I was watching a television program the other day about various theories on how the world will end.
One of them, called the “big crunch,” is the opposite of the Big Bang theory, which postulates that one day all the matter in our universe, which was clumped up into something about the size of a cantaloupe (a very heavy cantaloupe, probably) and sitting on someone’s breakfast table just decided to explode, and all the stuff in the universe, including our earth and us, has been flying away from the breakfast table ever since. When the big crunch starts, many billions of years from now, all the matter will start flying back toward the table and will become the cantaloupe again, incinerating everything as it goes.
One wonders why that would happen, unless the universe finds it an amusing way to while away 28 billion years.
The other theory is the “big freeze,” which would happen if the big crunch didn’t happen. In the big freeze, all the matter would keep going outward until it got so isolated — planets so far away from stars, for example — that everything would turn to ice.
As you can see, even extremely smart scientists have widely differing views about what is likely to happen in the future.
I don’t see why they worry about it. There isn’t much they can do either way. Yet, scientists will stop talking to each other at cocktail parties, they get so mad arguing about big crunch vs. big freeze.
Did the cave people sit around their campfires talking about such things? A lot of cave art indicates they may have. But, so what?
Mrs. Doud doesn’t care one way or the other. She is more interested in “Dancing with the Stars” than she is in stars out there in the universe.
We do not pretend to know much about immigration law. We have, however, heard the exact opposite of the scenario that Mike Martinez described (Oct. 7 letter). While he stated that homosexual couples need to marry to stay in this country, we were told by a gentleman who works in agriculture that couples are avoiding legal marriage to avoid deportation. It seems that when they are merely illegal workers they are ignored by the authorities, but by seeking a marriage license they attract attention. The fear is that this will lead to deportation.
This really isn’t the issue here. Immigration is a federal issue. If Mr. Martinez is correct, perhaps he should be working to change the federal immigration law. It has nothing to do with the constitution of the State of California.
Proposition 8 is trying to clarify the truth by defending it in the state constitution. The definition of marriage has never been contested until very recently. Since very ancient times marriage has been the permanent union of a man and woman. This has long been both the legal and religious foundation of the family which is the basic unit of society. This is clear in the Bible as well as in all of the literature from cultures all over the world in every age. Even the ancient Greeks who openly practiced homosexuality never considered these unions as a marriage.
Proposition 8 takes away no right. The state of California has declared by law that no shared employee benefits may be denied to a gay couple. As I already stated, federal laws and rights may be at issue and may be what needs Mr. Martinez’s attention, but it has nothing to do with this proposition. Proposition 8 simply reinstates what has been the norm for so long. It defines something that never needed this definition before because it was understood by all.
We too have compassion for those who find themselves attracted to one of the same gender, but calling themselves married will not make it so. Compassion cannot change what is truth. It would be the same as if one held a cookbook and called it a dictionary. We might want it to be a dictionary, but we would be simply wrong. It would be a lie. No matter how much one protested that it was a dictionary, it would not become one.
Please vote YES on Proposition 8.
Eugene J. Newman, Jr. and Christine Newman, Madera
Business guru Tom Morris passed along these ideas at an annual forum put on by Fresno Pacific University Thursday at the Fresno Convention Center. I think they are worth sharing:
–In order to move forward in life, we need a clear target to shoot at. “No wind blows fair for a ship that has no port.”
–Do not allow what is very good to keep you from what is best. You may have reached one goal only to find another, greater goal awaits you. Reaching the first goal, in that case, was only preparation for the second goal more worth reaching, and it may not be easy. If you are at the top of the mighty K2, you will have to go downhill and climb up again to get to the top of Mount Everest.
–Attitude is paramount to success. Remember, it is not the playing field that determines how one does in the game — it is what one brings to the playing field that counts. One must have “precursive faith” in oneself and one’s ideas. We need two kinds of confidence — initial confidence to get us started and resilient confidence to give us the courage to keep trying even when we fail. At the end of every day, ask yourself what you have learned and make a note of it, as Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, did. “Your life is what your thought make it,” he said.
–If you are working toward a goal that seems unreachable, set intermediate goals to help you on your way. These intermediate goals help you concentrate your thoughts and energy. Keep track of where you are. Write as much down as you can.
–Be consistent and true to your vision, but also be flexible if necessary. As the Chinese say, “be like water — which can go around a stone or through it, with time.”
Just when I think I know everything, something new pops up. Trophy kids and millennials, for example, and avatar murders.
I never had heard of trophy kids or millennials, but it turns out they are entering the workplace and driving their bosses crazy.
According to the book “The Trophy Kids Grow up,” by Ron Alsop, these are people born at the end of the millennium, between 1980 and 2001, and they generally believe they should be entitled to have their own ways at work.
They are the children of Baby Boomers and were brought up more as pets who could have anything they wanted rather than as kids, says Alsop, and when they go to get jobs, the first thing they ask is “what’s in it for me?” They want high pay, flexible work hours and want to be allowed to listen to their iPods, talk on their cell phones and play online games whenever they want to. They also expect a lot of positive reinforcement.
If you are an employer, you probably are grinding your teeth by now, and well you may, but take heart. It turns out not all kids in that age group are trophy kids. Some, maybe most of the children of that generation are just normal.
But the trophy kids are presenting problems for managers who are Baby Boomers and raised just such overprotected kids. What goes around comes around, I guess.
Avatar murder, meanwhile is discussed in a story elsewhere in Friday’s printed issue of the Tribune. A Japanese woman is facing jail because she sneaked online and murdered her avatar husband after he divorced her.
Avatars are fictional computer people who are characters in online games which are supposed to mimic the lives the players wish they could lead.
Maybe some of those avatars also are trophy kids. It’s quite a world, isn’t it?
These are very troubled times in the United States. The near collapse of our financial system, the war in Iraq, global warming, the energy situation, immigration, and our health care system are just some of the problems that face the incoming new administration.
Barack Obama is the best qualified candidate for president of the United States.
The recent collapse of major financial institutions is very frightening. It echoes the similar patterns of the situation of the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Great Depression. History always seems to repeat itself.
The management of the financial systems was left unchecked; therefore, loans were made that were not secure and that were very questionable as to their stability. Obama suggests that government regulations be implemented to avert such irresponsible business practices. Our financial system needs a watchdog.
Obama recognizes the poverty of this country. He sees the gap between the lower and upper classes widening. Most Americans living in poverty work, but still cannot afford to make ends meet. Even when a parent works full time earning minimum wage with food stamps factored into their income, families are still $1,550 below the federal poverty line because of the flat-lined minimum wage. Obama plans to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation and housing.
“If elected President, Obama will require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the United States is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal.” Electricity is a very efficient form of energy. It can be produced and be distributed virtually pollution free. It can achieve the same basic principal function of gasoline, fuel a motor that spins a shaft.
The effect of burning fossil fuels for energy have been devastating to the environment. Global warming is real. I have seen its effects on the environment with my own two eyes. My understanding of the cause of global warming is that it is due to the pollution of the earth’s atmosphere specially man made pollutants.
Obama recognizes and acknowledges these facts. He has pledged his support to help improve the quality of the environment. He has even suggested the appointment of the Nobel Prize recipient and former Vice President Al Gore to his cabinet. Al Gore has expressed his concerns on the changing environment.
The Iraq was and is a big mess. It has been from the beginning, throughout the surge and in its current condition. It has cost the taxpayers of this country approximately one trillion dollars. A trillion dollars is a thousand billion. To put this into perspective, billion is a thousand million. Just imagine if that money were spent domestically on programs that would benefit our society here in the United States, not Iraq. The loss of thousand of human lives and injuries both physical and mental are inexcusable.
President George W. Bush is directly responsible for the war. John McCain has supported the Administration and voted for the United States invasion in Iraq. Barack Obama, on the other hand, voted against the war initially, has never supported the Bush Administration’s policy on the war. He has stated that as president, he will end the war and have all of our troops home by 2010. His record speaks for itself when it comes to Iraq.
The health care system in this country has been in shambles for decades. Obama proposes that a new, affordable national health plan be made available to all Americans, similar to the plan available to people in Congress.
“If there is a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription and having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer even if it’s not my grandparents,” stated Obama in his convention speech. Obama will require that all children have health care coverage. He will expand the numbers of options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents’ plans.
Barack Obama is a man with a plan. He has a plan for the future. He does not settle for short lived ideas that are within arm’s reach, but instead sets the but high while setting reachable goals. Obama has hope in this country and big dreams. The current problems facing the United States need immediate attention and action.
John McCain offers wisdom and experience, but Obama is a fresh start. Obama does not lack experience. He is a United States senator from the state of Illinois. He will provide new leadership with new ideas and goals.
Obama is the best choice for president and if elected will fulfill these ideals. Barack Obama has wise decisions to get us back on the right path. It is time for a change.
Those who favor homosexual marriage argue that “tolerance” demands that they be given the same right to marry as heterosexual couples. But this appeal for “tolerance” advocates a very different meaning and outcome than that word has meant throughout most of American history.
In the dictionary, “tolerance” is defined as “The capacity for respecting the beliefs or practices of another.” Respecting, not accepting. Tolerance as a Christian principle means love and forgiveness of one another, not complete acceptance of another person’s actions and choices, and insisting on their acceptance by law.
Dallin H. Oaks, a leader of the LDS church, said, “Tolerance obviously requires a non-contentious manner of relating toward one another’s differences. But tolerance does not require abandoning one’s standards or one’s opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination.”
There is a strong understanding that unless Proposition 8 passes, re-establishing that California only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman, religions that teach traditional values and marriage will not be tolerated and free speech and religious freedoms will be challenged.
Californians will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs. The opponents of Prop. 8 say that not allowing them to marry is discrimination. But in California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Prop. 8 does not diminish these benefits.
The desire to re-define marriage to include any parties who love each other does not outweigh the negative impact of social restructuring and restrictions of religious freedom that would result. We can express genuine love, friendship, and tolerance for the homosexual family member, friend, or neighbor without being required to accept a re-definition of traditional marriage.
Rummaging in my closet over the weekend, looking for my fall jacket, I came across a Ross Perot cap. I went to my T-shirt drawer, and took out my Ross Perot T-shirt. Both were gifts from Maderan Don Horal, who worked for Perot when he ran for prsident.
It made me wonder what Ross Perot might be thinking about the rescue going on in the economy, and what he would do about it.
Well, it turns out he is aghast, and he considers the national debt — now over $10 trillion — to be a cancer that is eating away at the nation’s vitals, devouring its future.
He didn’t tell me this personally, of course. He and I don’t have each other’s cell numbers. But he told The Dallas Morning News in June that he was launching a Web site, PerotCharts.com, to let the American people know of his conclusions about the economy and to explain it in a way “Forrest Gump could understand.” If you decide to access these charts, set aside some time — half an hour or more, because in spite of what Perot says, they are not Forrest Gumpian. They are, rather, very sobering.
He reminds us that the government always spends more each year than it did the previous year — but that taxes don’t necessarily match spending. When taxes don’t match spending, deficits result, and the government borrows, often from foreigners. That borrowing over the years has been greater than the repayment, and the result has been a generally rising national debt.
Perot maintains this practice will have to come to an end, or the country will go broke, if it hasn’t already. Uncle Sam’s credit cards already may have maxed out, he says.
The Sundays of Oct. 2 and 12, our Madera Razorbacks Girls Under 14 Fast Pitch Team had a car wash and were amazed with all the community support we received.
A huge thanks to everyone who helped by stopping by for a car wash, and also to those who passed on the word.
Our girls work very hard so this only makes it easier for them to represent Madera’s finest at Valley Tournaments with their focus and determination on the game and not on funding.
Everyone’s help is always appreciated from the Razorback family. No little deed goes unnoticed.
All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less.
+ + +
“Hey, big game Friday night,” began a caller. “We (Madera High) beat Madera South. It is pretty sad when that is your football team’s big game.”
“This is a call in response to the caller complaining about (coach Randy) Blankenship,” said a man. “He does a lot better job with the kids than (Madera) South had done over four years. Lot of the kids playing on Madera north (it is Madera High), this is their first year playing varsity.”
A man called and said about the “coverage of the junior varsity and freshman teams.” The caller “found it ironic that the Tribune didn’t write up stories on them, but a major radio station (1430 AM that carries ESPN Sports) does mention the Freshman football team being one of the best in the TRAC (Tri-River Athletic Conference) and look forward to having a great team down the road. It’s a shame the Madera Tribune cannot print anything on Madera (High) Freshman football.”
“You can’t call a school north campus for more than 10 years. It will always be called north campus, so quit crying about it already.”
Numerous calls were received on the same subject. “It is and will always be Madera High School,” said a lady. For you newcomers, or 10 years or less, to town you might think it is Madera North, but that is wrong.”
Another man objected. “Every day in the community calendar of the paper you see a class reunion notice. These class reunions, as short as only five years ago, say the class is of Madera High, not Madera North. (Note: the two schools are officially Madera High School and Madera South High School.)
“We all know Americans can’t get jobs,” began a woman. “Unless they speak Spanish. Why don’t the illegal immigrants from Mexico have to speak English when they get a job? I think it’s unfair.”
“My children at James Monroe really enjoyed the readers that came out to read to them,” said a gentleman.
A lady called about the woman “who wrote about the church telling us how to vote. I also do not believe the church should be telling us how to vote on certain propositions. I believe they should enforce the separation between church and state.”
A lady responded to the belief of “separation of church and state” by saying, “I’ve got news for everybody. There is no separation between church and state. It has been taken out of context. It is not in Bill or Rights and not in the Constitution. It is nowhere.”
A woman wanted “to thank Bill Coate for his fabulous article on Sheriff Barnett. Anything he writes about the sheriff in the future would be greatly appreciated.”
Several calls were reported on the theft of political signs from front yards. “I am just livid,” began a woman. I just discovered my McCain-Palin sign, our neighbor’s on both sides and mine are gone. I just think it takes away my right to express who I want to vote for. I think this Obama movement that is going on is absolutely unreal. I believe that Satan is behind this whole thing and the people that fall for that man are blinded.” She hoped that “if anyone sees anybody stealing a sign they report them.”
Another lady said, “I awoke this morning to find my Obama-Biden sign gone from my front yard. I thought this was America, where we can show our support for our candidates with no fear of reprisal. I don’t care if it is a McCain or Obama sign, both sides have a right to express their freedom of choice.”
A man wanted to tell “the citizens of Madera about the (political) signs being stolen,” and believed “these are acts of trespass. They have no respect for the Constitution.”
A man said, “good morning. I just read in the Fresno Bee the story about Phillip Forhan running for Area 2, State Center Community College District. We just paid a hundred grand of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment suit. Are you kidding me?”
He asked, “are you going to be covering this in the local paper. I would sure like to see it. I sure want to know why this has been swept under the rug. He’s sure not getting my vote.”
A lady voiced a similar opinion about the same subject. “Concerning the sexual harassment, I am personally outraged that not only is he still in office, but that he is running for re-election. The conduct of Mr. Forhan (and his comments) should have been egregious enough to justify his removal from public office in the past. As a professional woman, the fact that my local newspaper has not shed light on Mr. Forhan’s heinous conduct is disconcerting at best.”
“I am a parent of a senior who is in the Madera South High School Stallion band,” began a woman. She “had a suggestion that at next year’s Madera South versus Madera High game, they allow both bands to do their field shows at half-time. It showcases the city of Madera.” She “also would like to see more about the band and the parades and field shows they compete in and the awards that they have won.”
A lady called “in regards to the (Madera County) Food Bank. I took a couple of friends of mine over there today and I was concerned about the sanitation there. They received food that was outdated and vegetables that were uncovered. Just the visual type of building the food is in. It seems the raw food was in a dusty area and people handling it with no gloves.” She wondered, “how the Health Department was involved, and if they send an inspector.”
A man “wanted to comment on the improvement of the double center lines on Road 26 on past Country Club Drive to Club Drive. They knew their business. It’s illegal to pass within a hundred feet of an intersection and they seemed to know what they were doing and put the lines in the right place.”
+ + +
Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478.
I feel there is a great deal of uncertainty in voters’ minds and hearts this year. I am firmly backing Sen. John McCain. Why? I believe him to be a committed man with the best interests of the United States of America foremost in his plans.
One issue that affects the great majority is his intent to keep the present tax cuts in place. A return to the high taxes including capital gains would be devastating to our shaky economy and that is what his opponent plans. If you own a home, have a 401K or have investments for your retirement of almost any type, you could be terribly disappointed when selling those investments to support your retirement.
Sen. Obama has stated that he plans to tax the rich 75 percent on capital gains. Do you realize the rich are you? If you sell a piece of property or investment that you paid $50,000 for at a profitable price of $120,000, you will have the pleasure of paying Uncle Sam $52,500. I don’t know about you, that will have a drastic effect on my lifestyle. In addition you already paid tax on the original $50,000 as you earned it.
Don’t be fooled. The rich are your parents, your neighbors and your plumber … and of course, you.
The other issue that scares me to death is the Canadian style socialized medicine being pushed by Sen. Obama. My brother in-law, in Canada, died after six months, while waiting his turn for open heart surgery. My husband had the same condition and was in surgery the next day. I know which kind of medicine I want, how about you? It is what I have worked for and paid for my entire adult life.
Please join me in a vote for Sen. John McCain for president on Nov. 4.
