Reverse Discrimination!

Colleges and universities in America should quit their de facto affirmative action decisions on whom to admit to their institutions and whom they should deny. Refusing to educate white males and others of the so-called “dominant culture” at higher levels of training is a subtle form of racist discrimination that is unfair and damaging to our society. Our institutions of higher learning are doing this because they deem it politically correct to do so, and not because the government has mandated that kind of decision-making. I think it would be more politically correct (in the real sense) to admit those persons to the institutions on the basis of merit and disregard their race or sex.

 

A few years ago, a son of our who is a mechanical engineer, applied to the engineering department of the University of Oklahoma for a faculty position. He was turned down because the university told him he was the wrong sex and the wrong color.

 

He subsequently went to another university in the Midwest where he became a world class engineer; he was widely published and traveled the world giving lectures and seminars. The University of Oklahoma had missed out on hiring a real authority in the field of engineering. This is the result of poor administrative decision making. This policy filters down into business decisions which discriminate against people with high qualifications for doing good work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marijuana—What Are It’s Effects?

Studies done in July 2014 and reported in psychologytoday.com   (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/you-illuminated/201407/7-short-term-effects-marijuana-the-brain) report several effects of marijuana over the short term; these effects include impaired memory, reduced anxiety, increased appetite, elevated heart rate, and reduced pain. Sleep alterations have also been reported; but the alterations are variable—some people report interruption of sleep and others report more relaxed, early onset sleep. One consistent finding is decreased REM sleep—that is sleep that contains dreams.

 Another study reported in healthyplace.com https://www.healthyplace.com/addictions/marijuana-addiction/short-term-and-long-term-effects-of-weed-marijuana reported short term effects as being:

1)   Euphoria, intoxication

2) Relaxation, detachment, decreased anxiety and alertness

3) Altered perception of time and space

4) Intensified experiences

5) Laughter, talkativeness

6) Depression

7) Amnesia, confusion, delusions, hallucinations, psychosis

8) Mania

9) Short term memory impairment

10)      Sudden increase in heart rate and risk for heart complications

 

11)       Lethargy

 

12)      Decreased concentration

13)      Slurred speech

14)      Cough, wheezing, and phlegm production

15)      Increased risk of cancer

16)      Frequent chest illness including lung infections

17)      Impaired immune system

18)      Alter hormones and disrupt menstruation cycle

19)      Negatively impact male and female fertility

20)     Negative impact on birthweights, cognition, and increased risk of cancers for children born to marijuana using mothers

21)      “Flashbacks” of drug experiences while not using

22)     Paranoia, panic disorder, fear.  

Long-term effects occur because tolerance builds to the drug, and users tend to use larger and larger doses. The long-term effects include: 

1)   Irritability, anger, aggression, restlessness

2) Depression, anxiety

3) Stomach pain

4) Decreased appetite, weight loss

5) Tremor

6) Sweating

7) Drug craving

8) Difficulty sleeping 

Long-term marijuana use can lead to negative effects on the# brain that can affect memory and learning: 

1)   Inability to focus, concentrate and retain information

2) Decreased math and verbal skills 

Effect of recreational marijuana sales on police reported crashes in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington

Study done in October 2018 https://www.iihs.org/frontend/iihs/documents/masterfiledocs.ashx?id=2173 (A comprehensive statistical study of the subject.) 

In January 2014, Colorado became the first U.S. state to allow retail sales of recreational marijuana, with Washington (July 2014) and Oregon (October 2015) following shortly afterward. With more states weighing legalization, it is important to understand the degree to which recreational marijuana legalization has affected traffic safety outcomes. The current study was based on the 2018 Highway Loss Data Institute research on the subject, which estimated that the legalization of retail sales was associated with a 6.0% increase in insurance collision claims compared with control states. The current study investigated police-reported crashes rather than insurance claims. Crash rates were computed for each month between January 2012 and December 2016 for the three study states as well as their neighboring states, which served as controls. Controlling for several demographic factors, the change in crash rate that occurred after recreational marijuana was legalized was compared with the change in crash rate in the control states over the same time frame. The legalization of retail sales in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon was associated with a 5.2% higher rate of police-reported crashes compared with neighboring states that did not legalize retail sales. These results contribute to the growing body of research on the impact of recreational marijuana legalization. 

In contrast to the above report, the American Public Health Association published in August 2017 the following conclusion of their study having to do with auto fatality rates: “Three years after recreational marijuana legalization, changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates for Washington and Colorado were not significantly different from those in similar states without recreational marijuana legalization.” 

All the above summarize the pertinent scientific information about the effects of marijuana on the human psyche, auto crashes, and auto fatality rates. Now, I want to express my own opinion about this subject: In the 1960’s the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, published a book entitled “Smoking and Health,” which chronicled all the bad effects of smoking. That book changed the attitude of the American public drastically; and as a result, large numbers of Americans quit smoking. The improved health effects were stunning. The incidence of heart disease and cancer plummeted. We must remember that the data which underlaid that report took decades to accrue. But…it produced a monumental public health improvement. I have often wondered why it took all that time and statistical study to come to the conclusion that smoking was bad for health. It seemed to me that the conclusion should have been made on the basis of a little common sense. Taking all that smoke into the human body should have intuitively informed us of its dangerous nature.  

I believe that the same trajectory in knowledge about marijuana smoking and other intake will be about the same for that drug as it was about nicotine in cigarettes. It seems to me that applying common sense to the subject should point to the same kind of conclusion, e.g., smoking marijuana is bad for one’s health and the health of the surrounding society. This conclusion should not take a rocket scientist to figure out. 

(There is an even more graphic illustration of the dangers of marijuana in the Imprimis publication by Hillsdale.edu for January 2019.)

 

How To Detroy America

How to access my blog posts: manringen.blogspot.com

Read this, think about this, understand this.

You have been fairly warned. 

A very important quick read... please ! 

We know Dick Lamm as Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington , DC , filled to capacity by many of America 's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, 'Mexifornia,' explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California . He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

 Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America .

The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, 'If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America . It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'

'Here is how they do it,' Lamm said:

'First, to destroy America , turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bi-cultural country...  History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: 'The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.' Canada , Belgium , Malaysia , and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims.'

Lamm went on:

'Second, to destroy America , invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.

'Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec ' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentric and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, 'I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities.'

'Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, un-assimilated, under-educated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school.'

'My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology...' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority.'

'My sixth plan for America 's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precept. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. 'E. Pluribus Unum' -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will 'Balkanize' America as surely as Kosovo.'  

'Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bi-cultural country, having established multi-culturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America , it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them.'

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, 'Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America . If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book.

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book '1984.' In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: 'War is peace,' 'Freedom is slavery,' and 'Ignorance is strength'

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.

If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass this on just as I did for you.

NOTHING (good) is going to happen if you don't!

Any effective invitation to Hell will certainly appear in the guise of scientific planning. C.S. Lewis

Ed and Nancy Manring

 

Please, Please, VOTE!

The November 6^th election this year is VERY important. I encourage every one of our readers to get out and vote. As Barack Obama has said, “Elections have consequences;” and that is certainly true this year. Our country is essentially deciding if our nation is going to follow our Constitution and our national customs of free market capitalism or…are we going to become another of the world’s failed socialist nations.

 If voters are thinking about following socialism’s course, they should look carefully at two blatant examples of modern-day socialism in our own experience, e.g., the failed USSR and Venezuela. Both of those nations have failed in providing even the basic freedoms our nation and other democratic nations of the world have deemed so desirable and fulfilling. They lack freedom of religion, the press, speech, and their economies are in shambles. Do we really want to go that way??!

Democrats want us to follow the socialist play book. Don’t vote for them. Some Democrats are saying in their campaigns that they support free market, Constitutional, government and closure of the U.S. border to illegal immigration. If you believe that, you should remember that if they are elected to a majority in the House and Senate, they will elect a socialistic House Speaker and a socialistic leader of the Senate. They will never vote to “Make America Great, Again.” Some of them, such as one prominent candidate for mayor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, famously said recently that “America never was that great.” Although 67% of New York likely voters disagreed with him, his statement accurately portrayed the opinion of many Democrats this year.

 The passengers of the Arbella who left England in 1630 with their new charter for an American colony had a great vision. They were to be an example for the rest of the world in rightful living. Future governor John Winthrop stated their purpose quite clearly: "We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us."

 

I still think America is that great “city on a hill.”  Let’s put legislators in office who really believe in America.

How to Hold a Conversation

Conversing in a constructive, educational, manner is apparently not a common skill. I find that many people just don’t know how to do it.

Years ago, while Nancy and I were in the Navy, we had the opportunity to attend several social events held among the Navy’s officer corps. We saw there, first hand, how the art of conversation should be an experience in education and how conversation should stimulate interest—also, we learned how good conversation can be entertaining.

Here’s how good conversation is done: At those old-fashioned Navy social meetings, one would be approached by people with a smile on their faces and their eyes making good contact. A hand shake or a pat on the back was a starter. The encountered person would then gently begin probing around to find some area of common interest. Soon, finding that touch point, the conversation would begin. Points of common interest would deliberately begin; and the participants would concentrate on LISTENING carefully to the words of one another. The conversants would not drift off the subject by allowing the eyes to rove over other people or things in the room—no looking out the window. The people involved in the conversation would often repeat something the other would say, thereby indicating that words were being heard and understood. The conversation would gradually be guided into areas of real interest, trivia and insignificant subjects were not often dwelt upon. Listening would always seem more important than talking. An effective skill in conversation was learning and demonstrating mental retention of one another’s name. Repeating that new name indicated that the other person was taking gleaned information seriously. Learning names is a skill that should be cultivated. 

I am told that former President John F. Kennedy was a master of useful and interesting conversation. He would look carefully for new and interesting information in almost everyone with whom he came into contact. He seemed to be able to learn something from every person with whom he was talking. There was no time wasted in a conversation with President Kennedy!

Last evening, Nancy and I watched a long segment of a press conference with President Trump. Let there be no question about this: I am very happy with most of the things the Trump administration had done; but I am not pleased with the President’s demeanor in conversation. Although he can be friendly and amusing at times, his concern for the people with whom he is supposedly conversing leaves a lot to be desired. He interrupts their words, and he persists in speaking in a very proud way about the wonderful things he has done. There is no give and take in President Trumps conversation. He apparently learns nothing from the ideas of his contact people. I would hate to work for him. His conversation is all about him; nobody else seems to count.

All that being said, I want to point out that trivial subjects in conversation are often useful in order to establish rapport with the other person in a conversation. However, whenever possible, trivia should be minimized, and the conversation turned to more salient matters. A conversation should be guided into subjects that cause one to remember the content.

My wish for you is for you to have many happy and useful conversations! Seek information; remember names; and, above all, LISTEN!

The Perseid meteor shower

How to access my blog post http://bit.ly/1zOaIaV 

One thousand years ago, the comet Swift-Tuttle passed through the earth’s orbit, scattering rocks and other debris all over the place. Since then, these rocks have been showering into the earth’s atmosphere whenever the earth passes under the Constellation Perseus. This produces a spectacular meteor shower, known as the Perseids. The shower will be visible in the evenings from 11 August through 14 August. It will be particularly visible this year, because the moon will have set before sundown, and the night sky will be very dark, making these meteors easily visible.

 

Actually, the meteors will be falling also during the daytime; but they will not be very visible at that time because the light of the sun will obscure them. 

https://binged.it/2AGoQ3I Press Control+click, and you will see the constellation Perseus between Cassiopeia and Taurus on your computer screen. Perseus is in the northern hemisphere. The brightest star in Perseus is Mirfak. Andromeda is a constellation to the west of Perseus; and Cassiopeia is to the north. The Andromeda nebula in the constellation of that name is the most distant object visible to the naked eye. The Andromeda nebula is 2.4 million light years away from earth; and it contains 1 trillion stars!

Have fun watching the show!! 

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 

Ed and Nancy Manring

 

Protect Life Rule

President Trump’s administration has proposed a regulation to the Department of Health and Human Services Department (HHS), called the “Protect Life Rule.” If activated, this regulation would defund Planned Parenthood of about $60 million.

HHS is inviting comments on this new regulation before it is either activated or rejected. The period of time for comments to be received from people in America is 31 July 2018.

 I am asking all of my blog recipients to write to HHS in support of this proposed regulation. You may write your opinion to the proper recipient by going to https://bit.ly/2m920rq.

You can also comment by going to https://www.sba-list.org/action-center or https://frc.quorum.us/campaign/12309.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.