Random thoughts on a rainy day

* Average temperatures for this time of year in Toledo are around 62 degrees. Highs of 45 just don't add up - I sure could use some of that global warming 'believers' are always talking about.

Oh - and I use the term 'believers' as the opposite of 'deniers' since the whole global warming movement is so much like a religion it isn't funny.

And please don't start in on 'it's now climate change.' Having been on the wrong side of global cooling in the '70s and the wrong side of global warming in the '00s, they had to change the name just to remain relevant.

Yes, the climate of the earth does warm and cool. As I've said too many times already, if it didn't we'd still have glaciers in Toledo, rather than just the grooves they left (evidenced on the Lake Erie Islands)...it's just that man's impact on those cycles is minimal at best, and certainly not enough to justify billions and trillions of spending to try to influence it by a mere fraction of a degree.

Okay - next rant...

* Maine Senator Olympia Snowe voted in favor of the latest Senate bill (summary, actually) to put government even more in control of our health care. I've seen her described as 'the lone Republican,' an 'influential Republican' and a 'maverick' for this vote. While that may be the way the media and leftists want to see her, I can assure you that the 'average Republican' (if there is such a thing - in either party), is convinced that she is not exhibiting the core principles of the Republican Party - and is influential only in the amount of animosity her vote will generate among true conservatives.

Don't misunderstand my position on this - the GOP has a big tent and has room for varying positions. What makes us a party is adherence to the basic, core principles we profess to support. No one who supports this bill can say they are also supporting the core principles of the party.

If you don't believe and adhere to those core principles, why are you a member of the party in the first place? And if your votes on a fairly consistent basis contradict those core principles, why the pretense?

Hopefully, she'll find more to object to in whatever the final version of the bill will be and it will fail.

* I'm concerned over the actions of various groups in what should be private transactions. There are the local issues with the Manhattan Kroger store and the South Side YMCA, and now the national issue with Rush Limbaugh wanting to be a part owner of the St. Louis Rams.

In all cases, individuals who are not part of the transaction believe they have the ability to dictate what should/should not happen. While patrons of an establishment have an interest in the outcome, they have no authority in dictating terms - or, at least, they shouldn't have.

But that's not what's happening. In the local issues, the people believe they are 'entitled' to the services no matter what the cost to the provider. (Does this sound like the health care scenario???)

The YMCA and Kroger locations are losing money and cannot be sustained. But individuals interested in both cases have expressed the sentiment that the providers should continue to lose money on the specific endeavors because it's for the 'greater good.' Even city officials have gotten into the mess by insisting that because the company has received tax incentives or other types of support, they 'owe' the city and must do what a handful of citizens demand.

In the national issue, it has more do with hatred of an individual's opinions, despite the fact that those opinions really don't have anything to do with football. Because they dislike the individual and disagree with what he says, they don't want him to be able to participate in a free market.

Sadly, in all these instances, the targets have given in - even if only partially. The Kroger store offered free transportation to other locations (though that's not been utilized as much as Kroger had expected) and free delivery of prescriptions. The YMCA delayed their decision to see if the surrounding community was willing to put their money where their mouths are and purchase enough memberships to keep the location open. Today, the Rams said they're no longer interested in having Limbaugh be a part of the organization.

This bodes ill for our future, when political pressure becomes the standard by which business decisions are made. I'm not advocating that companies and organizations ignore the public relations aspects of their decisions - that would be stupid. But when the personal preferences of a small group of individuals have the ability to negatively impact the investments of shareholders and owners, we have moved away from the capitalistic system that brought us the success we have today.

Of course, that may be the end goal...and that's what has me more concerned - that these recent examples are only the beginning.