Dateline Moronsville... Pat Robertson is a complete lunatic and fool.
Ok, ok...I know any usual reader of this site and anyone who talks to me with any regularity is saying, "Honestly, Joe, this is all that you talk about." Yes, I know that we all already know how dumb Robertson is, but I can't let this little update go. After calling Ariel Sharon's stroke divine wrath for dividing Israel, it comes out that Robertson, according to UK's Guardian, is brokering a deal to divide up a portion of Israel so that it can be used as a Christian holy site and "biblical theme park," because we all know that is how Jesus wants to be remembered...as a tourist attraction. Come on, Pat, he's God, not a cash cow. Don't believe me...read it here, at The Democratic Underground, where they have included Robertson as one of the Top Ten Conservative Idiots. Still don't believe me...read the whole story at the Guardian's website. Its just always so funny, even though I know its like beating a dead horse. Especially when that dead horse always seems to be knawing on its ankle because its foot is always in its mouth.
|Alright, lets try this shit again...
Yes, to all of you out there celebrating the departure of my works and writings in the past month plus, I'm here to tell you that I, like a damn cockroach, will not die. I'm back and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.
That said, I am going to try and write more in the coming weeks to keep my readership up. To anyone crazy enough to check this site regularly while I was gone, you rock. That takes some dedication. Anyhow, like I said, I'm back and ready to be a thorn in so many sides again.
The big political news over the last week has been the recent health problems of Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, who suffered a major stroke and is clinging to life after two brain surgeries, in a medically induced coma. This is sobering news on so many fronts. First and foremost, it would be reprehensible to continue without saying that my dearest sympathies lie with the family and friends of Sharon in this dark hour. Also, I am saddened for the people of Israel, who are, at present, in a state of flux while mourning the condition of their leader, unsure of what course their lives will take at the present moment. Second, I have to say that, politically, this could be a very dark hour for Middle East peace. Although Sharon's replacement, Ehud Olmert, is polling well against hardline candidate Binyamin Netanyahu, who served in the Sharon cabinet but resigned as a protest of the Israeli withdrawl from the Gaza Strip, still is at a serious disadvantage against the much more well known Netanyahu in upcoming elections. Further, growing reproach for the policies of the Sharon government in relation to movement toward a nation that allowed for some semblance of a Palestinian state will also make further moderate and worthwhile compromise difficult, returning the region to a more war-torn state that will be further from peace. While I personally think that there will never be true peace in the region, I think that the region can be more peaceful with moderate, level-headed decision making that will stall out if hardliners like Netanyahu maintain power in the country in the same manner as if hardline Palestinians like Yasser Arafat had maintained control of the Palestinian movement.
Lastly on this subject, I would like to add a new stupid Pat Robertson statement. While I know this must be getting a little old, I think this one really bears need to be said. Robertson, commented that Sharon's condition may be divine wrath from God, comparing it with the assasination of Yitzhaik Rabin, who also talked about dividing the land of Israel before he was killed. This man is not a fucking televangelist, he's a damn shock jock. He's Howard Stern with a bible in his hand. He sits there and acts high and mighty for his nearly million person audience and says crap like this. We should seal his mouth shut so he can never speak again. Once again, I will remind everyone that Pat Robertson has been banned to the "Worst Person in the World" Hall of Fame by both Keith Olberman and I. What a fucking moron.
|This week was, all in all, a good week. I finished the one and only big paper that I had for the entire semester (although I did it in nine straight hours which I followed up with two hours of sleep, causing me to hear things in my PLS 330 class the next day and have to stop taking notes), aced a test, got my classes in order, and I got to hang out with my friends. Not to mention, at the start of this new week, I got Sunday off to hang out with my family for an early Thanksgiving, thankfully missing my retail job schedule from hell.
In the wake of all of this good stuff, national politics left something of a gift at my doorstep. In the wake of the comments of Rep. John Murtha, a rather hawkish (that means pro-military and war for those of you not versed in politics...which would be rather odd since you came to this site) Democrat from Pennsylvania, the Republicans dropped the most immature, and ballsy, maneuver I have ever seen in politics. Murtha was calling for the immediate, although gradual, removal of troops from Iraq, a process which probably at this point take place. After he was bashed on as a coward and, as House Democrats alledged, "Swift Boat"ed, as a coward by the Republicans, particularly one woman in a red and black suit, (by the way, Murtha is a decorated ex-Marine...these people have no shame) the Republicans took the "Murtha ammendment," bastardized it, and put it on a bill the next day. They bastardized it by speeding up the process. Thus, they put the Democrats in a no-win situation by forcing them to either vote for the ammendment and be called poor military strategists and unpatriotic or not vote for the ammendment and be called hypocrits. I have to say that this move was brillant. Politically underhanded...yes. Flat out ethically shitty...yes. Genius...yes.
I have no love lost for the Republican party. But I have to say, "touche," to them for this manuever and tip my cap to them. What they have done is horrible from a sense of being rancorous and partisan, but great from the sense of being absolutely politically brillant. Vicious, cold, heartless...sounds very House Republican to me. I won't vote for them, but I will say that they made my week politically. I guess there's a first for everything.
|A friend sent me this joke today and I found it funny...so I figured I would post it up here so that everyone could read it. Here it is:
Hope you enjoy the joke.
|For those of you who don't know me, I'll give you a little back story. I'm recently single and fearlessly idealistic. Those two things should give a huge ammount of insight into who I am. I believe in helping people and I do it with all my fervor. The thing is, lately, I've been doing it to forget the fact that I am, in fact, single. You see, I always liked being in a relationship and not being in one kinda sucks. But its all good. I've been helping a bunch of my friends as well as doing Convoy of Hope and tutoring sessions with NSCS. Plus, I have my classes to immerse myself in. Sometimes this all just feels like socially acceptable suicide though. Its sorta like saying, "Don't like what's going on...then just drown yourself in this massive workload."
The thing is that my idealism and my being single come into conflict. I have a lot of trouble looking out for myself first and I am really willing to put myself on the line. I guess that's why my favorite quote is, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," by Edmund Burke. I have always viewed my life as doing something. I just hope that it is enough.
|Deciding that I wanted to retry this little expieriment in futility, I am updating this site for the first time in over a month. I'm gonna stick the link back on facebook and we'll go from there.
Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote. For one, my last entry is now null and void as Harriett Miers resigned her intention to be a nominee for the Supreme Court. Her nomination was replaced with the nomination of Samuel Alito, an appeals court judge from the Northeast.
Alito is a far right judge. There's just no two ways around it. He's absolutely way out there. I don't like calling people names, but "fanatic" tends to come to mind. I heard one of my friends describe his gun control stance as, "He thinks we should hand guns out to parolees." Yeah, this is a great choice for our supreme court. A white male Catholic, giving or adding to majorities on the court that need to be lessened and not strengthened, who supports the oppression of women into a subordinate role and the rise of a far right agenda that promotes a descriminatory status quo over a far reaching America for all of us. Way to be a uniter, President Bush. I think we can all see now why your approval rating is 37 percent and falling like a stone from Heaven.
A couple of notes on things that have been happening:
Well, that's pretty much all I got for now. Two non-intelligent attempts to press for teaching of intelligent design and a far right judge. Aren't there supposed to be four horsemen? Oh, there's Bush now...
|In the wake of the uberqualified John Roberts' confirmation for the position of Chief Justice, President Bush has given America a new question to answer.
That question is: "Who is this person you nominated to take the place of Sandra Day O'Connor."
In case you haven't heard, the nominee is Harriet Miers, White House Counsel. She has no actual experience as a judge. As a matter of fact, she doesn't have much experience in the public eye at all.
Aside from her current position on the White House legal staff as well as work as the Staff Secretary and as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Miers has had a myriad of lower level positions that may or may not qualify her for the Supreme Court.
Those are all fine qualifications; however, I'm just not sure that she has had enough expierience dealing in high profile public offices to have a true understanding of the kind of experience she will have on the Supreme Court.
Earl Warren and William Rehnquist, two prominent non-judge names to be appointed to the court in recent history, both had held high public office. Rehnquist clerked on the Supreme Court and was an Assistant Attorney General before heading the office of legal counsel in the Justice Department. Warren was both the state Attorney General of California and the Governor of California, as well as an unsuccessful vice presidential candidate before he was nominated.
I am not too terribly worried about Miers' experience with the law. She has certainly been a lawyer long enough to understand that and I think she probably has a pretty good grasp of its caveats. I am more concerned with her lack of experience with the entity of the Supreme Court and the pressure associated with sitting as a Supreme Court Justice. This is a position that will deliver constant national pressure on her from the media and the public as well as from government. Her positions in political staffs may have somewhat prepared her for some of that pressure, but, without clerking for the Supreme Court or holding a high level public office, that will be a new expierience for Miers. Even recent nominee John Roberts, even if he hadn't been a judge, had clerked for William Rehnquist on the court, so he had a good idea of how the body really worked.I worry about how she will handle the pressure.
Further, I have to say that I don't think that Miers is the most qualified candidate that was on the short list. I understand that she is a woman and that a good chunk of society wanted a woman to replace O'Connor, but I really think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who has been a judge, would have been a far more qualified candidate for the seat and, as a bonus, he would have represented the new largest minority in the United States, which would have added to the perspective of the court in interpeting the Constitution.
My biggest fear with all of this is that Miers' nomination is an act of cronyism. Cronyism, as defined by Websters, is "Favoritism shown to old friends without regard for their qualifications, as in political appointments to office." I hope that the appointment of Miers, who has been connected to the Bush administration since he was governor of Texas and is the Assistant to the President now is more than a political friend that Bush feels he can give a seat on the Supreme Court without recognizing the need for high qualifications. That would be truly detrimental to the judicial system in America and give way too much sway to the Executive Branch in shaping Judicial Branch decisions. However, with Miers' lack of experience, this appointment reeks of cronyism.
Like a bad nightmare from the seventh circle of hell, the infernal steroid hearings have come back to haunt my dreams and torture my mind! I now get the distinct displeasure of listening to a group of senators berate a testing system that is working so that they can score "I'm doing it for the children" PR points with the American public. Has anyone actually found a link between steroid use amongst children and steroid use amongst professional baseball players? How would the kids even know? Its not like Barry Bonds comes out once a week and says, "Well kids, you know I use Balco steroids to get big and strong. So, if you want to jack balls into McCovey Cove like me, then get your left ass cheek ready for some liquid strength." Sure, kids probably know that steroids are being used in baseball. Thats kinda like saying that kids know that crack is being used in the inner city. Just because they see it does not mean that next week they are all going to be strung out, jonesing for another hit. But, once again, Congress has to waste time on steroids while real issues hang in the balance.
What kind of real issues? Issues like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. If you didn't hear this yet, Michael Brown, disgraced former head of FEMA, told a panel that FEMA did nothing wrong in the aftermath of Katrina and that the blame for the problems laid at the feet of local and state authorities. Well, then it lies at FEMA's feet too. Why? Because FEMA is supposed to COORDINATE relief efforts. That means getting state and local entities in line too. Therefore, the buck stops at Michael Brown, not at the state or local level. Way to pass the buck Michael, you are acting like a true politician-I guess that fits since you were completely unqualified to be the head of FEMA.
Another important issue that Congress is tackling is the appointment of John Roberts. It should be noted that I have finally determined that I have no qualms with Roberts being the next Chief Justice. He doesn't seem any more conservative than Rehnquist and he is certainly qualified. The next appointment, to replace O'Connor, is going to be the real interesting one. Part of me actually hopes that Bush will nominate Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General, to be her replacement. I had my issues with Gonzales when he took over for Captian Christian Insano (aka John Ashcroft), but he has held a relatively low profile and productive term as Attorney General and seems to be very qualified and very well spoken. I would also like to see a hispanic appointed to the court, to make it somewhat more representative of the national population. However, if there is a more qualified candidate, I would rather put them in the spot. I just can't think of one. If you can, leave the name as a comment with a brief explanation of why.
Lastly, I want to return to the aftermath of Katrina for a moment. I finally saw exactly what I didn't want. I was reading my local paper, the Springfield News-Leader, the other day, and I came across an article that shook the very foundation of my mind. The minister at a local (and apparently very fundamentalist) church, actually equated the disaster with the wrath of God on the city of New Orleans. You know, I wish the wrath of God crowd would shut their collective mouth for five seconds. I'm sure it would give their feet a rest. The fact is that disaster happens. We don't know why and we're not supposed to. If you want to know, ask your deity of choice when you get to your particular afterlife. Me, I don't care so I'm not going to bother. I take the stance that bad stuff happens so that we can more fully know the good. You can't have light without dark or good without bad. Just as a side note, if this was wrath of God, why would he strike the defenseless poor that couldn't leave their homes rather than the upper classes that fuel whatever debauchery is in New Orleans that left the city? The whole argument seems stupid to me. It happened, get over it and don't tell me you have all of the answers as to why it happened and to why it happened where it happened.
From left:Steroids, Steroid Hearings, and Michael Brown (former FEMA director): All Bad Things
I have a new column up on the College Press about Terror Tapes. Go check it out!
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Saddness is a funny thing. It sneaks up and attacks you with a blatant disregard for whatever it is that you are doing at the time.
Saddness, at least as of late, has been catching up with me for the past week and a half or so. The reason- my girlfriend and I unfortunately broke up (with her doing more of the breaking and me being left up...or maybe down). Yesterday, to something of my dismay, I spent about four hours on my own at my apartment, not feeling particularly happy. I was actually feeling pretty lonely, just me and the omnious voices of the sportcasters on ESPN-at least I could revel in a big KC Chiefs victory.
While I was sitting there, I started to think about all of the things that were weighing on me, like so many balls and chains. I came to the conclusion that life is little more than a stack of problems.
Now, before you go calling the suicide hotline and booking my reservation on Dr. Phil, let me explain. I think life is problematic for a simple reason: It wouldn't be life if it weren't. It would be heaven, the afterlife, utopia, pick your cliche. We have to have our problems now, so that when we reach perfection after we are gone, we can have some scope of what perfection really is. We have to know that the things that we are feeling at our worst amplify those things we feel at our absolute best.
I'm sure that one day I will look back on all of this one day and feel much better about it all. It's like the Kenny Chesney song says, "I go back..." You always remember the good things, and I think that is because you have your problems. They make all of the bright spots show up so much clearer on the gray background that is life. People say that there can be no good without evil and I really believe that. It gives you a starting point, a frame of reference to base your perception. And that is all living really is anyway, how you percieve the world.
Anyway, I know this had little to do with politics, but it really made me feel better. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm just relying on what my Dad said about it all, "If its good, then it'll come back."
God bless.
|My first column has been published. You should all check it out.
Egypt, yesterday, held the first contested presidential elections in its history. It looked like things in the Middle East might be looking up.
And then the facts came out...
There are now accusations of widespread election fraud in the country, including unknown voter registration, bribery of voters, and cohersion of voters.
As it stands now, it looks like Egypt will retain Hosni Mubarak as their leader for his fifth term, each of 6 years apiece. That means, if Mubarak survives this term, he will have been the nation's president for 30 years.
I'm sure this doesn't sound much different from many of the other Middle Eastern countries. However, it is different when Egypt is a major syphon of US Foreign Aid funds. Don't believe me, look at the table below:
| Year | Economic | Military | Military Education and Training (IMET) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-1997 | 23,288.60 | 22,353.50 | 27.3 | 45,669.40 |
| 1998 | 815 | 1,300.00 | 1 | 2,116.00 |
| 1999 | 775 | 1,300.00 | 1 | 2,076.00 |
| 2000 | 727.3 | 1,300.00 | 1 | 2,028.30 |
| 2001 | 695 | 1,300.00 | 1 | 1,996.00 |
| 2002 | 655 | 1,300.00 | 1 | 1,956.00 |
| 2003 | 911 | 1,300.00 | 1.2 | 2,212.20 |
| 2004 (requested) | 575 | 1,300.00 | 1.2 | 1876.2 |
| Total | 27,866.90 | 30,153.50 | 33.5 | 58,053.90 |
I find it ridiculous that a country that hasn't had a viable national democratic process in 30 years and has a recent history of jailing opposition party members is a major reciepient of US foreign aid in the Middle East. This is occurring while we spread our troop levels throughout the world in an effort to "spread democracy" to those who are autocratic and dictatorial in nature. Yet we allow other countries do the same? I can see giving foreign aid to Egypt, in a sense, up to this point as a way to encourage democracy. However, now I think it is obvious that Egypt needs to be shown the error of its ways with a punishment in the withdrawl of a decent portion-I suggest the 1.3 billion in military funds-of their aid package, which have stayed at a solid 1.3 billion dollars since 1998. It should be noted here that a measure in 2004 to reclassify some 500 million dollars of US Military Aid to Egypt was defeated in the US House of Representatives, for reportedly airing anti-semetic media programming. I would have to say that the failure of a government to hold fully transparent elections, thus conflicting with our international goals, is a much more serious offense.
Why do I recommend the military aid package? One, because the this is a large portion of the Egypt foreign aid package and will send a clear cut message. Second, because Egypt is one of the few countries that accepts Israel as a nation in the Middle East, something that irks the other Middle Eastern nations. If we remove their military aid, the possibility of a neighbor invading could force their hand. Third, I think that it is internationally irresponsible to give military aid that poses a threat to your international political philosophy, not to mention a wee bit hypocritical. It is insane that we are giving this much money to the exact type of government we are preaching against, and have been preaching against since 9/11. It makes me sick and it should stop right now.
|As with everything about John Roberts, I am now torn with the newest development in his saga as a nominee for the Supreme Court.
Now, with the passing of Chief Justice Rehnquist, Roberts' nomination as replacement to Sandra Day O'Connor is being drawn back and Roberts is being placed out as the new nominee for the Chief Justice seat. At first, I was outraged at the thought of putting such a green prospect in line for the most powerful judgeship in the land. Then, in my PLS 316 (American Political Parties and Elections) class this morning, I learned that instituting an outsider as Chief Justice is actually the norm and not the exception to the rule. Actually, instituting a sitting Associate Justice to Chief Justice, as was the case with Rehnquist when he was promoted to the post, is actually rather abnormal.
I still have all of my usual fears about Roberts, with his stance toward women and equal rights and with his heavily pro-business stance. I still also have my appreciation of his stellar education. It is limitations in the amount of experience that Roberts has that temper my enthusiasm, but his wealth of knowledge does encourage me. I am still waiting for the confirmation hearings to make a final decision on Roberts, but I am a little more skeptical with this new twist.
I, very publicly on this site, attacked the media for their coverage of the news following major disasters. I wish to retract none of my previous statements. That said, I do want to mention that media coverage has improved in recent days. The media has become more of a governmental watchdog and less of a "look at all the horrible things out there" group as of late. Oddly enough, this wave was led by Fox News (usually a government sounding post) correspondent Shepard (sic?) Smith. Smith came out publicly bashing relief efforts from the government. Now, most of the major news agencies are doing the same and are even going further. Tonight, I saw Tim Russert get up in National Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff's (sic?) grill about evacuation techniques used by the federal government, in liege with state and local governments, to get the poor out of harm's way.
I applaud this kind of journalism, which seeks to solve problems and not bring the morale of the country down. I do still have my issues with the media, namely the lack of story diversity (though this has been changed some with the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist [Rest in Peace]) in the news. I hope to see that change so that I can champion the media as a bastion of American freedom and hope and not an outpost of despair after tragedies.
As a side note, give all that you can to the people of Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama. Send money, food, personal items, whatever. Donate your time and your energy if you can. If you (like me-because of my financial situation) can't give, then advertise giving on your websites or just by word of mouth. Lets all do what we can to make this easier on everyone.
|With gas prices soaring across the country in the wake of continued conflict throughout the oil producing world and the dismantling of the United States' oil capabilities in the Gulf of Mexico, I decided that I needed to go get some gas for my car...eventhough I still had over 3/4 of a tank of gas left in my tank. At 2.999(I don't know why they don't just say 3.00-no one pays nine-tenths of a cent) a gallon, my little under a quarter of a tank was a bargain at just $11.50. I say a bargain because I heard earlier that gas prices in Georgia were about six bucks a gallon. Six bucks. At that price it would cost nearly 84 dollars to fill up my 1997 Honda Accord with a 14 gallon tank. At that price, your standard truck, with a 30 gallon tank would cost over 150 dollars to fill up. In fact, it would cost damn near 180 dollars. I think the guy they quoted in the paper today is right. If prices go that high and stay there, I'm buying a moped, no matter how dumb I look.
I am going to word the next article very carefully, so as to not sound like a prick. Well, maybe not.
Frankly, I'm sick to death of the coverage of Katrina. Yes, it was horrible and yes it is probably the worst single disaster since the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. However, I really just don't care to hear the chilling details and horrific stories of the storm, as told by embedded reporters and the survivors. They stand down in New Orleans like the worst storm to hit the United States in quite some time is some party that they have to cover. 3/4 of the news coverage in nothing but pictures of devestation, and, to be fuckin' truthful, when you see one, you see them all.
But, this is commonplace for the news. They find a topic and they run it into the ground. They beat you over the head with today's tragic event, whether it be Columbine, the Terry Schiavo case, or even 9/11 (perhaps the darkest and most tragic day in recent US memory). They tell you nothing new and totally ingnore, with the exception of some small graphics and thirty seconds of talk, all the important news from around the world and around the country that they missed. Just today, I saw a story (that is singular, as in one) on a deadly stampede in Iraq. If I'm not mistaken, I think we are still involved in a war in Iraq and I'm sure that there is still unrest in Afghanistan. Wasn't North Korea about to appear in six party talks again? You'd never know with this media. Their too busy ogling the dick size of Hurricane Katrina. Iran is still working with its possible nuclear program. Sudan still has Darfur. The Israelis and the Palestinians are still fighting. But there is no news coverage. No, there is only coverage of today's flavor de jour. Sometimes I wonder if the news corporations just don't want to pay to fly their reporters around.
Around the story about the Iraq stampede, nearly every other story talked about Katrina, most of them saying the same things: that the death toll will probably be in the thousands, that bodies are floating in the water in New Orleans, and that President Bush flew over today in Air Force One (by the way, I have no love lost for the president, but those who are not satisfied with him not landing to see the disaster area are completely stupid-the airport had been turned into a FEMA hospital in New Orleans and they don't need a spectacle of the president down there to distract all of the workers).
Further, all of the negative news coverage and time spent showing the tragedy of the decimated area in the American South does nothing but tear down the spirit of the American people. But the concept of "it bleeds, it leads" reigns supreme as Wolf Blitzer stands in a puddle of shit water telling you, "Now I am going to show you a bunch of pictures of dead people and destroyed homes that were taken by our citizen journalists." He might as well be saying, "Be sad, don't feel good. Go into your room and cry for all of the lost souls." Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with reporting tragedy. But the major news networks, particularly the 24-hour news networks have turned news coverage into a traveling circus that does nothing but undercut the morale of the American public and provide a camera-laiden distraction to the people involved in the situation.
Further, the news media wrecked the ability for the nation, in my opinion, to properly get ready for Katrina. They puffed up every hurricane that rolled close to our borders as some horrific disaster that was going to kill us all (even the storm that generated 35 MPH winds [something we get in Missouri on a normal day]), so that when Katrina was coming in, people did not, in my mind, take it as seriously as was needed. This, coupled with the media's inability to stay out of a clearly emotional situation and keep from shoving a microphone in the face of every teary-eyed, bawling survivor shows their irresponsibility and lack of journalistic ethics. Yes, tragedy must be shown, but it must not be overshown. Further, when it is shown, it should be presented in a tasteful manner that does not assail the viewer with a monumental wave of saddness. The media is this country have a duty to show us how to deal with the situations they cover by exhibiting a level of professionalism and dignity with whatever they do. That has been absent in the coverage of many major disasters, including Katrina, especially in the aftermath of 24-hour news. All the news is now is who can get it first, bloodiest, and most. It seems that Scary Movie 3 was right when it said, "This station is about sex, violence, and the weather," except it should have been talking about all the stations in the media.
This media has found a way to overtalk a situation that seems to have no words to truly dicern the tragedy that has been laid on the table by it. They have eloquently went over the same topics every hour on the hour instead of doing any actual work digging into any news event or doing any actual investigative journalism (that term is now dead to me) that they could possibly find. You know that in the coming weeks there will be mountains of stories filed that look into the causes of the broken levees in New Orleans, when only a few would have sufficed. The media will start engaging in some reactionary journalism that they try to pawn off on the American public as actual hard hitting news, when in reality, they are just trying to squeeze blood from the turnip that is a dying disaster. And while our media could be informing us on a wide array of topics, we will get the tragedy of the week surrounded by reports of Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, or some other redneck/skanky pop starlet. Then, on the next page, there will be more on their horrible tragedy. Then, on the back page, in a small box, there will be a weather report.
|In a move that is both politically cunning and horrifically dangerous, Venezualan President, of Pat Robertson (Captian Foot in Mouth from now on) assasination fame, dropped a bomb on the US the other day. On a TV show that he hosts in his native Venezuala, Chavez told the Reverend Jesse Jackson (I haven't quite figured out why in the fuck he was down there) that he would provide low cost heating fuel to the United States in the wake of the massive Hurricane Katrina, which damaged much of the US domestic oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Sounds nice, right?
In my opinion, that is all that is nice about it, the sound. While I don't agree with Robertson's solution, the things he said about Chavez manipulating people and politics in his nation are dead on. So, now, in the midst of a crisis of international proportions and a scandal that proves (at least on skewed Venezualan TV) that a Chavez assasination is at least on the American radar, Chavez gets to come off like the disrespected father figure who just keeps giving but gets "I hate you"s from his ungrateful children. He now has the upper hand in a region where we need to be more vigilant. Latin America is making strides to come back, but is still dangerously unstable. It is crucial that leaders like Chavez, who use borderline authoritarian policy to control their people, not gain anymore of a footbed in Venezuala. Chavez is actually going to be able to use Hurricane Katrina to his advantage, and that is absolutely tragic. It is also staggeringly beautiful from a political perspective. While awful, Chavez is taking the situation presented and getting what he needs from it. It shows two things, at least to me. One, he's a ruthless bastard. Two, he's one hell of a leader, even if he's misguided. Captian Foot in Mouth, you might want to include a concession speech with that apology because you just got owned.
Image is from the Black Collegian
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No words can describe what has happened to the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastlines in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We can only look in terrified awe at the destruction before us and count the blessings we still have. We should all hope for the safety of those still alive but still in harm's way.
I was in my PLS 330 class (Intro to Political Theory) last week and we were talking on the nature of political philosophy (also called political theory). I, at a point in the class and said the following: Political Philosophy is sort of like the art of walking in circles. There are no concrete answers. That is what drives it forward, the fact that there are no answers, but that is what also kills it. It is like it is living perpetually mortally wounded.
After class, I was walking with a friend of mine, Sean Cain and we began to talk about the class discussion, which was, frankly, very disjointed. We eventually came back to the comment I made in class. At that point I came up with the following explanation of Political Philosophy and, to a lesser extent, life.
Political Philosophy, like I said earlier, is the art of walking in circles. It has no concrete answers, no number you can reach to gain the good life or the good society. However, as you walk in circles, you seem to move forward, through life and the relationships that you make. Now, picture something that you have seen spin really fast. Sometimes, when something spins that fast, it throws pieces of itself out and away from its center. Now, imagine that is our circle. As we spin and navigate through life with political philosophy and philosophy, pieces of our circle fly out, in the forms of compromise, justice, law, and progress toward a common goal, perfection, even if, by human nature, it may be unattainable. Now, imagine these pieces hitting the ground around you and acting like seeds. As they hit, they dig deep into the soil. Eventually, you reach the end of your life. You ask yourself what you were living for...and you turn around, slowly. Behind you, you see a long field of beautiful wild flowers of all different colors, shapes, and sizes. You realize that the beauty and the purpose of life was the pieces of the circle that were tossed out as seeds, they added the color and spark to life. They made it all seem worth something because something grew out of what you did, as hopeless and pointless as it may have seemed.
Now, lets think about those who have stopped trying. I will put out two examples, the Nazis and the Soviets. These two cultures, for various reasons, stopped trying to discuss, debate, and reach compromise, justice, and progress. The results were dire. The Nazis were looking at a broken country and a downtrodden populus. Rather than using uniting efforts to reach a goal that was the best (or at least as good as can be expected) for everyone, they chose a direct solution, they blamed someone, in this case the Jews and the non-Aryan population of Germany and the rest of the world. 6 million people died and the memory of Second World War is etched on our memories forever. Second, and less well known, in Stalinist Russia, the Russian economy needed to kickstart so as to outpace the capitalist systems to prolong the communist revolution. Led by Stalin, the Russians sidestepped compromise and unity for the direct solution of totalitarianism and dictatorship. The end result was the Russian gulag, the work camps in Siberia that killed around 20 million people. Two cultures that decided on not spinning in circles, 26 million people dead. Instead of leaving a field of gorgeous wildflowers by exercising our ability as humans to think and feel together to try and amass an answer to the unanswerable, they attempted to march straight to the solution, in defiant and unremorseful steps, and left a field of graves, permanently scarring our existence with memories of hatred and degredation.
These are the lessons we should learn from the past. We need to learn to work together to gain as a whole, rather than work against each other to net gain for one, who plays king of the hill on a mountain of the dead and battered he has had to crush to reach his throne. We need to learn this history, because if we don't know it, I'm afraid we'll be truly doomed to repeat it, as the saying goes.
In a twist that I didn't even know about, Hurricane Katrina has now become a possibly catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. Is it me, or did this just pop up. I know that Katrina killed 9 people in Florida, but, with all of the coverage of the other hurricanes that have already occurred, I thought I would have heard more about this storm. But that is beside the point.
The real point and the real tragedy of this story is the people that are caught in New Orleans and Mississippi, fleeing literally for their lives as mother nature comes with all the fury of hell to their door. I hope and pray that everyone down there stays safe during this time of trial. Beyond all of the news, I had the priveledge of getting another perspective on the topic today at work. I talked to a gentleman who works as a volunteer for FEMA. He goes down into disaster sites and helps to identify the dead (his profession is that of a dentist). Upon hearing this, I immediately became interested, making the connection to Katrina. I was little surprised to hear that he was scared about what next week could bring. Talking to him some more, I realized that this was going to be his first time in doing this for FEMA. Talk about a trial by fire! I also hope that this kind gentleman has the strength and fortitude to do this all important job.
Today I am going to touch on something completely apolitical and not very funny, but happy nonetheless. Today was, at midnight, the day for ushering in Missouri State University and scrapping Southwest Missouri State University forever. Don't get me wrong, SMSU has been good to me and to the city of Springfield, but everyone had been holding their breath for this for something like 15-20 years. It kept getting held up by Mizzou. But now it is all finished. In coming days I am going to post some great pictures and, with any luck, maybe a little video as well. I hope you all enjoy it and let's go Missouri State. Woo Hoo!!
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This was the image I saw when I looked at my cable box earlier today. If you notice the red light on the box, that indicates that we have a digital "message." I figured I ought to check it out. It might be important. When I checked it, this is what I saw:
A fucking advertisement for the movie Hitch. Absolutely ridiculous. That's not a message. Its a waste of my damn time. A message would be something important.
|Pat Robertson, of Supreme Court prayer infamy, has furthered his image as a damn fool. Robertson said, "We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with," referring to an assasination of Venezualan President and anti-American leader Hugo Chavez. Robertson did later apologize for the rashness of his statements, but, unfortunately, the damage may have already been done.
Well, actually, when I say maybe, I mean has been done. You see, Chavez, a close ally to Cuba's Fidel Castro, has the tendency, like Castro to use percieved threats to take away from the civil rights of his people, using these "threats" as a justification for his actions. Further, in a country where US relations are already bad, there's nothing quite like a news story about people in the public eye saying the leader should be killed to make those relations worse. Good work, Pat. You just wrecked our relations with one of the most oil-rich countries in the Western Hemisphere even more and you helped to take away their citizenry's human rights. You're two for two, you idiot.
This is, of course, ignoring the clear hypocrisy once again issued by Robertson in promoting the cold blooded assasination of a world leader. Gee, Pat, doesn't it say, Thou shalt not kill somewhere?
The US has done a wonderful job of denouncing Robertson, but I don't think it will do any good. Chavez will still use this incident against the US and his people. Jesus, Pat Robertson is a dumbass, would you please tell him next time he calls.
I was really trying not to write about Robertson again. I wrote about him August 18 (See "Pat Robertson, Moron") after he prayed for vacancies on the Supreme Court...again. However, in relative terms, those prayers don't hold a candle to Robertson's blatant comments toward the Venezualan leader. While prayers for Supreme Court vacancies are in extraordinarily bad taste, this is the ultimate fuck you-middle finger combination to God and morality, something that Robertson swears to uphold and protect. That is what really blows my mind on this subject, that Robertson would have to gall to look at God and the Ten Commandments, which he swears to serve, and then just turn his back and go right on ahead. I will say it again, Pat Robertson is truly a moron.
I found the Iraq war counter at Resist Bush!. I thought it was really cool, so I decided to post it. I will not take any credit, but it is a good thing to see, sort of...
Of course, the counter presents something of a double edged sword. On the one hand, it shows with great skill the ammount of money needlessly wasted on a war that, aside from bringing democracy to a country that may or may not need it and capturing a dictator that was (in my opinion) not at the top of our priority list, actually accomplished none of the goals that were put forth as reasoning for it.
However, it does need to be noted that the money on that counter has already been spent. We have to stop crying about spilt milk. There is a great quote from Jimmy Carter, in which he says, "We have to stop crying and start sweating." That is truly what we need in this instance.
We have to work together as a bi-partisan government and a multi-cultured nation to limit further spending in the Iraq war, so that future money can be allotted to other undertakings of the government that are needed for the day-to-day survival (in every sense of the word) of the United States. Further, we need to recognize the failures of the war in Iraq so that we do not repeat them in the future.
At this point, in my opinion, one of the things we absolutely cannot do is remove troops from an insecure Iraq before the government in functioning. That should have been a lesson we learned from Somalia. When you are already entrenched in the building of a government or a civilized state, leaving early will do only one thing, turn the country into a failed state. If America hopes at all to quell terrorism, this is one thing that we must absolutely stop. Failed states breed terrorism and will lead to nothing but a more unstable world.
However, we must also move to slowly lessen our role in Iraqi politics, serving more as peace keepers and less as foreign soldiers. We must allow the Iraqis to govern themselves as they wish. If we attempt to forcefeed them American values, then we will only alienate the world.
In short, we need to remember the past, but not dwell on it and work together to use our knowledge of the past to create a greater future. But we must remember that we cannot sacrifice our present situation in order to do this, by using our knowledge of past failures to guide us through our present situation and lead us to the future.
|Recently it has come out that Pat Robertson, religous fanatic and host of the semi-popular "The 700 Club," prayed two years ago for the removal of "activist judges" from the supreme court. Aparently, the prayer, called "Operation Supreme Court Freedom," worked, in the form of Sandra Day O'Connor stepping down from the bench, allowing for the nomination of John Roberts.
Well, folks, Robertson is at it again. He fired up his telephone to God one more time and has reinstituted "Operation Supreme Court Freedom," waging spiritual warfare on the the oppositions of fake morality and the Pat Robertson way throughout the United States. Some of the moronic portions of the mission include praying for God to make further vacancies on the Supreme Court. Since justices can't be fired on a whim, they can only resign or die or be impeached, Robertson is asking for one of three things. 1) A justice dies, 2) A justice has a medical/family emergency and wishes to step down, or 3) A justice does something that is so bad, they are impeached. Since Robertson does actually ask for physical protection of the Justices, he is basically asking for a family emergency for a justice or an impeachment of a justice. Way to have your mind in a postive place, Pat! You are a bright and shining light to Christianity, what with your wishes of ill will to other and your condemnation of "activist judges." What was that line about the plank in an eye again... Oh, it was just some little thing about not judging. Oh, that isn't important, right? Also, the prayer points ask for people to pray for the reversal of Roe v. Wade and a slew of other conservative agenda ideals. Gee, Pat, do you expect God to write an opinion from Heaven. I think God gave us free will, so why are you praying for such things instead of trying to change them yourself with good old fashioned hard work?
In short, Pat Robertson is a complete dumbass. Anyone who would actually pray for such things has missed the point of prayer. Prayer is an object to lift us up and give us hope, to strengthen us in times of despair and need. It is not some mystical spiritual missle that you can cast at all those things you do not like. If you disagree with something, then actively fight to change it. Don't ask God to be your spiritual hitman for the day. Get off your fat ass and go protest. Use your free will to choose what you believe and make that a reality of your own merits. If you need extra strength, ask God. But don't ask God to do it for you. That's like asking the teacher to write your paper for you.
The nomination of John G. Roberts for the Supreme Court by President Bush has me torn politically as to whether or not I like the nomination(I'll give him a mulligan on his "I'd like to thank the academy" picture that I have posted above). First, I do not particularly agree with all of the decisions, particularly the ones on military tribunals. The man does definitely seem to have a conservative leaning. However, secondly, I cannot disagree with the fact that Roberts is abundantly qualified for the position and the fact that he is a man who does base much of his opinions on the precedents of the past.
There is so little that anyone knows about Roberts, in reality. He has a very short judicial record; has a long list of impressive credentials, including being an aide to Chief Justice Rehnquist at one point; and has a laundry list of records that are held by the current administration. With such a short, and rather bland set of records, it becomes hard for me to recommend or deny a man like Roberts from the Supreme Court, so I will depend much on the testimony given during his confirmation hearings.
What I will say is that I do think that Bush had better, and far worse, options that he could have picked for the job, and I also think that he could have picked more conservative voices for the court. I do have to applaud the president for that. His choice of a person who is at least somewhat moderate shows signs of hope for the country. Further, I hope that this sets a trend in "judicary politics," that we start to select people for the courts based on the merits of their minds and not the leaning of their politics. I think it is far more important to have an educated judiciary, not one that is biased one way or the other. After all, justice is supposed to be blind.
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Hey, everyone. Welcome to another installment of me getting pissed off. First off, so that everyone knows, my roommate found an article that echoed my Palmeiro sentiments perfectly.
Now to today's rant. I heard the other day that the NCAA will now not allow schools with mascots named after Indian terms (Chiefs, Braves, Seminoles, etc.) to use their name or mascot during the NCAA national tournaments in each respective sport. That is just plain stupid. We can be "racist" for the regular season but forget the post-season, we have an image to uphold. Further, if this was actually racism it would be far more interesting. But names like Seminoles or Braves are not offensive. They are just terms, usually based around some sort of historical reference to the area (like the fucking Seminoles coming from the state of Florida, hence the name of Florida State's mascot...which clearly makes no sense and is an absolute racist gesture...in the postseason). Now, if you have a team with an offensive name (like the Washington Redskins) that should be changed. That would be like allowing the Dartmouth Darkies or the Cornell Coloreds to play sports.
Further, I heard that PETA is petitioning the NCAA to pass similar legislation on the mascot for South Carolina, the Gamecock, saying that the mascot, a fighting rooster infamous for its illegal sport (cockfighting), is offensive to the animals. Why? It is a factual term. They are cocks used in a game, it gets no more straight-to-the-point than that. PETA just needs to grow some thicker skin.
It should be known that I have had it out for PETA for a few years now. A while back they posted a large billboard in Springfield that showed a pig and had the text, "He died for your sins." Not only is that a shameless guilt trip, but it is offensive to me as a person who believes in God. The pig died for our sins if we hold 100% true to Old Testament teaching that states that animals that are killed in their own blood are a sinful delicacy. However, Christians do not hold this belief (for the most part-I am sure some do). This belief is mostly held by Jews and they don't eat pork. Further, sustenance is not a sin. If we killed the pig so that we could torture it, maybe that sign would work, but I don't think God is up in Heaven frowning because we ate some pork. I would say he has bigger fish to fry. I also don't think the roosters give a rat's ass about South Carolina's mascot. Wait, think?! No, I KNOW. Why? Because its a goddamn bird, not something that is going to be offended by a factual statement about what it is. Hmm, maybe animals are smarter than some humans after all. All I know is that, if we keep this up, we won't have mascots left and it will be an absolute shame.
|Today I am going to talk about my job a little bit. For all of you who don't know me (that would be [I hope] the vast majority of you), I work at Bass Pro selling shoes. At current, we are in the middle of the Fall Hunting Classic. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, it is like the equivalent of a redneck black mass. They all come out and commune with their great cammo colored god for about 9 days and ogle the masterful hunting instruments laid about before them, wasting mass amounts of money in the process. Anyway, today I worked a standard 8-4:30 shift (8 hours after 30 minute lunch). This normally would have been fine if last night I hadn't stayed awake writing html code into this site and building my new desk until 3 in the freakin' morning. That means, after waking up at 6:30 in the damn morning, I got 3 and half hours of sleep. Here's some basic math for you: 3.5 hours of sleep + 8 hours of work= tired as hell. Therefore, I don't much want to talk politics today. Instead, I think I'll start by talking a little baseball.
Everybody is fuming and fussing over steorids and the suspension and reinstatement of Rafael Palmeiro. I have this to say on the subject: I don't care. If Palmeiro wants to blow his damn knees out with steroids, let him. Its his lost career and its his aching decline into old age. But to all those people who call using steroids cheating, I say clearly that it can't be cheating when you can't claim a clear edge by doing it. How come? Well, that is because your opponent can do them too. So, Palmeiro gains some bat speed, well the pitcher taking steroids gains velocity. Palmeiro's gain would have to be disproportionate to the gains of the pitcher in order for him to have an advantage.
To me this is the equivalent of an overblown argument on the use of supplements and training techniques in the game of baseball. Purists say that steroids taint the game. However, they are hypocrits because they don't say that nutritionists, protein shakes, and personal trainers taint the game. They don't say that strength training and weightlifting taint the game. They say that steroids are bad, primarily because, in my opinion, they are against the law.
Steroids being against the law is fine with me, primarily because of the good studies in the effects of "roid rage" and the consequences it has on the general public. So, lets make this a legal issue and not a game issue. The question is not if Palmeiro cheated, but if he broke the law. Clearly, he did and he should be punished as a first time offender by the law and, for not upholding a code of conduct becoming an upstanding citizen and a professional baseball player, which serves as an ambassador to the game, should be punished by baseball.
But, I will say it again, PALMEIRO DID NOT CHEAT. He broke the law and that should have been the basis for his punishment-- and nothing more. He still has 3,000 hits and 500 home runs and is still a FIRST BALLOT HALL OF FAMER, no questions asked.
|I am going to start off talking about this site, what it will be about and where you can read more of me if you want to.
First, this site has no affiliation or allegiance to anything or anyone and will never have such things. I am making this site for my own fun and happiness and if you don't like it, then leave.
Second, this site is about what I think and I feel at the given moment. Think of it kind of like a blog without the random message board feel and the agitated comments that I never read anyway. Further, there won't be any "taking anyone down" or "fighting bias" here, except with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (to quote a cliche, "so help me God.") This site, in short, will be about two things. One, it will be about politics. I am a political science major at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, so that is kind of my big subject. Further, I am a columnist for my school paper, so I do this bi-weekly anyway. Second, this webpage will be about baseball and other sports (with the exception of soccer, which I abhor and other, non-American sports, which I am rarely exposed to.) I love sports, particularly baseball, and intend to talk about them a lot. Why? That would be because I can.
Third, this page is an extension of my own rantings and ravings (hence the title). If you would like to read the true body of my work you can go to the SMSU (soon to be Missouri State) paper's website at The Standard Online. If you are looking for more good websites, try Kaufman Confidential or Sprayahen's St. Louis Cardinals and Other Thoughts on the State of Baseball. I also am on facebook and have a group titled Piss and Moan to Joe House if you feel so inclined to use it.
That is about it for the intros. Look for the major bulk of the writing to come in recent days. Hope you enjoy, but, if you don't, I really don't care.
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