Saturday, April 30, 2011
Unwinding "Hide the Decline"
Your Saturday Morning Cartoon
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday Night Python!
This About Sums It Up
Yawn
It appears that I am supposed to care that at this very moment, two extremely rich people noted for not much of anything other than being extremely rich and born into hereditary privilege, are getting married.
I have yet to talk to anyone even remotely interested, yet our media is tripping over itself to cover the event.
I have yet to talk to anyone even remotely interested, yet our media is tripping over itself to cover the event.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Relay For Life
An old colleague of mine from my college days is participating in The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life in memory of his long time partner, who died last year. If you would like to contribute, please click this link to help out a worthy cause and to support a pretty cool guy.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT!!!
It appears that the President was born in Hawaii!!!
As expected, actual government documents still do not constitute proof for the unhinged.
As expected, actual government documents still do not constitute proof for the unhinged.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
You Know You Are Getting Old...
When icons of your youth start showing up as clues in the New York Time's crossword puzzle.Labels: culture
Looks Like Its Going To Be A Good Year
I found five more morels today, and I wasn't even looking for them! With all the rain we've had, coupled with the fact that I've found over a dozen morels so far without even trying, I suspect that this is going to be a VERY good year for mushrooms. Now having typed that, I probably wont find another morel this year!Barak Obama: Moderate Republican?
Ezra Klein makes the case.
Perhaps this is just the logical endpoint of two years spent arguing over what Barack Obama is — or isn’t. Muslim. Socialist. Marxist. Anti-colonialist. Racial healer. We’ve obsessed over every answer except the right one: President Obama, if you look closely at his positions, is a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. And the Republican Party he’s facing has abandoned many of its best ideas in its effort to oppose him.
What were once Republican ideas are now "Marxist."
Perhaps this is just the logical endpoint of two years spent arguing over what Barack Obama is — or isn’t. Muslim. Socialist. Marxist. Anti-colonialist. Racial healer. We’ve obsessed over every answer except the right one: President Obama, if you look closely at his positions, is a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. And the Republican Party he’s facing has abandoned many of its best ideas in its effort to oppose him.
What were once Republican ideas are now "Marxist."
Monday, April 25, 2011
Morels!!!
Fraud??
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!
Today is the most important day of the year to Christians. Here's wishing all of you, regardless of your beliefs, a happy day.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Eight Years Ago....
Ahhh, ye olde wayback machine!
Hans Blix had five months to find weapons. He found nothing. We’ve had five weeks. Come back to me in five months. If we haven’t found any, we will have a credibility problem.
That, and over 3,500 dead U.S. soldiers.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Montana Is Crazy
Well, at least some of their elected officials are. Here's Representative Ken Peterson, who is some kind of lawyer:
According to Peterson, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, there are at least two prosecutable offenses—felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. One is the "recruitment" of non-gays. "Homosexuals can't go out into the heterosexual community and try to recruit people, or try to enlist them in homosexual acts," Peterson says. He provides an example: "'Here, young man, your hormones are raging. Let's go in this bedroom, and we'll engage in some homosexual acts. You'll find you like it.'" Peterson hasn't actually seen this happen, he says, because "I don't associate with that group of people at all... I've associated with mainstream people all my life."
The other offense, in Peterson's legal opinion, is the public display of homosexuality, since he believes the Supreme Court's decision only applies to private acts behind closed doors. Being gay in public, he says, is a wholly different matter:
"In my mind, if they were engaging in acts in public that could be construed as homosexual, it would violate that statute. It has to be more than affection. It has to be overt homosexual acts of some kind or another... If kissing goes to that extent, yes. If it's more than that, yes."
Recruitment? Do they have offices where people can sign up to "be teh gay?" I've known gay people for nearly all my life, and I've never known any of them to "recruit" anybody. I think that Mr. Peterson doth protest too much....it seems that those who are the most homophobic are also those who are deeply in the closet.
According to Peterson, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, there are at least two prosecutable offenses—felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. One is the "recruitment" of non-gays. "Homosexuals can't go out into the heterosexual community and try to recruit people, or try to enlist them in homosexual acts," Peterson says. He provides an example: "'Here, young man, your hormones are raging. Let's go in this bedroom, and we'll engage in some homosexual acts. You'll find you like it.'" Peterson hasn't actually seen this happen, he says, because "I don't associate with that group of people at all... I've associated with mainstream people all my life."
The other offense, in Peterson's legal opinion, is the public display of homosexuality, since he believes the Supreme Court's decision only applies to private acts behind closed doors. Being gay in public, he says, is a wholly different matter:
"In my mind, if they were engaging in acts in public that could be construed as homosexual, it would violate that statute. It has to be more than affection. It has to be overt homosexual acts of some kind or another... If kissing goes to that extent, yes. If it's more than that, yes."
Recruitment? Do they have offices where people can sign up to "be teh gay?" I've known gay people for nearly all my life, and I've never known any of them to "recruit" anybody. I think that Mr. Peterson doth protest too much....it seems that those who are the most homophobic are also those who are deeply in the closet.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Don't You DARE Call Them Racist!
Hey, its just a joke, right??? I'll give the goopers in the OC some credit though, they've denounced the e-mail sender. And yes, there is an ENORMOUS difference between depicting a white man as a chimp (as it carries no racist baggage) and depicting a black man as a chimp, which DOES have racist overtones.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Another Title For Bonds!
This one is "convicted criminal." Barry Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice Wednesday but a jury failed to reach a verdict on three other counts that the home run king lied to a grand jury when he denied knowingly using steroids and human growth hormone.
Frack Off?
Hmmmm.....it appears that the Avonworth Municiple Authority approved gas drilling in my local park. This, after a single driller issued what amounted to a "take-it-or-leave-it-you-have-one-day-to-decide ultimatum. Now as far as I'm concerned, the proper response to an ultimatum is "bite me." Personally, I don't think that drilling in a fairly small community park is a good idea, but it merits study. The land and the gas aren't going anywhere. If gas extraction can be done safely, without adverse effects on the park, the stream that runs through it, and the neighbors, it might be a good idea. If however, we wind up with a gas well in the middle of the outfield, a polluted creek, and declining property values, its probably not a wise use of a community resource. There are questions as well. Will the gas be stored on site, for truck pickup? Will a pipeline be constructed to take the gas to a collection site? How many wells are we talking about? What kind of royalties can the taxpayers expect? How will the governor's gas friendly policies impact the municipalties' efforts to get the best possible deal? Guess I'll be at my borough council meeting tonight, urging rejection of this plan until further study can be done. UPDATE: Well, went to the council meeting, said my piece, along with about a dozen other borough residents, and the council unanimously rejected the lease, effectively killing the proposal. I spend a lot of time on this blog ranting about national and state politics, but it really is at the local level where the individual can make a difference. I'm not trying to imply that my voice alone led council to its decision, but when a group of residents appears before their local elected officials and all are in agreement that something sounds like a bad idea, those officials have a greater tendency to listen.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
So we're springing to the call from the East and from the West, Shouting the battle cry of freedom! And we'll hurl the rebel crew from the land we love best, Shouting the battle cry of freedom! The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah! Down with the traitor, up with the star; While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
Friday, April 08, 2011
What Century Is This?
Its Mississippi, but still... Americans nationwide are evenly divided over the issue of same sex marriage. But Republicans in Mississippi are divided over a wholly different wedlock issue: interracial marriage. In a PPP poll released Thursday, a 46% plurality of registered Republican voters said they thought interracial marriage was not just wrong, but that it should be illegal. 40% said interracial marriage should be legal. For comparison sake, the poll should have asked Mississippi Democrats how they feel about interracial marriage, but that question wasn't asked.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Too Close To Call
Judicial elections, especially retention elections, are usually humdrum affairs, with the incumbent usually winning easily, even if opposed. Yesterday's race in Wisconsin is too close to call, with the challenger leading by just over 200 votes in the initial tally. Wonder why?
15 Day Atheism Challenge: Day 15
Recommend a book. Any book. Bored of the Rings by the Harvard Lampoon. (Henry Beard and Douglas C. Kenney) And that is that! Seems to me this could be interesting for theists to do as well. Just insert your religion where it says "atheist" and have at it. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed typing!
Labels: atheism
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
15 Day Atheist Challenge: Day 14
On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you with life at this moment? I'd give it an 8, one can always be happier, right? I have a wonderful wife, a lovely daughter, and a job that I love. I'm living in a friendly neighborhood in one of the nicest cities I know. Life is pretty good! Not sure how that relates to atheism, I know plenty of happy religious people too. Maybe it has something to do with a perception I've seen online from many theists that atheists are unhappy people because we don't believe in gods.
Monday, April 04, 2011
My Congressman Is A Coward
U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) today welcomed the Obama Administration's announcement that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other suspected terrorists accused of attacking America on 9/11 will be tried in military courts in Guantanamo Bay. Congressman Altmire has consistently advocated for military trials for these detainees due to national security concerns.
What a goddamn chicken. And that goes for the President too. There is no reason, NONE to not try these defendants in a civilian court. Little Timmy McVeigh was tried, convicted, sentenced, and executed by the civilian system, and he had a heck of a lot of domestic support through the white supremacist and Christian Identity movements. No one hid under the bed. But for some reason, the jihadist boogyman turns otherwise rational people into cowering imbeciles.
Bait And Switch
Republicans spent much of the last congressional campaign scaring seniors that the Democrats were going to institute billions of dollars in Medicare cuts. Now that they're in power in the House? Republicans are backing legislation to eliminate Medicare.
15 Day Atheist Challenge: Day 13
Would you ever date/marry someone who follows a religion? Yes. My wife is Presbyterian and goes to church most every Sunday. I did get "dumped" if you will, by a girl I briefly dated after college because of religion. She was a Pentecostal, and after a couple of dates, she asked me to go to chuch with her. I'm a curious fellow, so I agreed. After the service, which I found to be quite bizarre, she asked me what I thought of it. I was diplomatic, and said, "It was nice, but its not for me." She refused to talk to me after that. Perhaps she did like me, but I suspect all she really wanted to do was convert me, and when she saw that wasn't happening, decided to move on. Oh well.
Shades of Gray
Formatting
I don't know what's gotten into Blogger, but it seems I'm no longer able to put in paragraph breaks. In my opinion, this makes the site much harder to read. Perhaps another service is in my future? Any suggestions?
Shooting The Messenger
What happens when you go off the conservative script. Just a few weeks ago Anthony Watts, who runs a prominent climate denialist Web site, praised the Berkeley project and piously declared himself “prepared to accept whatever result they produce, even if it proves my premise wrong.” But never mind: once he knew that Professor Muller was going to present those preliminary results, Mr. Watts dismissed the hearing as “post normal science political theater.” And one of the regular contributors on his site dismissed Professor Muller as “a man driven by a very serious agenda.” Of course, it’s actually the climate deniers who have the agenda, and nobody who’s been following this discussion believed for a moment that they would accept a result confirming global warming. But it’s worth stepping back for a moment and thinking not just about the science here, but about the morality. For years now, large numbers of prominent scientists have been warning, with increasing urgency, that if we continue with business as usual, the results will be very bad, perhaps catastrophic. They could be wrong. But if you’re going to assert that they are in fact wrong, you have a moral responsibility to approach the topic with high seriousness and an open mind. After all, if the scientists are right, you’ll be doing a great deal of damage. But what we had, instead of high seriousness, was a farce: a supposedly crucial hearing stacked with people who had no business being there and instant ostracism for a climate skeptic who was actually willing to change his mind in the face of evidence. As I said, no surprise: as Upton Sinclair pointed out long ago, it’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. I'm paraphrasing here, but I recently read somewhere that the Republicans deny basic science for political reasons. AS its been said before, you are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
Labels: climate change, enviroment, global warming
Sunday, April 03, 2011
15 Day Atheist Challenge: Day 12
What happens when we die? Do you fear death? We decompose. Fear is, I think a bit strong. The thought of going from "being" to "not being" is hard to wrap my mind around. I'm sure nearly everyone would like there to be "something more" or to have an eternal life, but I just don't see any evidence for it. I suspect that when its time for me, I'll find being dead to be a lot like it was before I was born.
Labels: atheism
Saturday, April 02, 2011
15 Day Atheist Challenge: Day 11
Do you plan on having a career in the sciences. Which branch of science intrigues you the most? Ahh, here's something interesting! I would have loved to go into a science career. Unfortunatly, my math skills are horrendous. That said, I'm probably one of the better read science laypersons around. I like astronomy, geology, vulcanology, archeology, geography, physics, climatology, and anthropology. I'm not too keen on biology or chemistry, except on how they pertain to the things I'm interested in, like evolution or fungi. I probably left out a bunch of stuff, I really, really like science, but those are the things I enjoy most.
Your Saturday Morning Cartoon
Friday, April 01, 2011
Friday Night Python!
15 Day Atheist Challenge: Day 10
Are you spiritual, or are your feet always on the ground? What a silly question. I'm not "spiritual" and while I try to stay grounded in reality, that doesn't mean I'm immune to flights of fancy. I'm getting a bit dissappointed in some of these latter queries, maybe I should have read the list thouroughly first, and culled some of the more inane questions.
Labels: atheism
Who's on first?
OPENING DAY!!!
Everything and anything is possible!
