Keep Reaching for the Stars

I missed Balloon Boy Day; apparently, it was the OJ White Bronco Chase Media Frenzy of 2009. Yay!

A Pup is Born

Come all ye Good Dogs, Faithful and Observant...

Redshirt Friday Collection

This Redshirt death brought to you by the day "Friday", and the weather forecast of "cold as hell".


Thought for the day: Throughout the history of humankind, there have been Redshirts, and there have been "Commanders". Most people are Redshirts, very few are Commanders.

What are you?


Note for future oppressors: The trick is to convince the Redshirts they're kinda Commanders.

More in Principaled Opposition

Ha ha. Remember at the beginning of the year, when the stock market was falling through the floor, how it was all Obama's fault? Don't remember? Here's some quotes:

Dear Mr. President,

Unfortunately, it’s true. The stock market doesn’t like you.

Only one month in and investors are giving up. Another 30% haircut would put the Dow at 5000.

And that level wouldn’t just put a crimp into your presidency. The ensuing collapse in savings and the U.S. pension system would destroy it.

Now, some advisers may tell you not to worry about the stock market. That it will take care of itself. But that’s wrong. Especially today.

At its core, the market is a measure of belief — the belief that investors can make money by buying a slice of America.

And a plummeting Dow means they really don’t believe in the country. Or in you.

- Evan Newmark, Wall Street Journal, 02/23/09

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So on Wednesday, the Dow drops about 486 points. It's down 346 points today. But of course, according to the drive-bys, these two events have nothing to do with each other. It's just a coincidence. The market's down today because of the jobless numbers. That's how the drive-bys see it. We have the largest market plunge after an election in history. Thank you, man-child Barack Obama.

- Rush Limbaugh, 11/6/08

++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"The president certainly remains popular, but his policies are becoming less and less popular," Boehner said, citing the continuing slide in the financial markets. "Certainly the stock market hasn't acted very well" since Obama's inauguration.

As the markets continue to falter, Republicans are becoming more confident in their criticisms of the president — some have already taken to using the phrase "the Obama economy."

John Boehner, 3/4/09

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dow 10,000 just isn't that big a deal, House Republican leader John Boehner said Wednesday morning. ... "At the end of the day, the American people aren't looking at the stock market in terms of putting food on the table," Boehner said. "They want jobs, and they want them now."

John Boehner, 10/14/09

So, got that? When the stock market is falling, the day after his election, or his inauguration, it's Obama's fault. When, a half a year later, the stock market is robust and picking up steam, it's not important, no big deal, must be the "Bush Recovery".


I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it: These Repuglicans are craven and shameless with no principles or convictions other than lying, stealing, and generally doing whatever they deem necessary to gain power or to obstruct those in power. All Americans - heck, all global citizens - of good conscience MUST do everything they can to oppose them.

To be clear: I am not a registered Democrat and will never be one. I am not cheering on the Democratic Party out of any tribal rooting interest. Rather, I STRONGLY feel the current incarnation of the Republican Party is an actual cancer on America and thus the rest of the world, and it must be removed. I will do everything I can to make this happen.


I do love Obama though, for reals.

gop.com

Ah, Repuglicans -- it seems there's little they can actually do right. Yesterday - a great day in political comedy on many fronts - featured the rollout of the new GOP website. It was a spectacular failure, across the board - from the laughable content, to the numerous technical issues, to the security issues (they posted admin passwords) to.... well, it's across the board.

And it reminded me, very succinctly, how terrible they've become at everything. Which makes sense since they have devalued intellect over faith and "proper thinking". And this led to a warm, comforting thought: It's just gonna get worse and worse and worse for them, until they fundamentally change.

Well, there's ZERO signs any fundamental change is on the way. So, strap yourselves in, sports fans, as the next 3 years are gonna be a laff-riot.

Thank You Anonymous, from The Internet

I did indeed ask, and now I have received. Thanks!


Note to those not yet hip to the FSM: The joke is very simple: Put in the Flying Spaghetti Monster anywhere God or Jesus or Allah or whatever other religious figure would appear normally. Then, consider the ridiculousness of it. That's the joke -- that all Gods are jokes, so why not have one made of spaghetti and meatballs? Makes as much sense as any other God.

Olympia

Strangely, and once again, Maine's two Senators wield enormous influence in the Senate, especially so in comparison to the number of people they represent. This happened back in the 90's with Sen. Mitchell and Cohen, but this time the influence comes from the apparent fact that Sen. Snowe and Collins are pretty much the only Republicans in the Senate who can be counted on to negotiate in good faith. And as such, they have influence.

Apparently, Sen. Snowe just voted to let some Baucus Bill go to the Senate floor. It's all arcane Senate Wizard rules in my opinion, and I have not been paying much attention to the health care debate, since:
1. Most facts in the news are lies.
2. Obama wants it. I trust he will make it happen.


So, I think this vote is good news, or it could all be a trap. Nonetheless, witness a giant snowoman!

2012 - open tab

Yeah, so they're making a movie about it, which of course will cause the 60% of the population yet to hear about 2012 to hear about it, and no doubt panic. So! Two things:

1. Yeah, I was warning you all about this back in the last Millennium - that's like a thousand years ago!

2. Time to open that folder named "Y2K" and update your investment portfolios. Hint: Look for Mormon companies.

Patiently Waiting for The Re-Cursening

Here's a secret from the depths of the Northern Woods: New Englanders LIKE being bitter, angry, and depressed. Losing is preferred to winning, since there is much more to grouse about in regards defeat. Winning is boring - what's next? What have you done for me lately? Whereas there can be eternities in losing - maybe next year!

Suffice it to say, New England fell under a spell from 2001-2007, where we won. We won all the time, at pretty much everything. Those days are over, and we will now return to our eras of perpetual heartbreak.

Interesting dynamic to the Bush Occupation....

Winner of the Day!

Still have the evening gabfest of Beck, Hannity, et al, but it will be tough to beat this quote from the leader of the Repuglican party:

"Our president is a worldwide joke. Folks, do you realize something has happened here that we all agree with the Taliban and Iran about and that is he doesn't deserve the award. Now that's hilarious, that I'm on the same side of something that the Taliban, and that we all are on the same side as the Taliban."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/limbaugh-on-obama-nobel-p_n_315661.html

Got it? Real American patriots - real muricans - are on the same side as the Taliban and Iran.

Incredible, eh? And yet, the MSM is playing along.

Hopefully, these incidents over the last couple of weeks will help open some people's eyes to the reality of the Repuglican party. They are not for America in any way, shape or form.

At last!

At last! It appears Democrats are finally finding the courage to speak the truth in regards the Repuglicans despicable tactics. Here's two quotes, from the incredibly awesome congresscritter from FL, Alan Greyson, and a just released statement from the DNC:

The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists -- the Taliban and Hamas this morning -- in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize," wrote DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse. "Republicans cheered when America failed to land the Olympics and now they are criticizing the President of the United States for receiving the Nobel Peace prize -- an award he did not seek but that is nonetheless an honor in which every American can take great pride -- unless of course you are the Republican Party. The 2009 version of the Republican Party has no boundaries, has no shame and has proved that they will put politics above patriotism at every turn. It's no wonder only 20 percent of Americans admit to being Republicans anymore - it's an embarrassing label to claim."

- DNC Statement

"Madame Speaker, I have words for Democrats and Republicans tonight."

"Let's start with the Democrats"

"We as a party have spent the last six months, the greatest minds in our party, dwelling on the question, the unbelievably consuming question of how to get Olympia Snowe to vote on health care reform. I want to remind us all that Olympia Snowe was not elected President last year. Olympia Snowe has no veto power in the Senate. Olympia Snowe represents a state with one half of one percent of America's population."

"What America wants is health care reform. America doesn't care if it gets 51 votes in the Senate or 60 votes in the Senate or 83 votes in the Senate, in fact America doesn't even care about that, it doesn't care about that at all. What America cares about is this; there are over 1 million Americans who go broke every single year trying to pay their health care bills. America cares a lot about that. America cares about the fact that there are 44,780 Americans who die every single year on account of not having health care, that's 122 every day. America sure cares a lot about that. America cares about the fact that if you have a pre-existing condition, even if you have health insurance, it's not covered. America cares about that a lot. America cares about the fact that you can get all the health care you need as long as you don't need any. America cares about that a lot. But America does not care about procedures, processes, personalities, America doesn't care about that at all."

"So we have to remember that as Democrats, we have to remember that what's at stake here is life and death, enormous amounts of money, and people are counting upon us to move ahead. America understands what's good for America. America cares about health care, America cares about jobs, America cares about education, about energy independance, America does not care about processes politicians or personalities or anything like that."

"And I have a few words for my Republican friends tonight as well. I guess I do have some Republican friends."

"Let me say this; last week I held up this report here and I pointed out that in America there are 44,789 Americans that die every year according to this Harvard report published in this peer reviewed journal because they have no health insurance. That's an extra 44,789 Americans who die who's lives could be saved, and their response was to ask me for an apology."

"To ask me for an apology?"

"That's right. To ask ME for an apology!"

"Well, I'm telling you this; I will not apologize. I will not apologize. I will not apologize for a simple reason; America doesn't care about your feelings. I violated no rules by pulling this report to America's attention, I think a lot of people didn't know about it beforehand. But America DOES care about health care in America."

"And if you're against it, then get out of the way. Just get out of the way. You can lead, you can follow or you can get out of the way. And I'm telling you now to get out of the way."
"American understands that there is one party in this country that is favor of health care reform and one party that is against it, and they know why."

"They understand that if Barack Obama were somehow able to cure hunger in the world the Republicans would blame him for overpopulation"

"They understand that if Barack Obama could somehow bring about world peace they would blame him for destroying the defense industry."

"In fact, they understand that if Barack Obama has a BLT sandwhich tommorrow for lunch, they will try to ban bacon."

"But that's not what America wants, America wants solutions to it's problems and that begins with health care, and that's what I'm speaking for tonight."

"I yield back the balance of my time"

- Alan Greyson (D-FL)

Except for the slight Maine bashing (don't blame Maine!), these words are stirring. They're entirely the truth, but somewhat shocking to hear.

Prediction: The Repugs will seize on the DNC statement to focus their latest hissy fit. You'll hear about demands for aplogies, blah blah.

Never forget it was just a brief time ago when to even sincerely question policy was enough to be branded a traitor. Some of these Repugs are outright making treasonous statements, but they don't see the problem. They must be broken, and Obama will do it.

Why I Love the Intertubes, Part 18

This is one of the aspects of the Webbytubes I love best: Someone, somewhere in the world, finds or makes something funny (in this case, the original Jesus with Constitution painting). Then, a bunch of people mock it and satirize it, with ever increasing skill and detail, until a few days later, whammo: You have Cthulhu givin' the Word. There will no doubt be more parodies to follow -- I'm waiting for the Flying Spaghetti Monster version, which I am 100% sure is coming.

This is but one example of the constant dialectic occurring on the Internet via blogs and discussion boards. It's a truly revolutionary form of communication for humanity, and kicks up our potential by several degrees. Kudos, Al Gore!

Another Clue We Are In Bizzaro World

This here gold is the Nobel Prize. Our great President Obama just won the Peace Prize, which is an incredible honor. I don't know if he was the best candidate or not, but since it's not good times for peace, he's probably the best choice, for no other reason than his mere presence as President has helped changed the world's direction towards peace, and away from the insanity of the Repuglicans.


But! Mark my words: Every Wingnut news source, blogger, propagandist, etc, will rail against this, rail against the Nobel committee, rail against Europeans, rail against Peace. It's a pretty clear sign of how fucked up and upside down these nutjobs are. But even more importantly, watch how the MSM picks up these nutjob critiques and make that the news. That's our problem right now: The Mainstream Media enthralled to a very small minority of crazy people. Unfortunately, these crazies are backed by real money, and by ruthless, evil people. I don't know how we will break out of this dilemma anytime soon.

Regardless, way to go Obama!

ATTENTION EARTHLINGS!

Earth's war on the Moon -- the eternal struggle to destroy that hated honkey orb in the sky - commences tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM EDT. Read about the brave Earth Warriors of NASA here. We will be smashing various objects into the Moon to "analyze" the debris, in search of water. Supposedly.

The Source of all Humour

I don't want to send anyone to this whackjob's website, but good golly is it hilarious. He's got alt-text descriptions for most of the characters in this painting, and they're right out of the Chick-Tract school of "YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL SINNER!!!!". Fun times with the End Times y'all!

Let's run this shit into the ground

H/T to the Wonkette. The worlds best political humor blog. One of their members, David Durrett, painted this yesterday in response to all the fun Jesus art floating about the intertubes lately. Bravo, David.

More in Creepy Christian Art

Yay! The Rapture!

It's totally cool if its Jesus crashing planes into buildings. He's got a good reason, of course.

Odd that so many "Christians" seem to get off on the concept that everyone they disagree with will spend an eternity getting tortured. Nothing says "Christian Spirit" like wishing eternal damnation on everyone not in your particular denomination.

Wait a sec. It's not odd at all. These people are nutjobs.

The Gold Man Spreadeth

But for reals, a convicted paint huffer. Who denied such huffing, even though he was caught gold handed with cans of gold spray paint. Takes all kinds old Grammama used to say!

I assume this your typical north Florida Repuglican as well, but correct me if I'm wrong.

Conservative Jesus does not like your unwashed ass

This is just so special in so many ways. Apparently some retarded Southern Bible Thumpers think the Bible is too Liberal, so they're gonna "Wingnut it up". You know, get rid of those uncomfortable parts about love, forgiveness, compassion, yadda yadda. But read up:

1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias

2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".
5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";[5] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html

There is so much idiocy here I don't want to even go into it. Suffice to say, these are the idiots who are poisoning our culture, and thus the world. It really is a battle of ignorance v. enlightenment, and I need not tell you what side the Wingnuts are on.

Great News.... for Sarah Palin!

Big celebrations in Wingnut Land today as Chicago did not win the bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Now, normally, one would think folks who label themselves as "uber-patriots" would not be cheering for the US to lose at something. BUT! We're in Wingnut times now, so as of 11/5/08, it's totally cool to hate America and root against it in every regard. Even treason is cool. Check out some of these fun quotes from our Repuglican Braintrust commenting on this great victory against America:

As a citizen of the world who believes that No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation, I'm glad that the Obama White House's jingoist rhetoric and attempt to pay back Chicago cronies at the expense of undermining our relationships with our allies failed," he wrote.

McCormack's fellow conservatives joined in the celebration.

"Chicago and Tokyo eliminated. No Obamalypics," Michelle Malkin tweeted, following up with, "Game over on Obamalympics. Next up, Obamacare."

"Please, please let me break this news to you. It's so sweet," said Glenn Beck on his radio show.

"Hahahahaha," wrote Red State's Erick Erickson. "So Obama's pimped us to every two bit thug and dictator in the world, made promises to half the Olympic committee, and they did not even kiss him. So much for improving America's standing in the world, Barry O."

The Drudge Report announced the news like so: "WORLD REJECTS OBAMA: CHICAGO OUT IN FIRST ROUND. THE EGO HAS LANDED."

"The worst day of Obama's presidency, folks. The ego has landed. The world has rejected Obama," echoed Rush Limbaugh.

"President Obama fails to get the Olympics while unemployment goes to 9.8% Iran continues nuclear program. America needs focused leadership," Newt Gingrich tweeted. Then he added, "Somehow charm and oratory dont seem to work in foreign affirs but historians have warned that foreign policy is different than campaigning." (sic)

Awesome times, eh? In less than a year, these nutjob talking heads have switched from an attitude of any criticism of the USA and its glorious Repuglican leadership is high treason, to celebrating anything that appears to go against Obama, and America. It's striking, the dissonance.

Klingon Homeland Security

"If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand."

Approaching the Wingularity

The Wingularity: The Wingnut Event Horizon where all logic and common sense fails, replaced entirely by their opposite. Since it is assumed the Wingularity contains a Singularity of Insanity, there is some question whether it can ever be reached, or it regresses to infinity. Regardless, we're getting ever closer. Witness these choice quotes from the last week:

Will the day come when patriotic general and flag officers sit down with the president, or with those who control him, and work out the national equivalent of a "family intervention," with some form of limited, shared responsibility?

Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars. Having bonded with his twin teleprompters, the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech-making.

Military intervention is what Obama's exponentially accelerating agenda for "fundamental change" toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama's radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.

Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don't shrug and say, "We can always worry about that later."

In the 2008 election, that was the wistful, self-indulgent, indifferent reliance on abnegation of personal responsibility that has sunk the nation into this morass.
- John L. Perry Newsmax column

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Obama’s first act as president of any consequence, in the middle of a financial meltdown, was to send taxpayers’ money overseas to pay for the killing of unborn children in other countries,” said Franks, a staunch anti-abortion activist who has been infuriated by President Barack Obama’s revisiting of Bush-era restrictions on the procedure.

“Now, I got to tell you, if a president will do that, there’s almost nothing that you should be surprised at after that. We shouldn’t be shocked that he does all these other insane things,” he added.

“A president that has lost his way that badly, that has no ability to see the image of God in these little fellow human beings, if he can’t do that right, then he has no place in any station of government, and we need to realize that he is an enemy of humanity.”

- Trent Franks (R- AZ) "Take Back America Conference"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If we had our guns, we would have fought a bloody battle. So, keep your guns, and buy more guns, and buy ammunition. [...] Take back America. Don’t let them take the country into Socialism. And I refer again, Hitler’s party was National Socialism. [...] And that’s what we are having here right now, which is bordering on Marxism.
- Kitty Werthman "Take Back America Conference"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Reasonable stuff, amirite? No, it's insane, and the insanity is growing. These Repuglicans are craven, and evil, and will do anything - anything - to "win", however they define winning (I assure you it does not contain the Public Good). Violence seems inevitable with this type of ever escalating rhetoric. I just pray the Obama's stay clear of it.

If you agree, it is your duty - DUTY - to fight this insanity in whatever way you can, that is, if you wish to see our country avoid a predictable doom into fascism. Ironic to note that these Wingnuts constantly referring to Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are using every one of their tricks in accusing Obama of the same (he is not, of course). Pure projection. And insanity.

For shame, Arizona

This is a solar water heater. There are two basic versions: This one, in which the water circulates through the glass tubes, absorbing the heat of the sun; or, not pictured, a photovoltaic version, which generates electricity from solar panels to heat the water (or, 3, a combination of each).

When I was in Greece, I was astounded, and happy, to see these devices on just about every rooftop, including commercial buildings (my hotel had one).

Conversely, I was surprised - negatively - to not see a single one of these anywhere in Arizona. Anecdotal, I know, but I traveled widely and was always on the lookout for them, and saw not a one. I saw very, very few solar panels as well, and mostly these were at UofA or ASU -- I only saw 3-5 houses with solar panels.

Which is just madness. Hot water consumes a big portion of everyone's electric bill - up to 30-40%. Arizona has on average 300 days of sun a year. Thus, roughly, if every house and business used a solar water heater, total electric load for the region would drop by 30% or so. A huge impact.

So, what the heck, Arizona?

The Visigoths are not just a Biker Gang

Burn burn burn, burn The Hot Topic.....

Gold Muscle Man

If you ever see Gold Muscle Man coming at you in a pique of 'roid rage, it would be useful to have a vial of Aqua Regia on hand.

Biosphere 2

Apologies, dear Readers, for my absence. I have been out in the deserts of Arizona, fulfilling various duties, both personal and familial. But none of that matters, as I have seen the future, and that future is BIOSPHERE! Toured the facility and absolutely loved it. Highly recommended if you are a nerd or a horticulturist. And to correct some common misconceptions: The original biosphere experiment, which involved completely sealing 8 people into the Biosphere for 2 years, was a complete success. They didn't live as well as they hoped, but they made it. Also, they had monkies, which caused problems.

They don't focus so much anymore on the whole "living off Earth" focus of the original charter (my main interest), and instead focus on climate issues. It's still a working science experiment (managed and run by the U of Arizona). If you're ever in Tucson/Phoenix, it's well worth the trip.

Fuck You Cake

Ooo! I want a piece from the mushroom cloud!

The Dark Lord's Bookshelf

Speaking of crazy crackers soon to die, this is a picture from inside Cheney's house. Don't ask me how I got it, and simply by posting it I risk incurring the Dark Lord's wrath. But so be it.

Feel free to form your own associations about what this means.

More Teabaggin'

Isn't that witty?

Regarding these nutjobs, there are two large demographic trends in the favor of rationality and common sense: 1. The mix of non-whites as an overall percentage of the American population will continue to go up, when in about 20 years it will be close to a 50-50 white/non-white mix. The growth in these numbers will be mainly in the Hispanic populations. If you've noted, the Repuglicans have done NOTHING to help themselves with Hispanics. Just the opposite actually.
2. These crazy crackers are, on average, old. Old people die, and with them, some of their beliefs. The generations that will replace these people will be far more enlightened and tolerant.

Thus, in the next twenty years, unless the Repugs find their sanity and reform themselves, America will find itself ever more Democractic. And good.

Smile!

Olan Mills never forgets

Greatest Obama pic to date

"Obi Wan never told you what happened to your Father...."

I love the man. He's a nerd, through and through - enjoys Star Trek, Star Wars, comics, but! He's well rounded, like me!

Also, if you don't like Obama, OUR PRESIDENT, I suggest you hate America, and move to Canada or some other Commie country. LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WINGNUTS!!!

Also, check out Michelle in the background. Funny! I love her too. Love the whole family in fact.

Wanted for a crime they did not commit

Instant funny: Just add "L'il" to the front of it.

Life's Less Pleasant Moments

Good Morning!




Did you feel it in your spine?

Deep Fried Butter Balls

Among the many treasures Southern Americans have contributed to our country -- such as institutional racism, ignorance, TV Evangelism, Snake Handling, country music, etc - one of the most important has to be the idea of deep-frying. In fact, deep-frying anything, and everything. Here we witness, from the Georgia State Fair, the tasty treat of deep fried butter balls. Mmmm!

There's a reason the South leads the nation in fitness and general overall health.

How Star Trek Voyager Saved the World

Or Seven of Nine, specifically. Seriously! What a wondrous world. In a nutshell: Lady wants to be an actress (Jeri), gets a variety of jobs, nothing special. Marries a handsome investment banker, has a kid. Finally gets her big break in acting, landing a role on Star Trek: Voyager. This required her to travel far more frequently from home, perhaps causing then Mr. Ryan to get.... antsy.

Anyways, Mr Ryan is now married to a TV sexy star, so he gets into parading her around, and then, trying to take her to sex clubs. Jeri is not down with that, even though Mr. Ryan tries several times. (Read here ). Mrs. Ryan has had enough, and files for, and is granted, divorce and custody. The records, however, are sealed.

Flash forward to 2004, and now Mr. Ryan is running for one of the vacant US Senate seats in Illinois, as a Repuglican. He wins the primary, he's on his way to face the Democrat, a young, clean, articulate man with a bright future, you might know him, Barack Obama.

The Chicago Tribune sues the state of California to release the divorce records, and after some back and forth, they do. And now the world, and specifically the voters of IL, know Mr. Ryan likes forcing his wife - against her wishes - into sex clubs, and getting her to perform. Obviously, controversy ensues, Mr. Ryan tries to fight it for awhile, but finally drops out of the race, after it was demanded by the state Repuglican party. This same party then appoints Alan Keyes (you know, cuz of his long-standing IL ties) to run as the Repuglican nominee, and he is resoundingly thrashed by one Barack Obama. The rest of the story you probably know.

So there you have it: How Seven of Nine saved planet earth. Crazy, eh?

Hairy Beach Dude for Jesus

He loves two things in this world: The beach, and Jesus.

Numbers are fun!

Numerology is loads of fun, cuz you can get numbers to mean anything you like.

12/21/12 y'all!

Tasteless 9/11 humour

I love 9/11 humour. I'm weird like that - I've got a pretty fatalistic look on life in general, being a Redshirt and all, so I tend to like gallows humour. However! I do not believe my enjoyment of 9/11 humour has anything to do with the death and the tragedy of that day, but rather the Repuglicans deification of it as a weapon of fear and control. The Bush Admin et al shamelessly milked this terrorist attack in so many ways - militarily, culturally, politically, across the board.

The Legions of Screeching Monkies shouted down anyone who would dare question the course of action the Repuglicans took us on - war, massive debt, crippling infrastructure, fractured diplomatic relations across the world. And now Obama has to fix it all, which he will.

But the spell of terror has been broken -- I remember watching a Family Guy a couple of years ago and they made a terrific 9/11 joke that had me in stitches. Once you can laugh at something, you no longer fear it. And there is NO reason we should fear a terrorist attack. Fear, after all, is the goal of terrorism - so why would you want to give in to it?

So laugh. Laugh at the absurdity that is our existence on this fragile rock. It's always funny when you think deeply about it.

Uluru

Uluru, November 2007


Travel protip: If you ever visit, for the love of Flying Spaghetti Monster buy and wear a bug net. There are legions of little flies that like nothing better than sneaking up your nostril or into your ear. They were maddening. Otherwise, awesome.

New in not so accurate signage

It's like, once, dude, this friend of my friend walked into a 7-11 and asked them why they had locks on the doors, man. Totally.

Never Forget

9/11 changed everything. Logic, truth, evidence, facts, all that kind of stuff is pre-9/11 thinking. Get with the times!

Once again, The Promised Land

Through the bright sunny (or rainy) days of Spring and Summer we have toiled and trekked, searching for the Promised Land far off in the distance, sometimes so far off that it's forgotten.

But lo! Tonight we cross into the Holy Land: Gambling season returns!


For snap predictions, the Patriots will go 13 - 3 this year, and win the SuperBowl by 30 points. Also, my fantasy team is stocked with Patriots. I am clearly objective.

How the Right Wing Noise Machine Works

There's only a few steps. Of course, this is a guideline, and as such the order can change, or steps can be skipped, but it usually goes like this:

1. Something happens!
2. Internet starts buzzing
3. Right Wing Talk Radio picks up this buzz and hones the point. The Limbaugh - Hannity - Beck trifecta is the king here, but there's so many other Wingnuts out there doing the same. There is almost no Left Wing talk radio, and here's where any comparisons to the two sides break down. The left owns the blogosphere for the most part, but the right rules Radio, and it is radio that is far more pernicious here.
4. Drudge or his ilk will stamp one of the contending hysterical theories with a headline on his site, and he may then work variations of this headline for days and days.
5. Mark Halperin or some tool from Politico or the like will pick up the Drudge lead, and then it will enter the regular corrupt media (newspapers and TV), in addition to the really big factor....
6. It hits Fox News and the various other media outlets of the Murdoch Propaganda Empire. If the topic is juicy enough, they will run it into the ground as long as they can, amping up the fear and hysteria as much as possible.

And there you have it. By this point, the AP and even your local news will have incorporated many of the opinions crafted above. Such that, for example, Obama speaking to schoolchildren becomes "Obama's controversial speech"....

I try to keep my tinfoil hat in check, but at this point, no one in the major media outlets (save MSNBC's Olberman and Maddow) will counter any of these hysterics to any degree -- why? Well, there's only a couple possible explanations: 1. They are in league with this noise machine. 2. Controversy = ratings, so it's in their interest to fan the flames. 3. The Corporate Overlords who own ALL media wish it. And finally, 4. The media is so set on a "both sides do it" narrative, that they will go to enormous lengths not to seem "biased" (by reporting the facts of course), so they will work very hard to make sure you know Democrats do all this bad stuff too, even if they don't.


The overall strategy to the noise machine is simple, in two parts: 1. Frame any discussion to their propaganda points, and 2. FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt.

Mind you, there is nothing in this which speaks to any kind of positive, constructive point, such as things that might be good for the country. Rather, like a sports team, the goal is simply to win (however you want to define winning), and everything else matters not.


The thing to watch as the hysteria continues to build (and it will, and it will lead to more domestic terrorism soon enough I'm sure) is: Will the regular media (i.e. not NEWSCORP) ever stop playing this game?

Signs point to "no".

Italian Spiderman

Meh. It was better than Italian Superman. Not as good as Italian Batman, however.

Ewok Holocaust

You ever wonder what happened to the giant Death Star that got blowed up over the forest moon of Endor? No? Well, fret not, cuz the internet figured it all out for you. The answer is: Ewok Holocaust.

Have a Very Busey Holiday!

Busey Labor is Best Labor

Our Nature

Hey man! You see a bone around here?!

Tree o' Life

There's a reason so many animals (like Mr. Squirrel below) look like us, or, we look like them - two eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet, spine, internal organs, blood, etc etc. In fact, we have way, way, way more in common with any living animal than we have differences. The reason for this is clear above -- most every large animal alive today is a close cousin, and the only really strange creatures are cellular or some kind of weird mold. But even they are closely related --since, as I've stated before, every single lifeform alive today is a miracle, as we are all the lucky winners of billions to one odds of existing. Yet, here we are. Hooray!

RIP Squirrel

Well, same old story as with the birds. I'm driving along, minding my own business, never meanin' no harm, and you ran out into the road directly in front of me, leaving me no time to turn out of the way. You passed under my right set of wheels, but I know you did not pass the left, as I heard the sickening crunch of your skull under my back tire. And then I saw you dead in the road as I drove off.

Sorry. Really. May you find many nuts in squirrel heaven.

And again, to my other animal readers: If you see a black Tacoma coming down the road, run. IT'S DEATH!!!

Physics Phun!

You all failed the pop quiz. Thus, Labor Day is canceled for you all, and I expect you to be in class on that Monday instead. No excuses.

Instead of another quiz, I offer the following explanation of two of Einstein's greatest theories: E=Mc2, and the concept of Space-Time. Down the road I will get into relativity -- including the "special" kind.

Anyways, E=Mc2 is actually a straightforward concept once it's spelled out. The formula means:
E = Energy. That is, wavelengths of different frequencies.
M = Mass. The weight of a thing.
c2 = the speed of light (in a vacuum) squared.

The two big things to take away from this are, 1: Energy is mass, mass is energy. They are one and the same. You can consider matter to simply be highly concentrated energy (there are many concepts that open up with this idea - String Theory, for example). Thus, we are energy. Everything is. And 2: Given the "c2" part of the formula, this means for any amount of matter, there is an enormous amount of energy contained within. This is the force behind nuclear explosions. A teaspoon of uranium can blow up a city.

Moving on to "Space-Time". Space-Time was Einstein's way of explaining gravity -- interesting to note! Newton never attempted to explain gravity (God did it was the answer); rather, he was just describing the effects of gravity (also, just to be clear, Newton's theories of gravity, while very useful to our everyday world, have largely proven to be inaccurate - for example, our GPS system would not work using Newtonian rules for gravity). Space-Time, to wit, is our reality: Everything around us is space-time. We live within it like a bug on top of a lake. And everything with mass bends space-time, to the degree of that mass. You and I, right now, are bending space-time with our presence. It's minor to be sure. The sun bends space-time to enormous amounts, enough to actually bend light. But that in turn is nothing compared to far larger stars, Quasars, or the mother of all bends in Space-Time, black holes.

The bending of space-time is gravity -- things fall down these bends. Earth is falling down the bend in space-time created by the sun; the moon is falling down the bend in space-time created by the earth; and so on.

You can easily picture yourself in Space-Time when you consider what you must do when giving directions. For example, say you want to meet a friend for lunch in a cafe on the 5th floor of a building in mid-town Manhatten. To give good directions, you must give 4 co-ordinate points in Space-Time: Latitude (50th St), Longitude (7th Ave), Altitude (5th floor), and most cogently for this discussion, time (1PM). Common sense, right? Well, that's Space-Time!


Oh, and Space-Time is just a theory. One of the effects of Quantum Theory is to put the concept of Space-Time in doubt, since it does not speak to interactions at the quatum (i.e. sub-atomic) level.