ARE ELECTRONIC TOYS TO BLAME FOR POOR GRADES AND OBESITY

I often don’t pay that much attention to the news until something catches my ear, then I usually only get half the story. So much of the news is not worth watching or listening to anyway, since there isn’t a TV network out there that doesn’t twist, bend or slant the news to fit its editorial bias.
Oh well. That’s not going to change and that’s not what caught my ear the other morning. The gist of the news story, later reported in the print news is summarized by this quote from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

If you think only tweens and teens spend too much time indoors in front of TVs and computers, think again. Children ages six months to six years old are spending as much time with TV, computers and videogames as they do playing outside or reading, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Kids six and under spend an average of two hours a day using screen media, equivalent to the amount of time they spend playing outside. Yet, those two hours are a lot more than they spend reading or being read to (39 minutes).
The TV reporter indicated that all this time inside sitting in front of a TV, computer or text messaging on a cell phone explained students’ poor grades and obesity. I’m simplifying the report somewhat, but, as I said, that was the gist of the report. And it was that latter insinuation that caught my ear.

I don’t doubt for one minute that some children are spending too much time on their computer, or watching television, or twittering on their cell phone. I also do not doubt that for some of these kids that time could be better spent studying.

It is just too simplistic, though, to blame children’s poor grades on the electronic toys around the house. Some parents of today’s young people may remember that when they themselves were school-aged, the media, ministers and others looking for someone or something to blame poor grades on pointed their accusing fingers at rock and roll music.

Kids who want to fail or don’t care if they do well in school, will find some way to waste their time and avoid studying. Parents who cannot or will not monitor their kids’ school work will find something they can blame for their children’s poor school performance.

I don’t know if kids spend more time indoors than their parents or grandparents did, nor do I know that even if they do the blame can be laid on the electronics around their house.

Consider the number of hours, yes, hours, kids of previous generations spent on such indoor activities as model plane or model car building, coloring in a coloring book or playing with paper dolls. And let’s not forget the board games: Parcheesi, Monopoly, Chinese checkers, and the card games: Canasta, Hearts, Uno, Go Fish, and others. We spent countless hours putting together jig saw puzzles and spent countless more hours at the Saturday afternoon double-feature movie with cartoons and serial Buck Rogers or Superman thriller. All indoors and all while sitting.

The obesity problem? Well, I’ll have to admit that we did get around more by either walking or biking. No cars, not even for most teenagers. (Some kids had cars or access to one, but most of us got from place to place with Shank’s Mare, that is, walking.) So we probably got more exercise than some of today’s youngsters.

But I see kids walking today. I see kids biking, where it’s safe to do so. And there are a hell of a lot more sports in school for both boys and girls -- and I see a lot of non-obese kids taking part in these sports. Exercise is where you find it.

The obesity problem among our young people is more a parent problem than anything else. While I will admit that there are loads of special circumstances, I am compelled to say that there are loads of excuses for the fact that too many kids are fed too many prepared, processed, high-calorie meals that are going to make them fat! Stop eating out and start eating in. Stop giving them prepared foods and start preparing balanced meals.

I am afraid, however, that if you are among those parents who swapped preparing home-cooked meals for prepared foods, you will gladly swap good sense (and responsibility) about your children’s grades or weight for some prepared excuse such as their spending too much time in the house with their electronics.

Kids have always found a way to fritter away their time. Why start now to blame it on electronics.

A JEALOUS, ANGRY, VENGEFUL GOD?

It has been an eventful week, an emotional week for anyone with compassion in their heart for the people of Haiti. It has been a heart-wrenching week for those who have family or friends in Haiti that have not yet heard from. The unknowing can be very difficult to bear.

I hope all of you will contribute to Haitian disaster relief through whatever agency you trust.

To add to people's misery, we learn from the mouth of televangelist Pat Robertson that the Haitians brought this on themselves through some pact their ancestors made with the devil over 200 years ago. If so, that is a god with some serious revenge in his heart. I know, "revenge is mine, sayeth the Lord," the bible reminds us, but to extract that revenge on innocent men, women and children -- even on non-Haitians working on the island to further His work -- seems extreme to me.

Oh, and please, don't remind me that I am not supposed to question the ways of the Lord. Surely in his infinite wisdom he knows how to make his actions perfectly clear -- even to someone like me.

The Orlando Sentinel has a section titled 30-word rant where people can write in and express their views on any topic so long as they keep their remarks to 30 words or less. After Pat Robertson's became known, one reader wrote the following: "A jealous, angry, vengeful god? Surely he was made in our image."

(By the way, I know that god should be capitalized when referring to the one god, the living god. But I am unsure whether the reader was referring to THAT god or to one of the several gods we humans worship in our various, sometimes contentious and often contradictory religions. I choose to just use the generic "god.")

One can take the reader's statement two ways, it seems to me. Did the writer mean that god was simply acting in the same way we error-prone, sinful humans would, or did he mean, as I have heard expressed before, that in the beginning man created god and so, of course, we created him in our image? (Maybe that explains why we have so many ministers constantly trying to explain god.) Does god behave like humans at times?

Many people reacted to Robertson’s remarks. Some ministers actually rebuked him on the air or in the press. That’s a good sign. It always bothered me that ministers on TV, charlatans and con-men all, as far as I’m concerned, could make the outrageous statement they did and never be challenged by ministers in our hometown church pulpits.

Just the same, I guess if god can let his chosen people, the Israelites, languish under the whip of slavery in Egypt for decades before setting them free, he can extract vengeance on the people of Haiti for a pact with the devil some group made over 200 years ago. I have to say, however, that seems like one angry god.

But no, that can’t be, writes The Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando in the Orlando Sentinel. He reminds us that “When faced with our misfortunes or those of others, we can be tempted to ask ourselves: What did we do or what did those people do to deserve this?” He explains later in his op-ed piece: “Jesus warns us not so see these events as somehow the wrath of an angry God. Evil came into the world not by God’s willing it; but through the devil and human sin.” (How are these two, the devil and human sin, not the work of God’s creation?)

Bishop Wenski goes on to clarify with the explanation: “Today -- and indeed, from the beginning of our exile from Eden -- we experience this world as a ‘valley of tears.’ We live in a fallen and, thus imperfect, world. And oftentimes the forces of nature -- earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters -- can suggest that our planet itself is ‘in rebellion’ against the original order of a loving Creator God.” Further, he states, “… we cannot rush to blame victims for the evil visited upon them; neither can we blame God, whom Scripture reveals as all loving and all merciful.”

I am not comforted.

We must take from his remarks that his “loving and all merciful” god is powerless to deal with the forces of nature, i.e, “earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters.” Maybe he can, but he won’t. Why? Well, I must assume that it is because nature is part of the “original order” that he created. For him to interfere would suggest that the laws of nature are not perfect, wouldn’t you think?

If some good comes out of the disaster in Haiti, if some good can be wrestled from the destruction and from the deaths of babies, of small children, or mothers and fathers going about their daily lives, of American teenagers in Haiti on a church mission and from the deaths of the hundreds of others who died there is past week when nature “rebelled against the original order,” it will come from the sympathy and good will of humans around the world who are at this moment rushing to bring food, water and order to the people of this island nation.

Pray, if prayer helps you, and then send money to help the people of Haiti. I won’t ask you to not trust in the lord, but the people of Haiti need something more substantial, some help they can use to feed their babies and rebuild their homes. Act on your conscience and do it today!

NOT A COLD DAY IN HELL BUT COLD JUST THE SAME

It;s cold everywhere, Nebraska, Missouri, Georgia AND Florida.  We've had four or five nights below freezing here in central Florida and the farmers are sweating -- sweating whether their produce and orange crops will survive the freeze.  This is the season when they are supposed to make money by growing the oranges, the tomatoes, peppers and other produce the rest of the country wants during the winter months.  That produce may be a bit more expensive this year.

In the meantime, we snowbirds are holed up in our homes waiting for warmer weather so we can play golf, go fishing or just go for a long walk.  I've been getting out daily but it's an effort sometimes because of the cold weather.  Walking is easier when it is cool, but it's not much fun when it's downright cold and you have to bundle up with a hooded sweatshirt and leather jacket.  I even see some folks wearing gloves when out walking.  We old folks are stubborn, if nothing else.  But, like they say, where there's a will there's a way.

WALKING, TALKING AND THINKING

INDEPENDENTS IN CONGRESS:  Walking and talking won't usually get you in trouble.  Well, talking can get you in trouble if you're not careful what you say, especially if varies from what your listeners expect, but thinking will definitely get you in trouble.  No where is this more true than in congress.  Once elected, you must not think for yourself, and by all means must refrain from any thoughts that differ from or challenge the party line.

Judging from th e-mail I receive -- e-mail that is never actually written by the person who sent it but presumably represents that person's thoughts -- many of you are so disgusted with the members of congress, both parties, that you want to vote out all incumbents and start over with a fresh new batch.  Like term limits, this is a bad idea.  It is a bad idea because, like term limits, it forces too many congressmen to rely too much for information and expertise on non-elected lobbyist and staff people.

COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS

COMMENT: My sports minded conservative friends must be beside themselves today. Their beloved television network, Fox, has threatened to pull the plug on its broadcast affiliation with Time Warner cable network and its affiliate Brighthouse unless Time Warner agrees to pay several million dollars more in broadcast-right fees. Time Warner has thus far refused and Fox Network may disconnect from Time Warner before the big Citrus Bowl game later today. Negotiations are ongoing.

Here’s the problem for my conservative friends. They believe that government should stay the hell out of negotiations between private (non-public) companies, but some of them want the government or the courts to intervene and compel Fox to allow Time Warner broadcast rights until after the Citrus Bowl game.

Frankly, I agree with the conservative position. The government (local, state or national) should stay out of the matter. It’s a football game, not a national emergency. No one’s life is threatened. If some businesses will suffer loss due to the disconnect, too bad. That’s the cost of doing business with Fox Network and Time Warner.

Let’s hope that politicians learned something from the Terri Shiavo debacle. Government leaders, in far away Washington, DC yet, had no business butting in to a Florida case that had been decided by a Florida court. They did, however, and it turned into an embarrassing mess. Let’s hope they are smarter this time around.

Politicians smarter? Now that’s funny.  Politicians are sheep; they follow their leader.  They are concerned with getting reelected and getting legislations passed that will benefit their constituents, i.e, get them reelected.  On all other matters, refer to rule one: follow their leadership.

OBSERVATION: The maple trees in central Florida seem to think it is fall.  They are turning brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red ... and dropping their leaves to the ground.  I guess they have to do it sometime.  They are after all deciduous trees and that means they lose their leaves once a year.  Just the same, it is strange to this New York boy when out walking this time of year (January 1) to see tree leaves turning color and falling to the ground like it was September or October.  Raking leaves is incongruous with this time of year.

OBSERVATION: We typically assign the word miracle to any circumstance we cannot explain.  We do not call it a miracle when the sun comes up every morning because we know why and how that happens. 
Even though we may not understand all the electronics involved, we watch television without once thinking of it as a miracle.  No, we reserve the use of the word "miracle" for those instances in which something happens that we nor anyone can explain.

My observation is this: we call good things that happen a miracle.  We never call it a miracle when something bad happens.

A man is driving his car down the road at a reasonable speed when another car, a speeding, out of control car, hits him head on.  His car is demolished.  He has to be cut out of the car by firemen using the jaws of life.  "Miraculously" he lives.  He literally walks away after being freed with a few cuts, scratches and bruises.  He is amazed.  The firemen are amazed.  They've never seen anyone survive such a terrible head-on collision.  It is a miracle, we say.

It may not be so much of a miracle after all.  Seat belts, air bags, collapsible steering columns and other features engineered into his car in anticipation of just such an accident may explain his good fortune.  We don't know that for sure, may never know for certain, but it is possible that no divine or other world intervention was involved, just good safety engineering.

We can believe what we want and some of us will believe this man's survival is a miracle.  We will even say things like, "God must have other plans for him." or "It surely wasn't his time."  The statement suggesting that the god we worship has an plan for each of us (meaning, I guess, that our destiny is out of our hands) or that we have a built-in clock ticking away our hours and minutes until "our time is up," again without regard to anything we do or do not do.

OK, be that as it may.  We are free to believe whatever we want and to explain it, rationalize it, and defend it however we choose.  But consider the following.

A man is driving down the road at a reasonable speed when an approaching car veers into his lane, clips his left front fender causing him to swerve right, jump the curb and smack into a fireplug.  His body lurches forward and his head bumps the steering wheel.  His seat belt stops him from smashing into the windshield, but the crash is so slight that the airbags do not even deploy.  A "minor" accident from which we all would expect the driver to walk away, a bit shaken perhaps, but alive and well.

Nonetheless, the man dies.

Why isn't that a miracle?  Why isn't it a miracle that the man died from such an insignificant bump?  We can't explain his death.  There is no rational or obvious mechanical reason for him dying.  If we are going to ascribe the word miracle to situations we do not understand or cannot explain, why isn't this a miracle?

Can our god only be involved when good things happen?  How are we then to explain the plane crash where 100 people die and 40 people live?  Was it a miracle that the 40 lived?  Or was it a miracle that the 100 died?  Did god have special plans for the 40 who lived and no further use for the 100 he let die?  Or was there no miracle involved, no divine intervention, no science-fiction or psychic explanation except it was a tragic accident -- a puzzle the FAA will try to solve.

It's just an observation.  Think about it and tell me what you think.