Reflections from our family holiday traveling...

1. First, I feel like I need to confess. I have been disloyal to what it means to be a man. Opportunity flashed before me and I did not seize the chance.
While traveling through the middle of Nevada, we came to a highway fork in the road. One of the choices was to continue on the highway we were on which would lead us to our destination. The other choice was to take what is known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway." Now, for those of you who have never been through the middle of Nevada, there isn't much to see. It is pretty desolate out there, making it an excellent choice for a top-secret government facility: Area 51. We all know the rumors surrounding Area 51 - most regarding Aliens and there "contact" with humans in America. In this desolate area, there is a rather tall mountain ridge that looks like it could hide something fairly large from the general public. I got the impression that Area 51 would be behind something like that... a few minutes later we drove by the fork in the highway (and a sign similar to this one) and I told my wife that we could just scrap our traveling and go camp near Area 51 and see if anything cool happens. Reasonable, right? Any man would love to go check around Area 51 and see just how interesting things are. Well, I lost that battle... so we continued on our trip.

2. I love road trips. I especially love driving long distances (by the way, the kids were great). Heres why: I learn about the topography of the region I am driving in just by observing it - and this fascinates me. I have heard about the Great Basin before... but it is different to drive through it. I had no idea how beautiful northeastern Oregon is... and for those of you who have never driven through southern Oregon and northern California are missing out. It is beautiful and stimulating. I know it is a pain to take a longer time to get somewhere vs. flying. But when you consider the amount it costs a family of 5 to fly, driving through America the Beautiful is not a bad alternative.

3. Watching my son put aside his fears (of his own accord) for the sake of having fun sledding down a snowy hill all by himself made me more proud than I ever thought it would.

4. At the Holiday Inn Express, they have a decent breakfast and a nice set-up to watch the news while eating. However, it's the news that was disappointing. CNN's morning news show was so boring that I ended up paying closer attention to the 2 old women sitting next to me talking about cheating on their taxes - "If they catch me, they catch me. Let them put me in jail like Martha Stewart."

My last observations come from the peculiar land known as California...

5. Is it just me, or is the responsibility of the state-to-state border checkpoint workers of the California Highway Patrol a ridiculous waste of money. Honestly, what does the job accomplish? Do they really catch anyone smuggling illegal fruits into the state? "Sorry, sir, but we do not want your state's pesticides mixing with our pesticides."
I honestly would be interested to know the objective of this responsibility of CHP and, if it's not too much to ask, the justification for the money spent. Are we paying workers to stand there and wave people through a structure that (by it's only obvious function) serves to slow down travelers?

6. Lastly, does anyone else find it ironic that while driving along the California highways, you will see signs that read: "Report Drunk Drivers - Call 911". Isn't it illegal to talk on the phone while driving in California? So, is the state asking Californians to break their own law? If so, does it give the caller a free pass if they get pulled over?
"I pulled you over because you were talking on your cell phone while driving."
"Yeah, I was. But I was (looking away from the dark road to dial 911 and) reporting a drunk driver."
"Oh, in that case, please proceed on your way."

Total stats...
52 hours in the car -- 3339 miles

The latest

"Toughest Sheriff in America," Joe Arpaio is being investigated for abusing his powers as a sheriff in his efforts to curb repetitive criminal behavior and illegal immigration in Arizona. He has gained attention - and a certain degree of notoriety - for his tough jail policies and for advocating and enforcing strict immigration policies.

The Associated Press, in their journalistic glory, has reported that Arpaio and his deputies racially profile people while performing immigration sweeps (yeah, try and figure out how they came to that conclusion). In addition, they allege (though I am pretty sure he is guilty of this) that Arpaio has targeted areas with a heavy Latino population during some of his sweeps. Mind you, Arizona is a border state with Mexico to the south.

So, should he evenly space out all his sweeps throughout his entire county, in despite of demographics? Look people, if I am looking for apples, I am going to go to the apple orchard.

Now, I am not trying to argue for or against any of Arpaio's policies/actions. It just cracks me up when we read a report "alleging" that someone is acting inappropriately when clearly he is just acting efficiently and therefore - perhaps more importantly - financially sound.

In other news... New Jersey's Senate recently voted against the legalization of gay marraige in The Garden State. That makes the country-wide count 5 states in favor, 30 against -- unless you want to count California twice.

Journalism Overlook of the Week

I read in the news that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is enhancing their security screening procedures from countries labeled as "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest" - or... Muslim nations.

The first thing I thought when I saw this headline is that the Muslim community must be pretty ticked off at this bit of profiling (there really is no other word for it - "if you come from this country, get in that line over there; if you come from that country, get in this line right here").

HOWEVER, in reading CNN's coverage of this story, you will not read a single word about profiling. In fact, there is no mention of how anyone (you know, the global community, international relations, all that) feels on the matter, just that it is what the TSA deemed to be appropriate measures. So, maybe the Muslim community is not that upset. Maybe all the work President Obama has put in to patch up American/Muslim relatinoships has resulted in the Arab world looking the other way in this situation.

Then again, maybe this is just plain ol' biased reporting in attempting to control what aspects of this situation are read about and discussed.

For, although you won't see this on Obama's advocacy network of news sources, the Muslim world is NOT happy about this. As Alejandro Beutel, Government Liaison, Muslim Public Affairs Council says:

"[This new worldwide security measure is] an unethical, ineffective and counterproductive means of counter terrorism. This undermines our stated commitment to Democratic values and Civil Liberties."
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yvonne-r-davis/a-win-for-the-terrorists_b_410134.html)

Hmm, I wonder what would have happened in the media if President Bush implemented such a policy. Ironically, I wouldn't be surprised if the ONLY thing that kept Bush from implementing a similar policy was the concern over the public outcry that surely would have occured.

I know this post is a little weak in that calling out CNN's poor, biased, and shoddy reporting is a little like stealing candy from a baby - so I'll come with a little more substance soon as I write about my thoughts while on our 52-hour drive throughout the Western States this Holiday Season.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Having your environmental emergency and eating it, too

Earlier this week, I was on the bus traveling home from a basketball game, and I was freezing. It was a (relatively) short drive from Bullhead City to Lake Havasu City. Both cities have pretty much the same climate. It's the desert here. It can cool down a little, but not too bad. Anyway, I am sitting there thinking to myself that it just feels colder than normal. I mentioned that to somebody and they said something about global warming. Okay, so I have heard this before: global warming accounts for hotter summers and colder winters.

Now, I understand that we can point at some scientific theory to justify this claim (I have Google, too), but I'm starting to think that the global warming alarm is the greatest conspiracy known to man. Here's why:

Scenario 1.
Person A: "Man, its sure feels hotter than normal today."
Al Gore: "uh-huh... global warming"

Scenario 2.
Person A: "Boy it's colder than I ever remember it being."
Al Gore: "well... it's global warming."

So just so I understand... if it gets too hot: it's global warming. Too cold: yep, global warming. Is it just me? Does that not seem convenient - I mean - odd?

Just to make sure I wasn't the crazy one here, I ran this by my 5-year-old. His response: "ha-ha-ha, Dad. You're silly." The kid gets it.

If you read my last post, you will catch the common point about scientists, journalists, and politicians consistently manipulating statistics and theory to represent something as irrefutable fact. Now I don't know enough about climatology and global warming to really state a good argument either way. But I am a logical thinker, and I am pretty good at detecting BS in the form of theory and statistics... and when it comes to the global warming alarm, my BS detector is going off.

By the way, Lake Havasu's low temps in the first half of December have been 6 degrees colder than average.

The irony

Everybody remember the constant messages we were being fed by the media and the Hollywood crowd a few years ago, like say, early 2007?
1. Bush is brazzen, evil, and dumb.
2. The sky is falling! -- er, I mean, "Global Warming!!"

So... now what?

1. Now that the Global Warming alarm is being shown to be misrepresented at best, and at worst, fradulent...
(and)
2. We haven't exactly upgraded within the office of the presidency...

Can we call those (the media and Hollywood crowd) who were so willingly duped into this man-as-agent-of-doom theory,

Brazzen, evil, and dumb?

Journalism "Spin of the Week"

As a journalism teacher, I like to try and catch when reporters are spinning things to dupe us into thinking what they want us to think. With msnbc, it's like stealing candy from a baby... but I couldn't resist on this one.

Even though this article is mostly about the concern over the black community potentially having a harder time overcoming this down job market, there is some strong implication that racism is the cause for this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34068710/ns/business-economy_at_a_crossroads//

Now, there is no doubt that every race is being affected by the recession. Of course, some are more affected than others. In a complex system, such as the job market, it is impossible to achieve equal distribution of goods (jobs, in this case).

Realistically speaking, of course racism is the culprit in some cases, and that is sad that some people would use race as a factor in hiring an individual. However, this article is telling us that black people, due to racism (and not other potential factors), are suffering worse in this economy.

So I did a little number crunching. Here is what I came up with using the exact same statistics. In fact, I just pulled the numbers they used and looked at it from another angle:

Since this recession started, if you are black, you are 43% more likely to be unemployed than before.

However, if you are white, there is a 52% greater chance you are unemployed.

Or, if I want to stretch it even farther, the white community has been more adversely affected by the recession than the black community by almost 10%.

But you won't get any of that from msnbc...

"Charisma. Circumstances, promises... Not enough of us spoke out to question him until it was too late. It happens on your planet, doesn't it?"

Well I am back from the land of the sick. I’ve been out for a little while. I was hit with some illness that never was diagnosed. I never have been sick like that. Finally, after about 5 days, I went in to Urgent Care. They tested me for H1N1 – I had no idea something could go that far up my nose (anyone who has been tested for this knows what I am talking about), then they tested me for strep throat, then for mono (“great, how am I going to explain this to my wife”), and then – for good measure – H1N1 again.

Unfortunately the world doesn’t stop when we are sick, so it has taken me the last couple weeks to catch myself up at work, but I’m back in the saddle again, as they say.

The other day, my wife and I were watching an old TV mini-series from the early 1980’s. Some of you may have seen it; it is a show called “V” and it is a sci-fi thriller about “V”isitors coming to Earth from outer space because their planet is tapped of its life-sustaining resources. (It was replayed on ScyFy channel because ABC recently launched a re-hash TV series which I haven’t had a chance to view yet.) The visitors come to Earth hoping that we will help them with their needs of resupplying their planet with these resources. At first they come as “friends” with a plan to put in action (working together, we help create the materials they need to replenish their resources), then they start to impose an agenda on humans (controlling us through fear and public persuasion to the point that humans won’t act of their own will), then they begin to take over the whole system. Soon any humans who are not part of their movement are outcast and ultimately forced into hiding, and ultimately the visitors enforce their real plans (enslaving and harvesting humans).

The thing that really got me with this show is how it reminded me of what is happening in our country right now... except for the human harvesting (as far as I know). In the course of this mini-series, my wife and I must have looked at each other half a dozen times with that look – the look of… “ohh, that sounds all-too familiar”. The irony of this is that the show is really a political allegory to Nazi Germany during its rise to power. I swear that if an American with no context of the history of Nazi Germany were to watch this mini-series, they would think it is a political play off of our current administration. At first, the humans saw opportunity. They were so charmed by these visitors, they didn’t stop to consider any of the right questions. Then, before they knew it, the opportunity to do anything was no longer there and their lives were no longer under their control.

Main Protagonist, Mike Donovan: (Asking a question similar to one I ask myself often) How'd someone like that get to be your leader anyway?
Friendly Alien, Martin: Charisma. Circumstances, promises... Not enough of us spoke out to question him until it was too late. It happens on your planet, doesn't it?

By the end, I wished I had taken notes to point out all the similarities between what the aliens imposed (with the help of blinded Earthlings) and what is going on in our government today (with the help of blinded Americans). I guess you’re just going to have to watch it. Now I am waiting on Netflix to send me the follow-up, "V: The Final Battle" and I should have a solution to our countries problems.