OK… So this is an open question to any readers out there that stumle upon my site or those whom are regular readers of mine.

It looks like the Bail Out package is not fairing well…  So my question to you all is this:

Should the Bail-Out package NOT pass, what is the worst that could happen?  How bad could it really get?

I am not a financially minded person, so the question is a serious one and I would really like to see the answers that you might have.

In addition to your writen answer, please take the time to use my new polling feature.

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My subtitle for this one is:

…Or, How California’s lawmakers prove they have a sense of humor.

So… I will start my post with a question.  What difference have we seen with on the roads with the new law banning the use of cell phones, without hands free devices?

Personally, I have noticed little or no difference in the number of people that I see on the phone.  I have even seen people sitting at a stop light, talking on the phone while a cop sits not even fifteen feet away.

Just for giggles I went ahead and sent an email to the California Highway Patrol to ask them for statistics on the numbers of citation issued to people for using their cell phones will driving, versus the number issued to people after VC23123 and VC23124 went into effect.

To be honest, I was not expecting a reply at all, but I did actually get one.  One that told me to contact a different section of their agency… by phone… whuch I did.  Only to be put on hold for about twenty minutes before I was advise by another person that I needed to contact yet another number.  At which point I stopped.

I know I should have taken this a little further, fought the good fight, and stayed on the trail to get this information.  Unfortunately I am not like the Michael Moore’s of this world where I can go off entirely half-cocked on a mission of little importance for the sole task of making myself look good.  Well… nevermind that, there are not enough plastic surgeons in the world to make Him look good.  My opinion…

No… I stopped there primarily because I was doing this research while on my lunches, and since there is only so much time and I am not independantly wealthy… well, you see my point.  However, if a representative from the Highway Patrol happens to come across this site and this article, and does have the information that I am looking for, then I will gladly post it.

The point that I think I am trying to make, just like the one I tried to make in July, is that this law it pointless.  It is one of those “warm fuzzies” that the law makers like to put out there to make the people think that they care.

I do support the principle that the law stands for, do not get me wrong on that.  I think that the idea is a good one, but instead of creating a brand new law that actually duplicated what is already out there, why not just enforce the laws that are already on the books?  To me, that would be more impressive than making a new law that reenforces another.

Oh well…

“Who am I? What am I doing here?” - Admiral James Stockdale - 1992

Disclaimer: The following is meant as a motivational and philosophical outlook.  If you interpret it as anything else, then this is your own doing.

In our pursuit to live fuller lives by taking chances and living to the “extreme”, I thought about what people do and how they do it in order to get more from their lives. It dawned on my through this that, maybe, instead of actually chasing or racing with life, they might actually be using that as a way to show that they are running from death.

I see shows and read stories about people that are contantly looking for ways to do “Death Defying” feats and acts.  Pushing the limits and challenging fate all the way.  Some of it looks fun, like sky diving and hang gliding, other things just look flat out stupid… like jumping twenty cars on a motorcycle or other silly acts that are nothing more than an attempt to see how close you can get to death without making the full introduction.

A majority of us do not really WANT to die and we dismiss it as so much forgotten future history that we would rather not deal with until the time comes, oblivious to the fact that we never really know when it will visit us.

Then there are those like myself, who accept death as a part of my life. I know it will visit one day, hopefully later than sooner and I respect it. As Billy Jack said in the movie The Trial of Billy Jack, “…only when Death is our constant companion can we truly live.”  This does not mean that I am wanting or inviting death, just that I know it is there.  You can either learn to accept it, or run and hide from it, in which case you live a closed and shallow life, always worried about what lies around the next corner.

Looking at my life, I am not sure which of the two I have been doing, running or chasing.  It seems like maybe a little of both.  In the end, I guess the important thing is that I am enjoying life and harming no one in the process.  If a person can go through life and accomplish this, then that is a life truly lived well.  It does not matter how much you accomplish, what mountains you have climbed, the goals you have achieved.  Only that you have lived a good life, loved much and in the end, left on good terms with yourself and those you left behind.

In the spirit of the philosophy of Billy Jack and Carlos Castenada, I leave you with this thought.  We all walk the same paths but on on separate journeys.  Until we learn that death is important to us as life and can walk along side it as a friend, then we will never truly live free, we will only exist and survive.

So… what party are you a party to?

At one time I was a Republican, but in January of this year, I left them.  Well, I should not say that I left them, I will just say that they stopped being who I believed it.  That is not to say that I have become a Democrat… no, that would be even worse, in my opinion.  At this point that would be like saying it is easier to drive a nail through my head with a ball ping hammer than with a carpenters hammer.

I am part of the American Independent party these days.  I am not doing this to make anyone mad, as I doubt too many people will notice in the first place.  I am doing it because I see it as my own way to show how I feel about how my, formerly, party is not the same party I joined so many years ago.  I am doing it on principle alone.

I do not think it is just the parties, but I think that politics as a whole is different now.  People do not seem interested in getting things done, just trying to figure out what will get them the most for themselves in the shortest period of time.

It is unfortunate that politicians are not held to the same requirements that you and I are, when it comes to work.  Think about it… if you show up and accomplish nothing, then you get warned a couple times and if there is no improvement, you get fired.  When a politico gets in office, they really do not have to show that they are accomplishing anything.  They only have to worry about not getting elected the next go-around.

Since you really cannot “fire” most politicians (Gray Davis being one of the few RARE examples of when people get together and DO something like that.) Why not hit them in the pocket book?  Fine them a percentage of their income (not salary) for every year that goes by that they do not fulfill at least three quarters of their stated goals and they would have to have a set of goals to accomplish for their term.

I am ot talking about simple goals either.  Nothing like, “Do not accidently bomb Chinese embassy”, “Do not call French President a pansy… to his face.” or “Do not get caught getting a hummer in the oval office.”  I am talking real, tangible goals.  Things like “Make real effort to get the budget on track.” would be a nice start.

And if a president completes his term and accomplishes nothing?  Why not a nice “Breach of Contract” suit?

I know that what I am saying is considered humor and that is part of my goal, but I think that there is something there that might not be a bad idea.  If you get a job, certain things are expected of you.  If you do not live up to the expectations of the people that hired you, then you will probably lose your job.  Granted, you will be given ample time to try and change, in most cases, but you will be given a chance and it is yours to lose.

Why cannot the higher offices of this country be held to the same standard as we are?  I mean this is suppose to be a government “… of the people, by the people and for the people…” so doesn’t that mean that the politicos have their jobs at our will and convenience?  If they are not  fulfilling the goals they promised us, Isn’t it time we started exercising that right of ours?

I told myself that I was not going to do this. That I would not get caught up in the whole “Gas Controversy” that seems to be the talking point of everyone with access to the internet, TV station or radio station. There are so many people out there going on about it, and what good does it do?

So I figure since everything that everyone else is saying is falling on deaf ears, then why not add my own voice to the collective vacuum.

First off… is it really necessary to pay $122 a barrel for oil? (this was the price at the time I am writing this, and I usually schedule my articles out a few days.) And should I really be paying $4.00+ a gallon for gas?

When you look at the amount of oil and natural gas that has yet to be tapped in the US alone, it really begs the question, WHY are we not going after it with a passion?

Yes… I do understand that we are working towards the goal of lowering emissions and producing cars that can go further and further on a single tank of gas. I think this is a noble goal, and I am not suggesting that we no strive for it. But this is not going to happen overnight. There is no Genie sitting around waiting for us to rub his lamp and *poof*, everything is green, electric and zero emission.

Granted, Al Gore and that con job called the “Carbon Credit” would like us to think that he is the Genie, but in reality, as I see it, this is nothing more than another way for people to excuse themselves for continuing to pollute and for someone else to get rich in the process… any guess’ who that would be?

I am not saying that this is unique to the Dems. I am not attacking them alone, especially when you can see that the current administration has it’s own people that stand to gain by the increasing prices of oil and gas. So they really have no incentive to do much more than stand around, beat their chests and scream rhetoric like a pack of impotent, rabid baboons with something to prove.

If there were anyone in power that really cared about making us “oil independent”, then they would fight hard, harder than they are now, to push through the permissions to drill for oil and natural gas in ANWAR and in the mid midwest, where there is enough oil and natural gas to last us a good long time. While we are using that, THEN we can continue to find ways to make better and more efficient cars, planes, boats, etc…

Again, we are not going to see a 100mpg car roll off the lots overnight. It will take some time, and if you look at the steps we have taken in the last few years alone, you can agree that we are on the right path. In the mean time, we still need gas, and jacking the price up to record highs is not going to do anything except increase the sales of bikes, motorcycles and skateboards.

One last thing that I do not think that the government is taking into consideration. With all the people that will stop driving because of the gas prices, there may be a record number of people walking and biking… this, in turn, may lead to a healthier group of people who might need less health care. So you politicos that are reading this, think of what that might do to hurt your Universal Health Care… not as many people would need it if you let us get more physically fit.

This has been my rant… take from it what you will, leave your comments if you want. I will not argue with you, so if you come here seeking a fight… sorry.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

This question comes as I stumbled upon the following video:

Have we really gotten to a point where someone like this is not allowed to get up, and speak his mind, whether it be in ernst or jest, without being taken to task by the media as being a racist or hate monger?

His message was stated with a sense of jest and humor. There was nothing negative about it. It was a speech that, if given twenty or thirty years ago, would have had no negative feedback for anyone involved. But we have become so worried about what others think, and not wanting to offend anyone about anything, that we feel obligated to place him on some shelf as a bad guy.

What makes this worse is how the media, in their usual idiotic way, only shows enough of the clips from the actual speech, to make it appear that he was being hurtful to others. As I have said before, the media is nothing more than a vulture culture that lives to feast off only the refuse of what should be real news. What they did to Brandon is a prime example of that. While it is of poor quality, I have included a video of that as well.

There is nothing wrong with making fun of the things that divide us. There is nothing wrong with demonstrating that you have a sense of humor. Personally I think that is something that all too many of us are missing these days, and the world would be so much better if we did not hide our jest from one
another, and Brandon Rosario was demonstrating just that.

Looking at this from another point of view, we are sending a message that expressing yourself openly and honestly is not something that we want our youth to do. We are teaching them that you have to censor everything you say and do to not offend anyone. Doing this is almost impossible without making your speeches so open ended and bland, that they lose any real substance.

Back to Brandon, though. I hope that he stays who he is and does not change because a few people might have been offended but some of what he said. We really have to learn to laugh at ourselves and others. I honestly believe that the only thing that is going to save our world is if we all learn to have a sense of humor again and start using it.

There is nothing more cleansing to the soul than a really good, gut wrenching, laugh. Preferably one that brings you to tears.

Brandon Rosario… keep up the good work.

Credits for the attached videos go to “Moohu” on you tube, for the news clip, and the coverage of the actual speech by Brandon Rosario.

I have gone back over this idea more times than I like.  It is a hard topic for me because this is so personal for us all.  It involves the detainees at Guantanamo and what rights they should and should not have.

Because this is such a touchy subject, I am going to write this in two part… The first part I am going to use to gauge the attitudes of people, then I will express my opinion on the topic.

The issue is this:

Do the detainees have the right to know the charges that are filed against them, and should be be allowed to provide a defense for themselves?  If you need a different way to see it, imagine if it were you in their place, say as someone who was assumed guilty by association.  Would you not want the option of contesting the charges that are brought against you?

I am in no way defending those that are responsible for acts of terrorism, but I am questioning the practice of holding a person in custody with no formal charges filed against them and, in some case, without their knowing the exact reason of their detention.

Please express how you feel about it and feel  free to take as much writing space as you need.

Thanks.

This is a little newer that what I usually do, but I would like your opinions or reflections on a couple topics… Just to feel out the few readers that I have.

1.  What if JFK had survived?  There was an excellent book written by George Bernau that reflected on this.  He changed the names, but you get the idea.  But how do you think the world would have changed or been the same had Kennedy not been killed?  Take that out as far as you want… I am interested in what you think.  I will not post my writings on it for a while.

2.  Same question as above, but regarding Martin Luther King.  Do you think that the civil rights movement would have gone differently if he had lived?  Again, tell me what you think and why.  Does not matter if you want to take the Radical Black, Liberal White, Confused Hippie or KKK point of view, or whatever your particular POV is.

3. Why was the Peace movement either a success or a failure, in your opinion?

Thanks… I will be interested in your opinions.  Both from those of you who lived in the time, and those of you who studied about it.

Is it me, or have our choices for political office, all of them, been gradually getting worse over the years? When did it become the norm to vote for the “Lesser of Two Evils” instead of the person that held the best platform, and carried the best message?

There are only two of the current candidates that I am really interested in, but I am not going to mention them here, only because I refuse to give them any free advertising.  Should there be the unlikely event that one of them call me and ask if I would run a spread on them, then I will be happy to do so… for a fee.  But I will make no promises about what I would write.

Anyway…  Politics is like a really bad sitcom these days.  A combination of “Everyone loves Raymond”, with a dash of “The Apprentice” and just a little bit of “Jerry Springer” thrown in for good measure.  I cannot look at any of them without thinking that they are just telling us what we want to hear and truncating the rest into silent whispers in back rooms.

No… I have decided who I will vote for, and I will do so if that person is nominated.  But I will do it only because they are the best of the one that are offered, and the offerings are might lean these days.

Seriously… I wish John Stewart would run.  At least then the race would be interesting.