Humanists

Self-proclaimed humanists, whether liberal or religious, who go out of the way to bring outsiders into a community because they seek "diversity" or an alleviation of suffering, should be more closely monitored and highly scrutinized. Whether public funds are used initially or in the regular process of social services, too many people are allowed to stick their hands in the collective cookie-jar and give away others assets. With special attention payed to liberals like Ted Kennedy who get drunk off of the superficial self-satisfaction that comes with giving away other peoples money to the disenfranchised. I think a great project, maybe a book, would be to find these people and scrutinize how they live. I remember a CSPAN book that discussed tax-loopholes that many big government types used, but I think further research should be done into their extravagant living styles. Whether it is a Gore style mansion that like a true hypocrite is not energy efficient, a Edwards $400 haircut (enough for the many America's), or someone in the moral majority acting immorally, those who advocate policies that they don't have to deal with should be called on it. Take a picture of Ted Kennedy's house and see how frugal he is or how integrated he is with this or that poor minority. I have seen many liberals force "generous" policies on a community via initiatives like low income housing requirements and they themselves live in expensive homes in gated communities. Madison, WI and Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN have had experience with certain groups pushing for a more diverse community and facilitating Hmong, Somalian, and South American immigration among many others. Many of these new immigrants appreciate the improvement in their living standards and actively seek to assimilate and contribute, but these types of "admiral" policies can have repercussions for those who live in these new population developments. If the immigrant and "progressive policy" advocates are not willing to bear a burden related to their assertiveness, then they should be called on it and marginalized. Also be aware of anyone who raises the notion of diversity but does not welcome varying opinions and rebuke any subsequent assertions that you are racist because you don't necessarily welcome a large influx of new residents, let alone ones who may be culturally difficult to assimilate within the local communities ethos and vision. Many people use the racism card to shut down debate and marginalize differing opinions. The often unreasonable call to racism is a call not to productive self awareness but instead an emotionally charged means to emphasize the differences and hopefully mobilize supporters and push opposition into guilty remission.

PBS, Illegal Immigrants

People who circumvented the law to enter this country are near the bottom of my list for people who should be allowed to waste our time utilizing the legal system to whine about the poor condition of the underground society and their black-market wages. I think labor day should include a public festival where working people can relax at their local stadium and watch fat crooked business owners fight illegal immigrants (especially whiny ones and criminals). I think blunt weapons would be best.

Other suggestions for participants are welcomed.
Maybe greedy lawyers versus stupid doctors for example.

I also thought a Realworld-House style show might be interesting with characters like Islamic fundamentalists and nutty lefty liberal ACLU types.

Question, Blogger Ads

I would like to know why so many Blogger pages have irritating pop-up ads that force themselves over the entire page. I hope Blogger fixes this, the site seems to be going down hill. I browse through random web pages and I am bombarded with crap and sketchy looking advertisements. Many of these pages don't include a tab to move to the next page.

I look forward to the day that more of these losers who clutter the web with malicious crap find themselves face to face with pissed off surfers.

C-SPAN, WJ conspiracies

Washington Journal this morning was plagued by viewer calls convinced of a 9/11 conspiracy. Most of these people are probably mentally imbalanced, but I have some sympathy for those who are frustrated by the incompetent Bush administration. It is also another example of scary people who jump outside rationality and either assume conspiracy or just as concerning those who reject it out of hand.

IPhone

I have a pocket PC phone that can do virtually everything the Iphone can do except for play youtube. The PPC also does not look quite as snazzy or have a touch screen that is as responsive, but it was cheaper before the Iphone even came out, plus it has wi-fi access. I use the stylus most of the time because for one thing the touch screen gets grimy and greasy from finger and face. No matter how cool an Iphone may look it will not be useful picking up dates if it emphasizes your oily skin. Was this not obvious to the Wall Street analysts.

Service note: I have not had luck with my Verizon carrier, I often am unable to "hear me now."
My previous carrier was sprint and disappointed as well.

Make a note of the lack of wi-fi access in cell-phones, there is no good reason for eliminating this useful capability from phones except for the pressure from telecom companies to eliminate this feature in favor of data service plans that make big money for the service providers.

PBS

PBS is great, very informative and without a constant stream of commercials, but I am often disappointed with the lefty tilt. Moyer and Brodaccio emit an arrogance and snobbery that is often not earned. I am watching Moyer asking a ACLU rep and ... about FISA, neither being an opposing perspective. I am tired of watching obnoxious representatives of New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. give me their tired opinion covered in Ivy embossed credentials. Both sides of the political spectrum spend too much time listening to their own advocates and thus forget that advocates are often ill equipped to question assumptions in a candid manner.

Diana and English Monarchy

I don't have much interest in what Diana did more than a decade ago with all the time and money that royalty allows. If the House of Windsor didn't seem to be more accessible and charitable I think they would have been doing their future a great disservice. I am surprised that the English seem so proud of still having a monarchy, whether or not they have any real political power is not the only important ruse, the fact that these people can live in undeserved privilege is embarrassing.
The bleeding heart criticism that some British point at the U.S. with is only the more ridiculous when considering the legacy of the British crown. And I LOVE THE BRITISH !

Mexican Trucking

I am highly skeptical of any suggestion that Mexican trucking companies are going to be a safe as U.S. drivers. The driving behavior of many home grown truckers scare me as is... Where is the mandatory highly visible contact information on all big rigs? It seemed common for a while and now a muddy license plate is the only form of identification and accountability most residential drivers have available when bullied by truckers.

How does this effect border security? Is some dynamic going to change between Mexican truckers bringing Mexican goods directly into the U.S. instead of a transfer station? Maybe efficiency, but considering the lack of cargo inspection already prevalent at borders, I doubt this efficiency will translate to better screening.

BEWARE...A slacking of trucking standards will be especially good for coffin-makers and the truckers that move them.

Korean Hostages

The Korean Hostage situation raises more interesting questions about the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and the greater middle east and Muslim world. What degree did the popular media and religious leaders assertively pressure for the hostages to be released on religious and civilized humanitarian grounds. If even a small degree of the outrage spent on the Muhammad cartoon fiasco had been spent on proving that Muslims can and will mobilize for positive behavior then the Muslim community could have bolstered its cosmopolitan claims with more much needed credence.

It also could be used by some to say we are not winning either geographical battle space from Taliban friendly forces or the populations hearts and minds.
OR
It is another example of the reason we need to stay vigilante and proactively address this scourge of intolerance and violence in a region long unable to self-govern with any modern form of accountability.

It also is interesting to notice the South Korean culture with respect to these hostages sense of national character. How likely is that any group of Americans would feel the impulse to apologize to the U.S. government for the hassles they caused.

Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho)

Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) faced pressure to resign because he was a Republican and thus considered a hypocrite if he acted in a manner contradicting the morality stance advocated by the right. The ethical problems within the GOP in recent years have made the party sensitive to any new scandals. The democrats could be considered to be acting ruthlessly and in an unsympathetic manner when they demonize him for activities that some dem-liberals would like to see considered not deplorable, especially from within politicians in their own ranks.