My luncheon oratory included information on the global warming issue and the difficulty in presenting information to the public. The latter made far worse by a news media that has ceased to be free. I stated the problem was scientifically illiterate news directors and high school educated talk radio hosts with over developed thumbs on the caller dump button. This statement requires clarification.
Just one generation ago, the term ‘high school education’ would not have been considered demeaning. One generation ago American primary and secondary education tested and ranked number one in the world. What had been the gold standard in knowledge has been quickly substituted with a Federal Certificate of Decline in Excellence.
Every Child Left Behind
The typical result of every government involvement in the last generation is the outcome based goal which raises none, it merely lowers the common denominator. Poorly educated students go on to become poor quality workers who make poor life choices. This spiral of stupidity quickly leads to consumption over productivity, speculation over thrift. WE may soon have empirical data on how long a nation can endure imposed ignorance.
In the global warming discussion I displayed two graphs available at ‘ice age chart’ in any search engine. I neglected to mention that there are many conflicting charts at that website with no disclaimers. On display were two charts showing Earth temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels across one half billion and one half million year time scales. Readily apparent, regardless of education level, is that there is NO correlation between temperature and CO2.
Formal education should only be beginning and never a limit on personal knowledge. We live in an age when the world’s greatest library is a website away, the world’s greatest librarian just a search engine click away. But this great resource comes with the ‘caveat emptor’ or ‘buyer beware’. Lurking in the internet shadows are those who would beat you senseless with a senseless Mann hockey stick graph.
In researching the obvious climate fraud, the heavy hand of government interventions is everywhere. What the Department of Education had begun in dumb down primary education, the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Science have completed at the collegiate level.
Manipulation of climate science is readily apparent. Also apparent is the geo-nuclear heat and mineral flow thru the oceans as a factor in climate. It is disturbing to find every web listing on ocean currents, temperatures and chemistry has the odious Goreian Climate statement that human produced CO2 is destroying the ocean balance.
The same day as the Rotary presentation, the October issue of my favorite punching bag, the Rolling Stone arrived. In the spirit of “Service Above Self”, here’s a quick review so you don’t have to suffer on your own. Cover articles “Obama Fights Back” interview and the Matt Taibbi article “The Truth About the Tea Party” are the most relevant.
The Oval Office interview, by Jann Wenner appears highly scripted. No doubt pre-submitted questions and if not a pre-printed reply, then Wenner must have missed the teleprompter hanging behind his back. The Chief Executive did mention ‘We’ several times by necessity, but quickly reverted to the “I did everything” position of a true narcissist.
The standard talking points were that tea party rubes are under unwitting control of Dick Armey and Freedom Works. Tea Party members are ‘anti-immigrant’ and ‘opposed by what I represent as president’ [they’re RACIST] and opposed to green energy and work place safety regulations.
Obama continues, ‘Look, as president, I swore to uphold the Constitution, and part of that Constitution is a free press’, although the Fox News viewpoint is ‘destructive for the country’. Rather than admit ‘truth’ has a bearing on media success, viewpoints are just a marketing tool. Meanwhile our fearless leader ‘had to prevent a Great Depression, restore the financial system, manage two wars’…liberate health care from doctors and student loans and health insurance from the private sector.
He’s achieved 70% of his goals in 40% of his first term and public option, additional taxes and greater control of everything is enabled and awaiting regulatory enforcement. Another Barack goal was a White House basketball goal, now erected on the existing tennis court. A half page photo shows our leader shooting hoops with the Washington Monument in the background.
While not busy slam dunking domestic issues this savant has ‘reset our relations with Russia’, brought peace to the Middle East, ended the Iraq war and restored America’s leadership on issues like human rights and torture world-wide. He can do all this while listening to the 2000 songs he has loaded into his iPod.
Mr Pres agrees with NASA wack-job James Hanson, that climate change is comparable to slavery faced by Lincoln and Nazism faced by Churchill. His nut-case Energy Secretary, Steven Chu has claimed painting all roofs and highways white would provide a temporary solution to global warming. Surprising, Chu was the ‘unsung hero of the Gulf Oil spill…this guy went down and helped design the way to plug that hole with BP engineers’. Finally credit for everything is given to this administration.
The subject of command performances came up with Bob Dylan skipping all of the expected idolatry, singing “The Times They Are A Changing”, dissing the photo-ops and leaving. The opposite occurred at the Sir Paul McCartney concert. Discussing this Beatle singing ‘Michelle’ to Barack’s Michelle sends a sobbing president from the room.
The Matt Taibbi article “Tea & Crackers” had some surprising areas of agreement. “This is America and we have an entrenched oligarchical system in place that insulates us from the any meaningful political change”. Matt goes on to detail the compromising of Tea Party issues and candidates by the GOP insiders, a very real problem for all true patriots.
Matt mentions Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul and possible emerging conflicts and then mentions Rand’s dad, Rep Ron Paul and 2008 fringe candidate for president. Matt confesses that while covering the Paul campaign, he liked Ron because “He’s honest, Anti-war and Pro-legalization”. It is shocking to see a liberal reporter agree with so many Libertarian positions. Maybe Matt is a patriot in the closet.
The Four Way Test
Every Rotary meeting begins with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, reciting the Four Way Test and singing a song. Our song that day was “God Bless America”. There were sixty members from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and ethnicities, though none of that mattered. To me they were neighbors I’d never met, principled and dedicated to doing the right thing.
Founded in 1905, the Rotary Club has been doing the right thing for a long time. They have 1.2 million members in 33,000 chapters on six continents. Their mission statement is to “combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace and eradicate polio”. Their “Ambassadorial Scholarship” program has enabled 40,000 students from 100 countries to live for one year with a foreign family.
While promoting a functional mass transit system in the early nineties I was guest speaker for fifty Rotary meetings at thirty different chapters. If there is a better path to truth and understanding than the Rotarians, then I’m not aware of it. It is certainly not articulated or practiced by either political party or the government bureaucracy. Rotary International is not a political organization and I am neither a member nor a spokesman. As just a speaker and honored guest I can state, you have no finer neighbors than these dedicated volunteer servants.
There is urgent need for political reform to save America and that reform cannot be modeled on either of the existing corrupt parties. The Rotary, Lions, Optimist, Kiwanis and other service clubs are connected to the unpoisoned roots of America. I look forward to the day when all of America can embrace their spirit of service. That day when former Democrats, former Republicans and former Libertarians can stand shoulder to shoulder and sing “God Bless America”.
It is one thing to research, collate and articulate a coherent message in print, but it is the acid test of knowledge to orate and debate those thoughts in front of an informed and skeptical audience. Highlight of this author’s week was being honored as guest speaker at my local Rotary Club. “Service Above Self” is the motto of this oldest of all service organizations, and they have the record of good deeds to support their claim.
