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July 29, 2004
The French are praying for a Kerry presidency
The Christian Science Monitor reports that experts in Europe are saying that "The French are praying for a Kerry presidency." I wonder if the liberals will be OK with that since it is the Christian Science Monitor.
I really don't care who the French, or for matter any other country wants to win the election. They don't live here I do. However the article does note that international cooperation on the sharing of intelligence is better than it has ever been - Even with France.
Will anything really change if we change presidents, will the rest of the world run to us with wide open arms. No of course not, the French will still loathe us, the fatwa we live under from bin Laden won't go away, Iran will not close up its nuclear shop. Sure there will be dancing in the streets in Berkeley, but the next time America is attacked Palestinians will be dancing in the streets again.
So do we want the guy who married the millionare divorced her, then the billionare and took a movie camera into battle (I wouldn't want to have him commanding me - get a gun you idiot), or do we want the resolute leader (who married the librarian) who knows America is strong enough to go it alone if deserted by those we helped previously.
So France, pray for whatever you want, but really how much help can a country that changes its government every few decades really be. Call me when you start the Sixth Republic.
Posted by Matthew at 11:45 PM | Comments (2)
Fair and Balanced
If anyone claims that Fox News is not fair and balanced they are truly mistaken. I just watched Greta Van Sustern (a criminal lawyer, former CNN wonk and Scientologist - all perfectly fine but not my cup of tea) interview Jeanane Garafolo. I consider Ms. Garafolo the most annoying person on the face of the earth ever since she said she knows about foreign affairs because she uses the library and has a satellite dish.
I'm a generally nonviolent person but if Ms. Garafolo walked past my front door I would throw things at her, not big things mind you, perhaps small stones, big pine cones, crushed empty soda cans....
Why do actors and their ilk think we care what they think. The girl went to Catholic High School and a Catholic college. I wonder what went wrong for her to be such an anti-Catholic same sex marriage supporting, abortion defending, lapsed vegetarian, now sober reformed drunk Leftist. We can all pray for her.
Posted by Matthew at 12:15 AM | Comments (3)
July 28, 2004
Worst joke
I heard the worst joke I have heard in quite some time recently.
Q: Why is Bob Dole not on the Republican ticket?
A: Because he can't maintain an election.
Posted by Matthew at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2004
Inter alia
Strangest question ever asked of a librarian (as far as I know):
A woman wanted to know if she could get "prostrate" cancer if she had intercourse with a man with it. Just odd in so many ways.
My job stinks, I work in an olfactory.
If you wear an a monitor attached to your ankle by order of the court it is best not to go to the beach, wear shorts, and drink beer at an outside bar. You will draw unwanted attention. I will call the cops, they will take you away in handcuffs.
Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 9/11 topped $100 million dollars in receipts. It is reported that this is a record for a documentary. I thought if you made stuff up it was fiction not a documentary. Sure The Dirty Dozen was a great movie about World War II, but it was indeed fictional. Moore's movie is about the war in Iraq, it too is fictional - he just didn't have to pay a lot of good actors. A couple of webistes I like about Moore and his movie.
Boston is an armed camp. Is it safe, no. There is no nothing that 3000 extra police officers, or 3 million extra police officers can do to provide real security. While an increased security presence is indeed warranted, the turing of the city into an armed camp is simply absurd. The Democrats are only demonstrating just how terrified they really are. There were 20 hijackers that planned and executed the attacks of 9/11/2001, 20 guys with back pack bombs, briefcase bombs, shoe bombs, TV camera bombs, or any of the other possible weapons named in media reports could and most probably would be as deadly as the aircraft piloted by lunatic jihadists were.
We can't go to extremes to protect events such as the conventions, the superbowl, parades, and or other large gathering. We must maintain constant vigilance, we use reasonable measures to protect ourselves and our country, but shutting down cities for a convention is far beyond what needs to be done. The problem is we fail to recognize that we must forever maintain constant vigilance, we must be more aware of our surroundings than we ever have before. Terrorists have attached the US and they think they can do it again. We can't let our guard down. If someone in Madrid had reported the abandoned bag on the train hundreds of people might still be alive.
By the way Farhenheit 9/11 is not the highest grossing documentary (even if we give Moore the leeway of calling it a documentary) ever. Everest grossed well over 120 million dollars. I guess that was another thing Moore made up. Everest has no faked headlines, no distorted truths, no conspiracy theories, and most importantly Everest does not insult, berate, and ridicule the honorable sailors, soilders, airmen and Marines serving their country.
Posted by Matthew at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2004
Birth control?
Is murdering your pregnant wife a new method of birth control?
It seems that the husband of Lori Hacking, the Utah woman missing for the past few days is about to be arrested for her murder. Now I don’t know anything else than the rest of us who watch the news, but it seems the guy was a bit of a nutjob making up his medical school acceptance when he hadn’t finished college, but that’s not a crime.
We have all also heard about Laci Peterson and her husband who murdered her (sure I am jumping to conclusions, if he is acquitted I’ll send a note of apology. I also think OJ was guilty but since he was not convicted I can’t hold that against him.)
Is this a new trend in America, if you don’t want children kill your wife. My God I certainly hope not. However we have begun the slide down the slippery slope by allowing late term abortion. Thank God our legislators have made Partial birth abortion (in which all but a small part of the baby is removed from the womb and its skull crushed by the doctor) illegal. Unfortunately the culture of death in the country and its prime proponent, Planned Parenthood, have filed lawsuits to block the law and allow more baby murders. If these babies were killed after they were completely removed from the mother’s womb the doctors would be charged with murder, but due to a geographic loophole they are lauded as defenders of a woman’s right to choose – to choose to murder an inconvenient child.
Perhaps we have become so accustomed to death and murder in our society that it no longer shocks us. Perhaps Planned Parenthood, NARL and other death mongers have done such a wonderful job of convincing us that the lives of babies (more than 1.3 million annually according to the latest statistics) are so worthless that these husbands have devalued the lives of their pregnant wives as well.
I hope and pray that no woman anywhere finds the need to have an abortion. I will help in any way I can. If you are considering an abortion please let me know. I’ll direct you to local resources that can assist you with your pregnancy, and help you if you decide to keep your child or place the baby with a loving family. If you can’t find anyone else who will love your baby please let them join my family. If you’ve been a victim of abortion you have my sympathy and prayers as well.
Who knows why men murder their wives and their children, what unfeeling psychopaths they must be. Until we turn around our nation’s collective view of murder as birth control we will I fear see more of these types of murders in the news.
Don’t kill people. It is as simple as that.
Posted by Matthew at 04:16 PM | Comments (2)
I have changed my opinion
I am quite skeptical when it comes to the claims made by supplement and ‘nutraceutical’ manufacturers. Sure we all need vitamins and minerals but I don’t think taking concentrated extract of some strange leaves will really improve our health. I find however that the vast majority, indeed almost all, ‘supplements’ are an effective method of separating patients from their money.
However a relative has asked my opinion on the use glucosamine tablets for osteoarthritis of the knee. I conducted a review of the pertinent literature and have found studies that show that glucosamine may prove valuable.
It is important to rely on studies conducted by independent researchers (those conducted by employees of, or funded by the supplement manufacturers may have skewed results). An encouraging study conducted by an office of the World Health Organization (a UN organization recognized for its research) shows that glucosamine can be effective in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee in postmenopausal women. An abstract is available on PubMed here.
Another double blind study from Denmark showed that glucosamine can be effective at cartilage protection in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. That too is available at PubMed here.
A most illuminating article “Glucosamine and Osteoarthritis: Glucosamine products, said to slow or even halt the progression of osteoarthritis, are rising in popularity. But do they work?” from Am J Nurs. 2004 Feb;104(2):54-9; quiz 68-9. (The American Journal of Nursing: February 2004, page 54-59) Unfortunately I cannot link to this directly but if you are unable to access this locally a librarian will be quite happy to acquire it for you. It is noted in the article that glucosamine can control symptoms and may produce some reversal of the disease process.
If you can only read one of the articles I mentioned this would be the one.
It appears that the optimal daily dosage of glucosamine is 1500mg for patients under 200 pounds. Please do not begin taking glucosamine without talking to your health care provider. Diabetics, those allergic to shellfish, and nursing mothers should most assuredly contact their physicians before beginning glucosamine therapy as it is an amino sugar made from chitin that is produced from selfish (it can be made synthetically) and no studies have been done in pregnant women to assure glucosamine’s safety in pregnancy.
So I no longer lump glucosamine (and for that matter glucosamine- chondroitin preparations – although I don’t feel as strongly about chondroitin) in the don’t waste your money category. Controlled double blind studies conducted by reputable investigators has convinced me that glucosamine may be effective in treating osteoarthritis of the knee.
Posted by Matthew at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
July 23, 2004
Former Clinton official attempts to barge into cockpit
Bill Clinton's former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary was removed from a flight last night. According to police O'Leary had to be restrained by crew members to prevent her from entering the cockpit.
O'Leary who as Energy Secretary was in charge of the development of nuclear weapons, was removed from the flight and turned over to FBI agents for questioning.
Posted by Matthew at 04:23 PM | Comments (2)
Stick a fork in her she's done
Even Californians are walking out on Linda Ronstadt. Now, I'm all for expressing one's opinions and if Ms. Ronstadt wishes to share her political views that is just hunky-dory with me.
However I don't want to hear my lawn man's opinion or the pool boy's opinion or the plumber's opinion when I am paying them to do something other than opine. People were paying Ronstadt to sing, not to tell them for whom to vote.
Now I'm never going to a Ronstadt concert, or for that matter The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, or Whoopi Goldberg performances they are simply not something I would pay to see. But I know enough to keep my political activism quiet when I am working for someone else.
I'll never understand why celebrities think we average Joe's care what they think. Geez, Linda just sing.
Posted by Matthew at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2004
The Queen eats no garlic
I was just watching Secrets of the Royal Kitchen where it was revealed that the Queen (of England) does not eat garlic, pasta or tomato (make certain to pronounce toh mah toe) sauce. Too bad for her.
This really is not about the Queen, but about the dearth of quality programming on television. If they are not trying to sell me something the shows are generally crap. The big 3 have Scrubs (an OK show only because I think women in scrubs are really hot, must be from working in the ER for so long), Prime Time where they are rehasing some old story about a murder in North Carolina for 2 hours, and CSI a complete farce. CSI is the show where they can sequence DNA in 20 minutes and have on file and instantly available a list of every type of beer bottle glass ever manufactured anywhere in the world. I worked picking up the dead for the medical examiner when I was a wee lad in undergraduate school and I can tell you the homicide scenes I was on were nothing like TV. The rest of the stuff on the 88 channels is not worth watching either, although Rear Window is on later tonight.
Back to the Queen, it seems she likes poached salmon with hollandaise sauce. Geez, the Irish have better food. In fact the Irish have fantastic food. I live for a good fry up although you can keep the black pudding.
I'm glad I don't watch much TV. I'm also glad I don't pick up dead people for a living anymore.
Holy geez, cucumber sandwiches: white bread (sliced the long way rather than up and down) butter, and peeled shaved cucumber. Make about 6 layers and then cut into finger sized sandwiches. My God that sounds like something you would feed guests you want to go home.
Now he is chopping up a lobster, a whole freaking lobster- the head, the shell, the legs and all to make lobster sauce. The English are at times a very unusual people.
Posted by Matthew at 09:18 PM | Comments (2)
July 20, 2004
Vive la France
Well, I don’t want to offend them.
I’m not going to France. I have been to France before, but I am not going again. I don’t want to offend them. The French are apparently very concerned that people are being rude to them. They have posted a sign at their Consulate in New York notifying visa applicants that a French visa is not a right. They also say that if we are not polite they will ban us from all of the EU nations
(apparently they forgot to consult Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.). Of course France can’t decide who gets to go to those other countries but it apparently it matters not a whit to them.
Now it is really important that we be very nice to the French because the French are the nicest people in the world, and we can count on them for their support and we certainly don’t want to alienate them. After all Ariel Sharon is not welcome in France because he suggested that French Jews move to Israel to avoid anti-Semitic attacks. We know that this is uncalled for because France is remarkably tolerant. In fact they are so tolerant they passed a law requiring people to forgo their religious identities by removing external signs of their faith. After all no yarmulkes, no burquas, no crucifixes, makes everyone equal.
We know that France does think quite highly of Israel, well except for that remark about Israel being “Ce petit pays merdeux” [that shitty little country] by France’s ambassador Daniel Bernard. France demands that Sharon explain his call for French Jews to emigrate to avoid anti-Semitic attacks. I agree, who would want to move to a better neighborhood? Who would want to move to a place where they are not harassed and intimidated regularly?
So we all know how important France is to the world. Without France we would not have essential….., um we would be unable to ……., well we couldn’t ….., Citroen parts, that’s it we aren’t nice to France we won’t be able to get parts for our Citroens. If we don’t play nice with the staff at the French Consulate they will not give us a visa. After all a visa is not a right! Hey French Consulate staff, stick it in your ear.
That’s why I won’t be going to France.
Posted by Matthew at 09:27 AM | Comments (1)
July 19, 2004
They made an old woman cry.
This weekend a group of people from my neighborhood – black and white and a few Mexicans too made an old woman cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sat in a chair on her front lawn and watched what these people did.
They didn’t leave one single part of her home untouched. Every room, the porch the garage, they did something to every part of the home. There were even people up on the roof.
They tore up the weed choked lawn, put paint all over, broke out cracked windows, and ran around like ants. All the while the woman wasn’t allowed into her home. The police came by, but these people did not stop. The rain didn’t stop them; the blowing wind through the old broken out windows in the garage didn’t stop them. Nothing stopped these people. It was nothing like I had ever seen before, sure you hear about these things but to see it in person, up close was simply amazing. I am ashamed to admit that I did just a little, nothing much to speak of really, just a bit, certainly no more than the other people did, much less than most of the others indeed.
The poor old woman just cried. You could see it in her face, the look of astonishment that people –many of whom she didn’t know could do something like this to her house, the house she has lived in for more than forty years, where she raised her family and where her husband died.
It was hard for her to speak, but when she did you could tell what this woman though about the people, how could anyone feel any other way about a group that would do this to her house.
Today if the weather improves they can finish painting the outside, after all with the remodeling done inside and the lawn and flowers outside, the only thing left is a few hours painting outside, then it will be, as the woman said “Just like when we moved in as a young couple.” Indeed, they made an old woman cry.
Posted by Matthew at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2004
Get some manners
Miss Manners' take on blogs.
Interesting.
Did you know there is a difference between Miss, Ms. and Ms (the last without a period)? Well there is.
Off to church. Vaya con Dios amigos.
Oh, and I almost forgot, another librarian gives his take on how he feels the ALA=Democratic Party. I couldn't have said it better.
Posted by Matthew at 10:21 AM | Comments (3)
July 16, 2004
The Emperor's new clothes
OK librarians, what do you wear to work? Recent discussions in another forum focused on what to wear to an interview, and we all figured a suit is appropriate no matter what position for which one is interviewing.
But what about day to day work apparel. Now I have plenty of suits and ties and also a few pair of khaki trousers and polo shirts but what do you as a librarian wear, and more importantly what kind of library and in what department do you work?
For those of you who are not librarians what do you expert librarians to wear, or what would you find off putting if a librarian wore it to work? As a bonus question, do those of you who are not librarians know that a Masters degree is required to be a librarian? Did you know that there are only 49 Library Schools in the US? (48 when Clark Atlanta closes next year.) That is fewer than the number of medical schools.
Fun office clothing trick: Wear a suit to the office on casual Friday. When people ask why you are so dressed up give noncommittal reasons. This is especially effective if everyday is casual Friday. Peek into your boss’s office or make sure they see you several times. If anyone asks you what’s new simply smile and tell them life is grand.
Posted by Matthew at 11:31 AM | Comments (6)
July 14, 2004
Don't be a hater
So in the last few days I have been insulted because I am a Catholic, not poor, and a Republican.
I was also told not to be a hater.
I really don't have any idea why these people seem to think I am some evil bastard. I guess if I were a poor, liberal, Green Party, same-sex marriage proponent the world would like me.
No thanks, not interested.
Posted by Matthew at 11:38 PM | Comments (2)
GM and NFP
Why are the people so opposed to GM (genetically modified) food, the people into "organic" food, the people into whole food not as vociferously behind natural family planning (NFP)?
Natural family planning is 'organic' in that it requires no chemicals nor artificial means to regulate the number of children one has. It is an approved method of family planning according to the Catholic Church.
I guess it is OK to use chemicals in our bodies but not in our food? OK for the uterus but not for the stomach?
I guess I'll never understand.
Posted by Matthew at 02:17 AM | Comments (5)
July 13, 2004
The ALA is opposed to torture
The American Library Association passed a resolution at its annual meeting opposing torture. I wonder if they oppose cancer and beating children as well.
Who could possibly be in favor of torture (or cancer, or beating kids)? More importantly what the heck does it have to do with libraries? Are people being beaten for overdue items? Are people chained to the walls and shocked for not having change for the photocopier. Break the spine of a book and they break your fingers?
No of course not, the ALA is just up to its usual nonsense again. The Social Responsibility Round Table (SRRT) is the nuttiest group in the ALA. They don't limit themselves to library related issues they think they are responsible for the whole world. You don't see the American Dental Association taking stands like this, nor the American Heart Association, The American Diabetes Association, The Modern Language Association; no they all stick to their basic purposes.
While I don't suggest that people not take stands to oppose the abrogation of Human Rights, I simply suggest the ALA limit itself to library related topics.
This is nothing new for the ALA, but it overshadows the good works the ALA does. The find it @ your library, and programs to encourage reading are fine programs. Librarian scholarship funds are great, as are continuing education opportunities. However the ALA has become less library related and more of a left wing political organization - especially in the last few years.
This is really disappointing to those of us who belong to the ALA for other reasons. I belong to keep current in my chosen profession, librarianship. I belong to meet other librarians and discuss our work. I belong because it is almost a requirement for one's résumé. I don't belong to see early releases of Michael Moore's propaganda films, nor to support the librarian of Berkeley who would rather go to jail than comply with a court order issued pursuant to the USA PATRIOT Act.
There is nothing wrong with any of these things, there is nothing wrong to being opposed to torture - indeed even I am opposed to torture. However the ALA is an organization for libraries (and since there is no organization for librarians) the people who work in them. Why has it given way to a political agenda? How remarkably unfortunate that is.
Posted by Matthew at 04:35 AM | Comments (1)
July 12, 2004
Saturday I said I'm sorry, Sunday came and trashed me out again
Random thoughts: (or as any competent Psychologist would call it, flight of ideas)
Saturday I went out with some friends from the hospital (no not the patients) to some place I had never been before. Some local pub with an underwhelming selection and dirty bogs. It was quite enjoyable. My friends think it is quite amusing that I've become a librarian; even more amusing than their realization that one must have a Masters degree to do that.
My friends after several drinks began to sing Karaoke (Japanese for -for the love of God would you please shut up). Now since I had to pilot the car home I could not partake of the libations and ended up drinking diet soda that some woman refilled over and over with iced tea. So with a few under their belts these people began to irritate me to sing. They choose a Jimmy Buffett song, "Love in the Library". Well unbeknownst to them I had been listening to the Fruitcakes CD for the past several days in the car. (lack of motivation to find the CD holder) so I was fairly familiar with the words. Buffett is generally easy to sing, as it is remains in one octave. So I won the Karaoke singing competition. Being that I was the only one sober enough to read the lyrics as they passed by on the screen this was no great feat. There was a fantastic prize, deep fried stuff and wings.
The only 2 songs I can sing on Karaoke are Masquerade and the above Buffett tune. If I never have to do that again I will be quite happy, however if there are deep fried mushrooms and cheese sticks at stake, hand me the microphone.
On the way home I noticed a blue Ford Explorer (Ford Prefect's older and larger cousin) stopped at a traffic signal. The odd thing was that the signal was green and it was annoying the other drunks on the road. I stopped behind the SUV (sort-of unwieldy vehicle) and got out (I love to walk in the road, I have the scars and screws in my bones to prove it). I walked up to see if perhaps they needed help. Four Oprah clones were asleep, including the driver. I returned to my car and called the cops. Of course just as I got through, the sleeping land whales awoke and drove off. I didn't bother pressing 1 (or was 1 for 'if you're being murdered') or whatever I just gave up thinking they would soon crash into something and render themselves permanently asleep. I did follow them a bit and when they began driving off the road and making right turns from the left lane I decided it would be wise to ring the local gendarmes again. Just as I finished a description of the car and where we were, a deputy sheriff happened along and I told her about the drunks and she stopped them for the requisite formalities. I gave my name and address as a witness (a move I am certain I will regret when the subpoena arrives). One down.
Not five minutes later at an intersection very close to our county jail I spied another car stopped at a green light, with another car behind it honking the horn so much as to be annoying. Of course there were 2 other traffic lanes, one on each side of the stopped car, and no other traffic besides we 3 cars, but the honker just had to let the world know how displeased he was that he would have to change lanes.
So the honker finally changed lanes and I put on my hazard lights and again decided to walk in the road. As I walked up to the car, imagine my surprise to see that the occupants were awake. They were having a bit of a late night snack. I asked if they were having car trouble and the driver looked at me and said "Shmeating". I think that means I am eating, because he was attempting to put fries in his nose and mouth simultaneously - the same fry in fact. To make this more entertaining he had the straw wrapper dangling from the left corner of his mouth. The passenger was quite engrossed in her meal as well.
I told the man to turn the car off, so of course he began to creep through the intersection on a red light. I encouraged him a bit more forcefully to turn off the car and I made him give me the keys, which I placed on the roof, far from his drunken reach. I walked back to my car to ring the coppers yet again when a nice Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled out of a nearby gas station and noticed my signal to come over. He promptly arrested the driver who insisted he hadn't been drinking. Yeah and I'm six three with a full head of hair.
So that's two drunks in a span of 15 minutes. If you drive after midnight in Florida you take your life in your hands. Riding the bus in Israel is safer. Selling American flags in Iraq is safer.
Why do they still call MTV MTV? Should they drop the M. I think they stopped playing music videos in about 1989.
I've changed my position on gay marriage. I think gay people should be allowed to get married. Just not to other gay people, well other gay people of the same gender. There, now we all have the same right to marry. Oh, wait that's how it always was.
As the push for an amendment to clarify the definition of marriage as being between two people of the differing genders moves along it reminds me of Utah's decision to become a state. Utah of course has a large Mormon population. Now I won't get into my opinion of LDS but I know that at one time having more than one wife was OK. (Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me.) However to conform to the moral consciousness of the nation they nixed that to become a state. Why do some people want to go backward to marriage rules that don't foster a sense of family, backward to marriage laws that make one gender superfluous, back to marriage laws that fail to signify the permanent commitment to permanence and raising children that traditional heterosexual monogamous marriage have? I'll never know.
Gay people can get married in all 50 states, just not to people of the same sex. There is no discrimination. This has become an "I'll do whatever I want that pleases me" culture and it will be our albatross until we can see beyond our selfish wants to the needs of society, our children, and others. Children need a mother and a father not some artificially concocted notarized amalgamation sharing an apartment. Children need the love and stability that comes from a two parent home, not the transient ejaculatory entertainment unnatural sexual couplings provide. Children need an environment in which to learn and grow. Contrary to Hillary Clinton's pseudo-Communist it takes a village philosophy, it takes a mother and father who love one another and are committed to one another. Marriage by any other name is just a farce, and we are kidding ourselves if we think that by being inclusive and letting homosexuals marry we are bettering society. We are destroying the moral fabric on which our society is based.
This is not a condemnation of homosexuality. It is said that no one chooses to be homosexual and that may be true, but one chooses to act on those feeling and that is something with which they must reconcile themselves. Don't hate the sinner hate the sin is often uttered when discussion homosexuality and that is of course true. All of us are the sinner at some point, but making same sex marriage legal only multiplies and legitimizes the sin, a scandal we can ill afford.
Posted by Matthew at 07:45 AM | Comments (4)
July 11, 2004
Attractive murdered people are more important
It must be true that attractive murdered people are more important than us everyday folks. I am so remarkably tired of hearing about Scott Peterson. Let the trial go on without out reporting every half hour. Please, California's legal system is perverted enough as it is without having everyone in the courtroom playing to the camera.
Six people within 25 miles of me were murdured within the last two days. Former drug dealers, street people, roofers, immigrants. Two paragraphs inside the newspaper, or perhaps a front page graph with no follow up. Why does Laci Peterson get nationwide coverage, because they are attractive people. If you ask me Scott Peterson, who has not been convicted so I can't speak of his guilt, is a piece of trash. His wife was gone just days before he started banging some bimbo. I would rather live next to a trailer park full of minimum wage families.
Locally a tattoo artist was murdered less than two miles from my home a few weeks ago yet no arrest has been made and no further information has been in the paper. The victim was just a regular guy who just bought his own house and worked at his tattoo parlor. I guess he wasn't attractive enough for anyone to care. Well, I do. I'm sure his family does too.
I guess attractive people are worth more to society. That's too bad because most of us are not successful, attractive, California couples. Were just regular folks who will be forgotten the next day if we're murdered. I guess that is better off I don't want my picture on CNN for any reason.
Posted by Matthew at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2004
2 unimportant announcements
1) I like Dick Riordan even if he is from California, but come on man use a little sense and stop calling six year olds "Stupid, dirty girl." They may not care, but it upsets the parents. I know you were kidding but you must have a better vocabulary to use with small children. How about doody head, bug eater, poopie brain? Geez. Well I hope you find work soon, or I hope this blows over soon but I'm not betting the farm.
2) No spy planes crashed in North Korea.
No more information will be provided, but nothing crashed. Move along, nothing to see here.
Posted by Matthew at 02:35 PM | Comments (1)
Moron ubiquity
Well several things come to mind today and all seem to validate my theory that 85% of the people you see on a daily basis are morons.
Blinding blue headlights on crappy cars. I know that some cars come with Xenon headlights, but 1999 Hondas are not among them. I know some of the finer retailers in my 'hood sell Xenon bulbs but if you buy ten dollar bulbs and jam them in the sockets of cars not designed for these type of lamps all you are going to do is blind people. You do not look cool because you spent twenty bucks on poorly designed misaimed bulbs. You simply demonstrate that you are a moron. Xenon bulbs are manufactured to be used in lamps with more precise tolerances because the bulbs are brighter and can blind oncoming drivers if aimed improperly. These lamps and lights are much more expensive to design and produce than typical halogen lamps used on most cars. I guess that is why they are on the Mercedes line and not the Hyundai line. Save your money. Don’t buy the aftermarket Xenon bulbs, save up and get the spinner rims.
Mobile phone cameras are ubiquitous these days, not to mention annoying. It is bad enough to have some idiot parading around with his phone clamped to his head, but to have him wandering about with an outstretched arm, navigating by squinting at a 2 inch square display certainly demonstrates what a moron he is. My God what can be so exciting in the grocery store that you have to capture it for posterity.
Our local television station has given these idiots their one minute of fame by allowing them to take photographs of traffic backups, send them to the station via mobile phone e-mail, and then call up to give a live report of the traffic backup. Maybe the backup would go away if people get the hell of the phone, stop taking pictures and drive the damn car.
There are now television spots from some organization that notes that 39 states do not have laws that prevent an employer from firing someone because they are homosexual. My God how many protections do we need to have? Don’t tell people you are homosexual and no one will know. I am not allowed to have sex at work, so being gay, or not being gay in this case has never been a concern. Where are these people working that they are required to disclose, or demonstrate how they use their genitalia in their off hours. Now, I don’t think you should fire someone because of what they do at home unless it affects their work (like smoking crack), but homosexuality offends a great number of people. If you work for someone who is offended by homosexuality simply shut up about it if you are of that inclination. I am of the belief that homosexual activities are immoral so if I were the boss I would prohibit them at work. However since I would prohibit all sexual intercourse at work that would not really be a problem. Sometimes people will do things we can’t agree with, sometimes people will not be as open minded as we would like, but we can’t legislate acceptance. If they pass a law that says you can’t fire people because you find the sexual practices abhorrent, then they will simply fire them for being seven seconds late, or not straightening their paper clips. If you are gay, some people will not like you. Life is unfair. We can’t make it fair by passing a law, if we could it would have been done a long time ago.
Calculators on the SAT
Now kids can use calculators on the SAT. No wonder the little darlings don’t learn anything we have made it too easy. If the little wonders can’t do math well enough to take the SAT then it explains why they can’t make change at McDonalds. Perhaps we should just provide them with a smart kid to help them their entire life.
Posted by Matthew at 01:47 AM | Comments (5)
July 07, 2004
The John and John show
John Kerry and John Edwards are in town tonight. Yipee.
If you have trouble finding an OB/GYN to deliver your child feel free to thank trial lawyers like the smarmy duo above.
Posted by Matthew at 10:04 PM
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So the hanging out in coffee shops (real coffee shops not some Starbucks clone) drinking café con leche in a guayabera is going swimmingly. I even had a hot pressed Cuban (which is not a businessman in Havana late for a meeting).
Posted by Matthew at 01:48 AM
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I’ve decided to wear guayaberas, smoke Cuban cigars (but not inhale- really just sit around with a burning Cuban cigar) and drink really strong tiny cups of coffee like those from Ideal Cafeteria
Posted by Matthew at 11:28 PM
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Happy Independence Day Not only do we help others but also we help ourselves. As Kahlil Gibran said You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. What remarkable satisfaction can be found in doing for others. What a small sacrifice of time and talent must we make to bestow the gift of kindness and the miracle of hope on someone less fortunate, less free, than ourselves. So on this Independence Day think not only of your own independence, not only of your nation’s independence, think how in some small way you can contribute to the independence of others; others on the other side of town, or on the other side of the globe. Each person we free from their unjust burdens is one more who can join us in the struggle to make all men free.
Posted by Matthew at 09:09 PM
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A criminal complaint has been filed against John Kerry in Canonical Court. Kerry is charged with:
Posted by Matthew at 06:08 AM
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Kerry really can't be one person and keep sending the mixed messages he sends. Kerry wants to have his cake and eat it too. Either you can un-abandon them or you can make their lives harder by denying them licenses to drive.
Posted by Matthew at 06:39 PM
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OK, I’ve just had a big bowl of stew I made and I have a pot of Irish tea so hang on this will be a long one. What are we concerned about in the next election? Is it the economy stupid, as James Carville surmised during the Clinton campaign. Is it the off-shoring of jobs? Is it prescription drugs? Is it national health care, abortion, a raise in the minimum wage? No, it is none of these, yet it is all of these. We in the United States of America live in the best of times, yet the worst of times. This is the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness. It is the spring of hope, yet some on the left will say it is the winter of despair. We have everything before us and depending on your political bent that is either our treasure or our curse. We are undeniably the richest country in the world in that we possess resources envied by all other nations. Natural resources, technological resources, and human resources are what this nation was built upon, and what we rely upon to this day as our strength. With these riches come responsibilities. We are responsible to use these gifts to benefit not just ourselves but all the world’s people. Each person created by God is endowed with undeniable rights. The right to life, the right to work to support themselves and their families, the right to be free to think, speak, believe and worship as they desire. With these rights come benefits: food, shelter, the joy of marriage – family – and children, access to health care, and association with others who share our beliefs. These basic human rights are complemented in the United States by the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. We are blessed to have these rights bestowed upon us by the founders of our nation. Many people are not only denied the rights enumerated in our Constitution, they are denied basic Human Rights. Those people who have never been truly free, those denied their basic rights can’t always know the beauty of a free existence. Those under the rule of tyrants may yearn for freedom, but they often can’t experience true freedom without our help. Conversely, the tyrants, despots, and terrorists fear freedom, as it would eclipse their egomaniacal hold on power. We in the United States believe that no man is better than another; we believe all men are created equal, yet many nations’ leaders hold themselves above those they govern. This disparity leads to an abrogation of the rights of those governed. We have an obligation to level the playing field to bring the freedoms we enjoy to those oppressed. Everyone deserves a chance to be free. So what is the election about, the election is about freedom. Our ability to preserve our freedom and strengthen the freedom of those who live in other nations is at stake. We must also work to bring freedom to those who lack it. To do this we must ensure a safe nation for ourselves. We must assure that our nation is as secure as it can be before we ask our soldiers and sailors, our marines and airmen, our missionaries and engineers, our teachers and doctors to risk their lives overseas bringing the freedom we know to those that have never known freedom. The soldier must know that his wife is safe; the missionary must know that his family is safe; we all must know that our mothers, fathers, sons and brothers are safe before we can venture out to make the rest of the world safe and free. So how can we assure our freedoms and our ability to protect the freedoms of others? How can we assure our safety? I think the choice is clear. We must elect a president who is not afraid to make a decision, a president who is not afraid to stand up to egomaniacal bullies, a president who does not govern by committee or by polls. We must have a president who can make a decision and stick by it rather than vacillating. We can’t wage peace when terrorists are trying to wage war. We can’t follow the UN’s lead as they have proven themselves impotent. If the UN had any clout a mere rebuke from them would bring these despots into line. Yet resolution after resolution fails to stop genocidal maniacs. The UN is a wonderful consultative body, yet an incompetent authoritative power. The UN counts on the United States for money and troops yet blocks the United States from bringing true freedom to billions of people. We need a president who sees the UN for what it is, a unique diplomatic instrument devoid of any real power. We need George W. Bush. Safety and national security are foremost and President Bush understands that.
Posted by Matthew at 11:15 PM
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According to a list issued by the state of Florida. Democrats appear on this list of Felons three times as often as Republicans. We can draw the conclusion that Democrats are three times as likely to commit a felony. According to the Tampa Tribune Friday edition. This is the type of conclusion Michael Moore would draw, so why should I not use it.
Posted by Matthew at 03:41 AM
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I set up My Photo Gallery 4.0 today. Well I set it up a few weeks ago, but I got it working perfectly today. If you want to look at my vacation pictures feel free. It was really more of an exercise to see if I could set up another cgi database application on a unix server. Who wants html when you can have cgi !
Posted by Matthew at 02:51 AM
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This was in a speech the other day. The fella that said it did not say who it was about specifically. I know the speaker is not a Kerry supporter, but I am not clear who or even what group he means.
Posted by Matthew at 04:33 AM
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Just what the country needs a latae sententiae excommunicated lawyer and another trial lawyer who built his practice on suing doctors for causing
Life is good
I love Cuban bread. There is a 24 hour bakery Maurico Faedo's bakery in Tampa (it closes Saturday night/Sunday morning for Church). It is the real deal. From the Spanish speaking cashier to the palm leaf baked into the hot fresh bread this is what God intended food to be. At Cafeteria Ideal you can get your sandwich on two types of bread, Cuban - a crusty loaf that rewards the diner who wins the battle to get to the meat and Media Noche bread the staple of the Media Noche sandwich the Cuban's cousin. Media Noche bread is not as crusty and a bit sweeter than Cuban bread. La Ideal has both. Simply ecstacy.
Well off to bed to rest up to have another bocadillo tomorrow. July 05, 2004
comfortable shirts
July 04, 2004
Freedom and Independence
No long reflection today, just a thought about what makes this a great country.
We use our God given talents to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Be it joining the Uniformed Services, working with Habitat for Humanity, feeding the hungry, volunteering with the Red Cross or some other invaluable work we as Americans can get the job done if we simply work together. While we each have our strengths together we are invincible. E Pluribus Unum.
God Bless America, God Bless Freedom.
Kerry charged with crimes in Canonical Court
1) Heresy
2) Diabolical Scandal leading to Heresy
3) Immediate Formal Cooperation in Heresy
4) Abjection of the Sacred Species
5) Diabolical Scandal leading to Murder
6) Grave Harm to Public Morals and Contempt for the Faith and Ecclesiastical Authority
John Kerry has already been excommunicated by his own actions. This latae sententiae excommunication requires that he refrain from reception of the Eucharist until absolution of his sins, and absolution of his excommunication. It is important that John Kerry contact a priest quickly and ask that his petition for absolution of excommunication be communicated to the Holy Father. For absolution of excommunication of Heretics is reserved to the Pope.
This is not fooling around. As Catholics we believe strongly in our faith and to be practicing Catholics we must follow the rules set down in the Code of Cannon Law. These laws are quite simple, yet quite specific. Kerry in advocating murder of the unborn puts his soul in grave danger. His public position causes harm to all Catholics through the scandal it causes.
However excommunication is not punishment, it is medicament- it serves to assist in bringing the wayward soul back into the loving Church.
Excommunication deprives one of the benefits of the Church:
1) The Sacraments
2) The Rites such as the Mass
3) Communion in the public prayers and indulgences of the Church
4) Catholic Burial
5) Ecclesiastical jurisdiction (except as it relates to the Excommunication)
6) Ecclesiastical benefices (does not apply to most laymen)
7) Forum (ban from tribunals that would benefit him. May be called as a defendant or witness in Canonical Courts)
If I were Kerry I would drive very carefully to see my priest, obtain absolution of Excommunication and then the Sacrament of Reconciliation (which must be done after the Excommunication is lifted as he is forbidden from Confession, and for that matter Mass or the Eucharist while Excommunicated.)
If you are a Christian and especially a baptized Roman Catholic and you feel that sanctions against John Kerry for his Heresy and other Canonical crimes are warranted you should read the complaint, and if so moved join the complaint. July 03, 2004
I think Kerry is more than one person
Just this week I read that he wants to legalize immigrants in the US that he feels are "abandoned."
Then later in the week Kerry decided he thought giving these same illegal immigrants drivers' licenses was a bad idea.
Personally I would rather have everyone licensed and insured than not. I know a license is a state issued ID that can be used to board an airplane, but if they can have restrictions for automatic transmission only, must wear eye glasses, hand operated accelerator and brakes, and so on they can certainly have a code FN for foreign nationals who would require an identification card from their country to board a plane.
The guy waffles so much I expect to see Aunt Jemima as his running mate. July 02, 2004
What is the election about?
We, in fact all un-oppressed people, have a duty to ensure that those that are deprived of their Human Rights have them restored post haste. The right to raise a family, to work at one’s chosen profession, to live free from fear and oppression must be assured to all, not simply those who live in first world countries. It often falls upon us in the United States to assure that despots and terrorists do not trample the Human Rights of those over whom they have control. While we may not want this job, it is our duty as a free people gifted with the riches we possess to carry it out.
Of course in crushing these tyrants and terrorists we subject ourselves to the wrath of these weak opportunistic cowards who rule through threat and intimidation. In fact simply guaranteeing freedom to our own citizens angers these self-professed terrorists. They fear the idea of freedom; they fear the knowledge of freedom; they fear that a taste of freedom may seep from our country to theirs. They fear those they subjugate will covet the freedom we bestow on everyone in the United States.
We doubly benefit from this national security. Our economy improves as certainty in our national security evolves, as the economy improves jobs are created, those jobs provide benefits including insurance, as the economy improves our families are strengthened –problems with money and other marital strife decreases. Freedom brings prosperity, prosperity brings peace.
Democrats three times as likely to be criminals
More software fun
If those excited you feel free to look at more of my pictures in an old HTML format here.July 01, 2004
Is this about Michael Moore?
It could describe Moore and his bad movie(s), or it could be some of the more radical progressives that spout nonsense wven main-stream Democrarts think is nuts.
"[T]here is an added technique for weakening a nation at its very roots .The method is simple. It is first, a dissemination of discord. A group - not too large - a group that may be sectional or racial or political - is encouraged to exploit its prejudices through false slogans and emotional appeals. The aim of those who deliberately egg on these groups is to create confusion of counsel, public indecision, political paralysis and, eventually, a state of panic. Sound national policies come to be viewed with a new and unreasoning skepticism ... As a result of these techniques, armament programs may be dangerously delayed. Singleness of national purpose may be undermined. . . . The unity of the state can be so sapped that its strength is destroyed. All this is no idle dream. It has happened time after time, in nation after nation…”
Who do you think it is about? What do you think about the guy that said it.