Signs of Our Times

Scanning the various news sites, I offer you excerpts of five stories recently published in various newspapers which I would classify in as 'Signs of Our Times.'

1. Gasoline theft cost retailers nationwide $237 million in 2004 — more than twice the $112 million loss in 2003, according to NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores).
On average, one in every 1,100 fill-ups was a gas theft last year.
“As the price of gas climbs, people’s values decline.” This was uttered after a 54 yr. old service station owner died Friday after being run over by a driver who police believe wasn’t going to pay for $52 worth of fuel. Police are searching for the driver of the gold or tan Jeep-style SUV.

As oil prices approach the $3/gal mark how soon is it going to be that we start seeing security guards at Service Stations?

2. An estimated 119 million Americans, or 64.5 percent, of adults are either overweight or obese and the rate has been rising steadily every year. The percentage of obese adults rose from 23.7 percent in 2003 to 24.5 percent in 2004. The states with the smallest percentage of obese adults are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana.

Unfortunately my middle age spread has contributed to this high percentage even though I live in one of the states with the smallest percentage. I wonder how many other companies are going to come along touting some new fad diet or exercise machine or pill to exploit this tremedous consumer base of 119 million people. Look at the money Atkins made and it hasn't put any dent into the overweight problem. In Alabama, which is one of the states with a high percentage of overweight people, many are on a YoYo diet. A friend of mine who was recently there told me that all he heard was, "Yo, super size that!", or "Yo, let's have some more of those grits."

3. China on Tuesday introduced an “anti-online game addiction system” intended to protect players from the mental and physical perils of spending too much time in front of computers. An estimated 25m Chinese play online role-playing games. Under the new standard, up to three hours of play is considered “healthy” - and more than five to be “unhealthy”.
After five hours online, players will be subjected every 15 minutes to the warning: “You have entered unhealthy game time, please go offline immediately to rest. If you do not your health will be damaged and the benefits you can win will be cut to zero.“

What the heck! If you can't hook them with food then do it with gaming and gambling. Maybe you can combine them both as they do at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. Have we lost our common sense? Does anyone have any self control? Warning, reading this is not good for your health. Get out and go for a walk.

4. Pat Robertson's call for American agents to assassinate President Hugo Chavez is a "terrorist" statement that needs to be investigated by U.S. authorities, Venezuela said Tuesday. The Bush administration quickly distanced itself from the religious broadcaster.
Robertson's suggestion Monday that the United States "take out" Chavez to stop Venezuela from becoming a "launching pad for communist influence and Muslim extremism" appeared likely to aggravate tensions between the United States and the world's fifth-largest oil exporting country.
Chavez, who was democratically elected, has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. The United States is the top buyer of Venezuelan oil, but Chavez has made it clear he wants to decrease the country's dependence on the U.S. market by finding other buyers.

Thanks Pat, I'm glad you got that off your chest and proved once again that even religious leaders have a mean streak in them. When is this nation going to stop stuffing the pockets of thugs like Chavez with billions of dollars from our selfish dependence on their oil?

5. For many Americans, the war is an abstraction. But it is not an abstraction for the innocent Iraqis whose lives have been devastated by our smart bombs. And it certainly is not an abstraction for those of us who have heard the words that change lives forever.
So think of my family's grief -- grief that will never end. Think of all the families. Think of the wounded, the maimed, the psychologically scarred.
And then consider: The preservation of our freedom rests not on U.S. imperialism but on actively changing foreign policies that are conquest-oriented and that dehumanize our own young who become fodder for endless war as well as people in other countries who are so geographically distant that they become abstract.
The answer is not Bush's mantra: "They're jealous of our freedoms."
And, finally, think about flowers: The flowers for Chase Comley will be presented not by grateful Iraqis but by loved ones honoring him as he's lowered to his grave and buried in our hearts.

This was written by the aunt of a Marine who recently lost his life in Iraq. I wonder what Rush Limbaugh is going to do or say to discredit this woman. What is the present administration going to do to counter the swell of anti-war sentiments in this country? I know, the anniversary of 9/11 is fast approaching where we will be once again reminded that it's the reason why we're fighting them there to avoid fighting them on our soil.

I'll leave you with the lines from poet Robert Herrick, who was born today in 1591:

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying."