September 23, 2005

  • Well, yesterday I did my first good deed in way too long.  Now I'm not normally evil or anything, but I'm talking about actually sacrificing a bit of my time for the benefit of a stranger.  (Granted, I now imagine Screwtape whispering in my head... yeah, you did something good... you're so righteous...be PROUD of yourself... )  I've donated money for the people and pets affected by Katrina, but that's so impersonal, and I haven't had a chance to actually do something for them. 


    I was driving from work to meet my wife for dinner (around 4:45PM), and saw a boy walking down the median with a backpack (in 100 degree heat), looking with an exhausted hope at all the cars passing him by.  I pulled over and took him almost two miles down the road (in addition to the distance he must have already walked).  His usual ride couldn't pick him up and he was walking home, and had almost been hit by some sports car.  He looked to be in middle school, but I don't know of any schools in the area, so he must have been walking for quite a while.  He thanked me (probably for the AC as much as the ride) as I dropped him off in his neighborhood.


    I know it wasn't much, but I haven't spent time helping anyone (but me and my wife) since I volunteered to help at the Veterans for Peace rally in Dallas earlier in the summer (and they already had enough people helping out).  So to all reading this, try to do something for someone else this week, even if it's something simple and minor like helping a kid get home.  I'll going to be keeping my eyes open this week and try to do likewise. 


    Stargal01 has done so much for the hurricane victims of Katrina, and now she's stuck on the (inland) outskirts of Houston about to ride out Rita.  My prayers go out to her, my other college buddy who's riding out the storm with his pregnate wife and her family (also on the inland outskirts of Houston), and all others who weren't able to leave.

September 22, 2005

  • Daily Kos
    To Support the Rich, GOP Cuts From Our Troops
    Thu, 22 Sep 2005 09:38   (None)


    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/22/111633/939


    Yet more bad news for my friends in the military...read the article linked above


    Why does our Republican government hate our troops so much?  Why is it only the Democrats (the ones that are often called troop-haters) that seem to want to make sure the military has the armor, weapons, training, and health care?  Out of the three major classes we have in the USA, why is the upper class not sacrificing anything for the war that seems to only benefit the upper class?  Now the administration wants to ask the wives, the children and the widows of soldiers to sacrifice more than their loved ones -- while the upper class keeps their $336 billion tax cut?  Why is it that the number of troops killed in Iraq has doubled in the past year...and so has the price of Haliburton stock?


    This is why I'm no longer a Republican, and temporarily not even an Independent any more.  I'm all for fiscal conservatism, family values, and reducing the bureaucracy in the government, but this administration has shown that none of these values are what the Republicans are about anymore.  In fact, the Democrats have recently shown that they're much more fiscally conservative, much more concerned about family values, and actually has increased the efficiency of the government before this administration shut it down.

September 21, 2005

  • Finally got a hold of a couple (college friends) that we haven't been able to get a hold of since the hurricane.  They were living in College Station with their son, but they were both from New Orleans and had family there.  Found out he had driven to LA to pick up his in-laws (his wife is about 7-8 months pregnate and stayed home).  Luckily, he was able to pick up her family and return safely.  So it's the three of them (four if you count the baby on the way) plus her mother, sister, brother, and father... all in a little 2-bedroom house.

September 14, 2005

  • Keith Obermann's video timeline can be found at: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/08.html#a4862 and is a must-see video.


    The timeline below, for Hurricane Katrina, the subsequent failing of the levees, and the response (or lack thereof) curtesy of http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline.  However, I am completely overwhelmed by the response of the average citizen, who as a whole have been giving and helping in many ways (props to stargal01 and others like her!).  I just wish I didn't have to hear of people being turned away by the beurocracy when they are trying to bring supplies or medical aid to these people.


    [UPDATE:] The timeline has been updated as we learn more of this disasterously handled disaster.
    P.S. I love hearing Republicans claiming that the "liberals are blaming George Bush for this natural disaster."  It's such a stupid thing to say that it's funny.  No, we're all just blaming him for apointing unqualified idiots to important positions, defunding levee projects, and the horrible federal response to the natural disaster. 


    [UPDATE:] I've removed the timeline, as I found a much more accurate and complete (a.k.a. long) timeline at http://www.factcheck.org/article348.html

September 6, 2005

  • I'm still here, I've been busy with stuff.  I'll post again later tonight if I can.

August 30, 2005

  • Fun political ramblings again: (Taken from Crooks and Liars)



    The evolving rationale for the Iraq adventure


  • 9/11
  • WMD
  • Flypaper
  • Liberate oppressed Iraqis
  • Democracy in the Middle East
  • So the deaths will not have been in vain


  • And in other news, we have been elevated to orange...



    Bush's approval ratings: 36 percent according to the American Research Group.  (Nixon had 34% at the height of Watergate)


    • [UPDATE:] A somewhat humorous take on Bush's approval (or lack thereof):



    Thirty-four percent of Americans believe in UFOs. Twenty-four percent believe in witches. And in the new AP-Ipsos Poll out today, 20 percent of Americans say they "approve strongly" of the way the Bush administration is handling the war in Iraq.


    Another 16 percent say they "approve somewhat," taking the overall approval rating to 36 percent. Fifty-eight percent say they disapprove either "strongly" or "somewhat." And 53 percent of the public now says that the United States made a mistake in starting the war in Iraq. As the AP notes, that's about the same level of opposition measured for the Vietnam War in August 1968 -- which is to say, about 20,000 American deaths before that war ended.

August 23, 2005

  • Interesting story for you all - I remembered it after a post I read today.


    My wife's family is hispanic, but for whatever reason some of them are very dark, and some are very light skinned.  My wife is one of the fairer of the family.  This story is one that I was told by her oldest brother John, who is also fair-skinned.  Back when he was a young teenager, the public pools and many other facilities were still segregated.  This usually meant that only whites could use them, both blacks and hispanics weren't allowed.  Being very white, he was invited by his school friends to go swimming a few times, and wasn't restricted from going. 


    One time, he had to watch his younger brother and decided to take him along, which seemed fine with his friends.  However, when they all got to the pool, they were all allowed in except for John's little brother Paul - because he was darker, and obviously hispanic.  When John's friends noticed this, they told him (and I quote) "John, I didn't know you had a mexican brother!"  and John, of course, replied "Neither did I."  Needless to say, John didn't go swimming there that day, or any other time, but he still gave Paul a hard time about it as most older brothers would.

August 18, 2005

  • After seeing the full "Coldplay alphabet" displayed in the cover of their X&Y album, I looked it up and found this interesting article:



    Reading the Coldplay Code


    From Bill Lamb,
    Your Guide to Top 40 / Pop.
    FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!


    Album cover spells out 'X&Y' in code


    Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, is a self-proclaimed intellectual nerd. The cover of the band's latest album X&Y may be all the proof we need that he's right.


    Shortly after release of the album, a number of the band's fans wondered if there was any particular significance to the arrangement of colored blocks on its cover. It turns out that there is and the blocks are arranged in a code developed in 1874. The code uses visual representations of 1's and 0's in a 5 digit sequence corresponding with particular letters of the alphabet and typographic symbols. It is considered by many to be the first truly digital form of communication and was a primary language used for telegraphy until it was replaced by Morse Code in the 20th Century.


    The code was developed by Emile Baudot in 1874 to be used by telegraphers transmitting messages across wires. To create the code on the cover of the album the colored blocks are arranged in columns. In the lefthand column the black and grey colors are one block, the blank space below it is one block, and the red/orange, orange/green and green/blue combinations below are each one block. A colored block represents a 1 in the binary code and a blank block is a 0. Reading down, the code in the first column is 10111 which represents the letter 'X.' The far right colum reads 10101, the code for the letter 'Y.' The colums in the middle represent the & portion of the album title.


    In case you wonder what all the colors mean, it turns out they have no particular meaning and are only included for aesthetic reasons. To explore the code further, check out the liner notes of the album that include a full chart of the Baudot alphabet. You can then enjoy communicating over long-distance in the manner of a less hectic time period in history.


    So I agree...he's a nerd...but then again so am I... I found this javascript code and am trying to implement it on my site.


    EdgeOfTwilight


























































































































































































August 17, 2005

  • I just finally realized the full definition of irony.  This is taken from www.dailykos.com:



    Quotes from when Clinton committed troops to Bosnia:


     "You can support the troops but not the president." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)


    "Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years." --Joe Scarborough (R-FL)


    "Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?" --Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99


    "[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy." --Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)


    "American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)


    "If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy." --Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush


    "I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area." --Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)


    "I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today" --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)


    "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." --Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)


    Funny thing is, we won that war without a single killed in action.


    Comments?


    [Update:] Also include these and these:



    "Somalia started off as a humanitarian mission then changed into a nation-building mission and that’s where the mission went wrong. The mission was changed. And as a result, our nation paid a price, and so I don’t think our troops ought to be used for what’s called nation building. I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war. I think our troops ought to be used to help overthrow a dictator when it’s in our best interests. But in this case, it was a nation-building exercise." --George W. Bush
    Source: Presidential Debate at Wake Forest University Oct 11, 2000
    http://www.issues2000.org/George_W__Bush_Defense.htm


    John Stewart's take on Bush vs. Bush



    http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=12814


    Each time the President has acted, charges of "wag the dog" have reverberated around the globe. Whether those charges are true or false is no longer material. What is material is that the President of the United States is not credible. He is not trusted. He cannot act in the best interest of America.
    He has lost the moral mantle of leadership.
    He has selfishly placed this nation in jeopardy.
    It is precisely this kind of situation, I am convinced, that worried America's founding fathers as they devised the impeachment mechanism to remove a sitting president whose actions endangered the republic.
    --Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)


    "And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq."
    --Dick Cheney, 1992 (4 years after Saddam gassed the Kurdish people)

August 15, 2005

  • Wow, what a long weekend.  Drove to Houston for a wedding of a college buddy.  By the way, Houston seems to be a really big city - I spent about an hour driving back and forth from the north west side to the west side of Houston.  Saturday night, me and my wife were up to around 3 or 4 in the morning talking politics and religion with our (sleepy) hosts and another college buddy recently back from mission work in the Philippines.  It was interesting, but I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep.

EdgeOfTwilight

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