Change

It is time for a change of direction. I am abandoning a focus on current issues such as immigration, health care reform and financial reform. I’ve learned a lot but the fact is that most of what is out there in the media is superficial. I watched NBC news reporting on the oil spill last night and then watched some of a segment of PBS which was far more nuanced and informative, but then which was followed up by a “discussion” between somebody from Greenpeace and someone from The American Petroleum Institute. This is cheap phony journalism. Present two extremists and act like what you are doing is balanced. Guaranteed noise.

I also watched Carl Wimmer (a Utah state senator) slinging around statistics on Hispanics committing crime and I got ill. The statistics were bogus. For instance, out of a sample of 18 people who committed homocide last year, 9 were Hispanic, 2 were non-Hispanic and 7 were other, he drew the conclusion that 81% of violent crimes are committed by Hispanics. A more relevant statistic to the issue of illegal immigration is how many illegal immigrants are there in the state prison. The figure is 5%.

Politics reminds me of the long dispute between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines in medieval Italy. It really made no logical sense but people had to be on one side or the other. Face it. We humans are not as smart as we think we are.

Perhaps this blog may go. It has been a fun experiment. I at least think I need to take some time off. And instead of reading other blogs in the morning, take a walk up Neff’s Canyon. Spring is here and it is time for rebirth.