Posse Incitatus

Midweek Meanderings

Michigan State got crushed at Indiana Tuesday night, 70-55, leaving Sunday's home showdown with the Ohio State Buckeyes as the final regular season game for the green-and-white. The Spartans can win an outright Big Ten championship if they defeat OSU, but should they lose, will likely tie with Ohio State and possibly the University of Michigan for a shared conference title.

Indiana's Assembly Hall was rollicking, and the Hoosiers were on fire with their three point shooting and rebounding.  They intercepted numerous Spartan passes and generally just outhustled and outplayed the shell-shocked visitors from East Lansing. For perspective, consider that Indiana earlier this season defeated No. 1 Kentucky at Assembly Hall, and also beat Ohio State, who was ranked No. 2 at the time. So last night's victory doesn't bum me out too much. I suspect we'll take care of business Sunday at the Breslin Center.

Besides, I am very happy about some of yesterday's election results, and that counteracts the Spartan defeat. No, I am not referring to Romney's Michigan victory, but the defeat of a local bond issue requested by the always-hungry-for-money-and-addicted-to-spending East Lansing Public Schools. 

By a 53-47 percent margin, East Lansing residents defeated a $53 million proposal that would have meant higher property taxes for decades. Believe me, we residents of East Lansing already pay through the nose when it comes to property taxes (and somehow, the taxes never seem to go down commensurate to declining real estate values).

I and a couple of my nighbors on the other side of the street were among the few in our subdivision to plant "VOTE NO" signs in our front yards. We were outnumbered by the "VOTE YES" signs, and I was proud to go against the liberal grain. Several times the VOTE YES canvassers tried coming to my door, but either I wasn't home or if I was, did not answer the door. They would leave a brochure full of their propaganda (paid for by my tax dollars, no doubt). East Lansing is a nice town with great parks, neighborhoods and one of the nation's most beautiful campuses, Michigan State University. But in addition to high property taxes, a plethora of left-wingers is the other price one must pay to reside here.

WARM WEATHER — It's been a warmer than normal winter in Michigan, with below average snowfall. A real blessing after the bitter cold and snowy winters of 2009-10 and 2010-11. I heard on the weather forecast today that the high Friday is supposed to be 52 degrees. This is good stuff!

R.I.P., DAVY JONES — Monkees lead singer and 1960s teen heartthrob Davy Jones passed away today at age 66, succumbing to a heart attack. Hate to admit it, but I am old enough to remember their TV program, and to this day I still enjoy some of the Monkees' catchy tunes such as "I'm a Believer" (written by Neil Diamond) and "Last Train to Clarksville." R.I.P., Davy, and condolences to your wife and children.

THIS WAS NO FLUKE — A Georgetown Law School student named Sandra Fluke testified in front of a Nancy Pelosi panel created to drum up support for the Obama administration requirement that religious institutions provide contraceptives and sterilization in their employees' health insurance coverage. She was whining about Georgetown, supposedly a Jesuit university, not providing contraceptives and how this imposed a financial hardship on her and other sexually active women. “Forty percent of the female students at Georgetown Law reported to us that they struggled financially as a result of this policy," said Fluke, who dubs herself a reproductive rights activist. Incredible that she just doesn't get it: Life is about making choices and setting priorities: If you can afford to attend one of the best law schools in the land, you ought to be able to afford birth control. And if you cannot afford the latter, then you need to attend a less expensive college or tame the libido. But don't expect the taxpayers to pay for your contraceptives! Isn't this just another example of the pervasive entitlement mentality?

Obama's Energy B.S.

President Obama and his henchmen are out and about spouting disingenuous B.S. about high gasoline prices and American energy production.

Obama's former press flack Robert Gibbs stated the other day that American energy production is higher than it's ever been. Um, yeah, but what becomes of the finished fuel products we produce? Are we using it all? No. We are exporting a considerable amount to China.

Too, much of the domestic oil production is occurring on private and state land, NOT federal land, according to the energy newsletter Greenwire, as quoted in Powelineblog.com. 

Obama claims that growing demand from China and uncertainty in the Middle East have contributed to rising gasoline prices. While these are undoubtedly factors, they are not the major cause of gasoline prices spiking upward while the economy languishes in a feeble "recovery." No, it stands to reason that with stubbornly high unemployment and slow growth, the sluggish demand for gasoline should mean lower gasoline prices.

The administration's habit of denying or delaying the granting of offshore oil drilling permits sure hasn't helped. And as long as we're on the topic of energy, I cannot help but debunk a favorite trite cliche of the left —something they love to repeat ad nauseam to make us feel guilty for being Americans: the canard that the United States has 2 percent of the world's oil reserves yet consumers 25 percent of the oil.

It turns out that "reserves" is a term with numerous, greatly varying definitions. But typically, it denotes refined oil that's ready for consumption, not unrefined oil still in the ground waiting to be extracted. There is a world of difference.

The truth is, North America, including the United States, has ample oil reserves in the ground, and technology has made extracting it much less expensive and much more environmentally friendly than in the past. We also could stand to invest in new refineries, something we haven't done in an incredible three decades.

But the same administration that pisses away billions in the wind / solar/ algae energy boondoggles treats oil from the United States or Canada like a red-headed stepchild. (See Keystone pipeline denial.) It's getting to the point where liberals despise and obsess over oil as much as they do the Koch Brothers, or as much as they did over George W. Bush when he was in the White House.

They want to keep jacking up the required average fuel standards for American-made cars, so the auto makers must keep cranking out little potato peelers with four-cylinder engines that are not practical for families and folks who like to haul around home and garden supplies, among other things. We all can't drive clown cars, and Heaven help us if that's what the future holds.

I hope (and believe) that the American people are too smart not to hold Obama at least partially accountable if gasoline prices are above $4 per gallon come November 2012, which seems likely. Yes we can, for this is NOT change we can believe in.

 

 

Sackcloths and Ashes

President Barack Obama, Press Secretary Jay Carney, State Department spokesmen, military generals.... The plethora of officials apologizing profusely to the Muslims of Afghanistan for several members of the American military accidentally burning copies of the Koran....This is REALLY getting ridiculous.

Why not blare that old Patsy Cline tune, "I'm Sorry" 24/7 from the loudspeakers at Bagram Air Base? Oh, but we'd better make sure it's available in Farsi and about 40 other languages... (ONLY KIDDING!)

A couple of dozen people have been killed in Afghanistan since the accidental incineration of the Korans, and the unrest continues. Perhaps the apologizers in the administration ought to emulate those characters from the Old Testament who repented by donning sackcloths and ashes. Better yet, prostrate themselves and bow toward Mecca. This is all getting to be a bit much.

This obsequious behavior toward primative Afghanis who behave — pardon my politically incorrect rage — no better than wild animals, is absolutely sickening. But it's par for the course for the Annointed One, who repeatedly has sucked up to Muslims while either ignoring injustices to Christians or displaying outright hostility and disdain toward Christianity (e.g., covering the crucifix on the wall during a speech at Georgetown University, and forcing Catholic employers to pay for contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients for their employees).

You won't hear much about it from our worthless mainstream press, but the number of Christians being maimed, slaughtered and menaced in the Middle East and Africa has skyrocketed since the so-called "Arab Spring" sent waves of ecstacy through the likes of Christiane Amanpour and naive university professors nationwide.

Two American soldiers were killed inside the Afghan Interior Ministry, apparently by Afghan soldiers, and Christians are being regularly slaughtered in Syria by bloodthirsty rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad while killing "infidels" for sport. Churches and innocent Christians are vulnerable and regularly attacked in Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria and other countries. Imagine if it were the other way around, and Christians were regularly raping, beating and shooting Muslims. The American media would go ballistic.

More apologies simply make us look weaker and more insipid.  They do NOTHING to ingratiate us to Afghan Muslims.

President Obama and his fellow toadies are a disgrace. America most certainly can do better.

Some Encouraging Signs

The other night I basically threw up my hands in disgust and anger regarding some particularly heinous crimes that occurred in Detroit in recent weeks. In the conclusion to my "agony" blog, I emphasized that change has to come from the ground up; that the people of Detroit must take matters into their own hands and make it clear they WILL NOT stand for the status quo.

I am pleased to say that there are Detroiters who share my sentiment and are putting their beliefs into action. A local group called "Detroit 300" has vowed to take back the streets with patrols and persistent vigilance in Detroit's worst neighborhoods. Many private and public sector organizations are sponsoring these courageous and concerned citizens.

During a recent TV interview, a reporter asked the group's spokesman if any of the "300" members are armed, and if they will carry firearms during their neighborhood patrols.  He responded that some of them do possess concealed weapons permits and will indeed be armed as they patrol the streets.

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee has vowed to put more officers on the streets and for longer hours. His department will embrace Community Oriented Policing (COPS), which has proved successful in many other cities.  

A big part of the COPS philosophy is known as the "broken window" theory, which holds that if authorities crack down on the minor violations such as vagrancy, vandalism and graffiti, there will be fewer serious crimes. The thinking is that when criminals sense that an area is lost to decay and lawlessness, they are more likely to commit robberies, rapes and other serious crimes. Conversely, if a sense of order surrounds them, they may refrain from committing serious crimes for fear of being caught.  This methodology has succeeded in New York and Los Angeles; perhaps it will also work in the Motor City.

And one more piece of good news: Another generous person has invested in Detroit. 

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has donated $1 million to Habitat for Humanity, specifically for homes in Detroit's Morningside neighborhood. He's founding an initiative called Leaders to Rebuild Detroit, and his donation is expected to help 500 families by 2014.

Over the years, many wealthy Detroiters have invested in their city, including Detroit Tigers and Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch; Cleveland Cavaliers owner and founder of Quicken Loans Dan Gilbert; Carolina Hurricanes owner and founder of Compuware, Peter Karmanos; real estate developer A. Alfred Taubman; and the late Max Fisher, a wealthy businessman. Welcome to the club, Mr. Akerson.

I like to think that the light will always win out over the darkness. For Detroit's sake, I certainly hope that is the case.

 

Agony of Detroit, Part II

Every now and then I feel compelled to blog about some particularly egregious crimes in Detroit, a city that I've often defended as possessing some positive qualities, but which still is deeply troubled. (See "The Agony of Detroit" and "Deadly Week in Detroit".)

In the past few weeks, I have heard of several other horrendous crimes, but the one that occurred in the predawn hours of President's Day, an AK-47 assault on a west side home that claimed the life of a nine-month-old baby, absolutely turns my stomach.

Police believe the brutal assault was gang-related and stemmed from an altercation in a bar a few days earlier. According to this account in the Detroit Free Press, witnesses said the suspects pulled up in a van, got out and peppered the home with gunfire. The FBI is assisting Detroit Police with the investigation, but regrettably, the harmful "no snitch" mentality so common among urban blacks appears to be hindering the investigation.

This follows two other recent incidents that paint a disturbing picture of dysfunctional people living broken lives in shattered neighborhoods.

Back in December, D'Andre Lane claimed he was carjacked at gunpoint and the thieves took off with his vehicle while his two-year-old daughter Bianca Jones was in the back seat. His story apparently fell apart, and police have searched his home. Meanwhile, the toddler has never been found. Lane has spent time in prison on weapons and narcotics charges, so it is entirely reasonable to suspect foul play. At last report, police were requesting an arrest warrant for Lane.

A couple weeks ago, a 12-year-old girl lost her life over — get this — a CELL PHONE!  Kade'jah Davis was shot through the door of her mother's home — allegedly by 19-year-old Joshua Brown 

Police say he fired several shots into a closed door after arguing with the child's mother, Almanda Talton. Brown's mother, Heather Brown, drove him to Talton's home to confront her for allegedly stealing Ms. Brown's cell phone.  Ms. Talton claims she found the phone and turned it in at a tax preparer's office.  Ms. Brown accused Ms. Talton of stealing the phone.

It is stunning, shocking and sickening that a life was lost over a cell phone. Sadly, this is the state of affairs on the mean streets of Detroit, and in too many other urban centers throughout the nation.

These horrible incidents cannot be prevented by putting more police on the streets, locking up perpetrators for longer sentences, or dropping hundreds of billions more dollars on welfare, job training and midnight basketball. No, this must involve a spiritual reawakening, and a fervent, grass roots determination to change the lives of individuals and families, to improve neighborhoods and strive for civility. It must start in the hearts of individuals who are sick and tired of tragedy, violence and needless death. All we can hope from these devastating crimes is that they will mark a turning point, an impetus for meaningful change. I am not optimistic, but I can hope. 

 

 

How to torture language (and logic)

In the response to my post on how liberals hate religious minorities, commenter Marcus Aurelius offers this specimen of the latest Dem talking points:

Yup. Giving people access to birth control is all about controlling them. That's how it works. Heaven forbid that people should have access to affordable birth control. The gov't isn't making you use it, it's just making sure that it's covered under your employer's health care plan. You don't have to be employed. Or even employed with a health care plan.

I emphasized the key words because they are essential to understand the way in which liberals are torturing both language and logic to make their case.

Let there be no mistake - this is not about access to birth control, it is about compelling religious minorities to pay for it under pain of law.

If you want birth control, there is nothing to stop you from getting it.  Given that contractives are both cheap and easily obtainable, there is no logical reason to compel third parties to pay for it - unless you are trying to drive home a point.

Indeed, Planned Parenthood's core mission is supposedly to provide free birth control.  What else do they do with the millions of dollars they recieve each and every year?  (Answer:  kill babies, but I digress.)

Note the language of the second sentence:  "The gov't isn't making you use it, it's just making sure that it's covered under your employer's health care plan."

But it is making you pay for it, even though you may find it morally abhorrent.  Using the exact same logic, the government could compel Jews and Muslims to purchase pork so long as they aren't made to eat it.  And actually, the case for compulsory purchase of pork is better since hunger can kill you, wherease lack of sex won't (though millions of teenage men have sworn to the contrary).

Moreover, what if both employer and employee don't want this coverage?  What compelling state interest is at stake by making Catholic Charities pay to provide The Pill to blue-haired ladies? 

The argument that this is about access is therefore a false one.  Every study undertaken in the last two decades has found that the number of people who want birth control and somehow can't get it is statistically meaningless.  For those that somehow can't afford it (can't come up with $30 a month?  Seriously?) there are numerous charities out there.

What this mandate is really about is power and control.

Also, while I too prefer the notion of simply refraining from making babies, it's really not an option for some people. It's bizarre to wrap one's mind around, but sometimes people have sex without enthusiastic consent, in order to gain something else. But hey, so long as it's not your problem, right?

You're right, it is not my problem. Nor is it an issue of national importance - certainly not one that requires federal government intervention.

The core issue at stake is the abuse of power.  A government that can order people to purchase things against their will can also order their use.  That is the supreme irony of the liberal argument.

(Edited for some typos)

 

Cheap Shot Artists

We've seen it time and time again: Democrats take cheap shots against conservatives, in crude, simplistic terms that are downright embarrassing.

The late Ted Kennedy had the gall to claim that Robert Bork as a Supreme Court justice would favor a segregated, Jim Crow America.  Florida's bombastic ex-Congressman Alan Grayson said the Republican health care plan consists of "Don't get sick; and if you do get sick, die quickly."  Grayson also referred to his opponent in the 2010 election (someone he lost to by 18 points) as "Taliban Dan."

The Democrats ridiculed Congressman Paul Ryan's Medicare reform plan with a commercial about two goons throwing a terrified grandma, wheelchair and all, over a cliff.  

And now comes crusty old liberal Frank Lautenberg, U.S. senator from New Jersey who should have been put out to pasture years ago.  He portrays Republicans who very reasonably question whether it's government's proper role to pay for contraceptives as wanting women to be "barefoot and pregnant." How original. This is what passes for "progressive" thought in 2012.

You see, the left is devoid of substance and perpetually in a snit.  These angry people just can't think straight when confronted with rational arguments and logic.  They are under the permanent illusion that they are smarter than the rest of us, and to "explain" the "truth" to us is just too much hard work. So they resort to F-bombs, sarcasm, rage, condescension. And the media plays right along.

One thing the Democrats are good at (with media collusion, of course) is defining the terms of the debate.  The administration's obsession with providing taxpayer-funded contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients (another open-ended entitlement) has morphed into a false dichotomy. 

While the real issue is that Uncle Sam does not have the constitutional right to force religious groups to do things that violate their consciences and doctrines, the left and old media have made it out to be a battle between their supposedly enlightened and correct side of the argument, and neanderthals who want to deny contraceptives to women and force them to be, as Lautenberg crudely put it, "barefoot and pregnant."

This lame argument is so chock-full of holes, and absurd on its face. Disregarding the fact that no one forces women to have sex, and abstinence is possible without causing harmful effects, let's assume that "full engagement" among single women is the standard M.O. Taxpayers should not have to pay for their contraceptives any more than they should have to pay for toilet paper, toothpaste, oil changes or a manicure. When does it ever end? The entitlement mentality is strangling this nation.

Oh, but so many of these women are poor and cannot afford contraceptives.... Oh boo hoo.... This is as preposterous as the canard that poor people cannot afford to purchase a photo ID to show at the polls. It speaks to the Democrats' assumption that their followers are borderline mentally retarded. (That's a crude analogy, but I'm at a loss to know how else to describe it.)

Earth to Democrats: We Americans are NOT dim bulbs incapable of fending for ourselves. We DO NOT need a Sugar Daddy to hold our hand, coddle us and pay for every little thing.

Not to sound like a prude, but if you're going to play, you'd better be willing to "pay." In some cases, that means buying condoms. Sadly, in some cases it means paying a prostitute. For most people, it at least means working hard to maintain a committed relationship that has its ups and downs, with the physical aspect hopefully being a key benefit. But to advocate the "free lunch" mentality is a recipe for chaos, abuse and disappointment. (Not to mention sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, out-of-wedlock births and neglected children.)

Again, there are reasons for God's laws, and those reasons do not include God being a "party pooper" who delights in denying pleasure to his creatures.  It gets back to the old nettlesome issues of consequences and accountability.

But I'm getting a little far afield here. Bringing God into the discussion won't work in today's society. Let's stick to individual accountability.

No Repubublicans or conservatives (except for perhaps a tiny percentage of nut jobs) honestly want women to be denied contraception and to keep getting pregnant on a regular basis. For one thing, men who do the deed are on the hook for 18 years of child support. They ought to be just as interested in contraceptives as their partners.

The notion put forth by Dumb-ocrats that conservatives are neanderthals who hate women and want to subjugate them is as over-the-top as the commercial about throwing granny over the cliff.  It demonstrates clearly and starkly how warped the Democrats are, and how much in danger our nation is if these misguided people continue to assert their power.

Budgetary Perspective

Imagine if you earned a measly $25,000 salary, but kept spending $50,000 annually. And suppose your total debt not including the mortgage was in excess of $300,000. Wouldn't it be utter insanity to continue on your present course? If such wanton spending were permitted (even high-interest bank credit cards have their limits), it would be crazy to allow this madness to go on.

But such a dire scenario is an appropriate analogy for our nation's unfolding fiscal disaster.  Only in the case of individuals, institutions and companies, bankruptcy, foreclosure and/or a liquidation of assets eventually put a halt to the lunacy. But with Uncle Sam, a lot of havoc can be wreaked before the chickens come home to roost.

Slow economic growth, inflation, high unemployment and the unrest these can lead to... All of this will eventually be followed by drastic cuts in entitlements that are necessary to avoid a default on sovereign debt and the chaos that would result. Want to see what's in store for the United States should Obama dupe the American people into giving him four more years? Just take a look at Greece -- and don't think it couldn't happen here. We are fast reaching the point (if we're not there already) where there are more people riding in the wagon than pulling it.

A few days ago, President Barack Obama unveiled a bloated $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal year 2013. It piles on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of red ink on top of the trillions of debt Obama's miserable reign has already created. 

Eight years ago, the Democrats were enraged about President Bush adding a trillion dollars to the national debt during his first three years in office. Moveon.org sponsored a commercial showing a bunch of children at work in factories and offices, and, with the haughty, righteous indignation so typical of the left, proclaimed that these poor children would be the ones paying off the monstrous debt "W" was foisting upon us. Needless to say, not a peep out of these left-wing morons now that their hero is spending money at warp speed and giving us unprecedented trillion-dollar-plus annual deficits. Hope and change my ass!

In fact, the total federal budget in fiscal year 2001 was only about $1.8 trillion -- just half the size of the proposed FY13 budget. During his first few years in the White House, Obama has established open-ended entitlements, with many more to come if the Obamacare runaway freight train is not blown up in its tracks; implemented crippling regulations; and shattered confidence in small entrepreneurs and business people who fear higher taxes, depressed demand and more stifling red tape will hinder their prospects for success.

Put simply, the President's budget is a joke.  Not only dead on arrival, but dead during creation. It stands a snowball's chance in hell of passing the House, and perhaps a blessing in disguise will be that Americans might suddenly get the message that Obama doesn't give a crap about bankrupting our country or reforming unsustainable entitlements.

As I've said before, as radical as Ron Paul's foreign policy stances are, I'd rather have him in the White House because he is economically literate and has solid ideas for reining in government.  It's easy to say his foreign policy would jeopardize our nation.  But frankly, four more years of Obama's stunning incompetence poses a far greater threat to our nation than Islamofascism, China, Russia and Iran combined.

The bull in the china shop has already destroyed much of the merchandise.  Are we going to just stand there and let him smash the windows and knock down the walls?

 

 

Liberals to religious minorities: Shut up and do what we say

One of the strangest arguments in defense of the Obama Administration’s demand that Catholic institutions buy birth control is the notion that since most Catholics privately use birth control, it’s okay to make the Church’s charitable arms pay for it.

Comment threads all over the InterTubes are littered with the assertion that “98% of Catholics use birth control,” so this makes the administration’s diktat perfectly okay.

But what about the liberal concern for minorities?

For a bunch of folks who are ostensibly all about diversity, the modern left sure does love itself some authoritarian conformity, doesn’t it?

Old and Busted:  Respect the cultures and beliefs of minorities, especially if they are small.

New Hotness:  Conform to the majority, cultist freaks!

The whole point of the Constitution was to limit the power of government and protect the rights of individuals.  The Bill of Rights extended these protections even more, seeking to prevent the “tyranny of the majority” from oppressing the minority.

For the Obama Administration, thought, the fact that a minority is being oppressed is a feature, not a bug.  In this bearded-Spock world, the new mantra is “the wants of the many (voters) far outweigh the rights of the few, or the one.”  (Yes, I said “wants” because birth control is a want, not a need.  You don’t need free pills to not have children, you simply have to refrain from the act of conceiving them.)

I think that there are several reasons Obama and his minions are pushing this.

The first is that they love the power of telling other people what to do.  That’s just a given.

The second is that they particularly like sticking it to the Catholic Church.

The third is that they get to sing the virtues of Population Control, something the left has never given up on and is once again touting as the Solution To All The World’s Problems.

For the dedicated liberal, it’s still 1972 and the Population Bomb is going to go off any minute now.  The fact that affluent American women don’t receive cases of The Pill for free is now the Greatest Injustice Evah.  What, you might have to pay $30 out of pocket for some form of birth control?  Patriarchal oppression!

Seriously, that’s the way these people think.

If you think about it, it is the perfect inversion of the old “Keep Your Laws Off My Body” argument.  For the new liberals, the federal government should control everything about your body.  It was never about individual freedom, it was about power and control.

Further proof – if any was needed - that liberals are really authoritarians at heart.

R.I.P., Golden Girl

Whitney Houston is dead at age 48. As I type, her official cause of death has not been determined. She was found dead in a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel room.  It is known that Ms. Houston had severe struggles with drugs and alcohol for several years after she had established herself as a hugely successful singer and recording artist in the 1980s and early 1990s.

I've got to admit, I never was a huge fan, in large part because I didn't care for the songs she sang. But I give her major props for her remarkable vocal range, not to mention her stunning beauty. She had an incredible stage presence, and was at the top of the world in music and movies 20 years ago.

Like many famous African-American singers, including Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick (Houston's cousin), Houston cut her teeth singing in the black church gospel choirs. As a youth, she sang background vocals for 1970s superstars Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan.

Also, unfortunately, like many gifted performers of all races, she struggled with drugs and alcohol. It's a fact that creative and talented people in literature, the arts and entertainment often seem prone to these demons.

That begs the question: Do they have some kind of "right-brain" chemistry that makes them more susceptible to mind-altering substances? Some kind of brain wiring that cannot turn off the craving for a buzz?

SSRI drugs such as Paxil and Prozac have helped millions of people who have suffered black moods and irritablity due to a serotonin deficiency in the brain chemistry. But the human mind and psyche are complex entities; depression can be bipolar in nature, or can manifest itself in a grumpy disposition, blue moods and risky behavior.  No one really knows which is the bigger influence on mood and psychological disposition: nature or nurture.

Or, to take "nurture" one step further, environment. Often, the people we surround ourselves with and the situations we put ourselves into have a huge influence on our long-term optimism and healthy outlook, on the one hand, or pessimism/anxiety/anger/depression on the other. Diet and exercise also can greatly affect a person's psychological state.  There are variables too numerous to mention when analyzing the goings on inside a person's head.

Too, the temptations of great wealth could turn a once straight-laced person into a raging hedonist. Many people indulge in promiscuous sex, drinking and drugging when they are flush with cash, especially if they do not have faith in a higher authority and the accountability that entails.

I am in no way passing judgment on Ms. Houston; I am unaware of her spiritual beliefs or all of the pain she may have endured during her life, other than what's been reported (abusive relationships and the substance abuse). It is just sad to see someone with so much talent and charisma die so young.

Occasionally I take a look at myself and wonder what would happen if I were not a person of modest means. Would I indulge in unhealthy behaviors that would cause pain to those around me, jeopardize my health and lead to a premature death? I honestly don't know, and hope I never find out.

R.I.P., Whitney Houston.

SPECTACULAR SPARTANS — Moving from the somber to the stellar, last night's Michigan State Spartans victory over the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes was one for the ages. MSU went into the game an 8-point underdog, according to the oddsmakers, and won 58-48, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak. MSU and OSU are now tied for first atop the Big Ten conference, both 9-3.

The Spartans played their best defensive game of the season, holding normally prolific-scoring Ohio State to just 26 percent shooting and to 29 points below their season average (77 points per game).

Dayton, Ohio native Adreian Payne, a sophomore forward, displayed great skill defensively and offensively, scoring a career high 15 points in front of his father, siblings and other relatives at Value City Arena in Columbus. He finally showcased the talent that caused many people to think he'd be a "one-and-done" NBA prospect when he joined the Spartans in 2010.

Payne did not live up to expectations as a freshman (reportedly because of a lack of drive and work ethic, not an absence of talent), but the lightbulb might finally have turned on as far as his realization that hard work must complement talent in order for one to achieve success at a high level.

Payne's fellow big man, Derrick Nix, also was solid defensively in the low post and hit a few key baskets. Nix and Payne held All-American forward and sure-fire NBA prospect Jared Sullinger to just 5 of 15 shooting for 17 points.

Last year, the Spartans entered the season ranked No. 2 in the nation, and flopped badly. This year, expectations were low (they were unranked), so this stunning success is all the sweeter. The sophomores like Nix and Payne are finally coming to fruition; freshmen Travis Trice, Branden Dawson and Brandan Kearney are contributing nicely; senior transfer Brandon Wood, who came from Valparaiso, has given some quality minutes; and versatile senior forward Draymond Green continues to contribute with rebounding, points, assists, and a can-do demeanor of leadership and hustle.

I am proud of this team, and take great pleasure in watching the unselfish play and maturity that were so badly lacking last year. GO GREEN! GO WHITE! VICTORY FOR MSU!!!