My Opinions Observations and Musings

Be careful what you wish for

2012-02-07T13:39:00.004-05:00

It amazes me how many people are willing to accept the fact that the government believes it has the lawful right to create secret kill lists and send drones to execute the assassination orders with little or no oversight. How it is that people can believe this is reasonable or just is beyond me but lets just assume for a minute that everything currently being done under this program is completely above board and all those put on the lists are completely deserving as we are told even though we really have no visibility into the program so we can't know this. There is a pretty good brief column about this in the LA times (McManus: Who reviews the U.S. 'kill list'?) which you should read if you are not familiar with this. Now go have a quick look at some of the coverage regarding the response from the Catholic Church to the birth control rules announced by the administration (Obama’s senior political adviser urges all sides in birth control fight to ‘lower our voices’ for example). Do you fail to see the connection between these two stories?

Think back to the point where the health care law was being crafted and think about how the Catholic Church was one of those organizations that was a cheerleader for the legislation. They, rightly, believed they were looking out for the interests of the under served populations in our society and saw the law as a means to help those individuals which indeed it could be. Fast forward to today and we see that they are now at odds since the law has been used to tell them that they have to perform an action for which they have a moral problem, interestingly they had no problem forcing others to do things they may or may not want to do but once it has an effect on them they are all up in arms. Does this strike anyone as hypocritical? To be clear I am not suggesting that I believe that Catholic organizations should be forced to follow these rules. I am, rather, suggesting that the Church would have been smarter to think about what the real consequences are of giving the government this type of authority. The problem is that once you clear the way for the government to impose its will on others you should not be surprised when they turn that authority on you unexpectedly. Are you still not seeing the problem with allowing the government the secret kill list authority?

I am not a conspiracy theorist and do not believe that anyone in the government currently has an interest in putting citizens who disagree with them on a kill list but what I am suggesting is that you can't unring a bell. If you allow any one's personal liberties to be infringed upon, no matter how distasteful that individual may be, it is only a matter of time before that will come back to bite you in the ass. The government has no business telling an employer what benefits it has to provide to an individual nor should it have the ability to take the life or property of an individual without due process and judicial oversight. Even though there may be no one in the government today who would use these powers for nefarious purposes there will come a day when there may be and therein lies the problem. As you allow more and more of our liberties to be infringed upon you put into place a framework in which someone could act in evil ways even if that person is not there today. This is why our nation was founded on the principle of the rule of law in which no individual, appointed or elected, was above the law. Our founders knew all too well what the consequences were of allowing a ruler to have an authority such as indefinite detainment or confiscation of property or execution without the oversight required by law. People would like you to believe that those of us who speak out against these sort of things are un-american or somehow out of touch with reality but I would say these policies are what is out of touch with reality and there will come a point where there will be no turning back so speak out now people.

2010-11-18T14:41:00.002-05:00

What a pompous ass this guy is. So your opinion is that anything you don't think is news is therefore not news and you are going to send your goons from the FCC to shut them down. Will they be wearing brown suits and goose stepping when they get there senator? Beyond that, how dare you presume you know better than I do what channel packages I want to purchase. Stay the hell out of my house and what I watch in it you clueless jack ass. This all sounds very much like an excerpt from the House Un-American Activities Committee, I thought we had moved beyond that nonsense.

Duh!!

2010-07-22T10:50:00.008-04:00

I have not posted anything to this blog in a while but I read this article in the Baltimore Sun today and just could not resist commenting. I will quote some things from the story as needed but take a minute to go read it before reading this so my opinion does not influence you, don't worry it is short.

The gist of the story is that the Maryland School Assessment results in Baltimore were analyzed and the superintendent of schools in Baltimore has concluded from the results of the analysis that truancy needs to be the focus of the school system. This new focus is based on the astounding discovery in the analysis of the test results of an achievement gap between students who are chronically truant and those who attend school regularly. Dr. Alanso states "These are numbers we can no longer ignore." So Dr. Alanso my question to you is why was truancy something that could be ignore prior to these tests results. I suspect that your average Joe on the street could intuitively tell you that a student who is chronically absent will not learn or do well on testing so why has it taken you, the highly educated and well paid education expert, this long to come to the earth shattering conclusion that children who are not in school cannot be effectively taught by our teachers? If you think I am being hard on the Dr. remember he is currently making a $260,000 salary because he is a highly respected education expert who is supposed to be turning around the abysmal Baltimore City schools. Dr. Alanso says "You can talk about teaching and learning all you want. If the kids aren't in school, it's not going to happen." Well thank you Dr. Obvious! Perhaps tomorrow you can pronounce to the world how cancer can be hazardous to our health or stepping in front of a moving bus might be dangerous. Where in the world do these morons in power come from and why are we paying them so much money to do basically nothing, actually they may be doing things that are counterproductive like having us ignore truancy for this long. I know, they have not totally ignored truancy but you get my point.

Interesting new approach to bookmarks

2010-01-28T09:42:00.003-05:00

I stumbled across this site called pearltrees recently and I am not sure yet what to think of it. the idea is that you "pearl" or bookmark things you find interesting as you are surfing the web. You organize these pearls into a tree structure that is really no different that nested folders in your standard browsers bookmarks. What is interesting is this is a web based system so that when I travel from home to work I can access the identical bookmarks in both places. Another interesting thing is that it allows you to discover other possibly related things in a rather novel way. You can select one of your "pearltrees," which roughly corresponds to a favorites folder, and "see what is connected. What this shows you is possibly related or similar pearltrees of others that are using the system. You are then free to navigate through their links and see if there is anything of interest to you and if so you can "pick" one of their trees and attach it to yours. You can also communicate with others using the system by leaving comments on their links or pearltrees. This sort of social networking functionality and connections does make for a good way to discover some things on the net that you might not otherwise find but it can also suck you in and cause you to waste a bunch of time so be careful. The idea behind this is pretty interesting but I am still trying to figure out how it really fits into my everyday browsing life, I suspect it has a spot but not sure yet. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Redskins follow up

2009-10-27T09:53:00.002-04:00

This organization is so screwed up they can't even get their own web site right. If you go to http://www.redskins.com/gen/games/schedule.jsp they have last nights debacle marked as a win!! Yeah we won!!! Is this some sort of motivational technique??

As a Redskins fan it istime to put a bag on my head

2009-10-27T09:10:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the complete ineptitude of this team, wait a minute they are owned by Snyder and worthless Vinnie is making all the player decisions yes I can. This team couldn't beat Dematha, a local high school for those not from the area, the way they are playing right now. The worst part is the dysfunctional circus that is management at this organization just seems to make things worse every week by sucking the confidence right out of the team. I am waiting for Snyder to force the players to come onto the field in one of those clown cars next week and all stumble out one by one as they are introduced.

The defense has been working their asses off all season but you can't expect them to be out there the whole game and the other team not to score. The offense on the other hand looks like a bunch monkeys trying to fuck a football out there. How do you get to be an NFL center and yet you still can't snap the ball!!! The O line might as well just fall over right at the snap so at least Campbell does not have to try to figure out if he is going to get clobbered on the play or not, wait a minute he doesn't have to think now because you guys suck so bad he is rushed on every play!!! Campbell has been under fire now for so long it is doubtful he will ever be comfortable in the pocket again even if you put him behind the damn Berlin wall. It is sad too because he seems like a nice enough guy and he does have some talent but no more. Portis, just fucking retire you loser and stop complaining about no blocking. I know you are not getting blocking but your dumb lazy ass won't practice either so I don't want to hear it, I would block for you either you stuck up has been. We have like a 100 wide receivers on this offense and not one of them can catch a pass, or a punt for that matter. Our one good play maker breaks his damn ankle, can it get any worse?? The special teams are making dumb mistakes like playing a punt at your own 5 yard line which tells me this is an undisciplined bunch of poorly coached and dejected players which again falls squarely on the management. So what the hell do you do with this mess?

I say we make Snyder get out there and play QB. You think there is no blocking now wait until the line has him behind them they may tackle him themselves. Maybe once he realizes he knows nothing about football he will either fire Vinny and hire someone with a brain or sell the team, lets hope for the later because I am afraid that is the only thing that is really going to turn this team around. Maybe we could get Snyder to take a trip downtown and talk to Ted Leonsis (the owner of the Caps) about what it really takes to turn a team around and build a winner. Snyder has the turn a team around part down pat but knows nothing about being a winner. At least next year I might have a good chance of upgrading my season tickets, hell they might even let me play a game or two. I can't be any worse than the crap they are putting on the field now.

Nobel Peace Prize, Really???

2009-10-09T09:27:00.001-04:00

According to the Nobel committee:

"Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
"For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that 'Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.'"

While I agree he has made some good speeches and people in the rest of the world like him I have to say this is a guy who has not even been able to get his own party to agree on things as of yet let alone advance the goals of world peace to a level that would warrant this award. The committee says "Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts." He certainly prefers that method but there has not even been enough time to tell if those efforts will bear any fruit yet, we shall see. They further explain that his "vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations." Exactly where is it that these disarmament and arms control negotiations have been "powerfully stimulated?" I agree that there are people saying they are willing to talk about some things but I don't hear any one willing to make any real concessions or commitments. The US has a ton of nukes and if he is so committed to a world without them why is he not leading the way by doing something about them since that is something he has complete control over, or maybe not with the lack of support he seems to have from his Democratic majority in the congress. I could go on here but you get the point.

I am no Obama hater, maybe a Cult of Obama hater but I like the man and think he is doing his best, and I sincerely hope he is able to accomplish half of what the committee has spelled out here but making some speeches spelling out these broad goals is how he got himself into the mess he was in on health care, the Senate finance committee seems to be digging him slowly out of that hole but the outcome remains to be seen, and that is basically all he has done to date in this area as well. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact his approaches and policies will have on world peace. Some have said this is the Nobel committee being proactive and hoping this gives him a momentum boost needed to get this agenda moving, is that what this award is supposed to be for?

Congratulations President Obama! But to me this simply sets the bar for this guy even higher and so far I have seen not a lot of results from him here at home where it really does matter to the people that voted for him last time around and those that either will or will not vote for him next time around. We still have millions of people who can't get jobs and we are talking about having to extend their benefits for much longer than anyone ever anticipated and yet all we hear is we are coming out of this thing. Tell that to Joe six pack in Michigan that can't get a job. Perhaps he will do the work needed to earn this prize over the next few years, I hope so, but as of today I see nothing justifying this award other than glorious speeches, wishing, and "hope". Well, "you can wish in one hand and shit in the other and let me know which one fills up first," and "if fishes was wishes we would all have a good Christmas" but as for me lets pretend I am from Missouri "Show Me!"

Roman Polanski is a letcherous ass no matter what Whoopi or anyone else thinks

2009-10-01T12:34:00.005-04:00

So I have been seeing some people in the French and Polish governments (Roman Polanski has dual citizenship in these countries) coming out and crying foul about Mr. Polanski's arrest and possible extradition to the US. Beyond them there have been more than a few Hollywood types claiming that somehow this whole thing is blown out of proportion and acting as if he should be excused due to his talents. Well Mr. Polanski may indeed be a talented filmmaker but no matter what Whoopi Goldberg thinks he was charged with rape and plead guilty to having sex with a minor (13 years old) which is still rape, or "rape-rape" or whatever Whoopi wants to call it. Beyond that Whoopi tries to claim that Mr. Polanski served his sentence which is untrue. He did sit in jail for 42 days awaiting the sentencing which never came because he fled the country. Now some claim that he did so because the judge was going to disallow his plea deal which would have set him free on time served and sentence him to something greater than that 42 days, we will never know if that is true or not because the sentencing never happened and the judge is now dead. Even if that were the case the judge would be perfectly within the law to do so and Mr. Polanski's recourse should have been to have his lawyers appeal as most other people do. Others argue that since the victim in this case does not want to see him brought back we should forget about it but what about the fact that he ran away from it for 30 years. Even if we were to say time served is sufficient, which to me is ridiculous in this case, he still should be punished for fleeing the country to avoid his penalty. The real problem here seems to be that some just don't think what he did was wrong, well I say you don't know the facts if that is true. If you want to know what happened according the victim, who Whoopi for some reason does not believe to be "a real victim" have a read through the transcripts of her testimony at the trial and the plea transcripts. As you read this girls testimony keep in the back of your mind that this girl was 13 years old at the time and Mr. Polanski was 45. Also keep in mind that she came forward pretty much right after the incident and this is not some case where she waited 15 year to discover some repressed memory. This guy is a despicable pig and if you believe 42 days is sufficient for what he did to that girl you aren't much better in my opinion. the links are: girls testimony, plea transcript, Whoopi Goldberg comment (there are other Hollywood types who have said the same sort of things).

Massachusetts Hypocrisy

2009-09-24T10:56:00.003-04:00

This is emblematic of the reason why you can't trust anything any politician tells you. This example paints the Democrats in a bad light but you can just as easily find examples on the Republican side. The legislature in Massachusetts has voted to allow the governor to name an interim US Senator to take Kennedy's seat until the next election. This is the same bunch of idiots who enacted the law disallowing this practice and requiring a special election back in 2004. What was the difference then, a Republican governor. Are we to believe these idiots care one bit about anything other than their party with actions like this. Next time a Republican get elected gov. are they going to change it back again. This is the same kind of crap as these guys, in both parties, in congress rewriting their on district boundarires so there is basically no chance their party will lose the seat. What a bunch of crooks!!

Billy Mays Selling GM Cars

2009-09-19T23:00:00.002-04:00

Didn't I see these new GM commercials years ago except they were for Chrysler and they had Lee Iaccoca in them. Do these guys really think that a 60 day money back guarantee is the way to sell something that averages $25,000 here in the US. You better not count on those 10 million plus unit years anymore guys because I will bet you anything those days are gone. This is the same company that thought the Hummer would be a great idea and that unloading Saturn, the most liked brand they have, was a great idea. They also seem to see some giant market for a $40,000+ EV, I don't think so at least not one that is going to allow them to recoup the development costs. GM will survive this but they will not really improve until they start to realize these smaller volumes are here to stay and position themselves accordingly, much like Ford did several years ago. Why in the hell do these jackasses have my tax money.

Who Am I

2009-09-18T21:21:00.003-04:00

Hello
My name is Scott and I am 38 years old, as of the writing of this. I am married and have 4 children, only two of which live with me.I am a mild mannered (grin) software engineer by day and have been doing that since 2003. Prior to that I had a wide range of jobs from bartending to postal employee. Even longer ago than that I was in the United States Marine Corps (HOO-RAH, YUT-YUT, and all that gungy shit). As a Marine I served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm as well as various other places around the world. In my free time I like to play hockey, watch hockey, and work out, see my P90X blog, and spend time with the family. I enjoy sailing but have not done much since my youngest two kids have been born but maybe one day. I am a political independent who leans to the left socially and to the right on foreign policy as will probably be apparent from some of my posts. In general I don't trust any of the politicians and could be considered a libertarian, I believe that for the most part the government should stay out of our lives. Who I am will probably become more clear as I post more here.