Mother Night

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1961, looks at how we view reality. What we see is not what always the truth, no matter how real it appears. And the books looks at what evil things can do to a man and his beliefs.

Howard Campbell Jr. is the main character of the novel. He is an American by birth, but moved to Germany before Hitler gained power. He does a lot of evil things while serving Hitler, but is he really serving Hitler or someone else?

The book is told through the eyes of Mr. Campbell, and  Mr. Campbell is a sympathetic character; even though he is an ex-Nazi propagandist.

The book also examines what people feel about themselves when under the control of a brutal regime. Mr. Campbell at times searches for answers, and tries to deny his past. Reality is something that Mr. Campbell can't seem to accept, but he does learn that the old self is still part of the new self, and that fact doesn't change no matter how much he wishes it would change.

The ending of the book doesn't disappoint.

Capital Punishment and Ronnie Gardner

Ronnie Lee Gardner died by firing squad at 12:20 a.m.

There was doubt that Ronnie Lee Gardner killed two men, but did his past mean he should have served life in prison instead of death by firing squad? According to Wikipedia.com, the United States executed  52 people. This ranked fifth on the list of countries that still use capital punishment. 

Ronnie Lee Gardner shouldn't of died by firing squad. He shouldn't of spent 25 years on death row. He shouldn't be in the news right now. 

Ronnie Lee Gardner's victims families needed to feel justice was served, but executing the person responsible for their pain was not effective therapy for giving them closure. They can claim they felt closure, but they will still be missing their loved ones. 

There is no form of justice that will bring back a loved one from the dead. Revenging a death is not a good practice in any country. 

What Milwaukee Means to the Whole State of Wisconsin

Living in Milwaukee has it ups and downs, but right now Milwaukee is on one of those downward swings. The city needs help, if only to help it become a place of economic growth.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a piece about college graduates staying Milwaukee and the results of the mass exodus of graduates leaving once they get their diploma.

I think the most striking part of the article is the fact Milwaukee is falling behind on retaining college graduates.
According to the article, the graduates make an important contribution to the safety and growth of the city. But, Milwaukee isn't really retaining many graduates.

The unemployment rate in Milwaukee was 10.5% for March. The number could be lower right now, but even still, that is a very high number for a city that boast two large universities.

Minneapolis was mentioned in the comment section of the article, and the unemployment numbers for Minneapolis in March  was 7.8 % and expected 6.8% unemployed in April.

What does this story have to do with the rest of the state? Tom Barret and Scott Walker are both from Milwaukee, and they are running for governor. They both claim they are going to create jobs. It sure seems like empty promises, if you look at the number of unemployed in their city, and their lack of job creation.

A New Picture

I wanted to capture the sense of falling coming. I also like the way the birdbath looked something like a shield. 

Censoring Helen Thomas

In an ever growing world of political correctness, Helen Thomas was victimized by her own words and prejudices.

Her opinions on Israel were wrong, but she was expressing her opinions. Do we not want our journalist to feel passionate one way or the other on issues? Were her views taken the same way by Palestinians? She was raised by Lebanese immigrants, and it appeared on camera that her biases leaned more towards the Palestinians.

She always had an opinion and just because her opinion was racist doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t be given a second chance. People should be allowed to mistakes, and why was the first response the one the involved her resigning from her job.

Sure, Rush Limbaugh lost his job on ESPN when he made racist comments about Donovan McNabb. Rush is still on the air making racist comments. It really doesn’t appear that he learned anything from what he said on ESPN.

Newspapers are sensitive to their advertisers’ worries and the repercussions of comments made by their employees that might cause them lost advertising revenue. But Ms. Thomas was a syndicated columnist that was paid for opinion.

How many people read the opinion section of their newspaper and get offended by the opinions expressed by writers they don’t like. That is why it is called the opinion section and not the news page. People crave opinions, even if they don’t match their own opinions, because if they didn’t there wouldn’t be an opinion section.

It might even appear racist to defend Helen Thomas, because that means taking her side. There really isn’t any side when it comes to freedom of speech. She had the right to her opinion, and because her job was as a journalist she was held to different standards. Would she have lost her job is she was a novelist? It is hard say.

The freedom of speech allows people to speak their mind and express opinions opposite of what is popular or right. People should be allowed to make their own opinions on what is wrong and right.

But, freedom of speech in the past couple decades seems to also come with the limits of speech that is deemed hurtful and contrary to the public good. And this new standard hasn’t allowed the freedom of ideas to be expressed to the intent the amendment. Politically correct speech isn’t free speech but censorship in sheep’s clothing.

Ms Thomas won’t be reporting from the White House, and I am sure in the next couple months her opinions will disappear from the thoughts of most newspaper readers. It is just sad to see someone that did so much for women journalist make comments like she did.

It is also sad to think that “I am sorry” isn’t good enough anymore, and that the best thing for someone like her is to resign her post as an opinionated columnist. Her opinion didn’t do anything to change people’s opinions on the Middle East peace process, but it did make her look foolish.

Environmental Impact

What is the best way to reduce the United States carbon footprint?

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is proof that something important needs to happen in the next couple weeks in terms of the United States Congress passing an energy bill that weans the country from its dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. There top two contenders are cap and trade or cap and dividend, but neither one has the support to pass the Senate.

Cap and trade was gaining strength in Congress, passed in the house last June, but the Senate hasn’t been able to bring it to the floor for a vote. That is because a small group of citizens, mostly Tea Party members, spoke out against it due to the possibility of job losses and increased utility costs.

But cap and trade protesters haven’t taken into account the real impact on the health of workers in mines and on the health of workers drilling for oil. What about the health costs of people living near mines and oil refineries? These costs aren’t mentioned by them because they only care about the cheap price of oil and coal.

West Virginia University did a study in 2008 about the impact of coal mining on the Appalachia economy and the socioeconomic impact of mining. The results showed a decrease in life expectancy of people working and living near coal mines. The study also showed that areas that don’t rely on coal mining do better.

Oil drilling and Oil refineries are also responsible for a wide range of health and environmental impacts that range from increased cancer rates to increased hydrogen sulfide emissions. The Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School did a study that highlights the need to move away from using oil as a means of energy.

An oilman from Texas named Thomas Boone Pickens also has a plan called the Pickens Plan that promises to create jobs, modernize electric grids, provide incentives to homeowners and commercial property owners to reduce energy consumption, and switch from oil to natural gas in automobiles. Pickens used United States Energy Information Administration statics that claim natural gas burns cleaner than coal.

Cap and dividend is used in the Cantwell-Collins bill, better known as the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, which gained corporate support from ExxonMobil and AARP. This bill's goal is to require fuel producers to buy credits at auction and the revenues raised from the auction will be given back to low- and middle-class Americans in the form of rebates. The bill doesn’t deny that utility cost won’t go up in states that rely on coal power, but it does promise help in paying those bills.

Jim Doyle tried to get his Clean Air Job Act passed this April, but couldn’t get it passed due to the lack of support from his own party members. The bill promised to create 15,000 green jobs, but also demanded power companies get 25% of their power from renewable sources by 2025.

Utility bills also seemed to be a sticking pointing in getting the legislation passed. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that utility bills in Wisconsin increased by 39% to 70% since 2001.

It is unlikely that coal and oil will reach a high enough price that companies will look to alternative energies—unless government gets involved. Higher prices in theory should lead to change, but the problem with theory is that it isn’t always right.

A Big Sister

“I wanted to do something for my community, and fate stepped in when I spotted a flier at work. It was a Big Brothers and Big Sisters flier, so I took it back to my cubicle and called the number,” Melissa Nelson said.

Melissa Nelson joined Big Brothers and Big Sisters to get a little sister, to help improve her Spanish skills, and to learn about herself. She became a big sister on October 14, 2004 to Hannah Villarreal.

“I did not know what to expect when I became Hannah’s big sister, because I only had a little brother, so it was a new experience for me.” Melissa said. Hannah just turned thirteen, and was an excellent match for Melissa, because Melissa's second language is Spanish. Melissa used Spanish to improve Hannah's English skills, because she was able to explain things to Hannah that she couldn't get from her mom. Hannah's mom doesn't speak English.

Melissa spends a lot of time with Hannah. During the school year, she picks Hannah up from school on Thursdays, and every Saturday she takes Hannah to the library. In the summer, Melissa just picks Hannah up every Saturday, so they can go biking or to the movies.

The friendship also gave Hannah a role model. A friend she could call when struggling in school or just to talk to when she felt like talking. When asked about her big sister, Hannah said, “I was really excited to meet Melissa. She is very nice to me. She bought me a bike for my birthday and took me to see Shrek 4. ”

Melissa also started a savings account for Hannah, with the hopes it will help Hannah pay for college.

"I believe with college will be a reality for Hannah," Melissa said. "I am going to do my best to see her walk across that stage and receive her diploma."