Sapere Aude!

Presidential Candidate Buddy Roemer Speaks The Truth

2011-09-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

"You can't tackle the jobs problem, the budget problem, the tax problem, or America rising without tackling the first problem: Money in politics.

It is institutionally corrupt. They spend their time getting big checks from big special interests. It's the special interests who write the tax code. You can't read it. It doesn't work for America. It hurts jobs; we give them away. They're being stolen by unfair trade, and nobody does anything.

You know why? Corporations have never made more money than they are right now. They wrote the tax code and they really don't give a damn about the rest of America."

--Buddy Roemer, Former Congressman & Former Governor of Louisana

Happy 235th Birthday, America!

2011-07-04T12:38:00.001-07:00

Happy 235th Birthday, America!

All the political strife, angst, and drama out there is merely proof that our democracy is working as intended! The Founding Fathers intended for there to be heated debate, discussion, dissent, and disagreement. That is what democracy is!

NEVER close your minds to new ideas or new ways of thinking! NEVER dismiss a different viewpoint without careful consideration! NEVER stop learning! NEVER stop growing! EDUCATE yourselves in the issues of the day and the citizens of your community, state and country! NEVER rely on the dogma and doctrine preached by evangelists, political parties, or pundits!

Realize that your friends and family may be giving you BAD advice or information! It is up to each one of us to educate ourselves and act accordingly.

Remember that while YOU may subscribe to a particular religion, belief, or creed, AMERICA DOES NOT. America is NOT based on Christianity or any other religion.

Diversity of thought is the cornerstone of democracy. Closed-mindedness and uniformity of thought is the path to Fascism.

Remember that freedom, justice and equality are for EVERYONE! Not just people who look like, think like, or act like you! No matter the gender, race, creed, orientation, affiliation, religion, belief, persuasion, or ability, we are ALL Americans!

Educate yourselves and participate in your government. It is our RESPONSIBILITY as Americans! Remember the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Lies, Damned Lies & Israel

2011-05-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint press conference with President Obama, said today that Israel "cannot go back" to the 1967 borders with its neighbors in its negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. He cited over 300,000 Israeli settlers in disputed territory as the reason.

What he did not say was that this was Israel's plan all along. While pretending to negotiate in good faith with the Palestinians, Israel was building settlements in lands claimed by the Palestinian Authority. A LOT of settlements.

Angry Palestinians would send rocket and mortar fire into these settlements as a means of expressing their pent-up rage at Israel. Israel would counter by shutting down the West Bank and Gaza, rolling in tanks and delivering harsh "justice" while shouting to the world that the PA could not be trusted because it could not control its own people. While the world was focused on the plight of the peoples in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel was quietly approving new settlements, seemingly on a daily basis.

Benjamin Netanyahu would smile and shake hands with US Presidents and talk of peace with the Palestinians while expanding Israel's territory by shoving the Palestinians off of their lands. Now, he claims that he "cannot go back" because there are just too many settlers and too much of an investment made.

Someone PLEASE tell me why we continue to support Israel. They've been lying to us for DECADES. It's obvious by their actions that Israel is not interested in peace with the Palestinians or a Palestinian state, despite all of the lip-service they give the ideas.

Here's what President Obama (or ANY US President, for that matter) should do: cut off ALL funding to Israel. Stop ALL trade with Israel. Deliver the message: Make peace with the Palestinians RIGHT NOW, or you're on your own.

Will the President do this? Of course not. It's political suicide. But this kind of tough love is exactly what Israel needs so we can put this Middle East "problem" to bed once and for all.

A Rebuttal To "The Osama Bin Laden Exception"

2011-05-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

AP Photo

In an opinion piece in Salon.com entitled "The Osama Bin Laden Exception," columnist Glenn Greenwald argues that the US was wrong to kill Osama Bin Laden. He says that not only was it wrong, it was illegal.

In Greenwald's piece of May 9th, and in his subsequent appearance on NPR's "Talk Of The Nation," he says that US and international law prohibits the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and that he should have been brought to trial instead. His argument is that under international treaties and precedent, Bin Laden should have been given a trial and the US should have presented evidence of his guilt before passing sentence. As an example, he cites the war crimes trials of World War II, and the fact that we still have Khalid Sheikh Muhammad locked away in Guantanamo Bay - ostensibly awaiting trial.

Greenwald says that we are going against our own principles and our own sense of fairness and justice by executing Bin Laden without a fair trial in order to satisfy a thirst for revenge. He says that we would not feel the same if the situations were reversed; that is - we would not tolerate a foreign military operation on US soil designed to kill the President as a form of revenge for the deaths of thousands of people killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says that President Obama went against his own words by carrying out a military operation without notifying Pakistan first and giving them the opportunity to turn over Bin Laden.

Finally, Greenwald says that by taking this action, the US is setting a precedent: that we say that we are a nation of laws, but we will ignore those laws when it suits us. What's to stop us from assassinating ANYONE we deem a threat?

And technically, legally. . . he's right. But here's why he's wrong:

Assassinating a foreign head of state has been illegal since 1976, and the US has not assassinated any foreign heads of state since 1973
We did not assassinate a Pakistani citizen on Pakistani soil - we assassinated a known and wanted terrorist and fugitive, officially wanted by both the United States and Pakistan
A trial would have given Bin Laden and Al Quaeda the very publicity and notoriety they are looking for - giving them the chance to spread more of their message of hate and terror to more people
It would have legitimized Bin Laden and Al Quaeda
Executing Bin Laden and burying him at sea prevents believers from visiting his gravesite and enshrining him as a martyr

The war crimes trials in The Hague were prosecuting individuals who were part of a government sponsored war. Those trials were designed to show the world just how evil the Nazi regime was, and to bring to light the war crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis. Additionally, those people on trial were for the most part official representatives of their government.

Anyone on the planet with a radio, television or newspaper could see for themselves the terror, destruction and murder brought forth by Bin Laden and Al Quaeda. Not only in the United States, but around the world. Al Quaeda claimed responsibility for their actions, boasted of the murder of civilians and encouraged others to do the same. They have convicted themselves by their own words and deeds.

Do our actions set a precedent? Do they "send a message?" Yes, they do: We ARE a nation of laws. We will defend your right to believe what you want to believe and say what you want to say - but don't fuck with us or our allies or we'll hunt you down, pop two rounds of ammunition into your head and dump your sorry ass into the sea. It's basically the same message we've been sending out to the world since day 1 - only more up-to-date.

Blu-Ray Will Be Dead In 10 Years

2011-04-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

Blu-Ray, king of HD video, winner of the "format wars" versus HD-DVD, is dying a slow, painful death. It, along with its predecessor, DVD, are on their way to the great trash pile of history. Even 3D won't save it. Here's why:

Slow Performance
It sometimes takes well over a minute before I see anything on my screen when I put in a Blu-Ray disc. The player makes all kinds of groaning and buzzing noises, my screen flashes between black and dark grey, and there's a little animated doo-dad in the bottom right corner of the screen that is supposedly telling me that something is going on. Is something going on? From all the groans, whirs and buzzes, I sure hope so. New players advertise faster start-up times. "Under 1 Minute!" they say, like that's progress. My Blu-Ray player also seems to need a LOT of updates from the manufacturer. I have to download and install a new firmware about once a month - a process that can take up to 15 minutes.

Forced Advertising
Movie studios LOVE to advertise their other titles and upcoming movies, so they make you sit through all these trailers before you ever get to the menu. Some studios even DISABLE THE MENU FUNCTION on your player to make sure you sit through all this crap, forcing me to press the "next chapter" button on my remote furiously in an attempt to get to the actual movie. This one "feature" is enough to make me NOT PURCHASE any more movies on disc. I didn't pay for advertising; I paid for a feature film. It's the same reason I almost never go to the movie theater any more. After paying $9.00 to get in and then bending over at the concession stand, I'm forced to watch a fucking VISA commercial in between movie trailers. WTF?

Competition
Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon & iTunes, and PPV services from cable and satellite operators mean I can watch my movies on my big screen TV right away with NO previews and NO forced ads. Don't have to wait for my Blu-Ray player to think about reading a disc, don't have to worry about cleaning it or protecting it from scratches, and I don't have to return it to wherever I rented it from. I can start watching it on my computer and finish watching it on my television. I can watch it on my iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android device, which means I can watch it virtually anywhere.

Of course, there are some movies that I want to keep copies of - movies that I know I'll watch repeatedly, or movies with historical or personal significance. For those few, I'll purchase the Blu-Ray discs and put up with the annoyance. For the rest of the thousands of movies out there, I'll stick to a streaming or PPV service.

A Chance At Redemption
The movie studios have an opportunity to save Blu-Ray, and they already know what they have to do. 3D ain't it. 3D is a nice gimmick, but we don't see 3D players and 3D televisions flying off the shelves because they're too expensive. Add to that the inconvenience of having to wear the stupid glasses, and I conclude that 3D isn't ready for the mass market.

The People Want Control
What the studios need to do is to give the people control of their movie viewing experience. Putting trailers on a disc is stupid. Who wants to be forced to watch a trailer for "Gigli" every time they put in a movie? Now imagine watching that movie 10 years from now and being forced to watch that trailer AGAIN!

Ditch the trailers and forced ads, dump the super high-tech menus that take forever to load, and give the people control. Get the player manufacturers to get off their butts and release players that will get me to the main menu in under 10 seconds. Don't tell me it can't be done, because if you can do it with DVD, you can do it with Blu-Ray. Lots of bright engineers and programmers out there.

Add special features that simply aren't available via streaming services or on PPV. You're actually pretty good at doing this already, but go the extra mile: Give me the option to watch Han Solo shoot first, like he is supposed to. Give me the option to watch the movie with the alternate ending seamlessly integrated into the feature presentation. Give me the option to stream the movie from the player to any television in the house, or directly to my iPad.

There. I just told you how to save Blu-Ray. Will you do it? No. You'll still want control over the viewing experience. You'll still listen to the idiots who tell you that in order to increase sales and profits, you have to put advertising ahead of content. Because you really don't care about the people who purchase your movies, do you? No, you only care about their money, and how to separate them from it. It's been nice knowing you, Blu-Ray. Okay, not really.

Enough, enough, ENOUGH!

2011-03-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

Image Credit: Billy Alexander

America, with her vast technical prowess, her amazing talent, her wondrous creativity, her incredible people and ideas, her fantastic diversity.

America - the land that we love and treasure, where the sky is the limit, where we are encouraged to reach for the stars, go for the gold, be the best we can be!

Surely there must be incredible talent in our popular media, with thousands of writers, producers, directors & editors - and yet. . .

I turn on my big screen television, (made with technology invented in America) pull up my satellite TV program guide (also made with technology invented in America) and what do I see on the majority of the channels?

Crap.

Doctors sleeping with each other, cops sleeping with each other, murder, greed, people airing their dirty laundry and personal business, and the worst of all: elimination "reality" game shows.

What a great idea for a television show! Let's take a group of marginally talented people, give them tasks to perform and eliminate the "losers" each week until we crown a champion!

Dancing With The Stars

American Idol

America's Got Talent

The Bachelor

Millionaire Matchmaker

America's Next Top Model

Top Chef

Top Shot

The Amazing Race

Survivor

Chopped

Cupcake Wars

Food Network Challenge

Last Cake Standing

The Next Food Network Star

HGTV Design Star

The Biggest Loser

Project Runway

Top Design

Hell's Kitchen

The Apprentice

The Contender

Celebrity Fit Club

A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila

Flavor of Love

I Love New York

This list is BY NO MEANS complete. It is just a sampling of the unimaginative DRIVEL that passes for quality television nowadays. Compelling plots? Nope. Characters with depth that you can relate to? Nope. Quality writing? Not a chance. Ensemble cast? You wish. Thoughtful, talented actors? Ha! Meaningful, relatable stories? Not here.

This is supposed to pass for entertainment nowadays? Pseudo-reality TV game shows? REALLY?

And what does this say about us? The production companies keep making this crap because WE KEEP WATCHING IT! America - Home to brilliant screen writers, directors, producers and actors by the thousands! Home to brilliant, intelligent, amazing people!

ENOUGH! Bring back shows with great writing, great plots, great acting, and great directing. Teach us! Inspire us! Amaze us! Throw out the meaningless, mindless nonsense. Please!

There's A Hole In The Bottom of the Sea

2010-06-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Everybody sing along!

♫ There's a hole in the bottom of the sea
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea
There's a hole, there's a hole
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea

There's a well in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There's a well in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There's a well, there's a well
There's a well in the hole in the bottom of the sea

. . . continues. . .

There's a failed blowout valve in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea

There's a pipe in the failed blowout valve in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea

There's oil and gas in the pipe in the failed blowout valve in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea

There's a mess in the ocean from the oil and gas in the pipe in the failed blowout valve in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea

There's dead animals from the mess in the ocean from the oil and gas in the pipe in the failed blowout valve in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea

Add your own! Here are some examples:

Finger pointing
Job losses
Public outrage
Dog-and-pony shows
Name calling
Protests
Stonewalling
Political posturing
Endless news coverage
Failed barriers
Destroyed wetlands
Political outrage (genuine)
Political outrage (fake)

Confessions of an ADD'er Part 3: The Dark Side

2010-03-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

This is part three in a series about my experiences with Attention Deficit Disorder. See Part 1 and Part 2.

Imagine yourself standing on the edge of a cliff. It is night. Behind you is a giant mass of light, noise and pain. It is a huge swirling angry cloud that you desperately want to get away from. It is all the noise, stress, personal failures, headaches, body pain, disappointment, self-loathing, bad experiences, forgetfulness, longing, and misery of your daily existence. In front of you, over the edge of the cliff, is nothing but silence and darkness. Peace. Tranquility. Glorious nothingness. All you have to do is step over the edge. . .

For many ADD'ers, the most debilitating part of their condition isn't the lack of organization, the forgetfulness or the constant buzz of information in their heads. It's the hopelessness, the inability to get out of bed, the lack of energy, the general malaise, the aches and pains, the feelings of personal failure and worthlessness and the contemplation of suicide. That's right, I'm talking about depression.

ADD'ers are 2.7 times more likely to be moderately to severely depressed than the general population. They are 7.5 times more likely to have mild depression, also called dysthymia.

The constant daily frustrations with being forgetful, disorganized, scatter-brained, thick-headed and constantly distracted can push an ADD'er into depths of misery that few people experience. Add in the normal stresses of daily life and it gets even worse. It is a misery that is beyond comprehension and beyond all rational thought.

Many ADD'ers also suffer from addiction and substance abuse in their efforts to "self-medicate." They are looking for an escape from the constant tempest going on in their heads. They may turn to alcohol or illegal drugs in an effort to silence the noise and get away from the stress.

Other ADD'ers suffer from Bipolar Disorder, anxiety attacks, learning disabilities or insomnia. Or a combination of symptoms.

Add all these things together and it's a wonder that an ADD'er ever makes it out of bed in the morning. But if you think I've covered it all, you're mistaken. There's more.

Confessions of an ADD'er Part 2: I'm Sorry, Were You Saying Something?

2010-03-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is part two in a series about my experiences with Attention Deficit Disorder. See this link for part one.

What is Attention Deficit Disorder?

Here's a medical definition from add.org:

"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is a condition resulting in symptoms of inability to maintain attention, impulsive behaviors and/or motor restlessness. . .

AD/HD is a neurobiological disorder resulting from problems in the dopamine neurotransmitter systems in the brain. Most cases are genetically inherited. If a parent or close relative has AD/HD there is a 30% chance that a child will have AD/HD.. . AD/HD is not caused by poor nutrition, ineffective parenting, drugs, or allergies. . .

People who can focus only on things that interest them, and disregard less interesting things, are often faced with additional problems such as an academic underachievement, lack of social skills, disorganization, or difficulty completing important tasks. These often result in difficulty with personal relationships, staying employed, or completing an education. People may also stimulate themselves by doing reckless or dangerous activities and thus complicate their lives with physical and legal problems."

Now that we've gotten the technical definition, let me give you my definition:

Imagine that you're standing in a room surrounded by televisions on all sides. ONE of those televisions is displaying what your eyes see and what your ears hear. The remaining televisions are all playing back stuff that's already in your brain: Movies you watched, places you visited, people you spoke to, books you read, television shows you watched, television commercials you watched, the argument you had with your spouse, the fish you just fed this morning, your dog barking at the mailman, your to-do list, your messy office that you have to clean, the assignment you were just working on, your favorite song, the song that you HATE but can't get out of your head, and so on.

All of these televisions are playing at the same time, and they're all changing their content continuously. Oh, and add a few radios in as well, each playing some pop song or radio ad jingle you heard recently.

Add to that the itch on your arm, the fact that you have to go pee, the eggs you are supposed to pick up from the store on your way home, the car really needs new tires, these shoes make your feet hurt, you really should cut the grass before the neighbors complain, your kid is expecting you to show up at the school play this afternoon, your boss is talking to you and did you see that bird that just flew by the window?

That bird was really big and it almost hit the window - BUT YOUR BOSS IS ASKING YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR ANSWER!

All of the televisions and radios suddenly shut off and you're left staring at your boss with a look on your face that says,"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" As the realization dawns on you that you're expected to reply in a coherent manner, you try to think of something temporary to say to get your boss to restate their request like, "I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying," but you know that if you say that and his question was "why were you staring out the window," you'll look like an even bigger idiot than you already do. At this instant, one of the radios in your head pops back on and starts playing the one song that simply won't leave your head, despite your best efforts.

"RAH RAH AAH AAH AAH! ROOMAH ROOMAH AAH! GA GA OOH LA LA! WAH CHA BA RAH MAS!" Now of course, you know that she's not actually saying "WAH CHA BA RAH MAS." She's actually saying "Want your bad romance," but because of her odd vocalization it sounds a bit ---OH MY GAWD MY BOSS IS STILL WAITING FOR ME TO SAY SOMETHING!!

Now before you ask -- Yes, this has actually happened to me. Granted, the song wasn't Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," but you get the idea.

The mind of an ADD'er is constantly filled with sounds and images, all competing for attention. A lot of the time, there's not even a complete sound or image - just a fragment or two. I'll hear a few notes played on a guitar over and over again until hours later I can finally remember that it's the guitar riff from the Little River Band's "Reminiscing." Or I'll hear the SAME pop song play over and over in my head. All of these sounds and images overlap constantly and make it very difficult to hang onto a coherent thought. And because the sounds and images overlap, my brain will connect them to each other. For example, the word "Reminiscing" a few sentences ago reminds me of Big Daddy Kane rapping in "Back On The Block" by Quincy Jones, ". . .as I reminisce before this the bliss that exists, but now we brought about a twist. . ." which reminds me that Siedah Garrett and Chaka Khan were also singing on the same album which makes "I'll Be Good To You" start playing in my head, and didn't Ray Charles sing on that song as well. . . and so on.

ADD'ers don't "allow" their minds to wander; their minds are doing it all the time, which is why doctors prescribe stimulants to people with ADD and ADHD. Stimulants provide an extra "boost" that allow the brain to discard extraneous stimuli. Think of it like a receptionist in a busy office. The receptionist decides what information is important, what is not, and what is IMPERATIVE. The receptionist only allows the important and imperative stuff to go back and see the boss. In a regular brain, this function is automatic. In the brain of an ADD'er, this function is diminished. As an example, even as I type this, I hear Lady Gaga in my head shouting "LOVE LOVE LOVE! I WANT YOUR LOVE!" Please help me.

Attention deficit is the big above-water part of the iceberg that is ADD - the part that everyone can see and recognize. There is even bigger part; a part that is below the water and hidden. It's this hidden part that can make life unbearable for an ADD'er, and I'll touch on that in the next installment.

Confessions of an ADD'er Part 1: Forgetful Jones

2010-03-20T10:20:00.001-07:00

Author's Note: An "ADD'er" is a person with Attention Deficit Disorder. These essays are from my experiences as an adult with ADD.

Hello.

It's very nice to meet you. What was your name again? Please don't be offended; I'm terrible with names. You see, the moment that you tell me your name, I've got it. It's there, right in front of my brain. And in the next instant - the next microsecond of time - it's gone. Gone like it never existed. Gone like we never even met.

I've read that I should use memorization techniques like repeating your name back to you as I shake your hand. I do. I'll even repeat your name to myself a few times in my head as we make polite conversation, but the polite conversation is sabotaging my efforts to remember your name. I'll say your name to myself as I'm walking away from you. But the instant my attention gets drawn to another person or thing, your name is as good as gone.

But sure, you say, lots of people have trouble memorizing names. You may even have trouble memorizing names yourself. And you'd be right. But we've now reached the spot where “normal” stops, because this isn't limited to just names. It also includes directions. How to get to the shopping mall? Easy. It's down this road to Front street, turn left, then go about a mile and a half and turn right on Elm. You can't miss it. Only I will miss it because as you're telling me the directions, they are entering a bottomless pit of information. The moment you stop talking, it's as if you never even opened your mouth. Why I even bothered asking you in the first place is a mystery.

The problem also exists with instructions. My boss would tell me a list of things to do. Nothing extravagant; just three simple tasks. Thing one, thing two and thing three. By the time thing three leaves his mouth, thing one is already hopelessly lost and thing two is in the process of vanishing. I make a desperate mental effort to recover thing one and hang onto thing two, which means that I never even hear him say thing three. I walk out of his office, confident that I haven't a clue as to what he wanted me to do, and if I just started working for the company, I have no idea what his name is.

Ever have a moment where you get up and go to another room to do something or get something and then forget what it was you were doing? Normal, right? Sure. Only to me it happens over 70% of the time, and I don't even have to leave the room for it to happen. I don't even have to get up. I'll know that I was going to do something, but the something has vanished. I'll open the pantry to get a teabag -- with my teacup in my hand -- and stand in front of the pantry like a complete idiot while I try to remember what it was I was doing. The phrase that most often leaves my mouth is, “Okay, what am I doing?” I utter that phrase nearly a dozen times a day.

"Honey-Do" lists? Gone. Very Important Things that I MUST do? A fuzzy haze. What happened yesterday, the day before or the week before? You're kidding, right? I almost never know what day of the week it is, and my perception of time either drags like watching the second hand tick by in school while waiting for dismissal, or zooms by so fast that I wonder why it's getting dark so early.

I'm not saying that I forget everything, because I don't. But unless it has a particularly strong meaning or fascination to me, or it was a particularly strong stimulus, it may as well never have happened. The memory is in there. I know it is because if I sit myself down and make myself think -- hard -- I can catch a glimpse of what it is I'm trying to remember. Not the entire memory; just little flashes that pop in and out of my head.

I can generally remember things I have to do while I'm doing them, but only while I'm concentrating on doing those things. Consequently, I HATE being disturbed or distracted from what I'm trying to accomplish because I know that once I stop working on a task to do something else, it's extremely hard to go back to my stopping point because I will have forgotten where I was.

Writing things down certainly helps, but unless I write down everything, including what it is I'm writing down, why its important and what I need to do with this tidbit of information, its almost useless to me. A phone number and a name is useless. I need a phone number, a name, who this person is, when and why I need to call them. Experts say that writing things down helps you remember them because it makes you think about it multiple times, which is great, but I tend to write things down so I won't have to rely on my memory. Once it's written down, it vanishes from my head.

I used to carry around a little notepad so I could jot stuff down as necessary. It worked out rather well, but I stopped using it because handwriting is such a chore. It's also dreadfully slow; especially when you add in the need to include context information. I would frequently forget the details of what I was writing down as I wrote it, simply because it was taking so long. Having a PDA helped out quite a bit, as it allowed me to quickly jot things down and organize the information. Sadly, PDAs have lost their fashion-trend status and are no longer manufactured. You either have to spend lots of money on a "smartphone," or get a cheap "digital organizer" with much less functionality. My current phone has note-taking capabilities, but it's limited to 140 characters per note - the size of a text message or Tweet. And I can't organize the information - which makes it useless. Very handy for grocery lists, though. . .

Forgetfulness is just the tip of the iceberg that is my daily ADD experience. There are many other challenges and frustrations that I and other ADD'ers deal with every single day. I'll go into those experiences in future "Confessions of an ADD'er." Up next: The Attention Deficit part of ADD.

Your Computer Is Dead.

2010-02-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

The computer that many of you are reading this post on is astounding in it's sheer power; able to do things undreamed of only 30 years ago. It can do hundreds of different things in the blink of an eye. It's a testament to all of the hard work done by thousands of engineers and programmers over decades of development.

It is also a piece of junk.

You may already be saying this about your old desktop or slow laptop, but that's not what I'm talking about. Modern computers are Jacks-of-All Trades; able to do hundreds of different things reasonably well. Most users, however, only use their computers for a handful of basic things: Web, email, photos, Facebook, music and general office duties. That means that the majority of the time, all of that horsepower and most of the programs on your computer go unused. (We're talking about the 80% of everyday computer users here; not gamers, programmers, tinkerers or other enthusiasts.)

Operating systems and programs have become bloated and unwieldy. A modern Windows or Macintosh computer needs a minimum of 2GB of RAM to run without bogging down and a minimum 4GB to really make things smooth. A default install of Windows 7 or Mac OS X takes up an astonishing 7GB of hard drive space.

With all of this power and bloat, we still do basically the same things we did with our computers 10 or even 15 years ago, and we don't do them any faster than we did back then.

Why? Because everything is too damn confusing.

It's not that the computer can't do it - its that after 30 years of innovation, the way we interact with our computers is still backwards; we train ourselves to think like the computer instead of the computer thinking like we do. The point-and-click interface introduced back in the 1980s is still the standard that we use today. There are too many menus and too many options. The filing systems for our data are too confusing to navigate without help.

Apple was one of the first companies to recognize this dilemma, and in 2007 they came up with a much simpler interface for use on the iPhone; a design philosophy that was quickly copied by others in the industry, the latest of which is Google's new Nexus One smartphone.

Microsoft also made an attempt to simplify things back in November of 2007 with their new Office suite. It featured a "ribbon" interface that did away with dozens of pull-down menu options. Although confusing at first, the new "ribbon" interface is actually easier and more intuitive.

The "smartphone" is leading the way in human interface design. Portability and ease-of-use are the new trends in computing, and on January 28, 2010, Apple introduced a device that will ultimately change everything.

That device, of course, is Apple's new iPad. At first glance it appears as nothing more than an oversized iPhone, and this is where everyone gets it wrong. You see, its not about the iPad at all; it's about the iPad's operating system and user interface.

Pull-down menus? Gone. Point-and-click mouse interface? Gone. A bewildering array of options and settings? Gone. File system with folders inside of folders inside of folders? Gone. Sluggish performance with a bloated OS and programs? Gone.

This device is going to re-define how we do our everyday computing tasks. Every function of this device can be achieved with the touch of your fingers. It is brilliant in its simplicity. People who have no idea how to operate their computers can pick up this device and figure it out in a matter of minutes. No instruction manual needed. Touch, swipe, squeeze, stretch, twist and tap - all things that we do with our fingers every single day.

If you haven't already seen it, watch the keynote presentation where the iPad is introduced. Watch the whole thing if you want, but I really want you to skip right to 57:50, where Phil Schiller demonstrates Apple's iWork office suite. This is where the true brilliance of the interface is revealed. Without a mouse or keyboard, Phil Schiller edits a document, a spreadsheet and a presentation. Touch, swipe, squeeze, stretch, twist and tap. That's it. No pull-down menus, no confusing options or settings, no key combinations to memorize. Everything happens instantly.

The iPad is not the end-all be-all device of the future. It is the beginning of what's coming: interfaces that are clean and simple, commands that are intuitive, controls that are effortless. Watch as both Windows and Mac OS are transformed in the coming years to this new paradigm. Sure, there will still be traditional desktops and laptops for people who really need them, but for everyone else, this is going to be the future.

I, for one, can't wait.

Fear Strikes Again

2009-11-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

As the photo on the right clearly shows, the debate about healthcare reform has a long, long way to go.

What amazes me is that up until the moment photo was taken, nobody bothered to tell that poor chap that his sign makes absolutely no sense. Did anyone bother to read his sign, or did the rest of the protesters he was with actually think his sign made sense?

Serious intellectual debate over healthcare cannot take place when we have people like the man in the photo believing that "government" needs to get out of his Medicare. Without education, we cannot make informed decisions. This unfortunate man was probably told by his friends and neighbors that the "government" was going to mess up his Medicare, and instead of doing a little research, fell victim to fear mongering.

I see signs like this from people protesting all across the country - people who are afraid of what they don't understand. Instead of educating themselves, they lash out in anger. The talking heads on TV and radio are aware of this, and they do their best to stir up the pot by twisting the truth, spreading rumors and telling outright lies. We the people have been told what to think and how to feel by these morons, and we hang on their every word - unable or unwilling to question what comes out of their mouths.

Healthcare is a big deal. The healthcare bills moving through congress right now have the potential to affect every single American for the rest of their lives. Healthcare should be argued, discussed, lampooned, inspected, rewritten and amended. It is the responsibility of every American citizen to educate themselves - not from political talking heads, neighbors, pastors or friends, but from non-partisan independent sources. Think about who the winners and losers are in the current system, and how that will change under the proposed new one. See how other countries are running their health care systems and think about what would work here and what wouldn't - and why. And don't just think about yourself - think about how the current and proposed systems affect your friends, neighbors, co-workers, family and community.

Both Democrats and Republicans have told half-truths and made misleading statements in order to win your support. Dig through the fluff and rhetoric to get to the truth. There are many web sites that thoroughly fact-check statements made by politicians. There are also independent news organizations in print and online that will give you the facts without putting a political spin on the news.

Don't be that dude in the photo. Think.

Photo credit: reconstitution.us

Salon.com agrees with me: Your shampoo is dangerous

2009-11-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

Salon's Bill Bunn explores the toxic stew of chemicals that we put on our hair and skin on a daily basis.

"When a man rinses his hair, all the ingredients wash down the drain, carrying the grease to boot. And as one man's shampoo travels down the pipe, it meets up with a woman's, and so on, and so on, and so on. At least 350 million gallons of shampoo and its unregulated ingredients flow down U.S. drains every year. And many of these chemicals flow straight into our freshwater systems."

Ties in rather nicely with my previous post about body washes.

Photo Credit: Salon.com

Made in China

2009-10-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, China was this far-away place that gave us things like Chinese food and firecrackers. If you dug a hole deep enough, so the cartoon went, you'd end up there. Little did I know that it was China who was digging the hole - a hole big enough to swallow the entire United States.

Have a look around your home; chances are very good that well over 70% of the household items you see are made in China. Your coffee maker, travel mug, microwave, blender, steak knives, panini sandwich press, toaster oven, kitchen table & chairs, television, TV stand, DVD player, stereo, bookcase, office desk & chair, computer, monitor, speakers, printer, wi-fi router, fax machine, portable heater, lamp, bedspread, sheets, pillows, soap dispenser, toothbrush, hair brush, broom, mop, vacuum cleaner, hand tools, power tools, light bulbs, outdoor playset, patio furniture, string trimmer and Christmas lights were probably all made in China. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I recently started work on a Murphy bed for the guest room in our home. I went to the local Home Depot and purchased some pricey cabinet-grade birch plywood to construct the bed. Stamped on each 4 x 8 sheet: "Made In China." Made in China. Can someone explain to me how it could possibly be cheaper to produce and ship plywood halfway around the world than to just make it here in the U.S.?

I was stunned. I took a short walk around the store and picked up random items off of the shelves. Sure enough - over 70% of the items I picked up were made in China. In Home Depot. The new toilet I just purchased? China. The new carpenter's square? China.

Understand that I have nothing against China or the Chinese people. I am glad that they are pulling themselves out of "third world" status and that fewer and fewer Chinese people live in abject poverty. They are becoming a global economic powerhouse - and that's good for them. But when I look around at the nearly 30,000,000 people out of work in the United States (myself included), I get a nagging feeling that something is very wrong here.

America imported nearly 338 billion dollars worth of goods in 2008. From China. How much did we export to China? Close to 70 billion. That's 268 billion American dollars flowing out of the country and into Chinese pockets.

But America has a service-sector economy you say. You're right. We have transitioned away from manufacturing to financial, electronic, medical and other services. And who honestly wants to work in a plant that manufactures soap dispensers? The pay would be well below minimum wage; well below what anyone could live on. But in our quest to get the most value for our dollar, we have driven American manufacturers out of business and put our fellow Americans out of work. When faced with a choice, we will usually go with the cheaper Chinese made product over a more expensive American made one. A lot of the time, the choice is made for us without our knowledge by corporate buyers who are driven to get the cheapest possible price.

We are perpetuating our own economic slump by buying cheap foreign goods. The estimated U.S. budget deficit for 2009 is 12 trillion dollars. That's $12,000,000,000,000. Who holds the majority of that debt? China.

This is not a problem that our government can fix. This is a problem that we created and that we need to solve.

So, I'm issuing a challenge to every single person in the country: next time you go to pick up that bookcase at Walmart or that set of steak knives from Target or that tape measure from Lowes, check the box to see where it came from before you purchase it. Where possible, spend the few extra dollars on the American made product. That goes for everything from toothpicks to automobiles. There are, of course, some things that America simply doesn't manufacture, and that's fine. But be conscious of your purchases. Put down that Chinese made cordless screwdriver and pick up the American made one. Will it cost more? Perhaps, but you're keeping American money in the pockets of Americans, who can then use it to invest in American industry, helping to pull us out of this recession.

When we support each other, everyone wins.

Photo Credit: Gary Tamin

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

2009-10-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. This year's issue: Climate Change.

There has been a LOT of media attention on climate change recently. You've got the scientists and environmentalists shouting that it may already be too late to prevent ecological disasters, while climate change "deniers" are all saying it's a big hoax designed to scare people, raise taxes and put citizens out of work.

I tend to view the issue from a "human" point of view. We all live in a "closed" ecosystem. Everything that we put into the air, water or earth will eventually affect us in some fashion. It doesn't just "go away." The burning of fossil fuels for energy puts out tens of millions of tons of deadly poisons into our air, including.

Sulphur Dioxide
Nitrogen Dioxide
Carbon Monoxide
Ozone
Benzene
Lead
Mercury
Methane
Benzoprene
Sulfur Hexaflouride
Particulate Matter

The above list is by no means complete. There are literally dozens of other deadly compounds released by the simple act of burning a fossil fuel.

Don't think for a second that these deadly compounds simply float away and magically disappear. On the contrary, they are floating around in your body right now. You inhale them with every breath and eat them with every bite of food. In trace amounts, to be sure, but they are there nonetheless.

Don't believe me? Look at the increasing rates of asthma, autism, bronchitis, COPD, allergies, heart disease, stroke and other ailments.

The following is from the American Heart Association's information on particulate matter - just one of the dozens of pollutants released:

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared that "tens of thousands of people die each year from breathing tiny particles in the environment." A recent report released by the nonprofit Health Effects Institute in Cambridge, Mass., agrees with the EPA assessment. . . This finding is similar to those of other studies throughout the world. . .The combined long-term effect of studies in several large cities predicts 60,000 deaths each year caused by particulate matter."

So even if you think that the whole global warming thing is bunk, there is no denying that what we are putting into our atmosphere is killing us all - and that's not just people. That includes every living thing on the planet that we depend on to keep us alive.

It's time to stop suckling the teat of fossil fuels - all of them. The oil and coal companies won't do it because they've invested billions in the current technology and there's still too much money to be made. It's up to every one of us to demand a change from "dirty" energy to clean renewable energy.

If global warming is real, then we'll have dodged a bullet. But even if it isn't real, we'll have saved our own lives.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hans Thoursie

Did Glenn Beck Rape and Murder a Woman in 1990?

2009-09-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Glenn Beck's lawyers are not laughing. Neither, I'm sure, is Glenn Beck. But tens of thousands of people are having a laugh at the rumor site, DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com.
The anonymous author of the site says that TV loudmouth Glenn Beck uses tactics like this to spread lies and misinformation. And what's good for the goose, as they say, is good for the gander. Other websites have picked up on the site's popularity, and the alleged "rumor" has spread like wildfire.

Glenn Beck is famous for his "Obama is a racist" remarks, and ran a successful smear campaign against the President's "green jobs" advisor, Van Jones by using unscientific cause-effect logic, as well as spouting frightening allegations of communism. He famously had a "nervous breakdown" on national television because he was "frightened" about where the country was headed.

As proof of the rape allegation, a number of websites have popped up with "evidence" of Glenn Beck's wrongdoing, one even hosting a police report and news clipping showing that, indeed in 1990, a person named Glenn Beck did, in fact, rape someone in Connecticut in 1990 where Glenn Beck happened to be working at the time.

Is the rumor true? Glenn Beck isn't talking, and the DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com website capitalizes on this by asking him to come forward and tell the truth about the rumors. Because as we all know, a lack of a denial can be just as good as an admission - at least it is to Glenn Beck.

It's Time To Fire The Loudmouths: An Open Letter to Fox, CNN & MSNBC

2009-09-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

An Open Letter to:

Rupert Murdoch, CEO Fox News
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc.
Jeff Zucker, President of NBC Universal

Gentlemen:

I am writing this letter to express my concern over what I see as the deterioration of civil discourse in American society.

Your cable news networks reach an astonishing number of people throughout the country and around the world. Each of your networks provides valuable news and information to your viewers. Each of your networks also, however, is guilty of stirring up hate, bigotry, racism and fear in the very population you have pledged to serve.

I am speaking, of course, about your "non-news" programs - the programs that mix news, opinion and entertainment. These types of programs are unprecedented in the history of news gathering and reporting and I believe that they represent a real danger to American society.

By airing these types of shows in the evening and "prime time" hours, you are presenting entertainment and opinion as "news," which it is not. Between your three primary networks (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC) there is not a single program that broadcasts purely news after 4PM. Instead, there is a lineup of overly-dramatic programs and opinionated talkers - all spouting their alarmist theories, telling outright lies and badmouthing each other. There is no debate and no opposing points of view are allowed. Some have even revealed themselves to be outright racists and bigots. By displaying a news ticker at the bottom of the screen, you further validate these programs as actual news and validate the opinions of the commentators. Their hateful and vitriolic speech goes right up to the limit of free speech as defined by the Constitution, and they take no responsibility for the potential consequences of their words.

So, I'm asking each of you to do the American public a favor and stop broadcasting these programs in lieu of actual news. Bring back the "old style" news and honest debate. Bring back investigative journalism. Reporters and anchors should report - and shut up. The bond of trust between news anchors and the viewing public has been broken and needs to be restored.

We as a society need to return to honest debate and discussion about the issues of the day. Right now, we yell at each other from our entrenched positions - never actually listening to what the other side has to say, and never actually trying to understand opposing viewpoints. We make up our minds on an issue without fully understanding it - a consequence of lax reporting, opinionated journalists and financial agendas set by each of your companies.

What does it say about network news when a large portion of the American populace reports that they get their news from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert? It says that your three networks are failing in their mandate to serve the public.

As proof that you are serious about a return to public service, you need to cancel every single show that features an opinionated loudmouth as it's main host. All of them. It's the only way to be completely fair. Any columnist that wants their show back must be held accountable to high standards of decency and fairness.

Will it cost you viewers? Yes. Will it cost you money? Yes. But America needs this. Your job is to educate and inform the public and then let us make up our own minds - a task in which you all have failed miserably.

Do the right thing. Bring back real news.

My Healthcare Solution

2009-09-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Healthcare.

The very word conjures up memories of hours sitting in an emergency room waiting for treatment, fights with my insurance company, stories of people dying because their insurance company wouldn't pay, news coverage of people scamming medicare. . . the list goes on.

In a perfect world, everyone would have a job or own their own business and therefore be able to pay for the healthcare needs of themselves and their families. The capitalist economic system under which we operate, however, does not allow for this. Capitalism, by its very nature, dictates that we must have rich and poor, that in a situation of scarce resources, only those with the ability to pay will receive services. It also dictates that there will NEVER be full employment.

Thankfully we don't actually operate under a purely capitalist system. We pay taxes to our government to provide services to us. Police, fire, roads, schools, armed forces, etc. Under a purely capitalist system, the fire department wouldn't extinguish your house fire until you paid them first - a situation that used to exist until we as a society decided that the need for public safety was too great. So we each pay a little bit to ensure that everyone benefits.

And do you know what that's called? It's called SOCIALISM. Yup, socialism. Alive and well here in the good 'ol US of A.

The dictionary defines socialism as:

a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

So, in the case of our public services, we borrow from Karl Marx - the man we all loved to hate. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the National Guard refused to help out the people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina unless we paid them first. . . or if the local police would refuse to fight crime in your neighborhood unless they got paid by every single person who lived there in advance. Imagine your kid being kicked out of school because he forgot to bring his money to pay the teacher. Sounds crazy, right?

So how is it that the health and well being of every single American is in the capitalist model? "Sorry, son. Your mom's got a ruptured appendix. We'd love to operate on her and save her life, but you've got to hand us $30,000 first." Unthinkable, right?

"But wait! That's why we have health insurance," you say! And you'd be right. We do have health insurance. But let's examine health insurance in more detail:

In a typical situation, you and your employer pay into a "pool," along with everyone else covered by that company. The insurance "pool" is used to pay claims to pay for healthcare services rendered by doctors, hospitals, drug companies, etc. The theory goes that the larger the "pool," the lower the cost to each individual. Each person is, in effect, paying not only for their own health coverage, but also for everyone else's, because not everyone is sick or requires the same level of treatment at the same time. So while you're healthy, your insurance premiums go towards paying for some guy in Duluth's asthma treatments. And when you have that surgery to remove your ruptured appendix, it's partially payed for by everyone else in the pool.

Now, remembering our definition of socialism, let's remove the words that don't apply in this particular situation and substitute them with our definition of health insurance. Now we end up with:

a [system] that advocates that [healthcare services] should be [paid for] by the [pool].

Holy fraking Mother of All Things. . . IT'S SOCIALISM! Okay, it's not REALLY socialism, but it's damn close. It's the exact same thing as the police service, the fire service and the armed forces. Each person pays a little so that everyone benefits from the service. The only real difference is that part of your premiums go to line the pockets of the executives.

So, now that we've removed the stigma from socialism, we can apply it to the one thing that is bankrupting every single American: healthcare. Every day, more and more people complain that the cost of healthcare is simply too high. Every day, people die because some bean-counter denies treatment because the patient is at an out-of-network hospital. Every day, people go without immunizations and treatments for contagious diseases because they simply cannot afford it - endangering the lives of everyone around them. Every day, people just like you and me DIE, simply because they couldn't afford their medicine. The very same people who gladly pay taxes for their armed forces suddenly have a problem paying taxes for their health?

We've all heard the arguments against a national healthcare system, so I won't go into them here. Some of the arguments are valid, and some are just plain ignorant. Regardless, I have a solution that I think could work:

The government would guarantee healthcare for every American citizen up to a certain level of service. After that, it would be up to the individual to buy their own health insurance to cover the remainder.

For example, immunizations, flu shots, family doctor visits, basic lab work, annual physicals, pediatricians, dental care, eye care, generic drugs and OB/GYN would all be paid for by your tax dollars.

For any serious or expensive conditions, you would have private health insurance to take up the slack. It's only fair that people with expensive needs pay more for their treatment. Additionally, people whose medical conditions are due to lifestyle choices would have to pay even higher: Lung cancer from cigarette smoking? Pull out your wallet, buddy.

Who would be excluded? Non-citizens. If, however, you are from a country that provides universal health care, we will cover your treatment and send the bill to your home country. If you have a valid work permit and are paying taxes on your income, you get the basic government services.

And now comes the whining:

"We'll have to wait in long lines for treatment!"
I have two issues with this statement:

Are you really that selfish that all you care about is your own health and no one else's? Shame on you.
This statement is only halfway true. Initially, yes, there could be longer waits for treatment as more people use the system. But more demand will create much needed jobs and boost the economy.

"Some bureaucrat will dictate when and how I die!"

I've got news for you: The insurance companies are already doing this. And their primary interest is boosting company profits, not taking care of you. Insurance companies are in business TO MAKE MONEY, and for NO other reason than that.

"The government can't handle something so complex - they'll mess it up!"
People, the government IS US! So, if the government is stupid, it's because the stupid people elected stupid politicians. Are you really ready to call yourself an idiot? I thought not. Additionally, the government is already providing health care services to Americans. Every member of the armed forces is covered by universal health care. Every member of Congress is also covered. And there's one more group that also receives free health care: felons. Yup, felons. Go to jail, get 3 squares a day, air conditioning, library, gym and free health care.

This is the richest, most powerful nation in the world. In 2006, we spent close to $7 billion a month for the war in Iraq. We could spend 1/12 of that amount and provide coverage for every uninsured person in America and have money left over.

My plan is by no means complete. It's just an idea for right now. If you've got some constructive criticism or a better idea of your own, then add it to the comments. If all you want to do is bitch about how "socialism" is taking over America, leave your comments to yourself. We are looking for SOLUTIONS here. The current system is broken - even the insurance companies admit it. The government is US, so it's up to US to find a solution.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pam Roth

Microsoft Shoots Self In Foot. . . Again.

2009-08-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

Microsoft recently released pricing information about their new "Windows 7" operating system. I have tinkered around with their newest and shiniest operating system and I have to say that I was impressed with it's features, speed, stability and overall quality.

And then I got to the price. . .

$200 for "Home Premium," and $319 for "Ultimate?" Seriously, Microsoft?? SERIOUSLY?!?

THE VERY NEXT DAY, It was announced that the much-vaunted Windows 7 "Genuine" software protection had been cracked and beaten. Curious, I tried it out and it worked like a charm. So potentially, my out-of-pocket cost (along with millions of others) for Windows 7 is absolutely $0. Fortunately for Microsoft, I'm a Mac user, so it's irrelevant in my case.

But it got me thinking about the constant back-and-forth battle between Microsoft and the countless software hackers out there trying to beat their "Genuine" software protection. It's been going on since the days of Windows 95, and it looks like it's never going to end. Fortunately, I have a solution:

The way for Microsoft to virtually eliminate all this back-and-forth with hacks, cracks, patches and updates is to. . . are you ready for this. . . LOWER THE FRAKING PRICE!

I gladly shell out $129 for a single copy of Mac OS X Leopard (or $199 for a 5-pack) because it's so inexpensive! And that's not some "upgrade" copy either - it's the FULL VERSION.

How about $149 for a single copy of "Home Premium," give us a break and say $199 for a 5-license pack, and perhaps $249 for the "Ultimate" edition? You already own 90% of the home and business computer market, and by lowering your prices you allow more people to legally purchase your products. And don't even get me started on the "umpteen" different versions of Windows you're putting out there to artificially segment the market: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate, "E" edition (now replaced by a version that lets you pick your web browser to satisfy European Union regulators), Smack Yo' Mama Edition, Nerd Edition and the always fun Pimped Out Edition.

Sure, there will always be a very small minority who insist on having things for free, and there will always be hackers out there who do it for fun, but if you stop TREATING people like criminals, maybe they'll stop ACTING like criminals.

And think of how much smoother and faster Windows would be without all the crap you've stuffed in to look for hacked copies and keys?

Will you, Microsoft, take my suggestion and make it into reality? Probably not. And so the battle continues, with me looking on from the distance as I happily pull out my debit card and pay the $30 upgrade fee for Apple's "Snow Leopard," making my entire out-of-pocket cost for Apple's latest and greatest OS a whopping $159. And it's all legal.

Golden Shower Journalism

2009-05-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

TV news used to be about integrity. Reporters and anchors were all interested in "getting to the bottom" of a story and being the first to report it to their viewers. We trusted what they said without question. They were essentially hard-nosed newspaper reporters on television. They asked the "tough" questions, followed up with a "thorough" analysis.

Then something changed. Network executives decided that they wanted to turn their news organizations into money-making enterprises. Pretty soon, we started seeing lots of flashy graphics and dramatic music for even the most mundane of stories. Then the "crawlers" started appearing on the bottom of the screen - don't care about that particular news story? That's okay, because we have 12 others running along the bottom of the screen to keep your ADD brain occupied. Not enough? That's okay, because now we have "NEWS ALERTS!" Sounds important, right? It's not. Just another tool to keep your eyes glued to the screen.

Then the ads started. The shameless self-promoting ads from the news organizations that touted just how good they were at bringing you the news. Each network claimed to be "number one." I'm sure that they each were "number one" at something, but I have no idea as to what it was. It was like the cola wars all over again. I started longing for the days when news used to be "boring."

After that, the talking heads appeared. Under the pretense of getting all sides to a story, networks started inviting non-reporters on their news shows to give their opinion and have spirited debates over issues - or so I thought. Instead of debate, we wound up with two or more polar-opposite people trying to talk over each other while the poor news anchor tried to maintain some sense of order.

But what I saw as unwelcome chaos, network executives saw as "drama," and apparently so did millions of TV news viewers. Before long, all of the big cable news networks had people yelling at each other onscreen. One cable news network decided to brand this organized chaos as their tag-line. "Fair and Balanced," they called it. I called it rubbish.

But why bother with the pretense? Why not just give these talking heads their own shows? BRILLIANT! This was the point where the dam burst and the flood of faux news spilled all over the television landscape. Now we have an entire cast of lunatics on TV all telling us that we should be TERRIFIED that some public official has done something that may or may not make our lives a living hell. I speak of such non-news brokers as Glen Beck, Rachel Maddow, Lou Dobbs, Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity, Nancy Grace, Chris Matthews and others like them who don't actually report a damn thing. They spend all of their time trying to make us frightened by telling us that either those damn liberals or those damn conservatives or some other damn group are going to screw up the entire country. Every day the rhetoric gets louder and louder, and I see more and more people affected by it. My brother has conveniently coined a term for this type of "news." He calls it "Golden Shower Journalism." It's so gross that you can't bear to look away.

This is not debate. This is not news. This is ENTERTAINMENT disguised as news. And yet it is more than that: It is the disintegration of civil discourse in American society. It is the end of discussion, debate and compromise. It is people YELLING AT each other instead of talking to and listening to each other. Reason has gone out the window, replaced by fear - fear that keeps people coming back to watch more, wanting to see what that they are up to next. Because the price of freedom is vigilance! We've got to watch out for them! They will be the downfall of this nation, mark my words!

Folks, there is no "them." There is only "we." We can have different opinions and ideas, but in the end we are all citizens of one nation. WE need to send a signal to these news networks that this kind of FILTH needs to be taken off the air.

I don't watch ANY cable news after 4PM. In fact, the ONLY cable news I watch nowadays is Headline News' "Morning Express." They report the news, and then they SHUT UP. No commentary, no opinion, no "debate." After that, I get my news from NPR.

I don't need a bunch of high-paid talking heads to do my debating for me - and neither do you. Let's send these idiots a message by NOT patronizing their nonsense any longer. BRING BACK REAL NEWS!

Proud To Be An American

2008-11-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

A friend recently commented on my Facebook status message in which I said that I was "proud to be an American on this day." My friend's comment was: Weren't you proud before???

I'll answer that question this way: Sometimes.

Am I proud that America gives tens of billions of dollars a year to help fight the spread of AIDS, end world hunger and promote democracy around the world? Yes. Am I proud that America champions human rights and the rights of women around the world? Yes. Am I proud that this is a land of opportunity and promise? Yes. Am I proud of the freedoms granted our citizens that are the envy of many in the world? Yes.

However, America tends to ignore the plight of peoples in which it has no military, political or business interest in. Genocide in Darfur? Send in the UN! Genocide in Rwanda? Send in a token force, get our butts kicked, and then never show up again. Government sponsored murder in Haiti? Nada. Taliban oppressing people in Afghanistan BEFORE the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? Diddly squat. Tens of thousands of homeless people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina? No help there. On those counts, I am NOT proud to be an American.

And then there's the giant pink elephant in the room that no one dares talk about: race. There's a difference between SAYING that anyone can be President and actually DOING it. One of the basic founding principles of this country is that ANY American citizen can be President. Yet 43 out of 44 times, we elected a caucasian to the office.

This election changes EVERYTHING. Why? Because the majority of peoples around the world are what? Not white.

Seeing a young* non-white person as the President is inspiring to tens of millions of Americans and billions of people around the world. It means that America not only talks the talk, she walks the walk. It is vindication for every single non-white American that has ever been slighted, insulted, stereotyped, left behind, ignored, attacked, jailed or enslaved by whites in this country. It means that leaders of nations around the world see someone that is NOT the "establishment." They see someone who looks like them. They see someone who they may share a history or common ancestry with. They see someone who may understand them. Young minority children in America can look at the president and realize that all the rhetoric is REAL. That YES, they CAN achieve anything they put their minds to. Nothing inspires like a hero, but he's not a hero if you can't relate to him.

Now as great as all of this is, we are still leaving out a HUGE portion of the population. Who? Women. Hillary Clinton came closest to breaking that glass ceiling. Geraldine Ferraro merely touched it.

America has been SLOW to elect people to office that are anything other than white men. Indira Ghandi was Prime Minister of India in 1966. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979. Benazir Bhutto was Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988 (and she was a MUSLIM). ALL were successful leaders. The same "good 'ol boy" propaganda that's been holding back minorities for all these years also applies to women, and we are a lesser nation because of it.

So, on this day, I am proud - especially proud - to be an American. This day signifies part of America's promise made manifest. This day marks America's first steps into the 21st century. From before the day the Constitution was signed, America has been a nation of change. The need for change brought the Puritans to this continent. The need for change brought America's manifest destiny. The need for change brought and end to slavery. The need for change brought civil rights, the right to vote and freedom from discrimination. And the need for change has brought women and minorities into positions of leadership and power.

Go America.

Post script:

My friend also mentioned that she is "afraid Obama will be assassinated and this country will erupt in civil war." I understand that fear is a powerful motivator. Fear can even be good when you use it to focus your mind - ask any soldier. But allowing fear to make your decisions for you is a guarantee for failure - again, ask any soldier. Imagine all of the missed opportunities this country would have had if we had NOT done something out of fear of what may have happened as a result. Fear is the true enemy of success, and fear is part of what holds this country back from being all it can be. If an attempt is made on Barack Obama, it doesn't mean that we were "wrong" to elect him or that the country wasn't "ready." It means that we need work HARDER to stamp out intolerance and racism in this country. There is NO going back.

*Young: Only 9 Presidents ever elected before Barack Obama were under 50.

When did "elite" become a bad word?

2008-09-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

Americans are a funny bunch. We like to claim that we are the best, richest and most powerful country in the world. We say that our form of government is the best and that our way of life is second to none.

That is the textbook definition of the word "elite." Don't believe me? Here you go:

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

elite (ĭ-lēt', ā-lēt')
n. pl. elite or elites

1. a. A group or class of persons or a member of such a group or class, enjoying superior intellectual, social, or economic status.

b. The best or most skilled members of a group.

A US Army Ranger is an elite soldier. Special Forces units are considered elite.

So, we Americans seem to like the term "elite" . . . as long as it doesn't apply to our President. For our President, we seem to want the "average Joe," or the guy we can "have a beer with."

Am I the only one here who seems to have a problem with this? Our president is the Commander In Chief of our armed forces, speaks for our interests around the world, meets and negotiates with foreign leaders, leads our country in times of war and conflict, directs economic and social policies, influences world affairs, and is the embodiment of America as seen by nations around the world.

For this we want "Joe President?" We want an "average" guy? What happened to the best of the best? Why does the "best" apply to our soldiers, athletes and businesspeople but not our President?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "elitism" as: "The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources."

So, when Barack Obama says something that speaks to his education and experience, people will say that he's being "elitist." And your problem with this is. . .what exactly? Do we NOT want our President to be the MOST educated, have the BEST judgment, have the SMARTEST ideas, be the MOST brilliant and creative, and have the SHARPEST mind? And isn't this person, this "elite" the BEST choice to lead the nation?

Does Donald Trump pick the most modest, the most humble, the most self deprecating person to be his "Apprentice?" HELL NO, he doesn't! He picks the sharpest, strongest, smartest, most driven, most resourceful person of the group.

Oh, so your problem is that he actually DEMONSTRATES how smart he is? You're all afraid that his head will get too big? That by educating himself he is somehow "out of touch" with the needs of "real" Americans? So the schools, colleges and universities in America, some of which are considered the best in the world, somehow brainwash their students to forget their humble beginnings, forget where they came from and take on a new "elitist" persona, right? All that book learnin' done gone and made him one of them thar ee-lee-tists.

I blame all of this on this recent fad of what I call "new averageism." It started in the schools when we celebrated EVERYONE for being "special." Everyone gets a gold star! We don't keep score in our games anymore - we do it for fun! There are no "losers" and "winners" because EVERYONE is special in their own way! No goals to reach, no people to look up to, no competition.

Whoever came up with this dreck needs to be shot through the head. Shot through the head by one of our elite military sharp shooters.

I want the best of the best - the elite - to be the president. "Next Door Joe" can fix my car.

Barack Obama For President

2008-09-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

I used to like John McCain. I used to like him a lot. In fact, if John McCain were the Republican nominee back in 2000, there was a very good chance I would have voted for him.

Unfortunately, he didn't become the nominee. George W. Bush did. Republicans decided that it was more important to have a president that they could "have a beer with" than a straight talking no-nonsense "maverick."

John McCain called it like he saw it, whether it was popular or not, whether it was in the interest of the party or not. He was an independent conservative who wasn't afraid to vote with the Democrats when the need arose. He was a man that I could have easily supported.

Eight years later, John McCain is again running for president, only this time, he's not the same John McCain. The independent conservative? Gone. The "maverick?" Gone. The man I used to support? Gone.

John McCain took one giant step to the right and lost my support. Instead of calling it like he sees it, he started speaking the party line. Instead of telling the truth, he started telling falsehoods and outright lies. John McCain became the very politician that he used to speak out against. "Straight talk" morphed into Republican Party propaganda - the same old fear-based politics that Republicans turn to when things get tough. They've got nothing else, so they try to scare people into voting for them.

You hear it every four years: Democrats will raise your taxes, wimp out on defense, inflate government, spend money on pork, un-balance the budget, steal your babies, destroy the moral fabric of society and basically bring the world to an end. This fear is so pervasive that I've actually witnessed Republicans openly weeping when Bill Clinton was elected - terrified that their way of life was about to become Hell on earth. It's a mindset that doesn't allow for in-between, shades of grey, or "maybe." It's "yes or no," "black or white," " good or evil," "us or them," etc. And while there ARE certain things in life that follow that pattern, MOST things do not.

The nail in the coffin for my support for John McCain was his pick for VP. It was a blatant grab for the base of ultra-conservative voters who really don't care who is running for president, as long as they're Republican. Issues? They don't care. Who tells the truth? They don't care. As long a she's "one of us," they'll support her.

I'm registered as "Independent," and I honestly try to look at both points of view when it comes election time. I also believe that this country would completely fall apart if it were run by just Democrats or just Republicans. Each party needs the other. America needs to be able to stand firm and unwavering when necessary, and America also needs to bend and be flexible and understanding when necessary.

I used to see both of those qualities in John McCain. At times steadfast, at times flexible. Now I've seen him throw his hat in the ring with the completely inflexible, unwavering, unchanging and unapologetic crowd. I've seen him tell outright lies. I've seen him come out against legislation THAT HE WROTE. I've seen him do a complete 180 on his own positions on everything from the war in Iraq to offshore drilling.

I've seen the hypocritical nature of his party and the dirty underhanded tactics they will use to get their nominee elected. They view it as nothing less than a war for the future of the country. I've seen preachers broadcasting their sermons on the Internet saying that Barack Obama is the Anti Christ and will bring about the destruction of the world. Seriously.

I'm sorry, Mr. McCain, but you are not a man that I can support, and frankly, your party frightens me.

Instead of fear from John McCain and the Republicans, I hear a message of hope, peace and prosperity from Barack Obama. I hear of energy independence, clean air and water, economic prosperity, affordable healthcare for everyone and world leadership through cooperation and trust instead of intimidation. After 8 years of trying to either intimidate or just plain ignore hostile governments, the Bush administration is doing exactly what Barack Obama said we should be doing: talking to them. Funny how Barack Obama was viewed as a traitor for even suggesting the very thing that George Bush is now doing.

Instead of outright lies, I hear reasoned debate. Instead of pandering, I see a reasoned and thoughtful choice for running mate. Instead of the same old dreck, I see a real chance for progress in America.

Go Barack.

When "all natural" isn't.

2008-08-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

While I was in my bathroom the other day, I spied a new bottle of shower gel sitting on the rim of the tub. As I was otherwise occupied, I grabbed the bottle and read the label:

"BODYNATURe" HONEY ALMOND SHOWER GEL

"Nourish and enrich your body, with honey almond to soothe and moisturize your skin."

Turning the bottle over to read the back (I was occupied, remember?) I started reading the ingredients:

Water, soap, foam enhancers, preservatives, thickeners, stabilizers, antimicrobials, fragrance, coloring.

Huh?

I read the bottle again.

Nope. Not one drop of either "HONEY" or "ALMOND."

What I DID find was stuff like methylchloroisothiazolinone, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, methylisothiazolinone, Polyquaternium-7, and cocamidopropyl betaine.

Can't pronounce any of that stuff? Neither can I. Know what any of it is? Me neither.

What I DO know is that this stuff ends up in our drinking water. Yes, our DRINKING WATER. Remember that news story a few months ago about Viagra showing up in drinking water because people were flushing expired tablets down the toilet? Well, we use MILLIONS OF GALLONS of this stuff every day, and it all goes down the drain to the local water treatment plant where we assume that it's all removed.

Not.

If they can't get Viagra out, how can they possibly get methylchloroisothiazolinone out? Anyone care to guess what this stuff is doing to our bodies and brains?

Oh, not all at once. Slowly. Just a few parts per billion every single day. Couldn't hurt, could it?

In ancient Rome, the wealthy used to drink LEAD on a daily basis. They used it as a preservative and sweetener. Nobody knew what it was doing to them at the time.

Just a little food for thought.

11 Million Dollar Babies

2008-07-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

NBC News is reporting that Angelina Jolie has given birth to her twins, fathered by Brad Pitt. They are also reporting that People Magazine has a deal with the happy parents to get exclusive photographs of the infants for a cool 11 million, which the Joliepitts say they'll give to charity.

11 million dollars. ELEVEN MILLION DOLLARS! For pictures. Of babies. They could grab ANY two caucasian infants from the nursery and pose with them and people would be none the wiser.

Since when did we start paying people to be. . . human? Are we paying Brad Pitt because his dick works? Or are we paying Angelina for doing what billions of other mothers around the world do for free?

They're ACTORS. They're "good" actors. Not "amazing," not "incredible," not even "great." They're "good."

Yes, they're attractive. But the dude holding the leaf blower outside my office looks JUST like Brad Pitt - well, he does to me, anyway. And as gorgeous as Angelina is, I've seen women that will put even her to shame.

This stinks, people. It stinks like baby shit. Are we so obsessed with other people's lives? Are we collectively that miserable that we need to have a legion of photographers staked outside the hospital in Nice, France to effectively MOB them as they leave the hospital? Are we really as "hungry" as the tabloids say we are for photos of famous people doing ordinary things?

In the words of William Shatner: "GET A LIFE, will you people? I mean, for crying out loud, it's just a TV show! . . . You've turned an enjoyable little job, that I did as a lark for a few years, into a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME! I mean, how old are you people? What have you done with yourselves? . . .There's a whole world out there! When I was your age, I didn't watch television! I LIVED! . . .YOU GUYS ARE... THE LAMEST BUNCH... I'VE NEVER SEEN... [ walks away from podium ] I can't believe these people... "