A Bit Of Trivia

Since 1988, which Georgia high school has had the most alumni selected in the NFL Draft?

The answer: LaGrange High.

There have been eight Grangers selected: Marty Carter, Walt Harris, Nate Hill, John Johnson, Quintin McCord, Tyrone Poole, Tony Stargell and Bruce Thornton

At least two others have been signed as undrafted free agents. Sam Olajubutu was signed last year by Tampa Bay, and Wesley Woodyard was signed by the Denver Broncos after this year's draft.

Wal-Mart Looking Out For Consumers

With grocery prices going up across the board, the nation's largest grocer has bucked the trend. They've rolled back grocery prices by as much as 30% this year, and have been working with food producers to shrink packaging, thereby lowering shipping costs for the producers and keeping prices low for customers.

It would have been easy to just raise prices like everyone else, but they chose another path. While some love to vilify Wal-Mart for its size and scope, sounds like they're looking out for their customers.

The Company You Keep

Earlier this month, an estimated 75,000 people showed up for a Barack Obama campaign appearance in Portland, Oregon. Organizers of the event, Obama's supporters, prepared for the crowd by placing Porta-Potties at the site. Only one problem...

They placed the Porta-Potties in the middle of a memorial to fallen police officers. A memorial with a flag flying at half mast from a remembrance rally a few days earlier.

Such classy people.

Support For Autism Speaks

A lot of our friends and family have had children the last few years. And thankfully, they've all been healthy. Some children, though, aren't so lucky. About one in 150 children is diagnosed with autism, which impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines.

Autism Speaks supports research into autism, why it occurs, how best to treat it and (most importantly) prevent it. I first heard about Autism Speaks as a fan of NASCAR, which has been a great supporter of their efforts. It's a quality organization. Check it out.

Carbon Credits... Scam?

More and more often I’m seeing articles about carbon credits and offsets. If you’re not familiar, here’s the deal…

Throughout the day, each of us creates a certain amount of pollution. We drive cars, heat and cool our homes and offices, all the while creating greenhouse gases. Trees and plants absorb lots of those greenhouse gases, keeping them from floating up into the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The more trees and plants, the more carbon is sequestered from the air. Conversely, less vegetation means less sequestering.

In their attempts to save the planet, some environmentalists have come up with a scheme by which people and companies can offset the pollution they create. By paying money to people who grow trees and plants, they feel that their carbon “footprint” can be counteracted. Best I can figure, proponents of these carbon credits believe the cash payments will lead to more land being left undeveloped, more forestland being allowed to stand uncleared. Perhaps more land will be planted in trees, to take advantage of the payments.

Put more simply… we pollute, but we can write a check, assuage our guilt and continue polluting guilt-free.

I can’t say the idea is completely without merit, but I do have some very serious doubts. First, the environmental projects the credit payments go to would be undertaken anyway. For example, land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is eligible for carbon credit programs. These landowners are already being paid by the government for keeping this land in long-term conservation. Tree farmers are eligible for carbon credit programs. They grow trees and care for the forests already. Again, being paid for doing what they would do otherwise. Carbon credit money going to these growers is accomplishing nothing, aside from helping clear someone’s conscience.

Another problem I have with this scheme: who’s checking all these projects to ensure that the emission reducing steps are actually taking place? Is there any oversight?

These carbon credits are traded like a commodity on the Chicago Climate Exchange. Credits are traded in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ETFs are essentially mutual funds for the masses. They allow an average individual investor to buy into a diversified pool of assets in small amounts and with minimal cost. Carbon credits essentially give companies the right to pollute and their value will almost certainly go up as governments of all major economies will eventually have to tax corporations for environmental damage. As investors buy up carbon credits, the cost to pollute will rise. The value of the international carbon market was reportedly about US$60 billion in 2007.

An investigation by Financial Times last year uncovered worthless credits that yielded no reductions in carbon emissions; little or no verification of supposed emission reduction projects; companies making big profits from carbon trading for very small expenditures and in some cases for clean-ups that they would have made
anyway.

I guess my biggest concern about the idea could be summed up with one question... how can there be specific proof that the money going into credits is actually providing a meaningful step? I've seen estimates of as much as $70 billion in carbon credit sales by 2010. I'd gladly wager that no more than a tenth of that amount will actually be spent on new carbon offsetting programs. Paying people to do what they would have done anyway... that doesn't count. Wasted money.

Hypothetical: As an individual, say I want to buy carbon offsets to make up for my family's polluting. What guarantee do I have that the money will go anywhere but some speculator's pockets? Say it actually makes it to someone raising forestland for carbon sequestering. Will my money make any difference in the future of that forestland? Or would those trees be there for years and years regardless? Did my money just go into that tree farmer's gas tank?

To me, the idea of carbon credits is just too "pie in the sky" for me. To see if something sounds like a good idea, I've always believed in actually saying it out loud. How does it sound then? I think I'll try it now. Say it aloud with me, if you'd like.

"I may be producing too much greenhouse gas. To offset the pollution I'm creating, I'm going to give away some of my hard-earned money. I won't have anything concrete to show for it. Just a piece of paper saying I've offset my fair share. Oh... and a clear conscience!"

One word comes to mind: naive

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To read more on carbon credits

Carbon Credits Were a Great Idea, But the Benefits Are Illusory

National Farmers Union Talks About Credits

Creators of carbon credit scheme cashing in on it

GSU Feasibility Study To Take Next Step

The Savannah Morning News is reporting that Atlanta-based Rosser International will be awarded the bid to conduct Georgia Southern's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) feasibility study. The move could come in the next few days. It'll be interesting to see what the response is to the study, which the article says could last 4 - 6 months.

Do We Still Want To Win?

A recent Rasmussen poll found that 49% of Americans believe victory is likely in Iraq under a John McCain presidency. The poll found that only 20% believe it would happen under an Obama presidency. Could this be telling for McCain? Probably not. However, if national security becomes one of the two or three key issues in the November election, it would certainly favor McCain.

When I saw this poll, the first thing that came to mind was the opening address in the movie Patton. Particularly, this line...

"...all this stuff you've heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost, and will never lose a war... because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans."

It used to be that way. Sadly, the last four decades have changed all that. A vast portion of this country has lost the will to fight.

During the first 165 years of our nation's existence, Americans fought to protect this country, to build it, to make it the greatest nation on Earth. Americans were proud. They worked hard to make the U.S. strong. They fought to keep her free, and to free people around the globe from tyranny and despotism. Americans fought for ideals, for rights. Not rights granted by the government, but rights inherent to us all. Rights, as the Constitution described, "that they are endowed by their Creator".

Things have changed dramatically during the past four decades. According to the "enlightened" liberals in our land, blind patriotism is just wrong. The only true patriots are those challenging the government. According to them, fighting is evil. They say war is wrong and never justified. They see our military as something to be derided and reviled, not praised and appreciated. To the Left, at best, the military is a necessary evil. Those on the Left see organized religion, one of the foundations this nation was built upon, as a joke. Traditional faith, morals and values are alien to them. They can absolutely be the most mean-spirited, hateful people you will ever meet (see Democratic Underground; Warning: Graphic Language). They mock, insult, ridicule and castigate anyone who sees things differently, all the while basking in their self-righteousness.

The USA was once the symbol for all that was possible in this world. Now, more often than not, we're a punch line.

The Rasmussen poll shows that more people think the U.S. would see victory in Iraq under McCain than Obama. What will it mean, then, if Obama wins in November? I say it shows that Americans no longer care about winning.

In this America, with all due apologies to the late General Patton, the very thought of winning is hateful to Americans.

Such A Peaceful Religion

Muslims in Pakistan want a Christian doctor hanged for blasphemy. A mob of 200 Muslims stormed his home and tried to kill the family, before police intervened. His crime... he allegedly made derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad's beard and the Holy Quran.

Yep, a kind, peaceful religion.

Sign Of The Apocolypse ?

Terry McAuliffe, campaign chairman for Hillary Clinton, blames her lack of campaign success on "a biased media", estimating that 90% of the media favor Obama. He might be correct. But get this...

He also praised Fox News as “one of the most responsible in this presidential campaign.”

Wow!

Won't Hear This In The Mainstream Media

Here's a moving story about a U.S. soldier in Iraq who worked for months to get prosthetic legs for an Iraqi girl who lost hers in a roadside bomb blast. He admits he has questions about why we're there, but he says...

"Since I have been in Iraq, seeing her has given me every reason I need to justify our presence here. If nothing made sense, she did."

It's a really touching story.

75 Skills Every Man Should Master

Wow! The folks at Esquire Magazine have compiled the definitive list of things every man should be able to do. I've gotta say, I feel like I've got about 15 of these mastered. A few more I'm working diligently on. A few of my favorites...

Argue with a European without insulting soccer.

Point to the north at any time.

Know when to split your cards in blackjack.

Nearly all of these will come up in our lives at some point. Wouldn't it be great to be prepared?

Don't Bite My Nose!

The cutest monkey picture you'll see today.