A little long but funny nonetheless, especially with those with a 2 year old.
1/23/09
1/20/09
Pride and American Greatness
I think it is amazing that today we inaugurated a biracial person with the name Barack Hussein Obama to the Presidency of the United States. I don’t care if you are a liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, the simple fact we have done this not only for ourselves but for our country should make the most stoic cynic crack a prideful smile. It shows that anything is possible for any person in America and the American dream still lives.
I have always loved my country but I have not always been proud of America. But I have not been any more proud than I am today. To think nearly 7 ½ years ago a person named Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the most horrible acts of cowardice the world has ever seen. And nearly 6 years ago the American people were tricked into supporting the unprovoked attack and decimation of a country lead by a man named Saddam Hussein; Hussein and Osama, the two most pivotal and hated historical actors in America’s modern history. These names are impossible to not conjure when you hear the name Barack Hussein Obama. The fact the American people looked beyond their (warranted or unwarranted) prejudice and elected the first biracial person who happened to have the most controversial name ever to appear on a national ballot says a lot about our country and what is possible. We looked beyond ourselves and realized there was something better to be had.
And as if his name wasn’t obstacle enough, President Obama was the son of a somewhat gypsyesque academic mother and a short lived resident alien Islamic polygamist father from Kenya, Africa. How did this skinny “black” kid from Hawai'i become the most powerful person on the planet? It happened because America allowed Barak Hussein Obama the opportunity to discover and be himself; to be judged on his own merits and ideas and not those of his father or friends. There is no air of aristocracy, not a familial legacy or an institutional history but only the realization that no matter where you live, no matter who your parents are, no matter your skin color nor the uniqueness of your name, any person can realize the most audacious dream in America.
That is why today I am proud to be an American, not because the person I voted for was just inaugurated the 44th president of the United States but because a person with all of life’s obstacles showed the world why we are the greatest nation on earth.
I have always loved my country but I have not always been proud of America. But I have not been any more proud than I am today. To think nearly 7 ½ years ago a person named Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the most horrible acts of cowardice the world has ever seen. And nearly 6 years ago the American people were tricked into supporting the unprovoked attack and decimation of a country lead by a man named Saddam Hussein; Hussein and Osama, the two most pivotal and hated historical actors in America’s modern history. These names are impossible to not conjure when you hear the name Barack Hussein Obama. The fact the American people looked beyond their (warranted or unwarranted) prejudice and elected the first biracial person who happened to have the most controversial name ever to appear on a national ballot says a lot about our country and what is possible. We looked beyond ourselves and realized there was something better to be had.
And as if his name wasn’t obstacle enough, President Obama was the son of a somewhat gypsyesque academic mother and a short lived resident alien Islamic polygamist father from Kenya, Africa. How did this skinny “black” kid from Hawai'i become the most powerful person on the planet? It happened because America allowed Barak Hussein Obama the opportunity to discover and be himself; to be judged on his own merits and ideas and not those of his father or friends. There is no air of aristocracy, not a familial legacy or an institutional history but only the realization that no matter where you live, no matter who your parents are, no matter your skin color nor the uniqueness of your name, any person can realize the most audacious dream in America.
That is why today I am proud to be an American, not because the person I voted for was just inaugurated the 44th president of the United States but because a person with all of life’s obstacles showed the world why we are the greatest nation on earth.
1/14/09
Caroline Kennedy . . . not a Senator
I really liked Caroline Kennedy for many years. I liked that the shunned the spotlight, focused on philanthropic endeavors and was what I felt a well grounded person in a very auspicious family. Even though her shine has dimmed a bit as she has aggressively pursued the open NY U.S. Senate seat and stammered through interviews, what I think hurts her most is the sense of entitlement she has portrayed. I find it sad and angering.But her failings as a pursuer of power is not why I think she should not receive the senate appointment.
I think a case can be made that she should not even be in consideration. My feeling is that an appointee to one of the highest offices an U.S. citizen can hold should have received at least one vote in some election in the past. Caroline Kennedy has never run for any elective office; not city council, state senate, Lt. Governor, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator or even dog catcher. She should not be considered for the soon-to-be vacant New York U.S. Senate seat for a number of reasons but none more important than she has never been vetted by the people of New York in any capacity.
Caroline Kennedy would not even be on a long list, much less the short list, if her name was not Kennedy and her father was not a former President. Someone that has had the guts to face the citizens of New York as a candidate for office should be selected. Even better than any ol’ politician would be a person that has or is currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives; a person who has been vetted in some capacity by the electorate and has a decent idea of how they can help New York and has a working knowledge of how congress and Washington D.C. work.
With my very limited knowledge of New York politics, I think aside from AG Andrew Cuomo -
which is probably Kennedy’s biggest competitor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney might fit the bill. As much as I like to think the “best person available” should be selected, and I admittedly am not sure she fits that description, I think politically it might make for a good fit as she is obviously a woman and many of her House experiences mirror Hillary Clinton’s in the Senate. She is involved in homeland security, health care, defense and (most importantly) financial issues. She is tenacious and brash and seems somewhat moderate for a representative from the great state of New York.
But chances are if Kennedy does not receive the appointment it will be Cuomo. He is a very possible challenger to Gov. Patterson in the next NY gubernatorial race and to place Cuomo in the Senate would make the 2010 NY democratic ticket very strong with the Gov, AG and U.S. Senator all being incumbents, albeit none of whom actually elected to their respective offices (Patterson inherited the governorship when Elliot Spitzer resigned).Kennedy’s star has dimmed a bit, which may be her undoing but I think that at the end of the day it will be Gov. Patterson’s political future which will rule the day.
1/8/09
1/7/09
Bailing out . . . THE PORN INDUSTRY?
Larry Flynt is up to his old tricks and I, for one, am amused. If you aren’t familiar of Larry Flynt you probably were never a 14 year old boy in the 70s, 80s or 90s. He is the publisher of HUSTLER Magazine (porn) and quite possibly the most despicable person to ever appear before the U.S. Supreme Court. Today with his equally despicable friend Joe Francis (Girls Gone Wild peddler and Vegas degenerate gambler) Larry asked the U.S. government for a $5 billion to bail out . . . for (wait for it) . . . the porn industry. What I find hilarious is that throughout the blog/commentary universe there are actually people that think this is a serious request.
My dear friends, this is a joke to make a point.
“The take here is that everyone and their mother want to be bailed out from the banks to the big three,” said Owen Moogan, spokesman for Larry Flynt. “The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else and they are going to ask for the $5 billion. Is it the most serious thing in the world? Is it going to make the lives of Americans better if it happens? It is not for them to determine.”
Again Mr. Flynt, in all his vulgarity, is challenging the American people and U.S. government to take a look at itself and identify the hypocrisy. Those of you who are familiar with Mr. Flynt (not his magazine) or took Constitutional law will remember he was sued for libel by Jerry Falwell for printing a mock advertisement of Falwell having incestuous sex with his mother in an outhouse. Flynt argued because Falwell was a public figure and the ad was an obvious parody, the ad, even if it may be in terrible taste, was protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court and low and behold Mr. Flynt won and is cited as one of the most important legal precedents for free speech.
Mr. Flynt is now calling out the American government. His point is not to get money but to remind everyone that the bailout of automakers and the financial industry is only the beginning. Who is worthy and who isn’t of a bailout? Or should we be bailing out anyone at all? I don’t know but I am concerned what precedent these bailouts have set. Where do we stop? Who determines the worthiness of a business or an industry? Congress? The Secretary of the Treasury? Or should the government get out of the bailout business altogether and let capitalism run its course?
What I find most ironic are those staunch house Republicans which were so opposed to both bailout plans are more in line with Mr. Flynt, the porn king, than they are their own party’s leader, President Bush.
As much as it pains me, Mr. Flynt’s vulgarity will once again make us all take a second look at society, our government and ourselves and hopefully force the issue.
My dear friends, this is a joke to make a point.
“The take here is that everyone and their mother want to be bailed out from the banks to the big three,” said Owen Moogan, spokesman for Larry Flynt. “The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else and they are going to ask for the $5 billion. Is it the most serious thing in the world? Is it going to make the lives of Americans better if it happens? It is not for them to determine.”
Again Mr. Flynt, in all his vulgarity, is challenging the American people and U.S. government to take a look at itself and identify the hypocrisy. Those of you who are familiar with Mr. Flynt (not his magazine) or took Constitutional law will remember he was sued for libel by Jerry Falwell for printing a mock advertisement of Falwell having incestuous sex with his mother in an outhouse. Flynt argued because Falwell was a public figure and the ad was an obvious parody, the ad, even if it may be in terrible taste, was protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court and low and behold Mr. Flynt won and is cited as one of the most important legal precedents for free speech.
Mr. Flynt is now calling out the American government. His point is not to get money but to remind everyone that the bailout of automakers and the financial industry is only the beginning. Who is worthy and who isn’t of a bailout? Or should we be bailing out anyone at all? I don’t know but I am concerned what precedent these bailouts have set. Where do we stop? Who determines the worthiness of a business or an industry? Congress? The Secretary of the Treasury? Or should the government get out of the bailout business altogether and let capitalism run its course?
What I find most ironic are those staunch house Republicans which were so opposed to both bailout plans are more in line with Mr. Flynt, the porn king, than they are their own party’s leader, President Bush.
As much as it pains me, Mr. Flynt’s vulgarity will once again make us all take a second look at society, our government and ourselves and hopefully force the issue.
1/6/09
Global Warming: A scam?
Is anyone else confused about global warming? I've been a "green" guy since my first environmental science class nearly 14 years ago but I've been learning more and more about the dubious information the UN's IPCC is using and its claim that human caused global warming is definitive through overwhelming consensus of scientists and climatologists. I don't know what is fact/truth and what is fiction as the more I read about the science behind global warming the more I question the validity of the IPCC's report on climate change. Don't get me wrong, I'm not stupid. I see there is evidence supporting it but things just aren't adding up like they should.I was convinced CO2 emissions were the culprit till about nearly 2 years ago when it became more difficult to defend some of my positions to those few "conservative" friends of mine that challenged my facts. So I went and did what any good adversary does, learn the enemy's position and beat them at their own game. The problem is that I started to see their points, there was more evidence that global warming was tied to solar activity rather than greenhouse gases. The more I read the more angry I became because I felt the facts were being filtered by the media and various scientists rather than allowing me to interpret the facts for myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzSzItt6h-sI think a great start is to watch this video, "The Great Global Warming Swindle" it gives the other side of the argument. I'm not saying that global warming is a myth or that CO2 doesn't contribute to it but I think the science is still out.
The Great Global Warming Swindle - a very compelling (more so than An Inconvenient Truth) account on what is Global Warming. It has far more science and is better than any other documentary or show I have seen on the subject (and I watch Discovery Science 3 hours a day, ask my wife).
In any case, I think Al Gore is a profiteer and "An Inconvenient Truth" is lacking in many, many areas. There is very little science and documentation in the film. I think having zero CO2 emissions is a good idea as things seemed to be fine before we started pu
mping it into the atmosphere and I'm all for renewable energy sources - oil, natural gas and coal are all finite - but I still want more information before I become a crusader or dismiss it as a Man-Bear-Pig.
Let's Try this Again
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Let's try this again
Well a year and a half ago I decided I would try my hat at blogging . . . so much for that idea. This is going to be my second attempt and plan to write on various topics at least once a week but don't hold your breath. I hope to develop my style and voice in the coming months so I can possibly become a proficient blogger and finally become a better person or at least get some things off my chest.
I'll be surprised if anyone reads a word I write.
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