I've been catching up on my reading of late.  

I read one magazine over the weekend that said taking a flu shot reduces your chances of getting the flu by 90%.  Today I read in the Atlantic that those same vaccinations are practically useless.

It proves to me there's a downside to getting all the information that we get from the media.  Our tendency is to believe what we read but obviously one of those publications has it wrong.

I suppose the advantages of all the communication we have outweighs the disadvantages but I've felt for a long time that the media operates in a vacuum of sorts.  By that I mean there's no checks and balances like those that exist in most of our society.  And if anyone from a blogger up through a government official proposes some checks and balances the media screams censorship. 

I'm all for a free press.  It beats the heck out of the alternative.  But I think we need a few checks and balances to prevent the misinformation that is occurring.  Maybe better labeling of articles or reports for opinions versus news reporting would work. 

I don't know if that will do it but if this type of media reporting leaves me confused as to what to believe it makes me wonder what seniors twenty years older do with it. 

You can classify this post as an opinion.

The Medlocks are now the proud owners of a new heating and cooling system for the mansion.

The old Rheem machine gave up the ghost after 13 years by developing a hole in the heat exchanger.  That makes it pretty inefficient and also dangerous for sending carbon monoxide into the house.

The new unit costs about sixty percent more than the old one but has a nice rebate from Trane and a $1500 tax credit so it's not too bad. 

I think it should be obvious that the Medlocks are doing their part to stimulate the economy.  Yes, it's true we didn't have a choice.  And we made the decision on short notice as well.   But at least we did something.

I think this clearly qualifies us for the 2010 Nobel prize for economics. 

I've already started writing my speech. 

I've been hearing and reading about this opinion and finally got around to reading it today.

To be honest my first impression is that it was written for its shock value.  That's because it's simply too offensive take it literally.  No one in their right mind could write what this lady wrote and really mean it.  It's just too much. 

I don't think any rational person believes Polanski fled because he feared "irrational punishment" due to his past experiences.  If this lady really believes that I've got a bridge to sell her cheap.  I think the author is either seeking publicity, naive beyond belief or perhaps it was meant as some sort of vile parody.  Or maybe she thinks convicted child rapists should be forgiven after an appropriate period of time.

Pure and simple Polanski committed a crime.  One that he confessed to and agreed to a plea bargain.  And the fact it happened to an underage person makes it more hideous. 

I don't find anything outrageous about the Swiss arresting him.  Her opinion, while she is entitled to it, is what is outrageous.  If she starts showing up on the television talk shows I'll know the real reason why she wrote it.  And I'll know then just how twisted people can get for media attention.

I was all set to blog on this topic today until I read USA Today while at lunch. The article does a good job with it. 

I'll just say this.  Of all the recent instances--Serena Williams, Joe Wilson, Kanye West--I think West's outburst was the worst.  That's not saying much since they were all bad but I think his was more rude than the others because he grabbed the mike from Taylor Swift.  At least the others were just verbal. 

I think West has such a huge ego that he thinks people want to hear what he has to say anytime and anyplace.  I hope he now knows differently but I doubt it.

Personally I think this lack of civility all started when Muhammad Ali began berating his opponents verbally.  I think he originally meant it in fun but got carried away with it.  He used some pretty bad words about Joe Frazier.  It gained momentum with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe and now it's really out of hand.

1.  You would think that after all the contentious town hall meetings that have occurred our lawmakers would figure out that a lot of people aren't happy with them.  You would be wrong.

2.  Have you ever experienced talking to someone by phone for a long time and then when you finally meet them they don't look at all like you visualized them.  Why is that?

3.  I'm still convinced that the ridiculous run-up in gas prices last year was the result of speculation more than real supply and demand issues.  I think that speculation came from financial institutions and other investment firms trying to make huge bucks while contributing exactly zero to the GNP.  Wait a second.  That's the same thing that caused the housing crisis.

4.  I love AMC's Mad Men.  It's my current favorite television show.  But I have to admit that sometimes I just can't follow what is really going on behind the scenes.  Like what's up with Peggy smoking the joint last week in the office?  Is that supposed to be showing her growth into independence?

5.  Congress has been on break for nearly a month.  They return to "work" September 8.  I'm for giving them more breaks and less "work".  The country would be a lot better off and I wouldn't be pissed off every night after hearing the nightly news. 

I consider myself a compassionate man. 

If somebody makes a mistake and owns up to it I'm usually ready to forget it and go on.  Experience has taught me that's a better way to go.  It's too much trouble and time consuming to do anything but that.  And I'm not one to hold grudges.  I think those are good rules to live by not only for the other person but more importantly for yourself.

But I think there are exceptions to those rules.  The Lockerbie bomber is one of those exceptions.  Pure and simple he is a murderer.  And a mass murderer at that.  I just don't have any compassion for someone like that. 

Maybe, just maybe I could have found a little bit had he not gotten the reception he did in Libya.  But that reception told me he was looked at as a hero in his own country. 

He's no hero.  He's a murderer.  And I'm not sorry for him.

The arrest of Harvard professor Henry Gates has stirred a lot of controversy.  I've got some thoughts on it myself.

First I really can't empathize or even totally understand minorities who feel they have been arrested or detained for no reason or because they're a minority.  I simply have no experience with that so I can't comment other than saying I wouldn't like it if it happened to me for those reasons.  I'm also quite sure that stereotyping or profiling has happened many times. 

I see fault on both sides here.  Professor Gates is clearly an educated man but I think he let his emotions overcome his reason.  While that can easily happen in a situation like this I believe he should have been the calm one for one reason.  The officer was there because one of Gates' neighbors had called them believing his home was being broken into.  The officer didn't single him out on the street or in a car.  He was responding to that break-in call at that house.  And at least according to the officer Gates refused to answer if anyone was in the house with him.  I think that's a logical question for the officer to ask on a break-in call.

And the police officer also says he called Harvard police after seeing his Harvard ID because the university document does not include an address, which would have verified that Gates was, in fact, in his own home.  That's also logical.  A Harvard official later showed and confirmed his identity.

The officer also said that Gates followed him outside and continued to speak loudly calling him a racist after he had established his identify and that he warned him twice to calm down.  When he didn't he arrested him.  I think that's where the officer went wrong.  The issue was apparently over at that time--no break-in had occurred.  Gates was wrong to continue to argue but the officer could have just walked away and everything would have been over.  He didn't.  I think that's because police cannot tolerate someone challenging them and while I can understand their position on it sometimes it's better that they take the high road and just end a situation.  This was one of those times.  There's breaking news out now that this same cop teaches a class on racial profiling to other cops from all over the Bay State and his class is widely respected.  That just confirms to me his loss of control over his emotions.  The official police report is here. (pdf).

Unlike the national media I don't think this particular incident has any national implications of white vs black or cops vs citizens.  I think it's simply a case of emotions getting out of control on a personal level. 

More than anything I'm disappointed that President Obama chose to comment on the case last night.  I doubt that he knew anymore about the incident than most Americans but his words were that racial profiling was a "fact" in this country and that  "the cop acted stupidly".  With all due respect, Mr. President, with that comment so did you.

It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon strange July in East Tennessee.

The weather has been unseasonably mild.  July is normally so hot and humid that it's oppressive to be outside at all.  And if you try to do much physical activity you soon learn to do it early morning or late evening.  Not this year.  Last week we set records for low temperatures.  It was still 54 degrees but it felt like fall.  That feeling I get early morning when fall comes around was unmistakable.  I was ready for some football.  I hope Al was in state and could feel it.  Inconvenient truth indeed.

For those non-Tennesseans out there our legislators recently passed a law, over the governor's veto, that permits guns in bars or restaurants serving alcohol.  Yes, that's exactly what this state really needs.  Alcohol and guns  Goes great together.  Like gasoline and matches. 

There's also a new law allowing registered gun owners to take their weapons into public parks.  But some Tennessee cities are opting out of that law.  I'm not quite sure how they can do that but I think localities should have that right.  And don't email me.  I'm not for gun control.  I'm just for common sense.

If you're like me you might be wondering why the state legislature is concerning itself with issues like these while we have so many more issues that need addressing like budgets, uninsured health care, infrastructure, etc.   One word.  Lobbyists.

It's given me pause.  Upon my next retirement I'm going to become a lobbyist.  What this state really needs is a law that allows guns to be carried on TVA property but only if that property has a coal ash slurry pond.  And one can only do so on days in which we set record lows in temperature.  And of course when Al is out of the state.  Now that's inconvenient.

Things I do not understand:

1.  Baseball suspended Manny Ramirez for fifty games.  He spent that time "rehabbing".  Apparently that means playing baseball for the Dodger's farm club instead of the major league club.  That's a suspension?  Now he's playing again for the big club.  If you take drugs while working in the real world your suspension is permanent. 

2.  NFL player Donte Stallworth served 24 days in jail for killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence.  24 days.  How is that possible?

3.  Levi Johnston, Bristol Palin's ex-boyfriend and father of her child, is making the rounds of the new organizations talking about her and her family.  Hey, dude, that's your child grandparents.  And get a job.  Make money on your own.  You're a leech.

4.  And speaking of Palin, how can she be a fighter if she's quitting?

5.  Twitter.

Clinton, Spitzer, Sanford, Edwards, Madoff and now apparently McNair.  And of course one could name many others.

I'm not talking about men. I'm talking about wives of those men who didn't seem to have any idea what their husband was doing outside the marriage.  I don't understand it.  One common thread is that all of these women live very affluent and privileged lives.  But we all know friends or family who don't live at that level and have gone through similar things.

In fact I'm not entirely sure I believe that they didn't know what was going on.  Self-protection, perhaps.  Or even apathy. To my knowledge they are all educated women and presumably intelligent. 

And yes, I agree that a lot of men are pigs and would jump the bones of any woman who even remotely interact with them.  Unfortunately it's in our genes (or other parts of our body).  But not all men are like that just as not all women are like the above list.  And one has to remember that there is an agreeable female for every cheating male.

If I had to guess I don't think the women's apparent ignorance has anything to do with intelligence.  I think it's about trusting.  And deception by the men.   And it's about the nature of marriage in this day and age.  In nearly every home I know both the husband and wife work.  Both are extremely busy and it's hard to maintain the intimacy that was once shared, especially if there are children.   And that can make it hard for honesty and trust to be maintained.   At the same time it's human nature for everyone to keep a little piece of themselves to themselves. 

All of which means the relationship between a man and a woman can be very complicated. 

At least that's something I do understand.