RIP Paul Dana

I have never understood the appeal of driving cars in circles while at unsafe speeds. Nor have I understood why people flock to tracks to watch it.

Well, I do understand, sort of. There is an awe in power, and power it what you get when you see a car flying at 200 mph. This is almost three times the highest legal speed on any road in the United States--which gives you an idea as to how dangerous it is to drive at even 100 mph.

My confusion in this subject only increased at the news of the death of Paul Dana. I don't follow racing, which you could probably tell. But it is still big news when a 30 year old person dies. NASCAR has the same problem with death as the Indy series does, as became evident in the Dale Earnhardt tragedy. There have been other deaths while racing cars.

Only one person has ever died as a direct result of playing Major League Baseball, and that was in 1920. Nobody has died from an injury resulting directly from an NFL game (although one person came close) or as a direct result from an NBA game.

However, there is no way to assure safety when the object of the game is to operate dangerous machinery recklessly.

Government Perpetrated 9/11 Attacks? BS

Lots of people who think they are important, but really aren't (see, I don't think I'm important, so I don't apply), seem to think that the attacks on September 11, 2001, were caused by the government.

That's bull shit and there's no reason to buy into it unless you specialize in paranoia.

So why do I bring up a supposedly worthless viewpoint that should not be recognized? Well, I have noticed many people believe this, and I discovered (through a message board) a great webpage which, if you read all 9 pages, thoroughly proves that anyone in the crazed anti-government camp is wrong. Any possible claim to "prove" that the government committed the crimes on 9/11 is debunked.

So if you're a conspiracy theorist, consider this one dead.

Harry Truman on His Predecessors

If you read my other blog, you know that I have a great interest in studying the American presidents. Apparently one of these men, Harry S. Truman, was either asked or chose to talk about his opinions on his predecessors.

I make this assumption based on a site I found via another blog. As you look through each of the presidents on this page, all of them who preceded Truman (except for Garfield), as well as Truman's successor Eisenhower, have a quote about them by Truman.

His favorites were Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt. He disliked almost everybody else, and most of his dislike was put on William Harrison, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Grant, Coolidge, and Eisenhower.

I find this tidbit appropriate in light of my study to analyze the presidents.