I have a problem...

When I hear people suggest that criticism of the President for wartime policies while the country is at war is treasonous. They have the right but I happen to completely disagree. Perhaps if enough Germans had been critical of Hitler and actively opposed the government, Europe wouldn't have been ravaged during World War II. I think that the people who compare Bush to Adolf are misguided but that doesn't change my general lack of faith in Dubya's administration.

I don't go to antiwar.com very often, but I was checking it out this evening. I'm thinking that I will check it out more frequently. I happened to catch this article suggesting that the powers that be in this country are treading dangerously close to the line of censorship and denial of free speech. If you choose to engage in dissent, you might want to make sure you are in the "right place" to do so, even if you are being peaceful. This kind of crap seems almost reminiscent of the whole Crossgates Mall "Peace on Earth" t-shirt flap last year.

I'm in the mood to read something interesting... This book looks like it might fit the bill.

My in-laws called this evening with a question about how to tailor a Google search to find something VERY SPECIFIC. It turns out that the information they were looking for was about the pastor who married us in Alabama 11.5 years ago. All I can say is DAMN!

A bone job worthy of an orthopedist...

I can't complain too much but after working the day shift today, I have the added pleasure of going in to work the midnight shift tonight. Although I might sound like I am bitching here, I once held a certain job where I could go into work and not come home for six months. It's all about perspective. Hell, I even had time to eat dinner with Suzanne tonight.

I believe I've mentioned Keith Olbermann here before. His nightly (during the week) news show often makes us laugh. For examples of Keith's quotes, click right here.

I suppose I'll leave tonight with these slim pickings because it's time to get ready for work.

Mixed signals...

Dubya, please just tell us one thing...

Your speech on Monday said that because we went in and removed Saddam, America is safer. You mentioned that for a number of other reasons, America is safer.

Today, your acting DCI mentioned that the threat level is the highest it has been since 9/11.

Tom Ridge mentioned an elevated threat last week (without raising the color-coded terror alert level to Bert).

Are we safer or not?

I posit that the "power vacuum" left in Iraq by removing an avowedly cruel and murderous dictator has made the threat of terrorism (especially WMD terrorism since most people are convinced that weapons were there) higher. I think that the bio-lab transactions with Saddam during the late 80s (Chapter 1 under the heading "U.S. Exports of Biological Materials to Iraq") (yes, even AFTER Halabja) are very telling and that Dubya should ask his daddy "WTF?"

In Libertarian Presidential hopeful news, Michael Badnarik and crew are still charging across the country and blogging along the way. Check it out!

My wife was telling me about some virtual hilarity...

One of the blogs my wife reads frequently had a link to this site making fun of the campaign season mud-slinging and bitching back and forth. This link is DAMN FUNNY!

The closed minds...

When Suzanne told me that the link that I had posted to a certain rabid conservative site wasn't working and indeed popped the clicker back to my site, I was pissed. Why? It's kind of like you're standing in the midst of a group of people (the net) conversing with your friends (those who might read my drivel). You point to somebody (the site in question) and say, "Look, it's an asshole!" But as you're speaking, they have pointed your finger back at you without your knowledge. I personally happen to think that the tactic of denying certain referers is silly (unless they are porn-peddlers or terrorists) but it's perfectly fine for them to do. These "patriotic" Americans I am talking about are supposed to be capitalists. I even have conservative friends who might consider buying "W" ketchup or one of the books the individuals in question sell from their website.

I was pissed off so what did I do? I found a way around the site's piddly-ass little referer block. I have since stopped using it because I realized that these are the type of people who don't like alternative views (and the method I was using could escalate).

These are the types of people who want a throng of lock-step junior Republicans smashing Dixie Chicks CDs and burning controversial books. These are the closed minds.

Republicons aren't the only ones who will bitch and whine about the importance of free speech and then set about denying it to others. The left has its share of people who do the same thing.

In the spirit of friendly dialogue, all I can say to you "closed mind" types (and yes, you idiots are right along the lines of McCarthy) is:






By the way, although it's old, here's a great clip (RealPlayer) with PABAAH's founder and Ed Asner (one of the "unpatriotic" types)...

I am woefully behind.

On what?

I kind of gave up my anti-spam jihad last year but if I get stuff that particularly offends me, I'll still try to do something about it. I have at least 15 messages I need to work on right now.

Check out Zzaj's new blog at http://rzzaj.blogspot.com/.

Update: Those really cool folks at pabaah.com don't like links from my site. They can kiss my lily-white arse.