To the thousands of people affected by the tidal waves in the Indian Ocean: to the relatives and friends of the dead, to the injured and homeless and to those who will be enduring food and water shortages and disease in the near future...you have the heartfelt condolences of the President of the United States. Unfortunately, heartfelt condolences is ALL you have because I'm using most of America's resources to kill Iraqis. Uh...sorry.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Thursday, October 21, 2004
A Vote for Bush is NOT a Vote for Morality
There are many forms of prejudice. There's racial prejudice, of course. There's gender bias and the prejudice concerning sexual preference. Then there's religious prejudice. How many times lately have we heard or read, "I'm voting for Bush because he's a Christian?" Of course, the fact that Kerry is a Catholic and ALSO a Christian is irrelevant. Voting for a political candidate based solely on his religious affiliation is just as much a form of prejudice as voting for a candidate based on his color or gender.
What about voting based on moral issues? Bush is responsible for a ban on partial birth abortions. This ban outlaws a rarely used abortion procedure which makes up only a small percentage of abortions performed each year. During the last four years, while Bush has been in the White House and Republicans have controlled Congress, this ban has been the ONLY legislation passed concerning abortion. I believe the ban amounts to a ploy by the Republican administration to garner the anti-abortion vote while doing very little to actually stop abortion.
Bush has severely limited stem-cell research, which has shown great promise in the treatment of conditions ranging from Alzheimer's disease to spinal cord injuries. Why? To satisfy anti-abortion proponents who don't understand or don't care that stem-cell research employs discarded embryos from fertility clinics and NOT aborted fetus's.
Bush has decided not to extend the assault weapons ban in effort to appeal to the huge NRA lobby, even though assault weapons serve no purpose in hunting or target shooting, only in killing many people quickly. A moral decision? Hardly!
Finally, Bush has decided to wage an unnecessary war that has killed over 1000 Americans and thousands of Iraqi non-combatants. This is, perhaps, his most immoral decision of all.
A vote for Bush isn't a vote for morality; it's a vote for death, deception and four more years of backward thinking.
What about voting based on moral issues? Bush is responsible for a ban on partial birth abortions. This ban outlaws a rarely used abortion procedure which makes up only a small percentage of abortions performed each year. During the last four years, while Bush has been in the White House and Republicans have controlled Congress, this ban has been the ONLY legislation passed concerning abortion. I believe the ban amounts to a ploy by the Republican administration to garner the anti-abortion vote while doing very little to actually stop abortion.
Bush has severely limited stem-cell research, which has shown great promise in the treatment of conditions ranging from Alzheimer's disease to spinal cord injuries. Why? To satisfy anti-abortion proponents who don't understand or don't care that stem-cell research employs discarded embryos from fertility clinics and NOT aborted fetus's.
Bush has decided not to extend the assault weapons ban in effort to appeal to the huge NRA lobby, even though assault weapons serve no purpose in hunting or target shooting, only in killing many people quickly. A moral decision? Hardly!
Finally, Bush has decided to wage an unnecessary war that has killed over 1000 Americans and thousands of Iraqi non-combatants. This is, perhaps, his most immoral decision of all.
A vote for Bush isn't a vote for morality; it's a vote for death, deception and four more years of backward thinking.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Iraq: Enough Reason to Vote Against Bush
On September 11, 2001 followers of Osama Bin Ladin attacked the United States, resulting in the deaths of almost 3000 people. Most people would agree the attack was wrong even though the United States has possessed weapons of mass destruction since 1945.
George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of well over 1000 Americans and thousands of innocent Iraqi non-combatants. Bush's main reason for ordering the invasion was his belief that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction even though there was no proof that the WMDs existed. Of course, none were ever found.
George Bush has tried to justify his Invasion of Iraq by linking Saddam Hussein with the September 11th attacks and with Osama Bin Ladin. According to "The 9/11 Commission Report", Bush received a memo as early as September 18, 2001 stating that there was "...no compelling case that Iraq had either planned or perpetrated the attacks." The report also states: "...Bin Ladin had in fact been sponsoring anti-Saddam Islamists in Iraqi Kurdistan" and "Bin Ladin resented the secularism of Saddam Hussein's regime."
Bush started operations in Afghanistan to track down the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks but decided to shift the attention of the American military to Iraq. Many people are quick to point out alleged inconsistencies in John Kerry's behavior, but Bush's insistence on "being firm in his resolve" and "staying the course" in Iraq has cost thousands of lives and over 200 billion dollars of taxpayer money.
Saddam has been captured. His sons have been killed. Even so, America is still embroiled in a war in Iraq with no end in sight. Bush recently said, "Our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive." "Staying on the offensive", of course, requires troops. And whether he admits it or not, when Bush exhausts our regular military and reserves, he will have no other choice but to reinstate the draft.
I believe voters, especially men of draft age and their parents, need to consider Bush's serious errors in judgment when casting their votes in November
George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of well over 1000 Americans and thousands of innocent Iraqi non-combatants. Bush's main reason for ordering the invasion was his belief that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction even though there was no proof that the WMDs existed. Of course, none were ever found.
George Bush has tried to justify his Invasion of Iraq by linking Saddam Hussein with the September 11th attacks and with Osama Bin Ladin. According to "The 9/11 Commission Report", Bush received a memo as early as September 18, 2001 stating that there was "...no compelling case that Iraq had either planned or perpetrated the attacks." The report also states: "...Bin Ladin had in fact been sponsoring anti-Saddam Islamists in Iraqi Kurdistan" and "Bin Ladin resented the secularism of Saddam Hussein's regime."
Bush started operations in Afghanistan to track down the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks but decided to shift the attention of the American military to Iraq. Many people are quick to point out alleged inconsistencies in John Kerry's behavior, but Bush's insistence on "being firm in his resolve" and "staying the course" in Iraq has cost thousands of lives and over 200 billion dollars of taxpayer money.
Saddam has been captured. His sons have been killed. Even so, America is still embroiled in a war in Iraq with no end in sight. Bush recently said, "Our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive." "Staying on the offensive", of course, requires troops. And whether he admits it or not, when Bush exhausts our regular military and reserves, he will have no other choice but to reinstate the draft.
I believe voters, especially men of draft age and their parents, need to consider Bush's serious errors in judgment when casting their votes in November
Friday, September 17, 2004
Weird happenings in California...
Something recently pointed out on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Governator Arnold recently pushed a law through that makes necrophilia a crime. It seems that they found a guy at a morgue passed out on top of a dead woman. On checking the books, they found out there was no law in California against having sex with a dead person. As a result, all they could charge the guy with was "breaking and entering". DOHHHH!
At the same time, prostitution has been legalized in Berkley. So (to paraphrase Jon Stewart), it's ok to have sex with a prostitute in Berkley, but if she dies during the act you MUST stop!
At the same time, prostitution has been legalized in Berkley. So (to paraphrase Jon Stewart), it's ok to have sex with a prostitute in Berkley, but if she dies during the act you MUST stop!
Monday, September 06, 2004
On Flip-Flopping...
Senator Kerry has been accused time and again of "flip-flopping" on a number of campaign issues. In fact, "flip-flopping" is probably the Republican party's favorite catch-phrase (other than "we've turned the corner"). Anyway...what is flip-flopping, really, other than a derogatory term for "changing your mind"? Is changing your mind such a bad thing? If the powers that were would have changed their minds a little sooner about Viet Nam maybe some of the 58,000 Americans that died would be alive today, making valid contributions to society. If the powers that be would change THEIR minds, maybe we'd get the hell out of Iraq and stop getting Americans killed today. Flip-flopping...it's only a negative to bull-headed Texans and VPs getting dual incomes...from the federal government AND Halliburton.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
The Bush Bunch: Masters of Misdirection
Weapons of Mass Deception
For months, we've been hearing the phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction" repeated over and over again as a main reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In reality, even if we HAD found WMDs (which we didn't), it wouldn't have warranted our unprovoked invasion of another sovreign nation any more than OUR possession of WMDs (since about 1945) gives other nations the right to attack us. But the Bush Bunch loves to play on the fears of the American public to achieve its ends. Misdirection at its finest.
Prisoner Abuse
Prisoner abuse, while wrong (according to established rules of war), is a subject the Bush Bunch would MUCH prefer brought to public attention than hundreds of dead American servicemen and countless dead innocent Iraqui citizens. That's probably why the abuse happened and why the Republican-led Armed Services Committee is focussing so much attention on the investigation. More misdirection.
Heavy Medals
I have to give the Bush Bunch points for outrageous audacity for their covert but obvious backing of the so-called "Swift-Boat Veterans for Truth". It takes HUGE chutspa for a man with no medals at all who blew off a good portion of his military service (Bush) to question the awarding of medals for bravery and service to a REAL veteran (Kerry) by the very government that the medal-free pseudo-veteran (Bush) is supposed to represent. Ultimate misdirection.
When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died
So...what is another word for misdirection? LIES! Bill Clinton was impeached for his lie about a sexual indiscretion. The Bush Bunch hopes to stay in power through lies that lead to the deaths of hundreds of American servicemen. I hope to God the American public doesn't let that happen.
For months, we've been hearing the phrase "Weapons of Mass Destruction" repeated over and over again as a main reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In reality, even if we HAD found WMDs (which we didn't), it wouldn't have warranted our unprovoked invasion of another sovreign nation any more than OUR possession of WMDs (since about 1945) gives other nations the right to attack us. But the Bush Bunch loves to play on the fears of the American public to achieve its ends. Misdirection at its finest.
Prisoner Abuse
Prisoner abuse, while wrong (according to established rules of war), is a subject the Bush Bunch would MUCH prefer brought to public attention than hundreds of dead American servicemen and countless dead innocent Iraqui citizens. That's probably why the abuse happened and why the Republican-led Armed Services Committee is focussing so much attention on the investigation. More misdirection.
Heavy Medals
I have to give the Bush Bunch points for outrageous audacity for their covert but obvious backing of the so-called "Swift-Boat Veterans for Truth". It takes HUGE chutspa for a man with no medals at all who blew off a good portion of his military service (Bush) to question the awarding of medals for bravery and service to a REAL veteran (Kerry) by the very government that the medal-free pseudo-veteran (Bush) is supposed to represent. Ultimate misdirection.
When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died
So...what is another word for misdirection? LIES! Bill Clinton was impeached for his lie about a sexual indiscretion. The Bush Bunch hopes to stay in power through lies that lead to the deaths of hundreds of American servicemen. I hope to God the American public doesn't let that happen.
Friday, August 06, 2004
My Pet Peeve
My pet peeve certainly covers a lot of territory, and here it is: totally self-absorbed people.
Here are some examples:
People who think it's stupid to volunteer. The American Cancer Society? Make a Wish Foundation? A soup kitchen? What...are you nuts? I could use that time making money! Or spending money on myself!
People who screw off at work all day and leave the work for the next shift. (If everyone just pitched in a little, most jobs would be a cake-walk.)
People who drive a car as of they're the only ones on the street. People who are all over the road...or make a left turn right in front of you without using a turn signal...or cut you off...or make a u-turn in front of oncoming traffic...etc, etc.
And one of my favorites: Those mentally handicapped peckerwoods who think it's ok to spit chewing gum out on the sidewalk or in a parking lot because it's JUST SO DAMN DIFFICULT to dispose of it properly. Those drooling trogalodytes should have a ten-pack of BlackJack gum massaged into they're scalps and then removed with machetes and Bic lighters.
You think that there's too much violence in blogs these days?
Here are some examples:
People who think it's stupid to volunteer. The American Cancer Society? Make a Wish Foundation? A soup kitchen? What...are you nuts? I could use that time making money! Or spending money on myself!
People who screw off at work all day and leave the work for the next shift. (If everyone just pitched in a little, most jobs would be a cake-walk.)
People who drive a car as of they're the only ones on the street. People who are all over the road...or make a left turn right in front of you without using a turn signal...or cut you off...or make a u-turn in front of oncoming traffic...etc, etc.
And one of my favorites: Those mentally handicapped peckerwoods who think it's ok to spit chewing gum out on the sidewalk or in a parking lot because it's JUST SO DAMN DIFFICULT to dispose of it properly. Those drooling trogalodytes should have a ten-pack of BlackJack gum massaged into they're scalps and then removed with machetes and Bic lighters.
You think that there's too much violence in blogs these days?
Monday, August 02, 2004
What's up with dating?
Today I heard about a dating web site that is the first (I know of) that does background checks on perspective mates. At http://www.true.com/ , the site checks member wanabes to verify that they are single and criminal-record-free. Hmmmm...what sort of change is THAT from the dating process of just a few short years ago?
OK...this is where I do a prediction. Within the next twenty (or so) years, a person will be able to send an artificially intelligent avatar to a cyber cocktail party to mingle with possible mates. The initial awkwardness, the interaction with numerous creeps just to find one nice person, the unintentional binge drinking (oops...maybe that was just me) ...are a thing of the past. Just sit back watching the Letterman-of-the-future and let your avatar do the walking...and talking. While we're at it, let's allow those artificially intellingent avatars to engage in the SEX as well. Hey...we can eliminate STD's in OUR lifetime. Just in case someone actually makes any part of my prediction a reality, I can have the satisfaction of saying, "I called it!" Do you suppose that gives me any type of legal claim to a part of the profits from the technology? Nahhhhhhh. No more than I have a legal claim to the money made from Dairy Queen on their Blizzards (even though I was grinding candy bars into milk-shakes way back in the early 70's!)
OK...this is where I do a prediction. Within the next twenty (or so) years, a person will be able to send an artificially intelligent avatar to a cyber cocktail party to mingle with possible mates. The initial awkwardness, the interaction with numerous creeps just to find one nice person, the unintentional binge drinking (oops...maybe that was just me) ...are a thing of the past. Just sit back watching the Letterman-of-the-future and let your avatar do the walking...and talking. While we're at it, let's allow those artificially intellingent avatars to engage in the SEX as well. Hey...we can eliminate STD's in OUR lifetime. Just in case someone actually makes any part of my prediction a reality, I can have the satisfaction of saying, "I called it!" Do you suppose that gives me any type of legal claim to a part of the profits from the technology? Nahhhhhhh. No more than I have a legal claim to the money made from Dairy Queen on their Blizzards (even though I was grinding candy bars into milk-shakes way back in the early 70's!)
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Dave's First Rave
First of all, thanks to my son Matt for turning me on to this site. He'll be leaving home (Indiana) for a new life adventure in California very shortly, so this "blog" stuff might just be a great way to stay in each other's thoughts.
Also...I've always thought that writing is a great way to vent my spleen a little. Much more cathartic (and less painful) than punching holes in a wall. If such a simple act as writing down one's thoughts can make a person feel better, WHY NOT?
What do I currently feel a need to rant about? How about BUSH? It seems it all comes down to that guy...BUSH! Who...with the help of family and associates managed to steal an election and corrupt a system that's worked pretty well for over two hunded years. BUSH! Who's directly responsible for the deaths of over 800 Americans and countless Iraqui civilians. BUSH! Who promoted the first proposed Constitutional amendment to advocate discrimination. BUSH! Who's cutbacks of funding to state and local governments is directly responsible for my having to pay a county income tax (which I never did before) and an increase in property tax that has jacked up my house payment by fifty percent. My son Matt and I BOTH ask the question, "Why would ANYONE vote for this guy?" Is it his implied message of inclusion to "Nascar Dads" everywhere? Is it the implied (but never stated) message of anti-abortion to the religious right? Is it the the implied message of "assault rifles for everyone" to the anti-gun-control guys? I REALLY don't know. What I DO know is: Bush's policy of inclusion includes noone but the very rich. Bush's thoughts about killing only applies to fetus's...not to American servicemen nor Texas felons. And those folks who vote for Bush solely for his supposed gun control stance are going to NEED those guns when they lose their jobs and they have to survive by sticking up convenience stores.
Ahhhhh...I DO feel better now! The therapeutic rant. All the calming power of drugs with no nasty side effects.
Also...I've always thought that writing is a great way to vent my spleen a little. Much more cathartic (and less painful) than punching holes in a wall. If such a simple act as writing down one's thoughts can make a person feel better, WHY NOT?
What do I currently feel a need to rant about? How about BUSH? It seems it all comes down to that guy...BUSH! Who...with the help of family and associates managed to steal an election and corrupt a system that's worked pretty well for over two hunded years. BUSH! Who's directly responsible for the deaths of over 800 Americans and countless Iraqui civilians. BUSH! Who promoted the first proposed Constitutional amendment to advocate discrimination. BUSH! Who's cutbacks of funding to state and local governments is directly responsible for my having to pay a county income tax (which I never did before) and an increase in property tax that has jacked up my house payment by fifty percent. My son Matt and I BOTH ask the question, "Why would ANYONE vote for this guy?" Is it his implied message of inclusion to "Nascar Dads" everywhere? Is it the implied (but never stated) message of anti-abortion to the religious right? Is it the the implied message of "assault rifles for everyone" to the anti-gun-control guys? I REALLY don't know. What I DO know is: Bush's policy of inclusion includes noone but the very rich. Bush's thoughts about killing only applies to fetus's...not to American servicemen nor Texas felons. And those folks who vote for Bush solely for his supposed gun control stance are going to NEED those guns when they lose their jobs and they have to survive by sticking up convenience stores.
Ahhhhh...I DO feel better now! The therapeutic rant. All the calming power of drugs with no nasty side effects.
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