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.

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)

Who voted for it?

Ok, so here is a listing of who represents Texas...

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

Here's how they voted for this bailout cluster-fuck bill:

Name	Party	Yes	No
Louie Gohmert	R		X
Ted Poe	R		X
Sam Johnson	R		X
Ralph Hall	R		X
Jeb Hensarling	R		X
Joe Barton	R		X
John Culberson	R		X
Kevin Brady	R	X
Al Green	D		X
Michael McCaul	R		X
Mike Conaway	R		X
Kay Granger	R	X
Mac Thornberry	R		X
Ron Paul	R		X
Ruben Hinojosa	D	X
Silvestre Reyes	D	X
Chet Edwards	D	X
Sheila Jackson Lee	D		X
Randy Neugebauer	R		X
Charles Gonzales	D	X
Lamar Smith	R	X
Nick Lampson	D		X
Ciro Rodriguez	D		X
Kenny Marchant	R		X
Lloyd Doggett	D		X
Michael C. Burgess	R		X
Solomon Ortiz	D		X
Henry Cuellar	D		X
Gene Green	D		X
Eddie Johnson	D	X
John Carter	R		X
Pete Sessions	R	X

Totals:

Yes	9
No	23

Total by party:

Party	Yes	No
Democrat	5	4
Republican	4	19

So there you have it. The names of people that votes "yes" for this incredible stinking pile of crap:

• John Culberson
• Kay Granger
• Ruben Hinojosa
• Silvestre Reyes
• Chet Edwards
• Charles Gonzales
• Lamar Smith
• Eddie Johnson
• Pete Sessions

Regardless of your party affiliation, you would be MAD to vote these people back into office. This election day.. let's vote them out. The two here that represent for my district are Carter and Lamar Smith. When I pull the handle this November, I will NOT be voting for Lamar Smith. How did your rep vote?

I urge you to see who your reps are and see how they voted. Wikipedia, I am sure has a listing of everyone that represents for your state.

 

F You, Texas

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are all doomed...

I heard this on the radio and HAD to look it up to substantiate. The descends a bit further into shit today.

‘Brokeback Mountain’ to become opera in NYC

Show based on Annie Proulx story is scheduled to premiere in spring 2013

The Associated Press

updated 1:39 p.m. CT, Sun., June. 8, 2008

NEW YORK - The New York City Opera commissioned Charles Wuorinen to compose an opera based on “Brokeback Mountain,” the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx that became the basis for a 2005 movie that won three Academy Awards.

The opera is scheduled to premiere in spring 2013, City Opera said Sunday. It will be City Opera’s second Wuorinen premiere, following “Haroun and the Sea of Stories,” which was based on a Salman Rushdie novel and opened in October 2004.

“Ever since encountering Annie Proulx’s extraordinary story I have wanted to make an opera on it, and it gives me great joy that Gerard Mortier and New York City Opera have given me the opportunity to do so,” Wuorinen said in a statement.

“Brokeback Mountain” is a cowboy romance about two ranch-hand buddies who start a homosexual affair when they meet on the fictional mountain in 1963.

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect or not tolerant, this movie sucked. It really sucked. Aside from all of the gay sex, which, in my eyes was not a love story at all, this movie was just terrible. Why the FUCK would you go see it as an opera? Wow... there are flames coming out of my ears.

 

Feh

So, after a few months of really trying to enjoy my work, I have fallen back into the general "working for the weekend" or "do as little as you can do to not get noticed" mentality. I know what you are thinking "oh no, not another whiny, complaining blog entry about how much Bryan doesn't like working". No, my friend, not this time.

My general gripe is the lack of feeling of accomplishment/satisfaction that I experience on a daily basis. To put it really short and sweet, I was out sick yesterday (I should be today too, but am not) and I feel like I got the same amount accomplished as if I would have gone into the office and "worked". I suppose what I am saying is that my current work experience leaves me feeling empty and borderline ashamed by the end of the day.

I go to work everyday pretty much knowing that I am going to spend most of the twiddling my thumbs and being really confused while more people ask for more shit from me. The biggest problem that I feel is that I really just straight up don't care about the technology that my job entails which, by the domino affect, makes me not want to learn anything regarding said technology to become better at my job.

It's a vicious cycle and I really feel like I need to get out.

Some would say that you work for what you do after work. Meaning, I suffer during the day and do what I want at night and on the weekend. Why should it have to be like that? Why should I have to endure despising what I toil on from 8am-5pm? Why is that I have to feel embarrassed when I tell people where I work? Why is it that I have to force myself to do the smallest amount of work? Why is it that I have to spend all day not having a clue as to what I am doing nor caring that I have no clue as to what I am doing?

Another thing that really bothers me is the antiquated technology that I "use" in my current incarnation. For every unit of time that I spend there, I feel that I am becoming more and more out of touch with what the real world is using to get things done. Who the fuck is still using C?

The culture and mentality makes me sick. Creativity and "innovation" are not fostered. Well... outwardly they are, but good luck with your ideas. They will go into the void. Make sure you work your 60 hours a week on ... well, who the fuck knows and just keep pluggin' away. Oh, and did I mention to keep your head down while you do that so you don't see the rest of the world advancing around you? Yeah, do that too. The "cover your ass" mentality has really gotten to me. I do it, and I hate the fact that I do. I will give people answers just so they s.t.f.u and leave me the hell alone. I only help those that scream the loudest.

Clearly, I am disgruntled. Nothing I do at this place matters.

Maybe change will come soon. I am hoping.

I hate you SI. I hate you so much...

Ok... so, my neighbor Vinny, his girlfriend Amanda, and myself tied one on like no one's business last night. Well... I did... I'm not too sure about them = ).

So, Amanda's friend drove us to the ferry terminal. How nice! We will have a ride back, right? NO. Not right.

Let's back up for a second. Vinny and Amanda have a flight to make at 7am. Yes, that's right, 7am. They wanted to leave the bar around 1am. Reasonable. Sleep on the plane sorta thing. The driving friend knows this.

Around, oh, 2am, this girl decides she doesn't want to leave. Nice. How considerate. Personally, I don't care. I don't have to be up at any particular time today. I don't care. I DO however, think that is messed up and that you shouldn't do that to your friends. I wouldn't ever do that to someone.

Vinny, Amanda, Anthony, and I go to get a slice at the pi33aria on the corner (yes, it was leet... that was actually on the awning... the bar was on 33rd and 3rd). Anthony offered to drive us to the ferry. Very nice guy. If not for him, we would have missed the 230am ferry and would have had to sit there until 330am.

Yes, it's the tiny boat. The venerable "John A. Noble". I don't know who John A. Noble was, nor do I really care. He must have been some kind of horrible person b/c they named this shitty little tugboat ferry after him. I am generally pretty good at handling my liquor, but after a ride in a standard mustang and a rocking ferry boat, I am not so sure.

We get off the ferry and walk to the "taxi" ramp. They are not taxi's at all. The are guys who drive normal cars and call themselves "car service". Whatever.. just take my home. We get into the minivan cab and there is already a guy waiting there. We are the 2nd fare. Fantastic.

Mr. 2nd fare has no idea where he is going. He is on the phone with his stupid inner city friend who also does not know how to guide him to where he needs to go. I am ready to kill someone.

I am generally pretty good at handling my liquor, but after a ride in a standard mustang, a rocking ferry boat, and a jerky minivan in the rain, I am definitely not so sure... at all. I ask the driver to pull over. I need to give some back. Picture Jackie Chan in "The Legend of Drunken Master". I want to continue fighting, but, my levels aren't right. I feel better, but not by much.

Finally, Mr. 2nd fare figures out where he is going and gets dropped the hell off. The driver proceeds to our area. We guide him using the most direct route. It's like 345am. I want to die.

He misses this turn and pulls a U. He missed that turn and pulls a U. Is this some sort of cosmic joke? Are you for real guy? Lemme see your license! So he gets to our block. I say to him "3/4 of the way down, on the left". He proceeds to jerk stop at every house as if to say "this one? this one? this one? this one? this one?" thus straining even further my estomachal fortitude. He finally jerk stops close enough to my house.

I roll in like a tornado and go to sleep. I hope Vinny and Amanda had a decent flight.

And... to the girl that "didn't want to leave" b/c she was "having too much fun". Fuck you, bitch. I hope I never see you again. You are messed up and mostly what is wrong with people today. I wish you all the trouble and frustration that you caused us.

Awesome Best of CL Posting

I read this today on the best of Craig's list... I could not have said it better:

I see this question posted with some regularity in the personals section, so I thought I'd take a minute to explain things to the ladies out there that haven't figured it out.

What happened to all the nice guys?

The answer is simple: you did.

See, if you think back, really hard, you might vaguely remember a Platonic guy pal who always seemed to want to spend time with you. He'd tag along with you when you went shopping, stop by your place for a movie when you were lonely but didn't feel like going out, or even sit there and hold you while you sobbed and told him about how horribly the (other) guy that you were fucking treated you.

At the time, you probably joked with your girlfriends about how he was a little puppy dog, always following you around, trying to do things to get you to pay attention to him. They probably teased you because they thought he had a crush on you. Given that his behavior was, admittedly, a little pathetic, you vehemently denied having any romantic feelings for him, and buttressed your position by claiming that you were "just friends." Besides, he totally wasn't your type. I mean, he was a little too short, or too bald, or too fat, or too poor, or didn't know how to dress himself, or basically be or do any of the things that your tall, good-looking, fit, rich, stylish boyfriend at the time pulled off with such ease.

Eventually, your Platonic buddy drifted away, as your relationship with the boyfriend got more serious and spending time with this other guy was, admittedly, a little weird, if you werent dating him. More time passed, and the boyfriend eventually cheated on you, or became boring, or you realized that the things that attracted you to him weren't the kinds of things that make for a good, long-term relationship. So, now, you're single again, and after having tried the bar scene for several months having only encountered players and douche bags, you wonder, "What happened to all the nice guys?"

Well, once again, you did.

You ignored the nice guy. You used him for emotional intimacy without reciprocating, in kind, with physical intimacy. You laughed at his consideration and resented his devotion. You valued the aloof boyfriend more than the attentive "just-a-" friend. Eventually, he took the hint and moved on with his life. He probably came to realize, one day, that women aren't really attracted to guys who hold doors open; or make dinners just because; or buy you a Christmas gift that you mentioned, in passing, that you really wanted five months ago; or listen when you're upset; or hold you when you cry. He came to realize that, if he wanted a woman like you, he'd have to act more like the boyfriend that you had. He probably cleaned up his look, started making some money, and generally acted like more of an asshole than he ever wanted to be.

Fact is, now, he's probably getting laid, and in a way, your ultimate rejection of him is to thank for that. And I'm sorry that it took the complete absence of "nice guys" in your life for you to realize that you missed them and wanted them. Most women will only have a handful of nice guys stumble into their lives, if that.

So, if you're looking for a nice guy, here's what you do:

1.) Build a time machine.
2.) Go back a few years and pull your head out of your ass.
3.) Take a look at what's right in front of you and grab ahold of it.

I suppose the other possibility is that you STILL don't really want a nice guy, but you feel the social pressure to at least appear to have matured beyond your infantile taste in men. In which case, you might be in luck, because the nice guy you claim to want has, in reality, shed his nice guy mantle and is out there looking to unleash his cynicism and resentment onto someone just like you.

If you were five years younger.

So, please: either stop misrepresenting what you want, or own up to the fact hat you've fucked yourself over. You're getting older, after all. It's time to excise the bullshit and deal with reality. You didn't want a nice guy then, and he certainly doesn't fucking want you, now.

Sincerely,
A Recovering Nice Guy

Thesis Rant - Topic: Materialism

The following rant is aimed at no one in particular. This seems to be something that is becoming out of control in out culture/society and I wanted to write about it. Put your seatbelt on, I read this already and it's rough.

I hate materialism. If you are a materialistic person, I hate you too. Please don't ever talk to me. Additionally, please take this time to purge your genes from the human genome. It will be better for everyone in the big picture. If you are unsure about why you should be purging yourself, please read on, then, please, purge yourself. If you STILL don't get it, consider THAT the reason, and purge yourself anyway.

<Rant>

There aren't too many things or people in this world that I can say that I "hate". Materialism and materialistic people are, however in this category.

Look at the world around you. It seems to be getting worse every day. Watch the news, watch E!, go to a mall, what do you see? People obsessed with "things"..."stuff"... perhaps pretty on the outside, but shallow as the grand fucking canyon.

Oh!, look at what he/she one got me! I have to tell everyone and everyone should know b/c I'm so self absorbed yet so incredibly dead inside that I need validation from everyone around me just to feel a shred of real happiness in my horribly shallow, shitty life. . Who, by the way, all feed into the illusion that "you're hot", or sexually marketable in some strange, "wouldn't fuck that with a football field sized pole, and noise canceling headphones, my spinal cord severed, OH!, and a blindfold" sorta way. I hate you. Die. Please, for Christmas, for me, die. All of you.

What can this do for me? What can that do for me? What is he/she going to buy me? Where is he/she going to take me? Where in the hell has any sort of feeling for self responsibility, self respect, or self love gone? Well, they seem to be gone. It's all about "me" these days.

From what I can tell, a large part of the population seems to only give a flying fuck about themselves. Themselves and no one else. Me... me... me memem emememememememememememememe!!!!!!OIfhseavfhu uadfhajkjfklhgLU!@^#%^@%#^%@#%&@#&%(@*#)(*@)&#*^*&@^#&*@$#%!$ #@ *%*&#

Sorry, I got a little mad. No, wait.. I am not sorry.

I feel like everyday, our society and the people therein go down the spiral just a bit more. My generation of people ... a generation of fucking self absorbed, medicated (in some way.. pot, alcohol, meds cuz I have the fictional "disease" known as ADD, you name it), don't give a fuck 'bout nothing but "me" fucking fuck ups. This is our future... my, my how brightly it shines.

What happened to people that have substance? What happened to people that could talk about things other than what they want from here and what they want from there? What about what you want out of life??? Are clothes, cars, tvs, diamonds, and shoes all you want?? Is there nothing more???

What happened to people that worked for things? What happened to people that have self control? Sure, there are people out there, but they, we, are in the minority these days, it seems.

I don't even know where to go from here.

We have shows on TV that show the pettiness and shallowness of people. We have TV shows that highlight people being irresponsible, intoxicated, rude, obnoxious, horrible, wretched people with absolutely zero redeeming qualities. AND THIS IS IDOLIZED AND EMULATED!!!! Can someone please kill ME now? I have seen enough. We are done.

</Rant>

F You Michael Vic

Are you serious, dude? Do you think that anyone thinks that this is a sincere apology? Please, don't insult my intelligence. I know you've got the public image machine behind you coaching you on everything you say to try and preserve the empire which you have so undeservingly accumulated (refer to Bill Cosby posting).

Let's take a look at some highlights of this "apology":

"I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up."

No shit, homey. Way to learn something that normal people learn when they are 12. Stupid.

"I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player."

Totally. Please move forward. We all want you to move forward. Fucking retard.

"I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that's the right thing to do as of right now."

IMHO, the worst part of all of this. Don't bring your new found spirituality into this. It's like someone becoming spiritual on their deathbed. Where was god or god's voice when you were doing these things? Where was God when you were blessed with an a$$load of money and a privileged lifestyle that most of us dream of our entire lives? Not there, huh? Just when you get caught? Fuck off.

Again, stop insulting our intelligence. You haven't found anything other than you got caught and now you are fucked and need to spin this in the best was possible for you. Go to hell.

"I got a lot to think about in the next year or so."

A lifetime's worth.

"So I got a lot of down time, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I've done and how to make Michael Vick a better person."

A perfect ending to a perfect engineered apology. Blow me, oh, and everyone else when you are in jail while you are at it.

Still thinking this now? Eat it, bitch.

Tough day...

Today was a very tough day...

It started, I guess with going to sleep late last night, which made me tired when I woke up at 650 this morning. I volunteered for the early shift on Tuesdays and Wednesdays... mistake? Not sure yet, but it is nice at 3pm when I am done.

Anyway... work has been very busy lately. We are seeing lots of issues because of the government mandated DST ( daylight savings time ) changes that are coming up in March of this year. On top of that, I think that I have probably the most annoying set of issues that I think that I have ever had in this job. My patience at work has been extremely short lately.

I think that I am sick of waiting for things. I know that the end is finally in sight and I think that that is what is making it worse. It's close enough for me to smell ( not taste... yet ), and... it smells good... to make a really extreme analogy, it's like being in prison, with 2 weeks left on your sentence and you see the guards eating steaks and talking about what they did on the weekend.

It's funny... I am not nearly this impatient when it comes to other things like my martial arts training. I think that it has something to do with the fact that I enjoy that journey. I love where I am and love practicing to get to the next level because there really is no "destination". With work, it's a little different. The part about enjoying the journey... not so much...

I am sure that I will feel better later after class, but... I needed to rant. Thanks for reading...

Does anyone know...

... of a magical pill that I can take that will allow me to carry out my functions yet be oblivious from the hours of 8am-5pm for the next 6 months? If so, please let me know. I am willing to go to any black market to get this...

Someone out there HAS to know...