Meh to Halloween

So, yeah... I don't like Halloween. It's only been recently that I couldn't care any less of the "holiday" i.e. way for people to make a ton of money (see "prices of Halloween costumes"), fell completely off the face of the map.

I don't like blood, gore, or generally disturbing things. I can't watch gore movies. Here's the odd part though, it's not the violence by itself that makes it unbearable for me. For example, I have no problem watching war movies with large scale violence. I saw the new Rambo movie. I didn't have to look away. People got blown up with land mines and got arrows through the head... no problem. Now, when you add in the sick and twisted "I'm gonna torture then dismember you slowly for no reason what-so-ever b/c I'm a fucknut and I can" and I can't watch it.

We tried to go to a haunted house last night with some friends. I was a bit reluctant to go, but Victoria wanted to and I wasn't going to let her do it alone. I haven't been to a haunted house in a while, but with a name like "Mansions of Terror" you gotta know there's gonna be some bad shit there. In short, haunted houses today are NOT the same haunted houses from when I was a kid. You know what I'm talking about. When I was a kid, a haunted house was like, some guys house that he put a bunch of scary crap all over, and MAYBE he jumped out at you ONCE. No so today. Today's haunted houses are more disturbing than anything.  It amazed me how people can take so much pride in the murder/rape scene that they "create" on their front lawns or in buildings like "and here we have Frankenstein, who, after not being able to land the woman of his dreams decided to commit seppuku, Dracula is holding the katana ready to cut his head off and here we have the wolf man jerking off all over the scene b/c he a necrophiliac and hes about to get some. Oh, in the tree there, we have a guy snorted like a ton of blow then hung himself after coming home to find his wife fucking the mailman. He killed them both with a blunt rusty spoon, and ate them, that's the "in the house portion", but anyway, look at the detail, you can really see the veins and neck bone protrusion. Awesome, huh?".

Uh... sorry... anyway... back to the haunted house... then...

Most of the people on the outside were dressed up in zombie like makeup. One had a chainsaw and would chase people around the parking lot. The other was like, a priest guy wearing long robes that would walk around next to you and throw up. Walking up to the front door, I could see what looked like a zombie bride essentially cutting herself or something. Retarded.

Needless to say, we never made it in the door. I was fine with this.

This leads me to my next point... movies...

Where is the psychological thrill in "either you give yourself a hysterectomy or you DIE! That's right, you cut out your own ovaries, or this cast iron spiked suit will collapse on you but only stab you slowly so you slowly bleed to death but you won't die right away, you will get tetanus and then you'll die slowly of tetanus, so the question is HYSTERECTOMY OR TETANUS DEATH!"?

This, to me, is degradation of society at its best. I find it disturbing enough that people can even think this shit up. That's fine... we are in a free country (hopefully for a little while longer) with freedom of speech and expression (hopefully for a little while longer). Still though, I cannot process in any way shape or form how people can see a trailer for a movie where it's clearly about torture and butchery and say to themselves "hey! that sounds like a great time!". Fuck that. Not me.

So I say, let me be totally gay and only want to see funny kids in costumes, eat candy, and maybe watch some movies on Halloween. Otherwise, I don't want to hear about it. I'm perfectly happy in my old man fuddy duddy house, thank you.

Done...

A few years ago, John Adams said this:

There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures in opposition to each other.

I think he might have known what he was talking about.

Up until this point, I have been pretty active in political discussions with people. I post articles that I find interesting for one reason or another and try to have debates with the people that seem to find political opposition with whatever it might be on that particular day.

I quite believe that my political switch has been turned off tonight. Something inside of me just doesn't feel like it anymore. I think the reason for this is... in the big picture, it doesn't fucking matter. My argument with you DOES NOT MATTER. I am not changing your mind and you, most likely, are not changing mine. I understaaaaaaand your opinion and your point of view, but in many cases, I don't agree with you and you don't agree with me.

It doesn't matter whether we elect McCain or Obama. The choice is between crap or more crap. You decide which is which. I don't feel like arguing with you. I don't feel like reading your 17 page dissertation on why Obama is the 2nd coming of Christ or why McCain knows anything about anything. I know he was a P.O.W. I don't think I can ever go through what he went through, however, when I see him in debates I find myself saying "huh?" a lot.

They go back and forth. They change their minds. They change their stands. They have epiphanies. They say one thing at 9am, something different at 11am, and then the polar opposite at 6pm.

I was talking with one of my friends who shall remain nameless lest he be dragged out into the streets and lynched for having strong opinions and he said something to me which I find to be very true. Democrats will not fix your problems. Republicans will not fix your problems. Only people will fix these problems. Politicians are mostly the same in that they are here to further their agendas and most likely do not give a rat's ass about you.

Ooo... hockey fight. No, that was not a plug for Palin. Fuck you.

Sorry, back to business.

I officially withdraw my hat from public political discussions. I would like for the sham that we call election day to come and go as quickly as possible so that I can stop arguing with people who I want to be friends with.

If I have spoken to you about this and we tend to agree on things, I will still probably talk to you about this stuff. You know who you are.

I know what my morals are. I know what my beliefs are. I know where I stand on issues. I know where the people that I care about stand on issues. At this point, I no longer care where you stand. At this point, I am certain that I will not see a president that will reflect said morals and beliefs.

Best of luck to us all over the next few years we are going to need it.

A quote from 1984...

If there is hope, wrote Winston, it lies in the proles.

If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 per cent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated. The Party could not be overthrown from within. Its enemies, if it had any enemies, had no way of coming together or even of identifying one another. Even if the legendary Brotherhood existed, as just possibly it might, it was inconceivable that its members could ever assemble in larger numbers than twos and threes. Rebellion meant a look in the eyes, an inflexion of the voice, at the most, an occasional whispered word. But the proles, if only they could somehow become conscious of their own strength would have no need to conspire. They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they chose they could blow the Party to pieces tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it ? And yet - !

A New Political Party?

Michael Savage wants to start a new political party. I can't say that I agree with every single point here but I do find it interesting. Here is the manifesto:

The Savage Manifesto

Domestic

A. Regulate Wall Street: End short selling. Try tycoons who profited from bailouts.
B. Cut Federal Income Taxes by 2 percent per year over four years, for a minimum total of 8 percent over four years.

C. Reduce Federal Government Departments in size by 4 percent each year, for a total reduction of size by 16 percent over four years.

D. Eliminate all public assistance for able-bodied recipients. Cut off all public assistance for immigrants for five years. Repatriate those who are not working, after two years.

E. Immediately impose tariffs on cars and trucks owned by foreign entities, even if they’re manufactured in America.

F. Cause illegal aliens to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and then, repatriate them. Pay them a one-time worker fee.

G. Increase pay for active duty combat troops by 10 percent. Number Two. Fire any unmarried military person becoming pregnant while on active duty.”

H. Make abortions illegal, except when the physical survival of the mother is threatened, to be determined by three medical doctors. Require Norplant for all women on welfare of childbearing age.

I. Close all houses of sex and massage.

J. Expand the DEA, while decriminalizing most drugs.

K. Regarding the media; one, eliminate all foreign ownership of any American media entity. Two, break up overly large conglomerates, like News Corporation.

L. Encourage child bearing among tax paying citizens. Create a marriage incentive, through lower taxes for married heterosexual couples. And a government subsidy for each child conceived and carried to birth. Increase the subsidies for each year the couple remains married.

M. Repatriate all illegal immigrants now incarcerated. Encourage all other illegals to self-repatriate through double taxation on wages and fines on employers.”

International

A. Iraq. Send in Iraqi troops to mop up pockets of resistance. Make Iraq pay with their oil for the cost of the war. Cordon off Sadr City, force all residents to leave, then go in and mop up all resistance fighters. Divide Iraq into three to four sectors; Sunni, Shiite, Kurd, and International. Next, remove all U.S. troops after above achieved.

B. Iran. One, sanctions embargoes and mine their harbors. Nothing goes in, nothing comes out.

C. North Korea. Destroy their launching platforms, impose a Naval blockade on all goods coming in or out, except food.

D. Israel Arab Entities. Give Israel four years to become self-sufficient. Cut off all foreign aid to all nations.

E. China. 20 percent tariffs on all China made goods immediately; rising by 5 percent each year for each year China refuses to revalue their currency.

F. United Nations. Withdraw immediately. Remove all Diplomats and staff. Convert the United Nations building into housing for the working poor.

G. Mexico. Force Mexico to pay one barrel of oil for every illegal alien in the United States of America per month.

Some random thoughts...

Practiced 4th spear last night... I think I am getting it down. I can get through the whole thing and didn't have to think about it. Did iron palm again for the first time in months. Amazingly the arms were just fine. 35 rolls with little to no pain. The shins however, that's well, completely different. I was lucky to get 10. Suck.

Got a giant chunk, in fact finished the "a side" of broadsword two man set. I love it... so much fun.

Realized that I need to do a lot more  "working out" than I have been...

Watched the new South Park... I am so happy to see someone publicly stating just how incredibly bad the last Indiana Jones movie was. I mean literally scenes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg holding down and raping the Indiana Jones character. Freakin hilarious.

This morning, while I was making breakfast, I had CNN on and was watching some stuff on the economy and then I had an interesting thought. Ever watch "House"? Well, the majority of episodes follow a similar format. House is a savant at diagnosing people.

At the beginning of every episode, someone comes in with some mystery disease. They think it's this, then they think it's that. They run some tests, maybe some against the persons will. Sometimes they use shady tactics to get the patient to do what they want. In the end, most of the time, a successful diagnosis is made and the patient is saved.

I told you that to tell you this. Imagine now, if you will, that our economy is the patient and the federal government and the federal reserve are "House". The only difference, though, is that in our case, the economy doesn't have House for a doctor. They have a failing first year medial student that doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. It seems at this point, the patient should have died about 3 seasons ago, but, well, this med school fuck up apparently knows enough to keep said patient in a persistent vegetative state. Time to pull the plug, in my opinion.

Seriously, I am not saying I can do any better. I am not trained in the ways of national and global economies, however, it is my understanding that THESE PEOPLE ARE?!?!?!? The words "spend less than you have available" seem to be logical.

On a final note, while I was tagging this blog, I saw some tags I haven't used in a while, particularly "optimistic" and "proud". There are things in my life that I am very optimistic and very proud of, however, many of my recent posts have been government/politics related.  So, with regard to the United States and the direction that it's going. I am neither optimistic nor proud. Sad... I know...

So sad in fact that I have been thinking more and more about the people I would like to band with when the shit really hits the fan. Yeah, I know, I'm crazy, but whatever. Can anyone say kung fu commune in the middle of nowhere?

Ok, I'm done now. Bye.

OMFG

You have GOT to be fucking kidding me...

LET

THEM

DIE!!!

AIG hits up Fed for more money

Three weeks after an $85 billion bailout, AIG is turning to the New York Fed for additional funding.

By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer

October 8, 2008: 5:52 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The New York Federal Reserve is lending up to $37.8 billion to American International Group to give the troubled insurer access to much-needed cash.

In exchange, AIG is giving the New York Fed investment-grade, fixed-income securities that it had previously lent out to other institutions for a fee. Those institutions are now returning these securities and want their money back.

The new program, announced Wednesday, is on top of the $85 billion the federal government agreed to lend to AIG last month to prevent the global company from collapsing. AIG said last Friday it had drawn down $61 billion.

The lending program is a way for AIG to get funding for its businesses, said a New York Fed spokesman. The system is similar to lending facilities the Fed provides to banks, which can also exchange collateral for cash.

The latest announcement does not jeopardize the government's ability to recoup its loan to AIG, experts said.

"AIG will repay the loan," said Stewart Johnson, portfolio manager at Philo Smith, an investment bank specializing in insurance. "It's just a matter of how much of themselves they will have to sell."

Roadblocks in Texas? Oh boy...

I am not a drunk driver. I rarely ever drink if I am driving. If I have 1-2 drinks, I stop well before I have to drive anywhere.

When I lived in NYC, I remember seeing roadblocks from time to time where the police would give you the once over and if they thought you might be drinking, give you a sobriety test.

I came across this article today:

Texas Becomes Roadblock Battleground
Interest groups battle over roadblocks ahead of the 2009 Texas legislative session.
Interest groups are pressuring Texas lawmakers to authorize the use of roadblocks ahead of their return for the 2009 legislative session. The practice of setting up barricades on roads to stop and interrogate motorists suspected of no wrongdoing has been unlawful since a 1994 state appeals court decision ruled that a "politically accountable governing body at the state level" must first approve their use. Now Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has scheduled an October 23 deadline for briefs to decide the Texas Public Safety Commission's request to bypass this requirement and approve roadblocks on its own authority.

Texas is one of fewer than a dozen states that currently prohibit warrantless searches of motorists. For that reason, the new president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Laura Dean-Mooney, made convincing the Texas legislature of the need for roadblocks a high priority for her organization.

"I have a special place in my heart for Texas," Mooney said upon taking the top job in July. "But so much more must be done. Passing interlocks for all drunk driving offenders and sobriety checkpoints to deter drunk driving would be a great start."

MADD came close to a legislative victory in April 2007 when the state Senate voted unanimously to establish the waterborne equivalent of a roadblock. The proposed "boating safety checkpoints" would have allowed police to pull over and question all recreational boaters on lakes within the state. The legislation would also have given police the discretion to use force to take a boater's blood to determine sobriety. The measure died when the state House declined to act on the bill.

The alcoholic beverage industry feels threatened by the chilling effect such draconian measures would have on sales of beer and wine at restaurants.

"By calling for roadblocks and mandating breathalyzers for first time offenders, regardless of their BAC level, MADD is ignoring the root cause of today's drunk driving problem -- hard core alcohol abusers," American Beverage Institute Managing Director Sarah Longwell said. "Because they are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, roadblocks are all too easily avoided by the chronic alcohol abusers who comprise the core of today's drunk driving problem. That leaves adults who enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner, a beer at a ball game, or a champagne toast at a wedding to be harassed at checkpoints."

The possibility of innocent drivers being arrested at such checkpoints is increased by a state police policy that gives troopers an incentive to accuse motorists of drunk driving. In a June meeting of the Public Safety Commission, a twenty-seven year veteran of the state police testified about drunk driving (DWI) arrest quotas.

"Also, my second item, some of the troopers that have earned vacation and putting in requests for vacation are being told that their vacation request will not be considered unless they are getting a certain amount of DWIs," retired Trooper Coy Lorance testified.

The commission responded by attempting to get around the prohibition on drunk driving roadblocks by referring to them as "license checks." The group put in the request to the attorney general last month after receiving an inconvenient response from the state police chief.

"Mr. Chairman, you had asked at the meeting prior to... prepare a document that would relate the legal responses to conducting driver's license, registration, and insurance checkpoints," Department of Public Safety Director Thomas Davis testified in June. "I think it's the recommendation of general counsel that without the authority being granted by a governance is that we're not able to do that legally."

In a 2005 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that 99.29 percent of drivers stopped at state roadblocks were innocent. The results also showed that it took 53 percent more effort to make an arrest with a roadblock than to use traditional roving patrol techniques. Nonetheless, the court upheld the validity of roadblocks (view ruling).

The request letter sent to the attorney general is available in a 170k PDF file at the source link below.
Source: Request for Attorney General Opinion (Texas Department of Public Safety, 10/6/2008)

Please watch and forward, thank you!

Following up...

No doubt, I am pissed off that this bill was passed. We are up shit's creek with no arms. The paddle was gone a long time ago.

Apparently, I didn't have to do all of that work to figure out who from Texas voted for and against this bill. This site, govtrack.us does it all. This is great. No matter where you are, look up your reps. If they votes for this bill, DO NOT vote them back into their comfy congressional seat...

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes.xpd