Many of you already know that I participated in the 48 Hours Film Project this year... the movie has finally made its way to You Tube... for good or for bad.
Meanwhile the Houston Press Club's Gridiron Show is only 12 weeks away, and it will be your chance to see my live on stage!
In Space News
The space enthusiast (space cadet) community is trying to utilize You Tube to bring attention to their cause. While 77,000 people watched this video during the CNN/YouTube debates, space has yet to be a factor in the presidential election. If you would like a chance to answer the question that the presidential candidates tend to avoid... and possibly win $2000 while you do it, check out www.spacecontest.org.
So far I haven't found any entry's posted on YouTube and there are few high viewed space related videos. The only video with over 2,000,000 views relates to the possibility of life on Mars:
What is Alan Doing Right Now?
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tusken Raiders On Mars Get More Views
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Don't Worry... You Didn't Miss Anything
To my adoring fans, I am sorry that I have not been blogging more regularly, it's just been a busy past few days... that translates to "I've been lazy lately." On a personal note, the Communist Party at my new place went well and many people have since told me how much fun they had. I am looking for a place to host a pirate party since my new place is probably a little too small. If anyone wants to volunteer their pad for International Talk Like A Pirate Day, do let me know! Perhaps the people from Caroline Collective will want to host it?
So what did you miss last week? Not much... in fact I'll cover all the highlights in less than 10 minutes. Just keep on keeping on with your reading on this post! Oh... be sure not to look at your stock portfolio as I am sure that it's still down but be aware that tomatoes are still making people sick!
And if you were worried, the U.S. public education system still sucks... I blame it on federal intervention and the fact that teaching has gone from a noble profession to overpaid babysitters. Who cares if a student can name all the presidents of the United States in order... they will forget by the time they are 18 anyways. Instead lets focus on life skills... such as "how credit cards hurt your credit" or "how not to get pregnant and ruin your life."
In International News
North Korea has taken a symbolic but perhaps minor step to show its commitment to stop making plutonium for atomic bombs. The 20 meter cooling tower at the main reactor complex is a nice gesture in response to the concessions made my the United States, but is one of the simplest pieces to rebuild. North Korea also released a declaration of its plutonium enrichment... but it does not include information on its uranium enrichment or proliferation efforts. Some experts believe North Korea has enough weapons-grade plutonium for 10 nuclear bombs, the United States says, "We'll have to study it very carefully and then we'll have to work on verification," translated: "We have no idea whats going on here, but we will continue to hold talks and do nothing." In the meantime, especially with rising energy needs, more states are considering the nuclear option, which puts them on track for an easy conversion to nuclear weapons. If North Korea fails to disarm... South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are only a stones throw away from being able
to convert their nuclear power to nuclear weapons program. If Iran produces a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and others may make the push to develop them as well. Many countries may follow Brazil's example, positioning themselves as compliant with the Nonproliferation Treaty's ban on bombs, but equipping themselves with the power technology - enrichment centrifuges - that enable them "to move rapidly to weaponization if and when needed."
In Space News
Will NASA find live on Mars? We already talked about how water ice was found on Mars (scroll to Space News), but does water mean life, especially with the surface radiation taken into account? One astrobiologist says "Phoenix could easily be sitting a meter or two about pay dirt," but it's a shame that it can't drill that deep. The next two Mars missions including NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, an SUV-sized rover set to launch in 2009, and the European ExoMars rover that would wield a drill capable of digging 6.5 feet down set to launch in 2013 might lead to more answers. Perhaps we will find a new form of fossil fuel that both shows there was life on mars and provides solutions to our energy issues? In the meantime astronauts will be playing with an explosive bolt in space... gee, that sounds like a good idea.
Technology In Our Lives
Do you get annoyed when you can't find a website because they use .net, .gov, or .edu rather than .com? What about the tricky ones using .cc or some country code? Well now that Internet's key oversight agency (ICANN) relaxed the rules to permit the introduction of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new Internet domain names. New names may be location or industry based, and will lead to helping site promote easy to remember names. Of course, these new suffixes will merely force companies and organizations to spend more money registering names such as "microsoft.houston" simply so others can't and many legal battles are possible over common but trademarked names like ".apple." I'm hoping for simplification of the web with the use of descriptors such as .bar or .parody.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Say Hello To My Little Friend
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that D.C.'s 32-year gun ban violates the Second Amendment, and that Americans have the right to own guns for self-defense and hunting. But Gun owners should not get too excited about this as gun control advocates are already hard at work to make life tough on gun owners, in spite of the Constitution. This decision actually gives gun control advocates more wiggle room and under the of compliance with the Supreme Court, they may actually toughen gun laws. David M. Bresnahan points out, "the decision made clear that there can be restrictions placed on how guns are obtained, where guns can be carried, who can have them, and so on." He also encourages gun owners to be more active in politics if they want to keep their rights. Heck, the D.C. Attorney General has assured the police department than there will be a period of arguments before the injunction comes to force the city to end the ban, and that after that they will have a new gun control policy in place. He said, "we will start dealing with regulations on the questions of how do you register a legal handgun... it will have to be of a certain type to be registered, and it cannot be a semi automatic or automatic." Great, so until November only the criminals and police will have guns, and after November citizens will be poorly armed in comparison to criminals... reminds me of the Soviet - Afghan war before the U.S. Congress got involved?
But not to worry... because here locally, we are working on more solutions to the crime problem reminiscent to the days of the Old West. Citizens in Texas want to be able to strap on a handgun and wear it - anytime, anyplace. The co-founder of www.OpenCarry.org says that traditionally "the concealed-carry part was what was looked at with disdain." So far over 3,500 have signed a petition for open-carry, and many see that open carry would be a better deterrent than concealed-carry, which according to some experts "has swept the country in past decades and been a great benefit to law-abiding citizens to be able to protect themselves in an uncertain world." Of course not everyone is for it with one local law enforcement officials saying, "I really think it would cause a lot of uneasiness in the community, with people seeing so many guns... It could create more problems than it would solve." Do you think open carry will make the world a safer place? It works for the U.S. military...
Monday, June 23, 2008
Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, Tits.
Goodbye George Carlin, we will miss you!
Most of us knew who George Carlin was dues to his "Seven Dirty Words" routine that were cental to the 1978 Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, which affirmed the government's right to regulate indecent material on public airwaves. Too bad he died before we saw an end to this unjust ability of the government to suppress our freedom of speech.
In International News
Mugabe will remain in charge of Zimbabwe as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is giving up rather than see the current regime kill more people. Tsvangirai said, "Conditions as of today do not permit the holding of a credible poll. Given the totality of these circumstances, we believe a credible election is impossible. We can't ask the people to cast their vote on June 27 when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election." It should be remembered that Tsvangirai won the March 29 vote but not by an absolute majority, and the runoff has been overshadowed by violence and intimidation, which human rights groups say have led to the death of 85 people and thousands have been displaced from their homes. While Mugabe was lauded early in his rule for campaigning for racial reconciliation, he has recently been accused of ruining the economy and holding onto power through fraud and intimidation. The United States responded by saying that violence is bad.
Fighting has broken out in Lebanon again between the pro- and anti-government factions. With over 80 dead and 200 wounded, one would think that Lebanon would get its act together. Back in May Lebanon's Western-backed parliament majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition agreed to form a national unity government and halt the spiraling political crisis that had escalated into violence and pushed Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war. Obviously this deal is working about as well as peace agreements between Israel and Palestinians.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy thinks he knows a thing or two about the Middle East... but he does not. Sarkozy told the legislature that, "There cannot be peace without an immediate and complete halt to settlement. There cannot be peace without recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of two states and the guarantee of free access to the holy places for all religions." How odd, as I do not remember France agreeing to share Paris with the Germans during World War II as a way of finding peace. But not to worry, France "is determined to pursue, with its partners, a policy of progressively tougher sanctions" against Iran. Meaning that France will continue to stand by and do nothing as Iran develops nuclear weapons. Rumor has it that Sarkozy's maternal Greek Jewish grandfather was seen rolling over in his grave.
In the meantime, Bolivia continues to fall apart. Tarija has become the fourth Bolivian state to declare autonomy from the government of leftist President Evo Morales. Governor Mario Cossio said to a crowd of supporters, "A new Bolivia must be built on a foundation of autonomy. Centralism has left a bad legacy _ we are the second-poorest country on the continent. Autonomy is the new path." Tarija is home to 85 percent of Bolivia's natural gas reserves, the nation's main export. and along with fellow energy-rich state of Santa Cruz want more local control over their gas revenues. Other eastern states are seeking autonomy to protect their farms and ranches from Morales' proposed land reform. Amazingly there are no reports of fighting as seen in Zimbabwe or Lebanon despite that Morales has called the successions votes illegal. Perhaps Sarkozy can weigh in on this issue as well?
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Getting Louder with Steven Crowder: Totally Rad 80's!
Sure there were yuppies on coke, women's jeans made their posteriors look like pancakes, the hair was terrible and you were lucky if your car made it past 80,000 miles... But the 80's (and for the purposes of this text, the early 90's) may possibly, have been the best decade ever.
I am aware that, with this being a political blog, I should probably write up a lengthy praise paper about Regan. Though he of course DID add to the awesomeness of the 80's, along with the “Reagan Revolution”, that is neither here nor there.
I'd rather talk about Saturday morning cartoons. Remember those? Yeah, those little moving pictures, filled with action, heroes, talking animals and seizure inducing colors.... Or maybe you don't?
The reason for this, is that Saturday morning cartoons were MURDERED in the mid 90's. All of a sudden, regulations arose, pushing educational programming, political correctness and a whole slew of other childhood-snuffing garbage.
We went from "Battlebeasts, GI Joes, Transformers, Ghostbusters and Ninja Turtles" to things like "Blues Clues, or Dora the Explorer." You'll find that the most violent, mainstream cartoon nowadays, focuses on an elaborate card came (yes, I'm talking about Yu-Gi-Oh).
The commercials during those old cartoons were even better! Accurate-to-scale replica squirt guns! Guns that shot dissapearing ink! Nerf Swords! None of us really needed a "Madball". But we all had one or wanted one. Who can forget “Creepy Crawlers”? The commercial, convinced kids that we could create disgusting, lifelike bugs in our “easy-bake oven of horrors”, and told us to go put them on our parent’s beds! How awesome is that?!
Cartoons and commercials were flashy, dramatic and violent… Just the way a child likes them. Nowadays they have to be responsible, tame and “safe”. We are raising a generation of sissies. As a kid, I would rather have walked around looking like “Massive Head-wound Harry” than be caught dead wearing a helmet… Nowadays, kids don’t even question it… Because it’s the “sensible” thing to do. Isn’t that ridiculous? Who ever heard of a child being SENSIBLE?!
I’m going on the record saying that kids should be COMPLETELY insensible! They should climb trees, get their arms broken, skateboard in ditches, eat “fun dip” and wear high tops… Not obey helmet laws, traffic laws and play where their parents can see them, in an environment that is fun and safe for all.
Let me walk you through a day of my summer vacation as a child.
- Wake up. Eat Frosted Flakes
- Watch TV
- Go to Public Pool
- Proceed to run around pool
- Make way to diving board
- Jump up and down several times at the tip, of said diving board
- Perform Summersault, followed by belly-flop off of diving board
- Repeat
- Notice cute lifeguard
- Perform Cannonball, in the general direction, of aforementioned lifeguard
- Repeat
- After receiving three “warnings”, I’d be kicked out of pool for the day
- Bike home (without a helmet, or shoes.)
- At some point my feet would slip off the pedals due to lack of traction
- Rack my balls on my bike’s crossbar
- Continue home at a more gingerly pace
- Eat Ball Park Frank hot dogs
- Play the Super NES until my eyes hurt
- Go to sleep
Nowadays that list would look more like this.
- Wake up
- Eat healthy, balanced breakfast
- Read
- Watch educational programming
- Play Sudoku
- Engage in forms sissy-like behaviour, and other such faggotry
- End day
How lame is that?! Bottomline, Boys need more “Biker Mice from Mars”, and less “Pokemon.” They need more “Doctor Dreadful” and less “Healthy choice Happy Meals”. They need more “Double Dragon” and less “Brain Age”.
Kids need to be able to be kids! We’ve all seen what happens when a boy doesn’t have a proper childhood (Michael Jackson anyone?), so let’s let kids have theirs.
“The Childhood” needs to make a comeback… Who wants to help lead the revolution?
*Getting Louder with Steven Crowder is a weekly segment on Steinberg For Congress (When he remembers to post that is!)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Oil, Oil, Everywhere, But Not A Drop To Drink
Then again, you probably don't want to drink it anyways! So are we running out of oil? No Is oil getting more expensive to produce? A Little. Is demand on Oil up? Very Much So. Is the price going up due to speculation? Of Course. So should we drastically change our way of life here in the United States? Naw... cause then we wouldn't have anything to complain about!
Congress is looking to play in the oil market, including legislation that would curtail financial institutions trading in oil contracts... ie. speculation. But would this solve any problems or just create new ones? Executives from the financial groups have testified before congress on how the trades allow international markets to operate efficiently and that the increases in prices are due to actual imbalances in supply and demand. Of course there is no political value in agreeing with this argument, and one democratic senator said, "We have known since 2001 that there were problems here, but we've run up against people on Wall Street who don't want to be helpful in policing the market." The real question here is if we should really be "policing the market" in the first place? Of course the industry was quick to respond, "Increasing regulation on what we do will not lower energy prices."
In hopes of expanding the available oil, President Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the United States needs to increase its energy production. Of course those opposed to the idea were quick to point out that oil companies already have 68 million acres offshore waters under lease that are not being developed. But what is the harm to renting out more land to oil companies... that just means more money for the federal treasury. We should be open to many ideas, like nuclear... but this act won't hurt either. I find myself in agreement with White House spokesman Tony Fratto who stated, "Anyone out there saying that something can be done overnight, or in a matter of months, to deal with high gasoline prices is trying to fool people. There is no tool in the toolbox out there that will lower gas prices overnight, or in weeks, or probably not even in months."
Speaking of fuel... Boeing successfully protested the refueling tanker contract that the Air Force gave to Northrop Grumman and its European partner. Many have protested that the $35 billion dollars would be going to a foreign company when Boeing's proposal was just as good if not better. This tanker deal has been on the table for many years and there was a lot of pressure to just get it done. The Air Force Assistant Secreatry Payton said, the service will select the "best value tanker for our nation's defense, while being good stewards of the taxpayer dollar." So this is yet another black eye for the already tainted Air Force. Expect this to cost the taxpayer in the end... and I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the contract would support 44,000 new and existing jobs with more than 300 U.S. suppliers.
In Space News
A new computer model suggests that there maybe a Planet X beyond the orbit of Pluto. Of course, much like pluto, the object would actually be a plutoid. "The interesting thing for me is the suggestion of the kinds of very interesting objects that may yet await discovery in the outer solar system... We are still scratching the edges of that region of the solar system, and I expect many surprises await us with the future deeper surveys." Perhaps we will even find a planet full of oil... or some other fuel source we can harvest!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Getting In the Way of Progress
Here in Texas, McCain should easily carry the vote... well, if the Republican Party would step off and let the nature run its course. Instead, the party is helping turn people toward Obama! The Harris County Party sent out an e-mail telling people there was a talk by McCain open to the public at 2:30, while in fact it was at 4:00. I'm sure people loved waiting around for 2+ hours for the speech! Then to make matters worse, the Republican Party of Texas has started a bumper sticker campaign... with Obama's face on the stickers. "You see, we need to spread the word across our state about Barack Obama and his liberal schemes... So here is your chance to help us devise our official Republican Party of Texas 2008 campaign bumper sticker." Whats next, the national party going to pass out blunts with "Vote Nader" written on them?
In International News
Is the European Union dying? While many EU foreign ministers insist the EU reform treaty was still alive despite Ireland's "No" vote, they conceded they had no quick solutions to rescue it. The only solution so far came from Germany who's foreign minister, who said "There are thoughts about whether the Danish model of 1992 might be a model," referring to wide-ranging opt-outs granted to Denmark that enabled the Danes to endorse the Maastricht Treaty after an initial referendum thumbs-down. If this continues, the EU will be full of loopholes as countries opt out different parts of treaties designed to unify rather than divide.
Southern China has seen weeks of rain leading to horrible flooding which displaced over 1,250,000 people so far. The floods have led to tens of thousands of collapsed homes, 2,120,000 million acres and counting of damaged crops, caused an estimated $1.5 billion in economic losses, and the deaths of 57 people. This region flooded much worse in 2005 according to one resident who added, "The government ignored us then and it's ignoring us now."
China is not the only country having problems with flooding. The United States has seen over $1.5 billion in damages in mid-west flooding, which will lead to high food costs! Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who noted that three weeks of storms had left nine rivers in the state at or above record water levels, and had closed or washed out hundreds of roads, highways and bridges, said "Very few people could anticipate or prepare for that type of event. … We're dealing with something that's historic in proportion." Additionally, the flooding is becoming an increasing threat to corn, wheat and other crops, and the flooding has led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to plan on closing a 200-mile stretch of the Mississippi — the nation's primary trade waterway — to agriculture and cargo ships which will only lead in even high food prices for you the consumer.
Technology In Our Lives
If Al Gore gets recognize for making a movie on global warming, what will Honda get for solving the problem? The FXC Clarity is a new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car that is in production as of today! An actress who is slated to get one this year, but not ever expect to win an Oscar said, "It's like a future machine, but it's not." Honda will lease out a "few dozen" this year and 200 more within a year with a price tag of $600 US a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage. Check out the pictures... which looks more like a future machine to you?
Your Government at Work
One thing in the economy that is not yet broken is the alcohol business. Beer, Wine and Liquor prices have stayed relatively consisted during the recent economic downturn in the United States, but now government is trying to get in the way of free market, which is never good. Missouri Senator McCaskill and Governor Matt Blunt are both trying to block the sale of Anheuser-Busch Cos. to Belgian brewer InBev. Blunt's baseless argument is about the formation of a monopoly... obviously forgetting about how many other brewers and distributors there are out there! But McCaskill has even less of an argument as she said, "This is not a company that's not successful. This is not a company that's in stress. This is a company that's been profitable year in and year out and has provided good middle-class jobs in America. It feels like to too many people in our country right now that these are the kinds of jobs that are going away." So rather than internationalizing the brand, likely leading to more jobs... you want to stop the sale? Gee, that makes sense.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Halt Immigration To Lower Census Costs!
"Does immigration strengthen or threaten the United States?"
That was this year's question at the Great American Think-Off, a national philosophy competition that allows "ordinary people the chance to debate some of life's perplexing questions."
The winner was Craig Allen who argued that the system of immigration and immigration policy is broken. He says it encourages an influx of illegal immigrants and poses a threat to the country, and you can read his entire essay as a comment below. Also included is the 2nd place essay by Deana Cavaliere who argued that immigrants of diverse cultures have created a mix of ideas that makes America an innovative and wealthy country.
What Do You Think?In International News
Perhaps its time to rethink the whole UK-USA Agreement? Now that a second batch of secret government files was found on a train. Documents included ones which detail efforts to tackle terrorism financing, the drugs trade and money-laundering. These international incidents are compounded by other British government security breaches, including the theft of an unencrypted computer carrying information on 600,000 prospective military recruits and tax officials lossing computer discs containing information — including bank records — for 25 million people. FYI, thats almost half the people in the country! What next, leave the launch codes for nuclear missiles on a British Airways flight?
Speaking of nuclear weapons, it would seem that the international smuggling ring led by A.Q. Khan, which infamously sold atomic bomb parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea also managed to acquire blueprints for advanced nuclear weapon technology, ie. ballistic missile warheads. Discovered on a Swiss businessman's computer, experts believe "these advanced nuclear weapons designs may have long ago been sold off to some of the most treacherous regimes in the world." Well gee... isn't that just peachy.
Perhaps they will be used to overthrow a country? President Mugabe of Zimbabwe would probably not mind using them against his own people. After stating that "We shall never, never accept anything that smells of a delivered parcel of what they call the Movement for Democratic Change ... that is not going to happen. We are prepared to fight for it," 12 members of the party, including the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai who was nearly elected president and is currently engaged in a runoff election, were arrested.
Your Government at Work
In order to ensue that criminals are not sent to your door during the 2010 census, $350 million will be spent to fingerprint and background check the 500,000 temporary workers. The excuse for such spending, "We have a prime responsibility to ensure the safety of the American people." In 2000, four census workers were accused of crimes, and none were convicted. In fact, far more crimes were committed against census workers. Total cost for the 2010 census is expected to hit $15 billion. Why is no one in the press asking why it is expected to cost 3 times more to count people than it did 10 years ago???
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Ode to Father's Day
To all dads, stepdads, half-dads, grandpas, uncles, non-related “uncles”, expectant dads, dad-wannabes, and anyone else who proudly assumes the mantle...
Once more we'll receive our necktie or soap-on-a-rope that we can add to our carefully stashed collection of same. Hey, roses die, anyways, and diamond rings are sissy, so we make out better than Mother’s Day. We’ll sit back and watch some television and endure the commercials that depict us as incompetent boobs incapable of handling a child without asking, “Where’s your mother?” (A boycott-worthy instance, in my world.) The crudely hand-drawn cards we’ll cherish and hoard like a winning lottery ticket – which, judging from the riches our children bring into our lives, is the same thing.
Today, we’ll close our eyes and think back to that first day... that first diaper... that first slammed door... that first date... that first trip to the emergency room... that first handing over of our car keys... that first giggle... the times we kissed boo-boo fingers that got caught in a door... the different voices for the books we read aloud time and time and time again... the first time we heard the pure love in the voice that said to us, “Daaaa-deeeee.
Then we’ll look to the future. Car accidents. Career paths. High school proms. Having “The Talk”. Having “The Talk” thrown back in your face. Training bras. Boyfriends and girlfriends, and not necessarily of the opposite gender. GPAs. “I hate you!!”’s. The late night phone calls pleading for you to come provide taxi service because the date turned out to be horrible. Waiting up for the late night phone call that hasn’t come yet because your child is getting revenge for not getting a cell phone like “everyone else.” Bear hugs through the tears. Schools. Colleges. Being suckered into giving a different answer than Mom and then taking the heat for it because you admire the kids’ ingenuity. 18th birthday. Graduation. Letting go and realizing your next official function as father is to give your daughter away to some schmuck who’s marrying her, and you’re paying for the honor. Or being the father of the groom and for the first time ever fully appreciate the term “fifth wheel”.And through it all, as we close our eyes and reflect on times past and dream of things to come, we’re there. We’re THERE, standing right alongside, in spirit and body. And one day, we know, our child will be there on national television, having done some amazing thing that saves the world. And we’ll be watching them oh-so proudly, as they turn to the cameras, smile dazzlingly, wave brightly, and proudly call out with all their love:
“Hi, Mom!”
Happy Father’s Day to you all, my brothers.
By: Sean K. Thompson
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Texas GOP Convention Report - Day 1
This week is the Republican Party of Texas State Convention... ie, a time for all the Republicans in the state to get together and ... um... yeah, I'm not really sure why other than to elect national delegates which could be just as easily done on line and at a much lower cost... but I digress.
Just for disclosure, I should mention that I'm more Republican than anything else, have run as a Republican candidate in the past, but people have still suggested that I am a Democrat plant. Think what you will... but read on!
The highlight of day 1... the Ron Paul Ice Cream Social. Now, most "good" Republicans, those who agree with the majority of the ever increasing platform, would not dare be seen at this event. And that right there is the problem with the Republican Party! The energy and passion in the room during Ron Paul's speech to announce he was getting out of the race was incomparable to any other political event I've been to. The dedication of those waiting 30 minutes plus before the event just to get a position close to the stage, the excitement of the hundred or so people who waited until after the event just for a 2 second handshake with the man, all that is now lost. Paul stated, "I am deeply moved and honored by your hard work and sacrifice on behalf of our cause... it is time now to take the energy this campaign has awakened and channel it into long-term effects to take back our country." But no was there to channel this into the Republican Party.
Where was the Chairman of the Texas party to say say "Ron, you had a good run, and you have been a strong congressman for the Republican Party serving a diverse area that should by all right be held by a Democrat." Or John McCain to say, "Ron, you have done an amazing job are rallying the next generation of Republicans who hold to our founding principles of small government and fiscal conservancy." James Pethokoukis, a political blogger for U.S. News and World Report knows where I am going with this, as he recent wrote an article about how John McCain's campaign knows it can't afford to have many disgruntled Ron Paul supporters.
Well, they were not there... in fact, short of a county chairman from some small TX country I've never heard of, there was almost no one there to represent the party or more importantly to give the passionate crowd someone to get behind for the November election. At this rate... with this attitude... I don't see how the party will continue to survive. Ron Paul is not "America's Last Hope" but he may be the Republican's Last Hope at holding on to the basics of the party and reaching out to the younger voters who care more about their money and taxes and less about trivial issues of semantics; such as if "God" should be in the pledge.
Due to our two party system, our choices are quickly becoming very similar financially thanks to ever increasing pork, and split on social issues... something that the federal government should even be dealing with in the first place!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Its the Economy, Stupid!
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is talking about raising interest rates and talking about inflation rather than recession. In fact he played down the high unemployment and says the danger of the economy crashing and burning are coming to an end. Thanks to the Fed’s interest rate cutting I’m now making less money and the stimulus check just led to me getting a new TV… but did it really change anything? Thanks to the presidential elections spending has been very high this year, so what’s an extra few million going to do? One economist says, “Rising interest rates now would be the kind of policy the Federal Reserve pursued in 1929… Is that the kind of signal a central banker and student of the Great Depression wants to send to fragile markets?” What is interesting to see is that no one can say why raising the rate would be bad other than because it was bad in 1929… but in that circumstance stocks were at all time lows, not all time highs. Times like this make me wonder if the Fed really has any idea what they are doing? What happened to the whole “Free Market” thing anyways?
Speaking of Presidential spending… Clinton is stuck with the largest presidential campaign debt in history. Not counting the $11.4 million she lent her campaign, which by all rights she should loose, she still owes $9.5 million to venders! Romney spent over $44 million, but it was clear from the beginning that he was just financing the thing himself. Giuliani meanwhile had only about $3 million in vender debt. Some people are actually stupid enough to keep giving her money to help pay down her debt, but it might come to Obama to step up and help her. Interestingly, Clinton’s biggest bill is nearly $5 million to the firm of pollster and senior strategist. This could go one of two ways 1) The bill just goes away as the intent was just to give to the campaign anyways or 2) It is an excuse to raise money to pay off the debt so a close buddy gets a big pay day. Either way I don’t like it!
But there is an even better way to get the economy back on track… Gay marriage! Seriously…gay marriage could give a big boost to the economy, and is suspected to do just so in California. Weddings means hotel bookings, restaurants, florists, and related services all getting lots of business. The Mayor of West Hollywood sees it, "The good news for California is that in the face of probably the worst budget problems the state has ever faced, the LGBT wedding industry is going to be a financial shot in the arm." A study issued this week by UCLA's Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation and the Law projected that gay men and lesbians will spend $684 million on cakes, photographers and other services over the next three years unless voters reverse the high court's ruling in the fall. In addition, gay weddings will generate $64 million in tax revenue for the state, $9 million in marriage-license fees for counties, and some 2,200 jobs. Even Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who twice vetoed bills that would have legalized gay marriage but has supported the court's decision sees the value, “I hope that California's economy is booming because everyone is going to come here and get married." If this doesn't help stop the religious right push for federal laws banning same sex unions, nothing will.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sex, Smoking, and Saudi Arabia?
16,500 condoms were delivered to McMurdo research station in Antarctica but there are less than 125 people stationed there during the winter months. Perhaps they are studying the mating habits of people in extreme cold and solitude? The manager of the station says, "Since everybody knows everyone, it becomes a little bit uncomfortable." So obviously they all just have lots of sex with each other to make it more comfortable! Makes total sense to me now. Even a science museum wants to know how often people in Antarctica have sex!
A French study of 35-55 year old smokers concluded, "Smoking in middle age is associated with memory deficit and decline in reasoning abilities." The study also found that smoking was associated with mental decline in middle age, as it is with dementia and a host of physical ills
later in life. The conclusions come from the statistic that smokers were twice as likely to have the lowest scores of the tests. Perhaps its just that stupid people smoke more? In addition it was found that people who had quit smoking were more likely to also start drinking less or eating healthier. Ah yes, once you realize that you might not die of lung cancer, there are many other things you must start worrying about dying from!
Ironically, tobacco is "smoking hot." Tobacco for years was government regulated and subsidized... but now that the government is out of the business, this is the most profitable time in a number of years to be a tobacco farmer. One economics professor said, “We’re seeing that an agricultural sector can prosper and function well without those government mechanisms.” Gee... I told you so! The profit for an acre of corn is about $100 as compared to $1,000 to $1,500 for tobacco... yet another reason to stop with all this corn based ethanol bullshit.
Perhaps someone has finally had their arm twisted... or has just smoked too much... but either way, Saudi Arabia has decided to call for a summit between oil producing countries and consumer states to discuss soaring energy prices. The Information Minister stated that the kingdom will work with OPEC to "guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the future." With oil prices at all time highs he stated, "There is no justification for the current rise in prices." Well that counter acts what the U.S. Energy Secretary just said... but I like the Saudi way of thinking better... at least on this topic. Check out the graph to the right about Saudi oil production and come to your own conclusions.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Pork: It's What Your Government Is Cooking Up
Pork... the other white meat.
Pork... a food Jews don't eat.
Pork... what it takes to buy a congressional seat.
Everyone is sick of the practice of decorating legislation with billions of dollars in pet projects and federal contracts, but more than 11,000 earmarks worth about $15 billion in total made its way into congressional legislation this year. Millions of dollars go to lobbying firms that help companies, universities, local governments and others secure funds from the federal
government... who in turn reward their benefactors with campaign contributions. One lobbyist said, "I know a bunch of members that if you go in to see them, somewhere in the conversation they somehow say, 'Well, we were looking through our list of campaign contributors and didn't happen to see you there.' Is there a quid pro quo? No, not directly, but you'd have to be pretty dense not to figure it out." Defenders of earmarks note that the Founding Fathers explicitly gave Congress control over spending. And earmarks make up less than 2 percent of the annual spending bills passed each year. What do you think?
Your Government at Work
So the top two U.S. Air Force officials have been given the ax... politically of course. Defense Secretary Gates announced at a Pentagon news conference that he had accepted the resignations of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne. The shake up comes due to two embarrassing incidents in the past year. First, a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown across the country without anyone realizing nuclear weapons were aboard, and then four electrical fuses for ballistic missile warheads were mistakenly sent to Taiwan in the place of helicopter batteries. Lets also not forget the incident in April where the Pentagon inspector general found that a $50 million contract to promote the Thunderbirds aerial stunt team was tainted by improper influence and preferential treatment. But really, would you expect any less from those in political positions?
Well, how do you feel about the government helping to provide free broadband internet? The FCC is considering a vote on a proposal to auction an unused piece of 25 megahertz wireless spectrum, with the condition that the winning bidder offer free Internet access and filter out obscene content on part of those airwaves. While the plan addresses criticism from consumer advocates who for some reason think it is the governments job to get broadband into more U.S. households, it may also be praised from anti-obscenity groups. Does this smell like pork to anyone else in the room? But the real issues here... trading the first amendment for free internet... sounds like a plan?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Tomato, Tomatoe - Peace, Pieces
So we are officially down to a two man race for the presidency. Yeah, sure... there are the third party candidates, but as much as I despise it, they have little chance thanks to two party system we have here in the United States. Clinton is out and Obama is in for the Democratic Party and will join Republican nominee McCain as they continue to spend millions of dollars to convince you, the general public, that they will do less to screw up the country.
Other things currently screwing up our country include tomatoes. Who would have thought that the fruit-vegetable would cause 100+ people to get Salmonella food poisoning? McDonald's is taking a proactive approach and has stopped serving sliced tomatoes. I was surprised that McDonald's actually serves tomatoes as I had never had one in a burger I have ordered. The CDC says that traces of the illness have been seen in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and the FDA has issued a tomato warning to consumers in all 50 states.
And of course high oil prices are still quite annoying, but the U.S. Energy Secretary says: "Nations should fight rising oil prices by cutting subsidies and vastly increasing investment in energy, while oil-producing countries need to ramp up output and divulge more information about how much they produce." In other words, he says its a simple problem of supply and demand where production has stalled since 2005 at 85 million barrels a day while China and India have pushed demand higher. Analysts have also cited the decline of the U.S. dollar, fears about the long-term supply of oil, and aggressive speculation as factors in rising prices. "We have a situation where we have these high prices and the only solution is to diversify your resources, diversify your sources of fuel," he said, listing nuclear energy, natural gas and renewable sources such as wind and hydropower. I'm glad that he put forth the opinion that most 12 year olds already figured out... now if only he would DO something about it.
Meanwhile, it has been decided that the world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Just to put that into numbers we can all understand... that would be an investment more than three times the current size of the entire U.S. economy. The project leader said most of the $45 trillion forecast investment — about $27 trillion — would be borne by developing countries, which will be responsible for two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 who also believes "if industry is convinced there will be policy for serious, deep CO2 emission cuts, then these investments will be made by the private sector."
Mess In The Middle East
Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to start drafting sections of a proposed peace accord that address the main issues of their conflict. There will not necessarily be any agreement made on the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees or any final borders, but they will write down the problems... so thats a start I guess? However, the Israelis are not talking about it and the Palestinians have only said, "We agreed with the Israelis to begin writing the positions." Its good to see all the progress made over the last 50 years... oh wait... there really hasn't been any! While working on peace on one front, Israel is looking at a war on another. The Israeli Transportation Minister, and former defense chief, Mofaz stated, "If Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective. Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable." Of course a more official statement said, "All options must remain on the table. Israel believes strongly that while the UN sanctions are positive, much more needs to be done to pressure the regime in Tehran to cease its aggressive nuclear program." Interestingly Mofaz's remarks came as he and several other senior members of Olmert's Kadima Party prepare for a possible run for top office should a corruption scandal force the Israeli prime minister to step down.
Speaking of Iran. As Saudi King Abdullah is urging for a religious dialog between Muslims, Christians and Jews, a senior Iranian politician said the Islamic world should stand up to the U.S. and its "international arrogance." The conference brought thoughts of reconciliation between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims... together they could better take on the rest of the world, for good or for bad! King Abdullah said, "You have gathered today to tell the whole world that ... we are a voice of justice and values and humanity, that we are a voice of coexistence and a just and rational dialogue." Of course the Iranian official asked, "Why should this tremendous group (Muslims) be weak before the International Arrogance?" Once again, Iran's actions lead to screwing over the world rather than playing nice.
Space is Our Future
The Phoenix lander was unsuccessful at testing its first sample for signs of water or organic compounds that could be building blocks for life on Mars. One scientist said, "We think everything is working correctly, although we don't really know for sure." It could be that the dirt is too dense or compacted to make it past the screen, which is there to allow only small particles into the oven. Or, it could be that incorrect readings from the vibrator made it look like it was working when it was not. Or, it could be that the Martians are playing tricks on us. But don't worry... they will try again! In the meantime you can follow the Mars Lander on Twitter!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Video Games Academically Rocked My World
In my quest to ever better myself, I ran across MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), which is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content... accessible for free! So I took the liberty to peruse the course selections and decided to start with CMS.998 Videogame Theory and Analysis. Since the syllabus was loaded with links to papers ether in html or pdf I downloaded or bookmarked them all and started reading. Of course I skipped over all the ones that required me to buy a book... But the course has been amazingly fascinating.
The course makes the argument expected of how video games involve learning and can be used in the classroom, but the amount of depth in the research was surprising. We are not just talking about how Organ Trail teaches history or other games teach math, but rather the implications of simulation games like Sim City teaching city design and even restaurant simulation games. Its not just about the readings, which were much more academic than I thought possible on the topic, but where the readings led me on my search for more information on some of the topics that really expanded my mind.
One eventual destination was the corporate site of 42 Entertainment, a company that makes alternate reality games (think The Game) but these guys craft them mostly for marketing a forthcoming product. Some of the more famous games, that I had never heard of but hundreds of thousands of other people have, include I Love Bees, a marketing tool for Halo 2, one of the best selling video games of all time and Vanishing Point which was a promo for Microsoft Vista. Someone who was involved in making these games and now is looking to change the world through video games is Jane McGonigal. I would love to create an alternate reality game that relates to political issues or politics itself... but then again, perhaps politics is just a game?
In the meantime check out The Lost Ring, which is promoting the upcoming Olympic Games.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Dependence => Downfall of Western Civilization
It's not terrorism that will bring down Western Civilization it is dependence. Dependence on government to figure out problems for us.
The United Nations says that "the world needs to produce more food," but every day tons of food ends up in trash cans. Heck, today at lunch if you would have combined all the leftovers from our table alone you could make a meal out of it. It's a problem of distribution and waste... there is plenty of food out there but there are too many obstacles to get the food to those who need it. On a local level, a restaurant can not give away extra food at the end of the night to a homeless shelter because of the liability involved, groceries past the suggested "use by" date (but still healthy to eat) are trashed rather than donated to those who instead rely on food stamps and church hand outs, and the left over food on your plate ends up in your dog bowl at best and down the disposal at worst... and no one is going to stick it in Tupperware and mail it to Zimbabwe. So rather than listen to the United Nations point out a problem that has existed for generations, we need to remove government intervention... less export controls, reduction of subsidies, and less laws that only get in the way. Just think about how much money was spent on this 3 day conference that could have gone to pay for rice or grain for those starving?
Ironically, there are those living here in the United States who can afford to buy things but choose not to... instead they choose to Freecycle. What started as an effort to reduce the overall amounts of waste generated each year demonstrates how much is out there for the taking in these economically trying times. However, the United Nations wants to put more international restrictions and limitations on what is already a mess of federal regulations relating to alternative energy. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said, "I think that there is an urgent need to establish a greater degree of international consensus and agreed policy guidelines on bio-fuel production, which take full account of food security, income and energy needs at all levels of our countries." This basically translates to: "lets waste a bunch of time discussing rules and writing treaties that countries will not sign, or will sign but break later when its to their benefit."
People must take these problems into their own hands and find solutions before world government entities get involved. While the U.S. government can not get their act together on issues such as energy policy and climate change, the NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has already suggested that the alliance to get involved with these non security issues, an idea that is sure to cause more problems rather than lead to solutions.. Scheffer said, "Even 10 years from today, no other group of nations will cooperate more closely among each other... No other group of nations will have the institutional toolkit that is essential to facilitate such cooperation — and the best tool is NATO." Once again, buttressing the fact that the United Nations is pretty much useless in its present state.
But not to worry.... the economy can fall apart without government intervention as well! The airline industry is continuing to have problems due to the high oil prices, and most recently there have been announcements that airlines are reducing the number of flights and the number of routes they fly. On the upside this will put the airlines in a good position to modernize their fleets in the years to come! General Motors is also taking advantage of these turbulent times to close down some of its plants and get rid of some overpaid union workers! It would probably have been in GM's best interest economically to close down some of these plants years ago, but the public would not have taken too kindly to it... we all remember that Michael Moore got his start at the expense of GM's last plant closing!
With every cloud comes a silver lining... and necessity breeds invention. Without these high oil prices there would not be the push for alternative energy... then again, if the government had kept out of it years ago... there might not be high gas prices in the first place! Ron Paul laid this out a while back... ironically he could have said it yesterday... its pretty timeless.
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Blame Game
Ever notice how nothing is ever anyone's fault? It's easy to place blame on someone else and that seems to be the trend these days.
Who is to blame, the illegal immigrants just looking for work or the companies who are just looking for employees? The biggest immigration raid in U.S. history lead to hundreds of workers sentenced but no company officials in trouble, thus putting the illegals at blame. However, one congressman said, "Until we enforce our immigration laws equally against both employers and employees who break the law, we will continue to have a problem with immigration." But perhaps it is the government's fault for letting the people enter the country illegally? Or we can blame the Mexican government for running their country into the ground.
In International News
At a recent U.N. summit on the global food crisis, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe blamed the west for the problems... despite that his authoritarian rule has brought widespread hunger in his own country. The German representative said, "I find it very cynical that someone who has driven people in his country into hunger and the country into ruin dares to show up at such a conference." A handful of delegations including the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands refused to even talk to Mugabe. Perhaps because he accusing Western powers of maneuvering to bring about "regime change" in Zimbabwe, you know that election he's contesting. He also claimed that land reform, aka taking the land from the whites, was "warmly welcomed" and that the country has "elicited wrath from our former colonial masters." So it would appear that the food crisis is due to poor government leadership... Duh!
Everyone is pointing fingers regarding the Fulbright scholarships of seven Gaza Strip students whom were initially blocked by Israel from leaving the Hamas-ruled territory. The U.S. state department said, "On our side there was some decision-making that in retrospect we wouldn't have taken." An Israeli spokesman said, "Hamas exploits every opportunity to send terrorists and weapons across the border, including under the guise of humanitarian cases... Israel has a strong interest in the emergence of a moderate and educated Palestinian leadership." Israeli officials say U.S. diplomats didn't ask for special exemptions for the Fulbright students, while U.S. officials say Israel should have recognized immediately that these were a special case.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Deputy Chief Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian of China are also playing the blame game. While the two countries claim to want a more open and improved relationship they are finding quite a bit to fight about. In regards to China's intercontinental ballistic missiles Gates said, "I don't know what you use them for if it's not for offensive capabilities." Ma said, "China's defense expenditure is at a low level in contrast to some developed countries in the world... We are military threat to no other country." Ma did not mention the United States by name, but said there are concerns in Pacific about the expansion of missile defense that could create instability in the region. Tensions remain, however, leading to concerns the countries will build up their militaries in an effort to counteract and compete with each other.Technology In Our World
Print Newspapers have long blamed the internet, and to a lesser extent radio and television, for the lacking sales. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that by the time the news is printed its old. Well according to a report by the World Association of Newspapers, Global circulation is rising and circulation of paid newspapers rose 2.6 percent worldwide in 2007. It would appear that the real enemy has not been competition so much as illiteracy. The association's president said, "They say newspapers and print are dead. Well, I just don't see it." Then again, some editors see free dailies as their competition, and internet advertising is up... way up! Give it time and print may just die, but not today.
Your Government at Work
NASA is being blamed, by itself, for marginalizing studies on global warming over the last few years. NASA's inspector general office called it "inappropriate political interference" by political appointees in the press office. The report detailed more than a dozen other actions in which it said the NASA public affairs office unilaterally edited or downgraded press releases having to do with global warming or denied access to scientists. Of course NASA public affairs officials criticized by the report called it wrong, saying they were always open and truthful. Meanwhile, an author who wrote a book on NASA faulted the report's finding that NASA administrator Michael Griffin and the White House weren't involved in manipulation.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Ode to Neil Frank (and more)
As many of you already know, but I was too busy working on the following to blog about in a timely fashion, Neil Frank, the KHOU Houston - Ch 11 weatherman has retired. Here is the behind the scenes look at how Neil feels about this... to the song Umbrella by Rihanna.
Push play then sing along!
No clouds in the forecast
Let it shine, its all mine in the bank
Going up with oil prices
When the sun comes I’m set, like Cheveron
He knows more than just weather
Hurricanes aren’t better, You know me
Ready for the sun, prepped for the shinny day
Gene, Norman is here as the new Weatherman
Neil Frank is out of here!
You have my job
And we know I was robbed
I’ll be in hurricane guides
But you still took my place
Gene cause in the sun
You can start saying grace
And that’s when you will wish I was there
With you I’ll never share
Because
When the rain falls, you’ll get blame.
People think that you are lame
No one likes the weatherman
On the beach I’ma gona get a tan
Now that is hotter with no shade
Know that you have no aid
You can’t stand under my sunshade
You can’t stand under my sunshade
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de)
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de)
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de de de de de)
The weather screen, has gotten in between
Getting my car in gear, I’m out of here
When viewers have said their part
When the weather has dealt its cards
If the hand is hard, you’ll be off your guard
Because
When the rain falls, you’ll get blame.
People think that you are lame
No one likes the weatherman
On the beach I’ma gona get a tan
Now that is hotter with no shade
Know that you have no aid
You can’t stand under my sunshade
You can’t stand under my sunshade
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de)
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de)
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de de de de de)
You can go jump off a cliff
Its okay you won’t be missed
I Won’t help you
Watched the forecast that you blew so hard
So go on and let the sun shine
Screw it up, the job will be mine
Because
When the rain falls, you’ll get blame.
People think that you are lame
No one likes the weatherman
On the beach I’ma gona get a tan
Now that is hotter with no shade
Know that you have no aid
You can’t stand under my sunshade
You can’t stand under my sunshade
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de)
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de)
Under my sunshade
(ade ade de de de de de de de)
It’s a hurricane
Oh Gene it’s a hurricane
Gene, I Won’t help you
I Won’t help you
It’s a hurricane
Oh Gene, it’s a hurricane
In the meantime, enjoy the Obama / Clinton version of the same song...
Want me to address something?