Category: Old OD

Categories
NoJoMo Old OD

10

Before I get into today’s entry, I should say that I fired of a pretty annoyed email to Reason about this week’s Editors’ Roundtable.

I think I said most of my piece in the email, but..

  • The actions against Iran aren’t a “War Of Choice.” How these fuck can you tout being about human rights, when you treat the Islamic Republic of Iran as legitimate? Ask a few AI tools how many protestors the Islamic Republic executed January 8-9 2026.
  • The inflation, I think and Cato agrees, is largely due to the increase in the money supply since the pandemic. No politician has any way to fix this while maintaining loose monetary policy.
  • Thomas Massie can’t go into obscurity quickly enough. The “War Powers Resolution” was, and probably always had been unconstitutional. It’s probably also not applicable for Naval and Air blockades; there’s no boots-on-the-ground.

Just frustrating. I do have some money sets aside I plan to give them in a few weeks, but I’m so incredibly frustrated.

I admit I lit up a few TheFP writers, too, for things they’d thrown out about the Iran operation being the reason for inflation, and the “blue wave” Tuesday. It might have been a bit of a triggering-event, but Cato has been on my wavelength with it. I mentioned David Harsanyi‘s take recently, but both really take a bicycle chain to the idea that it’s all about the Iran operation.

Anyway, I’d planned to finish this up when I was on the airplane. That didn’t happen; I am home. The wrap-up will be for Thursday.

Other stuff….
Flashing back to 2002 for a moment.

Advertisers Have Lost It - 11/10/2002
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Three.  Three times this afternoon was I awakened by telemarketers.  From the fscking popup ads on the web (it's gotten worse if you're using Internet Exploder from what I understand, even to the point of having things that animate across your screen, which you have to close manually....but I don't use Windoze much anymore).

At the station where I work, the salespeople are focused on selling these hour-long infomercials instead of thirty second spots.

I suppose it's all interconnected....sell, sell, sell, brag brag brag, (alternatively, if you don't sell...lie, lie, lie), and Wall Street bumps your stock up to ungodly heights.....

Even PBS runs ads.  One of their "made possible by..." ads the other day was some bank schilling their new checking account.....

Eventually it has to end.



Notes: --------------------------------------------------------------------


I so agree. We live in the DC area, and we keep our phone on an answering service... too many telemarketers calling... and it's a private number to boot. And yeah on the PBS stuff... that is aggravating too *nods* [Witch]  11/10/2002 6:23:35 PM
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I guess this was while I was working pretty much only at night. This would have been the November after I’d graduated, and was trying to figure out what the hell to do with my life.

How relevant are telemarketers these days? If I don’t recognize a number, I don’t take it. If I accidentally answer something that’s pure marketing, I block and report spam.

There’s still things that sneak through, but not nearly as many as back then.

One of the things Adam Curry is working on is a vibe-coded Podcast player that strips out all ads. This is a big problem for the shows that have five-plus minute ad blocks at the start and end of podcast episodes.

Whether or not that really is going to really lock people into the various platforms is unclear. While I don’t particularly like ads, I wouldn’t normally skip over spots if they were quick.

Does that mean I fully-support free-loading? No. But if there’s an additional five-minute block at the end, I’m probably just going to go to the next episode.

I’m tired. Veteran’s Day tomorrow, then trip wrap-up Thursday.

Categories
NoJoMo Old OD

6

Flashback to 2010.

Why are the 20-30 set so apathetic?  I don't know.  Go ask your little brother.  The people I deal with in that age group don't seem as resigned as I am, so I dunno.  They certainly weren't a couple of years ago when they voted.  

I'm failing miserably at this challenge, and it makes me feel old.

But when I was 25, I wuldn't have been so loopy from two drinks I was last night.

I still reek of garlic from the olive and goat cheese plate.  :-/

But, yeah, I was pretty well flying from just two drinks last night, which is either a testament to how little I've imbibed lately, or a function of the massive weight loss.

Two pounds from that come-see-me-now mark from the doctor.  I am a lot skinnier, and none of my clothes fit.  Unlike the last couple of times I've been this light, however, I don't feel exhausted as often.....

I dunno.  If I lose too much more, the shots are going to become unbearable everywhere but my belly, and hip.  "You have NO fat on your legs."  I know.  "Can we trade?"  I'd be really short if I had your legs, dear.

And I'd look even disproportional than I do now.  I don't look so much like SpongeBob anymore, but the legs are still short compared to everything else......

I thought about the birthday stuff, and I fail at that one, too.  Very rarely have I had a really, really memorable one.  At the office, they changed the birthday lunch tradition to a once-a-month thing......then they didn't have one for us in August.  

And I'm like fuck you....

But my birthday was on a weekend this year.  I managed to hide it from them the previous two years.  Besides, a lot of the places they like to go, well, suck.  Really, I'd just assume chew my fingerails than go to Buffalo Wild Wing or Ruby Tuesday.  Seriously.

Quitting now.  Need to get clean, and go grocery shopping

And reusing now:

Why are the 20-30 set so apathetic?

It’s difficult to be Old-Man-Yelling-At-Clouds here. But with so much emphasis placed on safety today, I don’t know that young people have had an opportunity to be reckless, experience things that might be great.

Christ-sakes, I ate raw oysters the other night. There is no way I would have even considered that back then. And, maybe I’ve missed out on many pleasures because of it.

*works through memories of that time where I didn’t do things that I now wonder if I missed out on…*

I should have been more reckless when I had the opportunity to enjoy myself.

But is it apathy, or is it fear? An authority figure is going to be there to clean up after you fail, but also to prevent you from ever getting in a problematic situation in the first place.

But, more to the point, I am naturally-passive. It’s can’t change that, much as I can’t change my eye color.

And, sorry, I’m not going to feel guilty for being the weird specimen I am.

If you don’t like it, encourage the crowd to start recording, then harm me physically. Let your abuse of a crippled guy be memorialized.

Then, when someone tries to hold you to account, take your punishment.

I didn’t take a bunch of risks because I was nervous of the consequences. Maybe that makes me a coward.

Calling the cops doesn’t make you any better. I regret snitching on anyone; I’m sure I did it.

That said, is it really snitching when you actually see an individual harmed by an action, or when it’s misuse of stolen taxpayer money?

scratches chin

  • Eat the oyster
  • Get drunk
  • Have sex that you might regret
  • Smoke
  • Do drugs
  • Go out without a head covering
  • Go out without underwear
  • Share the Mohammad Cartoon, even if you didn’t draw it, yourself
  • Speed

I admit that those aren’t really symmetric. But they’re all the sorts of things that the overly-cautious would tell you to never do. Or even consider doing.

When you write regulations, then hire cops to enforce those regulations, you hurt people. That it’s done by people When you write regulations, then hire cops to enforce those regulations, you hurt people. That it’s done by people you hired doesn’t absolve you of guilt.

If you’re constantly reminding people of risks, you don’t respect them. Or you view them as perpetual children.

But if they’re not doing things because they’re scared of the cops you’ve hired, are they really apathetic?

Categories
Old OD Scarred Brain murmurings

25 Years Later

I guess I was on a break from OD when 9/11 happened, so this is what I have for my first output.

To answer the coming questions, yes, I’m back for the moment. We shall see how it works, and if I can deal with the frustrations that go along…..I have some new tools that should make my experience better. I’ll leave it at that.

I can’t really describe what I’m feeling or what’s going on. Of course, my life has been busy since Tuesday with the associated problems…..work, friends, and especially school. One student’s mother was killed in the Pentagon, and another had a cousin killed and another injured at the WTC. To top all that off, the president of the university sent out a quite insensitive e-mail lecturing us that it shouldn’t affect us, and that we needed to concentrate on our studies so as not to let the terrorists win. Fuck him. I have no respect for him anymore. I didn’t have any classes on Tuesday, but I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate if I had.

Then on Wednesday, a student died in a motorcycle accident.

It’s just been hell.

I haven’t been able to quiet my mind or body since all this started. I feel like it’s important that I do something, but there’s not a hell of a lot that I can do. But if the United States is going to engage in war, I’m going to try to be a part of it. I cannot fulfill my dreams in a country where anyone has to worry about terrorist threats on a daily basis.

So I’m thinking about leaving school and joining the military.

But I’ll write more later.

I was trying to figure out really what to do for this morning, but I’m really not sure.

I’ll probably go watch some of the remembrance(s), but I’m really not sure how I feel about it.

This was half a lifetime ago.

I’m not finding the average male life expectancy, but it’s about a third of a life for most guys.

Very strange feeling.

But, yeah, I don’t have anything I wrote day-of, or just after.

I was listening to WNIS, preparing something to take to campus for the Student Senate.

The first plane hit just before I got in the shower; I was listening on a GE clock radio I had on the bathroom sink.

News of the second plane came while I was getting dressed.

I think I would have arrived on campus mid-morning, and the Student Center was jam-packed with crying students.

After I dropped off my bill, I hung around for a while, then drove to the stations. I vaguely remember they were checking cars at the Monitor-Merrimack.

I think I was doing some live assist, but I was mainly monitoring news feeds. Probably mid-afternoon, I went home for a few hours of sleep before my normal night shift.

I do want to watch coverage, but can I find something where side-commentary won’t set me off?

This happened. No, it wasn’t planned by the US. Loose Change was bullshit when it was released. Maybe I should be more disturbed that it’s getting wider circulation, but there’s a bit of reflection that says, “Don’t Be Old Man Who Yells At Cloud.”

I’m thinking I’ll flip around, but there’s reluctance.

Categories
Old OD Summer Writing

29 (8/19)

Hopes for a calm rest of the week have pretty much evaporated. Yes, I’m writing before 0600. Why? I have to go back and get yet another MRI before the fun with this study can commence Friday.

And Physical Therapy for this afternoon after I get back from DC; it had been scheduled for early this morning.

Oh well.

Can I figure out the Dunkin app so that I can pick up an order as they wheel me out of the hospital? And make the town car smell like coffee as I roll back to Virginia.

Scouring the promos, I’m only seeing one, maybe, that might be of any interest. Lunch, maybe?

Glancing through old entries, I think the first one I have is on intoxicants. My general take on it was similar to Pelosi’s take on the 2020 riots:

My indifference is slightly different, I think. But it also fits with my writing from The Summer of Love. Things were crazy.

But I also found this one from 2010.

08/19/2010 - 8/19/2010
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So, after last night's knot, tonight's was a gusher.  Must have hit a vein or something.

My mother has discovered she likes text messaging on her iPhone.  I'm not sure this is a good thing.  Neither is my dad, considering he's having to modify their plain to support it......

Work is a mess.  I'm just not sure why I'm doing the work they have me doing.  It's nothing but frustration.  The processes are insufficient, so you bolster them, so people just ignore the processes, which means more processes are needed, etc.

Systems engineering is perhaps a bigger pseudoscience than homeopathy.  Why am I doing it?  I can read, write, and speak.  Many other IT people can't be bothered to do the first, and simply can't do the last two.  A year ago, I might have recoiled more, but at this point, I'm operating under the realization that it's something I can continue doing if my body further fails me.  But it also means I probably ought to think more about grad school.  Ugh.

I am halfway tempted to see what additional accommodations I could get as a "disabled" student.  Is that wrong?  ;-)

That one is really interesting, actually. It’s from when I was new on Copaxone, actually before Sarah and I married.

Obviously, things got a lot worse. But it’s interesting to see that there was a sliver of time when things didn’t seem all that bad.

Okay, that’s enough reminiscing. The AI reviewers are going to bitch at me for jumping around time. Whatever. Prompts!

What lights me up inside, even when I’m exhausted?
How can I protect time for that passion?

You know, this actually fits nicely with the past entries. The answer, sadly, is really “nothing.”

I do play along, and force myself through whatever it is. I understand I shouldn’t be doing that, Doc, but it’s how I operate.

Is there anything that’d light me up inside? No, not really. I probably ought to find something, but there’s so many dark harbingers around, and it seems like I’m so busy stamping out fires that I can’t really plan anything. Also, the almost a year’s worth of no income at all really trimmed my sails. I could be planning something fun, but is one of these other things going to cook off and ruin it?

Chilly weather. Football. Oysters. Pfft. But none of this is in my control, unfortunately.

That’s enough. Cut this all off tomorrow.

Categories
Old OD Summer Writing

27 (8/17)

Another day of odd sleep. I tried to press through, but I couldn’t get to the 2200 news.

Pfft.

I wanted to see if there was follow-up to the one CNN report from yesterday that set Instagram ablaze..

Adm. Cooper went out to the ship, himself. Little follow-up in this morning’s check. I did catch Johnny Joey Jones‘s clip about what he experienced in fifteen-month deployments in Afghanistan. Axe Body Spray is in short-supply until the next UNREP?

My sympathy evaporated about as quickly as this story outrage, well, the outrage about it, evaporates. Though I think it’ll probably re-emerge like the infamous “suckers and losers” hearsay. Worked one, it’ll totally work again. Just like juicing economy by keeping interest rates below inflation.

I’m sure being on the ship sucks. I’m also sure that it’s far, far better than being stuck somewhere in East Africa because of other politicians’ missteps.

Naturally, this news was coming from the various Meta properties. The stuff on IG was a little less sensational when it was on Infowars or Prison Planet.

You can’t stop the nonsense. Dressing it up as being from a legitimate news source doesn’t mean you have to accept it as gospel, either. (Joke was unintended…) I S’dTFW for Alex Jones antisemitism, and found this letter to the NYT from someone at the ADL.

No, he shouldn’t be censored. And urging the men with guns to take action is wrong. But you should look askew at people who peddle these things nonstop. And you have to keep a watchful eye towards people who fall into reciting the tired tropes.

Again, for me, the big tipoffs are:

It doesn’t take long to hit two, but more often all, of these conspiracy theories from a single source.

You can try to validate the claims, but it’s probably an exercise in futility.

So, what else….

Today should be slack. Tomorrow I go for more appointments in DC. Physical Therapy first thing Wednesday morning. Try to go to this free comedy event in DC on Thursday night.

Maybe I should build in some more time to write, but I think I’ve done a lot already.

So, prompts….

Who in my life deserves more gratitude than I’ve expressed?
What would I say to them if I wrote them a note?

Hmmm. This is a difficult prompt. I do try to remember to express gratitude as often as I can; in so many ways, I’m at others’ mercy for my existence.

But it’s very difficult given what’s happened to me to formulate what I might put in a note.

That I’m not leading with a “Fuck You!” says a hell of a lot, I think, in light of what I’ve been through.

I tend to just leave, and say nothing further. There’s lots of places where you can place blame for that, but it’s been how I operate as long as I can remember. It also fits with my nomadic upbringing..

Because I’m looking at old stuff while I’m doing this, from 2011.

8/17/2011 - 8/17/2011
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Pffftbt....

So, the nurse lied to me over the phone last week.  I have two new lesions since December, one of which was active during the scan.

Staying on the Copaxone for three more months.  Anotehr MRI in November.

There's now a blood test for the virus that causes PML associated with the Tysabri.  I guess about half the population have been exposed to the virus, and, therefore, shouldn't use Tysabri.

Pfffftbt.

I don't really know what more to say.  Don't like waking my wife up with less-than-good news.  :-(

MS has been such a wonderful journey.

Categories
Old OD Summer Writing

24 (8/14)

Out of morbid curiosity, I decided to see what else I’d written this day.

The 2020 entry has stuff from waaaay back.

Also found this old OD snippet.

8/14/2012 - 8/14/2012
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It's Tuesday.  My redone work is redone.  I'm waiting until the last minute to send it.  Partiallly, that's the prove a point (although I'm certain their heads are too far up their asses to get it), partially it's so I can GTFO, and not field any calls about it.


My wife is off shopping and doing laundry with her mother again.  Figure she can take advantage while we're still close.  

She desperately wants to move to DC now.  I'm not sure what, exactly, to make of it.

She was disappointed I didn't find this letter her cousin posted.  It was something to Dr. Laura about Leviticus.
1.  Dr. Laura is Jewish.  I'm not sure what her faith still views as law.  Regardless, they're not using the same Leviticus that's in KJV.
2.  Doesn't a professor have better things to do?
3.  Dr. Laura isn't nationally-syndicated anymore.  She may still be on the air somewhere, but she's not what she onece was.  
4.  This is the big one -- the majority of <u>Christians</u> view Leviticus (and the rest of the Old Testament as <u>allegorical</u>.

I would think someone with a terminal degree would fucking take those things into consideration.....

"Are you going to resent me if I end up as a professor?"
"No, of course not.  But if you waste your time writing something so nonsensical, I'm going to call you on it."
"How did you trick me into marrying you, again?"

<font color="black">Then make-up nookie</font>

*yawn*<hr>**EDIT 1**

Couldn't sit on it too long.  *sigh*  I'm such a sucker.  Why the fuck do I fail to exact rightful revenge?

There was another one from 2000 that would require quite a bit of trimming to put up publicly. Still, it had many grand plans that didn’t happen. Maybe my experiences there show why I really try to avoid planning too far in the future. The 2000 one was about my planned push to really change my situation. A lot of that really had leaving radio as a pre-condition.

But that didn’t happen.

I should check to see if there’s any insight about why, exactly, that didn’t happen. I suspect that I fell into more responsibilities, and things were turning very strange after the USS Cole, and the insanity regarding the 2000 election.

The plowing back through old prompts, along with something on another Substack outlet, could have been TheFP, could have been Blocked and Reported, I was reminded of someone I knew back then. I was intrigued by her intelligence; we’d been in several classes together, and she was in a few of the same student activities.

For a variety of reasons, I’d shied away from finding more reasons to spend more time in her company. The most notable one was that she had a kid.

God, I can’t even remember her name….

So much Searching TFW, I finally found her. Yeah, that’s her name. Oh, she went to Marshall-Wythe, my brother’s Catholic high school, and is practicing law in NN. But she’s not at that kind-of ubiquitous firm anymore. Yeah, she started her own thing. Um. Cool, I guess?

Strange interlude.

And I feel really old knowing, now, that her kid is probably close to 30.

So, prompts

What are my thoughts about social media?

Instagram, along with some of the other Facebook properties, are open sewers. I didn’t understand the term “doom scrolling,” but I think I get it now. Twitter X is similarly-bad, but it does provide information that seems to get buried other places.

BlueSky is a leftist echo chamber. I only set up an account there because I was curious about what they were doing to Jesse Singal. I was also worried about what they were trying to do, so I only installed it on a rarely-used Android tablet.
But even when I fired that cheap tablet up, I rarely see anything interesting. I complained to Cato when they were pushing its use.

But I don’t think I’ve even glanced at it in probably two months.

I do more with Facebook than I used to, but it’s primarily to cross-post my ramblings, and see what some older friends are up to.

How does it impact how I see myself or others?

I mentioned that IG is a cesspool. There’s lots of really bad ideas that get pushed to the top of people’s feeds while other things are ignored. If you asked your average IG user, she’d have a lot of information about ICE operations, but know next to nothing about the tens of thousands of people killed by the Iranian dictators in two days in January.

I also ended up searching the USAF Major who was doing his song-and-dance on the steps of the Capitol earlier this summer. There actually isn’t a lot of news on him, and that’s the way that the system’s supposed to function under the UCMJ. You’d think that the people who were building shrines to him in July would still be talking about it in August, but you’d be wrong.

Some of the other also-rans are still around, but barely functional.

*glances at Social group on phone*

Okay, I still use X, IG, Facebook, Locals. Rarely even look at Telegram unless there’s someone trying to rope me in to another crypto scam. Discord still gets a look every now and again. Parler finally got 2FA turned on, but there’s rarely anything interesting there. GETTR I have no idea when I last looked. TruthSocial, well, I just don’t care.

And I think that’s enough for today.

Categories
Old OD

Annoyed

You towed my car, YOU BASTARDS!!

After about twelve hours of sleep (I'm being a lazy sack of you know what lately), I stumbled out of my apartment and found my Jeep was a missin'.  Damnit.

I called around, had to get my Dad to come pick me up, and went and got it.  The cop who had it towed didn't notice the temporary pass on my visor.  I'm not amused.  Anyway, the city is paying for the bill.  Nothing out of my pocket, except whatever it cost to get the police department's number.  Still, damnit.

The cop also looked suspiciously like Art Bell.  Weird.

Another thing to be annoyed about.....during my day of productivity on Thursday, I subscribed to the local Tabloid rag that refers to itself as the newspaper.  Delivery was supposed to start today.  When I came home from work.....no paper.

Damnit, Damnit, Damnit.

I'm going to Wal-Mart to shop for Christmas.



Notes: --------------------------------------------------------------------


I once had my truck towed from a Taco Bell parking lot while I was sitting in the restaurant eating.  The managers said they asked if anyone in the restaurant had a car in the lot, but they didn't say it loud enough  12/18/1999 1:12:53 AM
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and off my truck was towed down the street.  Fortunately, another tow truck radioed ahead to the one towing mine, and they stopped before I got towed away to the impound lot, but I was so pissed off. [tervin]  12/18/1999 1:14:15 AM
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Categories
Old OD Scarred Brain murmurings

Digging Up The Past

OD on the Lynx Browser — – 11/3/1999

I think I mentioned I’m in the process of importing my old OD stuff into WP so I have it in something better than ASCII.

But this kinda is kinda emblematic of my past use of tools.

Hehe....no graphics, only words.  Well, that's all that
matters anyway, you know.  I've been busy, honestly.
While I've got quite a bit to write, I'm not finding the
time to do it.  But first things first.....
I had the strangest dream last night.  Eva and I watched
"Wild Things"--you know, the flick with Neve Campbell and
Denise Richards (sch-wing!).  Well, I went home after the
movie ended and went to sleep.  In my dream, I was chasing
this dude down a stairwell which was open in the middle.
My feet weren't really touching the ground as I was running
down, rather I was kind of swinging off the banisters
like I used to do when I was a little kid.  Anyway, he shot
me.  The bastard shot me!  I fell to the bottom of the
stairwell where I was in terrible pain.  I had a bullet
lodged in the middle of my chest, right underneath the
skin.  There wasn't any blood, and I could kind of push
the bullet around like some kind of alien implant.  But
I'm lying there in terrible pain, and I notice that
Cameron Diaz is there, and wants to have sex with me.
Now, I don't find Cameron Diaz unattractive, but she's
never been one of the women I absolutely drool over. I
will say that she has amazing lips, and she was doing
some very interesting things with those wonderful lips. I
also had a condom on my left hand.  But I wasn't really
interested in what she was trying to do to me (something
I'd really like right now), because I had this fucking
bullet moving around in my chest.  The last thing I
remember is her telling me to take the condom off my hand.
I shan't try and explain this one.  Yikes.  But I do need
to get laid.  Bad.

Speaking of dreams, at work the other night, I was going
through my boss's morning prep materials.  One of their
tidbits was that only like eight percent of people dream
in color.  This is news to me, since I've always dreamed
in color.  I figured pretty much everyone did.  I asked
Eva about it, and she said that she dreams in color.  I
didn't ask Alison, because she was out of town.  More on
all that shit later.  So, tell me, how many of you dream
in color?  Am I just one of the lucky few?  Perhaps this
makes me special in some way.  I might enjoy my dreams
more if I knew they were something really special, instead
of annoyances.

Oh, if this looks screwed up, I'm sorry.  I'm doing my best
in this browser.  It's sort of a challenge.  I've been
fucking around with Linux again.  Am I a freak or what?
Notes: --------------------------------------------------------------------


Linux rocks
get laid
I dream in color
that netscape horoscope ad looks really nice on your page...  matches the color scheme.  ha.  Too bad you can't see it.  =p  11/3/1999 11:16:53 AM
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oh, that was me...  stephanie  11/3/1999 11:17:10 AM
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I dream in color, I think.  Sometimes I dream in black and white, tho.  I guess I change around depending on the dream.  Maybe I'm just weird. [tervin]  11/3/1999 12:34:28 PM
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i think your dream is trying to tell you something. it seems to me that you don't feel real "grounded" w/ eva because of the whole kid thing and you're not quite sure of the relationship, but you do know that you want her. i don't think anna knows how you  11/4/1999 10:44:32 AM
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con't- how you feel because she probably figures you're getting serious w/eva so she is playing uninterested  11/4/1999 10:51:10 AM
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oh that statistic has to be wrong.. i have always dreamed in color... [amifly]  11/4/1999 1:58:35 PM
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So I’ve been at this a while…

Categories
Old OD

Election Notes

Alright, I suppose I need to write about what happened Tuesday….
To preface this, I did vote for Bush, but anyone who’s been reading for a few months would have figured that out by now. To me, both parties are too committed to big government — doing things for people that they should be responsible for themselves. On this count I will castigate President Bush. I think the Medicare drug benefit was a step in the wrong direction. No, it’s not as bad as a full-blown socialized health care system, but it’s a step in the wrong direction, nonetheless. When it gets to the point where the main goal of voters is to take money from other people to pay for services to benefit themselves, this Republic will collapse. If you need health care, pay for it. If you want to minimize your financial risk, buy into a group plan. Any legislation regarding health care reform should be aimed solely at making it easier for the private health care industry to function profitably.
Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent….
– Since sometime this summer, I’d thought Bush would win the popular vote. I was very concerned, however, that he’d lose the electoral vote. As it turned out, that was very close. I’d told people that Bush needed to have 296 electoral votes wrapped up to avoid legal challenges. I was *almost* right. I do credit Senator Kerry for doing the right thing, and stepping aside when it’s virtually impossible for him to win. I think, that he lost the popular vote by such a margin plays into that. The Democrats were very vocal that Bush didn’t have a “mandate” in 2000, because he lost by 500k votes. Kerry lost by seven times that.
– On Kerry himself…… The Democrats need to take a hard look at why they weren’t able to win, despite Bush’s widespread unpopularity. The answer, hard as it might be to swallow, is that they were too angry and spiteful. They could have won if it weren’t for the venom. I think they realized that, partially, during the primaries, which is why Howard Dean lost. But their choice of Kerry is very telling. Really and truly, there were only five candidates worth considering (Sharpton, Moseley-Braun, and Kuchinich are fruit-loops who can never be elected nationally….Graham is too old.). I’ll run them down individually, in order from worst chance of winning to best.
John Edwards: He’s so purdy. Unforunately, his class-warfare venom is reminiscent of Huey Long. His asshole lawyer side can come out from time to time. He showed that during the Democrat debates. He showed that during his debate with Cheney. And he certainly showed that election night with his curt statement.
Wes Clark: Military pedigree that makes him intriguing, and probably was the one backed most by the Clintons. Clark, however, had zero political experience, and it showed when he was campaigning. Not the most dynamic speaker in the world. He spoke very highly of Bush before he decided he wanted to run for president. Got into the race very late. And then there’s that little problem with his military record, where the Secretary of Defense relieved him from command, and forced him to retire early. Oops.
Dick Gephardt: National recognition from his years as majority whip and minority leader. Would turn out the union votes. Strong midwest support. Boring as hell, and quite possibly made out of plastic.
Joe Lieberman: By far, the best-qualified candidate in the field. But he sounds like Droopy-Dog when he speaks. And the biggest problem with him is something the Democrats need to address and fix within the party. Lieberman could never head the Democratic ticket because of his religion. I think the Republicans probably have the same problem with minorities. But the virulent anti-semitism that exists within the liberal elite ranks, as well as in minority communities needs to be addressed. Being anti-Catholic was acceptable in the late 19th century, and it took until 1960 for one to get elected.
So, that brings us to Kerry. Long political career? Check. Liberal pedigree? Check. War Hero? Check. He’s our guy!
But they didn’t vet him very well. As the President pretty well pointed out, Kerry has been a model of inconsistency during his stay in the Senate. His views are “nuanced,” his supporters argue. But that’s bullshit, and they know it. How is support of capital punishment only in cases of terrorism nuanced? In the debate on capital punishment, you either think that the government should have the ability to deprive someone of life (whether you think the government shouldn’t have the power to fight off tyranny, or whether it’s religiously-based…there aren’t a lot of in betweens) or not. So many of his “nuanced” views turned out to be like this….working both sides of the issue, so he can never get pinned down.
Then there’s the war thing. I think the questioning of his actual actions in Vietnam were inappropriate for the most part. That said, he provoked those people by making a scene of it at the convention. His post-war activities, however, are fair game. I’m still curious as to whether he received a dishonorable discharge initially. Animosity over Vietnam remains high, and his testimony before Congress didn’t win him many friends among his fellow veterans. In other words, they should have expected this. It wasn’t off-limits to begin with, and they ratcheted up the scrutiny by having the Vietnam love-fest in Boston.
Then there’s his record in the Senate. Some of his past positions are just indefensible. The Republicans really hammered his opposition to Desert Storm. He’s supposed to have credibility when it comes to fighting terrorism and despotism when his record shows he won’t stand against it, even when the rest of the world is? The rest of his wrong positions were just icing on the cake. For any position he took, people were able to find an instance where he was on the other side. This is a problem for any candidate who has a long record in the Senate. I think it’s part of the reason why governors have an easier time winning the White House. Thinking back on it, I guess JFK was the last senator to win the presidency?
So, you have a candidate with a spotty past, chosen in desperation. Is there any wonder why he lost? Without Iraq, and the discord surrounding it, Kerry probably would have been lucky to win five states.
Now, special venom to a few different people/groups….
Moveon.org. Weren’t y’all formed to get people to move on from the impeachment controversy with Clinton? You’ve outlived your usefulness, and you aren’t helping people get over things, rather you’re just incendiary. Putting up *multiple* commercials comparing Bush to Hitler is just insane. And remember, any time you pull the Hitler card, you’ve lost the debate. So, Moveon.org, I implore you to Goaway.org.
Various Celebs who tried to affect this election with star-power. Shut up and sing. Just because you have a platform, doesn’t mean you have anything insightful to say. I am willing to give you one pass on this. Second time, I’m withdrawing my support. Keep this in mind, y’all. If you do it again, mark my words, you will not get another dime of my money.
John McCain, Russ Feingold, George Bush, and the US Supreme Court. I fault all of you for the situation with the 527 groups. The only answer to campaign finance reform is unlimited private contributions, with full disclosure. Any group who wishes to buy ads may do so, but they have to disclose all of their funding. McCain-Feingold needs to be repealed as soon as possible.
George Soros. I don’t know much about you, but all of it seems shady. I hope you feel good about blowing that much money on a failed cause. Is that legitimately earned money? Or did you make it on an insider tip? (For those of you who are unaware, Soros pled guilty to insider trading in Europe) If you truly are a man without a country, I hope you’ll go bother someone else’s.
Michael Moore. God, if I knew where to begin. There are a few things to remember about you. First and foremost, you fundamentally hate America. I don’t know what kind of country you’re seeking, but it doesn’t resemble an America envisioned by either major political party. You have a wonderful mastery of the art of lying by omission. You did it with Bowling for Columbine, but Hollywood rewarded that with an Oscar. You also did it with F9/11, before it was even released. You played the victim card when Disney wouldn’t distribute the movie….except you failed to mention the part about Disney having told you this beforehand. You misconstrued the 2000 Florida election controversy. Gore did not win under every recount circumstance — that’s just a lie. If there is a hell, a special place is reserved for you.
Soon, I will write about what Bush should now do. He has an historic opportunity to really make changes that’ll pay off in the future. He squandered that opportunity after his first election, instead focusing on things where the federal government has no business.
To all my liberal friends, I give you until midnight Sunday night. Bitch, whine, moan, scream, whatever until that time. You’re entitled until that point. I’ll put up with it. After then, imma ride your asses. 🙂

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SAINTS WIN!!!!

SAINTS WIN!!!



SAINTS WIN!!!



NO MORE AIN'TS!!!



SAINTS WIN!!!



So long, Rams.  :-)



After 33 years, it's about damn time.



SAINTS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Notes: --------------------------------------------------------------------


Congratulations :o) [algoRhythm]  12/30/2000 8:08:38 PM
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I know!  I can't freakin believe it!  Who would have ever thought we woulda won a championship game?!  Now, we'll just see how far they can get. [KatieJD]  12/30/2000 8:10:50 PM
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