Why don't Christians get outraged and riot in the streets?

Name a teddy bear Mohammed and get flogged….

Publish cartoons of Mohammed and have riots in the streets all around the globe…

Make a movie about the violent treatment of women in Islamic culture and get your throat slit on the streets of Amsterdam ….

Why is it that the Islamic world is in such a perpetual state of outrage? Why don’t Christians rise up every time Christ is mentioned or even mocked. I think I have the answer.

Maybe it because we have already seen Christ suffer the most humiliating and degrading death imaginable? I don’t think there is much left to do that can top that.

My savior has already been humiliated. He has already been mocked and insulted to the highest degree. There is nothing that anyone on this earth can say or do to degrade his image any further than what he himself allowed to transpire. Christians are not thin skineed because our leader has already dealt with humiliation and carried that burden for us

Maybe if Mohammed had been this confident in his status as a prohpet, then his followers would not be so easlily offended. Thier constant anger and outrage sure seems like a case of insecurity and fear.

Government only better...

I constantly am mis-typing the word "government" as "givernment". 

 

I have come to realize that perhaps this is an accurate term for todays socialist entitlment leanings in the American political system.

 

  

Bush Derangement Syndrome

My family owns a Nintendo Wii. I love it and the kids love it. My son also loves Start Wars and Lego’s, so we are quite excited to see what the Lego Star Wars game for the Wii is all about. It was released today.

So I Google it and come across a site with a demonstration how the controls function. It turns out that the lightsaber action is not quite as hot as the Star Wars game that will be coming out next year.

The funny part is this comment that was inserted amongst all the Wii fanboy’s and haters. This from a Wii hater.

---

As far as Star Wars is concerned it unfortunately will never die. I bet even Bush is a fan. If all of the star wars toys, games, and overall merchandise in the world were to suddenly vanish the earth would implode from the sudden absence of 32% of it's mass. Without all that junk though, what is going to help run global economy into the ground? Bratz dolls?

---

So Star Wars is Bush's fault.

Look - My Hometown's Famous

Here is an article about one of the  middle school’s in my town.  Fortunately, my daughter attends a different middle school.

 

 

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/11/04/middle-school-cancels-cross-dressing-day-media-surprisingly-mum

 

 

How Appropriate

---

ATLANTA - Georgia’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of a young man who has been imprisoned for more than two years for having consensual oral sex with another teenager.  The court ruled 4-3 that Genarlow Wilson’s 10-year sentence was cruel and unusual punishment.   Wilson’s lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, said she expected Wilson would be released Friday afternoon from the Al Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth.

---

The lawyer for the guy in jail for a blow job is named B.J.  If that is a cosmic fit then I don’t know what is. 

Brian De Palma Sucks

De Palma's film, "Redacted," is based on the true story of a group of U.S. soldiers who raped and killed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdered members of her family. It has stunned audiences for its shocking images and rattled American conservative commentators before its U.S. opening next month.

[Ed says: WTF? This only rattles Conservative commentators.? Are Liberals unfazed by such brutality?]

The film's distributor, Magnolia Pictures, ordered the faces of dead Iraqis shown in a montage of photographs at the end of the film be blacked out.

De Palma said he expected the images in "Redacted" to stir U.S. public debate about the conduct of American soldiers. Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi was gang-raped, killed and burned by U.S. troops in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in March 2006. Her parents and another family member were also killed.

He said the film provided a realistic portrait of U.S. troops…

De Palma, who looked at the atrocities of conflict in the 1989 film "Casualties of War," which also centers on the rape of a young girl by U.S. soldiers…

The U.S. invasion of Iraq was "clearly a mistake," he said, that was perpetuated by "defense contractors, big corporations of America" profiting from the war.

"How many billions of dollars are those companies making? And who gets more famous than ever? The media. There is nothing like a war to fill the airwaves 24 hours a day," he said.

Full Story

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There is also nothing like a war to provide material to disturbed movie producers obsessed with rape. This jerk thinks it is typical of our military of our soldiers to rape innocents, and that it makes good for compelling movies.

Here is the problem. This is not typical and it is not tolerated. Here is the prosecutorial response to the incident;

Specialist James Barker was sentenced to 90 years.
Sgt. Paul Cortez was sentenced to 100 years in prison
Pfc. Spielman was sentenced to 110 years in prison
Steven Green is charged with rape and murder. Federal prosecutors announced they will be seeking the death penalty for Green.

If De Palma has an objection to war profiteering, he should make a movie critical of the Governmental big wigs, not the boots on the ground soldiers. Why make a movie about an band of criminal soldiers and claim that to be the norm?

Middle School to Dispense Birth Control Pills

Should little girls in 6^th grade be receiving birth control pills from their school?  Should parents be notified if so?  Are American public schools infringing on a parents right to raise a child according to the parents own beliefs system and moral values?    

 

The most interesting thing I see in this story is that 5 kids admitted to having sexual intercourse at King.  Is the school board’s decision a total overreaction to a very small minority of students having sex?  Is the overreaction an intentional assault on family values?   

 

---

PORTLAND, Maine - After an outbreak of pregnancies among middle school girls, education officials in this city have decided to allow one school's health center to make birth control pills available to girls as young as 11.

King Middle School will become the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available, including birth control pills, patches and condoms. There are no national figures on how many middle schools provide such services. Most middle schoolers range in age from 11 to 13.

"It's very rare that middle schools do this," said Divya Mohan, a spokeswoman for the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care.

Portland's three middle schools reported 17 pregnancies during the last four years, not counting miscarriages or terminated pregnancies that weren't reported to the school nurse.

The Portland School Committee approved the plan, offered by city health officials, on a 7-2 vote Wednesday night. Whether the prescriptions would be offered this school year or next wasn't immediately clear.

King is the only one of the three schools with a health center, primarily because it has more students who get free or reduced-price lunch, said Lisa Belanger, who oversees Portland's student health centers.

Five of the 134 students who visited King's health center during the 2006-07 school year reported having sexual intercourse, said Amanda Rowe, lead nurse in Portland's school health centers.

Full story:

Italics are mine

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Michelle Malkin’s analysis is here. 

 

Funny Work Commercial

San Fransiko values and the agressive homosexual agenda

Don't believe it when they say they just want equal rights. A significant part of the homosexual rights activists will not be happy unless they destroy what the majority of Americans accept as traditional values.

The pictures on this link are shocking, but just like wathcing an Al Quaeda decapitation video, you need to see this once to understand what we are up against. This is an event sponsored by the city of SF and Miller beer.

http://www.zombietime.com/folsom_sf_2007_part_1/


now comes the kicker: 'Schwarzenegger signs law outlawing terms perceived as negative to 'gays'
"Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife" have been banned from California schools under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who with his signature also ordered public schools to allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, if they choose. The bills signed by Schwarzenegger include SB777, which bans anything in public schools that could be interpreted as negative toward homosexuality, bisexuality and other alternative lifestyle choices.

There are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs, however.
"SB 777 will result in reverse discrimination against students with religious and traditional family values," said Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute. "These students have lost their voice as the direct result of Gov. Schwarzenegger's unbelievable decision. The terms 'mom and dad' or 'husband and wife' could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured.

(story from World Net Daily)

Has a ring to it...

Value of Dollar

I am frightened by US monetary policy.  I am no expert but common sense says you can’t just keep printing more to pay for reckless spending.    My wife says I am crazy. 

 

Here is a related  excerpt from a website explaining the top things the media is not telling us:

The de-valuation of the dollar.

According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, since Sept. 2006 the national debt has been increasing by $1.47 billion a day. Our national debt is currently over $9 trillion. For the last two years, the Congress voted to raise the national debt ceiling. They did this to allow the federal government to continue making interest payments on our foreign loans...Basically, so that China and Saudi Arabia would not repossess the country!

It is very easy to blame current energy prices on malevolent Arabs or sky-rocketing home prices on greedy developers. However, we must face the fact that because of runaway spending, our dollar will simply not buy as much as it would a few years ago.

In November 2005, the Federal reserve announced it would no longer publish the M3 money aggregate (the worldwide total U.S. dollar supply). Their press release claimed: "the costs of collecting the underlying data and publishing M3 outweigh the benefits." The announcement received absolutely no coverage from the mainstream news media.

The federal government is printing up money at unprecedented rates just to keep up with Bush's spending habits. The unconscionable behavior is now de-valuing our currency and it will eventually spell disaster for all Americans.

Boys will be boys

Eddie has a broken arm. He fell off the slide at school and suffered a buckle fracture of his right radius. (Forearm bone near wrist) Here is a site with a example that looks similar to Eddies x-ray. He is really tough. Tried to convince us it was fine.

http://www.legacyhealth.org/body.cfm?id=1477

My Letter To Senator Boxer

In response to Michelle Malkin's post,  I wrote my senator.

 

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Senator Boxer,

 

I find your proposed amendment 3246 to HR 3093 offensive.

 

Illegal immigration is the single most important issue facing the United States Congress at this time.  Our country's governmental and private services such as schools, prisons, and hospitals, are stretched to the limit by a decades old policy of not enforcing our immigration laws.

 

Your amendment seeking to limit the enforcement of our laws during the census is contrary to the public's desire to have our immigration laws enforced and our border secured.  Only after we deal with illegal immigration will we be able to ascertain the the real state of the union and only then can we address other critical issues, including determining the desired legal immigration policies of this country. 

 

I am telling everyone I know that you are currently working to "limit immigration enforcement efforts".  I beleive public opinion is against you on this one.

 

Protect this country.  Secure our borders.  Enforce our laws. 
 

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Original Intent of 1st Amendment Religion Clauses

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

 

The government cannot force you to practice a specific religion like they did in England, nor can the Government establish a religion itself.   The Constitution guarantees that people in this country have a freedom to practice relgion on their own terms without Government interference.  Please note the distinciton between this purpose and the absolute banishment of all religion from our culture and government.  "Separation fo Church and State" is a Constitutional invention that is now being used to suprress the very relgiosity that the 1st amendment was intended to protect.

 

Don't let buzzwords and popular interpretation of the modern day trick you into accepting the death of religious values in our culture.  We as a people are free to express our values and relgious beliefs, including celebrating long-standing traditional holidays.

 

 

 

Get Kucinich out of there

I think Hillary is pissed that she got pushed aside by Kucinich. Look at the contempt smirk on her face. She’s the only one not smiling for the camera. All the others have cheesy grins, I suspect because they know she got marginalized.

My Legacy is Cemented

So last year I helped one of my customers with a special project.  It was a data conversion project to convert an HD-DVD into a special format that could be manufactured on existing DVD equipment.  This helped my customer get HD-DVD’s to market ahead of the rest of the industry.  It was kind of nerdy bits and bytes type stuff, and it was some porn title I had never heard of called Camp Cuddly.  Now I read this…

 

“Vivid Entertainment had debuted the first Blu-ray title with their cross-format release of 'Debbie Does Dallas... Again.' (The first adult title to hit HD DVD was Wicked Pictures' 'Camp Cuddly Pines Power Tool Massacre,' back in December 2006.)”

 

So you see, I am a major player in the porn industry.

 

 

From: http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Blu-ray,_HD_DVD_Porn_Slow_to_Build_Steam/998

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia Speaker

This is an attempt to humiliate and embarrass George Bush that will American interests.  

 

We should set politics aside in some cases to show that America will not tolerate those that advocate the destruction of our allies nor  those that fund terrorist activities that kill our good soldiers.

 

This man is evil and we should not give him the platform.  He will speak and when he returns home he will be a hero.  His media outlets will show all of the Middle East how he conquered the Great Satan.  (That us folks. )    

 

His appearance might be appropriate if students are given a chance to confront him with questions the likes he would never be faced with in his own country.  I doubt free speech will include any of that though.

 

1)      Why won’t you comply with UN orders regarding your Nuclear Program?

2)      Do you advocate the destruction of Israel?

3)      Does Iran support Hezbollah?

4)      Does Iran support Al Queda?

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Jenna 6

I have not followed this story closely.  My 5 minute assessment is that some white kids hung a noose on a tree at their school. In retaliation, 6 black kids then beat a white kid up in retaliation.  The district attorney did not charge the noose hangers, but did charge the black students with attempted murder, which was later reduced to battery.

 

“The beating victim, Justin Barker, was knocked unconscious, his face badly swollen and bloodied, though he was able to attend a school function later that night. “

 

Now the civil rights movement, perhaps Race Hustlers, have latched on to this as a symbol of the racial disparity in the justice system. 

 

I think it is sad that the ‘civil rights movement’ now takes up the cause of violent assailants.  I think non-violence was a crucial part of the success of Dr. Kings philosophy. 

 

I don’t take a position here on racial equalities of the justice system.  Only that violent thugs should not be the  icons for racial progress.  The response to the noose hanging should have been non-violent protest.  The kids committed a crime and need to face the consequences. 

 

Here is an blogger with a personal knowledge of the assailants:

http://elleabd.blogspot.com/2007/05/jena-six.html

 

 

Nuclear Energy is Part of our Energy Future

You cannot be against all forms of energy production, unless perhaps you live in a cave. We all consume it. We all want it cheap. Our economy depends on it. But yet, there is a significant amount of the population that is against all forms of domestic energy production. Let’s face it, coal must be mined and burnt which is bad for the environment. I know that environmentalists have blocked hydroelectric power projects because of the impact on the fish and rivers. I live close to a significant wind farm and know first-hand that there have been objections that wind turbines kill birds. We won’t drill for oil in Alaska because of environmental politics. Nuclear was perhaps the first target of obstructionists back in the 70’s and the effort to halt nuclear power development has been successful for three decades.

The bottom line is that many of the people who object to the utilization of our own domestic energy supplies, renewal and hydrocarbon based, offer no alternative or solution for supplying this nation with our energy needs.

Nuclear power is cheap, efficient, clean, and we are supplied with abundant natural materials necessary for production. We need to build safe reactors and develop a waste storage facility in Harry Reid’s basement.

Here is an AP article about plans for the first new nuclear plants in thirty years. If America has any sense, nuclear development will be a part of our sustainable energy policy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20841590/

By the way, here is a link to Nuclear obstructionists: http://www.nirs.org/home.htm
I wonder if these guys go to anti-Coal meetings one day, then anti-Nuke another.

Here is a link debunking the myth that Wind Farms kill Birds: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/04/common_misconce.php

Here is a good blog entry about the methane gas caused by hydro electric dams: http://minx.cc/?post=239275

Healthcare

Interesting article about the days before health insurance.  I think the answer to the health care “crisis” lies in less government involvement not more.  And before we attempt to do anything related to healthcare, we should  address the illegal immigration problem and the costs associated with this “system” that allows employers to make profits on the backs of employees while the public taxpayer picks up the bill for the social services of the illegal immigrants.  Applies to education as well.

 

Here is how the article begins:

“During the first 30 years of my life, I had no health insurance. Neither did a lot of other people in those days.

During those 30 years, I had a broken arm, a broken jaw, a badly injured shoulder and miscellaneous other medical problems. To say that my income was below average during those years would be a euphemism.

How did I manage? The same way everybody else managed: I went to doctors, and I paid them directly, instead of paying indirectly through taxes.

This was all before politicians gave us the idea that the things we could not afford individually we could somehow afford collectively through the magic of government.”

Read the rest:  http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=273790988274527

 

If MoveOn.Org had existed 65 years ago?

http://www.redstate.com/stories/war/what_if_moveon_org_existed_65_years_ago

What is the cost of cheap stuff?

lead in our toys.

 

poison in our dog food.

 

poison in our toothpaste.

 

12 million illegal immigrants

 

 

I am starting to think that the global economy and unrestricted  free trade is more about corporate profits than national welfare.

 

    

No Free Speech in Brussels

I will never forget September 11, 2001

I will never forget who started it. I will never forget what we are up against.
God Bless the USA.

Is Patraeus a political hack?

It is frustrating to see the character assassination of General David Patraeus.   This is a man that was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for this job.  Now, because they don’t like what he is going to say, the Democrats are trying to take him down.   Here is a blurb I found on the net with an accurate summary of the situation.

 

 

In case anyone forgets, this same career officer received a unanimous confirmation for his role as commander in Iraq less than eight months ago on January 26th. Petraeus had a long history of commendable service to this country before being given this command, including excellent work under similar circumstances around Mosul earlier in the war. He told the Senate that he would deliver an honest report, and if he didn’t think that he could turn things around in Iraq, he would be the first to report it.  

…

In other words, he has come to tell the Senate that he is fulfilling the mission. And certain members of the Senate understand that they will be discredited if America succeeds in Iraq. Rather than support their nation or at the least acknowledge the honor and integrity of the man they sent to lead our forces in Iraq, they’re trying to ruin him publicly for their own political benefit. It’s despicable, and it demonstrates the utter moral collapse of the anti-war faction within the Democratic Party.

From: http://glenns.newsvine.com/_news/2007/09/06/945858-democrats-try-character-assassination-on-petraeus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIAA Lawsuit Rejected for Failure to State a Claim

I came across an article today that contains  an interesting example of civil procedure in the Copyright infringement suits that the RIAA is using to stop/limit file sharing.     It was neat to see rules of pleadings discussed in this context, which is related to the industry I work in.

 

Basically, the RIAA was not granted a default judgment  because they had used a boilerplate complaint.  

 

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070910-judge-deals-blow-to-riaas-boilerplate-copyright-infringement-complaints.html

 

 

 

He's In

Do you agree with birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants?

Here is an excellent article by La Shawn Barber about the current interpretation of the 14^th amendment’s Citizenship Clause.

 

 I think that when the 14^th amendment was passed the concept of having millions of illegal aliens in the country was so unimaginable that the clause could not have possibly been intended to apply children born to illegal aliens in the manner that it is applied today.   

 

http://www.examiner.com/a-914906~La_Shawn_Barber__End_birthright_citizenship_for_illegal_immigrants.html

 

 

Birthright citizenship needs to be ended as part of a comprehensive immigration reform.

Fred said it

“A government that is big enough to do everything for us is powerful enough to do anything to us.”

 

 

Honey Bees

There is a scary phenomenon going on in the beekeeping  industry for the past year.  It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder and it has led to the loss of an estimated 23% of the nations beekeepers.  Scientists today announced a viral link that might be causing the loss of the bees. 

 

In any event, we are dependent on bees for much of our agriculture.  Once again it points out that our lives depend on maintaining the delicate balance of nature and man.   Theoretically the loss of the worlds bees could lead significant loss of human life as a result of famine and decimated agriculture production.

 

Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20612274/

 

 

New study confirms why Jessica Alba is sexy.

Jessica Alba has the perfect wiggle, study says   Jessica Alba, the film actress, has the ultimate sexy strut, according to a team of Cambridge mathematicians. The academics found that it is the ratio between hips and waist that puts the sway into a woman's walk - and the nearer that ratio is to 0.7, the better. This ratio provides the body with the right torso strength to produce a more angular swing and bounce to the hips during the walking motion….

 

Read the full  story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/25/nwiggle125.xml

 

 

 

What nerds.  She is hot and it has nothing to do with math.

 

Do you believe that 20% of Americans cannot locate the United States on a Map?

I guess a recent survey indicates that 20% of Americans cannot locate our country on a world map.    Here is an expert on the subject giving an explanation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

 

Here is what we can take from this:

The US lacks maps

It’s “The Iraq” like “The OC”

Our geographical illiteracy has something to do with helping “The Iraq” and South Africa.

“Saved by the Bell”  might have been the best gig Mario Lopez ever had.

 

 

 

Housing Bailout

From 2001-2007 I watched and laughed as foolishness prevailed in the housing lending industry. As property values boomed, lenders were happy to put an un-qualified chump in a loan that everyone knew would only go up. Nobody saved, everybody borrowed more than they could afford, lenders gave loans to people who they should not have, and interest rates were at 40 year lows or something like that. Meanwhile I paid a premium for a conventional fixed mortgage, saved what I could, and thought that my responsible actions would carry me into the future. We’ll it turns out I’m the stupid chump. The Givernment is going to bail the lenders and the borrowers out with my tax money.

The argument is going to be that a collapse of the housing and financial services market will bring down the economy. I call it a correction of the overinflated unsustainable bubble.

Michelle has the details:

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/24/the-democrat-clamor-for-a-housing-bailout/

Honest Reflection on Michael Vick

Here is an excerpt from an article about Michael Vick getting involved in dog fighting.    The author is suggesting that Vick can be a lesson to all athletes about the dangers of letting street life and unsavory friends bring you down from your American dream.    It also touches on the anti-intellectualism prevalent in black American culture.

 

 

This should make us mad!

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican Senate committee passed a measure Wednesday urging President Felipe Calderon to send a diplomatic note to the United States protesting the deportation of an illegal migrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year.

The committee also approved a scholarship to help her 8-year-old U.S.-born son, Saul, who is an American citizen and stayed in the United States.

Elvira Arellano, 32, became an activist and a national symbol for illegal immigrant parents by defying her deportation order and speaking out from her sanctuary in the Adalberto United Methodist Church. She announced last week that she was leaving to try to lobby U.S. lawmakers for immigration reform.

On Sunday, shortly after she spoke at a rally in a Los Angeles church, she was arrested and deported to Tijuana, across the border from San Diego.

"We cannot remain quiet in view of this injustice and must ask for firm action from our authorities," Mexican Sen. Humberto Zazue said.

He accused the United States of violating international deportation accords by denying her access to the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles.

"For me it is very important that our government take a strong stand to defend all of us who decide to migrate to another country," she said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-08-23-mexico-immigration_N.htm?csp=34

My reation

The scholarship money should go directly to the school district educating the boy.

The Mexican Senate should be working to solve the problems causing the mass emigration rather than incredulously demanding citizenship rights for illegals.

Note the last quote where Elvira says it is important that “our government take a strong stand…” I agree that the Government needs to take a strong stand. The US Government needs to stop allowing illegal immigrants to enter the country with impunity and consuming social welfare resources. The Mexican Government needs to fix its own economy and government that relegates a nation with limitless potential to a and third-world backwards nation where people are dying to escape.

Blu Ray vs. HD-DVD

So it was announced this week that Paramount and DreamWorks animation has agreed to release high-definition movies only in the HD-DVD  format.  Quickly, industry insiders wondered how HD-DVD might have pulled off this impressive blow to Blu Ray (Paramount was previously a supporter of both HD-DVD and Blu Ray).  Well it seems that good old fashion payola might be the basis for this decision.  Allegedly the studio was paid $100m to release only HD-DVD titles over the next 18 months.  Of course, nobody is admitting that there was pay to play.

 

Before this announcement, Blu Ray was starting to take the frontrunner position in the battle to become the standard next generation format.  Universal was the only movie studio not producing Blu Ray titles and watchers were waiting for them to change position to declare Blu Ray the winner.  Now it seems HD-DVD has closed the gap.  Paramount and Dreamworks will offer some great titles that will be available on HD-DVD only, including Shrek the Third and possibly Transformers.    These titles will be  up against Blu Ray only Spider Man and Pirates of the Caribbean this holiday season, putting all 4 of the years $300m movies head to head in the high definition disc battleground.  

 

As a side note, Michael Bay who directed Transformers said that he will not make the sequel for Paramount if they don’t release his movie in Blu Ray.  He has since recanted and is now towing the company line supporting HD-DVD.   Stephen Spielberg is also cautiously and diplomatically sitting on the fence with a potential to impact the industry’s direction     

 

 

Further Reading:

http://www.whatpc.co.uk/vnunet/news/2197185/paramount-paid-drop-blu-ray

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/desperation-move-cash-grab-or-intensified-blu-rayhd-dvd-format-war/

 

Just so you are aware, I don’t blog this subject often as I blog to take my mind off of work related things, but this subject is very near and dear to my profession and I dare say my companies future.

 

Fred Thompson on Federalism

Fred Thompson explains the benefits of Federalism as envisioned by the framers. We are worse off if we continue to expect the Federal Giverment to be involved in every issue.

http://www.imwithfred.com/Principles/PrinciplesSummary.aspx

With that in mind:

Why is it that Bush gets the blamed for Katrina? What about the Governor of the State and the Mayor of the City? What about holding people accountable for their choice to stay? What is a reasonable time for a Federal response to a National Disaster? Is a citizen responsible for his own protection/preservation during an emergency situation? Do 2^nd amendment rights help ensure that the citizen is able to protect himself?

Why does Bush get the heat the failing Educational system? No Child Left Behind was bi-partisan effort and education spending under Bush is up over Clinton’s. Never mind that it is an unfunded mandate; Why is the Federal Giverment even involved in education in the first place? I don’t see it mentioned in the Constitution. How much money do we have to throw at the incompetent and corrupt educational bureaucracy to get results? Although the Federal Government only funds about 9% of the cost of schools, this portion has almost doubled in the past generation and there are no signs of stopping this expansion.

Let’s look at some other Federal programs with dubious legitimacy in the constitution;

Social Security: I won’t even contend that this program is unconstitutional. That debate was decided in 1937 with the Supreme Court legitimizing the program according to the general taxation powers of Congress, even though this was decided during the crisis times of the Depression. Regardless, is the Social Security program solvent for the future? Is it providing acceptable benefits to recipients now? Will it in the future? Is it another example of a unwieldy Federal bureaucracy that mismanages my tax dollar and underperforms? Answer: it’s the biggest governmental program in the world.

Healthcare: Does the Constitution mention an individual’s right to healthcare or a Government obligation to provide universal healthcare to all? Leave it to the states to reform healthcare insurance if necessary. If the Fed’s get involved, medical innovation and quality of care will suffer. The best remedy to cure the ailing healthcare system is economic competition rather than reduced Government regulation.

Environment: I am not a fan of pollution or over-consumption. We need to respect our Earth and ensure the sustainability of our environment for future generations. However, we need to be careful not to derail our economy by imposing overburdening environmental restrictions and limitations. I fear that an emotional response to the theory of human caused global warming by the Federal Government will lead to anti-competitive business practices in the country.

Immigration; A glimmer of hope for Congressional restraint:

Ironically Congress is showing restraint on a task the Constitution expressly charges Congress to take care of:“To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions” (Article I Section 8).

I guess they are too busy working on things they shouldn’t be to take care of the things they are supposed to.

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Monty Python fans need wonder no longer.  Here is the definitive answer to the question that has plagued us all for so long.

 

http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/

 

 

Drinking Bottled Water like Driving a Hummer

Drinking bottled water has an impact on the environment and increases our dependency on oil. 

 

Here is an article that explains the effect and recommends drinking good-old tap water.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20095510/

 

If people are serious about the environment/ human caused global warming / pollution, they need to look carefully at many of the ways they might be contributing to the problem without knowing it.

 

I know I have grown lazy lately grabbing a bottle instead of filling a glass. 

The silence is deafening!

I believe that we are sitting on a ticking time bomb and no one is willing to acknowledge it, let alone diffuse it.  The aging  baby boomer population is going to push government programs like social security and Medicare over the brink of sustainability, which will drag down our Nation’s economy and challenge the fundamental structure of our government.   In the future, 75% of our National budget will be income redistribution from the workers to retirees.  This is in effect socialism.      

 

Here is an Newsweek article that details the subject: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20010728/site/newsweek/

 

Social programs have been ingrained into our being.  But there comes a time when someone has to pay the bill.  We need to have some foresight and take a look at the horizon to appreciate the magnitude of the oncoming tidal wave. 

Pennsylvanian City Law Struck Down by Federal Judge

HAZLETON, Pa (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday struck down as unconstitutional a local law designed to crack down on illegal immigration, dealing a blow to similar laws passed by dozens of towns and cities across the country.

U.S. District Judge James Munley said the city of Hazleton, 100 miles north of Philadelphia, was not allowed to implement a law that would fine businesses that hire illegal immigrants and penalize landlords who rent rooms to them.

"Federal law prohibits Hazleton from enforcing any of the provisions of its ordinances," Munley wrote in a 206-page opinion following a federal trial in which Hazleton's law was challenged by civil rights groups.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2645989120070726?feedType=RSS&rpc=22&sp=true

I agree with the Pope

The pontiff, speaking as he was concluding his holiday in northern Italy, also said that while there is much scientific proof to support evolution, the theory could not exclude a role by God.

“They are presented as alternatives that exclude each other,” the pope said. “This clash is an absurdity because on one hand there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that we must see and which enriches our understanding of life and being as such.”

He said evolution did not answer all the questions: “Above all it does not answer the great philosophical question, ‘Where does everything come from?’”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19956961/

 

 

Review of Sicko

This article from Box Office Mojo has some good details about Michael Moore's fakumentary Sicko.  There may be a health care crisis in America, but a Communist solution is not the answer.  In typical fashion, it is easy to criticize without offering any solutions.  A truly convincing documentary woudl be fair, objective, and gorunded in facts.  Not Michael Morre's modus operendi.

 

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/reviews/?id=2344&p=.htm

 

Bush Commutes Sentence Scooter Libby

Bush did not pardon Scooter Libby. The convition still stands, just no prision.

Here is a list of Clintons pardons.

Democrats have no room to play politics on this one. They are throwing stones from a glass house.

http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/clintonpardon_grants.htm#january202001

SQL Database interface and ASP.NET form validation

Made a online enrollement application for a medical career college.  First experience with SQL Server Express and ASP.NET database connections.  Also the most avanced ASP.NET page I have created so far.

 

Database connect sucessful in local enviroment but I cant get it working on remote hosting.  Also, can't figure out how to get data from a form into a SQL database.  I am stuck with form mailer for now so no database features are currently in place.

 

Milestones:

1st form with required fields

1st form with field validation

1st ASP.NET page with form2mail

1st time usinig SQLServer Express

1st time connecting to datasource (disabled for now)

 

need to learn ADO SQL language to get data from forms to database.

need to learn how to post .ASPX input from one page to another

need to learn how SQL Server works with Godaddy.

 

 http://www.youngerweb.com/ed/preview/asptest2.aspx

 

 

London Bomb Plot

So London narrowly avoided a car bomb plot only days after Tony Blair left 10 Downing Street. Obviously Al Qaeda didn't alter their plan based on who the sitting Prime Minister was.

To me, this is an clear indication that we cannot appease the terrorists. The threat of Islamofascisim will not be deterred by electing a president who takes a more concillatory tone with US Foreign Policy.

Beauty and Brains!

I saw this on Michelle Malkin site, but it came from Town Hall by Mary Katharine Ham

The third-generation American and actress is under fire this week from fellow Latinos for comments she made to Para Todos magazine:

Alba is my last name and I'm proud of that. But that's it. My grandparents were born in California, the same as my parents, and though I may be proud of my last name, I'm American. Throughout my whole life, I've never felt connected to one particular race or heritage, nor did I feel accepted by any. If you break it down, I'm less Latina than Cameron Diaz, whose father is Cuban. But people don't call her Latina because she's blonde…

The article goes on to discuss Arnold and his "controversial" response when asked what immigrants can do to improve their sucess in America.

Middle East Reference Site

I go to this site to get an objective view of the situation in the Middle East.   I think they try to be fair and honest. 

 

Here is a current article about the Hamas takeover in Gaza.

 

http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000596.htm

 

 

Equal Rights all right by me!

NEW YORK — A Manhattan artist arrested by police when she went on a topless stroll two years ago has accepted a $29,000 settlement from the city, her lawyer says.

Jill Coccaro, 27, was charged briefly with indecent exposure despite a 1992 state appeals court ruling that concluded women had the right to be topless if men were allowed to take off their shirts.

Coccaro, who now goes by the name Phoenix Feeley, bared her breasts on Aug. 4, 2005.

Feeley remained in custody for 12 hours before she was told prosecutors were not going to pursue charges.

Her attorney, Jeffrey Rothman, told the Daily News for its Sunday editions that his client won the civil rights settlement from the city, which did not admit or deny wrongdoing.

"We hope the police learn a lesson and respect the rights of women to go topless," Rothman said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,283512,00.html

O'Reilly Immigration Plan

This is copied from Bill’s site:

So here is my no spin immigration plan which, I believe, is fair and would be acceptable to most Americans.

First, the southern border must be protected by at least 700 miles of barrier, backed up by a doubling of the Border Patrol. To assist those federal agents, ten thousand National Guardsmen would be stationed near the border.

That would effectively close the border to smugglers of humans and drugs. If you oppose that strategy, you do not want a secure border. Period.

Second, all illegal aliens currently in the USA must register with Homeland Security at their local post office. If they do not register, they would be subject to immediate deportation. After processing by the feds, the aliens would then receive a tamper-proof identification card, allowing them to temporarily work here.

Third, any business hiring aliens who do not have the government-issued ID would be criminally charged.

Fourth, all registered illegal aliens would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Those deemed by federal authorities to be self-sufficient, law-abiding people would receive the so called "Z-visas," giving them resident status, but not automatic citizenship. That would have to be earned over a number of years by complying with a set of obligations including paying fines, back taxes, learning English, and staying employed.

Nearly 100 Years ago the answer was given

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

-Theodore Roosevelt 1919

Leader of the Senate grants citizenship to 12 Million illegals

Harry Reid had a Freudian slip on June 4^th when he called the 12 million illegal aliens in the country “Undocumented Americans”. 

 

The bloggers are all over this.  Michelle Malkin does a good job exposing Harry for what he is.  It is also worth noting that the Democrats.senate.gov page has removed this phrase from the “transcript’ of Reid’s speech.  Revisionist history I guess.

 

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/06/05/video-reid-calls-illegals-12-million-undocumented-americans/

 

 

Looking for Leadership

This county is desperate for a leader that can get past partisan politics and address the challenges facing the nation.

 

Immigration: Secure the borders first.  After that, comprehensive reform will be possible. 

Terrorism: Stridently fight Islamic fascism and the hate it spreads.

Energy Future:  Lead the world towards an alternative , renewable energy economy.

Health Care: Lower health care costs and improve health care services by reforming the third-party payer system.

Social Security:  Make the program sustainable through partial privatization and fiscal responsibility.

Taxes : Minimize the tax burden on individuals and businesses.  Free flowing capital feeds the economy.

Environment: We only have one world.  We must meet our needs with respect to the environment.   

 

The Religion of Peace?

Brit ordered his daughter strangled for falling in love with wrong man
LONDON - A father who ordered his daughter brutally slain for falling in love with the wrong man in a so-called “honor killing” was found guilty of murder on Monday. Banaz Mahmod, 20, was strangled with a boot lace, stuffed into a suitcase and buried in a back garden. Her death is the latest in an increasing trend of such killings in Britain, home to some 1.8 million Muslims. More than 100 homicides are under investigation as potential “honor killings.”

full story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19176808/

I am glad to see the AP pick this story up. Let’s see if it has any legs.

Where are the human rights defenders? Where are the Feminists? When will the world stop pandering to a religion where murder is such an integral part of its practice? How can a father kill his own daughter because she shamed him? I guess according to Sharia law there is no shame in murdering your own daughter. We cannot ignore the threat that this cultural attitude poses to the world.

California's Troubled Future

Here is a link to an article by the Sacramento Bee’s chief political columnist.  In it he details the problems facing the California economy as the baby-boomers retire and the younger workers fail to obtain the education required to drive the economy forward. 

 

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/215397.html#comments_here

 

We cannot abandon education and expect to be the world leaders for long.

Passed this on my way to work today!

Funny thing, this big accident was on my route to work.  Because I get on the freeway about 100 yards before the accident, the freeway was all clear immediately after I got on.  I made it to work faster than usual..

 

 

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/07/BAGJPQAQF53.DTL

Exciting Future Technology

It's always someone else's fault

Pro baseball pitcher gets drunk and kills himself by crashing into a tow truck which was assisting another car on the side of the road.  Family lawyers decide that everyone else is to blame, filing suit against the restaurant and others.  [full story]

 

"Other defendants include Eddie’s Towing, the company whose flatbed tow truck was struck by Hancock’s sport utility vehicle in the early hours of April 29; tow truck driver Jacob Edward Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove." 

 

Where in the hell is personal responsibility? 

 

"Authorities said the 29-year pitcher had a blood content of nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his system when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He was also speeding, using a cell phone and wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Police Chief Joe Mokwa said after the accident. Marijuana also was found in the SUV."

 

Any sympathy I had for the family is now replaced with anger.  The tow truck driver was just doing his job.  The stranded motorist was just that, a stranded motorist.  Josh Hancock is dead because he got drunk and drove. 

Immigration Bill

Of course the channels I follow are buzzing about the Senate Immigration bill passed yesterday.  It's hard to get anything other than an emotional reaction at this point.  Here is a link to a more rational review of what happened yesterday and what it means.

 

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/Commentary/archive/200705/COM20070518a.html 

 

Improved Photo Gallery Skills

We quickly reached a point where our design software was not creating adequate photo galleries.  Most sites we will create will need to exhibit products or samples in an accessible gallery of photos.  If found some great free software that comes with excellent templates.  I learned how to edit the HTML templates  and .css styles to match an existing theme.  Less than 1 day to learn.

 

http://tartsandtruffles.net/gallery.htm

Why I feel the way I do.

I was never a hardline political ideologist.  I grew up in a house with a both a Democrat and a Republican, and I have voted both ways in presidential elections.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, I thought we were in an era of world peace and harmony that could be reflected in our foreign policy.  Unfortunately, as I learned on September 11, 2001 that I was wrong.  There are plenty of people abroad and at home that hate the United States.  Shortly thereafter, I watched a video of terrorist murderers cutting off the head of Nick Berg.  I will never be the same.

 

The United States is not an evil county.  We spread more hope, peace, democracy, freedom, liberty, and money throughout the world than all other nations combined.  Yet we are cast as the evil imperialist capitalist society that is to blame for all the world's problems.  I say enough is enough.  I love this county and the principles of it's foundation.  We may not be perfect, but we tend to right our course in time.

 

It is time for the America haters, at home and abroad, to take notice.  This is a great country that will fight to defend the principles of democracy and liberty.  There is no justification for terrorism.  There is no reasoning with someone willing to kill themselves to kill you and your children.  This is going to be a struggle to defeat the forces that are against us.  We cannot pretend or hope to survive by appeasing these interest.  Peace through strength, backed by a will for victory that cannot be matched.  That's what we need.  That's what Hitler got.  If you ever have any doubt about the character of our enemy, watch a beheading video once.  Then you will understand the evil we are up against.

ImageMaps with Hotspots

Here is an experiment I did with ImageMaps and Expression Web.  This technique could be great for more artistic websites where the user is encourage to explore the site to find links. 

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~kingedward32/test/1/test.master

 

Partial Birth Abortion Ban Upheld by a 5-4 majority

I am pleased that the Supreme Court has acknowledged that a woman's privacy right does not extend to killing a baby after it exits the birth canal. Cutting it up inside the mother is much better. I think the AP sums up everthing that needs to be said:

Ginsburg said the latest decision "tolerates, indeed applauds, federal intervention to ban nationwide a procedure found necessary and proper in certain cases by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists." She was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens.

The procedure at issue involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman's uterus, then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion. Abortion opponents say the law will not reduce the number of abortions performed because an alternate method - dismembering the fetus in the uterus - is available and, indeed, much more common.

Sunday Dream

This one includes an ellipse with a partial arc, rotation, color gradient fade, and a way point with parabolic sweeping.