Ah! The Empire State Building--the pride of NYC-that massive structure which epitomizes the grandeur of New York--well, past grandeur.
It is now a pawn in the hands of those who extol the virtues of a team which is part of an entity--the NFL, the constant and ever protective refuge of rapists, womanizers, dog killers, pistoleros, sires (not fathers) of multiple children via multiple mothers, and of many, whose most publicized photos are on the wall of the local Post Office.
The Empire State Building, recently, was aglow in green lighting proclaiming to the world that NYC is Jet's Country forgetting, of course, that the team is quartered in an plays in, New Jersey.
But when that stately building had the chance to glow in a different color--a color honoring Mother Teresa it took a pass (no pun intended).
And the terrorists took down the World Trade Towers. What a mistake!!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
WHAT-IF-Abortionists Had Same-Minded Mothers
Ever stop to wonder why N.O.W., Self-Parenthood, and all those other Pro-Choice (read Pro-Abortion) organizations have members whose I.Q. relates to the number on the backs of NFL Quarterbacks?? Ponder the following:
Open Letter to All Pro-Abortionists:
How many people would be walking with crutches had Dr. Jonas Salk's mother been an abortionist?
Where would the world be today if Mary had aborted Jesus?
Would George Washington have been the "Father of Our Country" had his mother been a member of N.O.W.?
Can you imagine a world without Madame Curie?
How about Nancy Pelosi's mother? Or Harry Reid"s mother? Oops! An argument FOR abortion.
How about Martin Luther King's mother?
How about Pres. Obama's mother?
How about Abraham Lincoln's mother?
By now, (no pun intended), even intelligence-challenged members of N.O.W. get the drift. That they live because their mother's valued life over all other things. Perhaps some of the N.O.W. members will emulate their mother's. But don't bet the family farm on that.
Open Letter to All Pro-Abortionists:
How many people would be walking with crutches had Dr. Jonas Salk's mother been an abortionist?
Where would the world be today if Mary had aborted Jesus?
Would George Washington have been the "Father of Our Country" had his mother been a member of N.O.W.?
Can you imagine a world without Madame Curie?
How about Nancy Pelosi's mother? Or Harry Reid"s mother? Oops! An argument FOR abortion.
How about Martin Luther King's mother?
How about Pres. Obama's mother?
How about Abraham Lincoln's mother?
By now, (no pun intended), even intelligence-challenged members of N.O.W. get the drift. That they live because their mother's valued life over all other things. Perhaps some of the N.O.W. members will emulate their mother's. But don't bet the family farm on that.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
WHAT IF--U.S. Education Practices Were To Change?
Does your blood boil when you read about another American company outsourcing some of their best paying jobs? Does it bring to mind that the U.S. is no longer the manufacturing center of the world; that we no longer make televisions or cameras in the U.S.: that if it weren't for Honda and Toyota, very few autos would even be assembled in the U.S? Why is this so?
We have become a nation of "Service Providers"; a nation of clerks; a nation of lawyers; of bankers; of teachers. A recent poll of New York State high school seniors revealed that 79% had ambitions to teach. And of that number, 55% wanted to teach "Special Education". In a recent 10th grade Honors Social Studies class, the students were asked to comment on the subjects--the professions-they hoped to pursue in college. Student after student rose and proudly proclaimed they would major in "Education". When my granddaughter said she hoped to get into Medical School, the student next to her said "..why would you want to work so hard"? Because my granddaughter was wise beyond her years, she responded, "..When you do something you like, it's not really work."
That interchange set me to looking into the state of education in the U.S. What I found was upsetting and was a clear omen about our country's future.
During the last 10 years, U.S. colleges/universities awarded 16% of their degrees in the natural sciences or engineering. In South Korea and China, for example, such awards were 38% and 47%, respectively. The U.S. now ranks 27th among "developed" nations in the proportion of students receiving undergraduate degrees in science or engineering
In a 2008 International Testing Project, U.S. high school seniors placed last, or near last, in almost every major subject. We did beat out Mexico in mathematics but, I suspect that was because the tests were given in English.
Of course we can't put all the blame on the students. From 1970 to 1995, Federal support for research in the physical sciences, as a fraction of GDP, declined 54%; in engineering, it declined 51%. As of late, annual Federal spending on mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering equals only "..the increase in health-care costs every 9 weeks." At the rates noted above, it won't be too long before we will have enough teachers to provide every student with a 1 to 1 teacher/student ratio. But of one fact we can be absolutely certain--the teachers won't be teaching and the students won't be learning physics, math, chem, or all those other "worthless" subjects which are so difficult and make you work so hard.
Our loss signifies a rosy future for India; Pakistan: Bangladesh: Maylasia, and even Mexico and Canada.
This is what happens to a culture which dictates that every "worthwhile" student "must" attend college and which demands that every student receive an "A" or that colleges simply rate students on a "pass/fail" basis or insists, that to make students "feel good", universal tests, such as State Regents Examinations, establish 55% as a passing grade.
My grandchildren will all major in the physical sciences and/or engineering and by doing so they will have learned the truth about that old adage "..In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King."
We have become a nation of "Service Providers"; a nation of clerks; a nation of lawyers; of bankers; of teachers. A recent poll of New York State high school seniors revealed that 79% had ambitions to teach. And of that number, 55% wanted to teach "Special Education". In a recent 10th grade Honors Social Studies class, the students were asked to comment on the subjects--the professions-they hoped to pursue in college. Student after student rose and proudly proclaimed they would major in "Education". When my granddaughter said she hoped to get into Medical School, the student next to her said "..why would you want to work so hard"? Because my granddaughter was wise beyond her years, she responded, "..When you do something you like, it's not really work."
That interchange set me to looking into the state of education in the U.S. What I found was upsetting and was a clear omen about our country's future.
During the last 10 years, U.S. colleges/universities awarded 16% of their degrees in the natural sciences or engineering. In South Korea and China, for example, such awards were 38% and 47%, respectively. The U.S. now ranks 27th among "developed" nations in the proportion of students receiving undergraduate degrees in science or engineering
In a 2008 International Testing Project, U.S. high school seniors placed last, or near last, in almost every major subject. We did beat out Mexico in mathematics but, I suspect that was because the tests were given in English.
Of course we can't put all the blame on the students. From 1970 to 1995, Federal support for research in the physical sciences, as a fraction of GDP, declined 54%; in engineering, it declined 51%. As of late, annual Federal spending on mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering equals only "..the increase in health-care costs every 9 weeks." At the rates noted above, it won't be too long before we will have enough teachers to provide every student with a 1 to 1 teacher/student ratio. But of one fact we can be absolutely certain--the teachers won't be teaching and the students won't be learning physics, math, chem, or all those other "worthless" subjects which are so difficult and make you work so hard.
Our loss signifies a rosy future for India; Pakistan: Bangladesh: Maylasia, and even Mexico and Canada.
This is what happens to a culture which dictates that every "worthwhile" student "must" attend college and which demands that every student receive an "A" or that colleges simply rate students on a "pass/fail" basis or insists, that to make students "feel good", universal tests, such as State Regents Examinations, establish 55% as a passing grade.
My grandchildren will all major in the physical sciences and/or engineering and by doing so they will have learned the truth about that old adage "..In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King."
Sunday, January 2, 2011
What If Judges Were Fair and Just
Recently, the Mainstream Media reported on the suicide of Bernie Madoff's son. During the reporting cycle, all the old charges against Madoff, the Ponzi King, were repeated over and over ad nauseum. Most of the writers expressed glee over Bernies's 150 year sentence and praised the U.S. Judicial System which put him away for all time. Not one "reporter" even touched on the greed of those who invested in Madoff's ponzi scheme; not one reporter mentioned that time-honored and always correct adage--"..If it looks to good to be true--then it most probably isn't."
Madoff's investors never questioned the fact that they were getting about a 15% return on their investment when every other financial vehicle from bank cd's to money market interest rates to treasury bonds to corporate bonds were providing interest rates in the 1% to 4% range. What about all those "Certified Financial Planners" who advised their clients to invest in Madoff? What were they thinking of? Maybe that's why the financial engines of the U.S. are mostly broken and why we are nearing the financial abyss that is making our Chinese investors so skittish.
From my point of view, Madoff was a crook. A very smart, sly, oily crook; but a crook, nevertheless. But 150 years?
Dis he steal from the poor? Did he fleece old people out of their retirement savings? Did he break open piggy banks and stuff the pennies, nickels and dimes they contained into his underground vaults? No!! By all accounts he fleeced the very greedy, the very rich--the Ivy League alumni who never earned a dime by their own hard work and sweat. You don't agree?? Okay! Take a long look in a mirror and repeat after me--"I just read a blurb about a 2011 investment which is "guaranteed" to generate a minimum 15% return at a very low risk level. Would it be a good idea to take a lot of money from my money market account, currently earning about 1%, but which is my back-up should I lose my job, and invest it in this new financial vehicle?" If your response is yes, you probably should be sitting in the cell next to Madoff.. If your answer is no, then you might just agree that Madoff's investors--those who shared his 15% dream, should also share his 150 year sentence.
Compare the above with what happened in Vermont not too long ago. A man was convicted of sexually abusing a now 9 year old girl over a period of about 3 years. The "Judge" sentenced him to time served and probation. His reasoning? The convicted felon was very small in physical stature--about 5" 3" and 125 lbs, and the "Judge" feared that he might not be able to defend himself from the other inmates if he were to be imprisoned.
How do you feel about the U.S. Judicial System now?
Madoff's investors never questioned the fact that they were getting about a 15% return on their investment when every other financial vehicle from bank cd's to money market interest rates to treasury bonds to corporate bonds were providing interest rates in the 1% to 4% range. What about all those "Certified Financial Planners" who advised their clients to invest in Madoff? What were they thinking of? Maybe that's why the financial engines of the U.S. are mostly broken and why we are nearing the financial abyss that is making our Chinese investors so skittish.
From my point of view, Madoff was a crook. A very smart, sly, oily crook; but a crook, nevertheless. But 150 years?
Dis he steal from the poor? Did he fleece old people out of their retirement savings? Did he break open piggy banks and stuff the pennies, nickels and dimes they contained into his underground vaults? No!! By all accounts he fleeced the very greedy, the very rich--the Ivy League alumni who never earned a dime by their own hard work and sweat. You don't agree?? Okay! Take a long look in a mirror and repeat after me--"I just read a blurb about a 2011 investment which is "guaranteed" to generate a minimum 15% return at a very low risk level. Would it be a good idea to take a lot of money from my money market account, currently earning about 1%, but which is my back-up should I lose my job, and invest it in this new financial vehicle?" If your response is yes, you probably should be sitting in the cell next to Madoff.. If your answer is no, then you might just agree that Madoff's investors--those who shared his 15% dream, should also share his 150 year sentence.
Compare the above with what happened in Vermont not too long ago. A man was convicted of sexually abusing a now 9 year old girl over a period of about 3 years. The "Judge" sentenced him to time served and probation. His reasoning? The convicted felon was very small in physical stature--about 5" 3" and 125 lbs, and the "Judge" feared that he might not be able to defend himself from the other inmates if he were to be imprisoned.
How do you feel about the U.S. Judicial System now?
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