New Computer

Yesterday Honeybun and I bought a new computer. Woohoo! 3.2 GHz of raw computing power. The 19" LCD flat screen is pretty cool too. It makes me want to open her up on the superhighway and see what she can do.

Or maybe I'll just play solitaire on it.

Kerry: wrong man for the job

John O'Neill took over command of a navy swift boat from John Kerry. He wrote an article that says Kerry is unfit to serve as President. O'Neill was still in Vietnam while Kerry was claiming that U.S. troops were committing war crimes everyday (presumably including O'Neill).

Kerry says that Vietnam vets are behind him. This article seems to dispute that claim.

You may be infected

Take this diagnostic test to find out what human viruses you are carrying.

GLOBAL WARMING ALERT

Today is April 30 and it is snowing in Denver.

Conclusive evidence that the world is getting warmer.

Why Pat Tillman is important

Dennis Prager does a better job of explaining it than I can.

Pat Tillman

This is one story that gets to me in the most profound way. Former NFL player Pat Tillman died in combat yesterday while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.

In 2002, He walked away from a $3.6 million offer from the Cardinals to join the Army and turned down an even bigger offer before that from the Rams. By becoming an Army Ranger, he intended to go to where the most dangerous assignments would be.

This man had what popular culture holds dear - money and fame. His life shows what how trivial those things are in the end. He lived and died for duty, loyalty and protecting this country.

God bless Pat Tillman.

Real Heroes

This is the kind of story that makes me proud to have been in the finest fighting force in the world. Sergeant Sagredo is "hard corps."

God bless the Marine Corps.

Why are these heroics not reported in U.S. media?

EARTHQUAKE!

A UCLA scientist is predicting a major earthquake will hit Los Angeles before September 5th.

Senator Ted Kennedy immediately called for investigations into how much President Bush knows about earthquakes and demanded a full release of any memo's revealing connections between L.A. earthquakes and Haliburton.

Meanwhile, Presidential hopeful John Kerry said, "I voted for earthquakes before I voted against them. But this election isn't about earthquakes, it's about jobs. My time in Vietnam taught me that earthquakes hurt the economy. And George Bush lost 2..no 3...wait, 10 million jobs because he ignored earthquakes during his administration. I will support earthquakes that create more jobs."

Blogger?

It's been a week since I've written anything here. I must be reading too much to write. I'm reading opinionjournal.com and hughhewitt.com and overlawyered.com...even a little lileks.com. They pretty much say everything before I get to it.

Oh, then there is the enworld.org message boards, but only go there if you are into roleplaying games (not the dress up as the opposite sex kind, I mean the Dungeons & Dragons kind).

Marines die in Iraq

As a former member of the Marine Corps, stories like the death of up to 12 Marines in Iraq are close to my heart. While I mourn their deaths, I'm grateful for their sacrifice. Their sacrifice shows that they are making and have made America safer.

How? Our enemies are busy engaging our forces overseas. Notice terrorist bullets aren't flying here. Iran is backing the thug in Iraq. That is where their resources are going.

Al Qaeda is trying to infiltrate the Iraqi population. The fact that they are fighting our troops in Iraq means I can sleep safe here at home. Our Marines and Soldiers are in harm's way there to keep us safe here...and it's working.

God bless the Marine Corps.

I'm published! (kind of)

In February, I interviewed science fiction author Mitchell Graham for sffworld.com, a site devoted to science fiction and fantasy.

My article was published on the web site today. If you're interested (and I know you are) you can read it here.

Danger around every corner

One of my guilty pleasures is Dear Abby. There is one kind of letter I can't stand though:

Dear Abby,

Yesterday I was walking through the living room and saw the cover was off my box fan. I thought it would be fun to stick my head in the whirling blades. I ended up in the hospital with lacerations from my forehead to my chin.

Abby, please tell your readers to make sure they keep covers over fan blades and to never, ever stick your face in a fan.

Signed,

Stuck my face in a fan and now I know better

Dear Stuck,

You are right. After reading your letter I immediately put covers back on all my fans. Hopefully, others can learn from your mishap.

Readers, don't stick forks in power outlets either. You may permanently damage your silverware.

Dinner

Tonight I used some left over London Broil to make some French dip sandwiches. Then I caugt myself; can you make French dip out of London Broil? That's like trying to make a rum & Coke with Pepsi. It just can't be done.

That was before I realized, I don't eat French dip sandwiches anymore. I'm still eating Freedom dip sandwiches.

Mmmmm. Freedom London Broil dip sandwiches.

Less teachers or more taxes?

The local school district, Littleton Public Schools, sent me a nicely designed pamphlet threatening to cut 9% of its teaching staff if voters don't approve a tax increase sure to be on an upcoming ballot.

This is a common tactic by school districts and teachers unions. They offer only two choices, fire teachers and increase class sizes (with the threat of lower tests scores as a result) or increase taxes. School administrators must be the most highly trained and productive workers in the world. Their jobs are never mentioned as possible costs savings. It's amazing since the teachers are the ones in contact with students, yet adminstrators seem to have the most job security in education.

What it really comes down to is that voters wouldn't bat an eye if administrators jobs are threatened. If teachers might get laid off, well that's another story. It's all about money. The voters are much more willing to raise taxes if that is the only alternative to losing teachers.

Here is something strange. The Littleton Public schools is consistently in the top three districts in the Denver Metro area in test scores while have the lowest funding per student in the metro area. It just demonstrates that throwing more money into schools does not relate to quality education. I'll be voting against the coming tax proposal.

Back to test scores, here is a study that found there is no relation between small class sizes and high test scores. What happens is that more teachers need to be hired (not a bad thing for the teachers union) so students are getting more individual attention but its from poorer quality teachers.

Liberal Radio

Today Liberal AM Radio was launched by a new radio network, Air America Radio.

It may work, but the signs aren't good so far. Their flagship program is hosted by Al Franken. That alone is bad enough, but he felt the need to name his show The O'Franken Factor. If you want to be successful in life, you can't be a follower. By parodying The O'Reilly Factor, Franken is a follower, not a leader. It's easy to criticize. It's harder to stand for something.

I'll be interested to see if there is any substance to the new liberal network.

Reading and writing...

I am still in the process of applying for grad school. It's been a slow process, but you have to have money to go to school.

I've finally settled on a degree - MS in Technical Communications. Well, I've decided that sometime ago. Since I think I express myself clearly in writing and love technology, it seems a good fit for me.

It turns out I have a major trait that is good for developing writing skills. That is, I'm a voracious reader. Last month I interviewed fantasy novelist Mitchell Graham for a web site (I'll put the link to the interview up when it finally gets posted) said he believes the way to learn how to write is to study other readers. Another fantasy novelist, George R.R. Martin, says the same thing.

Then today I was reading a book by Robert Bly, an expert on commercial writing, who said he loved to read as a child. He eventually became a technical writer.

OK, I like to read, (I'm currently reading 5 different books) I like technology. It just dawned on me that I actually had a job as a technical writer while for a year when I worked at Merrill Lynch in a software support position. I really should do more of that.

We should talk to them..

The naive left claims that we should use diplomacy and negotiate with terrorists. By killing terrorist leaders like Israel did to Ahmed Yassin, the co-founder and "spiritual leader" of Hamas, Israel is "perpetuating the cycle of violence".

One thing I learned in the Marine Corps is that you need to kill people who want to kill you. Sounds harsh, but its true. And Hamas certainly wants to kill Israel. From Hamas' founding charter:

"Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors."

"the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement"

How do you negotiate with people who don't want to negotiate? Islamic terrorists (e.g. Hamas) only want to kill. There is no alternative.

"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion. " -W. R. Inge

Arafat admits he is a terrorist

George Khoury was a 20-year-old economics student at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. Last Friday he was killed after being shot in the head, neck and stomach by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorists. He had been jogging in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood.

Only one problem from al-Aqsa's view. George Khoury was an Arab. He was not a Jew.

Oops.

So Yassir Arafat called George Khoury's father and apologized for the killing. For those of you who might think Arafat is looking for peace, please read that last sentence again. Apologizing for an action takes responsibility. Arafat admitted he is responsible for trying to kill Israelis - in this case, missing and killing an Arab.

In response to their mistake, al-Aqsa immediately blamed Israel for the death by claiming Khoury is now a "martyr." They are killing their own people and labeling their victims heroes for their cause.

Iraq war protests

Today idiots are protesting a war already won. Rev. Herbert Daughtry said, “It is time to bring our children home and declare this war was unnecessary.”

To say this war was unneccesary is to say Saddaam Hussein should still be in power. Tell the families of hundreds of thousands of massacred Iraqis that this war was unneccessay. There are pictures of our Army personnel excavating mass graves here.

And George W. Bush is the evil one now? Strange that a reverend can't tell the difference between Hussein and President Bush.

PETA: "Chickens are human too"

PETA is getting ready to launch its "Holocaust on a plate" campaign which compares the killing of chickens for food to the massacre of 6 million Jews during World War II.

Reuters reports:
The posters, due to be displayed in Stuttgart from Thursday and in 11 European cities at later dates, show pictures of battery hens packed into cages next to historic pictures of emaciated Jewish inmates in Nazi concentration camp bunk beds.

Reuters put this story under its "Oddly Enough" category and titled it German Jews Attack Vegetarian Ad Campaign. The title implies that Reuters thinks it is odd for German Jews to be offended at the ad campaign rather than it being odd PETA would compare chickens to human suffering.

In reality, PETA thinks animals are more important than humans. On February 3, 2003, PETA co-founder Ingrid Newkirk wrote a letter to Yasir Arafat asking him to not to harm animals in suicide bombing attacks. She has absolutely no concern about the children the terrorists are killing as long as they don't hurt donkeys.

You may think the title of this post is a joke. It isn't. PETA is calling for an amendment to the United States Constitution that says:

all mammals, birds, and fish will, henceforth, be defined as "persons" in the eyes of the law

Makes me hungry for some chicken.

Al Qaeda 1 - Spain 0

Spain is the first nation to ever be defeated by a terrorist group. A whole country has surrendered to a group of thugs. Jose Zapatero, head of the socialist party recently elected, maintains he will withdraw Spain's troops from Iraq unless the U.S. cedes control of the country to the United Nations. Obviously, he is optimistic of U.N. control because of the its past successes resulting from its demands that amount to "Stop, or we will say "stop" again!"

Al Qaeda is thanking them:
A group claiming to have links with al Qaeda said on Wednesday it was calling a truce in its Spanish operations to see if the new Madrid government would withdraw its troops from Iraq

Other European countries, you can thank Spain for the terrorism coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

The Passion Continues

"The Passion of The Christ" made another $32 million this weekend making a total gross of $264 million which will put it at 23rd on the all time list. The movie needs only to make another $21 million to become the biggest selling R rated movie ever and break into the top 20 all time. I heard commentary on the radio today expecting the movie to finish at number two or three on the all time list ahead of E.T. or Star Wars.

Looking at the list of top movies of all time you can see another example of Hollywood being out of touch. As of today, not a single one of the top 20 movies of all time are rated R. Yet in the 1990's, 55% of all movies released were rated R. Here's an eye opener. In 2003 258 movies were released on video. 122 of them (47%) were rated R. PG-13 came in second with 88 movies released (34%).

Well, maybe some movie studios are getting smarter. Disney and Walden Media are going to release C.S. Lewis children's classic story "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" in December of 2005.

Presidential endorsement auction

Currently on eBay:
Update: EBay took down the auction (they aren't any fun). Here is the full text:

Have you ever been caught in a lie while running for President of the United States? If you want to make a current president jealous, look better in front of your political buddies who have real foreign relations experience, or if you are just a liar who got called out on your bogus campaign lies, this is the auction for you!!! I'll pretend that I am the leader of a foreign nation that supports your candidacy for President of the United States until the elections in November.

As the imaginary leader of a foreign nation who supports your candidacy, I'll play along with you with whatever you want me to say. If you want to tell some pesky Republican who call you out at a campaign stop that I support you, I'll back you up. If you want me to claim that Bush has ruined the reputation of the United States, I'm up to it. Just like you, I'm willing to say anything it takes to get you elected, I won't mean a bit of it, and I'll change my stand on the situation when it is politically convenient.

Shipping/Handling charge for this item is $15.00, we only ship to Massachusetts. Payment must be received within 3 days of auction close. We accept Paypal (Mastercard, Visa, E-Checks), Money Orders, Certified Checks, or fraudulent donations from Moveon.org in US Funds and cash. As soon as I receive your payment I'll mail off the press release to CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS stating the fact that we have a relationship going back to the start of the Bush presidency. I am the ultimate online fake leader of a foreign nation!!!!

*****THIS DOES NOT MEAN I AM YOUR REAL SUPPORTER!!!!!This is only pretend!!!!!***** When our time is up, right before the election, I'll send out another press release stating that this was all fake. Hey, I'm out for a buck, I'm not insane. But who are we kidding, if flip flopping on the issues makes a person less trustworthy, you would have dropped out of the race already.

This is a private auction your user id will not be shown on here!!!!

Europe should expect more terror attacks

Opinion Journal passes this on from a CNN report:

"A December posting on an Internet message board used by al Qaeda and its sympathizers and obtained by CNN, spells out a plan to topple the pro-U.S. government":

"We think the Spanish government will not stand more than two blows, or three at the most, before it will be forced to withdraw because of the public pressure on it," the al Qaeda document says.

"If its forces remain after these blows, the victory of the Socialist Party will be almost guaranteed--and the withdrawal of Spanish forces will be on its campaign manifesto."

It certainly worked. The pro-U.S. government was soundly defeated in the election held just after the train bombings in Spain. The rest of Europe needs to brace itself. Spain showed Al Qaeda it is willing to turn tail at the first sign of a threat. Since Al Qaeda achieved its goal with Spain, it only makes sense they will repeat this tactic with other countries.

Will this tactic work in the United States? Hopefully we won't find out in October.

More "Passion"

The Passion of The Christ continues to draw hysterical criticism. Actor Steve Martin has written a satirical article criticizing the movie as "money-making showbusiness".

This demonstrates just how out of touch Hollywood is. Prior to the film's release, Mel Gibson was identified purely as a anti-Semitic traditional Catholic zealot. Now that the film has grossed over $200 Million he is money grubbing.

Where has Hollywood been for the past 40 years? Aren't they supposed to be in business? If this was such a sure bet from Hollywood's perspective, a studio would have made this movie years ago. Mel Gibson put up his own money for a film no one else wanted to touch and made an incalcuable risk in using foreign languages for all the dialogue. That's as far from a sure thing as I've ever heard. Now he is called money-grubbing.

Christian groups have been begging for Christian movies for years. When a good one finally comes, they attend in unprecedented numbers. Twelve days after its release, it already ranks as 47th highest grossing movie of all time (I expect another huge bump in sales around Easter). It looks to be in line for the most profitable movie ever released.

This isn't a demonstration of Mel Gibson's greed. It's a lesson in how foolish Hollywood is.

Fajitas

I made fajitas for lunch today. Took the leftovers with me to work.
Man! (or non-gender-specific exclamation), I make some gooooooooood fajita.

Why President Bush will win the 2004 election

From a speech President Bush made on March 8, 2004:

"My opponent spent two decades in Congress. He spent a long time in Washington and he's built up quite a record. Senator Kerry has been in Washington so long that he's taken both sides on just about every issue. Senator Kerry voted for the Patriot Act, for NAFTA, for the No Child Left Behind Act, and for the use of force in Iraq. Now he opposes the Patriot Act, NAFTA, the No Child Left Behind Act, and the liberation of Iraq. My opponent clearly has strong beliefs--they just don't last very long. . . ."

North Koreans for Kerry

State run media in North Korea is pushing John Kerry for U.S. President.

"Pyongyang seems to hope victory for the Democratic candidate on November 2 would lead to a softening in US policy towards the country's nuclear weapons programme."

North Korea knows Kerry will be soft on defense. Hopefully, Americans will realize it in time.

Christianity is unconstitutional?

I've been debating a man on a message board about marriage and the Bible.

I've pointed out that recent events in Canada and Europe have led to the restriction of the freedom to practice one's religion and the freedom of speech. (Christians have successfully been sued for "hate crimes" for calling homosexuality a sin).

My position is that the same may happen here. My debating opponent had this to say about the moralilty of the Bible:

I can view what i see as immorality in the bible as absolutely immoral
(this would include espousing a belief that those who believe a different religion
are going to hell. Which of course doesnt really fly with our freedom of
religion beliefs in this country)

He actually believes that Christianity is unconstitutional. He believes Christians are not allowed to hold Christian beliefs. Canada and Europe have already taken steps to prevent Christians from expressing their beliefs. Is the same thing starting here?

How to bankrupt America - 101

John Kerry again is demonstrating a sad lack of foresight. Kerry is now saying he would grant state-sanctioned gay couples all the 1,049 federal benefits married couples lay claim to.

That's fine Mr. Kerry. How are you going to pay for it?

Now regardless of your position on gay marriage, there are significant consequences to this plan. The impact on Social Security survivor benefits alone would push the federal program past the breaking point.

But then again, Kerry has already made it clear that he wants to raise taxes.

How to kill job creation - 101

John Kerry is on the stump trying to tell people how he will protect jobs. Here is his solution:

"...he would order a 120-day review of all trade pacts. He laid out specific guidelines for companies wanting to send jobs overseas, including at least three months' advance notice for affected employees as well as notification of the Labor Department, state agencies and local government officials."

That certainly would make it more difficult for jobs to be shipped overseas. Which brings up the law of unintended consequences. Pretend you are an employer with offices in Colorado and offices in Mexico. Demand goes up for your product and you need more people to make your widgets. You want to create jobs in Colorado. Now wouldn't you stop and think twice knowing that you would have to go through all these hoops if you need to relocate jobs later? Or worse, you may want to eliminate jobs when demand slumps, but worry about employees (union?) filing suite saying you are moving the jobs and accuse you of violating Kerry's regulations. It doesn't matter that you aren't moving them. You now have to pay legal expenses to show it was job elimination not relocation.

It's just too much legal liability. Nope, instead you will create those jobs in Mexico as insurance that you won't have to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare later. He blames President Bush for jobs relocating. He will do even better by making sure they aren't created here in the first place.

The Passion

I just got back from seeing The Passion of The Christ. My opinion:

Stunning.

First, how anyone can claim the movie is anti-Semitic or portrays all Jews poorly was not watching this movie. In the movie, there are members of the Sanhedrin who courageously try to defend Jesus, obviously unsuccessfully. Many others walk out of a trial that clearly becomes a farce.

I have heard other criticism that Pontius Pilate is treated too sympathetically. I saw his actions as cowardly. The movie portrays his motivations exactly as I've believed. That is, he notes Jesus was innocent, yet he is more concerned with politics of releasing Jesus than making a principled stand to free an innocent man.

Watching the torture of Jesus was horrible. Mel Gibson showed excruciating detail of what the Romans did to people. Even more moving was seeing those scenes through the eyes of Mary as a woman watching her son dying.

Through it all, Jesus message of love and forgiveness is not lost. It is emphasized even more by showing flashbacks in between scenes of the crucifixion. The short resurrection scene shows us that his sacrifice was not in vain.

Mel Gibson took "the greatest story every told" and produced the greatest movie ever made.

Comics

This one is funny.

Loyalty

Earlier this week, I mentioned that Mel Gibson refused to publicly disavow his father's discounting the holocaust in WWII. On Thursday, Little Green Footballs, posted a quote from a radio interview Hutton Gibson (Mel's father) had with a radio station and made remarks like, "“It’s all - maybe not all fiction - but most of it is."

I certainly disagree with those statements. What I find as sad are calls from LGF readers in the comments section demanding Mel Gibson publicly denounce his father.

Mel's refusal to denounce his father is a sign of his integrity. Mel Gibson made it perfectly clear in the Sawyer interview that he believes anti-semitism is unChristian. At the same time, those Christian beliefs tell him to honor (not necessarily agree with) his father and mother. It is not his place to publicly condemn his father's views.

Languages

People say its a good thing to know another language. I've never really had the aptitude for it though. I figure, if God wanted me to speak a foreign language, He wouldn't have invented English.

A boy!

About a half hour ago my sister-in-law gave birth to an 8lb 15oz baby boy. Welcome to the world Cody Charles. Congratulations Julie and Shawn.

Women exposing themselves

Dennis Prager wrote on interesting article on the continuing trend of women exposing their bodies. He believes it is the promotion of the ideal that mean and women are the same.

He concludes that women are saying: "I am a woman. And I will declare it in one of the only ways left to me -- I will show you my female body."

My thought is what happens when even that is taken away. After Janet Jackson revealed her breast on national TV, some people tried to defend it by saying "What's the big deal. It's only a boob." In essence, they are saying that breasts are no longer sexual, and by extension, not definitively feminine.

Thankfully, most men don't agree. If it was "just a boob" it would not have been the most "Tivo'ed" moment to date.

John Kerry and "Honorable" service

John Kerry is a deeply confused man when it comes to military service. In the current campaign, he can't say more than two sentences without referencing his Vietnam service.

Many pundits are calling his service "honorable". He did, after all, receive three Purple Hearts and other medals for his actions in combat. I don't know if his service was honorable. For me to call it honorable, I have to believe was doing what he thought was honorable. Yet in 1971 he made a speech before Congress that the LA Times credits with convincing many Americans that the war was immoral. During the testimony he accused all levels of the military of committing the most horrible atrocities.

He now tries to claim is proud of both his service and his anti-war protests. Kerry believes the war was immoral. So how can he be proud of participating in a military action responsible for so many atrocities? He can't have his cake and eat it too. He cannot have served honorably in a war he believed to be immoral.

Let's call his service "brave" but not honorable. John Kerry is responsible for casting a poor light on his service by his protests following his combat experience.

Kerry emphasized his moral bankruptcy by equating service in the National Guard (and by extension all military reserves) to draft dodging. "I've said since the day I came back from Vietnam that it was not an issue to me if somebody chose to go to Canada or to go to jail or to be a conscientious objector or to serve in the National Guard or elsewhere."

Thanks, Mr. Kerry. My time in the USMC reserves (after active duty) was just as honorable as deserting the military.

Mel Gibson and The Passion of The Christ

I just finished watching Mel Gibson's interview by Diane Sawyer. ABC posted more about the interview on their web site. I've read about Mel Gibson's convictions in making this movie. In tonight's interview I finally saw that conviction for myself.

Throughout the interview he stood his ground. He claimed that "we all" are responsible for Jesus death. When asked about Jews involvement in the cruxifiction he said: Jesus "was a child of Israel, among other children of Israel. There were Jews and Romans in Israel. There were no Norwegians there." He said Jews and Romans "were the material agents of His demise."

On the other hand, Diane Sawyer seemed to display an astounding ingnorance of Christianity. Her commentary had the tone that Christianity needed to be explained to Americans (presumably because the majority of viewers would not understand its tenets) even while she is showing statistics that say 82% of Americans claim to be Christians. She also came across as incredulous that Mel Gibson actually believed that the Bible was literally true. His answer was exactly what I believe: if part of it is not true, then none of it is true.

Near the end, he showed complete inner resolve and integrity by refusing to allow comments made by his father to be used against him. His response to Diane Sawyer was, "He is my father and I love him...Leave it alone Diane."

I will be seeing this movie.

And yes, I believe the story is true.

Kerry demands George W. Bush stay at home

Democrat presidential hopeful John Kerry proved again that he is not running on issues by criticizing President Bush for appearing at the Daytona 500. After appearing at a photo opportunity at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, WI - Kerry said, "This is not a time for photo opportunities, it is a time to create real opportunities in America," regarding the President's opening of the Daytona 500.

Valentine

You know, this day is one of the most overly romanticized days of the year.

That said, I love my wife. Happy Valentine's Day Honeybun.

Reuters: Catholics unwelcome in political process

Archbishop Sean O'Malley criticized the Massachusetts supreme court for ordering gay marriages be legalized in that state.

Reuters reporter Greg Frost characterized the Archbishop's comments as "Wading deep into the waters separating church and state"

Apparently Greg Frost believes that clergy should not be allowed to comment about, much less participate in, our political process.

News flash Mr. Frost: The first amendment prevents the government from establishing a religion. It does not limit the rights of clergy or people of faith from influencing government.

He doesn't even seem to consider that Archbishop O'Malley may be right - the court is usurping the power of the legislature in making its ruling.

Sadly, Frost is more concerned that an Archbishop is exercising his freedom of speech than that the separation of powers (where the real violation is) has been breached.

Remember the good ole days

Remember the good ole days when the Superbowl was family programming?
By now I'm sure you've heard that CBS is apologizing for Justin Timberlake "accidentally" exposing Janet Jackson's breast.

Those who saw it (I just missed it. I was looking at my wife when my buddies said "Did you see that?) know that her nipple was covered by a silver tassle.

So let me get this straight, Ms. Jackson regulary keeps pasties on under her clothes - I'm sure for just such an occasion. During the performance, Timberlake and Jackson were basically dry-humping the whole time. Combined with Nelly's "take off all your clothes" song, the whole half-time show was adults only fare.

CBS is now claiming that MTV will never produce another Superbowl half-time show. That seems to be scapegoating. CBS must have been aware that MTV was promoting Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Show Promises 'Shocking Moments'

I have a pretty high tolerance for this kind of thing. The Superbowl, now pretty much an American holday, is not the place. Keep it rated "G" for this one event please.

Feeling the flames

We're all sinful, right? Dante's Inferno Test will tell you just what level of hell you deserve. My results are in, and they don't look good:

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Moderate
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

For Hire:

Freelance writer available for business writing. Rates begin at $50.00 per hour.

Have your people call my people or just e-mail me.

More awkward campaign moments

"If you say that word again, I'll wash your mouth out with soap!"

Awkward campaign moments

Pull my finger!

I blame talk radio

John Kerry is now leading the New Hampshire primary polls with 37%. Howard Dean has fallen behind to 19% (although he is still in second place).

Sigh. I was hoping that Howard Dean would be the Democrat nominee. I blame talk radio. They just couldn't keep their mouths shut about what a wacko Howard Dean is. He is unelectable in a general election. If the talk show hosts could have just kept a lid on it for a few more weeks, Dean could have come out of Super Tuesday with an insurmountable lead.

Nope. Instead talk radio convinced Iowans that Dean is unstable (admittedly with a lot of help from Dean himself). America not safer after the capture of Hussein? Everyone but Democrats knew that in the weeks before the Iowa caucus. Sadly, talk radio convinced Iowa voters the same thing right before the election.

Then Dean gave his now infamous "I have a scream" speech after the caucus. Talk radio once again couldn't let it go. They had to keep playing it over an over. Voters in New Hampshire got the message. Dean's candidacy is fading fast. It looks like Republicans best hope for a landslide will be voted off the island in just a couple more weeks.

Well, John "Everything-I-know-I-learned-in-Vietnam" Kerry is the favorite. George Bush's successes and an improving economy will make it a long shot for Kerry to win, so I won't lose any sleep. But a Dean nomination would have put the last nail in the Democrat's coffin for this election.

Stop the courts now.

Last year Colorado Republicans passed a redistricting plan. Democrats of course immediately filed a suit (which they won) to prevent the plan from taking effect saying that the Colorado Supreme Court had redrawn the districts in 2002 and they couldn't be redrawn again.

Republicans have appealed. Today a federal appeals court rejected the appeal. The ruling is stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the case.

Let's hope they do. Redistricting is entirely a legislative process. The law does not provide for the courts to take over the process. This is another example of judicial activism. The Supreme Court needs to stop it.

Where have I been?

I haven't done much posting this week - obviously. Where has the week gone?

I've been doing more planning and finally trying to decide on grad school or not - and if so, what? I'm going to study the GMAT for business school and may even start studying for the LSAT just to see how I can do.

I'll keep you up on how I do.

It's over?

Well my weekend is coming to an end. Back to work tomorrow. The good news is that Honeybun is coming back from a four day trip to Las Cruces where she helped throw a baby shower for her sister.

My mother-in-law is coming back with her (that's not a bad thing - she is great) to visit us for a few days.

So, it's back to the old grind. I really need to do something about that. There shouldn't be a grind, right? Monster.com anyone?

President Grant and war protestors

"Experience proves that the man who obstructs a war in which his nation is engaged, no matter whether right or wrong, occupies no enviable place in life or history. Better for him, individually, to advocate "war, pestilence, and famine," than to act as obstructionist to a war already begun. The history of the defeated rebel will be honorable hereafter, compared with that of the Northern man who aided him by conspiring against his government while protected by it. The most favorable posthumous history the stay-at-home traitor can hope for is--oblivion."--from the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

Why we can't find WMD's in Iraq

Nelson Archer in his blog summed it up best:

How are we supposed to find hidden and buried WMDs in Iraq if, wherever one digs there, we just keep finding mass graves?

New reality show: WHEN DEMOCRATS ATTACK

Howard Dean has settled on the strategy of attacking George W. Bush on the issue of the war in Iraq. He claims the U.S. should wait for the permission of the U.N. (an organization with more totalitarian goverments than democratic) before using force.

It turns out he believes that only when a Republican is President. USA Today published a letter today from Dean to President Clinton in 1995 calling for unilateral action in Bosnia from the United States because the U.N. and NATO's policies failed in that country.

It seems clear that U.N. policies failed for 12 years in Iraq. But since President Bush is a Republican, Dean is attacking him for the same actions President Clinton took in Bosnia (the only difference being, we had no national security interest in there).

Integrity

Mel Gibson will soon be releasing the most controversial movie he has every made The Passion of Christ. Unfortunately, many people who have not seen the movie are calling it anti-Semitic.

Of course Mel Gibson denies this (and I believe him). I have read in articles that he believes that the sins of humanity are responsible for Jesus death. That is, not only are Jews responsible - we are also responsible for making Jesus' sacrifice necessary.

The most powerful evidence supporting that Mel Gibson believes this is in an article written byMark D. Roberts who has seen a screening of the film. He says:
"the movie also shows the hands of the person pounding the nails [into Jesus'], and these hands actually belong to Mel Gibson. It's the only place he appears in the film."

By showing his own hands pounding the nails into Jesus, Mel Gibson makes a profound statement in admitting his own spiritual responsibility for the death of Jesus.

Please save us from busy-body public "educators"

Dave Lieber, columnists for the Star-Telegram in Dallas, reports on a Richland Hills Middle School student who was suspended for three days for sending the message "Hey" to the 80 computers at the school.

That's it. "Hey".

The principal of the school saw the message himself and took no notice of it until Beverly Sweeney, the school's computer teacher reported the "serious" nature of the crime to him.

See, Ms. Sweeney believes that using a DOS function is hacking. She wanted to send the message to all students that "hacking into a system should be highest on the list of tampering violations."

The problem is that the student did not hack into the system. He had permission to be on the computer and did not do any damage or tamper with any functions. When Sweeney found him, he readily admitted to sending the message.

The school has no policy on sending messages using legitimate functions of the computer.

Now, another bureacrat's self-righteous indignation has punished another child.

Yet another example of why all states need school vouchers.

Why the U.N. is a joke

In my younger school days, I thought of the United Nations in idealistic terms. I thought it was an organization whose purpose was to promote peace through democratic means.

Now, I think the United Nations is a fool's dream.
Read Max Kampelman's article and you will see the injustice promoted by the U.N. Libya as chair of the Human Rights Committee? That's putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Yet anti-war types demand that we seek this organization's permission before we use force.

Some say we should leave the U.N. I don't go that far. We should stay and use our influence to change the U.N. Max Kampelman's idea of creating a Democratic caucus is sound. That is if we can convince the weak-knee Europeans (the democracies that abstained from voting against putting Libya a chair on the Human Rights committee) to go along with us instead of cowing to small dictator states. (Pansies)

Follow through

Yesterday I resolved to make a resolution. I even followed through. I resolved to get off my butt and go to grad school. Today I made an appointment with an enrollment counselor at Regis University.

Now I just need to figure out a way to pay for it. Anyone know any companies with good tuition assistance?

A new year

Its a new year, the time for resolutions. I never make resolutions.

So this year, I resolve to make a resolution.

OK, that's done.

My unlikely 2004 predictions

Britney Spears will gain 150 pounds, take to wearing muu muus on stage, and demand to be respected for her talent. Meanwhile, Christina Aguilera sets a record for most body piercing before dying tragically when all the piercings are simultaneously ripped from her body in a tragic giant electro-magnet accident.

Osama bin Laden will be convert to Kabbalah and record a duet with Madonna that will debut at #1 in France.

PETA will boycott Orkin pest control as cockroach mass murderers and call for a U.N. tribunal to try the "Orkin Man" for crimes against bug-manity. (OK, so not all these predictions are unlikely).

Hillary Clinton will decide to take a hard line against all terrorist supporting countries in her new book "It Takes a Nuke".

George Bush will win 47 states in the election after Howard Dean admits he has no idea about foreign policy. OK, Dean won't admit that, but the electorate will realize it and Bush will still win 47 states.

Major League Baseball players will realize their contracts have gotten out of control and are harming the game. The union will threaten to strike if their demand is not met to restructure their contract to limit the money their players can receive - and the Palestinian Authority will condemn suicide bombings.

I will land a job as a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. My witty writings will gain the attention of a high profile producer who will use my articles for a new TV series that will be the most watched premier ever. The contract will make me rich, but after the first 6 episodes the writing will become shoddy and cliche leading to a cancellation after the first season. Reruns will live on and become a cult classic.

Back again

I'm back from my vacation.

We had a great time after we got over our sicknesses. After Christmas Honeybun and I went to Phoenix to see my father's wedding. We met family I hadn't seen in 20 years.

I also hadn't been in Phoenix since 1991. I know everything changes, but wow! The neighborhood I grew up in is hardly recognizable. The biggest change I saw with the size of the city. I'm amazed at how much it has grown - while taking for granted the immense growth in the Denver metro area where I live now.

Phoenix is still a great city. I'd live there again if it weren't so damn hot in July and August.

Warm fuzzies

Well it's Christmas day and the rituals are nearly complete. We got up early and unwrapped all our gifts and stocking stuffers (all in our pajamas). My in-laws really know how to bring out the excitement of Christmas. Its contagious.

After the gifts was the traditional (for us) breakfast of egg casserole (with green chili and sausage) and cinnamon rolls. Mmmm...cinnamon rolls.

Now there is nothing left but waiting for the weight gain. Ahhh, I love Christmas.

Honeybun is still nauseous with flu like symptoms, my head is still a snot factory. But its CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas everyone.

Ya gotta be kidding me

So we're here in warm - 60 something - Las Cruces. The Luminarios are around the in-laws place waiting to be lit at sundown. Christmas eve dinner is being prepared.

And wouldn't you know it, Honeybun and I are both sick. She is feeling like she wants to throw up everything she has eaten in the last 6 months. I'm feeling like my head is one big snot factory...wait a sec (snooooorrrrrt). Ah better for a little while.

It's been a year since I've had a vacation, and I'm sick. Great.

Well at least we are with family. Merry Christmas everyone.

Vacation

Well, probably won't blog much for the next two weeks or so. I'm going on vacation with Honeybun to Las Cruces, NM for Christmas. After that, we will head over to Phoenix, AZ to see my father's wedding.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Zero-tolerance = Zero-intelligence

Birmingham, Alabama Clay-Chalkville High sophmore Ysatis Jones has been suspended from school and told she must attend an alternative school for a month for commiting a "major drug offense". She took Motrin for menstrual cramps.

Attending the alternative school would put Jones, an A-B student, in classes with children who committed offenses such as battery, arson and possessing illegal drugs.

Proving once again that people who cannot use critical thinking skills should not be given the responsibility of educating children.

When are parents going to fire the public schools?

Should it pay to be stupid?

CNN reports:
ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) -- The wife of a hockey fan who crashed his car after drinking too much at a Minnesota Wild game has sued the team, saying her husband shouldn't have been served so much alcohol.

Whoever owns the property he crashed into should sue the wife for allowing her husband to drive.

Cynthia Tucker is a moron

In Cynthia Tucker's current column she criticizes conservatives, specifically James Dobson of Focus on the Family for condemning gay marriage but not complaining loudly enough about shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.

She tries to make the case that gay marriage should be approved because James Dobson has not forcefully criticized The Bachelorette.

What she ignores is that Focus on the Family does not approve of shows like The Bachelorette. Boundless.org, a site affiliated with Focus on the Family specifically criticized Married by America - another reality show that tried to introduce couples so they would get married. While I did not find a specific reference from Focus on the Family on The Bachelorette, it wasn't hard to figure what the view of Focus is on these types of shows.

Then she ignores the entire purpose of Focus on the Family - to preserve families. Even a cursory glance at Focus on the Family's website leads one to believe that they support in depth preparation before entering into marriage. Even without a specific condemnation of that particular show, it seems obvious that James Dobson would not approve of making a life time vow merely for the purpose of trying to generate one night of ratings for a TV network.

Her conclusion is wrong. Conservatives are concerned about shows like The Bachelorette. They degrade marriage into a passing entertainment. It sends the message that you can change the channel when the marriage gets old.

Cynthia's case for gay marriage is based on the fact that she doesn't like James Dobson. In the end, that just isn't convincing. The irony is that James Dobson would disapprove of The Bachelorette just as much as she does.

We need school vouchers

It's official, teacher's unions do not care about children. But then, we already knew that. The latest evidence comes from Washington.
When the Seattle Times requested information about teachers and coaches accused of sexual misconduct from Bellevue School district, the school worked with the union to destroy the information.

Sickening really. Now, I'm fully aware that people make false allegations. Too many times, a false allegation alone can ruin lives. In those cases, the school must publicly clear the accused and punish the false accuser. But to be complicit in hiding the guilty is abhorrent. The newspaper obtained an email from Sharon Howard, an attorney for the school district, that said:

"There is no reason we would ever want to drag current or former employees through public attention to such matters - even those who were found to have committed misconduct,"

This is why we need school vouchers so tax payers can afford private schools. When public schools show such complete disregard for children, it is time to take back control of our children's education and safety.

Don't trust the U.N.

After my last post, I had to check into some facts. Over and over, Democrats are crying for the U.N. to take over in Iraq. I don't understand why they would want to deny freedom to Iraq.

The U.N. is NOT an organization that represents freedom or democracy. Of the 191 member nations, only 85 have democratic governments. The 106 others are dictatorships or one-party governments. 48 or complete dictatorships.

The U.N. believes a dictatorship is just as righteous as a democracy. Last year, the United States was voted off the U.N. Human Rights Commission and replaced with terrorist supporting Libya.

The U.N. does not allow Taiwan (a democratic nation of 23 million people) to join. NewsMax.com documents all this.

I find it scary that Democrats have more faith in a totalitarian supporting organization that it does in our own republic. I said the Democrats want to deny freedom to Iraq. What other explanation could there be?

We got him

Saddam Hussein was capture by U.S. Army forces. Quickly, there was a backlash. Howard Dean claimed that America is not safer? He may as well have claimed the sky is not blue.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said he did not support the death penalty for Hussein. Surely there comes a point when a person's evil justifies taking that person's life. For Kofi Annan, hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of murders (not to mention rapes and tortures) does not rise to that level.

Please God, never let the U.N. become the global government it wants to be.

Story time

Paul Harvey told this story a few years ago. Honeybun laughs at me when I try to tell it. I cannot get through it without welling up. Here is an inferior retelling:

Sarah remembers living in an orphanage. During Christmas some groups would come by to give the children gifts. One year, Sarah received a Christmas card that was covered with felt. She opened it up and read the greeting, “God loves you, you are a special person. Merry Christmas from the San Jose Fire Department.”

Sarah kept the card and anytime she felt lonely, she would pull out the card, rub the felt and read the greeting. She read the card so often, the felt rubbed off eventually wore off. But every time she read it, she knew she was special.

Later Sarah was adopted. Her mother took her to the nursing home during Christmas to visit the residents. Each year she would see the residents participate in the activities except for one man who would sit and scowl at the celebration.

She asked her mother why the man didn’t participate. Sarah’s mother didn’t know. The next year Sarah was thinking of the man and remember how the Christmas card made her feel. She got some paper, glue and scissors. She cut some felt and pasted it to the front. Inside she wrote, “God loves you, you are a special person. Merry Christmas, love, Sarah.”

When they went to the nursing home, the man was sitting in his chair. Sarah walked up to him and gave him the card. The man looked at the card, opened it, and read the greeting. Then he looked at Sarah and said “Thank you.” That year instead of sitting alone, he sat Sarah on his lap and sang carols with everyone else. It was the first time Sarah saw him smile.

When they were leaving, Sarah asked her mother what the man did before he retired. Her mother said, “He was a fireman in the San Jose Fire Department.”

Like, schools should teach kids to read....er sum junk

The December 8, 2003 issue of People magazine has a story about former NBA star Kevin Johnson. (Side note - my brush with fame was meeting Kevin Johnson right after he was traded to Phoenix when he came into the restaurant I worked in.)

Kevin Johnson was concerned with the failing Sacramento High School in California. People says the high school was "plagued by plummeting test scores, student apathy and a deteriorating campus." Only 20% of students could read at grade level. His solution was to raise $7 million through his foundation St. Hope and convert the campus into a charter school.

Who could be against a philanthropist wanting to spend millions to educate inner city kids? Public educators. Johnson's biggest opponent was The Sacramento City Teachers Association. A major reason was their objection to the school being run by St. Hope - a faith based organization.

Some people claim that religion leads to ignorance. It turns out Secularism led to ignorance at Sacramento High and "educators" would rather see kids condemned to a life without education than see them learn to read and perhaps hear about faith in the process.

To proofread or not to proofread

Like a fellow blogger of mine that shall remain nameless (but is linked to from this site), I am lazy. Therefore, I do not proofread with anything that resembles attention-to-detail*.

It has come to my attention that I spelled "especially" wrong in my previous post. As a show of my rebel attitude, I refuse to correct it.

(*This is an example of why resumes cannot be trusted. In the opening paragraph of mine, I claim to have great attention-to-detail as a strength. Honeybun always laughs at that one.)

Office parties

Tonight I'm going to a party hosted by a co-worker. These things are always touchy. You want to go and enjoy yourself, but you pray no one gets really drunk and does something stupid - espicially yourself. Since I can't drink anymore, I'm not as worried about me doing something idiotic in front of my boss or his wife.

We'll see if anyone else does anything embarrassing. We can only hope :)

UPDATE:
The party went well. No one got slobbering drunk and no teddy bears were subject to being thrown up on. The host did get himself engaged though. Good for him.

Why vouchers are needed

Amanda Stiles, a sophmore at Parkway High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, has been expelled for one year for having Advil in her purse. Amanda's purse was searched after another student reported her for smoking at school. The teacher did not find cigarettes or a lighter, but did find the Advil.

The Board Superintendent claimed the school system is following a state law that requires a one-year expulsion and being consistent in the system's "zero-tolerance" policy.

So another group of presumably competent educators has sacrificed good judgement on the altar of zero-tolerance.

The parents say they cannot afford private school. The result of this horribly short-sighted decision is a young girl described as an "average" student is being denied the opportunity to be educated. Considering the poor judgement the board used, she probably isn't any worse off.

Not by, of, or for...

A denver judge has ruled that Colorado's school voucher program is unconstitutional. Poor kids cannot use vouchers to escape shoddy public schools to get a better education.

Judge Meyer wrote, "I see no way to interpret the voucher program statute in a way that does not run afoul of the principle of local control."

The voucher program is designed to allow parents with children in failing schools to attend private schools of their choice. In other words, its for districts that have chosen not to excercise the local control they have.

This is just another example of courts thwarting the will of the people. The suggested constitutional conflict is a thinly veiled attempt to rule by judicial fiat. Again.

Oppenents of the voucher plan claim it will undermine public education by siphoning off students and the tax dollars they bring. This is a bald faced lie. It will actually give more money per student to each district. The money put towards the voucher is less than the money paid to the district to educate the student. The district keeps the difference between what it would have received fo the student to attend the public school and what is put toward the voucher. Sounds great for the students remaining at the school.

But the oppenents aren't really interested in educating students. They would rather keep the status quo where parents have no control over the way their children are indoctrinated.

Lord of the Rings count down

13 days.....tick, tick, tick, tick.

Ahh...It's good to be dead

George Harrison, Johhny and June Cash, and Warren Zevon (who was he?) all have something in common. They are all dead and all received multiple Grammy nominations this year.

If your career needs a boost - go ahead and die. Problem is, you can only do it once.

For your inner geek..

I liked this comic.

Really, he was a nice guy

Nathaniel Jones died this past week after fighting with police. The 350+ pound man was high on cocaine and PCP when he fought with police. The video shows Jones advance on a retreating police officer, swing at him, then grab him.

Jones' family is calling for an independent investigation. His grandmother said, "Skipper [Jones] was just a good old, fat jolly fella. He wasn't violent."

Right.

His aunt Diane Payton said, "Everyone he met, that he touched, loved him. He was never mean."

I'm sure the policeman felt that Jones was the nicest guy to every assualt him. Still, I doubt that the policeman he "touched" felt very much love.

The police are in a catch-22. This man made choices that led to his own death and the police are blamed. Because he died while committing, a crime the police are racist. If the police did not respond, people would claim more racism for not protecting the black community.

It would be nice to see some integrity from the activists. Stop defending thugs and criminals as the innocent victims.

The Cincinnati Post believes that the public will receive an honest answer on whether or not the officers reacted appropriately according to their editorial.

The real question is whether or not the activists will accept any other answer than one that condemns the police. I doubt it when people like as Kweisi Mfume already claim the police behavior was "well outside the norm for subduing an unarmed suspect.''

Our 6th Anniversary

Saturday the 29th was our sixth wedding anniversary. It was pretty low key in general. Our big outting was to go to The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant.

The night there started a bit rocky. We had reservations for 9:30 but didn't get seated until after 10:00. Then they gave us drinking water in dirty glasses. Ugh. At that point, we were getting quite disappointed. We called for the manager and told him about it. He promised to turn things around right away, and he did.

A four-course dinner is at least a two hour experience. Our waiter did a great job and the food was outstanding. Honeybun absolutely loved the desert: a chocolate sauce to dip bananas, strawberries, and cakes.

The surprise of the night was when we got the bill. The manager covered the dinner. We paid only a few bucks for the drinks (and of course a nice tip).

So, if there is a one near you and you have a special night coming up, go to The Melting Pot.

Thanksgiving a celebration of faith?

Capitalism Magazine published an article they summarized as follows:
Summary: Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday, celebrates man's productive ability. It is not a day of national guilt or a religious festival. This holiday is designed to celebrate, not faith and charity, but thought and production.

To say that Thanksgiving is not about faith or charity is to ignore the obvious. The name of the holiday inherently has religious implications. After all the Puritans we call The Pilgrims did not give thanks to man's productive ability but to God. In fact, Governor Bradford declared the pilgrims second day of Thanksgiving in 1623 because of an answer to prayer. The pilgrims had been through a severe drought and gathered to pray for ran - rain fell the following day.

This last week The History Channel ran a program on the history of Thanksgiving. The program described how the earliest Thanksgiving observances started in New England (of course commemorating the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving). Back to its earliest roots before President Lincoln declared in a holiday, Thanksgiving observances had a strong connection to charity.

The article claims that it is an insult to hard working people to believe in God's blessings. That view ignores that our we do not control everything that happens to us (though we are responsible for how we react to it). Christians ascribe some of those things as blessings from God. Our hard work from those blessing results in bounty such as Thanksgiving feasts.

Its amazing that someone would be able to ignore the facts and say that Thanksgiving is not a celebration of faith or charity. It is significant that this uniquely American holiday has such strong roots as a celebration of faith and expressions of charity.

My Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we will spend at home with family and friends. Honeybun has done a wonderful job of planning, cleaning, and preparing for about 10 other guests.

We'll be having a wonderful dinner of turkey, ham, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, bread rolls, and all kinds of pies & even cheesecake.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

It should be a Happy Thanksgiving

Since 1970 Native American activists have designated Thanksgiving Day as a national day of mourning. In an online article date 7/14/98, Russell Peters - President of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council - said, "It was not appropriate for the native people to feast in thanksgiving; instead we decided to fast and show by contrast our way of remembering our history."

It's sad that a man who enjoys the freedoms and blessings of the richest, most powerful nation on Earth can think of nothing to be thankful for on this holiday and must mourn the loss of a culture he never knew.

When people criticize events such as the national day of mourning as being part of anti-American movement, there is reason to believe they are right. Strangely enough, it is Mr. Peters himself who confirms it:
"In recent years, [the National Day of Mourning has] been orchestrated by a group calling themselves the United American Indians of New England. This group has tenuous ties to any of the local tribes, and is composed primarily of non-Indians. (emphasis added).

Higher education isn't educational

One of the employee's I supervise is attending school at Metropolitan State College of Denver - locally referred to as Denver Metro.

She is a biology major but is required to take a history course as a general education requirement. The course she is taking is called American Civilization. The course description of the class says, "American Civilization is an entry-level American history course designed to trace the roots of contemporary America."

Sounds like a good course and its intents probably are. Unfortunately, professors have their own agendas. The instructor of this class assigned Michael Moore's book "Downsize This". Michael Moore is as liberal as they come. The idea that his book is a "text book" is laughable. Not only is it biased, I really can't find a meaningful connection between a course on American History and a criticism of corporate America.

If that isn't bad enough, the student told me today that her classed was canceled so they could complete an assignment to - get this - go find a tree, sit next to it and get in touch with herself.

Really, a history class has turned into an indoctrination of New Age spirituality.

Those who don't learn from The History Channel...

This week our cable provider added channels to our service (along with a price increase of course). But they finally added my favorite channel - The History Channel.

Ya, I'm a weirdo. I love history and THC is great. No real point here other than watching it last night was the highlight of the day after working 14 hours.

What to do for fun

Board games have made a resurgence. Last month Hasbro declared larger than expected earnings because of increased sales in board and card games. Overall, game sales increased 84 percent in 2003. Unplugged entertainment seems to do well in recessionary times.

Last year, the 20th anniversary Trivial Pursuit game was the best selling game of the year. Cranium is also a top seller. So, just in time for Christmas, here is a list of Jason's recommendations:

Cranium - Great variety game. All our friends like it.
Remote Possibilities - also a fun party game because I'm great at it.
Kill Doctor Lucky - a fun "pre-mystery" game. Like Clue but you committ the murder. More fun than murder sounds...and cheap too.
The Very Clever Pipe Game - Another Cheapass Game. Play cards to connect section of pipes. A quick fun strategy game.
Dungeons & Dragons - Yes, it's a roleplaying game. You need about 4 other people to play it. Find some normal people interested in Lord of the Rings type adventures and you'll have some fun.
Pocket Farkel - a quick dice game. All about luck and guts. Very addictive.
Empire Builder - a train game. You have to build your track and deliver goods across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The game board changes everytime.

These are games that my family enjoys. So turn off the TV and Playstation II for a while and enjoy the company of your family and friends.

But I don't feel jingoistic

Tom Brokaw accepted an award from the National Press Club on Wednesday for being on TV for a long time to read news stories written by other reporters.

During his speech he said, "Radio stations have become instantly jingoistic and savagely critical of any questions raised about the decisions leading up to, for example, the war on Iraq...motivated not by ideological or intellectual passions, but instead by the raw commercial possibilities of creating mob mentality."

The old, they-really-don't-believe-their-views argument. By extension, we can only believe those with sincere views are the major network news hosts. To me, it sounds like someone is upset with sinking ratings as viewers continue the abandon old oligopoly media. The blogging revolution is only the continuance of what started with talk radio. We are tired of information being controlled by the likes of Tom Brokaw.

Heroes

Rush Limbaugh returned to hosting his radio show yesterday after completing a 5 week drug rehabilitation program.

Today a judge refused to dimiss obstruction of justice and insider trading against Martha Stewart. Her trial is expected to start in January.

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was searched by police today, apparently related to new allegations of child molestation.

All three have legions of devoted fans. They all have their flaws. They all show that people only have farther to fall when you put them on a pedestal.

The most important day

Not much to write about today except...

Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm taking the day off from work and spending it with my family. Have a good weekend.

This guy is sick

Ted Rall wrote a column yesterday once again trying to push the notion that the war in Iraq is about oil. He ignores that if the war was about Iraqi oil, the United States would have kept it in 1991 when we had it.

He writes his column in a truly dispicable way, writing a recruiting
letter for terrorists. In the letter he justifies ("regretfully")
killing our military members. On Veteran's Day, he said our military
men and women served because that was the only way they could
afford "university" or they were too poor and uneducated to
understand they were pawns for Dick Cheney.

The silver lining is that this liberal thinking will surely lead to
the re-election of George Bush.

Wearing the pants in the house

New York Magazine ran an article on the problems that develop in a marriage when the wife is the main or sole breadwinner.

Is the problem that men are threatened? The article actually emphasizes the changes in the wives attitudes toward their non-succeeding husbands. Women are attracted to achievement. The stay-at-home man is just not attractive to women. As a result, the article points out, the spousal sexual relationship suffers.

One woman said:
“He was the best sex I ever had.” But that was long ago. “We fight instead,” she says. “We’re embroiled in some weird combat. It’s like Lysistrata. I tell him, ‘Your business is going to have to get better faster.’ Until then, I’m withholding.”

The article interviews a number of divorced women. These women were not divorced because their husbands left after being threatened by their success. They were divorced because the wives lost respect for their husbands.

Let's face it. Men and women are different. Men want nuturers women who can take care of the emotional needs. Women are attracted to achievement. Those who can reverse those roles are the exception, not the rule.

Maggie Gallagher says:
"The sexual truth is that women (unless they're lesbians) are attracted to men. And masculinity is not like femininity. It is a performance. It has to be won -- and it can be lost."

Veteran's Day

Today is the day the United States honors its veterans of military service. Yesterday was the 238th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Thanks to all those others who served and to those who still serve. Stay safe.

Semper Fidelis.

Persecuting...um prosecuting a hero.

Lt. Col. Allen West seems to be a hero. The Lt. Col. fired a handgun near an Iraqi prisoner's head while interrogating the prisoner who had refused to talk. The prisoner then confessed to a conspiracy to ambush American troops and named his co-conspirators who were arrested before the ambush could be sprung. The prisoner was not injured.

American lives were saved. Great, right? Well now the Army says Lt. Col West's actions were assault on the prisoner. Lt. Col. West now he faces a court martial.

This is why terrorists think America is soft. Bureaucrats value the comfort of our enemies above the lives of our troops. War is a nasty business. Scaring a prisoner into talking, especially when he is left uninjured is not a war crime.

Army prosecutors are sending a message to our enemies. Your secrets are safe from us. We are too soft to find them out. When someone is brave enough to scare one of you, we will punish him for it.

Slut and proud of it

Pop singer Christina Aguilera is defending her reputation for sleeping around and dressing in slutty clothing.

She says,
"I see a lot of double standards in society, Men can do things and women can do the same things yet get criticized for it, labeled for it -- they are just constantly put down for things that men can do so freely and so openly and get almost praised for"

She also wrote a song about it:
Can't Hold Us Down
I don't understand why it's okay
The guy can get away with it & the girl gets named
All my ladies come together and make a change
Start a new beginning for us everybody sing

Her argument is false. She makes two errors. She assumes that men are praised for sleeping around and she assumes that men and women are the same.

Men are not universally praised for promiscuity. They get labeled with names like womanizer, skirt chaser, or lecher (maybe she should expand her circle of influence).

The second point is that men and women are not the same. Perhaps there is not as strong a condemnation of men as women. That is because of the respect our society has for women. Women have long been thought to be able to control their more base instincts better than men. Women are assumed to be more monogamous than men. In times gone by, women required men to give up their promiscuous ways by committing to marriage. This respect for women was the basis for all of Western society for millennia.

Now Christina wants to turn that upside down. I don't understand how women giving up the power they had in society gives them more respect. Ask any man if he respects a woman who jumps in the sack on the first date. I remember a conversation I had with another man a few years ago. He said, "Sure I'll have sex with a woman on the first date. I won't respect her, but I'll have sex with her."

Why we should not send our daughters to war

The book on Jessica Lynch's story of her capture will be released Tuesday. The book confirms what many suspected all along. Jessica Lynch was raped by her captors.

There are many horrors of war. Why do we insist on sacrificing the femininty and dignity of our wives and daugters? We do not send our women to war out of respect for them. For centuries we did what we could to keep them out of war because of that respect.

Shopping days

Only 9 shopping days left until my birthday.

Censorship or not?

CBS has decided not to air a mini-series about Ronald and Nancy Reagan. This is not a decision about censorship.

Many people point to free speech issues as a reason this should be shown. The error in reasoning here is that slander was never intended to be protected by the First Amendment.

People would not be offended by an unflattering presentation of the Reagans if the depiction was true. The problem is that the writers admitted to including dialogue that the Reagans never said (they do claim they have a basis for including it - whatever that means). They even go so far as to claim that Ronald Reagan suffered from Alzheimer's disease while in office despite proof to the contrary.

Dissent is protected by the first amendment and is a principle of this country. Let's hope libel and slander aren't included in those principles.

At least CBS got a clue.

Judicial tryanny

The judicial branch has once again flaunted its tyranny. Within minutes of President Bush signing into law a ban on partial-birth abortion, a federal judge has issued a restraining order preventing the ban from being enforced on four doctors. The ACLU (once again on the wrong side of civility and liberty) represented the doctors.

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean warned the ban would "chill the practice of medicine and endanger the health of countless women."

Someone please explain how a baby can endanger a woman's life when it is delivered out of the womb and only the head remains in the birth canal?

Even former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (not a conservative thinker) says that partial-birth abortion is never necessary.

Do these guys know what they are talking about?

MSNBC published an AP article claiming that a survey shows 44% of people asked will vote against President Bush in 2004 compared with 38% who say they will vote for him.

That sounds bad, but the story looks more like biased reporting. A recent poll shows President Bush's approval rating at 53%. Historically, only JFK and George H.W. Bush's ratings were above 50% at this point in their presidency.