Told You So

Never Mind

I was a junior in high school when the very first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Like most young people, I got caught up in the excitement of the early days of environmentalism, but my natural skepticism eventually kicked in, and as I began to read more about the issues, and the science, I abandoned the quasi-religous movement. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans are less well-informed on these issues than they should be, and as a result we allow ourselves to be bossed around by the more fervent worshipers of the Green Church. The recycling issue is an excellent example. We've gotten to the point where recycling is actually mandatory in many communities, with heavy fines being levied if you don't separate your trash according to regulations.

As it turns out, though, recycling is a colossal (and expensive) waste of time. Furthermore, it is possible that recycling efforts actually do more to harm the environment than they do to help it.





I'm not the kind of person who enjoys saying "I told you so..."

Shut your pipe.

Anyway, I actually DID tell people so, for more than 40 years. The facts didn't change anything, of course. Belief in the value of recycling is part of the Church of Environmentalism's creed, and it is tough to beat as a form of virtue signaling. (It isn't
a mistake that most TV commercials promoting recycling suggest that people who don't recycle are evil.) Because of that, we're going to be stuck with sanctimonious folks insisting that we do it for some long time to come.

I take some comfort in the fact that economics has a way of putting an end to such foolishness, eventually. Probably not in my lifetime, but eventually the negative economics of recycling will impose burdens that even environmentalists are not willing to shoulder. And then we'll stop.

Things That Make Me Sad: Blowout Edition

My beloved Kansas City Royals played Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Blue Jays last night at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It wasn't much of a contest, as the Blue Jays won 11-8 in a game that was definitely not as close as the final score would indicate.

Royals starter Johnny Cueto was terrible (as he has been in the vast majority of his starts since coming over from the Cincinnati Reds via trade), surrendering 8 runs while only recording 6 outs.

"!@#$%"

The Royals still lead the series two games to one, but they're sending their No. 4 starter, Chris Young, out to face the highest-scoring team in all of baseball this afternoon. The Blue Jays starter will be former Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, who had a 2.43 ERA in September and has a 1.93 ERA in his 2015 postseason so far.

"You don't expect them to win any of the games in Toronto, do you?"

It doesn't look promising, no...

Ahead of His Time

From the wonderfully droll comic strip B.C., by Mason Mastroianni (grandson of the strip's creator, Johnny Hart), which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

For much of my adolescence, it was commonplace for instrumental songs to hit the
Top 40, and even reach No. 1. By the late 1970s, though, it had become a rarity. That's why Herb Alpert's hit "Rise," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on
October 20, 1979, was something of a sensation. It was a breath of fresh air in a year that was dominated by mostly forgettable dance music (aka "disco").

Today's send-off is the music video that was created to promote the single (the usual music video disclaimers apply). Enjoy...