NBC Comes Out of the Closet

NBC changes rules to allow gay `Today [Show]' wedding

Yeah, NBC is going gay. Good thing I don't watch NBC or the Today Show that much anyway. Personally, it's disgusting to see two fags kiss... makes me want to puke.

It's disgusting to the degree that I wish someone would sue to make sure it's not shown on TV, or at least provide a warning before a show or commercial airs saying that two fags are going to kiss. That way decent people can turn the channel.

I don't mind fags doing what they do in private, but it's a perversion that ought to be treated as such. Broadcasting it so that fags can feel like their normal is only pandering to them. Let them do their art and do whatever, but don't force people to watch it by not warning them ahead of time.

Google News

Google News

I used to like Google News. There were sections broken out in a way that was logical and easy to browse. It utilized two columns for the most part, and was simply a great, straight-forward way to browse and see what was happening.

Now, that's gone. The news is presented as a list. If you select "Sections" then it's still in a list but as you scroll down the single column, you'll see sections.

It's not only a step backward, but it's a significant step in the wrong direction. I suppose someone wanted to improve something, or maybe thought that something that worked so well for so many years must need to be changed. I don't know, but whatever the reason, the outcome and implementation of this new Google News is simply stupid. I hate it.

Hello, Yahoo! News.

Yahoo News has always been another one I liked, you can even comment on the news articles. They were probably already better format-wise, but now it's a definite. I see no reason to bother with anything else now.

So, if Google's change of its news format was meant to drive people to Yahoo, mission accomplished.

The Bank Bill

The Story

So, Congress passed the new bank bill that will now head to Obama for approval.

Does this potential law go far enough? I don't think so. I haven't heard any "too big to fail" companies crying, so that means they're going to live.

Apparently, the tools to liquidate "too big to fail" businesses are there, but they won't be used unless necessary... and THAT, is STUPID BEYOND BELIEF. Why? Because when the shit becomes apparent, the damage is already done.

Go back to the beginning of the current downturn. Before most people knew that we were even in a crisis, companies were about to crash. So bring in this new law to that situation... what are we going to do? "Oh, you're failing... well, we can liquidate you" ...and get practically nothing since it is already failed.

No, it's too little too late at that point. Nothing has been learned by anyone with the power to change the system in a way that protects citizens. Instead, the pandering of Wall Street continues and it will take a revolution to get lawmakers to do anything decent these days. Out with them all those corrupt idiots, the only way to show them that the people are their boss, is to get rid of them.

Yeah right, like that will ever happen.

Illegal Immigration

NYTimes Story

So what if illegal immigration may be down right now... that's likely as temporary as the economic downturn. Same thing with the downturn in violent crimes, could even link it with the temporary shortfall in illegals coming across. Point is, there's no excuse for an unsecured border.

Every President is responsible, and Obama has failed just like every one before him. There's no way he'll secure the border. The only difference, and it's a big one, is that it's now such a problem that it has become of national interest and is a real issue. It was creeping up in some prior elections, but it's now starting to really get legs.

The New York Times leans left, and that's putting it mildly. And it appears that the argument for the left is... "What problem? We don't see a 'real' problem." Well, try opening your eyes. It's an issue that isn't going to go away by hiding your head or pretending it isn't there. Either do something, or the people will put in someone else who will.

Death by Firing Squad

The Story

Guy on death row, 4th grade edyakayshun, and yet he happens to pick the better way to get executed. Yeah, firing squad is quick and humane, and the best thing is that you don't have to get a tube stuck up your butt, or catheter inserted in your penis. Getting executed is bad enough, going out via firing squad is definitely the more manly way to do it. Not that these sociopaths deserve a manly way to die, but in Utah they get the option.

BP Chief Sucks

The Story

The guy is a liar. He says he was personally devastated when finding out that there was an explosion and people died. Couldn't have been too shocking for him, BP is sort of the leader in explosions with people dying. Safety isn't something they let get in way of profits.

The guy is scum. BP should have been very much into safety after the Texas City explosion, but no, apparently that little incident didn't hurt their pocket book hard enough to register. Yeah, explosions and killing people is acceptable to their profit margin. The money they save by not following safety standards is greater than the cost of explosions and lives. Pond scum, all of them.

And then Joe Barton speaks, apologizing to BP? I knew the guy was a cement industry lackey, but oil too? Well, makes sense I guess. Apologizing to BP seems extreme though. Luckily for him though, his constituents want someone very pro-industry so they can keep their jobs.

Domo Arigato Mr. Obama

Go Bama! Go Bama! Do the robot!

Ok... three people, 3 different salutes. Not good. Not surprising since those guys are Air Force, but Obama's is definitely the worst. Did he hurt his back or something? What gives with making a salute look so gay? It's shameful. But, it's so awkward and bad that it's funny this guy is Commander-in-Chief. Perfect robot dance move though.

Unblurred Face

Google blurs faces, and other things for privacy concerns. They missed one. Well, I'm sure this isn't the only one, but I found one. :)

19.395466, -99.121491 looking North to the truck bay, a couple of guys are walking on the street, one's face gets blurred, the closer one doesn't have his face blurred at all.

Do I get a prize?

Google This

Find this spot on Google street view:
19.416100, -99.088960

This is why people want their faces blurred... lol.

I was just wondering if street view was expanding into different countries, and it is. So I was just going around and checking out this city. One thing I noticed, is that cars seem to be grouped there, you don't just see one parked VW, you see at least 2, same thing for other types of vehicles of course. And then I came across this spot. I was looking at the tree because it appears to be something like one I have growing in my yard, a Montezuma Cypress. Or maybe it's called Monterrey Cypress, anyway, I was looking at the tree and there he is. Classic. So very Mexico.

Terrorists Suck

Funerals were held Thursday at four Moscow cemeteries for some of the subway victims. At the Khovanskoye cemetery, the family, friends and colleagues of Anna Permyakova, a 34-year-old nurse, could not hold back tears as they placed flowers on her open casket. Permyakova had worked in a rehabilitation center and many of her former patients attended the funeral in wheelchairs.

This nurse was obviously a really good person.

And that's the problem, these terrorist scum are killing good people. People who make a difference for the better. People who impact lives in a positive way. And they're being killed.

It's just so sad that good people die due to these really stupid, misguided, selfish jerks. Maybe now Russia will open its eyes about terrorism, and the threat of those countries that willingly harbor and/or advocate terrorists. I doubt it though, it wasn't that long ago they bombings and Russia still supports Iran.

AP and Anne Flaherty are traitorous

The Article

NATO forces in June will make a long-planned assault on the Taliban's spiritual home in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, a senior military official said Monday. [...]

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the operation, discussed the operation on condition of anonymity.

Until the start of major military operations, U.S. troops are working on securing transit routes and persuading the leaders of districts surrounding Kandahar to cooperate with NATO forces.

WTF?

Who needs a spy when one can simply read what the AP publishes? The AP, the "journalist" Anne Flaherty, and whoever leaked the operation should be thrown in jail right now! Start throwing these traitors in jail, NOW, and maybe not as many will follow in their footsteps.

If the military is just using the AP as their bitch for whatever reason, then that strategy is going to have to be revised when we start throwing traitors in jail.

If this is not investigated, if nothing is done by the FBI or other law enforcement agencies, if someone isn't doing some sort of time behind bars for this, then our system of law in this country is messed up. Breaking a law is breaking a law, the motorist is at least pulled over before given a warning, if not a ticket. Pull the AP over, give them a warning or a ticket, I don't care, but pull them over and let them know that what they did is wrong. Same thing for the informant, get his identity, and pull his ass over.

Texas and the EPA

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  The Environmental Protection Agency.  You'd think that with same goals in mind, that there would be a good partnership between the two.  But no.

Politics.  Obama, Democrat, Federal.  Perry, Republican, State.  Obama picks the head of EPA, who picks the head of the regional EPA offices.  Perry picks who sits on the commission.

So, we have two political entities clashing over what's best for Texas.  Right now, the EPA says the way Texas is doing things is wrong.  Texas says it's right, and that it's working, and here's the proof.  And yes, the TCEQ can back up what they say rather convincingly.

So why does the EPA continue?  They can read and understand the numbers, that air quality is definitely improving in Texas despite having great growth.  Maybe... just maybe, and I'm totally guessing and haven't read anything on this, but maybe it's because the environment has been a democratic cause.  Gore has been going on about anthropogenic global warming of course, but "the environment" is one of those things that democrats have been putting on the platform.  So, it must be a little disconcerting to them that a Republican state, with a Republican leader for the last, what, 14 years I think, has been successful at improving air quality.

With Texas, the Democratic Party loses leverage on the issue.  So, maybe they're thinking they'll take control over how it's done, while air quality continues to improve, and can take credit by the time Obama runs for re-election.

Thing is, Obama is looking to be a one-term president.  I think people are waking up from whatever hope they thought they were voting for, and realizing that this guy is no Reagan.  I'm sure this isn't lost on Perry or the TCEQ, and they only need wait this out until the next election.  For Texas, I hope they're right, and it's really going to depend on what Republican runs against Obama.  I kinda hope Perry goes for it, but we may be too close on the heels of Bush.  Though Obama right now is looking to be about on par as Bush.

But who's really right?

Let's look at the respective heads.  For TCEQ, you have three commissioners, two seem to be very knowledgeable scientists, and one is not so scientific but was an aide to Perry, apparently.  Two out of three ain't bad.

For EPA, you have Al Armendariz.  He's an academic type, got his PhD in 2002.  He's originally from El Paso, so maybe the whole ASARCO mess there helped form his opinions on TCEQ.  So, making him the head of the EPA region is interesting to say the least.  It will be a new environment for him, he's mainly been in school his whole life, and has only been advocating and providing testimony against air polluters while they get their permits.  It'll be interesting to see him transform himself into the role, and will be interesting to see if he reverts after he leaves the EPA, which he will in due time.

So, of the two groups, who's right?  I think bias evens out between the two.  So, let's go with practical experience, and let's go with actual data.  TCEQ wins. Period.  Al Armendariz is simply unproven.  I don't care how much you've bitched and complained about Texas' air quality or the TCEQ, that does not make you qualified to be a regional head, and so I call Al Armendariz a puppet.

One of the things Al Armendariz's appointment was to signal is EPA's determination to bring Texas in line... flexing muscle, if you will.  The muscle is EPA takeover of Texas air programs.  Can they do that?  Well, yes, if Texas isn't meeting a federal minimum under the Clean Air Act (CAA).  And that's a question EPA would be hard pressed to show, given the success Texas has had.  That doesn't mean that EPA can't or won't, but it's a definite hurdle.

Here's another hurdle if the EPA decided to take over... they'd have to take over.  And that, is a huge hurdle.  Would their process be as successful as the current one?  Where have they had a successful program before?  In a 5 minute (if that long) Google search, I couldn't find anything.  I saw groups asking the EPA to take over a couple of state air programs, Texas was one, but nothing indicating a takeover or their successful implementation.  I could be wrong, I didn't spend much time looking after all, but I'm inclined to believe that EPA doesn't have the budget to do it alone.

Sure, if they took over then money ordinarily given to Texas to help implement the CAA could be used to help them start up their program.  But, that's not enough money.  They'd require more, for sure, without doubt.  Why?  Because federal workers, recently coming out in the news, make more money that private sector counterparts.  And I know state workers make less than the private sector.  So yeah, it'll be really expensive for them to do that.  Of course, if you can paint it as economic stimulus...

Nah, not going to happen.  This is all posturing, I go back to the initial observation that this is the Democrats vs. the GOP.  It's not a battle that EPA even wants to win, really.  If they were to win, they'd lose, definitely.  No, if they're smart, they won't even show up at the battlefield.  The only way they would is if Obama says something like, "Screw the economy, let's just try to win something."  Healthcare, dead.  Economy, "too big to fail" has the people pissed.  The only bright spot may be the war, the one post he kept a Bush appointee.

So, yeah, unless things get a lot, and I mean a LOT, brighter for Obama, EPA takeover of Texas' air program would not be stupid, but whacky crazy stupid.  That dog won't hunt.

Texas, the projected winner.

Houston Chronicle Editorial on Global Warming

On global warming, the science is solid

This was submitted by various professors from various universities here in Texas.

And, oh yeah, they fail.

I think the reason is because of a basic failure of following the scientific method. Instead of having scientists following the scientific method, they're making opinions, and just doing things wrong. You may have an informed opinion, and that's fine, we can deal with that and discuss your opinion, but don't even try to imply that something is proven based on your OPINION.

• • Heat-trapping gases are very likely responsible for most of the warming observed over the past half century. (emphasis added)

So sorry, but "likely" is not "solid science."

But despite years of intensive observations of the Earth system, no one has been able to propose a credible alternative mechanism that can explain the present-day warming without heat-trapping gases produced by human activities.

Really? So I can be the first? Ok, here it goes, it's called...

Destruction of the rain forests.

Wow, can't believe I'm the first, I thought everyone knew. And it's totally credible too because... well, it's been well studied and everyone knows... well, I guess except the professors who submitted the article anyway.

Solid? Definitely. Just try to refute that if one destroys something that "filters" CO2, then you can expect more CO2. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Overall human capacity to destroy a forest is much faster than industrialized countries capacity to emit. Not only do the forests get devastated each year by getting cut down, there's also the burning that follows, enough from Mexico alone to cause health alerts here in Texas. But maybe the professors who wrote the article haven't been paying attention.

So anyway, we've been hearing for years about the devastating effects that cutting down the rain forests would have. Now that they're finally being realized, the blame is being switched to burning fossil fuels and other emissions.

I suppose that the fight to save the rain forest is gone, and so the fight is on to simply not produce as much CO2. Good luck with that, you know, not breathing and all.

Carillo's Curse

The Elefante in the Room Texas Tribune)

The article pretty much tells a complete story. We (Texas) had a primary election the other day, and a guy lost. Big deal right?

Well, for me, it was pretty shocking, though it shouldn't have been since I will go ahead and maintain that most people are stupid. We had a simple choice between two candidates running for Railroad Commissioner. One named Carrillo, one named Porter.

Carrillo has a ton of experience as a Railroad Commissioner, worked in the oil and gas industry, and was a judge. Porter is an accountant with ties to the oil and gas industry.

Let me say here that I'm only stating what I found prior to my voting, and I know that experience does necessarily translate into knowledge. That said, from what I could find, Carrillo seemed like a shoe-in, the obvious choice to anyone who took 5 minutes to look at both web sites and find their qualifications.

Porter won... he didn't just win, he decimated Carrillo. People overwhelmingly voted for Porter.

Why?

Carrillo plays the race card, saying it was his surname. Porter says he just rode an anti-incumbent wave.

On my ballot, they didn't show which person was an incumbent. I've seen it before where the put the (I) in there, but it wasn't on my ballot this time. So for people to know, at least in my county, who the incumbent was, they'd have to do the research, which would have also told them Carrillo was far more qualified. So, I don't buy the anti-incumbent argument for that reason, and because there simply wasn't an "anti-incumbent" attitude to begin with, it was "anti-washington" and "anti-too-big-to-fail" and "anti-bailout-for-big-businesses" and "anti-throwing-money-all-over-the-place-that-further-puts-us-in-debt-to-China."

So, maybe Carrillo is right. It sort of sticks out there as an obvious excuse. An "anti-mexican" or "anti-ethnic-other-than-white" attitude among the voters. Well, I'm white, and I certainly didn't vote for Porter. So, I'm inclined that although this argument is probably true to a degree, the real problem is ignorance.

If people had been informed of the difference in qualifications between the two, Carrillo would have won. End of story. For sure. There simply isn't an overriding "anti-whatever" that would make people put in Porter over Carrillo. They simply didn't know, the majority of them are white, so they picked the name that they thought would better represent their interests.

So, who's fault is it? Yes, we need to point the finger.

The typical Texas Republican Primary voter is predictable. They're white. They're not going do any research before they vote. They overwhelmingly watch TV. They'd rather watch TV than read junk mail or flyers. Me included, I hate junk mail and flyers. Newspapers are an endangered species thanks to TV and, more so, the internet. Let's stick to those.

Porter didn't have any money really, so let's not even go there. Let's stick with Carrillo who had over $600k to spend.

So, knowing his basic audience, or at least he should have known, Carrillo didn't advertise on TV at all. At least I never saw one. And the article seems to indicate he didn't buy TV time. And that simply is why he lost.

But wait, why didn't he buy TV time? I'm thinking that maybe after years of being in the Railroad Commission, he thought people would know him by now. Maybe he knew all the above but figured he simply wouldn't need to go all out to beat a "no name." To be fair, I would have thought the same if I were in his shoes.

It's a hard pill to swallow. I feel for Carrillo. He underestimated the ignorance of his audience. But in Texas, apparently a third of us believe man lived contemporaneously with dinosaurs. Yep.

So, the finger has to be pointed at Carrillo for actually thinking that he was dealing with, at least minimally, informed voters. He thought wrong, he was dealing overwhelmingly ignorant voters. He should have bought TV time especially if he knew from prior elections that his name was detrimental.

So, even though I feel bad for him, I blame him. And it's a little cheap to say you know your name is a hindrance when people don't know the candidates, and that it cost you the election... without ever trying to overcome it. If you know how bad your name is plays to an ignorant audience, then why didn't you buy the TV time? That's pretty ignorant on YOUR part, Carrillo. You can't just sit back and say, "If I lose, it's because of my ethnicity since [blah blah blah]." On one had you say you realize the realities, but then you don't act accordingly to win. You lose and blame the realities, but it's because you didn't act on them that you lost. That makes it your fault that you lost.

Sure, it'd be nice to win without having to campaign much. To be so popular, and all that. Sure. But you weren't in that position. You apparently acted like it, but you weren't.

Yeah, I'm disappointed and shocked by this. But it was preventable. Carrillo should have won since he was the better candidate. Period.

But, God works in strange and mysterious ways. Maybe Porter is God's choice. It happens. Maybe Carrillo fell out of favor. Maybe the water in Texas predisposes Republicans to vote for names beginning in P. Who knows. (By the way, I'm an independent that voted in the Republican primary, primarily because of Perry v. KBH)

Al Gore's AGW

Gore's Op-Ed from NYTimes.com

"It is true that the climate panel published a flawed overestimate of the melting rate of debris-covered glaciers in the Himalayas, and used information about the Netherlands provided to it by the government, which was later found to be partly inaccurate. In addition, e-mail messages stolen from the University of East Anglia in Britain showed that scientists besieged by an onslaught of hostile, make-work demands from climate skeptics may not have adequately followed the requirements of the British freedom of information law."

---
Right. Well, partly right. And the part that's missing is most significant. The email messages not only showed that public information was not being released, but, more importantly, that there was considerable bias by the scientists conducting what should be an unbiased, objective report on whether human activity is responsible for global warming. It also fails to mention the now-emerging topic that most of the monitoring stations have problems, mainly with their location being biased to show higher temperature due to their proximity to heat-emitting features such as roadways, buildings, exhaust, etc. And the whole bad math problem... not calculating an average correctly (/boggle).  Yeah, there were problems, but more than just what he decided to include.

What Gore should have done was distance himself from the IPCC report and the people who produced it. It's a disaster that is happening in front of our eyes, a train wreck in slow motion. What Gore should have done is say something like, "Hey, it looks like this report should be tossed in the trash and that we need a massive effort to get the best data possible so that we, as humans, can proceed in an intelligent manner." Because right now, to proceed to act on a report where they can't even get basic facts straight, is lunacy.

Yes, forget about anthropogenic global warming for now, because not only were biased scientists running the show, but, most importantly, the data simply is not reliable. Yet, despite this, Gore wants us to keep going... what, on faith? Faith the he's right? Faith that a report based on bad data, and stupid errors is ultimately right? WTF?

No no no no no. Sorry, I'll have none of that. I'm all for the environment, and I'm all for tough laws or whatever if anthropogenic global warming is convincingly proven. However, I'm not about to start getting on that bandwagon based on the shit, and that's probably being nice, provided thus far.

I understand about being passionate about a cause. But when you go about it in a reckless way and ostensibly deceive people, you're going to lose the fight, no matter if you were ultimately correct. That's my concern. I'm concerned that if this issue continues to be mismanaged, if Gore continues to try and push an undoubtedly flawed report down people's throats, that the issue will be forever lost. We need to know, without doubt. The effort should be a human one, not a political one or a personality one. We simply need reliable data, make it public, and do the math correctly.

First things first. Get the data. Place monitors in areas at least 100 feet away from any bias source. As part of the monitoring, a gps of the station's location should also be sent (China had a problem with undocumented movement of stations). That, and any other sampling protocol needs to be followed, calibrations documented, etc.

Until we get usable data, forget the rest because it's just guessing.

Looters

 

Are these looters?

You could say they're praising God, hands uplifted and all, but no, they're not.  They're getting things from a supermarket after a massive earthquake... looks like maybe toilet paper or something.  They're not happy, they're concerned, they're pretty desperate.

They're not trying to get a new TV.  You don't see them with new stereo equipment, or trying to get anything other than what's at a local, and likely closed/devastated supermarket.

A looter isn't someone who is simply trying to survive after a massively destructive or catastrophic event, it's someone taking advantage of the event for personal gain beyond trying to adapt or cope with the event.  So, calling these people looters is absurd.  Put yourself in their shoes.

Out of nowhere, an earthquake changes everything.  You suddenly find yourself needing things like, batteries, water, more toilet paper... etc. so you go to the supermarket.  Unfortunately, most businesses are closed since most people are trying to cope with the new reality.  But, you can't wait, you need food, you need to survive, people depend on you.  And the supermarket is closed and is in sad shape itself, broken windows, items all over the place... not likely to open anytime soon, and neither is any other supermarket.  You have the money, you'd be willing to pay, but there's nobody to take your money.  And if you leave the money there, you know someone will just take it.

So yeah, of course you take what you need.  Maybe you can leave a note saying what you took and that you'll pay for it when they're up and running again.  Or maybe you don't leave a note, but will tell them when you next see them after they're up an running again.  Provided, of course, that you live, which is why you're there in the first place.

No, these people are not looters.  That's simply ridiculous and it's shameful how quickly reporters are to label these people as such.  Looters are people that do things after the OJ verdict.  They were smashing into businesses and taking electronic goods, beer, etc.  Taking advantage of a situation that got out of control for personal excess. 

I'll never forget the prime example of what a looter is, from a helicopter camera during the post-OJ verdict debacle, the video of a black guy in tattered clothing lugging a big, brand new TV, and then the image of a bunch of black people breaking an electronic store's windows and then masses of them going in and taking anything they could get their grubby hands on.  Convenience store owners having to take the law into their own hands to prevent from losing everything in their store, firing their guns to let the would-be looters at bay.  THAT, was looting.

These people I've been seeing called looters in Chile, are nothing of the sort.  I'm sure there may be some looting going on, but it makes me sick to see desperate people trying to survive being called looters, especially when compared to actual looters.

Computer geek misses real question

The Article
"Dr Graham-Cumming was at pains to point out that errors made by the office do not alter the big picture on climate change.

''It does not change the scientific story, and that is that the world is getting hotter,'' he said."
---

Ok, self-described "computer geek" finds a significant error in the method used to calculate average temperature. He then says, quoted above, that it doesn't alter the finding that the earth is warming up.

Hello? Anyone home? The question isn't whether there is global warming, but whether there is AGW... global warming as a result of human activity. In that light, a 1 degree skew is very significant, it's freekin huge.
Dear Dr Grahm-Cumming-miss-the-real-question, step away from the computer... slowly... that's right... now... look at what's really being argued. We know you're not a Doc of Poly Sci or whatnot, but it doesn't take one to know the right question that's being asked and so hotly (pun intended) debated.

But wait, there's more.

Another problem, most of the data is probably tainted.  How can that be, you ask?  Well, if you're inclined to prove AGW, you need some significant increases in global temperature.  Now, let's pretend you're not the most objective of scientists even in your gathering of data, what are you going to do?  Well, you're going to gather data that will more than likely show higher temps.  How will you do that?  Simple, just place you temperature monitors/stations at locations that will more likely than not show higher temperatures.

No?  You don't think this vast array of data is tainted?  Think again, one person even says 90% of the stations gathering data in the US fail in that they are within 100 feet of something that can influence temperature, like concrete, pavement, buildings, A/C exhaust, etc.

Let's face it.  The data gathered to date is simply unreliable... junk.  There are new stations being set up with better monitors, etc. so maybe in a few years we'll have better data on our current situation, but right now, forget about it, so many holes it's like swiss cheese.

Stupid Crazy

The following is the "manifesto" of a guy who decided to ram his plane into the side of a building here in Austin today, along with some of my comments.

If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?” The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably [more like definitely] pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. [Hmm, as a child I don't think I knew what anarchy was] Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed [Yes, the same person who can't articulate his thoughts is now proclaiming we've been brainwashed, probably in a conspiracy by "the government"] to believe that, in return for our dedication and service [Oh, we were brainwashed into a contract, is that it?], our government stands for justice for all [So, as long was we're patriotic, "the government" will be fair to us... yeah, you know, "the government" being this separate entity that the people have no control over and all...]. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place [Yeah, because freedom in the USA is obviously non-existent since nobody is allowed to speak their mind, take trips to wherever they want, protest, etc., yeah right], and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers [if you're able to join and serve in the military (Go Navy!)]. Remember? [Remember all that?  Getting brainwashed?  Remember having a sense of patriotism?  Remember being taught your, not my, beliefs?  Well, I do remember being patriotic, I like to think I still am.  I don't remember being brainwashed, but then I work for "the government" so maybe some psychic knew I'd work for the government one day and told my parents and teachers to not brainwash me?  Yeah, that must be how it works.] One of these was “no taxation without representation” [Yep, that was because we were being taxed by the Brits and had no voice in their Parliment.  They claimed that we had "virtual representation" which we found to be total BS]. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood [I'm sure you're parents are proud of that accomplishment and the life it brought you, and look at how you ended up, wow, great advertising for unlearning that "crap" which is the reason so many people came, and continue to come to the USA]. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse [Yes, the Supreme Court, the President, Congress, and all those who swear an oath to defend those things, including those currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, are labeled crackpots and traitors...  Ok... that makes no sense to me, but let's read more].

While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I) [Huh?  Name one "working" person who doesn't think they don't pay their fair share... besides the ones that simply don't pay like that asshat former police commissioner in New York who's going to jail for it], in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind [It's not all about you now, is it?  It's not about the individual you, but the community, the constituents of the elected people, it wouldn't be fair to everyone else if they only catered to your personal issues all the time.  They aren't required to do so, so whining about it doesn't do anyone any good and only makes you a little nuttier]. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say [There's a difference between being interested in what you had to say, and being able to understand wtf you're talking about, and being able to help.  I'm going to guess that you told them a bunch of BS, similar to what you've already stated, and they were probably thinking that you were off your rocker... and they were correct].

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? [Not that I agree with what happened, but the excuse was "too big to fail."  I hate that it happened too, most people aren't happy about it, but we're not taking it out by committing criminal, if not terroristic, acts] Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system [the best medical system on the planet... a joke?], including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies [Yes, the bailout stinks]. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? [I like white elephant Christmas parties] Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand [It may be complex, but it's not so complicated that nobody understands it, there's plenty of people who understand it and that's how they earn their living]. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims [Ahh, you're a victim!  We're to have pity on you because you've been victimized into... what... having to pay taxes?], claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing [I understand what I'm signing when I sign a tax return, it says something along the lines of I'm taking responsibility for the truthfulness of what I'm sending, there's a statement in the box that's maybe one sentence long that says what is being indicated by the signature]; if that’s not “duress” than what is [That's not duress, duress is when someone is holding a gun to your head and telling you to sign on the line or they're going to blow your brains out]. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is [Requiring a signature... totalitarian?  Ok...].

How did I get here? [Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...]

My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English [Not surprising, I read professional engineers' stuff from time to time, and they're all terrible at writing]. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy [I'm not Catholic, but I respect them as fellow Christians, as the "original" Christians, the Church to which Jesus made Peter his foundation.  The Church has had a few bad apples, but those few should not be used to condemn the entire Church, but then, the continued persecution of the Church must mean they're doing something right... which is why I consider becoming a Catholic time to time]. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done. [But... you were wrong?  Just a guess, seeing as how unhappy you became and how you went all "9/11" on the IRS]

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us [Yes, your experts were probably not as expert as you thought, and an honest living includes paying your fair share of taxes]… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country [The Inquisition was in Spain, it's called the "Spanish Inquisition" and was a way of trying to convert people to Christianity, but I don't think the IRS really cares what religion you are, if any].

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie [Ok, please, oh wise one, tell us this great lie]. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom” [Freedom, in case this what you consider to be the great lie, does not mean "free from taxes."  Taxes is what it takes to help ensure your freedom, freedom isn't free, it costs blood, sweat, and tears]… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.

On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age. [I'm sure you made him proud, you might have made him even prouder if you'd sought help for your anxiety and taken whatever medications were indicated]

The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on. [So, social security has served its purpose in her case]

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) [Cat Food Lady] rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.

Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer… and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.

For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).

SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.

Note:

· “another person” is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.

· “taxpayer” is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.

· “individual”, “employee”, or “worker” is you.

Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d).  Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes. [So... you decide to kill yourself by ramming your plane into that building, because of an exception that the IRS said you couldn't have... brilliant]

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did [Clue, get one], and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time [you were]. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and [of?] any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles [Really?  You discovered moles?  Or was this another great thing you decided must be true?] from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing [losing] income that I couldn’t bill clients. [So, instead of working and making enough money over time to pay off what you owed in back taxes, you decided to spend what would have been billable hours, to go gain pity from others about the situation you just want to complain about.  Brilliant]

After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.

Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back. [If you're that dumb, then yes, you should have left engineering]

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government ["the government!" ] caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! [It wasn't just your money, especially if you're dodging taxes] After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done [Oh really?  News to me]. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash [cost of living is much cheaper in Texas than in California, most people either know this or find out before they decide to move], because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion [Yes, another conspiracy, the only possible explanation] to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take [Yes, obviously because they're all in it together... right...] and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies [well, on that point, sure seems that way doesn't it, I'm sure many of those voting for the bailout had interests in those companies, pretty sure that was on PBS news].

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice. [Depends on the IRA, but yeah, that can count as income... and that denial of due process sounds sketchy since courts bend over backwards to hear cases, and you can appeal the denial, if ya hadn't killed yourself]

So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income [So after all that's already happened, the pattern continues, a sort of passive aggressive response], not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.

When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to XXXX XXXX, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, XXXX knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me. [Unreported, as in, you need to report it on your taxes, as in you should have made sure it was included.  That's your taxes, you can't withhold information and expect someone else to magically pull it out of the air, that's just a total lack of personal responsibility, it wreaks of a continued effort to get away with something from "the government" in order to get back at them.  Well, the only people you can screw with is either you, or the public.  It's not the IRS's money, they just collect it so our military gets paid, for one, and to generally keep the government running.  This diatribe does nothing but further show to be the nutjob you are, you keep trying to screw the IRS and they keep catching you.  You keep hoping for a different result, but continue to do the same things over and over.  Maybe you should have eaten the cat food, maybe all that peanut butter messed you up]

This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.

I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution. [Yeah, a lot of people feel this way right now, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless or that people won't get booted out come election time]

As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws. [Unfortunately, I don't think W was a puppet, he was large and in charge, and he screwed up a lot... it take a special kind of asshat to get our country from a budget surplus to a huge deficit]

I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.

I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less [Yeah, I actually agree, we need a lot of new people in Congress, and if they decide to cash in instead of represent the people, then they need to be quickly voted out as well]. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well. [That's certainly one way to stop the cycle, the better way would have been to simply stay on top of your taxes, especially if you know they're complicated, the IRS has resources to help if you ask.  If you're in a business, it makes no sense to not have someone keep track of tax issues, especially if you've had problems with them before and don't know how to handle them yourself]

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed. [To the last... at least you're consistent, and maybe that's why nothing of yours got by the IRS since they can easily flag people who try to screw over the US taxpayers]

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

02/18/2010

Texas v. Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW)

If it's caused by humans, we don't know.  I believe Texas is right, that right now, the IPCC and CRU have... well, screwed up big time.  Their study, undone.  An undergraduate would have received a D or worse as a grade.  Their data, who the hell knows how valid it is, they certainly don't.  Supposed facts found within the report, proven false.  It's pathetic.

I like what the AG wrote in his petition for reconsideration.  The whole foundation upon which the EPA decided to base its Endangerment Finding is crumbling.  The lead on the project, Phil Jones, a Brit, was obviously biased and is at the heart of the bungle.  He really wanted to prove AGW, because I think he really believe it to be true.  So, he sort of let the ends dictate the means to a degree.  He wanted to reach that end, and quickly.  So, instead of doing purely professional work to find out the truth of whether there is AGW, he sought to prove AGW.  Even in recent interviews, he still shows that bias.  He doesn't care about objective truth, he just wants to serve his own selfish interests.  He even talked about suicide, and those are the most selfish types of all.

So yeah, it's all bunk, start over, verify original data from monitors that don't change locations... you know, the basics.  If you can't get the basics right, just give up and let someone else do it, stop wasting our time because if there really is AGW, we need to know sooner than later...  you dumbasses at IPCC and CRU.

Medina Shows True Colors

Perry, KBH blast Medina - First Read - msnbc.com: "“I don’t have all of the evidence there, Glenn, so I’m not in a place, I have not been out publicly questioning that,” Medina said. “I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard, there are some very good arguments and I think the American people have not seen all the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that.'"
----

That's a quote from a woman, last name Medina, who I won't even bother finding out her first name because she's obviously nuttier than peanuts. She's running for governor, has been gaining in polls and popularity, I even heard talk about her on the radio this morning saying she'd "won" a debate between the three GOP candidates.

But this? THIS? Oh my, sorry, but no thanks. The last thing Texas needs is someone who actually panders to conspiracy theories regarding the events of 9/11/01. "Very good arguments"? ... I mean, I haven't heard ANY arguments indicating that our government had anything to do with 9/11, but the mere suggestion is reprehensible.

Sure, she's free to her opinion, but her opinion just so happens to run contrary to most people's reality, that it was foreign Muslims, not Americans, that caused the events of 9/11.

I'm so sick of the "the government did it" types of conspiracies, the people who propagate it are people who lack personal responsibility or are otherwise looking for nebulous excuses. This is something a Governor of Texas should lean to, rather the person should come out and say, "HELL NO" to wacky conspiracy theories.

Beware of smooth talkers like John Edwards, and apparently now, a woman with the last name of Medina.

US Missionaries in Haiti - Kidnapping

It's been on the new for a few days now, and right now I'm of the opinion that the authorities over there are more right than wrong about the situation. The thing is, I don't care how much you care about something, if you go about doing something illegally, then you are committing a crime. Let's say, shortly after Katrina hit, a bunch of Haitians came over and were taking 30 American children to Mexico, or Canada even. That's the same thing. Or even better, additionally imagine that the US is a lot smaller, but still an independent nation, and these foreigners come along at a time of crisis and are trying to take children out of the country without any sort of permission.

To me it's pretty cut and dry. The only grey area is if all of them knew and were actively a part of the crime. It sounds like maybe just one person may have known that they were acting illegally, but then she may just be sacrificing herself for the others since she was mostly responsible for the act.

When in Haiti, you're under their laws. That's no different than what Jesus said about acting under Roman laws. Just because you are a Christian and are trying to do something good in Haiti, does not mean you can break Haitian law.

So yeah, if I were Haitian I'd be pissed too and wanting these people prosecuted. How very disrespectful of them to just try and abscond a bunch of children, disaster or no. Yeah, that's kidnapping.

So, unlike what the media may be trying to do, I don't have much sympathy for the missionaries. Even if some of them didn't actually know that some sort of permission was needed, they should have known. Any reasonable person should know that they needed some sort of permission to do that.

People, you need to think about what you're doing before just acting on what you feel like is right. Feelings are fallible, you need to exercise good judgment... especially if you're in a foreign country. I just can't help but think these are kind people, but probably just a bit on the ignorant side. Not sure how else one can explain the stupidity of the actions with the good intent.

I'm really curious though if they had already reserved room in the Dominican Rep. before taking the children, because if they didn't do that, then that means they were just acting totally willy nilly and thank God they got caught.

Emmitt, Rice both great, but the greatest?

The Article

The article gives a nod to Rice, but disrespects Smith by saying he wasn't great at anything, but good at a lot.

That's some stupid bullshit. Smith's greatness, the thing he was GREAT at, was determination. Barry Sanders?... please. If Barry had half the heart Emmitt had, then maybe Barry would have done better and be considered the greatest. Walter Peyton, was good, no doubt, but Emmitt faced far superior defenses, much faster and more athletic players, etc. Same thing with Jim Brown, sure he was a great, but it's clear to me the greatest was definitely, without any doubts or hesitation, Emmitt Smith.

Emmitt wasn't a loudmouth, he didn't try to draw attention to himself, he simply let his game speak for itself. His quiet determination would shout at you though. When he had a hurt shoulder and ran the ball down, play after play against the Giants, my God, what more proof do you need? That drive was all Emmitt, hurt shoulder and all, he single-handedly punished the Giants defense. The G-men's defense back then was nothing to sneeze at either. It's not like they were playing Tampa Bay, they were playing a top team... I don't remember if it was the NFC Championship game or what, but that drive showcased Emmitt and left no doubt to anyone on or off the field, that Emmitt was without a doubt, one tough sonofabitch.

Even more proof of his determination is the number of years he played. Sanders' determination? His determination was to try and retire and keep a bunch of signing bonus money. You want to talk about the greatest, don't forget integrity. Walter Peyton and Emmitt Smith kept their integrity, Sanders didn't. Sanders had a lot of rushing yards, as was definitely hard to tackle sometimes, but so was Emmitt. Where Barry was dodging and moving around, Emmitt would do that too, but he'd also power through when needed, and wouldn't be shy about blocking or taking/giving hits. Smith had an all around game, the complete package. Barry, not so much. Barry is definitely one of the greatest, for sure, but Emmitt was definitely better.

So, yeah, without hesitation everyone knows Emmitt deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Greatest ever? That requires comparing different eras when considering Walter Peyton, but there's no question that Emmitt is more deserving of that than Barry Sanders. For the article to slight Emmitt in that is stupid. They get some defensive guy from Tampa to comment... please.

But let me say this, I also watched plenty of Walter Peyton growing up. I liked Peyton. And from my perspective, having watched both players, I've got to say I really do think Emmitt is, hands down, the better of the two.

Brown was known is his time, was surely a great, but definitely not the greatest. OJ Simpson, likewise, was one of the greats, but he killed two people, and then later robbed some people at gunpoint... so... integrity took a massive hit.

However you want to look at it, Emmitt Smith is the greatest running back to ever play football, to date.

I just hope before I die that another great back emerges that is compared to Emmitt.

Oh, and Rice, yeah of course. There's not even a close 2nd to Rice as far as receivers go.

Build your system for the future

So I'm reading a review in Amazon regarding the Kaspersky 3-user internet security software. This reviewer gives it a poor rating, saying it's slow, slows down everything, etc. It was giving me pause. Then he says going from Kaspersky 2009 to 2010 is like going from XP to Vista. Umm... hmm. Then he details his computer, a P4 with 1 gig of RAM. He later comments that he's never upgraded to Vista or Win7, and that he believes in not fixing something that isn't broken. Umm... hmm.

So, the review wasn't really helpful for me. But here's the thing, he's trying to run a modern program on a dinosaur computer. My granny has him beat, she still runs the computer I got her 12 years ago. It still has Win 98 for crying out loud. But, it connects to the internet, and does everything she wants it to do. And this weekend I'm giving her an HDTV, go granny... go granny!

Anyway, here's the thing, if YOU need to update your system, or need a new system today, then think in terms of the future. Most people, I hope, want to be able to run things that come out in the future because that means not having to upgrade soon after getting a new system.

Well, that's sort of what happened to me once. You see, my first computer that I bought with my own money and all that, was a Mac. I liked it. Played a game called Myst on it, which sort of had an impact on my view of computer games. Anyway, being the loyal guy I am, my next computer was Mac too, a G3 or G4, something like that. The only thing is, shortly after buying the computer, they released another computer that had a certain something that I wanted on mine. However, the only way to get it, was to buy a whole new computer. I talked with friends on the internet about it, and they said that if they wanted to change something in their computers, all they had to do was buy the part, and stick it in. So I called a couple of Mac places and asked if they could do something like that, nope, won't fit or somesuch answer. So, I was pissed. I hadn't had the computer for more than a few months, and already needed to buy a whole new one, if I stayed with Apple.

Fool me once, shame on you. Not going to fool me twice, so I bought a Dell. And wow, cheaper and more powerful, and just more professional in every way. Sure enough, I had it a while and discovered I wanted more RAM, no problem. A new sound card, no problem. However, after a while I simply needed something more powerful, with a bigger hard drive, all sorts of stuff. Yeah, it's like 3 years old and it's time to be replaced. By this time though, I'm pretty savvy. So, I decide to build my own. I made a mistake though, and it wouldn't be the last time I make it. I didn't build it for the future, I built it for right now.

That's fine, for now, but that means it's going to be lackluster in about 2 years, more or less, definitely less if you play games. And I play games. So almost 2 years after that I build another system, use some parts of my old, later on I buy some new parts and can have 2 systems. Did that for a while, started having problems with my main system, and guess what, it's ancient. Specifically, RAM had changed, and AGP video cards were suddenly gone.

So, what I had done was partially built for the future, and added on as needed, and that worked out long enough to not know that AGP vid cards, which had been awesome before, suddenly extinct. What I remember though, was that years before, when I was building the system, that people were talking about the new pcie video cards. If I had only listened and bought that stuff back then, then I wouldn't be building a completely new system today.

So, mistake realized, this time I built for the future. Keep in mind, I did this nearly a year ago, but even now most people would be hard pressed to beat the system I built. Most of which is what I would recommend even today. The only thing I would change now is the particular video card, but they are always coming out with new ones so it's no surprise.

So, if you want a computer that will last you for more than a couple of years, then this is what you need, and you probably need to build it yourself:

1) A new quad core cpu. i7 920 at a minimum, with x58 chipset, a definite for OCing.

2) A motherboard that can fit your cpu, can handle ddr3 at a minimum of 6 gb. Onboard sound seems fine to me these days. ASRock has a couple of good ones, Asus Rampage II or one of their P6Ts are probably good.

3) At least 6 gigs of RAM, ddr3. Corsair dominator GT 2000 or 1866 should be fine.

4) A power supply of at least 750W, more if you have a lot of things to attach. I believe Corsair still has a web page where you can input all your devices and it tells you how much power you should get. However, in the future you may need more power than you use now, so anticipate. 750W minimum.

5) A pair of video cards, or something like Radeon's x2 stuff, 2-in-1 card, that can handle DirectX 12, with 2 gb of memory.

6) A non-stock CPU cooler. Be sure that it will fit in your case because they get big. Do research, do it twice to make sure you know that it'll keep your CPU cool. Take a look at the CoolerMaster V8.

7) A big case that will keep everything cool and has room for expansion. In the future, you may want dual blu-ray drives or something else that comes out. Don't go cheap on the case, it's important to get something sturdy, preferably on wheels, with slots for additional fans.

8) Additional fans

9) A 24" HD monitor. Probably don't want to go bigger than this, but to each his own. Check out the Asus MK24

10) A fast wireless N router so that you can make your future TV wireless if it has an etherport, and can wirelessly watch HD movies via a wireless bridge. Other stuff like DVD players can also be turned into wireless via the bridge, just plug the devices into the bridge, and it will relay the signals to/from the router/internet. The PS3 is already wireless, if you want to go that route.

11) At least one fast Hard Drive. Look at Velociraptor for starters. Other HDs for storage can be slower.

12) A blu-ray read/write drive. Lots of USBs. Keyboard and mouse that "fits" you and your needs. Check out Logitech's line.

13) A 64bit operating system (OS). This is fast approaching to be the norm because you need a 64bit OS to take advantage of more than 3 gigs of RAM, and 3 gigs of RAM isn't going to cut it for very much longer. Go ahead and get Windows 7 64 bit if you don't mind potential bugs before their first service pack. Else, get Vista 64bit ultimate and you'll be happy.

14) Internet security software such as Kaspersky 2010. Don't waste time with the free stuff, they're meant to protect a Ford, you're driving something akin to a tough Mercedes.

15) Schedule your updates. Maybe once a month, every couple of months, or at least whenever things don't seem right, you need to check and update your drivers. This includes your motherboard's chipset drivers, your video card's driver, dvd driver, directX, motherboard bios, router bios, windows update, other software updates, etc. This is especially true with new products because the manufacturer figures out what needs to be fixed after the initial version has been released.

The drawback is, being on the forefront means a slightly different release of the same product might be slightly better. For instance, I got the i7 920 early on. It's a C0, and later came a D0. The D0 can handle overclocking a little better, with less heat due to slightly different architecture. So, if I had waited a little longer then I could have gotten the D0. However, the C0 is just fine, and if I ever decide I really do need that little bit more umph, well guess what, something is going be even better than the D0, or maybe I'll just stick in a i7 extreme, who knows. The difference isn't that big of deal, but because I'm set up to handle better things already, I won't have to buy a new computer to do that.

If in the future I want more umph and there's a whole new CPU that, like the i7, is a leap in technology, then I will likely only need to buy a new mobo and the CPU, as everything else should still work just fine for a number of years. That said, the i7 should be "it" for a while.

Yes, I've tried AMD. The i7 is simply a leap forward and AMD is trying to catch up now. I'm a fan of ATI though, which AMD owns. I even worked for AMD one summer and liked the people. So, it's nothing personal, and the competition is good for us all.

Now, another drawback is that this is expensive on the front end. However, a system like this, built today, should last you a lot longer than any Dell, including XPS, or HP being sold. The only thing I know of that's close, is Alienware. You won't save any money, but you'll get a good system that even has a unique look.

If you decide to build your own, beware of a couple of things. One, buy from a reputable place. If you buy parts from Newegg, that's fine. If you buy from Amazon, that's fine, as long as Amazon is the one sending the item. I would not trust 3rd parties that sell through and ship outside of Amazon. Why? Personal experience of course.

I bought a power supply from Amazon, but it was actually sold by ANTonline. Well, the power supply I received did not work... and the nightmare began. It basically took me a couple of months to get a power supply that worked. I will never ever never make that mistake again on something so vital to a project. In general, it may be in your interest to actually pay a little more to buy at a local store in case you get a bad a part. That way you can probably exchange it very quickly instead of mailing things back and forth. In my case, I received two dead power supplies before finally getting one that worked.

Two, the second thing to beware, are the specifications. Is that big fan going to fit? Is the case that's $100 cheaper really as good? (no, it isn't) Look at not only what they tell you, but what they don't tell you. And then figure out the answer anyway... looking at online manuals, etc. For instance, a motherboard may have 6 slots for ddr3 RAM, and not mention how much it can effectively utilize. The answer may be because it can only handle 6 gigs of ddr3 when you want one that can handle at least 12 for future growth. Not that 6 will be insufficient anytime soon. So, just be careful and know exactly what you're getting before you start buying. Make a list, check it twice, see what component is naughty or nice.

One more thing, have a working, internet connected computer while you're building your system so that you can refer to it with any questions, if you need to check out images, etc.

Google is your friend. Lots of people are building their own systems so there's information out there that tells you what you need to know about installing everything. Read your manuals if you're unsure, they have good info too. Don't be afraid to call support to answer a question, especially if you thing something isn't working... I had to call support about pin placement. The case wanted 3 pins but the mobo only had 2 pins. I called and emailed the support for the mobo, ASRock, and they told me they had the answer already on the web, that I never could find, and he told me that I simply needed to detach one of the leads and stick it in the empty middle slot, and then I'd have the 2-pin slots that the mobo called for. I was like, duhh, why didn't I think of that on my own?

So, do your research and go build your new system. Try not to smile too much when you're done, and know that bad boy is going to serve you well for a long time. And don't go cheap on surge protection!

Obama Calls for End to New Moon

The Article

Ok, apparently the movie "New Moon" is so bad, Obama wants to cancel our return to the moon.

Fine, because honestly, when George W. announced the new mission to reinvigorate NASA, I was unimpressed with the mission itself, but all for NASA coming up with new or updated technology for space travel.

So, not going to the moon again is fine... BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Not only does Hussain the Insane Obomba want to scrap the new moon mission, he wants to fundamentally change NASA into... something not NASA. No longer would NASA be spearhead of American space flight and missions, but it would be turned into a cog of the international community wheel.

WTF?

Yeah, exactly. It's given a cheery side of more money, but the money will have to be spent technology that will be used in international collaborations. So, if there's a human landing on Mars, they won't be setting up a big lone American flag... nope, they'll just stick in bunch of tiny flags from all sorts of countries that donated to the cause. No more credit for doing anything, it'll be an international achievement instead. American pride and recognition... nah, we'll just blend ourselves in with the rest.

Russia agreed to an "international" space station because it couldn't afford to maintain it. It didn't do so to try and be friends with everyone, they had to do it because they really didn't have much of choice. So what the real reason we are suddenly going to change NASA? Chinese debt.

Yeah, that's my theory. Right now, we owe China a lot of money because they're bankrolling these fucking bailouts. So in turn, we are going to appease them by making a internationally communist space agency so that they, China, can further their space travel goals. Yeah, China. I have absolutely no proof, of course, but it's plausible enough I suppose. Not really a theory I guess, more like an hypothesis waiting to be tested.

Write your Federal Legislators, House and Senate, and tell them you're against the international communizing of our space agency. While you're at it, tell them the only thing that is broken and needs to be fixed, is the idea of giving tons of money to failed companies. That's so fail, both parties let it happen too... wonder why... oh, yeah, personal interests. (My God, we desperately need more honorable people in the legislature that put God and country before themselves.)

Republican Senator in Massachusetts, Illegal Aliens, Obamacare

FOXNews.com - Excuses, Excuses: Democrats Dig Deep to Explain Loss in Massachusetts: "Democrats are offering a wide variety of excuses to explain why a truck-driving, war-supporting, health care reform-opposing Republican will be sitting in 'Ted Kennedy's seat' in the U.S. Senate."

Ok, aside from my ignorance on what truck driving has to do with anything, here's the answer to those that are baffled by the epic Republican win, epic Democrat failure, in the now-defunct democrat bastion State of Massachusetts. Drum roll please...

The economy.

Wow, who'd a thunk it? The issue that appears to always determine modern elections. Yep, the economy. But wait, George W. you say? Nope, sorry, that doesn't wash anymore, because now there's a new factor affecting the economy. Drum roll please...

Bailout money, and bailout bonuses.

Yeah, the bailout isn't working, has been epic mismanaged, and is an epic failure by itself. Add to that the bonus money given to those who SCREWED us over in the first place... and yeah, there's a lot of people pissed off, and out of work no matter their political lean.

So there you have it, not too shocking. The only real surprise is that the Democratic un-elect was ever in the lead. I can only suppose that it was just a temporary difference in exposure to the public, since the Republican candidate was some unknown truck driver.

That said, it also probably didn't help that Martha Coakley does not look like, appearance only, someone who will fight for a constituency. She looks like someone who should be home baking cookies. I base this off one photograph that I've seen of her. :)

Sure, other people will say this or that, making the election results as some sort of complicated tale. It's not. People are pissed off. Things aren't turning around yet, though to be fair, it has only been a year since Obama's oath.

WARNING: The U.S. President is not about the person, it's about the nation. Any President who fails to realize this or acts outside the national interest, will not be elected to a 2nd term.

The U.S. public understands the idea behind the bailouts. We also understand that it is failing, and will continue to fail. I believe most people wish the market economy would have been allowed to continue... AIG failure, "Banks too big to fail" failure, etc. Yes, they should have been allowed to fail, it would have been a lesson learned, we'd have gone through as bad a time as we have, but would likely recover faster.

But no, we allow these monstrosities to continue, and they screw us over even more with higher interest rates and fees. It's just pathetic. They should have died. Other companies would have filled the void, companies that have survived by not sucking in the then-current economy. Companies that could have had their shot at serving a much larger market with their business model. But no... we all got the shaft.

Hope? Yeah, here's your hope, just bend over. That's the Obama hope, or at least what it has become. Poor decisions. Why he continued with George W.'s bailout I'll never know for sure, but I suspect personal interests of his or his staff. People wanted change, not a continuation. Pathetic.

So, big picture, what the Massachusetts election really signals is that Obama's first year in office is a failure.

What he should have done... let them die. It was not the government's responsibility until Obama decided to continue with the bailout program. Had he let them die, that would simply be the market forces at work. Sure, we'd go through a rough time, but the government could have been in a "helping the people" mode then, not the current "helping epic-fail corporations continue to live" mode.

Either way, I'm sure if McCain had been elected, we'd be in the same boat. I can see Reagan letting the market work as intended, but I just don't see many other people with balls that big.

Did anyone else get a sick feeling when it was decided that WE would bail out these failed corporations? That was the Holy Spirit talking, saying, "WTF, r U sToopiD?!" Well, maybe not exactly that, but something like that. And here we are still bailing them out, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same, as, it, ever, was.

A very wise man once told me a very wise saying... when it appears to you that you're digging yourself into a hole, stop digging. Hello? If losing Mass. isn't a big enough sign that Obama is digging his own grave, then, well, we're all screwed until we can get a real leader, who's qualified, can make the tough decisions, etc. So what else is Obama digging?

Healthcare reform, hmm. I kinda like it the way it is, we just need to stop illegals from abusing it. Stopping the flow from Mexico would be a nice start toward real healthcare cost savings. After securing our border (that sounds so bad, funny how it's true) we would then need to deport illegals from within, or have them pay restitution and go through proper immigration channels before making them legal, or something along those lines.

Point blank, illegal aliens are hurting more than helping. They come here, go to the emergency room for all medical needs, don't pay, have their babies, don't pay, send their profits to another country, refuse to learn English, have no allegiance to the U.S., create environmental problems, and more. So not only healthcare would be affected by controlling illegal immigration, but society in general would be affected, mostly in a positive way.

Let's say Obamacare somehow passes. Guess what, it's still fail. Why? Because the same problems affecting the current method will now plague the new method. Worse, illegals will no longer be isolated to emergency room waiting rooms. Yeah, Obamacare will not only be a U.S. healthplan, it'll be a worldwide health plan. We can now brag that not only does America feed the world, but that we are also the world's hospital.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Yeah, have the entrance to all the Obamacare facilities be a golden door.

So there you go. Obama's bailouts and bungling of the economy has lead to a win for Republicans in Massachusetts. Healthcare reform, "Obamacare," is similarly bungled. Obama needs to pause, reassess his footing and what the U.S. wants for the U.S., ie no Obamacare, and then take steps to really solve the root of the problem with any healthcare system in America, ie illegal aliens, and those that don't pay for the medical services received. That would at least be a positive starting point for a first term, addressing a root issue instead of a derivative problem.