Thursday, October 30, 2008

My Carbon Footprint


I found a little app on MSN that calculates your carbon footprint. Not that I care, but I wanted to find out so I knew what it was I didn't care about.

It's merely 7.45 (average is 7.5). Which means that my lifestyle emits just 7.45 tons of carbon a year to shield us from the sun and help plants grow. Now, I've got to figure out how to increase it. ;)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Lesser of Two Evils


"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."


The election is about two weeks away and the polls and my sixth sense (as much as I hate to admit it) say that Obama will win. I really don't want that to happen, but I also feel that we get what we deserve when it comes to such things. If the true conservatives had been loud enough, then we wouldn't have McCain as the GOP candidate, and Obama would be embarrassed to show his face. Conservatives need to become more like liberals in the sense of our activism.

We seem to think we can participate in the political process in the old-fashioned way: by writing to our elected officials and newspaper editors, making the occasional donation to our favorite candidate or party, working hard, doing what's right and saying our prayers. But prayer only goes so far. "Faith without works is dead," and we need to get to work. The trouble is that the old way of doing things is no longer effective, we need to take it a few steps further. We need start making loud protests, having sit-ins and doing crazy publicity stunts for our causes. We need to make further use of our right to free speech.

I write this because I am just as guilty. There are so many other things in life: work, spouse, children, church, school, etc. But where would our families be if the political landscape were to become inhospitable? Will ultra-liberal policies suddenly outlaw our religious principles? Think in terms of gay rights, same-sex marriage, and the rights of the traditional family. And, what, exactly, is "hate speech"?.

I submit that political activism should be an essential part of our responsibilities as parents, spouses, church-goers and community leaders. If our political beliefs are based on our religious beliefs, does that not make them one and the same? Therefore, if we are active in our religious endeavors, should we not also be just as active in our political endeavors as well? Is not the "opposition" also very politically active?

We are counseled to vote for good and honest people to lead our governments. However, there seems to be a serious deficiency of good and honest people in the political arena. The reason we are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils is because there are not enough of the other kind to choose from. Therefore, we need more good and honest people to be truly active in the entire political process, including voting, caucuses, and running for office, and we need to be bold and vociferous about it, too.

So, why don't we do it, are we afraid? Are we under-informed? Are we timid? So what! Let's get busy, get educated, go out on a limb, and offend a liberal!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Save the Wildlife

A few years ago, my kids found a nighthawk on the ground in a neighbor's yard, it seemed to have a broken wing. I called the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and they advised me to take the little hawk to Great Basin Wildlife Rescue, run by Patti Richards. She took the bird in, rehabilitated and released it.

Recently, I read an article that said that budget problems and property issues have required her to move the rehab center to the local DWR offices. They are really having a hard time making ends meet to help these injured and orphaned wild animals.

If you can spare a bit, please donate to Great Basin Wildlife Rescue. And if you own a business and/or are looking for an organization to sponsor, please contact Patti Richards and make an offer.