Archive for June, 2009

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Do you just ‘think’ for a living, or do you perform ‘real’ work?

I put the quote marks around “think” and “real” in the title of this blog post for a reason: I wanted to reflect the “real work” nature of a guest I saw interviewed recently on “The Colbert Report.” The guest was Matthew Crawford, and the topic was Crawford’s book, “Shop Class as Soulcraft.” In the book, and the interview, discussion centered around the dichotomy Crawford sees in our culture between knowledge or “thinking” work and manual labor. I strongly recommend you click the link and watch the video.

Have we, as Crawford maintains, spent too much time and energy directing “smart” people away from vocational training into “college prep” courses as he calls them? Does that mean there’s something good about white collar stuff and either bad or inferior about blue collar jobs? Why do we even make the distinction in our educational systems and our society as a whole?

I think Crawford’s probably onto a problem we’re failing to address. Take a look at our economic base in America, for example. We have ceased to be a nation that “makes” things, i.e., manufacturing, inventing industrial processes, creating industrial products, all that has really gone away. We’ve turned into a nation of laborers with a variety of service industries at the bottom and at the top, financial speculators/investors.

I’m sure a lot of this has been caused by a world of forces at work in our nation and world, from economic and business trends to politics. But I think a great deal of this shrinking of America’s industrial base may stem from attitudes created by this “thinking students” v. “vocational workers” dichotomy Crawford hits on.

Perhaps it’s worth thinking about.

Hard to exercise in summer’s heat — how about you?

I find it hard to get out and exercise in the summer’s heat. I find winter’s chill (as long as the ice doesn’t trip me up) preferable to that nasty 95-100 degree stuff we’ve had here in the Ozarks for the last two or three weeks. Almost makes me get out and buy one of those ellipticals, treadmills, or exercise bicycles I’ve thought about in the past, though I don’t think there’s much room for such in our old house right now.

But, I ramble with the heat.

The point I intended for this post, before the heat and humidity struck my aging body/brain continuum, was related to all the gaming consoles out there with exercise components — more specifically, Nintendo’s “everyone-should-own-one-but-I-don’t-yet” Wii. Any of you have Wii and use it for regular daily exercise? Or do you have Wii and use it just for games, not exercise or sports applications?

I confess computer games, gaming, and all the rest is something I’ve never done, nor did my kids when they were still young and living at home. But I’ve been intrigued by all the stuff I’ve seen online, particularly the Wii stuff.

Maybe something like that would get me off the old behind and onto my feet to get more movement/exercise done — even in this nasty Ozarks heat. (Weather alert: We’re supposed to get some showers and we’re looking at our first forecast high under 90 — tomorrow — which we’ve seen in several weeks. Of course, today we’re supposed to hit 98 or 99. Ugh.)

Teens and drug use — how accurate are survey results, really?

I have two adult children, both wonderful people who, really, were pretty painless to rear — even during their teen years. At a time when I followed such news as surveys about teen drug use, teen drinking, teen crime, and all the rest, my son explained the obvious to me: You can’t really trust teen survey results because teens 1) love to put things over on adults, and, 2) know how to tell adults in authority just what they want to hear. (Hmm … sounds oddly like politicians, doesn’t it?)

So I learned some years ago not to put much credence in major news stories characterizing teen drug use which are based on survey results. To be honest, I don’t know of an effective way to monitor or measure teen drug use besides such surveys. And the one released yesterday was certainly based on a ton of people surveyed — something near 50,000 teenagers.

Having said that, the latest survey was encouraging, for sure:

“Thirteen percent of eighth grade students reported using an illicit drug at least once in the past year in 2007, down nearly half from 24 percent in 1996, University of Michigan researchers said.”

So let’s rightfully be encouraged. I think President Bush was reaching when he claimed anti-drug policies and work by his Administration were significantly responsible for the decline. But I applaud any and all who are trying to help teenagers stay away from drugs. Adults, too, for that matter. (My daughter has spent the first 10-12 years of her professional career counseling teens and adults regarding drug abuse.)

Ah, well, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the papers.

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What ‘lessons’ can we learn from Gov. Sanford’s affair?

Once again, a high-profile politician bites the dust. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford held a press conference yesterday to confess his infidelity to his wife, and his failure to “be there” (literally) for the people of South Carolina. What can we learn from this in particular, and from the many high-profile politicians who’ve let their followers (and their pants) down in recent years?

I think the number one “lesson” we may learn from this is that powerful people need some sort of DAILY “reality check” about their own importance and their responsibilities. I truly believe, whether it’s rich people, celebrities, and/or politicians, that such folks reach a feeling that they somehow are 1) invincible, 2) untouchable by their critics, 3) way to clever to get caught, 4) entitled to special sexual/material privileges, or, 5) all of the above. They simply and clearly need to “get over themselves.”

A second very important lesson for us all is this: Human failure (shall we call it “sin” — I’m okay with that) is bipartisan. I would not dare to make cracks about Gov. Sanford’s politics, party affiliation, or any such stuff. The last 10-15 years is filled with a litany of men who were prominent Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, that have failed to keep their pants on when they should have. And there are probably thousands (yes, at least thousands) of other politicians and people in leadership roles who simply were never caught.

But perhaps the most important lesson in Sanford’s case for us all would be this: He must accept responsibility for destroying his wife, harming his family, and harming “the other woman” and her family. I watched his June 25 press conference where he revealed his infidelity. I also read the published email excerpts of emails he had sent to his mistress nearly a year ago. I came away just a little puzzled at his mixed message. On the one hand he confessed and called his actions “sin” by his own admission. On the other hand, he did not express, I thought, true repentance, leaving a sort of “affairs of the heart that we just can’t help ourselves with” attitude when he left the podium.

It is my prayer and my wish for Gov. Sanford and his family and all involved that he DOES work through this and resolve it in a manner that’s least harmful to all parties involved, especially his children and his mistress’s children. When adults destroy marriage and family relationships, it’s always the children who get dumped on the worst.

Oh, and then there’s the little matter of Sanford’s offense(s) against the people of South Carolina. He truly needs, in my opinion, to step down as governor. The people of South Carolina didn’t offer the governorship for sale in some fashion — they elected him governor and he accepted the responsibilities of that position. Somehow “following your heart” has no place in overseeing responsible governing of the state. He literally disappeared for several days. Had their been a state emergency requiring their governor, the folks in South Carolina wouldn’t even have known they didn’t HAVE a governor until it may have been too late.

Skateboarding icon Hawk hits White House hallways

To the amazement of some and amusement of others, pro skateboarding icon Tony Hawk rolled through some of the hallways of the White House as part of a Father’s Day visit to our national mansion.

Admittedly, it’s a bit jarring to think of the floors of the White House being turned into makeshift skaetboard ramps, and that didn’t set well with some of the media and/or political pundits. (One Fox News commentator expressed outrage at the matter, saying: “President Obama should be grounded for at least a week for letting Tony Hawk play in our house. Where in hell are the adults?”)

Okay, okay, I get it. Perhaps it was not only a little disrespectful, but downright weird that a 40-something pro skateboarder should roll through White House corridors, and even Twitter about it. Maybe we need to remember, however, that the White House is not only “our house” — it’s the president’s house, too. I haven’t read all the stuff about this incident, but what I did read indicated Hawk’s presence had to do with celebrities and sports figure “dads” who went out to do volunteerism in the D.C. area afterward as part of the whole event.

And it is worth noting that nearly every presidential family has outraged both the public and the White House staff at one time or another as the children proceeded to be children, even in the White House.

Hawk’s skateboarding in the mansion probably wasn’t the brightest idea, but then presidents and their families deserve a bit of a break, I think, regarding their home. No damage done.

‘Dumbest Generation’ book title may have something

I tried to find something at BookTV.org linking to the video of an interview they did with a writer named Mark Bauerlein, about his recent book, “The Dumbest Generation.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any video to point you toward.

Ah-HAH! Even better. I found an interview with Bauerlein discussing the book on YouTube, and here it is:

How about that? Make you feel good or bad about the “younger generation”? (Or YOUR generation if you’re around 30 or younger?)

Quite frankly, what made me think about this guy’s book was an appalling show of ignorance about President Obama’s appearance and his joking around at a recent White House — media dinner. If you read that article, be sure to read some of the comments on the article. It’s both amazing and appalling (there’s that word again) as you read those comments to see the absolute clueless ignorance by some of the people who posted. Do they really think Obama hasn’t produced a valid birth certificate?? Do they not know EVERY president — Democrats and Republicans alike — have had a joking relationship with the media/press? Do they not know that presidents before Obama have spoken and joked around at this same dinner??

Sorry about all the double question marks. I just finding it appalling — can’t think of a better word — that so many people are so ignorant of the history and daily workings of the media and the White House, etc.

What do you think? Leave a comment about that news story and/or this YouTube video on “The Dumbest Generation.”

Need brain surgery? DON’T GO HERE, would be my best advice

I’ve never had brain surgery (that I remember?), nor have I had any immediate family or friends who have had brain surgery. But I would think, if I needed brain surgery, my top priority would be a surgeon and hospital team with a record of doing the surgery right.

Nevertheless, there’s a hospital in the country which has a record of sorts that would make me go elsewhere — they seem to have perfected the concept of “wrong-site brain surgery”: Three times in the last year surgeons at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I., operated on the WRONG parts of patients’ brains. If you read the article, you’ll see the problem stems from surgeon arrogance, carelessness, and intimidation of nurses and other surgical team members.

My highly unscientific suggestion for you if you need brain surgery and live in Providence might be — move to Connecticut! Or New York! Or California! Or Nebraska! Or … just about anywhere else.

I used to joke around and say the one thing you never want to hear a brain surgeon say is, “Oops!” I guess I’ll add to that: “Where?”

All kidding aside, how can anyone excuse or explain such horrible accidents? If the brain surgeon involved is so arrogant as to intimidate those he works with to the point they won’t correct him or stop him in such cases — he has no business doing surgery, and such cowardly, care-nothing assistants have no business working in surgery with him. We ought to have a medical system in this country that 1) allows for serious civil and even criminal penalties for such people, and, 2) turns such brain surgeons immediately into “former” or “retired” brain surgeons.

Ah, well, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the paper — and tries to protect his brain!

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Bush shows class in his ‘silence’ regarding Obama

Since putting on the riding breeches and mounting up Old Paint to ride off into the ex-President sunset, President George W. Bush has remained mostly silent about his successor, President Obama. (Oops — horses, riding breeches, Old Paint — wrong presidential imagery. That would’ve been Ronald Reagan, I guess.)

In fact, in a speech given in Canada in March, President Bush said: “I’m not going to spend my time criticizing him. There are plenty of critics in the arena … He deserves my silence.”

You can use the riding off into the sunset imagery for Bush’s low-key approach to public appearances and statements or any other imagery you like. However you cut it, it’s a far cry from the yapping by various other Republican snipers and ex-officials. In some ways, even if you’re cynical enough to see political motivations behind Bush’s silence, you must admit the ex-president on this matter is truly a class act. Indeed, if you’ve followed the “odd couple” nature of Bush I’s “brotherly” relationship with President Bill Clinton, you might not be totally surprised.

After all, these presidents and ex-presidents know what the “real world” of politics, economics, and military affairs is like more than most of us, for certain. It’s good to see them show solidarity and support for each other.

How about we all take a few deep breaths and follow W’s example??

Quick everyone, send a thank-you email to Newt Gingrich

Sometimes conservative Republican politicians just puzzle me; sometimes they astound me. In the case of former Rep. Newt Gingrich, the term would be “astound.”

Here’s a guy who left the House under an ethical cloud (he paid a $300,000 fine to cover the cost of investigating some 84 ethics charges brought against him), who was forced to step down as speaker by plotters within his own party, and who certainly led a less-than-stellar moral life. I won’t say more than that, because my purpose isn’t to sling mud.

I’m writing this to encourage all of you to send a “thank-you” note or email to Mr. Gingrich for his latest declaration: He has opted out as a citizen of the world. Yes, that’s exactly right. Although no less than Presidents Ronald Reagan Obama declared themselves citizens of the U.S. and citizens of the world, good old Newt says the whole concept is “intellectual nonsense and stunningly dangerous.”

Of course, as with most conservative Republicans I know and have listened to or read over the years, Mr. Gingrich will not let contradictions or inconsistencies deter him, I’m sure. He has, however, very clearly, publicly opted out as a citizen of the world. Perhaps the world is breathing a sigh of relief — maybe even sending him thank-you notes.

Great deal of confusion surrounding ephedra diet products

I was doing some research today on the Internet and found that there’s a great deal of confusion surrounding “ephedra” and dietary supplements that contain this herbal ingredient. (Ephedra is also commonly known by an English translation of its Chinese herbal name, “ma huang.”) The substance was banned by the FDA in 2004 for dietary/weight loss usage. It was associated with negative effects in humans, ranging from strokes to heart problems, and has been implicated in some deaths. But here’s where the confusion over ephedra products began. The ban was challenged in the state of Utah and a federal district court said the FDA overstepped its powers by banning the substance across the board for weight loss purposes.

That ruling, however, was overturned in 2006 by a federal appellate court. So the ban stands, and companies now making and selling ephedra products have reformulated, or are reformulating, their products to use only allowably small amounts of the herb, or using other herbal stimulates instead of ephedra.

Is that clear? No? Yes?

Bottom line for us dieters: Any weight loss products associated with the name “ephedra” or “ephedra-like” stimulants can only be sold legally in the U.S. if they contain other stimulants instead of genuine “ephedra.”

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