Simple tax better than outright ban on incandescent bulbs

    Folks are squabbling over light bulbs, particularly the ban on 100-watt incandescent light bulbs that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. Eventually the ban will include standard 60- and then 40-watt bulbs as well. Small-base and oven lights are not included in the ban, and thank goodness, because just look at the small-base bulb in the photo. That is not acceptable!
    Republicans in Congress are talking about repealing the ban. The state of Texas is considering going into the light bulb business, much as Mississippi did with the manufacture of mirex back in the 1970s. I suspect Texas would have better luck than Mississippi.
    I'm a big fan of CFL bulbs, as I've said before. The recessed 65-watt floods cost little more than incandescent floods, and the twirly bulbs have come down greatly in price. While the first CFL bulbs were pretty dreadful, throwing off a eery blue light, they have improved greatly.
    In our home we have approximately 80 recessed and other 60- or 65-watt lights. It's not uncommon for a few hours each night for most of these to be on. I don't go around flipping off light switches and freely admit it (the CFL bulbs take a couple of minutes to warm up, which is a disincentive to flip them on and off). Let's just assume 30 bulbs in use for 15 hours per day. CFL bulbs use 14 or 15 watts to produce the light of a 65-watt bulb, so our total lighting usage is just under seven kilowatt hours per day. With standard bulbs, our lighting usage would be 28 kilowatt hours per day. Nationally electricity costs about 12 cents per kw/hour, so we're talking about a cost of 84 cents per day to light one's home versus $3.36. Monthly that comes to $25.20 versus $100.80. Multiply that by a hundred million households and you can see what a difference the use of CFL bulbs can make for our country.
    Electricity isn't gasoline, of course, and saving electricity won't necessarily solve the oil shortage. But energy is energy, and the more we save as a nation the more we will have. It's a national security issue.
    Nevertheless, I'm opposed to an absolute ban on incandescent bulbs. CFL bulbs, despite their improvements, do have an inferior lighting spectrum. Artists, museums, fashion designers and many others need lighting that will be free of any distortion, however small. Incandescent bulbs provide this.
    So what should our government do? Simple. Levy a tax on incandescent bulbs of a quarter or so per bulb. It's the government's way of telling people to switch to more energy-efficient lighting while still leaving the traditional bulbs for those who truly need them.
    Raise taxes on investments and people will invest less. Levy a tax on incandescent light bulbs and people will buy fewer of them. It's always better to discourage an activity through a tax than to ban it outright, and that's what our government should do with incandescent bulbs.
    As for me, I'm happy with my CFL bulbs, thank you.

July 12 is Game of Thrones Book 5 publication day

    July 12 is the day a lot of people have been looking forward to. A Game of Thrones, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons is going on sale. You can buy a copy by clinking on my link and I'll make fifty cents or so.
    I bought Book One during a cruise about six weeks ago. I think I finished the first three books during the cruise and the last book over the next week. So now I'll have the fifth installment. I've had to wait all of one month for it.
    It's actually been five or six years since author George R.R. Martin wrote Book Four of the series, A Feast for Crows. So the true fans have been waiting for a long time. And though I'm tempted to wait to read Book Five, I know that if I do I'm likely to hear part of the plot. So I'll go ahead and buy and read it. Then I guess I'll wait five years for the next installment. Early reviews say the events in Book 5 occur simultaneous to those in Book 4. So there will be a return to Tyrion and Jaime, and presumably Bran.
    I wasn't aware of the HBO series when I started reading the series. I guess I'll watch it next season when it goes to Netflix.
    One awkward thing about these books is that my children and I sometimes read the same books. They usually read high-school level or even adult books, and I enjoy reading them. Sometimes they'll read one of my books. Last year Lucy read "The Help," for example. But I'm not sure I can recommend this book for the kids, or for the church ladies, either. While it's not full of sex, when it's there, it's there, big time.
    Of course, children are going to read what they want to read. I'm not sure what possessed me to read "Valley of the Dolls" at age 11, but I had sense enough not to bandy it in front of Mother while saying, "Look, Mommy, I'm reading a grown-up book!"
    At any rate, come the stroke of midnight I'll likely be downloading my copy of A Dance with Dragons to my Iphone. I'll be sure to tell you how it ends.

Mississippi GOP House members all vote to continue Libya debacle

    I'm very disappointed that Mississippi's entire House delegation opposed cutting off funds for Barrack Obama's illegal war on Libya.
    Mississippi's three Republicans supported this continued illegal war despite the fact that a majority of House Republicans voted to cut off funding. It is shameful! The roll call can be found here.
    I cannot recall a time when we have tried to openly assassinate foreign leaders. I cannot recall a time when we have been so willing to murder innocent children in an effort to assassinate a foreign leader. As a nation we have disgraced ourselves.
    I am aware of the awful things that went on during the Bush presidency. While he properly got Congressional authorization to act in Iraq, he made a mess of things. Many of us assumed that whether or not we liked Obama's domestic policies, at least he would get us out of war. Instead, he's us more entangled than ever.
    I don't know whether or not Alan Nunnelee will draw a credible Republican opponent next year, but if he does he'll likely have my vote.
    I'm all for a strong America that, when threatened, pounds its enemies into the dirt. But we can't, and shouldn't, be the policeman to the world.
    If you're a Republican and support an end to nation building and acting as policeman to the world, please raise your hand. Mine is waving wildly!

Dubious prosecution claims doomed Casey Anthony case

    I'm not one to follow "celebrity" criminal cases. I do find it interesting to note which cases grab the country's attention and which don't. Every American was forced to keep up with the Casey Anthony murder case to some extent, but beyond that I certainly haven't been typing the name into my search engine for more info.
    I spent almost all day Sunday on the road, and as such was able to listen to the closing arguments in the Anthony case. I thought Prosecutor Jeff Ashton did a great job on his closing argument, which lasted 77 minutes. According to the rules of criminal trials, he had almost three hours reserved for rebuttal of the defense response. The prosecution gets to speak last, which I find a little unfair, but it relates to the fact that they have the burden of proof in a criminal trial. (I never got to hear Ashton's rebuttal; obviously it didn't do the job).
    Then I heard defense attorney Jose Baez rip right through portions of the prosecution's case. Most commentators said Baez made some mistakes during the trial, and I agree. He somehow managed to mention things in close for which he had not laid an evidentiary foundation, which was a lucky break. But his closing argument was masterful.
    The prosecution claimed there was this huge "smell of death" from Casey Anthony's car. The only problem was that numerous people were around the car or even passengers in the car and smelled absolutely nothing. Many of those who smelled nothing were police officers. One can't argue that the "smell of death" is a really important part of one's case when a dozen credible witnesses are on hand to say they smelled nothing at all.
    The prosecutor chose to use several novel scientific techniques to prove Anthony's guilt. Yet some of these "novel" techniques had "bogus" written all over them. It's best not to present a bunch of novel claims unless they can be backed up by others. In this case, many of these novel claims were pretty well debunked.
    The prosecutor presented evidence after the trial started that Casey Anthony had done 84 web searches on chloroform. Yet the original computer forensics found no such thing, and the report that claimed this huge number of searches found no visits to MySpace, which the defendant visited constantly. Prosecutor claim: Chloroform is really important to this case. My conclusion: the defendant searched the word only once, and did not purchase, make or use chloroform. A reasonable juror could conclude that if this was really important and never happened, the defendant must be not guilty.
    The prosecutor told us that people who lie are guilty. Yet George Anthony lied about his ownership of the "extremely rare" duct tape. The obvious conclusion, based on the prosecutor's logic, is that George Anthony was guilty of something, and that guilt might mean that Casey Anthony is innocent.
    The lesson to take away from this for attorneys is that if you want to stand before a jury and declare that something is a really important element in proving your case, you had best be sure that you can convince the jury that that fact is, indeed, true.
    If there are nine pieces of evidence which are essentially undisputable and support one's case, one can present them and likely win. But choose to present two or three dubious claims to bolster that case and risk all. Jurors will not simply discard the dubious claims; on rejecting them they will be inclined to reject your entire case. That's where Prosecutor Ashton missed the boat.
    My view is that the prosecution was not being entirely honest in presenting some of the evidence against Casey Anthony. When the jury rejected these patently dubious claims, they simply rejected the prosecution's entire case.
    Based on what I heard, I think Casey Anthony is probably guilty. In a criminal trial, probably isn't good enough. A juror who believes a defendant is probably guilty is sworn to return a verdict of "not guilty."
    The prosecution chose to make claims that simply were not supported by accepted science, as well as claims that clearly were disputed by reputable agents of the state. The prosecution set itself up to lose on these issues, apparently unaware that in the process they were torpedoing their entire case. I guess they know now.

Ash attending Scout camp again; as camps go, it's a great value.

    I drove Ash up to Maysville, Ky., Saturday so that he could attend Boy Scout camp with his old troop, Troop 221 from Maysville. This is his second week at camp; he attended Camp Yocona with Troop 45 of Oxford a couple of weeks ago.
    They are attending camp at Chief Logan's reservation east of Chillicothe. Although the troop has been moved into the Blue Grass Council, they prefer the Ohio camp to their council's camp.
    Scout camp is one of life's better deals when it comes to cost. A week at Scout camp costs less than $250. The camp I attended as a kind today costs more than $1,000 for a week. Kind of makes Scout camp a no-brainer.

New Albany man drowns at Pickwick saving life of another

    Jinny, Lucy and I were the guests of some friends at Pickwick this weekend. We had a great time on the lake, but were witness to a family's terrible tragedy before we left.
    A New Albany businessman apparently drowned while saving the life of an older man who was struggling in water which had suddenly turned very choppy due to the threat of a storm. I use the word "apparently," as the man's body has not been found; until then there is a sliver of hope that he might somehow be alive. As some of his own family does not know about the accident, I'll not use his name, either. His wife and son were in the boat with him.
    Probably the most dangerous thing a person can do is to try to save a person from drowning. Boy Scouting teaches the reach-throw-row-go rule when it comes to helping someone who might be drowning. Certainly jumping in to save another person should only be done as a last resort -- and perhaps it was in this case.
    A lot of us were reminded that while boating and the water can be lot of fun, they can also be deadly. Being on the water demands every safety precaution. In this case, the apparent drowning victim reportedly swam out and gave his life vest to the older man who was struggling. Somehow he didn't make it back to his boat.
    My heart goes out to this family. After witnessing their grief, I doubt any of the children present will object to wearing life vests in the future. To my friends I would add that before attempting to help others, make sure you've safeguarded your own life as well.
    Be safe, and keep this family in your prayers.

Update, 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 6
    WTVA reports that authorities have recovered the body of Robbie Hale, age 46. The story can be found here: Authorities locate body of missing man. A family friend said Mr. Hale was the Farm Bureau agent for New Albany.
    A bit of explanation as to what I believe happened. A family had stopped their pontoon boat and gone swimming. The water at Pickwick was as smooth as glass and there was no wind. No one remained on the pontoon boat. A very sudden storm came up and blew the boat away, stranding the swimmers in water that was suddenly almost as choppy as the ocean.
    Mr. and Mrs. Hale and their son pulled the group out of the water, and Mr. Hale reportedly jumped in and gave his life vest to an older man who was struggling. After this, he apparently drowned.

Another reason to join hotel, airline loyalty clubs

    One of the rules for frequent travelers and not-so-frequent travelers is to join every single airline and hotel club that you can earn points in, although you should try to restrict your earning to just a few clubs. In other words, even if you only fly an airline once a year, go ahead and earn the miles. They add up over time.
    Jinny had a couple of nasty experiences recently that point to an additional reason to join the loyalty program of the airline or hotel that you are using. When things go wrong, loyalty club members are often treated better than non-members.
    On a recent visit to Birmingham Jinny made the mistake of booking a room at the Birmingham Sheraton. She had a pre-paid reservation for two nights (not guaranteed, mind you, but pre-paid!). When she arrived, they had sold her room, which she had already paid for, to someone else. The Sheraton is connected to the Convention Center and there was a big concert in town. Jinny feels that they just decided they could rent out her room at a higher rate, send her down the road and make more money. She was attending a trade show, and being forced to stay at an inferior hotel far from the convention center was not a little inconvenient for her.
    Jinny is a Starwood Preferred Guest member, but she didn't have her number on her reservation. It was her intention to look it up and give it to the hotel after her arrival. But that was too late. In deciding whom to walk or bump, the hotel almost certainly started with those who weren't SPG members, a group to which Jinny appeared to belong. Clearly the Sheraton Birmingham is a sleazy operation, but if Jinny had had her number on her reservation, chances are she wouldn't have been walked.
    A week later she flew U.S. Air, an airline she never flies. She didn't bother putting her loyalty number on her reservation. Things went horribly awry, and she probably got far more shabby treatment than she would have had her frequent flier number been on the reservation -- even if her number identified her as a flier with no status. She says there is no need for me to try to find her U.S. Air number; she won't be flying them again.
    The moral of this story is simple: Always join the loyalty club of whatever airline or hotel you are using, and always include your loyalty number! Not only will you earn points, but that number might keep you from being treated like dirt.