Odds and ends, 12/20/07

First, this little news item:

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey has apologized to Barack Obama for any unintentional insult he committed by raising the Democratic presidential candidate's Muslim heritage while endorsing rival candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Kerrey sent a letter to Obama on Wednesday, lauding the Illinois senator's qualifications to be president and saying that he never meant to harm his candidacy. Kerrey told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he sent the letter on his own and had not spoken to Clinton or her campaign about the comments he made Sunday in Iowa.

This is why I spent more years as a business reporter than a political reporter. The business world is full of politicians, but they're a better class of politician.

Smear someone, let it circulate, then apologize. But the smear remains in people's minds long after the apology.

Pretty good game, huh?

Tell me again why so many people prefer "none of the above"?

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I still have not bought a vehicle to replace my Jeep. I never thought I'd miss the Jeep, because I always thought I would drive it until it fell apart. But I did get more than 217,000 miles out of it before someone came around a curve on my side of the road. The best thing about the Jeep was that it was paid for. I still have the insurance money in the bank, but I'm still paying on the car my wife drives. And I drive it now, too. Two people, two jobs, one car. It can make for some rearranged schedules.

She wants a van. I can live with that, but I don't want to "settle" for something. And I don't want a big payment. She will "settle" for a new or nearly new Kia Sedona van. I would settle for a Volkswagen GTI.

She wants us to get another vehicle yesterday. I'm looking more toward the end of January.

Meanwhile, I'm still a little sad when I see a picture of the old Jeep.

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And now a quote from syndicated columnist Walter Williams on one of my favorite subjects:

Few people appreciate the implications of poor math preparation. Mathematics, more than anything else, teaches one how to think logically. As such, it is an important intellectual tool. If one graduates from high school with little or no preparation in algebra, geometry and a bit of trigonometry, he is likely to find whole areas of academic study, as well as the highest paying jobs, hermetically sealed off from him for his entire life.

I love arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Some day I will graduate to trig and maybe calculus, then ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations. If I get really bold, I'll try to decipher one of my wife's old textbooks: Mathematical Methods for Physicists.

Talk about a middle-aged fantasy.

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Today's message from the Libertarian Party:

Washington, D.C. - Among the regulations packed into the newest energy bill that just passed Congress this week, a ban on the incandescent light bulb will officially end what Edison started 130 years ago.

"If you outlaw light bulbs, then only outlaws will have light bulbs," says Libertarian Party Executive Director Shane Cory."The ban on incandescent light bulbs may seem almost comical," says Cory, "but it raises several red flags on the level of government intrusion in people's lives. From the toilets in your bathroom to the lights in your ceiling, there are very few consumer products free from some form of government regulation. I seriously doubt regulating light bulbs was intended to be a necessary-and-proper role of the federal government."

Incandescent light bulbs will begin to be phased out in 2012, with a complete ban finalized in 2014. Manufacturers will be forced to switch to compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, which can cost more than six times as much as the common incandescent bulb. While CFL bulbs are much more energy efficient, to maintain the bulb's longevity and achieve maximum efficiency, consumers must adhere to proper operating suggestions made by Congress, such as leaving the bulb turned on for at least 15 minutes."

Not only do consumers have to alter how they use light in their houses, they must also take a number of precautions with CFL bulbs that were unnecessary when using incandescent bulbs," says Libertarian Party Media Coordinator Andrew Davis. "Because of the toxic levels of mercury in CFL bulbs, consumers will need to check with their waste management providers for proper disposal methods, and consumers will also have to research how to clean up broken bulbs. These bulbs may save energy in the long run, but at a great inconvenience to the consumer."

I myself am switching all the bulbs in my house from incandescent to CFL, but only because I want to save money, not because of a Congressional mandate.

I've already stated my many thoughts on global warming. Using CFL bulbs in my house is an economic decision, not one based on ecologically virtuous living. That is how global warming will be solved, not from a top-down mandate.

Or am I wrong?