Saturday, November 8, 2008

Salus Nobis Totus

Life and more importantly, living itself should not be that of hate. For when we spend our time living in hate, no matter how we justify or even deny it, we lose that which separates us from evil… compassion and love. In today's world, we have many different groups of people that believe in a great many things. Most of the time, these beliefs do not amount to any hatred or anger towards others but all too often, one specific area of beliefs do turn to hatred shrouded in the notion of civility, morality and peace.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere." Today's world is vastly different from that of just 50 years ago. For the most part, our schools are not segregated, we do not have separate restrooms or drinking fountains, the right to vote is not denied to someone because of the color of their skin, and yet we still have injustices that continue to go on, even in the face of what some have called the modern version of the great Civil Rights movement. A movement that brought us great persons such as Dr. King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks, and all the other greats who gave their sweat, blood, and even their lives for the advancement of peace and compassion. I know there are some who may fear this new movement, some who believe it is against the laws of nature, or against the word and the grace of God; just as there were those who feared it in the sixties.

They pull out their scriptures, whether it be the Torah, Qur'an, or even the Bible, telling us how God hates this group and their actions condemn them either in this life or in a version of Hell. Some tell us that they pray for these "sinners", others simply quote Leviticus as the basis for their hatred and disgust. For it is within this book of the Pentateuch that states "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," (Leviticus 19:22) and later describes the punishment as "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them" (Leviticus 20:13). It is these simple words that have caused so much suffering and hatred towards our fellow mankind, even though their hatred derides that which their faith is based. For Christians, we must focus more on the teachings that come later in the Bible, such as First Corinthians where we are told to abide by three things: Faith, Hope and Love with the greatest of these three being Love (I Corinthians 13:13). For love, even in the face of conflict or the great unknown is more difficult to manifest than hate, yet it is love and compassion that we must aspire to.

It is not up to us to enact a punishment on these individuals who are seeking the same civil rights as everyone else for even Leviticus, which was written by man, can be wrong or interpreted to mean something else. It is not up to us to interpret the teachings of God for them, whether you side with the narrow-mindedness that uncovered itself with the recent passage of a hate filled law, or if you side with compassion, love, and doing the right thing. For those who take such an obdurate stance on this issue, holding on to the Bible as your justification, I ask you this: How can you be so sure and set in your ways when the Bible states "as for prophecies, they will pass away, as for tongues, the will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect," (I Corinthians 13:8-9)? Our interpretation cannot be perfect for only God is perfect. Let us work towards bettering this place in this lifetime and let the judging and final determination on the morality of this great issue be decided by the only one that will get it right, God.

Salus Nobis Totus… indeed.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Voting… With fries on the side

I will dispatch of the typical political hoopla that has been going around for the past 2 years (can an election really take two years?) and keep this one short and sweet. I hate the expression "It doesn't matter who you vote for, just vote!" I think that everyone should vote but do not condemn those who do not. Our military has fought in countless wars and tens of thousands have died since this country's inception just so you can have the right to vote (or not to vote). It does very much matter who you vote for and what you are voting for. Instead, I will offer this amended phrase "No matter who you vote for, just vote."

Hopefully, tomorrow we will have a clear Victor, unlike the 2000 and even 2004, although 2004's uncertainty lasted only a day or two. I personally am voting for McCain and Palin but most of my friends are not (I would be willing to go so far as to say they are voting for Obama). I disagree with the politics of Obama but would still support him should he be elected… at least until he takes office, then the gloves come off. The same would go for McCain. I am an equal opportunity glover-off'r person. Also, for you California voters, I am voting No on 8, No on 2 (I really do not care if the animal I am about to eat was able to turn around while it waited to be slaughtered for our consumption… although I do care about the sanitary conditions but that is a different matter). Call me cold, heartless or whatever adjective you can think of. I really do not care what you think of me or my vote.

Also, I am voting against school bonds and other state initiatives that will further add to the required spending mandates of a state with financial difficulty. People complain that education is always the first thing that gets cut in financial difficulties. Well, there is a reason for that. Education and welfare programs represent the largest non-mandated expense of the state's budget. They cannot cut other programs that you may feel are less important to those big ones but because of the stupid electorate, the state has to fund them.

Anyways, I think I have done enough to cause letters to be written so I will close with this. "Denny Crane."

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Inter arma enim silent leges

For this post, I am not going to talk about the latest issues or problems that the world is facing (at least, not the main issue(s) the media has decided is important for us to care about at this very moment). This has been a huge issue not too long ago and I feel that it is too important to let it fall off of our radar screens.

Although the Latin phrase above is translated as "For among arms, the laws fall mute", I am going to use the more modern interpretation of this classic phrase "In times of war, the laws fall silent." Cicero, from Roman times, coined the phrase and it holds true today.

As many of you know, I am a Republican and a supporter of the war(s) that the U.S. is currently engaged in. I am also one of the very few (and I mean very few) general supporters of President Bush. He has done decent things, some of which have gone without press releases and the typical political "look at me" stunts that BOTH sides are guilty of doing. Do not get me wrong though, please, he has done some Stupid and idiotic things that make you go "Really?" but then again, everyone has had some of those moments. I consider myself a "realistic conservative" (that's right, a new catch phrase for my conservative compadres) in that I actually listen to the other side, try to understand where they are coming from, looks at all the facts and then make my opinion. My bias is always there and I make no attempt to hide that but we all have our bias, even those who claim they are just giving facts and are unbiased. With that said, I am also a staunch believer in this country's greatness… or at least the greatness we could be.

Since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the American people and Congress have been signing away our freedoms and our moral integrity in the name of National Security. We allow the Government to listen in on us, we are more than willing to take off our shoes and submit to personal searches so we can "freely" move about the country and world (while following other countries' immigration laws, of course), and allow the country to increase its use of torture on individuals. I can support limited torture (non-physical and non-sexual humiliation torture) on those who are actually bad guys and terrorists but I cannot support and am outraged at the use of both physical and psychological torture on people. What really gets me pissed is the fact that we do this not because they have information or they are guilty of something, but because they might have information. We torture people to see if they are guilty of something that we can then use to justify more torture. Why?

We do not do that. We are the United States. We treat enemy soldiers with respect, humanity, and compassion. We are supposed to be treating our prisoners of war like we expect and demand our citizens be treated. We give all persons, citizens or not, access to a fair trial and judicial process (as fair as it can be given Humankind's suckiness at being fair). After three years of being locked up, we have "enemy combatants" still locked up without having any access to lawyers, family, or even a hearing to let them know why they are being held. Why? We place any name that may have a link to terrorism on a no-fly list, even if that name includes those who are known NOT to be associated with terrorists. Even after we know they are not terrorists, we leave the name on there because of the chance that they will let one slip by (yet we still put inmates to death when DNA proves someone else was there). Why?

Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and in a humane way. All of us are, after all, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The next line of that great document provides justification to alter or even overthrow a government in certain cases. I do not think we are at the point. Far from it. But we need to be wary because we do not want to be the last ones left. I am reminded of Martin Nummular, a German pastor who opposed the Nazis. "In Germany they came first for the communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionist and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up."

In times of war, humanity ceases to be evolved or even compassionate. We allow the laws to fall silent and for that we should all be ashamed.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Meat is Murder! (Tasty, Tasty Murder)

It seems that we cannot turn on the TV, open a newspaper, or open our cell phones (with the internet, of course) without seeing some story about how messed up our economy is and that another financial institution is about to go under. If you continue to read on, I have no doubt you will see another story about how the government is going to take over or is in talks to take over that failing institution. We have spent several hundred billion dollars already rescuing mortgage and financial "giants" to prevent them from going under.

In one instance, the government provided assistance for a $30 billion buyout by Morgan Stanley of one of its "competitors" in the financial world. What the outrageous part of that "assistance" was is that Morgan Stanley put up a measly $1 billion while you and I, okay, it is really the Chinese that did, put up $29 billion. Really? The government provided over 96% of the funds and we allow this other institution to buyout its competitors? At the same time of all of these rescues, the government decided not to rescue Lehman Brothers, which had to file bankruptcy because the government would not secure a loan. It can be assumed that unlike the other bailouts, the foreign markets were not as heavily invested in Lehman's and so, it could be allowed to disintegrate without allowing a foreign major investor (China) from losing billions of dollars that could force them to stop buying U.S. Debt.

Last week, the government bought out AIG and took that institution, the world's largest insurance company by the way, over and nationalized it. Since when is it the role of Government to rescue and bail-out bad businesses that have made even worse decisions in the world of business. Let's face it, this is a (semi) capitalist world and business natural selection should be allowed to play out. Now, don't get me wrong, the Government should not sit back and practice the Hoover style Laissez-faire economics and allow the U.S. and world financial system to collapse. That would effectively ruin all governments (to the joy of lots of people, I suppose). The bailouts, most of which I do not agree with, are only treating the symptoms and not the cause of this collapse. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was very cleverly set-up so that its funds would be so well insulated and protected from market collapse except in the case of a financial perfect storm. Well, we entered that perfect storm and their wide distribution of funds now required the US government to re-nationalize those institutions.

Of the bailouts, I agree, mostly, with the AIG takeover. Not because of the significance of the institution or its importance in the world market but because of how it was structured. The US Government, you me and the Chinese, is now able to get 80% of the stocks and become a major shareholder. This means that we now have a ventured interest in the success of this company because we are part owners. This means that, assuming the market stabilizes and bounces back in the next year or so, the profits that these companies make (in good economic times) will provide a new stream of revenue for the Government because we own 80% of the stock. These companies have and can make a fortune and since we bailed them out, we deserve a piece of the pie. This is the Government thinking of new ways to provide a stable new source of revenue that will allow us to start to reduce our reliance on deficit budgets. New Non-Tax revenues are a vital component of a stable government balance sheet and more governments, Federal included, should start running their business like just that… a business.

Now, I know this is not the answer to all of our problems. We still need to prevent this from happening in the future and in the mean time, if a vital institution is about to fail that would further destroy the market, then by all means Government… Intervene. Just do so smartly and continue to look "outside" the box for long term solutions, not short term bailouts of businesses that were, for the lack of a better word, STUPID.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

What a difference a week makes

Well, my second vacation of the year is now over and it was fantastic. I now have just one left this year before I go on a vacation drought. Tannan, Whitney and I took a road trip (I love Road Trips) to Montana to see our Vet friend Bret. Montana was, in some ways, completely different than what I thought it would be and also the same... very confusing. We arrived to 87 degree weather and saw that change to cool but very, very windy, to a threat of snow. Talk about weather. I love San Diego but it would be nice to have some weather outside of the 360 days per year of partly cloudy/sunny weather.

The trip was fun and I cannot wait to do it again soon. I have posted some pictures below and will post more. I will also get back to my somewhat political blog style but in the mean time, decided to share the love. See ya!

Here is a picture of Tannan and Whitney outside of Bret's House as we wait for him to arrive home.

Here is a picture of the start to a Montana Sunset looking outside of Bret's house.


Here is Tannan and Bret settling an argument during fajitas night.



After the snow and on Tuesday, we went to Bannock, a ghost town. Here I am standing under the gallows where 17 people died (I think it was that few).


Help, We're in Jail! From inside this jail, you can really only see one thing... the Gallows!



On Saturday Night we went to the Rodeo. This was, after all, Montana's biggest weekend. We decided to dress up and put on some Cowboy hats, although Tannan's is a cowboy hat that he bought in Thailand.



Since we were in Montana, we decided to take part in a Montana original... a bag of beer. (Yes, you actually by a bag of beer... brilliant).



After the rodeo, they close two blocks of downtown Dillon and suspend the open container policy. It was odd walking past cops while drinking booze in the middle of the street. The people in the back are slightly intoxicated while the old couple up front (Tannan and Whitney) were not. To be fair, some of us (myself and another person who shall remain nameless) were a little more intoxicated than others.






Friday, August 22, 2008

Reality Check

I know I said that I originally started this blog not to be a political sounding board but a sounding board for my various rants and raves. Unfortunately, the posts lately have been on the political side. This one may seem to be no different but I submit that this post is more of a reality check than a political post. This reality check is brought to you by the one year anniversary of the death of a friend who grew up just 3 houses down the street from me. On August 22, 2007, Staff Sergeant Jason Payton died in a helicopter crash with 13 other men and women in our armed forces outside of the town of Tikrit. The crash, deemed to be non-hostile in nature, was ironically on its way to drop the soldiers off after completing a successful mission. This was Jason's second tour in Iraq with one or two more in Afghanistan, where he was involved in an ambush that nearly claimed his life then. When the crash occurred, he was just three weeks away from turning in his weapons and beginning the trek back home. He was to be married the next month after he returned home. Jason was the 3,714 US death in Iraq.

Regardless of your opinions on the war or the current administration, I hope you at least are grateful there are people like Jason that are currently serving to protect us and the innocent. I know he loved the Army and was pursuing a career in the Special Forces. The image of looking at his body in the coffin two weeks after the crash will never leave my mind. He was tiny and looked like a kid but when he was alive, he was bigger than life and always happy. At the time of this post, there have been 4,146 deaths of US service men and women in Iraq. I still support the war and hope that all those who are serving will be able to return home safe and sound. One thing I am proud of is that when our service men and women come home from duty, they are… for the most part… treated with respect and dignity. I am a firm believer in our military and also believe that you can be against the war and still support the troops. I also believe that you can be against the war and be patriotic.

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I consider myself to be conservative. In fact, I am probably a little more than most "conservatives". I "align" myself with the Republican Party not because I want to or feel the need to belong to a group but because I agree with their stances… most of them. I am not a "Compassionate Conservative" as our President calls himself or whatever the party's new buzzword is this day. I am a realistic conservative. I would say that I am socially and fiscally conservative yet I have stances that some would say is "liberal", like that word is a curse word or something. I am also a realistic American in that I will vote for someone that I believe A) will be the best President and will lead America down a path that I believe will be the most beneficial to this country and B) that I agree with. Why in the name of God is it important or "newsworthy" how many homes a candidate has? How will that affect how he, or she, would be as the President of the United States? I agree with the disclosure of financial records because I would be a little untrusting of someone that cannot manage their own finances and would be entrusted with the finances of the US. The media today takes a position and backs a candidate (McCain for Fox News… they are fair and balanced… and Obama for MSNBC and the Communist News Network (CNN) because, as you know, CNN equals Politics) but of course they would deny that they favor one or the other. The media should report the news… facts only… and if they want to add commentary then by all means do so but at least mark it as that, Commentary. We should ask ourselves if the story the media is presenting to us realistically matter in the grand scheme of things. I would venture to bet that most of what they say doesn't.

While being realistic is important, we still need to be dreamers. After all, the next big change and great advancement in our society will be from those who still appreciate being unrealistic… every once in a while. It is finding the right balance that will always be just beyond our fingertips but it is important that we never stop trying to grab it.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Damn Yankees

Despite my apparent inability to sleep the past couple of nights (now on only three hours sleep since 7:30 am Sunday), I have been able to get more things done at work than in past weeks. Who knows, maybe my work lately has been complete crap but so far I have not receive any complaints. I am really looking forward to the Montana trip in a week. That will be olive oil in a water bottle awesome.


 

Today's post covers a topic that is of special importance to me so here it goes. One of the things that I am most grateful of is being an American. Where else do you have the ability to argue several different points with others freely and without fear of punishment from the government and then go to work and try to screw your fellow man in the spirit of Capitalism? I mean, come on. This is just brilliance… much like the creature that makes absolutely no sense to me, the Duckbilled Platypus. It looks like a duck fucked a beaver and a manatee. Then their offspring mated with an otter and a snake (for the venomous part). What was evolution, or God, thinking? Come on. Nevertheless, I digress.


 

I would say that I am a little over the top in being patriotic and I believe that this word means something different than what most of my fellow republicans define it as. It is not being pro-war, pro-life, Christian, flag waving, or Mary Tyler Moore. Someone who is against the war in Iraq or war in general can still be just as patriotic as you or I (okay, maybe not me because few people are). Blindly following the leaders of this country and not saying anything against it because we are at war is not being patriotic. That is being an idiot. You should question your country's actions and the leaders we elect. I am a big Bush supporter yet he has done some f'd up things and I talk to people about them because we should. Of course, if you disagree but decide not to speak up, that's great too. That is your choice but to not question anything???? I am pro-war but most of my friends are not. I am a republican, most are not. I am a conservative, most are not. I am a white male, most are also. I am for the taking over of Canada because really, what good does Canada except mispronounce "O" and add nonsensical onomatopoeia's to the end of statements… and I doubt my friends would be for that as well. The point is, being patriotic means that you want better and greater things for the US. For me, I add the line that you also want the US athletes to kick butt at the Olympics.


 

Now, on to some other rumblings… Despite our inability to balance the budget (and this is not Dubya's fault people… the President has no official say in the final budget that gets passed by CONGRESS), we still dish out more foreign aid than any other country. We have two naval vessels that cost a fortune to operate and take up valuable human resources to man yet they are designed to provide medical assistance around the world. The USNS Mercy is the West Coast ship that is dispatched to the Tsunami area, Mynamar (even though their support was denied by the Junta), and other places. These are giant white colored floating hospitals with big red crosses all over it. Realistically, for the next few years (5-8 years) we should reduce all foreign aid to nothing, except for a contingency of 5-10 billion dollars in case of natural disasters or humanitarian crises.


 

This will hurt other countries that have not only come to rely on these funds but demand and expect to continue to receive it. How dare we even consider spending our own money elsewhere (mainly, on our debt and our own citizens that need help too). Despite this, we continue to shovel out money. By reducing this funding, and not increasing anyone's budget, sorry DOD, you can live with the funds you currently receive, while maintaining everyone's taxes at the current rates, should help to close the gap. To further close the gap, the government needs to close the loophole on big businesses that to this very day pay little or even nothing in taxes. That is wrong. This, of course, is a slow approach method to closing the gap and there are more courses out there that we can take.


 


 


 

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Where is Montana anyway?

Good morning, afternoon and evening everyone. After battling with the cold that my good friend Tannan and his wife gave me during the Fourth of July weekend, I am back to being 100%. I know, you really don't care but then again, this is my blog and I can write what I want (assuming I remain compliant with the Patriot Act and on Homeland Security's good side). I have begun my detailed preparation for the LSAT that I hope to take within the next few months with school starting in the fall ('09). I am still applying for both my MPA and now I am really pressing to going back to school for my JD.

If I go the route of the JD, I will do something useful with it by studying a topic that matters. At this point it probably will be business or real estate law. I can tell you that it will not be anything "environmental" or "social" as I really could care less about those topics. I took a practice test and scored in the 150's, which isn't bad but I want my scores to get up to the high 160's or the 170's before I take the test for real. It will take me three to four years to graduate and I will take the bar but not sure if I will go to a law firm after that or stay in the public sector. Money will play a role in it but I also love the public sector.

Anyway, I am hoping to get up to Montana in late August or early September but I am waiting for my good friend Tannan to get his and his wife's act together. I will need road trip buddies as it is a 17 hour drive that I really do not want to do on my own. I still think that Montana is the land God forgot but I have not been there so for me to express an opinion is premature. I am looking forward to it but I always love a good car ride. I cannot spend too much money as I need to save my money for school, a house, and to pay off my debt. Too much need, not enough income. In other news, I heard this country's wonderful speaker of the house talk about how George Bush and his administration a total failure. Hmmm, I don't know, getting Lybia to give up its hopes at WMD's, helping the Northern Alliance to de-throne the Taliban, getting North Korea to begin dismantling the nuclear program, now sitting down with Iran and opening up a diplomatic presence there, cussing out a reporter during his first campaign, and bring Air Force One and himself to Miramar where I got to be there, 20 feet away, not necessarily a total failure. Yes, there was the whole Iraq war, a war that I supported but not because of the "wmd" excuse. I supported it to get rid of Saddam. Has it been handled well? Of course not. Have there been a lot of failures, absolutely but I wouldn't call it a total failure.

Total failure would be a congress that continues to bow down and pass bills that a majority of its members publicly denounce, yet they keep voting for them and bitching when the President signs them into laws. Pssst. Here's a hint. If you don't pass the laws you don't want, then they cannot be signed into law.

By the way, I come from the school of thought that the US Constitution applies to US Citizens; otherwise it would be very arrogant to think that our laws apply to anyone. I do not see how an alien (no matter what nationality) is covered by our constitution… as long as they are not within the physical boundaries of the US or its territories. Gitmo and the prisoners would be covered because it is considered sovereign US Soil. I strongly disagree with the US actions and support the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the treatment of prisoners. In all the wars, past, present, and future, the US is/should be better than others in their treatment of prisoners. This is a moral ground that should never be altered, no matter what the "National Security" threat.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Another 4th of July gone by

I hope everyone is having/had a great 4th of July weekend. I am sure it was filled with the usual fireworks, national anthem, Old Glory flying everywhere (yes I know Old Glory is one flag that is currently undergoing massive preservation efforts and as such is not every star spangled banner we see flying everywhere), and many different variations of God Bless America and Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA. I will detour from my usual 4th blog where I boast about how great the country is, even with its many, many faults. Instead, I wanted to take a few minutes to thank those who have served, are serving, or will serve in the armed forces or the many peace groups out there (Freedom Corps, Peace Corps, Red Cross, etc). Despite the many flaws that our and the international media love to point out (let's face it; there is no better story in a foreign country than how the USA screwed something up), Nothing is ever said about the many good things that we are doing, even under this Administration and Congress (I support the current Administration… Congress is a different story). But more on that later in this blog.

Whether or not you disagree with the war on terrorism/Iraq, I would hope you support the troops, who are willing to risk their lives for us and others. Enough cannot be said about them and I just wanted to add my many thanks. At my city hall, there is a "wall" that the Veterans Center has on display with a simple phrase that while it may not poetic, it does sum up the service of the military personnel, "All gave some, Some gave all".

Something caught my eye the other day that was just sad. On a street corner you had a large group of anti-war protesters with signs essentially saying pull them out/bring them home now. They were loud and while I disagree with them, I support their right to protest. What made me sad was on the other corner, there were a small group of pro-war (I will not say pro-military because the anti-war people may be pro-military, just against this particular war) demonstrators (I do not think you can call them protesters as they are not against a current policy/action) that were just sitting there with very simple signs. From my vantage point, it did not look like they were saying anything but they were being yelled at (I assume, the people looked very angry) by two of the anti-war people (they had the anti-war signs). Why is that okay? They are doing the same thing the other group is doing yet they are being yelled at? If it was because they support the war, then that is truly sad. Anyways, on to my ramblings below.

To be fair, I should clarify my 1st paragraph sentence. It isn't that nothing is ever said of these good things, they are either pushed off the main stories or are very briefly covered. During the Christmas Day tsunami a few years ago or the Burma Cyclone Nargis that is still a humanitarian nightmare, very few stories were covered showing that the US, along with many, many other nations were trying to help. The US sent USNS Mercy to the tsunami region and I believe, although I have not confirmed this, to Burma. The Tsunami victims allowed the US to help and we did so willingly and without a favor in return. Our military also sent ships to Burma that to this day are still denied access to unload vital humanitarian aid supplies. Granted, we are not liked around the world and the Junta are pussies but I would think that the media would run a few stories on this. Do not get me wrong, I am not expecting the international media to play into the propaganda campaign of the United States, but run something.

Despite our "quick draw" policy, we were able to negotiate with two nations that are our enemies, and arrive at a peaceful solution. Libya and North Korea. The North Korea story, I think, should be a huge story. The US was able to get North Korea to agree to a plan to dismantle their nuclear weapons and their ability to produce them. Yes, the US and 4 other nations arrived at the agreement with the North but do not forget that it was the US's idea and insistence on the 6 party talks. This brought other nations who have an interest in the nuclear North and Korea's closest ally, China. This was important and it was resolved, on paper at least, at a table and not on a battlefield. I would think even those who disagree or even hate President Bush would be happy to hear of a peaceful solution but the story is rarely talked about on the media, especially on CNN and MSNBC. For fairness, Fox News did cover this story to a greater degree but despite their claims, they favor my political side and party.

There really isn't any point to my blog and I know the logic and arguments are rudimentary compared to other brilliant writers but this is what crossed my mind as I wrote this so I wanted to type this down.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Happy New Year!!!

Good evening (or morning/afternoon, depending on when you are reading this). Tuesday is the New Year's and I am excited. Every year, this is the day that we government junkies look forward to. A year of spending is almost behind us and a year of money to be spent awaits. We, of course, spend the money wisely and with caution because it is not ours. It is our customer's (residents) and we must protect it as much as possible.
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That is why I love the City I work for. We reduced our budget by 1% and I know, this does not seem like much but we are keeping a balanced budget and finding more non-tax revenue streams. Not only are we reducing the budget but we are also increasing service. We are adding a 4Th ambulance and staffing a brand new Fire Station. Not many other cities can say that they reduced budget and increased service. And no, my Public Administration friends, no transference took place. We just simply looked at what we were spending and decided we could do more with less. My department is important (and not because I am in the department... well, not entirely) because we bring in the non-tax revenue. Our non-tax revenue is the second largest source of revenue. In almost all cities, Sales tax is king and property tax is number two. Not so with us, property tax is number three. A non-tax revenue source is our number two.
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Not all government is wastefull. If more governments really examined where we are spending money, there would be little need for new taxes. This is a counter point to my friend's blog about the anti-tax society and the need for taxes. To be fair, he was not saying bring us more taxes, he was arguing society's view of taxes is wrong... but I digress. Anyway, the new fiscal year is among us and the point to this blog is really to say... HAPPY NEW (fiscal) YEAR!!!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Birthday Celebration

This blog goes out to my good Friend Karen, whose birthday happens to be today. Karen turns 27 today and is just three years from the big 30.

If you live in the United States then you probably have heard about the recent California Supreme Court decision regarding Prop 22 and the marriage definition. The court ruled that the ballot initiative, which was approved by 61% of the voters only a few years ago, is unconstitutional. Once the decision become finalized, in about 1 month, same-sex couple can get hitched and legally be married. In anticipation of this ruling, opponents have already gathered enough signatures to place a new proposition on the November ballot. This one, unlike the first, would change the California constitution instead of the law. This would make the Cal. Supreme Court's decision null and void from that point on, not retroactive to this ruling. The opponents have asked the court to stay its decision until the November election to avoid a very complex and a legal mess. You see, if the court does not stay its ruling and the ballot initiative passes, then we will have one set of gay couples who are legally married but any future couples would be denied the ability. Courts have historically viewed amendments and laws as future looking, not retroactive. That is why those married between June and November would be legally married after the new amendment is approved.

I supported Prop 22 and continued to be against "marriage" for same sex couples. This has placed a bit of friction on more than one friendships, especially the one with my friend who happens to be a lesbian. Honestly, I am disappointed by the Court's ruling but I will respect the law and the new definition. The last thing I want, however, is a continued battle over this one issue and the millions of dollars spent, by both sides (with the "liberals" planning on spending about $5 million more than the same-sex marriage opponents) on ads and a media blitzkrieg trying to convince us to vote one way or the other. I think there are better uses for that money and my conservative friends should just get over it and act like Christians should. I am against this new amendment initiative and would encourage others to vote against it as the legal mess that would be caused would be a disaster waiting to happen.

We have relied on Courts overstepping their jurisdiction in order to bring socially needed changes in the past. A majority of the population supported segregation and the Jim Crow laws that kept minorities away from the privileges of the majority. The Courts had to defy the popular vote and force the change on us. I doubt there is anyone who would argue that Courts were wrong. This may be one of those cases but I am big enough to admit that I do not know. History will be the only judge that would know for certain so I yield to history. Gay Marriage is a certainty and it is time we focus our attention and resources to stopping the "global warming" farce and helping those in need.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Can 1 person really make a difference?

Today, as some of you may know, is the Birthday of one of the worst humans to ever set foot on the Earth. Adolf Hitler led his nation to the attempted genocide of the Jewish population within his own country and those within his sphere of influence. I cannot help but think of something Eddie Izzard said in his stand-up routine, called Dressed to Kill, in that Hitler killed people next door. Stupid man. The world is notorious for not really caring about what goes on inside of another country but will, eventually, try to stop activities when they expand their horror outside of their borders. This is pretty much the standard that the world follows with few exceptions, mainly Africa. It seems that the world as a whole really doesn't care what atrocities are being committed on this continent that, in Risk, is vital for world domination.

There are those who hold pointless rallies trying to claim that they actually want to change what is happening but as soon as the rally is done, they go home and spend their money like the 1st world population they are. Do not get me wrong. I am one of these, although I do not, for the most part, pretend to be one of these semi-caring people and attend rallies to make me feel better. I think it is wrong and I wish my attitude would be more of a humanist but the truth of the matter is, I am not. I hope that the world would stop pissing on each other and actually lend a hand to those in need. It reminds me of the Pen and Teller series, Bullshit, and a rally for the environment in the nation's capital that they attended to demonstrate the uneducatedness (a new word I just created) of the rally people. They circulated a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide from all products. They listed the damage that this substance can cause and people lined up to sign it. At the end of the day, all these environmentalists signed a petition to ban water. Furthermore, this week was celebrated by many cities as a green week in honor of Earth Day but in holding these fairs, concerts, and activities, they made the environment worse than if there was no event. I know this is an oversimplification and a massive generalization but look at the San Diego Earth Day event today. They expected over 60,000 in a small area. How much resources were used. How many more bottles of water were consumed because people were outside. How much fossil fuels were consumed by those traveling much further than they would in any other Sunday? How much trash was generated? So much for making a difference.

I fully support those who actually want to make a difference and struggle to get this uncaring world to support a worthy cause. I hope they are able to achieve, even if it is only on a small scale, what it is they set out to do. We do not have enough "drivers" in this world. I apologize for using the VW slogan that actually speaks for the world as a whole. One day, I hope I become one of these drivers but for now, I know I am merely a passenger in this game called life. I am beginning to question my long standing philosophy that one person cannot make a difference. Unfortunately, it seems that this statement is still very much true but one day maybe, just maybe, it will be a thing of the past.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Tidbits Galore

It has been sometime since I last posted so I thought I would spend this blog not talking about one or two topics but several topics. I call this, tidbits galore, as I am a relatively unimaginative person and as such, cannot create decent titles to save my ass. As I write this blog using Office 2007, I could help but notice that it is actually copyrighted in 2006, not 2007. So why not call it Office 2006? Microsoft is better than apple (Wait as I stand back to receive the outcry over this sacrilegious comment but all of you apple people can kiss my oversized man ass) but then they go a do stupid little stuff that shouldn't bother me but I am spending a couple of minutes writing on a copyright year. Nevertheless, this is not one of the topics I am here to discuss.

I have recently begun the task of updating my will and creating my living will. I find it horrifying that people, of all ages, do not have a will already created. It is a fantastic document as it is the one thing that almost guarantees you get the last word (unless the courts get involved). If you have any last minute slight or dis you want to dish out, this is your chance. I actually enjoy this process, but then again, I can be a little odd at times. My living will is just to say whether or not to keep a tube in my stomach or lungs should I become a vegetable. The last thing I want is another Terry Shrivo case.

I would like to congratulate Tali on her engagement to Danny Vaughn as Tali will soon become Tali Vaughn. Tali, for those that do not know, is the sister of Tannan and is somewhat of a handful. I move on. I would like to place a call on the politicircus people to actually update their blog as it has been over a month. Get off of your laze asses and write something, you bums. I cannot wait for Amsterdam next year and a trip to Montana at some point. That is all, no real burning issue to discuss today, everything is fine and dandy.

Friday, March 21, 2008

My Travels on the Sprinter…

Please note that I was asked, by those who coordinate my work's employee newsletter (called the City Scene- I really don't like the name but I cannot change it) to write an article on my Sprinter travels. For those who do not know, NCTD, North County's public transportation district, opened a new light-rail train called to Sprinter. It travels along the old 1800's industrial rail line that really does not go to any popular destinations but the track was there so, let's save some money. The line, originally estimated to cost $85 million dollars swelled, like most government projects, to a price nearing half a billion dollars. I was very skeptical about this train but decided to give it a week. The post below is what I wrote for the article. It is a little bit of a puff piece but the incidents mentioned actually happened. I will expand on those in a different post but here it goes… (Oh, those comments in parenthesis are my edits for this blog to provide some additional background).

I feel as though I should begin by disclaiming that despite my claims in the glorious Dive Day (this will need explaining, later though) e-mails, my reasons for trying the newly opened $478 million Sprinter had little-to-nothing to do with being "green". In fact, I am not really a "green" person (I am, after all, a Republican ha-ha), seeing that I drive a SUV that on a great tank gets a little over 18 miles per gallon. With the exception of traveling to other large metropolitan areas and the fantastic San Diego Trolley, which seems to favor only a small geographical portion of the County, I do not use public transportation. For me, there really was no incentive or desire as like many Californians, I like my car and I like to drive. So, why my desire to all of a sudden try the Sprinter?

That is a good question. I guess the simple answer was that I wanted to see how much money I would actually save. In the past, I have to fill up every 6 days and with a 20-gallon tank and the current skyrocketing prices at the pump, there was a little extra incentive to try this new contraption. So, I figured I would see what the $478 million was all about and give the Sprinter one week. In addition to the Sprinter, I would also be taking the bus. Now, the last time I took a bus, other than the Red and Black at San Diego State University (Go Aztecs!), my last experience was in middle school when I rode on the Poway Transit (which, let's face it, has a very different clientele than Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, and Oceanside) once or twice. Okay, back to the story at hand, my journey to work was going to take three times longer than if I were to simply drive myself to work. I would also have to wake up significantly earlier than usual and let me just say that I am NOT a morning person (in fact, I often wake up angry at my alarm clock for not pausing the space time continuum). This was going to be a very interesting week.

Despite the early mornings and the occasional interesting characters that ride the '356' bus, you know the arguments and the coffee throwing incidents, the bus has not been bad at all. It picks me up the same time everyday and, when I do not play follow the leader and get on the wrong bus (yes, this happened), it takes me to where I needed to go and with plenty of time to catch the Sprinter. For the Sprinter itself, it was very smooth, clean and comfortable. Although my journey on the train only lasts for just three stops and for just 10 minutes, I have found myself wanting to stay on but somehow I do not see the City liking that idea. There have not been any delays, when I have been on the train (the second day of operation, a guy got ran over and lost part of his legs, ouch), and even though the morning commuters seem to be dwindling, the evening train remains packed. I have been pleasantly surprised and I am saving money every day. The all-day passes, good for unlimited bus and sprinter rides, cost about $4 or you can purchase the monthly pass for $54. If you ride 13 ½ times in a month, you will have paid for your ticket. With the 9/80 structure here, each month we average between 17 and 19 workdays, so you are bound to save money. Since I do not have my car here at work, I am not tempted to drive around, wasting more gas, during my lunch hour. It has been two weeks since I last filled up my car and it still has over half a tank left. All and all, I have been impressed and saving money to boot. Despite the longer trek and my early mornings (damn you time), I will continue to take the Sprinter and the bus to work, and I encourage all of you to at least give the Sprinter a try. See you on the Dive Days!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

SimCity My A**

I would like to take a break from my usual blog entries and discuss a matter of grave importance. Well, maybe not grave importance but a good rant nonetheless. I recently purchased the latest in the SimCity phenomenon called SimCity Societies. In this version, you do have to build roads and the occasional power plant but after that, there is very little essence of SimCity, or at least the game that I fell in love with. I am what I call a Government Junkie. I majored in government, I worked in government in high school, my career is government, my masters will be in government, and I love the government style city planning game. The first SimCity was revolutionary and, back then, considered a hard game to play and master. The second release, called SimCity 2000, brought upon the world the super-duper buildings called… I forget. But they were way cool and could hold tens of thousands of people. Water was first introduced but to a limited scale. The next installment, aptly named SimCity 3000 expanded on the new versions, although the super-duper buildings were lost to time. Trash and neighbor deals were created but really no way to build a region. In comes the best version of SimCity in the confusingly named SimCity 4. This game is just awesome as you not only build a city but a region as well. If you have too many residents in one city, they will find work in the nearby municipalities and the game is intertwined with everything else. This version was actually the basis for several tourism rich cities/nations to calculate where they need to spend money so they can attract more tourists. In these games, the creator built in actual city effects and principles that we study in school. Transference is a big one but nothing compares to the multiplier effect. Cities must grow, to some degree, in order to survive. Although with the modern day set-up in real life, this is more along the lines of counties but the basis is the same.

Multiplier effect:

It works like this. Company A makes 5 widgets a year and Company B buys 2 per year in order to make their product for their customers. They have a great year and the customer (residents) base grows and they must order 5 additional widgets the next year for a total of 7. Company A must now make more widgets to bring their total up to 10 so Company B can have their 7 total. In order to do that, A must hire more staff, buy more supplies and is now producing 10. B has a good year and continues to expand but this time they must order only 3 additional for a total of 5. Now A has capacity to make 10 but is only selling 8. Even though B is still growing, the multiplier effect dictates that A is too big and must downsize, thus reducing the supplies they order and the number of staff, which will snowball out of control. This, of course, is a way simplified version of what actually happens in economics and cities but as you can see, any slowdown can lead to disaster for cities.

Back to the issue at hand:

SimCity Societies is nothing more than a new twist on the Sims. It does not deserve the name of SimCity. I would be fine if it were SimSocieties but no, Sim fucking societies.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Working for a Living… What a concept


 

I hope everyone is getting ready for the big game tomorrow/today. It should be interesting who can come out on top. A pretentious Bitch or the smug bastard, on one side; the jolly Mormon or the liberal conservative Arizonian. When it came to the football game (the exact name of the game cannot be mentioned because of the stupid NFL), I wanted both teams to lose. I cannot stand the cheaters and I did not want the manning idiot to win the game. I guess I would have rather seen the cheaters win so the debate would rage on, what is the best football team ever… as if anyone really cares. I think sportscasters come up with stuff so they can debate something that can never be proven right or wrong. It is actually quite brilliant and it resembles our modern day politics as politicians debate things they would do but will never do it anyway because of some interest group. I still like our twisted system though, and I am still proud to be an American, where we can make fun of others, despite what our parents tried to teach us in elementary school.

One of my friends asked if I actually believe what I write on this blog because it is significantly different than what I present in "the real world". The answer is yes. I actually present this side but no one either listens or asks me. I am okay with either because I really do not care with what others think of my beliefs. I am not one of those who will always let my position known, regardless of whether anyone cares to here. I also have friends who tend to be on the other side of the spectrum in just about every side of life so it is usually a lopsided argument with me being the lone avenger for the Geoff way of thinking. I know my control ability and do not have much confidence in it so I tend to just listen to everyone else and disagree with them in private. Don't get me wrong, when someone touches on a subject that I care deeply about, I will state my opinion.

My withdrawal process is still progressing, although with lent coming up, I am having doubt as to whether or not I can stay away from the temptress bitch. I guess this is going to be a short blog entry so I will check in later. Remember to vote on Super Tuesday, if it is your state's turn.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Wild would not be the word I would use to describe it

Greetings everyone, for the past several days all of Southern California have been hearing about this so called major storm that would drop 2-4" of rain on the coast and up to 8" in the mountains. This was to occur by Sunday night. Well, it is nighttime and it happens to be Sunday and most of today has been very dry. In fact, I would dare to use the word sunny but then again, it may just be me. As I type this, the rain has begun to pick-up in intensity but I doubt it will drop between 2 and 8 inches. I am sick of hearing these weather reports and the endless warnings that go with them. It seems like every two minutes, a new flashflood warning has been issued or high wind advisory. All these warnings can blow me. Let me know if there is a real threat like tornado or some other major disaster. Do we need to keep hearing about the dangers of flashfloods and not to drive in areas where the water completely covers the road? I would pose the statement that those who already know this are not likely to be the idiots that require swift water rescues. Anybody who gets swept up in a flashflood for being stupid should be left alone. I mean, we are taught natural selection in schools and yet we continue to help those that should have died off a long time ago. I am not advocating that we just kill off a bunch of people or allow them to die but we really need to take a look at whether we are helping society. After all, Mr. Spock once said that the "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." That is all I am saying.

Anyway, my English muffin is ready so I must go eat. By the way, I have had one caffeinated soft drink and one coffee drink today. The shakes are still present but slowly beginning to subside.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

What else is there to say?

So, I do not want to have too many blogs on the current political atmosphere or on the wonderful blood sucking period called the presidential primary season, which is followed by an even more horrifying and pathetic period known as the presidential elections, but some comments will slip out. It is inevitable so I felt a warning to that fact is in order. I, for the record, am a registered republican who tends to be conservative in nature. That does not mean I agree with all things "republican" or no-things "Democratic". I actually like and voted for, twice mind you, President Bush and, for the most part, like what he has done. I do not like everything he has done, but then again, I don't even like everything I do. I know that to say you like Bush is, to some, a crime worthy of tar and feathering or even death. But, I care not and to those who think I should be punished for thinking the way I do, go fuck yourself. I say that with all the respect in the world, which is not a lot in today's society.

Anyway, I watched the results from the Dem's primary in South Carolina where a candidate, who happens to be black, won more than 50% of the vote in a three person race. Hillary, or Hill-dog as the South Park people call her, got her oversized ass handed to her. Good job South Carolinians. Although Obama would not be my choice for President, I think I could get behind him if he were to be elected. I think it is a disgrace that there are people out there who think we are not ready for a black president. I say go for it. I really cannot stand Ms. Ice Queen and her Husband. But I desire to move onto happier thoughts as all of these negative emotions just cannot be healthy.

My preparation for Lent is still underway (I am not Catholic and do not celebrate/honor lent but in this case, I am saying why not... everything once, right?) and I had a bad withdrawal day. I got too shaky and began to sweat like crazy and my headache/migraine returned. I am not sure if I will be able to get clean by lent but I will try. I have reduced my consumption today to only two "hits" but I am beginning to get the shakes again, as I type. I know my addiction to this devil substance is nothing compared to other substances, actual street drugs, but it is still a powerful bitch that I must conquer. Just to clarify, I am not a drug addict and do not do drugs, the substance mentioned above is simply caffine (mainly from espresso and coffe)... I will successfully beat it. Go Ambassador, Go Ambassador…

The last two weeks of February, I will be going back east with my father to visit family. We are going to go to DC, which I love, and we have received some awesome news. Assuming we both pass the background checks, we will be getting a private tour of the white house. In case you were not aware, ever since the 9/11 attacks, all public tours were stopped at the white house, with the exception of school or special tours. This is exciting and I cannot wait. The same day, we will be getting a congressional tour of the Capitol building, slightly different than the general public tour. That will also be awesome. I am also looking forward to flying, especially in first class. Can someone out there (all two of you that actually read this) say woo hoo?

I will leave you with this thought: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck Norris? (yes I know I stole this from the Chuck Norris website).

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Stupid Stupid Stupid

Warning: This blog contains absolutely no transitions and lacks all sense of grammar or proper use of the English Language. It will jump around with no logical flow. Deal with it.

Why is it that society (yes, Europeans included) as a whole has become nothing more than a bunch of idiots? And not the idiots that won the 2004 World Series (Boston, your team sucks, by the way). I look around and wonder how on earth we have made it this far. We have become a world of liars (which I admit, I am one) who cannot keep our obligations to each other and a place where more marriages fail than succeed. What is wrong with that picture? I have a friend who thinks marriage is meaningless (or something to that affect- he would have used far too many words to get to the point) yet he is now married. What the hell? My former girlfriend, who dated my best lesbian friend, recently got married.

[On a quick side note, I have to bring up that fact that (my ex) was a lesbian, dated me and is now married to a guy. I am just saying...]

We watch shows like Deal or No Deal, Dancing with the (never have been) Stars, Survivor (which involves no actual surviving), Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader, and Chuck (I HATE THAT SHOW). These shows do nothing but degrade the intelligence factor of society. At least American Gladiators is back on the air.

[SIDE NOTE #2: With the exception of Little M. Ali (whatever her name is) and Hulk Hogan (News Flash Brother, You Brother are a mother fucking idiot Brother and Please Brother, Stop saying Brother, Brother), American G is beyond fantastic. I mean, I want to get on the show so I can play Power Ball where you get body slammed into metal trash can thingys (yes, I said thingys... get over yourself) or into the side walls. I mean people have been getting injured like crazy during this event. I want to play it! I do not know why but I think it would be fun to play a event where you get the shit kicked out of you by someone who can bench press me with there pointer finger. Just like playing tackle football without pads, it would be awesome.]

We elect people who really do not represent us (like the NY voters who elected Clinton to be their Senator even though she only "moved" to NY because there was an open Senate Seat available) and yet we complain about our system. I mean we bitch and moan about the same thing every time but nothing ever changes. Either do your business or get off of the fucking pot already.

It is like what I tell people all of the time (I really should be a school teacher): One person CANNOT make a difference.

Friday, January 11, 2008

The GDFisaDORD Reborn

Welcome to the re-birth of GDFisaDORD.com. Unfortunately, I have been forced to use a "blogging" service to display my vents. I will touch on topics ranging from this to that and everything in between. I suspect that it will cover mostly stupid people since these are the ones who tend to piss me off the most. I do not know why there are so many stupid people out there, I thought Natural Selection was supposed to eliminate them from the gene pool. Oh well, it looks like they are here to stay and there is nothing we can do about it.... or is there?

I recommend reading "The Fletcher Memorial" on Blogspot, although I do not agree with some of his views. Also, his brother's blog "The Drunkard of Oz" is always available for a good laugh. I am off to the exciting world that is my life so I will talk to you later. The real vents will start whenever the hell I feel like it so back off.

My Name is Geoff and I AM the AMBASSADOR.