HouseofMike

If you ever get a chance, try to catch Charlie Rose on PBS.

Acclaimed interviewer and broadcast journalist Charlie Rose engages America’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and roundtable discussions.

I usually don’t watch the show, but he had three individuals on this week that interest me.
The Dalia Lama who I always enjoy listening to, Colin Powell who is now a private citizen, talked about his life and his work in government and Reese Witherspoon who discussed her movie ‘Walk the Line’, the Johnny Cash movie.
All three interviews were well done.

The rampant complaining about gas prices is enough to put an army of Eeyores to shame. At last, however, it seems that Americans are starting to put their money where their mouth is. Some are forsaking everything you ever thought was cool for a scooter that gets 80 mpg. Others have established organizations offering incentives to car poolers or encouraging employer rewards for conscientious commuters. Mass transit systems are expanding. Hybrid vehicles are becoming more and more popular, with most manufacturers planning to significantly increase the number of available hybrid models in the near future, a figure that has already tripled since 2003. Various levels of government are beginning to offer incentives for hybrid ownership, a trend that will likely accelerate as alternative fuel and hybrid research continues to develop. [.continue.]

Someone did some number crunching to find out if Hybrids are actually worth it.
Are they worth it?
Well I guess it depends on what you are after.

I hit my eight weeks again yesterday, making me eligible to donate blood again.
I headed up to a High School in York Springs to donate. Did the typical sign-in, read the book, get temperature and blood pressure taken, finger pricked for iron level and got to say No a lot. Pretty typical routine for me, up until they ’sticked’ me. Usually I bleed pretty quickly, but yesterday was not the case. The donate room was definitely chilly, not sure if that was causing it or I just had a bad stick. But I suspect I had a rookie stick me which caused the problems, took almost 30 minutes to get the pint out. After that though, was the good stuff. A bag of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies, some OJ and another free T-Shirt!

I encourage everyone that can, please go out and donate blood. You must be in good health, be at least 17 years old, and weigh at least 110 pounds. You will also need to pass physical and health history reviews prior to donating.
You can donate every 8 weeks (56 days) and you do not have to wait until you hear about a blood drive. The Red Cross wants people to make appointments, but that is not necessary, just show up. Today there are at least 30 blood drives happening in the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region. You can see the daily Blood drive schedule for the next month here.

60% of the population is medically eligible to give blood, yet only 5% of the national population donates blood.
4.5 million Americans would die each year without life saving blood transfusions
Every three seconds someone needs blood.

QUIT. It’s that simple. There are plenty of more complex ways to lose a war, but none as reliable as just giving up.

Increasingly, quitting looks like the new American Way of War. No matter how great your team, you can’t win the game if you walk off the field at half-time. That’s precisely what the Democratic Party wants America to do in Iraq. Forget the fact that we’ve made remarkable progress under daunting conditions: The Dems are looking to throw the game just to embarrass the Bush administration. [.continue.]

A good piece by Ralph Peters.

A woman in her 20s executed by a firing squad after being caught with a Bible. Five Christian church leaders punished by being run over by a steamroller before a crowd of spectators who “cried, screamed out, or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were crushed.” [.continue.]

When will the world say ‘enough’ and end this evil.