I’m celebrating a birthday with a rather high number this weekend, and sometimes, between the achy back and failing eyesight, I’m not too upset with the progression of time. Today for example.  Tree hugging four- time Proglibocrat Oregon governor John Kitzhaber will be stepping down soon over some monetary conflicts of interest involving his girlfriend, Cylvia Hayes.  According to the New York Times, the two got together several years ago over “a shared passion for a low carbon energy future.”   Dreamy, huh ?    If indeed I am so out of the love loop that such things are really occurring today between members of the opposite sex,  then I am so thankful that I was born in the 1950’s and came together with the fairer sex for an assortment of way-more-fun reasons.   WHAT THE HECK !     I’ll throw out a wild guess that, at least from Governor Kitzhaber’s perspective, his motives had more to do with a 20 year gap in age than with his desire to save the planet !

Yesterday, angry mobs of public union workers (a phrase I find to border on oxymoronic) loudly demonstrated at the home of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s parents’ suburban home.  Yes, I said his parents home for goodness sake.  Imagine for a moment being in your late 70s or early 80s, and having your holiday disturbed by sign-waving, marching, megaphone shouting kooks on the street in front of your house.  Yes, everyone knows that public unions detest the governor of Wisconsin, probably because he had the courage to defy and fight their ridiculous demands over the past five years.  I come from a union family, but I get increasingly peeved  particularly at public union leaders and their members greedily trying to get more than their piece of the pie at everyone else’s expense. And to push for it at  Granny’s house ???????

I just hope that the Lord takes me before some assortment of teachers, municipal workers, firefighters, etc. make fools of themselves in my neighborhood, or in front of my local high school.  It will indeed be worth a few nights in jail to raise a little hell !    WHAT THE HECK !

In ancient times, last century, schoolchildren and workers alike celebrated the birthdays of the father of our country (February 22) and the President with the most “stones” (February 12).  Yes, at that time our nation felt that the accomplishments of these two historical leaders warranted two separate and important holidays.   Now we have Presidents’ Day, when we are to celebrate the feats of such hallowed presidencies as those of Grover Cleveland, Jimmy Carter and Herbert Hoover (just to spread the politics around).   In my Florida county (Hillsborough), there was no school holiday, and many businesses remained open.

Now I’m going to get into trouble.  Too bad !     We take the day off to celebrate a Spaniard who accidentally discovered the Americas in the 17th century.   And before anyone calls me a racist, I am in awe of the racial mending process put into place by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., both in speech and in deed in the 1960s, but can anyone tell me with a straight face that Abraham Lincoln is less deserving of a holiday for his deeds (for those living in Birdsboro, think Civil War, 13th Amendment, Gettysburg Address) in righting a horrible wrong in our country ?   Just because his actions took place in the 1860s doesn’t make them any less notable.

Did you ever wonder what message we are sending out to our schoolchildren, studying their little hearts out yesterday in Hillsborough County, regarding the role of history in their education ?      Thankfully the sun has set once again on my least favorite holiday.                                    WHAT THE HECK !

A Faustian bargain refers to the medieval legend of Faust, who made a contract with the devil, exchanging his soul for worldly gain.  Modern day Faustian bargains are being made by the scientific community.  In a wonderfully written piece by Daniel Henninger in the WSJ this week, it is  suggested that any scientific cause championed by politicians is subject to capitulation from the scientific community in exchange for money in the form of tenure, scholarships and grants (worldly goods).    Three years ago when global warming morphed into climate change, egged on by Al Gore and Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan,  it was a sad sign that the debate was being waged by politicians, and not scientists.

When such politicians front the idea, and lead the charge to defame or defund scientists that fail to fall into line, a Faustian temptation has been manifested.   Scientists either fall in line, and receive the goodies in the form of grants or appointments, or face public and professional humiliation for their integrity.   I just scratch my head when the local meteorologist fails to accurately predict heavy rains tomorrow, yet our leaders want us to fundamentally change our habits based on forecasts of the impact of changes in climate forty years from now.      Think I will just keep recycling, driving more fuel efficient cars, and voting for legislators who pledge to work hard to force industry to use the abundant resources we are blessed with in an ever  increasingly efficient and clean way.                     WHAT THE HECK !

I just finished watching the 2006 film, Idiocracy, for about the sixth time.  The movie, starring Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph, displays the results of decades of personal enlightenment, political correctness, political corruption, and the dumbing down of educational processes, all of which result in a uniformly unthinking society absent intellectual curiosity, social responsibility, faith in anything beyond oneself, and general stupidity.   The movie was  recommended to me by my wise niece, who I I believe uses the flick to periodically cleanse her brain.  The society in the movie suggests a possible path that we may be embarked upon today.

I needed to watch it before celebrating today’s 1st annual Global Divestment Day, a two day, multi-city attempt by climate activists  to cajole university endowment fund managers into divesting all fossil fuel related equities.  Advocates of this investing strategy suggest that there will be little or no impact on long term total portfolio returns, or if they are wrong, that you will  at least be considered  a  really cool climatologist.

The stunning part is that several major university endowments have, or are seriously considering the group’s advocacy.    But now that I’ve re-viewed Idiocracy, it just seems to fit in with the direction of our culture.   Global Divestment Day would be a perfect add-in to the movie.                            WHAT THE HECK !

This story is a little dated (September, 2014) , but political correctness seems not to have a statute of limitations.  California’s Ventura High School, in preparation for the school’s Fall football campaign, decided to ban the football booster club from selling Chick-fil-A sandwiches at home games.  Principal Val Wyatt stated, “With their political stance on gay rights and because the students of Ventura High School and their parents would be at the events, I didn’t want them (Chick-fil-A) on campus.   Superintendant Trudy Tuttle Ariaga summed up the position of the correctness cops, saying, “We value inclusivity and diversity on our campus, and all our events and activities are going to adhere to our mission”.

Hmmm, where in the inclusivity guidebook is the part about limiting free speech ?   And why is it that the cultural preachers of inclusivity and diversity seem to often be the least inclusive and the least diverse of all ?    To me , this isn’t about gay rights; one could substitute any number of topics for the bone of Principal Wyatt’s contention.  It is about a small, smug, self-appointed group of Proglibocrats that we as a society are allowing to dictate what we say and what we think.    Stop them, they’re soft anyway. !                           WHAT THE HECK !

Who exactly votes each week for the top 25 college basketball teams ?   Are they knowledgable, honorable sports pundits with a few miles on their pencils, or just a bunch of uneducated, lazy sportswriters with assorted axes to grind.   And yes, I admit, this is not the most crucial issue of the day, but, what the heck, it’s my blog, and I’m ticked off !

What squeezes my cheeks is the fact that the fraternal order of sportswriters places the Gonzaga Zags as the #2 team in the nation, with victories over Texas Southern, Cal Poly, Portland (not the NBA Trailblazers), Pacific, and two barnburners against Santa Clara.  The Zags’ only venture into the ranked world this season resulted in a loss to Arizona.  Where is Gonzaga located, anyway ?

Beneath that lofty ranking, at #3, are the Virginia Cavaliers, with victories so far over an assortment of ranked teams including North Carolina, Maryland, VCU, Notre Dame, and tonight Louisville.   Not only is the record clearly superior to the Zags (what is a Zag ?), but the Cavaliers actually seek these lofty heights while at the same time attending normal classes and taking tests/exams without assistance (sorry for the cheap jab, UNC).  So again, why is Gonzaga #2 and U.Va. #3 ?                                        WHAT THE HECK !

Yes I’m quite conservative on most issues, but until this morning, I just could not put my finger on why I carried so much animosity toward the current Emperor in the White House.  My thoughts are particularly troublesome given biblical guidance to respect and honor our leaders, who were put in place after all by God (source: THE BIBLE).  I should know better.

Today’s editorial outlining Obama’s intent via executive authority (Emperor stuff) to abrogate Congress’ authority to set aside some Alaskan wilderness acreage for oil and gas exploration brought my dilemma into focus.  Unlike other presidents whose politics I did not agree with,  this Emperor engages in a daily battle with the lives of its citizens, white and black, rich and poor, educated or uneducated.  We are the enemy.  There were probably few issues on which I could concur with Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton, but there was never a cloud of engagement or hostility toward America and Americans.  You say you want examples !

The Alaska action noted is the next in a series of executive decrees intended to  starve the efficient Trans-Alaska pipeline, which carries fossil fuels south from Alaska and Canada. So next month when he vetoes the Keystone Pipeline over the will of the Congress and the people (remember the 2014 elections), does it ever register that we Americans like  $2 a gallon gasoline ?   Yes,  we will put windmills in our backyards and solar panels on our roofs when it becomes economic, but golly Mr. Emperor, we have long desired to be independent of all the bad apples in the world that sell us oil.  More examples ?   Why as citizens must we protect ourselves from the NSA’s intrusive tentacles.  And why must a new not-for-profit organization that has freedom or Jesus or mom-and-apple-pie in its name be fearful of overzealous IRS scrutiny ? I’m guessing that about 50% of Americans wince when they realize that Obamacrare, and their tax dollars , will pay for abortions.  And must we really suffer from the embarrassment of our French friends laughing at us as James Taylor croons “You’ve Got A Friend” in Paris with John Kerry standing aside ?   Why must locally elected school authorities now fight to protect the curriculum in their schools from the desires of the Department of Education.   And for that matter, we must now battle Washington D.C. over what our children can and cannot eat during lunchtime at school.   Good grief !  Red tape impedes the immigration of needed and legal immigrants, while we are told that we are insensitive, even racist regarding a desire to protect our borders from illegal entrants.  Alright, I’m tired of ranting, but these are battles we currently wage every day with the Emperor and his minions.  Oh how I yearn for the days of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.   We disagreed, but we never had to fight with them.                              WHAT THE HECK !

If you accidentally tuned in to the national weather last night, you would have thought that the end of the world was at hand.   Two feet of snow, with possible swirling winds, was descending rapidly on the Northeast. Christie declared a state of emergency.  DeBlasio ordered any moving vehicle with a snowplow out on the streets.  Supermarkets were overrun with crazed shoppers.  Women and children were in fear for their very lives. Airplanes were unable to take off and land.  Footballs in Boston would become deflated . Oh my gosh !

Folks in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the rest of the upper Midwest must be laughing as they patiently load firewood into their fireplaces and sip hot chocolate.  What’s become of the hearty Northeast, the pioneering spirit of New Englanders ?    I grew up in the Northeast, and big snowstorms were just part of seasonal life.  You dug out.  You scraped the windshields.  People knocked off a day of school or work.   It seemed to add a bit of civility and peace to life.    A Winter storm was certainly never equated or compared to a hurricane or a flood or any other natural disasters, as this storm has been.

Dare I equate the loss of fight above the Mason Dixon line to the blueness of the state ?  Is it possible the entitled and pampered residents north of Virginia have just become pansies ? Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the little towns all along the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coast joined together and re-built, without much whimpering.  Hearty Tennesseeans  just pitched in and helped each other recover from the massive floods of 2010.

Stop complaining Northeast.  Stop whining New England.  Go outside and build a snowman. Take the day off and play with your kids.      Relax.                       WHAT THE HECK !

A federal lawsuit was filed last week against the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain, alleging gender discrimination with regard to hiring practices for Summer positions at one of its Utah units.  Specifically, the lawsuit, filed by the useless Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleges that only women were considered and hired for bartender and waiter positions, thus discriminating  against, and impeding the economic opportunities  for males. HR managers at the popular chain must be wringing their hands in frustration at the abusive use of politically correct, half brain dead lawyers against the engine of American job growth – businesses.         WHAT THE HECK !