Year-round Fool
By David Cottrill
Passing Gas
Passing gas stations without having to stop these
days is an earnest hankering, prices being what they are-Nothing
quite concentrates the mind like the prospect of $4 or more per
gallon into infinity. Can’t blame people for hoping that something
can be done about it.
The McCain-Clinton federal gas tax holiday
through the summer season, however, is more or less what the experts
are calling it, the emitting of hot air ... you know ... gas.
They’re both Senators. Where, then, are their
legislative initiatives? If introduced today, how many weeks-months
would their bill(s) take to get through both houses (wanna take bets
on the season’s being over first)? Clinton would compensate for
the $9 billion revenue loss by taxing oil company windfall profits.
I know, you know, and she knows that the oil baron at the White
House would kill that one.
You’d save, through the summer, 18.4 cents per
gallon. How many gallons would you have to burn to save enough for a
cup of coffee at a convenience store?
Let’s think about this. We all hate taxes, but
a little cognition reminds us that we can’t have civilization
without them. Of all the taxes we pay, the gas tax is perhaps the
least painful (small increments) and the most immediate in its
benefits (maintenance of roads and bridges).
Before you fall for this silly-season ruse,
consider that tall Interstate bridge over the Greenbrier River
between Lewisburg and White Sulphur that we cross routinely without
thinking much about it. Bridges deteriorate over time; they require
routine inspection and maintenance. Are you
comfortable having the next scheduled inspection of our bridge
perhaps postponed for lack of funds? The collapse of the Interstate
bridge in Minneapolis should give pause.
If you don’t know a road that needs potholes
patched, then you don’t do much driving. It’s true the tax
holiday might save you enough for a few cups of coffee, but then a
mighty pothole might throw off your front end alignment, flatten a
tire, or even break an axle—some savings that would be.
Then, you might be one of those department of
highways employees who will be laid off for the summer. Your bills
won’t get paid, but you could go fishing.
We all learned about the laws of supply and
demand in Economics 101. The refineries have limited capacity to
produce fuel (supply). Increased summer driving always jacks up
demand—and prices. If the tax is dropped, folks might just go
ahead and go off on that trip they were reluctant to take. Prices
would then go right back up. Of course, there’s no guarantee the
oil companies (a.k.a. Greed, Inc.) would pass on the savings.
Another interesting angle is that the two
candidates have expressed concern about global warming, likely
caused in some substantial measure by auto exhaust. Yet, they want
to encourage more driving. Baffling, no?
I guess politicians will do almost anything but
call for sacrifice and self-discipline. They know we’re addicted
to oil. They know it’s a limited resource. They know the halfway
point in using up the earth’s supply is at hand if it hasn’t
already been reached. They know demand is growing exponentially as
India’s and China’s millions are edging toward our own addictive
behavior. If a gas tax holiday is the best these two can offer, I’ll
try another brand.
Give me a candidate who calls for creative
thinking in anticipation of a post-oil future: buying locally
(cutting down on long-distant transport); using local energy-saving
construction materials; developing plug-in hybrid cars; bringing
back low-cost street cars; designing self-sufficient walkable
communities; giving tax breaks for re-insulating and installing
solar panels; designing water salvage and recycle systems for the
home; planting ground cover that renders mowing unnecessary; making
recycling more convenient and cost effective; going all out to
develop solar power (likely our ultimate hope for energy
independence); etc.
The candidate who can get us thinking along these
lines will get my attention. Oil’s going to become increasingly
scarce. The cost will rise precipitously. We would be foolish indeed
to not ready ourselves for the inevitable. Other countries have
learned to live with $6-$10 a gallon fuel. We can change too, given
thoughtful and imaginative leadership.
But a three-month gas tax hiatus? Give me a break! The third
candidate is right: they’re taking us for simpletons—it’s
pandering, advancing a superficial sound-bite quick-fix for a
complex problem, a juvenile "political gimmick." It’s
what Eugene Robinson calls "populist lite." It’s like
...well ...you know... passing gas.
The Right…
Perspective
By Tom Holbrook
Well, it looks like the fat lady has sung
regarding Hillary’s show being over. Barely eking out a 2 percent
margin of victory in Indiana and on the losing end of a 14 percent
loss in North Carolina should spell "the end" to her quest
for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Of course, she will still
hang on still trying to prove to those "super delegates"
that she’s the man they need in the General Election facing
McCain. Some say she’s staying in just until Obama agrees to pay
off her campaign debt, including the $5+ million dollars she has
loaned it.
Our fair state of West Virginia is next on her
agenda and if the majority of WV old-line Democrats hold true to
form it will be a cakewalk for her. That would be a shame, but
realistically speaking, I guess the good ole’ boys think that with
her in the White House they’ll get Slick Willy’s leadership
through her. They ought to know better—Hillary is her own man and
will do what she thinks needs to be done. Unfortunately for the
country, if she or Barack gets in it will spell nothing but higher
taxes and more government spending programs that will even go
further than George Bush has done in his tenure.
I’m hoping, however, that when the General
Election comes around in November that the more sane thinking WV
voters will follow their wisdom of the last two elections and put
McCain into the White House.
The Democrats would have us believe that McCain
is just a continuance of President Bush’s agenda and methodology.
Untrue! Why do you think McCain is so vilified by some of his fellow
Republicans? It’s because he has chosen, sometimes correctly, to
reach across the aisle and convince one or more of "the
enemy" to join him in passing legislation. His choices of
allies in those forays in enemy territory have usually been the most
liberal of the lot, i.e., Kennedy and Feingold to name a couple.
I don’t agree with everything McCain has done
in his exercise in "hands across the aisle" strategy but
he has obviously been bold in his moves and proves that he is not
your average Republican. Some of his detractors say he is more of a
Democrat than Democrats. I would disagree and applaud his efforts to
work with the other side. His stand on pro-life issues is one of the
biggest reasons he will get my vote and the other reason is I would
vote for anyone in the Republican Party rather than put Clinton or
Obama into the White House.
Regardless of McCain’s left leaning on some
issues he is still a Republican by nature and has far more
experience than both Democratic candidates put together. I was
asking myself, again, the other evening, just where is this
experience that Hillary claims she has? What has she done that truly
qualifies her to be "ready to be President on day 1, and/or
"ready to be Commander in Chief on day 1?" She has
occupied her Senate seat for 6½ years and can claim NO legislation
passed or even authored with her name on it. Yet, she claims she has
done so much for the American people and her New York constituents.
Obama is even less experienced, unless you count
his ability to mesmerize an audience with his oratory skill. That is
what got him elected to the Senate to begin with—a great Keynote
speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention—wowing those in his party
and assuring him of a meteoric rise in politics. Here he is, a very
short 3½ years later, about to claim title to the Democratic Party’s
nomination for the highest and most powerful office in the world—not
just America—the Presidency of the United States.
Folks, you’ve got an important choice to make in Tuesday’s
election. As Democrats in West Virginia you must vote Democrat,
unless the rules have changed—so I would suggest a write-in vote
of "None of the Above." To further either Hillary’s or
Obama’s quest for the Presidency of our nation is truly not the
best thing for your state or your country.
Wright to the Point
By Jonathan Wright
On this 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day, it’s
good to reflect on the institution of motherhood and all it means to
each of us. We do that every year, of course, but we had certainly
better not neglect it on this centennial celebration.
After we’ve said all we can say, after we’ve
done all we can do, the focus inevitably comes down to our own
individual mothers. Whether they’re gone or are still with us,
none of us can escape the fact that a very large part of who we are
today is attributed to the enormous impact our mothers had on us.
I’m painfully aware of the fact that most
mothers today have to work outside the home to make ends meet. That’s
just the kind of society and economy we live with these days, and
millions of mothers make the best of it.
As I was growing up in the 1950s, 1960s, and
1970s, however, I was fortunate that my mother did not have to work
outside the home. She did teach some piano lessons and later helped
my dad out in the mobile home park they owned and operated when we
moved to Florida, but she was always available at home when I needed
her.
When I needed to be taken to the dentist, she was
there. When it was raining and I needed a ride to school, she was
there. When I came home from school and needed a quick snack or
early supper (all kids are ravenously hungry when they get home from
school), she was there. When I needed to pick up some school
supplies or other materials downtown or elsewhere, she was there.
The mere presence and around-the-clock
availability of my mother was worth more than I can express. But
beyond all that, she also was my biggest supporter, always cheering
me on in whatever I decided to do. When the time came that I knew we
would be moving to Florida in a few months, I quickly decided that
now was the time to learn a band instrument so I could join the high
school band at my new school down South—and she dutifully and
lovingly took me to my many saxophone lessons several miles away
each week.
I don’t mean to be overly simple, but I
strongly feel that a huge part of being an effective parent is availability.
You may not have the luxury of being a stay-at-home parent as
many mothers were years ago, but you can compensate for that by
being available for your children just as much as possible. Being
there for them speaks volumes of your love for them and goes a
long way toward molding and shaping them into the kind of people
they need to be.
Few things provide more of the encouragement kids
yearn for than the simple presence of their parents. And it’s one
of the easiest things to give them when you have your priorities
straight, as did my own mother.
Happy Mother’s Day!
The Peace Rose - a
Mother’s Day Story
By Joan C. Browning
On May 10, 1908, exactly 100 years ago today,
Anna Jarvis began Mother’s Day with services at Andrew’s
Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, and at Jarvis’ church
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mother’s Day is now big business. Hallmark says
that 96 percent of Americans shop for Mother’s Day. More long
distance telephone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other
day in the calendar.
Florists sell more flowers in May than any other
month. Roses are especially in demand.
Mother’s Day is an appropriate occasion for
remembering the Peace Rose. The most popular rose of the 20th
Century was a tribute to the propagator’s mother. The spindly
hybrid tea rose carried the greenhouse label "3-35-40"
until it matured to show its splendor. Francis Meilland named the
rose "Madame Antoine Meilland" for his mother, Claudia
Dubreuil, who had died tragically young from cancer.
The Peace Rose and Mother’s Day both celebrate
the gentler side of human nature. Both arose in the midst of the
horrors of war. Mother’s Day came out of the Civil War. The Peace
rose came from World War II.
The Peace rose story reminds me of 4-H and FFA
farm students. Peace’s hybridizer, Frances Meilland, was born in
1913 near Lyons, France. When he was five, while his father was away
in World War I, he and his mother peddled vegetables from a handcart
to keep the family’s rose collection going.
Francis’ early attempt to growing plants was
bumpy. Disease killed off his seedlings for three years. Frost
killed them once. One year his dog dug up the only seedlings worth
saving. By the time he was 12, though, he had produced improved
varieties of peach trees. The first year, he sold 5,000 at 15 cents
each.
When he was 21, Francis used his peach tree
profits to set sail for the United States. He bought an old car in
New York and drove 15,000 miles in the United States. He returned
home just in time to face another family crisis. They had produced
50,000 plants for a dealer who went bankrupt. Using knowledge he
gained in his American journey, Francis printed a full color
catalog which they mailed to amateur gardeners. They sold all 50,000
plants in 23 days.
And then Europe fell under the shadow of Hitler
and Mussolini. Cut off from all markets, Francis and his father
burned 200,000 roses. They turned to hybridizing full time.
Out of 50,000 potential plants, they would keep 100. These they
would pare down to three or four. A good hybrid was always hard work—and
an accident.
In the midst of World War II, the Peace rose was
such an accident. So was its escape from war.
In 1942, Francis received a guarded telephone
call from the American consulate. "If you have any message for
America," a woman’s voice said, "get it here quick—inside
of two hours." He rushed a package of 14 new varieties,
including the spindly yellow rose 3-35-40 to the consulate. An hour
later, the consul’s airplane roared off, taking the package to
Francis’ friend Robert Pyle, president of Star Roses in West
Grove, Pennsylvania.
Ten hours later, gun fire ripped past the
Meilland farm, and the Nazis quickly engulfed all of France. The
woman who had telephoned from the consulate was shot by the Nazis
for collaboration.
When France was finally liberated three years
later, Robert Pyle wrote to Francis Meilland: "My eyes are
fixed in fascinated admiration on an enormous canary yellow rose;
there it is, majestic full of promise; I am convinced it will be the
grandest rose of the century."
And indeed, the Peace rose was the most beloved
rose of the 20th Century.
The Peace rose was publicly introduced in the
United States on Apr. 29, 1945, at the first annual Pacific Rose
Society show in Pasadena, California. By coincidence, on that very
day, Berlin’s fall ended the Second World War in Europe. Two white
doves were released into the skies in honor of this new rose
symbolizing peace. A few days later, the American Rose Society gave
Peace roses to delegates to the inaugural meeting of the United
Nations in San Francisco. Each rose carried a note that read,
"We hope that the 'Peace’ rose will influence men’s
thoughts for everlasting world peace."
Peace was awarded the All-America Rose Selections
Award for 1946, on VJ-Day (Victory over Japan), when World
War II finally ended.
Peace is popular in gardens as well as in the
floral trade.
At least 40 million Peace plants have been grown
since 1942. Experts estimate that between 350,000 to 500,000 are
still grown each year.
The Peace rose story reminds me of Dr. Louise
Mashburn, who has a lifetime of success with orchids. Her gardens
and greenhouse are always alive with intentional beauty and
beautiful accidents.
This Mother’s Day, I remember my own dear
mother. She had the ultimate "green thumb." Our home and
yard and gardens were always alive with some twig that someone had
given to her.
People who are dear to me are still marching off
to wage war. What greater way is there to honor our mothers than to
develop a new flower—or to work for peace?
May this 100th observance of Mother’s Day and
the "Peace’ rose influence men’s and women’s thoughts
toward achieving everlasting world peace.
