Obama... Nobel... WTF?

Can someone please explain to me what this president has done to deserve being bestowed the Nobel Peace prize!?

Here's a quote from the AP:

"President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to build momentum behind his initiatives..." (emphasis added)

So let me get this straight, Obama was awarded the Nobel prize as a means to building momentum in achieving his initiatives. Has he actually achieved any of his initiatives? I think Saturday Night Live answered that question last week.

So basically the Nobel Peace Prize has now become one giant "A for Effort" award. It's like giving the Buffalo Bills the Vince Lombardi trophy in the hopes that it will put momentum behind the team towards winning the Super Bowl!

On a related note, I have been doing some thinking... I am officially announcing that I am planning on curing cancer in all forms all over the world over the next year. For this lofty well intentioned initiative, I humbly accept the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
HA!

Why wouldn't you get the H1N1 vaccine? No really... why?

Everyone has probably herd about this H1N1 (A.K.A. Swine flue) and the vaccine that has recently come out for it. Great, right? Dole out those vaccinations and get everyone cured ASAP!

Well, that's not exactly the sentiment among the masses these days. Especially in New York where health care workers are being mandated to receive the vaccine (drawing protests). In a recent Consumer Reports poll, 21% of those polled said they would definitely not get the vaccine. Some mothers are freaking out about the prospect of the government forcing the vaccination of their children.

But of course those people refusing the vaccination are aluminum-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory nutcases, right? I mean there were mandated vaccinations for me to go into college, like meningitis. Now that disease can lead to loss of entire limbs... so by all means, vaccinate the hell out of me for that one! But I can kind of see where those aluminum-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory nutcases are coming from.

Let's take a look back:

• Bill Clinton said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." ... He did.
• George Bush said Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass destruction... they did not.
• Barrack Obama said we must pass the stimulus package to keep unemployment from going above 8%... we're currently sitting at 9.8%
• Then there's of course the various Senators, Congressman and Cabinet members with their own slew of tax problems and legal issues.
• And... let's not forget the issues behind Viox, Zycam and numerous other medications the pharmaceutical companies claimed were safe.
  

Now these same people in the government are telling us we should get the H1N1 Flue vaccine. Hmmm...

It seems to me that the real issue here is not people's fear of the vaccine, but rather a lack of trust in who is urging us to take it. It's a modern day real life story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

Now I am not saying you should refuse the vaccine if recommended! You need to do your own homework for coming to that personal decision. But I can understand why some might be apprehensive.

I mean really... we're only talking about trusting the government here. And they have been spot-on with EVERYTHING over the past 15 years, am I right? :-p
Trust your own instincts.

“Please sir, may I have some Moore?”

So Brad and I saw the most recent Michael Moore movie on Friday night. I saw this movie of my own free will, which I think warrants a pat on my back for open mindedness on my part! As with most Michael Moor movies, I am confident that it will be widely accepted as dogmatic truth without anyone doing their homework and looking into the claims he is making. That's not how I roll though. Severe fact checking will follow on my part.

What I liked (yes, there were things I liked!):

1. He pointed out how many high ranking members (including Tim Geithner) of the U.S. Dept. of Treasury in the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations were high ranking executives at many of the banks that failed and/or were bailed out. Hmm… Work for a huge bank, run it into the ground, get hired by the U.S. Treasury then make policy to prop up the bank you ran like crap… can you say "conflict of interest"?
   
2. Moore brings attention to the "Friends of Angelo", people who received special rates on mortgages from Angelo Mozilo (CEO – Countrywide), among them, Sen. Christopher Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad. Moore calls for the Dept. of Justice investigation of people "… in BOTH the Clinton and Bush administration who benefited from this." (Emphasis added) His lack of partisanship in looking at some of these issues in the movie is actually quite refreshing!
   
3. He interviewed Democrat representatives who complained about how the very first bailout package from Sec. Paulson was was so forcefully rushed through the voting process. There was much more apprehension and opposition from the Democratic party towards this bailout than I thought.
   

What I didn't like:

1. Moore's use of the Flight 3407 Plane crash that occurred near Buffalo as an example of Capitalism gone wrong. Flight tapes indicate that among other things, the pilots were discussing how they were not paid much and had to work second jobs. Moore's claim, if the pilots were better paid they would not be so tired from working second jobs and would not have lost control of the plane. Exploiting the loss of innocent life in an accident to promote one's anti-capitalist agenda disgusted me almost to the point where I left the theater.
   
2. Throughout the movie, Moore shows footage of people being evicted from their foreclosed homes, sometimes by law enforcement. Though it is sad and somewhat disturbing to watch, there is no explanation as to how those people got to that point. Did they have emergency savings accounts? Were they living beyond their means? Were they greedy/irresponsible with credit card debt, borrowing against the equity of their home or sub-prime mortgages they could not pay back? Believe it or not banks don't just decide to take your house for shits and giggles… you have to give them a good reason for them to do so!
   
3. His use of the "promote the general welfare" clause of the Constitution to call for such things as universal housing, healthcare, etc. This meaning is COMPLETELY contrary to what The Father of the Constitution James Madison has stated. Think of how this Madison quote fits in today! Chilling huh?
   
4. Moore closes the movie by suggesting that the solution to the problem is to replace capitalism with democracy. What? This makes no sense. The last time I checked, democracy is a system of government while capitalism is an economic system. Categorically, two completely different (though not totally unrelated) things.
   

What I need to learn more about:

1. The Carter and Regan administrations. I was not alive for Carter and I was 6 when Regan left office… forgive me if my history of that era is a little blurred!
   
2. "Dead peasant" life insurance policies taken out by companies to cover the death of their employees.

Returning to the Blogwaves.

It's about time I return to this wandering blog and write a post that is more than just a re-post of some media piece, sound bite or video clip that had ticked me off at the moment I viewed it. The direction of this blog has meandered back and forth between a personal blog and a social/political/current events soap box. I still hope to maintain elements of both styles but have a feeling that in the coming months, more will be written from the social/political/current events angle.

There is too much going on right now that I am fascinated with. I have spent the past 10 years or so trying to figure out what it is that I believe in. It is only now that I have truly been able to stand behind my beliefs upon a strong foundation while still maintaining an open mind towards others opinions. In the words of Kant, "Although I am absolutely convinced of many things that I shall never have the courage to say, I shall never say anything I do not believe." I have the courage now to say only what I believe.

Now this is not to say that my beliefs and opinions will remain unchanged from here on out. While having discourse with others of varying opinions and continually reading and absorbing as much knowledge as possible, opinions and views of the world and are bound to change over time! But... I will never say anything on this forum or others that I do not firmly believe. It has taken me quite some time to get to that point.

You lead with your strong suit... right? :-)

Town Hall Meeting with U.S. Congressman Brian Baird

Well said sir... well said.

Absolutely disgusted with our elected officials...

A few examples of condesending behavior among our elected officials.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California making condescending and subtly racist remarks towards Harry C. Alford (who runs a Black Chaimber of Commerce organization that does not agree with "green jobs initiatives")



Disgusting... but wait, there's more! The condescension is not limited to black people, it also applies to the military! (See the next video.)

Pardon my language here but... you dumb bitch! Who the hell do you think you are? You didn't earn the title of Senator, you were given the title by those who elected you!

But wait, there's more... from Sen. Schumer this time!

Well Senator I chatter quite a bit about this stuff with my friends and family. I am an American and I actually do care about the "pork spending" of this government. You better watch your ass sir, because your constituents are going to wake up one day soon and throw your sorry ass out on the street come election day.

And who could forget our lovable pudgy little fuzzball that everyone just loves, Barney Frank!

Here we see him talking down to a Harvard student... but it is important to note that in this exchange he admits that as a young student, this young man does indeed have the right to free speech and the liberty to ask him a questions. OH GREAT ALMIGHTY CONGRESSMAN FRANK... THANK YOU SIR SO MUCH FOR GRANTING US LOWLY STUDENTS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION YOU! WE BOW AT YOUR FEET FOR THAT HONOR.

My favorite part of this whole exchange... the young woman who says stop bringing up labels and answer the question. Congressman Frank's response... "I believe labeles are important".

All of it... absolutely disgusting!

How I can Run Mountains

Here's how I envision breaking down the greater goal of running a marathon and relating it to climbing mountains. You see, much like climbing to high altitudes where one must acclimatize their bodies to the lack of oxygen and demanding environment, a distance runner must also "acclimatize" their bodies to the physical demands of running for extended distances. One would not set out to run a marathon or climb Everest on their very first outing. It would be foolish! It takes some time to work your way up to either goal.

By scaling the height of Mount Everest (29,029 feet) to the distance of a marathon (26.2 miles), you get about 1,108 feet per mile. Taking this ratio, several important running distances can be converted to an "altitude". A simple 5K race is the equivalent of scaling Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. A 10K is equivalent to Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain in the Appalachian Mountains. A 15K is Mount Agung, a volcano located in Indonesia. Fitz Roy is a particularly difficult mountain to climb, located in the Andes on the Argentina/Chile border which corresponds to a 10 mile run. This is appropriate as running a steady and routine 10 mile run is a solid accomplishment and milestone. Equally notable as an accomplishment is the running of a half marathon (13.1 miles), which is equivalent to summiting the Matterhorn or Mount Rainier, both well known mountains.

	Relative Elevation
Run Distance	Feet	Meters	Mountain
0 miles	0	0	Sea Level
3.1 miles (5K)	3,435	1,047	Greylock
6.2 miles (10K)	6,870	2,094	Mount Mitchell
9.3 miles (15K)	10,305	3,141	Mount Agung
10 miles	11,080	3,377	Fitz Roy
13.1 miles (Half Marathon)	14,515	4,424	Matterhorn	Rainier
15 miles	16,620	5,066	Vinson Massif
18.6 miles (30K)	20,609	6,282	McKinley
20 miles	22,160	6,754	Huascaran
23.7 miles	26,286	8,012	Shishapangma
26.2 miles (Marathon)	29,029	8,848	Everest

Now for the more difficult "summits" of runs. A 15 mile run roughly scales to Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica, certainly not easy terrain or climate. A 30K or 18.6 mile run works out to be the famous Mount McKinley in Alaska. For even more of a challenge, a 20 mile run is the equivalent of Huascaran, the highest point in Peru. Now we get into the major distances and difficult altitudes that take a great deal of time, effort and strength to surmount. The summit of Shishapangma is the lowest of the eight peaks on Earth that are +8,000 meters in height. This marks a 23.7 mile run… just a short couple of miles further to push to the summit of Everest at 29,029 feet… or 26.2 miles.

So why have I been mired down at sea level for so long?

My Mount Everest

I just finished "reading" (as an audio book) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and I am astonished and intrigued by the idea of climbing Mount Everest. This book tells the story about the expeditions who climbed the mountain during 1996. Five people in these expeditions and three others in an expedition of climbers from India were killed. The sheer immensity of this mountain and the difficulties that must be surmounted to summit this peak are astonishing to me. In climbing Everest, you are climbing to the cruising altitude of commercial passenger jet airplanes. I made a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado a few years back. At an altitude of about 10,000 feet, I noticed my breathing became very labored just by carrying my bags to my room! I also had difficulty sleeping initially at that very modest altitude. The summit of Everest is about three times this altitude. I can't imagine what kind of mental focus, bodily strength and dedication it must take to conquer this.

I do not think i want to climb Mount Everest. It would be an exciting accomplishment, but the idea of rolling the dice with one's life like that seems rather irrational.

My own version of Everest has been, and remains to this day, the running of a marathon. Twenty six and two tenths of a mile in distance seems just as lofty a goal to me as 29,053 feet of altitude. Much like the climbers of Everest, I have made some attempts that have fallen short. Stay tuned for more about a novel way of breaking this goal down and why I am currently tied down at “sea level”.

Where the hell have I been the past couple of months?

I feel I owe the reader some explanation of where I have been over the past couple of months. Well, things have gotten pretty busy following the engagement as one would imagine. The planning has already begun despite the wedding date being set for close to 2 years from now. Guest lists, engagement photos, picking a date. If you review my recent book book list you will see that I have already sought advice from wedding books written for grooms to be.

I have also been indulging my self in a bit of a video game addiction. I purchased "Call of Duty: World at War" as the most recent addition to my PS3 library of games. I decided to take up video gaming as an activity about a year ago with the idea that there will be a time when I will have to play the role of "responsible adult" telling my children to stop playing games and do their homework. Before that happens... I'm going to go through the childish video game playing phase.

Currently I have attained the rank of P1-L32 (Second Lieutenant III) with a Kill:Death ratio of 0.58. I have already attained one Prestige... which is where you reach level 65... the highest level, then for some crazy reason decide to turn in all the unlocked weapons, perks and points to start all over again. It's been lots of fun as Jon and I have talked Brad into getting the game. We are now organizing a clan in the hopes of dominating in the field of battle. 8-)

The First Chapter of a Long and Happy Story…

Once again I have neglected this blog for an unacceptable amount of time. Before I resume my posts, I must update the readers on a very important story.

It all started on one Friday the 13^th back in March. Two young twenty-somethings who had been dating each other for quite some time were getting ready to go on a trip. In this story, the young man's name is Glen (me), the cute young woman's name is Emily. We were going on a trip to a bed-and-breakfast at Keuka Lake to spend a weekend tasting wines from the local wineries

After settling in at the fancy bed-and-breakfast, we got some dinner and relaxed for the evening. Emily was a little disappointed though. To her, it did not feel like our vacation had started yet. I had an idea though. I looked into her eyes, and began to tell her some of the things I loved about her. How she is intelligent, funny, supportive and somehow understands me. I told her she is like one of the puzzle pieces that is falling into place to make up the picture of my life.

She thought I was just giving her a compliment, but I had something else in store. It was at that point, I pulled out a small box and went down on one knee and asked Emily to marry me.

She said yes. And thus begins the first chapter of what I hope to be a long and happy story.

:-)

Revisiting August 9, 2001 on March 9, 2009.

On March 9, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order to reverse the policies put in place by President Bush regarding research on human embryonic stem cells. In this order, President Obama reversed two key items:

1. The Presidential statement made on August 9, 2001.
2. Executive order 13435 made on June 22, 2007.

On August 9, 2001 I watched that presidential address eagerly with my father. This was about a week before I was to be leaving for college to study Biochemistry with hopes of becoming a scientist. Eight years have passed and those dreams have become a reality. You might think that I am happy to see this new found freedom given to our scientists under Obama's administration. At the time President Bush made his statement, I was very angry, but also ignorant. In the 8 years since I have taken numerous courses on ethics, religion and politics through my liberal arts education. I have taken the initiative by attending symposium and discussion groups on bioethics and exploring the issue further through reading

I am happy to see a reduction in the intervention of the government on scientific research in this field. I believe that government intervention in science should be minimal in all cases such that scientific inquiry remains unbiased and free from political coercion. Unfortunately I also believe that this most recent executive order falls far short of maintaining an ethical research standard.

Having effectively overturned both items #1 and #2 above, Obama has demonstrated that [to his administration] human embryos are considered raw materials for exploitation and use by mankind. There is no limitation set forth in this order preventing scientists from forming embryos explicitly for research purposes. Carrying out a procedure like this with the building blocks of human life is highly irresponsible. This reduces life to a very utilitarian purpose and it nears a world where human clones are formed as necessary for the use of the being they are derived from. (Watch the movie, "The Island".)

Embryonic cells are biologically alive but are not necessarily alive in the same way we consider a fully developed human being. As embryos are generated to help those conceive through in vitro fertilization, those same cells (that would otherwise be discarded following in vitro fertilization use) can help others through stem cell research. However it is unethical to pick and chose an egg and sperm to build your own embryos explicitly for stem cell use.

It is a common emotional argument made in this debate is that people are suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer's, paralysis and diabetes and could potentially be cured from this research. They have experienced a setback during the past 8 years. This is not true. I have read reviews indicating that adult stem cells (those not from embryos) are much easier to manipulate than embryonic stem cells. I have even seen figures stating that to date there have been 63 viable treatments developed to date from non-embryonic cells while zero have been developed from embryonic sources (with several notable failures along the way). (I will try to find some peer reviewed articles to post here.)

No one wants people to suffer from these diseases… even President Bush, and yes… even the Evil Dick Cheney. The emotional argument that a restriction on this research made on ethical grounds reduces the hope for these people is a dangerous slippery slope argument in which it is charged that the ends justify the means. I believe Kant discussed the moral implications of this concept (again, I will have to double check that). I would say that the ends, no matter how noble, do not justify unethical means, for if you could save the lives of a thousand suffering cancer patients by ending the life of one innocent infant of only 6 months… would you do it?

26 Years ago this past Friday…

Once again I have gone a few weeks without posting. Shame shame on me! It has been hard to motivate myself to write much, but there's always something on my mind.

I recently celebrated my 26^th birthday. I know I am still young but 26 seems a bit scary to me! Thirty is suddenly looking closer than twenty.

Overall, I am very proud of what I have accomplished on this planet in the 26 years I have worked through. I have earned my B.S. and M.S. degrees, landed a good job and somehow in this economy have managed to hold on to it. I have a great relationship with a wonderful charming young woman. ;-) I have done some traveling, read lots of books, done some exciting scientific research and learned a lot about the way the world works. Through the process I have asked many questions and answered a few along the way as well. Another year older, another year wiser.

I am excited about what the coming years have to offer and what questions I can answer along the way. I will keep you the reader clued into this as much as I can.

Three things I must comment on in the days to come

1. I organized a "Tea Party" of my own.
2. T. O. signing with the Bills!? WTF? Is this a blessing or a curse upon the Bills?
3. I also must wish a happy birthday to my cousin Eric who shares my birthday of March 5^th. Born 10 years after me… almost to the minute!
   

Where's the modern day Tea Party going to begin?

It's been a while since I have posted anything here, mostly out of laziness. But this time the inner rage is bubbling up again and motivating me to post.

There has been lots of discussion among my family and friends about the actions of the government and the potential for this year to be a very bad year economically. This video clip is just one example of how pissed off yet silent people are being about this issue. And listen to how the IGNORANT CNBC anchors just make light of what Santelli is saying!

I am mad as HELL about the American tax payer having to pull the weight of the lazy scumbags who were dumb enough to get into mortgages they can not afford. I am mad as hell about the trillions of dollars spent by the government that will guarantee that my unborn children will now be slaves to crippling taxes and high inflation.

I am MAD AS HELL... and I can't be silent any more.

My most recent ADD preoccupations.

Given the cold weather, I have been spending a great deal of time indoors. My anxiousness (self diagnosed ADD is what I call it) has lead me to take up a new "hobby" of taking apart and messing around with computers. I have taught my self how to to set up a home network of computers, share files and printers between them an how to reformat reinstall an OS on a PC. Admittedly these are very simple tasks that a 5th grader could probably do these days, but I have this inherent fear of the "complexity" of doing such things. Now that I am learning, I am contemplating building my own PC to replace the old crappy one I own. I wonder what skills my ADD will draw me to next?

In other news, I recently watched the movie "Kinsey" with Emily. It is about Alfred Kinsey, who did some of the first ever studies on human sexuality. It was his ground breaking studies on such taboo topics that finally showed that homosexuality was not a mental illness, masturbation would not make you go blind and females do indeed experience orgasms (despite what many confused men out there may think)!

His approach to human sexuality however was entirely scientific (in the movie at least) and focused only on the desires and habits expressed by humans and not the emotional and rational aspects (like love, trust and fidelity). This was very shocking and disturbing to watch because everyone talked very candidly about sex and many of the married couples helping with Kinsey's research slept around with each other under the premise that it was simply their natural biological urges. I may just have to read his reports on human sexuality. What a surprise, I watch a movie that encourages me to read more books on more topics... good thing for that overactive mind of mine!

Today we live history.

Today we have lived history. Our nation, founded upon the principles of liberty and freedom has just inaugurated the first African American as president of this great Republic. The occurence of this historic event the day after a holiday commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. almost suggests a divine guiding force watching over this land. In Dr. King's time, he proclaimed that all men will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Today I urge everyone to judge President Obama by the content of his character, and not the color of his skin. He must be judged by the content of his character just as any President before him, democrat or republican has been.

Today we make history, but history is the past. The actions and character of this President right now is what we should scrutinize and concern our selves with as this Republic is lead by him.

It should be no surprise (review these posts, 1 and 2) to the reader that I do not agree with many of the ideas proposed by the new President nor did I vote for him. My core values and beliefs remain steadfast, but something happened between this morning and now, Barack Obama became your President... he became my President... he became our President. (Review this post for more of my post-election feelings.)

Now it is our civic duty to support our President in leading us, learning all we can about the direction this country is being guided and when necessary, thoughtfully question our leader when his path that may not be aligned with that of the people of this Nation.

May God bless America!

Oh what a sory excuse for a blog.

I would imagine that to close out 2008 and begin 2009, everyone would be blogging about New Years resolutions and sharing their stories of what they did for their holidays. Not me... I just drop off the face of the virtual Earth!

I do feel bad for the lack of blog posts, but with the winter dreariness I have been feeling rather lethargic and uninspired. I could make a New Years resolution to write more posts, but that would just be lame.

The general consensus from most people I know is that New Years resolutions do not work so they are not even making them to begin with. I did make a list of a few things I would like to do in 2009 though, some I will share here.

1. Expand my knowledge through reading 15pp per day. (Already behind on that one!)
   
2. Expand my career by building a professional network, taking on new initiatives and learning new skills.
3. Keep in touch with friends more.
4. Do some charity work.

There's more... we shall see how it goes.

At the moment I have been contemplating some news from a friend of mine who shall remain anonymous for reasons of privacy. An aunt of theirs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 52 and given 6 months to live. That's pretty heavy stuff. My first thought (I am not even being dramatic here) was, "What would I leave behind as an accomplishment if that happened to me?"

Given these events, perhaps I should look a little more closely at what my resolutions should be for this year.