Soul's Ravings

"Occupy Wall Street" has gone global. It will nonetheless be forgotten as a failure in a year tops. And there are two reasons for this. It has no central leader. No MLK, no Gandhi. Each city seems to have it's own figurehead and his own agenda. It also has no singular, concise goal. No suffrage for women, no civil rights for black people. If you look at the very tiny amount of protest movements that have any effect beyond being a colossal nuisance they have one clear goal, usually dealing with specific rights denied to a significant percentage of the populace.

One guy occupying Zuccotti Park says in the New York Post: "I would like the world to be more just." Aww, isn't that special? He's going to make the world more just by sitting in a park.

The majority of these protesters seem to be professional losers, losers since long before the economy crashed. They suck due to their own shitty choices, not due to exhorbitant bonuses or bailouts, not due to wars, not due to the banks, but due to the fact that they are shiftless parasites and have been for quite some time.

At least they have progressed to occupying Wall Street from occupying their parents' basements. It's easy to sleep in parks and "occupy" when you have no goddamned job to go to in the morning.

The stigma of age and accomplishment

2011-08-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

For some time I have been confused by the apparent stigma of age. Though I am far from elderly myself, I'm hardly a spring chicken anymore either. "Old" is almost an epithet to many people, yet this honestly doesn't make any sense to me, not only on a personal level, but even within the context of the very same society that seems to consider it something to be ashamed of.

Every living thing on this planet has two options: it either reaches advanced age or it dies before doing so. And it seems, the James Dean phenomenon notwithstanding, that remaining healthy and living as long as possible as opposed to dying is a top priority for most of the world. Trillions of dollars are spent worldwide on research to prolong life; whether through medicine, lifestyle, exercise, and supplements. People have searched for the proverbial "fountain of youth" since the time of Herodotus. I'm not talking about simply looking young - as through cosmetics or plastic surgery - I'm talking about the quest to live as long as possible.

The life expectancy in classical Rome was a grand total of 28 years old, now worldwide it's 67. In old Japan 50 was considered a ripe old age and all anyone could reasonably expect to live, now people in the 80s aren't remarkable at all. And this is generally considered a very good thing; nobody's taking arsenic supplements every day to stave off old age. Worldwide we have better hygiene, better food processing and storage techniques, better understanding of nutrition and exercise (though the obesity epidemic would indicate that we don't always follow what we have learned), better medicine, more advanced procedures and medicine for treating ailments and conditions that commonly strike those that are getting on in years.

Even nature rewards the smart, the strong, the fast, and the healthy by allowing creatures to get old. Old age is for all intents and purposes an accomplishment in the animal kingdom because it is an indication that the subject creature is an ideal specimen. The proof of this is that it has survived natural selection and thus hasn't died.

Yet, astoundingly, "old" is simultaneously something of an insult among modern humans. It's really strange. Everybody is working like mad to figure out ways to prevent people from dying, yet if you don't die before the age of maybe 50 or 60 in Western society it is almost like you are marginalized or expected to be ashamed of it. And you aren't even permitted to commit suicide - legally or morally. You are considered a coward if you kill yourself to avoid reaching the dreaded "old age" and yet should be ashamed if you do reach it. Wiser and older cultures revere and respect age, not curse it.

It's similar with the terms "washed-up" and "has-been". I can't for the life of me fathom why being successful or popular in a field is some kind of insult. I retired from the Marine Corps after 20 years and was told some time ago in an online thread that I was a "has-been". The thread, incidentally, had nothing whatsoever to do with anything military in nature. The idiot looked at my profile, saw I am a retired Marine, and decided that "has-been" would be a great insult. In order for this to be an insult would it not have to be possible to stay in the military forever? And ironically, if one did so, would people not be saying that one is clinging to the military because one is "afraid of having to make it in the real world"? Funny thing is, I'm doing the exact same job that I did when I was active duty. I just have a beard now. And this was coming from someone whose occupation was self-described as "house hubby".

A little while ago, some of the cast of the show "Happy Days" were suing because their likenesses were being used on slot machines and by their contract they are supposed to get a percentage of the revenue earned. I won't go into details but out come the legions of commenters that label these formerly beloved characters in one of the most popular shows on television "has-beens" and "washed-up", as if it is a total disgrace that their series didn't continue forever. They said "these old has-beens are all just broke so their suing", despite the fact that the guy that played "Potsy" makes over a million dollars a year to this day. They have a strange idea of "washed-up", and I wonder how much they pull in a year.

I saw an op-ed piece that talked about last year's Superbowl Chrysler commercial with Eminem. The writer was talking about the dismal state of Detroit and how they got a "has-been" to do a commercial for their auto industry. I'm not an Eminem fan by any means, but the guy could probably dig up the equivalent of that op-ed author's annual income out of his sofa cushions. And he still performs and makes millions each year.

So I guess the conclusion is that the young'uns are envious. It's way better to be a "has-been" than a "never was and never will be". "Old" and "washed up" as an insult is the last bastion of the no-account, the youthfully arrogant, the mediocre, and the failed. So if someone derisively calls you "old" or "washed-up", cheerfully wish that they will never be likewise troubled with the burden of either success and longevity.

2011-07-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

HR 1639

2011-07-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

Proposed by Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), HR 1639 was written to "amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify the Food and Drug Administration's jurisdiction over certain tobacco products, and to protect jobs and small businesses involved in the sale, manufacturing and distribution of traditional and premium cigars."

In short, HR 1639 defines cigars as different from other tobacco products and, therefore, out of the reach of the FDA. By writing to your representatives to support this bill you can stop the FDA from the many actions they may take, including instituting even higher taxes, keeping cigars behind lock and key and requiring consumers to have to choose by looking at pictures in a book, and requiring manufacturers to submit new blends to the FDA for "testing".

You can contact your representatives easily by using IPCPR's CapWiz:

http://capwiz.com/rtda/issues/alert/?alertid=50873126

KEEP THE GOVERNMENT'S GRUBBY HANDS OUT OF YOUR HUMIDOR!

Independence Day?

2011-07-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow, July the 4th is Independence Day for Americans; the day we commemorate the founding of this great country through the defeat of our former British overlords. As we enjoy hot dogs, apple pie, fireworks, parades and the company of friends and family I hope that we can all spare a thought for the state of the Republic as it exists today - and wonder after the future of this nation, the nation our children and grandchildren will inherit.

I recall that one of the reasons the colonists got all riled up was outrageous taxes, on tea and other goods. Yet tobacco is taxed to 700% or more. Usurious cigar taxes are funding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, when cigars have nothing whatsoever to do with children. Bills are being introduced to tax everything from tanning beds to soda pop, to fund programs that have nothing to do with these industries.

In many places, you cannot film or photograph police officers, even on a public street or from your own property.

The United States imprisons more people per capita than any country on earth, even China.

And you can't even hop a flight to someplace nice to get away from it all anymore. The TSA is keeping us all safe from terrorists by making dying, 95 year old women remove their soiled adult diaper, insisting that disabled 4 year olds walk through a metal detector without their leg braces and without help from a parent, and not only confiscating the Medal of Honor from an 86-year-old genuine hero of WWII - Joe Foss - because it "might be used as a weapon", but not even seeming to know what the hell a "Medal of Honor" is.

While at the same time, a Nigerian can just hop onto a flight to LA with an expired boarding pass and fake ID, and not only isn't arrested but tries to do the exact same thing again.

And what has become of our Bill of Rights, that unassailable jewel that defines the liberties we once held so dear?

1st AMENDMENT FREEDOM OF SPEECH

• The Patriot Act broadly expands the official definition of terrorism, so that many domestic groups that engage in nonviolent civil disobedience could very well find themselves labeled as terrorists.

• The Government may now prosecute librarians or keepers of any other records if they reveal that the government requested information on their clients or members in the course of an investigation. It has become a crime for these individuals to try to safeguard your privacy or to tell you that you are under investigation.

1st AMENDMENT FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

• Government agents may now monitor the First Amendment protected activities of religious and political institutions, and then infiltrate these groups with no suspicion of criminal activity. This is a return to domestic spying on law-abiding religious and political groups.

• You may now be the subject of a government investigation simply because of the political, activist, or advocacy groups you are involved in, or the statements you make within these groups.

1st AMENDMENT RIGHT TO ACCESS GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

• A U.S. Department of Justice directive actively encourages federal, state, and local officials to resist and/or limit access to government records through Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) requests.

• The Government has conducted immigration hearings in secret behind closed doors. Such proceedings were once open to the public. Hundreds, if not thousands, of immigrants have already been deported in secret.

4th AMENDMENT FREEDOM FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCHES & SEIZURES

• Law Enforcement authorities may now conduct secret searches and wiretaps in your home or office without showing “probable cause.” They need only to claim that intelligence gathering is “a significant purpose” of their intrusion, even when the primary goal is ordinary law enforcement. They may also monitor where and to whom you send and receive e-mail, or where you go on the Internet, recording every e-mail address and website you have been in contact with.

• Law Enforcement may now demand any personal records held by any source including your doctor,employer, accountant, or library. All they have to do is claim that it is related to an investigation into “terrorism.” The record keepers may not reveal that your records were provided to the government.

• Judicial oversight of secret searches has been effectively minimized. The Patriot Act directs judges to consent to secret searches based only on the Government’s assertion that a “significant” purpose of an investigation is gathering information related to “terrorism,” as the government defines it.

5th AMENDMENT RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS & FREEDOM FROM BEING HELD WITHOUT CHARGE

• Americans can now be jailed without a formal charge & without the right to confront the witnesses or evidence against them. American citizens are now being held in military jails without charge and without a clear path of appeal for their indefinite confinement.

• Hundreds of Arab, Muslim and South Asian men were rounded up in the Ashcroft raids following September 11, and held for weeks without charges until all were cleared of terrorism charges.

6th AMENDMENT RIGHT TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION

• Hundreds of U.S. residents have been detained for months at a time, and denied access to the advice and advocacy of an attorney. The Government may now monitor conversations between attorneys & clients in federal prisons.

• The Bush Administration filed papers in court that arguing that an American citizen held in a military jail without charge should be denied access to legal counsel because such access would interfere with the process of his interrogation.

6th AMENDMENT RIGHT TO A SPEEDY AND PUBLIC TRIAL

• The U.S. Government may now jail its residents and citizens indefinitely without charge & without a public trial.

8th AMENDMENT FREEDOM FROM CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS

• The U.S. Government has taken into custody individuals they identify as “material witnesses,” transported them across the country, and held them for months in solitary confinement without charge or contact with their family.

• According to the Justice Department’s own Inspector General, immigrant men rounded up in the Ashcroft raids following September 11 and held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY were subjected to a pattern of “physical and verbal abuse.”

14th AMENDMENT RIGHT TO EQUAL PROTECTION

• Over 82,000 men from Arab, Muslim and South Asian countries registered with the Government under the Special Registration program. Over 13,000 are now in deportation proceedings. None have been charged with terrorism.

It seems to me that over the last 235 years we've simply substituted one set of tyrants for another. Are the new ones measurably less draconian and tyrannical than the ones we shed?

You know, suddenly this hot dog doesn't taste so good anymore.

Thanks to the NY Bill of Rights Defense Campaign for some text contained herein.

The answer to Andrew's question

2011-06-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

Comedian Andrew "Dice" Clay once asked in his routine "So you can smoke the baloney pony, but not a fuckin' Marlboro?", and at the time it seemed so absurd as to elicit roars of laughter from the crowd.

Given the absolutely usurous taxes on tobacco products in New York, and the recent vote on gay marriage, the answer seems to be:

Well, yes. Apparently.

Just a "theory"...

2011-06-17T03:41:00.000-07:00

I was recently reading the comments section of a news item dealing with the teaching of creationism in publically-funded schools. On The Huffington Post, no less, that virtual garbage scow that passes itself off as a news site. Yes, I am a masochist.

Predictably, the debate turns to creationism vs evolution itself, rather than the actual subject of the news story and I am astounded to see no fewer than five separate individuals whose argument for creationism/intelligent design ("creationism dressed up in a cheap tuxedo") runs something like this: "There's a reason why it's called a "theory"! It's only a "theory"!

I've run across this before, which really makes me wonder after the level of basic science instruction in the United States. These people obviously don't know that the meaning of "theory", as it pertains to science, is very different from the meaning of the word as used in common parlance.

Since at least 4 of these people didn't bother reading the rest of the thread where the meaning of "theory" was explained already I can hardly expect them to happen across this pokey little page and bother reading my post. But, for anyone that doesn't know, a "Theory" is not a "hypothesis". It is not a guess, it is not mere conjecture. It is the Gold Standard in science, peer reviewed and found to have no demonstrable flaws that would permit any better explanation. Know what else is a "Theory"?

Gravity. That you will not walk out of your front door and float into the sky is only a "theory".

That we, and all other living matter, are made of cells. Even though these cells can be seen through a microscope, it is a Theory. Because there is no higher appellation to give it.

That germs cause disease.

Plate tectonics.

Nuclear energy.

There's scores of them. Learn what things mean before you attempt to debate them. Someone in the same thread asked why proponents of evolution always wind up getting irritable when "discussing the issue". For the same reason that atheists do when discussing the validity or probablity of a supreme being: because it's like pounding your freaking head against a wall.

Faux Hawk, Authentique Dawk

2011-02-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Why in the hell won't this stupid looking hairstyle die? How is it that nobody that wears their hair like this realizes how fucking moronic they look?

And they used REAL GUNS!

2011-01-28T18:10:00.001-08:00

Aww, poor idealist little revolutionaries. Darn laws.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/28/businessinsider-fbi-raids-pro-wikileaks-hackers-2011-1.DTL

Blue Bloods

2011-01-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Man, I love this show. Though they take some serious liberties with reality (Commissioner running around wearing his badge and visiting crime scenes), it is a real cop show. All the cast does an incredible job and Selleck is the man.

Whatever happened to real cop shows? "Kojak", "Starsky and Hutch", "Baretta", "Cannon"? Nearly all of them today are nothing more than soap operas, with little sexual tensions and 'relationship issues'. And the forensic things like "CSI" and "Bones"? It's like what you would wind up with if Oprah Winfrey remade "Quincy".

I don't give a damn about who wants to stick their little pee-pee into who, lab nerds running around with guns that in reality couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, or silly ass pseudo-tough characters and pop references. I don't care about who "gets with" or "hooks up with" who. I want to see crime-solving, car chases, and shoot-outs.

By the way, I'd pay good money to see someone knock the everloving crap out of the over-acting fake Clint Eastwood-talking "Horatio" on "CSI:Miami". Did he take acting lessons from William Shatner? The guy looks like one of those wrinkly-faced dolls people used to make out of dried apples, weighs about a buck-fifty soaking wet and probably gets winded picking up a coffee Thermos. Yeah, if I was a drug lord I'd really be intimidated. After all, he takes his sunglasses on and off and talks like he has emphysema.

Idea

2011-01-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

When I rule the world, you know what? We are going to have a set number of laws. Let's say for the sake of argument 1,000 covering financial wrongdoing, violence, traffic, theft, tax laws, what have you.

If a new law is proposed after the 1,000 law limit, an old one must be thrown out. A limit could thus be set on the crushing weight of the government yoke; and many manhours, dollars, and effort would be conserved. We could focus on the really important shit, like: don't kill people, don't rape people, and don't take stuff that isn't yours.

The good old days where you could swing your hands around all you like as long as they don't strike anyone in the nose. "And if it harm none, do what thou wilt".

Wouldn't that be nice, fellow cows?

Gun Kontrol all over again

2011-01-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

After a long hiatus, the Loughner shooting has caused the anti-gun crowd - largely and thankfully silent for a number of years, to knee-jerk back into action. It seems as if they have conveniently forgotten the reason that they were marginalized in the first place. And that reason is that their arguments were spurious and that to most humans in this country capable of coherent thought they were obviously retards of truly galactic proportion. Even Mrs. Gifford knew this, she owned a Glock herself.

I see that once again a bill has been introduced to limit magazine capacity of weapons, riding a wave of grief and shock at the Gifford shooting to magically transport us back to 1994 when a similar bill took effect and remained in effect for the next 10 years.

I'm not even going to get into the broader pro-gun arguments delving into the Second Amendment. I'll try to keep it very simple because the people that argue against gun ownership by law-abiding citizens are usually at a severe disadvantage from the start as they usually know next to nothing about the very objects they are so opposed to. They trot out liberal professors from the halls of academia to give arguments based on flawed and doctored statistics. For instance, the inclusion in "accidental child death" statistics of anyone under 21 years old (sorry, a 19 year old gangbanger being shot by a rival gang isn't the same as a 5 year old that finds daddy's gun and shoots himself by accident) and suicides (people who would have otherwise slashed their wrists, ate a bunch of sleeping pills, or jumped off a bridge) included in "criminal shooting" numbers. It has always been thus. A network of lies, ignorance, and distortion spouted by people who wouldn't know a Lee-Enfield from a Kalishnikov if these pieces were stuffed separately for comparison into their collective poop-chutes. It's same old, same old - the absurd shit being stated now is the largely the same old absurd shit they spouted 15 and 20 years ago.

Right now one can pull up articles talking about "31 round" magazines (the extra 1 is in the chamber, and has nothing to do with the magazine used) by these most-learned and distinguished authorities, and verbiage that gives the impression that prior to the 1980's next to nobody had autoloading pistols until the Glock came around, utter nonsense. Do you know what the "1911" means with regard to the Colt .45 - probably the most popular and common pistol on earth? It means it's been around since 1911, fools. People owned all kinds of autos in the 80's; I was there. If you are going to argue against something, at least give people the common courtesy of knowing something about the subject. These are the same people that considered Teflon - a lubricant - capable of making a bullet penetrate body armor and that a pistol-grip on a long gun makes it somehow "more deadly".

The same idiots that considered the Winchester 'Black Talon' a "cop-killer" when their currently and more discretely marketed 'Golden Sabre' has the exact same ballistics. Tell me, how is a hollow-point bullet going to penetrate body armor? Name for me a single armor piercing round that has a hollow point. A hollow point is designed to expand on impact, idiots. And do you know what Teflon is? It's not Tungsten or depleted Uranium. It's a fucking greasy plastic that has nothing at all to do with piercing armor.

After the VT massacre, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy initiated a weapons ban. One that included a prohibition against barrel shrouds. When questioned whether she knew what a "barrel shroud" was in her own legislation, she had no idea. She stated that she believed it was "a shoulder thing that goes up". These are our leaders, ladies and germs - legislating against things that they can't even fucking define:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18200226/

Regardless of your stance on guns, wouldn't you like people that introduce legislation to at least have a clue as to what the hell they are talking about?

Let's focus on the magazines for now. The argument, at it's heart (and since the woman - who looks like she hasn't been laid since Johnson was president - introducing the new bill admits that in today's climate a magazine capacity restriction is about all that has much of a hope of passing), is that if only we didn't have magazines that held so many bullets nutcases couldn't kill so many people. Pie-in-the-sky stupidity as always.

Unlike anytime previous, however, we have a wealth of data to see if this idea holds much water. Mass shootings are tragic and command outrage and media attention, but surely it is most reasonable to look at total killings, total violent crime rates, and trends rather that one nutjob or even several nutjobs. The so-called "assault weapons" ban of 1994-2004, while containing many absurd elements like a ban on bayonet lugs (when was the last time you heard of anyone being killed by a mounted bayonet? Yeah, that happens all the time..) provides tons of data pertaining to how such magazine limits worked to prevent actual violent crime. Let's look at actual FBI data, not knee-jerk reactive nonsense.

Logic would say that with the sunset of the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban", which prohibited firearms used in less that 2% of violent crime based largely on cosmetic appearance, that the country should have gone all to hell. One year before the ban - 1993 - the total number of violent crimes for the year was 1,926, 017. Adjusting for population increase we should expect that with the sunset of the bill we should see even more violent crime now that the wicked "assault weapons" and high-capacity magazines are once again available. Particularly as gun ownership is at an all-time high and concealed carry permits are being issued left and right even in states like mine where they were nearly unattainable in the past. The country should have turned into the wild wild west, right?

Wrong. After the sunset of the bill there hasn't been a SINGLE YEAR that was even close. In fact, the latest data from the FBI (2009) shows 1,320,000. Over 600,000 fewer incidents, despite way more people and way more guns. And in fact, less than EVERY SINGLE YEAR that the bill was in effect. Banning high capacity magazines has thus had no positive effect on violent crime whatsoever. The bill and the logic behind it(such as it was) was an abject failure.

I can hear people now: "But violent crime encompasses a lot of things, what about murders specifically?"

1999 - the LOWEST of the entire 10 year period the bill was in effect - 15,522

2009 - 15,241, despite shitloads more guns and shitloads more people

Doesn't look to me like there is any precedent whatsoever for believing magazine capacity has crap to do with how many people get killed. Despite the liberal media's best efforts to give us the idea that the country has turned into the O.K. Corral, the fact is that nearly every category of crime is the lowest in decades. Go to the www2.fbi.gov and look at the numbers yourself!

I've read that some say that the loophole of the bill - that existing magazines were grandfathered out, and that it only applied to magazines that were newly manufactured - hamstringed it's impact. This is a copout. A grasping at straws because the very logic behind the bill was nonsense. Because this argument is hypothetical they know there is no way of knowing if this would have made any difference, you cannot argue against a "coulda woulda shoulda" with empirical evidence. So we have to turn to the good old-fashioned 'horse sense' that this country used to be known for but lately seems in short supply:

- magazines, with minimal care, will last for many decades - even a lifetime.

- how do you propose that high capacity magazines can be eradicated when we can't even keep hundreds of thousands of pounds of illegal drugs (which unlike newly made magazines can be detected with dogs and the like) from entering this country?

- magazines can be easily altered

- what is to prevent a shooter from simply carrying multiple guns? The fastest reload is to change weapons.

- Do you intend to search everyone's house in the United States to try to seize the offending magazines? Good luck with that. And good luck trying to square that up with a little thing called unreasonable search and seizure.

- If a law applying to existing magazines were put into place, then when would it be enforced? After someone has already shot a bunch of people. Ooooh, scary. After being sentenced to death for multiple counts of murder and assault a psychopath is going to be sho'nuff scared that he is also being charged with a fucking magazine capacity violation.

- "high capacity magazines" and "assault weapons" are used in a tiny percentage of crime. Most of which could have been just as easily committed with a 10-round magazine or even a revolver. The Virginia Tech massacre was committed with - drum roll please - entirely legal 10-round magazines.

A criminal, by definition, has no regard for the law. Do you gun-grabbers honestly believe that a person who is unfazed by the existing laws - thousands of years old - against murdering people is going to give a damn about a stupid magazine capacity law? On every front, such a law makes no sense whatsoever. You can't stop them from being obtained, they would make little difference as 30 round magazines for a pistol are rarely used in crimes, there is no data to support any such idea - in fact, quite the opposite has occurred, and such a law can be easily circumvented anyway. I honestly don't understand this reasoning that if one idiot shits their pants then we have to try to get everyone to wear diapers. The only people that obey LAWS are people that DON'T BREAK LAWS, so how do you imagine that passing yet another law is going to affect anything even if the "reasoning" behind it had any precedent in the first place?

I just did a magazine change and it took me 1.2 seconds. Yeah, a magazine capacity law is going to be a huge success. You "Handgun Control, Inc." idiots should just crawl back under your rock. You're a collection of freaking idiots. You know what we need to do? Enforce the damned laws we already have. It is YOUR liberal judges that let violent criminals out years before their sentence was supposed to be up, you gun-grabbing socialist twats. It is your touchy-feely mindset that sticks evil bastards in a mental health facility for a couple years instead of a lifetime in prison or simply removing them from the gene pool.

I've had guns with "high capacity" magazines for over 30 years, and you know what? Not a single one of them has strolled out of the house of their own accord and shot a single soul. How about you punish the criminals, instead of trying to be everyone's nanny? The stupidest laws in history were based on a single incident (which is why you can't walk an alligator on a leash), or on emotion/hysteria (which is why we have Draconian laws and taxes based upon dreaded "second hand smoke" from cigars, when a single 747 flying from LA to NYC puts out more pollutants than ALL of the cigars smoked in the US in an entire year).

Start using your pathetic brains. What we have in this country is a plethora of laws and very little common sense. A climate where it is easier to pass restrictions for the masses than demand accountability from the individual. Where it is more common to point fingers at minutae than at the actual person responsible for an outrage. The Founders of this country would weep at the utterly sackless tools we have become. Grow a pair, stop being goddamn sheep, and demand that the government stop trying to be our fucking mommy.

Never let a crisis go to waste

2011-01-14T02:57:00.000-08:00

The number of people and media outlets attempting to gain political traction from the Gabrielle Gifford shooting is absolutely disgusting. It's mind-boggling to see the elements being latched onto in order to attempt to further an agenda. I can't even believe the blatant absurdity of it.

Here is an article (many similar ones carried by different outlets) proclaiming that the heroic intern in the shooting "could be asked for immigration papers":

http://globalgrind.com/channel/news/content/1900265/daniel-hernandez-hero-intern-who-assisted-gabrielle-gifford-could-be-asked-for-immigration-papers-photos/

No, the story isn't suggesting that there is any question about his legal status - he is a naturalized citizen. In essense, what we have is an entire story concocted around the fact that Daniel Hernandez, the heroic intern, is of Hispanic ancestry. Have you ever seen such lazy "reporting" and bald-faced agenda-pushing in your life? What in the blue fuck does Daniel Hernandez or the shooting have to do with immigration law? Because this one guy is both brave and Hispanic that means the entire law is invalid? A brutal MS-13 gang member "could be asked for immigration papers" as well. Regardless of one's stance on Arizona's immigration laws, this connection is the most tenuous and bizarre thing I've ever seen published. I can clearly envision some news idiot scanning over the AP releases and coming across the intern's name - "Hernandez! That's Mexican! I can write a whole story about this and be done in time for lunch!" Hey, morons. Your job is to report the news. Drawing idiotic connections and informing us that a guy named Hernandez is Latino isn't news. And what friggin' incompetent tools pass for editors nowadays?

We also have multipage news features written about Glock handguns, since that was the make Loughner used. You would think that Glock was the sole maker of semiautomatic pistols. One even stated "executives from Glock did not return requests for comment". What in the hell do you expect them to say? That their pistols obviously perform the function that they are designed to do, which is to spit lead from the business end? Gabrielle Gifford herself knew that, she owns one. That they are going to shut down their business because some psychopath used one of their products instead of a Beretta, Taurus, Ruger, or H&K to shoot a bunch of people? If Loughner had run over the group with a truck or bashed someone's head in with a bat would they be asking Peterbilt or the MLB commissioner for comment? By some accounts, 65% of police departments also use Glocks. Do you "ask them for comment" in the uncountable instances that they are used to hold a violent criminal at bay or to save a life? Of course not! More to come on the gun issue.

Then we have the political finger-pointing: it's the tea party's fault, it's the liberals' fault, it's Sarah Palin's fault. Much as I can't stand Palin, her little online map has nothing to do with shit. Want to know who's fault it really is? Are you ready for it?

JARED LEE LOUGHNER.

And since I'm offering a two-for-one special on common sense today, I'm even going to tell you why he did it. It might seem surprising, but it had nothing to do with Glocks, political discourse, teabaggers, or even morons from Alaska:

IT'S BECAUSE HE'S A GODDAMN NUT.

Wasn't that easy? Stop being freaking fools, people. Focus. I realize that there is always this compulsion by rational people to understand the irrational and the monstrous. We struggle to understand the "why?". It happened with Manson, it happened with Dahmer, it happened with the Columbine shooters, it happened with Jim Jones and countless others. Unfortunately, there is no rational "why" with lunatics. It's because they are, well, fucking lunatics.

On a brighter note, I'm very pleased to read this morning that Rep. Gifford is making great strides in her recovery. This is truly wonderful news.

"Really" much?

2011-01-09T05:04:00.001-08:00

I'll be so glad when this fad of saying "Really?" is over. It used to only be said when somebody else was telling you something amazing - i.e. "You won the lottery! Really?". Kind of like saying "You're kidding me!", or "for real?". Fairly meaningless but at least the statement made some sense.

Then, a few years ago people start saying it essentially to themselves. Recounting an event that happened right before their own eyes ("I crapped my pants and was like: really?"), or even worse, during an event which is happening right now. They drop a glass of milk, for example, then stare at the mess and say "really?". Well of course "really" - you just saw it happen, you douchebag! It wouldn't be so bad except that people who say it in this context tend to say it all the goddamn time. Every time they talk to you there's an irritating "really" or two.

Same with asking people things with "much" at the end of it. "angry much?", "bitter much?" like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even worse when much is preceeded by a damn noun - something like "Hitler much?" Do you "muchers" realize how freaking dumb you sound?

Learn to speak English properly, and try to use your remaining three functioning neurons to say something that actually makes sense, if you must speak at all.

"Dat's Raysis!"

2011-01-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

You know, I'm so sick of the race card. Recently there has been some uproar among comic book nerds as the character 'Heimdall' in the upcoming movie 'Thor' is potrayed by a black actor, Idris Elba.

Well, you know what? Norsemen weren't black. And it has nothing to do with being 'racist'. I find old 50's cowboy movies with Native Americans being played by white men equally ridiculous. At least they had the excuse that there probably weren't a whole lot of Indian actors running around. This is nothing more than forced integration in order to try to be politically correct. I wonder what would happen if you had a movie where Dr. King or Chaka Zulu was played by a white guy?

Yes, I get that Asgard and Thor are made-up, though how it's any more made up than any other religion is beyond me. However, the fact that they are Norse is part of the story. Why in the hell would a black man be named 'Heimdall' anyway? Or be part of a pantheon to people that were likely completely ignorant of the existence of the black race? It has nothing to do with disliking black people or racism, it has to do with authenticity of the freaking story.

Since neo-nazi idiots are big into Norse stuff, I almost wonder if this was a jab at them. Or simply an opportunity for Marvel to stuff their 'enlightenedness' in our face with a show of forced diversity. Or perhaps Elba (who is by all accounts an excellent actor) auditioned and they didn't want to be sued. Maybe it's a stab at irony, as Heimdall is described as "the whitest of the gods":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimdall

At any rate, it's ridiculous. Much as I liked Thor as a kid, I won't be seeing it; any more than I would watch the 'Brown Hornet' if the title role were played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

WikiLeaks and their WikiFreaks

2010-12-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Ah, where to begin. Each day since WikiLeaks posted the first diplomatic cables Assange's army of supporters seems to grow, particularly in the UK and Australia. And now a band of people have been launching DDos attacks on various companies that have severed ties with him and on a Swedish government website. And each day (as usual), I grow steadily more dumbfounded as to how people think.

WikiLeaks started out with an arguably noble purpose: "expose oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations." And invariably their current supporters view Assange as a kind of crusader for Almighty Truth and Freedom. Thing is, much of what WikiLeaks has leaked has nothing to do with unethical behavior or wrongdoing. Much of it is simply private correspondence and documents. Is it really so earthshatteringly important that some diplomat thinks a government official is 'thin-skinned' or that Kaddafi likes Flamenco dancing? I can't believe that people can't see a difference between exposing corruption and cruelty and just plain old embarrassing people and hurting international relations for the hell of it. I'm all about injustices being thrown under the spotlight, but the vast majority of the recent stuff seems to have nothing to do with this. It's nothing more than childish mud-slinging. The handling of some of these documents is so disputed that their own ranks have split. If WikiLeaks is into total transparency then here is a challenge - release your own unredacted e-mails, financial records, and correspondence. The public has the the "right to know" this too, correct? And if not, why not?

Here's a revelation for my idealistic friends out there. Material is often classified for a reason. And no, you do not get to know every thing that happens. The Founding Fathers that penned the Freedom of the Press Assange's supporters like to bring up at every opportunity understood this. Ciphers, codes, and scytales have been used since ancient times. If the internet existed in Washington and Madison's time, do you honestly believe that they would approve of sensitive military documents and diplomatic dispatches being made available to all and sundry? If you do you are a goddamned fool.

The "Hackers":

First of all, that the media keeps calling 'Anonymous' "Hackers" is irritating in the extreme. As far as I know, they haven't "hacked" into anything. They are script kiddies. A DOS attack is simply a flood, a 14 year old kid can do this. But at any rate, you guys are into "freedom", right? What about the freedom that a private business owner has to do business with, or not do business with, anybody they damn well please? If you owned a business instead of living in your mom's basement wondering what a naked woman looks like, would you think it is fair that a group of people should attempt to hurt your livelihood because of a decision you made regarding a business you own? Do you really think you are seriously going to 'bring VISA and Mastercard down' by interrupting service? If anything, you are doing nothing more than inconveniencing regular people who are trying to pay their bills and make a living - people that have nothing whatsoever to do with WikiLeaks. Brush the Cheeto-dust off your fingers, put down your Mountain Dew Code Red, and start living in the real world morons.

That's it for now. If you pull the tail of a tiger, don't be surprised when you get effed up. And Mr. Assange, don't drop the soap.

The astounding ascendancy of Sarah Palin

2010-11-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

I cannot for the life of me understand how this woman continues to be so popular, even to the point of dropping hints that she might run for President. I'm sure she's a nice enough lady, but President of the United States? You've got to be kidding me.

Have people forgotten when she ran with McCain? They hardly even let her speak because every time she opens her mouth something galactically ignorant flies out of it. She couldn't name a single Founding Father, can't recall one Supreme Court case beyond Roe vs. Wade, and thinks that we are allies with North Korea. Have we lost our minds? Why does anyone even care about her anymore? Her stupidity is legendary.

Can you imagine a race in which we have to choose between Obumbler and this idiot? These are serious times and we need a serious statesman (or woman) to represent us. Not fools that spend their time making reality shows or hamming it up on David Letterman. We need a real freaking President again.

It's astounding that to get just about any decent job your resume will be pored over, and employment can be won or lost by a line or even what stationary you use; yet to be President of the United States your curriculum vitae can be as thin as a pamphlet and just as shallow. We really, really can't find anyone better than the choices they have been giving us for years now? A chimp that can barely speak the English language, a community organizer that kisses the asses of tyrants and gives a collection of cheap plastic disks as a state gift to our dearest ally, and now we might get a small town mayor whose grasp of ...well, nearly everything beyond shooting moose and clubbing halibut to death, could be written on a post card?

Can we PLEASE have somebody to vote for that isn't a damn clown? Somebody that might actually have the intelligence and strength to not make us a laughingstock yet again and has even the most basic knowledge of economics, geography, and history? I don't even care what party they are from - just somebody, anybody who might actually make a respectable leader. This isn't friggin' American Idol.

How to delete your Facebook account

2010-05-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

Lest readers think I'm only posting this because I'm a lousy curmudgeon and the only one on earth that has no interest in online 'social networking', do this:

Go to www.google.com, type in "how do i", and check out the suggested search terms - #6 as I write this. Looks like out of all the myriad things people are looking to find out how to do, dumping Farcebook is a biggy. Perhaps finally people are questioning whether they are using Facebook to keep in touch with their friends and family, or whether Facebook is using them instead.

Keep in mind that deactivating your account is not the same as deleting it. If you deactivate, if you log on again everything is right there where you left it. Once deleted, after two weeks everything should be gone - hopefully from their databases as well. And Facebook doesn't make it plain how to delete your account, for obvious reasons. So here I come to save the day.

First you must be logged in to your Facebook account. Then, while logged in, go to http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

Voila. You should get a confirmation e-mail from Facebook, then it will take about two weeks. In the meantime, if you experience withdrawal pains, have a read :

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/facebook-rogue

*update: "how do I delete Facebook" and "How do I quit Facebook" are #1 now. Yay!

Tell a grieving father: "I stand with you"

2010-05-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

More evil from the idiotic "Westboro Baptist Church" inbreds:

LINK

Give Albert Snyder your support by signing the petition here:

LINK

We are trying to get 100,000 signatures to present to Mr. Snyder. It costs nothing.

American Idol

2010-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, thank God Aaron Kelly's out. Not because I don't like his voice, and not because I don't think he's a good kid. But what the hell is up with the stupid hairstyles nowadays? He goes from looking like a damn rooster (like Ryan Seacrest with his almost 'faux-hawk') to looking like some twat from an Axe commercial with his hair poking up in a hundred different directions.

I so wish this stupid fad would pass. It is stupider than the Beatles cut of the 60's, the afro of the 70's, and the middle-parted feathered-back hair of the 80's by leaps and bounds. Trust me, when you look back in about 10 or 20 years you're going to say "Christ, I looked like an idiot!"

Stop looking like morons, people. Now if Crystal Bowersox would only take that stupid thing out of her lip.

More evidence of the death of common sense..

2010-01-30T15:38:00.000-08:00

I am utterly confused why a perfectly legal activity is banned on private property:

http://www.heraldonline.com/front/story/1880203.html

This is only an example of the same thing all across the country, and all across the world. A country where just a scant 22 years ago or so you could smoke in a friggin' grocery store and Wal-Mart had ashtrays inside. A world where one used to be able to smoke in a hospital, for Pete's sake. I'm not advocating a return to those days, nor do I want anyone to be exposed to second-hand smoke without their consent, but the anti-smoking hysteria has gotten nothing less than absurd.

The comments of Buddy Moltz (now there's an erudite-sounding name if I ever heard one), seem to sum up the opinion of people who institute these bans:

"is it your choice to speed 80 miles an hour on a 65-mile-an-hour road? To light a fire in a theater? There are a lot of restrictions people have in society. This is one of them."

It doesn't seem to dawn on these people that an establishment - particularly a private club - is PRIVATE PROPERTY. A '65 mile-per-hour' road is public property by definition, since it has a posted speed limit in the first place. If you build a private road on your own property you and your guests can drive whatever speed you like. I could build a racetrack on my property if I want. As long as potential patrons are made aware at the outset that it is a smoking establishment, what the hell is the problem? If you don't smoke or don't want to be exposed to smoke, don't fucking go there. What is so hard about this? You put up a big goddamn sign that says THIS IS A SMOKING ESTABLISHMENT and if private clearly spell out in whatever membership paperwork is involved that smoking goes on in there.

The only other 'reasoning' I see about this is 'smoking is bad for you', 'smoking is nasty', 'smokers stink', etc. What the hell does this have to do with anything? Nobody knows the dangers of smoking better than a smoker. Nobody is being forced to do anything. People behave as if children are being raped inside or something.

Whether you smoke or not or give a shit one way or the other about it, do you really want government that can tell you what perfectly legal activity can or cannot be done on your own damn property? What freedoms are next, and where is the line drawn? At your yard, your front door, or in your own bedroom? Increasingly it seems that in short order there will be no line at all. The government will tell you precisely what you can do and where you can do it, whether it affects anyone else or not.

When governmental entities make no distinction between public and private property, put no stock in personal choice or reponsibility, and dictates what a consenting adult can do and can't do because 'they know what's best for us'; we are in a bad way indeed. That this shit can even happen is just more proof that we have become sheep.

Everybody seems to tout the 'fall of Communism' but the fact is it is stronger than ever.

Farcebook

2010-01-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

I never had a Facebook account, just as I never had a MySpace - that compendium of ridiculously ugly and poorly laid-out webpages - account, because I never understood the purpose. I have e-mail, I chat on the odd forum, I have a telephone, and - go figure - I actually see live and in person most of the people I talk to. Nearly every day.

But I have friends that send me Facebook invitations from time to time, and after awhile one talked me into making an account. And after a week, well, I still didn't get it and disabled the thing.

At first it was neat to interact with folks that I hadn't seen in over 20 years and know that they're still alive and kicking, but after the novelty wore off in about a day I tried hard to figure out why it's so popular. I can't figure out what is so special about it that you couldn't do with stuff that already exists on the web.

Let's see...the 'friends list'. Lotta people here, but how many will I ever really talk to or could actually be considered a 'friend'? There's people I hung out with in high school, but I'm 40 years old now and haven't talked to them in ages. You really have little in common any more - half of 'em are Bible-thumpers now. There's people sending friend requests who are also from the past, but I didn't speak to them much then and I'm about twice as unlikely to now. There's requests from people I can't even remember, or were friends of a friend of a friend. There's people I speak to in person all week, and people I talk to on other sites or via e-mail or phone anyway. I think users just collect 'friends' like little digital trophies to make them feel good about themselves and delude themselves into thinking that they are actually popular.

Let's look at the main part - the 'wall'. This is a good name for it, as it's like reading a hodgepodge of grafitti on a real wall, but less amusing. I've got:

1. Absolutely random quotations and Bible verses. There's one guy that posts nothing but these.

2. Even more random lines from various songs. One day a guy posts "These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do; one of these days these boots are going to walk all over you." A full 72 hours later after numerous unrelated comments from other people he says "Are you ready boots? START WALKIN'!!!" Then a couple hours later he channels Dave Mustaine and asks the immortal "PEACE SELLS...BUT WHO'S BUYING???!?!?!" Like #1, this guy posts nothing but these, and they never have anything to do with anything anybody else said. It's kind of creepy, to be honest.

3. Updates on the utterly mundane, like 'Well, I'm off to work.', or 'I'm trying to understand Boolean operators. Yuk!' Boy, I'm sure glad that I'm being kept apprised of these earth-shattering events.

4. Joe is now friends with Marsha.

5. So-and-so has given you (insert random item which is used in a game you don't play.)!

6. Really sophomoric and uninspired 'deep thoughts'.

7. John has leveled up in Mafia Wars!

8. Pictures of people, most of whom I don't have the foggiest idea who they are.

And that's just about it. It reads as if you gave a group of lunatics the ability to make a web page. And if you post a comment about something, here comes some friend of a friend that you don't even know to try to correct or chastise you, because it isn't really 'your' wall. It's everybody's. And their post will begin thus..."I don't know you, but...". Well, here's a news flash. Since you don't know me what in the hell would give you the collossally mistaken impression that I give a flying fuck about anything you have to say?

Then we have the cheesy little turn-based games. A farm on which no disaster ever occurs, an aquarium populated by pixels, and a mafia game where machine guns and 'Haitian Relief Drums' can be used with equal aplomb. Also candy canes. Yay.

You have a chat feature, just like an IM program. You have an inbox, just like e-mail. You have a photo album, just like Photobucket.

People are amused by any crap, it seems. And more than willing to give out all their personal details and any expectation of privacy in pursuit of mindlessness. I've given up trying to understand any of it. Don't even get me started on Twitter.

The Creepiness Continues...

2009-09-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Little kids taught to praise Dear Leader Obama at B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ; June 19, 2009.

Mmm, mmm, mmm. Barack Hussein Obama. Very catchy stuff, komrads.

More National Socialist absurdity...USA style

2009-09-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125374722116935697.html

I see the day when cigars will be a thing of the past, or so absurdly expensive that only the rich will be able to smoke them. Even those that don't smoke flavored cigars or anything else for that matter should nonetheless be horrified at the socialist thinking that would ban a legal product on the grounds that an existing law covering it (age restriction) is being broken. The banning of products also equals:

loss of profit

which equals:

loss of jobs

All in the name of rescuing us from ourselves, and exactly what we need in this shitty economy. It's like banning cars because some people drive drunk. They came for the Jews and I said nothing because I was not a Jew.....

It is only a matter of time before the FDA says that there is no difference between cigars and cigarettes, and those companies which make both regular cigars and flavors will have to make up the profit loss by raising prices once again. This is a slippery slope that will end with the total prohibition of tobacco products, mark my words. Beyond clove cigarettes, menthols, and some of the Nat Sherman ones that are way too expensive to appeal to the underage, I can't even name one flavored cigarette. Not one, and I've been smoking for 30 years. The pretext of this ban is entirely false.

The dear nanny state is taking care of us helpless little children once again; the lie is simply the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. A stepping stone to greater and greater restrictions. Shame the FDA sucks so miserably at what is supposed to be their primary function - making sure our food is safe.

Ironically when I see stuff like this I want to smoke more to hasten my demise as much as possible. I see the future, and it ain't pretty. I think about the absurdly over-regulated, baby-ass country my children will inherit, and I feel ashamed. I was always under the impression that the government answered to US, not the other way around.

Sugar - The Bitter Truth

2009-09-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an eye-opener. It's a pretty long video - an hour and a half - and the good doctor does get into some fairly heavy biochemistry (for a layman) in a couple parts, but trust me it's well worth the watch. Watch it in segments if neccesary, or make yourself comfortable with a nice ethanol beverage:

Scary stuff...I challenge you to go through your cupboards or read the ingredients on products the next time you go shopping. You will be amazed at what high-fructose corn syrup has been added to, and the sheer number of items that have it, even items that aren't supposed to taste sweet. Were I prone to conspiracy theories, I'd swear we are all being intentionally poisoned.

This isn't some crank either, Dr. Lustig is the UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology.

Oh Brother, you suck

2009-09-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since I came across product quality and service equal to the level of absolute shittiness provided by Brother International®. You know, the people that make printers, faxes, etc.?

http://www.brother-usa.com/

Last Christmas my son gave me this all-in-one printer - printer, fax, scanner made by these people, to replace the HP printer I have been using for 10 years. I dutifully registered it online. Recently I ran out of ink for the first time, or more accurately my kids ran out of ink as I have gotten to print a grand total of three pages. Ink for this thing is roughly the cost of platinum, but I got all new cartridges. Everything works, except black. Cleaning repeatedly, reinstalling, returning the ink cartridge and getting another one, praying to Allah, nothing would cause this thing to print black in any program or even a DOS shell.

So I call their optimistically-named 'tech support' and lo and behold it's my old friend 'perhaps you press button incorrectly' Apu in Calcutta who must be on hiatus from Dell's tech support. He asks my phone number and voila! He pulls up both my name and address in their database. His suggestion (just like on their website) is to do the cleaning process four times and if that doesn't work, well, you're fucked. I sure am glad we have these technical experts on call; their rapid resolutions to our problems springing forth fountainlike from our very telephone receivers. I explain that I've already done it about 6 times and he informs me that the serial number is no longer under warrantee.

How can this be, when it has a year warrantee and the thing was bought brand new about 8 months ago? Well, they have no record of me registering it. Now, how can that be when my name and number is in their database? "You must have called before", says he. Which I never have, because I've never owned a Brother® product in my life. He asks if I have a receipt. Well, of course I don't, it was a Christmas present and who holds on to the receipt of every product they buy for months and months? Who expects that a reasonably expensive product from a major manufacturer is going to be such a collossal piece of shit? I e-mail them thinking perhaps he got the serial number wrong and get a terse reply basically stating once again that I am fucked and that I should drive hours away to pay for repairs at one of their authorized service centers.

Whatever happened to standing behind what you make and customer service? I don't ask that they adopt a policy of 'The Customer is Always Right', only that the customer be given a fair shake. The serial number would probably reveal that the thing wasn't even made over a year ago. These people may as well stamp an expiration date on their products like it's a package of bologna, have no 'tech support' (such as it is), and have no registration process whatsoever because all they have to do is claim you didn't register it. The tech support link on their website may as well just point to a page saying 'Ha ha ha, we got your money and now you're hosed. LOL'.

Even when it worked this thing was an ink pig. It even automatically cleans itself every so often, wasting expensive ink. If you already have one of these abortions you should unplug it when not in use. And if you run out of one color, it won't even print in black & white. All cartridges must be full, a design feature to eke all the money they can from their customers before the P.O.S. printer fails altogether.

Brother® is a steaming pile of dung and I will never buy another one of their crappy products. And I suggest you don't either.

Help identify "Kung Fu Guy"

2009-09-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this post is to bring to light - in yet another place - a video and ongoing investigation into an event that apparently occurred in Dumfries, Virginia, in December of 1984. It is my sincere hope that the victim's identity and status may be established, and that the purpetrators of this vicious assault are punished. If this latter is not possible then at the very least the word gets out about what kind of people they are. A video, since gone viral, was posted by Bobby Joe Blythe to his YouTube channel (since deleted) on 1st April 2009 showing the brutal beating of a black male in a martial arts school he (Blythe) operated, the beating itself being carried out by one of his students - one Willie J. Dennis. This brutal assault has never been punished, and there is speculation on whether the man who was beaten up even survived.

I am hoping that someone can identify the man who was beaten in the video or will come forward if they have any knowledge about the event. Warning: this video is very graphic and may be disturbing:

Still pictures of the man known only as "Kung Fu Guy" as well as additional information on the case and news stories are available at: http://www.justice4kungfuguy.com/

If anyone has any new information on this case or a lead on the identity of the victim please contact me here via e-mail or contact crimevictiminfo@gmail.com

The victim is a black male, 6'2" or 6'3", may have a tiger tattoo on his left forearm, and would be around his late 40's or early 50's if still alive. He may be a devout Christian and have practiced White Crane kung fu in the past. He may have resided in DC or the surrounding area in the early 80's, and *may* have received psychiatric help around that time as well. It is widely reported that he was homeless and living in the woods, although I personally don't think so. Close analysis of stills in the video show that he is well groomed and his trousers are not only clean but wrinkle free and have pressed creases on the legs. It is a possibility though that he received clothing from an area charity or church.

I read that there is no statute of limitations for felonies in Virginia. I seriously hope that those involved could be extradited for felony assault or attempted murder.

Wal-Mart Gestapo

2009-08-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

I never would have thought "Gemeinnutz geht vor Eigennutz" would have been replaced by "Watch for Falling Prices" or that jackbooted, goose-stepping thugs would be supplanted by the mentally disadvantaged and/or elderly with just the faintest smell of cottage cheese. What am I talking about? Wal-Mart greeters.

No, this isn't to make fun of them but rather what they do - besides plastering returns with a rainbow of randomly-colored stickers and showing pictures of themselves clad only in a plastic bag. Does anyone not have a problem with someone calling you over and balancing what you have in your cart with what it says on your receipt? I do, because it's fucking insulting. As far as I'm concerned, if the alarm goes off or they think I've stolen something, they can goddamn well call the police. Also as far as I'm concerned, since I have paid for the stuff in those bags it is now my property and they have no right to rifle through it.

It should piss you off too - what the hell kind of business treats their customers like a bunch of criminals with no probable cause whatsoever? I used to work at Wal-Mart as a kid - back in the glorious days when you could smoke in the store and the company prided itself on selling American-made goods instead of Chinese crap. We didn't have "greeters"; we had cameras - at least half of which were fake anyway, and we had a security guy that prowled around looking for people stealing stuff. Back when you walked in a store, grabbed a cart, and as long as you hadn't shoplifted anything you were left the hell alone. Ironically enough, Wal-Mart tanked in Germany for this very reason - Germans don't want to be dicked around with when they are trying to buy what they need and get home. Perhaps they have had enough with 'showing papers' too.

But, two things have happened:

a) Wal-Mart became a juggernaut and many people have no choice but to shop there.

and

b) People became sheep and seem to take no offense anymore to being treated like shit.

It's not even like they do a good job - a couple cursory glances here and there and some very officious-looking highlighting of the receipt and off you go. I could rob the place blind and they'd say 'have a nice day' as I walked straight out the door - highlighted papiere in hand and a cart chock full o' housed merchandise.

Of course, it's their property so they can do what they like; and they are fully aware that you have no choice but to buy their shit because they've pretty much crushed any competition. Who is going to raise hell with an 80 year old woman or a dude in a wheelchair anyway. But it's BS just the same. If cop starts searching your property with no cause whatsoever people will raise holy hell, but if a drooling geriatric does it that's fine. Wally World FTW!

As of the time of this post, I have contacted Wal-Mart's corporate office and asked why customers are being searched. It is now the 22nd and no response. I encourage anyone reading this to refuse this search and demand the store call the police instead. Ask the greeter if you can search them. Do not allow yourself, as a law-abiding citizen, to be treated this way.

Cash for Clunkers

2009-08-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone in the media seems all giddy about the Cash Allowance Rebate System..better known as Cash for Clunkers. Dealers are happy, customers are happy, and it's 'good for the environment', a phrase I hear so often now that I want to puke.

It doesn't seem to dawn on anybody that it also depletes the used vehicle market because these cars must be destroyed. While customers that can afford a new, fuel-efficient vehicle are understandably happy, what of a person who simply doesn't have the means to afford a new car and can only get something for 3 or 4K? Screw them, right?

What of the car enthusiast searching for parts for his classic car, or the aforementioned lower income person who needs to get a part to keep their daily driver running? Hard to find parts are being destroyed which in turn raises the cost of parts in the junkyard.

And not all of the cars being turned in for destruction are 'clunkers' either. Seems like every week I hear of one being brought in that has been meticulously maintained depite it's age and high mileage. One that would make a dandy car for a low income family, a single mom, or a struggling student. One that at the very least might make a good car to auction off for charity, give to a youth group, or a high school driver's ed car. But they must be destroyed.

CARS is nothing more than a gesture to say 'look, we're doing something about the environment' while screwing somebody else using your tax dollars.

Support Gun Control

2009-06-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

HMAs

2009-05-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

It continues to befuddle me how people go through the painful and convoluted process to buy a home (and usually a damn expensive one at that) and yet sign away any semblance of freedom by putting their name on the contract of some ridiculous "Homeowners Association". Agreeing that another group of people will tell you what kind of plants you are allowed to put in your yard, if you can fly Old Glory, when you have to turn your lights off, the precise color you are allowed to paint your house, and whether or not you are permitted to have a motorcycle, vegetable garden, or a pickup truck. WTF happened to the United States, a historically individualistic society, signing away your life to live in a commune? What happened to the 'American Dream'? The horror stories are numerous, here's the latest I'm aware of:

LINK

Only one of many. I've seen million-dollar houses in these "gated communities" where they even specified when trees will be trimmed. Do these people not realize that they could buy a couple acres of land, have a house built on it, and be free to do as they damn well please with it? I invite any who can enlighten me as to the benefit of joining a 'homeowner's association' vs. keeping your testicles to drop me a line.

Why not just rent a house if you want people micromanaging you? To me, if you're dumb enough to sign on to this crap you deserve whatever idiocy follows because you agreed to be a sheep. Have fun, komrad!

Return from Makin Island

2009-05-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Nice video on the return of 19 Marine Raiders killed on Makin Island (now Butaritari) for burial in Arlington. The villagers took good care of them, and it is moving that how the only English the elder knew was the 'Marine Song' taught to him in 1942 as a teenager. He still remembered it, and he sang it for them when these Marines left for home in caskets over half a century later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6f_FvZpm3g

On Memorial Day here in the United States, it is proper to think of and honor men like these, their ultimate sacrifice, and the impact they made. The real deal. It isn't just a day off and an excuse to fire up the grill. Always remember those fallen warriors who safeguarded the freedoms we enjoy today, from every service and from every walk of life.

Wm. Penn Panetela - disgusting!

2009-05-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

I've reneged on my promise to keep reviewing cigars on here. Though I have smoked some real beauties and continue to age and enjoy cigars it became boring and ostentatious to me to write about them. I even stopped keeping 'tasting notes' and simply keep the bands. A good cigar is one you like. Try whatever one strikes your fancy and see what you think.

But I just have to warn people about Wm. Penn panetelas. I don't mind cheap machine mades but these ooze thick black tobacco juice in your mouth like a pipe that hasn't been cleaned in a month. Horrible. Has nobody in that company actually tried one? It makes no difference if you smoke it fast or slow, whether it's humidified or dry, how much of it you smoke, or what the weather's like. Nasty, nasty shit. Don't buy these. The Perfectos are alright - about like a White Owl Invincible. But I won't be buying from these people again, despite their long history.

Nobody thinks

2009-05-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yet more stupidity. Has anyone read a label, listened to an ad, or read a slogan and actually thought about what it said? Obviously the people that write them don't, or they figure that in a country that cares more about the foibles of people on 'American Idol' than the fact that they don't have a damn job it doesn't really matter.

Case in point. On a can of Del Monte fruit: "Same Nutrients as Fresh!" Why the hell wouldn't it have the 'same nutrients as fresh'? It's goddamn fruit.

I saw a semi the other day and the slogan of the trucking company was: 'We Do It Right the First Time'. Let's think about this for a second. The truck goes to point A and the people load goods onto the truck to take to point B. The truck drives to point B and the people there offload the goods. It seems to me that this is a job you either do or you don't do - there is no doing it "right". There is no scale of quality in taking stuff from one place to another. If you go to the wrong place then you haven't done the job...there's no "right" or "wrong" about it. If they do it "right", how in the heck do you do it "wrong"? Drive in reverse while smoking crack the whole way?

I heard a radio ad for some program which purports to be a method for curing alcoholism at home. That's interesting in itself. But what I really found intriguing is that they said "If this isn't the most effective at-home program to stop drinking you've tried we'll refund your money!" I wondered if there are any other ones to compare it with, yes, but I got to thinking...how would you get your money back anyway?

You would have to pay for and do their entire lengthy program and have it fail. Then you would have to pay for and do the entire program from a competitor and have it work. Then you would have to go back to the people from the first program and show that you followed both to the letter, you are no longer a drunk, and that it was the second program that did it so you can get your money back in the unlikely event that that company even exists any more. Gimme a break.

America's Observance Madness

2009-05-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

Just today, I was looking to see if I might have a paid holiday in June, so I Googled 'June Holidays' and what the hell do I get? This:

http://www.brownielocks.com/june.html

Effing 'Fish are Friends, not Food Week' (what the hell were these people smoking?), 'Upsy Daisy Day', 'Do-Dah' day, and wouldn't you know it - June is goddamn 'Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism' Month. Apparently it's unacceptable that people are dependent on alcohol when in the name of all that is right and decent they should be hooked on anti-depressants.

Christ, every day of the calendar commemorates some stupid shit or another in the US. Can't we just have one damn day that is a regular old day? One where you drag your tired old ass into work and then go home and eat dinner? Who in the blue funk celebrates 'World Infertility Month' or 'Find a Mate Week' anyway? Barren spinsters?

For God's sake people. Stop being idiots.

SCHIP tax..what garbage!

2009-04-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

OK, I realize most people don't smoke so they don't care. These people should be asking themselves what things that they enjoy that the tax-man is coming for next. And I fully realize that smoking is bad for you and might even be considered stupid. Last time I checked though, it wasn't the government's place to take care of me by beating the hell out of me for enjoying a legal and voluntary activity.

This is wrong on many levels, not just because I personally enjoy a cigar now and again. This is not a minor tax increase...it is a draconian increase of dramatic proportrion. Over TWO THOUSAND PERCENT on loose tobacco, for example. And for what purpose?

To pay for children's health care for parents that can't afford health insurance. So, in effect, by one's enjoyment of a perfectly legal activity you are paying through the nose for someone else's health care - even if you may not have health insurance yourself. It's Communist bullshit.

They paint it as a way to 'discourage smoking'. Yet if everyone quit like they purport to want, who would fork over the money to take care of these kids? It's illogical. They simply pick on smokers because they are easy to demonize.

How many jobs are being lost, and at what cost to the community by this crap?

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/i...eir_custo.html

There are a lot of mom n' pop cigar shops, and what of companies like Bugler who offer loose tobacco which don't enjoy huge sales to begin with? It's forcing people out of work for a nanny-state government to enforce a tax-and-spend agenda..against a segment nobody has any sympathy for.

I'm all about smoking-related illnesses and diseases not being covered under Medicaid or any publically-funded program, so you can save that argument.

You may not care now. Wait til they come after your beer and your cheeseburgers.

Obama, despite his lies, cares nothing for the working American. Where's my mortgage bailout? Oh, nevermind, I actually was smart enough to not sign my name to a crap variable interest rate loan so I get nothing. How about a check? Nope, because I actually work and pay taxes I get nothing. Help for my children's health care? Whoops, I made the mistake of actually paying for it myself and working. I should just become a goddamn parasite so I can reap some benefits from our Socialist BS government. Only the greedy, the irresponsible, and the lazy get help.

He was actually considering raising Tri-Care co-pays for veterans and billing veterans' insurance companies for service related injuries. A guy is ordered to Iraq by our government and now would have to pay for part of his treatment because his legs got blown off. I can't believe this idiot was voted into office. He's far more than demonstrably incompetent, he's evil.

And here is a man that gives to the English Prime Minister- in exchange for a unique historical item - a bunch of DVDs that don't even work in England. To the freaking Queen? A godddamn iPod! This is the type of moron we want representing our country?

Mark my words, let's see how many people are hip to the "hope" and "change" in a couple of years. This doesn't stop with the wicked smokers...somebody has to pay for these exhorbitant spending plans. And guess what? It will be YOU.

Gran Torino

2009-01-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

I don't go out to the movies much anymore. What was once an affordable family pasttime has turned pretty expensive and people are often loud and rude in the theater. Much easier to just get the DVD and watch it in the comfort of your own home. If the movie sucks, well at least you haven't lost much - a couple of bucks.

So it's really refreshing to find a film that's worth every penny and more to see on the big screen; a film whose story lingers with you for days afterward. Such is the film 'Gran Torino', masterfully directed and starred in by Clint Eastwood.

Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is an old retired autoworker and Korean War veteran, who has watched his neighborhood change around him. The homes once occupied by dozens of working-class families are now home to Hmong people. To Walt; a hard, difficult, and racist man to say the least they are just 'gooks' and 'zipperheads'. Walt has nothing left, the movie opens with his wife's funeral. His children are all grown and have no time for him. He views his grandchildren - shallow and piercing-laden with distaste. He is still haunted by the war and has withdrawn, viewing the changed world around him with a barely tolerant scorn.

Meanwhile a drama is unfolding in the neighborhood; a young Hmong boy named Thao (played by Bee Vang, who has never before been on film) is being pressured and bullied to join a gang. Thao, who has no male role model in his life and is a shy, timid kid lives next door to Walt. For his initiation he is to steal Walt's prize possession, a beautiful '72 Gran Torino Sport. He fails miserably at this attempt, Walt scares him off.

Later, the gang attempts to drag Thao from his own porch. A fight ensues and spills over into Walt's yard. Walt comes out with his trusty M1 rifle and warns away the gang members setting into action a chain of events which is by turns gripping, tragic, and remarkable.

This is not an action flick. From the trailer shown on TV one can easily get the impression that it's like Death Wish, regular joe vs. the criminals. But there's far more to it, the action sequences are to further and facilitate the story, not the story itself. And the story is nothing less than magic.

Walt becomes a hero in the Hmong neighborhood, a status he doesn't want in the slightest. With the help of Thao's sister Sue (a very likeable character played by Ahney Her) Walt gets to know something of his Hmong neighbors and he slowly and gradually softens. Sue sees that Walt could be a role model for Thao, which will give him some self-esteem and perhaps keep him away from the gang. The interaction between Walt, Thao and Sue is great to watch, and damned funny at times. The transformation of Walt and Thao is engaging.

But the gang is never far off, and a showdown is inevitable. But it won't be the showdown you expect...

Although it seems a simple plot there really is too much going on in the film to type here. Eastwood has once again surprised me. Just as I thought this was more or less an action movie, when Million Dollar Baby came out I was like 'Pffft...a boxing movie'. But that film was incredible too, not really a 'boxing' story so much as a human story.

You can see an extended trailer and read more about the film and cast at http://www.thegrantorino.com/

I can't imagine anyone seeing this film and coming away disappointed.

Rocky Patel 'The Edge' Lite

2009-01-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

The milder brother of Rocky's powerful 'The Edge', this review is based on the 6" Torpedo, with a 52 ring gauge. This stick is handmade in Honduras, with a smooth and small-veined Ecuador-grown Connecticut wrapper and aged Nicaraguan and Honduran Ligero filler.

Though I've seen these described as 'medium', mine was quite mild in strength. The flavor was exceptional..well-balanced, creamy and very slightly earthy. Consistent taste from start to finish, with a great nose. The old lady didn't even mind me smoking it in the house. No burn issues whatsoever, construction was excellent.

I would definately recommend these.

Thompson Empresario Robusto

2008-12-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

I received these as part of a humidor combo, they are a mild to medium house brand from Thompson cigar measuring 5" X 50 using a Connecticut wrapper and long filler, handmade in the Dominican Republic.

I found these surprisingly mild for a Robusto. There was virtually no resting smoke....you would swear it had gone out, though the draw was excellent. The wrapper was very nice..very smooth, small-veined, and construction was exceptional. However, there is a bitter aftertaste or bite to these. I think they were rushed to market, and that a nice long sit in a humidor might do them wonders. So, that's what I'm doing. I may probably edit this post later if the flavor improves over time. I do think these guys have unrealized potential.

I would not recommend these straight out of the bundle, there are many better cigars which are machine-made. * gasp *

Iguana 'Papa' Candela cigar review

2008-12-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

Many of the cigars I've recently received are going to rest awhile before I review them. However, I'm a huge fan of candelas. Their 'grassy', fresh taste reminds me of the Gyokuro green tea of which I am so fond. So, as I have quite a few of these, off we go.

These are cigars handmade in the Dominican Republic. The wrapper of this one is of course candela (also referred to as 'double claro') - very green as the particular curing process fixes the chlorophyll within the leaves. Like many candelas the wrapper is very delicate and should be treated with care - storing such cigars in a jar resting on their caps will lead to damage, and if dropped will often destroy the cigar. It is very difficult for torcedors to deal with this wrapper, the curing process makes it very difficult to work with as it is thin and breaks easily. The filler is long - Dominican Olor and Piloto Cubano.

Very nice. The cigar burns very well and has an excellent draw..producing large amounts of smoke but yet is still very mild and pleasant. No relight has been neccesary. This is a very substantial cigar, very large. As candelas are appropriate for a morning or daytime smoke, I think I would prefer a smaller size (which are available as well). I usually have little time during the day to smoke such a large vitola. You can easily smoke these for an hour or more. This size would be great for a lazy day at the beach, fishing, or hanging out at the cabin.

If the flavor ever changes over the course of the stick, I cannot detect it. To me it is smooth from start to finish, sometimes 'milky' notes are present. I'm a big fan of candela cigars, and one could not do much better than to pick up some Iguanas if you would like to try these. Candelas have a long history, at one time they accounted for much of the market is the USA. Iguanas are the epitome of the type in my opinion, you don't get greener or 'more candela' than these. In short, these did not disappoint whatsoever.

Iguanas can be purchased from the Thompson Cigar Company at a very reasonable price...$22.50 USD for 10 of the large 'Papa' size (7" X 50).

Cigar Etiquette

2008-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

While I'm on the subject of cigars, let me comment on the elitist hoity-toity cigar culture. One hundred years ago, many men smoked cigars. Cigarettes were largely unheard of. If you look at ads and boxes from the old days the main selling point was how cheap they are for a decent product, not how they are some high-falutin' accessory to impress people. Every average joe smoked cigars because they liked them, men wanted a good smoke at a good price - 5 or 10 cents a stick usually. Now we have something called a 'cigar lifestyle', and the internet is filled with ridiculous forums where people ask 'when do I ash?', and 'how much of the cigar do I smoke?'. Who gives a damn? It's a bunch of effing leaves. There is no 'cigar lifestyle', if you like and can afford nice things, then you like and can afford nice things...this doesn't have shit to do with whether you smoke cigars or not.

Even today, 95% of the cigar market is plain old machine-made things or bundles, not Gurkha Warlords. Things like White Owls and Dutch Masters prop up the entire industry, so don't hesitate to fire one up. You have a lot more in common with 99% of the cigar smokers of yesteryear than a guy with his nose in the air lighting up a $5 stick. Wanna find out about 'cigar lifestyle'? Find an old Jewish guy in the park smoking El Productos like he has since the 40's, not some 'cigar aficionado' who concerns himself with the length of ash that his ridiculously overpriced cigar will make before it falls off. I even read one blurb where they describe a long ash as 'sexy'...wtf? Now there is a man that needs to get laid very badly...all the women I've been acquainted with enjoy length, but not of a cigar ash by any means.

Let me turn to Zino Davidoff's cigar etiquette guide from 1967, I will number each and post my personal advice:

Do:

1)Warm the foot of the cigar slightly before starting to puff on it.

2)Remove the band carefully after lighting the cigar.

3)Take your time in smoking it; a puff a minute is about right.

4)Hold the cigar between your index finger and thumb.

5)Let the cigar die a dignified death. After it's smoked half way, it will go out on its own.

6)Dispose of the dead cigar discreetly and quickly.

7)Wait at least fifteen minutes between cigars; anything less indicates obsessive behavior.

Don't:

8)Use a penknife to cut or a lance to pierce the end of the cigar.

9)Touch the flame directly to the foot of the cigar: Instead, simply rotate it around the edge till it starts to burn, then puff lightly.

10)Ask someone else for a light (the lighting of a cigar should be a personal affair).

11)Light your cigar too quickly or too slowly.

12)Indulge in exhibitionism in lighting or any other aspect of smoking.

13)Relight your cigar if less than one quarter of it is leaf.

14)Put the cigar in your mouth to relight it. Just scrape off the ash and turn it in the flame for several seconds till it relights.

15)Clench it between your teeth. Likewise do not get the end of the cigar wet, chew it, or slobber on it.

16)Smoke too quickly.

17)Use a cigar holder, or worse, stick a toothpick or matchstick in the end of the cigar to help hold it in your mouth.

18)Dunk your cigar in port or brandy, a habit attributed to Winston Churchill.

19)Smoke while working.

20)Hold a cigar between your index and middle finger.

21)Smoke when you're walking.

22)Smoke more than half the cigar.

23)Put the cigar out by crushing it in an ashtray.

24)Chain-smoke cigars.

The true shit:

1) This is actually good practice, it prevents the cigar from 'tunneling', where the filler burns inside the binder/wrapper.

2) I remove the band (since my Dad used to rag me with 'Listening to the music?'), apparently it is a matter of personal preference in the States though. So, up to you.

3) Smoke it however you like. It's your cigar.

4) You can hold it between your arse-cheeks if you like. Doesn't matter.

5) True, let it go out by itself.

6) Dispose of it however you like, though preferably not on the damn floor. How about just leave it in the ashtray and dump the ashtray later?

7) Smoke however many you like whenever you like when cigars are permissible. 'Obsessive behaviour' is adhering to a bunch of silly rules.

8) Who cares. If I've got an expensive cigar that's plugged I'll put a friggin' coat hanger in there if I have to.

9) Sure. When it's windy though, I stuff the foot straight into the flame...and lo and behold it lights. Who gives a crap.

10) For heaven's sake. It's a bunch of rolled up leaves that you burn, not a self-induced orgasm.

11) ?? What would constitute 'too quickly' or 'too slowly'? How vague is this? Light your damn dog rocket however you like.

12) Exhibitionism? If you're a hot chick by all means take off your clothes as you light up a cigar.

13) Relight your cigar if you're not done smoking it. Blow out the stale smoke and fire it up again if you like.

14) Light it however you want.

15) Meh.

16)What constitutes 'too quickly'? Smoke it however you like, it's yours.

17) True. Unless it's packed with weed or something.

18) Some cigars are extremely pleasant with the cap lightly dipped in brandy. I did this in the Caribbean with a Cuban Cohiba...it was exquisite. Churchill has an entire type of cigar named after him and was a cigar smoker of the first order. So he probably knew what he was doing. As far as I'm concerned you can dunk it in a cup of urine if that's the way you like it. Uh huh, uh huh.

19) Oh for God's sake. George Burns did!

20) See #4

21) No. Don't smoke when you're swimming in gasoline.

22) Smoke however much you like. Many cigars actually have a better flavor past the halfway point. If I'm spending the money for a good cigar and am enjoying it, I'm smoking that bastard til it burns my fingers.

23) Good advice. Crushing out a cigar is what causes noxious smells and is really ineffective. It's not a cigarette. Let it just go out by itself.

24) Unless you want to.

Some of that crap is so absurd that it's actually comical. Life has way too many rules already without worrying about how you smoke cigars. And way too many grievous displays of absolute lack of consideration. Be considerate and enjoy yourself, don't get wrapped up with anality. And remember, a 'good cigar' is one you personally enjoy - whether it's a Marsh Wheeling or a Perdomo.

Cheap-ass cigar reviews Pt III

2008-12-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

White Owl Invincible
Origin: USA
Make: White Owl
Length: 5 3/8"
RG: 41
Wrapper: Homogenized sheet, 'natural' color
Filler: short ("from five countries")
Strength: Mild

Impressions: Like W.O.'s "New Yorker", this is a mild, well-constructed machine made stick that is consistant cigar after cigar. Another one that's great for everyday..these are what I smoke on my drive home from work. They are difficult to find where I live, but the name 'Invincible' is so cool (and historic - many makers including White Owl from eons ago produced an 'Invincible'), I order them from a place in Philly. Partially closed foot.

Prince Albert Soft Cherry Vanilla
Origin: USA
Make: Prince Albert (John Middleton, inc.)
Length: 4 5/8"
RG: Cigarillo, didn't measure it
Wrapper: Homogenized
Filler: pipe tobacco
Strength: mild

Impressions: It's basically a Black and Mild. Little flavor, very mildly aromatic. It's okay, but they burn the hell out of my tongue..I won't be getting these again.

DeNobili Toscani Longs
Make: DeNobili (Avanti Cigar Company)
Length: 6 1/2"
RG: Approx 34, varies (cheroot)
Wrapper: Natural Maduro leaf
Filler: Natural leaf from Kentucky and Tennesee
Strength: Mild

Impressions: As would be expected from hickory fire cured cheroots, these Toscano style cigars have a dry, slightly woody flavor. Not unpleasant though. Most folks that have tried cigars like these either love 'em or think they're like smoking a twig. The shapes are sometimes bizarre, though not as ridiculous as some of the 'Backwoods' examples. Very mild. At about the 3/4 mark, it got a little juicy so I let it expire. Not bad, would be great for fishing or camping and they last a long time.

Captain Black Caribbean Peach Rum Little Cigars
Origin: USA
Length: 3.875"
RG: 20 (cigarette size)
Wrapper: homogenized, almost like colored paper
Filler: pipe tobacco
Strength: mild

Impressions: Really only nominally a 'cigar', it's a flavored cigarette. Very nice peach smell and flavor though. I like these better than the cherry flavored ones. Good for a quick smoke or while watching TV, they won't get you kicked out of the house.

Parodi Ammezzati
Origin: USA
Make: Parodi (Avanti Cigar Company)
Length: 3 1/2"
RG: 34 (tapers-pyramidal cheroot)
Wrapper: Natural Maduro leaf
Filler: Natural leaf
Strength: Mild to medium

Impressions: Another dry-cured Toscano-style cigar, the midget brother of Toscani Longs. Same tobacco, pretty much the same taste but a little stronger owing to their short size. The first one had a crack, a problem with dry cigars like this. The next one was okay, nothing to write home about. I'm not a big fan of short sticks, it feels like I'm smoking a bum's cigar. With a longer stick, the flavor will often change and sometimes become more complex owing to the smoke flavoring the tobacco as it burns...with a short stick it never has the chance to do this. The slightly 'woody' taste of the Toscano Longs is not as noticeable, probably once again due to the short size. Another in the pack had a damaged foot, dry-cured cigars are very fragile. If you bite down on them a la Clint Eastwood they more often than not will disintegrate in your mouth.

"Kwanzaa"

2008-12-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

Why is this BS holiday given legitimacy in our schools and on our calendars?

Does anyone realize or care that this is not a traditional African holiday, but an invention of a despicable felon and torturer of women:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Karenga

http://dartreview.com/issues/1.15.01/kwanzaa.html

"Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Ms. Davis's mouth and placed against Ms. Davis's face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said."

What the hell? If Charles Manson came up with a holiday, would we allow it in our schools and put it on our calendars? Oh, sorry, he's white.

Black Friday Lunacy

2008-11-28T11:57:00.000-08:00

In another stunning display of base, herd mentality by hordes of morons who would likely still insist that there is some difference between 'animals' and 'humans', a Wal Mart employee was trampled to death after crowds tore down the doors:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/business/29walmart.html?ref=business

What the hell is so important in a friggin' Wal Mart that people behave this way? Every year across the country shit like this happens - the thin veneer of civilized behavior is stripped away to show the mindlessness, the shallowness, and the unabashed greed which forms the foundation of people. 'Yay! Let's tear down the doors and run people down so we can buy a bunch of Chinese crap we don't need - at half price!'

People suck.

Nuttin' but Awesome

2008-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

To anyone who didn't catch the last season of "America's Got Talent", let me turn you on to the duo called 'Nuttin' But Stringz'. Two young men, Julliard-trained, and violin virtuosos, who combine a fresh, hip, urban feel to their flawless performances. And seem like incredibly decent guys to boot. Listen to 'Broken Sorrow' on their website: http://www.nuttinbutstringz.com/ and look for videos of their crowd-electrifying performances on YouTube. Once in awhile, an act comes along that is so talented and fresh you sit up and take notice. These guys kick ass, and are way better than the majority of rappers and synthesized hip-hop artists out there.

I hope they make a ton of money. Buy their CD!

Cheap-ass cigar reviews Pt II

2008-11-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Here I am back with cigars for the person that simply likes a good smoke at a good price, and couldn't care less about fancy bands, dovetailed boxes, or celebrity endorsements.

Garcia Y Vega Engish Corona
Origin: Dominican Republic
Make: Garcia Y Vega
Length: 5 1/4"
Ring Gauge: 41
Wrapper: Natural
Filler: medium

Impressions: Smoking these has been a mixed bag. The first one had a really soft, spongy construction which I hate. Flavor was okay..but it felt like I was holding a slightly soft dog turd. Others seem to be better constructed. They smell good right out of their plastic tubos and some people seem to love them, but they're nothing to write home about. I'd rather have a White Owl to be honest.

Optimo Sports
Origin: USA
Make: Swisher, Intl.
Length: 4 1/2"
Ring Gauge: 41
Wrapper: Candela
Filler: 'natural'

Impressions: Mixed experiences here too. Like AyC Grenadiers, the candela wrapper is very thin - on these tears right out of the box were not uncommon. These have a really good nose - vanilla and chocolate undertones. The first one I smoked burned consistently but had a slightly bitter aftertaste. It certainly didn't taste like it smelled out of the cello. The next one - smoked days later - tasted okay but the burn was retarded. Uneven, guttered down one side, bits of unburned leaf falling all over the place. I don't think I'll pick these ones up again.

Tobacco Place Palma Maduro
Origin:?
Make: Tobacco Place (?)
Length: 5 7/8"
Ring Gauge: 41
Wrapper: Maduro natural leaf
Filler: Medium
Strength: Mild to medium

Impressions: The worst part about these is finding them. I bought them at a Marine base but there is no address or website on the box, and I can find little about them on the net. I don't even know if this 'Tobacco Place' makes them or is only a distributing outfit. The reason I say all this, is that these are really good! Apparently these used to be available at Eckard drugstores, but since they have been bought out by Rite-Aid (at least down here), I don't know if they are still carried. If anyone knows of somewhere I can buy these online please send me an e-mail and I will post what a great guy you are. These have a good, firm construction and stable burn. They have a flavor that I think rivals many tasty handmades. If you see these things anywhere and you like cigars, you owe it to yourself to pick up a pack. Nice, rich Maduro flavor.

UPDATE - You can still get these at Rite-Aid, formerly known as Eckard.

Dutch Masters Panetela

Origin: USA
Make: Altadis
Length: 5 1/2"
Ring Gauge: 36
Wrapper: Natural leaf
Filler: short

Impressions: These are a really old brand, my Pop must have had a couple dozen Dutch Masters boxes holding model train parts and whatnot when I was growing up. The wrap is tight, the flavor consistent, wrapper had some large veins and almost a candela shade. It was a smooth-smoking cigar, but there were some bitter undertones. It's okay, but there are better cheap cigars.

Just to show I'm not a total bum, stayed tuned for reviews on premium sticks in about a month: Zino, Rocky Patel Sungrown, Rocky Patel Vintage 1999, Gurkha, Black Pearl, Camacho, Occidental Reserve and others; also Thompson brands Tusker and Empresario Robusto. And the acrid Arturo Fuente Curly Head deluxe.

I love Christmas.

Truck Nutz

2008-10-27T13:12:00.001-07:00

Now here is just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen, plastic testicles that you hang from the trailer hitch of your pickup:

http://www.trucknutz.com/

How the hell does anyone come up with such a thing? Well, according to their site: "Let's just say it is amazing what you and your buddies will come up with when your drinking a case of bud and sitting around a camp fire!" Sorry, if you think hanging plastic, hairless male genitals from your vehicle is somehow a cool thing to do and are a male, you probably put a whole lot more to your lips than a beer can that night.

"Hey Joe, you know what we should do?"

"What's that Jeb?"

"We should hang a plastic scrotum from our vehicles!"

"Hell yeah that would be awesome! Then we can buy a big rubber dildo and use it as a hood ornament!"

"I like the way you think, Joe! Hand me another butt-plug and crank up the radio, would ya? Karma Chameleon's on!"

God, people will buy any crap, regardless of how stupid it makes them look. Next time you're adjusting your 'Truck Nutz', do the world a favor and suck the exhaust pipe.

Today's Driving Lesson

2008-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

This does not mean 'stop'. Morons.

Cheap-ass cigar reviews Pt I

2008-10-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Since the cigar boom of the '90's, cigars have become little more than a hoity-toity accessory. Across the web cigar affianados extoll the 'resting smoke' and color of ash of sticks that can cost $5 apiece or more. 'Cigar lifestyle' (whatever the hell that is) is extolled, and cigar smokers debate such absurdities as when to ash, how much of the stick you should smoke, and how often you should take a puff. Anything other than a handmade from the likes of Punch, H. Upmann, or Rocky Patel is the butt of jokes.

But here's my take. A 'good cigar' is one you enjoy. You wanna find out about 'the cigar lifestyle'? Don't ask Liza Minelli or Madonna...go find a stogie-chewing old Jewish guy playing checkers in the park - he's likely been smoking cigars since George Burns puffed El Productos onstage. And he's also likely smoking a King Edward, not some overpriced boutique cigar.

I've smoked many a nice cigar, including Cubans, but I think machine mades aren't getting a fair shake. Not everyone is willing to blow hundreds of bucks a month smoking Gurkha Warlords or Arturo Fuente God of Fire everyday. They want a good tasting stick that can be picked up along with a Slurpee and a newspaper at a local shop. So here I am, to offer a review of these gas station wonders - many of which have been smoked for 100 years - back when they were handmade too. Later I will be reviewing some premium cigars as well.

First up; Antonio Y Cleopatra Candela ('natural') Grenadiers.
Origin: USA (Imported candela wrapper)
Make: Altadis AyC
Length: 6"
Ring Gauge: 24
Wrapper: Candela (natural leaf)
Filler: short-to medium, Cuban seed

Impressions: Firm construction, good draw, very light and consistent flavor. Unfortunately when you find these at a local store they are usually ancient and thus very dry and rather fragile. I have even bought a pack that each stick was sun-bleached through the window on the pack - that's old. I think I may try lay a few of these down in my humidor for awhile and see what happens. I have also found that on many examples when one tries to remove the cello with the tear-off band the botton of the cellophane under the band doesn't want to tear - leading to having to fool with it very carefully since the cigar is so fragile and prone to breakage. Nonetheless, I really like these. The taste is very light and slightly vegetal and the burn is consistent. These would be a great cigar for working outside. I'm a sucker for a candela wrapper though.

Backwoods Original
Origin: USA
Make: Altadis
Length: varies; about 4 1/2"
Ring Gauge: varies (cheroot), about 32
Wrapper: Dark (natural leaf)
Filler: medium

Impressions: I remember when these came out. They were pretty good, and their rustic uneven appearance have a 'Clint Eastwood' kind of feel. Fast-forward 20-some-odd years and it seems like this rustic look has really gotten out of hand. Gigantic veins, bulges, bends (I've gotten some that look like parentheses), and cracks make them smoke poorly. Looks like a cowboy got really drunk before he rolled it. When you get a good one, they are very mild with a rich flavor and good nose. You'd be better off with a De Nobili or Parodi though.

HAV-A-TAMPA Jewels (original)
Origin: USA
Make: Altadis Hav-A-Tampa
Length: 3 7/8" to beginning of tip
Ring Gauge: 24
Wrapper: Homogenized sheet
Filler: short

I gotta admit it, I really like these. Consistent burn, and a light flavor. These would be great for a Friday night poker game with buddies at the house. The wooden tip feels really good..better than the cheap plastic tips that are on so many cigars like these. At 3" there is a hard spot that is visible right through the wrapper. There is a slight 'creaminess' to the flavor. These guys have been around since 1902 and are still a good smoke today.

White Owl New Yorker and Invincible
Origin: USA
Make: White Owl; Dothan, Alabama
Length: 5 5/8" (N.Y.), 5 3/8" (Invincible)
Ring Gauge: 41
Wrapper: Sheet (natural shade)
Filler: short mixed blend ("from five nations")

Impressions: White Owls have been around for a long, long time. Yes, they are machine made with a homogenized sheet wrapper and are some of the cheapest cigars you can get. I bought a box of 50 Invincibles for only $21.00. What you get with White Owls - whether the New Yorker, Ranger, or Invincible is a firm construction, consistent mild flavor cigar after cigar, and a uniform burn with no problems. These are great cigars for everyday..I smoke one on my drive home for work, and it lasts about 40 minutes. The Invincible seems to give off a little less smoke from the tip than the larger New Yorker, but the draw is excellent. These are ones for a guy that just likes a good mild cigar and couldn't give a shit about prestigious bands and fancy boxes.

Middleton's Black and Mild Wine Flavored
Origin: USA
Make: John Middleton
Length: 4 5/8" to tip
Ring Gauge: 30
Wrapper: Sheet
Filler: short pipe tobacco

Impressions: Even burn, consistent flavor. On the upside, these smell and taste really good and won't even get you banished to the porch or back yard by your better half. It's almost like smoking a Jolly Rancher. On the downside is the really rough looking paper binder (which some dub 'cancer paper' and remove) and the slimy, cheap plastic tip. Sometimes these will leave a nasty taste on your tongue, almost acidic no doubt produced by whatever gives it it's 'wine' flavor. I can enjoy these once in awhile, but not something I could smoke all the time.

Maformance

2008-10-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

No point to this one, I just can't get enough of this guy. If I was rich I'd hire him to just hang around my house and drink with me. I wanna be just like him when I grow up.

Obama Youth - Junior Fraternity Regiment

2008-10-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

"I begin with the young. We older ones are used up. We are rotten to the marrow. We are cowardly and sentimental. We are bearing the burden of a humiliating past, and have in our blood the dull recollection of serfdom and servility. But my magnificent youngsters! Are there any finer ones in the world? Look at these young men and boys! What material! With them, I can make a new world. This is the heroic stage of youth. Out of it will come the creative man, the man-god. When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I say calmly, 'Your child belongs to us already...What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing but this new community'."

- Adolph Hitler

Steve Warshak gets 'hard' time

2008-08-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

Steve Warshak, founder of the company responsible for "Enzyte," has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $93,000. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel also ordered the company, along with other defendants, to forfeit more than $500 million that it bilked from consumers.

Apparently the company, in addition to it's ludicrous claims and idiotic commercials, made unauthorized charges to people's credit cards, and made it next to impossible to get their money back. They even required people to get a notarized statement from a doctor attesting to the fact that their shlong is still small in order to get a refund.

More interesting to me is the very fact that they were able to get the $500,000,000 in the first place. I wonder if there is a correlation or causative effect between little willies and utter stupidity? Look people, you deserve to be scammed out of 500 mil because you are morons.

Use some simple common sense. The penis is tissue, specifically three different types of tissue. You don't need to be a doctor for it to occur to you that it is illogical for a pill to target and enlarge a specific bunch of non-unique cells and not others. How does the stuff in the pill know where to go? Are there steroids that will make only your biceps bigger, but leave the rest of your muscles alone? A drug that will improve the eyesight in only your left eye? According to their website it "increases blood flow" not with any rare and magical extract but with ginseng and gingko...pretty generic stuff you can get at Wal Mart way cheaper and have been used by Chinese for centuries. If it worked as advertised, wouldn't well-hung Asians be a common stereotype instead of, ahem, the opposite? If this "increased blood flow" made your penis bigger why would it not also make every muscle in your body bigger as well? Why aren't athletes snapping this stuff up like hotcakes instead of buying Andro and HGH in the locker room, getting kicked out of sports and going to jail with shrunken testicles, anger management issues, and bacne?

I read posts and comments about this case on the various news sites and the defense for believing this tripe seems to boil down to the fact that their commercials were professionally done and appeared in prime time (and still do, for some inexplicable reason). The fact that the Enzyte people can afford commercials in prime time is indisputable proof that there is a virtual army of insecure, little-peckered Kool-Aid drinkers in this country plagued by a horrific case of the dumbass. Each one thinking: "Surely if it's on TV it must be true!", "Even though it has never been tested by either the FDA or any third party, that doesn't mean it doesn't work!", "Look at Bob in his Santa outfit, I bet he's getting laid all the time by that twitchy ho that looks like a guppy!", or quite possibly "If only I had as big a tool as I am!"

The fact is that modern Americans are a collection of pill-poppers, and honestly believe that if you're fat, stupid, ugly, can't last in bed, weak, feel bad about yourself or have body odor all you have to do is ingest chemicals by the handful and it will make life all better for you. I saw a vanity plate on a car that said 'Viagra Man' the other day. Wow, you pop pills to get your little peepee working? That's COOL! I wish I had erectile dysfuction!

These pharmaceutical companies should buy a license from PEZ to manufacture dispensers so the sheeple can spend their days rapid-firing crap into their bodies...crap that only 30 years ago nobody needed and got along just fine without. "Ooo, I take this because I have stress..." Gimme a break, ask somebody that lived through the Great Depression or the siege of Khe Sahn about friggin' "stress", then buy them a scotch and STFU because you're a douchebag.

Good grief.

At any rate, I guess it's just as well for ol' Steve that it doesn't work since his future cellmate, Smilin' Bubba, may have taken it. Being shafted by the long arm of the law may have been the least of his worries.

Regular, Premium, or Dasani

2008-06-14T03:42:00.000-07:00

Osaka, Japan: On 12 June, Genepax unveiled a car that runs on nothing but water and air:

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84561&videoChannel=74

http://in.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idINSP7366720080613

They are in work talking with Japanese auto makers to get this on the assembly line, and I wish them the best of luck. I'm hoping variants of this engine can be produced that will be able to power larger, faster vehicles; and I don't see why this wouldn't be feasible. If they can get this into the market the amount of money to be made would be staggering. And can you imagine the implications if this exciting technology could be adapted to trucks, farm equipment, even ships?

We should all be effing outraged at the price we are paying just to live while our government squanders our money. In the 70's when there was a gas shortage, there was rationing and long lines at the pumps. That isn't happening now, why? Because there is no shortage, just a lot of bastards getting filthy rich at the cost of regular people who are forking over a considerable percentage of their income just so they can get to work to earn more money to stuff into gas pumps and cash registers.

We've spent 3 trillion dollars invading a country than just happens to be sitting on the second largest oil reserve in the world and yet the cost of a barrel of oil has doubled in only two years. All the while Iraqis are paying $1.36 a gallon - so cheap that the streets of Baghdad are choked with people that have decided to become taxi drivers. Does anyone not see something crooked going on here? When are we going to get sick enough of bending over to take it in the poop-chute every week to say 'We're not going to take it anymore!'?

Let's see them try to charge $150 for a barrel of oil when people are filling their tanks with a garden hose!

My daddy died in Iraq and all I got was this lousy $4 a gallon gas

2008-04-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Winning the Cultural War

2008-04-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

With the fairly recent death of Charlton Heston, I happened to run across a speech he gave to Harvard Law School in 1999 which I think is well worth a read:

"I remember my son when he was five, explaining to his kindergarten class what his father did for a living. "My Daddy," he said, "pretends to be people."

There have been quite a few of them. Prophets from the Old and New Testaments, a couple of Christian saints, generals of various nationalities and different centuries, several kings, three American presidents, a French cardinal and two geniuses, including Michelangelo. If you want the ceiling re-painted I'll do my best. There always seem to be a lot of different fellows up here. I'm never sure which one of them gets to talk. Right now, I guess I'm the guy.

As I pondered our visit tonight it struck me: If my Creator gave me the gift to connect you with the hearts and minds of those great men, then I want to use that same gift now to re-connect you with your own sense of liberty ... your own freedom of thought ... your own compass for what is right. Dedicating the memorial at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln said of America, "We are now engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether this nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."

Those words are true again. I believe that we are again engaged in a great civil war, a cultural war that's about to hijack your birthright to think and say what resides in your heart. I fear you no longer trust the pulsing lifeblood of liberty inside you ... the stuff that made this country rise from wilderness into the miracle that it is.

Let me back up. About a year ago I became president of the National Rifle Association, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. I ran for office, I was elected, and now I serve ... I serve as a moving target for the media who've called me everything from "ridiculous" and "duped" to a "brain-injured, senile, crazy old man." I know ... I'm pretty old...but I sure Lord ain't senile.

As I have stood in the crosshairs of those who target Second Amendment freedoms, I've realized that firearms are not the only issues. No, it's much, much bigger than that. I've come to understand that a cultural war is raging across our Land, in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain acceptable thoughts and speech are mandated.

For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 -- Long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist. I've worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life. But when I told an audience that gay rights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe. I served in World War II against the Axis powers. But during a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite.

Everyone I know knows I would never raise a closed fist against my country. But when I asked an audience to oppose this cultural persecution, I was compared to Timothy McVeigh.

From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, "Chuck, how dare you speak your mind. You are using language not authorized for public consumption!" But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys-subjects bound to the British crown.

In his book, "The End of Sanity," Martin Gross writes that 'Blatantly irrational behavior is rapidly being established as the norm in almost every area of human endeavor. There seem to be new customs, new rules, and new anti-intellectual theories regularly foisted on us from every direction. Underneath, the nation is roiling. Americans know something without a name is undermining the nation, turning the mind mushy when it comes to separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong. And they don't like it.'

Let me read a few examples. At Antioch college in Ohio, young men seeking intimacy with a coed must get verbal permission at each step of the process from kissing to petting to final copulation ... all clearly spelled out in a printed college directive. In New Jersey, despite the death of several patients nationwide who had been infected by dentists who had concealed their AIDs --- the state commissioner announced that health providers who are HIV-positive need not... need not ... tell their patients that they are infected.

At William and Mary, students tried to change the name of the school team "The Tribe" because it was supposedly insulting to local Indians, only to learn that authentic Virginia chiefs truly like the name.

In San Francisco, city fathers passed an ordinance protecting the rights of transvestites to cross-dress on the job, and for transsexuals to have separate toilet facilities while undergoing sex change surgery.

In New York City, kids who don't speak a word of Spanish have been placed in bilingual classes to learn their three R's in Spanish solely because their last names sound Hispanic.

At the University of Pennsylvania, in a state where thousands died at Gettysburg opposing slavery, the president of that college officially set up segregated dormitory space for black students.

Yeah, I know ... that's out of bounds now. Dr. King said "Negroes." Jimmy Baldwin and most of us on the March said, "black." But it's a no-no now. For me, hyphenated identities are awkward ... particularly "Native-American." I'm a Native American, for God's sake. I also happen to be a blood-initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson is a thirteenth generation native American ...with a capital letter on "American."

Finally, just last month ... David Howard, head of the Washington D.C. Office of Public Advocate, used the word "niggardly" while talking to colleagues about budgetary matters. Of course, "niggardly" means stingy or scanty. But within days Howard was forced to publicly apologize and resign. As columnist Tony Snow wrote: "David Howard got fired because some people in public employ were morons who (a) didn't know the meaning of niggardly,' (b) didn't know how to use a dictionary to discover the meaning, and (c) actually demanded that he apologize for their ignorance."

What does all of this mean? It means that telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind. Before you claim to be a champion of free thought, tell me: Why did political correctness originate on America's campuses? And why do you continue to tolerate it? Why do you, who're supposed to debate ideas, surrender to their suppression? Let's be honest. Who here thinks your professors can say what they really believe? It scares me to death, and should scare you too, that the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of reason.

You are the best and the brightest. You, here in the fertile cradle of American academia, here in the castle of learning on the Charles River, you are the cream. But I submit that you, and your counterparts across the land, are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge. And as long as you validate that ... and abide it ... you are - by your grandfathers' standards - cowards.

Here's another example. Right now at more than one major university, Second Amendment scholars and researchers are being told to shut up about their findings or they'll lose their jobs. Why? Because their research findings would undermine big-city mayor's pending lawsuits that seek to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from firearm manufacturers. I don't care what you think about guns. But if you are not shocked at that, I am shocked at you. Who will guard the raw material of unfettered ideas, if not you? Who will defend the core value of academia, if you supposed soldiers of free thought and expression lay down your arms and plead, "Don't shoot me!"? If you talk about race, it does not make you a racist. If you see distinctions between the genders, it does not make you a sexist. If you think critically about a denomination, it does not make you anti-religion. If you accept but don't celebrate homosexuality, it does not make you a homophobe. Don't let America's universities continue to serve as incubators for this rampant epidemic of new McCarthyism.

But what can you do? How can anyone prevail against such pervasive social subjugation? The answer's been here all along. I learned it 36 years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., standing with Dr. Martin Luther King and two hundred thousand people. You simply ... disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave, we don't. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. I learned the awesome power of disobedience from Dr.King ... who learned it from Gandhi, and Thoreau, and Jesus, and every other great man who led those in the right against those with the might.

Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that disobedient spirit that tossed tea into Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in VietNam. In that same spirit, I am asking you to disavow cultural correctness with massive disobedience of rogue authority, social directives and onerous law that weaken personal freedom.

But be careful ... it hurts. Disobedience demands that you put yourself at risk. Dr. King stood on lots of balconies. You must be willing to be humiliated ... to endure the modern-day equivalent of the police dogs at Montgomery and the water cannons at Selma. You must be willing to experience discomfort. I'm not complaining, but my own decades of social activism have taken their toll on me.

Let me tell you a story. A few years back I heard about a rapper named Ice-T who was selling a CD called "Cop Killer" celebrating ambushing and murdering police officers. It was being marketed by none other than Time/Warner, the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world. Police across the country were outraged. Rightfully so - at least one had been murdered. But Time/Warner was stonewalling because the CD was a cash cow for them, and the media were tiptoeing around it because the rapper was black. I heard Time/Warner had a stockholders meeting scheduled in Beverly Hills. I owned some shares at the time, so I decided to attend. What I did there was against the advice of my family and colleagues I asked for the floor. To a hushed room of a thousand average American stockholders, I simply read the full lyrics of "Cop Killer" - every vicious, vulgar, instructional word:

"I GOT MY 12 GAUGE SAWED OFF, I GOT MY HEADLIGHTS TURNED OFF. I'M ABOUT TO BUST SOME SHOTS OFF, I'M ABOUT TO DUST SOME COPS OFF..."

It got worse, a lot worse. I won't read the rest of it to you. But trust me, the room was a sea of shocked, frozen, blanched faces. The Time/Warner executives squirmed in their chairs and stared at their shoes. They hated me for that.

Then I delivered another volley of sick lyric brimming with racist filth, where Ice-T fantasizes about sodomizing two 12-year old nieces of Al and Tipper Gore: "SHE PUSHED HER BUTT AGAINST MY ...." Well, I won't do to you here what I did to them. Let's just say I left the room in echoing silence. When I read the lyrics to the waiting press corps, one of them said "We can't print that." "I know," I replied,"but Time/Warner's selling it." Two months later, Time/Warner terminated Ice-T's contract. I'll never be offered another film by Warners, or get a good review from Time magazine. But disobedience means you must be willing to act, not just talk.

When a mugger sues his elderly victim for defending herself ... jam the switchboard of the district attorney's office. When your university is pressured to lower standards until 80% of the students graduate with honors ... choke the halls of the board of regents. When an 8-year-old boy pecks a girl's cheek on the playground and gets hauled into court for sexual harassment ... march on that school and block its doorways. When someone you elected is seduced by political power and betrays you...petition them, oust them, banish them. When Time magazine's cover portrays millennium nuts as deranged, Crazy Christians holding a cross as it did last month ...boycott their magazine and the products it advertises.

So that this nation may long endure, I urge you to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the great disobediences of history that freed exiles, founded religions, defeated tyrants, and yes, in the hands of an aroused rabble in arms and a few great men, by God's grace, built this country.

If Dr. King were here, I think he would agree.

Thank you."

Rest in peace, Mr. Heston. They don't make many like you anymore.

Berzerkley vs the Marines

2008-02-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

On January 29th, the Berkeley City Council spat directly in the face of the United States Marine Corps.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/07/berkeley.protests/

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8205001

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl.../ED44URQ0B.DTL

What planet are these people from anyway? Do they honestly believe that recruiters have one iota of say in who we go to war with? I can't even begin to understand how this city council and the 'Code Pink' morons think, but we as a nation should be outraged. Whether you're for or against the war has nothing to do with it; we're talking about a governmental group that is actively pursuing treasonous and seditious acts against the government of the United States - and which are a violation of Federal law. If you want to protest the war, then by all means do so...but if you hold a position in government you are a bit different from Joe Average. You simply don't invite loons to interfere with legal recruiting operations of the United States of America. You take your differences of opinion up with those above you who have the power to change things, not sanction terroristic acts against those who have nothing to do with making policy in Washington. You, City Council Members of Berkeley, California, are a collection of smarmy COWARDS, unlike the Marines you hate so much.

Politics aside, a recruiting station is a leased piece of property no different than any other private enterprise. What would you think if you owned a TV repair store and your city council decided that they no longer like TVs and encouraged people to deface your property, impede your business, and even gave these people a parking spot right in front of your store? Would this not be a gross injustice and abuse of power?

We are living in an age where now, more than ever, we need leaders that are about business - whether those leaders are members of some pissant council or president of the United States. Not some aging hippies bent on theatrics and bullshit. These people should be recalled instantly and replaced with serious people who are ready to tackle city business rather than disgrace themselves by crapping all over decent men and women and giving aid and support to kooky fringe groups. I mean, look at these goddamn people:

http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/US/02/07/berkeley.protests/art.protesters.cnn.jpg

http://michellemalkin.cachefly.net/michellemalkin.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/1berzerk002.jpg

The only reason they have the right to be a collection of pussified morons in the first place is because of the military who has defended these rights for centuries. I'd scoop up every last one of them and plop them into Pyongyang and see how they like it. 'Free speech' is a wonderful thing, it is a shame that Berzerkley has decided that this is a right afforded only to lunatics. Marines have never had this right, though they have made damn sure you have it.

The organization Move America Forward has set up a petition to be delivered to the Berkeley City Council, I encourage everyone to sign it:

http://petition.moveamericaforward.org/Berkeley2008.asp

Alternately, here is contact information for the city council and mayor. Let these people know how unprofessional and insulting their actions are:

Mayor - Tom Bates
2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
Email: mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us
TEL: (510) 981-7100
FAX: (510) 981-7199
TDD: (510) 981-6903
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Council Members:

Linda Maio
Phone: (510) 981-7110
FAX: (510) 981-7111
Email: lmaio@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Darryl Moore
Phone: (510) 981-7120
Email: dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Maxwell Anderson
Phone: (510) 981-7130
Email: manderson@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Dona Spring
Phone: (510) 981-7140
Email: spring@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Laurie Capitelli
Phone: (510) 981-7150
Email: lcapitelli@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Betty Olds
Phone: (510) 981-7160
Email: olds@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Kriss Worthington
Phone: (510) 981-7170
Email: kworthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us

City Auditor Ann Marie
TEL: (510) 981-6750
TDD: (510) 981-6903
Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm
Email: auditor@ci.berkeley.ca.us

I left out Mr. Gordon Wozniak as he was the lone voice of dissent (and reason) in the meeting. Unfortunately he was overridden by the loons.

Quite frankly, considering the treasonous and illegal nature of the actions of these self-important, imperious nobodies that call themselves a city council I would be highly inclined to simply declare Berkeley, California it's own country and cut off ALL federal funding even beyond what Mr. De Mint has proposed. No roads, no friggin' ferry boat, nothing. And to those that say that it will affect people who have nothing to do with the council's actions, I say our embargo against Cuba and North Korea do precisely the same. The council represents the will of the people, if not, then the people should damn well get rid of them and replace them with people who have some sense.

It isn't 1969 anymore, people. Take off the nehru jacket, put away the love beads, pull your heads out of your collective backside, and wake the hell up.

Horror writers have no need to make up monsters, because they walk among us...

2007-02-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

A very dear online friend has reminded me that I have made no new posts in quite some time. The fact is, I have grown rather apathetic and jaded - too bored with the whole thing of late to bother posting. But, I have been moved.

The case of Jessie Lunsford happened awhile ago, but it is should be known to every citizen of the United States. She was abducted from her home, raped and buried alive still clutching the stuffed purple dolphin she loved so much.

Here is the story, a search of her name will provide many others:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/20/lunsford.case/index.html

Remember this face above, his confession, and his record:

Born September 19, 1958
5 feet 4 inches, 125 pounds
Blue eyes, gray hair

Criminal history:
Outstanding warrant for violation of probation charge stemming from a 2004 arrest for possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Arrested multiple times on various charges, including burglary, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly intoxication, driving under the influence, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, fraud, insufficient funds and larceny.
Arrested in 1991 on charges of a sex offense, fondling a child under the age of 16.
Registered sexual offender in Citrus County.
Has absconded more than once.
Driver's license suspended for 99 years.

Please give whatever support you can to the Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation:

http://www.jessicamarielunsford.com/

Evil truly walks among us.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Couey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Lunsford

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/10/Citrus/Jessie_s_story__an_or.shtml

My New Favorite Quote

2006-12-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." --Robert E. Howard

WTF??

2006-12-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

In my inbox tonight:

Dear blog author:
We recently came across your site, soulrants.blogspot.com, while searching for fellow christian bloggers.
A small group of us have started a new site called Christian Bloggers. Our prayer and intent is to bring Christians closer together, and make a positive contribution to the Internet community. While many of us have different "theologies", we all share one true saviour.
Would you be interested in joining Christian Bloggers? Please take a few minutes to have a look at what we are trying to do, and if you are interested, there is a sign up page to get the ball rolling. We would greatly appreciate your support in this endeavour.

May God Bless you and your blogging efforts.

We look forward to hearing from you.
Craig Cantin
Christian Bloggers
info@christian-bloggers.com

Innocent children dying by the score (http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=children+killed&btnG=Search+News) , yet God is going to consider me and "my blogging efforts" important enough to "bless"?

Self Discipline Pt. 2

2006-12-03T05:04:00.000-08:00

Here's another one that always gets a rise out of people, since 99% of the U.S. population seems to use them: snooze buttons on alarm clocks. I simply cannot understand their purpose. If a person has to get to work by 7 a.m., and it takes them half and hour to get ready plus an additional 15 minutes of commute time, why in the hell would they not just set their clock for 6:15 and then get up when the damn thing goes off?

My wife drives me nuts with this. "Riiiiing". Hit snooze."Riiiiing". Hit snooze."Riiiiing". Hit snooze. If you have that much extra time, why not just set your clock for later? I once roomed with a dude that had no less than three different alarm clocks all set to different wake times, plus he'd wear out the snooze buttons on all three of them each morning. I wanted to goddamn strangle him. If you have that hard of a time getting up your ass needs to get to bed earlier.

It's just another total lack of self-discipline. It's real easy: You set the clock for whatever time you actually need to get up, then when it goes off you get up you lazy bastard.

Self Discipline Pt. 1

2006-12-03T04:32:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting in the sauna listening to a conversation between this younger guy and his girlfriend. The gist is here, edited for brevity.

G: So while I'm overseas you're saying I should have the $300 electronically deposited into my account each month?

G/F: Yeah, just start an allotment.

G: I'm not sure if I want it put into my Charles Schwab account.

G/F: How come?

G: Well then I can get to it. They let you draw three checks a month. I mean, I'm not going to be doing much. I might go out drinking with the guys once in a while, but it's not like that's going to be a regular thing.

(a whole bunch of other babble about how he can't access his account over the internet for some reason and how when he calls them he doesn't know what they're talking about and suggests they talk to his 'financial advisor', who apparently handles everything)

G/F: How about putting it into a CD?

G: Well then I can't touch it in case of emergency.

I swear, it's crap like this that makes me want to scream. Either you want to be able to get to your money, or you don't, dolt. It's called self-discipline. A very simple concept:

A. I want to save my money.
B. So I'm not going to withdraw any.

Instead of being somewhat ashamed that he has the willpower of a 3 year old, there he is carrying on this in-depth discussion trying to find some artificial banking construct that will say "no, you can't have it....well...unless you really, really need it!" Here's a young guy who probably makes half what I do pontificating on various interest rates and investment schemes (I left that part out) as if he's Donald Trump, yet doesn't have the self-discipline of a squirrel trying to store up acorns for the winter.

If you suck that bad just have the loot sent to your mom to hold or something. Or give it to me.

Jenna Jameson Too Hot for Miramar

2006-11-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11012006/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm

Just how prudish, rude, and clownish can you be?

And even better question though, is why Tito frigging Ortiz was invited to be a guest speaker at an event which exists to remember and honor the Corps and it's history and heroes. I have nothing against the guy - or Jenna Jameson for that matter. I have nothing against the UFC except that I think it has become kind of soap opera-like and WWE-ish.

But get this, there are 13 living Marines who have won the Navy Cross (second only to the Medal of Honor) since Sept. 11. There are scores of Marines who have won Silver and Bronze Stars. I simply cannot believe that there is not a single Marine, former or active, in the San Diego area that has done something noteworthy in battle and would make an outstanding guest of honor. I realize that Miramar was hosting some kind of UFC match as well, but the Marine Corps Ball is about honoring Marine heritage, not honoring celebrities and athletes. Apart from wrestling, fighting in the UFC, and having roles in two forgettable films, I don't see that Mr. Ortiz has done much of anything, and certainly nothing that has any connection to the military or our nation.

Just the same, if they invited the man, he should be able to bring whoever he wants as his date. It's not like Jenna Jameson is Al Queda or Eva Braun, nor do I think she would have shown up intending to display her skills to the assembled crowd. Sticking by one's word is of greater value than being a goody-two-shoes. In my experience, I'm pretty sure a few of the wives that went could show Jenna a thing or two in the tramp department.

It's just a damn embarrassment from beginning to end.

UCLA student tazered

2006-11-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

For those unaware of the incident:

From the Sacramento Bee:

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/79337.html

the Daily Bruin (UCLA's paper):

http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38958

the video:

http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=21218&PHPSESSID=29c71f5e3b16a307ef060a5fa97c7790

This brings up three major issues to my mind. First, the thing that started it all - the checking of IDs. It is campus policy to check I.D. at the library after 11 p.m. to ensure the safety of the students, and is that not why student I.D.s are issued in the first place, so that their student status can be verified? You can be sure that the people who are up in arms now are the very same people who, if a crime happened inside the library perpetrated by a non-student, would be raising holy hell because nobody was checking I.D.s. I have to show my ID 6-8 times a day. If asked for it, one of two responses come to mind:

1. You show it.

2. You apologize if you have forgotten it and you go get the thing (right away, not minutes later when the cops come back) to be granted admittance.

If for some reason they detain you, then I reckon they have every right to as you cannot show that you have any reason to be there. I'm fairly sure once his status as a student was ascertained he would be released and all would be right with the world again. Would it be a hassle? Surely, but a hassle he brought on himself. If you are pulled over in your car and you do not have a driver's license in your possession, the police have to ensure that you are in fact a licensed driver. This is understandable. You don't go screaming about Patriot Acts and abuse of power, refusing to comply with any of the officer's instructions, and generally acting like a collossal retard. You sit there mentally kicking yourself in the backside because you forgot your license at home. It's hardly the cop's fault that you're a dumbass.

Was the use of a tazer neccesary? I'm not sure. The video is very poor and I can't make out a lot of what is going on, or who is saying what. I will point out that the tazer was used as a stun gun (used to touch the student, rather than firing the probes into him, which would likely have dropped him like a sack of potatoes), and also that the mob mentality was kicking in with the rest of the students...it looked dangerously like a riot or mass assault was about to happen. If I was one of the officers, I definately would have gotten worried.

What interests me most though, is the behavior of Mostafa Tabatabainejad, the tazered student. If videos like this or elsewhere on YouTube, Google, or the 'Cops' television show are any indication, we have become a nation of whining bitches with no sense of shame whatsoever. Can anyone imagine their father or grandfather putting on such a display? I can't. This guy's 23 friggin years old, a grown man. Did he leave his testicles in Iran?

If I felt I was being wronged I would go along with them for the time being and later lodge a complaint with the university. This is how a man handles things, not by throwing an effeminate tantrum more suited to an obsessive-compulsive pre-teen. I can't imagine any wrong being done to me where I would conduct myself as such a straight-up pussy. And this is the future of our nation? They should offer "Having a Sack 101" to these spoiled, whiny bitches. Their fathers obviously didn't.

Failing that, wouldn't "Magnus Os Haud Testis" look great on a college crest?

'Til Death do Uth Part

2006-11-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

Do the anti-gay marriage people have a single defensible reason why it should not be permitted - that is something which is actually logical and concrete? On a recent thread on a message board about it, I can't find a single thing. Just more of the same "well, it's plain wrong, but I can't tell you why it's wrong" that one normally gets from racists and bible-thumpers. Let's take a look at their arguments:

"it seems to me that people want to force the rest of society to not only accept but to embrace alternate lifestyles. That is where I draw the line."

This is an absurdity. Nobody is forcing anyone to "embrace" anything. By allowing people to live their lives the way they want, not bothering anyone else, are we inviting people to hold guns to our heads in order to make us "be gay"? A lot of people don't "embrace" eating meat, believing that Jesus Christ is the Savior, and numerous other things which are a part of other peoples' lives - but guess what - it still exists, and doesn't affect a damn soul who chooses not to get their panties in a wad about it. Are we still so backward, even in the 21st century, that we fail to realize that people are different and do not neccesarily subscribe to our own singular mores?

"The family as I see it has always been intended to mean a man and a woman and their children (zygotes which have been allowed to develope[sic] for those who seem to have forgotten). Of course there is the extended family, grandparents, cousins, aunts uncles, etc. The core of the family is the mother, father and those whom they raise.

Aha...a pseudo-biological argument, and completely invalid. In order to make this work, one would have to hold the position that a man and a woman who have adopted and are raising a child are not a family, nor are childless couples a "family". There would be nothing saying that a gay couple could not adopt and raise a child. So there is no difference except the part about "a man and a woman". And on that issue, all we get from the above is "as I see it" , and "intended to mean". Well, hell, "mail" was intended to mean that you write words on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and drop it in a mailbox - not type it out on a computer. Airplane was intended to mean a propeller-driven thing, and video tapes were intended to be available in either VHS or Beta. Who decides what it was intended to mean anyway? God? Why, of course:

"The only reason that I believe that gay marriage is wrong is because I believe that God only intended for marriage to be a union between a man and woman."

And what if the person who the gay marriage issue actually affects doesn't believe in the same god you do, or even in none at all? How about if I worship a stone in my yard that doesn't care who I marry? I'm free to worship this stone, but in matters of morality I have to listen to what Yahweh thinks? How can anyone, with a straight face, actually believe that they have the right, based on what they think their particular Great Ju-Ju in The Sky thinks about anything, to tell other people what they can and cannot do, particularly as we have a little thing called freedom of religion? We're not talking about obviously harmful acts here, like murder or child molestation, we're talking about two consenting adults. We don't expect Hindus to study the teachings of Christ, anymore than Christians would be too hip to being told they need to follow the words of Muhammed. Once again religion rears it's ugly head to divide us.

"I don't feel that homosexual (same sex) people can fully grasp the concept of raising a child in all of its aspects. I think all too often a child will be reared to accept alternative lifestyles as normal, when they by their very nature are not.I feel that children raised in these circumstances run the risk of not becoming socially developed."

Really? 872,000 children were determined to have been victims of child abuse/neglect in 2004 alone (source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/index.htm ), so I am very inclined to believe that heterosexuality is hardly a good predictor of ability as a good parent. "Normal"? Who the hell is "normal", and what makes them so? "Run the risk of not becoming socially developed"? Data please, or at least a reasoned argument?

Then we have this site, and others like it: http://www.dawnstefanowicz.com/dawntestimony.php

I can only say that there isn't a single horror story (exposure to STDs, pornography?) that would be any more accepted or legal if she had a straight parent. I don't see that anything she says is related to her parent specifically being gay, only that he was a monstrous shithead. There are precious few otherwise gay men who are also pedophiles. Damn near every convicted pedophile is otherwise hetero. Psychologists have postulated that this is due to a female being conceived of as more childlike in the molester's brain than another full-grown man would be. Ms. Stefanowitz strikes me as having "found religion" and having become a poster girl for the evils of homosexuality. It should also be pointed out that her page is way out of date: federal laws ratifying same-sex marriage were passed almost two years ago in Canada, and they've been able to adopt children for years. Yet, lo and behold, their society has not collapsed - just as ours didn't when people of different races started marrying. Amazing.

"Follow the money. This push for homosexual marriage doesn't have a thing to do with love. It has everything to do with money. The two most important are medical insurance and spousal retirement benefits. The real issue is always money."

And why shouldn't it be? Homosexual adults pay the exact same taxes and Social Security as do heterosexual ones. Why in the hell shouldn't they have the exact same benefits? Because they are denied equal rights because of religious objections to the way they live, that's why, and nothing more.

"It is nothing but a sexual paraphilia. It has no more right or recognition than those who are sexually turned on by children, dogs, or rubber suits. I am sure those with other paraphilias think they were born that way too."

Once again, moral judgements which are essentially a non-sequitur anyway. Nobody is clamoring to marry their rubber suit, nor can dogs receive survivor's benefits. Equating an adult, consenting human being with an innocent child or inanimate fetish item in logically absurd in the extreme.

"Unlike the other voices on this issue, I fully state that these are my opinions. As a person I am indeed intitled entitled[sic] as such. While I respect others' having the completely opposite ideas from my own, at least I acknowedge their right to speak their mind. My ideas are my own, they are how I believe and shall raise children in kind."

This is always the last gasp of one who cannot justify their position - "well, it's my opinion! I'm entitled to my opinion!". Does no one get anymore that an opinion should be based on something concrete, or that they can logically support in some way? People seem to roll out of bed in the morning imbued with opinions about shit yet don't have the foggiest logical reason why they have such an opinion, or shit they know absolutely nothing about. The idea isn't "your own", it's simply the position which has been fed to you, evidenced by the obvious fact that you haven't thought about it very much.

It all boils down to this:

"First, I personally don't believe homosexuals should be recognized or allowed to marry because it's just plain morally wrong. Yes, according to my morals."

Read: "Unless you meet my preconceived notions of what is moral and what is not, then you must therefore be immoral and an abomination". And to think it's friggin' 2006.

I myself have a wife and two children, about as conventional and traditional a family as there is. We've never had any previous marriages, and have been happily married for 16 years. However, I will never understand why people do not realize that not everyone else is, or even should be, the same as they are. If only 1 Kings 14:24 read "verily I say unto thee: different strokes for different folks" the world would probably be a lot better place.

The Decline of Western Civilization Pt. 1

2006-09-07T03:03:00.000-07:00

Of all the knowledge available on the web, of all the amazing people we've had in our brief history as human beings on this Earth, of all the things happening in the world today - momentous events that will shape our future for generations to come, what is it that people really want to know about? Football and Paris fucking Hilton. There's no hope for us.

Open Water

2006-08-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

If you're in the mood for a crashingly dull, rather uneventful, and pointless movie, this one's for you.

* SPOILER WARNING *

The 'story' follows a couple, named Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan), who have gone scuba diving during their vacation on some Carribean island or another. Due to a screw-up with the head count by a fellow I will henceforth call Incompetent Island Guy, the boat leaves them behind while they're diving. For the rest of the movie, we watch them bob around in the ocean, blame each other for their predicament, bitch, and be generally pretty understandibly unhappy.

Highlights:

Daniel gets stung by a jellyfish.
Susan freaks out a bit because a fish was nibbling at her.
Daniel gets bitten by a little shark and Susan stops the bleeding by wrapping a belt over the wound.

After a night of being pestered by sharks, the morning finds Daniel dead and being held onto by Susan after the former presumably bled to death during the course of the night. Realizing that she is clinging to what amounts to a 160 pound Beggin' Strip, she pushes the corpse away and it is promptly eaten. But no gore here - the corpse jerks a bit in the water so you realize it's being eaten by sharks.

Meanwhile, Incompetent Island Guy finds their gear aboard the boat and realizes his horrible error. A sea-plane, helicopters, and a virtual flotilla of boats race to find the pair.

The camera goes back to Susan, who then takes off her gear, voluntarily plunges beneath the surface and dies.

The End.

If you're looking for gore, there is none. If you're waiting to catch a glipse of some Mother of All Sharks, there are none - they're all pretty small for a movie. If you are looking for an engaging story, you are going to be horribly disappointed. Lion's Gate Films should be made to refund the ticket price of every poor sap that watched this pathetic excuse for a movie. It is apparently 'based on a true story', but considering that both of the main characters died before they were found you would think they could have took a bit more artistic licence or at least allowed you to connect with the characters somewhat. They seemed to be little more than a pair of over-achieving and extremely annoying yuppies, so the feeling of loss isn't particularly great when they wind up guests of Davey Jones.

An apple a day...

2006-08-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

Since Atkins died it appears a lot of people have fallen off the bandwagon. The Atkins diet always seemed little more than a popular fad to me, and gone are the "Atkins approved" selections at restaurants, the miles of "Atkins" foods at grocery stores, and the constant internet postings of how great it is. The whole thing, as I understood it, seemed to defy common sense. There were actually bakeries across the country that were in danger of going bankrupt because of this crap. And as I am a devotee of French and Italian breads, this really concerned me.

Maybe I missed something. Atkins devotees were eschewing bread to the point of having Subway sandwiches with no friggin bun to contain the fillings and hamburgers which consisted of a patty of meat. And yet now we have this:

http://www.atkins.com/research-library/two-types-of-fiber/

Straight from the Atkins site, and talking about the benefits of fiber (a lot of which comes from grain).

Get this people: DIETS ARE BULLSHIT. What happened to the South Beach Diet and the Grapefruit Diet? All nonsense designed to separate the legions of lazy-ass people from their hard-earned cash. Yet nobody feels stupid for following the crowd. How many dumb-ass 'diets' have there been now, how many have bottles of Cal-Ban 3000, Redux, and Grapefruit 2000 (or whatever the hell it was called) are in the cabinets of moronic sheep? It's garbage.

Losing weight is the very simple matter of doing more and eating less. Not some fad. Turn off the TV, put down the Hostess cream pies, get off your big fat ass and do something.

The human body was designed to walk 20 miles a day and hunt sabretooth tigers, not sit in a couch and vegetate while munching food 'approved' by some quack doctor. No fad diet is going to overcome a sedentary lifestyle. Get out and do things, eat a good balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and stay away from shit food as much as possible. Simple as that.

Grandpa may not have been a doctor, but he did live longer than Dr. Atkins. He simply ate good, wholesome foods and worked his ass off. Amazing.

Wal-Mart and the "living wage"

2006-08-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Time and time again I run across this economically disasterous concept of a goverment-mandated "living wage" - artificially inflated wages raised above the actual value of work performed. Neither the government or an employer is required to pay you wages on which you can live.

An employer says, in essense, "Here is what we will pay for this position". If you don't feel it is adequate for either the amount or the type of work you will be doing, don't work there. If you are not qualified to work anywhere else, whose fault is that? Wal-Mart's? I'm constantly reading all these bitches and moans by Wal-Mart employees that they don't make enough, and there's even a host of websites devoted to griping about how little they pay and how employees can hardly afford to shop there themselves. What's funny is that these sites usually bring up how a worker in a Bangladeshi factory that makes shirts for Wal-Mart couldn't even afford the smallest items there.

What doesn't dawn on them is that the very fact that there is a Bangladeshi factory making shirts for them is due to wage-fixing. I myself worked at Wal-Mart in the 80's (back when you could still smoke in the store - imagine that today!), and Sam Walton made a huge deal about as many goods as possible being U.S. - made, unless there was no way they could obtain a U.S. made article at a reasonable price. Indeed the shelves were full of goods stamped 'Made in the U.S.A.' Not anymore. When wages are raised above the actual value for that work, employers have two choices if they wish to maintain the same level of solvency. They can outsource, or they can lay off workers. Wal-Mart, like any other company, exists to turn a profit. In a capitalist society this means exchanging value for value in accordance with what the present market will bear. It isn't a charity, and if the current workers aren't happy with it they are free to leave and work elsewhere. Go to college or learn a trade or something - it isn't anyone's fault but your own if you're working a low-paying job and are unhappy. You are there because of choices you made.

Invariably this outcry seems to come from people who consider healthcare a "right", and think we should redistribute the nation's wealth. You have no "right" to free healthcare, because someone has to pay for it, and rights cannot come at the expense of others. A "right" is a right to action. Nothing more. The right to life does not guarantee that you will continue to draw breath. The right to own property does not guarantee that you will own same, if you have nothing to exchange for it. The right to pursue happiness cannot come at another's expense.

The redistribution of wealth divorces individuals from the products of their labors, fosters a parasitic underclass, creates division and resentment, and leads to the eventual collapse of society. Life isn't fair and never has been. Get over it.

Real radio ad

2006-08-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Heard this today..

"Are bill collectors causing you to have trouble sleeping at night? If so, call 'XYZ' financial services, and..."

Well, here's an idea. If bill collectors are bothering you that much to where you can't even sleep, how about paying the damn things? Get this: if you pay them what you owe them, they'll stop calling. I may be way off base here, but it seems to me that if you incur debts for goods and services, the people you received said goods and services from are gonna kinda want to be repaid on the schedule you agreed to. And rightfully so, methinks.

All these debt consolidation places make it sound like the debtors are some sort of victims, as if someone held a gun to their silly heads and made them buy a bunch of crap they can't afford.

Or you could simply drink a lotta scotch before bedtime.

Man, I should be a financial advisor.

So long, Mr. Rosenthal

2006-08-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

The man who took the most (arguably) famous photograph in history has just passed away. Joe Rosenthal, who took the famous Flag Raising on Iwo Jima (actually the second photograph taken) could not have known what impact his photo would have, but it became an icon, transformed the lives of the flag-raisers (for better or worse), defined a generation of great Americans, and earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

Now would be a good time to put in a plug for the book 'Flags of our Fathers', the most powerful book I have ever read: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/102-5225823-0493735?url=index%3Dblended&field-keywords=Flags+of+our+fathers&Go.x=7&Go.y=11

Every American should read this book.

Mr. Rosenthal was 94.

'Operation Iraqi Freedom'

2006-08-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Why are we there? I've done two tours in OIF I and OIF III, and I still can't understand. We were told that there were 'weapons of mass destruction', and yet none have been found . It should have been very easy to pull up a receipt with both a date and a name on it - because we gave Saddam weapons of mass destruction, back when Iran was our enemy. These very same WMDs used on the Kurds were a direct result of the sharing of technology by U.S. labs, and even may have been produced by same. Even prior to the invasion of Kuwait which prompted Desert Storm, Saddam had every reason to believe that the U.S. would support him, if transcripts of meetings can be believed.

In the weeks and months leading up to the latest invasion, it was quite obvious that the U.S. would invade no matter what Iraq did, before Hans Blix even left the country. It became a one-sided issue of ego; no WMDs had been found, but accepting this would put us in the wrong for asserting that there was, so there was no choice but to invade to try and save face. So, when "WMDs" were not found even after the invasion, the government propagated lies, concentrating on the fact that Saddam was a brutal dictator and insinuating that Iraq was somehow involved in 9/11.

* Saddam was a brutal dictator, but there are many of his ilk all over the world that we have done nothing about. Maybe because their countries don't have oil?

* Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 whatsoever. Back when we were convinced there were WMDs..the government didn't even insinuate this. Now half the country is convinced they had something to do with it.

Quite simply, we fucked up. The Iraqis loved us when we deposed Saddam, but not for long after. We have nearly 20,000 confirmed American deaths now, because of a debacle which we created. Does it not dawn on people that a nation which can produce twenty thousand deaths (with no end in sight) against the most technologically adavanced military on earth could very well have deposed Saddam themselves if they had taken a notion to? Saddam's army was a joke.

General Smedley Butler had it right: war is a racket. We (the military) are little more than mercenaries sent hither and yon to die at some politician's whim. We need to get back in the business of national defense, rather than an armed horde to advance partisan interests.

I don't see that 20,000 deaths and well over three hundred billion dollars is a fair price for liberating some shitheads that don't want us there in the first place. I can certainly think of a lot better uses for a sum which is greater than the entire Gross National Product of Russia. Mark my words, in less than 30 years after we pull out we'll be right back there fighting the exact same assholes again.

We do the troops an intolerable injustice by sending them to die for an incomprehensible network of LIES.

JonBenet

2006-08-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

Great, can we quit hearing about her now?

Fred Phelps and his whelps

2006-08-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

It absolutely amazes me that this guy and his flock (mostly his family) are still walking around breathing. It's mind boggling that his church of hatred hasn't been burned to the ground. If anyone doesn't know who I'm talking about, he is the 'pastor' of the Westboro Baptist Church, 3701 W. 12th Street in Topeka, KS. This is the group that runs http://www.godhatesfags.com/main/index.html and pickets protesting dead servicemembers' funerals with signs saying "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "You're going to hell", and "God hates your tears".

If I had a family member in the service who died and these people showed up, I'd be in jail for murder. That is not an idle comment. I would shoot every last one of them present.

But although he and his crew do not by any stretch of the imagination even come close to being representative of the vast majority of Christians, I can say one thing: he does know exactly what the Bible says. And he believes exactly what it says.

It is easy to say that the man is a nut, that he is rabid, much as a moderate Muslim would say that acts like cutting off innocent people's heads is insane. But he uses the exact same Bible other Christians use and quotes it often. The funny thing is, what it says is in accordance with the hateful, despicable views he holds.

He does not cherry-pick, he does not choose which parts of the Bible to ignore and which to bolster his conviction and action. He is an example of what you get with total faith in what God has to say.

How do other Christians decide which parts of their book to take to heart and which to blow off? Nearly every church I've seen has 'Bible study', yet it is absolutely mind-boggling that these millions of people that study the Bible somehow miss the contradictions, the rapes, the cannibalism, the murder, slavery, genocide, and the absurdity all either attested to, committed by, or commanded by God.

Phelps is the twisted, evil, devisive product of religion and faith. It is time to turn our backs on the filthy violent doctrine that all the 'holy' books are full of. We do not need a god to learn about the universe or our place in it. We don't need him to explain why we are here. And we certainly don't need the fear of eternal damnation or God's wrath to make reasonable people have compassion, love, and honesty.

I wish there was a hell, for any just god would have a very warm place in it indeed for a Mr. Fred Phelps.

Inboxer Rebellion

2006-08-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

There is no little girl who will die of cancer unless you forward an e-mail. No photos were taken of a living Tyrannosaurus in Nigeria. Neither AOL or Microsoft are conducting a test that will pay you if you forward e-mail messages. There is no 'cell phone virus'.

Why do people forward stupid e-mails? If you are forwarding an e-mail to someone you know, then one would think that it is because it is interesting enough for others to read. How can it be interesting enough to read, yet not enough to verify, or at least try to find out more about?

Personally, if I read that piranha are shredding people in Lake Erie, I'm going to be like "Holy shit! I've gotta find out more about this!", and start looking for news stories about it. If I get an e-mail saying that wallets made from eelskin demagnetize credit cards due to leftover charges from the electric eels used to make them, I'm going to realize that that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and delete it. Either way, I'm not forwarding bullshit to fill up someone else's inbox.

99% of the "virus warnings" I get via e-mail are 100% nonsense. They are casually forwarded so often that these hoaxes assume the proportion of a real virus themselves. While many are harmless, some encourage users to find and delete system files on their computer. Personally, I don't mind these - if a person is stupid enough to blindly believe any crap that shows up in their inbox and start trashing files without the foggiest notion what they do, they deserve to have a screwed-up computer. At least they won't be sending me the crap.

Which do these people have the greater share of - ignorance or laziness? It is so easy to check the veracity of these things: http://www.snopes.com/

Look it up, hit "reply to all", and show everyone what a dumbass the original sender is. After a few times, they will quit filling up your inbox with garbage.

The Word

2006-08-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

I take it upon myself today to spread the Word of Almighty God. For in Galatians 5:22-23 it clearly tells us that the fruit of the Spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Should we all not endeavor to be more Godlike?

=====================================
Ezekiel 5:17 "and I will send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I, Jehovah, have spoken it."
----------------------------------------
2 Kings 2:23;24 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tore forty two of the children to pieces.
----------------------------------------
1 Chronicles 13:9;10 And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.
----------------------------------------
Genesis 38:7;8;9;10 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.

And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
----------------------------------------
Genesis 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
----------------------------------------
Malachi 2:2;3 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
----------------------------------------
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
----------------------------------------
1 Kings 20:35;36 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
----------------------------------------

Exodus 12:12;29;30 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
-----------------------------------------
Jeremiah 11:22;23 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine.

And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
-----------------------------------------
Hosea 13:16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
-----------------------------------------
Judges 11:30-39 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man.
-----------------------------------------
1 Kings 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
-----------------------------------------
Leviticus 25:44-46 However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way.
-----------------------------------------
Zephaniah 2:12-15 You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword," says the LORD.

And the LORD will strike the lands of the north with his fist. He will destroy Assyria and make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland, parched like a desert.

The city that once was so proud will become a pasture for sheep and cattle. All sorts of wild animals will settle there. Owls of many kinds will live among the ruins of its palaces, hooting from the gaping windows. Rubble will block all the doorways, and the cedar paneling will lie open to the wind and weather.

This is the fate of that boisterous city, once so secure. "In all the world there is no city as great as I," it boasted. But now, look how it has become an utter ruin, a place where animals live! Everyone passing that way shall hiss or wag his hand.
-----------------------------------------
Matthew 10:34;35;36;37 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
-------------------------------------------
Luke 14:25;26 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
-------------------------------------------
Deuteronomy 23:1;2 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
-------------------------------------------
Psalms 137:8;9 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
-------------------------------------------

This is just a small taste.

Visit www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/index.htm for a WHOLE LOT more enlightening Scripture!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6370534978087426825&hl=en

More replies from the deluded..

2006-08-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

So I get an email from yet another of the devout who has read my biblical contradictions postings. And thus begins a stream of e-mails in which he shows himself quite incapable of thinking for himself, referring me instead to a number of websites which supposedly "refute" these contradictions (in many, the explanation is even more ludicrous than the original Biblical discrepancy). He even eventually attaches a file from some utter dimwit (supposedly his brother) with weak, illogical "answers" and logical fallacies in response to what I wrote in my e-mail to the first dimwit. This new choad even insists the earth is 6000 years old, and didn't realize that there is such a word as 'prehistory'! Where the heck is this wormhole that they are using to bring these dorks from the Iron Age back?

C'mon, if you are going to attempt to debate at least have the decency to do more than send me a slew of links (one of which to a site about "Creation Science"! Could anyone come up with a MORE absurd oxymoron?!) and bring in additional dunderheaded reinforcements.

The beauty of attempting to use reason with people like this is that they haven't the power to think for themselves, because they operate solely on a meme. When confronted with reason they fall back only on mindless insistence and foot-stamping. This guy even resorted to trying to prove the "truth" of scripture by - you guessed it! - quoting more scripture!

So predictably, the verbose emails that started with bold challenges and claims that I'm ignorant dwindle down to a couple lines with a weak-assed excuse that because I don't accept one of his beloved websites' explanation of the number of animals on the ark that there is no point in talking to me. He conveniently ignores the numerous other Biblical discrepancies that I wrote about in the e-mail. Oh yeah, and of course he includes a link to yet another preposterous website written by some equally preposterous evangelist.

Listen, if any of you are going to write, please be capable of logical thought. Also, don't criticize my knowledge of English when your own e-mails look like they were written by a retarded child.

Everything old is....bastardized

2006-08-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

What is with this epidemic of making old TV shows and movies from the 70's and 80's into "new" feature films? It's like nobody can come up with anything original anymore. Some are okay, like Adam Sandler's "The Longest Yard", "Dawn of the Dead", and "Fat Albert", but come on..a "Starsky and Hutch" riddled with silly one-liners and ridiculous stunts and a "Dukes of Hazzard" where the Dukes cuss? They can't even get the slang right, nobody said 'whateverr' in the 80's.

It's kind of sad that kids actually think some of these are good movies, when all they have done is butcher the charm and/or meaning of the original. "Miami Vice" is the top movie out right now, but it appears to be set in the present time. The whole reason the original was popular is that it opitimized everything that was considered cool in the 80's..Lamborghinis, 5 o'clock shadow at 8 a.m., loafers, and linen suits worn with pink T shirts. If they are going to make a movie about two Miami cops in present day, why rip off the original? Make a new movie with new names. Have them strut around sporting Ipods and logging into MySpace or whatever is considered 'cool' now...but fer chrissakes don't claim they're Crockett and Tubbs.

Some are just too dated to have any impact. Witness 1998's "Godzilla". Inoshiro Honda's original, beyond being incredibly campy, had the undercurrent of post-WW2 Japan's nuclear paranoia. The new one is just a big scaly monster that crushes shit. Loudly.

Some movies people don't even realize are horribly done remakes. "The Haunting" was a collosal lump of poop, a sad copy of Robert Wise's 1963 adaptation of Shirley Jackson's classic short story, "The Haunting of Hill House."

I grew up watching "Bewitched" and "The Avengers", but dear God..the remakes are so awful that I think they likely could have done much better by wracking their stupid uncreative little brains and coming up with something original, however bad it is. The original actors should come back and kick the directors' asses.

Now from what I understand they're remaking "The A Team", "Knight Rider", and "Dallas" too, all of which will suck horribly. I can see it now, on "The A Team" we will finally get to see someone actually shot, "Knight Rider" will drive a hybrid K.I.T.T. that speaks with a Spanish accent, and "Dallas" will be set in Saudi Arabia with J.R. (Jamal Rahsheed) sporting a turban.

Oh, yeah..they're remaking "Baywatch" into a freakin' movie too! This movie is going to have to suck on a galactic scale never before seen in the history of cinema. Jesus, the original show's only redeeming characteristic was plenty of bouncing boobs. It was horrible even when it was new. Why on earth would anyone want to bring it back? Can anyone even take two hours of this shit in one sitting - and pay for it to boot?

On some level, a generation is defined by their music and films. It pisses me off that the only thing these fat, overpaid movie producers can come up with is shitty copies of shows I grew up with and movies based on video games. Whatever will the next generation have to rip off? Even more sad is the fact that people line up in droves to fork over $8 to watch a mangled remake of a much better show that was free, all because 'retro' is 'cool' now. They're selling fake 'Cinderella' and 'Motley Crue' T-shirts in Wal-Mart now, and they're being snapped up by kids who weren't even born when these bands were on the charts.

Don't patronize remake movies. If you are trying to glimpse some of the magic of the original TV show that you remember, 90% of the time you are going to be sadly disappointed. If you weren't around when the original show was aired, then you missed that boat...even by watching reruns you aren't going to 'get' a lot of something that was popular 20 or 30 years ago. Demand that Hollywood make your own damn pop culture.

Heritage Arms Blows.

2006-07-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

Recently got a 4.75" barrel, steel framed, fixed sight SA .22LR/.22 Mag combo from Heritage Arms for use as a snake gun/trail gun and found that despite it's fairly long barrel, it shoots WAY left to point-of-aim, though holds a good group. I'm talking 3" off at SIX FEET, rested! For an inherently accurate round like the .22LR, fired from such a long barrel (for a handgun)..this is pretty ridiculous.

I'm as good a "Kentucky windager" as the next guy, but this is derringer accuracy. Actually, my American Derringer .38 is more accurate, and it's barrel (the rifling) is like an inch long! The Heritage Arms gun has distinctly old-school sights, a top-strap groove to serve as a rear sight and a front blade. Looking at their website (URL=http://www.heritagemfg.com/faq.shtml), I see that they recommend bending the front sight to chage the impact point. So, although this is rather crude I write them a very polite note asking how they would recommend doing this without breaking the sight. I certainly don't expect a revolver with period sights like this to be extremely accurate, but come on....I could throw a stone and hit closer to center mass. No response from them whatsoever.

Yeah, it's a cheap gun (200 bucks), but I couldn't see buying a Ruger Single Six to get beat to hell in the woods or a tackle box, for delivering the coup-de-grace to a deer, squirrel, or shark. The thing is actually pretty well made for the price, but I would definately suggest that one either get an adjustible sight model, learn to love .22 snakeshot, or avoid this company altogether. Their customer service blows, and I'm about convinced that the "contact us" tool at the website goes nowhere.

I eventually 'built up' the left side of the front sight blade, causing me to "hold right" and have to use less Kentucky Windage, but it was still pretty unacceptible. The built-up part eventually fell off so I just bent the sight blade to the left with a set of channel-locks. This made it a little better, but not much, and of course the gun looks retarded now.

A search of other owners have also produced evidence of the company's horrible accuracy and non-existent customer service. It's rather funny that they include a company-fired .22 LR case with the gun..must be proof only that the thing didn't blow up when they shot it, not a testament to that it shot anywhere near point of aim.

Just a warning....

Nope, haven't been struck by lightning yet - B.C. pt 10

2006-07-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

JN 12:31 The Devil is the ruler (or "prince") of this world.
1CO 10:26, RE 1:5 Jesus is the ruler of kings--the earth is his.

JN 12:32 Jesus implies that all persons will be saved.
1TI 2:3-4, 2PE 3:9 God wants all to be saved.
JN 12:40, AC 2:21, 2:39, RO 9:27, 10:13 Some will not be saved.
RE 14:1-4 Heaven will be inhabited by 144,000 virgin men (only?).

JN 13:36 Peter asks Jesus where he is going.
JN 14:5 Thomas does the same.
JN 16:5 Jesus says that none of them have asked him where he is going.

JN 17:12 Jesus has lost none of his disciples other than Judas.
JN 18:9 Jesus has lost none, period.

JN 17:12 Mentions a "son of perdition" as appearing in scripture (meaning the OT).(Note: There is no "son of perdition" mentioned in the OT.)

JN 18:37 Jesus came into the world to bear witness to the truth.
RO 1:18-20 The truth has always been evident.

JN 20:9 Jesus quotes a statement that he says appears in scripture (meaning the OT). (No such statement is found in the OT.)

JN 20:22 In his first resurrection appearance before the assembled disciples, Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit.
AC 1:3-5, AC 2:1-4 The Holy Spirit was received much later (on Pentecost.)

JN 21:25 The world probably could not contain the books if all that Jesus did were to be recorded.
AC 1:1 The author of Acts has already written about all that Jesus began to do.

AC 5:19, 12:6-11 The disciples take part in a jailbreak made possible by an angel.
AC 5:40-42 The disciples disobey the Council and continue to teach and preach Jesus.
RO 13:1-4, 1PE 2:13-15 Obey the laws of men (i.e., government). It is the will of God.

AC 5:29 Obey God, not men.
RO 13:1-4, 1PE 2:13-15 Obey the laws of men (i.e., government). It is the will of God.

AC 9:7 Those present at Paul's conversion heard the voice but saw no one.
AC 22:9 They saw a light but did not hear a voice.

AC 9:7 Those present at Paul's conversion stood.
AC 26:14 They fell to the ground.

AC 9:19-28 Shortly after his conversion, Paul went to Damascus, then Jerusalem where he was introduced to the Apostles by Barnabas, and there spent some time with them (going in and out among them).
GA 1:15-20 He made the trip three years later, then saw only Peter and James.

AC 9:23 The governor attempted to seize Paul.
2CO 11:32 It was the Jews who tried to seize Paul.

AC 10:34, RO 2:11 God shows no partiality. He treats all alike.
RO 9:11-13 God hated Esau and loved Jacob even before their birth.

AC 10:34, RO 2:11 God shows no partiality. He treats all alike.
RO 9:18 God has mercy on whoever he chooses, etc.

AC 16:6 The Holy Spirit forbids preaching in Asia.
AC 19:8-10 Paul preaches in Asia anyway.

AC 20:35 Quotes Jesus as having said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (No such statement of Jesus is found elsewhere in the Bible.)

RO 2:12 All who have sinned without the law will perish without the law.
RO 4:15 Where there is no law there is no transgression (sin).

RO 2:13 Doers of the law will be justified.
RO 3:20, GA 3:11 They will not be justified.

RO 2:15 The law is written on the heart. Conscience teaches right from wrong.
1JN 2:27 Anointing by Jesus teaches right from wrong.

RO 4:9 Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.
JA 2:21 Abraham was justified by works (which made his faith perfect).

RO 10:11 (An alleged OT quote; no such statement in the OT.)

RO 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything that might cause your brother to stumble or be offended.
CN 2:16 Let no one pass judgement on you in matters of food and drink.

1CO 7:8-9 Widows should not marry (although it is better to marry than burn).
1TI 5:14 Young widows should marry, bear children, rule the household, etc..

1CO 8:4 There is only one God.
2CO 4:4 Satan is God of this world (therefore there are at least two gods).

1CO 10:33 Paul says that he tries to please men (so they might be saved).
GA 1:10 Paul says he would not be a servant of Christ if he tried to please men.

2CO 12:16 Paul says that he does use trickery.
1TH 2:3 Paul says that he does not use trickery.

GA 6:2 Bear one another's burdens.
GA 6:5 Bear your own burden.

1TH 2:2 God gave Paul the courage to continue his work.
1TH 2:17-18 Satan hindered Paul.(Note: Who is stronger, Satan or God?)

1TI 1:15 Paul says that he is the foremost of sinners.
1JN 3:8-10 He who commits sin is of the Devil. Children of God do not sin.

TI 6:20, 2TI 2:14-16, 3:1-7 Do not argue with an unbeliever.
2JN 1:10-11 Anyone who even greets an unbeliever shares his wicked work.
1PE 3:15 Always be ready to answer any man concerning your faith.

JA 4:5 (Quotes an alleged scripture (OT) verse; not found in the OT.)

RE 8:7 All of the grass on earth is burned up, and then ...
REV 9:4 An army of locusts, which is about to be turned loose on the earth, is instructed not to harm the grass.

*EXTRA CREDIT CHALLENGE!*

Using ALL FOUR gospels, write down the sequence of events from the crucifixion to the resurrection. But--and here's the challenge--you MUSN'T LEAVE ANYTHING OUT!

There is no way to do it, because the contradictions are so numerous.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 9

2006-06-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

LK 1:15 John the Baptist had the Holy Spirit from before his birth or the birth of Jesus.LK 1:41 Elizabeth had it long before Jesus went away.LK 1:67 So did Zechariah.LK 2:25 So did Simeon.LK 11:13 It is obtained by prayer (presumably at any time).
JN 7:39, JN 16:7, AC 1:3-5 The Holy Spirit cannot come into the world until after Jesus has departed.

LK 8:12 The Devil causes unbelief.
MK 4:11-12 Jesus is responsible for unbelief in at least some cases.
2TH 2:11-12 God is ultimately responsible for unbelief in at least some cases.

LK 14:26 No one can be a disciple of Jesus unless he hates his parents, wife, children, brothers and sisters.
1JN 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.
1JN 4:20 If anyone claims to love God but hates his brother, he is a liar.

LK 18:9-14 Do not boast of your virtue.
RO 11:20, 1PE 5:5 Do not be proud.
RO 15:17, 2CO 1:12, HE 3:6, 2CO 2:14, 5:12, 11:17 Paul boasts of his faith and says that one should be proud of it.

LK 22:3-23 Satan entered Judas before the supper.
JN 13:27 It was during the supper.

LK 23:43 Jesus promises one of those crucified with him that they will be together, that very day, in Paradise.
JN 20:17, AC 1:3 Jesus was not raised until the third day and did not ascend until at least forty days later.

LK 23:55-56 The women followed Joseph to the tomb, saw how the body had been laid, then went to prepare spices with which to anoint the body.
JN 19:39-40 Joseph brought spices with him (75 or a 100 lbs.) and annointed the body (as the women should have noticed).

JN 1:1, 10:30 Jesus and God are one.
JN 14:28 God is greater than Jesus.
JN 1:1 Jesus was God incarnate.
AC 2:22 Jesus was a man approved by God.

JN 3:17, 8:15, 12:47 Jesus does not judge.
JN 5:22, 5:27-30, 9:39, AC 10:42, 2CO 5:10 Jesus does judge.

JN 5:22 God does not judge.
RO 2:2-5, 3:19, 2TH 1:5, 1PE 1:17 God does judge.

JN 5:24 Believers do not come into judgement.
MT 12:36, RO 5:18, 2CO 5:10, HE 9:27, 1PE 1:17, JU 1:14-15, RE 20:12-13 All persons (including believers) come into judgement.

JN 5:31 Jesus says that if he bears witness to himself, his testimony is not true.
JN 8:14 Jesus says that even if he bears witness to himself, his testimony is true.

JN 5:38-47 Men have a choice as to whether or not to receive Jesus.
JN 6:44 No one can come to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father.

JN 7:38 Jesus quotes a statement that he says appears in scripture (i.e., the OT).(No such statement is found in the OT.)

JN 10:27-29 None of Jesus' followers will be lost.
1TI 4:1 Some of them will be lost.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 8

2006-05-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

MT 27:3-7 The chief priests bought the field.
AC 1:16-19 Judas bought the field.
MT 27:5 Judas threw down the pieces of silver, then departed.
AC 1:18 He used the coins to buy the field.

MT 27:5 Judas hanged himself.
AC 1:18 He fell headlong, burst open, and his bowels gushed out.

MT 27:11, MK 15:2, LK 23:3 When asked if he is King of the Jews, Jesus answers: "You have said so," (or "Thou sayest").
JN 18:33-34 He answers: "Do you say this of your own accord?"

MT 27:11-14 Jesus answers not a single charge at his hearing before Pilate.
JN 18:33-37 Jesus answers all charges at his hearing before Pilate.

MT 27:20 The chief priests and elders are responsible for persuading the people to ask for the release of Barabbas.
MK 15:11 Only the chief priests are responsible.
LK 23:18-23 The people ask, apparently having decided for themselves.

MT 27:28 Jesus is given a scarlet robe (a sign of infamy).
MK 15:17, JN 19:2 A purple robe (a sign of royalty).

MT 27:32, MK 15:21, LK 23:26 Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus' cross.
JN 19:17 Jesus carries his own cross with no help from anyone.

MT 27:37 The inscription on the cross read: "This is Jesus the King of the Jews."
MK 15:26 "The King of the Jews."
LK 23:38 "This is the King of the Jews."
JN 19:19 "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

MT 27:44 Both of those who are crucified with Jesus taunt him.
LK 23:39-42 Only one taunts Jesus, and he is rebuked by the other for doing so.

MT 27:46 Jesus asks God, the Father, why he has been forsaken.
JN 10:30 Jesus says that he and the Father are one.

MT 27:46-50, MK 15:34-37 Jesus' last recorded words are: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
LK 23:46 "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."
JN 19:30 "It is finished." (Note: Even though both MT and MK represent direct quotes and are translated similarly, the actual Greek words used for God are different. MT uses "Eli" and MK uses "Eloi.")

MT 27:48, LK 23:36, JN 19:29 Jesus was offered vinegar to drink.
MK 15:23 It was wine and myrrh, and he did not drink it.
JN 19:29-30 Whatever it was, he did drink it.

MT 27:54 The centurion says: "Truly this was the son of God."
MK 15:39 He says: "Truly this man was the son of God!"
LK 23:47 He says: "Truly this man was innocent" (or "righteous").

MT 27:55, MK 15:40, LK 23:49 The women looked on from afar.
JN 19:25-26 They were near enough that Jesus could speak to his mother.

MT 27:62-66 A guard was placed at the tomb (the day following the burial).
MK 15:42- 16:8, LK 23:50-56, JN 19:38-42 (No guard is mentioned. This is important since rumor had it that Jesus' body was stolen and the Resurrection feigned.)
MK 16:1-3, LK 24:1 (There could not have been a guard, as far as the women were concerned, since they were planning to enter the tomb with spices. Though the women were aware of the stone, they were obviously unaware of a guard.)

MT 24:9 Even some of the disciples of Jesus will be killed.
JN 8:51 If anyone keeps Jesus' words, he will never see death.
HE 9:27 [All] men die once, then judgement follows.

MT 28:1 The first visitors to the tomb were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (two).
MK 16:1 Both of the above plus Salome (three).
LK 23:55 - 24:1, 24:10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and "other women" (at least five).
JN 20:1 Mary Magdalene only (one).

MT 28:1 It was toward dawn when they arrived.
MK 16:2 It was after sunrise.
LK 24:1 It was at early dawn.
JN 20:1 It was still dark.

MT 28:1-2 The stone was still in place when they arrived. It was rolled away later.
MK 16:4, LK 24:2, JN 20:1 The stone had already been rolled (or taken) away.

MT 28:2 An angel arrived during an earthquake, rolled back the stone, then sat on it (outside the tomb).
MK 16:5 No earthquake, only one young man sitting inside the tomb.
LK 24:2-4 No earthquake. Two men suddenly appear standing inside the tomb.
JN 20:12 No earthquake. Two angels are sitting inside the tomb.

MT 28:8 The visitors ran to tell the disciples.
MK 16:8 They said nothing to anyone.
LK 24:9 They told the eleven and all the rest.
JN 20:10-11 The disciples returned home. Mary remained outside, weeping.

MT 28:8-9 Jesus' first Resurrection appearance was fairly near the tomb.
LK 24:13-15 It was in the vicinity of Emmaus (seven miles from Jerusalem).
JN 20:13-14 It was right at the tomb.

MT 28:9 On his first appearance to them, Jesus lets Mary Magdalene and the other Mary hold him by his feet.
JN 20:17 On his first appearance to Mary, Jesus forbids her to touch him since he has not yet ascended to the Father.
JN 20:27 A week later, although he has not yet ascended to the Father, Jesus tells Thomas to touch him.

MT 28:7-10, MT 28:16 Although some doubted, the initial reaction of those that heard the story was one of belief since they followed the revealed instructions.
MK 16:11, LK 24:11 The initial reaction was one of disbelief. All doubted.

MT 28:1-18 The order of Resurrection appearances was: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, then the eleven.
MK 16:9-14 It was Mary Magdalene, then two others, then the eleven.
LK 24:15-36 It was two, then Simon (Peter?), then the eleven.
JN 20:14 - 21:1 It was Mary Magdalene, then the disciples without Thomas, then the disciples with Thomas, then the eleven disciples again.
1CO 15:5-8 It was Cephas (Peter?), then the "twelve" (which twelve, Judas was dead?), then 500+ brethren (although AC 1:15 says there were only about 120), then James, then all the Apostles, then Paul.

MT 28:19 Jesus instructs his disciples to baptize.
1CO 1:17 Although he considers himself a disciple of Jesus, Paul says that he has not been sent to baptize.

MK 1:2 Jesus quotes a statement that allegedly appears in Isaiah. No such statement appears in Isaiah. (Note: IS 40.3 is seen by some as equivalent to MK 1.2; MA 3.1 is a much better fit, however, given that Jesus is allegedly quoting word for word in MK 1:2.)

MK 1:14 Jesus began his ministry after the arrest of John the Baptist.
JN 3:22-24 Before the arrest of John the Baptist.

MK 1:23-24 A demon cries out that Jesus is the Holy One of God.
1JN 4:1-2 Everyone who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. (Note: This would mean that the demon is of God.)

MK 3:29 Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin.
AC 13:39, CN 2:13, 1JN 1:9 All sins are forgivable.

MK 4:11-12, 11:25 Jesus says that he uses parables so that the meaning of some of his teachings will remain secret to at least some persons. He explains the meanings of the parables only to his disciples. He thanks God for hiding some things from the wise while revealing them to "babes."
JN 18:20 Jesus says that he always taught openly, never secretly.

MK 6:16 Herod was the source of the belief that John had been raised from the dead.
LK 9:7 Others were the source. Herod was perplexed by the belief.

MK 6:52 The people were so unimpressed with "the Feeding of the Multitude" that they did not even understand the event.
JN 6:14-15 They were so impressed that they tried to force Jesus to be their king.

MK 6:53 After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus and the disciples went to Gennesaret.
JN 6:17-25 They went to Capernaum.

MK 10:19 Jesus lists "defraud not" as one of the commandments.
EX 20:3-17 There is no such commandment in the Ten Commandments or elsewhere in the OT)

MK 15:25 It was the third hour when Jesus was crucified.
JN 19:14-15 It was after the sixth hour since Jesus was still before Pilate and had not yet been sentenced at that time.

MK 16:1-2 The women came to the tomb to anoint the body.
JN 19:39-40 The body had already been anointed and wrapped in linen cloth.
MK 16:5, LK 24:3 The women actually entered the tomb.
JN 20:1-2, 11 They did not.

MK 16:14-19 The Ascension took place (presumably from a room) while the disciples were together seated at a table, probably in or near Jerusalem.
LK 24:50-51 It took place outdoors, after supper, at Bethany (near Jerusalem).
AC 1:9-12 It took place outdoors, after 40+ days, at Mt. Olivet.
MT 28:16-20 No mention is made of an ascension, but if it took place at all, it must have been from a mountain in Galilee since MT ends there.)

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 7

2006-05-19T02:42:00.000-07:00

MT 28:6-8 The women ran from the tomb "with great joy."
JN 20:1-2 Mary told Peter and the other disciple that the body had been stolen. (Would she feel "great joy" if she thought the body had been stolen?)

MT 26:8 The disciples reproach her.
MK 14:4 "Some" reproach her.
JN 12:4-5 Judas Iscariot reproaches her.

MT 26:14-25, MK 14:10-11, LK 22:3-23 Judas made his bargain with the chief priests before the meal.
JN 13:21-30 After the meal.

MT 26:20-29, MK 14:17-28, JN 13:21-30 Jesus forecasts his betrayal prior to the communion portion of the supper.
LK 22:14-23 After the communion portion.

MT 26:26-29, MK 14:22-25 The order of the communion was: bread, then wine.
LK 22:17-20 It was: wine, then bread.

MT 26:34, LK 22:34, JN 13:38 Peter was to deny Jesus before the cock crowed.
MK 14:30 Before the cock crowed twice.
MK 14:66-72 The cock crows after both the first and second denials.
(Note: These discrepancies have been "translated out" in some Bible versions.)

MT 26:40-45, MK 14:37-41 The disciples fall asleep three times.
LK 22:45 One time.

MT 26:49-50, MK 14:44-46 Jesus is betrayed by Judas with a kiss, then seized.
LK 22:47-48 Jesus anticipates Judas' kiss. No actual kiss is mentioned.
JN 18:2-9 Jesus voluntarily steps forward to identify himself making it completely unnecessary for Judas to point him out. No kiss is mentioned.

MT 26:51, MK 14:47, JN 18:10 The ear of a slave is cut off and left that way.
LK 22:50-51 The severed ear is miraculously healed by Jesus.

MT 26:52 Dispose of swords. All who take the sword will perish by it.
LK 22:36-38 Buy swords.

MT 26:57, MK 14:53, LK 22:54 After his arrest Jesus is first taken to Caiphas, the high priest.
JN 18:13-24 First to Annas, the son-in-law of Caiphas, then to Caiphas.

MT 26:18-20, 57-68, 27:1-2, MK 14:16-18, 53-72, 15:1 Jesus' initial hearing was at night on Passover. In the morning he was taken to Pilate.
LK 22:13-15, 54-66 The initial hearing took place in the morning on Passover.
JN 18:28, 19:14 It took place the day before Passover, on the Day of Preparation.

MT 26:59-66, MK 14:55-64 Jesus was tried by the entire Sanhedrin (the chief priests and the whole council).
LK 22:66-71 There was no trial but merely an inquiry held by the Sanhedrin.
JN 18:13-24 There was no appearance before the Sanhedrin, only the private hearings before Annas and then Caiphas.

MT 26:63, LK 22:70 The high priest asks Jesus if he is the Son of God.
MK 14:61 He asks Jesus if he is the Son of the Blessed.
MT 26:64, LK 22:70 Jesus answers: "You have said so," or words to this effect.
MK 14:62 He answers directly: "I am."

MT 26:69-70 Peter makes his first denial to a maid and "them all."
MK 14:66-68, LK 22:56-57, JN 18:17 It was to one maid only.

MT 26:71-72 Peter's second denial is to still another maid.
MK 14:69-70 (Apparently) to the same maid.
LK 22:58 To a man, not a maid.
JN 18:25 To more than one, "they."

MT 26:73-74, MK 14:70-71 Peter's third denial is to bystanders (two or more).
LK 22:59-60 To "another" (one).
JN 18:26-27 To one of the servants.

MT 26:74 The cock crowed once.
MK 14:72 The cock crowed twice.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 6

2006-05-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

MT 6:13 God might lead us into temptation and it is better avoided.
JA 1:2-3 Temptation is joy.

MT 6:13 Jesus' prayer implies that God might lead us into temptation.
JA 1:13 God tempts no one.

MT 6:25-34, LK 12:22-31 Take no thought for tomorrow. God will take care of you.
1TI 5:8 A man who does not provide for his family is worse than an infidel. (Note: Providing for a family certainly involves taking "thought for tomorrow.")

MT 7:1-2 Do not judge.
MT 7:15-20 Instructions for judging a false prophet.

MT 7:7-8, LK 11:9-10 Ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find.
LK 13:24 Many will try to enter the Kingdom but will be unable.

MT 7:21 Not everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
AC 2:21, RO 10:13 Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
AC 2:39 Those God calls to himself will be saved.

MT 7:21, LK 10:36-37, RO 2:6, 13, JA 2:24 We are justified by works, not by faith.
JN 3:16, RO 3:20-26, EP 2:8-9, GA 2:16 We are justified by faith, not by works.

MT 8:5-12 The centurion himself approaches Jesus to ask to heal his servant.
LK 7:2-10 The centurion sends elders to do the asking.

MT 8:16, LK 4:40 Jesus healed all that were sick.
MK 1:32-34 Jesus healed many (but not all).

MT 8:28-33 Two demoniacs are healed in the Gadarene swine incident.
MK 5:2-16, LK 8:26-36 One demoniac is healed in this incident.

MT 9:18 The ruler's daughter was already dead when Jesus raised her.
LK 8:42 She was dying, but not dead.

MT 10:1-8 Jesus gives his disciples the power to exorcise and heal...
MT 17:14-16 (Yet) the disciples are unable to do so.

MT 10:2, MK 3:16-19 The twelve apostles (disciples) were: Simon (Peter), Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, John his brother, Philip, Bartholemew, Thomas, Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus (Labbaeus), Simon, and Judas Iscariot.
LK 6:13-16 The above except that Thaddaeus (Labbaeus) is excluded, and Judas the son of James is added (and Judas Iscariot remains).
AC 1:13, 26 Same as MT and MK except that, like LK Thaddaeus (Labbaeus) is excluded, Judas the son of James is included, and Mathias is chosen by the others to replace Judas Iscariot.

MT 10:2, 5-6 Peter was to be an apostle to the Jews and not go near the Gentiles.
AC 15:7 He was an apostle to the Gentiles.

MT 10:10 Do not take sandals (shoes) or staves.
MK 6:8-9 Take sandals (shoes) and staves.

MT 10:34, LK 12:49-53 Jesus has come to bring a sword, fire, and division--not peace.
JN 16:33 Jesus says: "In me you have peace."

MT 10:22, 24:13, MK 13:13 He that endures to the end will be saved.
MK 16:16 He that believes and is baptized will be saved.
JN 3:5 Only he that is born of water and Spirit will be saved.
AC 16:31 He that believes on the Lord Jesus will be saved.
AC 2:21 He that calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
RO 10:9 He who confesses with his mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved.
1JN 4:7 He who loves is born of God (and presumably will be saved.)

MT 10:28, LK 12:4 Jesus says not to fear men. (Fear God only.)
MT 12:15-16, JN 7:1-10, 8:59, 10:39, 11:53-54 Jesus hid, escaped, went secretly, etc.

MT 11:7-15, 17:12-13 Jesus says that John the Baptist was a prophet, and more.
JN 1:21 John himself says that he is not a prophet, nor is he Elijah.

MT 11:25, MK 4:11-12 Jesus thanks God for hiding some things from the wise while revealing them to "babes." He says that he uses parables so that the meaning of some of his teachings will remain hidden to at least some persons, and specifically so that they will not turn and be forgiven.
MK 4:22 Jesus says that all things should be made known.

MT 11:29 Jesus says that he is gentle (meek) and humble (lowly).
JN 2:15 Jesus makes a whip of cords, drives the money changers from the Temple, overturns their tables, and pours out their coins. (Note: The presence of the money changers in the outer court of the Temple had been authorized by the Temple authorities and was, in fact, a necessity since the Jews would not accept Roman coin for the purchase of sacrifices.)

MT 12:5 Jesus says that the law (OT) states that the priests profane the Sabbath but are blameless. (No such statement is found in the OT.)

MT 12:30 Jesus says that those who are not with him are against him.
MK 9:40 Jesus says that those who are not against him are for him.(Note: This puts those who are indifferent or undecided in the "for him" category in the first instance and in the "against him" category in the second instance.)

MT 12:39, MK 8:12, LK 11:29 Jesus says that he will give no "sign."
JN 3:2, 20:30, AC 2:22 Jesus proceeds to give many such "signs."

MT 13:34, MK 4:34 Jesus addresses the crowds only in parables, so that they would not fully understand. He explains the meaning only to his disciples.
JN 1:1 - 21:25 (Throughout the book of John, unlike the other Gospels, Jesus addresses the crowds in a very straightforward manner. He does not employ parables.)

MT 13:58, MK 6:5 In spite of his faith, Jesus is not able to perform mighty miracles.
MT 17:20, 19:26, MK 9:23, 10:27, LK 17:6, 18:27 Jesus says that anything is possible to him who believes if he has the faith of a grain of mustard seed. All things are possible with God. A mountain can be commanded to move and it will move.

MT 5:37, 15:19, MK 7:22, JN 8:14, 44, 14:6, 18:37 Jesus says that you should answer a plain "yes" or "no," that his purpose is to bear witness to the truth, and that his testimony is true. He equates lying with evil.
JN 7:2-10 Jesus tells his brothers that he is not going to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Tabernacles, then later goes secretly by himself. (Note: The words "not yet" were added to some versions at JN 7:8 in order to alleviate this problem. The context at JN 7:10 makes the deception clear, however.)

MT 16:6, 11 Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
MK 8:15 Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.

MT 16:18 Jesus founds his church on Peter and will give him the keys of the kingdom.
MT 16:23 Jesus calls Peter [a] "Satan" and "a hindrance," and accuses him of being on the side of men rather than that of God.

MT 16:18 Jesus founds his church on Peter and will give him the keys of the kingdom.
AC 15:1-21 James presides over the first Council of Jerusalem and formulates the decree regarding the accepting of Gentiles which is sent to the other churches. (Note: Tradition has it that James was appointed as the first Bishop or Pope, not Peter.)

MT 17:1-2 The Transfiguration occurs six days after Jesus foretells his suffering.
LK 9:28-29 It takes place about eight days afterwards.

MT 20:20-21 The mother of James and John asks Jesus a favor for her sons.
MK 10:35-37 They ask for themselves.

MT 20:23, MK 10:40 Jesus responds that it is not his to give.
MT 28:18, JN 3:35 All authority has been given to Jesus.

MT 20:29-34 Jesus heals two blind men on the way to Jericho.
MK 10:46-52 He heals one blind man.

MT 21:1-17 The sequence was: triumphal entry, cleansing of the temple, Bethany.
MK 11:1-19 Triumphal entry, cleansing of the temple.
LK 19:28-48 Triumphal entry, cleansing of the temple, daily teaching in the temple.
JN 12:1-18 Cleansing of the temple (early in his career), Supper with Lazarus, triumphal entry, no cleansing of the temple following the triumphal entry.

MT 21:2-6, MK 11:2-7, LK 19:30-35 The disciples follow Jesus instructions and bring him the animal (or animals, in the case of MT).
JN 12:14 Jesus finds the animal himself.

MT 21:7 Jesus rides two animals during his triumphal entry.
MK 11:7, LK 19:35, JN 12:14 Only one animal is involved.

MT 21:12-13 The cleansing of the temple occurs at the end of Jesus' career.
JN 2:13-16 It occurs near the beginning of his career.

MT 21:19-20 The fig tree withers immediately after being cursed by Jesus. The disciples notice and are amazed.
MK 11:13-14, 20-21 The disciples first notice that the tree has withered the day following.

MT 23:35 Jesus says that Zacharias (Zechariah) was the son of Barachias (Barachiah).
2CH 24:20 Zacharias was actually the son of Jehoida, the priest.(Note: The name Barachias, or Barachiah, does not appear in the O.T.)

MT 24:29-33, MK 13:24-29 The coming of the kingdom will be accompanied by signs and miracles.
LK 17:20-21 It will not be accompanied by signs and miracles. It is already within.

MT 25:34 Heaven was prepared before the Ascension of Jesus.
JN 14:2-3 It was prepared after the Ascension of Jesus.

MT 26:6-13, MK 14:3 The anointing of Jesus takes place in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper.
LK 7:36-38 It takes place at the house of a Pharisee in Galilee.

MT 26:7, MK 14:3 The oil is poured on Jesus' head.
LK 7:38, JN 12:3 On his feet.

MT 26:7, MK 14:3, LK 7:37 An unnamed woman does the anointing.
JN 12:3 It is Mary.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 5

2006-05-04T02:45:00.000-07:00

PR 3:13, 4:7, 19:8, JA 1:5 Happy is the man who finds wisdom. Get wisdom.
LK 2:40, 52 Jesus was filled with wisdom and found favor with God.
1CO 1:19-25, 3:18-20 Wisdom is foolishness.

PR 12:2, RO 8:28 A good man obtains favor from the Lord.
2TI 3:12, HE 12:6 The godly will be persecuted.

PR 14:8 The wisdom of a prudent man is to discern his way.
MT 6:25-34 Take no thought for tomorrow. God will take care of you.

PR 14:15-18 The simple believe everything and acquire folly; the prudent look where they are going and are crowned with knowledge.
MT 18:3, LK 18:17 You must believe as little children do.
1CO 1:20, 27 God has made the wisdom of the world foolish so as to shame the wise.

JN 6:65 No one can come to Jesus unless it is granted by God.
RO 8:28-30 Some are predestined to be called to God, believe in Jesus, and be justified.

RO 9:15-18 God has mercy on, and hardens the hearts of, whom he pleases.
2TH 2:11-12 God deceives the wicked so as to be able to condemn them.1TI 2:3-4, 2PE 3:9 [Yet] God wants all to be saved.

PR 8:13, 16:6 It is the fear of God that keeps men from evil.
1JN 4:18 There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear.

PR 26:4 Do not answer a fool. To do so makes you foolish too.
PR 26:5 Answer a fool. If you don't, he will think himself wise.

PR 30:5 Every word of God proves true.
JE 8:8 The scribes falsify the word of God.
JE 20:7, EZ 14:9, 2TH 2:11-12 God himself deceives people.(Note: Some versions translate deceive as "persuade." The context makes clear, however, that deception is involved.)

IS 3:13 God stands to judge.
JL 3:12 He sits to judge.

IS 44:24 God created heaven and earth alone.
JN 1:1-3 Jesus took part in creation.

IS 53:9 Usually taken to be a prophecy re: Jesus, mentions burial with others.
MT 27:58-60, MK 15:45-46, LK 23:52-53, JN 19:38-42 Jesus was buried by himself.

JE 12:13 Some sow wheat but reap thorns.
MI 6:15 Some sow but won't reap anything.
MT 25:26, LK 19:22 Some reap without sowing.
2CO 9:6, GA 6:7 A man reaps what he sows.

JE 32:18 God shows love to thousands, but brings punishment for the sins of their fathers to many children.
2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is a god of love.

JE 34:4-5 Zedekiah was to die in peace.
JE 52:10-11 Instead, Zedekaih's sons are slain before his eyes, his eyes are then put out, he is bound in fetters, taken to Babylon and left in prison to die.

EZ 20:25-26 The law was not good. The sacrifice of children was for the purpose of horrifying the people so that they would know that God is Lord.
RO 7:12, 1TI 1:8 The law is good.

EZ 26:15-21 God says that Tyre will be destroyed and will never be found again.(Nebudchanezzar failed to capture or destroy Tyre. It is still inhabited today.)

DN 5:1 (Gives the title of "king" to Belshazzar although Belshazzar was actually the "viceroy.")

DN 5:2 (Says that Nebuchadnezzar was the father of Belshazzar, but actually, Nebonidus was the father of Belshazzar.) (Note: Some versions attempt to correct this error by making the verse say that Nebuchadnezzar was the grandfather of Belshazzar.)

ZE 11:12-13 Mentions "thirty pieces" and could possibly be thought to be connected with the Potter's Field prophesy referred to in Matthew.
MT 27:9 Jeremiah is given as the source of the prophesy regarding the purchase of the Potter's Field. (Note: There is no such prophesy in Jeremiah.)

MT 1:6-7 The lineage of Jesus is traced through David's son, Solomon.
LK 3:23-31 It is traced through David's son, Nathan.(Note: Some apologists assert that Luke traces the lineage through Mary. That this is untrue is obvious from the context since Luke and Matthew both clearly state that Joseph was Jesus' father.)

MT 1:16 Jacob was Joseph's father.
LK 3:23 Heli was Joseph's father.

MT 1:17 There were twenty-eight generations from David to Jesus.
LK 3:23-38 There were forty-three.

MT 1:18-21 The Annunciation occurred after Mary had conceived Jesus.
LK 1:26-31 It occurred before conception.

MT 1:20 The angel spoke to Joseph.
LK 1:28 The angel spoke to Mary.

MT 1:20-23, LK 1:26-33 An angel announces to Joseph and/or Mary that the child (Jesus) will be "great," the "son of the Most High," etc., and ....
MT 3:13-17, MK 1:9-11 The baptism of Jesus is accompanied by the most extraordinary happenings, yet ....MK 3:21 Jesus' own relatives (or friends) attempt to constrain him, thinking that he might be out of his mind, and ....MK 6:4-6 Jesus says that a prophet is without honor in his own house (which certainly should not have been the case considering the Annunciation and the Baptism).

MT 1:23 He will be called Emmanuel (or Immanuel).
MT 1:25 Instead, he was called Jesus.

MT 2:13-16 Following the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt, (where they stay until after Herod's death) in order to avoid the murder of their firstborn by Herod. Herod slaughters all male infants two years old and under. (Note: John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, though under two is somehow spared without fleeing to Egypt.)
LK 2:22-40 Following the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary remain in the area of Jerusalem for the Presentation (about forty days) and then return to Nazareth without ever going to Egypt. There is no slaughter of the infants.

MT 2:23 "And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: He will be called a Nazarene.'" (This prophecy is not found in the OT and while Jesus is often referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth", he is seldom referred to as "Jesus the Nazarene.")

MT 3:11-14, JN 1:31-34 John realized the true identity of Jesus (as the Messiah) either prior to the actual Baptism, or from the Baptism onward. The very purpose of John's baptism was to reveal Jesus to Israel.
MT 11:2-3 After the Baptism, John sends his disciples to ask if Jesus is the Messiah.

MT 3:12, 13:42 Hell is a furnace of fire (and must therefore be light).
MT 8:12, 22:13, 25:30 Hell is an "outer darkness" (and therefore dark).

MT 3:16, MK 1:10 It was Jesus who saw the Spirit descending.
JN 1:32 It was John who saw the Spirit descending.

MT 3:17 The heavenly voice addressed the crowd: "This is my beloved Son."
MK 1:11, LK 3:22 The voice addressed Jesus: "You are my beloved Son...."

MT 4:1-11, MK 1:12-13 Immediately following his Baptism, Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness resisting temptation by the Devil.JN 2:1-11 Three days after the Baptism, Jesus was at the wedding in Cana.

MT 4:5-8 The Devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, then to the mountain top.
LK 4:5-9 First to the mountain top, then to the pinnacle of the temple.

MT 4:18-20, MK 1:16-18 (One story about choosing Peter as a disciple.)LK 5:2-11 (A different story.)JN 1:35-42 (Still another story.)

MT 5:1 - 7:29 Jesus delivers his most noteworthy sermon while on the mount.
LK 6:17-49 Jesus delivers his most noteworthy sermon while on the plain. (Note: No such sermons are mentioned in either MK or JN and Paul seems totally unfamiliar with either the sermon on the mount or the sermon on the plain.)

MT 5:16 Good works should be seen.
MT 6:1-4 They should be kept secret.

MT 5:17-19, LK 16:17 Jesus underscores the permanence of the law.
LE 10:8 - 11:47, DT 14:3-21 The law distinguishes between clean and unclean foods.MK 7:14-15, MK 7:18-19 Jesus says that there is no such distinction.1TI 4:1-4 All foods are clean according to Paul.

MT 5:17-19, LK 16:17 Jesus did not come to abolish the law.
EP 2:13-15, HE 7:18-19 Jesus did abolish the law.

MT 5:22 Anyone who calls another a fool is liable to Hell.
MT 7:26 Jesus says that anyone who hears his words and does not do them is a fool. (Note: The translation now prevalent, "like a foolish man," in MT 7:26 is a dishonest attempt to alleviate the obvious inconsistency here in that the oldest Greek manuscripts use the same Greek word translated "fool" in MT 5:22 and "like a foolish man" in MT 7:26.)MT 23:17-19 Jesus twice calls the Pharisees blind fools.MT 25:2, 3, 8 Jesus likens the maidens who took no oil to fools. (Note: Again, this is the same Greek word translated "fool" in MT 5:22 and MT 23:17-19.)1CO 1:23, 3:18, 4:10 Paul uses fool with regard to Christians becoming fools for Christ. (Note: Again, this is the same Greek word translated "fool" in MT 5:22 and MT 23:17-19.)

MT 5:22 Anger by itself is a sin.
EP 4:26 Anger is not necessarily a sin.

MT 5:22 Anger by itself is a sin.
MT 11:22-24, LK 10:13-15 Jesus curses the inhabitants of several cities who are not sufficiently impressed with his mighty works.MT 21:19, MK 11:12-14 Jesus curses a fig tree when it fails to bear fruit out of season.MK 3:5 Jesus looks around "angrily."

MT 5:32 Divorce, except on the grounds of unchastity, is wrong.
MK 10:11-12 Divorce on any grounds is wrong.

MT 5:39, MT 5:44 Jesus says: "Do not resist evil. Love your enemies."
MT 6:15, 12:34, 16:3, 22:18, 23:13-15, 17, 19, 27, 29, 33, MK 7:6, LK 11:40, 44, 12:56 Jesus repeatedly hurls epithets at his opponents.

MT 5:39, MT 5:44 Do not resist evil. Love your enemies.
LK 19:27 God is likened to one who destroys his enemies.

MT 5:39, MT 5:44 Do not resist evil. Love your enemies.
2JN 1:9-11 Shun anyone who does not hold the proper doctrine.

MT 5:43-44, MT 22:39 Love your enemies. Love your neighbor as yourself.
MT 10:5 Go nowhere among the Gentiles nor enter a Samaritan town.

1PE 1:3-4 Believers will inherit eternal life in heaven.
MT 24:35, MK 13:31, LK 21:33 Heaven will pass away.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 4

2006-05-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

1SA 15:7-8, 20 The Amalekites are utterly destroyed.
1SA 27:8-9 They are utterly destroyed (again?).
1SA 30:1, 17-18 They raid Ziklag and David smites them (again?).

1SA 16:10-11, 17:12 Jesse had seven sons plus David, or eight total.
1CH 2:13-15 He had seven total.

1SA 16:19-23 Saul knew David well before the latter's encounter with Goliath.
1SA 17:55-58 Saul did not know David at the time of his encounter with Goliath and had to ask about David's identity.

1SA 17:50 David killed Goliath with a slingshot.
1SA 17:51 David killed Goliath (again?) with a sword.

1SA 17:50 David killed Goliath.
2SA 21:19 Elhanan killed Goliath. (Note: Some translations insert the words "the brother of" before Elhanan. These are an addition to the earliest manuscripts in an apparent attempt to rectify this inconsistency.)

1SA 21:1-6 Ahimalech was high priest when David ate the bread.
MK 2:26 Abiathar was high priest at the time.

1SA 28:6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but received no answer.
1CH 10:13-14 Saul died for not inquiring of the Lord.

1SA 31:4-6 Saul killed himself by falling on his sword.
2SA 1:2-10 Saul, at his own request, was slain by an Amalekite.
2SA 21:12 Saul was killed by the Philistines on Gilboa.
1CH 10:13-14 Saul was slain by God.

2SA 6:23 Michal was childless.
2SA 21:8 (KJV) She had five sons.

2SA 24:1 The Lord inspired David to take the census.
1CH 21:1 Satan inspired the census.

2SA 24:9 The census count was: Israel 800,000 and Judah 500,000.
1CH 21:5 The census count was: Israel 1,100,000 and Judah 470,000.

2SA 24:10-17 David sinned in taking the census.
1KI 15:5 David's only sin (ever) was in regard to another matter.

2SA 24:24 David paid 50 shekels of silver for the purchase of a property.
1CH 21:22-25 He paid 600 shekels of gold.

1KI 3:12 God made Solomon the wisest man that ever lived, yet ....
1KI 11:1-13 Solomon loved many foreign women (against God's explicit prohibition) who turned him to other gods (for which he deserved death).

1KI 3:12, 4:29, 10:23-24, 2CH 9:22-23 God made Solomon the wisest king and the wisest man that ever lived. There never has been nor will be another like him.
MT 12:42, LK 11:31 Jesus says: "... now one greater than Solomon is here."

1KI 4:26 Solomon had 40,000 horses (or stalls for horses).
2CH 9:25 He had 4,000 horses (or stalls for horses).

1KI 5:16 Solomon had 3,300 supervisors.
2CH 2:2 He had 3,600 supervisors.

1KI 7:15-22 The two pillars were 18 cubits high.
2CH 3:15-17 They were 35 cubits high.

1KI 7:26 Solomon's "molten sea" held 2000 "baths" (1 bath = about 8 gallons).
2CH 4:5 It held 3000 "baths."

1KI 8:12, 2CH 6:1, PS 18:11 God dwells in thick darkness.
1TI 6:16 God dwells in unapproachable light.

1KI 8:13, AC 7:47 Solomon, whom God made the wisest man ever, built his temple as an abode for God.
AC 7:48-49 God does not dwell in temples built by men.

1KI 9:28 420 talents of gold were brought back from Ophir.
2CH 8:18 450 talents of gold were brought back from Ophir.

1KI 15:14 Asa did not remove the high places.
2CH 14:2-3 He did remove them.

1KI 16:6-8 Baasha died in the 26th year of King Asa's reign.
2CH 16:1 Baasha built a city in the 36th year of King Asa's reign.

1KI 16:23 Omri became king in the thirty-first year of Asa's reign and he reigned for a total of twelve years.
1KI 16:28-29 Omri died, and his son Ahab became king in the thirty- eighth year of Asa's reign. (Note: Thirty-one through thirty-eight equals a reign of seven or eight years.)

1KI 22:23, 2CH 18:22, 2TH 2:11 God himself causes a lying spirit.
PR 12:22 God abhors lying lips and delights in honesty.

1KI 22:42-43 Jehoshaphat did not remove the high places.
2CH 17:5-6 He did remove them.

2KI 2:11 Elijah went up to heaven.
JN 3:13 Only the Son of Man (Jesus) has ever ascended to heaven.
2CO 12:2-4 An unnamed man, known to Paul, went up to heaven and came back.
HE 11:5 Enoch was translated to heaven.

2KI 4:32-37 A dead child is raised (well before the time of Jesus).
MT 9:18-25, JN 11:38-44 Two dead persons are raised (by Jesus himself).
AC 26:23 Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

2KI 8:25-26 Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began his reign.
2CH 22:2 He was 42 when he began his reign.[Note: Some translations use "twenty-two" here in an attempt to rectify this discrepancy. The Hebrew is clear, however, that 2CH 22:2 is 42. The Hebrew words involved are Strong's H705 and H8147, "forty" and "two," respectively.]

2KI 9:27 Jehu shot Ahaziah near Ibleam. Ahaziah fled to Meggido and died there.
2CH 22:9 Ahaziah was found hiding in Samaria, brought to Jehu, and put to death.

2KI 16:5 The King of Syria and the son of the King of Israel did not conquer Ahaz.
2CH 28:5-6 They did conquer Ahaz.

2KI 24:8 Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim) was eighteen years old when he began to reign.
2CH 36:9 He was eight.(Note: This discrepancy has been "corrected" in some versions.)

2KI 24:8 Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim) reigned three months.
2CH 36:9 He reigned three months and ten days.

2KI 24:17 Jehoiachin (Jehoaikim) was succeeded by his uncle.
2CH 36:10 He was succeeded by his brother.

1CH 3:11-13 The lineage is: Joram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham.
MT 1:8-9 It is: Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, etc.

1CH 3:19 Pedaiah was the father of Zerubbabel.
ER 3:2 Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.

2CH 19:7, AC 10:34, RO 2:11 There is no injustice or partiality with the Lord.
RO 9:15-18 God has mercy on (and hardens the hearts of) whom he pleases.

ER 2:3-64 (Gives the whole congregation as 42,360 while the actual sum of the numbers is about 30,000.)

JB 2:3-6, 21:7-13, 2TI 3:12 The godly are persecuted and chastised but the wicked grow old, wealthy, and powerful, unchastised by God.
PS 55:23, 92:12-14, PR 10:2-3, 27-31, 12:2, 21 The lives of the wicked are cut short. The righteous flourish and obtain favor from the Lord.

PS 10:1 God cannot be found in time of need. He is "far off."
PS 145:18 God is near to all who call upon him in truth.

PS 22:1-2 God sometimes forsakes his children. He does not answer.
PS 46:1 God is a refuge, a strength, a very present help.

PS 30:5, JE 3:12, MI 7:18 God's anger does not last forever.
JE 17:4, MT 25:46 It does last forever. (He has provided for eternal punishment.)

PS 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance.
PR 24:16-18 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls or stumbles.

PS 78:69, EC 1:4, 3:14 The earth was established forever.
PS 102:25-26, MT 24:35, MK 13:31, LK 21:33, HE 1:10-11, 2PE 3:10 The earth will someday perish.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 3

2006-05-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder, the reason comments aren't allowed is because I'm not particularly interested in reading them. A "log" (as in weblog) is normally a personal record, not a free for all. Just as no self-respecting pirate captain would allow every deckhand and cabin boy to scrawl in his log, thus is this place my own little sphere of lunacy created for my personal amusement. It isn't a message board or chat room, so if you want to make your own voice heard make your own.

Now on to more fairy tales!

EX 20:13, DT 5:17, MK 10:19, LK 18:20, RO 13:9, JA 2:11 God prohibits killing.
GE 34:1-35:5 God condones trickery and killing.
EX 32:27, DT 7:2, 13:15, 20:1-18 God orders killing.
2KI 19:35 An angel of the Lord slaughters 185,000 men.

EX 20:14 God prohibits adultery.
HO 1:2 God instructs Hosea to "take a wife of harlotry."

EX 21:23-25, LE 24:20, DT 19:21 A life for a life, an eye for an eye, etc.
MT 5:38-44, LK 6:27-29 Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies.

EX 23:7 God prohibits the killing of the innocent.
NU 31:17-18, DT 7:2, JS 6:21-27, 7:19-26, 8:22-25, 10:20, 40, 11:8-15, 20, JG 11:30-39, 21:10-12, 1SA 15:3 God orders or approves the complete extermination of groups of people which include innocent women and/or children.

EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and truthful. He does not lie.
NU 14:30 God breaks his promise.

EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and truthful. He does not lie.
1KI 22:21-23 God condones a spirit of deception.

EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and truthful. He does not lie.
2TH 2:11-12 God deludes people, making them believe what is false, so as to be able to condemn them. (Note: some versions use the word persuade here. The context makes clear, however, that deception is involved.)

EX 34:6-7, JS 24:19, 1CH 16:34 God is faithful, holy and good.
IS 45:6-7, LA 3:8, AM 3:6 God is responsible for evil.

EX 34:6-7, HE 9:27 God remembers sin, even when it has been forgiven.
JE 31:34 God does not remember sin when it has been forgiven.

LE 3:17 God himself prohibits forever the eating of blood and fat.
MT 15:11, CN 2:20-22 Jesus and Paul say that such rules don't matter--they are only human injunctions.

LE 19:18, MT 22:39 Love your neighbor [as much as] yourself.
1CO 10:24 Put your neighbor ahead of yourself.

LE 21:10 The chief priest is not to rend his clothes.
MT 26:65, MK 14:63 He does so during the trial of Jesus.

LE 25:37, PS 15:1, 5 It is wrong to lend money at interest.
MT 25:27, LK 19:23-27 It is wrong to lend money without interest.

NU 11:33 God inflicts sickness.
JB 2:7 Satan inflicts sickness.

NU 15:24-28 Sacrifices can, in at least some case, take away sin.
HE 10:11 They never take away sin.

NU 25:9 24,000 died in the plague.
1CO 10:8 23,000 died in the plague.

NU 30:2 God enjoins the making of vows (oaths).
MT 5:33-37 Jesus forbids doing so, saying that they arise from evil (or the Devil).

NU 33:38 Aaron died on Mt. Hor.
DT 10:6 Aaron died in Mosera.

NU 33:41-42 After Aaron's death, the Israelites journeyed from Mt. Hor, to Zalmonah, to Punon, etc.
DT 10:6-7 It was from Mosera, to Gudgodah, to Jotbath.

DT 6:15, 9:7-8, 29:20, 32:21 God is sometimes angry.
MT 5:22 Anger is a sin.

DT 7:9-10 God destroys his enemies.
MT 5:39-44 Do not resist your enemies. Love them.

DT 18:20-22 A false prophet is one whose words do not come true. Death is required.
EZ 14:9 A prophet who is deceived, is deceived by God himself. Death is still required.

DT 23:1 A castrate may not enter the assembly of the Lord.
IS 56:4-5 Some castrates will receive special rewards.

DT 23:1 A castrate may not enter the assembly of the Lord.
MT 19:12 Men are encouraged to consider making themselves castrates for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

DT 24:1-5 A man can divorce his wife simply because she displeases him and both he and his wife can remarry.
MK 10:2-12 Divorce is wrong, and to remarry is to commit adultery.

DT 24:16, 2KI 14:6, 2CH 25:4, EZ 18:20 Children are not to suffer for their parent's sins.
RO 5:12, 19, 1CO 15:22 Death is passed to all men by the sin of Adam.

DT 30:11-20 It is possible to keep the law.
RO 3:20-23 It is not possible to keep the law.

JS 11:20 God shows no mercy to some.
LK 6:36, JA 5:11 God is merciful.

JG 4:21 Sisera was sleeping when Jael killed him.
JG 5:25-27 Sisera was standing.

JS 10:38-40 Joshua himself captured Debir.
JG 1:11-15 It was Othniel, who thereby obtained the hand of Caleb's daughter, Achsah.

1SA 8:2-22 Samuel informs God as to what he has heard from others.
PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is everywhere. He sees and hears everything.

1SA 9:15-17 The Lord tells Samuel that Saul has been chosen to lead the Israelites and will save them from the Philistines.
1SA 15:35 The Lord is sorry that he has chosen Saul.
1SA 31:4-7 Saul commits suicide and the Israelites are overrun by the Philistines.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 2

2006-04-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, somebody actually read my first installment and sent me an e-mail about it. So without further ado here's some more:

GE 6:19-22, 7:8-9, 7:14-16 Two of each kind are to be taken, and are taken, aboard Noah's Ark.
GE 7:2-5 Seven pairs of some kinds are to be taken (and are taken) aboard the Ark.

GE 7:1 Noah was righteous.JB 1:1,8, JB 2:3 Job was righteous.LK 1:6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous.JA 5:16 Some men are righteous, (which makes their prayers effective).1JN 3:6-9 Christians become righteous (or else they are not really Christians).
RO 3:10, 3:23, 1JN 1:8-10 No one was or is righteous.

GE 7:7 Noah and his clan enter the Ark.
GE 7:13 They enter the Ark (again?).

GE 11:7-9 God sows discord.
PR 6:16-19 God hates anyone who sows discord.

GE 11:9 At Babel, the Lord confused the language of the whole world.
1CO 14:33 Paul says that God is not the author of confusion.

GE 11:12 Arpachshad [Arphaxad] was the father of Shelah.
LK 3:35-36 Cainan was the father of Shelah. Arpachshad was the grandfather of Shelah.

GE 11:26 Terah was 70 years old when his son Abram was born.
GE 11:32 Terah was 205 years old when he died (making Abram 135 at the time).
GE 12:4, AC 7:4 Abram was 75 when he left Haran. This was after Terah died. Thus, Terah could have been no more than 145 when he died; or Abram was only 75 years old after he had lived 135 years.

GE 12:7, 17:1, 18:1, 26:2, 32:30, EX 3:16, 6:2-3, 24:9-11, 33:11, NU 12:7-8, 14:14, JB 42:5, AM 7:7-8, 9:1 God is seen.
EX 33:20, JN 1:18, 1JN 4:12 God is not seen. No one can see God's face and live. No one has ever seen him.

GE 10:5, 20, 31 There were many languages before the Tower of Babel.
GE 11:1 There was only one language before the Tower of Babel.

GE 15:9, EX 20:24, 29:10-42, LE 1:1-7:38, NU 28:1-29:40, God details sacrificial offerings.
JE 7:21-22 God says he did no such thing.

GE 16:15, 21:1-3, GA 4:22 Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac.
HE 11:17 Abraham had only one son.

GE 17:1, 35:11, 1CH 29:11-12, LK 1:37 God is omnipotent. Nothing is impossible with (or for) God.
JG 1:19 Although God was with Judah, together they could not defeat the plainsmen because the latter had iron chariots.

GE 17:7, 10-11 The covenant of circumcision is to be everlasting.
GA 6:15 It is of no consequence.

GE 17:8 God promises Abraham the land of Canaan as an "everlasting possession."
GE 25:8, AC 7:2-5, HE 11:13 Abraham died with the promise unfulfilled.

GE 17:15-16, 20:11-12, 22:17 Abraham and his half sister, Sarai, are married and receive God's blessings.
LE 20:17, DT 27:20-23 Incest is wrong.

GE 18:20-21 God decides to "go down" to see what is going on.
PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from his view.

GE 19:30-38 While he is drunk, Lot's two daughters "lie with him," become pregnant, and give birth to his offspring.
2PE 2:7 Lot was "just" and "righteous."

GE 22:1-12, DT 8:2 God tempts (tests) Abraham and Moses.
JG 2:22 God himself says that he does test (tempt).
1CO 10:13 Paul says that God controls the extent of our temptations.
JA 1:13 God tests (tempts) no one.

GE 27:28 "May God give you ... an abundance of grain and new wine."
DT 7:13 If they follow his commandments, God will bless the fruit of their wine.
PS 104:15 God gives us wine to gladden the heart.JE 13:12 "... every bottle shall be filled with wine."
JN 2:1-11 According to the author of John, Jesus' first miracle was turning water to wine.
RO 14:21 It is good to refrain from drinking wine.

GE 35:10 God says Jacob is to be called Jacob no longer; henceforth his name is Israel.
GE 46:2 At a later time, God himself uses the name Jacob.

GE 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
GE 36:15-16 Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz.
1CH 1:35-36 Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek.

GE 49:2-28 The fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin.
RE 7:4-8 (Leaves out the tribe of Dan, but adds Manasseh.)

GE 50:13 Jacob was buried in a cave at Machpelah bought from Ephron the Hittite.
AC 7:15-16 He was buried in the sepulchre at Shechem, bought from the sons of Hamor.

EX 3:1 Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses.
NU 10:29, JG 4:11 (KJV) Hobab was the father-in-law of Moses.

EX 3:20-22, DT 20:13-17 God instructs the Israelites to despoil the Egyptians, to plunder their enemies.
EX 20:15, 17, LE 19:13 God prohibits stealing, defrauding, or robbing a neighbor.

EX 4:11 God decides who will be dumb, deaf, blind, etc.
2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is a god of love.

EX 9:3-6 God destroys all the cattle (including horses) belonging to the Egyptians.
EX 9:9-11 The people and the cattle are afflicted with boils.
EX 12:12, 29 All the first-born of the cattle of the Egyptians are destroyed.
EX 14:9 After having all their cattle destroyed, then afflicted with boils, and then their first-born cattle destroyed, the Egyptians pursue Moses on horseback.

EX 12:13 The Israelites have to mark their houses with blood in order for God to see which houses they occupy and "pass over" them.
PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from God.

EX 12:37, NU 1:45-46 The number of men of military age who take part in the Exodus is given as more than 600,000. Allowing for women, children, and older men would probably mean that a total of about 2,000,000 Israelites left Egypt.
1KI 20:15 All the Israelites, including children, number only 7000 at a later time.

EX 15:3, 17:16, NU 25:4, 32:14, IS 42:13 God is a man of war--he is fierce and angry.
RO 15:33, 2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is a god of love and peace.

EX 20:1-17 God gave the law directly to Moses (without using an intermediary).
GA 3:19 The law was ordained through angels by a mediator (an intermediary).

EX 20:4 God prohibits the making of any graven images whatsoever.
EX 25:18 God enjoins the making of two graven images.

EX 20:5, 34:7, NU 14:18, DT 5:9, IS 14:21-22 Children are to suffer for their parent's sins.
DT 24:16, EZ 18:19-20 Children are not to suffer for their parent's sins.

EX 20:8-11, 31:15-17, 35:1-3 No work is to be done on the Sabbath, not even lighting a fire. The commandment is permanent, and death is required for infractions.
MK 2:27-28 Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (after his disciples were criticized for breaking the Sabbath).RO 14:5, CN 2:14-16 Paul says the Sabbath commandment was temporary, and to decide for yourself regarding its observance.

EX 20:12, DT 5:16, MT 15:4, 19:19, MK 7:10, 10:19, LK 18:20 Honor your father and your mother is one of the ten commandments. It is reinforced by Jesus.
MT 10:35-37, LK 12:51-53, 14:26 Jesus says that he has come to divide families; that a man's foes will be those of his own household; that you must hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even your own life to be a disciple.
MT 23:9 Jesus says to call no man on earth your father.

Biblical Contradictions Pt. 1

2006-04-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

Honestly, if any other book contradicted itself as much as the Bible does, you'd throw it away.

GE 1:3-5 On the first day, God created light, then separated light and darkness.
GE 1:14-19 The sun (which separates night and day) wasn't created until the fourth day.

GE 1:11-12, 26-27 Trees were created before man was created.
GE 2:4-9 Man was created before trees were created.

GE 1:20-21, 26-27 Birds were created before man was created.
GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before birds were created.

GE 1:24-27 Animals were created before man was created.
GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before animals were created.

GE 1:26-27 Man and woman were created at the same time.
GE 2:7, 21-22 Man was created first, woman sometime later.

GE 1:28 God encourages reproduction.
LE 12:1-8 God requires purification rites following childbirth which, in effect, makes childbirth a sin. (Note: The period for purification following the birth of a daughter is twice that for a son.)

GE 1:31 God was pleased with his creation.
GE 6:5-6 God was not pleased with his creation.(Note: That God should be displeased is inconsistent with the concept of omniscience.)

GE 2:4, 4:26, 12:8, 22:14-16, 26:25 God was already known as "the Lord" (Jahveh or Jehovah) much earlier than the time of Moses.
EX 6:2-3 God was first known as "the Lord" (Jahveh or Jehovah) at the time of the Egyptian Bondage, during the life of Moses.

GE 2:17 Adam was to die the very day that he ate the forbidden fruit.
GE 5:5 Adam lived 930 years.

GE 2:15-17, 3:4-6 It is wrong to want to be able to tell good from evil.
HE 5:13-14 It is immature to be unable to tell good from evil.

GE 4:4-5 God prefers Abel's offering and has no regard for Cain's.
CH 19:7, AC 10:34, RO 2:11 God shows no partiality. He treats all alike.

GE 4:9 God asks Cain where his brother Able is.
PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from his view.

GE 4:15, DT 32:19-27, IS 34:8 God is a vengeful god.EX 15:3, IS 42:13, HE 12:29 God is a warrior. God is a consuming fire.EX 20:5, 34:14, DT 4:24, 5:9, 6:15, 29:20, 32:21 God is a jealous god.LE 26:7-8, NU 31:17-18, DT 20:16-17, JS 10:40, JG 14:19, EZ 9:5-7 The Spirit of God is (sometimes) murder and killing.NU 25:3-4, DT 6:15, 9:7-8, 29:20, 32:21, PS 7:11, 78:49, JE 4:8, 17:4, 32:30-31, ZP 2:2 God is angry. His anger is sometimes fierce.2SA 22:7-8 (KJV) "I called to the Lord; ... he heard my voice; ... The earth trembled and quaked, ... because he was angry. Smoke came from his nostrils. Consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it."EZ 6:12, NA 1:2, 6 God is jealous and furious. He reserves wrath for, and takes revenge on, his enemies. "... who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and rocks are thrown down by him."
2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is love.GA 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

GE 4:16 Cain went away (or out) from the presence of the Lord.
JE 23:23-24 A man cannot hide from God. God fills heaven and earth.

GE 6:4 There were Nephilim (giants) before the Flood.
GE 7:21 All creatures other than Noah and his clan were annihilated by the Flood.
NU 13:33 There were Nephilim after the Flood.

GE 6:6. EX 32:14, NU 14:20, 1SA 15:35, 2SA 24:16 God does change his mind.
NU 23:19-20, IS 15:29, JA 1:17 God does not change his mind.

5 simple tips for driving

2006-03-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

1. If you are coming up on a state trooper or other cop who has already stopped someone and who is already out of the car writing the other guy a ticket, it isn't neccesary to slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit if you are in no danger of hitting the guy. He already has somebody, so as long as you don't start shooting at him or are driving 300 mph in a loud-ass car he isn't going to stop what he is doing in order to chase you. Charles Manson could go by on a parade float and he's not going to notice. In the same vein, if a cop car is going slow it is quite okay to pass him as long as you don't exceed the speed limit. Thousands of tickets are written every day for exceeding the posted speed limit, but not one damn ticket has ever been written for passing a slow cop car.

2. If you pull out into a lane, for Chrissakes get your car up to speed quickly. Don't cut me off then proceed to drive along at 5 mph.

3. If you are at a stop light in a turning lane where the only option is to turn, it isn't neccesary to put on your turn signal.

4. Put your dumbass cell phone away if you are going to drive at 10 mph and weave like a drunk while you're flapping your stupid gums. Nothing you have to say is very important anyway.

5. One would think that a person that idolizes NASCAR drivers would at least attempt to emulate their heroes and learn to drive. This is not the case though, as a trip through Hickory, NC, will quickly illustrate. The more NASCAR stickers a vehicle has, the crappier driver there is behind the wheel. If there are more than six, get very very far away from this vehicle.

Thank you for your time.

I'll pray for you

2006-02-24T15:43:00.000-08:00

I am quite confused about the concept of praying to a higher power for something or another. Take for example the thousands of people who were 'praying for' Hurricane Katrina victims. While this is a nice gesture, has anyone thought about why this would be neccesary? Does God, widely believed to be both benevolent and omniscient, require people to tell Him in order to know that a disaster has occurred (thus not omniscient)? Or will He simply not help them unless other people ask Him to (thus neither benevolent or merciful)? Or does He simply not desire to help them, in which case praying is a futile act anyway?

Wouldn't a Supreme Being know the thoughts in your head before you even utter them, thus making the voicing of those thoughts rather redundant? If one is going to believe in myths at least make them somewhat logical.

Capital "M" please..

2006-02-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

I think I'm going to scream if I read one more instance of the word 'marine'. 'Marine' is always capitalized, and for a quite simple and logical reason that has nothing to do with ego: it is part of the name of our service, United States Marine Corps, which is capitalized.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it seems the fashion now is to also capitalize 'soldier', 'sailor', and 'airman', but this is quite incorrect because there is no service called United States Soldiers, U.S. Sailor Corps, or Department of the Airmen. If there was, then these terms would be capitalized, but there's not, so let's not let our little inferiority complex or political correctness override proper usage, k?

Got gifts?

2006-02-06T09:05:00.000-08:00

With Valentine's day coming up, I have to put in a plug for my friend Donna's website, http://www.donnadiane.com . Her jewelry is truly beautiful and you can't beat the prices or service. The jewelry is handmade, the profits go toward care packages for troops deployed overseas, and you'll never order from a nicer lady.

Get your brownie points now and order something from Donna Diane!

In 'ertford, 'ereford and 'ampshire....

2006-02-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

Please pronounce the 'h' in 'herb'. I don't care what the dictionary says about French and Romance languages, it sounds like a ridiculous affectation and our 31st President wasn't Erbert Oover. Or at least be consistent - don't drop the 'h' in 'herb' and 'herbal', then turn around and pronounce it in 'herbaceous', 'herbicide', and 'herbivore'. And for God's sake, don't don't say things like "an historical account"...what is up with this - the "h" is pronounced but somehow kind of nebulous?

Unless you're Cockney..then feel free to drop whatever letters you like.

"Jarhead" is a steaming pile.

2006-02-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

You would think something directed by Sam Mendez ('American Beauty') would be worth watching, but 'Jarhead' is the most boring, pointless waste of celluloid I've seen in a long time. Even more than boring and pointless, it is more like an anti-Marine Corps propaganda flick than anything else...so much so that I can hardly believe Swofford was actually a Marine. About the only thing he did nail was the way jealousy can work on a person's mind when deployed for a long time...if they let it. The subtitle on the movie - "Life in the Suck" speaks volumes too, as this now-defunct late 80's- early 90's derogatory term for the Corps was used exclusively by shitbags.

The story follows Swofford in a meandering, pointless sort of way from boot camp through Desert Storm with zero action, more gay behavior than 'Brokeback Mountain', shallow caricature-Marine characters, and mind-numbingly tedious commentary in the background throughout, mostly about masturbation.

It seems to try to be 'Full Metal Jacket', but fails miserably since a Garfield comic strip has more of a plot. Apart from the shockingly crappy script and total lack of character depth, it also blows hard due to the fact that unlike Vietnam, WW2, or even the current war in Iraq, there simply isn't that much material you could put in a book or movie from one man in the field's point of view because the ground war only lasted 100 friggin' hours before Saddam's poorly trained, poorly equipped, and wholly unmotivated rabble fell apart like a house of cards. So the movie is padded with a bunch of pointless, boring shit instead. I mean, the whole ground war only lasted 50 times as long as the movie does, and there wasn't even a cinematically interesting enemy to use as a foil - the majority of whom didn't want to be in the Iraqi army in the first place and promptly gave up or retreated in droves. The very base I am writing this from now surrendered to a handful of Aussies.

Not discounting the outstanding job our troops did during the war, or belittling the ultimate sacrifice made by the 147 U.S. troops that died in battle, but the short duration and mediocre resistance encountered makes the "we are all still in the desert" commentary at the end sound whiny and wildly melodramatic, especially as about the only time I saw Swofford even fire his rifle in the movie was into the air while he and his comrades were busy acting like a bunch of undisciplined idiots. Actually, come to think of it, nearly all the background commentary throughout the film was whiny and overwrought, when it wasn't simply childish and annoying. I'm afaid I just can't feel especially sorry for you because you have to jack off all the time and endure vapid conversation when in the back of my mind I'm thinking of the one thousand five hundred U.S. troops killed in action over the course of six months taking Guadalcanal - a single battle. I've spent more time in crappers in Iraq than the whole duration of Desert Storm, so spare me the barechested clownish antics and crybaby bullshit.

Save your money and go see Saw II or an 'I Married Joan' retrospective or something. "Jarhead" sucks, and if you already paid the exhorbitant amount a movie ticket costs these days to see it you should be pissed off. Maybe the book's better...