Photo of the Day - November 9, 2007 - Anna Running

This was taken at the very beginning of the 4A regional Cross Country meet at Tanglewood on October 28. This was first attempt at a pan type shot with my new camera lens. Northwest girls won the meet. The girl in blue went on to win State the next week. She is an amazing athlete. But in the regionals she came in second to another runner. Anna came in fifth.

Photo of the Day - November 8, 2007 - Pooped

In May 1976 Bill, Beau, David, and I set out on what would be a 600 mile bike ride around the state of South Carolina, starting from Clemson where we all attended school. This picture was taken on the second day, on the ride from Ninety Six SC to Columbia SC. There were a lot of hills between Ninety Six and Batesburg where this photo was taken, and we were pooped! Our travels took us from Clemson through Anderson to Ninety Six, from Ninety Six to Columbia, from Columbia to John's Island, then a day riding around the Charleston area (and over and back on the old Cooper River Bridge - in traffic!), then from John's Island to Beaufort (pronounced Byoofirt, the "beau" as in "beautiful")), from Beaufort to Hilton Head, from Hilton Head to Savannah, and then from Savannah back up to Columbia. On the ride back to Columbia we wimped out and hitched a ride in a pick up for about half the 130 mile distance! Sissies.

Check out my Flickr photostream here.

I Agree With Obama

I think Obama is right.

Prayer for the City

Last night in a prayer group that I am a part of we spent a fair bit of time in prayer for the new city council and mayor. (I joked before we prayed that only one person I voted for actually won!) Anyway we prayed in particular for Mayor Yvonne Johnson, that she would be an instrument of unity and peace for the council and for the city. We prayed that despite party affiliations or philosophical differences about government that the new council would unite around the key matters that face our city, and that God would lead the council to know and agree upon what those most important issues were. We prayed for God's hand of protection against the ever present temptations that come with power. We prayed for a new spirit of cooperation and openness between the council and the press and the citizenry in general. We prayed for a new era of humble mutually deferential servant leadership. We prayed for the walls of division that plague our city to be torn down. We prayed for the good of the city.

On a personal note, politically speaking, if we were to sit and compare notes, I would imagine that I am more of a social and fiscal conservative than Yvonne Johnson. Like, duh. I have never met her, but through seeing her and reading about her through the various media I have always liked her. I hope and pray that her own expressed goals of developing consensus around key issues will come to fruition. I think she is a good person for the job (even though I voted for Billy - here's to ya big guy!) and I have high hopes for a new period of life in a new city council.

Almost Heaven, Downtown Greensb'ro

OK, I am more or less settled in to my new office, and I have to make a public confession - I LOVE IT DOWNTOWN!

I have lived here in Greensboro for 18 years and frankly it has never felt like home for me. It's my kids' home, but not mine. I live here, I want the good of this city, but it's not MY city.

Every time I hear the train whistle as it crosses S. Elm (and what's with that little spur up to the New and Record - that's kind of cute. I can see that train right out my window. The other I have to open the fire escape door to see)., every time I look out my window at the cranes over the Old Wachovia Building, and every time I go out the front door onto the street, well, it feels like home. For the first time really. And that's kind of cool. I hope soon to stat posting pictures of downtown. And maybe David Wharton could give me an architectural tour!

I would move down here in a New York minute.

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city,
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there...
You can forget all your troubles; forget all your cares, and go
Downtown -- things will be great when you're
Downtown -- you'll find a place for sure
Downtown -- everything's waiting for you

Tony Hatch 1964
Sung by Petula Clark

What About Bob

My friend Bob Knorpp has a blog called Practically Drowning, and just wrote a great piece on the Hollywood writer's strike. It is a call to alternative ways of creative expression, including podcasting.

Photo of the Day - Friday October 26, 2007 - Young Maple

Was just thinking about Spring for some reason. This is a Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum), taken April 1, 2007.

See Flickr Photostream

Photo of the Day - Thursday October 25, 2007 - Steps out of Fisher Park East

Check out my Flickr photostream here.

Photo of the Day - Wednesday October 24, 2007 - Cross Country at Hagen Stone

My ten year old daughter Madeline took this picture with my little Canon A85 digital. I think it's a great shot - has a Chariots of Fire thing about it. Taken at Hagen Stone Park, Guilford County, NC. That's our Anna in the front of the pack! She went on to win in a somewhat slowly paced race. Next week...Regionals...

Catch my Flickr photostream here.

Who(m) Should I Vote For?

I’ve been thinking about the various blog posts a few weeks back after the rather low turn out for the primary election, as well as trying to figure out where I am coming from as far as local politics and the upcoming elections.

Local elections seem always to have a relatively lower turn out. I think voters think that generally local politics don’t impact their lives as much. I also think that things are pretty good here overall, because of or in spite of local politics I don't know, and that is a voting disincentive.

I think that there also may be a sense, here and elsewhere, that the real players in local politics are not even the elected officials. Here in Guilford County it seems that the two most powerful people are employees – Terry Grier and Mitch Johnson. And of course there are the moneyed people putting together the deals in the back rooms as with everywhere else. Our mayor isn’t even a real mayor; he’s more of a figurehead. Maybe Billy would shake things up a little, even as a figurehead. At least he’d always have the “Billy Pulpit!”

For myself, there has been a sense of growing cynicism over the years. I have found our local governments to be rather childish generally, and dominated by special interests, including developers on the one hand and the Skip Alston crowd on the other. I have a friend who refers to the council members as real estate whores. You might find that sort of thing said in the prophetic books of the Bible – maybe there is something to it.

It seems we’re paralyzed by the politics of race and the politics of development.

I wish real estate folks and developers should recuse themselves from many of our important votes.

But look at the present slate, it is filled with developers and real estate people. Are these the only folks with enough time and money to serve on our councils, or do they have secret back room meetings where they choose who will run to represent their collective interests each election cycle?

All that being said, I think the city and county have done well regarding downtown and regarding recent corporate decisions, especially out at the airport with Honda and now Skybus. I wonder if those things would have happened without the infrastructure created by the Fed Ex project.

There are two or three issues that dominate my concerns looking ahead at the new election.

First, I want to see real transparency in local government. I am tired of the childish hide and seek games. If the city council had released information in a timely manner we may have come closer to resolving the whole Wray affair; or we would have already long concluded that we couldn’t resolve it. I think all of the incumbents should be kicked out.

Second, I want to see our county develop in a planned and orderly and environmentally friendly manner. Who amongst all of our developer politicians is going to allow that? I’ve seen some good signs from Joe Wilson, but otherwise I think sprawl and all the problems that go with it will continue until we have folks looking after the interest of the whole and not the interest of the most recent development project.

Third, I want to see our gang problem addressed. Public safety and security is the primary purpose of government, and we are dropping the ball. Unfortunately I don’t really trust the city to properly allocate money given for police to help with gangs, and anti gang units are known for corruption. It’s a nasty business.

Fourth, I want to see us address the problem of both the chronically and acutely homeless. They can’t panhandle, and now they can’t loiter. I mean, what are they supposed to do, walk in circles all day? Seems we need 2 or 3 more shelters with options for longer stays, group homes, easier access to subsidized medical care, including mental health care, employment assistance, and the option of being committed somewhere if their human life is at stake.

Fifth, I think way too much money is going into brick and mortar for schools, and way too little money for teachers. There is not a brand spanking new building in the world that can compete with well paid highly qualified teachers in terms of educational quality. Less money for superintendents of various kinds, less money for buildings, and more money for teachers. We need to incentivize our best college students into teaching.

Sixth, I would like to see the city "just say no" to annexation against the will of the annexed. I know the state allows for this, but it strikes me as so fundamentally undemocratic that I think we should decline the privilege.

Seventh, I personally would like to see more school choice, especially vouchers for those in the least well performing schools, and if not vouchers more magnet and charter schools.

Eighth, though as a white person I doubt I will ever adequately appreciate the damage done to communities, families, and individuals over time by slavery, Jim Crow laws, and general racism, I would like to see us looking to the future together and not the past. I’m tired of the race card being always held in the hand, ready to pull out. I think it results in dumb decisions being made out of fear.

Ninth, is the Heart of the Triad really ever going to be something? I am not sure that Triad regionalism is the right way to go. I think a Metro Guilford approach is smarter, taking advantage of the real population and transportation patterns that we have already.

Tenth and finally, and this is like, duh, of course I would go for this, but I’d like to see a tree ordinance. Developer scare tactics about how this will suddenly make housing unaffordable are just that – scare tactics. There is a significant economic, aesthetic, environmental, and quality of life downside to the loss of our tree canopy. I think I heard Joe Wilson address this too. What, a real estate person with a heart for trees? Ah, life can be good.

Well, maybe you can remind me of the ten things I haven’t thought about. I always leave out something in any top ten, as when I left David Gilmour off my list of top ten favorite guitar players. What an idiot!

Please also tell me who you think I should vote for, given 1 through 10 above.

Photo of the Day - Tuesday October 23, 2007 - Protect Haw River State Park

Madeline and I saw this on Church Street just south and across the street from the pedestrian bridge connecting Fisher Park and Aycock neighborhoods. I think it is the coolest Haw River Park sign I have seen yet!

For my Flickr photostream, look here.

Picture of the Day - Monday October 22, 2007 - Leaf and Stream, Fisher Park

Sunday afternoon my daughter Madeline spent an hour walking around Fisher Park taking pictures. She loved walking in the creek - I hope the water is OK there. We have a lot of pictures - the beauty of digital cameras! Fisher Park remains my favorite park in town. Can you name the group that had a song "Leaf and Stream" without looking it up. It's on an album in my top ten favorites of all time, but it's a little obscure. The leaf is from a Tulip Poplar. There is some scummy stuff on the water's surface that looks like dust on the camera lens - it isn't. The water wasn't exactly flowing hard!

Evolution and Racial Variety

There is an interesting article in The Independent today regarding comments by the famous Dr. Watson (of Watson and Crick fame) regarding differences in intelligence between African and other peoples.

I am not writing to defend his conclusions, and I doubt them to be true. I am writing to illustrate the intellectual pickle in which proponents of evolutionary theory find themselves.

Dr. Watson writes:

"There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so."

He is exactly correct, and this is indeed the huge elephant in the evolutionary room that no one seems capable of addressing. If we embrace the evolutionary origins of human beings, we are left having to conclude exactly the principle Dr. Watson concludes. We cannot have our evolutionary cake and eat it too. It is absolutely possible, given the assumptions of evolutionary theory, that such intellectual or other variations could exist across the diverse variety within our human species, much as they exist across other species. And to say so does not make Dr. Watson or anyone else a racist. In fact, to embrace evolutionary theory regarding human origins you pretty much HAVE to agree with the principle stated above, or you are letting your personal moral or political sensitivities override the principles of the science you embrace. And you are revealing fundamental ignorance regarding evolutionary theory.

If scientific research proves that it isn’t in fact the case that such variations exist, it still does not undermine the possibility that such variations could exist. But the politically correct powers that be will destroy anybody whose science leads them to that conclusion.

As for me, I rest in the fact that all human beings of every race and gender were created in the image of God and find their fundamental equality in that reality.

Ultimately, given time, after the truth of God-given human equality has had opportunity to overcome sin-based prejudices (even amongst "Christian” peoples), this age old Judeo Christian view of human origins will provide the principles that will lead to policies of equality. On the other hand, if our politics find grounding in principles of evolutionary understandings of human origins (which must require or teach no principle of equality whatsoever), eventually some sort of race-based differential of policy will result. At the present moment, culture wide, our human equality assumptions are invalid to the extent that they are rooted in evolutionary principles.

There was another side item in the article on Dr. Watson. As the article said:

“In 1997, he told a British newspaper that a woman should have the right to abort her unborn child if tests could determine it would be homosexual."

I mean, the hypocrisy and inconsistency behind the objections to this comment are too numerous to mention. So, we can abort a healthy child for any reason, and that is not objectionable? We can abort a child because it is not of the preferred gender (and studies have shown conclusively that the vast majority of abortions done due to gender have resulted in the abortion of female babies) but not because of predicted or supposed sexual preference? We can abort children for being imperfectly formed? That is the most terrible reason of all.

So, predicted sexual preference above and beyond all others is the one reason we can’t abort a child. Talking about unusual and exceptional rights given to one sub group of the society. Wow. Now THAT’S discrimination!

By the way, I don’t think we should abort children for any of these reasons, because I believe that all children, whatever their race, gender or predicted sexual preference, are human beings made in the image of God.

Twenty Ways to Leave More Water

1. Put bricks or a filled gallon milk container inside the back of your toilet.

2. Don’t shave if it requires water to do so. Those of us who shave in sink or shower, let’s all agree not to shave until the drought is over! How about a united “body hair is good” declaration. Eventually we’ll go back to normal.

3. If you have two toilets, have a “pee pot” and a “poop pot.” The pee pot can be flushed once or twice a day. the other you may want to flush more often.

4. Don’t run the water whole you’re brushing your teeth. In fact, do a dry brushing until the rinse stage. You can even get used to the no rinse effect if you try.

5. Just let the car be dirty. Even if you normally take it in to the car wash, that uses a lot of water. Make a game out of how many dumb things you can write in the dust on your car while you wait for rain. Just don't write "wash this car please;" that is lame.

6. Wear jeans and other heavier clothes that can be worn for a week or so without washing. If we all smell like Europeans for a while, so what?

7. Have some of those important work clothes dry cleaned instead of laundered. You won’t get starch that way but it still beats cleaning at home, and uses no water.

8. Buy drinking water that is bottled somewhere not in the south.

9. Take shorter showers. Period. You can do it. Your teenage daughter can do it. Your teenage son can do it. Give the teen age kids a timer, and if it goes off before they're done, turn off the water (or at least the hot water :-). That will teach them to hurry.

10. Just let the grass die. We have to re-seed it anyway so who cares really.

11. Collect the water that runs while you wait for it to heat up for use on your plants. For that matter, use some of that mildly dirty water from the shower or bath or sink to water your plants as well. They can handle it.

12. Make sure you have a low flow shower head and a low flow toilet – you may as well do this now since it’s a good idea for the long haul anyway.

13. "Just say no" to the garbage disposal – throw the food bits in the trash can or put them in a compost heap. It takes a lot of water to use a disposal.

14. It will rain eventually. Get a rain barrel for capturing water from your down pipes for when that happens. That may seem extreme, but it's kind if cool. Use the water as soon as possible on your plants to avoid mosquitos from laying eggs in your rain barrel.

15. If you have the money, buy water saving appliances, as in low flow dishwashers, front end washing machines, etc.

16. Drain the pool. Just do it. You can survive a season without your heated pool.

17. If you have a just a few dishes to wash, wash them in the sink with just a tad of water, running the faucet only to rinse.

18. Some landscape plants are worth saving. Use water as gathered above, or, if you must, use a drip hose, and add lots of mulch around the most important plants.

19. Don’t hose off anything. Brooms and wipe cloths work pretty well.

20. Whatever boneheaded local officials managed to leave us with a lake full of water with no way to treat it, vote them out of office.

Gooooooo Gamecocks!

It's not often I get to say that around here. I pull for NC against everybody BUT Clemson and South Carolina. I may end up eating dirt, but I'm hoping for a good thrashing of NC at the hands of Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks of South Carolina Saturday. Hey, anybody that's still whining about Spurrier's Duke team running up a score deserves to get whooped.

Not that you'd care, but I grew up a Tar Heel fan. My dad graduated form North Carolina in 1950 or 51 . He was a betting man, and we watched or listened to every North Carolina game there was, no matter the sport. It is one of my great memories that my roommate and I went over to my parent's house in March 1982 to watch the famous win against Georgetown. Finally the drought (since 1957) had been broken. My dad was ecstatic! And I was happy too.

Going back in time, I was all Tar Heel in the 1960's, even growing up in Columbia, SC. then one day the South Carolina basketball team came to my basketball league banquet, in 1968 I think. I met Skip Harlika and several others, and started to pull for South Carolina more. Then came Bobby Cremins, John Roche, Tom Owens, John Ribbock, Brian Winters, John Riker, Kevin Joyce, Mike Dunleavy, and Alex English in quick succession, and I was hooked!

I was planning to attend North Carolina for college starting in the fall of 1975. I had been admitted, and expressed my intent. Then my dad sat me down at Christmas 1974 and told me we couldn't afford out of state tuition. I had not applied to any in-state school. Oops. I didn't want to go to college in my home town, so I applied in a hurry to Clemson, and that's where I went.

I loved Clemson, and consider that really to be my undergraduate college. It is really a super place to attend undergraduate school. But after five semesters I felt I had to resolve some major issues of faith, so I took a semester off and went to study at a place called L'Abri Fellowship in Greatham England. When I got back I felt disconnected from my friends at Clemson, and was behind in my program, and I sort of wanted just to finish undergraduate school ASAP. So, I took 21 hours a semester and two sessions of summer school and graduated from South Carolina in August 1979.

That's the story of how I am a Clemson fan, a South Carolina fan, and a North Carolina fan. I always pull for Clemson or SC against NC, NC against anybody else, and Clemson against SC, unless SC has more to gain by a win.

The greatest live sporting event of my life was the Clemson-South Carolina football game in November 1977 at South Carolina, which Clemson won in the waning moments. I'll write about that later.

For now, for this weekend, "Gooooooooooooo Gamecocks!"

Going Downtown

I was standing with a friend outside the Guilford Building at the corner of Washington and S. Elm, and taking in all the sounds and smells and people rushing to and fro, and thought, "This is going to be good."

We had just been looking at a small double office looking north on the fifth floor, and had had a great conversation with the owner/manager.

It was Bell South that got this whole thing started. My current three year lease with them ends at the end of the month, and we had to make a decision as to what to do about phone and internet service. Being a charter member of CABS (Citizens Against BellSouth) or now, CATNATT (Citizens Against "The New AT&T") may have contributed to an openness to look elsewhere, but mostly it was an unexpected call from my friend to come check out the place he had found.

I'm excited as I anticipate working and walking and eating and talking along Elm Street in Greensboro. I've been working by myself with few people around for a long time and that has contributed a bit to my malaise of late.

Though as the crow flies the Guilford Building is farther from my house than my present office, it's actually a closer drive, given the more direct route. And I may even be able to take a bus to work sometimes since the Depot is almost next door to the Guilford Building. There is a stop on Lawndale a couple of blocks from my house. I haven't ridden a city bus since Vancouver. Maybe I'll even ride my bike! Or get a scooter.

So, if any of you blogger folk are downtown, maybe I'll see you around.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I am posting today after my retirement Monday, I listened to Ed. I stepped back without feeling guilty (and have gotten more exercise - even started running), and today I had time and interest to post. My second flip flop this season. Oh well.

I'm Voting for Billy

Billy, when you get enough money for signs, give me one, or sell me one.

I think a Billy Jones candidacy would juice up these local elections quite nicely.

Billy, I can already see you on channel 13! You would would be WAY more fun to watch than Mr. Holliday, or Yvonne Johnson.

Ann Coulter, Jews, and Christians

There are few people who speak less tactfully and more controversially than Ann Coulter, and I certainly don’t wish to be on her bandwagon. Over at the Daily Greensboring Beth has featured a very controversial quotation by Ann Coulter in an interview with Donny Deutsch.

I think the interview must have been connected to promotion/discussion of Coulter’s new book. In the course of the interview Coulter speaks about Christians as “perfected Jews” and says that Jews need to become Christians to be perfected as Jews. She uses language to the effect that Christians are “on the fast track,” whereas Jews “have to obey laws.”

Ann Coulter is no theologian, and not a very good popular speaker on the subject of Christianity. There are many things about what she says that are just not right. For example, Gentile Christians are certainly not perfected Jews. In the language of the New Testament, Gentile Christians may be thought of as “spiritual Jews,” or as the “true Israel of God.” And whereas that language may be irksome to Jews it doesn’t make Gentile Christians into perfected Jews.

And it also true that Christians see the Old Covenant as pointing to and being fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth in his person and ministry. It is of the essence of Biblical Christianity that Jesus in his person and work is the fulfillment and completion of the Old Covenant. He is viewed as the promised "anointed one" or "Messiah" longed for by the Jews of Jesus' day. That’s what makes Christianity Christianity. Uh, "Christ" means "Messiah." Is this some sort of secret? Jews and Christians then, and Jews and Christians today, don’t agree about Jesus. Jews think Christians are wrong. Christians think Jews are wrong. Muslims think both are wrong. Duh.

The fact that Jews and Christians disagree about these things does not make any one of them anti the other in the sense of being “anti-Semitic” or “anti-Christian” or whatever, in the prejudicial sense of the word. It means that as neighbors and even as friends we disagree about ultimate issues. And that is fine.

What about ethnic Jews who become Christians? Yes, Christians would say that in a real sense that they are perfected. Remember that Christianity arose out of Judaism. Not only was Jesus but all the disciples and apostles were Jews. Christianity's roots were and are in the word, life, and history of the covenant between YHWH God and His people Israel. Thus, Christianity was from the beginning a kind of “Jewish cult,” claiming that in Jesus, its leader, a very big new thing was happening in the history of God and His people as a fulfillment of all that had come before.

If a person believes that Jesus of Nazareth is who the New Testament Bible says that he is, and that Jesus did what the Bible said that he did, then obviously Christians are right to want Jews to become Christians. Given that set of premises, that would be the right thing to desire.

And if those premises are not right, and Jesus isn’t who the New Testament says he is, then obviously Jews should be concerned for Christians whose leader (a Jew) would have been justly condemned for blaspheming their God.

It does not offend me one bit if a Jew in his heart of hearts is worried over my fate, since I would be in his eyes following after a false messiah and believing all sorts of terribly wrong things about God. I hope he would be worried for me. I hope he would try to convince me otherwise. He perhaps would and should want me to convert to Judaism. He should want me to do that, well, if he is Jewish because he thinks Judaism is true, rather than for some other reason.

Ann Coulter has a way of putting things that creates offense even if the content and intent of her words are not inherently offensive. I think her words are more shallow and kind of pathetic than anything.

For one thing, the idea of Christians “having a fast track” and Jews “having to obey rules” is simplistic beyond belief. Christian discipleship is grueling as well as joyful, and there are more than enough commandments right from Jesus’ own mouth to keep Christians striving their whole lives with all of their hearts to be obedient to Him. Rather, in New Testament terms, Christians would say that they are not (or are "no longer" if they are converted Jews) “under Torah.” They would say that even Jewish believers in Jesus are no longer “under Torah.” They would even say that Jews who become Christians must no longer be “under Torah.” This means that the Torah is no longer the operative center of the godly life, or of the Christian life – Jesus is. To submit to part of Torah would be to submit to it all, which puts the person back under the Torah’s curse, whereas, it is believed by Christians, Jesus suffered the covenant curse for His people (the Jews) and also opened up access to their God to Gentiles.

But you can see that these are nuanced and complex arguments. I could write volumes just trying to explain what this does and does not mean. To reduce this stuff to slogans (and bad slogans at that) as Ann Coulter does I find to be offensive to reason, to neighborliness, and to the seriousness of the issues.

But look, if you are a Jew, I think it would be totally appropriate for you to think that I, as a Christian, am wrong. That does not offend me. I hope that together we can stick up for each other’s rights for free assembly and free expression, for life and liberty and pursuit of happiness, even as me may otherwise disagree about these ultimate matters.

For the Children's Sake

Betty Ruffin wrote in a letter to the News and Record today a piece called Preserve Haw River Park for Our Children's Sake.

She cites Richard Louv’s book "Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature Deficit-Disorder" as on of the reasons to protect the open space/integrity of the Haw River State Park.

Louv is right; his book is dead on. Ruffin is right; the rubber meets the road with issues like Haw River State Park.

Without quoting or even thinking about Louv’s book, I made a similar argument in my letter to the County Commissioners. One can belittle the “for the children’s sake” argument, but preserving and protecting the few remaining pieces of open land and good forest that we have is something we can and should do for our children, and for their children.

A Gore Candidacy?

I don’t see it. Why ruin the luster of a Nobel Peace Prize with the down in the dirt messiness of what may well be an ill fated presidential campaign? And would Gore really add much to the implementation of policy consistent to his own cherished climate change views, compared to what may come from a Clinton or Obama presidency? I don’t see it. He has his place in history now. Were I he, I would use the credibility and heightened status of a Nobel Prize to rise above the fray and be an international statesman for the issue. To enter the campaign to me would smell of opportunism, and would cast a shadow upon the sincerity of his climate change work.

I may be one of a small minority who may wonder, "Why a “peace” prize?" It is only speculation at this point as to how much global warming may impact world peace, and it is also only speculation as to whether any policies we may endorse will impact the warming trend anyway, not only because we are not sure of the level to which human caused CO2 emissions are responsible for the warming, but also we not sure how much they can be significantly reversed no matter what we do, particularly given China and India's industrial growth.

Either way, and being sympathetic to Gore for the sake of argument, I think his status as a Nobel Prize winner gives him more impact in the world if he is outside of American presidential politics, maybe a role not unlike that of Bono.