ October 7th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
Every time I visit a Wal-Mart store I make it a point to stop by the photo department and check out the cameras. Apparently, Wal-Mart’s warehouses are jam-packed with outdated models because they never have any of the current models on display - but they do have them boxed up in a locked glass cabinet beneath the display counter.
For example, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT was discontinued an entire year ago, but every Wal-Mart I have visited recently still has one on display while its replacement (the EOS Digital Rebel XTi) sits boxed up, and locked up tight inside the glass cabinet. The same goes for several other new Canon and Nikon models, all of which are kept locked away while their discontinued counterparts occupy the display counter. One has to wonder what has happened to the Wal-Mart corporation since its founder Sam Walton passed away!
“Mr. Sam” grew what began as a couple of 5 and 10 cent stores in Arkansas into the largest retailer in the world, and he did it in part by developing an ordering and distribution system that ensured well-stocked shelves filled with the latest trends and models. His system was so finely tuned that there was very little “back stock”, and when a new item or a new model came out his stores could quickly “close out” the old, outdated merchandise to make way for the new. But somewhere along the line things changed.
These days, while Wal-Mart stores literally contain millions of items, they rarely seem to have exactly what you’re looking for - especially if you’re in the market for the latest model of an electronic item such as a digital camera, camcorder or computer. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart customers who don’t know any better end up paying about the same amount for last year’s technology as they would pay for a current model somewhere else. I don’t think Mr. Sam would like that very much, but apparently it’s just fine with the board of directors. As long as the shareholders are happy…
