A Beauty Contest

They say young people are excited about Obama for President. This very much reminds me of 1960, the year I graduated from BHS. The young people then liked John Kennedy. I’m sure many older folks in Bloomington remember the day a platform (or flat bed truck?) was set up on the south side of the square and some celebrities spoke for Kennedy . The only speaker I can recall was the actor Jeff Chandler…probably because he was heckled and he threatened to come into the crowd and settle the issue. For young people it was the youth, charm and looks of Kennedy versus the older looking, lackluster and much uglier Nixon . It turned out to be a close election. The folks for whom issues mattered (Unions, Corporations, Taxpayers, etc) made it a horse race. Then, as now, the candidates made grand sounding statements and promised things would get better. The reality is that Congress is where the real power is but Congress has 535 members , numerous committees and rules so arcane the public cannot understand them. So we focus on the President. He is one man and we can understand that.
Ltr sent H-T 4Feb08

Update: After this letter was published I got a call from a guy who was at the rally. I believe his name is Jerry Gregory. He reminded me that the actress Angie Dickenson was there and had spoke before Chandler. Chandler opened by saying something like "Angie can even speak while lying down." There was a shocked silence from the crowd then catcalls began which triggered Chandler's outburst.

Population of Selected Countries

(click to enlarge)


 

China	1,321,851,888
India	1,129,866,154
United States	301,139,947
Indonesia	234,693,997
Brazil	190,010,647
Russia	141,377,752
Nigeria	135,031,164
Japan	127,433,494
Mexico	108,700,891
Germany	82,400,996
Iran	65,397,521
France	63,713,926
Spain	40,448,191
Canada	33,390,141
Iraq	27,499,638
Korea, North	23,301,725
Australia	20,434,176
Syria	19,314,747
Netherlands	16,570,613
Chile	16,284,741
Cuba	11,394,043
Greece	10,706,290
Belgium	10,392,226
Hungary	9,956,108
Sweden	9,031,088
Switzerland	7,554,661
Bulgaria	7,322,858
Hong Kong	6,980,412
Israel	6,426,679
Denmark	5,468,120
Norway	4,627,926
Ireland	4,109,086

About one in three persons in the world is either Chinese or Indian. The current world population of 6.6B is expected to grow to 9B by 2050. Almost all of this increase will be in Africa and Asia. Environmentalists say population growth is the largest threat to the environment. My opinion is that some of these countries will not have the needed political stability nor will their environment sustain such growth. China has a "one couple, one child" law and tries to enforce it. As far as I know, it is the only country with this law.

On the other hand, many advanced countries are shrinking because their people are choosing not to have children. They have such low birth rates they face huge social problems in the future such as not enough workers to support the elderly. Oddly enough Italy, the home of the Catholic church, has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. America currently has a slightly positive popultion growth.

Some other observations: Ireland (4M) about the same size as the Pheonix, Arizona urban area. The Philadelphia urban area(5.9M) is larger than Denmark. The London metro area (8.6M) is larger than Israel. California (36M) has more people than Canada. If you are a small country like Denmark you have to be a little nervous about the future if some of the 9B decide maybe your tiny population does not merit all the your territorial rights.

NFL player sets example for fans

From 6Jan08 Parade magazine:
Tailback Travis Henry of the Denver Broncos has been ordered by judges in several states to pay child support for seven of nine children he fathered by nine women.

The groupie effect for athletes and rock stars is old news but I am curious to know if these were accidental pregnancies or intentional by women wanting the $ from a rich NFL player. Remeber Wilt Chamberlin's book where he claimed to have screwed over 2000 women? I don't know if he paid for any kids but they did not do DNA paternity checks back then.

I saw an episode of 'Cops' where they collared a young black guy who said he had four kids by three girlfriends in the neighborhood. These will be paid for by the taxpayers until age 18 because Dad is in jail...also at taxpayer expense. This will be the next generation of Gangstas.

If I Can Dream-Elvis and Celine Dion

Great use of technology to create an "impossible" duet. I heard recently that to see Celine's show in Las Vegas costs $200 per ticket. That is outrageous. Things have changed since the old days when big name shows were cheap in Vegas in order to draw people to the Casinos.

Money video

This is a weird music video but I like it. The lead singer does a great job of deadpaning the funny lyrics.

The Locomtion- Kylie Minogue

I really wanted the video of Debbie Gibson doing this song. But is nowhere to be found on the web. However this one is similar and pretty good.

ABBA "Dancing Queen"

One of their best songs. ABBA hit it big after winning a TV music talent show (Eurovision?) Saw an interview with a music guru who praised their music as being as intricate and sophisticated as any band out there. After about 10 years they retired and went back back to Sweden.

ABBA "The Winner Takes It All"

ABBA was number one in the world for 10 years despite doing "clean" pop music. This at a time when other top bands were featuring the grunge look along with "sex,drugs and rock-n-roll".

Conspiracy!!

The conspiracy theories about what really brought the twin towers down on 9/11 are absurd. The idea of an elaborate hoax with our government collaborating with Saudi religious fanatics is ridiculous on it’s face. There are reasons we nevertheless find ourselves debating this issue. First, there are always people (the conspiracy advocates) who want to be the center of attention and sensational claims are a way of getting that attention. Non-scientists find it hard to tell the difference between research and advocacy - if it's got numbers and charts, does that make it science? Secondly we have the journalists need for attention grabbing headlines (the ‘tabloid syndrome’). Third, there is the practice of “he said…she said” reporting. Paul Krugman of the NY Times said if someone claimed the earth was flat the headlines would read “Opinions Differ on Shape of Earth”. The fourth reason we are giving a forum to nonsense is more disturbing. There is constant drumbeat of attacks on our government’s credibility and intentions regarding Iraq and almost everything under the sun. In this poisonous atmosphere any charge, no matter how ridiculous, is treated as a real possibility.

Ltr to H-T sent 26Sep07

Why we need free enterprise

"Before wealth can be distributed it must be created."

Slogan used by conservative candidate in recent presidential election in France against his socialist opponent.