Some Readers Doubt Conservatives Have Good Ideas for America Some people had difficulty with the blog I wrote on March 2, 2009 about the name calling going on between liberals and conservatives in this country that occurred after  President Obama’s speech to Congress about the fiscal crisis and the country’s future. It appears that I have far more faith in the capacity of all Americans to come up with creative ideas for the country than do many other citizens. Some readers have expressed their doubts to me that Republicans and conservatives lack the ability to come up with any viable ideas for dealing with the financial meltdown or our future. Faith in Conservatives to Serve Comes from Dynamic Facilitation Why do I have such faith in the capacity of conservatives to eventually come up with good ideas that will serve the country, even if we haven’t heard many of these ideas yet? Does it come from my basic stand in like not to make or keep enemies? Perhaps.

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Australian Wildfires Caused By Severe Drought, Possibly Global Warming The recent wildfires in southern Australia have presented some of the most horrific images in memory, made all the more so by the news that some of those fires were deliberately set by an arsonist.  200 or more victims had little chance to escape the fiery inferno because of the severe drought that has ravaged Australia since 2002.  More than a few scientists attribute this drought, in part, to global warming.  We are just beginning to see the terrible impact of climate change on human beings. Global Warming Will Cause Sea Levels to Rise Over the next century global warming will continue and human beings will see more hurricanes, floods storms of all kinds, but most critically, the melting of polar ice and the rising of sea levels. As the seas rise, coastal areas that are now inhabited will be flooded and whole populations will have to move-islands like the Maldives, Bangladesh, even large cities like New York City and Los Angeles may be submerged.  Large numbers of people will be on the move, in search of new homes, perhaps new countries.  With huge numbers of people migrating you have the ingredients for conflict, a perfect storm of conflict. Displacement of People Equals Perfect Opportunities for Conflict I have even heard it suggested that as the world warms, people will migrate to the colder areas of the world, like Canada and Siberia. Think about that. How happy would Russia and Canada be to welcome huge numbers of people migrating to their countries?

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Joy Turns to Shock and Anger For many the joy of Obama’s Presidential victory was diminished by their shock and anger when Proposition 8 passed in California, overturning gay marriage in that state. The rage and pain for some of my gay and lesbian friends was visceral. They wanted to fight back. I support gay marriage. However, for me the larger question is: How can we encourage the arrival of social change? One gay friend argued with me vociferously when I referred him to an article by Lee Stranahan which recommends following Obama’s tactics: “What if instead of merely chalking up opposition to “fear and hate” they went in churches and communities and started engaging in conversations?

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