Neutrality

Democracy Not!

2009-07-14T01:01:00.000-07:00

Democracy is a political system in which the supreme power lies in the majority of citizens who can elect people to represent them. Democracy is based on the Majority Rule, which is the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group.

An Oligarchy is a form of government where power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society. It is a type of authoritarianism.

Democracy is said to have arisen in Athens in the fifty Century B.C. For the first time in human history, every citizen had an equal voice in government. This is the foundation of our government in the United States. Democracy is a process in which free citizens flock to the poles to elect individuals who in turn represent their interests in the government.

The founding fathers also created a Constitution containing a Bill of Rights in which every elected official swears an oath of office to uphold. Elected officials have no power to amend the Constitution unless they build a consensus of a ¾ majority of both Houses in Congress. So politicians cannot decide which part of the Constitution to apply nor can they ignore parts of it which they do not like; if they do it is considered treasonous.

Yet for the past century, the decisions made by our politicians do not reflect those of the Constitution or those of the electing majority. It seems our government constantly rules in favor of moneyed interests, also know as the elite, by creating laws contrary to the Constitution and contrary to the majority who elected them. How did this happen? It all started in 1914 with the creation of the Federal Reserve Act.

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence.

Woodrow Wilson realized after signing the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) he unwittingly ended Democracy and created an oligarchy. In fact, if you read the last few words, “a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men” it is the exact definition of an oligarchy. It is very important to understand the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) is a PRIVATELY held bank; it is not controlled or administered by the government. The FRA gives the power of creating money to a small elite group of unelected officials who then charge our government interest on this money. This interest is the National Debt. If there was no FRB there would be no National Debt (there actually would be a little debt but no where near what it is today).

“If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied.” Thomas Jefferson

“When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.” Napoleon Bonaparte

So how do we break an oligarchy? It is difficult but it can be done. First of all, there should be an amendment to the Constitution eliminating all campaign contributions including gifts and favors of any kind for elected officials or their family, friends, and associates. Instead a portion of tax payer money should be evenly divided among the candidates for campaigning. The penalties for violating this law would be immediate expulsion from office and a very long prison term. This would force our elected officials to be honest. Laws would no longer be only for the profitability of the elite but for the voting majority.

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Henry Ford.

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Thomas Jefferson

Secondly, the Federal Reserve Act should be repealed and the Federal Reserve Bank transformed into a non-profit institution; all debt owed to this institution by the government would be forgiven. Salaries of FRB executives would be regulated and capped. Interest rates for all consumer loans would be capped and lowered to a more reasonable rate allowing people to get out of debt. Because of the lower interest rates you could pay off your debt sooner and possibly retire.

These two simple changes would be enough to end the oligarchy and return our country to a true Democracy. As it stands today we have no Democracy. Our elected officials cast votes in favor of the elite few who spend billions in lobbying to get their way. The politicians have no desire to change anything as they get wealthy in the process.

There is no transparency in government anymore which causes conspiracy theorists concoct crazy schemes. Obama promised transparency in government while campaigning, yet he blocked the release of photos proving the previous administration broke the law by torturing, and he will not release the names of individuals who meet with him in the White House even though the Supreme Court ruled twice that it is public information.

I thought an Obama presidency would mean real change but so far the only thing which changed in the White House is the name on the door. He has yet to stand up to the bankers, who received hundreds of billions in bail out money. He has yet to stand up to the military who are still using our men to increase the profitability of big oil companies. He has yet to stand up to the CIA, who still run an illegal surveillance program on US citizens, He has yet to stand up to Wall Street by enacting tough regulations like we had after the Great Depression; he can begin by closing the Enron loophole. Guantanamo Bay is still in operation.

In a recent gallop pole, 72% of Americans want some kind of public option in the new healthcare reform bill. The jury is still out on healthcare but if the billions in lobbying being spent by the insurance companies are any indication, the middle class will lose again. I am using this issue as my barometer to measure the Obama Administration and Democrats in general. If they can get healthcare with a public option then I feel things will change, if not then that will be proof that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans.

Blagojevich and the Selling of Our Democracy

2009-01-29T22:14:00.000-08:00

Rod Blagojevich was found guilty today and became the first Governor of Illinois to be impeached. Even though Blagojevich claimed to be an ambassador for the working class, this unanimous guilty vote is a monumental victory for the entire democracy. Republicans and Democrats put aside party differences and came together to make a tough decision; but in the end it was the right decision. Now future Governors will know if they commit crimes they will be punished.

I could not help but think back to the Watergate scandal and how when Ford pardoned Nixon, it put a black mark on democracy which is still felt today. How is that you might ask? Because people within the government decided prosecuting the President would be bad for our Country. I disagreed whole heartedly with that decision and the lack of prosecution set a precedence which still plagues us today. The precedence set is the President of the United States is above the law. It sent a message to future leaders that if corruption is discovered, no need to worry, you'll get away with it.

Prosecuting crimes, even crimes committed by our leaders, does NOT expose weaknesses within our society, nor does it put a black mark on a society. Quite contrary the prosecution frees the society because the people speak out against the acts committed. It makes us stronger because it sends a strong message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. No man, no position, not even the President is above the law.

I enjoy reading books about historical events and one of my favorite was the Nuremberg trials after World War 2. Many people disagreed with trials because they thought the Allies were abusing their power and prosecuting the losers. Not so. The purpose of the Nuremberg trials was to expose atrocities committed by the Nazis including: the Holocaust, execution of POWs and ritual killing of civilians in the many Nazi concentration camps. By prosecuting, the world set precedence that this behavior will not be tolerated, thus the rules of war were set by the Geneva Convention. So if any regime behaves in a similar fashion in future wars, they will also be prosecuted. This is the primary reason Progressives like myself were opposed to torture. By ignoring the Geneva Convention we were behaving like the Nazis in WW2. I believe we are better than that. So even if the other side tortures we will not because we are better than the other side; our moral compass is superior and never compromised.

I still believe the Bush Administrations policies on torture and surveillance should be investigated. If enemy combatants were tortured and killed then the leaders who allowed it should be prosecuted like the Nazi war criminals of WW2. Our society would then be vindicated and a message would be sent to the world and future Presidents that we do not condone torture. All who were involved even the leaders of the Democrats who knew should be included in this investigation. I believe the Democrats have blocked investigation attempts because they are just as guilty. I am talking about you, Nancy Pelosi.

The Blagojevich impeachment also exposes how thin the line is in our Democracy between lawful political contributions and illegal political contributions. Let me explain how thin this line has become. If I am a contributor to a political candidate or a politician in office, I can give money to influence a vote in my favor as long as the vote is NOT implied. So I can give money when the politician knows how I want them to vote and we might even have communicated so he knows how I want him to vote. So I give the money and he votes in my favor. This is legal.

It becomes illegal if I give the money and tell him directly I want the vote or he specifically states he will vote my way for the money. It is a very thin line. I think both should be illegal. If we removed cash from the Democracy we would get a better Democracy. Then the issues would be decided on merit and not monetary gain. Putting a price on votes is the reason bridges to nowhere get built and why the laws favor the few instead of the many.

So whether you are a Conservative or a Progressive you should expect the Government which represents you to behold the law. If a leader breaks a law they should be convicted just like any other person. That is the only way we can prevent our society from becoming illegitimate. We cannot expect other Countries to respect us until we reject illegal acts committed by our leaders. The unanimous prosecution of Blagojevich is a victory for Democracy and a step in direction of exposing how money corrupts the Republic.

Lessons in The American Lifestyle

2008-07-23T19:27:00.001-07:00

For the past couple of decades, Americans have always been able to satisfy their wants no matter how excessive, without thinking about the consequences to the rest of the world or to their own bank account. Example number one: while many parts of Europe paid $8 per liter for gasoline, we built enormous gas guzzling SUVs, laughing at the rest of the world all the way to the gas pump. We bought these super sized SUVs because the advertisements during the football game said we had to have it. So we traded the economically minded car and bought the Dodge Ram, because it was the “American” way.

When we want a newer 60-inch television to replace the old 59-inch, we buy it and throw the old one in the trash. While many parts of the world are starving, we are over eating at buffets as our kids vomit to be skinnier. We shop with forklifts. We might buy something today and then throw it away tomorrow still in the unopened package because we no longer like the color. Our houses keep getting bigger, while our families and our wallets keep getting get smaller. If our neighbors buy a newer, bigger toy then we have to have it too. The world is our oyster.

How did Americans pay for all of this junk? We didn’t use cash because we didn’t have any. No sadly, we run our households like our government is run. So we either put it on the charge card at 30% interest or, even worse, refinanced the house and paid for it with our future.

Within the past 7 years a caldera was forming in the heart of the American way of life, like a volcano ready to blow its top. And finally, several weeks ago, driven by overextended credit and a lack of equity, the bills finally came due for many Americans and the American economy erupted like Mt. St. Helens did in the eighties.

The collapse of the subprime mortgage markets have sent ripples throughout the financial world. Already two major banks have collapsed with more surely to follow. Not since the 1930’s has our financial markets taken such a beating. Now the government is giving billions of our tax dollars to stop the bleeding by bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; money which could be used for healthcare, better roads or an economic stimulus package.

The primary cause of this disaster was the deregulation of the banking industry spearheaded by Phil Gramm and his big banking buddies. These regulations were in place since the Great Depression to prevent another economic failure like the banking collapse of the 1920’s. But Gramm and his cohorts quickly eliminated every regulation which not only protected the consumer but also protected other banks, clearing the way for banking institutions to grow even wealthier by allowing predatory lending practices to endure in the mortgage markets. We’ve seen other popular Phil Gramm deregulations bring us four dollar gas prices.

Although predatory lending practices have stolen the homes of many hard working Americans, some people should rightfully take responsibility for their own financial tragedies. The American lifestyle needs an overhaul. Fueled by over -commercialization, over-indulgence and the need to “keep up with the Jones’s"; many Americans have dug themselves into financial ruin in which they have no one to blame but themselves.

Let me give you even more examples of things I’ve noticed about the typical American. I have a friend who works in a dollar store who has a cell phone. She can’t afford this phone so her mom pays the bill. I have used cell phones in the past but they have always been bought by my employer as a tether for them to use when they wanted me after hours. So if my job ends so does the cell phone. But why does somebody who works in a dollar store need a cell phone? In my opinion this is a classic example of over indulgence. Does every American really need a cell phone? You can save up to $100 per month by eliminating it.

Another example was when I was pumping gas one day back in 2003 and noticed the house next to the convenience store. I remember this guy washing his super sized SUV in the driveway. This SUV towered over his house. He could actually drive over his house, crushing it entirely. I chuckled to myself and thought why own a car that is more expensive and bigger than your house? For that matter, why do Americans buy huge houses when they have small families or no families at all? I’ll bet this idiot spends more to fill up his gas tank per month than he spends for his house payment.

A contributing factor to the economic collapse of our country was Americans willingness to refinance their house and then use the equity to take a vacation or to support their over indulging lifestyles. Another mistake was to charge their lifestyle at 30% interest. People have to realize when income ends or stagnates then the lifestyle has to change, get smaller. The only necessities which are needed are food, water, housing and the utilities associated with housing. Everything else is a luxury and can be eliminated. The 60-inch plasma TV can wait, the cell phone can be cancelled, and the Blu-Ray DVD player is not a necessity. This is a simple lesson our grandparents learned which they have not passed down to the next generations.

I have been unemployed twice in the past ten years and both times I cut spending and changed my lifestyle until I gained employment. I did not refinance my house to take vacations or to buy a new plasma TV, nor did I max out the credit cards. It sucks but this is what is necessary to survive. I do not understand how people can survive without this basic understanding of financing.

The problems of financing are not limited to a certain group of people either. Across all classes of people from all nationalities, mistakes are often the norm and not the exception. After 2001, record numbers of families choose to refinance their home and then promptly took the equity and blew it. When the reality finally catches up with the irresponsibility, families suffer.

The victims of this behavior are the children who now have to live with their parent’s mistakes. They are the ones who bear the humiliation of these misfortunes because they do not understand what happened. Many times their education is interrupted while they are forced to change schools and change friends. This is very disrupting to a child’s development because kids need stability. Another tragedy is these kids will probably use the same financing skills which bankrupted their parents, and thus another generation of economic idiots graces the United States.

Maybe there is one positive thing which might come from these foreclosures. Maybe the children will learn from their parent’s mistakes, since they now have to live with the result of fiscal irresponsibility. It is just a shame their grandparents did not teach these lessons to their parents. They have to learn, and this lesson is best learned younger, that you can’t always get what you want.

The Greatest Story Never Told

2008-06-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I received an awesome comment at the end of the Entrance Exam to A Christian Seminary; it was from an old friend of mine. I wanted to publish my response for everyone to read in the hopes that something might be learned from it. Maybe reading my position on religion might open a door for someone else. Note the names have been changed to protect futurerev for retaliation from the fundamentalist whachos he works with.

Futurerev,

I appreciate your email and I have read you responses. The problem is I don’t really want to respond if you think criticizing your religion is a personal criticism of you. I respect you and do not want to hurt you that way.

I learned a long time ago to keep my emotions separate from my ideas because, if I didn’t, business and other factors would crucify me. If you toss your ideas into an arena but do not separate your emotions from them, you cannot objectively argue or learn anything. This is the exact reason why the religion argument has eluded mankind in the past. When religions are under fired, zealots often throw their emotions up as a smoke screen to shield them from the irrational and illogical ideas they support. This is how a constructive conversation about religion often turns into a tenth grade name calling contest.

I enjoy a great debate, especially one highlighting religion. But if I am going to hurt you with my responses then I would rather not even go there. Although I do not think very highly about Christianity, I still respect you and your feelings.

I do have to retract something from my response to you which you pointed out to me. You are correct in that god never told Moses to go and rape, he told the people of Benjamin to go and rape to get wives. But it was Moses who carved unborn babies from the wombs of pagan women and then threw these innocents from a cliff or smashed them on a rock. I guess today’s Christians base their abortion argument on that chapter in the Bible? The only reason I included this, was I believe Moses to be more like Saddam Hussein or any of the other terrible titans throughout history, rather than a holy man. I did not make this up; it is written in the Bible.

When I worked for my former employer, I did “try on” Christianity for a short time. But when I read the Bible and read passages like what Moses just did, how could I support that? I am not a man of war nor am I man who demands or understands others who demand blood. In answer to your question about our justice system, I would forgive somebody who wronged me. At least I hope I would. You are confusing justice with revenge. Justice is NOT revenge; these are two separate terms and ideologies.

We humans are very fallible so I understand why we fail to see the difference, but I would expect an all-knowing, all-loving god to understand this but clearly the Christian god does not. I would expect this all-loving god to teach us the difference between justice and revenge and then show us an example, like forgiving us for sins without expecting bloodshed.

The Bible would in fact be the greatest story ever told if god would have intervened right before the crucifixion and said, “Stop this madness!! All is forgiven; please accept my son to teach you the ways of love, toleration and forgiveness.” Then Jesus could have lived among us and taught us the ways of an all-knowing, all-loving god. No more hocus pocus. No more blind faith or people flying to heaven or death or blood. Wow what an ending!! Instead, we get a brutalized torture and murder sequence that people apply some twisted ideology to be for our forgiveness, and then mankind echoes god’s thirst for blood with 2,000 years of war, murder and mayhem. Now how can that possibly make any logical sense to anyone?

I have been wronged many times in my past but have chosen to forgive those who did me wrong. I have already forgiven my former employer for my wrongful termination. I wasn’t always like that; in my youth I was quite a hellcat. I’m not proud of every aspect of my youth, but it took me many years to come to this enlightened thinking. I understand that bad people need to punished or rehabilitated or whatever you want to call it. But nobody and certainly no government have the right to extinguish life; it is far too precious. I would expect a just and loving god to understand this principle.

Please understand I am not trying to change your beliefs; I am just trying to give you insight into mine. I hope this email does not offend you and if it does then I apologize for saying this to you but I could never apologize for thinking this way.

Your friend,

DarthImmortal

Entrance Exam for A Christian Seminary

2008-05-25T03:08:00.000-07:00

Part one of the test will de derived directly from the scriptures. This is the teacher’s edition as the correct answers are in bold and italics.

1. In Exodus 21:2, according to god if you purchase a Hebrew slave, how many years of service should you get from him/her?
a. A Lifetime
b. 6 years
c. 3 years
d. A fortnight

2. in Deuteronomy 22:28-29, according to god’s law, if a man rapes a woman the punishment is:______________.
a. Death
b. The man must marry her and never be allowed to divorce her.
c. Castration
d. The woman is killed

3. Whom (What) did Jephthat sacrifice to god upon a burning altar after he defeated the Ammonites in god’s name? (Judges 11:29-40 NLT)
a. A ram
b. His favorite cat
c. His daughter
d. A burning bush

4. According to the book of Kings 13:1-2, god demanded certain sacrifices from King Josiah. What sacrifices did he demand?
a. Gold
b. Old Democrats
c. Frankincense
d. Kill all of the pagans upon their own altars (which resulted in thousands of human sacrifices)

5. In Chronicles 21, how many innocent people does god kill after David’s census?
a. God doesn’t kill people, it says so in the Ten Commandments
b. 70,000 innocent people were murdered
c. No people but a couple of goats were killed
d. No people but at least 6 asses

6. In Judges 21, what does god tell the people of Benjamin to do to get wives?
a. Go forth and propose marriage to the best women
b. Ask the fathers of the best women for their daughters hand in marriage
c. Kill all of the people of Jabesh-gilead and kidnap the women for your own pleasures
d. Use the Internet

7. How many times in the scriptures does god mention priests must be virgins?
a. 6,666
b. 0
c. At least 7 times
d. More than 10 but fewer than 15

8. According to James 5:14-15, if a devout follower of god gets sick what is the best cure?
a. Get to a doctor immediately.
b. Prayer.
c. Eat vitamins.
d. Plenty of rest, fresh air and sunlight.

9. In Judges 18:27-29, what did god command Micah to do to the town of Laish?
a. Explain the pros of conservative politics.
b. Quickly outlaw abortion before the Democrats take over.
c. Pass a resolution banning slavery.
d. Kill all of the people and burn the town to the ground.

10. Why did Jesus die for our sins, couldn’t his father just forgive us without all of the bloodshed? After all he is the almighty god.
a. No. Jesus’ father demands blood sacrifices because he loves us
b. No Jesus wanted to die because he enjoys pain
c. No, BECAUSE!!!!!
d. Yes his father could have simply forgiven us.

Part two of this exam is word association. Fill in the correct answer.
11. Kryptonite is to Superman as _____________ is to Jesus.
a. Unholy Water
b. Radiation
c. Garlic
d. Nine in nails

12. Nuclear power is to Ironman as ____________ are(is) to Catholic Priests.
a. Fresh water
b. Fresh air
c. New clothes
d. Little boys

13. According to many Old Testament stories, blood is to Dracula as __________ is to god.
a. Deep space
b. Blue skies
c. Human Blood
d. Kryptonite

14. In modern times, two years in jail for theft is just as fair as the Old Testament justice of___________ for missing church on Sunday.
a. Four Hail Mary’s and six Our Father’s
b. The sacrificing of your most productive goat
c. Death
d. Partial stoning + 20 months of gay sex

15. According to god, the greatest law is:
a. The writ of habeas corpus which guarantees all men are guaranteed liberty and relief from unlawful imprisonment.
b. The Bill of Rights which guarantees all men life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness among other protections from tyranny.
c. Feed the hungry, house the homeless, give money to the poor and ensure the needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few.
d. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

This is the Ten Commandments portion of the test.

The list below contains twenty five of the worst sins in humankind. Select the 10 which all-knowing, all-seeing, almighty God included as the worst:

Human slavery
Missing Sunday mass
Pedophilia
Worshiping false gods
Rape
Coveting thy neighbor’s wife
Polygamy
Stealing
People dying of hunger in a world with ample food supplies
Plunging an entire economy into turmoil so a few billionaires can earn even more money
Disobeying your mother and father
Slaughtering living creatures for pleasure
Human torture
Coveting your neighbors goods
Gay sex
Janet Jackson flashing a bare boob during the Super Bowl
Murder
Nude photography of consenting adults
Using god’s name in vain
Cannibalism
Carving an image of another god or of the heavens
Genocide
Bearing false witness against your neighbor
Allowing the wants of the few precedence over the welfare of the many

A passing grade and to ensure entrance into the Seminary, you must get at least a 95% passing grade.

I'm Baaaaack

2008-03-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

I’ve got one excuse for my absence: Tivo. This box is incredible!! I can record all of my favorite shows!! I no longer have to wait for the DVDs to be released because I can skip through the commercials. I had plans to write blogs on some awesome topics but I ran out of time due to Tivo and learning my new job (but mostly Tivo). It’s been so long since I even logged into my blog that I forgot the password. It took me almost an hour to find it again.

I have been reading more lately. We remodeled the house and build an office for me which allowed us to renovate the old office into a library. I have over 5,000 DVD titles, 8,000 CDs, and 4,000 books organized and available. Having my books available instead of in boxes has allowed me to catch up on some very necessary reading. Some of my recent reads include: The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine, The End of Faith by Sam Harris, God’s Problem by Bart Ehrman, The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama, God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, The God Delusion by Richard Hawkins, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, American Fascists by Chris Hedges, Freethinkers by Susan Jacoby, God On Trial by Peter Irons, and selected works by Noam Chomsky, David Cay Johnston, Gore Vidal, Barbara Ehrman, Thomas Paine and Cornel West. If you are looking for a great book chose from any of the above. I guarantee all will challenge your intellect and possible change your paradigms.

I’ve seen many great and not so great movies over the past several months. I can tell you that 10,000 BC is very disappointing compared to other Rolland Emmerlich films. Its well made, has some good special effects but the plot of the film is adolescent, and unbelievable. The ending might work in a Disney film but not here. I find the older I get the less I enjoy PG-13 films. I’m an adult, therefore I like adult movies about adult topics. The fairy tales with always happy endings don’t register on my radar anymore. There are exceptions but they are very rare indeed.

I also realized during my absence that when someone tells you they will pray for you it means they plan to do absolutely nothing for you. I would prefer action. Instead of praying, get off your ass and do something……anything. Be honest, just say, “I will help you by sitting on my ass, closing my eyes and mumbling words to my invisible master in the sky.” Thanks buddy; maybe superman or even spiderman will help in the interim!!!!

Regarding the Presidential elections, I am very happy with all of the candidates but Obama is the man. I am disappointed with Hilary Clinton for her selfish attitude by trying to derail the entire Democratic Party if she loses the nomination. When she said (paraphrased) the experience to be the president was limited to herself and Sen McCain, she crossed a line no candidate should cross. For her punishment, if I was Obama I would not even consider her for Vice President. With that statement she has proven she regards herself and her interests above all others. We’ve had that attitude in the White House for eight years, we don’t need it anymore.

I am looking forward to the election this year and the possibility of exchanging our first retarded president with our first black president. Although I will miss the speeches where he fumbles his words, provides his usual blank stare when the questions get too tough, and then struts off stage like he nailed it. I will also miss the open and honest communication. Including the talks about fear, how we must compromise our freedom for security and about how we must limit the checks and balances within our government. Yea I’ll really miss all that.

The Selling of American Leadership

2007-10-05T14:31:00.001-07:00

I’ve been watching Ken Burn’s new documentary The War broadcast on PBS. Something I realized while watching it is just how different leadership is today compared to the days of WW2. The Greatest Generation was the greatest generation because they had some of the greatest leaders our country has ever seen.

In our country we have been lucky to have great leaders in times of crisis: George Washington during the Revolutionary War, Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, FDR during WW2, JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis. All four of those times were critical times when the country was in danger of annihilation. We have had our share of poor leadership too: LBJ and his administration during the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon (nuff said), Herbert Hoover was president during the Great Depression but did nothing to help the Country recover. Those are only a few but you get my point.

A couple of questions I have been asking lately are: Why are we still involved in a war in Iraq when the majority of the country is opposed to it? The last time I checked we were still a democracy, so why doesn’t our leadership listen and react to the majority? What are the differences between our country today and our country in WW2? The reason I ask this question is because we conquered most of Europe and Africa in three years but we have been in Iraq (a country the size of Texas) for over five years. Why?

I can answer all of those questions with one answer. The power of corporate America is now influencing our leadership and has more control over American policies than ever before. Look how much money is spent on the war in Iraq. Most of the money goes directly into the hands of the corporations that are involved with the war. It’s a gold mine and they don’t want the gravy train to end. Our leadership has been bought and paid for by corporate American so they pander to these mega-billionaire corporations like never before in American history.

In WW2 FDR turned every production facility into a manufacturer for war materials. He did not care what corporate American though about this idea because he was a true leader. He forced Americans at home to sacrifice and again did not care what Corporate America thought because he had the support of the majority.

Can you imagine how corporate America would respond if President Bush tried to force Americans to sacrifice for the war in Iraq or if he forced manufacturers (the few which are still a domestic operation) into manufacturing war materials? He doesn’t want Americans to sacrifice because he works for corporate America, who would suffer a hit in profits if the country would have to sacrifice. In fact, he told us we should shop more. Remember this was his recommendation of what Americans should do to contribute to the war against terrorism. Spending more money is not good for the average American citizen nor is it good to buy an enormous automobile. Spending more money on gas gives more money to the terrorists.

Leadership has been compromised by billionaire corporations; this is very evident by the way they are contributing to Hilary Clinton, the presidential front runner. I am actually hoping Obama gets the Presidential nomination because Hilary Clinton has the backing of corporate America so she will do nothing for middle class Americans. She is promising a national healthcare program in which we will be legally required to pay for it ourselves. So now we’ll be put in jail if we cannot afford healthcare? This sounds like a good plan for the insurance companies but not for middle class America.

I want to see a national healthcare plan funded by the richest corporations, which covers all Americans regardless of class. I also want to see the insurance companies and the “for profit” hospitals driven out. Corporate American should not earn a profit from the sick, it’s immoral.

I also want to see a plan to end our usage of oil. Not drill for more oil or manufacture oil using food which drives the price of food through the roof. I want to see a leader stand up to the oil companies and fund a program to end the internal combustion engine. We can do this, we do have the technology but we have no leadership capable to standing up to these corporations which have put their profits above both the security of our nation and the survival of our species.

It is just my opinion but if we could resurrect FDR or George Washington or Abraham Lincoln today and allow then to regain the Presidency without accepting millions of dollars in campaign money (which is how corporate America buys our leadership) then we would have resolutions which resolve these problems instead of creating more disasters.

Hilary Clinton will not be a good President because she has the backing of the majority of these corporations. They know she might win so they want to buy her now; it’s cheaper. But as bad of a president as she will be, she will still be much better than the idiot we have in there right now or the religious zealots from the Republicans. At least she knows the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the Earth revolves around the Sun and knows humans never played with dinosaurs.

I will still cast my vote in favor of Obama. He has collected a lot of cash but it is mostly from rich individuals and NOT corporations. Of course there is still corporate money there but not as much as Hilary. He is a visionary and has the leadership qualities capable of turning the corner. But the only people which have a chance of getting elected President are the people corporate America funds. Let’s hope Obama can break this trend.

Jena 6

2007-10-01T22:55:00.001-07:00

Before the Jena 6 case I believed the issue of racism was only being kept alive by black leaders like Al Sharpton seeking attention instead of truth. I don’t know what this town is like but anyplace which establishes a racial boundary within a school definitely has a problem. I can put myself in the shoes of those black students being told repeatedly they were not allowed and I can feel the rage within me starting to boil.

We have two different issues to discuss in the Jena 6 case. First of all, we have a racist community and secondly we have a criminal justice system which also needs an overhaul.

There are changes which need to me made in this town and others like it to help eliminate racism. Common sense tells us that having a racial boundary is not a good idea so the adults which allowed this behavior (I’m talking about the school administrators and any other adult working for the government which allowed this behavior) should all be fired. The new administrators should promote healing by encouraging all races to participate in a school function dedicated to eliminating all racial boundaries.

You will never be able to completely erase racism in towns like Jena in the parents of the children but you can train the teachers, the administrators, the police, and everyone else within the local government to instill a better attitude within the kids. Show the kids how ridiculous, irresponsible, and hurtful racism can be and then teach them how to be more accepting of everyone. This would be a good start to help in the healing.

The second issue which is the criminal justice system is more complicated. I don’t believe it to be a racial system but I do believe there is a bias according to the class of defendants. This bias is built into the system by giving the best lawyers to the state or the richer defendants. Poorer individuals often do not have a chance in proving their innocence because their lawyer is inadequate. Public defenders are often over-worked and unprepared for their case load and it reflects by the number of poorer people in jail.

We all know if O.J Simpson was a middle class man he would have easily been convicted. His trial was little to do with race but everything to do with money. If everyone could afford his defense team no one would be in jail. I’ve heard Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson complaining how the criminal justice system is a racist system but instead of pointing the finger at race they should be arguing to even the scales of justice for everyone regardless of pocketbook. They won’t do this because they have plenty of money and want that advantage if they need it.

I have thought for many hours about our justice system but I still don’t how it can be changed so it is fair for every American regardless of money. I can tell you that I have witnessed this system first hand with the conviction of a relative. I believe our criminal justice system is worse than death. With death at least there is peace at the end but being accused of a crime and watching the loss of everything is worse.

First of all, if you are accused of a crime how can you pay for a decent lawyer when you are put in jail and either cannot afford bail or do not even get bail? You cannot work in jail so you will lose your job and eventually all of your assets will be owned by the bank which held your mortgage or other creditors. It is very easy for a middle class family to lose everything even before the trial. There is no decent defense when you are penniless so now you are at the mercy of the over-worked and unprepared public defender. Realistically you are guilty at the arraignment because now you don’t have a chance in hell. Plus you lost everything so even if god does somehow intervene and you are found innocent at the trial you have no home anyway.

The Jena 6 has exposed isolated pockets of racism in our country but the inflated charges have nothing to do with race but everything to do with a corrupt system. Trumped up charges is evidence of how our criminal justice system is abandoning justice. If you need proof just turn on Court TV or MSNBC and you’ll see inflated charges tagged across all races. Even the battle between the prosecutor and the defense has nothing to do with guilt or innocence but everything to do with political gains or money. Even the judges sentencing have more to do with politics than with justice.

On the lighter side of justice (another observation):

Our criminal justice system is so terrible if a super hero like Spiderman did exist, he would be put in jail with a very long sentence. Prosecutors, police and judges do not like people playing god, they want exclusive rights to that function especially if they have aspirations of running for public office.

Debates 2007

2007-08-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is what I think about the presidential debates of 2007:

iGouge

2007-06-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

This Friday, customers of Apple Computer will wait in lines to take it in the ass by paying $600 for a phone. Then they are forced to sign a contract with AT&T, which is notorious for slow and shitty cell phone service. After the 2 year contract is signed these drones will pay up to $3,000 to use a phone for two years. Because Apple cares about its customers so much, they are out pricing the next competitor by double and then forcing them to sign a contract with a known lemon. Thanks Apple, we appreciate the love!

Who is the more foolish: the fool or the fool who follows the fool? In every case it's always the fool who follows the fool. Although this $600 price tag is a better example of price gouging than the oil companies, people will line up like brainless drones for a chance to dump their money for something which will be obsolete in six months. Then they’ll have to line up again to dump another $600 for the same thing but with more RAM or a different color.

When I see people willing to pay $3,000 to use a phone for two years, then I can very easily foresee $6 a gallon gas prices. The American consumer is infatuated with taking it in the ass, in fact; they’ll line up to take it in the ass. If gas prices were $6 per gallon, people would still buy the enormo SUV’s by the bushel because GM told them they needed it or they saw a commercial and it looked cool. When will people start to think with their brain instead of their ego?

This is the reason people in other countries hate us so much. We are a brainless society. We buy gold chains when we can’t afford food. We buy vehicles which burn gas like a forest fire consumes trees, while we watch the effects of global warming on the news like it’s a video game. We shop with forklifts and over pay for everything with a 29% credit card and then file bankruptcy next year. Meanwhile our expenses runneth over our income like the Gulf of Mexico at a New Orleans’ levy during a hurricane. Then we end up crying on Dr. Phil because our wife fucked the trash guy after the house was foreclosed.

The typical American consumer spends $1.10 for every $1 they earn, and the average credit card debt is closing in on $10,000 per household. This is stupid behavior but when people line up to pay $600 for a phone then I can easily see how this happens.

The above graph shows the escalating credit card debt in America. Lets all give Apple a big round of applause for contributing to this problem.

I’ll bet most of the people buying this device cannot afford it but will just charge it, further contributing to their downward economic slide. After all, this is not really a phone, it’s a status symbol. People will buy this device to compensate in other areas they are deficient; like maybe cock size or wallet size or even personality.

“But Darth, maybe if the hot chick at the coffee shop sees me with this phone while I drink my $6 cup of coffee, she’ll go home with me.” Could the hot chick actually have a brain and think, “What a waste of money? Anybody who spends $600 phone and $6 on a cup of coffee is a loser.” In any event, how will you even be able to afford to take her out when you will spend $3,000 for phone service for the next two years but you work at a dollar store?

When I see things like this happen, I see the collective intelligence of the entire country drop by 100 points. Can you survive with a phone which costs $300? And even that is obscene. Yea you could, but that would make too much sense. The typical American is infatuated with irrational behavior.

For the Love of Big Brother

2007-06-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was interviewed for the fourth time since my unemployment began. One thing I have noticed during my job search is the amount of intrusion Corporate America is granted into our personal lives. They want personality profiles, credit reports, drug tests, skill assessments, multiple personal and professional references, FBI and police background checks, and a vial of blood and/or semen (just kidding). Am I being initiated into the Sopranos or just trying to get a job? I don’t even know anymore.

One of the most disturbing trends is the new Big Brother policy involving the Internet. Just about everyplace I have visited has WebSense or a similar device, which monitors and regulates Internet and email traffic. One such company even limits the amount of time spent on the Internet to only 5 hours per week.

As an IT worker my lifeline to technology is the Internet. I use it to solve problems, evaluate new technology and to remain informed of cutting-edge technology. I cannot imagine losing this valuable resource in the middle of an important project or when I need pertinent information quickly to rescue a downed device. Imagine being in the middle of a multitude of fires like those only to be denied Internet resources because some troll has decided 5 hours of Internet is all you need.

We are in the beginning of a new era with Corporate American heavily regulating our lives. If we consider how past erosions of our liberties began, we can easily see the beginning of this trend.

Take the seat belt laws for example. About 10 years ago most people were NOT in favor of seat belt laws. Most people saw these laws as an unneeded intrusion into their life by the government. But the legislatures were sneaky and convinced America these laws would only be enforced as a tack on to a moving violation; hence nobody would be pulled over and ticked specifically for violating the seat belt laws. People accepted this.

Yet this year as people forgot about losing their choice to wear seat belts, the laws were then enhanced so police could now issue a citation ONLY for a seat belt violation. What “they” do is start a law in its most unobtrusive form to gain acceptance. But then, over time as we forget about losing a choice or a freedom, they tighten the regulations further so the liberties are forever lost.

Corporate America is beginning a new campaign of regulating behavior, morals and laws by: monitoring employee’s Internet connections, giving drug tests and personality tests and a host of other unnecessary intrusions. I remember when there was a heated debate over drug tests. At first, they were only to be administered for jobs involving public safety but nowadays drug tests are as widely accepted as illegal government wire taps. We lost a lot of privacy by allowing corporations to intrude into our personal lives and test our bodies for foreign chemicals.

In reality what you do in your free time is your own business, but not anymore. And as time goes by these liberties will erode even further. How bad will it get? Imagine a corporation investigating your medical records and not hiring based upon an illness or a possible genetic illness which could occur in your future. Imagine NOT being hired based upon a credit report or an investigation into your television viewing habits uncovers you watch adult films. Imagine NOT being hired based upon the company monitoring your home email account or home Internet account and discovering you read a lot of left wing propaganda when they are a right wing organization. Imagine NOT getting a job because you smoke or you’re overweight. Laugh if like, but remember, we laughed in the 1990’s when the uninformed liberals told us “they” would not stop until “they” tested EVERYBODY for drugs.

Where will the line be drawn? As future generations adjust to the idea of corporate regulated intrusions, they probably won’t even notice how many freedoms they have lost. This line will slowly creep into the danger zone until corporations completely regulate morality, behavior and the laws by controlling and ultimately ending careers. Why incarcerate people when it’s cheaper to ostracize them from society by taking away their livelihood. This is almost worse than jail in one respect because you will still loose your social and economic status but you will not even have a cell to sleep in at night.

Another liberty we are slowly losing is our right to have a defense in court for an alleged crime. Certain municipalities have installed cameras at traffic signals to ticket people who run the red light. The camera takes a picture of both the license plate and the car but NOT the driver, and then a citation is issued through the mail. This citation cannot be challenged in the courts because you are guilty and your only choices are to pay the fine or go to jail. What if you were not the driver of the car? It could be your spouse, your kid, a friend you lent the car to, it could be anybody. Who cares – you’re guilty!! Will people adjust to this and then allow an automatic guilty verdict for other alleged events?

Innocent until proven guilty is one of the most important values in our country but yet not in these cases. So if people get used to an automatic guilty and not getting the right to a constitutionally guaranteed defense, then they could be treated the same way in other crimes. Again, our future generations will never realize how things used to be as the changes dissolving their liberties are slowly taken away over time. One day you wake up and they’re gone.

Did you ever file for bankruptcy? Imagine a new future of being excluded from Corporate American and never being able to find a job for filing for bankruptcy or late payments on bills. This is a perfect check and balance for corporations to finally ostracize and punish these people. Who needs the uncertainty of courts or the expense of buying judges when corporations can now take care of their own?

Conservatives suggest limiting our freedoms is necessary to live in a more secure country. I say gaining a more secure society is never worth sacrificing our liberties. If we sacrifice our liberties then the terrorists, criminals and bad guys will truly win. Once freedoms are lost they can only be regained with blood. Much blood has already been spilled by our grandparents for the freedoms we enjoy today. Don’t dishonor their sacrifice by sitting idle as our liberties are slowly drained away.

When will Americans awaken from their slumber and begin to take back their country? When will we realize what is happening? Will it be too late? As long as the Super Bowl, American Idol and the sex lives of celebrities garner more attention than these more important issues, we will quickly lose our country to fascists without a dissenting word. When our grandchildren awaken into a society completely controlled and regulated by the richest 1% of America, they can thank us for getting everything started.

A Plea For Help

2007-06-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

Will somebody please invent a reanimator fluid so we can bring back FDR and the rest of the Greatest Generation from the dead? We need lessons on how to live in a democracy because none of the current residents in the United States know anything about liberty or the ideas within the Constitution. Maybe it’s because we are all too lazy or too rich or too stupid to care anymore, but whatever it is we need help quickly.

I think we also need the help of these illegal immigrants to teach us how to live in a democracy. They have been the only group to lead a demonstration against the Federal Government in several years. Remember how our government responded to this peaceful demonstration? The innocent picketers were beaten with clubs and shot with rubber bullets.

We’ve also had enough of the Dark Ages leadership style of Saddam Bush and the rest of his Bath Party followers. We now need a true believer in a democracy and human rights to lead our country again. We need a leader who will take the Constitution, in particular the Bill of Rights, seriously. We need a leader with intelligence, courage, and who understands the issues. We need someone who believes the Earth is round, revolves around the Sun and is at least 4.5 billion years old.

If this doesn’t scare the shit out of you then nothing ever will. No it’s not the latest trailer to a horror film. This is REAL life scary. A member of the media was asking questions to one of Rudy Giuliani’s staff members. When the person being interviewed did not like the questions, he had the reporter arrested and charged with espionage. Let me remind you this happened in the United States of America; NOT the Soviet Union, NOT North Korea, NOT China but right here.

I know when I use words or phrases like “fascist” or “anti-American” or “unconstitutional”, many people think they’re overkill and that I’m crazy. These are the terms which are appropriate for situations like this. Let me repeat this in case it was not read right: A member of our media, who was carrying the proper credentials and who was doing a job protected by our Constitution, was arrested for asking questions then charged with espionage. WOW!!!!

Remember the Military Commissions Act I warned you all about that Saddam Bush signed into law. These are the laws which allow him to jail anybody for any reason for any length of time without due process. It doesn’t get any more like a dictatorship in our country than this. These are the very laws they are using to jail this innocent man.

I hate to again say this but these are the types of things that will continue to happen if we get another 4+ years under Republican leadership. I cannot believe the Republican Party as a whole completely ignores Constitutional law, in particular the Bill of Rights. These are the same miscreants who are also in power at my former employer. They ignore all common sense and human rights to forge their own fascist police state. These people are no different from the former Bath Party in Iraq; similar execution of justice, similar ideology.

Is there anybody out there who will stand up to these fuck holes? The Democrats have no spine!! They cave on every issue, preferring to play party politics rather than fight for the rights and the lives of their constituents. Talk about chicken shit, the Democrats are the epitome of spineless. When I read about events like this I think to myself all hope is lost. If I can be fired for writing a blog and a reporter can be jailed for espionage for asking questions, then we are all fucked!!!

I have considered deleting this blog several times in the past couple of weeks but when I read about events like this and see them get ignored by mainstream media, I am hoping people like me will gain an audience to put an end to this behavior. This is simply wrong. How very few people can see through the right wing conspiracy’s obvious anti-American behavior baffles me to no end.

This right wing conspiracy includes all of these religious zealots who want their theology to become engraved into our law books, thereby dissolving our important separation of Church and State. Maybe these idiots never learned anything from history but religion and politics are like oil and water; they don’t mix well together. I am not including all religious people in this category, just the ones who want to practice their theology as criminal law.

When almost half of the voters continue to vote for a Republican Party which burns the Bill of Rights and celebrates its demise, then it is very easy to see how devastatingly bad things have become. Are these people misled or just plain ignorant? I would like to see a Democratic presidential candidate stand up and kick somebody’s ass – and Hilary Clinton is NOT the right one for this job.

I also can’t figure out why when I post an important topic like this, I get no feedback? Does the lack of comments mean you are all in agreement that this reporter should be jailed for espionage for asking questions to a politician? Because that is what it seems like to me? Maybe I should write about Paris Hilton or publish sex stories so I can get people to talk. Because the dumber the topic the more people speak out about it. Is everybody scared? What is it?

I would really like to know of anybody cares about their dissolving rights? Does anybody care what is happening? Does anybody care that the politicians are allowing human rights to become extinct like the dinosaurs?

I am pissed off that not more people are pissed off!!!

Oil and Greed

2007-05-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

Agreken made a significant point in one of his comments:

So that is your belief? SCREW everyone else at the company because you think NOW is the time to take them (specifically, ONE person who you are angry with) down. You use the words "they didn't" but it wasn't the secretaries and mail room clerks and fellow IT workers who were responsible for your "confidentiality agreement". But SCREW them right, causalities of war? Sounds vindictive and spiteful, not heroic...

He is absolutely right in this statement and when I first read this, it took a while to sink in. Another appropriate way we can apply his wisdom is in the war in Iraq. We falsely accused Saddam Hussein of harboring WMD’s and then falsely linked him to the 9/11 attacks. Then we storm into Iraq and upset their delicate balance of power, thereby killing many innocents in the process. Agreken is right, this action is not heroic.

We have now killed more Iraqis since the war began than Saddam Hussein killed in his reign of terror. Now let us also remember he was given the poisonous gas and the weapons by the Reagan Administration to fight the Iranians, but he used them on his own innocent people when that war ended. Let us not forget we funded Saddam Hussein.

Even today as more evidence surfaces proving this war was based on false allegations, the perpetrators stubbornly continue on their course of destruction. Seven out of ten Americans now want the war to end, which is an overwhelming majority within a democracy, certainly enough to stop this act of terror. But yet the dictators within our government stubbornly continue on their course of action and ignore basic democratic principles. Why? Two reasons: oil and greed.

Oil is the evil within our souls and our greed is the engine which thirsts for it. Oil and greed are the primary ingredients to our capitalist values and the primary reasons we inflict terror upon the world. We will stop at nothing to obtain them. We will lead our planet to destruction, lead our sons and daughters to an early grave, kill innocent families which stand in our way and fund the terrorism we claim to want defeated. American responds to all of this by buying bigger and less efficient vehicles but feel justified if they put the “We support our troops” bumper sticker on the ass of their mega-ton SUV.

Corporations are also profiting handsomely from this war and they see no good reason to end it. When you look at Congress’s voting record every single bill passed into law favors Corporate America; not one favors the lower classes or the ordinary working Joe. This war is just another bill giving Haliburton and the oil companies the right to steal mega-billions. And they are stealing it from the blood of our troops.

Every American KNOWS the truth but they either ignore it or lie to themselves. We are in Iraq because of oil and greed, the primary reasons behind all of our actions. We are like a drug user who stubbornly refuses to admit he has an addiction.

Also, this war has NOT curtailed the gasoline prices as we were promised when it began; another outright lie and broken promise from the Bush Administration. Even if it did lower our gasoline prices, let’s ask the families of soldiers if they would rather have their sons and daughters back home or cheaper gas. Or even better ask yourself, would you rather have your son or daughter back from the grave or Saddam Hussein back in power? I would never trade my son for that; never in a million years.

The only time war is justified is in defense of your country. Iraq didn’t do anything except rattle off some tough talk and take a belligerent stance regarding the weapons inspectors. Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia should have been the two targets.

I made the right decision when I ended my private war so why can’t our leaders do the same?

Gas Prices

2007-05-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today gas prices jumped to $3.18 for regular unleaded in St. Louis, up twenty cents after jumping ten cents on Monday. The reason given for this increase is the standard bullshit answer of tensions in Iran and the summer driving season is nearing.

The reality is this market is not like other markets. It’s exactly the same market principles which charge $8 for a beer at a sporting event. Supply doesn’t really matter unless there is a shortage; right now there is no shortage but still prices continue to climb.

The oil companies can charge whatever they want for gasoline, just like the stadium which charges $8 for a beer or $5 for a hot dog. There is no place for a fan to go and get another hot dog or beer so he is stuck with the price, just like there is no other place for the driver to go get cheaper gas prices. The oil companies are all in collusion just like all of the concession stands are in collusion. The only reason for $3 per gallon gas prices is the oil companies want to make more money. PERIOD!

Because of the oil companies greed we are in the midst to using our corn as a substitute for gasoline which has driven the price of corn through the roof. Corn is a staple in our food chain. A lot is dependent on it, from feeding our cattle to sweetening our food. This price surge in corn is affecting the price of our food: chicken is up 27%, pork is up 25% and beef is up 15% over last years prices. These numbers are expected to double by the beginning of next year. Meanwhile, the oil companies are eclipsing their profit margins from last year by double digits percentages.

Instead of using our corn for gasoline and plunging our food markets into chaos why don’t we just regulate the oil industry? Put a cap on them. If the oil companies don’t like it then we should take the profitability out of that market like Chavez did in Venezuela. If you remove the profit and taxes from gas prices, it would only cost about $1 per gallon or less.

The Bush Administration’s plan to combat these prices is to open up protected land for drilling. How is this going to cheapen the price of gas? It won’t. Instead the oil companies will now have even more oil to sell at whatever price they want because there is no regulation on this market. How about a plan to move to an alternative fuel sources? How about a plan to break the oil cartel? How about a plan to regulate the price of gasoline like we do with electricity? How about at least forcing them to build more refineries which will is a better solution than more drilling?

The oil companies don’t want to build more refineries because that definitely would drive the price of gas down. There is no supply shortage but we do have a bottle neck within the refining process. With the technology advances we have today, if they would build even one new refinery it would be better for the environment and produce almost as much gasoline as two of the older refineries. But this would translate to cheaper gasoline prices at the pump which is NOT what the oil companies want.

The Bush Administration is weak on oil policies because the entire Administration is made up of oil executives. Condi Rice was serving on the board at Chevron before she caught Bush’s eye. In fact, they named a tanker after her. The there is first term Commerce Secretary Don Evans who is a big gas and oil buddy. Lawrence Lindsay the former chief economic advisor is from the Enron Advisory Board. James Baker was formerly with the Carlyle Group which represents the oil companies. Bush loves the oil people so much we’ve even seen him walking hand in hand with the Saudi dictator or whatever they call him. When you earn the richest profits on the planet you can buy anything or anybody you want. It is clear this Administration is bought and paid for by oil.

Also the Republican debate was tonight but not one question was asked during either debate if any candidate has any plan to curtail these oil companies which are doing so much harm to our economy. The fact is no candidate will challenge these oil companies because they give so much money to every candidate either directly or indirectly. We all know corporate America controls our government, and there has never been a more blatant example than what is happening to our gasoline prices.

I remember the investigation last year when Congress called certain oil executives to testify. They were trying to find evidence of the oil companies gouging the American people. Just look at the profits, you dumb asses! Talk about bullshit – that entire circus was full of the purest bullshit I’ve ever seen. In the end, nothing was done and I didn’t expect anything to be done either. I wish they would have had a camera in the back to show the oil executives handing the Congress suitcases filled with money and laughing their asses off.

Our government now encourages monopolies. They do nothing when large companies within a market merge leaving no competition or limited competition. There was a time when corporate influence was not as great because monopolies were broken up and NOT created. Today, it’s obvious the pro-corporate mantra within our government; they don’t even try to hide it anymore.

There is no relief in sight to these outrageous gas prices because none of the potential presidential candidates will even admit there is a problem. Instead of forcing regulations on a few greedy oil companies, our government will sit idle while the prices on everything skyrocket us right into inflation. When this happens, they won’t call it inflation and if they do they’ll never admit what caused it. But you mark my works; right here on May 3, 2007. I predict inflation by 2009 to the point where the recession of 2002 will look like an economic boom.

By 2009 gas prices will probably top $5 per gallon and the oil companies will have another banner year where their profits might reach the trillions per quarter. By 2009 milk prices will be close to $4 per gallon, certain meat prices will be almost unaffordable to all but the upper middle classes. In fact, we’ll probably see a 25% or more jump on the price of all food. All the while our wages will only climb by the standard 2% - 3%. Too bad corporate profits and the wage for a standard American cannot be linked. Maybe then something good would happen for the average working American.

Virginia Day 2 – Virginia Massacre

2007-04-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were in Staunton, VA only an hour from Virginia Tech when we heard about the massacre. At first, I thought it was just a rumor as we overheard people at the restaurant talking about it. Then our worst fears were verified when we got back into the car and turned on the radio.

Cho Seung-Hui, a resident alien from South Korea, was the shooter. This psychopath killed 32 innocent people. Since he killed himself the blame game has already started. People are searching for someone or some group to hold accountable. I’m sure since he was an immigrant; they will start there with a “whack a mole” blame game.

As soon as I heard the shooter was dead I told my wife they would immediately start searching for the sacrificial lamb. First, they wanted to blame the police for not knowing two murders in a dorm would grow into the worst massacre on a college campus in American History. Then, they jumped on the school for also failing to read his mind. Now they have started a witch hunt for any students, faculty or staff who might have known about anything. Who could have predicted this? Even if he would have told somebody, who would have believed it? Punishing somebody would be ludicrous.

Very soon they will find out what kind of music he enjoyed and blame the artists. Then they will find out which video games he played and try to ban them. I am sure they will also try to blame the gun shop who sold him the guns, even though he legally bought them and even waited the legal three days. He was an English student who read Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe. Do you think they will try to ban books by those authors now?

Now they are probably going to try to pass a slew of laws, none of which would have saved any of these innocent people, but will be a major loss of liberty to every law abiding citizen in the country. There will be stupid law suits against the school, so now every University will be forced to lock campuses down like prisons or face similar stupid law suits. Where will it end? I don’t know.

My heart pours out to the families of the innocent victims but the reality of the situation is, in a free society, there is no way to stop random acts of violence like this. No amount of laws or loss of freedoms will ever stop this kind of behavior. This is the price we all pay for living in a free society. The alternative is to regulate EVERYTHING and to sacrifice liberty for safety; this is the definition of fascism. Don’t buy into this!!!!

Pray for the families, mourn with them but don’t jump on a fascist bandwagon which will accomplish nothing except to eliminate the freedoms our grand-parents have paid for with their blood. Like it or not, the right to bear arms is a Constitutional right which cannot be sacrificed for safety’s sake or convenience sake.

This guy was a psychopath, plain and simple. Don’t let his mental illness influence the rights which we fought so hard to obtain. The fact of the matter is no amount of changing of the laws will ever keep us safe from psychos; they will always find a way to be psychos. But don’t apply the least common denominator principle and treat all of us like this psychopath.

Our vacation continues. Yesterday we toured Endless Caves and the Woodrow Wilson birthplace. Today we saw the Manassas Civil War battlefield and Mt Vernon. Enjoy some pictures from the past two days in Virginia.

Endless Caverns

A family of bats on the cave wall. They don't like to be petted and they hate Skittles.

Mt. Vernon, home to George Washington, the father of liberty. He died of a sore throat which became infected. If they only had Triaminic he might still be alive today.

Woodrow Wilson's birthplace. They actually had the bed in which he was born (and conceived) in the house.

I'm sitting on GW's back porch enjoying the view of the Potomac River. You can actually see my duck feet in this picture.

Manassas National Civil War Battlefield. An early battle won by the Confederates thanks to the leadership of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson. He acquired that nickname at this battle.

In other news, I've also changed my mind about the Dodge Charger, it is a piece of crap. It might look fast but it has no pick up at all. We were having troubles passing 18-wheelers. My Monte Carlo can run circles around it. There are many more inadequacies with it: the horn sounds when you lock the car, the lights turn on when you unlock it and they stay on after you lock it for quite a while.

Virginia Day 1 – Footsteps of Giants

2007-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Virginia yesterday but too late to see any of the Presidents’ homes. So we drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and hung out along the coast. We then spent the night in Charlottesville so we could get an early start to see as much as possible today. There were eight Presidents born in Virginia and today we saw three of their homes: James Madison (Montpelier), James Monroe (Ash Lawn), and Thomas Jefferson (Monticello).

Many of you know I am an avid reader of biographies and stories about the founding fathers. My favorites are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin. Needless to say I was quite overwhelmed to see two of my favorites.

James Madison’s home is called Montpelier and is currently being renovated by a $30 million DuPont grant. But I still got to see the most important room in the house, his office. It was in that office James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights, which I contend is the most important document ever written by man. Madison was just a 25 year old Congressman but his intelligence was greater than his years. The renovations will be finished in the fall and I must return again to see it again in its glory.

At the time Madison was writing the Bill of Rights, Thomas Jefferson was in France but he lent Madison many books from his impressive library to do research. It is important to note that Jefferson had the second largest library in the country (only the National Library had more books). In the war of 1812 when the British burnt down the National Library it was Jefferson which replenished it with his own books. He later wrote he could not live without books and again built an impressive collection of literature which survives to this day.

Anyway, I stood in the very room in which James Madison wrote this important document and was immediately entranced in thought. I often wonder what he would say if he knew the kind of inhumanities our own government is involved with today. I don’t think anyone else on this tour realized where they were standing and the importance to American history, and humanity for that matter, it signified.

Thomas Jefferson’s home is named Monticello and was just as impressive. Jefferson wrote the Constitution and as I stood in his office staring at his pen, chair and desk, I got the same feelings of pride for my country as I did while standing in Madison’s office. Both of these men were good friends. Both were intellectuals, rebels and liberals; they would not fit well today into our heavily regulated society in which human rights have taken a back seat to security. Many of their greatest ideals have been undone by our current administration.

We also saw the historic Michie Tavern which serviced travelers since 1784. In those days it was rumored body oils would protect you against disease so people did not shower much. The tavern only washed linens and clothes twice per year, and people bathed only during the summertime (if that). They carried a small bag of potpourri in their pockets and would press it against their noses when encountering other people to cut down the smell of the stench. I don’t know how people had sex back then with the stench of their bodies being so strong but they had many children so it must not have bothered them.

Michie’s Tavern offered separate rooms for men and women but there were few (if any) women traveling alone. Mostly the women’s quarters were used for private rooms for richer patrons which would pay up to a weeks salary for one night in a private room. Most travelers stayed on the floor of the main lobby. For a meager amount (no one knows exactly how much) they would get a hot meal, usually soup, and be offered the floor or a chair to sleep through the night. The main lobby also had gambling tables and unlimited drinking for travelers. Alcohol was sold by the glass, mostly whiskey or wine.

James Monroe was another important player in American history. He was integral in the Louisiana Purchase as he was the ambassador to France and a good friend of Napoleon. Under Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency, Monroe went to France with a millions dollars and came back with the title to land which more than doubled the size of the US.

James Monroe was a farmer and his home, Ash Lawn reflected his meager living. He wrote about defeating a king during the Revolutionary War and did not believe men should live as kings. Most of Ash Lawn was burned down and rebuilt by another family but it is still impressive to see this man’s home. One of the most impressive pieces of art was the bust of Napoleon given to Monroe by Napoleon in honor of their friendship. There was also a portrait of Napoleon’s daughter hanging in the parlor as their daughters were also good friends. They even attended college together.

Enjoy a few pictures of my travels and come back tomorrow for more. Mount Vernon is on the itinerary, home to George Washington.

Historic Michie's Tavern in the pouring rain.

Monticello, home to Thomas Jefferson - still raining.

Barboursville Ruins. This historic home was designed by Thomas Jefferson for Governor James Barbour and was built in 1814. It was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day in 1884.

Our hot rental car is a 2008 Dodge Charger. When my 2001 Monte Carlo is replaced, I want one of these.

Ash Lawn home to James Monroe. This house is very small compared to the other famous homes; I feel like a giant.

Imus Idiotus

2007-04-12T15:36:00.001-07:00

I have never listened to Imus, he sounds like an idiot to me. The comments he made were stupid and insensitive but does he really need to lose his livelihood for telling a stupid joke? I say stupid things all the time and I’ll bet you all do too. Should we all lose our jobs and maybe even our careers over a stupid joke? I hope not.

What Imus said wasn’t any different from what any other performer says. Chris Rock says much worse, so does Dave Chappelle, so did Ann Coulter and a host of other performers. Look at all of the hate words used in hip-hop and rap music. Nobody lost their job over any of those bigoted statements. All of the above said much worse things than Imus.

So why the double standard? I don’t have an answer for this and whatever anybody else says in defense of firing Imus won’t make sense to me unless they address all of the other hate speeches. Imus is a performer NOT a Senator or any other representative of the people. If the President or someone of that nature were to say something like this then I would agree with them being fired or removed from office. But again, those people are different because they have jobs in public service. Imus is a radio shock jock, a performer NOT a public servant.

Firing Imus is setting a dangerous precedence in our society. This dangerous prededence is saying white people cannot have a sense of humor about racial issues. White people cannot tell the same jokes as black comedians. A law is a law; and a racial statement is a racial statement regardless of who says it. The law should be color blind so what happens to Imus should happen to everybody else. And since I don’t think it should happen to anyone else, I don’t think it should happen to Imus.

I think Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle are hilarious. I don’t want them fired or ostracized for telling racist jokes. I don’t like Ann Coulter but even she should be able to make a joke about John Edwards (even though she bordered on slander)without being fired from her job. Even though I think Imus is an idiot, he should have the ability to say something stupid and apologize for it (or not) and retain his livelihood. For those who judge him differently from anybody else; they are the racists.

Beginning next week I’ll be on vacation in Virginia. I will hopefully be posting pictures and a plethora of information about my wanderings.

Winds of Change - Part 4 - Conclusion

2007-04-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

In Part 1 I asked the question: “If you lie to enough people and they start believing the lie as fact, can this lie be woven into our instinctual behavior?” Lie is such a harsh word. Yes a lie or a false belief can sabotage the evolution of a species as well as the intellectual advancement. I’ll site two examples.

What if the 100 monkeys instead of washing the sweet potatoes shoved them up their ass? If this caught on and became a fad it could jeopardize the entire clan if everybody followed the one fool who shoved the potato up his ass. Some would have died because they stopped up their bowels, others might have pulled it out and eaten it with feces and died of a disease. If the whole 100 did it they might have all died and taken many others with them.

The second example of how falsehoods derail intellect is the Heaven’s Gate cult. These idiots followed a guy to his death by drinking the “Kool-Aid”. Upon death they were promised a ride to heaven aboard the Hale-Bopp Comet or something of that nature. They blindly followed this lunatic to his death. The founder of Heaven’s Gate had no proof, no scientific evidence to prove his claim but yet these knuckleheads died anyway; social Darwinism at its finest. What if this crazy cult would have hypnotized more people, like 5 billion?

So following a lie or some false and unproven theories could lead to disaster. This is why we must be diligent with our beliefs and accept only fact based theories. We should also constantly change based on new evidence but don’t be too quick to jump on a new idea. Don’t be the second monkey to shove a potato up your ass; rather wait until the facts arrive.

When you have too many people believing in something false or working toward wasted efforts like profits, it can stunt an entire species. Instead of resources being spent on intellect or projects advancing the species they are wasted on bullshit. This is the cycle we are stuck in now. Too much blind faith and too much time wasted working to advance the profit margins of soulless companies have stunted our growth.

So what do you do when a fundamentalist President like Bush ignores 66% of our entire nation to further his own agenda? First of all, you find out who else in the Senate and the HOR is supporting him and then vote them out in the next election. Stay informed. There are some credible news agencies out there, but you have to look for them; I have links to a few on this blog. You have to work at being an informed, intelligent human-being. But the payoff is worth the work. More intelligent voters elect better candidates. And if you don’t like either one then write somebody in.

Raise your kids to be free thinking adults. They should challenge authority, know the law (especially the Bill of Rights) and learn proper etiquette. Just because they challenge authority doesn’t mean they have to be uncontrolled. Buy energy efficient products including automobiles. Don’t join a church just because everyone else is doing it. If you do join a church then read everything and learn as much as you can about the religion. Don’t let someone tell you about it, read it for yourself. That was exactly how the Heaven’s Gate people were tricked into drinking the Kool-Aide – blind faith. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck; then it’s a duck.

Winds of Change - Part 3 – Search for Higher Intelligence

2007-04-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

I believe in a higher intelligence. At this point, I don’t want to call this higher intelligence “God” because there are so many preconceived notions with that label, because what I am suggesting differs from traditional views of God. This higher intelligence might exist within us, within our DNA or somehow connected to our DNA. It might influence changes through direct contact but we see only what it wants instead of what is actually there (I’ll explain this later).

Accepting a search for a higher intelligence even if you already worship a God is an acceptable human behavior. For example, you can worship Zeus but still keep your mind open for something more logical and explainable than a man living in the clouds with a humongous hammer. We have a complex mind in which we haven’t even tapped into one-tenth of our potential, but yet we often accept unproven theories over more logical, proven theories. We do this because it's easier.

Accepting the fact we don’t have the answers to life or even death is more threatening than believing a man in the clouds with a hammer will save you when you die. When I was a kid it was easier believing in Santa Claus but as I aged I wanted the truth and sought the truth until I found out there was no Santa. Sure I could have still believed but that still would not have changed the fact that there was no Santa. Human evolution is the same. We can blindly believe in our tradional Gods or we can put more resources into science to find the truth.

Whether the religious fundamentalists will admit it or not, science is responsible for all of our intellectual growth and many of our evolutionary leaps. Without the smart person in the group inventing a wheel or fire we would still be living in caves and hunting with sticks. What would the Wright Brothers say today if they could see how their innovation has led us onto the moon and beyond? Science is responsible for all of this. From the electricity in our home to the power of our automobiles, these fundamentalists will use all of the modern conveniences science invents but still give them no credibility at all.

The point I am trying to make is just like the 100 monkeys influenced their entire species, let science and our intellect take our species to new heights. Don’t sabotage their findings because they threaten old traditions. You can help the evolution of our species by raising your kids to be open minded. Don’t close their minds with religion, hate and prejudice. Let their minds develop so they can search for God and make their choice based on intellect instead of tradition.

Some fundamentalists believe our laws are based on the Ten Commandments but that’s total idiocracy; only two of the Ten Commandments are laws. A 20% success ratio is not a winning number even by Enron’s accounting methods. I said it before and I’ll say it again, the Bill of Rights is the most important document ever written for humanities sake. If the Ten Commandments were written by God then he would have realized the need for human rights before the egotistical need to realize He was the Supreme Being. The first commandment should have been Thou Shall Not Have Slaves and went on from there. The fact that important laws like this were missing is proof these commandments were written by a fallible man.

If you draw circles around all of the groups you belong to, you’ll see the human being circle is the biggest. Whether it's religion, political party, or family, the human being circle is the biggest and sometimes the most important. If we accepted the importance of this group, we would treat our fellow man with more compassion and we would realize this compassion should be our most important value. Any religion worth anything should realize this and will be built on compassion, acceptance, education and human rights. A true religion would want to desegregate and bring all of humanity together instead of excluding huge groups of our species. In fact, this is the first rule of a false religion: if they exclude any group or influence one group to kill another group, they are a false religion.

In the search for a higher intelligence we must be prepared to find another more advanced species instead of a Supreme Being. Like my fish tank theory we could be fish in a tank and the higher species could be our creators, visiting us occasionally to study our advancement. In a similar but more frightening theory, the other species could be living amongst us but on a higher or lower frequency so we cannot see them. Maybe they even built a blocker into our DNA so we cannot see them. This could explain certain ridiculous UFO sightings people have experienced.

One such ridiculous sighting was a farmer. When investigators visited and interviewed him there were still burn marks on the dirt near his home in which traces of a rare chemical were found which could not have been faked, also impressions in the ground left by the landing gear were too precisely measured to be a hoax. Even more ridiculous was the farmer saw the aliens and claimed they offered him a plate of pancakes. When he looked into the craft he saw another human in what looked to be a 1950’s kitchen wearing an apron and waving. What makes this so convincing was the man knew it was ridiculous but still told the story to investigators. They concluded if he was lying he would have made up some fantastic story instead of telling them a story he knew was silly. Is it possible this was a visit from our creators or some higher intelligence and they somehow cloaked this man’s mind only to see what they wanted him to see?

If a higher intelligence were to visit us they would surely try to keep their presence masked and what better way of doing this than to leave behind a ridiculous trail of unbelievable stories. As a paranormal investigator I find it interesting how similar ghost stories are to UFO abductions. Sometimes the ghosts which people describe to me actually look similar to the pictures of aliens. The similar occurrences contain elements of paralyzation, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and despair. Many of the stories make the storyteller look foolish and they realize this but yet they stick to their story. Some of them might be crazy but I know too many witnesses who are sane, intelligent people. There know certain facts which only someone who is experiencing a real haunting will know, and I can usually tell just by listening to the story who is faking it or if they are only experiencing the house settling. Could these “ghosts” actually be visitors from a higher intelligence but our rudimentary minds cannot handle the reality of the situation?

UFOs could also be a higher intelligence inspiring us to achieve a higher intelligence. I am not saying this is provable truth I am only saying this is a possibility. When ancient man would see UFOs they saw rope ladders which would unravel and the aliens would appear as bearded dwarves. As we evolved so have our UFO sightings. The fact remains UFO sightings have inspired many scientific advancements. UFO sightings are partially responsible for the space program. We have copied many of the UFO designs into actual machines which we have either tested or are flying today.

All of this leads us back to the 100 monkeys theory. If we keep our minds open allowing only proved theories to be evidence of higher intelligence then as a society we will evolve faster. If we hold onto traditions which hold back our power of intellect then we will never evolve.

The most important values for our species should be protecting this planet from destruction, preserving our liberties, protecting all life and maintaining our quest for knowledge of our solar system, universe, planet, a higher intelligence, and ourselves. Anything which interferes with these should be abhorred.

Winds of Change - Part 2 – Paradigms

2007-04-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

My last post provided a foundation, explaining what needs to happen to change our society and how a small change can snowball into a shift in paradigms. Part 2 will focus on what needs to be changed and what our agenda should be for this millennium.

Our society is infatuated with profit even though this thirst for profit conflicts with our most important purposes in life. The success of our species depends on learning about our universe, our solar system and our planet. But there is no profit in this research and many fundamentalists suggest it is not needed because we already know everything we need to know.

Our obsession with profit is almost as obsessive as a teenage boy’s obsession with his libido. It consumes us. We put 100% of our efforts maintaining and increasing our profit margins. We even make laws ensuring the wealthy remain wealthy. If it doesn’t make money then the government will come along and deregulate a market so it becomes a profit center (like health care in the 80’s or energy markets today). As a society, this leaves little time for anything else.

The true evil of capitalism is its ability to create a society which appreciates money above everything else. This is the reality of our world today. This is why we have homeless people, a lack of education and a lack of healthcare. There is no profit from solving or changing any of those so there is nobody working on them. And when somebody does work on then somebody else comes along and shuts it down because no one can make money from providing an upgrade to those services. Even though the aforementioned are all good for humanity, money or profit is still the most important thing, so they will never be solved and will forever remain a problem. How do we change this paradigm?

Before we can change the paradigm we must realize the supreme laws of the land is in our society. The supreme laws are: good for the economy is what is best, increasing profits from year to year is paramount, and money is your God; it can buy anything. Nothing else matters.

Our kids today are taught the principles economics which enforces the belief that good for the economy is most important thing, even if it is bad for you. To pass the test you must believe in these principles or else you fail and will have to take the course again. You’ll keep taking it until you accept that principle as the supreme law of the land.

Let’s assume you will turn to religion for guidance. Religions only enforce these supreme laws. Don’t even think of joining a church without giving your 10% off the top. Turn on the television and you’ll see how profitable religion has become. All of those tele-evangelists are multi millionaires and getting richer every day. Their message is give me money and go to heaven. So they enforce one of the supreme laws; money can buy anything.

Money CAN buy anything. Look at the presidential election and see most of the candidates have already collected over $20 million dollars each and are expected to collect over $100 million just to be competitive. Are these candidates the best possible presidential hopefuls? No, but they are the only ones rich enough that want the job. The best presidential candidates will never be heard of because they don’t have the ability to raise $100 million dollars just to run. Want a wife? Then buy one online from Russia; she’ll even be unbelievably hot!

Money can also influence people’s opinions; buy votes. Just run ads on television or pay a news reporter to conduct an investigation and conclude a favorable opinion in your direction. In government, they run false flag operations to influence us and like flies to a flame we quickly submit. It’s hard to believe our own government might possibly the bad guy but when they torture people and even get Christians to agree to it, then something is wrong.

We are in the beginnings of another ice age. Our government imprisons people without habeas corpus, admittedly tortures people and conducts acts of terrorism sometimes killing Americans and then blames it on other countries. All of this is happening under the watchful eyes of an “unbiased and liberal” media.

Our paradigms need to change. We need a more compassionate society based on personal freedoms, social services for the needy and better education for all. We need more non profits and fewer corporations. Instead of finding ways to charge people more, let’s find ways to do things for free or at least cheaper. We need to invest more time, energy and money into the exploration of our universe and the understanding our planet. The scientific community needs a louder voice. We need better leaders focused on retaining personal freedoms, and establishing communications with our enemies so we can live peacefully. We need to realize personal religious beliefs should remain personal and should not be legislated.

In part three, I will focus on a higher intelligence and explain why the search for God must continue and why no one should be threatened by this search.

Winds of Change – Part 1 - 100 Monkeys Theory

2007-04-05T08:37:00.001-07:00

The 100 Monkeys Theory is based on research conducted in 1952 through 1958 when the monkeys on a remote island were observed while discovering a new way to wash sweet potatoes. The monkeys living on nearby islands and even the mainland somehow acquired the same knowledge, even though there was no physical contact between the two groups of monkeys. The study went so far as to show how future generations of this monkey were born with this new knowledge; it became instinctual.

So the theory is when enough members of a group (for convenience stated as 100 monkeys because there were approximately 100 monkeys on the island) acquire a certain piece of knowledge, this knowledge passes into a collective consciousness, and all members of the group acquire that knowledge. But in reality we currently refer to this behavior as instinct. This research shows how the instinctual behavior of a small group can eventually shift paradigms. It also proves there is hope for a society like ours.

A casual observer would see this research as only about monkeys but this is actually a story about social change and how the power of intellect can enlighten an entire species. So by the same token if you lie to enough people and they start believing the lie as fact, can this lie be woven into our instinctual behavior? Before we answer this question let’s look at more data to see if we can connect the dots.

There also might be a correlation between total population and the number of enlightened people to bring about a change. In monkeys at that particular time it was 100, but to bring about an instinctual change in mankind today with a population today of over 6.5 billion, the number of enlightened might be much higher.

I believe in this theory. If enough enlightened people believe and adapt their behavior then our entire species can shift to a better paradigm and live a more enriched life. However, other people can sabotage this shift as is evident with President Bush and his 30% approval rating pandering to an unpopular, immoral war in Iraq. This scientific research proves he must either change or be left behind eating dirty potatoes. But this posting is not about the war in Iraq.

Our DNA is a recorder for our species. It has all the information ever collected about us, even so far as telling us how many of our species were alive in a particular time. Using this data we built a historical chart of the evolution of our species and we compared it with other data collected from the Earth in ice and rock. For example, we saw a severe drop in population about 80,000 years ago to the point where we almost went extinct. This data corresponded with evidence of a mega-volcanic eruption about that same time in evidence collected within the ice in Antarctica and within the rocks in Australia. When you have evidence collected by three different scientific fields reflecting the same conclusion then you have very strong proof.

In order to keep my posts shorter and easier to read, I stop here and let everybody digest this. I will post more next week about this theory and how this collective intelligence might respond to falsehoods and lies. What are your thoughts and comments so far?

The Abstinence Myth

2007-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

There has never been a more blatant example of the lack of separation of church and state than the archaic sex education methods taught to our kids. The federal government spent over $168 billion on programs promoting an abstinence only approach to sex education and over $1.2 billion since the Clinton administration. These programs cannot mention birth control at all; not even condoms.

The abstinence-only morons lie to themselves and believe this approach to be working but the real truth is the single mother birth rates continue to climb, the teenage pregnancy rates continue to climb as does the rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The only thing this myth is accomplishing is to bring our children closer to ruining their lives due to an STD or an unwanted pregnancy. If educators do not properly educate or start propagating myths like abstinence-only, then kids will continue to perpetuate problems within our society.

School is supposed to EDUCATE. It is impossible to educate about sex when you leave out important facts about safe sex and how to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancies. Again we see how the government, led by the right wing, continues to destroy freedom and choice. Actually Clinton is just a guilty here. He fired his Surgeon General for proving masturbation is a healthy thing and a good alternative to sex.

Have you ever seen one of the presentations by one of these abstinence-preaching morons? They equate sex to fire. So they burn paper to show how damaging sex can be to a relationship. Do these people have a clue at all? Then they equate abstinence with water which puts out the flame and saves us from burning. This is actually a federally funded program. LOL!!

Don’t get me wrong, I am a supporter of abstinence for teenagers but you also have to teach them about birth control too and how important it is to protect themselves from the multitude of STDs which can kill. As a father of a 15 year old boy, it is important he understands how to protect himself.

My son turned 15 this year. Of course, we are telling him it is best to wait until after graduation from high school before engaging in sexual relations, but if the urge strikes then protection is a requirement. We are going to keep a drawer full of condoms at home for his use. He won’t have to come to us for any, just go to the drawer. It will be my job to keep it full. He is well aware how easy sex can ruin his life because of the many STDs or an unwanted pregnancy.

I cannot imagine what those fundamentalists’ parents are thinking as they sound off about how you’ll burn in hell for doing some as natural as having sex. Then their daughter gets knocked up (or worse gets an STD) because she wasn’t taught about something as simple a condom. Perhaps I should start a business selling chastity belts to these idiots.

After more than two generations of failure and over $1.2 billion dollars wasted, you would think we would look at the statistics and start teaching the entire story. Start teaching kids about how condoms will save their life. Start teaching kids about how an unwanted pregnancy can ruin their life. Bring in single mothers and let them tell the class how difficult life has become and how their plans for college are now ruined. This is the reality the conservatives do not want our kids to see. They would prefer to quote the Bible more often or, even worse, blame the entertainment industry and then lobby to end all adult programming so all TV shows are scaled to only 5-year olds.

Morons!!!!

A Clean Slate

2007-03-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine posted a comment to my Lost Tomb of Jesus writing which sparked the following response. I decided to put my response on the front page of the blog so everyone understands not only my motives for that post but also understands why I am writing so much about religion. This friend of mine is a devote Christian, but more importantly, a very good human being. While I do not like to talk about religion in person, I enjoy writing about it. I find religion is not a good topic to converse with people because religious beliefs are tightly woven into their being and I don’t want to challenge their faith; it can be damaging to friendships. However, I will challenge MY beliefs, which is what I do on this blog.

Let me first give you a little background about me. I was raised Catholic. Many of my early years were spent in service to the Church as either as an altar boy, choir or doing the readings during mass. I was a staunch Republican for many years and used to believe Ronald Reagan was the greatest president of my lifetime. But I started questioning things about 2003. So I decided to wipe away all of my beliefs and learn new ideas. If these new things led me to where I was then that would be proof I was on the right path but if they led in another direction then I was prepared to follow the new course.

The reason for this new approach was I saw inaccuracies within our system of government; contradictions and hypocrisy within my religion. Prayer and going to Church left me with an empty feeling; I felt as though I was wasting my time doing both. I also felt that taking action was better than prayer because at least I was working on fixing a problem. I saw people believing in religions and government but not knowing why they believed, or even worse, believing in outright deceptions.

Since August, 2005 I have been on a mission to find the ultimate truth through the most intelligent minds of our time and their research. The only way to do this is to wipe the slate clean and relearn everything. This blog is the result of this research and the primary outlet for it. This is also why I selected the name "Neutrality" because I now consider myself a "true neutral". We must have balance in life, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. In the absence of evil within a society, portions of the good will then become evil (this is also known as chaos theory). So there is no such thing as a "good" society.

During this research, I have read selected works by Stephen Hawkins (very hard to read this guy), Carl Sagan, the Founding Fathers, and watched many documentaries about a host of topics. This research has proven one thing to me; we cannot give up our search for God just yet. The scientific discoveries of the past ten years are fascinating and deserve recognition.

I find it hard to believe most fundamentalists disregard the most brilliant minds of our generation because they uncover something which contradicts old traditions. I thought humanity was supposed to constantly be learning new things and adapting these new discoveries to life. Even animals use their intelligence and discovery to influence their behavior, but some people within our species do not practice good intellectual behavior. In their narrow minds, tradition is more important than truth.

This research has also been the root to uncovering many other false beliefs I had about government. I have also uncovered many negative traits within our society which our leadership has ignored. Even worse, I found most of the leaders of our nation to be corrupt and working on their own agenda instead of what is right for all of us.

There are many inaccuracies in the Bible but I am not a fundamentalist, so I can still give merit while accepting these inaccuracies. For example, do I believe the universe was created in seven days? No way and I find it hard to believe there are people who still do. But this does not tarnish Jesus’ image for me. I don’t cut the entire tree down because of a bad branch. I cut the bad branch and likewise will just disregard this bad text as an oversight by ignorant men.

I am not sure if the tomb of Jesus reportedly found by the Discovery Channel documentary is the actual tomb of Jesus but I believe it is possible. I believe just admitting this I have taken an incredible leap forward to possibly finding God. It is possible man created Christianity (he certainly had motive for this deception), so that means the true God might still be waiting for us to discover Him; at least this possibility exists. I cannot bury my head in the sand and ignore science, my intelligence, or other people’s intelligence just because these new ideas clash with unproven theories or writings of men over 2,000 years ago.

When I read the Old Testament, I see men of power struggling to control other people and using fear as a weapon to gain control. It’s obvious. So I struggle with my own intelligence telling me this versus my conservative upbringing. Every day I give less validity to the roots of my upbringing because those are not based on fact but on tradition. I am searching for the truth even though it might break many paradigms within my life. It is very difficult to start with a clean slate but this is what I must do in order to obtain my goal of ultimate truth.

I am not sure where this will lead me but I am willing to take the journey and follow the road in which the evidence leads regardless of the conflicts with old traditions. When I finally reach my destination, I’ll let you know, but until then, enjoy the ride.

Fast Food Nation

2007-03-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

I finally watched this movie last night but I cannot give a complete review on it because I fell asleep about 30 minutes in, but woke up just in time for the grand finale in the slaughter house. I fell asleep because it was not too good of a movie. It was not a documentary like Super Size Me but a drama which centered on a particular fast food restaurant and how damaging their business practices are to society. From the gathering of slave labor in Mexico to the eventual slaughter of thousands of animals, and everything in between; it was disturbing.

Here is where I am a hypocrite (everybody has one thing, right?) I hate the slaughtering of animals but yet I am addicted to meat. I love to barbeque over the open fire; steak is my favorite meal. I have seen what happens in a slaughter house and it truly disturbs me yet I cannot end my addiction to meat. Every once in a while I will eat only a salad if I’m not too hungry or have an upset stomach, but I am not truly satisfied until I eat meat. I have tried many times to change this behavior but I cannot do it.

First of all, you cannot humanely kill anything unless it is willing to die or suffering with little hope for survival. The two words ”humane” and “kill” are opposites and cannot be used together. Like "wet" and "dry" or "cold" and "hot"; you can’t be wet and dry at the same time. The only time “humane” and “kill” could ever belong together is, like I stated above, if the killing is being done to prevent suffering. I'm not a hypocrite about this either; if I was suffering with little or no hope of survival I would welcome death.

Unlike most people, I am not scared of death, just the pain and suffering which would come before it. Death to me is like the big sleep. Now, finally, I can get some much needed rest.

I do not understand how somebody can work in a slaughter house. I could not work in an environment in which I am surrounded with death and suffering. It would take a toll on me. I guess the horrifying thing would be if you just accepted it, or even worse, if you pulled the trigger but it didn’t bother you. Like a serial killer. I guess we need people like this in our world after all.

The West is the only society in the world which hunts on a full stomach. If I was starving then maybe I could kill an animal and eat it. I am lucky I have never been so hungry as to have thoughts of killing for food.

Maybe it is just that in my mind, life is so precious, such a beautiful thing that every creature should have the right to live without the fear of being murdered. The only time you should lose this right is if you are a predator who kills innocent people/creatures for pleasure. Then I have no mercy for you at all.

On a positive note, we are planning our vacation for the spring. It will be Virginia this year. We will be flying into Norfolk on 4/13 for another adventure. Nightly photos will be posted if I am lucky enough to stay in a hotel with Internet access. From relaxing on the beach to visiting historic locations, Virginia seems to have a variety of things to do. Also, I am trying to find some haunted locations for us to explore.

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

2007-03-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

I have been a Netflix customer for almost two years now. For the most part I am very happy with them but every once in a while I notice it takes them longer than usual to deliver the next movie to me. I am one of those people who turn movies over very fast. Well one of my friends found an article about Netflix explaining how they intentionally hold back the next movie for people like me.

It’s obvious they hold movies back because it shouldn’t take 5 days to get a movie from the city I live in. Also they will intentionally send a movie from a distant city when the movie is in stock locally. I know this because it took me 5 days to receive a movie from Seattle. When it arrived damaged I reported it the same day and received another copy the next day from a St. Louis location. Well why didn’t they just send the movie from St. Louis in the first place?

If you haven’t noticed, I have a personality disorder in which I hunger for efficiency. So I decided to find another movie service to compare with Netflix to find the best one available.

Well I couldn’t resist the temptation to join Blockbuster and compare the two services. The first advantage for Blockbuster is you can take your finished movies to the nearest Blockbuster outlet and exchange them for movies within the store (even new releases) so you are never without a movie. I did this last night and it is a very sweet deal. I got three new releases for the movies I sent back.

Movie selection is important to me but both seem to have movies the other does not have but they all have the newest movie releases, so this area is a tie. Availability is another key issue; do they have enough copies of new releases so there are no long waits? So far Netflix is winning this battle as every movie in my Netflix queue is in stock but several within the Blockbuster queue are in a “very long wait” status. But I will not count a movie as “late” until its time is up and I am waiting. Right now the “very long wait” movies are far down the queue. The final test will be speed. Both queues have 50 movies in them, so the first to delivery all of them will be the winner.

I’ll keep you posted on the results but if you are looking for a good movie service, both are very good. The upper hand right now goes to Blockbuster because I can get movies in the local stores while I am waiting for the next movie to be delivered. Also I doubt many of you want to see that Coney Island documentary, so the selection and the availability of harder to find titles will be something only a few will even consider.