I also meant to say...

I truly think that I could take Ken Jennings. I wish that it would be a little bit easier to get the chance. I could take him.

Discovered at a right-wing lunatic site that rhymes with pabaah.com...

Regarding Doonesbury being dropped by Continental Features:

"I am really happy that we are dropping that comic because first of all it is not even written by an American! Why on earth would we want any subversive un-American comics in our American newspapers anyway? It doesn't make any sense! I think we ought to throw Truedo in the jail with other traitors to our Freedom like Michael More. I think we should havea Constitutional Amenment which gives the President the right to jail or interrogate any suspected traitor."

I had to gently remind the individual in question about the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and the Sedition Act of 1918. To borrow a line from an A&W commercial... What a dumbass! Even MOST of the Bushies I know aren't this ludicrous. I'm sure there are more lurking about, but I believe that even Dubya himself would have a laugh at the individual's apparent contempt for the United States Constitution (well, maybe not considering how much the Constitution is being bent as I type). Treason is already covered in the Constitution and this individual probably skipped the First Amendment lesson in Civics class. One thing I know I'll always get at the aforementioned website is a laugh from dorks like this.

This is social engineering with a gory side.

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, good night...

Damn, the 9/11 report is long...

There's a whole hell of a lot of information to take in. I might actually get the book version just for posterity.

Now for that bastion of "fair and balanced"-ness...

I didn't happen to hear it, but supposedly Bill O'Reilly had claimed on air that he'd debate anyone about the Patriot Act. Someone took him up on the offer. Who? The challenger is Michael Badnarik. Unfortunately, in following up on the challenge, Bill and/or the individuals at Fox say that the challenge was "misunderstood". Even if it was a misunderstanding, I doubt that O'Reilly would have Badnarik on. The only Republicrat alternative to see much media coverage is Nader. Besides, the excuse sounds like a lame-ass copout to me. I just think that O'Reilly and some of the other Foxies might actually be a little scared that Badnarik would wipe the floor with their collective asses when it comes to Constitutional issues. After all, O'Reilly is proud to have Pat Boone on his show. Pat Boone recently said the following things:

"I don't think censorship is a bad word, but it has become a bad word because everybody associates it with some kind of restriction on liberty,"

"But we do know that at some point a line that has to be drawn between one man's liberty and another man's license."

Mr. Boone said that if he were in charge of standards, there would be stringent controls on material. "It must be majority approved ... voluntary ... and self-imposed,"

"Censorship is healthy for any society, and that goes for arts, entertainment, anything. Self-imposed means that the majority of people say that is what we want, and it can be changed if people's attitudes change, which is how a democratic society works."

That's nice to know...try to censor me, assclown!

Dubya is legitimately concerned about atrocities and human rights. After all, that's why we went to Iraq (save for those pesky disappearing WMD), isn't it? The Darfur conflict began in early 2003. What's being done about that? If Dubya and friends are so concerned about putting an end to human suffering, we should be leading the charge to resolve the continuing problems in Darfur. I suppose that's just not as high on the priority list.

I just read about the PantsOnFire-mobile...

What gives? It's a (actually two POF-mobiles) car towing a trailer with a 12' statue of Dubya with his pants "on fire". The itineraries for the two PantsOnFire-mobiles can be viewed here. I think that it would KICK ASS to tool this thing around Cedar Rapids, IA in the run-up to the election in November.

I often bring up Libertarians here. Having thought about it, I don't think I've ever really pointed to anything that talks about Libertarianism. For a site with some good explanations (or links to explanations), go here. Most simply put (if you don't feel like reading a lot), libertarians believe that individuals are best suited to determine the courses of their lives (rather than a large and over-taxing bureaucracy) in a society of laws under the Constitution. As the Wiccans say, "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will." (no, I'm not a Wiccan)

Applied to government:

Welfare? Privatize it or make it charitable. Education? Make it private. Income tax? Abolish it! The "war on drugs"? That's worked very well now, hasn't it? Many parts of the government are bloated and wasteful and their functions would be best carried out by private entities much more efficiently (making it possible to slash or abolish income taxes). Only those things which state governments couldn't accomplish (e.g. defense of the country and perhaps a few other things) would be maintained at a federal level. With smaller government, there would be less government regulation. Libertarians tend to believe that markets and industry (and on the micro-scale individuals) can regulate themselves in order to stay competitive and maintain high quality, eradicating the need for government involvement (and added cost). There's a hell of a lot more to it than that...

Want an easy way to see where your politics might lie? Click here and answer the ten questions.

I actually considered taking a drive to Cedar Rapids to see Dubya today...

Unfortunately, my sleep habits are such that I didn't feel that it would be safe. Besides, I didn't even really know about his visit until this morning. I don't frequent the campaign website or the blog (hell, they don't even allow comments) so I was late. Anyway, it would have been interesting to see (or picket or quietly chuckle about). I found it particularly interesting that Dubya's venue was Kirkwood Community College. The Libertarian VP candidate happens to teach there (a search of the faculty only pulls up his wife). Here's Campagna's blog...

I love the political games that are already being played with this Sandy Berger thing. Shows with hosts like Joe Scarborough have those flashy graphics that say "Another Clinton Scandal?". Some sites/news outlets mention that only copies are missing and others say that critical original documents from the Clinton Administration are MISSING. This IS a serious problem. The former National Security Advisor should have a damn clue about how to handle classified documentation. I just think it's too early to start blaming Berger's stupidity on Slick Willy.

Dude! Duke had better be careful. They might be issuing a deadly weapon.

I don't necessarily feel a year older...

Tempus fugit!

We decided to check out Version 2 of Exotic Thai for dinner. We tried Exotic Thai (the one in Davenport, IA) a couple of months ago. If you enjoy Asian food and haven't been there, give it a shot. "Version 2" is on the Illinois side of the water on John Deere across from Wal-Hell. The food was great. Now we just need an Outback on this side of the Mississippi River.

Someone is finally calling Fox on their "fair and balanced"-ness. Like I tell the people I know, I don't care if most of the people at Fox are foaming-at-the-mouth conservatives and they often make it obvious. Just say it! Say, "Hell yes we're conservative! Here's why..." That's all I want. I might not agree but at least I'd know that the individuals in question acknowledge what they believe.

I'm liberal in some ways (some might say) and conservative in others. I believe that most people are capable of taking care of their own lives and that the government shouldn't have the job of protecting everyone from themselves. Unfortunately, I don't know if America has the stomach to allow this. People often bring up the intense hatred of Libertarians for the "war on drugs". Libertarians don't want people to use drugs any more than Democrats, Republicans, or any other political body does. They just think that the war on drugs is a failure and skirts dangerously close (if not over the line) to allowing some violations of the Constitution. Besides, why are some drugs legal? Alcohol and tobacco cause deaths every year. They're still legal...

We just went and saw The Day After Tomorrow...

Suzanne just mentioned it here. I was not highly impressed. This movie followed a formulaic cataclysmic event followed by "lesson learned". The amount of "cheese" in this movie was just enough to make it seem silly to me. The effects were good but effects alone don't make a movie. However, even the US military is thinking about the implications of climate change. I hope that as we progress forward we consider the longer-term implications of the choices we make (as a country). This applies to energy production, national security, and much more. Unfortunately, I don't know if we will ever choose patience over pragmatism. I hope that we can learn.

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.

Well, well, well...

It's great to see that our best friends appear to still be among the land of the living (and blogging about it).

This blog has undergone a little transformation. I hope that it's for the better. We first heard about blogger.com at Gnomedex in 2002. In fact, I used it for a very short period of time before I moved to Movable Type. I like how blogger has evolved.

Suzanne's blog is blogger as well and can be viewed here.

More changes will continue to come here so stay tuned.

Although I was not on for about a week, I thank the admin for where this blog is located. I have enjoyed using SDF for close to two years now and hope to continue to use it for many more.

We broke down (actually I was kind of raring to go in hopes that someone might be protesting freedom of speech and opinion) and went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 last week. It didn't change the way I'm going to vote because I'm not fond of either of the two major party candidates and I wasn't going to vote for either of them in the first place. It wasn't really that bad. I liked it quite a bit. Maybe those conservatives can find a way to charge me with treason for enjoying the flick. I personally happen to think that John Mason's (played by Sean Connery) exchange with General Hummel in The Rock said it best:

"General Hummel: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
John Mason: "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious," according to Oscar Wilde.
[Hummel strikes him and Mason falls to his knees]
John Mason: Thank you for making my point."

There are some people in this country who would be best kept away from "the button".

Back in business

We're back in business...

Vote Libertarian in November if you really want your country back.