I'm not sure I Agree with this, but it's fun
I am:
11%
Republican. | "You're a tax-and-spend liberal democrat. People like you are the reason everyone else votes for guys like Reagan or George W." |
Are You A Republican?
Religion in Politics
I read an interesting article today. I have a lot of arguments with people based in one form or another on religion. Our leaders are fundamentalist and many laws are being passed based on the teachings of prophets and the words of a supposed God. We are not the only people who act this way, but we're becoming increasingly so. However, when I come to people from a non-religious stance, I am summarily dismissed.
This article says my point much better than I could. Here's a couple of excerpts:
But faith in religion is just one type of faith. Atheism can be called faith in evidence, agnosticism faith in doubt and science faith in logic. These are no less human faiths than those in an unseen God.The issue is whether religious faith should be allowed to intrude with impunity in such secular areas as politics or science and still claim the protection of reverence and law. The answer, shafars should loudly proclaim, is no. Once Southern Baptists, Catholics, Jews or Muslims enter the political arena, they are no more entitled to special protection or regulated rhetoric than a Democrat or a Republican.It's really early and my brain is on a serious slowdown, so I'm somewhat incoherent, sorry. Just read the damn article and tell me what you think.
I love these things
The same old song and dance
I can definitely say that I've been underwhelmed by the honorable Presidumb's nomination for Supreme Court. Of course, the Rs and the Rs formerly known as Ds rolled over on Roberts, so it's not like he has to worry about opposition. I don't understand how a lack of experience is a desired thing, though. Between the two of them, Bush's two nominates have a whopping one case of judicial experience. You have got to be kidding me. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. This is the f*cking Supreme Court we're talking about. Just because somebody is a polite kept lawyer does not qualify them for the post. Re-damn-diculous. I don't want to be beligerent or anything, but I feel insulted.
The congress will ask her some pointless questions, ignore the answers, and sign her off. Great. I can feel my civil liberties shrinking even faster now.
In a flurry of posting...
As most of you know, I lived in Utah for quite a while when I was young. I returned to Provo to attend
Brigham Young University, and was not impressed. I believe part of the problem was living in Provo, the Mormon Meat Market. Salt Lake City is an entirely different animal. My wife is horrified that I'd ever consider it, but I find myself drawn back there for quite a few reasons. Many of those reasons involve being outside, but there are other reasons. The mayor is good start. I'm not the biggest fan of the democratic party, and point out many of its failings as reasons that we need more than two parties.
Mayor Ross C. Anderson gives me some hope for party, he actually has a spine. He's not too popular outside of Salt Lake City, but has done many things that the people there appreciate.
A short list:
Demonstrating during a visit of George Bush
Disbanding DARE and pushing for a program that works
Extending health care benefits to domestic partners of city workers
I like this guy.
I'm not this funny
But I wish I was
A whole new take on flat taxes
I'm a big proponent of the idea of flat taxes. One little piece of paper: How much you made, how much you owe. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. The Finns take that concept one step further, with fines based on income.
Finnish authorities know how much everyone earns, and they prorate traffic fines depending on the wealth of the mal-efactor. Last year the 27-year-old heir to a local sausage fortune was fined 170,000 euros, about $204,000 at the time of the fine, for driving at 50 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone in downtown Helsinki.
For whatever reason, the Scandanavian countries really seem to get it. I'd love to bring some of their social policies here, but that's certainly easier said than done. It's certainly tempting to maybe just pack up my bags and go to the goodness. Who knows
It worked
But it didn't drown in a bathtub.
Ring around the rosy
Plague Infested Mice Escape New Jersey LabState Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs said mice infected with plague die "very fast," so "the risk to the public ... is probably slim to none. We didn't think -- nor did the CDC think -- there was any public health threat..."
Infectious-disease experts... called the episode ... very troubling -- raising serious issues of security and control...
Richard H. Ebright, a Rutgers University microbiologist and a critic of the government's rapid expansion of bio-terrorism labs... noted there has been a series of serious incidents across the country involving accidental human infections at several of the labs working with agents like anthrax and plague. At the same time, he said, federal guidelines call for only minimal security -- a lock on the lab door and a lock on the sample container and cage.
"You have more security at a McDonald's than at some of these facilities," he said.Even Better:New Jersey... does not know how many labs in the state are actually conducting experiments involving lethal bacteria or viruses.
It was just Wednesday that the Emergency Health Powers Act was signed into law, requiring all people, companies or institutions working with or possessing disease strains that can be used for biological weapons to register with the state Department of Health and Senior Servicers. Do you feel safe yet? I'm not sure who I'm worried more about now, the terrorists or us? The events of the last couple of weeks have not enhanced my faith in our federal government's (especially the Department of Homeland Security's) ability to do their job.
Thoughts for today
I'm not really up to any great pontifications today, so I'll keep it simple.
I'm not quite sure that I like being an american anymore. There are certainly worse places to live. However, looking at the world today, I'm somewhat convinced that we are the enemies of freedom. We support despotic regimes, fight to topple democratically elected leaders and are the bottom of the pile for humanitarian aid amongst the so-called civilized nations.
Some people seem to labor under the delusion that we are "spreading democracy" throughout the world. Our record doesn't really support that. We're more than happy to give money and arms to despotic regimes. Out of the 25 top nations that receive arms from us, 20 of them are either undemocratic or known civil-rights violators.
We are also the only fundamentalist developed nation. We don't really support freedom at home, we are growing increasingly repressionist. Women's rights are being challenged, there is still a lot of racism and the treatment of homosexuals is straight out of the dark ages. The line between church and state grows increasinly thin as the neocons continue their stranglehold on the nation, with a wonderful opportunity right now to put 2 judges to life appointments on the Supreme Court.
Do I stay and fight, or just go where I can be happy? I've asked that before, and come back to it repeatedly.
Plague Infested Mice Escape New Jersey Lab
