Kony 2012 hits Small Town Shenandoah Iowa

In small town Shenandoah, Iowa we often don't expect a national craze to come here but it did just last night.  My son and I went to see a movie, Three Stooges, and when we got out we found windows and light poles throughout downtown plastered with Kony 2012 cheap posters of copy paper.

Now, I will not offer any opinions on Kony himself, but I will say that I vehemently oppose any individual or group who restrains the liberties of others.  I oppose anyone who rips families apart.  I oppose anyone who instigates military action against the weak or defenseless for personal and prideful reasons.  Now, having said that I, by no means, jump on any bandwagon to apprehend any particular individual.  In my position that would be irresponsible.  Also, we cannot judge soundly from one viral video.  There are still many things we don't know.  I write this in response to the flyers posted all over my town last night.

There are many ways to inform, motivate and convince the people to a certain view.  Using the Internet is among the most expanding and powerful means.  If you are a Kony activist or of some other organized group be creative in using the Internet.  Start a Facebook Page, get a website!  Hey, here's an oldy but goody: go door to door.  Heck, even a few church groups still proselyte by means of door-to-door.  Try it, you might like it!

Look, I admire one's freedom to bring awareness to a situation.  I even support the right to protest it.  However, I really don't appreciate defacing public property or littering our streets over it.  There are much cleaner and more efficient methods of activism than that.  Why go through all the effort and footwork of copying paper and covertly putting them on car windows and light poles?  Here's a thought:  if an action is the right thing to do then why are you compelled to do it in the dead of night when no one is watching?  Well, perhaps that action is not the right thing to do....

For my fellow residents of Shenandoah, Iowa I humbly support your privileges as American citizens.  Assemble how you may but do so with a little confidence and pride in your own community.  If you want Kony down then go for it but please keep your Shenandoah streets looking nice and presentable.  May your worthy efforts prove fruitful!

Astronomical Event over Midwest Shenandoah Iowa

Outdoor activities can be fun and exciting!  Astronomy is among the great activities that expands the imagination and will to learn.  At Rapp Park just outside of Shenandoah, Iowa the High School Astronomy Club had an evening of stargazing and learning.  It was a privilege to be invited by them to attend with the scopes I had on hand.

What started out as a cloudy day lasted on into a clearing sunset.  The clouds quickly burned off after the sun went down.    They were able to see Venus, Mars, Mercury, Saturn and many stars and constellations.  What started out as a cookout with unfavorable cloudy conditions ended up as a pleasant lakeside Astronomy Club event.

For the people of Shenandoah this is a great event to report on.  We have a great location and youth who are curious and want to learn about the world and worlds around them.  Our city and countless other need to harness and utilize their resources to continue fostering that learning and desire for knowledge.

We used my Dobsonian Skywater reflector, Meade Lightswitch, Astroscan reflector and GoScope all of which proved useful.  Using telescopes is a peering into unknown parts of the human experience.  It's the gaze into knowledge yet unknown.  Many of our young go to their beds at night dreaming of common space travel.  They see movies like Star Trek and Aliens and wonder about extraterrestrial civilizations yet to be found.

It is my hope that these young minds will hunger to grasp their potential.  If gazing and learning about the stars works then all the more power to it.  By expanding knowledge our young grow to be more effective leaders, compassionate and problem-solving parents and pillars of example.

I thank Mr. Morse and his invitation to attend this event.  I thank the students who asked questions and were curious.  I thank the city and creators of Rapp Park for giving us the ideal setting and I thank God for parting the clouds.

Child Abuse Prevention Proclamation by Mayor Hunt

By proclamation read at City Council Shenandoah Mayor Richard Hunt declared April 2012 as Shenandoah's Child Abuse Prevention month.  In a heartfelt decree it was noted the importance of abuse prevention for the sake of Shenandoah's youth.  The mayor offered an outreach that businesses, organizations and faiths band together in cooperation in the common cause of preventing child abuse.

Overwhelmingly, the most common reported form of abuse is child neglect.  Though deemed not as important, neglect is just as damaging as any other form of abuse.  Causes for this are many including household finances and employment.  It is unfortunate that an estimated at least half of all child abuse goes unreported.

For the city of Shenandoah may it be stressed to an unhindered degree that our youth are our future and lifeblood of this community.  As parents we bear the duty and responsibility to raise our children in a wholesome and productive manner.  With increased government dependence and moral decay comes the increased mindset of dulled ownership of the mind and will of our household offspring.  This is damaging to the family and a disgusting display of selfish knowledge of open neglect.

Henryville and Marysville Aftermath About Tornadoes

Dozens of lives have been lost in the recent severe storms that raked across the Midwestern and southern states of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Alabama.  March 1st and 2nd of 2012 will be remembered for a long time for thousands of people in that area.  Especially for those who've lost loved ones or even found loved ones alive in the debris.

Key ingredients came together at this time to foster a hive of severe storms which produced tornadoes.  Warm moist air was streaming northward from the Gulf of Mexico.  Also present was a low pressure system that had just entered the affected area.  Couple those two with the fact that a strong high jet stream flowed southwest to northeast over the greater area.  This spelled disaster and the result is seen on our news reports in the form of death, destruction and recovery.

There are reports that many of these deadly tornadoes had mini-vortices with them.  These "small" tornadoes within tornadoes can arguably be much more damaging than the large tornado itself.  The damage and path of these recent storms are similar to that of the Joplin, Missouri tornado of 2011.  In technical terms these systems are called multi-vortex or wedge vortex because the center of the main funnel becomes unstable, wobbles and spins out up to six vortices that can sustain wickedly fast winds greater than that of the main funnel.  Of course all this is largely meaningless and pure academic to those who've lost everything.

What can you do?  Consider the many possibilities that you can take advantage of to help your fellow mankind in that affected area.  You can donate time and resources to help in the recovery effort.  If you are relatively local to that area your physical efforts would be much appreciated.  However, opportunities to help for the rest of us can take the best form as monetary donations.  The American Red Cross is well familiar with disasters and can always use donations.  The Marysville Fund goes to help the homeless victims in that area.  Funds are sent directly to the charitable and relief organizations who are on the ground assisting at this time.  NOW is the time to donate!

Even if it only takes digging a little deeper into our pockets to help those truly in need then the investment is well worth it.

What is Expense? What is Fundraising?

What is expense?  What is fundraiser?  Most of us want to engage in a worthy cause.  Either we want to physically aid or help in that cause or we want to donate monetary or tangible resources to that cause.  Most causes or donation efforts these days are extremely expensive and are out of reach for any one person to fund.  Yet, if your desire is sincere there are always ways to help.

A fundraiser is a way by which to raise monetary credit to continue in that cause and to make it's mission come to fruition.  What do you feel strongly about?  Fight cancer through a fundraising activity.  Advocate youth programs through awareness efforts.  Whatever the call there is power to be proactive.

Fundraising for the amateur can be intimidating especially if you don't consider yourself a "people" person.  Instead of waiting in the dark corner for the next guy to lead an effort learn to expand your horizons and potential.  Learn to gain a deep testimony of the importance of your cause.  Once you have that rooted in your soul you will then be able to extend that feeling to others.

All of us have life experience in which we become aware of ways we should improve the world around us.  Deaths in the family from various ailments can stir you to an emotional cause of action.  Being affected by drunk drivers can also lead people to want to help others.  Use the difficult times in your life as an opportunity to help the population at large who struggle with that same problem.

Donate to a Cause or Fundraiser

There are many causes out there and to pick and choose can be difficult. I'd recommend pondering what it is you feel passionate about. Whether it be Breast Cancer or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation there are worthy causes out there.  Of course I'd like to stick in there my cause for funding the Tisovec, Slovakia Delegation Event.

Whichever direction you choose be aware that donating is easier than ever with the help of the Internet.  Most of us have a dollar to spare that would otherwise be spent unwisely.  Forego that purchase of a pop, candy bar or fries from McDonald's and support a person or organization in need.

I would urge all to stand up and make a difference in your home, community and the world.  Be an example of integrity and honor.  There are millions out there in extreme circumstances and we must learn to uplift and help one another.

Future of Going Green and Green Renewable Energy

No matter what side of the “green” aisle you are on I would hope that we can all agree that the United States has been severely sold out by not only the oil industry but also government leaders. Our dependence on oil has reached epic proportions and we can't be so blind as to not share the blame along with several entities for allowing it. This crisis has brought green technology to the forefront of debate. This was also at the heart of a meeting which took place on Wednesday, 12 October, 2011, at the Shenandoah High School Auditorium.

A very informative presentation was presented to the public by Growth Energy which is chaired by Tom Buis and co-chaired by Retired General Wesley Clark. The presentation involved an almost one-hour-long film and piggybacked on the precepts and success of our own Green Plains Renewable Energy. Alternative fuels was strongly advocated but specifically the use of corn – hence ethanol.

For me, personally, I understand that there are always sixteen sides to every issue and it's important to understand them all before making any firm and informed decisions. I do know that we are way too involved and dependent in foreign oil. I'm all for liberating people from tyranny and oppression but when our military is sent into places where there may be our “energy interests” at stake then that's where a line needs to be drawn and we, as a nation, need to take a good look at ourselves.

Don't get me wrong. I wholly support our military servicemen who protect our interests overseas and seek to reduce the power of Al-Qaeda. However, we live in a society of many layers of unmentioned reasons and intentions for every action. I have to believe that a part of why we are so involved in the fighting effort, no matter how small that part may be, is because without THAT oil over there our own livelihood and economy would crumble. This is where the shame is and this is what I mean when I say I support the military effort but question the entirety of our reasons there.

Really, this is a quagmire that's been forming for decades. Any leader in office feels compelled to protect those interests because to not do so would make that leader unfavored among his/her constituents. For decades we have been weened from the skill of independence to a culture of servitude and dependence. Great modern cities and palaces are being built in desert sands with the wealth we supply while hundreds of thousand of our own men, women and children suffer to live under bridges or in appalling conditions. There is an obvious disconnect here and it takes the form of a noose with which we shall one day hang ourselves with lest other action be taken.

The presentation was interesting. A few things I learned in the presentation were:

• The corn used for ethanol is by and large not the corn we consume but rather the corn used in feed lots for livestock. This was interesting because I've heard many times the allegation that ethanol production is raising the cost of food. Apparently this was inaccurate.
• The corn used for ethanol is for the most part returned as feed source in the form of ethanol byproduct. This is product that is produced or left over after the entire ethanol process is complete.
• Algae production right here at Shenandoah's GPRE is having much success and is even at stage 2.5 out of 3 from being commercialized.
• Ethanol is not new. Henry Ford used ethanol before gasoline exclusively from the beginning of his company up until the start of Prohibition. That was interesting to me!
• The cost of an hybrid or flex fuel vehicle is a sham. The actual cost to make a car compatible with ethanol 85 is about $40-$50. The difference is the coating of the tank, some type of fuel line and a microchip. That's it!
• Green Plains in Shenandoah uses the city's gray water and not the water feeding into our homes. This waste water is used as a coolant at the plant.

There were many more things learned but it's important to note that we are releasing carbon into our air supply by burning a non-renewable source. The healthiest initiative is to harness the power in our own environment. Corn for ethanol is renewable. Algae is renewable. The same can be said for wind and solar. I also didn't know that there is an increased demographic of ailments among populations near oil refineries. If true than it's a testament that we need to steer into a new (or old according to Henry Ford) direction.

Yes, this presentation was a plug for ethanol and a push to raise awareness of our oil dependence. I know that there are perspectives, pro and con, to every side. I know that by shifting energy sources you cut a job in the oil industry and a source of income for a family. However, if the claimed benefits of ethanol and renewable energy sources is true then it must be the avenue we need to take. Furthermore, if we can steadily create jobs in the process of this shift even approaching the workforce of the oil industry than we can accomplish energy independence while adapting our own culture to the changing times.

Right here in Shenandoah we have a great opportunity to learn how GPRE works. We also have cutting edge technology and research taking place right here with algae. The more we learn the more we can contribute and teach others.

It all starts in the home. We must teach our youth the need of independence and self reliance. Do this in the home. Do this that they may maximize their integrity and self worth when they live out in the “real world” and raise their own families. Teach them the value of energy and how it's brought to bear both in the oil industry and ethanol. As we raise this independent awareness we'll be better prepared as a community to support initiatives that help cut the ties of financial and energy dependence.

I don't classify myself as “green” or even pro oil. I do, however, consider myself an American that is FOR the American family and especially the surety of it's future. Right now my focus is on the American families in Shenandoah, Iowa. I believe we live amidst opportunity. I believe we have energy sources all around us both that we have technology to harvest and even sources yet not identified. For us in the Shenandoah area I believe we need to embrace ethanol and have pride in where it's being produced.

From this meeting I have gained a deeper appreciation for Mother Earth and what she's supplied us with – opportunity!