djobe

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right

2010-10-11T07:31:00.021-05:00

But I don't feel stuck in the middle with you.

I am increasingly disenchanted with politics, it is a never ending race to the bottom. I don't want to sweat the small stuff--and while politics seems to permeate and infect everything and therefore feel like "big stuff"...from water cooler discussions to personal financial decisions...I am convinced that it is almost all "small stuff."

David Cain wrote this and it really struck a chord because if the election really mattered to you, you'd do more than just vote.

Today is the day that good citizens go out and vote their mind, or don't.

For Sale-1997 Nissan Maxima---SOLD

2010-10-06T07:21:00.000-05:00

~~$3,250.00~~
157,xxx miles, leather, automatic, bose stereo/cd, power everything, power moonroof---it's been a great vehicle and I have owned for 9 years, but it's time for something else.

email me if interested.

The mantra of the american dream

2010-10-04T07:14:00.000-05:00

I'm back, more mediocre than ever

2009-08-12T11:21:00.002-05:00

My creative juices were flowing, and in lieu of cleaning up that mess I figured I would just spew it out here where no one will notice.

very thorough security check points

2008-04-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

"Let me just check you for weapons really quick and then you can have your sword back and be on your way"…

picture from Christian Science Monitor/AP.

Dinosaur lured mates with giant horn

2008-03-24T23:19:00.000-05:00

Scientists recently discovered a plant eater that attracted it's mate with his giant horn.

It's easy to miss something you are not looking for

2008-03-24T22:34:00.001-05:00

Do the test

Communication Overload

2008-03-24T22:29:00.003-05:00

If you are like me you have three email addresses, you have multiple phone numbers--- your home phone that you figure you should eliminate but haven’t cut the cord yet, a cell phone, a work phone, a fax machine, etc…
You have work related email, you have personal email that goes to your work email, you have personal email that goes to your personal email and you have that one email address that you setup for registering to stupid websites that require an email address but you haven’t checked it in months…
On any given day you have what feels like hundreds of conversations, email trails that dead end, and voicemails that you don’t want to return, or can’t return…
Don’t feel bad that you can’t keep up, it turns out that if you actually were able to keep up, it would be evidence of a mental illness and an addiction problem.

party loyalty asks too much

2008-03-23T20:05:00.002-05:00

I liked Obama's speech last week. I just read Peggy Noonan's response, I liked it as well.

Redbox is awesome

2008-03-23T14:38:00.002-05:00

I love Redbox---it's cheap, it's easy, it's convenient.

Next time you are at Hy-Vee, step up to the Redbox, grab a movie, and relish the whole experience. No 4 dollar plus tax confusing rental policies with 2 or 5 day return dates. No "late fees" or "restocking" fees.

After a couple of rentals, they sent me an email with a free rental. They just got an enthusiastic advocate. What a great idea!

burying my talent

2008-03-23T14:20:00.004-05:00

From the wiki page for the story:

The parable tells of a master who was leaving his home to travel, and before going gave his three servants different amounts of money. On returning from his travels, the master asked his servants for an account of the money given to them. The first servant reported that he was given five talents, and he had made five talents more. The master praised the servant as being good and faithful, gave him more responsibility because of his faithfulness, and invited the servant to be joyful together with him.
The second servant said that he had received two talents, and he had made two talents more. The master praised this servant in the same way as being good and faithful, giving him more responsibility and inviting the servant to be joyful together with him.
The last servant who had received one talent reported that knowing his master was a hard man, he buried his talent in the ground for safekeeping, and therefore returned the original amount to his master. The master called him a wicked and lazy servant, saying that he should have placed the money in the bank to generate interest. The master commanded that the one talent be taken away from that servant, and given to the servant with ten talents, because everyone that has much will be given more, and whoever that has a little, even the little that he has will be taken away. And the master ordered the servant to be thrown outside into the darkness where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth."

I am confronted with the not too reassuring possiblity that if I really carefully examine my own life, I have been a lazy servant, fearful of my master's disapproval. I have been blessed and given many opportunities, it is time to work towards doubling my talents.

Twittering this week

2008-03-23T13:54:00.002-05:00

After reading SMays for 3-4 years, I have come to trust his judgment on almost all things technology, and if he says twitter is fun and easy to use, then he is probably right.
So I will try it out. here is my twitter page.

Stuff White People Like

2008-03-19T21:53:00.001-05:00

I stumbled onto this blog, and it is hilarious.

enjoy.

This hole is getting too deep, dig faster.

2008-03-17T17:56:00.000-05:00

There are moments in time where it seems like there is a perfect storm of financial bad news. We are surrounded by panic and miscalculations, job worries, budget concerns, stories about corporate malfeasance, government malfeasance, malfeasant malfeasance…

The conventional wisdom says that we’re in for a tough time: layoffs, recession, dollar worries, declining home values, etc…and the fed seems to think that lowering the costs of borrowing money, “the fed funds rate” will somehow help…even though the borrowing rate is at historical lows and has been for years now…and that extremely low rate is partially what encouraged people to collectively borrow more than they can afford.

Until individuals and banks wake up to the harsh reality that we have all been borrowing from our futures to pay for our presents, the “crisis” is unlikely to stop.

If you make more than you spend, consistently, you will be OK. If you make a LOT more than you spend, now might be a significant opportunity to find a bargain, in stocks, housing, and other stuff.
With any luck, the coming credit crisis will quickly cause people to feel the pain of their financial folly and take steps to fix it.

I am not a Buddhist, nor do I aspire to be one.

2008-03-16T21:51:00.000-05:00

I am not a Buddhist, nor do I aspire to be one. I like the simplicity of zen koans. I think that every time I read one, I approach the day with that idea in mind.

I think that much of the wisdom that is contained in the Bible could be very easily rephrased and found in a book about Buddhism.

On a Biblical note: I am going to challenge myself to read Proverbs. My sister gave me a book and it mentioned that Proverbs has 31 chapters and a typical month has 31 days---so each day you just read the chapter that corresponds with the day. Simple enough right? Today’s the 16th…

I started reading the Bible cover to cover a couple years ago, and I have stutter started at least three times, there are only 66 books and yet I can’t remember ever reading every one. So…in an effort to get caught up, I will go ahead and read the first 16 Chapters now, and then for the 17-31 I will read according to the plan.

If there is a historical inaccuracy, or technical error that is revealed in the Bible, and you believe that the Bible is the word of God, does it shake the foundations of Biblical belief? Should we be able to reconcile an inconsistency?

I recently heard some historian say that the census ordered by Herod would not have required Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, in fact, the Roman regulations for a census required that people suspend traveling, to stay home and be counted.

If the historian is right what does that mean?

Koan of the week

2008-03-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Obedience:

The master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras not indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.
His large audience angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren priest came to the temple, determined to have a debate with Bankei.
"Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect you. Can you make me obey you?"
"Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei.
Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher.
Bankei smiled. "Come over to my left side."
The priest obeyed.
"No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. Step over here."
The priest proudly stepped over to the right.
"You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."

I blame global warming

2008-03-13T21:23:00.001-05:00

NOAA reports “The average temperature across both the contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. In terms of winter precipitation, Pacific storms, bringing heavy precipitation to large parts of the West, produced high snowpack that will provide welcome runoff this spring.”

“In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature was 33.2°F (0.6°C), which was 0.2°F (0.1°C) above the 20th century average – yet still ranks as the coolest since 2001. It was the 54th coolest winter since national records began in 1895.”

Statistics can be one of those things that brings out the “con” in “confusion” but it sure seems like if records have been kept since 1895 and this is 2008 then that is 113 years of data. If 2007-08 ranks as the “54th coolest winter” then that is roughly right smack dab in the middle or as Goldilocks might say, “this winter is just right.” Something tells me our measurements might be a wee bit more accurate in 2008 than they were in say, 1908. Something tells me that the guy in charge of reading the thermometer may not have been able to perfectly identify to within one hundredth of one degree the actual temp at any given moment in time.

Of course, “just right” is a figment of our own imagination, because there is no ideal climate---a 0.2 degree swing up or down is just a variance from the mean and not necessarily a net negative or net positive event. And when you consider that throughout one day in mid-Mo the temperature can swing 40 plus degrees, in a 24 hour period….an identification that the “global mean” temp may have varied by as much as less than 1 degree in 100 plus years of watching it seems like the very definition of the “gnat’s ass.” If "global warming" is a product of anthropogenic (man made) release of carbon dioxide, and our release of carbon dioxide has increased every year that it has been measured, then we would expect the temp to go up every year that it has been measured...but obviously there are other forces at work in our climate, like maybe the giant ball of superfusion 93 million miles away responsible for all light and energy on the planet.

Let’s put our resources towards providing all people with access to clean and safe drinking water, and the eradication of preventable parasitic diseases like malaria which is currently killing over 1 million people a year. Let's put our energies towards promoting democratic self government everywhere and free and fair capitalist economic expansion. Let's put our energies towards empowering the poorest on the planet to pursue life, liberty and property so that they might also be able to live with ultra high standards of living that we in the US have come to enjoy.

And if you believe that limiting your release of carbon dioxide will somehow have an impact on the global temperature, and that pursuing a constant global mean temperature is a goal worth pursuing---I recommend holding your breath. Indefinitely.

a quick prayer for Bodie

2008-03-04T22:30:00.001-06:00

My wife adopted this loveable little fuzz ball for me 10 years ago, he has been at my side ever since. I could probably make a case that he was an integral part of how we managed to stay together through our senior year of college, graduate, get married, start a family and build our lives together. But I don’t want to give him too much credit.
He got sick last week, our vet is wonderful but she was unable to figure out exactly what’s wrong.
He seems better now. There are millions of things to pray for but I save one for Bodie, that he continues to be a happy blessing in our family for a long time.

The makers of this sign are not kidding

2008-03-03T22:03:00.005-06:00

We spent an afternoon hiking at "Painted Rock State Park" near Westphalia, Missouri. Some highlight photos:

MacGuyver's Coffee Maker

2008-03-03T21:49:00.002-06:00

Our water is so hard that sometimes, as it comes out of the faucet it threatens me while brandishing a weapon. I catch our water listening to old school rap and giving itself prison tattoos on it's knuckles that say, "L-I-M-E." This is not the kind of water that you should trifle with.

So I find myself purchasing a new coffee maker every few months, it turns out that running our hard water through a coffee maker really pisses it off...and it takes out it's frustrations by completely clogging up the works and making it impossible to brew a decent cup.

So I thought to myself after ruining another coffee maker, "how would MacGuyver brew a cup of joe?"

I came up with this: boil some water, stick a filter in a styrofoam cup with some holes poked in the bottom, and pour it through. I didn't need a swiss army knife, but I suppose I could have used one.

“pulling the handle of a slot machine might have been good exercise, but it was bad economics."

2008-02-21T22:24:00.003-06:00

Casinos are a tax increase on those that are least able to afford it.
In Jefferson City we will soon be deciding to vote on whether or not to allow the construction of a “river boat” casino in the capital city.
Recently Warren Buffett addressed the reasons why he opposes the entrance of casinos to Nebraska--I think the same reasons fit for JC.

"You're teaching your citizenry all the time by the actions you take as legislators and as administrators of a state like this. Essentially to teach you that the state is on the other side of the transaction from you--they're trying to get you to do something dumb--I just think the state ought to be doing things for its citizens, not do something to its citizens."
The citizens of Jefferson City will be the losers if we allow a casino.

Go vote: CasiNO!

If he doesn't have plans, he can attend the Oscars

2008-02-20T21:07:00.003-06:00

Michael Moore in a little video here announces with glee that Castro's resignation is perfect timing, because now he can come to the Oscars as Moore's +1. "Maybe even give the acceptance speech."

Something tells me Fidel won't be available, he'll be busy with the business of transition...that and the whole death from complications in stomach surgery 19 months ago will probably leave him unavailable---so Moore will probably have to do his own acceptance speech.

I sure hope he has a minute to address the healthcare issues in the US-if there ever was a proper forum for debate aout complex issues like universal socialized healthcare it is in a 1 minute acceptance speech at the Oscars!

Fidel steps down after dying 19 months ago

2008-02-18T23:38:00.001-06:00

While the Cubans may have “the best healthcare in the world” ---spending almost nothing per capita per year on healthcare and getting miraculously good results, they were unable to prevent the death of their leader due to complications from a surgery 19 months ago. The results are so good, it’s almost like a communist dictatorship that controls all areas of commerce reports results to the various world health organizations without any way to confirm or deny their validity and then those agencies parrot the result as fact. Not only is their healthcare better---their leaders win in landslide elections, 100% to 0%. In spite of the fact that he would likely win a "re-election," Fidel "announced" he will not seek the office of the "Presidency"...

Apparently Florida could learn a lot from Cuba---about healthcare and elections. That’s why you constantly read about disgruntled Floridians, risking life and limb to sail south to Cuba, fleeing the oppressive regime of Jeb Bush—knowing that if they are captured they will be jailed forever in Orlando--it's worth the risk.
If it takes 19 months for the Cuban health care system to pronounce someone dead, how long would it take to deliver a baby?
He isn’t actually dead, he is only mostly dead---we can’t be sure because he hasn’t been available for comment for almost 2 years.
“There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. IWhat's that? Go through his clothes and look for loose change.” ---Miracle Max from the Princes s
Our next President—regardless of their name, has a great opportunity to be instrumental in liberating 11 million people, and all three of them seem to understand it.
"Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an antidemocratic successor regime. The prompt release of all prisoners of conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past."—Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
"We must press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media and to schedule internationally monitored elections. Cuba's transition to democracy is inevitable; it is a matter of when not if."—Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"I think this provides a great opportunity for the people of Cuba. I'm hoping the new leadership will take steps to move Cuba to democracy, release political prisoners and lift a lot of the oppressive burdens that have prevented the Cuban people from really having the kind of future they deserve to have."—Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

So here’s to the Cubans, may Raul die much quicker and more obviously than his brother and give the Cuban people an opportunity to pursue life, liberty and property.

Steady as we go

2008-02-14T23:35:00.001-06:00

To my wife:

I'll walk halfway around the world
Just to sit down by your side
And I would do most anything, girl
To be the apple of your eye
Well troubles, they may come and go
But good times, they're the gold
And if the road gets rocky, girl
Just steady as we go

Any place you wanna go
Know I'll be next to you
If it's treasure, baby, you're looking forI'll search the whole world through
I know troubles, they may come and go
But good times, they're the gold
So if the road gets rocky, girl
Just steady as we go

When the storm comes down you shelter me
When I don't say a word and you know exactly what i mean
In the darkest times, oh, you shine on me
You set me free and keep me steady as we go

So if your heart wrings dry, my love
I will fill your cup
And if your load gets heavy, girl
I will lift you up
Well troubles, they may come and go
But good times be the gold
So if the road gets rocky, girl
Just steady as we go

---Dave Matthews Band, "Steady as we go"

Senator Obama discusses making a mark on history

2008-01-28T21:24:00.000-06:00

So Barack Obama had a big day, Caroline Kennedy announced that she is inspired by the first term Senator from Illinois, and then Senator Kennedy announced he would be endorsing him for President...I had a moment prior to the SOTU response in flight to ask him what this endorsement means to his run.

"There is nothing we cannot do if the American people decide it is time. There is a moment in the life of every generation, if it is to make its mark on history, its spirit has to come through. This is our moment."

*hat tip to smays for the picture

unqualified predictions

2008-01-28T21:14:00.001-06:00

Lot's of people have made predictions and cast aspersions about what motivated Governor Blunt's recent announcement that he won't seek re-election and I can't resist chiming in.
Governor Blunt will be the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, picked up by Romney after super Tuesday secures Romney as the Republican nominee.

Or maybe not...

When the rubber meets the road

2008-01-22T22:05:00.000-06:00

Anyone else find it interesting that for years the Democrats and Republicans fight over what the Democrats pejoratively refer to as “tax cuts for the rich” but when the economy looks like it is ACTUALLY in trouble, suddenly the Dems and Republicans are on the same page?
If the Democrats truly believe in principle what they have been claiming in their rhetoric over the past few years, now would be the time for them to say, “see---America can’t afford the tax cuts and we should immediately raise taxes in order to provide the services that the poorest among us so desperately need.”
But that’s not at all what they are saying, is it? Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are meeting with President Bush to discuss “stimulus” packages that will try to stave off the falling dollar, the falling Dow and the plummeting consumer confidence. What’s their stimulating idea? TAX CUTS! Of course, they won't allow a tax cut without increased spending on Medicaid, food stamps and unemployment benefits because rhetorically they've backed themselves into a corner: if tax cuts are a handout to "the rich" then they must also give a hand out to the poor via increased spending on their preferred government programs.
This is exactly why people distrust politicians, if the Democrats have spent approximately 7 years railing against Bush’s tax cuts---then why on earth are they advocating cutting taxes now? Because the dirty secret is that they never believed what they were saying and when the rubber meets the road and we face an actual possible economic downturn that will taint the coming election, suddenly the Democrats are on board with putting more of our money in our pockets as long as they get to look like they are helping the poor.
A simplified tax structure that doesn’t penalize investment or savings and encourages growth and entrepreneurial endeavors would do more to make the markets calm down than another rebate or tax credit….but if they want to send me a bipartisan check for $800-1600 dollars, I will take it.

I choose to be an optimist

2008-01-10T23:01:00.000-06:00

I am not naturally an optimist…I’m not necessarily a “glass is half empty guy” so much as a “Where did this glass come from? Do I have to use this glass? And how come my glass has less than some peoples but more than others?” guy…

I have read a boat load of positive mental attitude books---boat load is probably inaccurate, let’s say 5, (it’s a small boat). Each one of them agrees: much of life---your measurement of success, what you prioritize as most important, and what you are able to achieve hinges on your ability to have a positive attitude, to be an optimist in the face of adversity, to overcome obstacles.

I believe that you can make a conscious decision to choose to be an optimist if you are not naturally inclined that way.

"People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Abraham Lincoln

“The optimist sees opportunity in every danger; the pessimist sees danger in every opportunity." Winston Churchill

It's not a pyramid scheme, per se...

2008-01-09T22:49:00.000-06:00

I like that women get together and “host parties” for each other where they invite people that they are marginally friends with and then a third party pressures them into buying overpriced tchotchke’s, or overpriced kitchen utensils, or overpriced makeup, or overpriced ____, and then the third party gets a small commission and the hostess gets a trinket for her trouble…I have an even better idea: cut out all the extra ordering and buying stuff and exchanging checks for inventory and make it a pure wealth redistribution system…you can have a group of friends, (12 total would be ideal) and then each month you could have one party at one of the member’s homes. The host/hostess would be responsible for planning the activities, the food, the drink, the theme etc…each of the group member’s brings $20 to the party in an envelope. At the end of the party, the host/hostess gets the money.

I know what you’re thinking: “Darin, if I pay 20 dollars a month for 11 months of attending these parties then I pay in exactly the same amount that I get out when I host the party…”

That is true but think: going out with your friends, having a meal or hors devours and drinks, etc…that’s worth 20 bucks right? And one month, when you host it, instead of paying 20 bucks, you walk away with an envelope with $220 cash in it! Who couldn’t use an extra 220 every once in a while?

OK, now tell me why my idea sucks…

Koan of the week: Muddy Road

2008-01-02T23:25:00.000-06:00

Two monks, Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was falling.
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.
"Come on, girl" said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"
"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

The Story of Stuff

2007-12-31T06:59:00.000-06:00

Leigh sent me to this video: The Story of Stuff: it is clean and persuasive and well worth the 20 minutes it takes to watch.

She makes some strong arguments for changing the way we consume.

As I approach the new year I will be more mindful of my consumption, more deliberate with my finances and my health, and more intentional with my relationships.

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" ---Steven Wright

World ends in catastrophic floods, right wingers and conservatives hardest hit…

2007-12-27T22:18:00.000-06:00

J-Dub writes about this on his blog, MoCommonSense.com---I certainly don’t agree with J-Dub very often, but I enjoy reading all the same.
He and I have a healthy and respectful mutual disagreement, which is rare in these “polarized” times.

Mr. Lindorff wrote in the Baltimore Chronicle a quick little op-ed predicting a catastrophic climactic shift and openly hoping that it disproportionately affects people in the “red states,” or to put an even finer point on it, conservatives.
While I understand the spirit of the writing, it boggles the imagination that; A. an intelligent commentator would embrace this sort of logic, and B. the Baltimore Chronicle would give him a megaphone to preach from.
“Global warming” as it is sold to the public is a farce, an imaginary statistical bugaboo created by environmental activists with a political agenda that is too radical to openly state and is activated via small integral steps. The American people and scientist in particular are correctly skeptical about people making proclamations about the future climate, as we have been down this road before: a little humility is in order.
The PLANET is a complex system, with thousands if not millions of variables interacting. To claim that our increased emission of CO2 is responsible for increasing the global mean temperature is a deliberate misinterpretation of historical data for the express purpose of advocating a specific regulatory change---namely the forced conservation of fossil fuels—and more specifically an attempt to hamstring the American economy.
To be clear: I believe that we should be good stewards of the planet, I believe that we should pursue alternative technologies, but to abdicate our national energy policies to a small but vocal group of “green” activists would be disastrous.

After 50 years of clinging, it's important to remember not to cling

2007-12-20T23:33:00.000-06:00

“Castro” issued a statement this week hinting that Cuba’s official transition from ego-maniacal communist dictatorial rule will proceed smoothly…to another egomaniacal communist dictatorship.
“My basic duty is not to cling to office, nor even more so, to obstruct the rise of people much younger, but to pass on experiences and ideas whose modest value arises from the exceptional era in which I lived,” said “Mr. Castro,” after dying due to complications from stomach surgery in February of 2006.
So after almost a half century of crushing opposition and holding on to power by force while oppressing the people of Cuba, the official propaganda of the state has been forced to lay the foundation for transition to the next dictator---let’s hope his reign is significantly shorter than his brother’s.

The Social Network Vortex

2007-11-20T06:33:00.000-06:00

I have long been a social networking curmudgeon; I maintain that myspace is blogging for lazy people that are easily distracted by funny pictures. Myspace is to excellent online content as text messaging is to literary classics.
Facebook attempts to be the less childish version of myspace by requiring some sort of collegiate affiliation…and we all know how mature and intellectual college students are.
At work I am surrounded by recently graduated college students that are constantly checking their myspace pages and their facebook friends networks and it all seems like a digital version of junior high, where being loosely affiliated with a desirable and influential “cool kid” will somehow rub off on you via osmosis and you will become cooler by association. I can’t help but get the feeling that all that “friending” is just delusional attempts by lonely geeks to establish an affiliation, any affiliation with anyone. Case in point--I read something I found amusing so I link to it and now permanently link to Web2.Oh..really, although it would be a better example if I "friended" him from a social network.
I’ve wondered aloud how pointless all this interactive content creation is and if you are really feeling like wasting a few minutes—read Joe Rago’s column, “The Blog Mob: Written by fools to be read by imbeciles” that ran in the Wall Street Journal last year.
Actually, if you REALLY feel like wasting time take a mindless 6 degrees blog journey---it's easy. First you go to a blog of someone you know, find a link to someone else's blog, repeat until you are at least 6 degrees of seperation from the original blog, and see what you find. Most likely mindless drivel, like my blog but occasionally you will stumble on to something truly bizarre.
Craig Stoltz talks about having too many networks and too many friend groups and too many blogs and too many rss feeds etc...here.

Warren Buffett is not a convincing advocate for increased taxes

2007-11-13T21:58:00.000-06:00

Actions speak louder than words, and while the “Sage of Omaha” bemoans the unfairness of current tax laws and that he pays relatively less than his office staff, including his secretary, in terms of taxes and calls for a greater burden be placed on “the rich,” his actions are specifically oriented to limit his tax liability, both corporately through Berkshire Hathaway and personally. J-Dub writes about it recently here although he and I come to opposite conclusions. There are at least a couple of explanations for Buffett’s low tax burden (as a percentage of his wealth). He pays himself a relatively modest salary. He earns the lion’s share of his personal wealth through capital gains and dividends on stock owned…which is taxed at a lower rate than income tax rates.
He also says that estate taxes are necessary and a way for the government to prevent dynastic transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, to prevent a rising aristocracy, but again his actions speak louder than his words. He is planning to give away 85% of his wealth, over $40 billion dollars to the philanthropies of his choice, most notably the charitable trust that Bill Gates and his wife have established, prior to his death--- thereby avoiding any estate tax penalties. If he really believed that the estate tax is good, he would hold his wealth until his death, let the government confiscate 49% at his death and then distribute the rest to the charities of his choice.
And of course, if he really feels bad about his meager contribution to the federal government, he could just write a check, gifts can be made directly to the gov’t:
Gifts to the United States U.S.

Department of the Treasury

Credit Accounting Branch 3700 East-West Highway, Room 6D17

Hyattsville, MD 20782

Buffett doesn’t want to pay more in taxes; he wants you to pay more in taxes…

Officer Cochese reporting for duty

2007-11-12T21:55:00.000-06:00

I had to show a couple pics from Halloween---better late than never.

what part of "illegal" do we not understand?

2007-11-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

I know that the immigration "issue" tugs at the heart strings sometimes, and is a big and complicated mess that only a professional heart string tugger (Democrat) can understand and therefore offer a "solution," but I just don't understand what is so complicated.

In Missouri, a loooong way from the border, we have an enormous influx of illegal aliens.

In my overly simplistic conservative mind I have created a simple solution. Whenever law enforcement personnel come into contact with an illegal alien, they should detain them in order for INS to deport them.

I know it's heartless, and cruel but they are here illegally---by definition...and I am not saying they should form immigration squads and go door to door rounding people up. I am simply saying that if a law enforcement officer comes into contact with an illegal, like a traffic stop or a misdemeanor---that would be a good time to go ahead and deport them.

In NY, they are going to go ahead and say, "we know you are here illegally, but here's your state issued driver's license." I am going to go out on a limb and say that most Missourians would not agree with that decision.

If you watched the Democratic debate a couple nights ago, you noticed that Senator Clinton had a hard time nailing down exactly what she thinks about giving people here in the US illegally a driver's license. She actually said, it "makes a lot of sense" to give licenses to people here illegallly and that Gov. Spitzer is trying to "fill the vacuum left by the failure of this Administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform," which she then followed up with, “I just want to add, I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Governor Spitzer is trying to do it." This prompted Mr. Dodd to interject that her second answer didn't sound like her first. So the moderator tried to get the candidate to clarify: "Do you support [Mr. Spitzer's] plan?"
"You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha," Mrs. Clinton replied. "It [Spitzer's proposal] makes a lot of sense. Do I think this is the best thing for any Governor to do? No."

It's clear, unequivocal leardership like this that we have come to expect from the Clinton's. It's going to be a long election cycle.

Power to the people

2007-11-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

Why do we ask our employers to provide health insurance as a part of our compensation? Think about it a minute, it’s so entrenched in our minds that it’s hard to imagine getting a full time career-type job that did not include at least some health benefits, but I ask---why do we expect our employers to purchase health care coverage for us? Look around your company, do you need the same kind of health insurance that the 55 year old woman down the hall needs? Or the 22 year old single man that races motorcycles on the weekend, should you have the same health insurance simply because you work in the same physical location? Even worse, why would we want the gov't, state, local or federal to handle our healthcare services?
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we collectively agreed that instead of asking my employer to “give” me this perk or that perk, dental insurance, short term disability, health insurance, etc…which isn’t a gift at all, it’s simply money that they spend on me to pay for these perks that they could have otherwise given me in the form of a pay increase…wouldn’t it be amazing if we all cut the umbilical cord and said, “Mr./Mrs. HR guy/gal. I would like to know approximately how much it costs to provide me my benefit package. I am going to decline coverage, and in exchange for declining coverage I would like to request a pay increase by 75% percent of that amount.”
I will then go out and find my own health insurance, determine what I want my own coverage to be, decide what I think is comfortable for deductibles, and prescription benefits, etc…
There is a precedent for this. We all require homeowner’s insurance, (if you own a home) and automobile insurance if you drive a car, but we don’t expect our employer’s to group us together and buy that for us as a perk…we shop for the best deal and decide for ourselves. And there are lot's of companies vying for our individual business.
Health insurance could work the same way, and already does work the same way for the self-employed, or the commission only sales people, and if millions of more consumers flooded the market looking for the best deal, prices would drop, consumers would actually have a reason to be price sensitive and shop for the best deal and begin to treat healthcare services like any other services. Doctors and hospitals would compete for our business, and we could all make our healthcare decisions based on our own criteria, instead of letting an HMO network decide for us who we will see, who will treat us.
We already have the best healthcare system in the world. If we allow our federal, state and local governments to take more and more control of it by attempting to universally insure the populace, we take away any financial controls and incentives for the market to innovate. If, instead, we unleash 100 million people to go and act in their own best interest, choose the services/coverage that they think is best for them, then we all benefit.

number one fan

2007-10-16T16:42:00.000-05:00

There will be a time when I fail to meet up to her expectations, but for now it's nice to be infallible.

An object at rest

2007-10-16T09:04:00.000-05:00

Newton’s first law states that every body perseveres in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed.

My blog has been at rest---and it has been difficult to summon the requisite force to overcome the inertia of being at rest. This is one of those stupid posts from some blogger to some anonymous reader apologizing for not providing more frequent content…it’s kind of funny really, as though I have some sort of obligation to write something and failure to provide frequent thought provoking material has some how alienated the 2 people that might check. Predictably self-absorbed dreck from the center of the universe.

A Gaping Hole

2007-08-24T16:37:00.000-05:00

I couldn’t be an astrophysicist; it all seems too theoretical, like a story that’s based on a sliver of truth and then drawn to a fantastic and unlikely conclusion.
Scientists just found a gigantic empty hole. I know, its exciting, but wait—there’s more. Apparently there is nothing in it. Absolutely empty hole, with no matter whatsoever. And it’s HUGE, like 1 billion light years across of nothing. How do you measure 1 billion light years of nothing? I mean, I am trying to invision a method to decipher exactly where nothing starts and ends.

When I read about something like this I think, “who gives a hoot?” But I also think, “Wow, if we have been gazing into the stars for hundreds of years, and doing it with some fairly sophisticated equipment for the past 100 years and this is the first time we noticed a 1 billion light year wide hole of emptiness, what they heck have we been looking at all this time?”
Obviously we should fill that sucker up with something.

stock picks of a 9 year old

2007-08-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

I was in a class in 3rd grade and had the opportunity to do all sorts of "enrichment" activities like brainteasers, or inventing, and at one point we got the Wall Street Journal and we all got to do a stock picking game.

I am sure the teacher was attempting to teach me the time value of money or the amazing properties of compounding interest, but the highlight was a fantasy stock game and I picked three stocks: Kroger, KMart, and UpJohn.

We all started with 10k so I figured I would double check what might have happened.

Turns out that 3333.33 in Kroger invested from 1985 to now and disregardin dividends would be worth--- approximately 20k, not bad.

KMart declared bankruptcy fairly recently, so that 3333.33 is worth 0.00 but let's hope I would have figured out the company was struggling and sold it in the 90's.

UpJohn is the startler. UpJohn was purchased by Phamacia and Phamacia became Pfizer and Pfizer makes billion trillion dollars, so it's safe to guess that the 3333.33 would be worth more today than I would have expected.

So the moral of this story? My oldest son will be nine next year, I intend to ask him for his stock picks immediately.

Survived the maiden voyage on my new bike

2007-08-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Went for a quick ride on Saturday, ended up going quite a bit farther than I intended which is exactly the way a good ride should go.

About 10 miles on the road and then about 45 minutes in the woods, I have no idea how far I went but it was pretty challenging and I still can't figure out the SPD pedals, but I am determined to teach an old dog a new trick.

It turns out that 25 years of pulling your foot off a pedal in order to put it down on the ground is a difficult thing to unlearn, it's like a muscle memory test with the added degree of difficulty and the panic of realizing that you are about to fall into a pile of craggy rocks and thorns.

I even managed to fall over in my front yard...the beauty of it is that I don't even think to put my hands down, I just slam full speed on my side into the grass while still clutching the handlebars and laughing at myself.
I need a new helmet.

a new toy

2007-08-01T06:53:00.000-05:00

For my 31st birthday my wife, my parents, and my wife's parents got together and bought me something really nice:

I love riding bikes, and the bike that I currently ride I bought when I was 14, so it was time for an upgrade.

It's a Specialized Hard Rock Disc, and I splurged and bought the SPD pedals and some really nice shoes and now I just have to train myself to remember to twist my foot when I want to unclip from the bike.

I already fell once on my front porch when I came to a complete stop and then went to put my foot down and to my surprise, my foot was still firmly attached to the bike. As the ground rapidly approached I laughed because this is the second or third time I have done that. I completely took out one of our bushes and generally looked like an idiot but no harm no foul.

everything is contagious

2007-07-27T07:46:00.000-05:00

Seth Godin points to that study about obesity being contagious and draws the obvious conclusions that I hadn't considered. Of course obesity is contagious, in the sense that if you surround yourself with people that hold certain negative ideas about food and your bodies' relationship to food you will inevitably adopt them.

I am judged by the company I keep.

buy some TOMS

2007-07-27T07:27:00.000-05:00

The idea of charitable consumption seems to be all around us, and I can see how it could really be a positive thing. There is a company called Toms Shoes that sells inexpensive shoes here in the US and all over the world and for every pair purchased a pair is donated to someone in need in a developing country.

It's easy, no confusing percentage or complicated algorithm...just buy a pair of shoes and a pair of shoes goes to someone in need. And they aren't exactly high fashion, but certainly no uglier than Crocs.

Pluggin and Chuggin

2007-07-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

I firmly believe that if you work hard, serve others, and do your best---in the long run you can work your way from stock clerk to CEO.
Scott Adams recently wrote about "loser decisions" as it relates to career advice---it seems like he is writing exactly what I am thinking albeit in a much more humorous and creative way than I would ever come up with.
I've been facing a torrent at work and I have to admit that I can't figure out which direction is the loser decision, I believe they call that analysis paralysis...but frankly I'm at the point where I don't trust myself to make a decision, my track record is poor enough to suggest that I should seek professional profession help.
Until then, I will just keep pluggin and chuggin.

three good reasons for a vacation

2007-07-20T11:10:00.000-05:00

Malaria eradication

2007-06-28T23:31:00.000-05:00

The World Health Organization has stated that its’ goal is to reduce the numbers of deaths from malaria by half by 2010 through its Global Malaria Programme. More than 1 million people die of Malaria every year, disproportionately affecting pregnant women and children under 5.
That seems like a noble goal: to reduce the number of deaths and I think all people would agree that we should reduce the number of deaths from a preventable and curable disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes that carry the plasmodium parasite in their guts. But why would we not set as our goal the world wide eradication of malaria?

In the US we adopted a policy of ERADICATION. We didn’t accept that this preventable and curable disease should just be controlled; we set out to eradicate it.
In 1947 in the US the National Malaria Eradication Program set out to completely eliminate malaria as a cooperative effort between state agencies and the CDC, (not coincidently HQ’d in Atlanta).

In 1947 there were 15,000 documented cases of malaria in the US, by 1951 malaria was considered eradicated. Europe was declared malaria free in the 60’s.

Why do we accept 1 million deaths a year from a preventable disease? Why do we set our goal to make it only 500,000 deaths? We already know how to prevent all of these deaths, we have done it in the US and Europe and been technically free from malaria for over 50 years.

Some people think the reason that more people don’t die in the US from malaria is because of our superior health care, and there is no question that if you ARE infected, the US is one of the best places to seek care—but the reason we are free of endemic malarial infection is superior prevention policy. We don’t allow the vector mosquitoes to transmit the virus in the first place, it’s the old “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

In 1949 we sprayed over 4,650,000 private residences, we drain standing water, we implemented all sorts of efforts to eliminate the habitats where these mosquitoes breed. We can do it anywhere in the world, but we have to make it our goal. We cannot just accept that 1 million people should die and the best we can do is to reduce that number. We do not accept it in the US, malaria has been eradicated in the US for over 50 years.
In 2002 exactly 8 people died of malaria in the US. 1,337 cases were reported and of those cases ALL of them were imported from malaria-endemic countries. This is a problem that we can fix.

Conspicuous consumption

2007-06-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

I read an article/interview this weekend about the founder of “Treehugger.com,” Graham Hill and I was struck by how consumption had become a high art, an almost religious adherence to “eco-friendly” consumption rituals. It is a triumph of style over substance.
The article was a fawning account of a typical “day in the life” of an “eco-warrior.”
Included were all the mundane details, from sipping his “fair trade” coffee to properly using the restroom---repeat this mantra: “if it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”
His website, Treehugger.com is chock full of ideas on how to “green” your life. As far as I can tell--- at the end of the day it is best accomplished by purchasing and using “green” products, which works out nicely if you are hawking space to advertisers that want to target this affluent and guilt ridden bunch of city dwelling, nature worshippers.
At the end of the day, what is Graham's great contribution to society—what qualifies Graham to teach everyone how to “go green”? Among other things, he designed a coffee cup a few years ago! Well, not really a unique design…he made a ceramic version of the popular paper disposable cup. But now he spends his time pursuing social entrepreneurship, encouraging sustainability, buzzword buzzword buzzword…. And when he is not hawking his nifty knock off coffee cup, he spends his time brainstorming ways to get people from thinking to doing. I know, let that marinate for a moment—it’s really eco-deep.
I don’t know why I reflexively find this eco-preening so off-putting; I’m sure it’s proof of one of my many character flaws.
I have nothing against trying to “save the planet,” I just think that our time and efforts might be better spent saving lives, or helping others, or addressing famine, pestilence, hunger, or providing clean drinking water and shelter for the neediest among us.
In the time it took to read this, (if anyone bothered) 2 or 3 more African children died of malaria. Why? If you track back far enough, an American environmentalist wrote a fictionalized book about the effects of DDT on the food chain and successfully lobbied the US gov’t to prevent companies from using DDT to kill mosquitoes. Of course, American children aren’t dying of malaria from mosquitoes because we used DDT to kill all the mosquitoes and we continue to use pesticides to kill mosquitoes, but our recommendation for Africa? Put up a net while you sleep and hope they don’t bite you. (the nets are about 10 bucks each--or roughly 2 weeks salary)
But all the eco-warriors can sleep soundly, knowing that they are saving the planet by buying their vegetables from farmers' markets, drinking fair trade coffee from $12 dollar ceramic cups, wearing $215 dollar organic jeans and washing their hair with $20 dollar eco-friendly shampoo.
For what it’s worth the yearly per capita income in Uganda is $250.00, just about enough to buy a couple of coffee mugs, some shampoo and some overpriced jeans. In fact, the bottom 10 least developed countries all have a per capita yearly income under $300.00 US a year.
I bet Graham Hill is one of the coolest guys you could ever meet, and that treehugger.com is a worthy and noble effort, but I can’t help but wonder if this is all an eco-sham, like the pet rocks of the 70s---we have let marketers and advertisers convince us that some products have a hidden intangible value, not because they are better or less expensive, but because they are “greener” and we pay that premium for that intangible greenness, even though we could have just bought the cheap shampoo for $1.50 and given the $18.50 that we saved to charity, I bet there is a family in Uganda that could use the money.

Learfield Life Skills Weekend

2007-05-01T07:34:00.000-05:00

Jess and I went to St. Louis for the weekend and spent time with some of the people I work with---the focus was developing and strengthening life skills to address the problems and obstacles that we all face.

Here are some picture highlights:

A team shot of our group

A yo-yo!--What? A yo-yo!--What?

The happy couple at the Gateway to the West.

A rare sunset at the top of the Arch.

We had a great time and walk away with a desire to be more deliberate in our lives---building relationships, being better spouses, managing and being better stewards of the gifts God has given us, and raising our children to be leaders and grateful for their blessings.

more than 2/3rds of Britons are cremated?

2007-04-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

eww...I try not to think about what I will have done to my body when I die. It's one of those things that I prefer to not consider, but I read this story with macabre interest---and I bet the problem is even worse in the US.

Funeral directors are having a hard time burning their collective fat arses in conventional furnaces, (maybe they should try convection ovens?) No seriously, people are on average getting too big to fit in standard crematoria (crematoriums sounds silly) so they are retrofitting their existing furnaces (or is it furnaci?) to fit.

What surprised me was that of the 600k Britons that will die this year, over 400k of them will be cremated. That seems awfully high, I wonder if it has anything to do with living on an island, land being scarce, etc...

Jim Carrey is my Janeane Garafolo

2007-04-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

I haven’t cut my hair in about 4 months, which means that even though I make fun of tree hugging hippies, I am beginning to look like one.
My wife is beautiful, and people often claim she looks “just like….”
Sometimes she thinks the comparison is more flattering than others. For example, when people say she looks just like Sara Evans, the country music singer, she is flattered. When people say she looks just like Janeane Garafolo…not so much. I tell her that what they mean to say is that she is beautiful with a resemblance to a successful actress.
When someone makes a comparison to a “Hollywood celebrity,” it is probably intended to be a compliment. Recently I have had multiple people say I look just like Jim Carrey, and I know it’s intended to be a compliment—and also a comment on my occasionally strange behavior, so I have to keep telling myself, “smile, it’s a compliment.” But it’s hard not to think they are saying that I look like this:

X Prize, just make that $10 million check out to me

2007-04-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

So a few billionaires have gotten together to decide that if there was just the right incentive, say $10 million bucks the car companies or a bunch of pot smoking tree hugging hippies would build a car that can get 100 mpg and be commercially viable.
It never occurs to them that the technology already exists, but nobody wants them due to the fact that cars are not simply about mpg efficiency, they are also about lots of other things including transporting people with a modicum of safety and comfort as well as those intangibles like, styling and how a particular vehicle makes you “feel.”

SO, what’s my point?

I have designed the car that gets 100 mpg.

I know what your thinking, this is a Vespa, it’s not a car. That’s where you are wrong, if you were to encase the rider in a cardboard box you would add aerodynamic stability. If you add training wheels you get a 4 wheel vehicle. And the final modification, you have to push it 30 of every 100 miles because it only gets 70 mpg.

Or how about this?....

Nice huh? And it gets 58 mpg hwy...if you can drive 40% of the time downhill I think you could increase that to 100 mpg. Chrome wheels included. If you take off the doors and tailgate and windows you would save lot's of weight and increase that mpg to somewhere in the 70 range.

So like I said, feel free to email me for my address and I will accept that $10 million dollar prize and get to work on manufacturing my eco friendly vehicle.

It might have something to do with that gigantic ball of liquid fusion 93 million miles away

2007-04-01T09:38:00.000-05:00

J-Dub writes a lot about "sustainability" and the coming demise of our lifestyle due to "peak oil" and "consumerism" etc...

He is well intentioned and a really good guy, but you know what road is paved with good intentions....

Why is "global warming" a partisan issue? Why is it that self-identifying Democrats believe not only fervently in the idea of anthropomorphic global climate change, but also in the idea that the government should do something about it and Republicans (in their typical knuckle dragging Neanderthal, creationist believing, right wing nuttery) not only have questions about global warming and it's existence, but also question whether or not we can do anything about it?

Roger Pielke writes at "Prometheus," and I would recommend reading this post about the partisanship behind global warming---it's a great assessment of how we got to where we are politically on the issue.

I am not a climatologist, nor am I a world reknowned astrophysicist, or an expert in ANY field. Heck, I am a barely employable factotum---but it sure seems like the molten ball of fusion that is responsible for all energy, light and heat on our planet might have SOMETHING to do with global temperatures. But if we don't blame ourselves for ruining the garden of Eden, then we take away the opportunity for our "saviors" like Gore and others to "solve" the "problem."

The smart folks at Duke tend to agree. need Adobe to read.

Scott Helvenston, R.I.P.

2007-03-31T09:11:00.000-05:00

Today marks the 3rd anniverary to the day of the death of Scott Helvenston, he was ambushed in Fallujah on 3/31/04.
I first saw Scott on a short lived reality TV series called "combat missions" that featured a bunch of former SEALs and special forces operators along with SWAT team members doing excercises that demonstrated their considerable skills and competing for a truck and a 6 figure prize.

Scott went to Iraq as a security guard for Blackwater USA. Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were dragged from their cars, beaten, and set ablaze. Their burned corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates. The two vehicles that they were charged with protecting were able to escape.

Thoughts and prayers to all those currently serving in harm's way and thanks to those who have sacrificed their time, their efforts and in some cases their lives.

Scott Adams is a genius

2007-03-27T07:36:00.000-05:00

Scott Adams, the Dilbert creator is a genius. Every day he produces a funny cartoon that manages to sum up a brilliant idea in three frames. They are brief, and pithy, and get to the heart of a universally recognized truism.

He then has time to post to his website really amusing and insightful stuff that you won’t likely find anywhere else—“unique” ideas, inasmuch as that is possible.

Read here about the Happiness Formula. It makes perfect sense, a short book that starts at a very high level of defining happiness:
Happiness = health + money + social life + meaning.

Then break each individual component down.
Health =
Money =
Social life =
Meaning =

Of course, every day his “comments” get lit up with people who beg to be noticed by the powerful Scott, either agreeing in fawning admiration, or disagreeing with sarcastic condescension. That’s the beauty of his blog—I recommend it as required reading.

Ram Bomjon in a bunker?

2007-03-27T07:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I find this story so amusing, but I have been posting about Ram Bomjon since he first came to "fame" a couple years ago.

He has begun meditating for three years in an underground bunker and will neither sleep, eat nor drink any water during that time, supporters claimed Tuesday--except for when he is sleeping, drinking, and eating. (he is after all, not the buddha, he is merely an "austere sage.")

I think the idea that his "supporters" are profiting off of a fictional belief in the boy's mystical superpowers, while everyone agrees that he doesn't have any superpowers is just too good to pass up. It could never happen in America, their would be amicus briefs flying all over the place and a fight all the way to the supreme court over all sorts of silliness, Fox would buy the exclusive rights to his meditation, and Geraldo would do an expose on his family, Oprah would invite the entire village to her studio and give them all iPods, and John Stossel would question why the government of Nepal was taking kick-backs from the Bomjon supporters and using it to fund wasteful programs---which I think clearly proves how advanced our society is...

“Katrina recovery, veterans’ care and for other purposes.”

2007-03-27T07:14:00.000-05:00

That's how the US Congress describes the $100 million dollars it plans to spend on the two party conventions, 50mil for each. I would imagine it falls under the "other purposes," description.

The best line: John Hart--a spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told The Examiner on Monday, “Congress will have to make the choice between booze and balloons or bullets and body armor."

The President asked for $100 billion and the Senate, lead by the Democrats are giving him $120 billion, throwing the extra 20 at their pet projects including $14 Billion for Katrina relief, $13 million for “ewe replacement and retention,” $24 million for sugar beets growers and $95 million for dairy producers, $3.5 million for the Capitol’s guided–tour program and $20 million for, in part, insect infestation control in Nevada, thanks to Majority Leader Harry Reid. For what it's worth, $14 billion, is enough to give every single person in New Orleans, man woman and child 10,000.00 bucks each---on top of what has already been spent rebuilding.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Monday defended the extra spending, describing it as “common sense and good economics.”

“Funding for the war is not the only critical need worthy of the supplemental spending,” he said. The war “must not obliterate every other concern.”

How is it that a former KKK grand poobah can serve in the US Senate as the longest serving Democrat, spearhead the spending/fleecing of America for more than 40 years getting all sorts of buildings, bridges, facilities named in his honor, and the good folks in West Virginia keep sending him back? If he were a Republican the national media would shame him into resignation within a week. Since he is a Democrat they turn a blind eye to his ideas about "good economics," and give him a free pass to spend the tax payer's money in his own honor.

But it doesn't matter---"the people" aren't paying attention, besides I heard that they ruled out foul play in the Anna Nicole case, it looks like she might have OD'ed.

Koan of the week--Eating the blame

2007-03-23T07:35:00.000-05:00

Circumstances arose one day which delayed preparation of the dinner of a Soto Zen master, Fugai, and his followers. In haste the cook went to the garden with his curved knife and cut off the tops of green veetables, chopped them together, and made soup, unaware that in his haste he had included a part of a snake in the vegetables.
The followers of Fugai thought they had never tasted such great soup. But when the master himself found the snake's head in his bowl, he summoned the cook. "What is this?" he demanded, holding up the head of the snake.
"Oh, thank you, master," replied the cook, taking the morsel and eating it quickly.

Senator Justus, representing the thought police?

2007-03-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

I understand the introduction of "anti-bullying" laws or the intentions of those that sponsor such legislation. They want to protect the children, or specific identity groups, but the reality is that "anti-bullying" legislation is unnecessary and quite probably unconstitutional as it is currently written as one cannot determine the motivation of behaviors.

All schools already have policies and procedures in place to address harassment, abuse, behavioral misconduct, intimidation, and other associated disorderly conduct. If the behavior goes beyond merely disrupting and crosses the line into assault, that is also currently addresses by all schools and is illegal. "Anti-bullying" legislation does nothing more than attract attention to elected officials proposing it but does nothing to improve the safety of our children in schools.

We do not need and cannot legislate away an undefined thought crime of "bullying," regardless of whom we are trying to protect. We cannot place "unfunded mandates" on schools to implement "anti-bullying" policies.

The focus should be on the disruptive and/or illegal behavior, or the commission of an illegal act, not the perceived underlying motivation of an illegal act. Consider this, if a child brings a weapon into a school to do harm to his/her fellow students, is it even more unacceptable if they are "bullying" someone or responding to "bullying?" No--because attempted assault and bringing a weapon onto school grounds is already illegal...

For more info, see the School Security dot org.

Senator Justus is out of order

2007-03-19T22:07:00.000-05:00

The KC Star recently wrote that the Republican’s in Jeff City are “retaliating” against freshman State Senator Jolie Justus for proposing an “pro troops, anti-Iraq war” resolution in the State General Assembly. More than 20 other states have brought similar measures up in their respective state legislatures despite lacking the controlling legal authority to do so.

The Star gets it wrong in at least three ways:
1. The Republicans that chair the committees as the majority party determine what resolutions make it out of committee and to the floor for a vote. While Vogel admitted that he is disappointed in the resolution that Justus to introduced he is not even on the committee that didn’t allow a vote, he is not on the Rules Committee he is on the Ways and Means Committee which the Star brielfy noted as an aside—the Star claims that Vogel is retaliating against Justus and not allowing a vote on two unrelated measures in response to the introduction of this frivolous bit of media grandstanding. They did not get a comment from Vogel on why he was not allowing her two unrelated resolutions out of the Ways and Means committee.
2. The Star references the “office of Senator Justus” and uncritically repeats their claim that an anonymous assistant to Vogel told them that Vogel would not allow a floor vote on her other bills because of this introduction of the “anti-war, pro-troops” resolution in the Rules Committee as the Star refers to it. Talk about circumstantial and unsubstantiated. They make an accusation of retaliation based on the claim of Justus’s office that an assistant to Vogel said so…
3. The US Congress, not the Missouri State Senate, is the proper forum for debate regarding issues of national security; the Missouri State Constitution does not give the State Senate the authority to legislate on these matters, that authority is correctly vested in the federal government with the POTUS and the US Congress. Justus has stated that the reason for introducing the resolution was to send a message, “to our delegation in Washington.” But this is a failure to understand high school civics 101. All of the citizens of Missouri are currently represented in Washington by properly elected officials, including 2 Senators and 9 Representatives. It is not the job of the State Senate to “send messages” to the United States Congress--- as elected members of the US Congress are already accountable to their constituencies and can receive messages directly from the people. Our elected representatives in the State General Assembly need not be the bridge of communication to our elected federal representatives. We all have the power to speak or write to each of them directly.

Senator Justus has every right to oppose the Iraq War---she can contact her Senators and Congressman and voice that opposition. She should not waste the people’s time and money in the Missouri State General Assembly introducing non-binding extra-jurisdictional resolutions to send messages to Washington; it is not her forum for political speech as it relates to federal powers or military strategy in a time of war, it is the people’s forum for State legislative business.

See Senator Justus’ blog for more info, and a link to the KC Star for their article.

Darin Jobe

2007-03-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

Self portrait of me having a great weekend. Self portrait smirk included.

A day at the farm

2007-03-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

Kayak season opens

2007-03-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

A beautiful weekend---my dad and I took the opportunity to put our boats in the water and paddle down stream.

We certainly underestimated how far away to park the pick-up but it was a perfect day on the water, the river was running well and we only had to hop out and portage a couple of times.

Here's some highlight pics:

Chester's broken legs

2007-03-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when a cowboy, an inexperienced heifer, and a big calf meet at 12:30 in the morning...

This is Chester, he broke his leg's on his way into the world. Actually, Marvin broke his leg's and he has PVC pipe taped to his legs to splint them while he gets better. He has 5 more weeks in the pipes and he should be good as new. It could have been worse.

First visit from the tooth fairy for Cam

2007-03-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

Due to inflationary pressures, the tooth fairy now only brings small bills---it saves her the hastle of carrying all those quarters.

Koan of the week

2007-02-05T06:51:00.000-06:00

Time for another koan:

Teaching the Ultimate
In early times in Japan, bamboo-and-paper lanterns were used with candles inside. A blind man, visiting a friend one night, was offered a lantern to carry home with him.
"I do not need a lantern," he said. "Darkness or light is all the same to me."
"I know you do not need a lantern to find your way," his friend replied, "but if you don't have one, someone else may run into you. So you must take it."
The blind man started off with the lantern and before he had walked very far someone ran squarely into him.
"Look out where you are going!" he exclaimed to the stranger. "Can't you see this lantern?"
"Your candle has burned out, brother," replied the stranger.

Horan Fiesta!

2007-02-01T11:07:00.001-06:00

Jess and I went to a fiesta Saturday, and as the passive-agressive attendee said to the uninterested reader, "a good time was had by all."

Here are some photos:

If we let artists and marketing guys put little signs on our bridges and buildings, the terrorists have won.

2007-02-01T06:44:00.000-06:00

In a surreal bit of overreacting and self-important pomposity, Boston officials have arrested a couple of guys for putting up little blinking LED signs that show a little square character giving passers-by the finger. It’s supposed to be a promotion for “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” a very strange cartoon on the Cartoon Network about a Milkshake, some anthropomorphic fries, and a meatball named “MeatWad.” If you have never watched Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the terrorists have won.

Here is a link to an AP story about it. There are more pics with the story.

While all responsible folks praise the police for the work that they do, and we certainly appreciate the efforts and heroism that they display on a daily basis….can’t we agree that the police got this wrong, that they should be a little embarrassed that they confused an LED sign with a threat to national security, and sweep this under the rug? Why go out and demand that we make an example of the artist—after all, he was hired by the network that is owned by the media conglomerate to promote a niche show in a “guerilla marketing” fashion. The signs were put up in multiple cities, and it looks like they were up in Boston for up to three weeks before the police confused them for a possible explosive device and generally made asses of themselves.

"It's clear the intent was to get attention by causing fear and unrest that there was a bomb in that location," said Assistant Attorney General John Grossman.

We can all sleep well tonight knowing that we have dedicated finger pointers like Attorney General Grossman on the case, protecting the homeland from little LED guys flipping people off.

Money is the root of all that stuff

2007-01-29T20:56:00.000-06:00

I love gadgets and gizmos and electronics.

I’m the guy that researches a lot about what I would like and then never pulls the trigger.

The temporary satisfaction I get from the new “thing” doesn’t outweigh the overwhelming sense that I wasted a bunch of $$ getting it, so I love from a distance—and besides, everyone says that accumulating stuff is not what life is about, so I don’t bother accumulating it---so far it hasn’t killed me. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly have more stuff than I need and I cannot be held up as the standard of self restraint, but for the most part I don’t buy stuff…most of my income disappears by the end of the month so that doesn’t leave much left to buy stuff anyway.

Actually that’s a recurring theme for me, I have a long list of material things that I would like---from big ticket items like a boat (not a yacht, just something to ski or wakeboard behind) or ATV or a Jeep or a new mountain bike, to the smaller things like a nice watch, or a new cell phone, or new shoes, or ____ fill in the blank. It’s all stuff that I don’t need, my 10 year old Nissan gets me to work, my 13 year old mountain bike works just fine, and I don’t ride that often anyway, my cell phone works (and I don’t really need a cell phone) I have shoes and nobody looks at my feet anyway as I am confined to a cubicle—I could wear pink loafers. A boat is just silly; I might as well just pull out a few thousand dollars and light it on fire. My dad (and father in law) has an ATV--- if I need one I can borrow one of theirs. I don’t need a watch; my cell phone has a clock on it.

Money is not the root of all evil; it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil. I bet there’s an exemption for material things though; but I haven’t checked that part of the Bible very carefully.

What are the material things you can’t live without? Survival stuff not included, obviously we all need clothes, but what are the little luxuries that you look forward to?

Joe Rago was right

2007-01-17T21:09:00.000-06:00

Joe Rago wrote a disparaging op-ed in the Wall Street Journal saying that blogs are predominantly poorly written and that the best actual reporting comes from the main stream media. He didn’t point to any specific blogs and Hugh Hewitt took him to task for not using the idea of exceptions in a radio interview.
Predictably, bloggers responded by burning a Joe Rago doll in effigy and storming the palace of the main stream media. For some reason many bloggers decided to take off one glove, and metaphorically slap Joe across the face like Bugs Bunny used to do in my favorite cartoons and say, “Of course you know, this means war.”
Clearly some of what Rago said is true: Many blogs are poorly written, very few blogs do any actual “reportage,” the speed with which blogs respond to events almost necessarily limits the amount of time that can go into a thoughtful analysis, and commentary blogs are predictable with right wing and left wing talking points hashed out in a never ending echo chamber. See this blog: I am writing a post about an editorial that has already been written about by thousands upon thousands of others.
Proponents of blogs often cite “A-List” blogs is their great examples and hold them up as the standard of blogging when the reality is that very few blogs are great “A-List” material read by millions. Most blogs are crappy cat-blogs like mine with nothing to offer. But since there is no barrier to entry I can offer nothing and be read by no one and it doesn’t matter it didn’t cost me anything. If you don’t believe me, consider the fact that there are more than 50 million blogs, with 7200 new ones created every hour. Now if only 1% of these blogs were great that would mean that there are over 500,000 great blogs. There are not. But for some reason, bloggers will not concede that most blogs are crap even though more than 99% of them are crap. It’s as if admitting the obvious will somehow diminish the power of the all-mighty blog.
When critiquing MSM we don’t point out that most MSM outlets incessantly focus on entertainment, celebrity, and simply follow what the larger outlets are printing so that every newspaper in the country looks like it was written by the same few correspondents and reporters. We don’t take an article from the National Enquirer or People or Parade and hold it up as the gold standard of journalism, even though there is plenty of that type of reporting. Similarly we should not hold up 20 of the best blogs and claim they are representative of the entire blogosphere.
The MSM would prefer that everyone agree that the only thing they produce is hard hitting investigative reporting a la Woodward and Bernstein so we should leave the hard-hitting reporting to the professionals. The blogosphere would like everyone to agree that blogging is a revolution that has democratized the conversation and is doing a better job than the MSM. They would reference the few times in all of human history where “the bloggers” got the story right and the MSM completely missed it as proof of their prowess.
In the end, both parties are wrong. You can’t have it both ways. You can argue that blogs are better than MSM only if you ignore the fact that 50+ million blogs are a complete waste of time and effort and maintain that because you can rattle off 30 “blogs” of highly educated, tech savvy, professional experts in their respective fields that those exceptions are not extraordinary but representative of blogging as a whole. You can also argue that the MSM is the best instrument of professional journalism only if you ignore all of the tabloids, infotainment programs, and talk radio that blur the line of journalism and use their bully pulpit to spread their version of reality and using the mantle of objectivity in new and perverse ways.
Blogging is a tool, it is not a revolution, it is not a fundamental change in human history, it is not the democratization of anything, it’s just a tool like a phone is a tool, or a pencil is a tool. It can be used for good, bad, and indifferent. It can be used eloquently by geniuses or moronically by fools and read by imbeciles.

Didn't see that one coming

2006-12-28T22:24:00.000-06:00

Some people spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about global warming, their personal impact on the planet and advocating “green” activities. I use the scare quotes because little evidence points to “green” companies or policies being any more or less detrimental to the planet---example: Coffee shop uses recycled cups in a “green” effort to limit their impact on the environment, but you know what would really limit it? NO COFFEE SHOP! We now have recycled cups in landfills instead of not recycled cups in landfills, but if we were really concerned about the environment we would be putting ZERO cups in landfills. Instead we pay a slight premium to buy the guilt-free recycled cups and delude ourselves into thinking that we are doing something good for the environment, by filling it with recycled paper instead of first use paper.

So it goes with fossil fuel consumption, I would suggest that worrying about your personal carbon footprint is similar to an ant standing on top of his ant hill--- farting---and then worrying aloud that his emission of dangerous gas will destroy the ozone. But, if that’s your bag—who am I to judge, everyone has their own altar to worship at—and we all want something to believe in, even if it is nothing to believe in.

99 times out of 100 we are worried about the wrong things and sometimes with spectacularly terrible consequences--like standing on the beach in Thailand worrying about a sunburn immediately prior to the tsunami that killed 200k+ people. As Smays pointed out, "you never hear the bullet that gets you."

NASA thinks that a Gamma Ray Burst from a distant star may have caused the extinction events paleontologists have discovered and had no ability to explain. What? You’ve never heard of a Gamma Ray Burst? Well, the US military discovered them on accident in the 60’s and until recently kept them hush hush. There is no warning, the rays travel at the speed of light and they are inescapable, and although unlikely, if one were to happen in our own galaxy and be pointed at us, there is not anything we could do to avoid total annihilation; the planet would be “cooked” by the gamma rays of the exploding star. How powerful a blast? It’s the equivalent energy of a Hiroshima type blast every second for the next 13 years occurring in the span of less than 10 seconds.

If you will sleep better thinking that your hybrid SUV will save the planet because it burns fossil fuels at a slightly more efficient rate than the regular SUV, go ahead. But be prepared to look silly when the entire planet is semi-vaporized by an unseen and unpredictable cosmic force capable of boiling the oceans and melting the earth’s crust.

The Buddha Boy is back!

2006-12-28T20:45:00.000-06:00

I first wrote about the Buddha Boy in November of 2005, something about his meditation under the pipal tree caught my eye, his celebrity grew and over 100,000 people made pilgrimages to see him because they thought he may be the reincarnation of a Buddha. I know that sounds crazy but consider that the Dali Lama is widely considered to be the reincarnation of a bodhisattva---a person who has dedicated there life to bodhi (transcendent meditation) that has the possibility of attaining the enlightenment of a Buddha in a future lifetime---and then I realize that it’s not all that far fetched if you subscribe to that world view.

He disappeared for months but now he is back, 16 years old and sitting under the same pipal tree, but he has said he doesn’t want people to call him the Buddha, he is simply meditating for the next 6 years.

That’s pretty much the same thing I wanted to do when I was 16, it was either meditate in the woods alone under a pipal tree for 6 years or make out with a cheerleader---but only if she was dedicated to bodhi.

My evolutionary advantage.

2006-12-11T21:09:00.000-06:00

I am capable of digesting milk, as an adult. I didn't realize it was a special ability, but apparently it is as some researchers are reporting that the ability to process lactose as adults is a genetically advantageous trait that is a fairly recent mutation. Me and other milk drinkers procreate and survive better over the long haul than those who can't drink milk--has something to do with common ancestors that first domesticated cattle---eating their meat (the cows') and drinking their milk and surviving droughts better.

Think about that with your next bowl of cereal---you have mutated into a super-procreating milk consuming glutton.

I blame global warming

2006-11-30T22:30:00.000-06:00

We are in the midst of our first big snow storm, full of "wintery mix." I think it's clearly the work of global warming.

Same with that Russian spy that was poisoned.

And Lindsay Lohan's illiterate letter of condolence to Robert Altman's family...it's all the result of America dependence on foreign oil.

We are also dependent on foreign christmas lights, foreign cheese, and foreign easily assembled furniture.

Solipsism

2006-11-29T07:27:00.000-06:00

There is something about this blogging endeavor that brings out the egomaniacal freak in everyone. Kinsley writes about it in the Washington Post yesterday.

Blogging is the attempt by millions of insignificant moist robots to say something that means something to someone. It's fascinating and futile.

If you forgot how small you are, XO reminds us, here.

Koan of the Week--The Giver should be thankful

2006-11-29T07:25:00.000-06:00

The Giver Should Be Thankful
While Seisetsu was the master of Engaku in Kamakura he required larger quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umezu Seibei, a merchant of Edo, decided to donate five hundred pieces of gold called ryo toward the construction of a more commodious school. This money he brought to the teacher.
Seisetsu said: "All right. I will take it."
Umezu gave Seisetsu the sack of gold, but he was dissatisfied with the attitude of the teacher. One might live a whole year on three ryo, and the merchant had not even been thanked for five hundred.
"In that sack are five hundred ryo," hinted Umezu.
"You told me that before," replied Seisetsu.
"Even if I am a wealthy merchant, five hundred ryo is a lot of money," said Umezu.
"Do you want me to thank you for it?" asked Seisetsu.
"You ought to," replied Uzemu.
Why should I?" inquired Seisetsu. "The giver should be thankful."

I emptied myself

2006-11-22T07:30:00.000-06:00

If you are easily grossed out, stop reading.

There is normally not a good reason to call in sick, if you are coughing and achy and running a fever, doing so on your couch at home is no different than doing so at your cube.

There is one situation where it makes sense to stay home when you aren’t feeling well---a nasty bout with the stomach flu. In order to qualify as a “nasty bout”, one has to spend over 8 hours lying on the bathroom floor simultaneously sweating and chilling while contemplating the great mysteries of life, like: if I haven’t eaten in over 12 hours, how could I possibly have anything to throw up? Or, what exactly happens in my stomach and lower intestines when I am sick that causes everything to be liquefied?

I spent my Tuesday morning starting around 3 am until around noon taking great care to clear the entire contents of my intestines, it was a fire sale---everything must go!

I feel much better now, although that is not exactly a great accomplishment, because I was “mostly dead” yesterday (remember The Princess Bride?). On the plus side, I only managed to eat two pieces of toast so I am pretty certain that my intestines are as clean as they have ever been—if I were to accidentally be turned inside out, it wouldn’t be all that disgusting.

The things you learn on Discovery channel

2006-11-14T22:40:00.000-06:00

I love the Discovery channel, and I watch it wiht my sons (after they finish their homework.)

Why does a 7 year old have homework?

Anyway, apparently a good way to keep your head cool if you are stranded in the desert, is to take of an undershirt, cut it into a makeshift turban, and wrap it around your head to stay cool, you can't let your core body temp rise above 105.

If you are still hot, you can pee on the shirt, and wrap it around your head...this has the added benefit of making for a funny ice-breaking story when you finally get picked up by a trucker when you find a highway.

Trucker: "You smell like piss, boy."

Me: "yeah, I took a leak on my shirt and then wrapped my head with it."

Trekking with my sons

2006-11-14T22:04:00.000-06:00

And we ran into one of Mr. Ford's inventions, sitting out in the woods at our family farm.

And what was really strange, cactus...in Mid-Missouri?

enough with the politics

2006-11-14T21:44:00.000-06:00

I have to stop with the politics crap...my opinion is about as valid and informed as Lindsay Lohan's, except that I don't have the floundering C-list Hollywood credentials to fall back on.

Besides, I have begun to loathe it, and loathe the fact that some people cannot seperate me from my beliefs.

So---I will attempt to not weigh in on political crap for a while. There is too much other good stuff in life to get myself bogged down in that.

And like OSHO says, "all arguments are futile and stupid."

Brilliant.

2006-11-09T09:22:00.001-06:00

Coming soon: the Democratic “principles” of slightly higher federal minimum wages, “immigration reform” that gives the 12 million illegals already here legal status plus a big incentive for anyone thinking of making the trip, repeal of the “Bush tax cuts,” and most likely a Nixonian “peace with honor” strategy in Iraq that means we admit that we are no longer willing to carry on the fight, (other wise known as “retreat.”)

Silver linings

2006-11-08T22:07:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when things don't work out the way you might have hoped, it takes a little while to get your perspective...and you think, "how could so many people disagree with my obviously sensible ideas?"

But here we are, the day after the elections and the Republicans have taken a much deserved thumping.

The silver lining for me?
Republicans deserved to lose: they abandoned their principles on spending and imigration and they have failed to maintain their status as the fiscally responsible party. A loss like this gives them an opportunity to go back to their core principles.
Despite what Brian Williams and Matt Lauer told me, this election was NOT a referendum on Iraq: Lieberman ran a clean campaign not wavering in his support for our efforts in Iraq against a vehemently vocal anti-Iraq candidate in a very blue state and won as an Independent by a huge margin.
It was not a victory for the Democratic plan, domestic or foriegn: There is no plan. They recruited moderate-conservative candidates to run for seats that have been long held by Republicans. In fact, many of the Democrats that won seats would look more comfortable caucusing (sp?) with the Republicans, (Casey in PA for example, or Lieberman in CT)...and many of the Republicans that lost were RINO's (Chafee, Leach and Hostettler) that voted frequently with the Democrats.

So, chin up, better to lose some seats in a mid-term now then to have lost 2 years ago to John Kerry.

Congratulations to the Democrats

2006-11-08T12:20:00.000-06:00

The nation has sent a clear message, and that message has something to do with lingering dissatisfaction about some things and sort of disagreement on other things and we clearly want to go in a “new direction” which will be determined and announced soon. "It’s time for a change" in Washington from corrupt, over-spending, budget-busting, stem cell researching Republicans to corrupt, over-spending, budget-busting, embryonic stem cell researching Democrats, hoo-ray!

As for Iraq, no one knows for certain, but this election was a referendum on Iraq, (that’s what Brian Williams and Matt Lauer told me at least 30 times) or maybe it was a referendum on Rumsfeld…either way we have collectively sent slightly more Democrats to Washington to represent us than Republicans so clearly America has voted to either continue doing something in Iraq, or stop doing something in Iraq, or to continue doing certain things but stop doing other things in Iraq, but definitely Rumsfeld will resign by the end of the day. It’s a mandate with a capital "M".

But he wasn't an "imminent threat"

2006-11-04T09:37:00.000-06:00

Nothing to see here folks, move along...just some friendly folks playing with their tactical weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads over 1200 miles.

The New York Times just released that Saddam had a nuclear weapons program after all.

The highlight:

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.
Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. . . .
Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq had abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war. Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein's scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

A ringing endorsement

2006-11-04T08:50:00.000-06:00

Despite the Democrat's consistently offering a clear cut strategy in the war on terror every chance they can, and making it clear that if/when they are elected they will more competently prosecute the war than the current administration...for some reason some terror leaders have the idea that the Democrats would withdraw from Iraq and the larger war on terror. In fact, most Americans think the same according to a recent NY Times poll.

"Of course Americans should vote Democrat," Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, told WND.
"This is why American Muslims will support the Democrats, because there is an atmosphere in America that encourages those who want to withdraw from Iraq. It is time that the American people support those who want to take them out of this Iraqi mud," said Jaara, speaking to WND from exile in Ireland, where he was sent as part of an internationally brokered deal that ended the church siege.
Jaara was the chief in Bethlehem of the Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

On their website, the Democrats said, "We will protect Americans at home and lead the world by telling the truth to our troops, our citizens and our allies. We believe in a strong national defense that is both tough and smart, recognizing that homeland security begins with hometown security."
"Democrats have a plan that is comprehensive – from repairing our military, to winning the war on terror, to protecting our homeland security, to ensuring success in Iraq and freeing America of its dependence on foreign oil – and it will finally prepare America for the security needs of the 21st Century. And we honor the sacrifices our troops, their families and veterans by making sure we take care of them when they come home," the statement continued.

But for some reason, most Americans think that if Democrats were to win in the mid-terms--America would withdraw from Iraq more quickly--as suggested by a new NY Times poll.
The survey said Americans believe the Democrats "have coalesced around a general position of finding a way to reduce or end American involvement in Iraq" but it also noted "there is substantial disagreement among Democratic Congressional leaders and candidates about exactly how to accomplish that."
"Nearly 75 percent of respondents, including 67 percent of Republicans and 92 percent of Democrats, said they expected that Americans (sic) troops would be taken out of Iraq more swiftly under a Democratic-led Congress."

I'm not sure why they would think that: here is what soon to be house speaker Nancy Pelosi said recently: "The jihadists (are) in Iraq. But that doesn't mean we stay there. They'll stay there as long as we're there."

I think it is clear that she means no matter how tough the fight we will continue and not withdraw.

Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip, told WND the policy of withdrawal "proves the strategy of the resistance is the right strategy against the occupation."
"We warned the Americans that this will be their end in Iraq," said Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared "resistance" department. "They did not succeed in stealing Iraq's oil, at least not at a level that covers their huge expenses. They did not bring stability. Their agents in the [Iraqi] regime seem to have no chance to survive if the Americans withdraw."
Abu Ayman, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, said he is "emboldened" by those in America who compare the war in Iraq to Vietnam.

Bush's response is not hard to understand.

"As a matter of fact, I believe the only way we cannot succeed is if we leave before the job is done," he said.
Bush said Democrats have talked a lot about different plans to deal with terrorism.
"They've come up with a lot of creative ways to describe leaving Iraq before the job is done. Sometimes they say, 'immediate redeployment.' Sometimes they say they wouldn't spend another dime on our troops. Sometimes they say the idea that we're going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong. However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: the terrorists win and America loses," he said.

an imbecile from Massachusetts

2006-11-03T07:27:00.000-06:00

Saw this editorial cartoon and had to share it...

dog pile

2006-11-02T17:52:00.000-06:00

In an attempt to make J-Dub's hit meter go up, I have engaged in a little over-zealous commenting on the subject of Kerry's recent gaffe at a campaign speech for some candidate in California. (Angelides)

I truly believe that Kerry has built his political career by slandering his fellow service men. James Taranto says it best in today's Best of the Web:

In 1972, as he ran for the House, he was less apologetic in his comments about the merits of a volunteer army. He declared in the questionnaire that he opposed the draft but considered a volunteer army "a greater anathema."
"I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown," Kerry wrote. "We must not repeat the travesty of the inequities present during Vietnam. I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply 'doing its job.'
"Equally as important, a volunteer army with our present constitutional crisis takes accountability away from the president and put the people further from control over military activities," he wrote.
The reason Kerry's comments have had such resonance is because many observers have long suspected that he has not abandoned, or even moderated, the antimilitary and anti-American views he espoused back in the early 1970s, when he told a Senate hearing this about his fellow veterans:
They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
And indeed, Kerry seems to stand by this outrageous slander. Yesterday he told Don Imus:
I've told the truth in the past. I've never done anything except tell the truth. And I'm not going to take anybody's comment to suggest that somehow my telling the truth was a mistake. The American people rely on the truth. And when I came back from Southeast Asia, I told the truth.
If he stands by his slanders from all those years ago, why should we believe him now when he says he was only trying to slander the president of the United States?

Anyway, if you like following trolling comments, goto J-Dub site and read through what a few people have to say....it's almost amusing.

Struggling on 2

2006-10-30T21:57:00.000-06:00

I must admit, Michael J Fox’s emotional appeal is difficult to deny or oppose or refute--- when he says, “a vote for Claire McCaskill is a vote for hope for life-saving cures,”---Who am I to deny this man his hope for life-saving cures---clearly he is suffering and we should do whatever we can, right? Of course, opposing a ballot initiative to amend the state Constitution is not necessarily a vote against "hope."

So we know that he supports McCaskill but what does he think about proposed Amendment 2?

Fox admits that he hasn’t read Amendment 2 in Missouri which is why he didn’t explicitly come out for it, he merely campaigns for Claire McCaskill because he believes she will more likely approve gov’t funding for embryonic stem cell research—he explains why on George Stephanopoulus’ show this weekend.

See this exchange:

Stephanopoulos: You mentioned the Steele campaign. Both the Steele campaign and the Talent campaign have said you're not being fair to them, because they want to expand stem cell research, too, they say, but it's adult stem cell research.
Fox: Right, and I agree with them on adult stem cell research. I mean, let's talk about what we agree on. I agree that stem cell research is fantastic; we should pursue it. I agree that we should have no human cloning. We're against that. We're against egg farming, that notion. We agree on all of that……

Stephanopoulos: In the ad now running in Missouri, Jim Caviezel speaks in Aramaic. It means, "You betray me with a kiss." And his position, his point, is that actually even though down in Missouri they say the initiative is against cloning, it's actually going to allow human cloning.
Fox: Well, I don't think that's true. You know, I campaigned for Claire McCaskill. And so I have to qualify it by saying I'm not qualified to speak on the page-to-page content of the initiative. Although, I am quite sure that I'll agree with it in spirit, I don't know, I— On full disclosure, I haven't read it, and that's why I didn't put myself up for it distinctly.

I think the Missouri Constitution has been bought for the bargain price of $28 million. Based on conversations I have had with people of all political stripes recently, many people are not quite sure how they feel about it—but I bet the measure will pass with something like 55% approval. When you read the summary language that will be on the ballot it’s hard to oppose, why wouldn’t we want Missourians to have equal access to medical technologies that citizens in other states have? Who could oppose that?

Where it gets technical and confusing is when the initiative says it would ban human cloning and ban the sale for "valuable consideration" of eggs for stem cell research---many people are uncomfortable with the idea of creating human beings and then destroying them for research purposes, even if it is very early stage, and many people are uncomfortable with the idea of women selling their eggs for fertilization and experimentation.

So the initiative addresses both of these issues by appearing to ban them, but in the full language of the initiative it expressly permits both of these activities and literally amends our state Constitution to include their language.

The bottom line is this: if you think that the government should be allowing and/or funding research on human blastocysts that are created for the express purpose of destruction (within 14 days of cell division) and research, then vote yes. If you think that fertility clinics and sperm banks should be paying donors for their eggs that can later be fertilized and then destroyed for research, then vote yes on 2.

If you oppose either one of those things, vote no on 2.

Above the fray

2006-10-30T21:53:00.000-06:00

Isn’t it refreshing to hear from a political “independent” or “moderate” that doesn’t vote by “party line,” because they take a deep look into the heart of each candidate and carefully consider what kind of person the candidate is….isn’t that so enlightened? Isn’t it refreshing when someone who admittedly barely pays attention to matters of civic responsibility goes out and reads the tea leaves, or the tarot cards of the political future and punches that ballot for someone or something and effectively eliminates a well informed voters ballot? Isn’t that great?

Once again, the politics of ambivalence are in play as the candidates and their wranglers battle it out for the 5-15% of the American public that plans on voting but after weighing all of the various variables and factoring in their own personal experiences and wealth of individual collective expertise……..they just can’t come to a decision one way or another at this late hour. How open minded of them. Who needs the courage of convictions when you can substitute a blank slate of mindless apathy?

We will get fawning affection for how open minded these spineless wonders are as “journalists” go out of their way to find someone to interview who is looking at the issues without a partisan taint to their decision. It’s so beautifully post-modern….ALL opinions are valid; all votes are perfectly equal—regardless of the inanity or lack of reason behind them.

You voted to oppose a minimum wage increase because Rush says it’s bad for business? Congratulations—welcome to democracy, where everyone’s vote counts.
You voted to oppose Amendment 2 because your preacher said something about “test tube” babies and Dolly the sheep? That’s democracy, isn’t it wonderful?
You voted for Claire because somebody at work told you that Talent doesn’t like black people? Fair enough….

You see, you don’t have to have a good reason for voting on anything, because as P. Diddy has told us, it’s not what you vote for, it’s that you vote. Right?

Olbermann, and others--miss the point

2006-10-30T07:40:00.000-06:00

I had a bit of a Eureka! moment while watching Keith on MSNBC the other night.

If you are not familiar with his shtick, he gets all furious, “speaks truth to power,” lectures everyone on what it is that we are doing wrong in Iraq, and then calls for Bush to be impeached, or ashamed. He finds the “worst person in the world,” and remarkably, it is almost always a conservative pundit, very rarely a person actually responsible for death and destruction. He concedes this point, that he isn’t actually naming the worst person in the world, and then goes on to claim that John Gibson, or Bill O’Reily are the WPITW. Example, it is much more likely to be Bill O’Reily instead of someone like Robert Mugabe, or Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, or Kim Jong-Il. While Bill is an info-tainer that tries to produce a radio and TV show that is popular enough to get high ratings to sell advertising and--as an aside--convince people to embrace what he claims to be his opinions about current events. (He also tries to sell copies of his latest book—clearly the man is evil incarnate.) Mugabe, Ahmadenijad, and Jong-Il are each responsible for death, destruction, torture, economic collapse, mass starvation, etc so you can see how it would be a close race but the conservative pundit wins out….

So anyway, back to my point (you had a point?--) He was ranting and raving about Bush and the RNC campaign commercials that try to paint Democrats as weak on defense or weak in the War on Terror. So he excoriates the Republicans, saying that they are “doing the terrorists’ work for them by trying to terrify Americans.”

And here’s the Eureka! point: Terrorists aren’t trying to scare Americans, or the west—that is not their primary objective. It is not a campaign to spook people---they are trying to kill us, anywhere they find us---and the by-product is general terror, thus the name terrorists. That this is a confusing concept to a talking head on MSNBC is really beyond my comprehension, but to say that the Republicans are doing the terrorists work is exactly the kind of rhetoric that shows why many Americans are not willing to hand over the national security issues that we face to those that would confuse this issue—regardless of their party.

Amendment 2--What exactly are they proposing?

2006-10-20T07:17:00.000-05:00

One of the frustrating things about politics is that people rarely say what they mean.

So it is with proposed Amendment 2---Proponents have spent a lot of money encouraging Missourians to amend their constitution, but a close look at the amendment seems to contradict what the proponents claim. They say it will ban human cloning, and ensure equal access to treatments by all Missourians but if you read it carefully, it really just redefines cloning and then seeks to ban the redefined practice while leaving all other cloning activities not only legal, but actually above the law--where local governments cannot restrict-or even discourage the research. The equal access to cures is a red herring, there is no discriminatory law that allows some people access to certain "cures" or treatments while preventing others from receiving the same.

The official summary says .

So who is behind it? The Coalition for Cures, funded by billionaires James and Virginia Stowers has spent roughly $28,000,000 on the initiative campaign for Amendment 2…what do they intend to get out of it?
They just happen to have founded a research institute in Kansas City that seeks to take a leading role in stem-cell research. Where are the anti-business howls from the left when there is such a clear attempt to purchase a favorable government ruling by this organization? Where are the cries about the government being bought and paid for by powerful and rich corporate interests?

Some researchers and doctors think that potential upside of the embyonic stem cell research has been oversold.
I have to admit that there is something disturbing about the emotional appeals from celebrities claiming that if we would just have the government (taxpaying citizens) paying for some controversial research involving the destruction of human embryos that we would be able to cure _____. (insert terrible affliction here)

There is nothing preventing private firms from doing stem cell research and some companies have already found success in stem cell research. What the opponents oppose is the government funded harvesting of human embryos for destruction in the name of science.

$28 million would have paid for a lot of research, but instead we get a special interest group spending their money and time trying to dupe Missouri voters into amending our Constitution by blurring the distinctions between cloning and somatic cell nuclear transfer and promising cures for all sorts of ailments and claiming that all they really want to to make sure everyone has equal access to treatments.

Here is a link to an opponents website.

Amendment 3--Yea or Nay?

2006-10-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

So my friend Andrew sent me a link to the Jefferson City Business Times recent article on Amendment 3.

If you don't pay attention to this sort of thing, it is one of the big three decisions in the upcoming elections, the other two being the Talent v. McCaskill and Amendment 2 (Stem Cell/Cloning) choice.

Anyway, read the article I linked to and tell me what you think?

Is Amendment 3 something we should support or oppose? Leave a comment and tell me why.
If you don't have time to read it here's the paraphrased version.

Amendment 3 would raise the taxes on tobacco products from 17 cents a pack to 57 cents a pack and the gov't promises that the extra revenue would be spent on healthcare costs.

Your choice in November---the Republican or Democrat Pest Control company

2006-10-11T07:06:00.000-05:00

So you’ve hired the Republican Pest Control Co. to get rid of your pests, and after 5 years , you’ve still got an infestation. Do you:

A) Reflect on how difficult it is to cure an infestation but vow to persevere in spite of the obvious difficult task ahead and the recognition that there is no end in sight…

or

B) Hire the Democrat Pest Control Co. who’s Yellow Page ad talks about wanting to “use only non-lethal traps so that they can be relocated to the flower beds in front of your home,” and “address the root causes of infestation and change policy so that the pests don’t hate us,” and blames the Republican Pest Control Co. for squandering all the good will that we previously had with the pests and also blames the Republican Pest Company for creating even more pests.

I’ll stick with A).

Appropriate script

2006-10-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

As someone who has been required to say, “Thank you for calling, ____, this is Darin, How can I help you?” thousands of times over the course of thousands of phone calls, I can appreciate the finer points of an employee script.

You know, when companies don’t really trust their employees to say the appropriate things, they make up a nice little script and then require that the employees use it.
Stay with me, I am going somewhere…..

For some reason at Taco Bell they have a very bad script writer. I thought it was at one location, specifically the Taco Bell drive up window attendant on Missouri Blvd in JC started acknowledging that a vehicle had approached by saying, “Hi, How are you?”

Now I know that it is at multiple locations.

While this seems like an innocuous statement, it makes absolutely no sense in the context of me driving a vehicle up to a digital order taking machine while reading about my choices of tacos versus chalupas….

Think about it---what is the appropriate response to the questions, “how are you?” Well of course, it is, “I’m good, how are you.” And now your are sharing small talk with a person in a sweaty fast food restaurant when all I really want to do is order a number 1 with a soft taco and a mountain dew and move around to the next window!

For anyone who is in charge of writing scripts for the employees, THINK! What should the girl/guy at the drive up window at Taco Bell say?
How about something like, “Welcome to Taco Bell, may I take your order?”

Would you sell this?

2006-09-21T22:12:00.000-05:00

A little Vegas based soft drink company is offering a new flavor called "Cocaine," and specifically marketing it as a "legal alternative" to actual cocaine.
I thought it was interesting since I just mentioned marketing morality a couple days ago.

If sales of this stuff were to somehow result in an increase in sales of actual cocaine by increasing the acceptability of cocaine use or raising the awareness of the effects of cocaine use on the body, do the marketers and retailers bear some culpability?

David Raynes, of the UK National Drug Prevention Alliance, said: "It is people exploiting drugs. It is a pretty cynical tactic exploiting illegal drugs for their own benefit...The fact is that subliminally, it is making the image of drug use cool and that's what kids what to be, cool.
Kids will be drinking Cocaine and will inevitably link the two. The drink is relatively innocuous, but they will be linking it with cocaine use and the market, which is far from innocuous."

So would you sell this stuff, either directly to consumers or as a rep for the company selling to retailers? Tell me why, or why not...

It turns out money does buy happiness

2006-09-21T21:46:00.000-05:00

At least up to a certain point...

Just like the EverClear front man said in that song:
“I hate those people who love to tell you
Money is the root of all that kills
They have never been poor
They have never had the joy of a welfare Christmas”

A recent Pew survey found that happiness does increase with income; those who said they were "very happy" increased consistently with income, from 24% in the under-$30,000 income category to 49% in the $100,000-plus category. There was a “diminishing marginal return” over a certain point on the income level where there was not a significant increase in happiness with increased income—(right around the 100k mark)….but just like everyone has instinctively known all along, if you are barely making ends meet struggling to pay bills and keep food on the table, you might not be as “happy” as the guy down the street making 100k. (Surprise!)

What is really frustrating is that this study was presented to confirm that in fact, “Money can’t buy happiness.” How can the researchers take the clear data that show the percentage of people reporting that they are “very happy,” increased in direct proportion with income to mean that money doesn’t buy happiness?

Life isn't about money, and I certainly cannot claim to have a unique and authentic poverty story, but just like we all have instinctively known, there is a certain amount of happiness that comes with living without fear of starvation or collection calls with a comfortable roof over head, a bit financial freedom buys a bit of happiness...

Marketing Morality

2006-09-15T12:42:00.000-05:00

I went to a small state school that is regularly recognized for being one of the best buys in American secondary education.
I had a marketing professor for a couple of classes that always questioned the morality of what we would be willing to market. It was an interesting thought experiment, and at that time in my life I was completely open to the idea of marketing any product or service, a sort of laissez faire approach to marketing, where the marketer couldn’t be held responsible for what the market wants to buy. The prime example he used were "Serial Killer Trading Cards," and I argued that while they may be vile, it is not my job to cast judgement on what people want to buy, if I am paid to sell them, then I should do my best to sell them.

Seth Godin flips that on it’s ear in this post, arguing that if you are a really good marketer, or even a great one, then you have to accept the responsibility that your efforts actually result in an increase in sales of a particular good or service and therefore you must be accountable for what you market.

I have to agree. I have held one position that I didn’t feel comfortable selling the service I was paid to sell. Granted, I wasn’t making the marketing decisions for the entire company---I was simply ONE representative selling as much of the service as possible to as many people as possible, but I knew that I was responsible for what I was selling and I didn’t like it—so I left.

I wonder if I should have stayed, I might have made a lot of money (my boss was making 6 figures), might have been promoted up the sales force by now and possibly learned to rationalize away my doubts about the service, but I think I made the right decision.

It's really hard to park this thing

2006-09-15T07:40:00.000-05:00

Here is an impressive photo forwarded to me of a pilot landing the tail end of a chinook on a shack in the mountains of Afghanistan to pick up wounded.