So, should I avoid the obvious joke that what he's done with prostitutes is what other politicians do to America? At least Spitzer's deeds are out in the open now, unlike the dealings of others...
I just saw Mike Huckabee on Saturday Night Live. Man—everything else aside, for sense of humor this guy has all other Presidential candidates beat by a mile.
Ours is a culture based on the idea that whenever you run out of space, you should just pull up stakes and move five miles west. Then you can be happy. Is it any wonder that we seek organization rather than deletion as the solution to an overwhelming problem? Yeah, I think this goes well beyond not being able to find a business card in your junk drawer.
Collis Ta'eed has put a really nice roundup of personal money management sites at FreelanceSwitch - The Freelance Blog: "I’ve spent 28 years taking my own advice, and frankly it hasn’t gotten me very far. So it’s time to listen to someone else. Here are the best and brightest voices online on money matters:"
I've read some of these sites, but I'm intrigued by the others.
that is to say, despite my erroneous post a month or two ago, Karl Rove will not be indicted in the Valerie Plame case, as reported by Excite.
So at least my question is answered, although my original reference for the indictment question was a) very unreliable and b) jumping the gun in any case, even if they had a shred of fact to report.
Sorry--the below tidbit just made me laugh. And it was on Andrew Sullivan's blog, no less! In case you were unaware, Issac Hayes threatened to quit South Park because it "crossed the line" when it made fun of Scientology. Never mind the fact that it's made fun of virtually every other religion on earth while Isaac happily collected his paycheck. If you haven't already twigged to this, Isaac is a Scientologist.
Yep, I can now confirm that Viacom and Comedy Central caved in to the Scientologists and Tom Cruise, but the South Park team are unrepentant. Here's their official statement:
"So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu."
2006 promises to be very interesting. I hope you and yours have a very happy year.
Oh, and get this. You've heard that you should eat pork and sauerkraut for good luck on New Year's Day? Oh, you didn't? Neither did I until I moved to this area.
But yesterday at the post office, the clerk swore that you should never eat chicken, turkey, or any bird product on January 1. Why? Because you'll be "scratching for money all year." She told all of us in line to even be careful of hot dogs, because they sometimes have chicken or turkey in them.
Huh. Man, I must have been eating chicken every New Year's Day since I can remember--it would explain the scratching for money part...
A Elbereth, Gilthoniel! Silivren penna miriel. O menel aglar pelennath!
Hm. Nope, you can't write Elvish without feeling, um, fairylike.
Besides, I'm not really angry about the last year. It's more of a paradigm shift. Once you realize how things really work in your environment, you simply take the steps you need to in order to change the situation. You plan your life and live the plan.
I'd be more specific, but there's really no need to. It's just that if you aren't happy with the way things are, then you take responsibility for your part in it (you always have some responsibility for your environment, because you always have the choice to stay with it or walk away--or anything in between). Then, if you want things to change, you just change them, including changing yourself if your personality is at fault. By that I mean that if you're, for instance, always getting yourself into situations where you've overcommitted yourself, then change the part of you that keeps getting you into hot water. Learn a new groove for your behavior, and stick to it.
OK, the results--I'm surprised that I didn't come out as more economically conservative--I don't regard myself as a Socialist at all. Actually, I'm surprised I didn't come out as more Libertarian, but then again, my definition of Libertarian isn't congruent with the political party (it's much more about personal responsibility for your life and actions). Hm.
"7:32 P.M. - N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin declares Martial law in the city and directs the city's 1,500-person police force to do "whatever it takes" to gain back control of the city. He will also enlist the aid of troops."
Martial law. Holy crap.
Since the city is under water and below sea level, the flood won't drain out properly. They'll have to pump the water out to get the city "dry" again.
As a result of Katrina, we've lost over 20 major oil production rigs so far (confirmed).
This means that we have a significant dip in oil production.
Gas prices in my town were $2.59 per gallon in the morning, $2.69 at noon, and $2.79 by five pm--all at the same gas station. Elsewhere it had already jumped to $2.89.
It's almost a virtual certainty that we'll need to dip into our national oil reserves. Even so, we're looking at an instant recession. The formerly looming threat is now reality.
Here's more on the oil rig story--they literally can't find the rigs from the air searches. They're gone.
From the article:
"We are looking at YEARS to return to the production levels we had prior to the storm. The eastern Gulf of Mexico is primarily oil production... Loss of the MARS platform alone cost us 95,000 barrels a day for a year or maybe more. YEARS, people. I know what this means - hope everyone else gets it too..."
And from the comments at the above webpage:
"In Hazleton, PA...There was panic buying in progress when I passed on my way home. Vehicles were lined up at 10-deep to access the two pump islands. Of course, the gas being pumped there was the same that sold a day before for $2.55. An immediate tight supply driving the price hikes? Or just jitters?"
Most of you are too young to remember the gas rationing in '74. Think we'll go back to odd and even license plate days? "Sorry, sir--only odd-numbered plates can buy gas today." My Uncle Alfred was in a (typically) long line for gas then and watched a fistfight break out ahead of him in line.
Because they did it already. We're now officially into our strategic oil reserves.
But, as the article says:
"The government's oil ``is not going to be of much help unless we get refineries running again,'' said Adam Sieminski, global oil strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in New York, before the announcement. ``Releasing oil from the SPR right now would be actually inappropriate because there would be no place to put it.''
On the other hand, supporting my belief that our economy is bult on mob psychology (or mass psychosis, however you misuse the terms):
"``Whether it makes a physical difference or not is irrelevant,'' Goldstein [president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation in New York] said. Government statements about the national stockpile had ``a very important psychological impact because they came out early.''
Maybe my recent biodiesel obsession is more of a good idea now...if we can't drill for fuel, maybe we should grow it instead.
They're both somewhat persecuted nowadays, in a loose sense of the word. I thought that Help! Mom! There are Liberals UInder My Bed! was just a joke, but apparently it's a real children's book. Jeez, I never knew how the liberals were out to get all our money for wasteful "causes." Bleeding hearts, always out to make the world better or some such nonsense. At least that's what our old friend Niner would say (old inside joke).
Not to stir up another storm in the comments (my conservative, moderate, and liberal friends are very decent people but have strong opinions), but the book just seems weird. I wonder what it is about our society today that divides good people so sharply? It seems like primal forces venting in weird ways.
Forget about this stuff, though. I'm still sniffling over the diesel Vanagon (see previous post).
You know, I think it was a good thing that Saddam Hussein's rule was ended. I also think that Hussein pushed the UN far beyond the point where they should have reacted (without us looking like the bad guys charging in). But this webpage is right--the mission definition in Iraq has warped over time to meet political expediency. And that doesn't take into account the way that the case for Iraq was framed in context of 9/11, when it had nothing to do with it.
The war was won, I think. But even some of my conservative friends are becoming unhappy with the way that the "peace" is being lost.
I've been hearing how the president's approval rating has dropped to an all time low.
I'm surprised at how annoyed I am by this. It's just ridiculous. I mean, has anything changed substantially since November? Not really. So to the "shifters" my question is this: if you voted your morals last year, have you just lost them now? If you have your morals now, then why did you vote for the guy then?
It's irritating to me that people don't like the guy now, but they voted him in last election. The public is fickle. If you felt so strongly that you had to vote for President Bush last November, then you might as well stick by him now. Don't bother to give moderates and liberals dangling hopes that you've "seen the light" (although frankly, they'd be fools to buy into it).
I don't think after last year that anyone should trust any "trends" in the public and politics. Or polling, for that matter.
Jerry Springer now has his own radio show on Air America. It's political. He's serious. This is no April Fool's joke.
It makes more sense when you find out that he was in politics before television, and that his television show was actually a real talk show before he sold out for shock show dollars.
So, even though watching his TV show is like watching a train wreck (I've seen pieces of it several times, but it's tough to watch, believe me), who knows if his radio show will redeem his rep?
Number 53 on a list of the best 100 Jokes of all time (I'd post the link, but the language in some of the jokes isn't ready for prime time):
"I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Well, there's so much to live for!" "Like what?" "Well... are you religious?" He said yes. I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian." "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ? "Protestant." "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" "Baptist." "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" "Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off." (Emo Philips)
