Random thought of the day on global warming

As much as we realists have come to understand that the warmers preach the ideas of global warming with such fervent faith as those believe in other myths, I'm reminded that throughout history, we've been plagued by such people who believed in other pseudoscientific drivel (and in some cases, still do). How about the old theory that the earth was the center of the universe? There were people who believed so strongly in this idea that they would kill off dissenters. The Salem Witch Trials were so steeped in ignorance that 20 so-called "witches" were executed (moreover, they were not burned at the stake, as many still believe... after all, as anyone knows a true witch could never be killed in this fashion).

So... I don't suppose that global warming could just be another such episode... could it?

So-called netiquette & Comic-Book Guy wannabees

This is too much for my feeble mind to untangle, so 'splain something to me: On an Internet forum, if you post a new topic that has been covered previously in a different thread, you've done wrong. If you dare post that topic to a thread that has crossed someone's arbitrary idea of "old", you've done wrong. Regardless, it's obviously more important to waste time & bandwidth pointing out to everyone that you're emo and offended than to stay on topic.

This reminds of the Caps-lock police... a n00b posts a question all in caps and then the next 22 posters feel like they have to chastise the n00b. "It's like shouting," they say. "Get over yourself," I reply. Welcome to the oh-so-useful forum on the friendly, productive Internet.

Or the spell-check police. Here we have purportedly sophisticated humans who never make a mistake but can't cope with it if someone else does. So, the next 31 posters complain that someone misspelled "the". Alot of these folks pride themselves on being l33t h4x0rs. Even worse is when one of these bastions of grammatical grace has found their way into the losing side of a debate... and then they try to discredit the winner by pointing out a spelling error several posts back. Classy!

All this make me view my audiences as consisting of a bunch of Comic-Book Guy wannabees. You know... those guys who trifle over irrelevant details instead of concerning themselves with proper scope? These are the guys that when they speak, 95% of the time the first words out of their mouths are "Well, actually..." (or some derivative). These guys are so great and knowledgeable, but somehow they forgot to learn about human nature and built-in error correction. I work with guys like this, and no one can stand them because of it. What's worse, they have no idea why nobody care to be around them anymore than they have to.

Ever wonder why we don't elect a President by direct vote? Go figure.

Downright fucking disgusting...

Someone want to tell me why I can sit there and deny myself a hedonist lifestyle so I can keep myself financially stable... making proper decisions about how much to spend on necessities like houses and food and also desires. AND NOW I HAVE TO PAY TO HAVE THOSE THAT DECIDED NOT TO MAKE SIMILAR, RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS BAILED THE FUCK OUT?!?!? WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION IS IT ENUMERATED THAT BAILING OUT HEDONISTS IS THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY?!?

Yeah. I'm pissed. Once again, the intelligent and reasonable are forced to prop up the inconsiderate buffoons. All in the name of buying votes so the government elite can make a career out of doing so. All in the name of a media-overblown "crisis" that affects a whopping 5% of homeowners.

Thanks be to Congress (truly the opposite of "progress"). I guess it's time for me to stop being responsible for my actions.

FUCKING COME ON!

Seeing a 76-10 vote on this tells me that in addition to the broad Democrat support (no surprise, here), there was broad Republican support (less of a surprise than it used to be). The 10 no-voters were:

Barrasso (WY), Coburn (OK), Corker (TN), Cornyn (TX), DeMint (SC), Ensign (NV), Enzi (WY), Grassley (IA), Hatch (UT), Hutchison (TX), Kyl (AZ), Thune (SD), Vitter (LA)

The non-voters don't impress me... they could have voted "no", but they were too coward.

Thank goodness these ten had the balls to do the right thing. I expect no less from Senator Coburn, who impresses me more and more with every passing day.

I've long supported President Bush amidst all the irrational "Bush Disillusionment Syndrome" perpetrated by the media (except with how he's handled the illegal immigrant invasion problem). However, if he signs this, I'll pull all my support. At that point, I might as well vote for the Democrat Party candidate for President. After all, they'll be the same thing.

Speaking of idiots...

Here we have video of John Wiley Price's apparently racist rant, plus an interview where he decries terms such as "angel food cake" and "devil's food cake" as racist:



The Dallas Fox affiliate had an online poll up on the page where they showed this video on their website. The question was, "Is the term "Black Hole" racist?". Last I looked before it was pulled, the vote was 97.5% "no". Most lopsided online poll I have EVER seen. LOL.

It's good to know that Mr. Price's primary concern as a county commissioner is looking out for the best interests of his constituency as opposed to his hangups over differences in skin color and culture.

Just for funsies...

I'd like to share this video of Criss Angel's steamroller illusion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7gl8nNsDMA

I could have embedded this, but I chose not to because what I really want you all to see is the raft of comments that has been posted to the video. Here we have a cross-section of some very intelligent people... people who will most likely voting for our next President. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy, doesn't it? Restores your faith in humanity, no?

I wasn't going to address the issues contained within, but this is the sort of thing that happens when those that put their unsubstantiated beliefs up against those who refuse to suspend their realism long enough to enjoy the "unreal". Great unwashed, indeed.

To clarify for everyone concerned: Criss Angel is billed as an illusionist. That would literally mean "one who deals in illusions". Of course he wasn't really run over by a steamroller on the asphalt surface... it was an illusion. Anyone who actually believes that this was real is an idiot, and so is anyone who can't appreciate this fantastic illusion for what it is. That would cover 99.9% of the commenters to that video.

Well... they're no rocket scientists, are they?

Once again, a tale of people so preoccupied with perpetuating racism that they are ignorant of even basic science.

As reported by the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield (white) , said it seemed that central collections, "has become a black hole" because paperwork apparently was lost in the office. Another Dallas Commissioner, John Wiley Price (black) erupted with a loud, "excuse me!", followed by him correcting Mayfield by saying the office has become a "white hole." Then Judge Thomas Jones (black) demanded an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive remark.

You have GOT to be kidding me. I have to find these geniuses on YouTube. And here they are:

In 1999 when a white DC staffer resigned amidst criticism for using the word "niggardly", which means "miserly", to describe a business dealings, I could almost understand the confusion, considering that "niggard" and its derivatives have fallen out of common usage. But even people educated in gubment schools knows what a black hole is: an object so massive that it's gravitational pull doesn't let even light (hence "black") escape (hence "hole"). Hell, Disney made a movie about one back in the early 1980's.

For those that don't know, a "white hole" is quite the opposite of a black hole: it's a point that nothing can enter; it casts material forth with force analogous to a black hole's ability to suck it in.

But to Price and Jones, that doesn't seem to matter. It's apparently a HUGE priority to trot out their hangups with differences in race because it's overwhelmingly more important than what's being discussed in a public meeting. In my humble opinion, if the public that they "serve" is any smarter than these two bozos, they'll show them the door at the earliest opportunity.

It's about time...

Apparently, the Washington State Patrol have decided that it's high time to enforce traffic laws against moron drivers who feel the urge to just poke-ass it along in the passing lanes of highways. I'm not a road rager, but very little infuriates me more than getting stuck behind one of these squareheads. They're called "passing lanes" for a reason! And in Oklahoma, of course this is a HUGE problem. Maybe the Oklahoma Highway Patrol could learn something from their Cascadian brothers.

Jump is here.

Quotes for today...

Folks... I found a great political cartoon site today called Red Planet Cartoons. Do yourself a favor and visit.

While I was there, I picked up a couple quotes of value. First by Thomas Sowell:

Nothing is easier, or more emotionally satisfying, than blaming high prices on those who charge them, rather than on those who cause them.

This was said, of course, in reference to everyone's blaming of high gas prices on the greed of the oil companies rather than government interference and taxes. Nevermind that the oil companies make about 9 cents per gallon and government takes around 42.

And this one from our greatest President, Ronald Reagan:

Republicans believe every day is July 4th. Democrats believe every day is April 15th.

The reference here should be obvious.

Morning logic...

Ever notice how many people there are out there that are just never wrong? Seems like it's prevalence is on the rise. This attitude goes hand-in-hand with such wonders as frivolous lawsuits, class warfare, lack of personal responsibility, etc.

Funny how no one ever stops to consider this:

1. People who refuse to learn are idiots.
   
2. People learn primarily from their mistakes.
3. People are imperfect, thus they make mistakes.
4. Thus, it's human nature to learn as you go.

However, for the people that can never do wrong:

1. They must know it all already.
2. Thus, they can't learn anything new.
3. Thus, they are cretins and become more cretinous as time goes on.
   

Prison's full of innocent people, right? What about the presidential campaign?

One other thought: If people can do no wrong (and thus they know it all), why does it piss people off so much when you point our that they know it all?

WTF kind of BS is that?

The best way to handle mistakes is to:

1. Be on the the lookout for them.
2. When they occur, admit them, learn from them, and move on.
3. Use what you learned to prevent the same mistake from happening again.

If you don't do this, the mistake will just repeat itself. Is that what you want?

Is there something in the water in South Florida?

Okay, so Fox News is rolling continuing coverage of a widespread power outage in South Florida. Why, I don't know. Whatever.

The striking thing is that once again, sheeple display their stupidity by apparently ignoring a basic driving safety tenet (and state law in Florida):

Upon approaching a 4-way intersection governed by traffic lights that are not working, the intersection shall be treated as a 4-way stop by ALL directions of traffic.

But no... news shots of intersections down there show accidents being caused by people who can't be bothered to follow the law. It's even worse in groups, where mob rule and anonymity in numbers are what control people's minds. Hell, they even showed motorcycle cops rolling right through.

Remember, these are the same people who couldn't figure out simple ballots in West Palm Beach during the 2000 presidential election.

An afterthought: I'm hearing news stories where our schools go into some ridiculous state called "lockdown" every time someone cuts a loud fart. During these periods, apparently these schools act like prisons and won't release children to their parents. More stupid black & white decision making brought to you by people who can't think for themselves, yet are left in charge of teaching our children.

I'll tell you what: if someone had my children and wouldn't release them to me, there'd be hell to pay. All the more reason to home school.

Fire & hillbillies just don't mix...

You'd think that people would learn after each winter/dry season in Oklahoma. But no. Once again, today we have raging grass fires everywhere. It's not like we have an abundance of natural causes, and it's not like these people have been warned that conditions are ripe for fires to be out of control.

But instead, it's way more important for Mountain William to set a pile of lawn waste alight on a windy, dry day and walk away from it. Or maybe Cletus can't be brought to not flick his smoke out the window. Next thing you know, we have a conflagration that destroys huge amounts of vegetation, wildlife, and property. Sometimes it even takes lives.

There are solutions to this mess. First, the state has to take a proactive role in just prohibiting all outside burning from October through March. I think that six months out of the year is enough for hillbillies who can't be inconvenienced to mulch or otherwise dispose of their waste to burn it off. Second, don't be so damned quick to remove burn bans just because it freaking rains. Fire weather depends on much more than the rainfall from last night. Third, state and local government needs to institute burn permits and inspections. Finally, more responsibility needs to be placed on those burning outdoors so that when their shit gets out of control, they are fined, jailed, and/or sued for it. Hell, in some areas that I frequent, cash-strapped city governments don't even fine these idiots when they burn during a burn ban. These morons need to be held responsible for the full cost of the fire protection services that are putting out the fires they cause.

Makes not a damn bit of sense to me.

Looks like I'll be buying a book soon...

From page 409 of "The Bad Boy of Baltimore", a biography of H.L. Mencken by Marion Elizabeth Rodgers:

"By the mid-1930's, thanks to the New Deal, all that self-reliance had changed, prompting Mencken to declare: 'There is no genuine justice in any scheme of feeding and coddling the loafer whose only ponderable energies are devoted wholly to reproduction. Nine-tenths of the rights he bellows for are really privileges and he does nothing to deserve them.' Despite the billions spent on an individual, 'he can be lifted transiently but always slips back again.' Thus, the New Deal had been 'the most stupendous digenetic enterprise ever undertaken by man.... We not only acquired a vast population of morons, we have inculcated all morons, old or young, with the doctrine that the decent and industrious people of the country are bound to support them for all time. The effects of that doctrine are bound to be disastrous soon or late.'

When someone asked, "And what, Mr. Mencken, would you do about the unemployed?" He looked up with a bland expression. "We could start by taking away their vote," he said, deadpan. Mencken was not surprised when the majority disagreed. "There can be nothing even remotely approaching a rational solution of the fundamental national problems until we face them in a realistic spirit," he later reflected, and that was impossible so long as educated Americans remained responsive "to the Roosevelt buncombe."

While I think that the downfall of America began with the ratification of the 17th Amendment, which nationalized the Senate, this is pretty spot on.