UptownCentral

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T22:13:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone a Happy New Year. I would also like to announce the return of regular weekly posting as the past year has seen a drop in posts due to a busy life with school and work. Also I will be introducing more designs into the UptownCentral Store, announcements will be posted with those launches.

Just a reminder have a fun New Years and please refrain from drinking and driving.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

Twas the Night before Christmas Poem
by Clement Clarke Moore

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Let's Talk Christmas

2006-12-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

"Happy Holiday's" Who are we kidding with this crap? The political left feels that by saying "Happy Holiday's" no one will become offended since it is politically correct. Well, that is just a bunch on nonsense. The left in this country is trying to hide from reality like normal but I digress. American's aren't stupid they know that when you are talking about holiday's they mean Christmas.

The SeaTac airport incident is a perfect example of this, the Jewish Rabbi got mad since there was no showing of Jewish materials in this holiday display, well its a Christmas display and most Americans are not Jewish, now I can understand wanting to see both religions represented, that is fine but to make the airport take it done is insane. Most places will put on display Christmas stuff since that is what most people celebrate. On top of that you have nativity scenes that are missing the baby Jesus. What the heck is wrong with these people, we all know what is going on, put the baby in it. Its not like most people will forget what is being displayed and will become suddenly naive to the fact that the baby Jesus is suppose to be there.

As well Americans don't go to stores in droves to spend money for holiday's, they go because its Christmas and to call it something else is dumb. Malls extend their hours and call it "Holiday Extend Hours." But in the mall they have a Santa, which is a Christmas thing and then they also have a Christmas Tree another Christmas tradition. So why not call it what it is, Christmas Hours. Its not like people go to the stores since its a supposedly called Holiday season they go because of Christmas. I don't know of any average shopper that will say to another person "Happy Holiday's", so why not just say Merry Christmas, as that is what the shopper will say.

When ever someone says "Happy Holiday's" be sure to say Merry Christmas right back.

A New Low In Bush-Hatred

2006-09-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Jeff Jacoby writes how the liberal left has sunk to a new low of Bush hating. Its sad that people would make a movie about an assassination as if it has happen in a documentary form. This truly shows how the left is truly pathetic.

The Return Of Lethal Fascism

2006-09-11T09:37:00.001-07:00

An article by Bill O'Reilly on Townhall.com referencing how the Islamic fascists resemble Nazi Germany. Its a good short read.

The Media on Elections '06

2006-09-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

I've noticed as election season the biggest story on the news is "Can the Democrats regain control?". What kind of message is this sending to the American public? Not a very good one. It is sending the message that the only hope for America is that the Democrats gain control of the house and senate. There is no message on the news about how the Republicans can maintain control, it is all about how can the Democrats gain control. This is just another example of how the media is biased towards the liberal side of the isle.

I would love to see the media balance its reporting of the '06 elections but so far it is completely the opposite. When the only coverage on the news is talking about seats that are hotly contested that a democrat could deseat a Republican, they being the media tend to neglect all the seats that a Republican might be able to take from a Democrat. Why must the media always pick a side for a story why don't they do their job and be balanced. They cannot do that because they are so full of themselves. If they really wanted to be impartial good journalists they would run the same stories but talk about it as a seat is hotly contested and that it is anyone's games as to who wins, not what can the Democrats do to win. Should the news be balanced, the American public would be able to make informed decisions, but since the news is not really able to inform anyone, the few that know how to get informed to get informed, while the others become less informed, and they will vote too.

This is a call out to the news to stop your political partisan garbage and start reporting the news in a truly balanced format.

Why Liberals Are Crushing Dissent

2006-08-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

A great article on Townhall.com by Kevin McCullough that burns liberals for their hasty pursuit of crushing opposing view points, because they are so tolerant, ha, yeah right.

Multicultural Candy Bar

2006-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

I recently went to a 7-11 to feed the need for some candy. I purchased several Nestle products including the newly named Nestle Crunch White Blanco. This is the first candy bar I have ever seen with Spanish all over it. The nutrition facts, the ingredients, and all other materials are also in Spanish along with the English.

This discovery of a candy bar in Spanish infuriated me. Why does a candy bar sold in America need Spanish on it? I'll tell you why because most of the people that are immigrating into this country south of the border, move here and neglect to adapt to the American language, English. People that move here legally should have to pass an English proficiency test within a year of moving here, or be deported back to where ever they came from. Now that does sound very mean, but if you live here you should adapt to the culture.

Liberals in the United States that demand a "multicultural" America, making all people fell welcome and having materials in their language are crazy. How about if millions of Americans immigrated to Brazil for example, do you think the Brazilian's should adapt American culture and language as a part of their lives, no. Brazil would never do that nor would any other country do that. People that move to other countries are forced to adapt the cultures of the new nation. Why can American not do that, because all these crazy liberals are more concerned with the feeling of immigrants both legal and illegal than American culture. The majority of Americans speak English, why should the majority have to change just to make a few happy, it should be the other way around. I'm not proposing that English should be the only language it this country. I am just saying that people should be able to speak English, if they want to speak something else at home that's fine. But the English speaking majority should not have to change for a few.

So getting back to the candy bar. It should be in English period. English speaking Americans should take it as an insult to have products in another language.

Alaskan Oil

2006-08-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

With the news breaking of the shut down of an Alaskan oil pipeline crude oil prices surged today on fears on smaller supply as this piples accounts for a few percentage points of American supply of oil. The pipeline is being shutdown as a result of damage and a leak that happened. BP Global says that it will try to get the pipeline back online as soon as possible but it could take weeks for the pipeline to be brought back online. The Alaskan economy is already starting to feel the effects at day one due to lost oil revenues.

The tension on the market was further amplified by the crisis going on in the Middle East and the continuing instability there. If tensions in the region continue to worsen prices could rise even more. As they have in the past as a result of war there. Should those tensions come to life, gas prices will shoot up undoubtably. I don't think Americans will put up will prices going up more. As the average is no a little under $3, if they go up to $4, which could likely happen. With ever increasing tighting of supply, middle and lower income America will definatly alter there driving patterns and as a result of that spending in other markets will take a hit as well since consumers are buying less since they aren't going out as much.

Now all the doom and gloom aside, as a Republican, we must find a more stable and secure form of fuel. America cannot be subject to all these ups and downs in supply. And this Alaskan pipeline news only adds to the need to move forward more quickly as our economy could seriously be devistated by a severe crisis in oil supplies.

Only time will tell. Lets hope its a happy ending.

War in the Middle East

2006-08-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a post for the current war in the middle east because it is being so over talked on every news source available, but I finally got fed up with all the liberal media trash. I was watching CBS News (big mistake) and they were reporting on the war in the first few days of the mass American evacuation of Lebanon, and the found some crazy woman yelling "its all Israel's fault, why should we have to leave." Well my response to that statement is that it is not Israel's fault, Hezbollah is the one that committed the first act of war by entering Israel, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Israel's response should have been expected since it was an act of war. War was declared on Israel, Israel responded, how does that make it Israel's fault.

The Israel army is well equipped and basically every time it has entered a military engagement, it won. This time looks like its no different, Israel is practically has free rein over Lebanon. Hezbollah is only taking pot-shots at Israel hoping to hit something. Hezbollah wants to kill civilians in order to bring down Israel's will to fight. At least Israel is trying to hit military targets, but its hard to fight an urban war.

This war could lead to bad things such as war further erupting the region. Let's just hope that doesn't happen and it stays contained.

Happy 4th of July

2006-07-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Immigration

2006-05-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

With the increasing frequency of immigration protests immigration policy needs to be reformed and enforced better. This would be done by first securing the boarders. The US would be able to tighten its boarder by build a wall that no one could climb plus place a landmine field on the Mexican side. After that is completed post National Guard troops at the boarder with orders to fire on sight no questions asked. Then after the boarder is effectively secured start sending illegal aliens back to where they came from. This policy outlined here would bring order back to this nation on policies regarding illegal immigration. And to point out if someone does want to come to live in the US and they do in the legal fashion there is nothing wrong with that. The US is a nation of laws and if a person can not respect that they should not be living here.

The major reason I'm opposed to allowing illegal immigrants to stay in this nation is that they mess up our system of democracy. Illegals can vote, illegals can get a drivers license, illegals don't have to pay taxes, illegals get welfare benefits, illegals are a drain on the system, they don't give back to. Yes, they do work in our economy but since they don't pay taxes they don't help that much except for businesses to reduce costs.

Illegal immigration is bad and needs to be stopped.

News Brief: Governor Signs Abortion Ban

2006-03-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Today South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds has singed into affect a compressive ban on abortion going against many years of judicial philosophy. Many foes of abortion hope that the bill will move forward to the Supreme Court and with a more conservative bench change or overrule Roe v. Wade. Many pro-abortion groups are saying that the are upset with this and plan to fight it.

News Sources
Reuters - USA Today

D&D 4

2006-03-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Here is an improvement. Only a day late its The Layman's Guide to Debate and Debaters 4.0.

The Reasonabilis Laboreous

This even tempered creature feels a genuine responsibility toward its fellow creature. Following this impulse the Reasonabilis Laboreous will often attempt to inject reasoned discourse into an unruly debate and will take considerable pain to try and explain the intricacies of a subject. Unfortunately this tendency often makes its contributions laboreous and therefore it may be unheeded by the rest of the discussion. This type is largely grouped in middle latitudes, well away from the equator and the poles.

News Brief: Google's Got A New Product

2006-02-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

Google has just launched a new service called Google Page Creator. A very simple interface for web page creation. Demand was so high for the service sign-ups have been stopped due to the high demand.

News Sources
PC Magazine - PC Pro - Tech News World

Commentary
There Google goes again creating another product if they keep this up some more serious lawsuits could be coming.

Abortion Case Goes to The Supreme Court

2006-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Partial Birth Abortion Act, passed in 2003, is the matter at hand. The act bans the use of certain means of carrying out an abortion. The law has never taken affect because it was found unconstitutional by three federal appeals courts. A similar law was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court six years ago with a 5-4 ruling with Sandra Day O'Connor being the swing vote. With newly appointed Justice Alito sitting on the bench, and if Chief Justice Roberts votes like his predecessor it seems that the court may move in a more restrictive nature upon abortion. Planned Parenthood is outraged by this saying that the court should not hear the case, that it is an act of hostility towards woman.

News Sources
International Herald Tribune - New York Times - ABC News

Commentary
I think that this is good that the court is going to here a case on abortion since its been along time since the last one and the country has changed directions on the issue. And policy needs to be representative of the people's will. However, the court needs to derive its ruling from the Constitution and not be activist.

Layman's Guide

2006-02-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

Late but still coming its the third edition of The Layman's Guide to Debate and Debaters ! (now with an overly enthusiastic exclamation point!).

The Red Breasted Lark (Loudeous Outragious)

This boisterous and colorful creature is one of debate's most interesting specimens. The Red Breasted Lark tends to be a headstrong but deeply politically committed creature. When engaging the Red Breasted Lark it is important not to attach to much importance to its more wild remarks. At the same time it is equally important not to dismiss its ideas without consideration. As always (but in this case more importantly) it is best to treat the subject with a good sense of humor. The Red Breasted Lark can be found in limited numbers in most every climate.

Walmart Forced To Carry Pills

2006-02-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

Walmart is being forced by the Massachusetts pharmacy board to carry emergency contraception pills in its stores in the state. This is the second state to make this decision. The board has insisted that Walmart reconsider its product line in other states, and change it to include those pills. Woman's groups and pro-abortion groups say it is the woman's right to have it available to them. Walmart is saying that they will look into to the issue because they are concerned about woman's health.

News Sources
Business Week - Forbes - Reuters

Commentary
First off, Walmart is a private company the government does not need to go around telling a business what products it should carry, we aren't fascists here. Second if you want the damn pill go to a store that carries it, Walmart is not the only store chain there. So, in conclusion this is garbage legislation that does not need to be occurring. But also this is Massachusetts they should not instruct the company to consider its national policy, that is the federal governments power.

News Brief: Cheney Victim Update

2006-02-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

The victim of a hunting accident involving Dick Cheney has suffered a minor heart attack in relations to the wounds inflict by Cheney.

News Source
Xinhua - FOX News - CNN

For More Information Go Here

News Brief: Dick Cheney Shoots Man

2006-02-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man this weekend while on a quail hunting trip in Texas. Harry Whittington, 78, was the victim of a shotgun pellets but is "alert and doing fine." Cheney turned to shoot a bird but accidentally hit Whittington. Whittington is a lawyer from Texas.

New Sources
CBS News - ABC News - CNN

****See OLD Article for More Information****

The Strictus Postmodernist

2006-02-12T00:42:00.000-08:00

This is a little late, but here it is! The second installment of The Layman's Guide to Debate and Debaters. I'll try to make this a regular Wednesday feature.

The Strictus Postmodernist

This type stands at the opposite end of the field from the Ideologue. Although this fairly docile type will usually act as a willing listener in any discussion, its tendency to consider all matters of discussion purely an expression of each individuals truth render it an ultimately unsatisfying quarry. If the layman does wish to attempt a discussion with the Strict Postmodernist it is best to keep to a discussion of philosophy, in particular one should attempt to show this type that not all things are a matter of personal opinion. The Strict Postmodernist can most often be sighted in the halls of higher academia.

News Brief: Nerve Agent Scare

2006-02-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

Around 200 people including Senators were evacuated from an Senate office building after the security system detected traces of a nerve agent Wednesday. The building is right across the street from the Capitol Building. After being evacuated they were put under quarantine and were found to be safe.

News Sources
ABC News - CNN - The Boston Globe

News Brief: Superbowl Results

2006-02-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers win with 21-10 against the Seattle Seahawks.

News Source
MSNBC

News Brief: Egyptian Ship Sinks

2006-02-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

A passenger ferry carrying 1,300 passengers and 100 in crew. The ship was carrying 115 foreigners, including 99 Saudis. So far rescuers have 100 survivors and more than a 100 bodies. The cause is not yet known for sure but the weather at the time was rough and there were high winds.

News Sources
CNN - The New York Times - WZZM 13

News Brief: Patriot Act Extended

2006-02-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

The Partiot Act has been extended for another 5 weeks as congress works to renew the act. The vote of extension came down as 95-1. The act with contain new parts that will protect civil liberties. Some of the biggest blockers are saying that most of their concerns have been worked out and that renewal of the act seems likely.

News Sources
CNN - BBC News - Chicago Sun Times