Friday, October 28, 2005

"I knew John F. Kennedy sir and you are no..."



That's right, I'm like John F. Kennedy. Come to think of it, Clinton had the same reason for liking power. "I haven't had this much fun since the intern convention in Vegas."



That's right, JFK and Harrison Ford in one post. Bring on the ladies...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Homage or insult

This photo was on the apple.com homepage. Should I be glad Apple is paying homage to a woman who is nothing less than an American hero or offended that they turned her passing into an ad campaign. How commercialized are we if we can accept using the loss of a powerful icon for good as nothing more than a cheap method of whoring your product. Rosa Parks through her simple act of standing for her own dignity set in motion a movement that changed America for the better. To have said "in memory" would be a good thing. I support all who would honor her. To slap your logo and slogan on the photo so you can sell more iPods and G5's is another. To compare her stand for civil rights to your right to choose a different operating system is repugnant to me. And for the record, I am typing this on a Mac so this is not coming out of old geek "Intel is better" bias. I love Apple's products but they need to fire their marketing guru.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Gun Control Means Using Both Hands

I got JC pretty good the other day with the following remark:

(laughing while running away from the hail of bullets from the Democrats...oh wait, Democrats support gun control)

JC, gotta love the passion with which you hold your views. As I stated in reply, I support people not being allowed to own Military weapons and various other things the NRA says every home should have. I also don't fear any Democrat kicking in my door for my guns. I do fear a whacked out militia with a sniper rifle that can pick a man off at 1000 yards.

The more time I spend chatting with all of my fellow partakers in windbagism, the less Republican I realize I am. Strange. But that doesn't mean I can't tease my Democrat Party friends...*Evil Grin*

Monday, October 10, 2005

On Philosophy

"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."
- Albert Einstein


There was a time I wanted to be a philosopher. I wanted to be the next Plato, Niche, or even Bob Dylan. Check the want ads for philosophers and see how many listings you find. Still, I often sit and ponder the human condition and the nature of life itself.

It seems to me that life is merely a string of remembered experiences, perceptions of the world around us that change over time. Intelligent people mold their perceptions to fit the evidence presented them. Unintelligent people ignore the evidence presented if it doesn't fit their perceptions. The problem is that humans find a change in perception uncomfortable. It is far easier for us to dismiss something than to try to understand it.

Case in point: Here in Texas, home of many who hold on to their perceptions with a death grip, there is a movement to amend the Texas Constitution to ban same-sex unions. As the courts in Texas are forced to uphold the Constitution of Texas, this amendment would prevent any recognition of gay marriage. Please note, couples engaging in sodomy could be arrested for it in Texas until late 2003. The question now arises, will people in Texas examine the facts before them and adjust perceptions accordingly or run with their current flawed perceptions.

Christians often cite the Bible for their "God hates gays" ideas. They often say it is the reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They leave out the biblical evidence of murder, beastiality, and organized crime. Why? It doesn't fit their perception. Many also have the idea that gay=pedophile. Ignore the thousands of happy gay couples that adopt and raise happy unabused children. There is a difference between a man wanting a man and a man wanting a young boy. Unless you are too lazy to examine the evidence right before your eyes.

Case #2: Strip club nudity laws. Earlier this year San Antonio passed a humorous ordinance that said exotic dancers had to be licensed and had to wear the permit while performing. This was to make it easier to find the ones violating the nudity ordinances...does anyone else see the problem here? We are saying it is OK for these ladies to go on stage in what barely qualifies as dental floss but if they take that off we need to identify and arrest them...The perception is that we maintain a moral standard if they wear a thong barely larger than a postage stamp with dental floss holding it on. Remove that and it crosses the line...The evidence clearly shows the law to be absurd at best yet it still stands.

I could go on further but I actually have to work. I hope I made us all think about our perceptions a bit though. I know I examined mine for this piece and it revealed just how much I have changed over the years.

Friday, October 07, 2005

WTF?

I just read this article in Times Online. The only thing I can ask is, Mr. President, are you insane? Yeah, we all know about your faith and how it gets you through. YOU did not fight terrorists in Afghanistan. YOU did not end tyranny in Iraq. Our military did through their blood sweat and tears. The sons and daughters of this nation did.

I get the "talking to God" thing is a figure of speech. What I don't get is why God would say allow our men to be killed while we tie their hands. Either let them wipe these bastards out or pull them out. The only thing jihadists understand is jihad. Americans can't stomach full jihad so pull them out.

The war between factions of Islam is millennia old. We won't stop it with the puny force we are trying to use. It is like standing between two rabid dogs and telling them to be nice.

A friend of mine had a good idea. Arm the pro-American factions and pull out. Let them duke it out. Offer some air and arms support to our team but otherwise pull our soldiers out. If on occasion a leader comes to power we don't like, send in a black ops hit squad and take the bastard out. One shot, one kill. If it bleeds over into other nations, carpet bomb them. If it gets out of hand, carpet bomb them. If they threaten us, you get the idea. Let them kill each other till they are blue in the face. If they get out of hand, turn the country to a sheet of glass. No mess, no dead Americans.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

So much to rant about, so little time...

Someone please smack me. I've actually been reading some conspiracy theory sites and they are starting to make sense. You see, I have been doing some homework on those in power and common threads keep appearing. Bush, Kerry, most of the House and Senate, and the entire upper echelons of the CIA, FBI, and NSA all have direct ties to or membership in Skull and Bones. Add to that many of the heads of the Fortune 500 and major corporate entities worldwide. So many world leaders, spies, law enforcement, and corporate leaders all belong to the same super secret fraternal order...

Now while I like X - Files I am not a subscriber to conspiracy theories. Still, after some fact checking the site I link to checks out and the ramifications of that are chilling at best. Are we really being run by an elitist form of the good old boys network? If so, can we unite enough people to take them down?