Life

I received an e-mail today asking for donations to the Atlanta Humane Society. The story, found here, is about a dog that someone set on fire and the Atlanta Human Society has helped to rescue it. They are asking for donations to help cover the more than $6,500 in expenses to save this dog.

I am torn by this request. No doubt, we have a responsibility to protect and nurture all life - no matter the species, ethnicity or the stage. But it is extremely sad to me that people will donate $6,500 to help a dog and not donate that same money to help one another. At what point did we start cherishing a dog's life more than our own?

Maybe we've become callous. After all, there are many human rights atrocities happening around the world, from Darfur to China to the homeless on our own neighborhood streets. We see it all the time and have become desensitized...but we are still compassionate people and so our hearts - and wallets - turn to animals who are abused and neglected.

Or maybe we don't see humans as "innocent" and feel that the less fortunate may have caused their situations through their own actions. Or that they will use our money for something other than good. Or that they are just not good people.

Or maybe it's too uncomfortable to help those who are less fortunate. We feel somewhat ashamed of our own fortune and lifestyle and can't quite look those others in the eye. It's easier to help someone who won't judge us or cause us to feel guilty of our lifestyle.

But regardless of what we feel or what we think, we need to care as a society. We hve a responsibility to protect all life, yes. But that does not mean we get to choose which kind of life we protect. Perhaps if we had a respect for human life, that would trickle down to having a respect for animals and for the earth. We are all interconnected and so if we are going to give money to save a dog, then we should also do what we can to save a human, to save a tree.

Spending $6,500 on a dog is a sin when there is someone in our own community who could use that money to feed their family, pay their heating bills, to get back on their feet.

A little healthcare humor

With all the angst of the healthcare debate, T-Pain decides to liven it up a bit.

U2 Rocks Raleigh

My whole body is sore and aches. That is a testament to how good the U2 concert was on Saturday.

I've been a huge U2 fan for a long time, so when I heard they were coming to Raleigh, I was super excited. They played in Carter-Finley stadium (NC State's football stadium) and it looked like a sold-out show, which meant there were more than 60,000 people there, making it the largest concert I've ever been to.

The set is one of the largest ever built for a concert and it looked like a spaceship. The music was great and U2 did a phenomenal job, but among the large crowd and the large set, it was one of the most intimate and moving concerts I've been to.

It's amazing that 60,000 people of all shapes and sizes and colors could come together and have fun. No violence. No prejudice. No anger. Just all singing together in perfect pitch, 120,000 arms waving in sync with one another. If we could do this for 2 hours, imagine what we could do with the rest of our lives.

Of course, that's the social message U2 is all about, and it came through loud and clear during the concert. Desmond Tutu even gave a message of love and unity during on of the encores.

Awesome, awesome concert.

Mugabe is spelled A-W-E-S-O-M-E

What's dirtier than a thug? A thug who denies his dirtiness.

You can read the full story here, but here are a few gems from Mugabe's interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour:

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, in a rare interview Thursday, depicted himself as an African hero battling imperialism and foreign attempts to oust him rather than the widespread perception of a dictator clinging to power at the expense of the welfare of his people and country.

He denied that his country is in economic shambles, saying it grew enough food last year to feed all its people, and defended policies that have driven white farmers off their land as properly restoring that land to indigenous Africans.

"The land reform is the best thing (that) could have ever have happened to an African country," said Mugabe, a former revolutionary leader who came to power when white-ruled Rhodesia became black-ruled Zimbabwe. "It has to do with national sovereignty."

It was Mugabe's first interview with a Western television network in several years, and he appeared to get frustrated with some of Amanpour's direct questioning,
repeatedly denying widely accepted evidence and reports on his nation's woes.

Mugabe also denied any responsibility for harm to the nation from his economic policies, instead blaming what he called "unjustified" and "illegal" sanctions that he said were intended to bring regime change.

He also rejected criticism from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his role in the anti-apartheid struggle, who has accused Mugabe of turning Zimbabwe into a "basket case" and repressing his own people.

"It's not a basket case at all," Mugabe said. He later called Tutu's comments "devilish talk" and added: "He doesn't know what he's talking about, the little man."

Awesome.

Is there a warranty with that?

It's been raining for a few days in Raleigh. Not nearly as hard as it is in Atlanta, I imagine, but I bet we're getting some of the tail end of their storms.

As I walked into our brand-new Raleigh airport this morning (as in, just opened about a year ago), I noticed those gray security bins strategically placed throughout the airport. It took a while for me to figure out what was going on and then I realized - they were acting as rain buckets for the leaks coming through the roof.

Leaks through the roof??! The building was just built a year ago. And we're not talking about one or two leaks, but at least 20 security bins were placed throughout various areas of the airport. I wonder if they bought the home warranty.

It's not always race

Jimmy Carter's comments today are a little disturbing. Yes, there is continued racial disparity in this country and there are people who do not accept our President because he is black. But to suggest that to oppose a President's ideas and policies is to be a racist is dangerous. Does this mean that no matter what the President presents to Congress, the country must accept it or else be branded a racist?

We need to fight against racism and be open to all people and ideas. But the anger people have over the healthcare debate cannot all be attributed to racism. It is attributed to disagreement with certain policies. It is attributed to anger over having to change from the status quo. It is attributed to a change that people are unsure about the future and how that change will affect them.

So saying that racism is fueling the anger threatens censorship, it threatens a healthy debate. At some point, you gotta stop playing the race card and accept that disagreement comes from a fundamental difference in political ideologies, not from the color of your skin.

I'm not sure what we gain by going down this road. There are bigger fish to fry and bigger issues to resolve. Using the "r' word doesn't accomplish much. Yes, this country should have a larger discussion about race, but to do it within the forum of political disagreement is unproductive and dangerous to our country's ability - and freedom - to debate.

What's all the fuss about?

I'm travelling overseas for work this week, and so have been a bit disconnected from the rest of the world. So I was surprised when I pulled up CNN.com today and saw some controversy around Obama addressing America's school children tomorrow. Some parents were even threatening to keep their kids from school so they wouldn't hear the speech. Nothing like a little censorship to promote American ideals.

So I decided to read the speech (you can read it yourself here). Now, there are a few cheesy lines in the speech and I think he makes his point one time too many (we get it, Obama), but nothing in there is controversial. In fact, I'm totally surprised Republicans are all up in arms - the speech is all about personal responsibility, something that Republicans believe in. It's about staying in school, getting an education and making the most of your life.

For a country that lags behind the rest of the world in science and math, this is not such a bad thing. Anything, in fact, that helps to promote education is a good thing. Because let's be honest - nobody can take away your education. And an education is the quickest way out of a bad situation and into a better one.

Let our children be inspired. Maybe it's the adults who are too cynical and too political. This isn't about politics - it's about making our future generation the best it can possibly be. And the only way to do that is through education.

Fat

Did you know that 2/3 of American's are overweight? That's 200 million people, with half of those people classifed as obese. That's absolutely crazy. So a couple of interesting tidbits that I randomly came across this past week:

First, it costs over $117 billion a year to treat obesity-related illnesses. No wonder our health care system is in shambles. Hopefully, part of that 1,000 page health care bill provides some kind of preventative education coverage where we can educate people on how to avoid putting on the pounds and, thus, reducing the total cost of our health care.

The next interesting thing was that I was talking to an OB/GYN and he said that cases of infertility have been rising over the years and they think here is actually a correlation with obesity. His overweight and obese patients have a much harder time getting pregnant than those that are skinnier and in shape. Now, perhaps that has something to do with obesity-related illnesses, but that brings us back to point number 1.

KFC just launched a new sandwich in two test markets this week (Nebraska and Rhode Island): the Double Down. It's bacon, two kinds of cheeses and sauce, all piled between two pieces of fried chicken. That's right - no bread, so you don't have to worry about all those carbs. That sounds disgusting, but I bet it's testing great in the markets.

And lastly - and the most disturbing thing I've seen in a while - is the CDC's data and trends on obesity in America over the past 20 years. Wow. You can watch the slideshow here.

I'm not trying to say all this to be mean. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect and there are circumstances where no matter what people do, they are still going to develop obesity for whatever reason. But our culture and lifestyle is clearly fueling this epidemic and perhaps we need to be more open about this situation to educate those who don't know that their food and behaviors can lead to long-lasting health and cost consequences.

Our health is one of the most important things that we have. Without it, we can't be happy, we can't be successful, we can't live. We need to do more as a nation to be healthier and to value our health - it's all we got.