James Stabile Info News Blog August 2007

Discussion of The Month

August 2007. The summer is progressing well. August and you do know what that entails? The pre-school preparations have started. The stores started to put up their "back to school campaigns" a few weeks ago. Now they are in full swing. I never really understood why kids would stock up on all those school supplies before they even visited their classrooms. Every teacher that I ever knew always gave a supply list out on the first day of classes. Wouldn't it be better for the students to wait until after they definitely knew the supply mandates of their teachers? I guess it doesn't work that way. I guess the stores are telling us that they really don't care much about the appropriateness or usefulness of the school supplies their customers purchase as long as they ring up those cash registers. Kind of sad, isn't it? In any case, August signals the start of another school year.

This school year commences for me on August 14. Yes, that's the date that my summer vacation ends. This year, it's just OK with me. The faster it starts the faster it will be over. Personally, I can't wait to start my last year as a member of the non-retired workforce. Come August 1, 2008, you won't find me getting up at 5 a.m. on school days. You won't find me getting up at 5 a.m. on any day. I can't wait. Even though, I am excited about the upcoming school year. For the past 35 years I have always been excited about starting a new school year. This year the 36th is no exception. But August 2008, that will be another story.

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Entertainment

License To Wed - What a discussing movie. Yes, there were some funny lines in the movie; some downright laugh out loud funny, but the movie was more like a bunch of people looking for a story. Robin Williams was terrible. Oh he was great as a one liner night club stand up comedy act. He had a couple of really funny one liners, but there were other people in the movie and they virtually had nothing to do but stand around and look lost. The movie needed a story and it didn't have one. A great disappointment.

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CBS's Big Brother 8 is back in it's 2007 summer run. This is the only reality show that I have any interest. I don't really know why. I guess I started watching it in it's first season in the summer of 2000 and it became one of my summer rituals. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not glued to the TV when it's on - an hour each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, but I do attempt to at least turn the TV on and to CBS on those nights. It's frustrating and sometimes boring, but many times it presents a study on human behavior and interaction. Let's face it, sometimes it comes down to the people who are in the Big Brother house that season. Some people are just easier to watch than others.

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It's over. My summer fling with my cable channels. In the last couple of blogs I made mention of the fact that my cable company set up a new cable offering, Digital Starter. It is absolutely the same price as my regular cable rate. I was raving that I was getting hundreds of cable channels. I kind of thought that there was some kind of a mistake here, but I was so infatuated with my choices involving cable viewing that I just put the reality factor in my memory and enjoyed the options. My June and July bills, post-Digital Starter, were exactly the same as my May bill, pre-Digital Starter. I still had a persistent feeling that something just wasn't right. In my July bill I received an enclosure with a channel line up page and a cable price list page. Then and there I new that my channel line up was wrong. I knew point blank that I was receiving hundreds of channels that were not on Digital Starter. I visited my neighborhood cable center and asked the clerk about the problem. He said that everything on the computer was correct concerning my account. If I was receiving additional channels it was an error on my cable company's part. I asked him to correct the situation. He said that he could not do anything about it and to enjoy the channels until the cable company discovered the error and corrected it. I was flabbergasted. I didn't say anything to the clerk but I thought how stupid. I am an honest customer and there was nothing he could do to rectify the problem to correct Comcast's mistake. Of course the problem was great for me, but bad for Comcast. I could not believe that he could do nothing. I kept thinking about the cable ads warning of pirating cable channels, etc. I did tell the young man that I wanted to go on record with this complaint so I would not be accused of any misdeeds from this situation. He told me not to worry. Nothing would be held against me. I went home and thought about it for a few days. I did enjoy the cable use, but I am an honest person and I did not feel comfortable with this situation. I had nothing in writing from the clerk at the cable company. I decided to send a secure email to Comcast from my account page on the web. I did that on July 30. I explained the situation pretty much that way I am explaining it now. I did explain that I wanted this to be documented and this would be the last time that I would try to correct the problem. The next day, today as a matter of fact, July 31, when I came home from Panera Bread after my morning coffee and newspaper I discovered that the cable company had corrected my channel line up option. I could no longer get all of those channels. I immediately logged on to my email account and noticed an email from Comcast. They apologized for taking so long to correct the problem and invited me to call the office if needed. I definitely wasn't going to call the cable number, no thank you. I really want nothing to do with big business unless its a last resort. Now I'm back enjoying the real Digital Starter and I am happy. I will miss all of those channels, Logo, the Encores, the Showtime's, the HBO's, the ect., ect., ect. But I'll get over it. At least I have my character intact.

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Health, Fitness and Lifestyle

Fitness, it's one of my favorite topics. As you remember physical fitness is a combination of healthy eating and exercise. Let's talk a little about exercise or just plain physical activity. Remember Olivia Newton-John's 1970's or 1980's song Let's get Physical? She may have been talking about love and a roll in the hay, but getting physical is a very important and crucial component in any physical fitness plan. What you eat and how much you eat are important, but equally important to good health is physical activity.

There is a lot of talk about exercise these days. People and business are making a lot of money trying to capitalize on the fitness craze. Yes, you can pay a lot of your hard earned money and succumb to the advertising and the commercial aspects of fitness or you can follow a few guidelines and either start, improve or maintain your physical fitness program.

I'm not an exercise physiologist. I do not have professional training in the area, but I have been "living" fitness since 1975. I have read much literature and watched TV presentations on the subject. I've self-taught myself in both arenas - food and activity. Over the years I've learned a lot and even more importantly I lived a lot of what I learned. What I'm trying to say is that in spite of the fact that I am not professionally trained in this area, I have experienced life and feel that I have learned a lot in the area of physical fitness. I write about what works for me.

Getting back to activity, it is extremely important in maintaining physical fitness. However, it's not always easy or desirable, but there are some things you can do to achieve a regime of effective physical activity or exercise. The first thing to do is have the proper frame of mind. Approach exercise from a general, down to earth attitude. Keep it simple. Any activity that produces activity in your body is exercise. Walking, running up stairs, cleaning, cutting the grass with a walking mower, parking a distance away from the door of the building that you are entering and walking to the door from your car, all of these things involve activity. The key here is the activity. You don't have to pay money and go to a gym, although that can be good, too. But if you keep it simple and incorporate the activity as part of your daily life you will tend to stick to it for a longer period of time.

Walking is perhaps the easiest, enjoyable way of getting your exercise. Don't be critical or too concerned about how long, how often to walk. A good rule of thumb may be walk at a brisk pace 30 minutes every day. Maybe more, maybe less, but do it. Yes, increase the time, increase the intensity, but just walk. Running or jogging is good. The biggest difference in activity between walking and jogging - jogging goes faster. Just do it.

One thing that may give you physical feedback to judge the effectiveness of your activity is to monitor your heart rate. For substantial fitness you must increase your heart rate when exercising. How much? I'll leave that to the experts. For further reference, a great resource is available at: http://www.jds2.com/stability.fitness/intro.html

Before anyone starts an exercise program they should talk to their physician. I strongly recommend a conference with your doctor to determine your health appropriateness to start and maintain an exercise program. Everyone is different; everyone's health status is different. For a safe, healthy and effective fitness program a doctor's examination and recommendations must be preformed first before the program commences. This is extremely important.

Once you get the go ahead from your doctor start your exercise activity. Keep it simple, do what you enjoy doing and make fitness a part of your life's routine. As you progress you may consider other activities maybe power strengthening, weights, etc. The choice is yours. I still think the important thing to remember for most people is the fact that you must be physically active in order to be physically fit.

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Wouldn't it be nice to have those proverbial washboard abs? Here a simple three step exercise that anyone can do, any place even while surfing the web. While you are sitting in front of your computer reading this blog, suck your belly button in tight, squeeze your butt as if you are trying to pull on a pair of tight jeans, pretend that your head is being pulled toward the ceiling by a string, now, hold that position. Repeat this exercise often and soon you will have firmer abs and better posture. You can do this little exercise practically anytime and anywhere. This kind of simple, non-intrusive exercise is the key to better fitness and health for the average guy or gal. Make the most of your time. You don't have to pay loads of money to one of those fitness gyms or buy that outrages equipment to maintain fitness and good health. Sure you could go to that gym or pay for that equipment, that's up to you. In any case use your every day spare time to shape up and stay fit. I'm sure that you can come up with other simple exercises to maintain your fitness level.

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Remember the five second rule as it applies to germs getting on food when dropped on the floor? There seems to be some truth to that old tale. I read in the paper recently about a new scientific paper from Clemson University about a microbiological study of the amount of bacteria and germs on a food when left on the floor for a period of time. The research seems to suggest the longer the food was on the floor the more bacteria and other germs were found on the food. However, it didn't suggest that even though food left on the floor less than five seconds contained fewer bacteria was safe to eat. I guess the new statement might be: If one drops food on the floor and picks it up in less than five seconds, it does have fewer germs and bacteria on it, but it still may not be safe to eat. I guess this study is open to individual interpretation.

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Politics and the World

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is becoming a "green" governor. That's right Governor Crist is well on his way to becoming a governor who cares about the environmental as well as financial future of the state of Florida and Floridians. In June the governor signed a stack of executive orders putting Florida in the environmental league of California. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Crist at the Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change if Miami. Crist is fast becoming the governor of the people of Florida and the environment of Florida. Crist is rising above partisanship and valiantly tackling the problems of Florida. He has broke with conservative Republicans on the issue of Global Warming. The executive orders that Crist enacted in June will do a lot to at least slow down the environmental detrimental effects of Global Warming.

Florida is in a precarious situation when environment and natural resources are concerned. Florida's economy is based on that environment and those natural resources. Unchecked Global Warming will destroy the tourist industry in Florida in the foreseeable future. Florida has the largest coastline of any of the 50 states in the United States. If our coastline goes so too will our tourism and our state's economy. Governor Crist may be acting out of self-preservation of the states economy, but at least he is acting against Global Warming.

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What is going on in Washington? Impeach President George W. Bush? Maybe that is what it is going to take to get the president in reality about the problems concerning United States, first and foremost the Iraq War. The President is just out of touch with reality. He is acting like King George instead of the people's servant. The people of the United States elected George Bush to preside over the government of the United States and aid in the prosperity of our country. President Bush has ignored the people's will. He has acted unilaterally on most issues that he has had to deal with as president. He and his administration have governed as an unrelenting dictatorial. regime. It's time that the concerns and interests of the American people are dealt with in a firm, nonpartisan and equitable manner.

I do not support the commencement of impeachment proceedings against President Bush and his administration. I do support a nonpartisan approach in solving the concerns of the American people. I believe these concerns are as follows: restoring truth, responsibility and respect in government and governmental leaders, ending the Iraq War, and finding solutions to the social issues plaguing the middle class namely wages, employment, health care and a rebirth in prosperity and success for all Americans especially those who need it most. In my opinion all other issues are secondary. The United States governmental leaders must concentrate on the above mentioned issues. They must do so in a nonpartisan, honest and equitable way. To my way of thinking the decisions made in the 2008 election should be dependent on the professional behavior of the candidates running for office paired with their platforms and evidenced by their actions. The election of 2008 should be a litmus test for truth, honesty and the equitable treatment of all Americans.

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The YouTube Democratic Debate held in July was fantastic. I can't wait for the Republican's turn in September. Technology paired with politics makes great bedfellows. The Democratic presidential candidates did an outstanding job in the debate. The YouTube participants did an outstanding job, the video questions were relative and to the point. Much of the success of the debate format should be credited to Anderson Cooper and CNN. Anderson was a great moderator. He was in total command of the event - videos, candidates and follow up questions. South Carolina's The Citadel provided just the right backdrop for such a innovative undertaking.

Who won the debate? I think we did, ordinary Americans. We got the opportunity to see and hear the Democratic candidates is a different setting. The candidates were at our mercy, so to speak. Ordinary Americans, young and old, Americans from all walks of life presented their heart felt questions about the issues affecting them as well as many ordinary Americans.

Which candidates won? Hard to say. I think each did a remarkable and reputable job. I think that Senator Hillary Clinton was, is and remains the leader of the political pack. Senator Clinton appears presidential and in control. She is definitely the Democratic establishment candidate. Senator Barack Obama seemed a bit naive and certainly not presidential. However, he may develop into such a person with such qualities. Senator Obama may have resonated with the average American when he answered the question about meeting as president with the leaders of America's enemies - Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, etc. He said that the president must open a dialogue with all countries including our so called enemies. He said that as president he would meet with such leaders during the first year of his term without condition. Senator Clinton said that yes we must communicate with such leaders but such a high level meeting must be preceded by preparations determining America's interests in such meetings. Of course Senator Clinton gave the correct answer for an establishment president, but Senator Obama opened up the door to the idea of doing things differently in Washington in order to obtain better results for all Americans. It's a tough call, but I still support Hillary Clinton's answer and approach.

The 2008 general election is over a year away. There is so much time left in this presidential showdown. Anything can happen. The first indications of what the primary voters are thinking will come in January and then the subsequent indications will follow in February. After Americans start casting their votes in the caucuses and primary elections in January and February 2008, we will begin to see the emergence of the victors in each party. However, in a really close primary decision, the Republican and Democratic nominees may not be obvious until closer to the political conventions in the summer of 2008. Anything can happen.

Religion

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is in trouble again. As I have said many times in this blog, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has proven itself not worthy of being called Christ-like. That's the point succinctly. The church founded by Jesus Christ is infiltrated with grossly inadequate and corrupt leaders. The current leadership of the church is not and has not followed the teachings of Jesus Christ. Whether it's corruption or pedophile behavior the leaders of the Catholic Church are grossly incompetent in their roles as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The latest pedophile legal settlement in the Diocese of Los Angeles is shameful. The Diocese of L.A. is paying out over $660 million because of pedophile behavior on the part of it's priests and the inappropriate handling of these pedophiles over the last many, many years. This is disgraceful. Sexual abuse is terrible, but the handling of this problem by the church is even more dreadful. The thought that people's sacrificial offerings are going to settle sex abuse cases and the inappropriate handling of these cases is beyond my comprehension. These men should be executed, bishops and all.

The sex abuse cases in the Catholic Church is just a symptom of a much bigger problem plaguing our society. The Catholic Church has been under fire for it's part in these despicable charges, but the Catholic Church is not the only segment of society that needs to be chastised. All of society should be punished for these heinous crimes against innocents. These types of crimes go on each and every day. Many times they are not reported. The abusers are not prosecuted and the victims spend a lifetime being prosecuted, mostly self induced. This is a societal problem that is evident in all walks of life and must be addressed.

Any group that perceives itself in the position of power over subservient people is a breeding ground for such behavior. The breeding ground is enhanced if the leadership of that group does not respond to any kind of inappropriate behavior in a swift, equitable and fair manner. Such groups include: religious groups, educational groups, coaching staffs, recreational groups - in short any group of people who have direct or indirect control over other people may be guilty of sexual misconduct. Again, add to that ineffective leadership or denial of such abuse by the leadership, sexual misconduct blossoms and matures.

What is the answer? The answer lies in each of us. Individually and collectively we must not accept such behavior from anyone. We must demand appropriate response when a problem is discovered. We must become involved in the solution to the problem. I believe the solution demands that we become more involved in the activities of our children. We must monitor children. We must train our children to be proactive in such situation. We must calmly and realistically discuss the problem with our children. We must provide strategies for our children to identify "unsafe" situations. We must enable our children to say know and refuse inappropriate behavior. We must investigate the "group" that our children participates - school, scouts, sports, church, all groups. We must set the guidelines for our children and then follow through.

We as a society must be instrumental in providing safe groups for our children. We must investigate the leadership of the groups. we must become involved in the day to day activities of the group. We owe it to our children, ourselves and society to make sure the groups that our children are engaged are operated by responsible adults doing responsible adult activities. When in doubt we must question.

We must continue to participate in worship. If you are Catholic, continue to go to church. We must understand that the church is not God, it's a structure. The priests and clergy are not God, they are God's people just like we all are God's people. We must believe in God and our religious beliefs, but we do not have to accept any other person or belief's whether that person is a priest or any other clergy member. Again, when in doubt, question.

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Pope Benedict XVI issued another questionable and possibly inappropriate religious idea in June. Actually this idea is not new. It was discussed in 2000 under Pope John Paul II and has been a recognized belief in the Catholic Church for a long time. I know that it must seem like I'm picking on the Catholic Church, but that is not my purpose. As you should know, I am a Roman Catholic. Being so, I am concerned about what happens in my church. Pope Benedict XVI issued a statement saying that the only way to heaven is by way of the Catholic Church. In short His Holiness said that the Catholic Church is the one and only true church. Members of other religions could not gained eternal salvation because all other churches including Christian churches were not true churches because their leaders could not be traced back to the apostles and ultimately Jesus Christ. This is quite major. Considering the ecumenical attempts of the Catholic Church, this idea seems to be out of place. Is the Catholic Church reverting to pre-Vatican 2 jargon and belief?

Personally I believe that the Catholic Church can be traced back to the Apostles and Jesus. The Catholic Church is the original church founded by Jesus Christ. It has existed throughout the ages weathering many storms but always surviving. There have been many internal conflicts in the Catholic Church and many external attacks, but the Catholic Church remains as the church established by Jesus Christ. This is historically documented. The teachings of Jesus are the foundation of the Catholic Church. These teachings are indisputably the Word of God. However, the people who make up the Catholic Church - clergy, laity, everyone, are not necessarily correct in everything they may say or do. This is the part that falls under the realm of one's conscience.

That being said, I do believe that all people regardless of their religious affiliation are invited by God to enter salvation. I believe that the church a person attends does not attest to his or her personal beliefs of God and His Word. The church is just the group that a person belongs. We as people share basic beliefs that transcends any church. The beliefs are the spirit of God revealed through Jesus Christ. But how does this relate to religions that do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Can these people be saved? In a word, yes. God is Jesus and Jesus is God. They are one in the same. Throw in the Holy Spirit and you have the Blessed Trinity. However, God is God, the ultimate regardless how one views Him.

I really think that the unifying belief here is spiritual. I believe that God is spiritual. God may not exist as we perceive Him. He does exist, but in a spiritual sense. Salvation may not be a place we go. It may be an existence or a state of being. I belief that the qualifying attribute for eternal life is love - love of God and love of one another. As Jesus said in the gospels, everything else comes from love. In the end it will be the love that we are that will determine our salvation.

As far as the Pope's proclamation, I'm not sure. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I think it's just another way of gaining control of God's people. The Catholic Church is hung up on this power thing. And it's a male power thing. This is a human thing, not a Godly thing, definitely not a spiritual thing. Like most things that are human we just have to get along and compromise. After all, life and salvation are personal matters, they are up to you and God, exclusively.

Whether your label is Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islam, etc. if you share in the love of God, the spiritual essence of belief, you are capable of salvation. In the end, we will be together, where and how will be determined at that time by a power greater than any man, woman or religion.

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Tammy Faye Messner died from cancer in July. She was the one time wife of the PTL televangelist Jim Bakker. Tammy Faye had a rich, complete and satisfying life. Yes, she was Jim Bakker's wife, but she was a evangelist in her own right. She took her Christian message a step further than her contemporary evangelists, she preached the inclusion of all people, especially gay and lesbians, in God's plan for redemption. Throughout her life she spread the real message of God, love of all people. She embraced diversity and accepted each person as worthy of her attention and love regardless of the differences that may have existed. She was true to herself and her beliefs throughout her life even at the moment of her death. I can't make judgments, but I believe in my heart that Tammy Faye is now with God in eternal salvation. Tammy Faye pray for all of us who are still working towards salvation.

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Technology and Business

Some scams never die. Check washing fraud is still a major technique for would be defrauders. This type of fraud has been going on for 40 or 50 years. Check fraud was a method used by the guy in the movie Catch Me If You Can. I believe Leonardo DiCaprio played the guy. Anyway, getting back to check fraud, it's back. Actually it really never left the scene. Your bank checks are so valuable and vulnerable. If they fall into the hands of the wrong element, the result could be devastating to you. Of course you probably know the obvious safety facts concerning checks. The first being never put your social security number on your check. Other pretty obvious facts in avoiding check fraud include, don't put your outgoing bill payments in your mailbox for the post person to pick up, shred or burn canceled checks, pick up your new checks at the bank and check bank statements immediately reporting discrepancies to your bank. I read about two other tips that were unfamiliar to me, but make good sense - print addresses on envelopes to avoid forgeries and use pens with gel ink which are impervious to solvents when writing checks. I never thought about the print thing. I write checks very infrequently, when I do I print mainly for neatness. Now I have another reason to continue printing. I just saw a commercial on TV today advertising a pen that is recommended when writing checks. I guess the ink goes into the weaves of the paper. I imagine one could purchase such a pen at the local Office Depot or wherever pens are sold.

In previous blogs I've mentioned the security issues surrounding the use of checks. Remember a personal check from a bank or other financial institution contains your financial fingerprints - usually your name, address and telephone number, the name and address of your financial institution and your accounts numbers of your checking account and the routing numbers of your bank. Check writing may not be the most secure method of payment. Debit cards offer some security risks, as do credit cards. Maybe cash is the best. Although credit cards may be a very secure way to complete financial transactions if the user is appropriately cautious. Credit cards offer a record of your transaction. The money is not immediately taken from your account, rather it is charged against your account and reputable bank cards offer many security provisions and an appeal procedure. This is definitely an individual choice. Caution and security should be firmly in play when making any financial transactions.

If you think the preceding discussion of financial scams is unimportant or irrelevant, then you are deceiving yourself about trust and security in financial matters. Wise up now before you become a statistic.

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I read an article in the business section of my daily newspaper about American workers and there lack of vacation time. This is not a joke. Many American workers get very little vacation time. Most other industrialized countries mandate 3 or 4 or more weeks of paid vacation for all workers. In the United States most minimum wage workers get no employer paid vacation. In the same article I read that a United States congressman is proposing federal legislation to demand that all employers provide paid vacation time for all workers. I believe the vacation time being proposed is 15 days, 3 uninterrupted weeks of vacation for each American worker. Personally I think that this is a great idea. People need to revitalize themselves periodically. They need to get away from the job for a period of uninterrupted vacation in order to improve their physical performance as well as their emotional and mental performance. You may be thinking, minimum wage workers should be satisfied with just having a job. That's exactly the wrong attitude. I believe a major problem in our economy is a lack of appreciation and respect for all workers regardless of the work or the level of the their job. As I've said many times, each American employee should receive an appropriate wage, appreciation for doing a job well done and the fringe benefits including adequate vacation time to ensure a robust economy. If a person performs acceptably at a job, he or she she be rewarded appropriately. In America all men and women are created equal; they should be reimbursed for doing a job equally.

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