Children of lightning or Children of terror?

Mankind is ingenious at tapping the energy bounty provided by nature. From the first fire, to windmills, to water wheels, to today’s electric generating plants we have progressed from superstitious awe and deification of nature to harnessing it to our every need.

Today however we have several movements that question and deny the need for more energy, and we have dangerous tyrants who oppose our advance at every opportunity. These forces all sprang from the romantic era, two driven by an idealized view of nature, and one from a religio-racist view—and they all ally when it’s convenient. Continue reading “Children of lightning or Children of terror?”

NSA teapot tempest

The NSA call pattern tracking efforts are really a tempest in a teapot, and similar efforts have gone on a long time. There is much misreporting going on at USA today, either from ignorance or from a suspect “unidentified source”. I think the media recognizes that most americans aren’t upset by this, but the operative word is “yet” as already expressed on-air by ABC am affiliate news and a couple of other places. Continue reading “NSA teapot tempest”

Persistent Courage

Real courage takes persistence — it’s neither the bluster or posture of a moment, nor even the brave act of an instant as most people would picture it. Real courage takes fortitude, resolve, and a strength of character that few in this world have. An example of real courage would be the small business man who fights through five years of economic downturn, and who ends by selling his house and car to make the final payroll before the IRS arrives to claim both for taxes. It would also be that same business man starting over again after paying off the IRS. Continue reading “Persistent Courage”