AND THE MORAL DECAY CONTINUES

"THE DOWNFALL OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION WILL BE THROUGH LEWD COMEDY"

-Sister DeLaSalle

WARNING: THE CONTENTS OF THIS BLOG POST MAY OR MAY NOT BE A COMPLETE STEAMY PILE OF B.S. PLEASE REFERENCE DISCLAIMER AT END.

First we have naked teenagers running amok, now cartoon characters threaten to spin what we know as reality into a downward spiral of chaos.

Man held after ad campaign triggers Boston bomb scare A talking meatball is terror in itself.

MTV has destroyed America's youth by making them listen to music with funky heart throbbing beats that call upon their base deviant instincts. Teenagers do not belong on the dance floor grinding ASS they belong in church singing their praise onto the lord JESUS... That's right Jesus Christ the one and only LORD SAVIOUR.

How has MTV destroyed America you ask?

Lets take a look..

FIRST: Video KILLED the radio star. THAT'S MURDER... If I do recall the fifth commandment (nomenclature by the Roman Catholics... the only true Christian Church... the others are all posers) "You shall not murder". And that's not all MTV has a long history of supporting and glorifying murder. Gangster rappers, your gold crosses apparently aren't big and shiny enough... or you are just wearing them in vain... and in the process BREAKING ANOTHER COMMANDMENT.

SECOND: MTV endorses lying. YES they are liars. As you may or may not know the acronym stands for M.usic T.eli V.ision and if that isn't fibbery I don't know what is. From my best knowledge it seems the last music video was played at June 6th, 6:56 AM 1996. It has been argued as to what this video actually entailed, but word on the street is that Music left Music Televising with some bumping, and some grinding.

THIRD: Pauly Shore & Jenny McCarthy were employed by this organization

FOURTH: Reality Television: It's a lie, it often involves bumping and grinding, it generally has little to do with music, and it has nothing to do with CHRIST. Secularism run amok.

FIFTH: MTV advertises smutty smutty girls.... or bitches as they are known on the street. These bitches are objectified, and generally they are very unwholesome. America's children are being taught to either acquire or become "bitches" based on their gender.

SIXTH: MTV is a lusty seductress. Nearly all people shown on "Music Television" are visions of shimmering sex appeal, a tool of SATAN. People shouldn't look good, it just leads to impure thoughts. God gives teens acne for a reason, stop advertising that OXY MTV! With a backdrop of sultry songs filled with the oohing and the ahhing and the rapping, MTV is lulling America's youth into a zombie like trance, bent on seeking pleasure regardless of consequence.

SEVENTH: HOMOSEXUAL-BESTIALITY.... it's what MTV plans on getting the youth to accept next. (anonymous source) Parents beware, when little Franky's out in the backyard with Fluffy, keep a close eye... if nothing else do it for Fluffy.

EIGHTH: Materialism, Materialism, Materialism..... PIMP my ride? Kids shouldn't drive cars... heavens knows they're just probably driving to get a halter top or a box of flavored condoms that some MTV celebrity told them about. Try riding a bike and getting some exercise aside from grinding that a$$. MTV encourages spending money that would be better spent in Sunday offerings. Think of the Pope.... he has to suffer in near poverty while teenagers play "The Sims" and get it on with the Pizza guy. See article: Materialism Television

NINTH: MTV or "Viacom" trying to become "Big Brother" through voluntary recruitment. Check out this passage from "MTV Smut Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs and Alcohol" a study performed by parentstv.org
"MTV is owned by Viacom, the same corporate giant that owns CBS (which aired the Super Bowl) and Nickelodeon, and that corporate synergy ensures that even the youngest TV viewers are getting acclimated to the MTV brand. As one TV critic put it: “Nickelodeon isn't just SpongeBob Squarepants: It's a gateway station to crotch- grabbing MTV. With millions of viewers, Nickelodeon offers the perfect cross-marketing vehicle for Viacom: Kids love it; parents trust its programming.”

TENTH: Michael Jackson: Who would he have touched without MTV? Pun intended.

DISCLAIMER: What I really think. Aqua Teen Hunger force huh? I'm heart broken, I love the cartoon, and honestly I'm going to have a tough time watching it now.

Heads should roll for this. This advertisement was a STUPID move.

I had a conversation with someone on the T this evening. He thought the Boston Police overreacted alongside the MBTA regarding the Mooninites bomb scare. Did they over react? Yeah Probably. The trouble is they really don't have a choice in today's climate. It's a major catch 22. If they don't immediately react, then there's the outside chance maybe they aren't just advertisement props, if they do, everyone's commute is inconvenienced. Ultimately the blame does rest on Turner Broadcasting who runs The Cartoon Network. They BROKE THE LAW. Plain and simple. Someone has to be held accountable, and multiple people should see jail, and Turner should pay for the bomb squad operations and some. Then there should be a civil action law suit against Turner, and they can give small cash settlements to every business that had a late delivery and stunted production. WHY did Turner Networks wait till 5:00 pm to let Boston know they were harmless ads? These and more questions have to be answered. To put it in perspective, if some poor disgruntled dorky kid can go to Juvenile hall for writing up a list of people he'd like to kill (In pre Columbine days, I think this activity was practically a right of passage) than a corporation had DAMN well better be held responsible for a stupid and illegal activity such as this.

If there is anything to be learned from this, it is that Homeland Security is not what they try to make us believe it is. These Cartoon Network devices could easily have been real bombs and the one bomb on Rt. 93 alone could have likely rivaled the WTC disaster in the loss of life. (Collapse of a busy 6-8 lane interstate on the top of a busy subway & commuter rail station) There really is little that one can do to fight terrorism, other than go after the radical culture that promotes it.

Parents, if you don't like what MTV is putting on don't plop your ten-year-olds in front of it. I think Viacom has contributed greatly to the destruction of morals in pop culture. That being said, I'd argue that secularist liberals are less likely to be watching the trash on mainstream CBS than many of the most devout. So if the so called "Christian" right wants to criticize they had better put their money where their mouth is and make those Nielsen ratings drop.

I do STRONGLY believe that my generation overall is more superficial and materialistic than those that came before, and this is largely due to a greater influence of pop culture in a world where parents have less time to spend teaching the kids right from wrong.

South Park, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, & Family Guy are for adults and kids under 13 probably shouldn't watch it. Even young teens probably should have adult commentary on the absurdity to explain the satire.

My opinions voiced, I am against censorship. People have the right to tune out, and the responsibility lies with us to rise above the negative messages of reality TV and to prevent the youth from being exploited. Additionally rather than completely shutting off youth from the rampart culture of hedonism, people must realize their intelligence and have honest and well thought out discussions with them, rather than just proclaiming it wrong.

Sadly I do NOT believe religion is the answer to prevent people from giving into weaknesses. Organized Religion lives off the weakness of humankind, and if they were to end it they would no longer be needed. There's nothing wrong with faith provided it is grounded in sound judgement. That being said going to mass and paying your tithes doesn't make repeated SIN disappear no matter how much confessing is done. AND greed & killing in the name of GOD is a major spiritual contradiction.

STREAKING!

Au Naturale... and inducing PANIC! AIEEEE!!!!

Cops Taser Student Running Naked Through High School Cafeteria This article was just about the "top" article in the Fox News web page Monday night. I guess they just want to make a point of the lewd, lewd, perversions that rampart secularism has unleashed upon society. Tsk Tsk... What I really don't get is why it was necessary to taser the kid. Ohhh but he might kill us all will his mad mad naked mojo!

I'm sure there must have been crying kids... parents probably came to pick them up. "Mom... I don't think I'll ever be able to go back there again... what if, I mean.... oh God its so awful, I can't even say it."

"It's alright dear, Mommy's here you can tell me..."

"What if... wha, what if SOMEONE ELSE GOT NAKED?!!!" "bwaaa!" The student shakes struggling to hold back a barrage of frightened tears.

This is why we need to ban the hippy-hop music and the devilish rock and roll. Furthermore, teenagers should be required to have locks fastening their garments together, THEY JUST CAN'T BE TRUSTED!!!!

When will the injustice end? We have to hold these dangerous, dangerous, denizens to account for their poor choices. I blame this squarely on the destruction of American values.

IN OTHER NEWS

Octogenarian claims $254 million jackpot Not to be morbid or anything but doesn't that seem like a tax collector's dream? I'm speaking of course about the estate tax... The guy better get himself a good honest accountant.

Uncle Sam spoils dream trip to space Talk about LAME. Lame because the government has the gall to tax a technically non-income prize, and additionally lame that the prize granters don't compensate for this. It would seem to me that the prize would be sort of "a gift" but I guess Its just not a free country.

The President who Cried Wolf

Olbermann's powerful rant. Some might call it liberal propaganda, they probably are the same folks who believe Bill O'Reilly really speaks in a "No Spin Zone".

New Music for the New Year...

I'm enjoying some new purchases and also looking forward to the new release by "The Arcade Fire" due out in March.

Bought the new Shins album on its release day like a gleeful teenager. It is a departure from there first two albums. I've seen a lot of reviews on this album, and surprisingly they have been very inconsistent. If there has been anything consistent about the reviews is that the album has a lot of good qualities but perhaps isn't as good as the first two. This album still is a good listen, and if you are a Shins fan, don't overlook it.

On earlier albums the shins were compared to Brian Wilson, The Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkle. On Wincing the Night Away, I don't think these comparisons are valid any longer but people continue to make them. (That says a lot coming from me, because I tend to find Beatles influences where they probably aren't there.. at least not directly) This album I feel has jumped on the tails of the New Wave revival, which has fizzled a bit recently only to be replaced by disposable pop/over produced acts like "Panic on the Dancefloor" & "Fall Out Boy". I'm hoping this, along with the sets from "The Arcade Fire", and "Clap your Hands Say Yeah's" new release "Some Loud Thunder" will bring some attention back to music that hasn't be influenced too much by record companies. (see Arcade Fire's link above [to myspace] for new song samples)

I read one review on "Wincing the Night Away" that called it a clash of Brian Wilson & The Cure, and I suppose this would be the most accurate of the many, I feel, inattentive reviews out there. More than the Cure, The Shins are calling on Morrisey, and several songs sound like they are almost covers of "The Smiths" namely "Sea Legs" with its drum machine, and repetitive base lines. Vocal fluctuations throughout the album recall Morrisey. The song writing style which is a collision of non repeating verse reminds one of the Crowded House's atypical stand out "Don't Dream its over" and is more difficult to sing along to than REM's "End of The World". And truthfully while these are the very qualities which will alienate many, they are also the qualities that make these songs unique and great. Revisiting past work of "The Shins" reveals more of the 80s balladeer influence than I perhaps noticed in the face of the plethora of "60s" comparisons out there, however on their third effort they fully embrace this unusual style. The musical foundations of Wincing's tracks rather than the overwhelmingly absent chorus structures are what make these gems special. The music is grounded in simplicity while the lyrics and vocals are steeped in complexity. The Shins take a strategy contrary to that of a typical band and make it deliver.

I downloaded "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" "Some Loud Thunder" and this is yet another gem by this word of mouth indie label phenomenon. "Satan Said Dance" will likely be a hit for them if released. It is the odd ball of the CD, however it still captures their quirky style, and sets up that "evil" mystique that has worked for so many others in Rock, from "The Rolling Stones" to "Marlyn Manson". "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" for those unfamiliar has a sound in the vein of the "Talking Heads" and the NYC band likely has a lot of "Arcade Fire" fans amongst its ranks. I looked up their myspace page and discovered the "pre-release" deal where I got to download the entire album, and they are sending me a copy in the mail. Pretty cool....

MY WEEKEND: Kate and I hung out Saturday Night and Sunday. Saturday I baked a Harrow's Chicken Pot Pie, which I highly recommend to anyone who is close enough to Reading, MA to pick one up. Sunday I went shopping and after a bit of an exhaustive search bought myself two pairs of new jeans. I looked for new sneakers, but nothing called out to me except one pair, which they did not have my size in. Figures. Kate & I went to abundant chain restaurant, "The Macaroni Grill". I'd never been to one of these before. It was a good affordable lunch, I had lasagna, and Kate stuffed pasta. For only $1.79 extra on their lunch menu I had a Caesar salad with my meal. Can't beat that! Not certain I'll be a regular there but it was a decent meal. Kate also partook in the shopping experience and bought herself a new pair of gloves. Her last pair had a couple of missing finger tips.

Anyway... here I am on the eve of yet another exciting week. Oh boy.

STATE OF THE UNION: Bush & Webb Stellar Delivery

January 23rd, 2007 was as good as it gets in American politics, or as bad as it gets depending on how you want to look at it.

George Bush delivered a well worded summary of his vision for 2007. Read Transcript He began the speech with a seemingly genuine congratulatory gesture towards our first woman speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi. It was a beautiful gesture which stepped over party lines and will likely be replayed on the cable news channels for months to come (especially when they start fighting again). I felt this speech hit a lot of the right notes, and I was just about calling for his blood to be drawn when he walked into the house chamber.

There were several major flaws in Bush's "new ideas", the most notable the health care proposal. Perhaps this will encourage discussion on the issue, but Bush's proposal is radical, and favors insurance businesses more than those looking for health coverage. The most detestable portion of it, which was not really addressed in the speech is how he plans to allow people to deduct health care benefits from taxes. In order to do this he proposes to make health care benefits into taxable income. This portion was conveniently left out of the speech. This could possibly cause many employee coverage plans to become more expensive, it would further complicate the tax code, and create new taxes.... Why? Well, Bush & company want to reward their supporters just as they did with Medicare reform, a giant pay out to insurance and drug companies.

How is this a payout? Well the true root of Bush's strategy is to encourage competition between insurance companies. Ultimately his plan would try to force everyone to abandon their employer subsidized plans and support individual plans, because they'll get a bigger tax break that way. Individual plans will likely cost more, but the rebates will more than make up the difference. So in away Bush's plan is REALLY a tax break to insurers (shocker). I feel that there will be minimal competition in this arena at best over the long run. Health care is like gas for a car, in most cases every American will need it.

The real irony is that this plan will increase taxes (despite the rebates) because health care benefits will be considered as income AND spending will increase (Is it just me or does this contradict another portion of W's speech in a MAJOR way?) Increased tax revenue will likely be temporary because in several years everyone will switch to private plans which have bigger rebates. This revenue in theory is supposed to be used to provide Government subsidized health care for children. If it dries up from people switching over to non-employer provided plans can the new health care for children be supported? Probably not.

This also sounds a lot like a past proposal by another Bush which failed:
Bush Weighing Health Care Plan With Means Testing, Benefits Tax

To get a better, more clear explanation of Bush's new plan see this recent Washington Post article on Saturday's Presidential radio address:
Bush Seeks Shift in Health Coverage

Additionally Bush FINALLY cited "Global Climate Change" as a reason to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. This is great, his proposals to cut gasoline consumption by 20 % over 10 years, it's about time. That being said, subsidises for ethanol production will not solve the greenhouse gas emissions, in fact it will allow relatively the same amount of pollutants to be emitted, if not more, for the increased production of EtoH here in the U.S. This is an excellent idea to subsidize the ethanol industry, however ethanol use should be included in a greater fuel consumption statistic. His plan really does not address environmental issues, unless the hybrid manufacturing completely takes over the industry in ten years. What the plan does do, (AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY) is decreases dependency on foreign oil, and would likely revitalize the lumber industry, as well as the corn industry, for the production of fuel. It would really create a lot of new jobs, and a lot of additional industry, and this would be good for the rural areas that would be positively influenced.

A positive point in which I have no complaints is Bush's logical immigration plan which will supply additional work visas for the large Mexican population which seeks illegal temporary work in the United states. In addition to this is provision is a proposed increase in border control. Allowing more Mexican immigrants to legally work here will decrease the burden put upon the border patrol. I think it is an intelligent plan, and it is not amnesty as some hard liners believe it is. Now that the Democrats have control, hopefully this is one piece of legislation that will pass successfully.

On Iraq, Bush has an internal conviction that he is doing the right thing, and he wants us to believe in him. Its a really tough sell at this point in the game, however he was confident, direct, and honest about how he sees the battle, and why he believes we must persevere.

I think we need to try and "fix" Iraq, however I have doubts in the arbitrary 21,500 extra troops, and the lack of diplomacy. I do think W will get his chance to try his new strategy for several months before Congress cuts funding, and some of that is probably owed to this speech.

Perhaps the most brilliant moment in the speech aside from the introduction of Pelosi, was the following: "We went into this largely united -- in our assumptions, and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq -- and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field -- and those on their way." The pairing of the new strategy with supporting troops in the field, and "those on their way" forced everyone to applaud the new troops, or risk appearing like they do not support our military. Very savvy.

THE FRESHMAN SENATOR JIM WEBB'S RESPONSE (transcript)

Jim Webb is a tremendous asset for the democratic party. The choice of this moderate senator from Virginia to deliver the response to Bush was spot on. Missing from the speech was the normal leftist, excuse me from saying so, but leftist crap. It was a well thought out, to the point speech that addressed the lack of diplomacy in the Iraq war. An effective tool he used was to evoke several former presidents (all Republicans).

"As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. "When comes the end?" asked the general who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War II. And as soon as he became president, he brought the Korean War to an end. "

Webb was a bit misleading on the state of the economy, however:

Webb claims: "Wages and salaries for our workers are at all-time lows as a percentage of national wealth, even though the productivity of American workers is the highest in the world." Apparently per ca pita wages are not at all time lows. What has happened is the rich are getting richer, which has been in the process of occurring for the past 25 years, greatly due to the strength of the stock market, and a quarter decade stretch of trickle down/supply side economics. (The Reagan Legacy) The wealthy invest in our economy by creating new business, and many invest in the world through charitable ventures. I do not see wealth as a crime, and I'm not even going to pass judgement on how the wealthy use their money. This is supposed to be a free country.

COMMENTARY ON THE STATE OF THE UNION

Hillary: Senator Clinton's interview on MSNBC was actually the best of the presidential hopefuls to comment on Bush's speech. When I say "the best" what I mean is she was the sharpest, the most eloquent, and she really knew her stuff. She made me believe that if she plays her cards well, the Democratic nomination will be her. Beyond this for the first time EVER, I felt there was a real chance Bill Clinton will be the first First Man. Some quotes regarding her response, specifically to Bush reaching over the party line:

"The proof is in the pudding"
"Lets see what happens"
"Lets try to get something done"
"Lets try to find common ground"
On Iraq:
"Where is the internationalization?"
"Where is the reaching out to the neighbors?"

James Carville is on board Hillary's campaign (big surprise), and while Carville is one ugly S.O.B. he is as sharp as a tack. It shows Hillary's response to the speech was overwhelmingly positive, and constructive. This is what America wants, Hillary's opponents are not on to this, and it could be a problem for them later on.

Chris Matthews claims that it will be 50:50 that she'll be the next Democrat nominee for President.

Now that I've painted Hillary's capability to mobilize in a positive light I do have a stone to flip over:
CNN debunks false report about Obama

This article alleges that Hillary dug up dirt to try to connect Obama to Islamic extremism. Apparently it alleges that he attended a fundamentalist Islamic school as a child. It has been "debunked" as the article says. Stay tuned for more of these tactics, some of them we'll know about, other perhaps we won't until the election is over. It happened when Bill ran, it will happen again, and likely prove successful.

Obama: Barack Obama was once a possible "good democrat" in my eyes, however I've come to understand that his platform is perhaps more quasi-socialist than Hillary's. I thought there was a chance he could win on his charisma, but after seeing him interviewed, directly following Hillary I don't believe there's much of a chance. He didn't interview well, he stuttered (reminds me of someone else...) He didn't seem to grasp the State of the Union's topics and simply dismissed it rather than talking about it in any detail. His tact was to be opposed and negative to nearly everything. In 8 years, perhaps Obama will be ready, but I don't think he's there yet. Perhaps we'll see him as the vice presidential candidate. Bottom line he did not stand up to Hillary... yes Hillary the ice queen, now that's saying something.

Obama did give Bush credit for his work in Africa fighting AIDS and Malaria, which he said had made a large difference, and was very commendable. I do have to give him credit for not being completely confrontational I suppose.

Edwards was interviewed, but all the Interviewer seemed to ask him about was his candidacy and lead in Iowa polls. Oh and it has been established that Edwards doesn't like the Iraq war. Good to know :D

Bush supposedly was quoted today before his speech as saying if Abraham Lincoln delivered tonight's speech, he wouldn't be able to change the public's opinion of the war. I guess that shows his conviction, for good or for bad. Lets just hope that the Commander in Chief's seemingly misguided "stategery" isn't as bad as it seems.

My DAY: WOW...... So I'm actually going to write something non-political? Go figure!

My work day was relatively productive. I managed to go in a bit early, did a couple of experiments, helped some others out, ate lunch, did some notebook work, worked on some reports and then left. I stopped by Borders and picked up the new Shins album, and a Todd Rundergrun greatest hits cd. Rundergrun was another 70s soft rock singer/songwriter (hello its me, amongst others). Haven't had the chance to listen to them, but I think I'm going to load them onto my computer now.

Yipeee it's hump day!!!! 1/2 way to the weekend.

WAAAAAAAHHHHHH....

The Weekend and the Upset

Of course if you are in New England, it is likely you are already well aware of the upset against the Patriots. The team kind of fell apart in the second half, and I suppose on that first touchdown they got sort of lucky with the fumble recovery.... Anyway... I guess despite our rivalry I will pull for the Colts in the Superbowl. Manning needs his Superbowl victory.

Other than that I had a good weekend. Made steak tips on Saturday night with french fries, salad, and scallops wrapped in bacon. Had a pancake breakfast Sunday after I put together a chili and set it up for a slow cook in the crock pot. Kate came over and enjoyed the cooking. It was a lazy weekend, although we did go for a short walk in the crisp weather on Sunday.

It looks like some major saber rattling by some of the world's most angry figures has made the headlines. First will start closer to our neighborhood.

Chavez to U.S.: 'Go to hell, gringos!'

Bwwaaaah haa haa haaaa!!!
Oh... and this little excerpt from the article is priceless:
"They took out Saddam Hussein and they hanged him, for good or worse. It's not up to me to judge any government, but that gentleman was the president of that country," Chavez said.

While I'm not going to argue that going into Iraq was a brilliant or necessary course of action, I will say the world's loss of Saddam isn't exactly an atrocity. Everything else about the Iraq war has been a complete chaotic unplanned disaster which has brought more instability to the globe. On calling Saddam a gentlemen, well.... I guess Chavez didn't keep to his promise on not "judging other governments".

The irony is the U.S. cared two sh*ts about Saddam's ethnic cleansing activity when he was doing our bidding by confronting Iran. The United States was willing to turn its head on barbarism as long as the barbarians were helping defeat Communism or supporting various economic interests.

Iran to Test-Fire Missiles in Military Exercises

Ahmadinejad says to the West... "Look at me, look at me, I'm evil too! I've been working on my Napoleon complex and decided to give it a little trial...." And so it begins....

Well I suppose we are really overdue for WWIII. I figure eventually Cheney or Bush will actually hit one of these hornet nests with their b-b guns and they will fall from the tree, and angry insects will just swarm all over the world. (actually they are preoccupied kicking the Iraq nest around.... but in a moment of boredom, they could get easily distracted) If we are lucky it won't happen, because I hear Dick is a really lousy shot. If they do bust open a nest, I imagine W will say "heh heh heh... that was wicked Awesome... reminded me of that time I hid and shot Jeb in the ass with my twenty two... boy poppy sure was pissed". After a nuclear winter cools the planet a couple of degrees as a result of WWIII, W will claim all along that it was his plan to save us from global warming. "Betcha never saw that one coming did ya.... BAM... take that Gore.... I call it "A Very Convenient Truth"... pretty clever huh? Condy and I were talkin about it one night when we were at "Chi Chi's Taqueria".... and when she said that line I just about snorted my entire dinner out of my nose. Those Chimchangas really burned up my sinuses... couldn't smell for a week..... it reminded me of this other time I got this stuff in my nose... ohhh yeah Karl says I should zip it... heh heh ietquay onway ethay ocainecay"

Happy Monday all....

IT'S FRIDAY, MAY THE WEEKEND BEGIN... go PATS!

Stephen Colbert Lands O'Reilly

O'Reilly, Colbert to appear on each other's shows This puppy was on T.V. tonight, I had been looking forward to it for quite some time, and it was totally worth it. O'Reilly was generally a good sport, but he did not know how to react to Stephen Colbert, and he was genuinely nervous to be there. At first he came out slightly antagonistic, after about a third of the audience audibly boo-ed him. He said at one point in the interview that it was a bad move to go on the show, and Colbert replied "I hope we can convince you otherwise". At one point O'Reilly almost alluded to what I believe is a truth, that he and Colbert both have one thing in common, both or their shows are acts. The best laugh was when Colbert showed his book, he had a copy with a "30% off" sticker, which was just priceless. Genuinely the interview was a bit disappointing, because little substance was discussed, and it seemed shorter than normal.

Anyway, I must apologize for my absence this week. I've had some bad luck falling asleep on the futon, then waking up at an un-godly hour.

U.S. official: Chinese test missile obliterates satellite

OK... honestly, I get it, the Chinese can shoot down a hunk of junk weather satellite, but honestly has the U.S. military not foreseen that other countries may develop this capability. Are our satellites really that vulnerable? Apparently so.... perhaps there is a reason we can't make them stealth? The following recent article speculates on this a bit: Stealth satellites
Cold War myth or operational reality? I found the possibility of using "decoy satellites" to throw off adversaries really amusing.

The most ridiculous portion of the Chinese Satellite news article (see title of section for link) was the reference to a policy in which W has declared the United States military supreme overlords in space. One notable portion of this assertion is that space should be free... accept when you piss off America. Its a good thing we are such a noble nation with every one's best interests at heart (cough.. cough... excuse me tickle in my throat).

And the Idiot of the week award goes to: (drum roll please) Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who approved this little whoops Ricky? Ted Nugent fires up GOP crowd, and not in a good way

At the rentals: I watched "The World According to Garp" which was a great book, and a not so good movie. Good cast, but a poor production out of the early 80s. Some scenes were really well done and a few even had a certain artistic flare, such as one bit where Garp (Robin Williams) looks through venetian blinds to see memories of the past. Most of the movie was crap, poorly directed, bad acting, a bad script, you name it. It was a let down, but I'll likely still give it three stars out of five on Netflix, but only because the book was so good. I felt they changed a lot of things about the way the characters acted which made the film seem more farcical than it should have come off. Jenny Fields came off too confident, Garp in the book feared driving, and didn't like reckless drivers. In the movie they show him repeatedly driving in a haphazard manner to make his kids laugh... which was really is against who he was as a character, and another seen where he is angry at a serial speeder going through his neighborhood. They also diminished to a great extent Garp's weakness for women, which changes the significance of later events in the story. You had a tough time "feeling the scenes". The story teeters between dark comedy and drama. I feel the director had a difficult time separating the two.

I've got to admit, I was a bit astonished when I learned they made a movie of this book. It would be a herculean effort to accomplish it properly. I think the choices of what was included were bizarre and left a lot of holes in the story. It was though at one point a lot more had been filmed, and then they just went back and cut things out of the middle. Really to do this story justice, I feel it would need to be a miniseries... and it could definitely be one with several entertaining installments.

WELL.... have a good weekend all...... and don't worry too much about the satellites, I'm sure they'll be just fine, until China attacks Taiwan (penciled in for whenever we attack Iran and/or Syria).

The Definition of the Homeless Situation

Fixing a Problem that is difficult to define:

I thought I would address this often controversial topic briefly tonight in the blog. A couple of items of I've recently seen have brought it to the front of my mind. Notably, The Pursuit of Happyness, the film Kate & I saw was an excellent movie about how monetary and debt problems can spiral out of control. While the protagonist and his son found themselves spending a several nights on the street, the homeless people that we typically encounter tend not to be those suffering from these consequences. This lifestyle typically is a choice, albeit one made in an unstable mental state. Perhaps it is drug addiction, gambling or a series of other vices that has led them to value supporting these parasitic life choices, over what a normal person would view as important. There are many people who have families etc. and are employed, however their homelessness, while problematic is something that tends to be temporary rather than chronic. You'll find that politicians and certain organizations will gloss over this, or report the information in a manner which would cause a different interpretation.

The second item causing me to revisit the issue of homeless was a letter to the editor in the Boston Metro (The free tabloid trash handed out on the subway which makes college newspapers seem like finely crafted examples of the printed press). This letter was titled "Billions could go toward beggars" At this point... I can't help it, I'm already a little miffed. So I continue reading and the REAL thing that got me was the following portion:

"There is no excuse for anyone to have to beg for anything in a society that can spend money on replacing perfectly good public buildings (City Hall) or spend double-digit billions putting two miles of highway underground (Big Dig) or plan to spend $1 billion on a new football stadium (in Texas). Multiply this kind of spending by all of the major cities"

I found it ironic that she chose "The Big Dig" and "City Hall", two projects created by Democrats (Dukakis for the Big Dig, Menino for the idea of a new City Hall). Two Democrats that I'm almost certain would call themselves advocates for the homeless. Democrats, tend to be the primary endorsers of giant unnecessary public works projects. (Although NO-ONE with an ounce of sense would refute the necessity of redesigning and constructing Boston's former decrepit central artery, now known as the "Big Dig".) Democrats support bond issues and increased spending on public works because it is a form of social welfare which can be trace back in the party all the way to FDR, who really made a big splash using this practice with the New Deal.

An idealistic world, we could let our bridges crumble and give all that money to people who aren't standing on solid ground, however if we didn't have bridges, it would hurt commerce. If we didn't have football stadiums, less hot dogs, beer, and merchandise would be sold and made. All of this would reduce the work force. Construction of facilities like stadiums, yes... and even a new city hall provide a steady flow of income into our economy. So what Margo Cotham proposes to do INSTEAD is to take the money that would be used to improve the lives of arguably, millions of people... and just split several billion dollars amongst the several thousand homeless (and actually she just specified beggars, so that probably whittles it down to a couple hundred) in Boston. They'll all be making six figures.... 1,000,000,000/10,000= $100,000.00.

What irritates me is the level of naivete in her letter, her view about the homeless situation is about as complex as George W. Bush's view to solving the problems in the Middle East (e.g. It's kind of lacking, shall we say, SHADES OF GREY?)

Singling out beggars really irks me, because there have been multiple studies showing that they actually make fairly good money. This is why they do it. Most homeless people do not engage regularly in begging. As someone who works in a neighborhood with a methadone clinic, I see the same 5-6 people working the same spots all the time. If all homeless people had to resort to begging as Margo implies, there would not be a city block in the city without 2-3 homeless people out there asking for change.

The following is an Abstract from PubMed (NIH) on panhandling:

Income and spending patterns among panhandlers

People vote and think too much too often with their hearts. And it is good to want to help people and it is good to be sensitive. However, we must, WE MUST, remember that it is a tough world. Sacrifices must be made, and while we can bend over backwards to help people, only so much can be done.

This being said, I believe more can be done to rectify the homeless problem, however it is unlikely it will ever be completely eradicated.

Amongst ideas that are worth exploring: Replacing Methadone Clinics, with Heroin Clinics; Restoring Mental Health Facilities removed in decades past; further engaging the homeless to employ them; further explore assistance to religious charities; Discharge planning from correctional facilities.

I also want to point out that the problem of homelessness is tarnished by propaganda and politicians who will use the plight of these people to support their pet projects and careers. These people have been taking in larger sums of money for years, and yet apparently little of this seems to actually help the victims.

To make my point of the load of crap out there here are a few contradictions:

Freedonation.com says: According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, up to 600,000 men, women and children go homeless every night in the United States alone.

Almanac of Policy issues says: On any given night in America, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless, according to estimates of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

National Alliance to end homelessness: Most Americans underestimate how the problem of homelessness affects families. About 600,000 families and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States. (apparently the former two sites either consider families 1 person, or... perhaps children aren't people... or this number is inflated? naw... couldn't be.)

NLCHP claims: Over the past year, over 3 million men, women, and children were homeless.

How many people are homeless? Why? Over a five-year period, about 2–3 percent of the U.S. population (5–8 million people) will experience at least one night of homelessness. (OK now... we are getting to the route of things... "one night of homelessness"---- What qualifies someone as homeless... and how are statistics being warped to suggest an inflated number? Does staying at a friend's, a hotel or motel, between leases qualify you as homeless for a night? If so it shouldn't. What if you had to sleep in your car for a night.... that would suck, but would that make you homeless?)

So... the politicizing of the issue, which I'm not certain is always done with the best interests of the chronically homeless, or those between leases with no means of paying for a place to stay.... This exploitation, I believe hardens many on the right to not take this issue as seriously as they should. For people like Margo Cotham, who want to speak with an activist's rhetoric in regards to the issue, I wish they would get a hold of their passion, so that they do not inflict more harm than good to their cause.

I for one, would like to see some accountability from politicians. And I think organizations which receive increased government funding to fight this battle should have to show how they've used the funds to help their cause. Otherwise we may as well just be digging another several faulty tunnels.

JANUARY "half time"

When does the band perform? And I fully expect some dancing girls with batons to come out or I'm going to be quite disappointed.

Well... another weekend come and gone (five days till the next one!). Mine started off with an office party where Dave, Christine, Norbert (my coworkers) and myself went to Flat top Johnny's in Cambridge for some free pool & drinks. It was a good time, it had been about a year since I last played pool. I was rusty to start off, but got better as the evening progressed.

Saturday Night I met up with Kate and her friend Michelle at at the Sunset Grill in Allston. I imagined my first impression on her was a bit of a mixed one. For instance, I insisted that "Prey" was Michael Crichton's new book when in fact it is called "Next". Prey was put out several years ago. There was consensus confusion on the cover having a monkey and bar code however, which indeed is on the cover of "Next" not "Prey". I suppose my confusion, encouraged this further confusion, after all, TYPICALLY, people know the title of the book they are reading... not me titles are for suckers.

The sunset Grill meal was good, and Michelle was nice, and Kate & I had a good weekend. We went and saw the Pursuit of Happyness (Intentionally misspelled title....for all of the suckers out there) which I felt was excellent. It is a very sad movie, and realistically portrays who bad times can seem to build with that snowball effect.

Patriots beat the Chargers... Wooo!!! I confess I didn't watch the game, although I should probably try and catch this next one against the Colts.

In the News:

Because the Iraq thing is going so smashingly why the hell not?
White House: Can't rule out attack on Iran

This is great news, however it pains me knowing how long it can take for drugs & potential treatments to be developed in relation to discoveries such as these. It is likely that the elders in our lives may not benefit but perhaps we shall.
Scientists identify Alzheimer's gene in study

Ooooh shady monetary promises to the public. I suppose I can't complain about this one too much, as I believe the government should help support higher education where it can. The amusing thing, is that they aren't living up to the entire campaign promise if you read the fine print... and next week? Up for vote NEXT WEEK?! Hey Dems what happened to the "first 100 hours pledge" and why isn't the press putting the failure to achieve this goal on the front page. YOU know they would if it was the GOP. (hmmmmmm.....) Not to defend the GOP, but just to remind everyone that the Dems wrote the book on the very traits that landed the Republicans back on curb. Don't get your hopes too high that things will change.... for the better. THIRD PARTY.... a Moderate Party..... Its what we need.
Democrats propose lower interest on some student loans

And some old news... If you call it "news" but this is the piece that made Barney Frank (Senator MA) rather unfriendly towards Stephen Colbert.

SAD, Crispy Pizza, and Aiiieeee!!! Climate Change

After a WEE hiatus due to perhaps a touch of S.easonal A.ffective D.isorder, or as some like to call it "SAD", I'm back to begin posting again. Praise Jesus, and all of his disciples. And speaking of the Lord, may he shine upon our friend Mr. Caprio in his time of need, so that he may meet his deadlines, goals, and whatever other work crap he may have, and return to a life of semi-leisure so that he may enjoy it better. AMEN (Three candles have been lit in the shrine, one for Caps, one for Steve Jobs, and another for Steve Guttenberg)

I had my lovely Wednesday evening with Kate.

Kate made a pizza tonight, and for a change it did not smell like B.O., but it did get a little crispy. Despite this, the pizza was still quite good. Kate's Mom had bought her a pizza stone for Christmas and it made a very nice crust.

We watched W's speech (guess that speaks for itself... I'm not even certain what to think.... half of the stuff he proposed just pissed me off because I couldn't help but wonder why we weren't performing the items a couple years ago... like "not abandoning an area we just finished securing").

As promised GLOBAL WARMING... Aiiiiiieeeeeee!!!!!!!

Yes... Yes... Global temperatures are rising. There now is enough data that shows it is fairly consistent across the globe. And yes... there's lots of snow in Colorado... but warmer oceans bring more precipitation.... and it's still going to get cold at a mile in elevation.... even after warming a couple of degrees.

Going over differences in "climate" which can make Global Warming a tough pill to swallow is this article from the Times:
The Ununited States, When It Comes to the Weather


This next article discusses what I see as a unfortunately realistic view of Global Warming:
A New Middle Stance Emerges in Debate over Climate Change

Most people will not refute that Global Warming is a reality. Sure you can't prove absolutely how much of an impact humans have on the climate, but to deny it is very ignorant. The average temperature in cities for example is higher than the country side. This is a common known fact, and it is an example of the effect human beings have on the environment on a small scale.

Fossil Fuels represent the ancient remains of plant life that once existed thousands of years ago. Plants remove CO2 from the air and release the oxygen. They retain the Carbon, then die. After being compacted and heated for thousands of years, coal, oil & natural gasses are formed as byproducts. Burning these recreates the CO2 that was removed. Some estimates claim that we have burned over 2/3 of the total supply of such deposits. This represents the carbon dioxide that it took plant life hundreds of thousands of years to remove from the atmosphere, and took us a couple hundred years to return to it.

Ice cores taken from Antarctica and Greenland have allowed scientists to retroactively record the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and the data collected supports (or proves) this theory, showing that carbon dioxide levels have reached a point not seen since dinosaurs roamed the planet.

No one knows what affect the carbon dioxide levels will have on the long term climate. It is all here say and predictions. All that can be said is that it will have an effect.

I think it is foolish NOT to try and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, so DESPITE a lack of evidence that the carbon dioxide will spell doom... I think better air quality, less money to terrorists, finding a power source we won't run out of (WE will run out of fossil fuels, probably within the next century certainly if not much earlier at our current rate of consumption) aren't things to scoff at. They will not destroy our economy. Yes there are other nations who also aren't doing their part but we should lead by example.

That being said as the "Middle Stance" article above states... I believe the ball is rolling. I don't think there is a whole lot we can do to reverse the warming trend, likely enhanced by carbon dioxide. Whether this will lead us into a hotter drier, or hotter and humid world, probably depends on where you live, and remains to be seen. Some say it may even push us towards another ice age, as increased precipitation starts to build up in the form of ice in the globe's colder regions. As ice is reflective, (white) the theory is that it will reflect heat and further contribute to climate cooling, if enough of it is created.

I don't like the attitude that conservation is a waste of time. To not take care of what we have is completely stupid. We were given quite a gift to have a planet so unique as to be able to sustain such a great amount of life. We should treat it with the respect and care it requires.

BWAAAAH!!!!!

Gawd I had an awful day....

I woke up to the rain. Nothing got accomplished at work, everything went wrong... I discovered a fairly bad mistake I did a couple of weeks ago (although luckily consequences were not dire) and what makes it worse, is I have NO IDEA how I did it! (convenient time to discover it, right in the midst of yearly reviews). Oh there is other annoying crap too... I couldn't find my mp3 player on the way in to work, and after much grief it was right in my backpack. The train ride home sucked. I went to the store to pick up a few groceries and I dropped things. Everyone on the road was completely clueless and sat there for 15 seconds when the light turned green. Other people cut me off. I got back to the apartment and I busted one of my cd cases when I put on my backpack while getting out of the car. On the way up the stairs, one of my grocery bags ripped and the stuff fell down a flight of stairs. I bought some Chinese food and it was bland... and of course I ate too much of it. Well... I suppose that's enough whining for now..... I guess I was overdue. DAMN.... I just wish I could get to the bottom of that mistake. Grrrrrr.....

Anyway I've gotta apologize because I had planned to write a decent blog entry, but instead I put this up instead. I had this great bit I wanted to put up about global warming... I think I'll have to delay it.

I will put up this link of positive news on the stem cell front.

Stem cell researchers hopeful, cautious over 'giant step foward'

Amniotic fluid contains usable stem cells that are similar to embryonic stem cells. This could circumvent a great deal of the controversy over this type of research, and make cell lines easier to create!

ANY WAY... have a terrific Tuesday. I'm hoping somehow that I will.

It's all about the Pikes....

MY WEEKEND: My weekend was a busy one. Kate came over Friday and we ate copious amounts of pizza and bread sticks. Saturday we went to Kelly's for lunch and had their classic Roast Beef sandwiches, and fries of course. We then went walking up around the nature reserves in Medford/Malden, where I discovered a swimming hole. It said Medford residents only, but I'm determined to figure out a way to sneak in this summer.

Saturday evening Kate and I went our separate ways. We both had birthday parties to attend to. I went to Chris Pike's and it was this big poker shin dig. I kind of wish I had brought some cash, but alas I was foolish and forgot. I never play, but I think I could have picked it up easy enough.




These "Fake" $100 bills were handed out at the party. I added "color" & crossed out the "legal tender" bit just so no one accuses somebody of counterfeiting money or some nonsense. :D

Sunday was a good day. Kate & I walked from Wellington Station to Davis Square and went to Mike's (a favorite cheap Italian place of ours) for supper. Later I went to Borders and picked up "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, and The Beatles "Love". Love is a remix put together by George Martin and son for the new Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas. The remix is different, & definitely preserves the craftsmanship of the Beatles. The most notable thing is how much crisper/clearer their voices are with the new technology used to put this cd together. I recommend it to any Beatles fan who doesn't think its too blasphemous. After all George Martin was called the 5th Beatle by some.

THE FINE LINE WHEN ONE PERSON'S DISABILITIES BECOME OTHER'S DISABILITY

Now perhaps this makes me an ass hole, but I can definitely say I completely side with the school on this one... although you know... YOU KNOW... that ultimately the law will be abused and the media will force the school to accept this dog.

The school is deathly afraid of this woman, the kid, public fall out etc, but at least they aren't just rolling over. They are currently not explaining themselves, because it will be unpopular. Well this is an instance of what is "Right" not being popular.

Hearing impaired teen's dog banned from NY school

CNN Interview

The CNN interviewer above is slightly... (and I mean very slightly) a little less of a sensationalist when it comes to his story. He does not ask the right questions, and the boy answers the question "Don't you think the dog will distract the other kids?" selfishly by talking about himself.

OK... so I'm a big jerk. Why can't the deaf kid have his dog? Why is this going to be an abuse of "The Americans with Disabilities Act"? Well... let me tell you.

The mother and son, admit that aside from missing his dog, (Awwwwwww) his learning abilities are not impaired. The boy has an interpreter which goes with him to all of his classes, so the idea that he "needs" this dog at school is complete B.S.

Next, bringing this dog in school would almost definitely aggravate several students in every class who will be allergic to it. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, allergies to dogs or cats occur in approximately 15% of the population. Further more this trend has been shown to be on the rise. This translates to about 1 in 7 people..... actually 1 in 6.7 if you want to be exact. The allergies will weaken the immune systems of children, making them more susceptible to colds & flues which will in turn eventually put the rest of the school population at greater risk as well.

Additionally, this boy will have to have special privileges to leave class and allow the dog to go do its duties (Interrupting class). This will tax school security further as well, as they will need to have someone accompany him. (I guess the interpreter?) Where will the dog eat? Other kids will likely taunt the dog, or want to play with the dog.

This boy isn't blind, AND he isn't even completely deaf. He has cochlear implants allowing him to hear when there isn't a tremendous amount of background noise.

This whole event stinks terribly of a publicity stunt. The whole way it was set up, the way questions are answered in the interview. Note that it appears somewhat evident that the mother in NO way warned or approached the school about the need for this dog, but rather just sent the boy with his new best friend "Simba" unannounced. (By the way... isn't Simba a cat's name?)

You think this woman (the mother) might be distantly related to Cindy Sheehan somehow? Both are using the misfortune of their son to garner public attention and self importance. I suppose at least Nancy Cave is doing it partially for the pleasure of her son. From what I understand Sheehan was at odds with her son's military career, and one urban legend about her never getting her own son a headstone, is actually true. I'm particurally tough on Sheehan because I feel she is uneducated on her own cause, and is a disservice to the anti-war movement. She comes off as antisemetic too, and her proposals are unrealistic pipe dreams. (Sorry I digress)

What I'm really wondering is if Cave's lawyers are writing up a law suit proposal as I ponder this. I'll be REALLY surprised if they aren't.

There were several blind people who went to school with me (You know, the people who legitimately can use a canine companion?) and not a single one of them EVER had any seeing eye dog. That's because they are in a safe environment where it is not necessary. As the school said, there are certain avenues for pursuing such needs... and they are "special schools", e.g. "private schools". The public schools are very caring and supportive of children with disabilities. A lot of extra efforts "the interpreter" help the children make the most of the experience. The dog is over board. At least that's the way I see it. Next thing you know, she'll (Cave) get some left wing nutters behind her and demand that the school district should buy every blind and deaf child a specially trained $40,000 dog. I can already hear the campaign promises.

Yeah what can I say I'm heartless...(I'm not really, please read my summary in red at the end.)

The thing is there are private organizations that send children like these to private schools and donate money etc. This does not need to be made into some public debacle... but it will be. Honestly if your child is so disabled that they need a dog to follow them around I feel that requires a completely separate school, because unfortunately I think it will hinder everyone's education for the needs of a few otherwise. I don't have ANY problem with the government helping out families who have children like these, but to expect every school district to individually address it is unrealistic and unreasonable. This unfortunately is one of those circumstances where life just isn't fair. But hey, if the Cave's want their son to experience independence, what better way than going away to school for a few months? It will just more adequately prepare him for college.

THURSDAY 04JAN07

I couldn't think of an adequate title so I thought that would somehow be original.

I ate Buffalo wings for supper... and they were GRREEEEAAAT!!! Just thought you'd want to know.

Here's a topic for debate......

Unethical? I kind of think this is.... This precedent to could open the door to other horrors that make this seem mild by comparison. Its bad enough for the disabled and mentally challenged with out being physically altered without consent... I might understand or at least be able to relate to something like this if it were limited to removing reproductive capability... but stunting a person's growth so they'll be more portable? People treat dogs better than this.

Surgery to stunt girl’s growth sparks debate

I'm certain that these parents probably do give this girl good care etc, but what ramifications will this have for the long term? This will have health impacts, mature women without estrogen and other hormones will most likely prematurely age... not that I think life would be pleasant as this girl. I suppose a lot more information needs to be provided than what the article reports, in order to make a better assessment of all of the components of this scenario.

Government Subsidized Health care:

It's going to be the hot topic for the up coming presidential election and for the newly minted Democrat controlled legislature. I want to provide a few links about this in the next several days. It would be naive to say that there aren't problems with health insurance coverage in the United States. The main problem with proposing some sort of National Health plan is that it would be next to impossible to model something based on other countries. Many circumstances make it difficult to provide similar plans as those available in Europe, and there are questions about whether they, even when running optimally, are better than our free market system. Lastly contrary to popular belief, the U.S. government pays more per individual for health care (without National Health care) than most nations of the world. Where is this money going?

Anyway I'd like to educate myself on this. This write up on Wikipedia comparing the United States health care to Canadian health care seems like a nice place to begin.

A handful of Democratic Presidential contenders for 2008 have come out in support for some form of a National Health Plan.

Check out their pages: (hmmmmmm.....) Kucinich; Obama; H. Clinton; Hillary seems to distance herself from National Health care since it fell flat when she campaigned for it during her husband's administration. As a Senator, Hillary has been surprisingly moderate. The question on the minds of many is: Is this a new face? Will the leftist tendencies return for the Democratic primaries? And most of all, if her opponents all come out endorsing a health care plan, will there be a re-birth to the ideas that once brought Hillary scorn? Stay tuned! Perhaps a hint: In the 10th anniversary edition of ‘It Takes a Village,’ Hillary Rodham Clinton writes about new influences on kid’s education. Read an excerpt

I digress... continuing the list: Edwards; Kerry;

Actually did I say a handful.... I think I meant all... yes all of the democratic candidates seem to want universal health care. Everyone likes to be promised free stuff.

Oh wait there is Wes Clark... his plan is a bit more logical... (OR should I say his plan actually has detailed.. and does not forgo the private sector. No one ever mentions the economic impact of eradicating a HUGE service industry and converting it to a government bureaucracy..... Hartford would REALLY become slummy after that transition).

Anyway.... I think this is more than enough babble for tonight

A Taxi for A Taco (or three)

Today was a frustrating day of busy work on the job. I sat before my weekly meeting with my boss and my head literally hurt trying to think about what I had been doing all day. Troubleshooting software, organizing data, making calls to IT and vendors, and putting together a presentation for tomorrow.... all of this with no accomplishment in the lab, nothing for the notebook... it left me feeling a bit disgruntled. To further irritate me, I still have a great deal of work to do on the presentation because certain common data that should have been readily available on our shared department drive was not there through some IT glitch. Grrrrrrrrr....

Anyway Kate made tacos for supper and a salad and all as well. Mmmmmmm tacos.

Below is an excellent article about Keith Ellison's needlessly controversial use of the Quran in place of the Bible. There were a great deal of ultra-conservative (Essentially Christian Fundamentalists) naysayers who tried to protest this. Here's some evidence of Jefferson's interest in the varied faiths of the world. Honestly, wouldn't you want a Muslim to swear on the Quran rather than the Bible? I mean.... if this is about that "fear of God" thing, WHICH IT CLEARLY IS.... shouldn't they swear on Allah? Or maybe I'm just smoking crack. If our country were ignorant enough to prevent this act, it would validate to the Islamic fundamentalists, that we are indeed engaged in a crusade. The United States prides itself on being a nation of freedom. We should not stray from these ideals.
Congressman to take oath on Jefferson's Quran

This could make the Notre Dame worship by Catholics across the U.S. look like small peanuts. (Is the Vatican seeking out creative ways to boost their coffers in an increasingly secular world?)
Pope on the pitch? Vatican may start soccer team

2007 and all that jazz... or something

AND SO WE'RE BACK....

Back for another year,
The bell rings again and we are back,
Back in the ring for another round,
Back in the game after a long and painful inning
Back at it
Back at it again
Yep....


And so the politicians will squabble, the ego manics will screech from their bully pulpits, and the blindly devoted will fail to notice when they repeatedly blaspheme.

And so the disasters will happen and we'll rally in support, famous figures will pass on and we'll stop and reflect, and often the news will be too much to bear so we'll see how much we can deflect...

But regardless, we are Back at it again.

What really is the new year but yet another meaningless day? I mean who decided that we were going to start counting at this point... why not make everything end & begin in the middle of the summer? What is the point? Did our ancestors need renewal after a series of decadent pagan holidays, much like we do after our own festive season?

Anyway.... as an exhibit of the madness of humanity I thought I'd place a link to this ludicrous article:

Pat Robertson: God told me of 'mass killing' in 2007

Apparently someone has an inflated sense of self worth.

And to ring in the New Year... a Family Guy Clip... hang in there for the end... its priceless.