It's More Fun To Destroy The Earth Than To 'Save It'

I stated the obvious, didn't I? Besides which, I don't want to 'save the planet'...the planet will be fine...I just want it to be livable for me and my progeny

Or...we could try some of these ideas...he-he

http://qntm.org/?board

This site is both fun and informative. Remember to check often to see if the Earth has been destroyed…and it’s a UK number, so remember the country code is 44.

Qadaffi’s Got All the Answers

Clip (if this doesn't work, go to http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335993,00.html)

America democracy has failed. I think he’s right. The sooner we start following the Libyan model, the better off we’ll be. Utopia, here we come!
Alright, I tried being sarcastic, but I can’t do it. Qadaffi is a third world dictator of a backwards nation and he’s lecturing us on democracy AND prosperity? I can’t even make fun of this…I can’t even get upset.

And I like Barrack Obama personally, but this is just one more reason why I can’t vote for him. His optimism is good, but his rhetoric only encourages wing-nuts like Qadaffi.

Palestinian Gunmen Kill 8 Israelis

I’m a day late and a dollar short on this one, but do you still think we can sit down and talk to thugs like this? It’s not like it’s a handful of nuts in the middle east, either.
Every time I think maybe we’re too pro-Israel or that we kiss their ass just a tad too much, I see something like this…there is no choice but to support Israel. These particular gunmen chose a Yeshiva Center so they could kill children.

If Islam is a peaceful religion, many of it’s ‘followers’ are anything but.

Why Conservative Radio Destroys Liberal Radio

Besides the likely possibility that conservatives are generally more attentive to politics, there is another reason.
What’s the old standby for liberal talk radio? NPR. Ever listen to it? Why not?
It’s horrible. I lost the signal to the AM station this morning and turned on NPR. I came in as an airy, aging hippy read poetry. It was grooooovvvvyyyy. Assuming you’re stoned.
The segue was some easy listening.
Then I was treated to a woman recounting her boring war stories of accounting classes. Her voice was perfect for a relaxation CD. I drifted off and had to get the car back on the road quick. If there was damage, I’m suing NPR.
Then there was some really bizarre easy listening from the indigenous denizens of…wherever. Then I got a lecture on something from a fatuous academic. I can’t recall what it was because it wasn’t interesting enough.
The only show I wouldn’t classify as a sedative is, “Car Talk,” on Saturday mornings.

Conservative talk is the polar opposite. It has angry hosts raising controversial topics. The callers are better, especially the wingnuts. Even the intro music is better. They have classic or grunge rock, not easy listening.
You don’t have to like the host, either…hatred of the host only drives up the ratings. NPR hosts aren’t even worth hating. Everything about right wing radio is meant to raise your blood pressure.

NPR, and probably most leftist radio, is a sleeping pill. Conservative radio is cocaine. Cocaine can outsell valium anyday.

Reasons Why Conservatives Should Vote for McCain

I’m not a conservative, but I’m counting on conservatives to save the rest of us from making a mistake this fall.
It’s time for America’s conservatives to stop whining and get serious. You don’t always get what you want in life. Does that mean you should take nothing out of spite? No, you should take what you can get.
I understand why McCain makes conservatives queasy. You’ve got to get over it and hold your nose for the good of the country.
Do you think there’s no real difference between John McCain and Obama or Clinton? Or that your staying at home this fall will teach the rest of America a lesson?
You’re wrong on both counts.

The differences aren’t there in every category, but they are there and where they exist, they’re as vast as the Grand Canyon. Here’s the five main ones I see:

Defense and defense spending. Do you think Obama will make military recruiting and budgeting a top priority? Do you think McCain, a former navy pilot will? Enough said. And while I doubt Clinton would ‘gut’ the military, don’t you trust McCain a little more to make sure we’re military prepared?

Universal Health Care. Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama are both promising to socialize medicine. That’s not going to happen in a McCain administration.

The Iraq War. This is ironic, since I opposed it from the beginning. But, much as I hate to admit it, we’re stuck there. What pains me more is that Karl Rove had a point when he suggested Iran would have control over Iraqi oil if and when we leave. We can’t leave right now. This isn’t 1991, when we had a strong tyrant there to act as a buffer against Iran. We killed that buffer, literally.

The Bush tax cuts. Hillary and Obama are already promising to end the Bush tax cuts. They will also have to pay for health care. It’s 1/7 of the economy. They’ll likely need to raise taxes considerably.

Judges. I realize would only barely view McCain as the lesser of two evils here, but it does matter.

And if you think the rest of the country will be so sorry that a Republican will be guaranteed to win in 2012, remember Clinton’s easy re-election in 1996…two years earlier he’d seemed impotent and beaten. Truth is, there are a lot of have-nots in America who’d be glad to move toward socialism.

No Shortage of Oil and ANWAR Will Solve the Shortage (That Doesn’t Exist), Anyway

A conservative caller to the Howie Carr show yesterday explained his misgivings about McCain: McCain is opposed to drilling in ANWAR and supports alternative energy.
The caller described solar, wind, ethanol and other energy sources as, “Bunk.”
Let’s say he’s right.

We drill ANWAR. Does he know how much oil is in ANWAR? Estimates vary, but four billion barrels seems a reasonable estimate. That’s about a six month supply.

Ooh, that helped.

I’m not opposed to drilling in ANWAR. We won’t save it for a REAL emergency, anyway. This is the USA and we don’t save anything, including our paychecks. That’s why huge numbers of us are filing for bankruptcy. This is why we have a massive national deficit, which as we speak is contributing to the dollar’s general worthlessness.

I’ll admit that maybe ethanol, solar and wind aren’t the answer, or not the whole answer. Hydrogen, geothermal, and nuclear power (maybe Republicans can stomach that one) are out there, too.

The point is we need to do something to wean ourselves from oil. Even the president has said so.

Do Republicans live in a fairy world where oil is never going to run out and we’re going to magically find new oil on Mars or something? Or do most of them figure they’ll be off the planet through natural causes before we run out anyway…and seriously, fuck the next generation.
Or, perhaps they want us to become a third world country, with a handful of elites who can still afford cars, while the rest of us have to bicycle to work (not by choice) and join food co-ops.
Maybe they missed school the day we were taught that oil is a NON-RENEWABLE resource. It will run out, it’s only a question of when.

If you think we don’t now and won’t ever need another source of energy, then let me float some other fictional ideas by you:

1) Cavemen hunted dinosaurs.
2) The world was created in seven days (back off bible thumpers, I attend church, and consider myself a Christian…I just don’t deny reality, and the reality is the Bible, while an excellent set of rules to live by, is a parable)
3) If it wasn’t for NAFTA, GM and Ford wouldn’t have cut US jobs in the last two decades (while Toyota and Nissan were adding US jobs)
4) Hillary Clinton will repeal NAFTA

At best, those in oil shortage denial mode remind me of the ROTC student in Animal House, shouting, “Remain calm! All is well,” while rioters ran amok around him.

Meanwhile, I have some financial advice, and it’s as good as anything you’d get on MAD MONEY…if oil has some kind of a minor correction in the next few months, if it ever drops below $100 a barrel again, BUY IT! Sink every cent you have, and every cent you’ve borrowed into it. It will go back up…and up, and up, and up, and up.

At least I’m not the only awake to reality: Clusterfuck Nation by Jim Kunstler : After ANWAR

Vermont Towns Vote to Arrest Bush and Cheney;

Here’s a productive use of town meetings, culled from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0454699420080305

I tried being a Democrat. I did. Nobody opposed the war in Iraq more than me, especially before it began. I thought it was a mistake then, and still do. I knew Bush was lying when he talked about weapons of mass destruction and insinuated a 9/11 link. I knew he didn’t believe it himself.
I suppose Karl Rove recently let the real reason for Iraq slip when he suggested that without our presence in Iraq, we would pay $200 a gallon for gas. Whether or not you believe that, his point is well made.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/02/rove-oil-iraq/
If the administration had been honest about invading Iraq for oil, I would have had an easier time swallowing it. Hear me out: wars are fought for self-preservation. Rove is right in a sense. Resources, especially food, water and, in our case oil, are self preservation.
But, gas prices have skyrocketed anyway, and why the bull about WMD?

Iraq, along with some other Bush disasters, turned me into a Democrat. I voted for Bill Richardson in the primary.

But, I have no home in the Democratic party, either it seems. Apparently, being a Democrat means condemning your president for supposed war crimes while ignoring true evil that exists in other countries. This is self-hatred.
Do these people really think George Bush is worse than Ahmadinejad, or even Chavez? My God, they do, don’t they?

Apparently, being a Democrat means whining about how awful your life is (and mine is a struggle, too) and demanding the government come along and fix everything.
It’s been tried, folks. It didn’t work out too good in the USSR. It hasn’t worked too well in Cuba. China only started to see growth when they eased economic restrictions.
So why are we going to do this to ourselves? Why don’t we take action to fix our own lives? Government isn’t going to make all your problems go away.

So I can’t be a Democrat, not really a mainstream one.

How about the Republicans? I seem to be finding some common ground there…that is, until I talk to one. I was talking to a dyed in the wool conservative yesterday, and he told me something I didn’t know.
Apparently, Barrack Obama is an Al-Qaeda spy. I didn’t know that.
I was skeptical at first, so I asked for evidence. I was told that Obama doesn’t like America, and that he’s a wimp who’s said he won’t invade other countries.
I didn’t realize that was all that was required to be an Al-Qaeda spy. I’m quite naïve, at least according to my conservative acquaintance.

And I thought some of my ideas were edgy. Apparently I’m not far out enough to be a Republican, either.

The only good that will come out of voting to pass a symbolic war crime measure against the president is that it will destroy the credibility of leftist loons.
The only good that will come out of loony, unfounded conspiracy theories is that the McCain wing of the GOP will gain sway.

My only hope after 8 years of Bush is that when Obama or Hillary become president, they screw things up even worse, and that we’re left with no choice but to have a viable third party.
God knows partisanship has made people in both parties temporarily insane.

Why Whites Won’t Talk Race

I saw an interview with Dr. Mark Lamont Hill on FOXNEWS this morning. He said we need to protect Barrack Obama, as he is under increased danger because of his race. He said that we need to talk through race issues, and pointed out that when these issues come up, whites go, “Colorblind.”
He may be right. But, there’s a good reason why whites don’t talk race. We’re afraid to talk race. The perception among many whites exists that if you make one slip up, one mistake, you’re going to be branded forever as a monster. Similar fear exists for some men at the workplace when it comes to sexual harassment. Talking through social, racial and gender issues would definitely be a good thing.
But, fear of being perceived as insensitive is what prevents a lot of whites, especially men, from talking openly. What remains hidden can only lead to divisions and feelings of resentment.

Many white men seem to fear and resent African-Americans, especially African-American men. (Hey, why are whites not referred to as European Americans…just kidding) Many African-Americans seem to think they are kept down by whites. Many in both races seem to think many Hispanics only come here to go on welfare.

Talking openly and without fear would be a good thing. Integration is a good thing. Fear-on either side-is not helpful to anyone. Relentlessly over-blowing every foolish comment doesn’t help people and hides the real issues.

Just my .02

Hillary’s Rebound

It appears to have been based on older whites, especially white women. She got the overwhelming support of those with no college degree. The older you are, the more likely you were to have voted for her. Union households went her way. Those who think NAFTA ‘steals’ jobs voted for her.
In other words, if you consider yourself a victim, you probably voted for her. This is terrifying. Have we given up?
Whatever you think of Barrack Obama, his slogan of, “Yes we can,” beats the (bleep) out of, “No we can’t.”
Sadly, that’s what Hillary seems to be saying. You can’t do it without her. You’re a victim of big mean oil companies. You're a victim of NAFTA. You're a victim of everything.
(BTW, do you know who owns oil companies? If you own stock, or mutual funds, it’s entirely possible that YOU DO. They’re publicly owned by stockholders.)
But we can’t do it. We need free health care. We need free child care. We need free $5,000 bonds for every newborn child. We need free everything.

What’s the message here? Life’s hard, so quit? Let the government take care of you? Don’t bother to work. There are no jobs anyway, because NAFTA (which Hillary’s husband signed into law) sent them all to Mexico.
You union workers who were making $50 to $100 an hour including benefits, all those jobs went to Mexico. That’s why Mexicans don’t want to come here anymore…things are too good back home.

You people who are overweight, diabetic and suffering from heart disease, Hillary’s Fidel Castro style health care will cure you. Keep on eating that chocolate and those super sized combo meals at Burger King, cause Lord knows that’s not the problem.

Single moms, you know you can identify with Hillary. She’s lived your life, what with her one kid, her career as a corporate lawyer, then politician, yeah, she’s walked a mile in your shoes, so she must care about you.
She’s going to get you free day care, because God knows that’ll solve all your problems and free you from the horrible burden of your children. Certainly beats having their father watch them, right?

Wait…I just realized something…she’s not just a really caring politician who’s looking out for little folks like us while simultaneously destroying the businesses upon which our livelihoods are built, she’s…she’s…a MAGICIAN.

Mohammed to Overtake Jack in The Union Jack

http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/politics/muhammad-second-most-common-baby-name-in-uk-$1095527.htm

Here’s some more good news. It will likely become the most popular name in England by year’s end, if it hasn’t already, because this was an old article.

A more recent op-ed piece from Michelle Malkin puts this in perspective:

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/11/30/jihadists-want-mohammed-teddy-bear-blasphemer-executed-kill-her-kill-her-by-firing-squad/

I know, I’m probably being a bigot or a xenophobe in the eyes of some. But, if I am, then what does that make Muslims who want to kill people over jokes? What are people who want to behead a woman over a teddy bear? Is this tolerance and understanding?
And does it bother anyone that so many of these families are not productive? That their sole purpose seems to be…breeding? Read:
http://commonsenseagainstislam.websanon.com/?p=162

The most chilling line? “The repression of womenfolk has also led some Muslim men to view vulnerable young women from outside the faith as sub-human sexual fodder fit only to be used and abused”

I have seen this elsewhere.

This is why we’re in trouble…while the Brits, our closest ally in Europe, are too busy drinking themselves stupid and fornicating, Muslims are moving there and having fifteen children…in a generation we won’t recognize England.

Canada is next:

http://theopinionator.typepad.com/my_weblog/islam_in_world/index.html

I’m all for immigration. I have nothing against any race. If you want to move to a country, including the USA, and integrate, work and be part of the society, good for you. That’s what built America. You can bring your religion, too.
God is good.
But when so many people of one religion preach hatred and violence, you can’t allow them to usurp your country through overpopulation. If you think Sharia law is something you can live under safely if you’re non-Muslim, read this. This is especially frightening for women:

http://www.faithfreedom.org/Announcement/601081013.htm

As the article asks, why did Amnesty International do nothing to help this woman? All she did was defend herself from three savage rapists…for that she is sentenced to death. Meanwhile, the PC Amnesty group seems concerned only with wrongs done by the west in Guantanamo.

Iran is not the exception.

http://www.womensassistance.com/index.php?page=factsinfo2.html

At least in Pakistan, they recently changed the laws, but as you can, hard line Muslims were infuriated:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/433D0A50-47A3-4995-8B5B-770AFE71B16A.htm

This is why, for all his flaws, I appreciate Pervez Musharraf.

Why are we in the west more afraid of offending anyone than of losing our country, our lives?

Reverse Mortgages: Leave Your Kids a Big F.U. in Your Will

By making sure they don’t get your house. While you’re at it, cancel your life insurance and run up your credit card bills. Seriously, fuck the next generation, right?
Just because you didn’t plan for your retirement and were irresponsible during your life is no reason you should have to suffer. Just leave your kids no money and a mountain of debt, and you can live it up.

The Latest Round of Shootings

Six killed in Memphis yesterday. Two of those killed were children. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334703,00.html

Two dead, several injured in a Florida Wendy’s yesterday.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334632,00.html

Family killed by daughter after she was told to break up with her boyfriend…
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/03/texas.deaths.ap/index.html

This is just a sample of one day in suburban America. Rising oil prices, a growing disparity between rich and poor, a worthless dollar, a recession, and constant violence in the streets…welcome to America, the third world country.
Wake up, people. Both parties are equally responsible, but more than that, we’re responsible.
We’ve got kids who grow up thinking they’re entitled to everything they see, a nation living on debt, people unable to control themselves…so what happens when the shit finally hits the fan and we realize we can’t always get what we want? We kill. Others, ourselves, mindlessly.

This could have been any Wendy’s. It was NIU last time, but it could be any university next time.
Wake up, we’re losing our country. Electing different politicians won’t change it. It starts with you and me. Raise your kids right. Take some responsibility. Tell your kids no now and then.
Do you think you can let your kids grow up getting anything they want and expect them to be sane, productive, responsible members of a society? Do you think it’s okay to live in fear of your kids? No, it turns them into monsters at some point.
We’ve got parents who don’t discipline their kids, and a department of social services that punishes parents if they dare to.

I think the best summation of where we’ve been headed can be read right here:
http://www.walletpop.com/2008/02/28/michael-jackson-to-lose-neverland-can-housing-market-get-any-wo/
Phil’s response is best of all:

You are absolutely correct Andy. But they can't help it, that's the kind of education that is fed to the younger generation. Everything is o.k., and if you over 25, you know nothing. The republican bailed out the S&L's, after they misappropiated everyone's money. And it's about to happen again for all these mortgage/banks that can't collect the ARM interest they are charging. Boys and girls, "just say no", to more than drugs. Be honoable, don't let someone else pay your bills. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. No matter how many times you tell yourself, I deserve it, if you can't pay for it , you do not deserve it. The education system tells you from a young age, If you set your mind to it you can do it. That isn't true when you buy a $50K car for the wife, a $50K truck for MMwah. Oh! don't forget JR's and Janet's $25K cars, credit cards, college, stylin clothes and the 75 piercings, and that $350K mortgage. What's that you say, You and mamma make how much!!! $80KI rest my case.


In short, we’re crazy, and this is where our nihilism has led us

Drug Sentence Reductions…

…Are probably a good thing sometimes. We can’t keep recidivistic child molesters and murderers behind bars, but we can keep the non-using, non-violent girlfriend of a drug dealer behind bars for fifteen years… Crack sentences being reduced - Crime & courts- msnbc.com
Ms. Cunningham’s only crime, IMHO, is being stupid. For that, she was sentenced to one fifth of a human lifetime behind bars.
While Attorney General Michael Mukasey fights to keep us safe from the dangers of people like Ms. Cunningham (watch out, she might get a job in telemarketing if released), liberal politicians and activists fight to get murderers like Arnold King released.
There’s something wrong in this country.

I’m not downplaying the dangers of drugs. I’ve seen what addiction can do to people. I’ve seen how desperation can turn decent people into criminals. But, people like Ms. Cunningham need to be released immediately to clear overcrowding in our prisons, if only so that people like Mr. King can stay in.
There is something wrong with this woman. Her choice for a boyfriend is a sign of a common problem in women with low self esteem. Why do these women always fall for a scumbag? It’s not okay. But, it’s not criminal.

Are Office Politics a Market Failure?

My mother can’t keep a job. She works in customer service, in one form or another. She is hard working. She is reliable. She is mature. She’s great with customers. She is not as great with her co-workers.
In theory, a company such as a hotel should be most concerned with employee-customer interaction. In practice, employers are often more concerned with employee-employee interaction. Complain about your co-workers, and you’ll push yourself out. Sales may be an exception, but not always.
But, I started thinking, is that what’s best for the company? I believe in Adam Smith’s invisible hand. It’s the best economic system we’ve found. But, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. There are market failures.
Maybe office politics represents one of the biggest market failures. Should a company that is hugely dependent on public image push out an employee who presents such a positive image, because they are annoying and grating to deal with?
Or, should employees suck it up and act like adults to retain someone who’s strong at dealing with customers? I think many managers choose their personal feelings over the company’s interests.

And we wonder why customer service often stinks.

Gloria Steinem, Military Expert, Speaks

http://www.observer.com/2008/stumping-clinton-steinem-says-mccains-p-o-w-cred-overrated
While I agree that military service alone doesn’t qualify or disqualify one running for president, I find her remarks on the whole repulsive.
I trust that the vast majority of Americans will be disgusted with her and supportive of McCain. I’ve considered myself a Democrat, but I’m starting to question the sanity and judgment of the base of the party.
First, it was a hit job by the NYT on McCain over a lobbyist he allegedly slept with. Only there was no allegation, and no proof, only innuendo. Then McCain couldn’t be president because he was born on a foreign military base.
You folks in the armed services should take note of that…anyone who feels that way would punish your children because you served.

Now, we’re supposed to believe that McCain was a bad airman because he was shot down? Many US planes were shot down in Vietnam. Many were shot down in WWII. The technology wasn’t as advanced then as it is now, either.
Does that mean every pilot who was shot down, in any war, in US history is a bad pilot? Should they be punished, stripped of rank, that is, if they weren’t killed initially?

What an ungrateful bleep she is. She never served, and probably never appreciated anyone who did. I didn’t support the Iraq war from the outset, and I wouldn’t have supported Vietnam. I don’t believe in what I feel are elective wars. And I’ve attacked Republicans who I feel abuse our military by sending troops off to fight in unnecessary wars, when they’ve never served.
But, I sure as (blank) appreciate people like McCain. I appreciate those who do serve, as I never did. Not only is it a sacrifice to risk one’s life and limb, but to be away from one’s family, as well.
John McCain has plenty of imperfections. There’s plenty wrong with him, as there is with all three candidates, with every human being. But, he’s a legit war hero. He’s walked the proverbial mile.
Gloria Steinem also fails to mention that, after being physically abused for years, McCain was given an opportunity to leave. He refused to leave without all of his countrymen. That’s pretty heroic.

I know, in context, Steinem meant to point out a gender gap. She tried to insinuate that a woman in the same situation would not have been viewed a hero. I think she’s wrong. She also fails to mention that women form the majority of eligible voters in this country. She fails to mention that men are disproportionately imprisoned in this country. She fails to mention that mothers get custody over 80% of the time in divorces, or that selective service (i.e., the draft) to this day only applies to men.

Come to think of it, she’s right. We do need to do something about these inequalities.

In seriousness, why should this surprise us? This is a spoiled, coddled person, who doesn’t even appreciate the sacrifices people in our military make so that the rest of us can lead our spoiled, coddled lives. These remarks fit perfectly with the selfish life she’s led.

If she and all the other loons on the far left really wanted to help Hillary Clinton, they would go away. I would never insult Senator Clinton by suggesting she appreciates these remarks.

Limbaugh Whining About CAFÉ Standards; Hey Rush, It’s an Economic Issue, Not an Environmental Issue

Why is it that the right has completely misunderstood the problem with their argument on big oil? Every time I hear someone try to propose conservation (am I the only one who sees irony in the fact that conservatives largely hate conservation?) of oil, you can count on Rush Limbaugh, Bob Lutz (of General Motors), energy companies (there’s a shock), scientists hired by energy companies, and FOX NEWS to immediately reply that global warming is a crock.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_022508/content/01125106.guest.html
They’ve completely missed the point. Global warming is a separate issue.

Why is it so hard for conservatives to understand this is a non-renewable resource? It took millions of years to create the planet’s petroleum reserves. We’ve run through probably over half of them in a century. That’s a long time relative to a human lifetime, but in the course of human history, it’s the blink of an eye.

Now, that doesn’t matter if you’re a bloated, fat cat millionaire like Limbaugh. It especially doesn’t matter if you’re in your fifties and have no kids. He figures to be off the planet before any, ‘oil apocalypse.’ He’s not affected in the least by rising gas prices.
The rest of us and our children will have to deal with the economic fallout of rising prices and diminishing supplies. Eventually, if we do not find other fuels, our standard of living will be shattered.

Should future generations live like cavemen while we wait to find new technologies? And why don’t we move our ass until we’re hip deep in shit? Or do conservatives live in a dream world where we’re going to magically find new, cheap and easily extracted oil? Or maybe, they don’t mind a world where only the privileged have cars?

Maybe I’m just bitter because I’m what some would call, ‘working poor,’ and $4-$5 a gallon gas (which will be here within a few months), greatly affects my standard of living. But, I know that Limbaugh and other selfish so called, ‘conservatives,’ don’t have any solution. George Bush’s response to a question on gas prices from David Gregory? Deflect.
Bush: “Is gas going to hit $4 a gallon?”
He never answered the question.

If you’ve read my posts, you know I believe in the free market, generally. I know big corporations are evil, but so aren’t we all. At least with the free market, we’re equally evil. The free market is the best system we have. But, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and there are times when government intervention is necessary.
We have to decide, do we want a world where only the very wealthy have cars, or do we want to accept change? If we continue to rely almost solely on oil, you can expect prices to rise. If prices rise at only 14% a year, and gas and oil have been rising faster, then in 15 years, when my son is 18, gas will be about $30 a gallon. Check my math if you don’t believe it.
You can follow the conservative blind faith in the market and just wait until you can no longer drive. Then you’ll just have to hope we find another fuel fast…or we can move on this now to prevent a lot of pain later.

Maybe taxing the daylights out of oil companies to fund an ethanol program isn’t the answer. But CAFÉ standards must rise, and alternative fuels must be found. It doesn’t have to be ethanol. There are alternatives galore. We need to stop listening to the, “junk science,” touted by oil companies. They have an interest in stifling competition (do you blame them?)
Switch-grass, solar, and my favorite, hydrogen, are all going to be tried out. Hydrogen is also non-renewable, but it’s far more abundant (and yes, cleaner) than oil.
We need to get away from this knee jerk resistance to change of any kind we have in this country. And for those who think oil has always been the answer, you should remember that the Model-T was originally designed to run on bio-fuels.

I know, I know, ‘necessity is the mother of invention,’ but do we really need to wait until there’s a crisis before accepting reality? Do we need to allow existing giants to quash competition before it can get off the ground, even if that competition is in the best long term economic interests of our country?

My Heart Belongs to Paris

…Hilton. The Queen of Stupid is going to have her own reality show. The goal is to get her a new BFF.
I’m going to get on. I’ve loved her from afar for so long, they have to let me on. I know we’re meant to be friends forever, ever since I first saw the simple life. I’ve waited so long, and now this is my chance. Just picture Paris and I: going around and fucking up the simplest jobs together, making new sex tapes together, driving drunk together, preening together; oh, I’m so happy.
All I have to do is continue to take my stupid pills and hope this guy, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23416099/?GT1=43001who’s obviously over qualified for the role, doesn’t beat me to it…

Actually, I think I’ve found the contestant pool right here… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13577349/
I can’t think of a better talent pool for the show.

Prince Harry Fighting on Front Lines

The stories been broken: Prince Harry is a lot braver and selfless than the children of American politicians. Whilst Mitt Romney’s five military age sons choose to help America in a time of war by aiding their father’s campaign, and of course, making money, Prince Harry was fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan.
While the President’s daughters live a life of ease-Jenna, who is soon to be married, is taking a month long European honeymoon-yes, month long-Prince Harry chose to risk his life.
I don’t think I can ever make fun of the Royal Family again. If I had all that he has, I wouldn’t have chosen to go. The amazing thing is that apparently, some members of the British media knew this and kept it secret. Not until Drudge broke the news yesterday did the public know about this

Massachusetts: Best Place to go to Jail in the USA

My thanks to Howie Carr for these blood pressure raising stories. I’m all for redemption and rehabilitation of non-violent criminals, but these stories are enraging.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1070906&srvc=home&position=also

If I ever get in trouble with the law, or am thinking about committing a crime, I’m going to Assachusetts. This is a state that is in the process of making it illegal for a parent to spank their child, under any circumstances…yet, there’s no problem with freeing convicted killers, child molesters and rapists on a regular basis.
Can someone explain this to me? Maybe the jack booted thugs at Department of Social Services can tell me. Maybe the judges and politicians who routinely see murderers freed can. Maybe the authorities in Massachusetts just hate families and love criminals. I don’t know.
The latest skewed article is this puff piece, http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/02/27/commutation_plea_carries_a_political_risk_for_patrick/?page=1 about poor Arnold King, a decent guy who has spent 36 years behind bars, all for one mistake, one moment in time that happened when he was just 18.
So why shouldn’t he be paroled? He’s been a model prisoner. I don’t dispute that. If released, I doubt he would re-offend. He’s got his master’s while in prison, he’s counseled other inmates. Good guy.
But a killer. He ended the life of 26 year old John Labanara. He shot him in the head during a robbery.
King argues that, “In this society, everybody gets a second chance.”

John Labanara doesn’t.
While John Labanara’s corpse lies gone and forgotten, King is a cause celeb among the politically correct crowd in Massachusetts. The parole board has recommended he be paroled, despite the fact his sentence was life without parole. Academics, liberal local politicians, city councilors, all want him released.
King adds that, “…I want people to understand is there is a possibility for change.”
I agree with him. I believe he’s changed. But I don’t want him released.
If he had only robbed Labanara, without a gun, I would be all for leniency, provided he’s shown change. But he took a human life, an irrevocable act. Labanara had parents, family, friends, a whole life ahead of him that he didn’t get to live. It’s over and Labanara remains 26 forever.
If you’re a parent, picture that being your kid.

I’m the first to say there are too many people in prison in the USA. Fully one in a hundred of us is serving time. The rate among men is higher. The rate among black men is higher still. Still others have been in prison at some point.
What’s more, this is a drain on the rest of us. Felons don’t produce anything, don’t pay taxes, and need to be supported by the rest of us. Something should change.
But, if we lock up too many people, it’s not because we’re unfairly harsh on killers or rapists. It’s because we’re locking up too many non-violent offenders, recreational drug users, etc. Why not release some of them to free up space for the worst of the worst?

I’m afraid releasing King sends the wrong message. I know that, as any prison guard will tell you, you have to give prisoners some incentive to behave, otherwise their job is impossible.
But I don’t want to give hope for a second chance to killers. We can focus on rehabilitation if you want, but prison is not really there to rehabilitate, it’s there to protect the public. It’s also there to deter.
I want people to know that if you kill someone in this country, it’s over for you. There is no getting away with it. There is no parole. I don’t really care that King has been a great prisoner. In fact, I wonder why is given a free education at taxpayers expense, while I can’t afford to take time off and go to night school…I have to work, I have to raise a kid.
Why are politicians writing letters of recommendation to free someone who killed one of their citizens? Do we ever remember victims in this country?

And who do I have to kill go get a letter of recommendation? I guess it has to be some one in Massachusetts. Then I can get my degree at taxpayer expense, stop paying child support, spend all day on line or exercising…heck, maybe Massachusetts will even bring back a Michael Dukakis specialty: weekend furloughs.
Seems reasonable to me.

Hillary’s Whining

About media coverage. Bad idea. There is no question in my mind that Obama is receiving disproportionately favorable coverage from most media outlets. Deal with it, because whining won’t help.
It never helped conservatives, who for years have had to deal with a media bias against them (excluding Fox and talk radio, of course). Remember 1994? The Gingrich who stole Christmas? Just 8 years ago George W Bush overcame terribly negative coverage to become president (though he lost the popular vote).
Point is, media coverage doesn’t determine the outcome of elections. Candidates and voters do. Connect with the voters, win the issues, you should be okay. Hillary Clinton’s biggest problem is Hillary Clinton, not Tim Russert, or anyone else.

Barrack H Obama: What’s In a Name?

Not much. Bill Cunningham and others have been having some fun with the fact that Obama’s middle name is Hussein. That’s fine. They’re counting on the negative connotation that name has. Sadly, they’re right to. Sadly, there will be some people who won’t recognize the fact that it’s just a name, or that it has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein.
People like Alisyn Camerota, of Fox News. Speaking on the issue, she said there’s no negative connotation. She said, “It’s his parents fault.”
When it was pointed out to her that it was his father’s name first, she said, “Then it’s his grandfather’s fault.”
Fault, indicating it’s a bad name, after all. This is as foolish as Hillary Clinton once claiming in New Zealand, home of Sir Edmund Hillary, that she was named after him.
History lesson for dummies: Hillary Clinton was born in 1947. Sir Edmund Hillary didn’t climb Everest and become famous until 1953. She lied. Nobody in the USA had heard of Hillary in 1947. Her parents gave her the name for a different reason. Maybe they just liked it.
Ditto Obama. He was born in 1961. I don’t know when his father was born, but obviously it was a generation before him. Saddam Hussein didn’t become Iraqi president until 1979. Nobody in the USA had heard of him when Obama was named.
In fact, if one wanted to show a connection with Saddam Hussein, they could show this now famous picture…scroll to the bottom: The Washington Note

McCain is right to choose a different route of attack...though he's full of it when he says he never met Cunningham.

How to Get Elected in America: 2008

Part I-The Democrats

Depends on which party you’re in and who your constituents are, of course. But we can learn a lot from watching the candidates for president.
If you’ve watched any of the roughly 8,000 Democratic debates, you see the way to win votes is to buy them.

Now you’re saying, this is America, you can’t buy votes.

Of course you can. Just promise everything to everyone. Or, better yet, promise everything to enough people to get you elected. Promise to take everything from those who, in all likelihood won’t vote for you, anyway.

Struggling to make ends meet? We’re going to expand social programs. In trouble with your mortgage? We’re going to punish those evil lenders (and some of them are evil, but we shouldn’t have signed up with them). High medical bills? Free universal health care. Single parent? We’re going to provide free child care and pay you to go back to school.

I suppose there’s nothing wrong with helping people get higher education, as they will ultimately contribute more, but the problem is these things aren’t free.

The bigger problem is that not enough people realize this or care. Every day we’re bombarded with promises of what Senators Clinton and Obama will give us, yet I never hear anyone ask where the money or resources for this stuff will come from.

Class warfare? Yes, but on a grander scale. Now it’s outright socialism, especially on the part of Mrs. Clinton. She recently offered up this terrifying quote to the Boston Globe: “I have a million ideas,” (for government), “the country can’t afford all of them.”
One of those ideas apparently included giving every baby born in the US a $5,000 bond.
You can read more about it: Media Matters - On Glenn Beck , Penn Jillette said recent Clinton statement "sounds like Charlie Manson"

Hey, I’m all for it, so long as we can make it retroactive. I’ll take $5,000 from…whoever will have to pay for it…and my son will, too. God knows we’ll need it to pay the higher tax rates we’ll see.

Seriously, folks, this is Marxism. I know a lot of people will hear this and say, “What’s wrong with giving every baby $5,000, you baby-hater?”
The problem is these people don’t know where money comes from.

“It comes from the government, right?”

Sure, and why pay taxes since the government prints money? http://www.deadbeef.com/jeremy/index.php/why_pay_taxes_since_the_government_print

This is what we’re up against. Money is paper. Nothing more. It’s a representation of the goods and services we produce. Not surprisingly, the value of the dollar has been decreasing for several years. The policies of the Democrats would no doubt accelerate this trend. We’re already experiencing high inflation because of soaring energy costs…and the nations of OPEC don’t want dollars, they want Euros.
If you print more money, or redistribute it, you don’t give more value to those who need it. You give them more money, but you make that money worth less. Eventually it will be worthless. We’re already seeing it devalued.
Government giveaways won’t help, they’ll make it worse. Free everything won’t make you better off in the long run, it’ll only make everyone equally poor.

Don’t believe me? Visit the people’s paradise of Cuba. Tell me if you want to live like they do. Or look at Russia. It’s been nearly a century since the revolution and they’re only just now recovering.

To put it in plain English, you can’t give away what you don’t have. And redistributing wealth from one group to another won’t work, either. It won’t help the poor, it will only create more of them as we punish the wealthy.

If we want to be better off, we need to produce more goods and services. There is no way around this fact. The free market is far from perfect, and the government needs to do some things. We ought to help those who, “help themselves.”
But education and competition are the answers. We need to remember the government is not as efficient as private enterprise.

When you hear Hillary Clinton promise you the moon, be very afraid, and be careful what you wish for. You don’t get something for nothing. Ultimately, these ideas would destroy the economy.

Obama is only slightly better. I understand how easy it is to get caught up in his energy, which is the only way I can describe it. He is like Reagan in his optimism. Optimism is good, and at least he doesn’t propose garnishing the wages of the working poor who refuse to sign up for his health plan, unlike Clinton. But he’s not going to magically save the working poor in this country, either.

Unfortunately, he is going to win. I like him, I like listening to him speak. He’s got that energy that draws you to him. But I’m scared of his policies, too. As you can tell, if forced to choose, I’d pick him over Senator Clinton, but only just.

The reason we’re stuck with these two is that the Republicans don’t understand the anger that is out there. For some it’s the Iraq war. I was opposed to it from the start, which is why I suppose I like Obama better than Clinton.
But, for most, it’s the economy. People, myself included, are struggling. You’ve got skyrocketing energy costs. This is at a time when the President and Vice President are perceived to be too cozy with energy companies, and with the Saudi’s, who contrary to the belief of some, are not our friends.

Worse, our current energy policy is a joke. Our policy seems to be that we’ve run on oil for a hundred years, so why change? We’ve hit peak oil, and it doesn’t seem to bother the administration one bit.

Does anyone think the price of oil is going to go down? It’s a non-renewable resource. It will only go up from here, and it’s already hurting people like me who don’t have a lot of disposable income. At some point, we’re going to have to do something to find another fuel-not necessarily the ones we’ve considered so far-or we’re going to take a massive hit in our standard of living.
And frankly, I don’t want to keep shelling out money to a part of the world that hates our guts and will turn guns on us at any opportunity.
Our dollar is already in the toilet, too.

To wit, things have hit a snag. Is it a big deal or just a blip? We don’t know yet.
Unfortunately, economic hard times are ideal if you’re a socialist/populist running for office. Just prey on people’s financial fears. Tell them they can’t survive without aid, and they’ll be more inclined to believe you.
That’s what happened in Russia in 1917. That’s what happened in 1930s Germany. Hard times and, in the case of Germany, terrifying inflation made it easy to mold people to the will of a tyrant.
I’m not comparing us to 1930s Germany, or Soviet Russia. It’s not that bad, which is what we need to remember.

But, circumstances are different. We’ve been completely spoiled by decades of spectacular success. We’ve been raised to believe we’re always supposed to get everything we want, immediately. We spend more than we earn, and don’t think it’s a problem. We need every new gadget.

By the standards of modern America, I’m working poor. Yet, I own a car, I’m not homeless, I can afford to feed myself and my son. Quite well, in fact. I can take him to amusement parks in the summer. Yet, even I’m stung by a lower standard of living, and worried by rising fuel costs.

In this climate, a mild recession combined with inflation is more than enough to inspire anger.
Anger, and forcibly redistributing wealth won’t help, though. Instead, maybe we should get off our behinds, take responsibility for our lives and work to improve them. We can’t all be rich, but we can better off.

Drew Peterson: Modern Day OJ?

You can try people in the court of public opinion. You just can’t impose a sentence. I think it’s become clear to all of us that this guy almost certainly killed two of his wives. Still, he walks free and chats with camera crews like it’s a big joke.
While OJ Simpson used wealth, fame, and racial tension to get away with two murders, it’s clear Peterson used his police connections. OJ relied on the human flaws of some very imperfect jurors. Jurors either lacked mental faculties or were simply angry enough at a perceived imbalance in the justice system to knowingly let a killer free. It was no accident. The jurors were largely picked for one reason or the other by Simpson’s crack legal team. Those with a college degree, those who are color blind, etc, need not apply to this jury. The stated reason: bigotry against a black man. The real reason: a willingness to convict.
Different but equally bad facets of human nature were at work in the Peterson case. When his third wife died, the investigators went there looking for an accident. If you look for an accident, and ignore the signs of a murder, you will find an accident. I could be wrong, but I suspect that if the story hadn’t gained national attention, they would not have exhumed his third wife. Maybe they wouldn’t have even considered him a suspect in his fourth wife’s disappearance.
I wish this would serve as a wake-up call to women. Stacy Peterson should have known better, but didn’t. As details emerge, we’re finding that he threatened his third wife. We’re also learning that Stacy Peterson knew it. According to CNN and FOXNEWS, Stacy knew he’d killed Kathleen. He told her. Read the article: Pastor: Cop told fourth wife he killed third wife - CNN.com
She was involved with him when he was still married to Kathleen. He may have told her he killed Kathleen before he married her. She’d seen how willing the police were to investigate a fellow officer. He was a man thirty years her elder, who’d had three previous marriages. She married him anyway. Is it me or did she sign her own death warrant?
Did she think he would do it to another woman but not to her? Did she think she could change him? This is no different than a woman who stays with a batterer. It may be worse, because he was a cop. At the risk of cop bashing, picture yourself as a woman married to an abusive husband. Now imagine that man is a cop. Try and get him arrested. Try and call his friends and co-workers over to arrest him. Good luck.
If you’re a woman, you’ve got to learn not to ignore these warning signs. Not to be paranoid, because most men would never hurt a woman. But, while Drew Peterson has to be prosecuted and punished, hopefully with the rest of his life, it boggles the mind of a man like me that women are routinely drawn to men like this.
Is there something in our DNA that attracts women to violent men, and men to women who use them? If so, can we do something about this? We have a medication for everything else, why not for our sexual neuroses?

Stealing Kosovo: What Americans Don’t Know Can Hurt Others

Well, here we go again, supporting freedom abroad by recognizing Kosovo’s independence, right? Wrong.
If you listen to the mainstream media, you’d think Kosovo is an oppressed region that was annexed by those big mean Serbians. You’d think it had only been part of Serbia for say, ten minutes. Prior to that, it must have been a separate entity. No doubt they deserve their freedom back.
If you listen to FoxNews, we’re waiving the banner for freedom. O’Reilly says so. Cavuto says so, and when he was rebuked by a US general , he distracted the general and changed the subject.

Well, he can’t interrupt me. In this country we have the dangerous combination of an interventionist foreign policy, and a woeful ignorance of the world outside our borders. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ojcHlLn6UCc
How can we have any kind of an opinion on foreign affairs, when we don’t know anything about the rest of the world?
Contrary to what the snooty Brits who made this video assert, we’re not stupid. We’re ignorant. There’s a difference. We’ve been let down by our public education system for generations. And we, the public have to assume some blame, too, for allowing it too happen. We should care, but don’t. Shame on us.

I am not one of the, “Blame America First,” crowd. We’re not perfect, but neither is anyone else. We do a lot of good in the world.
But when we’re wrong, I’m not going to keep silent, either. I can figure out when I’m being fooled.
Unlike Bill O’Reilly and Neil Cavuto, I know something about Serbia. I work in an industry where we’ve had to (legally) hire many foreigners to fill labor shortages. At times, those employees have been Serbs on work visas.
There’s a reason these people are pissed at us. They stood by while Bill Clinton bombed the region to get Lewinsky off the front pages in the 90s. Still, they liked us and wanted to be like us.
But this is asking too much of any people. Imagine if, during the civil war, Europe recognized and helped the South gain independence. How would anyone in this country then living north of the Mason-Dixon line have felt?
Serbia originated in Kosovo. Kosovo is known as, “Old Serbia.” Kosovo never existed as an independent country. We are intervening in a civil war to create a new Muslim state. I know the fools on MSNBC, CNN and FOXNEWS will never tell us this, but it’s so.
I’m not the only one who knows this. Does Balkanization beckon anew?
What’s more, these people we’re helping to liberate are not poor, oppressed victims, either. They’ve been killing Christians and burning Christian churches in the region for years. These are images you will never see on the mainstream media, and not only because they are extremely graphic.
Be warned before you click on the link, the images are graphic and disturbing.
MichaelSavage.Com - Home of The Savage Nation

This is the country we’re intervening to create. A country that has never existed, filled with Muslims that will likely end up as a breeding ground for Bin Laden-type teachings and terrorism. This move helps neither us nor the Serbs, nor even the Kosovars. Maybe instead of blindly intervening in every region in the world, we should think things through first and see if we’re going to do more harm or good.

My Choice for Mother of the Year-No, Seriously

Okay, maybe Melissa Dean isn’t really mother of the year. But I do feel for her. You can read the story: http://www.dreamindemon.com/2008/02/21/melissa-dean-went-on-strike/ here or go to Foxnews. Better yet, see the video of her four teenage bastards verbally abusing and threatening reporters: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=540758551BFE8CB989232C34BF499E21?contentId=5837588&version=17&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

She couldn’t handle her four kids…what’s she going to do, spank them? They’re bigger than she is, the father is nowhere to be found, and she’s called the cops something like a dozen times. She’s sought help and can’t get any.
What can she do? She went on strike and left them alone. She came back at night and checked on them and fed them.
Come to think of it, these kids are teens and there are four of them…they can’t (expletive) figure out to cook a meal for themselves?

Basically, the authorities and the father have failed this woman…so what do they do? They arrest her.
The irony is that if that if she could have and did discipline her kids, the jack booted thugs at Dept of Social Services, most of whom either don’t have kids or make lousy parents themselves, would have likely charged her…but don’t get me started on the anti family agenda of DSS…

This isn’t her fault, folks. Maybe she could have done a better job parenting, maybe not, but I strongly disagree with the blanket statement I heard a woman say on Fox’s “Red Eye” this morning…monsters don’t always raise monsters and vice versa.

Being a single parent is tough enough, but picture yourself as a woman raising four teenage boys, all of whom are probably bigger and stronger than you, with no help from the father…arresting her is a travesty. These kids are old enough to be held for acting like the out of control punks they are, and need to be taught a lesson. If she can’t do it, send ‘em to Juvy. They’ll either get the message or end up in jail.

While we’re at it, how about we release her and arrest this absentee father? Why is he not as responsible as her? They’re his kids, too. He’s more responsible in my book. At least she’s tried. God knows where he is, but boys this age need the discipline of a father. Arrest him.

Doctors Warn of New Disease Afflicting Elderly Drivers

The unnamed disease, dubbed spastidc foot, causes elderly drivers to lose motor function of their feet. Doctors say it is a neurological disease and have determined it is a leading cause of car accidents involving elderly drivers. Nobody knows why it affects only the elderly, and them only while driving.
Symptoms include really slow driving in the ultra fast lane, or on back roads where nobody can pass, and, more seriously, may cause sufferers to hit the gas instead of the brake. The latter is often fatal for others, but rarely for the driver.
Doctors hope to find a cure, and are coordinating their efforts with the Division of Motor Vehicles.



Actually, it's not funny: http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1075116

Suddenly Single: No Perfect World

The following is from another MSN article that offers advice on how to cope after divorce. I hope I’m not a misogynist, but I can’t help feeling resentful as I read these articles that really serve as nothing but advice for women while simultaneously spreading what I perceive as hatred of men

Here it is, with link:

Suddenly single? Ask Dr. Gilda - MSN Dating & Personals

On the one hand, I feel empathy for this woman. It’s not easy going through a divorce, let alone raising a kid by yourself. But, it’s obvious to me she’s using these guys to help her with her kid. Why else would you stay with a guy who is trying to control you? And while I don’t know the circumstances, and maybe should withhold judgment, I’m suspicious of a single mother, just as I am of a single father, who gets married to a new partner right after the birth of a child.
To me it begs the question, as a woman, does she want equality, or does she just want more control over the men she relies on to support her?

What really got me upset off the bat is the second sentence. It upsets me on two counts. Again, I don’t know the circumstances, so I’m making a couple of assumptions, and could wrong because of them.
But…the father has nothing to do with their kid? Is this by choice? If so, what the hell is the matter with him? Yes, he pays his child support, and I’ll get to that in a moment, but so do I, and I have my son four days a week. Time is the most important thing you can give your kids.

There’s an old saying I like: Nobody that I know ever said at the end, “Gee, I spent too much time with my kids when they were growing up.”

How sad for both her kid and for the father. Shame on him for not being involved, but it’s going to be his loss in the end. I’m sure of it.
Second, and maybe I’m a troglodyte here, but she’ll stay with a control freak who dictates who her kid can see, but she’ll also have a kid with a guy who obviously wanted nothing to do with the child? Would this be different if she couldn’t force him to pay for the kid?
Yes, that’s cynical, but I doubt it’s wrong. It seems to me something is amiss here: if I’m involved with a woman, or even sleep with her once, and she gets pregnant, it’s all up to her. If I want the child, but she doesn’t, she can have an abortion. Even if I agree to raise the child myself, pay for all bills during her pregnancy, and then care for and pay for the child, even if I offer to pay her for her pregnancy, I cannot. Okay.
But, if the shoe is on the other foot, as it was here, I cannot forgo the responsibility.
A clear contradiction in standards.
I understand why that is…we already have too many men who refuse to take responsibility for their children in this country. It’s shameful, and these men do need to be held accountable for the children they bring into the world. I also understand I will never have to go through pregnancy or know what it’s like. It’s just the way it is.

But, there’s an essential unfairness to men like me.
I have my son four days a week. I pay child support and his health insurance. I love him more than life, and her biggest criticism of me seems to be that I am too maternal.
There’s more, too. He had cancer. I went too all of his appointments. He needs periodic MRIs to make sure it’s still in remission. I take him to virtually all of them.
Recently she complained about this, and rescheduled the latest one to Friday, one of her days with him. I work third shift sometimes, and am supposed to sleep during the day on Friday. I decided to forego sleep and go to his MRI.
The hospital was running late, however, and against my wishes, she chose to reschedule. I regret not insisting on having it done then, but I’m tired of arguing and I was going on no sleep.
She became agitated when told they were running late. The oncologist even told her, “It’s not always going to be convenient.” Well, it turns out she had an appointment in a town an hour and a half away at a time she couldn’t have made even if things had gone according to schedule.
It further turns out that she’s moving again. She’s moving for the fourth time in under a year, each time living with a man, this time moving back in with her old boyfriend, who doesn’t even know she was living with another man she hardly knew for the past few months.
I fear this move. I like the old boyfriend around my son better than the current one. But, she originally told me she left him because of concerns about his son, who is older, being “rough”, with our son. She also came within a hair’s breadth of moving to South Carolina with him last year.
I think I’m right to have concerns. Constantly moving is not a stable life for our son.
I also think I sacrifice far more when it comes to our son. Despite this, I hesitate to fight for custody. I’m likely to lose, in which case, I risk seeing him less than my current four days a week.

Something is wrong with this picture. If our society really had equality and were really interested in the future of children, I would have custody.

Big Mac Attacked: Gossiping While Rome Burns

The right is howling over the timing of this, but I have a different take. This is such a bad piece of journalism that it can’t be real. You have a unsubstantiated claim by an anonymous source that the senator might have given favors to a young woman he was possibly involved with.
You have a letter where McCain asks the FCC to vote for or against her clients. Not that he encourages them to vote one way or another, just that they make a decision…they’d been waiting two years.
This is a big deal?

My God, right now there's a woman in the hotel lobby where I am, glued to a tv, like this is the defining moment of her life. Who the hell cares? Maybe he did have an affair...they can't prove it, but so f'in what? This is a man who spent over five years in a Vietnamese prison camp and we're going to crucify him for this? Get a grip, people

The New York Times is taking a lesson from congress. Congress has decided the most important issues facing us are steroids and cheating in sports. The Times has decided a liaison that can’t be proven is the biggest issue in this election.
Meanwhile, we’re stealing part of Serbia to create a Muslim nation in the Balkans, there’s war in the middle east, Ahmadinejad is calling Israel a dirty bacteria, Chavez is threatening to cut off oil supplies to the US and energy costs are climbing at a rate of 44% a year…this can’t be serious. This has to be a joke.
Therefore, I have a theory. This is a conspiracy by Republican moderates to unite the party behind McCain…either that, or the Times has to get it’s head out of it’s ass.

Shootings-Part II

Shootings-Part II
(Off Topic)

Talking about the scourge of mass shootings in our country, God came up. I was told there’s everything happens for a reason, that there is a bigger picture.
I hate it when people explain away tragedies with clichés. We’ve all heard them. “There’s a greater good,” or, “a bigger picture.” Or, best of all, “Everything happens for a reason.”

Bullshit.

“It’s part of God’s lesson.”

Bullshit.

Don’t insult God by saying he needs to kill children to prove a point. And if he does, shame on him. There’s no greater good that involves sacrificing babies and little kids. To say so, you have to place a low value on their lives. I wonder how can anyone with kids feel that way?

And don’t tell me we’ve learned a lesson.
Did you know the murderer at Virginia Tech last year and the murderer at NIU last week both bought guns from the same online dealer? Lesson? This guy can still sell guns, too. What’s wrong with this picture?
From the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust in Europe, to Stalin’s extermination of millions of Russians, to Pol Pot, to Idi Amin, Oklahoma City, 9/11 and what’s going on in the middle east today, to our rash of pointless shootings in the USA, and on and on infinitely, human beings have shown we’re remarkably good at learning nothing.
We still divide each other every way we can at every opportunity. Black vs. white, American vs. whatever, Muslim vs. Christian, gay vs. straight, man vs. woman, etc.
We’re still too stupid too see we’re all human and all fighting for the same resources. And we’ve been around for more than 100,000 years. I suppose people who subscribe to a literal interpretation of the bible or the Quran will argue that, too.
My point is, sometimes awful things happen for no reason. Sometimes there is no good. Sometimes there is no lesson, or at least people don’t learn it. If we did, and we’re as intelligent as we claim, wouldn’t we have learned by now?

I once had a professor ask of our class, “Imagine if I told you I could get rid of all evil in the world simply by killing one person.”
He pointed to a young man in class.
Everybody, including, I believe the young man said, yes, that would be great.
Everybody, that is, except me.
Then he asked, “What if I had to kill two people?” Then the question became three. Then a hundred. Then a thousand. Slowly, more people began to hesitate.
Then the question became six million, and his point was made, but, sadly, a lot of people still hadn’t caught on. Not until he said, “Sixty years ago, someone said if he could just get rid of six million bad people, the world would be a perfect utopia.”

Too often people think they have the answers, often without investigating.
Was it right to nail Jesus to a cross? Was it right to kill people suspected of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts?
The people in charge at those times and places thought so.

If you really think things happen for a reason, then please, tell me the reason for the Holocaust. We say six million Jews were killed, but that’s just a number until you watch Schindler’s list and see trucks full of children being carted off to be murdered. Until you picture your own children. You realize how many supposedly good people had to be silent to allow it.
If that’s really part of God’s plan, or if there’s a bigger picture I’m not seeing, please somebody, tell me what that is.
I’m not saying this to bash God. Maybe God isn’t the only force in the universe. You can’t have good without evil. But there’s no good in murder. Maybe I just have a hard time accepting these things because I have a beautiful three year old boy. When I see someone decide he’s going to end his life and others with him, all I can picture is my son someday being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What kind of pain are the parents of the victims going through now? Or even the parents of the shooter? What did they do wrong? Please don’t tell me there’s a greater good.

Shootings

Every week it seems there’s another random shooting where some troubled man, usually white, but not always, kills several or more innocent strangers.

And every week, we go on, and become a little more desensitized to it. We can’t pretend it’s not an epidemic. It’s become in vogue among troubled, childless young men.

If you’re reading this and you think there’s some romantic idea in going out in a blaze of glory, I have a message for you.

I have some authority to speak here. I’ve suffered depression on and off for 15 years. I know there is no cure for most mental disorders. I’ve become convinced that unlike doctors who treat heart disease, most (but not all) mental health professionals haven’t a clue how to help us. I’m sure the best they can do in many cases is treat and stabilize us, like a diabetic. Sometimes they misdiagnose us. In my case, I believe I was given an anti depressant which caused a manic episode.
I’ve felt hopeless at times. Sometimes my son is the only thing that keeps me going.
I’m 30 years old. A couple of years ago I had good credit, a wife, a newborn son, and I was in night school. I had a lot to look forward to, and I was still only in my mid 20s. I thought by now I’d have an accounting degree and be on my way to a CPA.

Now: I live with my mother. I have no wife, no girlfriend. I work third shift, and make just enough money to survive. I can’t go back to school, not now. I have no time and no money. I can’t get a loan because I just went through bankruptcy. Even after chapter 7, I still owe my mother $2,000, and I have no idea where it will come from. I owe $7,000 on student loans for schooling I didn’t finish.

I tried to get a part time job, but I have my son almost all the time I’m not working or (supposed to be) sleeping. Life’s rough. On top of that, I have seasonal depression and my on/off third shift schedule has left me more sleep deprived than Tyler Durden.
Why has this happened to me? Partly because, as I said, I was given the wrong medication and it led to a manic episode which went unchecked, but mostly because I made every wrong decision imaginable. I couldn’t help it, it seemed.

But there’s one thing I didn’t do, and that’s shoot people. I had access to guns, mind you. They’re as easy to get as a drivers license in my state. Easier, maybe. Why do some depressed men become murderers while others suffer in silence, or, better yet, as I have done, try repeatedly to get help, even when it seems the help is mediocre?
Family relationships? Children? Different hardwiring in the brain?
I know all of that’s probably true, but some of it has to do with the value we place on human life.

If you’re thinking about violence, stop. Wait. Think. You can always act later. You can’t take it back. That’s someone’s kid you’re going to kill. It might be mine. That’s someone’s parent. And you’re someone’s kid.
There are times when I felt no one cared about me, or needed me, but it’s not literally true. Every life is valuable, and yours is, too. You may feel life is hopeless, but that feeling comes and goes. There is something you can contribute. Write about it. Talk about it.
A mass shooting and suicide won’t get you fame. It won’t get you help. It’ll get you dead, and if there’s an afterlife, you’ll be justly punished. If you have depression, you have my empathy. It’s an illness and people who suffer with it deserve empathy; and help. But you lose that empathy and any sympathy the minute you hurt others. There’s no good in murder, no lesson to be learned, no greater good, no big picture. It’s just evil and the most worthless thing you can do.
I said I don’t believe there’s a cure for most mental illnesses, but there are treatments, and they help. They may not make your life everything you want it to be, but whose is? They can make it worth living, and life is worth living. You’re not going to get another one, either, and neither are any people whose lives you take.
You have a responsibility to reach out for help. It won’t be easy, but it can happen.

And to politicians, it’s time to stop ignoring this problem. For a generation, we’ve shut down mental health hospitals and resources, and basically replaced them with jails. This is where we prefer to house troubled males. Apparently, we’d rather wait for them to get so ill they hurt people, then imprison them, rather than treating them.
I know getting people help is expensive, but how expensive is removing potentially productive working people from society? Would you rather admit there’s a problem with emasculated males as we move (rightly so) from a patriarchal society to a more even one, or continue to ignore the problem and say occasional murder is the price we pay for a free society?

To those of you who know someone who fits this profile, you have a responsibility, too. We all do. Contrary to popular belief, nobody just snaps. There are always warning signs. If you see them, tell someone.

As I said above, guns are easily and legally obtained where I live. I’ve been pro second amendment my whole life, and believe strongly that eliminating guns won’t eliminate crime or murder. I believe I have the right to defend myself and my son, too. But it’s time to stop pretending the ease with which the mentally ill obtain firearms isn’t a problem, either. To hell with medical privacy. We all can do something to stop this scourge. How many more people have to die?

Congressional Hearings: Probing the Important Issues of the Day

Congressional Hearings: Probing the Important Issues of Today…Not

While you and I scurry about our pointless, dull lives, congress is hard at work fighting for us. You know, you and me, the little guys. Congress is looking out for us. Don’t you feel great knowing that?
Are they talking about the Russian bomber that flew within 2,000 feet of the USS Nimitz, recently? No, don’t be silly.
Maybe they’re looking into ongoing Chinese theft of our space program secrets (not to mention nuclear secrets). Well, no, they’re not doing that, either.
Perhaps they’re doing something to help the uninsured, the working poor? Or are they brainstorming a solution to our looming energy crisis? Might be important now that gas is likely to cost say, six trillion dollars an ounce by the time our kids are in college.
Maybe they should be concerned that Chavez has threatened to stop oil exports to the US. But no, these concerns all pale in comparison to steroid use in baseball. And of course, spygate in football.
Just ask Dan Burton, the man who led the fight to impeach Bill Clinton for getting a bj and lying about it in the 90’s. He spent his allotted time alternately kissing Roger Clemens’ substantial behind, and berating Brian McNamee. Thanks, Dan. I couldn’t live without knowing you’ve personally interrogated Brian McNamee, who I for one think is a much bigger threat to our safety, security and way of life than Russia, China or Iran could ever be.
Or ask Henry Waxman (he of the huge nostrils). As Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he called for the hearings. Guess there’s nothing more important to oversee or reform. At least we can take comfort knowing that they’re not meddling with anything important, thereby insuring they’re not screwing up anything important.

Next we get to look forward to Arlen Specter deposing Belichick and Roger Goodell. Great, that should be productive.
Senator Specter: “Mr. Belichick, we have evidence you taped other games before the 2007-08 season. As an Eagles fan, I have to wonder if you may have cheated to win Super Bowl XXXIX?”

Coach Belichick: “Uh, that’s in the past, Senator, we’re really just moving on and looking forward to the 2008 season.”

I can’t wait. Can you?

How Expensive is Free Health Care?

I don’t support universal health care, a fact which boggles the mind of my more liberal co-workers. I think government control will do nothing but create another permanent bureaucracy, which will help those it employs more than those it serves. Studies consistently show that people contradict themselves, too. Ask someone, “Do you want more government,” and most say No. Ask them if they want free health care and they say yes.
That’s the problem. There is no such thing as free health care. It comes with a price. For those of you who think the price can’t possibly be higher than it is now, go to Canada, break a leg and visit an ER. Good luck.

Government wastes more than it spends, or so I say. She replied that we could save by cutting some of the waste we already have. For instance, did you know that according to Pubmed.gov, last year of life expenses account for 22% of all medical bills in the USA? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12546289?dopt=Abstract She also brought up the obscene amount of prescription drugs the elderly use-and I agree there.

This got me thinking. Do seniors have a duty to die on time? We have an aging society, where people are both living longer and having fewer children. There’s an ever smaller percentage of us working, and an increasing number of elderly or disabled people we’re supporting.
Social security was never intended to work this way. It was supposed to be an ancillary. Looking at government statistics (yes, they’re boring, but they’re important) reveals some sobering facts. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10055-supplement.html Did you know only 69% of recipients are retirees? Did you know that in 1960 there were 5.1 people paying in for every person collecting? In 2006, that number was 3.3.
Why is that bad? For starters, the government lied to us. They were supposed to take the money collected from workers and put it in a lock box, or, better yet, invest it. They didn’t. It’s the government. They spent it. They didn’t tell us, and in typical fashion, people didn’t pay attention or demand accountability. It’s too late to do anything about it. We have to tax current workers to pay current retirees. People under 40 should really think about that, too. You’re supporting your elders. You better have more kids if you want the next generation to support you.
In 1960, this system worked, of course, because if you were a worker, you weren’t supporting a retiree by your lonesome. There were 4.1 other taxpayers sharing the burden with you. Now there are only 2.3, and you’re supporting not only retirees, but the disabled and the widows of deceased retirees sometimes. Worse, in 2032, at the current pace, there will only be 2.1 people paying in for every person collecting. You’ll have one person helping you.

Why bother working? In order to support a vast non-working population, the few who are working will have to be very productive, and earn a lot, because taxes will be enormous. Anybody that says otherwise is either wrong and/or likely pushing retirement age themselves. You can’t go from having 83% of the population working to only 67% and not have a decreased standard of living.

I said all of this just to get to my point: Seniors have a duty to die on time, and young and middle age people should seriously consider having more children as well. Between the need for us young whipper-snappers to support them generally, and the fact they their decrepit bodies incur massive medical bills just to survive, it’s too much burden to bear. Time to get tough on grandma and grandpa.
You’re 75 and have prostate cancer? Sorry, but new laws dictate that we longer treat serious illnesses like cancer and heart disease among the retired. Think about what a double whammy that would be for productivity. Not only would we stop wasting money on those who are only going to live a few more years anyway, but we’d create a whole new group of productive taxpayers when we stop rewarding these lazy loungers for retiring.
Seniors never used to live this long, either. They’re killing those of us that are supposed to be in the prime of our lives. We can start with my grandfather. He’s 93, hasn’t worked in two decades and is a walking medical bill. He’s got pills for everything. Sorry, grandpa, your time limit is up. We’re not going to pay for you anymore.

We don’t have to stop there, either. The sick, the weak, the unproductive, the disabled, all can be done away with to save on expenses and preserve precious resources for those of us in our productive years.

It’s all for the greater good. Unless, of course, you still have human feelings. Unless you think that there’s something more to being a human being, in which case we should stop your bleeding heart from beating first, before even grandma and grandpa.

As you may have guessed, I’m being sarcastic about euthanizing people or not helping those in need. I am not being sarcastic about health care. I don’t claim to have an easy solution, but there’s the problem, isn’t it?
I cringe when I hear Hillary Clinton talking about solutions. I’m wary of anyone who wants to use government as a solution to societal ills. She’s no Hitler, of course, but the most famous solution proposed by any government I can think of was Hitler’s, “Final Solution.”
Truth is, there are no easy solutions, certainly not by government. We’re all looking for the easy way, when there is no easy way. The answer is hard work, good decision making and taking better care of ourselves. Yes, that’s right, you, the health care consumer have a responsibility to take care of yourself. I am not joking when I say that we should stop helping people who destroy themselves. If you’re diabetic and eat chocolate cake every night, there’s no point helping you. And in general, people of every age are too reliant on doctors and doctors are too reliant on pills (follow the money).

I don’t argue that there is a huge problem with our health care bureaucracy. But please don’t be fooled by those who promise easy solutions. When Hillary Clinton says Obama promises hope, while she promises solutions, I say be wary. Be very wary and be careful what you wish for. Sometimes you get it, and it isn’t what you thought. I know what it won’t be, and that’s free. In fact, I could think of nothing more expensive than free health care.