Friday, September 30, 2005

Oh Lordy!

Ok... I read this story last night and it just blew me away.

I mean I realize that this is the sort of comment you should expect from the neo-cons, like Mama Bush saying that the black evacuees being shuttled from the Super Dome to the Astro Dome, where they were ACTUALLY given the basic human necessities and Babs says that since they’re poor, this is probably working out for them.

But at the same time I feel a need to say something, that the caller was an idiot; saying how much more the U.S.’s GNP would be if no one was allowed to have an abortion as more people= more workers. I think this is a stupid theory as if taking the idea that ‘abortion is bad’ and trying to apply this as an answer to everything; well social security is in trouble, abortion is bad so if you had more workers/ unaborted kids then you’d have more people paying into the system… So this goes back to abortion is bad.
So the caller is a one issue idiot but the host, Bill Bennett is just an evil creep. To imply that one race is responsible for all/most of the crime in America, is just reprehensible. The FCC wants to go after Howard Stern for saying ‘bad words’, well I think first they should go after right wing nut jobs who use ‘hate speech’ as a way to get listeners.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Crossing the Rubicon

One of the rules of the Roman Republic was that their soldiers were not allowed to cross the Rubicon, because they didn’t want Roman soldiers in Rome. The Roman Senate understood that it would be all too easy for a general to take over the Republic with a band of loyal centurions. They understood that the centurions were trained to follow the chain of command and were trained to attack/kill.
And that’s exactly what Julius Caesar did. He took his army and he disobeyed the senate and ‘crossed the Rubicon’, and took over Rome with his loyal army.

I mention this because in the aftermath of Katrina, I was somewhat disturbed that W., instead of sending the National Guard to help flood victims, sent the Army. I do not think that the Army should be operating on American soil. Training- yes; keeping the peace- no. The Army is trained not to help, but to kill and ‘protect at all costs’. The Army is trained to shoot dissenters, while the National Guard and local police are trained in crowd control. I fear the Army operating in the United States, because they are more concerned with following orders then public safety.
And I feel that the history lesson of Caesar still applies. If you look at most 3rd world countries, the dictators are ex military or have the backing of the military. I think it would be all too easy for a general with ‘boots on the ground’ to decide that HE knows better then elected officials what’s best for America….
I feel that W. is making (another) huge mistake by seeking an easy answer and deciding that rather then have FEMA or the National Guard do what they have been trained to do, he’s asking the Army to step in… because W. feels that the Army will better follow HIS wishes. Which is another scary thought. We don’t need a general abusing the military, just a politician that the military will follow- a politician who thinks he knows better then the people what’s good for the people of the United States.

Monday, September 19, 2005

From the Daily Spam, As I Found it Amusing


Today the government announced that it is changing its emblem from an Eagle to a "condom" because it more accurately reflects the government's political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed.

Damn! It just doesn't get any more accurate than that

Friday, September 16, 2005

Let's annoy more Muslims....

I read this in the Globe yesterday and just felt I had to bring it to everyone’s attention. As most people know Mitt Romney wants to be president, as such he doesn’t care about the people he governs but the ‘republican base’ of the country. That’s really the only way I can explain his latest news conference.
Mitt, in his infinite wisdom, said in a press conference that we should be bugging mosques and that we should keep an eye out on ‘foreign’ exchange students. Now my first thought was, ‘gee, yeah… Let’s piss off MORE Muslims, because I don’t think they’re really annoyed at us as much as they should be.’ By singling out Muslims and treating them like second class citizens, you make them angry and MORE likely to want to do something bad to you.
When I talked to a friend, he took the story to another level. See maybe Mitt’s on to something… but just isn’t going far enough. Yeah, we let him bug mosques, but then he has to bug churches and temples. Imagine how easy it would’ve been to charge Cardinal Law with ‘adding and abetting’ if we had tapped HIS office. And think of the kids that might still be kids if the state had stepped in and protected them from the predatory priests.
So maybe Mitt’s on to something, but just didn’t go far enough….

Naw . I really don’t think so. I believe in privacy and I don’t trust these nut jobs with ‘free wiretapping’ privileges. But I did think people should know about this story... as Mitt is going to run for President in '08.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

The $ Cost of Katrina.

When I first blogged about Katrina, I mentioned that my second thought (after the loss of life) was how this was going to affect the national debt. Well since then I’ve come to realize that the burden of the hurricane damaged might end up being paid by the poor and by the nice instead by the government and big business.

Yesterday I saw on CNN that several insurance companies have decided NOT to pay out the victims of Katrina. Now insurance is ‘betting’ but all dressed up. Basically, you pay the insurance company x amount a month in case you have an accident. You figure that if something bad happens, you’ve paid into a system and the insurance company will pay your bills. On the other side, insurance companies hire lots of bean counters and like Vegas make sure that odds are in their favor. The companies set your rates based on all sorts of math and work the math in their favor, like a gambling joint in Vegas.
Now with the odds in their favor, you expect insurance companies to ‘play fair’. You’ve given them money, and if nothing happened to you the companies get to keep the money; so you expect them to pay up when something does happen.
That’s not what’s happening in LA., the insurance companies are saying that the damage was ‘flood’ damage- as the damage occurred by water after the levees broke. And most of the people didn’t have flood damage- as that’s an ‘extra’ that few poor people can afford and besides that could be considered a ‘sucker’s bet’, as who would expect a house in New Orleans to be ‘flooded’?
This made my stomach churn more as I heard that the state was going to sue to get the money back. Now I’m all for people suing to get their money back, however with tort reform and lawyer fees, I figure the people who are actually hurting aren’t going to get nearly enough of the money they need.

This brings me to another interesting tidbit that I found on the internet, the idea that our government and not the American people should be helping the victims of Katrina. The Red Cross should be helping countries that can’t afford to help themselves; they shouldn’t need to help America (one of the richest countries ever). Rather then ask the American people for handouts, our government should be rolling back tax cuts. Rather then ask ‘average’ Americans to ‘share the burden’ of the victims- Red Cross( and news media) should be asking companies like Exxon to step up. I mention Exxon as they have just posted the best quarter EVER. Exxon has done better in this quarter then any company has EVER done in the history of America. You’d think after posting the best quarter EVER, they’d be able to spare a ½ billion or so for others who aren’t doing so well.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Activist Legislatures


Well, Arnie decided to veto the Gay Marriage bill that both California's legislative branches voted approval for. It's very perturbing.

Part of me had hoped that Arnie would maybe actually do the right thing. To this date, no one's been able to provide me with any evidence as to how allowing homosexuals to marry wil destroy society and/or family values.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Oh Thanks Canada!

I just wanted to thank our neighbors to the North, for being down right neighborly.

I want to thank them for being WIILING to send people down to LA. to help out....
Too bad they weren't allowed to actually HELP.

I read the following on several sites; though I think they were feeding off one another.

On tonight's news, CTV (Canadian TV) said that support was offered from Canada. Planes are ready to load with food and medical supplies and a system called "DART" which can provide fresh water and medical supplies is standing by. Department of Homeland Security as well as other U.S. agencies were contacted by the Canadian government requesting permission to provide help. Despite this contact, Canada has not been allowed to fly supplies and personnel to the areas hit by Katrina. So, everything here is grounded. Prime Minister Paul Martin is reportedly trying to speak to President Bush tonight or tomorrow to ask him why the U.S. federal government will not allow aid from Canada into Louisiana and Mississippi. That said, the Canadian Red Cross is reportedly allowed into the area.

Canadian agencies are saying that foreign aid is probably not being permitted into Louisiana and Mississippi because of "mass confusion" at the U.S. federal level in the wake of the storm.


So I guess it's more imporntant to W. that we AMERICANS take care of OUR own... then allow OUTSIDERS to cross our borders...

I bet W. will however take any Oil that Canada has been nice enough to offer. And I find it ironic that Chavez has, in a good Christian manner, also offered to help the U.S. with some sweet sweet Oil. Personally I think W. would rather have us pay $5 a gallon then allow Chavez or Cuba to help us.
Yes, Cuba has offered to help.

So thank you Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the European Union, France, Germany, Guatemala, Britain, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, NATO, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Organization of American States, Paraguay, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sweden, Venezuela and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Friday, September 02, 2005

New Orleans.,...

Ok... I've been thinking about what happened in New Orleans...

I've got to admit that alot of my thoughts have been political. And I feel that the reason I've thought of it as politics is because- well I think the reasons that things are so bad there is because of politics.
Media Matters records how FEMA[ Federal Emergency Management Agency] was folded into Homeland Security. This marginalized FEMA and it's been mentioned in several places like the san francisco chronicle that "The Bush administration routinely provided less than half the money the Army Corps of Engineers requested for New Orleans flood prevention."

To be honest my second thought about New Orleans( after being sorry about the deaths involved), was 'what is this going to do to the national debt?' I mean we're already spending BILLIONS on Iraq. How much of that money could've been used to prevent this damage... or help with repairs? That thought lead to the idea that others I've read have already mentioned, which is if the National Guard soldiers were HERE instead of Iraq, they'd be able to help New Orleans and the surrounding areas. I say this as it's clear that after several days, the people in New Orleans don't have their basic human needs being meet.

The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, talks about things on this link

I found this interview on another blog and it just moved me. About two thirds of the way through... My mind just got blown away. The reporters mention that one of the problems with relief work might be the fact that the 'proper paperwork' hadn't been done- that the Mayor or Governor has to 'officially' declare Martial Law. The mayor points out a) he's already declared Martial Law and B) did Iraq fill out the 'proper paperwork' to get W. to spend billions over there.
He mentions that he feels that NOBODY should hold a press conference until New Orleans gets what it need. That he doesn't want to HEAR that 40,000 troops are on their way, he wants them to be THERE already.

And it makes me wonder how Congress and W. were able to move SOO fast to 'help' Teri Shivho but aren't matching that speed with the help for New Orleans.