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Thursday, December 30, 2004

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Reggie White dead at 43.

The All Time leader in sacks in the NFL and overall great human being has passed away of a heart attack. I sat here watching interviews on ESPN and seeing these big tough linemen breaking down when they talk about how great of a person he was. He was one of the greatest in shaping the game and being a playmaker. He leaves behind a family, and thousands of fans who will miss him.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Administration Overhauls Rules for U.S. Forests

While I am all about a little more flexibility with how we approach conservation efforts, don't these rules just amount to opening the doors for government corruption at its worst? If a tree falls in a forest, but it's the last tree, will anyone notice?

The New York Times > Washington > Administration Overhauls Rules for U.S. Forests

Sunday, December 19, 2004

Fun stuff...

This site has some really addictive and time wasting games. Great for those long days working the weekend at a no end, low paying crap job...

http://popcap.com/

My fav is Bookworm (thank Chris!)

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Good Reading

A good friend of mine gave me McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories for Christmas this year. I have read the first three stories thus far and must say that I am really enjoying it. It has been a long, long time since I've read a collection of short stories, probably back in college. At any rate, the editor of this fine volume is one Michael Chabon, whose noted work said friend thought I had read. I haven't, yet, but he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay so I will have to give him a shot.

Oh, the first story in Enchanted Chamber is just freaking bizarre, but what else should one expect from Margaret Atwood, the fine writer of The Handmaid's Tale?

Moose strikes again

This guy is pure gold a lot of the time. Bull Moose spits the truth again.

http://www.bullmooseblog.com/2004/12/defense-less.html

Go on and check it out, and if you haven't read his site before, please do.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Google Search: hopkin green frog

I feel so "yesterday" now...

Google Search: hopkin green frog

Hopkin Green Frog

Good lord this is annoying. I swear, when I got to the end of it I thought I had found the end of the internet. If you want to spend 15-30 mindless minutes clicking images on the internet, this is for you. I can only imagine just how long it took to put it all together.

ps. i'll find my frog

Wolcott on Kerik

Sadly, it's been a few days since I've been able to read Wolcott's blog, but I was finally able to catch up today. This entryis a real zinger.

Wolcott's impressions of seeing Bernard Kerik in person sum up what I had thought all along--this guy was full of false self-importance (read:BS). Sure, I have respect for any person in a position of leadership who provided at least adequate direction in a time of crisis, but those legs can only carry one so far, right? As we all know now, Kerik's were quickly cut out from beneath him because of his arrogance and presumptuousness.

I have to agree with Wolcott's assertion that the Dems we see on TV are seriously lacking in the balls department, but I do have to wonder something: is it any coincidence that the "liberal" media gets such pieces of milquetoast on in the first place? Why should we assume for one second that cable news show producers would seek out guests as equally aggressive as their Republican counterparts? The viewers that CNN and Faux News seek to pander to so badly want to see an unfair fight to further substantiate that "they" have the moral and political authority in this country, so it only makes sense to me.

Of course, this isn't to say that the Democratic Party as a whole doesn't need to grow a pair. Life as a liberal in these times...

BBC NEWS | Americas | Missile defence shield test fails

BBC NEWS | Americas | Missile defence shield test fails Man, am I glad we're able to spend $10bn on something that currently doesn't (an will probably never) work. I am all for spending money on defense, but can we maybe work on projects that have a better chance of success? This just seems like so much money being randomly thrown at a problem.

Kristof: The Poison Puzzle

Nicholas Kristof has been traveling throughout Eastern Europe for the past several weeks. This is one of many columns devoted to digging beneath the surface that we see in our news. Good stuff. I can only hope that Putinocracy doesn't go too far.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The Poison Puzzle

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Why are we even concerned?!

What is it exactly that drives the American public to be so interested in so called "high profile" court cases? Scott Pertson, found guilty, and the jury says he deserves the death penalty. Ok... I'm failing to see where I need to be so updated on a more than daily basis. Why is this case so damn important?

Over 1000 dead Americans and we don't seem to give two squats. One murder trail of a sleazy individual and it's plastered on the front page of nearly every news site, and news paper available. Have we lost our priorities!?

I'm not trying to trivialize Laci and her unborn child's deaths. But when we need coverage of breaking news, important information, and updates on what's really happening.. Our media fails us. It covers the stories about the soldiers suing to not go back to Iraq under the BS stop-loss program.

Can any of you honestly say that knowing what Scott Peterson had for lunch that day is more important than us knowing the truth about how bad things could be in Bush's war with the Middle East? Can you? Look in the mirror and ask if knowing this man's fate is more important than finding out our troops aren't as protected as they should be.. Or if this case has been as important as knowing why minorities are still being treated unfairly at the polls. Our media once more covers the collective ass of this administration's and this government's follies. Let's hope one day for a more competent media that takes advantage of it's freedom instead of helping to curb the American people's freedom.

Huddled masses, put the remote down and step away from the TV.

Sunday, December 12, 2004

The 12 Days of Rummy

NY Times strikes again.. Mwuahahahaha!

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/opinion/12dowd.html?ex=1103839392&ei=1&en=a6d0ed44da1993c2

Check it out, and thanks to my ever vigilant mother for finding this one.

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Recruiting goals fall short.. Well, duh!

Well, looks like the Captains want out.. Do you blame them?

Check out: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002113845_officershortage09m.html

Thing that really caught my eye was:

"...Army Reserve is crafting a new policy to curb resignations. Under the policy, which has yet to be finalized, company-grade officers who have not yet been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan would generally not be allowed to resign unless they could demonstrate "extreme personal reasons," such as hardships posed by the death or disability of a spouse." (Seattle Times)

So, an officer who has not been deployed, but could have fulfilled his/her commitment would not be allowed out unless they have "extreme personal reasons". Well, how bout the urge not to die for the head monkey in the White House? Seems rather extreme to me, and the whole life threatening part is rather personal. Eh, guess that's the problem with going into the military, life threatening insurgents with RPGs aren't really considered personal or extreme.

Side note from the article: "So the Guard is now increasingly targeting civilians with no prior military service, including high-school seniors who also are already being wooed by the Marines and active-duty Army." It's bad enough they come to the high school and give the students the ASVAB, but now they're going to increase their targeting of high school seniors. They crawl through the lower income malls, stalk through low income neighborhoods promising steady pay, and haunt university campuses in hopes of sending more sheep to the meat grinder of Bushco.

Huddled masses, just say no to Bushco recruiters.

Good times, good times...

What a fun week it's been! Rummy comes off looking like a complete jackass after being grilled by a GI with a planted question. But, you know.. It's about time! Rummy has been getting away with too much, and never deserved a second term, even in Bushco.

The truth suffers when Rummy and Bushco speak. Not just the truth is being shattered.. Freedom of press is being crushed. The reported who asked the brave GI to grill Rummy stated it was his only way to get that question aired. The reporter, Edward Lee Pitts of Chattanooga Times Free Press, stated he planted the question because he knew he wouldn't be allowed to ask questions.

Rummy's brilliant response ""It's essentially a matter of physics, not a matter of money," Rumsfeld said. "It's a matter of production and the capability of doing it.

"As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." (CNN.com).

So Rummy calls our military men and women wussies. Hmmm... Way to be give them pride and moral in what their doing when a large part of the world is calling them and us war criminals. Bloody brilliant. Glad to know he's with Bushco, because it just makes life so much more fun for the 48% who voted against this kind of crap.

Bush retorted to the negative publicity with: "If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country, I would want to ask the secretary of defense the same question. And that is, 'Are we getting the best we can get us?' And they deserve the best," (CNN.com).

Well, Bush, crack up the production on some armor. The economy is sluggish, get the industrial business booming by giving them something to do. I'm sure there are plenty of companies who would love to get that job (could you perhaps look in the yellow pages instead of just asking Hali-Cheney-ton to do it?). Go on.. Try it out. You put us in a war time state, so how bout a war time economy? Put some of those out of work people back to work. Give our troops the protection they deserve and are asking for. Talking the talk is well and good.. But back it up with real actions to improve the safety of our American troops, not just line the pockets of your good ole boy network.

Huddled masses, do you have some bullet proof glass you'd like to donate to the cause?

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Smell This!

I never thought I'd see a scratch 'n sniff internet in my lifetime.

Something Awful: My Mother Is Insane

This is a truly terrifying thing to see. I have heard stories of extreme packrats, but had never before witnessed it. These pictures tell the tale of someone who has a mental illness. Can someone tell me what it is? Please? Scroll down the linked page to get to the actual meat of the post.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Wines That Travel Well

This may be a bit dry and may have an air of snobbery about it, but Jim Clarke eventually hits upon a far more important point of discussion: what do we do about the internet and sales taxes? This is definitely a topic I want to explore more fully in the future, particularly when internet-based sales are continuing to grow rapidly while Wal-Mart has less than stellar Black Friday numbers.

The New York Times > Business > What Corporate America Can't Build: A Sentence

This article, or rather the contents of it, caused me serious physical pain this morning. Sadly, I see this kind of poorly written communication on a daily basis from vendors I work with as well as from coworkers. Some of the emails are so hideous, I'm embarrassed to reply to them because I usually have to follow up with a phone call to make sure I understand the intent behind the email. What happened to the necessary art of the written word? Are people incapable of either composing sentences correctly the first time or proofreading them? I think I need to start my own consulting business to provide remedial and advanced training for written communication in the corporate world.

Monday, December 06, 2004

And a wee bit o' good news!

The fiance was just accepted into to IUPUI (Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis). So now we're Northern bound. I will now begin begging for jobs in a new job market. Oh the joy!

But, it will be good. Relatives up there, some good friends there, and many new oppurtunities. Now to enjoy the next 5 to 7 months here. Got a lotta enjoying of AR to do. There's a lot still to see in our nice little state.

Huddled masses.. Take the day off and wander randomly throughout our small speck of paradise on this earth (I'll be enjoying my days off come Saturday and Sunday).

Sunday, December 05, 2004

Ahh crap.. They still hate us?!

Yup, they sure do. Check out this pretty piece of an article from the Sunday Herald online.

http://www.sundayherald.com/46389

Damn! To think those words were written by Rumsfeld. No wonder the neocons go nuts when he talks. Now shouldn't we all thank Bush for keeping our favorite village idiot around? If it weren't for him slipping up and saying the truth, we'd all have to keep saying it ourselves. I guess Bush may be kicking himself about keeping Rumy now.

Huddled masses, enjoy the good laugh at GWB's expense while we can.

It is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.
– Theodore Roosevelt

You voted for him why, hunters/fishers?

From CNN.com: "The Bush administration Tuesday proposed large cuts in federally designated areas in the Northwest and California meant to aid the recovery of threatened or endangered salmon."

The "meant to aid the recovery" part is the kicker because... "Both proposals were strongly opposed by environmentalists, Indian tribes and a commercial fishing group, which said the Bush administration was abandoning any hopes of restoring salmon beyond bare survival."

Odd that the commercial fishing groups who would probably know a little more about the salmon population that GWB would go against this. Or perhaps Bush is simply bending to the will of another big corporation at the expense of our countries wildlife and wetlands.

Same article: "Large areas could be cut where state and federal habitat protections are already in place, such as national forests and places where the economic benefits of development outweigh the biological benefits of habitat.

After a lawsuit brought by the National Association of Home Builders, the federal agency agreed to reconsider critical habitat designations for 13 groups of threatened or endangered salmon in the Northwest, and seven in California.

The home builders association has been chafing under the costs of getting federal permits for development in wetlands."

So wait.. Let me get this right... Because the Home Builders sue over the costs to get permits to destroy wetlands Bush bends over, does a flip and agrees to destroy uncountable acres of land. Even our friends on the right can appreciate a good cooked salmon. Right? Or would you prefer we go ahead and wipe out this species of fish so we can have some water front property?

Remember, huddled masses, environment bad.. A house with a view good. And maybe then we can get rid of those cry baby dolphins.. Who needs them!? Or perhaps we should start strip mining in the Grand Canyon for gold. Who needs an environmental policy?

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

A repub. wants Annan to resign?

After news of the food-for-oil problem we've got a good old neocon going after the head of the UN. Grant there may be something to this.. But a Re-thug is the one calling for it?

Hello, Pot? This is Kettle.. You're black.

How can a republican in our current administration accuse someone of abusing a program of any kind? Someone, please give me an answer here?

Maybe Annan needs to be investigated, and then, if there is a link between him and this illegal act, we should consider legal action be taken against him and asking him to resign. Until we find proof he had a hand in either ignoring this issue or in promoting these activities, maybe we should back off. And just who the heck are we to be tossing around who should resign and expect the world to listen?!

If Annan resigned simply because some droopy-dog of a republican called for it during his half-assed face time on one of the NON-liberal media outlets then it would set a very dangerous precedent. If the leader of the UN is under the thumb of America then how will he/she represent the many nations of the world without bending to whatever might ONLY benefit America? Am I so wrong to believe not ever must bend to the will of America? If one should fall to the pressure from this attack poodle, then what about other leaders? It would only be a matter of time before they are accused of not agreeing with the will of Bushco and resignations demanded.

Not to mention.. Wouldn't it be hypocritical to expect Annan to resign when we demand it and not have Bush resign when someone from another country's political parties demands it?

Don't get me wrong, if there is a valid connection with proof (not WMD in Iraq proof), then we do need to take action. If not, then the attack poodles need to stop barking and go back to gnawing on the leg of America.

Huddled masses do not point a finger at someone when you believe they have done wrong, because you will find four other fingers pointing back at you.