Steve Irwin, Killed by a Stingray

As everyone knows by now, the "Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin, has been killed by a stingray barb through the heart while taping a television program. This was truly a freak accident, as very rarely are stingrays fatal to humans. Not much I can say about this great conservationist and naturalist, other than he was able to bring his love of animals to the public via his television shows, acquainting his viewers with some of the others with which we share this planet. He will be missed by many, myself included.

Not So Miraculous Tree Water

The pilgrims flocking to a tree in San Antonio, Texas won't give up their miracle, just because a natural, and expected, explanation has been found.

The tree has been gurgling water from its trunk for months, and people believed it to be "holy water" with miraculous healing abilities. Funny thing though, when the San Antonio Water System shut off the water service to the home of Lucille Pope, the tree stopped giving off its water. Officials think the tree roots have penetrated the water line to the Pope home, yet the faithful continue to come.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Lloyd Pope says he tells people what happened, but they still want the water. Maybe I should set up a holy water tree in my own yard and sell vials of it to pay off some bills. :) Much like the water-stain Mary under a freeway, or the Virgin on a grilled cheese sandwich, the water tree demonstrates how many people are so hungry for signs and miracles that they suspend logic and rational thinking. The scary thing is that some of these folks vote.

Lipstick Terrorism

Last week when British security announced they had busted a plot by Islamic terrorists to blow up ten transatlantic airplanes in mid flight, I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma on business. Great, now I have to deal with increased probing at the airport to get home. That is more of an incovenience than anything. However, I believe that the airport security measures are window dressing to make flyers feel safe, without really doing much good.

One Tulsa TV station had a news story that featured a little white-haired grandmother lamenting that the TSA agents at Tulsa International Airport had taken away her lipstick. It is one thing to take away people's bottles of water, but a granny's lipstick? Let's see...how many grandmothers have used lipstick to blow up airplanes? How many was that? Yeah, I thought so.

Yet, the airlines continually fill the bellies of our passenger jets with unchecked cargo, packages, and mail. Is that secure? I am convinced that this country will only react to events, rather than think ahead to institute security that plugs the holes in our transportation networks. Can we be made perfectly safe? The answer is no, and even if we could be, how much intrusion and probing are we willing to take before we say, "ENOUGH!". Living in a secure cage is not living free. It appears that terrorists have already won by injuring our economy and making people avoid air travel.

What about airport shops that sell lotions, drinks, and bottled water? How about the already financially-ailing airline industry. Will it get to the point that the government has to merge together and take over the airlines?

Bottom line: We do need real security reform to make air travel reasonably safe. It will never be without risk. Let's stop taking grandma's lipstick and spend time, money, and energy on stopping real terrorist threats.

Tears & Dashed Hopes in West Virginia

Last night, I went to bed after seeing the news reports of 12 coal miners found alive inside the Sago Coal Mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia. The elation and joy of the families was evident. CNN responded to shouts coming from the crowd of "Twelve alive!" by reporting the news, yet no miner appeared, no press conference was held. The closest to official confirmation was the Governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin, saying that a miracle had happened.

Yet, something seemed out of kilter to me. Perhaps it is my inate skepticism, but I wondered about the reports of a planned reunion at the Baptist Church near the mine. Wouldn't it be wise to have the miners examined, given oxygen and IVs? Why had no official word come from the rescue team? Still, I hoped the reports were true, and finally went to bed.

When I got up this morning and learned that only one miner had in fact survived, my thoughts immediately went to the families I had seen on television only a few hours earlier, celebrating the expected return of their beloved family members. What a cruel blow, to believe they were safe, and find out the horrible truth. The emotional roller coaster of going from dispair to elation and then to incredulity, grief and anger has got to be the most awful of emotional journeys.

Whether it was miscommunication from the rescue team to the command center, a wrongly overheard radio, or any other reason, this should never have happened, and should never again. Once the families deal with their losses, this must be addressed, as well as why the Sago mine was still operating after reports of numerous safety citations.

West Virginia has precious little economic opportunity, and the mines provide some of the best paying jobs in the state. The strong and brave workers in the coal mines understand the risk, but they should not be subject to undue danger. Underground mining will never be 100% safe, but perhaps more should be done to make them less hazardous. Economic factors will never drive the mining companies to improve the conditions in the mines. This is one instance where government regulatory bodies can. I am a strong proponent of small government, but this definitely comes under providing for the common welfare.

This tragedy hits very close to home. The surviving miner is from Simpson, WV, a very small town only 8 miles from my wife's hometown of Grafton. It is my sincere hope that this young man survives to lead a normal life. The people of West Virginia are strong and resilient. They have endured many hardships in life, and they will move ahead. Yet those lost in this latest mining disaster will be remembered, and hopefully the mines will be made safer for present and future coal miners.

Happy Holidays!

Today is Christmas and the first day of Channukah. While I am not religious, my family celebrates Christmas as a secular holiday to get the family together and to enjoy a delicious meal. For those who hold greater significance in the day, as well as those who do not, I send you Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah greetings, despite Bill O'Reilly and the Christian Right's assertion of a "War on Christmas". Here's a news flash, Mr. O . . . simply because retailers want to wish ALL of their customers a joyous holiday doesn't take away your right to say "Merry Christmas". Retailers have customers of many (and no) religious convictions. It would not be in their best interests to assume everyone shares the same holidays. It is not a matter of offending, but rather of good business practice.

So regardless which of the many winter holidays you may celebrate, Happy Holidays to all!

A Man's Home is His Castle . . . Until Wal-Mart Wants It!

The Supreme Court of the United States decided last week in a 5-4 vote, that there is no sanctity in one's home. The court ruled that government can exercise it's power of eminent domain to forcibly remove people from their homes and small businesses in order to turn the property over to commercial developers.

I understand that eminent domain is necessary for public infrastructure, like highways, dams, airports, etc. However, there is something inherently wrong about the government acting as a eviction agent for private interests. Those pushing others out of their domiciles and businesses have everything to gain from such actions. The developer gets the property of others to establish a money-making enterprise, and the municipality gains increased tax revenues. The guy with the least ability to fight back has now lost the right to do so.

It is my prediction that once people start losing their homes so that Wal-Mart and its ilk can open a new SuperCenter, the public will see what a travesty this is. This could go down with the Dred Scott decision as one of the worst rulings to ever come from the SCOTUS.

Crooked CEO Ebbers Forfeits Assets!

I have long maintained that corporate crooks who think they are above the law should not only go to jail, but also forfeit the assets they gained by there illegal shenanigans. This week was a big win in that regard.

Bernard "Bernie" Ebbers, the 63-year-old former CEO of WorldCom, was convicted last March of fraud, conspiracy and making false regulatory filings that led to the $11-billion accounting fraud and bankruptcy of his company. He still faces sentencing on those convictions, and experts say he is likely to be sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.

If he ever does get out, he will not be financially secure because of his crime. In a settlement with investors and the company, Ebbers will now forfeit almost all of his holdings. He must give up his multi-million dollar Mississippi home and move out by October 31. He also will be stripped of his stakes in a golf course, a lumber company, a trucking company, a rice farm, and 300,000 acres of timberland in Mississippi.

When first accused, this criminal retreated to his church in Mississippi, and reportedly made a tearful plea that he had done nothing wrong. Tell that to the families who are still financially devastated by his fraudulent activity, made to enrich himself at everyone else's expense. Crooks like Ebbers are as bad for the economy, and the nation, as the terrorists who attacked us. It is fitting that he joins the thousands of employees and investors he cheated, by losing his home and wealth.

With the Rigas' of Adelphia in jail, and Ebbers to soon join them, I can only hope that the feds continue to follow the threads of deception in the telecom crash, and find evidence to implicate former Qwest CEO, Joseph P. Nacchio. Under his "leadership", Qwest was left on the brink of bankruptcy, restating income of the Nacchio years. This arrogant S.O.B. left town with over a hundred million dollars of investors money in his pocket, decimated the state's economy and now is living the high life back in New Jersey. Joe, be afraid, be very afraid. I hope you are next!

Stupid Government Tricks . . . European Style

Microsoft Corporation is a company that people either love or hate. On the good side, the company has brought a defacto standard of computing to the masses, making it easier for people to use computers and exchange data. The reverse side of the coin is that the company has used dubious marketing practices to gain near-monopoly status in computer desktop operating systems, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, and web browsers.

Love it or hate it, Microsoft's products are used by everyone from the shop owner down the street, to grandma; from heads of state to heads of terrorist organizations. This high profile combined with marketing that pushes the envelope has made it the target of government probes and lawsuits around the globe. This brings us to the outcome of the latest bit of nonsensical government intervention against the company.

In 2004, antitrust regulators in the European Union decided that by bundling its Media Player software with Windows XP, Microsoft has effectively blocked competing media software from the marketplace. The remedy imposed was to fine the firm 497-million euros (equivalent to $608-million), and force it to offer a version of Windows sans Media Player.

The new version, Windows XP N, has hit the market with a resounding thud. According to reports, there is little to no interest by consumers in the product. Many stores across Europe are refusing to even order it, based on the lackluster demand. Computer manufacturers are not offering it on their new products. In other words, government has forced a company to manufacture a product that no one wants.

I'm glad to see that the government of the good old U.S.A. isn't the only one to make ridiculous mandates.

PATRIOT II - Enacting it Piecemeal by Stealth

The proposed add-on to the ill-conceived USA PATRIOT Act was rightly derided by civil libertarians, activists, and even ordinary citizens, when the Justice Department gave it a trial balloon send up last year. As if the original, passed in the days immediately following the horrible attacks against the United States in September 2001, was not bad enough!

But we are talking about a determined Bush administration here. On December 13, the day the news of Saddam Hussein's capture was making headlines, President Bush signed the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2004 into law. This routine bill had something not so routine. It carried in its verbiage one of the key components of the poorly-received, proposed PATRIOT II. This language changed three very fundamental financial privacy rights of individuals. These are:

1. The law allows the federal government to snoop into the private financial records of individuals without those individuals being suspected of any crime.

2. The law allows the feds to snoop into peoples' finances without obtaining an order from a federal judge.

3. It expands the definition of financial institutions from just banks, to include stockbrokers, car dealerships, pawnbrokers, jewelers, the US Postal Service, or any business "whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters.".

Surprisingly, very little was reported of this in the media. I only recently saw an article online by a reporter named Jordan Smith, which detailed the passage and signing of this bill. The impact of this bad legislation speaks for itself. America continues its race toward becoming a police state. These are truly perilous times in these United States. We face a suicidal and maniacal enemy in the form of the Al-Qaeda terror network. We also face a rapid erosion of liberty, privacy and presumption of innocence from our own government. The president swore to protect our nation from all enemies, both foreign & domestic. Unfortunately, the terrorists may have succeeded in destroying us indirectly, by giving our leaders an excuse to trample the Constitution in the name of protecting us. We can only hope that the judicial branch gets a chance to rule on this law which sets such a dangerous precedent.