I’m watching Fox News and looking at other news sources online, and according to CNN, Osama Bin Laden has been buried at sea. I’m sure, however, if there is a hell, his soul is already well ensconced in it, and he has to be at least somewhat disappointed that there weren’t seventy-two virgins waiting for him. The burial at sea will hopefully prevent any shrines being built to the erstwhile terrorist. I have to say I’m very pleased with his death and that hearty congradulations are in order for the Navy Seals who carried it out. His body was handled according to Islamic tradition, which I question given that he (a) killed tons of Muslims, and (b) wasn’t representative of Islam, and (c), never gave a fig about the traditions of anyone else he killed. Oh well, good riddance, and may his memory be blotted out, or if it is remembered, for a curse and not a blessing.

Pompeii by Robert Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pompeii is a novel set in 79 C.E., and opens two days before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. But while it is a sort of retelling of that eruption and its consequences, the eruption is not its main focus, and it contains plenty of suspense, mystery, and a decent plot. The main character, Marcus Atilius, is an aquarius, or hydrollic engineer, in charge of the Aqua August aqueduct which supplies water to Pompeii and it’s surrounding towns. Atilius is sent down from Rome to find out why there is a water shortage in the area. He finds that the aqueduct is blocked and has to be repaired, and while trying to get the job done, runs into all kinds of corruption on the part of political officials, greed on the part of an incredibly cruel and ruthless freed slave, and men who all but refuse to recognize his authority. There is a bit of romance too, but it’s not overdone. The novel features historical personages as well, namely Pliny the Elder and Younger. In my oppinion, Pliny the Elder comes off as one of those tragic academic characters, who is more concerned about facts on paper than he is about reality. It’s clear that Harris did a lot of research when writing this novel, and I’m glad for that. I can’t stand novels that are supposed to be about historical events but include no research. He includes a lot of technical details, (which I found interesting), but those details enhance the story instead of overshadowing it. The only part I think the book could have done without was the semi-dramatic attempted assassination scene at the top of Mount Vesuvius. It really didn’t add anything to the plot. Harris did a good job, though, by including various tidbits of vulcanic research, and by doing so presents the mountain itself as an unseen monster waiting to get everyone. Atilius manages to get the aqueduct repaired only hours before the eruption destroys everything, and at the end, manages to escape with his love interest, Corelia, (who is the daughter of the freed slave), up the aqueduct. I think I would like to see a sequel which follows the subsequent lives of Atilius and Corelia. I like seeing the good guys win out sometimes, (especially an engineer of this sort). All the same, I was glad the book wasn’t superficial in that the good guy wins and gets the girl despite the impossible odds. That’s a clichet which has been really overplayed, especially in current movies. And speaking of movies, Pompeii was slated to be made into a movie, and would have been so if it hadn’t been for the 2007 Writer’s strike. I would like to have seen that. I think it would have been one of the better vulcano movies. I actually watched Vulcano this afternoon after finishing the book, thinking it would be something similar, and was very much disappointed. But that’s a review for another time.







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Mary Stinemetz, 64, is suing the State of Kansas in order to receive a bloodless transfusion. She is in need of a liver transplant, and could receive one at the University of Kansas Hospital. There is already a liver available, and she is eligible for the transplant, but ordinarily the transplant requires a blood transfusion, and according to Stinemetz’s religious beliefs, blood transfusions are against God’s law. A bloodless operation is available, but it’s out of state, in Omaha, Nebraska, and of course the State doesn’t want to pay for the extra expense of an out-of-state operation. I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, if I had my choice, I would like to see this lady’s religious beliefs upheld and not trampled upon, but on the other, I understand the state’s side as well. Paying for an out-of-state operation would be expensive, and I don’t think Medicaid is ordinarily in the habit of paying for out-of-state anything for anyone, and if they don’t ordinarily do that, I don’t see why they should do it in this case. I’m also at a loss as to why, if this operation is medically necessary, and it would save her life, her religion wouldn’t permit the blood transfusion. But , the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, i n the publication What Does The Bible Really Teach states the following concerning blood transfusions:

14 What if a Christian is badly injured or is in need of major surgery? Suppose doctors say that he must have a blood transfusion or he will die. Of course, the Christian would not want to die. In an effort to preserve God’s precious gift of life, he would accept other kinds of treatment that do not involve the misuse of blood. Hence, he would seek such medical attention if that is available and would accept a variety of alternatives to blood.
15 Would a Christian break God’s law just to stay alive a little longer in this system of things? Jesus said: “Whoever wants to save his soul [or, life] will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25) We do not want to die. But if we tried to save our present life by breaking God’s law, we would be in danger of losing everlasting life. We are wise, then, to put our trust in the rightness of God’s law, with full confidence that if we die from any cause, our Life-Giver will remember us in the resurrection and restore to us the precious gift of life.—John 5:28, 29; Hebrews 11:6.

It should be noted that in order for the verses cited above to prove the doctrine being elucidated, one would have to consult the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures specifically, which is the Watchtower’s own translation of the Bible. Given the above, I would think that if Medicaid is refusing to pay for the bloodless transfusion, then allowing herself to die resting on the hope of her eventual resurrection would have to be an option. But for now, she’s trying the legal aproach, and the Watchtower has filed an amicus brief on her behalf with the court. I believe that, whatever way this case goes, it will be precedent-setting as far as medicaid and religious rights go, and I will keep you updated on this as more information becomes available.

In the new film “Invictus,” South Africa’s first black president inspects his first official paycheck.

“This is terrible,” Mandela says. He decides he earns too much and subsequently donates a third of his salary to charity.

Mandela’s humility and fiscal restraint would be as exotic in the nation’s capital as a giraffe atop the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Washington’s lavish
self-aggrandizement and relentless march toward bankruptcy cruelly mock Mandela’s sacrifice.

Today’s thoughtless and corrosive spend-o-rama began under a Republican Congress and the feckless Bush-Rove administration. Alas, a Democratic White House
and Congress briskly outspend their predecessors.

In stunning contrast to Mandela’s example, Congress carpet-bombs taxpayer dollars on greedy federal bureaucrats — even as Americans struggle, and often
fail, to pay their mortgages and rents.

Between December 2007 and June 2009, USA Today reported on Dec. 10, federal employees earning more than $100,000 annually increased 46 percent to 382,758.
Those making more than $150,000 rose 119 percent to 66,538. Only one Transportation Department employee scored more than $170,000 as the recession began.
By last June, that number had soared to 1,690.

Federal indulgence and incompetence are too vast to catalog. But these illustrations are sufficiently maddening.

– After “Cash for Clunkers” gloriously shipped $3 billion chiefly to Tokyo — and Seoul-based automakers — the Obama administration concocted “Cash for Caulkers”
— fresh subsidies to weatherize homes. This program could cost up to $20 billion, if House Democrats prevail. So far, Texas has spent $1.8 million in federal
funds and has treated seven homes, averaging $257,000 each.

– Congress sent President Barack Obama a $447 billion, 2,442-page omnibus spending bill on Dec. 14. It ballooned federal spending 12 percent while inflation
inches along at 1.8 percent. This measure contained 5,224 pork-barrel projects worth $3.9 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense. These included
$700,000 for “Shrimp Industry Fishing Effort Research Continuation” in Silver Spring, Md.

– Breaking the law that launched the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the House misallocated $154 billion in repayments by TARP-funded banks. That money legally
must finance deficit reduction. House Democrats nevertheless flouted the law by turning this cash into America’s fourth economic stimulus package.

– Even worse, political favoritism has infected stimulus spending. The free-market Mercatus Center discovered that the average congressional district has
received $355 million from Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package. However, Democratic congressmen’s districts averaged $439 million (a 23.7 percent bonus),
while Republican districts averaged just $232 million (a 35.6 percent penalty). The typical district won 128 projects. Democratic districts averaged 152
such outlays (an extra 18.75 percent). GOP districts averaged 94 awards (26.6 percent fewer).

– At the Copenhagen climate conference, Obama pledged to muster up to $100 billion annually for 10 years to help developing nations battle so-called global
warming. This could equal $1 trillion in carbon-coated foreign aid. Even if other industrialized nations participate, it’s hard to imagine America in for
less than $100 billion.

– With a 1:08 a.m. procedural vote, the Senate’s 60-member Democratic caucus advanced a $2.5 trillion health reform that 61 percent of Americans oppose,
according to CNN. Greased by Democratic leader Harry Reid’s taxpayer-funded bribes to wobbly Democrats, the bill’s final passage at dawn on Christmas Eve
was engineered to approve the measure before senators faced pesky constituents back home who want to euthanize the bill.

– The Treasury announced on Christmas Eve that it will give blank checks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the next three years. Estimated cost: Up to $400
billion.

“The United States cannot force foreign governments to increase their holdings of Treasuries,” warned Zhu Min deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China,
which kindly pays America’s bills these days. As he told Shanghai Daily: “The world does not have so much money to buy more U.S. Treasuries.”

One of 2010’s most intriguing questions will be whether the American people’s aggregated nausea by November triggers the peaceful overthrow of the U.S.
government. 

While I was watching the news I decided that I really had something to say about this, but really didn’t want to write it. So I’ve recorded the first customerservant.com podcast on the subject. I hope to make this a weekly event and most of the podcasts will be a little longer than this one. Note: I have not attended Toastmasters and this was unprepared, so there are some ums and such in here. But I tried to keep those to a minimum. Enjoy.

Download the podcast here or double-click to stream it.