Supporting the auto bail out can have a positive cascade effect

It's understandable that many are reticent about bailing out the auto industry. Never the less there are myriad reasons to follow through with one. Three primary reasons are as follows: loss of millions of jobs, national security issues, and the potential to influence the focus of automobile technology. It appears that a bail out for GM, Ford, and possibly Chrysler, will be considered in a lame duck session. Regardless, the incoming administration will influence, and eventually control, how such a bail out will be enacted.

The incoming administration has strongly expressed a desire to significantly increase the number of environmentally friendly vehicles on US roadways. The President elect has also personally demonstrated a commitment to practice what he's been preaching. The only vehicle owned by the incoming first family is a Ford Escape Hybrid. That being said, a major requirement for bailing out the US auto industry can and should be the development of more hybrids, diesel engines (which will use bio diesel), and the research and development of cleaner vehicle technologies. The mandated research and development should include an area that is rarely, if ever, discussed. That being research into retrofitting cleaner fuel technology into older vehicles.

The focus on more efficient vehicles will also address the two other crucial reasons for the auto bail out. Not only will the direct and ancillary job losses be avoided, but there will likely be a net gain of new jobs. National security will be bolstered from the positive economic and environmental changes as well as the continued use of domestically designed and manufactured vehicles. As long as the unjust enrichment of executives is curtailed the auto industry bail out can be used as a positive step towards innovation.

Ks3(Keep safe, smart, strong),

JD

Last minute comparisons of McCain and Obama health care pla

The 2008 US presidential elections are less than 24 hours away. At this point in time there are few who are truly undecided. Never the less there are indeed some who are still contemplating which candidate to vote for(and some debating whether to vote at all). Despite all the acrimony and political vitriol that has been cast about I believe that two key issues will be the economy and health care. The differences between the two campaigns on the economic front is now clear to most rational people. The majority of individuals and small business owners, myself included, would gain more from the Obama's proposed plans.

The respective health care plans of McCain and Obama have been scrutinized quite as much. The good news is that they are both fairly straight forward and it should be clear which plan would be more advantageous for the majority of Americans. The following URLs' contain the details of each plan and will allow you to judge for yourself:

http://www.votegopher.com/issueHomePage.php?issue=12
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/pm126

As for myself, I again fall in line with the majority of individuals and small business owners and would benefit more from the Obama plan. Putting all the salacious and capricious political issues aside(e.g. supreme court decisions) I believe most of us should vote our pocketbooks to a significant extent this year.

Ks3(Keep safe, smart, strong),

JD Blackstar

Becoming cognizant of high fructose corn syrup

High fructose corn syrup has begun to gain national attention here in the United States. This has occurred in large part due to a marketing campaign instituted by corn distributors and lobbyists. Their commercials extol that high fructose corn syrup, or hfcs for short, is safe in moderation. They base these claims on studies that did not find a considerable difference between the physiological effects caused by hfcs as opposed the the effects caused by other sweeteners such as cane sugar. Hfcs supporters often claim that there is little or no empirical research that point to potential dangers of hfcs. It is a fact that there is limited body of research about hfcs; however, within the limited research data available about hfcs there is enough information available that should concern the average consumer and prompt certain segments of the population to outright avoid hfcs (which, as I will point out, is not an easy task).

According to some studies, individuals with bowel function disorders (e.g. IBS, Crohn's), ingestion of fructose can be a major catalyst for flare ups. Hfcs in particular was demonstrated to cause flare-ups in over 70% of the participants in the following study:
Austrialian GI/HFCS study

A study conducted in 2005 suggested a correlation between insulin sensitivity and hfcs:
Insulin resistance study

A study published the previous year in the JAMA suggested a link between the ingestion of sugar sweetened beverages (most of which contain hfcs) type II diabetes:
JAMA sugar study


Perhaps there is some cause for concern. Like most things moderation is the key. Right? That sounds like a reasonable plan of action. Is it possible to ingest hfcs in moderation? Unfortunately, you cannot avoid hfcs without becoming fully cognizant of the constituent ingredients in everything you eat or drink. Hfcs is ubiquitous! It's often used as preservative in foods, such as whole wheat breads, that many "health conscious" individuals eat without a second thought. So how do you become more knowledgeable of hfcs you may ask. Admittedly, most of the information that is critical of hfcs is subjective. Never the less there are some fairly reputable resources that can help assist you.

The following URL's contain information about brand names foods that do not contain hfcs:

http://stophfcs.com/list.html
http://highfructosehigh.com/
http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php?cat=304

Due to a dearth of directed studies, the jury is still out on how detrimental hfcs is. Some people have equated it's possible dangers and the corn industry's response to those possible dangers to the tobacco industry of the mid 20th century. While it may not be as egregious as tobacco, there is enough information to prompt the average person to limit it's intake and for some populations to eliminate it from their diet altogether. Just remember that, unlike tobacco, it takes a much greater conscious effort to eliminate hfcs from your life. You must learn to read labels of all the food that you ingest and become more knowledgeable of the ingredients in foods and drinks that aren't conveniently labeled.

Ks3(Keep safe, smart, strong),

JD Blackstar

Mis-information goes global

Well before the age of digital communications half-truths and out right falsehoods have been able to spread rapidly. Our current technologies can almost instantaneously transform a fantasy into a fact. There is an abundance of misinformation spread throughout the Internet. By far the largest culprit is the forwarded "chain" email. It's content ranges from true stories that have been inadvertently altered to outright lies and hoaxes.

Most individuals are too rational to believe patently false assertions. Clearly Obama is not secretly a radical Muslim nor is McCain a Manchurian candidate. Regardless, many people are more easily deceived by the information they have received by email because written words(especially when nicely spell checked) appear to add a degree of veracity to the information. Fortunately, there are resources available to help people sort through all the (mis)information they're constantly bombarded with. The following sites are not infallible (somewhat biased in my estimation), but are never the less useful in determining rumors:

www.snopes.com
http://skepdic.com


The next two sites are excellent resources for determining hoaxes:

http://www.hoaxbusters.org
http://www.hoax-slayer.com



Once we have discovered the origins and history of a story it is incumbent upon us as individuals to weigh every aspect of a "true" story, tall tale or hoax. True stories may remain open to interpretation and context. A tall tale or hoax may contain some important aspects of truth within it, or it could simply be an outright mendacity.

The next time you're shocked by an incredulous email, text, or other multimedia message, stop before you blindly forward it. Think about its content for a moment. If you have any doubts make a search to prove whether or not it has any validity. Once you have more information about the story you can then make an informed and intelligent decision about its total authenticity. If it's true then you can be confident in passing the story along. If it's false or a misrepresentation of facts you'll have the ammunition to set the record straight.

Ks3(Keep safe, smart, strong),

JD Blackstar

JD Blackstar

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Cyber Vociferous

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had access to “cyberspace” since the late 1980’s. At that time there were two principal internet providers, CompuServe and America Online. Mosaic (the progenitor of Netscape) had not been created so there were no graphic browsers. All exchanges were text based and there were fairly strict codes of etiquette shared and agreed upon by most people who were “online”. As with all things change was inevitable. Due to the advent of HTML and the rapid growth and evolution of computer technology various rules of etiquette came and went.

Many of the behavioral shifts were for the better. Individuals of varied cultural, political and economic backgrounds were able to interact in a manner that never previously existed. While there are many positive aspects to this phenomenon there are, unfortunately, quite a few negatives as well. One of these negatives is something that I have given the nomenclature of Cyber Vociferous.

Cyber Vociferous are individuals or groups who normally adhere fervently to the “norms” of society. They would never openly make pejorative statements about other genders, ethnic or cultural groups outside of their own. They maintain a facade of civility and tolerance. However, with the illusion of anonymity that the internet now provides, there are millions of these individuals who believe they have carte blanche to espouse patently negative views. Were their identities not being shielded they would never make such statements.

We’ve all seen bulletin boards that mention an event that should have no relation to ethnicity, yet ethnic slurs and comments are attached to it. For example, a successful and highly responsible college student was missing for several days. His parents were, rightfully, concerned that he was involved in some type of accident. The authorities initially suggested that he had probably just decided to take a spontaneous trip without telling them or his girlfriend and did not classify him as priority. At the prodding of his friends and family the authorities began mounting a search, but were unable to locate him. As it turned out he was involved in automobile accident and his vehicle went into an embankment. He had been injured and trapped inside his vehicle for several days. Incredibly, he eventually managed to free himself and make it to safety.

When this was posted on news bulletin boards most of the comments were supportive and positive. Never the less, because the student was an ethnic minority there was a plethora of negative and outrageous comments made about the case. Issues that were not the least bit germane to what should have been a positive story of triumph and survival nearly tarnished it. The significant number of specious comments that were made detracted from a story that most people would see as a "feel good" story.

Some who perpetrate this type of behavior do so without being cognizant of how many impressionable minds will be exposed to this negative behavior. They believe they’re “just having a little fun”. Of course there are many who do this because they have found an outlet to express their negative beliefs to an audience that they would not normally have access to. One may ask what can or should be done one. Outright censorship is not solution to Cyber Vociferous nor can it be ignored. What can and should happen is that individuals who make such comments should be corrected bereft of acrimony. Nothing is more disarming than when someone is admonished without the visceral reaction they are looking to illicit.

Ks3(Keep safe, smart, strong),

JD