A Thousand Words?

Yeah, so I saw this and thought it spot on. Not really funny though. It might be if it wasn't true:

I hate a game of cowboys and Indians

Dear President Bush II

Stop mindlessly supporting whatever Israel does. When they're wrong, hey they're wrong. Three kidnapped SOLDIERS is not a reason to start a regional conflict that could easily knock the small semblance of democracy that has taken root right outta the box.

This is also an opportunity to accomplish two goals. Show some International diplomacy AND create an inkling of goodwill in the middle east. Lebanon isn't an enemy......yet. Nothing else has brought crude prices down, maybe some good old fashioned morality will. They're already burning the US flag in Lebanon and Palestine imagine what they're planning in places where we've been nothing but the cocky aggressors.

I'm fairly certain this won't be read, much less answered. But I must try. I should've written someone who can actually interpret the Constitution and believes that civil liberties means more than taking away all our freedoms with a smile on their face. Dammit. Oh well, I'll still be here wishing for a Libertarian with a chance.

Cordially,
Common Sense

I love a parade....

Dear Israelis,
Get the fuck out of Lebanon. Two words. Over reaction. Seriously.

Regards,
Common Sense

Hello?

It's been awhile. I've been keeping up with the stuff and this is how I feel about it all:

Happy Fourth of July to all Americans. To anyone out there who looks at this and isn't an American, good day to you too.

For those non-American citizens (or residents), please remember that this is the day we celebrate the beauty of independence and the liberty that should be available to all people. Please forget that the Bush Reic...er...Administration is doing it's level best to take our freedoms and make them their bitch (prison style) for not only America, but a few other places too.

On the "Maybe the GOP isn't completely brainwashed" front, the Senate denied a "flag desecration" law. It was SCARY close. It only failed by one vote. Listen, I want no part in burning the flag of this or any other country. What I do want is the freedom to do it. If it's not infringing on the rights of others (i.e. limiting their freedom, putting them in harms way, intimidating, or otherwise harassing) then I don't care what you do with a piece of fabric. If only the government would reevaluate their actual role and get rid of the god complex.

With that said North Korea needs to be dealt with NOW. Iraq wasn't necessary and in the mad rush to secure oil fields (good job there BTW, the price of crude has gone up 600% since Bush took office) N. Korea and Iran have become nuclear countries. All this while violating every treaty and agreement they ever signed. Wasn't this one of the big rallying cries when trying to convince the Senate that Iraq was a priority? Well, this is a little more serious than shooting a couple of tracers at our planes. Now N. Korea is actually trying to intimidate with the threat of nuclear war. That is the first time I've heard anything worthy of a "preemptive strike". But we can't. Because we're bogged down in the middle of the desert.

It seems the committed have gotten the keys to the asylum.

Enjoy the fireworks and barbecues folks. Oh, and as we start to gear up for the next big elections, remember that there are more than two political parties in this country. Let's start exploring them all. Maybe someone has a better way to do it.

Why I hate the Patriot Act, the two party system, and Nazis

I lifted this article from shoutwire.com. I very accidentally came across this while cruising around the web looking for funny video clips. Yes, I was very bored.

Article

This article, while going to extremes in some cases to make a point, does get the message across as to why the Patriot Act is the worst thing to happen to the United States since, well I can't think of anything worse than this. Americans are willingly giving up their liberty. That's unprecedented. It's not supposed to happen. It's downright un-American.

Patriot Act is such an ironic name.

Ah yes indeed it's fun time.

Go here:

http://partialthoughts.ning.com/

Ning is kind of like MySpace for people with IQs. The app is ugly and underdeveloped yes, but I'm tired and it's late. I swore one day I would write a book of all the totally out of context ending of conversations or sentences I hear everyday that makes me snort a little. This is the closest that dream may ever come. If you haven't noticed, I write for crap.

Add to the fun. You know you want to.

The propaganda machine must be broken

Here is a story that actually puts the US military in a  favorable light. A US naval vessel noticed an Iranian shop adrift and altered course to rescue those Iranian sailors.  Turns out they had been adrift for 10 days and were in dire straits.

This is the kinda of thing that should be getting more press.  I found it
buried deep on the local rag's website.  You'd think the US government
would want this story spread around like a low-fat butter substitute.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=100416&ran=151336

The insurgency is dying

The "insurgents" have now turned to attacking fellow Muslims in Iraq. It's more proof that the extremists have no idea what or why they're fighting, they are fighting because it's all they know. What good does it do to destroy the icons of the religion you claim to be so true to? The good news is that the insurgency is indeed turning on it's own and that can only mean that they can no longer claim it's about flushing out the infidels.

The bad news is that some people in the country somehow still thought of this as an opportunity to chant anti-American/Israeli slogans and burn the American flag. This was, in all likelihood a Sunni Muslim attack against a Shiite Muslim mosque. "When in Basra" I guess. It's easy to hate an entire country when you were born and programmed to be brainwashed, effortless to use logic and reason to think for yourself.

The ironic thing is that American (And other coalition) soldiers are there dying every single day to make sure they are afforded the right to chant "Death to America" anytime they want to. It's a twisted world we live in sometimes.

My dogma can beat up your dogma!

This was a response to another blog. The post was about the first homosexual Episcopalian bishop admitting to being an alocoholic. The post went from a peice about a drunk bishop into a propaganda peice for why the ultra-conservative catholics have the inside road on all that is right and just. Oh, and they're better than you too. Oh and God hates fags.

That article and the responses can be found by clicking the title of this post. Let me preface this by saying I truly do respect the person who wrote the article. She is steadfast in her opinion and she writes well. I really just wanted to post my thoughts here as well:

Hello, I'm brand new to this blog, and while I consider myself conservative I must also say that the Ultra-Conservative, Christian stance of self righteousness is an affront to actual morality.

Morality and religion cannot be assumed to be the same thing. There are plenty of people who use religon as a veil to mask immoral lives. If you rely on any ancient poorly translated text to live every small detail of your life, then you really shouldn't "cast the first stone" at anyone.

The Bible is a wonderful reference for a framework of morality, but let us not forget that the people who translated the works into the current version had their own agenda. The Catholics (as it was the only brand of Christianity for a long, long time) used the dogma of the church as a tool to keep the uneducated masses in line. It worked. It's documented that some words that were translated from Aramaic to Hebrew to Greek to Old English and to modern English, etc. have had several meanings and the translators went with the "best fit". To this day, the Nicene Creed continues to be "re-translated" to fit the language of the day. While it may not change the meaning, it does change the words. What will those words mean to the human race in 1000 years? What if a new language is developed in that time and this one dies?

Morality at the end of the day is in how you treat another human being. Can you really look at yourself in the mirror and feel good about the way you treated your fellow man. Hate mongering and basking in the glow of another's failure is not moral behavior.

Oh, and has it ever occured to those who accept the explaination that the Catholic priests who abused children were all "gay priests", that the church has labeled them as such to promote a further atmosphere of discrimination against homosexuals. This also served a second purpose of redirecting blame away from themselves for covering those same "gay preists" butts for decades? Plus, anything to satisfy the tithing congregations. The bottom line is Catholics are no better (or worse) than any other group from which you take a large enough sample.

With that said, I love the fact that I live in a place where we have the right to debate these things ad nauseam. Thanks.

Freedom of Speech? Not in Austria

This post is dedicated to Renegade Eye. Thanks for caring. Your my favorite (and pretty much only) reader.

So this story really pissed me off. Author states holocaust deaths were more from disease than extermination. He also says the Nazi's weren't as bad as advertised. He then writes books stating that Hitler probably had no idea what was happening. This pisses off people and makes this guy look like a heel. Austria (champion of democracy that they are) convicts him under a very vague law and seeks to jail him for up to ten years.

I have to ask, "Where's the crime"?

Is he a racist? Maybe, but the last time I looked, it wasn't a crime to speak your opinion. This leads me to what I'd like to fancy as logical questions...

1. Shouldn't the books published under his name be banned?
2. Should those publishers be tried and charged as well?
3. Should we start surveying our citizens and charging them when they don't bend to popular opinion?
4. Should we all get our firesuits ready for the Bradburyesque book roast that surely awaits?

I think the only immoral thing he may have done is tried to concede anything to the Austrian courts in the eleventh hour. He kind of redeemed himself with the quote, ""Of course it's a question of freedom of speech, the law is an ass." That sure made me giggle a little.

I don't agree with the guy, but he has as much right as anyone else to his opinions as long as he's not infringing on the rights of others. No matter what the Simon Wiesenthal Center says, freedom of speech should be protected even if it goes against your convictions.

Now for something completely different....

Something I've never mentioned on this blog is that I'm a huge Pittsburgh Steeler fan. I have been for nearly 25 years, and football season is the best time of the year. So, I must take the opportunity to say, Let's go Steelers. Let's get that elusive fifth Championship ring. Plus I'm happy for Bettis. He's a throwback kind of guy, and he deserves one.

That's a nice trophy, but I'm more of a fan of the tall one with the football on top.

We come in peace, unless we attack your homeland

It's about damn time Osama bin Laden (OBL) released another tape. Funny how it happened right as American Idol was starting. The man just can't stand someone else getting the spotlight. I think he might have a legitimate shot at the final 12 this year...

But seriously. He went on and on about things and then he offers a truce. Again. He also spoke directly to the American people and tried using some jedi mind trickery by turning the population against President Bush. Too late OBL, that ship sailed some time ago, people have been a tad upset with W for a while now. It's for more reasons than just the "war on terror" though.

But those comments were interesting to say the least. Think they don't speak volumes to what's really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes, coalition forces are coming under attacks from terrorists, but the evidence points to the overall success of the mission. The recent Iraqi elections were huge success by all accounts, with no real violence at or around the poll. That's pretty good for such a fledgling democracy with outside forces trying to force conditions that would allow the institution of Islamic rule. It's not going to be quick or pretty, but overall the citizens of Iraq aren't behind al-Qaida. They are physically fighting them, not necessarily side by side with coalition forces, but they are firing on terrorists and not "our guys". Don't believe me? Try this article from Christopher Hitchens. Love him or hate him, he makes sense here: It's Curtains for al-Qaida

By and large, Iraqis want all foreign influence out of their country. They want their freedom. The coalition forces should give them exactly that when it's relatively secure. However, Iraqis are well aware that getting the terrorists out is a lot more imperative than getting out the Western troops. It's also harder. The steps towards a strong independent nation are being made. Their government is making strides in the lawmaking body, as are the Iraqi courts. Ambassadors are being named and relations are being opened with neighboring Arab nations.

Make no mistake though, this doesn't absolve the western governmental leaders of their crimes against the people they were elected to protect. It just means our military leaders and soldiers are committed to successfully helping the nations who need it.

Happy New Year

The holidays are over, and the dog days of winter are about to descend on those of us in the Mid-Atlantic. Here's to a great 2006. We're almost there, only two more years of big brother, and civil liberties stomped upon.

Iraw War?

I happened onto a news stations website which had a list of comments posted on the "Iraw War" (I assumed it was Iraq). I was surprised to see so many comments that really had nothing to do with the actual military operations in Iraq. Most comments focused on the Bush administration's admitting to illegally gathering intelligence on US citizens and/or residents. Some interesting comments though.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news&id=3765777

Russia, putting the Communist back into "Free Society"

Russia has been quite busy trying to convince themselves that it's suddenly 1955 again, and "Big Red" should again rule Eastern Europe.

It's not just that they've stomped all over free political speech. It's not only the point that they've "nationalized" every important industry inside their borders (i.e. Energy, communications, media, etc.). It's also about the way they've handled foreign relations with former Soviet states, namely Ukraine.

Refer to any article or statement quoting Russian officials, and the language is very aggressive, and quite unapologetic about it. The article Putin Economic advisor offers Resignation offers a few glimpses into the current mindset of the Kremlin. Also the current argument over natural gas prices gives us an even clearer view of the coming "policy shift" Russia targeting Ukraine for natural gas rate hike.

Now, they want to loan the Ukraine billions of dollars so they can afford to pay the inflated gas prices. So they get the money doubled, with interest. While that's the most capitalistic thing I've heard from Russia's government in a while...It doesn't add up to anything more than an easy "We tried to help" when they shut off the gas supply to their neighbors. Why does the Ukraine get asked to pay prices 4 and 5 times higher than countries who are more amiable with Moscow? Simply put, the Ukrainian people are being punished because the new administration in Kiev wants to strengthen Western ties while backing away from the "little brother" role it's played for Russia for hundreds of years.

Good thing they're not trying to back away from Washington. That might get their "regime" changed.

I digress... One thing clearly left out of these articles is that these moves are pushing Russia right into becoming a socialist (more accurately communist) nation again. Putin has steadily and methodically stepped (nay! Marched in parade dress) right back in that direction since taking office. State controlled television and radio are now the only viable choices. Any corporation that is making a dent in the economy is immediately acquired by another state run corporation, even if the leader of the public company needs to be jailed to do so. This begs two different questions..

1. Why isn't anyone visibly concerned, especially with socialism taking hold in South America, and US politics looking more fascist all the time?
2. Hasn't communism already failed in Russia?

If this is a glimpse into the future, I'm looking for a hidden valley. (to those who know that reference, join me won't you?)

I can't wait for the "I told you so"

So everyone at work is getting just giddy over the holidays. Secret Santas as far as the eye can see. I've dodged that bullet this year, or so I thought.

So at a meeting the other day when the boss asks "What are we doing for the holidays?". I'm silent hoping someone else says the words "Retaining my dignity and not participating in a stupid "festive" f'ing office hell." No one does. Cowards.

So, the boss then suggests a team lunch. Not a bad idea. Everybody hangs out away from the office, talks a little and gets a free meal out of it. Sweet. Then the standard "where?" discussion starts. So finally someone opens the metaphorical door and asks, "Where can they seat us all at one table in case we exchange gifts?". If I could have legally bored a hole in that person's head using only a spoon and my displeasure, I'd be a much happier man today.

So then someone (the supervisor) suggests we exchange gifts, but with a twist. Did anyone see the recent Christmas episode of "The Office" on NBC (The US version, I know all about the UK version and it's superiority, so save it). It featured a little practice called "Yankee swap". I actually tried to stop it. I said out loud...No. It's a recipe for disaster. I, of course, was drowned out in a sea of contrived enthusiasm because it was the boss' decision. For those who don't know what a Yankee swap AKA White Elephant Gift Exchange is, I'll give you the definition according to a quick google:

"Traditionally, a "White Elephant" is something lying around the house that you don't want (some horridly ugly item that someone gave you as a gift or some other item unwanted for some reason). I am of the belief that in most parts of the country, if you tell someone to bring a White Elephant gift it will almost certainly be a gag gift and not something genuinely useful or desirable." - Thanks to http://www.santalady.com/xmasgame/whiteelephant.html

Sounds fun, huh? Can't wait for the first racially, or politically insensitive or just plain stupid gift to be unwrapped. I'm telling you, when this all goes wrong I will laugh like a smug, smug bastard. At least I'll have a good seat.

Talk about coming to the party a little late.

Bush finally took the blame for going into Iraq based on bad intelligence. To his credit he did take sole responsibility for the mistakes in Iraq. Thanks for that, but this admission would have been a lot more effective had you not waited 1,000 days and over 2,000 soldiers' deaths later. Of course, he couldn't just take the blame. No he still tried to defend his decision, proving he isn't remorseful. Probably looking to up his approval rating a few points so he can keep campaigning for the GOP.

Bush said, "It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq, and I am also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities and we're doing just that."

I wish he would have stopped right there. I would have applauded his speech, and my respect for him would have increased. But no, he went on to say this, "My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision", and "We are in Iraq today because our goal has always been more than the removal of a brutal dictator"

How was the decision to remove Saddam Hussein the right decision? Iraq was a stable (in the sense they were a known quantity), terrorism free sovereign state before our "war on terror". We may not have agreed with Saddam's politics or his methods of government, but there was no reason for the US to get involved. Now the country is one of the most unstable in the Middle East in all areas. The Iraqis have gained some freedoms, but at the expense of personal safety (at least for now). As to Saddam's human rights violations, those violations that the former dictator is on trial for happened well before Bush (W.) was in office. Bottom line, Bush had nothing, so the administration created the opportunity to go into Iraq for reasons known only to a few.

The latter statement sure does poke at the truth more than anything else that's come out of his mouth in the past 5+ years though. Just think in another 3 years or so, we may get the real reasons this administration decided to target Iraq. Oil is an easy answer, but it seems way too obvious. Vendetta is a fun one to throw out there, but I have to believe that there is more. If not, then Americans truly need to rethink some things.


Of course all these admissions came on the same day as the Patriot Act was passed for another four years. (note: 'the framework of fascism' is my little nickname for it. I'll probably get wire-tapped and record searched because of it.) Is that a coincidence? I don't know. I'm not much into the conspiracy theories, but not much is coincidence inside the beltway.

"My lips hurt real bad."

My other half says she needs some "chopstick". That's our daughter's way of saying lip balm. She's fairly nutty, but she's fun.

Look at her moustache...


I just don't know why she was so happy about the blue marker on her face...
Meh, it's probably Lazytown's fault.

I love people

We just took the kids to go see that infamous fat man today. Of course, nothing makes me happier than capitalism at work, but I loathe the mall. I'm not one for all the ruckus. I like my experiences to be as calm and orderly as possible. Not a possibility today...

The mall must have had 2.2 trillion people in it. It might not have been so bad if 2.19999 trillion of them weren't inconsiderate mouth breathers. I swear people need brake lights and turn signals, cause you just never know when they're going to stop or take a hard left right into your seven year old. Then there were the several young men that felt a need to look at me (and all the other males under the age of 50) as if they were gonna shank me in the rec yard. Yes, I know your from the streets of suburbia, and I'm nervous of you, your practiced hard look, and your knowledge of all the lyrics of 50 cent's (That's fitty if you're from the streetz, yo) new song. Your glare just makes me wanna to piss all over myself. You are obviously the Alpha male.

What I thought was a good idea was they were giving those restaraunt pagers to all the parents who were there to see Santa. Instead of staying in line for 2 hours (literally how long it would have taken), you can roam around the mall for that time and spend money. Really a good idea for all involved. The beauty of it was that the better half offered to go to the mall first on a recon mission of sorts. She went and got the pager, and then called to tell me how long the wait was. I then waited at home for most of the 2 hours, and then brought the kids. She rocks sometimes. REALLY cut out the annoyance factor for me. She knows me, and she didn't want me yelling something vulgar and insulting to random people in the middle of the mall. I get to that point with stupidity sometimes. I think she'd make me wear a warning sticker if I'd agree. BEWARE OF HUMAN, or something like that.

Of course, when we answer the call to duty, the lady says. "Weren't you already here?". I couldn't answer with the answer with the first thing that came to mind, so I just stared at her as if she were speaking Mandarin Chinese.

All in all, we got the task of seeing Santa done. It only took about 1.5 hours total, so it wasn't that bad I guess. Still, shopping online sure beats the pants off that mall crap anyday.

Yeaaaaa, Christmas.

Leave the press alone

Bush may not like the growing criticism he faces, but it's warranted

First, the Patriot Act. I could go on about that for about a year. It sets the course towards making 1984 a reality at best, and setting the ship on a full throttle course towards facism at worst.

Second, the attempted (and successful) overthrow of enemy governments for purposes of well....just cause he doesn't like the leader(s). Even in the face of the aforementioned criticism, it appeared he was angling towards expanding the "war on terror" to Iran or Syria. You know cause they are hotbeds of terrorist activity. Just like Iraq was in the Saddam regime.

Thirdly, the still (and probably always) uninvestigated Downing St. memo's. He had a very good idea the intellegence was exagerrated. You'll never convince me otherwise.

Now, there's the allegations that Bush wanted to (and may have) targeted a media outlet for bombings.

There are a lot of problems with this scenario if it's true. First it stomps all over the first amendment. I don't care if the media outlet was in another country or a war zone. Our smart bombs are smart enough to avoid entire buildings when they are readily identified as being television stations. Secondly, that's a terrorist act isn'it it? Targeting civilians.

Hypocrisy?

Sadly, there are still those who refuse to see the reasons behind the anger with the current administration at home or abroad.