Gates asks for $190B for Iraq & Afghanistan Wars

Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, today asked the Congress to approve $190 billion in spending for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in 2008. How sad is it that this administration can ask the Congress to fund a war, but threatens to veto an additional $35 billion in funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program which would allow this program to cover an additional 4 million children; bringing the total covered to 10.6 million. For the cost of this idiotic Iraq venture for 2 months, 4 million children could get basic health care.

It seems this administration is more interested building an empire than insuring the welfare of its constituents. I hate to sound hackneyed, but these kids are our future. We need to make sure they have the basic necessities, like health insurance. The Canadians are making us look bad; they have one of the best health care systems in the world, and every citizen is covered. Doesn't that embarrass you?

Ali G F*%ks with the DEA

By the same guy that brings you Borat, Ali G. Fake reporter; real, unsuspecting DEA agent.

Review - The Bourne Ultimatum

Oh for the love of whatever gods you prefer, go see The Bourne Ultimatum. It is excellent; Matt Damon pulls it off again as Jason Bourne, the fictional CIA Super-Assassin. Paul Greengrass (United 93)was at the helm directing his second Bourne film. It starts strong and stays strong throughout the entire movie. Well worth the $700 it costs to go see a movie these days. My only complaint is, can somebody get this guy a f*&king SteadiCam?

Turn Your Head and Cough - Mightor

My favorite is when he coughs up a tiny version of himself which coughs up a tiny version of himself, etc.

Didya Get That Thing I Sentcha?

Again, laugh at this. Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law is by far the funniest, wittiest program on television.

Ha Ha Ha...Numby Nutkins

Here, laugh at this while I recombobulate myself after a long, busy summer.

Chertoff's "Feeling"

Maybe Secretary Chertoff's "feeling" was right? Who knows; maybe the FBI left the anti-aircraft missile launcher to scare us all into loving President Bush again. Only time will tell.

The full story from CBS news.

Still Angry - Lying Liars That Lie

So, is Al-Qaeda a threat or not? We've had conflicting reports from "senior administration" officials in the last two days. Tuesday, an unnamed official said an Al-Qaeda cell is already in or on the way to the U.S. Today, Secretary Chertoff says that Al-Qaeda is NOT at an operational level that it was in the Summer of 2001. What the hell? I know the Bush Administration, its officials and appointees are full of shit, but can they be full of the SAME shit?

A$$holes.

P.S. - I'm watching that lying liar that lies tell us about how his troop surge is the best thing since blowjobs were invented. 600 dead troops in 6 months, civilian deaths are up, successful attacks in the Green Zone are occurring...but violence in Baghdad is down, marginally. Great. Thanks, dumbass; I'm sure that's a big consolation to the 600 families of dead Americans. 9/11 just keeps on keeping on, that's good, though; Giuliani is running for President of 9/11 - so I'm glad to have 9/11 still around, Rudy needs work!

Too Mad To Write

I've not been posting much lately; I've been way too angry about the crap going on in the US and World political arena. I'd rather not say anything than be nasty, I don't sound intelligent when I'm mad.

Here are a list of my grievances...

Always first and foremost in my mind, the 3,609 heroes that have died in a war based on lies and deception; all to secure a horrid, little man's place in history.

Under the category of "Our administration can't do anything without f*%king it up, so lets scare everyone and gain opinion points" I give you a scary warning about an Al-Queda cell coming to America.

The U.S. Attorney firings won't resolve themselves or just go away, it continues in Congress today with another former Bush aide exerting executive privilege to keep from answering the Congress' questions. Just tell the truth you daft t*%t, stop protecting those who aren't protecting us.

CNN, who does a brisk business advertising for pharmaceutical companies, is giving Michael Moore grief about his new movie, Sicko. Dr. Gupta, who would better serve the U.S. Public by being an actual doctor instead of a TV a$$hole, berates Michael Moore about some minor points in his new movie, all the while AGREEING with Moore. Gupta, shut up and help us fix U.S. Health care.

Moral and pious Republicans keep getting busted for doing stuff they write laws to make illegal. F*%#ing hypocrites.

I'm angry that this is news. Hey CNN, there's this war going on - maybe you've heard? Since 64.5% of us are tubbos, why is this news?

The President still pushes his plan for Iraq when his troop surge doesn't seem to be working out and the GOP is pulling the rug out from under him. Why is it so important to him to be right? He's not.

These parents gave their permission for their 16 year-old daughter to marry an old man (and pervert), now they're suing the school district. F&*k you, don't give permission then decide to sue. If you were involved in your daughter's life, you wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. Who was in charge of supervising your daughter when she was dating her 40 year old coach? Did you leave MySpace and MTV in charge? Douchebags.

In closing I would like to say to the Bush Administration (and Republicans in general) "Eat Shit and D**". I had to censor the "die", I wouldn't want to end up like this poor bastard; harassed by the secret service for expressing his freedom of speech. His opinions were a little angry and violent, but his opinions nonetheless.

Indiana Property Tax

Property tax in Indiana is getting way out of hand. I know some people whose tax bill will increase by more than 100%. The elderly and fixed-income homes are in big trouble, and most may not have the resources to survive the tax increase and still keep their homes. On top of the property tax, Mayor Peterson is also asking for a $90 million income tax increase. I bought a house last year and noticed that lenders will bend over backwards to help you get a home, but then no one will do anything to help you keep it. It's no wonder the foreclosure rate in Indiana is so high.

Ballard is an instructor at Indiana Business College, where I attend.

Fireworks

Get your fireworks in tonight, because if I hear them going off tomorrow night, when it is no longer the 4th of July, I'm going to pound them up your a$$.

Brandon
Editor-In-Chief
Political Musings

Review - Transformers

Spoiler Alert - Spoilers Exist Below...


Transformers = Suck. Transformers is too long by about 20 minutes, and the story and acting detract greatly from the fantastic special effects. The laws of physics were embarassingly broken, and the explanation we get of the "Allspark" is lacking. When it destroys Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving of The Matrix fame), the audience seemed confused. The movie is too violent for most children, receiving a PG-13 rating. Save your money and see Ratatouille, which is very entertaining.

Be Vigilant

With the thwarted terror attacks in London this week, and the semi-sucessful attack on Glasgow International Airport I think that Americans should be especialy cautious during the 4th of July holiday week. The events across the pond could be a diversionary attack. It appears to be very amateurly done - gas and nail filled cars that smoked instead of exploding, suicide bombers captured alive, 7 people arrested so quickly after the fact. Maybe the terrorists are giving us some little fish so that some big fish can slip through here.

This President and the last one don't have an especially good track record of protecting us; Clinton and the first WTC attack, Oklahoma City, the African Embassy bombings and the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and Bush and his enormous screw-up in ignoring the warning signs of 9/11. We can't count on the government to protect us, they're more worried about how they look in the press. What are Americans to do? Let's have your comments at political.musings@insightbb.com

Found On The Web - Masche Sextuplets

From SeeJaneMom.com...

It's A Uterus, Mrs. Masche, Not A Clown Car.

Editorial - Senator Lugar Reverses Position On Iraq War

Yesterday in Washington D.C., Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) publicly reversed his position on the Iraq War, encouraging President Bush to reduce our troop presence there.

Mr. Lugar said in a speech on the Senate floor, "In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved. Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term."

Please take time today to write Senator Lugar and let him know you support his views. Mr. Lugar is a very senior Republican Senator, having served in the Senate since 1977, and carries much influence in that legislative body. Your e-mails could be critical in shaping the views of the Senate now that Mr. Bush's most loyal war-hawks are coming to reason.

Editorial - Morrison Sextuplets - Continued

On June 10th, sextuplets were born to Ryan and Brianna Morrison. Since we last discussed this, half of the Morrison Sextuplets have died. I asked for my readers' comments, and boy did I get them. Here are some of the things people have said. These are reprinted verbatim; spelling and grammar errors included.

Maureen said:

I have 5 children, all the result of fertility treatments. Two sets of twins and a singleton. However, I had been married for three years and was in my mid 30's when I turned to fertility treatments. The doctors are responsible for this debacle. First, NO 24 year olds with only a year of trying to conceive should be given potent fertility drugs.

Second, this young woman should not have been allowed to ovulate if she had this many follicles. The doctors count them. I had 12 once and given my infertility issues would probably not have even gotten pregnant but my doctor was not taking any chances. Fertility doctors need to give more counseling, need to be more judicious in their administration of fertility treatments. Oh yes, my first set of twins came early, 25 weeks weighing 1.6 and 1.7 pounds. One does very well. The other is severely mentally impaired, profoundly autistic, legally blind and has mild CP. Bottom line, doctors have the ability to keep parents from being in this situation in the first place. If the doctors had done their job right, the couple would not have been pregnant with 6 and would have never needed to consider selective reduction.

Stacy said:

Only people who have not been in this situation can speak so cavalierly about what "should" be done. I had sextuplets last year, two of them died, it is a grief I will always have to live with, but I have four healthy happy children whom I adore.

These poor kids (Ryan and Brianna) are going to need so much support for the grief and shock that has not yet set in. I ask everyone to give them a break, they will question themselves forever, and they don't need judgment from everyone else.

John Hardy guavamatic@yahoo.com said:

did you hear about the other couple having sextuplets at the same time?

The woman had a severe heart attack.

So you are so righteous you would risk the life of your wife and all of the children to be high and mighty.

what a pias honerable christian you are!

It's not YOUR butt on the line.

If you had forced your values on my sister, she would never have had two beautiful children raised in a loving family.

When she was a teenager, she had the choice of dropping out of school and raising a child that she did not want to have, or waiting until she was ready to have a family.

She would have been an abusive, resentful mother. She was very immature with a terrible temper.

Instead, she had an abortion, went to college met a wonderful man and their 2 children are college grads.

Think of all of the young girls who died from coathanger abortions.

And think of all the young girls who were saved because they had a safe option to end a pregnancy they did not want.

It's so easy to be holy when you will never face a pregnancy you are not ready for.

Colleen said:

I am outraged at the decision of the Morrisons. The reason for the rapid decline of religion in our country can be in part attributed to the irrational decisions of religious zealots. The doctors advised the Morrisons to terminate four of the pregnancies for good reason - they were concerned about their chances for survival. Instead, they selfishly cite religion as the reason for their decision to keep all six fetuses - the "fetuses" were not viable at the time that they made their decision so baby is not an appropriate term.

Here is something for these religious zealots to think about. I know that very few women have naturally conceived six babies during one pregnancy. Coincidence? No - a human being has little chance of carrying six healthy babies to term. So all this talk about "God's will" is flawed. Natural conception is God's will. Human intervention by way of infertility treatments is an artifical method. God will's is to ensure that healthy babies can live by reducing the number of babies created in an artifical atmosphere.

I do feel a great deal of sympathy for the Morrisons. I fully support infertility treatments for those who are struggling to conceive. But medicine trumphs faith when it comes to medical decisions. The Morrisons can in part be blamed for the death of their children. Likely, all six will die before the first year and if any survive, they will likely have lasting physical and mental developmental problems. So, instead of allowing two healthy babies to live - they allow none.

I write this article in a negative tone for one reason. The religious community needs to stop relying on faith for medical decisions. Six dead or critically ill babies are the result of selfish decision making as artifical conception is not God's will. Hopefully, these medical disasters will be a powerful lesson that medical decisions and intervention are made for one important reason - to save lives. The Morrisons are the saddest example of medical disregard.

Tia said:

This is a difficult subject that can be debated forever it seems. Yes it is tragic that a situation that the Morrisons had to face ever comes up, but it does, there is no hiding from that fact. Though I have never had to face a decision of selectively reducing, I do know how I would choose. I personally suffered a miscarriage my first pregnancy, and was told I would probably never be able to successfully get pregnant and carry a child (And for the person who posted at 24 you have 15+years of fertility left, while this is true in most cases, individual medical circumstances may vary, I was 22, and it is common medical knowledge that after age of 35 the increase in birth defects and other complications increase.) In my case my doctors well-informed medical opinion was wrong. I was able not only to get pregnant but to carry a beautiful boy to 34 weeks. He was 6 weeks premature, and yes I spent 14 weeks of my pregnancy on bed rest so I could carry him, but it was all worth it, and at 14 weeks when I was given the information on amniocentesis, it was an easy decision, though the chances of miscarriage are low (1 in 400) with an amino, I could not have it done, I knew that in the off chance a miscarriage would occur, I would not be able to live with myself knowing I cost my child his/her life. When a woman miscarry s no matter how irrational and unscientific, she goes through all the what ifs all the maybes, what I could have done different to save my child. Although in my case there was nothing medically that could have been done to save my first baby, and although it will never be considered a person in the eyes of the law, it was my baby, part of me and my husband I will miss until I die. When I saw my second baby's heartbeat on the monitor at 6 weeks gestation, it was sealed, I would do anything to give him 'life'. I now can happily say I have had another successful pregnancy and another son (born at 38 weeks) both of my boys are healthy, active, intelligent people, and when I look back the sacrifices we made financially and physically they are moot in comparison to the joy I have watching my children play together. Therefore I support the Morrisons wholeheartedly and my thoughts go out to them for it is a truly sad world we live in when people can look upon and judge a family obviously going through suffering that is unimaginable, and say they deserve it without even having the guts enough to stand behind their opinion with their own name. If you have a strong opinion, and a hateful one at that, you should at least have the strength to sign your name to your beliefs, while the Morrisons have to stand before a judging world with grace and courage demanded upon them even as they face continuing heart-wrenching decisions, how tragic that a coward can anonymously judge them and be given a platform where they can spew forth whatever feelings they have and hide behind anonymity, protected from the glare they themselves throw on others. That in my opinion is the true tragedy when we have lost our humanity to the point we condone such cruel weakness.

Take Action - Indianapolis Vistor Harassed By IMPD For Photographing A Public Art Exhibit

Last Sunday, a gentleman from Texas visiting Indy for the F1 race was harassed by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for taking pictures of buildings in downtown Indianapolis. This is a blatant violation of that gentleman's civil rights. There is no law saying that someone cannot take pictures of anything in a public place. The USA Patriot Act does have a very broad definition of "suspicious" acts, but nothing specifically prohibiting photography of anything is explicitly stated.

I am organizing a photography expedition to Indianapolis for next weekend. I plan on taking pictures of anything and everything I can from public vantage points. Anyone in? I fully intend on being harassed by law enforcement, and I might be able to get a lawyer from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union to join us.

It is very important for us to protect our freedoms. Millions of Americans have fought and died for our constitutional rights, and here were are throwing them down the toilet because of terrorism. This is exactly the type of change the terrorists hope to accomplish in our great country; we're playing right into their hands. Come on people, you're embarrassing me.

If you are interested in joining the staff of Political Musings on this trip, please contact me at mailto:political.musings@insightbb.com?subject=Indianapolis.

Editorial - 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

Watch this video created by Purdue University's Rosen Center. It is a computer simulation of American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into WTC-1. I don't understand why 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists keep telling us the U.S. Government used controlled demolition to bring down those buildings. Many serious publications have busted that theory, and I think this puts the final nail in the coffin.

Brandon's Required 9/11 Reading

As we near the 6th anniversary of 9/11, as I have every year, I start focusing on 9/11 and fretting about another terrorist attack. George Santayana famously said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Read these books so it doesn't happen again.

On Top Of The World by Tom Barbash

Bushworld by Maureen Dowd

09/11 8:48am by Jay Rosen

Rumsfeld's War by Rowan Scarborough

The Lies of George W. Bush by David Corn

and of course, The 9/11 Commission Report.

I also suggest watching Greengrass' United 93, Stone's World Trade Center, Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and it's companion movie - FahrenHYPE 9/11.

Editorial - Mitt Romney And His Abortion Flip Flop

Mitt Romney has been receiving bad press in the last week over his alleged "flip-flop" on the abortion issue. Everyone has a right to change his or her mind on something. That is one of the principles our nation was founded on. I personally think Mitt Romney would be the end of this country. Whatever your opinion on him, remember that he is allowed to change his mind....This is America.

My problem with flip-flopping is that we're calling it "flip-flopping." Whatever happened to professional journalism in this country? Why can't we call it "changing his/her position?" Didn't the people at CNN go to journalism school? Does everyone now work for FOX News and need to sensationalize everything to get viewers?

Hey, professional journalists, act like professional journalists. You spent a lot of money on that fancy diploma, use that book-learning. Not everyone in the country has the intellect of a dim-witted 3rd grader. If you stop treating us like that, maybe we'll stop behaving like that.

Editorial - Iraq Ranked Second Among World's Failed States

Iraq is crawling to the top of the list of the world's worst failed states, second only to Sudan, according to a report released today by Foreign Policy magazine. Iraq has climbed to the no. 2 position from position 4, which they occupied last year. On page 367 of the 9/11 Commission Report, the commissioners warn that a failed state in Iraq could make it a haven for terrorists, and a vector for terrorists to attack Americans at home.

This spring's surge deployment of 30,000 U.S. Troops was an effort by the Bush Administration to keep Iraq from sliding further into disarray. Anyone who can read or watch television news knows the only thing this troop surge has accomplished is more dead Americans; 443 have been killed in the last 5 months, pushing the total to 3,524.

I don't think that our military community's morale can tolerate many more casualties or deaths; we're soon going to find ourselves in the same situation our military was in during the late 1970's. Vietnam had cleared the military's ranks of professional soldiers with actual combat experience, and discouraged our country's upstanding citizens from joining the military; leaving only the dregs of society. During the late 70's there are reports of officers needing escort from armed MPs just so they could inspect their troops, and drugs ran rampant. If Iraq becomes a fully-failed state, U.S. Troop deaths will only continue to rise, military recruitment will grind-to-a-halt, standards for new recruits will continue to be lowered, and we will find our military in the state we found it in from 1973-1980; the lowest state of readiness in our modern military history.

If the Bush Administration doesn't find some way to stabilize Iraq before they leave office in disgrace (only 580 days left!) then our next President should immediately withdraw our troops to protected Kurdish areas in the north of Iraq, and leave the rest of the country to sort themselves out. At this point our being there is more of a hindrance than a help to these people. We should just leave Iraq to the Iraqis, and be prepared to deploy from friendly Kurdish areas to put out "fires", at the request of whatever Iraqi government is in place.

I would love to hear my reader's comments on this subject. Please feel free to contact our staff at political.musings@insightbb.com, and your comments will be posted in a future article.

News - Cicero Water Shortage

With record low rainfall in the past month, Cicero is asking residents to stop watering their lawns between the hours of 5pm and 11am until further notice. Chief Steve Peachey of the Cicero Fire Department says "water usage reaches its peak between 5pm and 11am, and the city water facilities are having a difficult time keeping up with demand during these hours".

Today it is expected that the central Indiana area will receive .25-.5" of rainfall. Chief Peachey expects this will not be enough to reduce water usage.

Noblesville is also experiencing a water emergency, and city officials have asked Noblesville residents to stop watering their lawns completely until further notice.

How The West Was Won

"the West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."

Samuel P. Huntington

Editorial - Minnesota Sextuplets

This week in Minneapolis, a set of sextuplets were born to Ryan and Brianna Morrison. Usually I have an opinion on everything, but I really don’t know what to think about this situation. The Morrisons had been trying to conceive for more than a year, resorting to fertility drugs. When doctors determined that Mrs. Morrison was pregnant with 6 embryos, they suggested they terminate all but two of them. The Morrisons declined this advice, and the babies were born 4 ½ month premature. Babies born this early have underdeveloped skin, kidneys, brains and lungs. Current premature infant viability (50% of babies born at this stage survive 1 year) is 24 weeks; the Morrison’s sextuplets were born at 22 weeks, meaning statistically they have less than a 50% chance of survival. As I write this article late Friday night, two of the Morrison sextuplets have already died.

If faced with this situation, I don’t know what I would do. I personally support a woman’s right to have an abortion (I won’t use the euphemism “Right-To-Choose; let us call a spade a spade), but I couldn’t personally be involved in one. If my significant other and I had been trying to conceive, and we were blessed with a multiple-pregnancy, I don’t know that I could terminate any of the fetuses. The fact that it would increase the remaining fetuses’ viability would be a tough trade-off.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this subject. Please contact us at political.musings@insightbb.com. I’ll take your comments and integrate them into a future article.

Fantastic 4...

...not so fantastic. I had a chance to see it before the rest of you, and I'm glad I can give you a warning. I give it two-thumbs-down and a fart noise. Or, two middle-fingers and a "sit on it, Potsie"; whichever you prefer.

Let Me Help You Out Of Your Chair...

...Grandma!

Caution, Explicit!



This is the best part of Clerks II. The song featured is Welcome Home by King Diamond. Yes, it is a real song.

Immigration Debate

An interesting perspective on immigration from David Landsburg of the liberal magazine Slate.

One-Fifth of an American

Iraq War and Homeland Security Budgets

An estimated $434 billion (USD) has been spent on the Iraq War. DHS costs us around $50 billion (USD) a year. We don't really seem to be getting our money's worth. The Bush administration's official position on the war is that our continued military presence in Iraq will keep terrorist organizations from "following us home". One can argue that the averted terror attacks the administration keeps patting themselves on the back about are proof that their reasoning is seriously flawed. You can point to the Fort-Dix-Six and the foiled plot to bomb New York's JFK airport as recent and continuing examples of terrorist groups following us home. DHS's inability to close our borders to an obviously ill TB patient, who was positively identified by a DHS border agent and still allowed to pass, and their failure of keeping a terrorists from illegally entering the county point out DHS's problems.

How can we justify retaining our war-mongering leaders, and consider a man for President who has a bad track record defending things. Why don't you write your congressional representative and tell them you support the impeachment and removal from office of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. Let Pelosi have a go at it.

Arcadia Resident Killed In Motorcycle Wreck

Jerimie Sutton, 28, of Arcadia, was killed Saturday afternoon in a motorcycle accident at the intersection of St. Rd. 213 and 246th street in Hamilton County, 3 miles east of Cicero. A county public-safety official said off-the-record that the preliminary investigation suggests Mr. Sutton was travelling in excess of 130mph when he hit a vehicle driven by Mr. Jason Britton of Kentucky. Mr. Britton was backing his vehicle out of the driveway and onto St. Rd. 213 when the accident occured. The unnamed public-safety official states that Sutton was dead by the time Methodist's Life Line air-transport arrived. Witnesses state that when the Life Line helicopter landed, the victim already appeared to be dead, and was loaded into an ambulance for transport. A local resident told this reporter, under the condition of anonymity, that he regularly observed Mr. Sutton driving his motorcycle on St. Rd. 213 at excessive speeds; never once was Sutton witnessed wearing a helmet.

Editor's Note: This underscores the necessity of always wearing your helmet, and practicing safe driving techniques while on your motorcycle. If you don't, you'll be up for a Darwin Award just like Jerimie Sutton.

Indianapolis Repeals Ban On Celebratory Gunfire

Monday night, the Marion County City-County Council defeated the extension of a 1975 ban on celebratory gunfire and target shooting in Indianapolis. Since 1975, it has been illegal to discharge a firearm within the old Indianapolis city limits, unless it is in self-defense. I don't care what amendment of the Constitution you cite, it is irresponsible and just redneck-stupid to shoot your guns in the air. I can't convey how angry it makes me that people are so stupid as to want to engage in this type of activity. What is this, the wild-west? Jesus, those bullets come down somewhere; I hope they land on the people that supported the repealing of this ban, and their property.

Let's have a short lesson on ballistics. If you shoot your gun straight up in the air, within a few degrees of straight up, when the bullet runs out of energy, it comes straight back down, accelerating at 9.8m/s squared until it reaches its terminal velocity. When the bullet comes back down, it doesn't gain a sufficient enough speed to kill someone, but it can seriously injure you. If you fire the bullet at more than a few degrees past straight-up-and-down, it will achieve a ballistic trajectory retaining most of its energy. When it lands, it will do as much damage as any other bullet; it can kill you.

I can get on board with allowing people to target shoot within Indianapolis city limits; people who target shoot hopefully have gun safety in mind. On the other hand, no gun safety advocate will ever tell you it is OK to shoot your gun in the air in celebration. There is nothing safe about that and laws should specify that citizens engaging in that activity should be prosecuted for reckless endangerment, or attempted murder. It's really that stupid.

Gun retards, don't bother wasting your time commenting on this post; firing your gun in the air is indefensibly stupid, and there is no logical argument for it. If you're dumb enough to support this, I'm gonna flame you.

History Repeats Itself

Does anyone remember what happened to the man at which the President directed this statement?

"Brownie, You're Doin' A Heck of A Job".

Today, the President said this about A.G. Gonzales...

"They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government. This process has been drug out a long time, it's political."

Why does the President keep defending people who dig themselves into deep holes? We saw where it got "Brownie". If I were the A.G., I'll tell the President to quit being on my side, it can't be good for him.

Nerd Alert: A Discussion Of Meaningful RF Interference on CAT5 cabling

This is off the blog topic, but interesting nonetheless. The principles discussed in this article are SWAGs (Simply a Wild-Assed Guess), but I'm pretty smart, I'm sure a lot of them are right. I could use some attention from an expert on the subject (Ed's Note: The picture Wikipedia uses is pretty dorky), so by all means, leave me comments.

Today I was at one of my customers' site diagnosing a network connectivity issue. This customer specializes in RF welding of exotic plastics. They produce delicate, non-bioreactive plastics, like the plastic devices used in surgery or artificial body parts; and ultra-durable plastics, like Kevlar and other pliable armors. RF welding is a highly-specialized form of welding used when the media being welded is either very tough, or very delicate. It utilizes ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio waves focused tightly on plastics placed under the high-pressure of a press or a mold, heating the plastic at the molecular level causing it to make a very strong bond. They specifically create very-high-quality artificial limbs and Kevlar liners for U.S. Military helmets and flak jackets.

The customer's site is an RF nightmare: high-intensity UHF radio waves leak out of the RF welding devices causing meaningful interference on all types of communication devices, like Wi-Fi networks, Ethernet networks, power grids and telephone (mobile and land line) systems. The way we have countered this issue in the past is to install Faraday Cages on all the cables running from the back of the PCs. The Faraday Cage intercepts the RF signal before it has a chance to interfere with the equipment.

Today we were having an issue with a new PC that was just installed last week. The PC has the standard Faraday Cages installed on it to reduce meaningful interference, but the Ethernet connection consistently errors out, or disconnects completely at times. I was confused why this was occurring until I noticed a few weird things. The cables (power, mouse, keyboard, Ethernet, USB) running from the back of the PC were all warm to the touch. Excepting power cables, and Ethernet cables under very heavy loads, none of these cables should be above the ambient air temperature in the room they are in. This machine wasn't experiencing any heavy workloads, so none of the cables should have been at a higher temperature than the comfortable 74F the room's air temperature was. I thought this was odd, and since Ethernet cables' nominal operating temperatures are between 60-100F*, I thought maybe this could be our issue. I unplugged the Ethernet cable, and grabbed the one I had brought with me. I had unpacked it and left it sitting on the workbench, unplugged and still wrapped up in plastic by the manufacturer. As I started opening the package, I noted that this cable was also warm to the touch. This cable, in the previous hour, had been in my air-conditioned car, and previous to that, my air-conditioned shop; so it should be, at the warmest, room temperature.

Apparently, this new PC was setup in a room that had previously been a storage room, with no electronics in it. The room also shares a wall with the area of the warehouse where the RF welding machines are located. The RF energy leaking from the poorly shielded welders was powerful enough to pass-through the Faraday Cages and convert itself from RF to thermal energy, heating the cable past its nominal operating temperature. I only noticed this when the cable that had never been used was almost hot-to-the-touch, and had no reason to be that warm.

This RF-thermal conversion I experienced at this customer's site is very similar, albeit at a much lower power, to the EMP produced by a nuclear detonation. When nuclear weapons are detonated they produce a huge amount of RF radiation, which is normally converted to thermal energy when detonated close to the ground, in thick atmosphere. When nuclear weapons are detonated at high-altitudes, the lack of atmosphere allows that high-intensity bust of RF waves to remain RF energy and not convert to thermal, and then propagate along ANY long antennas - any long runs of radio-conducting material, like: telephone wires, electrical wires, the copper wrapped around alternators, cell-phone antennas and even some long sewer pipes. These long "antennas" will capture the RF burst as it reaches them, and with no protection will convert the high energy RF into thermal energy, over-heating and shorting out the antenna. The only way to fix this damage is to replace the antenna.

There is not really anything I can do to counter this since the cable has to be in close proximity to the RF producing interference. The only option this customer has is to either move the equipment, or spend hundreds of dollars installing heavy-duty copper mesh on the wall of the room, and an air-conditioning system to remove the converted thermal energy from the room. If you don't add AC to a Faraday Cage exposed to constant RF energy, it can make the air-temperature get uncomfortably warm, or make the Faraday Cage itself short-out.

*CAT5 will operate anywhere between 0-167F, but will have degraded performance outside of human-comfortable room temperatures - 60-100F.

Old People Rocking Out

Watch this video and then tell me you're not glad they put fluoride in our drinking water.



I give this video "an 11".

Yeah Joe, How About Another War...

Yes, Mr. Lieberman, another war in the mid-east is exactly what we need. This time with a country that has a professional army, with military technology that we supplied them. Good idea, keep up the good work.

Here is Joe on Face the Nation talking about how we should bomb Iran if they don't stop supplying insurgents in Iraq with weapons.

The Stem Cell and Homosexual Debates

This week there were new developments in stem cell research, and the battle to allow Federal Funding for stem cell research. Stem Cell researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute made discoveries that may one day allow scientists and biologists to create stem cells from adult cells, instead of having to destroy an embryo to harvest them. In Washington D.C., The Congress passed a landmark Federal Stem Cell Reseach bill, and was promised a veto from the President.

This paves the way for a new argument from the Christian Right to halt stem cell research. I believe their fundamental argument is that altering god's work is unethical, as well as the destruction of the embryos. When any type of abortion or destruction of embryos is taken out of the equation, I'll be willing to bet the Christian Right will still protest this important work.

This meshes with another problem I have with the Christian Right, their intolerance of homosexuals. With the human genome now fully mapped, I believe that Christians should prepare themselves for science to prove that some (not all) homosexuality is genetic in origin, and therefore part of god's plan. While some Christians will have a problem with stem cell research to cure Parkinson's or Diabetes, I'd be willing to bet they'd be happy to find some sort of cure* for being big-n-gay while the "gaylings" were still in the womb. It would have to be cheaper than homosexual deprogramming, or as it is better known - brainwashing.

While I'm on the subject of gays, what's the deal with gays in the military? I keep hearing about all the homosexual Arab linguists - one of the hardest slots to fill, and one of the most important positions in Iraq - being fired from the military. I have a real big problem with that. Once, a younger and more conservative Brandon had a conversation with a former Isralei soldier regarding gays in the military; right after Clinton instituted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". This man was wise beyond his years, probably because of his horrible experience fighting for the IDF. He told me "In Israel, it is enough that they are willing to die for Israel. Who cares who they fuck..." Simple, yet elegant. I believe enough said.

* Note: I'm just using Christian terminology here. I don't believe that homosexuality is something to be "cured". We are who we are, and that's all we are. It's all we can be.

Mr. T Needs Work!

This is an angry editorial by Brandon, Editor-in-Chief of Political Musings. The opinions stated here are not necessarily the opinions of the entire staff, nor will they be polite or politically correct in any way.

OK, enough about Paris Hilton already. The reports in the media that I've been seeing seem to be very supportive of Paris; a person who has obvious issues with being responsible in any way, shape or form. Ms. Hilton was arrested in September of 2006, pleading no contest to DUI charges. While still on her 36 month probation, Hilton was again arrested in March 2007: driving on a suspended license, speeding, reckless driving and failing to enroll in a court-ordered alcohol education program. Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail. Since then there have been petitions circulating to have the judge be lenient of Hilton, though there have been a minority of petitions for locking her up and throwing away the key. Are we so shallow as a society, that these are the things we're worrying about? What kind of example are we setting for our children; the future leaders of our country?

One thing that disgusts me is California has a program, as many states do, that allows for each day of good behavior the inmate gets credit for 1-3 days time served. Ms. Hilton didn't even serve an entire week in jail. This means Hilton received 15 days of time-served credit for each day of good behavior. Who else gets this type of break? It also disgusts me that with all the fascinating and vitally important events that occur in the world every day; that 30% of the breaking news e-mails I received today involved Paris Hilton. Another Minor disgusting thing is a further 5% of those e-mails were sports/entertainment related. Since when did that kind of thing become news? It's gossip at best, and better suited for E! and MTV News; not AP, Reuters and, what is the world coming to - the FREAKING BBC - arguably the most distinguished and ethical news outlet in the world.

I know that I myself am the polar opposite of the vapid, fake breasted, teenage-bimbos and small-penised, $hit-for-brains 18-24 year-old males that EVERYONE markets to, but is there no middle ground? Can we watch some Laguna Beach, but after it's over, watch the 11 o'clock news? Could you put down the People and read an issue of Time once a month? Is it so hard to spend 3 hours once a year voting? Could you spend 5 minutes reading the free Indianapolis Star they provide you while you're slurping down that Fat Boy Sized Big Mac combo, instead of texting your semi-retarded friend that just got the new Tony Hawk game in at the Blockbuster he works at?

This country is going to hell-in-a-handbasket, not because the gays want to get married and adopt Pagan babies, or because some stoners want to smoke some weed without worrying about getting "pound-you-in-the-ass federal time" for it, or because some of us believe in a separation between The Church and The State; but because we are the fattest, laziest and bitchiest nation that has ever existed on the face of the planet. Its because Paris Hilton blamed her legal troubles on not being informed of her suspended license and probation by her publicist. Is no one responsible for their own actions anymore? Was she too busy e-mailing on her Crackberry when she was in court to listen to the Judge read her sentence? I'm ashamed of us.

I abhor violence, but I'm angry enough today to wish that someone would have shanked that anorexic freak-job when she was in the clink. The world would definitely be better for it.

VT Succession

There apparently is a small, but popular and steadily growing movement in the Great State of Vermont for secession from the U.S..

Um, I think this has been tried before.

A friendly message to our Green Mountain State friends:

Hey Vermont, you're dumb. Nobody cares, and there are more important things to worry about. You can't "take your ball and go home" when you are a part of the United States of America. If you don't like it, move to Canada; but, we're keeping your $hit. I thought your motto was "Freedom and UNITY".

P.S. - Quit smoking all the dope. The rest of the country would like to have some, and it seems to be effecting your judgement.

Regards,

The Staff of Political Musings.

For a humorous take on this subject, please reference this.

Iraq Statistics

Today the Iraq War passed another dubious benchmark; we now have 3,500 American Soldiers KIA. Here are some numbers for those of you playing along at home...

3,504 U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines KIA

30,000+ U.S. military wounded

917 U.S. civilian contractors KIA

12,000+ U.S. civilian contractors wounded

65,000 - 650,000 (estimated) Iraqi civilians killed - The U.S. doesn't even keep statistics on this number. We learned the wrong lessons from Vietnam.

1.5 million (estimated) Iraqi civilians wounded

1 Civil-War

$432.5 Billion spent (estimated) SO FAR - that is billion with a "B". A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon we're talking about real money. $1,300 is spent in Iraq EVERY SECOND.

Why are we even there in the 1st place? There were no WMDs, Iraq had no ties to Al-Queada before our invasion, and Saddam was isolated and alone in the Arab world. Yes, Saddam was a horrible tyrant, but to quote a fake article in The Onion, isn't it the duty of any people that wishes to be free to fight for their freedom? Why are we the World Police? How much more can we take? Please write your congressional representative and demand they come up with a workable plan for our withdrawal from Iraq. We aren't fighting terrorists in Iraq, we're fighting an insurgency. Those are two very different things. You might remember another popular insurgency; The American Revolution. These people don't want to follow us home, they just want us to GO home. Let's take them up on that.

We Let "C" Students Run The World

President George W. Bush graduated from Yale University in 1968 with a B.A. in History. His cumulative GPA was 2.35; his highest grade in any subject was 88. Is it a wonder the last six years have been crazy? At least Clinton was getting on the Dean's List while he was getting stoned and skipping Vietnam.

Cold War pt. Deux, Continued...

In our ongoing look at the new cold war a-brewin', I give you Mr. George W. Bush (cheers and applause) on the topic of the United States' planned European Missile Defense System...

"...a Europe-based U.S. missile defense system is not an issue either side should be hyperventilating about."

I'm not one that normally gives W a hard time for his Bushisms. I know I'm not the most elegant speaker, but can we leave the Springer Talk out of international politics, please? I'm thinkin' W should just let Condi do all the talking. We'll only wake him up for the important stuff.

Found On The Web

From the pages of The Onion. I guess even dead people hate this war...

Retired Gen. George Washington Criticizes Bush's Handling Of Iraq War

A CIA Leak Primer

Today I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 30 months in jail for his role in the CIA/Valerie Plame leak scandal. This has been going on for so long, and is so convoluted, that I thought I could "straighten it out" for you. Here goes...

The whole mess started in 1981 when Seyni Kountche, former President of Niger states that Niger would "sell uranium, even to the devil." This set the stage for Western Powers to be nervous about what Niger, and others in Africa, might be willing to do for, or sell to, "evildoers."

Fast-forward 21 years to 2002, when VP Cheney reads a DIA report on alleged Niger-Iraq uranium sales and asks the CIA to look into it. The DIA report in question was to be used in the Bush Administration's casus belli for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Naturally, since they are selling this report to the U.N., they want to make sure it is fact and not fiction. Enter: Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson IV. Ms. Wilson (Valerie Plame's legal, married name) suggested to her supervisors in CIA's Counterproliferation Division that her husband, Wilson, would be well suited to investigate this issue, as he had good contacts with government and mine officials in Niger. Bush Administration officials agreed that Wilson would be good for the job, and in late February of 2002, he was sent to Niger.

After Wilson returned to Washington D.C., he was debriefed by CIA officials where they learned that in Wilson's (very educated) opinion, it was unlikely that Niger had sold yellowcake uranium to Iraq or anyone else. This clashed with the carefully rehearsed lie the Bush Administration planned on presenting to the U.N. and The People of The United States, so a report was never written, and Wilson's ideas were dismissed.

Wilson was concerned that the information that he provided to the U.S. Government would be skewed or ignored and planned his own course of action. In the spring of 2003, Wilson informed administration officials that he planned on publishing an OpEd piece in the New York Times titled What I Didn't Find In Africa in early July. Weeks later, but before the article was actually published, VP Cheney leaked Valerie Plame's name to his Chief of Staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and Libby leaked Plame's name and job to conservative (and a$$hole) columnist Bob Novak, who then printed that information in his 14 July column in the Washington Post.

This is how it has come to pass that the Vice-President of the United States of America's Chief of Staff committed TREASON to shame and embarrass a family that had shamed and embarrassed his administration. You can form your own opinion from here, but I think that 30 months is a very light sentence considering what Libby could have been charged with (treason) and the punishment (the death penalty) he could have received. Libby was actually convicted on perjury charges, which are much, much less serious.

Remember, the President and his staff lied to the U.N., The People of The United States of America, and the world about why he sent three thousand, four hundred and ninety-six American soldiers to their needless deaths. Al-Queda was not in Iraq until we destabilized it, there were no weapons of mass-destruction, and Saddam was isolated and alone in the Arab world. Now there is a cause for the "evil-doers" to rally behind. The President has said the War in Iraq is to keep the terrorists from "following us home." We all see how that line has worked out for the administration...the Fort Dix Six and the plot brewing at JFK Intl. They're already following us home. Bring home the boys so they can protect us here!

Curiosity Killed The Cat

It's a sad fact, but the question I'm asked most often on our forums isn't any important political question or a query about my opinion on a particular subject. INstead, I am asked, "What do you look like?" Well, here you go. I hope you're happy.



That's the closest thing you're going to get to a smile.

The Weird Things I Notice

While watching reruns of ER, I noticed that the "very special episodes" have different musical intros. See if you can tell the difference.



Well, didya?

Writer's Block

When I suffer from writer's block, sometimes seeing something positive will un-stick me. There is usually so much bad news, and it's all I really talk about here, so let's be uplifting. Here is my favorite scene from my favorite episode of Scrubs. You see, sometimes things do go back to normal, your friends will apologize for being mean, and the nerd can get the girl (though I never do).



If you're curious, the song featured is My Love by Nil Lara.

Introduction

I would like to introduce a new contributor to my blog. His name is Jim, and we have been friends for more than 25 years. Jim is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a small-business owner and a full-time student. Jim is more to the right than the rest of us, and we hope he might bring a balanced conservative viewpoint to our forum. Please, welcome Jim!

Regards,

Brandon.

Federal Gun Law

In 2001, Indiana issued 80,121 handgun permits, followed by 82,079 in 2002, and 76,630 in 2003. In 2004, from January to June, just over 35,000 permits were issued.

Hand gun laws vary from state to state, ranging from very open laws like Indiana's, Alaska's and Kentucky's to laws that make handguns almost completely illegal, like in the District of Columbia and Hawaii's statutes. With every state having its own laws governing the carry and use of firearms, people can become very confused, especially those who travel across state lines a lot. I believe we need to make a nation-wide firearm law that would allow the carriage of handguns by legal owners across state lines. I’m not talking about a bus full of guns, or even a trunkful. Just one gun for personal protection with a limited amount of ammo.

The McClure-Volkmer Act of 1986 is listed in the U.S. Code as an amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968. Individuals transporting firearms through a certain state that would otherwise view such transport as illegal may do so under this law if the weapons are unloaded, cased and stowed in a trunk or vehicle storage compartment which is not readily accessible to the occupant. Any ammunition must also be kept separate from the firearms. What good is having a gun if it is not readily accessible?

Federal legislation signed into effect in July 2004 allows all active duty law enforcement officers from any state or locality to carry firearms while traveling. The officer must possess an official photo identification card from their department and be authorized to carry a firearm by the agency with which they are employed.

I believe the same laws should apply for legal gun owners who travel. I own a car and have a driver’s license. I do not have to stop driving when I see the state line, nor am I required to get a new driver's license in every state.

How confusing are gun laws by state? Let's consider the issue of motor homes. Are they vehicles or residences? Most states consider RV’s to be a vehicle, but some courts have held that RV’s are residences when in a fixed condition, such as at a campground and hooked up to utilities. Since some states allow firearms in a residence but not in a vehicle, it can get a little confusing. Indiana is one of nine states that extend automatic recognition of gun license to all other states. That means that a licensed gun owner from any other state can legally carry a firearm under Indiana law. Now if a person from Indiana traveled to Illinois or Ohio and had a legal permit from Indiana, they would be arrested for a felony offense because neither one of those states recognizes the Indiana license. However, if a person traveled to Kentucky or Michigan from Indiana, he is completely with in the law because those states do recognize the Indiana permit.

What does it mean to have a permit? An Indiana permit allows a person to carry a firearm, open or concealed, either on his person or in a vehicle. In Indiana, you do not need a permit to purchase a handgun, rifle, shotgun or an assault weapon. In D.C., handgun ownership is totally restricted in terms of handgun sales and possession.

I’m not saying that every one should carry an assault weapon in their car as they travel, just that they should be allowed one handgun for personal protection. In 2004, over 300,000 Indiana residences (that’s one in fifteen adults) had hand gun permits. In Coatesville, which has a population of around 500, 395 people are listed as permit holders. According to CBSNews.com, in 2000, there were 666 firearm-related deaths in Indiana. At a rate per 100,000 people of 11.7 %. In D.C. 149 deaths in 2000 Rate per 100,000 people 34.3%.

It is estimated that there are over 200 million guns in America. I don’t believe a gun ban or stricter laws stop anyone from committing a crime. The law only stops the law abiding citizens from protecting themselves, and a total ban would be like dropping an empty glass in a sink full of water where the glass creates a void but is eventually overtaken by the water.

Last year, Indiana began issuing a lifetime handgun permit that never needs to be renewed. That’s fine if you plan on never leaving the state. What should be required for a nation-wide permit? A back ground check? A firearms safety class and time at a gun range? Limit the permit for two to three years, and, of course, add on that fee.

Every year, more and more people hit the open road with their families or retire to an RV. People should be able to have the same peace of mind and security that they feel in their homes as they travel. Who hasn’t traveled late at night and stopped at a rest area or a truck stop and not been a little scared? Carrying a gun doesn’t take away your fear, but it does add a better sense of defense if something were to happen. Not every one carries a gun, and that’s fine, but the ones that do and do so legally should be able to extend their rights across state lines with a more uniform law that covers all fifty states. If a person is licensed by the state they live in to do something, going to another state and doing the same thing should not make them a felon.
http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/161649-4651-009.html
http://www2.indystar.com/articles/6/161596-9976-009.html
http://www2.indystar.com/articles/6/161596-9976-009.html
http://www.gunlaws.com/travel.htm

Laurelei's Take on the '08 Race

I'm probably a more typical American than Brandon. I'm much lazier in my civic duties. Don't get me wrong: I vote, and I make sure that I have some understanding of the candidates and the issues well before I enter that little booth. For me, though, the election is too far off to get my knickers in a twist about it just yet. I can't even say that I have a favorite in the race, at this point.

Held at gunpoint and forced to choose, I'd go with Barack Obama. Why? Not sure. I get a good vibe from him. He was fantastic on "Oprah." I've liked everything I've heard from and about him in the last several years, though I don't think I could pull a quote or a fact out of the air about any of it now. Beyond that, I'm just sick to death of old white men in the Oval Office.

{Aren't you glad my high school civics teacher retired? I think I probably got an A in that class, for all the good it does me.}

Proposed Indianapolis Pit Bull Ban, take #2

Let's try this again. It was pointed out to me that my arguments were weak. I just assumed you had all come to the same conclusion as I had come to in my crazy brain. I was confused about the hate mail I received. Sorry about that...

After a recent wave of dog attacks, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson has again suggested banning Pit Bulls and related breeds within Indianapolis city limits. While that idea has its merit, it is essentially unenforceable and a waste of money. How many of you have actually registered your dog as is required by local ordinance? No one can stop you from buying any dog you want, and if the dog isn’t registered, it can’t be “banned." This essentially makes the ban unenforceable.

Pit bulls have been banned in some communities, and people still owned them, and continued to get more of them after they had been ticketed. At this point, the ban becomes a waste of taxpayer money: police have to respond to the complaints, the humane society/animal control must house and destroy the animals and the courts have to prosecute the individuals. The laws should be targeted at the dog owners, providing stiff penalties and jail time. Those laws can’t get passed because they do not garner popular support; too many dog owners are also voters. According to NPOS, there are 50 million dog-owning households in the U.S., spending $34.3 Billion annually on pet care. We’ve now come full-circle. The laws that can get passed are expensive and ineffectual; the laws that need to get passed can't get enough public support.

Since we can't count on law enforcement or dog owners to protect us from dangerous dogs, let's quit being crying Americans and make our own safety our own responsibility. These attacks could have been prevented by one person, the person bitten (or their parents). Here are some basic rules to keep yourself safe around strange or dangerous dogs.

1. Stay away from strange dogs - this one is simple, teach your children not to approach any dog that they do not personally know.
2. Don't look a dog in the eye - to a dog when you look him in the eye, it appears as if you are trying to show your dominance over him. This is not wise.
3. Don't smile at a dog - this is a threatening move, it shows your teeth which are a dog's primary weapon. It would be the same as waving a gun at a police officer. Unwise.
4. If a dog has any food, or is carrying any item, do not approach it. It may think you are trying to take its tasty treat away.
5. Do not run or shout near a strange dog - this can make him nervous and more likely to bite. If you run, it can also provoke his chase instinct: the instinct to chase down any moving animal for food.

And most importantly...

If you are afraid of a dog, do not run from it. Back away slowly without making any loud noises to a place where there are people nearby. Again, if you run, you will stimulate the dog's chase instinct.

If you are attacked by a dog, protect your face and neck. Roll up in the fetal position with your hands covering the back of your neck and your knees pulled up to your chest. This will keep your most vulnerable places (face, neck, chest, groin) protected from the attack.

If you can't get away from the dog, or you're the fighting type (like me), here's what you can do.

1. Wrap a piece of clothing, like a jacket, around your arm for some protection.
2. Make yourself as large as possible, chest out, shoulders back, lean forward, protected arm at groin-level in front of you, and make loud, aggressive sounds. This may intimidate the animal and make him flee. Though, if he is cornered, this will ensure a fight.
3. If the dog attacks, offer him your protected arm. Once he bites, make sure to offer resistance to make him clamp down. Use your (hopefully) superior weight and fall on the dog to knock him down. Use your protected arm to hold his head against the ground and use your unprotected hand's thumb to take out both of his eyes.

I hope that you never have to face a dangerous animal, but crying about it is going to do you no good. YOU are responsible for YOUR OWN safety!

Click here for some child-oriented dog safety tips from the AKC.

The Birth Of Col. Doctor

Like I Was Sayin'...

From CNN...Friction intensifies between U.S. and Russia

Новый Холоднаяа война

For my Russian readers...

По мере того как бывшие напряжения холоднаяа война flare вверх, я думаю о как scary 80'с были. С америкой на новых кампании и России reverting к своему totalitarian прошлому, он кажется если наши 2 больших нации будут kvadrat-na этапе мира снова. Почему он тот русские и американцы имеют такую темную увлекательность с собой? Наши нравственности сравнивают настолько остро? Мы реально все по-разному? Смотрим на ли мы излишек оборону реактивного снаряда в Польше, или 007 сумасбродств в europe, мы можем никогда не казаться, что get out себя дорога. Новаяа волна sabre простукивая тих сообщен на месяцы, но no one кажется, что принимает извещение. Мы поэтому после того как я потревожены о приносить народовластие к middle-east, но он кажется если мы должны давать уроки к русским. Народовластие имело tenuous владение в лучшем в бывшем СССР, и теперь оно кажется, что тонет назад к коммунизму, или возможно что-то даже более плохому. Россия держит некоторые из запасов мира последних больших природные ресурсы, но они не имеют wherewithal использовать их. Если мы смогли только помочь России вместо провоцировать их, то мы смогли соединить совместно и быть powerhouse. В настоящее время close to миллиард людей в Азии живут без использования электричества или нефтепродукта. Довольно скоро, одно из их идет увидеть эпизод зеленых акров через окно их соседа, и после этого они ВСЕ идя хотеть электричество, indoor трубопровод, и jalopy управлять к VP. Если Россия, Китай и Индия решают, то они хотят налево масла, они идут принять его. 8.3 из их до каждое 1 из нас, и ш не будет никакое Leonidas. В моем взгляде, только 3 дороги предотвратить мировую войну III которой я вижу приходить в следующие 20 леты.

1. Свободно энергия: кто-то изобретает холодное сплавливание, или 90% эффективную солнечную батарею, и никто должно воевать излишек масло больше.

2. Свободно еда: кто-то изобретает еду растет без почвы или вода, сродная к волшебным фасолям, и никто должна воевать излишек еду больше.

3. Aliens приезжают на землю: они или пинают наши ишаков, или помогают нам вне; но любая дорога, никто воюет нисколько более длиной. Excepting последнее одно, единственная дорога что мы можем достигнуть то из этих должна положить в сторону наши разницы и работу совместно. Мы дипломатия, не пули. Я call on президент установить отдел положения шкафа мира поэтому мы можем фактическ работать на некоторой дипломатии, вместо как раз давать ему обслуживание губы когда оно одевает мы.

Second Life...

...come on folks, I'm all for having fun on the Interweb, but I think many of you need to get a "First Life". Within this VIDEO GAME, Sweden is opening an embassy, the BBC is starting to simulcast programs, IBM has opened an office, and musicians are performing concerts there. $600,000 (USD) in REAL MONEY is exchanged in Second Life every day. Come on folks, lets get out in the real world. Maybe you'll get laid.

More On McDonald's Fat-Boy Meals

Hey, what do you know? McDonald’s is removing the trans-fat from its oil. Funny how realizing your corporation contributes to the leading cause of death in the United States (and that it might be held culpable) will motivate change.

We all agree that the Golden Arches is *not* the destination of choice for consumers looking for a healthy, well balanced meal. Bill Maher probably says it best in his book New Rules, “If I want to eat healthy, I’ll go to a place that serves actual food.” Is that what McDonald’s really wants us to do?

Why not build a dollar menu around the new food pyramid guidelines? Offer fresh fruits & vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats, all for a buck. I want cheap, convenient, *and* healthy all in one package. It seems a corporation like McDonald’s would have the resources to pull that off.

So, thanks for removing some of the fat you’ve artificially added to my food. Let me know when it’s finally safe to eat at your restaurant.

A New Cold War

As former Cold War tensions flare up, I think about how scary the 80's were. With America on a new crusade and Russia reverting to its totalitarian past, it seems as if our two great nations will square-off on the world stage again.

Why is it that Russians and Americans have such a dark fascination with each other? Do our morals contrast so sharply? Are we really all that different? Whether we're facing off over missile defense in Poland, or 007 follies in Europe, we can never seem to get out of each other's way. A new wave of sabre rattling has been quietly reported for months, but no one seems to be taking notice.

We are so worried about bringing democracy to the middle-east, but it appears as if we should be giving lessons to the Russians. Democracy has had a tenuous hold at best in the former U.S.S.R., and now it seems to be sinking back towards communism, or perhaps something even worse. Russia holds some of the world's last great reserves of natural resources, but they don't have the wherewithal to utilize them. If we could only help Russia instead of provoking them, we could band together and be a powerhouse.

Currently there are close to a billion people in Asia that live without using electricity or petroleum products. Pretty soon, one of them is going to see an episode of Green Acres through their neighbor's window, and then they're ALL going to want electricity, indoor plumbing, and a jalopy to drive to the VP. If Russia, China and India decide they want what's left of the oil, they're going to take it. There are 8.3 of them to every 1 of us, and W ain't no Leonidas. In my view, there are only three ways to prevent the World War III that I see coming in the next 20 years.

1. Free energy: someone invents cold fusion, or a 90% efficient solar panel, and nobody has to fight over oil anymore.

2. Free food: someone invents a food that grows without soil or water, akin to magic beans, and nobody has to fight over food anymore.

3. Aliens arrive on earth: they either kick our asses, or help us out; but either way, nobody is fighting any longer.

Excepting the last one, the only way that we can achieve either of these is to put aside our differences and work together. We need diplomacy, not bullets. I call on the President to establish a Department of Peace cabinet position so we can actually work on some diplomacy, instead of just giving it lip service when it suits us.

Brandon's Required Reading

If you have any down time you should read this blog...

David Stephenson's Homeland Security Blog

He's liberal, smart and an interesting read. A warning, this blog is very scary, and you should be scared.

I specifically suggest reading the entries regarding community wi-fi networks and self-rescuing communities.

While We're On The Subject...

While we're on the subject of dogs, let me remind you that when you want to get a new member of the family, adopt him or her from your local Humane Society or from a reputable breeder. Whatever you do, don't buy your new friend from a big-box pet store like Uncle Bill's or ANY place in the mall. When you purchase animals from those types of retailers you are supporting backyard-breeding and puppy mills. These are horrific environments for your new best friend, and you're usually getting the lowest quality animal possible.

Backyard-breeders and puppy mills breed animals in the quickest way possible, which involves a lot of inbreeding. Do you ever wonder why your Mastiff has hip-dysplasia or your Cocker is prone to episodes of rage? It's because purebred dogs by nature are inbred just a little, and people who want to make money off of breeding animals usually take every shortcut possible, including breeding a good specimen with his mother.

Keep in mind that your average purebred's life-span is 8 years, but the average mixed-breed dog lives 11 years. The average mixed-breed's vet bills will also be lower, as they don't generally suffer from the inbreeding-related health issues that purebreds suffer from. That's 3 more years of love from your (healthier) best friend.

Editor's Note: The statistics on breed life-spans are anecdotal (at best) and from my memory of a report I read while working at a Vet Laboratory, and from witnessing firsthand how long mixed-breed animals can live (Bash). If you don't like it, find me some better stats, or even some to disprove these.

News Roundup Tuesday 5/29/7

Here are the big tickets in today's news...

Important Stuff

For the first time in forty years, the U.S. Government has issued a quarantine order. A particularly virulent and dangerous form of TB was found in a man who recently traveled to Europe and re-entered the U.S. through Canada, prompting U.S. authorities to quarantine him at an Atlanta, GA area hospital.

To read the story, click here.

On a similar subject, click here to read about "Typhoid Mary".

Ten American soldiers were killed in Iraq over the Memorial Day weekend. Additionally, five Britons were kidnapped from a government office in Baghdad by men dressed in Iraqi police uniforms. 112 U.S. Soldiers have been killed in Iraq this month.

To read the story, click here.

President Bush imposed new sanctions on Sudan this morning, citing genocide. Mr. Bush restricted U.S. persons or businesses from doing business with 31 Sudanese companies, and 3 Sudanese individuals.

To read the story, click here.

Central Indiana News

In response to rising crime rates, IMPD is starting a curfew crackdown. As schools are ending session for the summer, IMPD and local law enforcement agencies are planning on running "curfew sweeps" to keep children at home during the evening hours.

To read the story, click here.

Wiccans Get Some Federal Recognition

After more headache and hassle than should have been necessary, the pentacle is finally on the federal government's list of approved religious emblems to mark the gravestones of fallen service personnel.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/27/memorialday.wiccans.ap/index.html

This is a huge leap in civil liberties for folks who practice alternative spirituality, but I don't think we Americans should go crazy in congratulating ourselves at how inclusive we are just yet. Please, let's remember that it took nearly a decade for the "pentacle quest" to come to fruition. Furthermore, Wicca is one subset of Paganism, and the pentacle is one of many symbols that Pagans use. If the "Big Three" (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) can have 40 symbols for just one God, shouldn't Pagans have been given a lot more to work with?

Seriously, though, it's a step in the right direction, but when our "fearless leader" has such a hard time recognizing that Wicca is a legitimate religion, we have a long way to go.

Mr. T Needs Work!

Lindsay Lohan was arrested this morning at a Beverly Hills area hospital. Lohan, 20, was arrested after being treated for a single-car accident this morning. Lohan could face additional charges after a substance alleged to be cocaine was found in her vehicle. Is anyone else sick of her yet?

To read the story, click here.

Introduction

I'm lurking in the shadows a bit, but as a staff member, I wanted to go ahead and post a teeny-tiny intro. This way I don't have to do it later when I actually have something important to say.

I've known Brandon since we were teenagers, and, though I am probably one of his least political friends, I freakin' LOVE this blog. I'm on staff as an editor, so feel free to think of me as "Semi-Colon Girl." I'm like a superhero with really nerdy punctuation powers - and no lycra. (We can all be thankful for that last bit.)

Brave Or Stupid?

A Milwaukee area gas station owner shut off his pumps Thursday in a protest over high gas prices. As we have previously discussed, I'm not so sure that these types of protests, or the threats of these types of protests, do any good. The gas station owner himself said that he will make up most of the estimated $1,500 in gas sales the next day when he starts selling fuel again. He claims his protest is because he does not make any money off of fuel; he loses his slim profits to gas wholesalers and taxes.

We can't make any changes by just trying the same thing in a slightly different way. Einstein said insanity is repeating the same action over and over again, expecting a different result. How is not buying (or selling) gas on one day of the year going to effect the price of gas at all? Don't write your congressmen; they're already in bed with the oil companies. They don't care about how it hits your pocket; they care how it hits theirs. If you don't want to spend so much money on gas, get rid of your gas guzzler and buy a (God forbid) hybrid vehicle. They even make hybrid SUVs for those of you with small penises.

For years, Europeans have been paying high prices at the pump. In London, you pay the equivalent of $7.10 (USD) per gallon, and the world hasn't ended for those folks. They have come up with alternatives to petrol. They, in particular, utilize nuclear power quite a bit. Where they pay dearly for transportation fuel, their home energy bills are much cheaper. Another thing that Europeans are good at is carpooling and public transportation. The U.S. has a decided disadvantage for using public transportation, we are a very large country and there isn't always a bus going where you want to go. However, there are things we can do to reduce the amount of money we spend on gas and petroleum products.

1. Walk your fat ass around the block once in a while - if you can walk there, don't drive. Duh.
2. Turn off your lights when you're not in the room.
3. Buy fluorescent light bulbs - they can save you 80% on lighting costs. They produce the same amount of light using 1/5th the electricity. They also last YEARS instead of months.
4. Spend time outside during Daylight Savings Time. Its dayLIGHT SAVINGS time. It's right in the name. You'll use less electricity if you'd turn off Springer and look at the outside. Go ahead, it's OK. Turn off the TV; it's a rerun anyway.
5. Buy a f*%king fuel efficient car, you a$$hole! Are you so insecure in your manhood that you have to drive a 454 Chevy pickup? I see lots of big pickup trucks, but the only big thing being hauled by them is usually an ego.
6. Take all the crap out of your trunk. On average, every 100lbs your car hauls reduces the gas mileage by 2%. Again, maybe you should walk around the block and lose some weight.
7. Don't use the AC unless you have to. If you have a small living area, turn your AC off when you leave for work. A small area will cool back off very easily; there's no reason to pay to cool it when you're not at home.
8. Observe no-zone action days. If you hear not to pump gas until after 6pm, don't. It will be cooler after 6pm and you'll lose less to evaporation while pumping.
9. CARPOOL - learn how here
10. Stop being a dumb American. A lot of people have it worse than us. If we had compassion for those folks instead of greedily ripping them off, maybe they'd sell us a cheap gallon of gas.

Have a good Memorial Day Weekend, and remember your fallen countrymen - respect their sacrifices by being a responsible American.

"Lady Gardens" Unite Against Bush

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Mr. T Actually Needs Work!

You may or may not know that I publish a semi-regular column in this blog called Mr. T Needs Work!. It revolves around celebrities and the embarrassing situations they often find themselves in. The name is derived from a TV Funhouse sketch on SNL in February of 2000. Here is a heavily (and poorly) edited clip of that sketch...



I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have been a fan of Laurence Tureaud since I saw him in Rocky III. My father used to take me to the Rocky movies when I was a kid. The memories of those movies are some of the few good ones I have of my father from childhood. So Sly Stallone and his creation, Rocky, and the characters from those movies hold a special place in my heart. Mr. T was always my favorite, probably because of my love for black people and their culture. From a very young age, I have been fascinated by black culture and considered African-Americans my brothers, though not many of them would claim my pasty-white, dumb-ass.

As my staff will confirm, this article will violate several of my rules: "No Articles That Have Been Out Of The News For More Than A Month", "no articles longer than 4 paragraphs" and my "don't source Wikipedia" rule, but I'm the boss and I was watching a rerun on TV Land of Mr. T's recent, failed reality program I Pity The Fool this week, and it brought the subject to the front of my mind.

While Mr. T may look and speak like a jack-ass (don't give me none of that jibba-jabba) he is actually a very entertaining, intelligent and impressive man. He is the oldest of 12 children from a rough Chicago neighborhood. He served as an MP in the U.S. Army, then found work as a body guard to the stars. In 1982, Sly Stallone spotted him at a "toughest bouncer" contest and his career bloomed from there. While Mr. T came from adversity, he found his niche early on and owned it. You have to respect a person for owning who they are and being proud of it. To that point, in Pity The Fool Mr. T uses his motivational style - pretty much yelling at people and scaring them with military-style advice on life, to help them not be a$$holes.

The world needs more Mr. Ts. There are a lot of, as Jon Stewart would say, douchebags out there. If more folks stood up to obnoxious people, maybe there would be less of them. Jeez people, stand up for yourselves. I see people getting walked on every day. Take a lesson from T and stand up for yourself. I'm not saying pick a fight with some bikers, but when the lady at the DMV is obviously wrong, call her on it. You'll feel better.

I'm calling on you, my loyal readers, to contact TV Land and demand they renew I Pity The Fool for another season. Mr. T Needs the work!