Release the Hounds

I waned to get a video clip of Montgomery Burns saying that line but I couldn't find one. I know I already blogged about Sarah Palin, but I have been reading more and more about her. I'd like to mention my glee that within 48 hours of her nomination reporters ahve already found scandals of abuse of power, flip-flopping, and a question of who the mother of her fifth child is. It's incredible how this defender of the second amendment and ethical government has been torn apart by the national media. They haven't even started comparing her to Biden yet and she's already losing McCain votes. I guess if he wanted to steal Obama's thunder he should have done it with Romney.

And the Winner Is...

All right, guys. I was trying for a beauty pageant joke there for the text of Sarah Palin's acceptance speech. She spoke in the Nutter Center just outside of Dayton, OH. i graduated from high school in that arena. Not that that matters, but I like bringing it up. I think it was a fine speech. This is the beginning of a long week: the Republican National Convention. I don't like thinking along party lines, but since they're going to be bashing my candidate I'm going to hate it. I personally think that the choice of Sarah Palin is a really good and a really bad move. I think it was good that the RNC wanted to steal the Clinton votes and the uninterested female votes. I think it's bad because for a campaign that has been attacking Obama's lack of experience to pick someone who is less experienced is hypocritical. I don't know if she will pull in the conservative vote or alienate the conservatives that hated Hillary Clinton for being a woman.

Mexican Everclear

Some Mexican farmers are growing corn instead of blue agave. I guess they can distill everclear instead of tequila (everclear is a corn-based liquor that is 190 proof). You can ask around or you can take my word for it, I have been saying for a year that the way to save Mexico is to teach their farmers how to properly grow corn. Developments in fertilization and irrigation and equipment could help them potentially grow enough corn to supplement the world's need both for food and ethanol fuel. The money made from this corn would be a significant boost to the Mexican economy. A possible side-effect of this boon to the economy and increase in jobs would be that fewer Mexicans would immigrate to the United States. Rather than attempt a dangerous journey to live in fear as felons, many would stay home and make good money at home with their families. Then, continuing on through linear reasoning, relations between the bordering nations of Mexico and the United States would improve and border security would also prosper. It'd be nice if the Mexicans are recognized for their efforts to create more food, lower food prices, have the same effect on fuel, and improve regulation of immigration and security.

He's Not Crying Wolf

A senior official in Iran said that an attack on Iran would start WWIII. I pray that Washington doesn't view this as empty posturing. They have been very consistent in Tehran about only threatening violence in response to violence. This statement falls completely in line with what they were saying before. It's a funny story, we used to be a military power that only fought when attacked...

Who's Number One?

The United States got the most medals overall in the Olympics but China got the most Gold. America is upset that Russia is liberating South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which may have shown us how to act in Iraq, but we aren't renaming Vodka Freedom Juice. The linked article is a commentary by Pat Buchanan, a man with whom I rarely agree, and I think he hits the nail on the head. I have heard mention of the article "The End of History" by Fukuyama more than once this week. The joke speech that I commented on also brought it up. I read that article and I'm glad that the present is showing that there will be plenty of past to talk about in the future.

The reasons that people are more satisfied in Russia and China than they are here are as follows: the authoritarian societies in which they live won't allow them to be unhappy publicly, and since they were born into these authoritarian societies they are used to them. Since America is a democracy, the last 8 years of authoritarian control have been out of place, awkward, and unappreciated. They also do authoritarianism much better than we do, they've had practice. I hope they get to Carnegie Hall (another joke that's for me).

Al Gore's Invesco Field DNC speech text

I think this is the best speech ever given by Al Gore. I think he's had it in a lockbox for seven years. Ok, nobody else remembers the lockbox huh? I laughed, so I got what I needed out of the joke.

I especially like how the beginning of the speech sounded like he was saying, "if you would have elected me we wouldn't be here... haha!!!" It was a proud proclamation of 'screw off and die' from a former Vice President.

Why Sarah Palin Is Likely to Belly-Flop

A commentary on why Sarah Palin is a weak choice. He should have picked Romney, but I didn't want him to win anyway so I guess I should be glad.

David Brooks: A speech to the delegates - International Herald Tribune

I started reading this thing thinking that it was a real speech. By the end i realized that it was a hilarious commentary on how interesting and hypocritical our politics are. Please read it and get a good laugh.

Barack Obama's convention address | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal

I would argue that this is the greatest speech of my generation. If anyone has any suggestions for a better speech given since 1975, post a comment and let me know.

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag

Tonight at the Democratic National Convention, there were two grand speeches: one by Bill Clinton; and one by Joe Biden. I'm not really going to comment, please read their speeches, it's worth the time. I'm going to list my favorite quotes from each speech.

Bill: "People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

Joe: "Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up. Our people are too good, our debt to our parents and grandparents too great, our obligation to our children is too sacred."

The Cut of Her Jib

As someone who as commented on the increasing shortness of cheerleading uniforms, this story really gets me. If the uniform is too short for the classroom, it is too short anywhere. Plain and simple. The school can't say, "We want you to look like jailbait on Friday night but don't distract others in the classroom."

The First Wives Club

Sorry about the scary reminder, but they made that movie. That has nothing to do with this article really, but I thought it was clever because I am including links to the text of the speeches by a former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, and hopeful future First Lady, Michelle Obama. I don't normally like to listen to feminists talk only because so many of them tend to get into penis-hating monologues that I can't listen to because I keep my ears close to my brain... yeah the other one. These two women, however, spoke as strong women who support a common goal: electing a Democrat as president. They each had a very different tenor to her speech and each was elegant in her delivery. I am glad that women like Hillary and Michelle are the ones being listened to on national television. They do women across the country a great service with their intelligence, eloquence, and exhuberence.

I Do Declare

I don't think President Medvedev could say that like Foghorn Leghorn, but I'll imagine it and laugh anyway. He declared that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are independent nations. I think it's incredible that Russia was able to militarily invade Georgia and show the world just how hypocritical this administration is. In no way could the United States realistically take the moral high ground when it comes to having military operations in a nation that contains genocide and terrorism. Especially since Georgia borders Russia. Then Russia removed troops, something that we haven't done yet, and then recognized the independence of the two nations.
More importantly than what has happened is what will happen. The United States will continue arguing that Russia had no right to recognize them and I don't think we'll recognize them for at least 7 or 8 years, we haven't recognized Myanmar yet and it has been called that since 1989. The new nations will be most grateful to Russia for being the first to recognize them and that will have quite a bit of influence on what kind of governmental and economic systems they put into place. To say that Putin will have no input at all is naive and that he will be the sole decider is overly pessimistic.
While Georgia has been democratic and a U.S. ally, I doubt greatly that South Ossetia and Abkhazia will be either. Perhaps we should be trying to put that missile defense shield in the Ukraine instead of Poland... not that I'm saying the Ukraine is on the list, I'm just saying that Poland has successfully prevented a takeover by Russia before.

Sheep

Everyone who shops at Hot Topic is a sheep. Baa!!! They shop at Hot Topic to say that they are nonconformist and want to rebel against society, but they conform to what Hot Topic says is rebellious. I gather this opinion because of the phenomenon of The Nightmare Before Christmas. There is no reason to love this movie as a pop culture icon, perhaps pop subculture icon, except that Hot Topic started selling it on shirts, hats, shoes, wristbands, patches, watches, necklaces, ear rings, and socks (this list is probably not exhaustive).

It's Our Turn

Please read this article then refer to my previous post titled Tongue Twister
. Now not only does Russia agree with my Resolution for Iraqi Peace, but so do the Iranians and the Turks. I wonder if Joe Biden would like it...

Texas Tea Party

I'm going for a few references on this title also. The Boston tea party was an act of American terrorism to show the British that we would not be taxed unfairly any longer, the steady drop in demand of oil is an act of American patriotism to show OPEC, futures traders, and oil companies that we will not be priced unfairly any longer. I'm mostly writing this because I really loved when the authors of this article mentioned that oil is becoming practically a new currency and that our economy is losing ground with the black gold standard. What a great line. Now let's load up the truck and move to Beverly... Hills, that is.
I don't pretend to understand half of what they were saying, someone please take more time to educate me because I'm interested. I get the basics of it though, and it sounds a lot like the way everything was traded way back in the day when people were allowed to trade on margins. My grandfather can tell you about the ails of the Great Depression, the result of such reckless abandonment of reality.
The authors do make a point that I disagree with. They say that these unfair practices are bringing down America. I take that to mean that if the trend of future speculation and oil dependency continue then our country will fall. I can not agree with that thought on any level. The oil scare of the 1970's was bad, but we survived it. The Depression of the 30's was bad, but we survived it. The slumps in our economy before and in between have been bad, but we have survived them also. This is a nation of survivors. Life may be inconvenient for a while, life may be expensive for a while, and life may seem bleak for a while but we will survive it as well.
A brief side note, it is only by weathering the storms of complete capitalism that we may evolve into socialism, just thought I'd throw that out there, before people start thinking I'm a Libertarian or Republican again.

A Plant Without Plants

In the debate over the energy crisis, many point to ethanol as a partial solution to our problem. I saw this article talking about an ethanol plant coming to Pike County and I said, "But we don't have any corn..." Well it turns out you don't need it. They're building an ethanol plant in a landfill and they're turning our garbage into fuel. How do you make a good deal better? Make it free! Yes, I said it, free! The company that is going to operate the plant is paying all of the upfront costs, so no taxpayers' dollars are going into this. I am completely behind this and am glad that it's coming to Pike County.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

I think that it is interesting that university presidents are thinking about opening up a discussion to lower the drinking age. Naturally, my first reaction was, "Oh, just take your problem and push it down onto high schools." After thinking a bit more, underage drinking is a problem in high schools anyway. I have heard the 'smoke, vote, die, don't drink' argument from a lot of young people who don't understand why the law is 21. For the record, I haven't given my opinion to either side just yet in this blog, I'm just letting you know what I've heard. I have argued many times in discussions with people that by making something forbidden fruit it becomes more desirable. If Adam ate an apple, why wouldn't a college freshman drink a beer? I waited until after I was 21 to start testing my own desire, taste, and tolerance of alcohol, and I'm glad I did. I went to a college that was supposed to be dry and it was wetter than a river, de Nile isn't just in Egypt. I would like to make sure everyone notices that the CEO of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is a man; thank you. I am glad to know that there have apparently been fewer alcohol-related deaths since the 21 age change.

I would like to take my own personal stance on this issue at this time. I don't think it matters what the age of allowance is. For anything. If the government is going to do anything at all to attempt to regulate the behavior of its citizenry it should educate them in the effects and consequences of the behavior, fully and without bias. I went through the D.A.R.E. program and didn't learn a thing about the effects of drugs or alcohol, I just learned that it was bad to use them. In high school health class I didn't learn how long to wait after drinking a beer before the alcohol was out of my system, I learned that tidbit in a bar. I know that teachers have to do a lot and they do a fine job. Perhaps if the education system was directed to educate and not indoctrinate, young people would be able to make better decisions. Until a man is expected to take care of himself, he won't. Did you remember that this is a male-dominant blog?

A Great Moment In Our History

I just got done reading the transcript of the Saddleback Presidential Forum. I have attached the link and I want everyone to read it. I say that this is a great moment in our history because it was not a debate, but a true conversation about some of the most difficult questions of our time. Both men gave an honest and full answer that I believe truly shows what each of them stands for. I will not say here who I agree with on what responses, but I will gladly discuss any of them in personal conversation. I would also be happy to give you my own responses to the questions.

Changing Colors

The article that is linked herewith is really really long. But I think that it is a worthwhile read. As someone who has had to change himself several times over the course of my life, I can identify the internal struggle that Bourdin feels. I didn't do it by choice to persuade people, I did it to survive, but I think that regardless of intention the end result is the same. Please read this story and let me know how it makes you feel about yourself. Do you relate to this man? Do you despise him? Do you understand him?

The Spotlight is a Little Warm

Why is it that the only time the Herald-Leader decides to look at Eastern Kentucky it's because we're a bunch of drunks and pill-heads?

I recognize that there is a major problem in the region, and the article really does go a long way to describe some of the things we need to fix the problem, but it would be nice if we could get a bit more recognition for some of the positive things that happen here.

One of the major concerns of many of the people I have talked to since I started running for city commission is the major drug abuse problem. One of the possible remedies mentioned both in the article and by the concerned citizens of Pikeville is more detoxification centers. I agree that we as a community, and hopefully I as a member of the government, need to do whatever we can to help those people who are battling troubling times in their lives. Those in pain need treatment, those who are depressed need counseling, and those who are bored need something more constructive to do.

In Limbo

I'm not quite sure how many different puns and angles I'm going for with this title, but let's find out. The first thing I thought of was 'How low can you go?': the main line for a limbo line. Gas prices have continued to go down, and some people are wondering how far they will fall, I predicted they would drop to $100 by the end of the year. When I started saying this two months ago, I was called crazy by many, and now I'm looking better and better. The NY Times even went as far as to say that they might fall to $70 (I'm not willing to go that low).

The other pun, that of being in limbo, is considering how the prices of oil are virtually unaltered by the conflict in Georgia. No, I don't mean Jimmy Carter's home. I mean the small nation that used to be a member of the USSR. When I told my roommate that I thought Russia was going to attack Georgia as one of the first steps towards global domination (I really did say that) I didn't know that Georgia has gas and oil pipelines into Europe. Knowing that makes the recent conflict there even more apparent, but I'm getting off topic. I'm surprised that our market is so... what's the word I want, fatigued that we don't even get scared by the thought of the shortage anymore. Six months ago an attack on Georgia would have sent prices into the, well, $150 range. Not so surprising to us now, but then it would have been. It's good to know that after a few months of endless fear-mongering even stock market traders have to take a break.

The Biggest Trade Barrier I Ever Saw

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary says that a tariff is a schedule of duties imposed by a government on imported or in some countries exported goods. Wikipedia says that a tariff is also commonly called a trade barrier. I was in an economics class and I was asked what the number one export of Mexico was and I replied, "Mexicans." Before you get angry it was a joke and I think it accurately describes what much of middle-America feels. Now that we all see where the title of this blog is about to go, let me say this: trying to build a wall between Mexico and the United States is the most costly ineffective attempt to tariff a neighboring country's biggest export ever.

Walls are used historically for defense. It is bad politics to build walls with neighboring nations that you are on peaceful terms with. That's why France had beautiful walls on the mountainous terrain between themselves and Germany in 1941 and not on the border with Belgium.

The solution is not to make it more difficult for people to come into this country, but instead to make it easier. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty doesn't say, "No Vacancy."

Mexicans moving here will not and can not destroy 'our culture.' Why not? We don't have one. Our culture is the homogenization of hundreds of other cultures. We take everyone else's language, art, music, and food and make it our own. The current feeling against Mexicans is the same as has previously been felt against Chinese, Irish, Italians, and, oh yeah, white people.

I don't know if anybody remembers this or not, but we are being terribly hypocritical to say that we don't want these people to come into our country and destroy everything we've built. Europeans came to this country and took it from the native people. We moved them, killed them, and have since assimilated them.


Before you complain about Mexicans taking jobs away from Americans remember this: who gave the Mexicans the jobs? Shouldn't we be blaming those people?

Not Just a President Anyore

Barack Obama isn't running for president anymore. He's running for savior for two groups of people. African Americans want him to bring an end to their long struggle for equality. Muslims want him to shed the light of tolerance and understanding on their religion. I guess John McCain is running to maintain the dominance of old white men who have a military career... Okay, that's stereotyping African Americans and Muslims, but I think most people can agree that I'm correct with regards to the overall trend. It's also not at all fair to John McCain. I've liked John for eight years and I'm not about to dislike him because he's on the wrong side of the political aisle. I think it's great that people can find someone to believe in, but I think we all need to remember that Mr. Obama is just a man like the rest of us. If we try to canonize him he will only fail us and we will be heartbroken. President isn't God. I promise. Let him be the man he is and make the mistakes he'll make and realize that the only way that blacks will be equal and Muslims appreciated is through our individual ability to love our neighbors. The government can't do it for us.

Special Licenses For Those Who Fear "Beast'

This type of story kills me. I have a few remarks to make in no particular order. This is a bit more rant-oriented than normal, but I've been building on this. The digital picture on a driver's license is not, simply not, the mark of the beast. Regardless of what the mark is, when God wants it to happen it will happen regardless of what anybody thinks or wants. Lastly, who would want to stop the second, or first for some of you, coming of the Lord? I can't wait to get to heaven. What could we be doing that is so important that we think it's better than Jesus coming? Anybody? Bueller?

wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man - wacky.wmv @ ZippyVideos.com - Free Video Webhosting

I love this video, I think it's hilarious. I looked it up because I saw a funny car ad and wanted to show it to my stepmom-to-be. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.

Breastplate of Righteousness

I didn't want to blog on this, bu the title is what my father's response to the story was. I thought that it was funny enough to put it on here.

It's Electric!

Steve Beshear has decided that electric cars should be used on roads that have speed limits of 45 mph or less. I know he's doing it to try to encourage an electric motor car company to bring its plant here, which is wonderful, but there is a vastly more important side-effect. If we are able to start using electric vehicles such as golf carts (quick example) on city streets instead of gas-fueled cars, just think of the environmental benefit in a city such as Pikeville. Not only would traffic and noise decrease, but so would smog. I suppose the most realistic application of this phenomena is to have police drive around town in such vehicles to lower fuel costs for the city and reduce emissions from government employees. We could also think about getting an electric shuttle to run from the parking garage to a loop around town so that people would feel more comfortable parking in that facility instead of vying for spots on the street. It's a small step, but that's what we need. We can't find the one answer to everything and think that it will be implemented immediately unless we take a bunch of smaller steps to get prepared for it. Also, after taking many small steps I think we will all be surprised how far we get before the big step is discovered and, perhaps by then, unnecessary.