The national murder rate increased nearly 5 percent in 2005 - the biggest jump in 15 years, according to FBI statistics. Violent Crime in general was up 2.5%, the largest increase since 1991.
New York City has seen a 6% increase in its murder rate this year and Philadelphia saw a 9% increase this year and 15% increase last year. As of late August, Indianapolis has had a 39% increase from last year, Orlando, FL has already broken its homicide record set back in 1982. Boston Homicides are at a 10 year high. The Mid-West, where the majority of US manufacturing jobs used to be, is seeing the biggest increases. Let me remind you that Bush keeps saying that outsourcing is good for America.
The causes could range from a variety of sources. Of course conservatives will point to violent movies, music and then plain old personal responsibility and liberals will say guns and poverty. I have to say that when Elvis sang about hound-dogs no one started acting like dogs and when Falco sang about Amadeus people didn't start listening to or acting like Mozart, so that seems pretty unlikely. Violent movies such as On the Water Front have been around since the 50's so that can't be it. So let's look at the Liberals side: the national unemployment rate was at a five-month high in July at 4.8 percent, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Cost of living is up and minimum wages remain the same since 1996. In addition, gas prices are up and there is the constant threat of inflation. The Brady Bill has also expired and the NRA has made it harder to keep databases with gun owners. If people are working 40-50 hours a week, have plenty of cash in their wallets and don't have access to military weapons what reasons do they have and how much spare time would they have to go around shooting everyone?
Maybe it's just a lack of Social Programs aimed at helping at risk people and the lack of police presence and law enforcement. The Bush administration proposed to give $102 million for law enforcement for fiscal year 2007 (which begins in October), an 87 percent ($1.1 Billion) decrease from this fiscal year, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. This goes along with the Bush strategy of cutting taxes then adding a multi-billion dollar war to the budget. Good thinking, just as crime rates are rising, the threat of terrorism is up, cutting law enforcement budgets seems to be a good idea. It's typical Bush logic. Let me remind you that the London terror ring was exposed by local law enforcement. Also on the cutting board is an 11.5% decrease in funding for HUD and 39 billion dollars in cuts to Medicaid, child support programs, student loads and foster care. The Head Start program will now serve 19,000 fewer children than in 2006. All of this so Bush can push more tax cuts and start more wars. The main people who benefit from these cuts are the tax paying families who earn over $288,800 per year. The people who make over 200k per year aren't typically the ones shooting each other which just proves my point; with jobs, money, education and child support people are less likely to commit crimes such as murder. Under Bush, poor and middle class people have less and therefore resort to crime.
Way to go dick!
"Second, if I am President I will strengthen the capacity of intelligence and law enforcement at home and forge stronger international coalitions to provide better information and the best chance to target and capture terrorists even before they act. "
John Kerry, 2/27/04
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Why Katherine Harris is an Idiot and Needs to Retire
Katherine Harris, the former Florida Secretary of State who handed Bush the Election in 2000 and whose own party members refuse to endorse for her Senate run, is making headlines again.
In an interview with some God-bob publication she made the statements that separation of church and state is "a lie" and God and the nation's founding fathers did not intend the country be "a nation of secular laws." Of course she couldn't cite any examples of this and since she had no clue as to how elections work, she can't be expected to know history either. Some other statements she made include separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers", and "If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin."
Well Katherine, I thought you would like to know what a few of our founding fathers and other experts had to say about that, not to mention that the words "God", "Jesus" or "Christianity", never once appears in our nations most important document, the U.S. Constitution:
"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814
“Believing that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Thomas Jefferson 1802
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth. "
Thomas Jefferson
"I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another."
Thomas Jefferson, 1799
James Madison - "Father of the Constitution" / 4th President of the U.S.
"The establishment of the chaplainship to Congress is a palpable violation of equal rights, as well as of constitutional principles."
James Madison
“Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect.”
James Madison
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
Thomas Paine-Age of Reason
“I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible).Among the most detestable villains in history, you could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by (attaching) it to this filthy book (the Bible).It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible.Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive sins...and you will have sins in abundance.The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretended imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty.”
Thomas Paine
"as to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of our government to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which the government hath to do therewith."
Thomas Paine
"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."
John F. Kennedy,1960
"Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?"
Justice Sandra Day O'Conner, 2005
Along with Katherine Harris, there is this:
"Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith.... We need believing people."
Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933
In an interview with some God-bob publication she made the statements that separation of church and state is "a lie" and God and the nation's founding fathers did not intend the country be "a nation of secular laws." Of course she couldn't cite any examples of this and since she had no clue as to how elections work, she can't be expected to know history either. Some other statements she made include separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers", and "If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin."
Well Katherine, I thought you would like to know what a few of our founding fathers and other experts had to say about that, not to mention that the words "God", "Jesus" or "Christianity", never once appears in our nations most important document, the U.S. Constitution:
"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814
“Believing that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Thomas Jefferson 1802
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth. "
Thomas Jefferson
"I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another."
Thomas Jefferson, 1799
"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."
John Adams, Lawyer / 2nd President of the U.S.
James Madison - "Father of the Constitution" / 4th President of the U.S.
"The establishment of the chaplainship to Congress is a palpable violation of equal rights, as well as of constitutional principles."
James Madison
“Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect.”
James Madison
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
Thomas Paine-Age of Reason
“I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible).Among the most detestable villains in history, you could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by (attaching) it to this filthy book (the Bible).It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible.Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive sins...and you will have sins in abundance.The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretended imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty.”
Thomas Paine
"as to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of our government to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which the government hath to do therewith."
Thomas Paine
"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."
John F. Kennedy,1960
"Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?"
Justice Sandra Day O'Conner, 2005
Along with Katherine Harris, there is this:
"Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith.... We need believing people."
Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Lesson 2 On How Not to Get Shot by the Police or Authorities
From Chicago Tribune Aug, 9th:
Boy's shooting angers crowd
Cabrini-Green neighbors protest police action, tell of the frustration of gentrification
Cry me a river. The other day Cabrini Green Public Housing residents protested the shooting of an armed robbery suspect who refused to drop his weapon. Ok, so the weapon happened to be a BB gun that looked like a .45 caliber handgun and the suspect happened to be a 14 year old boy.
There was no way the police could know that the gun was a BB gun or that the boy was only 14 years old. Neither of these really matter if you ask me. First of all, it doesn't matter how old you are if you are pointing a gun at someone you are likely to get shot. Second, BB guns are also illegal in the city of Chicago for this very reason and even BB guns can harm or maim another person. Third, what the hell does gentrification have to do with anything?
Gentrification sucks for people whose property taxes skyrocket over a years time and they have to move out to make way for yuppies and their Starbucks laden strip malls but we are talking about people who live in public housing. This means they either have a fixed rent of let’s say $40 per month or they pay nothing at all. If someone is going to give you next to nothing housing don't bitch about it when they say you have to live somewhere else for free. Beggars can't be choosers. So let's just drop the whole gentrification frustrations for now.
If you do not want to get shot by the police, adhere to the following rules:
1.Don't carry illegal weapons such as handguns or BB guns
2.If you do carry one of these weapons and a cop tells you to drop it then do it
3.Don't point your BB gun or any other type of a gun at a cop who is pointing his gun at you
4.Don't commit cribes such as robbing someone at gunpoint, even if it's with a BB gun
5.Don't commit crimes 60 feet away from a brand new police station
6.Don't commit crimes underneath or in the view of CPD surveillance cameras
7.Instead of standing on the corner robbing people, hang out at the library which is a block away and air conditioned
8.If you live in a crime ridden housing project and think cops are racist, don't do things that make them want to shoot you such as robbing people and pointing guns at them.
9. Choose someone positive as a role model; don't choose Tu Pac or 50 cent as they also got shot
10.Parents, don't buy your kids guns and don't raise them to be someone who robs little kids
Most importantly: DON'T BRING A TOY TO A GUN FIGHT!
Neither being 14, complaining about having to move away from your free housing or carrying weapons, will ever keep you from getting shot from the cops; my rules however, will.
The kid is still alive and when he comes out of it I can assure you he will tell you the same things I am telling you. I'll bet the next time a cop tells him to drop his weapon he does it. So there is some silver lining to all this as I am sure he has learned his lesson. I too have learned a lesson; a lesson in Darwinism.
There is no charge for this consultation. I hope it has been helpful and will keep you and your kids from getting shot by the police.
Boy's shooting angers crowd
Cabrini-Green neighbors protest police action, tell of the frustration of gentrification
Cry me a river. The other day Cabrini Green Public Housing residents protested the shooting of an armed robbery suspect who refused to drop his weapon. Ok, so the weapon happened to be a BB gun that looked like a .45 caliber handgun and the suspect happened to be a 14 year old boy.
There was no way the police could know that the gun was a BB gun or that the boy was only 14 years old. Neither of these really matter if you ask me. First of all, it doesn't matter how old you are if you are pointing a gun at someone you are likely to get shot. Second, BB guns are also illegal in the city of Chicago for this very reason and even BB guns can harm or maim another person. Third, what the hell does gentrification have to do with anything?
Gentrification sucks for people whose property taxes skyrocket over a years time and they have to move out to make way for yuppies and their Starbucks laden strip malls but we are talking about people who live in public housing. This means they either have a fixed rent of let’s say $40 per month or they pay nothing at all. If someone is going to give you next to nothing housing don't bitch about it when they say you have to live somewhere else for free. Beggars can't be choosers. So let's just drop the whole gentrification frustrations for now.
If you do not want to get shot by the police, adhere to the following rules:
1.Don't carry illegal weapons such as handguns or BB guns
2.If you do carry one of these weapons and a cop tells you to drop it then do it
3.Don't point your BB gun or any other type of a gun at a cop who is pointing his gun at you
4.Don't commit cribes such as robbing someone at gunpoint, even if it's with a BB gun
5.Don't commit crimes 60 feet away from a brand new police station
6.Don't commit crimes underneath or in the view of CPD surveillance cameras
7.Instead of standing on the corner robbing people, hang out at the library which is a block away and air conditioned
8.If you live in a crime ridden housing project and think cops are racist, don't do things that make them want to shoot you such as robbing people and pointing guns at them.
9. Choose someone positive as a role model; don't choose Tu Pac or 50 cent as they also got shot
10.Parents, don't buy your kids guns and don't raise them to be someone who robs little kids
Most importantly: DON'T BRING A TOY TO A GUN FIGHT!
Neither being 14, complaining about having to move away from your free housing or carrying weapons, will ever keep you from getting shot from the cops; my rules however, will.
The kid is still alive and when he comes out of it I can assure you he will tell you the same things I am telling you. I'll bet the next time a cop tells him to drop his weapon he does it. So there is some silver lining to all this as I am sure he has learned his lesson. I too have learned a lesson; a lesson in Darwinism.
There is no charge for this consultation. I hope it has been helpful and will keep you and your kids from getting shot by the police.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Kansas: Waking Up and Joining the 21st Century
From CNN:Wednesday, August 2, 2006; Posted: 9:21 a.m. EDT
TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- Conservative Republicans who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools last year have lost control of the state Board of Education once again.
Let me be the first to welcome Kansas into the 21st century. That's right, the cavemen of Kansas' school board who voted to allow "intelligent" design to be taught alongside evolution have been voted out of office. The School Board is now stacked 6-4 in favor of evolution as opposed to 6-4 against evolution as it was before the election.
One of the board members who were replaced was Connie Morris who was once quoted describing evolution as, "an age-old fairy tale" and "a nice bedtime story unsupported by science". That’s funny, that's exactly what I say about I.D. and creationism. In reality, do you know what isn't supported by science? The story that the Earth was created in 6 days 10,000 years ago.
Welcome home Kansas. Now you can move on by giving women and minorities the right to vote or what ever else it was you missed over the last 150 years.
TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- Conservative Republicans who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools last year have lost control of the state Board of Education once again.
Let me be the first to welcome Kansas into the 21st century. That's right, the cavemen of Kansas' school board who voted to allow "intelligent" design to be taught alongside evolution have been voted out of office. The School Board is now stacked 6-4 in favor of evolution as opposed to 6-4 against evolution as it was before the election.
One of the board members who were replaced was Connie Morris who was once quoted describing evolution as, "an age-old fairy tale" and "a nice bedtime story unsupported by science". That’s funny, that's exactly what I say about I.D. and creationism. In reality, do you know what isn't supported by science? The story that the Earth was created in 6 days 10,000 years ago.
Welcome home Kansas. Now you can move on by giving women and minorities the right to vote or what ever else it was you missed over the last 150 years.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Stupid Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Insane
Unbelievable. Andrea Yates, the housewife who "thought her kids were evil" and therefore killed all 5 of them, has just been found not guilty by reason of insanity in 3 of their murders.
Even if she is a nut bag, she's still guilty, she still killed those kids; who cares why or how? How does that matter. She has killed 5 people and crazy or not, she is capable of having more children and killing them too. Should it really matter if she did it because she's just an asshole, or because she thinks her kids are Satan, or any other reason? Those kids are dead and she is the reason, period. Therefore, she must pay that price. Do you really think a poor, crazy, black, crack-head mother would have gotten off this easy if she did the same? Of course not. I'm not trying to turn this into a race thing I am merely bringing up a point. I guess my main point is that why is no one in our society responsible for their own actions?
Hopefully for the people of Texas, the prosecutors will still charge her in the murders of her other two kids and may actually get a jury with brains the next time around.
I am dumbfounded.
Even if she is a nut bag, she's still guilty, she still killed those kids; who cares why or how? How does that matter. She has killed 5 people and crazy or not, she is capable of having more children and killing them too. Should it really matter if she did it because she's just an asshole, or because she thinks her kids are Satan, or any other reason? Those kids are dead and she is the reason, period. Therefore, she must pay that price. Do you really think a poor, crazy, black, crack-head mother would have gotten off this easy if she did the same? Of course not. I'm not trying to turn this into a race thing I am merely bringing up a point. I guess my main point is that why is no one in our society responsible for their own actions?
Hopefully for the people of Texas, the prosecutors will still charge her in the murders of her other two kids and may actually get a jury with brains the next time around.
I am dumbfounded.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Really? Thanks. And What's With Israel?
Apparently, my paper shredder doesn't recommend sticking hands and ties through its blades. Paper, however, is ok. I suppose that explains why the box it came in had the words "Paper Shredder" written all over it. I wonder if hand and tie shredders have warnings about not putting paper through them. Is this something they have had problems with in the past and really thought needed to be addressed?
That’s all I have for now other than the issue of Israel thinking that a "buffer zone" in Lebanon is a good idea. Ya, it seems to have worked out well for them in the West Bank and in Gaza.
The other things I notice about this conflict is that they always refer to Hezbollah as "funded and armed by Syria and Iran" but they don't ever describe Israel as "funded and armed by the U.S.".
Also, I heard some fellow liberals saying that Israel needed to quit targeting civilians. I would have to agree with them but the statement sounds incomplete without calling for Hezbollah and Hamas to quit targeting civilians as well. Although, one must point out that the last two actions of Hezbollah and Hamas that started all this was the kidnapping of IDF soldiers, not the bombing of Israeli civilians. Maybe that should be viewed as progress. That being said, why does Israel only respond this harshly to attacks against their military and not to the attacks against its civilians? Anyone have any ideas on this?
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Religious Conservatives Want Women to Die of Cancer
Thursday, June 29, 2006; Posted: 12:11 p.m. EDT
From CNN Health:
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- An influential government advisory committee Thursday recommended the routine vaccination of 11- and 12-year-old girls against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
The Family Research Council (who also thinks condoms are a bad Idea) has this to say: “Because parents have an inherent right to be the primary educator and decision maker regarding their children’s health, we would oppose any measures to legally require vaccination." Apparently, death and disease is better than pre-marital sex.
Bridget Maher, also from the Family Research Council also had this informative "fact" to share:"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex." Yes, because no one is afraid of getting pregnant or getting AIDS and Herpes. Most people don't even know what HPV is, especially most teenagers. Hell, I didn't even know what HPV was until I dated a girl who worked for the Society of Gynecological Oncologists and I am a sexually active 32 year old man. I don't think that when they hand out this vaccination there is going to be a prescription with it telling 15 year old girls to fuck as many boys as they can because they are now immune to just one of the ten major STD's. I should also mention that some types of HPV can also be spread through non-sexual contact such as clothing.
Here is what the FDA has to say about it: "The vaccine appears to be 100% effective at protecting against the most prevalent viruses that cause cervical cancer."
Over 50% of all sexually active people in the US will be infected with HPV within their lifetime. According to Planned Parenthood , HPV is present in 93% of all cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer killer among women in America, affecting nearly 14,000 each year. Twenty-eight percent (4000) of the women affected with cervical cancer die every year. If parents really cared about their children, wouldn't they want to protect them from cancer if they had the chance and there were no known risks in doing so? Protecting a teenager from having sex is like trying to protect a fish from getting wet; that is what their bodies are designed to do. What do you think puberty is all about?
Again, educated and liberal people, doctors and drug companies are not all involved in a conspiracy to get your 16 year old daughter to have sex. That is not liberal doctrine, it's not even Planned Parenthoods doctrine. They simply do not have their heads up their ass and realize that you are a shitty parent and that your 16 year old daughter has probably had more sexual partners than you ever dreamed of having. They also realize that kids who pledge abstinence still have the same rate of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, as the ones who don't.
Does the Flu vaccine make people run out into the street kissing homeless men in the middle of winter? No. If we were all given rabies vaccinations do you think people would start attacking raccoons and wild dogs? Of course not.
When it comes to health and science listen to the experts. Don't take medical advice from people who think women come from men's ribs.
From CNN Health:
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- An influential government advisory committee Thursday recommended the routine vaccination of 11- and 12-year-old girls against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
The Family Research Council (who also thinks condoms are a bad Idea) has this to say: “Because parents have an inherent right to be the primary educator and decision maker regarding their children’s health, we would oppose any measures to legally require vaccination." Apparently, death and disease is better than pre-marital sex.
Bridget Maher, also from the Family Research Council also had this informative "fact" to share:"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex." Yes, because no one is afraid of getting pregnant or getting AIDS and Herpes. Most people don't even know what HPV is, especially most teenagers. Hell, I didn't even know what HPV was until I dated a girl who worked for the Society of Gynecological Oncologists and I am a sexually active 32 year old man. I don't think that when they hand out this vaccination there is going to be a prescription with it telling 15 year old girls to fuck as many boys as they can because they are now immune to just one of the ten major STD's. I should also mention that some types of HPV can also be spread through non-sexual contact such as clothing.
Here is what the FDA has to say about it: "The vaccine appears to be 100% effective at protecting against the most prevalent viruses that cause cervical cancer."
Over 50% of all sexually active people in the US will be infected with HPV within their lifetime. According to Planned Parenthood , HPV is present in 93% of all cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer killer among women in America, affecting nearly 14,000 each year. Twenty-eight percent (4000) of the women affected with cervical cancer die every year. If parents really cared about their children, wouldn't they want to protect them from cancer if they had the chance and there were no known risks in doing so? Protecting a teenager from having sex is like trying to protect a fish from getting wet; that is what their bodies are designed to do. What do you think puberty is all about?
Again, educated and liberal people, doctors and drug companies are not all involved in a conspiracy to get your 16 year old daughter to have sex. That is not liberal doctrine, it's not even Planned Parenthoods doctrine. They simply do not have their heads up their ass and realize that you are a shitty parent and that your 16 year old daughter has probably had more sexual partners than you ever dreamed of having. They also realize that kids who pledge abstinence still have the same rate of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, as the ones who don't.
Does the Flu vaccine make people run out into the street kissing homeless men in the middle of winter? No. If we were all given rabies vaccinations do you think people would start attacking raccoons and wild dogs? Of course not.
When it comes to health and science listen to the experts. Don't take medical advice from people who think women come from men's ribs.
Friday, June 02, 2006
My Predictions About "An Inconvenient Truth"
Al Gore is releasing a new movie about global warming and climate change called "An Inconvenient Truth". My guess is that this will be a highly researched endeavor including analysis from the world’s top scientists citing irrefutable facts that the Earth is getting warmer, that man is at least partly responsible for this and that the affects of this could change life on Earth as we know it.
My other guess is that like Fahrenheit 9/11, Conservatives and Republicans will line up talking about all the lies and inaccuracies and all the studies contradicting Gore's findings without actually citing any references. What they won't do, like Fahrenheit 9/11, is address each issue individually until every point is proven wrong in a scientific manner.
My guess is that because the American public is gullible and too stupid to read and research anything on their own, other than how many kids Brangelina are adopting, that this counter hype may just work. People will continue to buy SUV's and act as if melting ice caps wont affect them even though the majority of the worlds population and economies rest largely in coastal areas.
http://www.climatecrisis.net/
My other guess is that like Fahrenheit 9/11, Conservatives and Republicans will line up talking about all the lies and inaccuracies and all the studies contradicting Gore's findings without actually citing any references. What they won't do, like Fahrenheit 9/11, is address each issue individually until every point is proven wrong in a scientific manner.
My guess is that because the American public is gullible and too stupid to read and research anything on their own, other than how many kids Brangelina are adopting, that this counter hype may just work. People will continue to buy SUV's and act as if melting ice caps wont affect them even though the majority of the worlds population and economies rest largely in coastal areas.
http://www.climatecrisis.net/
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
WMD's Found in Iraq!!
This just in, Mikes America has found WMD's in Iraq. Of course he won't tell us what, when, where or how but trust me, he knows they are there because Bush told him so.
Go to the comments section of this post http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2006/05/left-embraces-christianity-as-basis.html to find out about all the WMD's the liberal media never reported and the Bush administration decided to keep secrete even amongst all the backlash and a record low approval rating.
Ask Mike to show you proof of the Army finding plutonium, uranium, anthrax, mustard gas and of course the nuclear missiles that were sure to doom the U.S.
The mind truly is a powerful thing. If you tell yourself something over and over again before long you actually start to believe it.
Go to the comments section of this post http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2006/05/left-embraces-christianity-as-basis.html to find out about all the WMD's the liberal media never reported and the Bush administration decided to keep secrete even amongst all the backlash and a record low approval rating.
Ask Mike to show you proof of the Army finding plutonium, uranium, anthrax, mustard gas and of course the nuclear missiles that were sure to doom the U.S.
The mind truly is a powerful thing. If you tell yourself something over and over again before long you actually start to believe it.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
A Paradox for Conservatives
From CNN Tuesday, May 9, 2006; Posted: 12:37 p.m. EDT:
An estimated 2 million babies die within their first 24 hours each year worldwide and the United States has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world, according to a new report.
"American babies are three times more likely to die in their first month as children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5 times higher in the United States than in Finland, Iceland or Norway, Save the Children researchers found."
Japan offers free health care services for all pregnant women and babies while only the rich and insured get adequate health care in the United States.
This poses a paradox for conservative types who claim they are pro-life yet don't seem to care about life after it has been born. After that point, it seems like if the mother is poor, it's the babies fault and therefore should have to suffer due to the laziness of it's uneducated, unwed, teenage mother. If the United States, due to its stingy conservative capitalist leanings, allows 5 out of every 1000 of it's babies to die within a year after birth, how can that be labeled as pro-life? Why aren't "pro-lifers" out protesting in front of Capital Hill to get equal funding for neo-natal care? Aren't the planned parenthoods the wrong place for these people? Shouldn't they quit worrying about a morning after pill which blocks life before it even begins and start worrying about the babies that are alive now yet dying? Why isn't this issue on the top of the pro-life movements agenda? Why haven't the Republicans told the pro-lifers that they don't care about life after it has been born and if it happens to be poor and or black?
Here is a list of some of the top 10 "Socialist" countries with the lowest infant mortality rates:
Japan
Norway
Finland
Iceland
Czech Republic
Austria
France
Germany
Sweden
Italy
These will also be the same countries you see talked about on conservative blogs as being "Socialist" because they don't have the room for all their people to live in gated suburban sprawl communities and they have low rates of poverty where the rich have to pay a higher rate of taxes than the rich in the U.S.
If you were a baby who had no say in what kind of family you were born into, would you prefer to be born in one of the countries from the list above or in the United States?
An estimated 2 million babies die within their first 24 hours each year worldwide and the United States has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world, according to a new report.
"American babies are three times more likely to die in their first month as children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5 times higher in the United States than in Finland, Iceland or Norway, Save the Children researchers found."
Japan offers free health care services for all pregnant women and babies while only the rich and insured get adequate health care in the United States.
This poses a paradox for conservative types who claim they are pro-life yet don't seem to care about life after it has been born. After that point, it seems like if the mother is poor, it's the babies fault and therefore should have to suffer due to the laziness of it's uneducated, unwed, teenage mother. If the United States, due to its stingy conservative capitalist leanings, allows 5 out of every 1000 of it's babies to die within a year after birth, how can that be labeled as pro-life? Why aren't "pro-lifers" out protesting in front of Capital Hill to get equal funding for neo-natal care? Aren't the planned parenthoods the wrong place for these people? Shouldn't they quit worrying about a morning after pill which blocks life before it even begins and start worrying about the babies that are alive now yet dying? Why isn't this issue on the top of the pro-life movements agenda? Why haven't the Republicans told the pro-lifers that they don't care about life after it has been born and if it happens to be poor and or black?
Here is a list of some of the top 10 "Socialist" countries with the lowest infant mortality rates:
Japan
Norway
Finland
Iceland
Czech Republic
Austria
France
Germany
Sweden
Italy
These will also be the same countries you see talked about on conservative blogs as being "Socialist" because they don't have the room for all their people to live in gated suburban sprawl communities and they have low rates of poverty where the rich have to pay a higher rate of taxes than the rich in the U.S.
If you were a baby who had no say in what kind of family you were born into, would you prefer to be born in one of the countries from the list above or in the United States?
Monday, May 01, 2006
May Day
Today is May 1st which is also known as May Day. May Day is an observance of the gains made by unions and the labor movement in general which resulted in our 40 hour work week among other things.
The labor movement has always been frowned upon by conservatives and corporations and even a lot of governments. Conservative Republicans and conservative talk show hosts have long blamed unions, along with gays and environmentalists, for all of America's problems.
Once again, here are all the crazy ideas we can blame on those hippie/commie liberals:
The freedom to write this blog
40 hour work weeks
The weekend
Overtime pay
Holidays and Holiday pay (such as Labor Day)
Emancipation of the slaves
Child welfare laws
Child labor laws
Homeless shelters
Clean air
Clean water
National Parks
Forest Preserves
Unemployment benefits
Social Security
Drug treatment centers
Tenant rights
Historical preservation societies
Free Libraries
Food Stamps
Campaign laws
After school programs
Antitrust laws
Desegregation
Equal opportunity
And most importantly the 1st, 4th, 5th,6th,7th,8th,9th,13th,14th,15th,16th,19th,21st and 24th amendments and everything they include such as the abolition of slavery and women’s rights.
What have conservative movements gotten us besides tax breaks for rich people who don't need them and restrictions on our rights and freedoms?
The labor movement has always been frowned upon by conservatives and corporations and even a lot of governments. Conservative Republicans and conservative talk show hosts have long blamed unions, along with gays and environmentalists, for all of America's problems.
Once again, here are all the crazy ideas we can blame on those hippie/commie liberals:
The freedom to write this blog
40 hour work weeks
The weekend
Overtime pay
Holidays and Holiday pay (such as Labor Day)
Emancipation of the slaves
Child welfare laws
Child labor laws
Homeless shelters
Clean air
Clean water
National Parks
Forest Preserves
Unemployment benefits
Social Security
Drug treatment centers
Tenant rights
Historical preservation societies
Free Libraries
Food Stamps
Campaign laws
After school programs
Antitrust laws
Desegregation
Equal opportunity
And most importantly the 1st, 4th, 5th,6th,7th,8th,9th,13th,14th,15th,16th,19th,21st and 24th amendments and everything they include such as the abolition of slavery and women’s rights.
What have conservative movements gotten us besides tax breaks for rich people who don't need them and restrictions on our rights and freedoms?
Friday, April 28, 2006
Why I am a 9/11 Democrat
Ok, so technically I am a registered Independent but that's beside the point.
I was talking to this girl the other day who wasn't overly conservative but called herself a 9/11 Republican. I have heard Dennis Miller and others use this term before but I have always been somewhat confused by this statement. What does 9/11 Republican mean? How do the events of 9/11 make people want to turn Republican since it’s essentially the Republicans who allowed something like 9/11 to happen?
I also heard people after 9/11 saying: "thank God Bush was President and not Gore". Again, what would have Gore done that Bush didn't do other than not invade a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. Do you really think Gore would have turned over the eastern seaboard to Bin Laden and made everyone start praying towards Mecca five times a day? Do you really think he would have just let it all go and done nothing? Or, do you think maybe he would have put a massive amount of troops, whose pay and benefits he wouldn't have cut, into Afghanistan and actually capture Bin Laden, something Bush has yet to accomplish.
Here is why I am a 9/11 Democrat:
1: 9/11 happened on the Republicans watch. They had the warnings, they knew it was coming; they read children’s books and dressed up as cowboys on vacation.
2: The main reason the Arab world hates us is because of our lopsided financial and military support of Israel. Who are the biggest supporters of Zionist settlers and the funding of Israel? Conservative Republicans. George Bush even once advocated moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem which is claimed by the Palestinians as their capital and not recognized by the UN as the capital of Israel.
3. The other reason Bin Laden hates us is that we staged troops on Muslim Holy land in efforts to invade another Muslim country. Right or wrong, that was a Republican President who was responsible.
4. The Democrats, as mentioned before, would have never invaded a random country just because they had Muslims. They would have only gone after the real enemy and given the military enough troops and support to complete the mission.
5. We all know that in 2000 the oil and gas industry contributed 7 million dollars to Democratic candidates compared to 26.7 million (78%) that went towards Republican candidates. We also know that the oil extracted by these companies comes from the Middle East where Muslim Arabs live. We also know that the war in Iraq was motivated by corporate (mostly oil) profits who all have ties to this administration and other Republicans. We all know that before the Iraq war a barrel of oil was under $30 and that now it is at $72 a barrel. We know that because of Republican ties to the oil industry that the Republicans are indirectly responsible for the corruption in the Middle East as well as all the puppet regimes that have been set up there that exploit their people to serve our best interests. These actions create unrest in the Muslim world which incites violence and attacks against the US.
These are the reasons you should cock punch the next person who tells you they are a 9/11 Republican.
I was talking to this girl the other day who wasn't overly conservative but called herself a 9/11 Republican. I have heard Dennis Miller and others use this term before but I have always been somewhat confused by this statement. What does 9/11 Republican mean? How do the events of 9/11 make people want to turn Republican since it’s essentially the Republicans who allowed something like 9/11 to happen?
I also heard people after 9/11 saying: "thank God Bush was President and not Gore". Again, what would have Gore done that Bush didn't do other than not invade a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. Do you really think Gore would have turned over the eastern seaboard to Bin Laden and made everyone start praying towards Mecca five times a day? Do you really think he would have just let it all go and done nothing? Or, do you think maybe he would have put a massive amount of troops, whose pay and benefits he wouldn't have cut, into Afghanistan and actually capture Bin Laden, something Bush has yet to accomplish.
Here is why I am a 9/11 Democrat:
1: 9/11 happened on the Republicans watch. They had the warnings, they knew it was coming; they read children’s books and dressed up as cowboys on vacation.
2: The main reason the Arab world hates us is because of our lopsided financial and military support of Israel. Who are the biggest supporters of Zionist settlers and the funding of Israel? Conservative Republicans. George Bush even once advocated moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem which is claimed by the Palestinians as their capital and not recognized by the UN as the capital of Israel.
3. The other reason Bin Laden hates us is that we staged troops on Muslim Holy land in efforts to invade another Muslim country. Right or wrong, that was a Republican President who was responsible.
4. The Democrats, as mentioned before, would have never invaded a random country just because they had Muslims. They would have only gone after the real enemy and given the military enough troops and support to complete the mission.
5. We all know that in 2000 the oil and gas industry contributed 7 million dollars to Democratic candidates compared to 26.7 million (78%) that went towards Republican candidates. We also know that the oil extracted by these companies comes from the Middle East where Muslim Arabs live. We also know that the war in Iraq was motivated by corporate (mostly oil) profits who all have ties to this administration and other Republicans. We all know that before the Iraq war a barrel of oil was under $30 and that now it is at $72 a barrel. We know that because of Republican ties to the oil industry that the Republicans are indirectly responsible for the corruption in the Middle East as well as all the puppet regimes that have been set up there that exploit their people to serve our best interests. These actions create unrest in the Muslim world which incites violence and attacks against the US.
These are the reasons you should cock punch the next person who tells you they are a 9/11 Republican.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Our (Their) Priorities
By now, I am sure everyone has seen my cost of war in Iraq banner in my sidebar. What you may not have done is click on it to see how the cost of this war stacks up against the budgets of some other efforts for which this money could have been used.
According to nationalpriorities.org we have spent over 272 billion on Operation Iraqi Liberation. The US Department of Education's budget for 2005 was a mere 57.3 Billion dollars.
As of today, according to this website, instead of paying for this war in which only oil executives and Halliburton have benefited from, we could have done the following:
Hired 4,725,229 public school teachers for one year
Paid for 36,113,976 children to attend a year of Head Start
Provided insurance 163,269,509 children for one year
Given full 4 year, public university scholarships for 13,217,988 kids
Built an additional 2,445,054 public housing units
Fully funded global anti-hunger efforts for 11 years
Fully funded world-wide AIDS programs for 27 years
Provided basic immunizations for every child on the planet for the next 90 years
I know, just giving someone money is Socialism, diverting money from the poor and general public so rich people can get richer is Capitalism.
Can anyone give me an example of how this war has made their life better? I know a college scholarship would have made my life better.
Next Post: Why I am a 9/11 Democrat.
According to nationalpriorities.org we have spent over 272 billion on Operation Iraqi Liberation. The US Department of Education's budget for 2005 was a mere 57.3 Billion dollars.
As of today, according to this website, instead of paying for this war in which only oil executives and Halliburton have benefited from, we could have done the following:
Hired 4,725,229 public school teachers for one year
Paid for 36,113,976 children to attend a year of Head Start
Provided insurance 163,269,509 children for one year
Given full 4 year, public university scholarships for 13,217,988 kids
Built an additional 2,445,054 public housing units
Fully funded global anti-hunger efforts for 11 years
Fully funded world-wide AIDS programs for 27 years
Provided basic immunizations for every child on the planet for the next 90 years
I know, just giving someone money is Socialism, diverting money from the poor and general public so rich people can get richer is Capitalism.
Can anyone give me an example of how this war has made their life better? I know a college scholarship would have made my life better.
Next Post: Why I am a 9/11 Democrat.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Hey Hey Hey Good Bye
Tom DeLay, the corrupt Republican Congressman from Texas, has resigned after his recent scandals and indictments. Of course, this is all liberal Democrats fault for using the system of checks and balances which don't allow Congressmen to do as they please.
What kind of country do we live in where the people in power are held accountable by the same rules as everyone else? I guess this proves that just because the Republicans say something is true, that doesn't necessarily make it so. It kind of reminds me of that whole WMD thing.
P.S.
Oh, and sign this to increase the minimum wage:
http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/fairwage/fugdty
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Lottery Players Suck!
Seriously, how many times have you had to stand in line at 7-11 for an extra hour because some loser is returning his tickets in exchange for his 2 dollars, or making the clerk play specific numbers which are probably the date one which this person last got laid? The state should pay someone to be on site at all times in order to man the lotto machine for these people who coincidentally have already bought their other items with state funded food stamps. All they would have to do is take the money out of the jack pot in order to pay these people; it's pretty simple.
The other thing about these idiots is well, for one, they will never hit the jack pot. The second thing that kills me is that when Powerball is at like 3 million no one cares but as soon as it hits 300 million people are standing in line for the tickets. The problem with this is that your odds of wining the 3 million are a hundred times greater than you wining the 300 million. Are you saying that you aren't interested in 3 million but you are interested in throwing 50 dollars out the window?
Just go to the Casino with all the other losers and let’s keep the time that it takes to buy a frozen pizza under the amount of time that it takes to make one myself.
Yes, I know my blog suck as of late. Bear with me as I am going through some life changes and have had other things on my mind. No, I am not becoming a woman or anything like that.
The other thing about these idiots is well, for one, they will never hit the jack pot. The second thing that kills me is that when Powerball is at like 3 million no one cares but as soon as it hits 300 million people are standing in line for the tickets. The problem with this is that your odds of wining the 3 million are a hundred times greater than you wining the 300 million. Are you saying that you aren't interested in 3 million but you are interested in throwing 50 dollars out the window?
Just go to the Casino with all the other losers and let’s keep the time that it takes to buy a frozen pizza under the amount of time that it takes to make one myself.
Yes, I know my blog suck as of late. Bear with me as I am going through some life changes and have had other things on my mind. No, I am not becoming a woman or anything like that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)