Alaska Senate votes to do away with Daylight Savings time.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

The Alaska Senate passed a bill to kill Daylight Saving Time Wednesday, voting 16-4 to send the measure to the House. 

The bill passed shortly after noon Alaska Daylight Time. The bill, Senate Bill 6, also asks the U.S. Transportation Dept. to include at least some of Alaska in the Pacific Time Zone. 

The sponsor of the measure, Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, said the state has the power to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, but shifting time zones is solely the prerogative of the federal government.

It should come as a surprise to no one that this had bipartisan support. 

I have NEVER understood why we have Daylight Savings Time in Alaska. It's dark all of the time for most of the winter, so starting the day a little later or earlier seems ridiculous.

It makes no real difference except to make people late for appointments, and irritate the crap out of Alaskans who have to walk around their house changing clocks.

So I embrace this change and hope that it passes the House so we can finally just live our lives without the twice a year panic of suddenly waking up and realizing that we don't know what time it is.

The reality of you.

Years ago I took a behavioral science class.

As part of the syllabus were handed papers on different mental illnesses and psychosis.

One of them was a list of thinking errors that allow sexual predators to victimize the helpless.

On that list was the "I'm special" delusion, which allows these people to believe that normal rules and limitations do not pertain to them. Because, after all, they are "special."

After reading that I could not help but ponder all of the other people who also share that belief.

Burglars, murderers, arsonists, and then the ones that are not necessarily among the criminal class, actors, politicians, evangelists.

Then taking that concept to its natural conclusion I realized that on some fundamental level, ALL of us have a little bit of that thinking error in our DNA.

It is how religions are formed. People are made to feel that they are chosen by God, identified as special, and that all they have to do is follow a certain series of special guidelines to earn a special reward, that is reserved for those deemed special enough to earn it.

In that case the "I am special" assertion is expanded to the "we are special" thinking error, and that is how those of various religions, all self identifying as "religions of peace," can murder each other with impunity.

After all they don't have to bother themselves with the laws of man, they are following a higher law.

A "special law."

Given to them by a special entity, who chose them, and helped them to see themselves as "special."

Imagine how much more peaceful our planet would be if we realized our reality.

That we are all the same. And in being the same we are ALL special enough to deserve love, special enough to give love, and special enough to live free of violence and strife, and instead to celebrate this moment when our matter came together to form us.

Just something to think about.

Nice way to look at it.

There was a time when I would have predicted that by now the rock would be no more than a pebble.

Oh well, time favors the water, not the rock.

What a difference four years can make.

The above is a picture of Dick Cheney swearing in Barack Obama as a new senator in 2005. All smiles.

Here he is during Obama's Presidential inauguration in 2009. Yeah, if looks could kill right?

It kind of makes me wonder what kind of look Cheney would give President Obama today if he was him? Somehow I don't think his opinion, or mood, has improved much.

Yet ANOTHER reason to really like President Obama.

Speaking of admiring this President here is a rather interesting examination of his presidency by the Examiner.

(H/T to the Obama Diary for the photos.)

How in the world does the President even have TIME to read this many books?

Graphic courtesy of the Daily Beast.

That is TWENTY FOUR books!

And most of these are not exactly bathroom reading material.

I think in the same amount of time I have only managed to get through twelve books myself. And I am embarrassed to say that most of the books I have read are not quite up to the same literary standards as those that President Obama has read.