My Tall Ideas

First off this is not an anti Paul Shirley article, although I don't really agree with him.  However, I think that Paul made a few decent points in his article and that a lot of it does give one food for thought especially about finding a better way for the world to respond to natural disasters.  If you choose to donate money to causes, you have to not be naive enough to think that 100% of that money… Read More

I like both Leno and Conan.  I have watched both of them for a long time now.  They both have their appeal and their own style of humor.  But, I am team Conan all the way.  It's not that I don't like Leno.  I love headlines and Jay Walk Allstars.  I love Kevin Eubanks too.  But, Jay needs to hang it up and quit.  I honestly think that he is… Read More

Free TV may be becoming a thing of the past.  Traditionally networks such as NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX have not charged for viewing their stations programming and made their money from advertising.  However, with cable channels taking more and more viewers and advertisers away from these networks the old paradigm is not working as well as it once was.  Fox recently threatened to block programming on Time Warner… Read More

What kind of callous and uncaring country have we become that we would make the mom of a single and childless soldier have to apply just to be buried in the same plot as he is?!?!  Then tell her that her request can't be granted now because she is still alive and not in need of burial. Corey Shea was an Army Spc. who died in Iraq on Nov. 12, 2008.  He only had about a month left on his tour before he was coming home.   Denise Anderson made the ultimate sacrifice for her country and lost her son to war.  And now due to bureaucratic red tape we tell her that we can't grant her request to be buried with him in Massachusetts National Cemetery. … Read More

Today I had a very interesting opportunity to meet and listen to a lecture on Paraguay corruption from one of it's government officials.  His name was Gustavo Ivaldi.  He is the father of  Elias Ivaldi's, who is a student in my Geography class at Washburn University. His father has had many assignments for the Paraguayan government such as: Head of the Treasury department, Head of the Industry and Commerce department, and he is currently working with the American Embassy and the Paraguayan government reportRead More

Idiot Nation, by Michael Moore, describes the lack of education students receive and where the funding for education comes from.  Moore talks about how teachers are underpaid and not respected.  He also describes how government funding is dialed out to schools, libraries, and other educational institutions.  Schools often turn to Corporate America for funding such as; Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper machines in the schools. As I read this article… Read More

I think our forefathers “hit the nail on the head,” by using religion to teach morals and better educate our population.  A Noah Feldman article describes how religion and state have not always been separate.  He talks about how religion was used as a way to increase public schooling and give the school a moral foundation.  The problem is that, you can never make everyone happy.  There is always someone in this country that feels violated… Read More

Just check out this picture. This is one of the most dangerous places I could ever imagine doing Tai Chi, and it's one place I will never forget. This picture is taken on top of Hua Shan, a mountain near Xi'an, China. There is absolutely nothing behind us but a sheer face straight to the bottom. We actually were not even supposed to be out there. We were climbing Hua Shan like so many people do in the summer. There are carved stairways and paths… Read More

My wife and I just moved into town from the country. We are currently renting for a month before we buy the house. It all has something to do with the turnaround on when this house was purchased last time. But, that is a different story. Now coming from the country I am quite used to seeing wild animals all the time in the yard, pasture, or getting into the trash. It never surprised me or caught me off guard. But, moving in the city you don't expect to see the same things that you do in the country and when you do it is quite a surprise. We have lived at our new home for about two weeks now. A couple days ago when I was getting ready for bed… Read More

I am a smoker.  I have smoked for over 10 years.  Is smoking bad for me...yes.  Am I an educated person...yes.  Do I continue to smoke knowing the facts about smoking...yes.  That is my choice and I have the right to engage in that activity as long as smoking is legal.  To publicly ban smoking is an absolute travesty.  It is strictly a form of Communism.  If I own a business and I decide to allow smoking in my establishment then I should have the right to do so. … Read More