World of Suck

Frankly I think the whole "head scarf" thing is bullshit. If you want to mark yourself as a slave by covering one of the most attractive assets a woman has well fine with me. It only makes your face look fat anyway.

There's a push by people who make money to capitalize on muslims as a neglected niche market. Ok, well who cares if there are decorations for ramazan, or specialty pastries that's nifty lots of ethnicities have that. But Ikea has come up with a fucking GREAT idea: Ikea branded head scarves. I love it!

Ok, so you feel like you have to "conform" to a restrictive tradition of wearing something to cover your head? Fine! Lets use the space for advertising! Fucking brilliant if you ask me. I hope they take it a step further and put specials and sales on there so people can get an easy view of what to look for. What would totally make my day is to see a picture of their famous meatballs and gravy with the price on it on the back of some woman's head.

It's free space, why not make the most of it?

Ah, another national tragedy... another massive overreaction.

Remember Columbine? Of course you do. Remember them banning kids with black trench coats?

Here, we have the Virginia Tech equivalent. This time, they're striking out at kids that right graphic essays. Allen Lee, an 18 year old senior, did his homework. I'm sure he never had a clue the reaction it would get. When asked to write an essay expressing emotions for his creative writing class, he felt up to the challenge. He did the homework and turned it in.

Schools reaction? Oh, they had him arrested for disorderly conduct. The essay was disturbing apparently. You see, despite the fact that the essay contained no threats, and wasn't posted into public view, somehow the teacher and school district decided that the appropriate reaction was to arrest the kid. Oh, and he isn't suspended or expelled, but he is required to attend classes somewhere else. Which kinda sounds like expulsion, but apparently isn't.

I don't get it. Disorderly conduct? That's fire alarms and making too much noise late at night. It's bothering other people in public. The teacher fucking asked him to express his emotions. Maybe you should... you know... expect them to do it?

I get it. It was disturbing. And you're paranoid that you'll miss the next student gunman. But there are appropriate reactions and inappropriate ones. This was the later in case you were wondering. They could have sent him to the school counselor, or talked to his parents (maybe recommend real therapy if the situation called for it) but no no... straight to ye old police department with him.

And what they hell is with the cops here? Seriously? Arrest him? Put charges up against a kid because he did his fucking homework? I'd be slightly more understanding if they had a cop talk to him a little. Maybe tell the kid that sort of essay bothers people, and they'd like him to tone it down a little for homework assignments. Recommend that the parents talk to the kid and discuss it with him. But arrest him?

Over react much?

I mean, look at the precedent here. It means that if anyone writes something that disturbs you, you have the right to have them arrested for it. Doesn't matter that it's non-threatening and doesn't describe injury to himself or others. I offer as a counter example hundred and hundreds of famous authors that made their fortunes with such imagery. Do we take Stephen King out back? Poe? I mean, seriously here. How do we draw a line for fucking disturbing? A is bad, but B is ok?

Disorderly conduct? Fuck you. It's fishing for a charge so you make the kid that bothers you go away. Covering your ass. He's an adult. It goes on his record. You're fucking with his life now. All because you choose to over react.

The school can suck my balls. So can the cops.

Corzine says he's "blessed to be alive". I guess that's the half-full perspective on the situation. I prefer to think of it more like "fucking stupid for not having your seatbelt on at over 90mph." Jersey law agrees. It says that most people aren't bright enough to buckle up thus they have a law requiring seatbelt use. Seems like their governor, however, even when surrounded by law enforcement decided that the law didn't apply to him.

Now of course he got a long rehab ahead to think about it.

It also seems like I'm not the only one to think this way. A citizen brought a complaint against the governor for not wearing his seatbelt. While it could only bring a $46 fine it makes the statement that the rules are for everyone... even if you make them.

So it's understood that the American public got suckered into buying a package based on the cover art alone. But when they got it home and opened the box they found that it was empty, the contents they paid for was nothing more than a mirage. It happens sometimes, well, ok maybe a lot. The bag looked bigger. The picture "may not resemble actual contents". "Batteries not included".

Well the truth is not everyone bought. We understand that as well. But the sad fact is that those who were suckered are the ones that are finding out that the product they paid for is actually being used by someone else. And what's more, it was never intended to be used by them (although the intent was that they would pay for it).

This administration has never been about "the people". By "the people" I mean the majority of Americans who don't make six digit salaries, who don't own big businesses, who aren't in the energy industry, who aren't republican politicians. This administration has only ever been about them.

Take the current articles on OSHA for example. Under this administration the agency designed to ensure worker safety has done more to repeal safe practices than enforce or add to them. The result is that business wins, by being able to set any rules they like even when substances have been determined as harmful.

This has been exactly the case in the fake-butter additive used in microwave popcorn. Workers exposed to the chemical have come down with life threatening illnesses, documented, researched, proven. OSHA's reaction? Eh, we don't want to impose "unnecessary costs on businesses and the consumer." The actual costs? The death and illness of potentially seven million Americans who work in the food processing industry.

So what has OSHA been up to? Well a presentation called "Adults Do the Darndest Things" by the OSHA chief where the message is "injuries are due to worker carelessness". That's kinda hard to rationalize to the guy who now has only 18% lung capacity and needs a double lung transplant because of the butter-flavor additive. To be more accurate OSHA is actually "working with industry" for "voluntary compliance" with regards the additive. So basically it means... that it's cheaper to hire new workers than replace the additive.

I think nothing better represents the concept that the unqualified but loyal stooges of big business are in charge than a quote from the minority cover-girl/Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to business back in 2002:

"There are more words in the Federal Register describing OSHA regulations than there are words in the Bible. They're a lot less inspired to read and a lot harder to understand. This is not fair."

Fair? Try asking the guy who needs new lungs about fair. Explain to him why the chemical that did that to him is still being used and other people are still getting sick. The fact that you're not "inspired" to read the standards issued by your office only shows that you were the wrong pick for the job.

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. became the world's top auto seller in the first three months of the year, passing rival General Motors Corp. for the first time.

Toyota sold 2.348 million vehicles worldwide in the January-March quarter, company official Satoshi Yamaguchi said, surpassing the 2.26 million vehicles that GM said it sold during the same period. "Our goal has never been to sell the most cars in the world," Nolasco said. "We simply want to be the best in quality. After that, sales will take care of themselves."

Indeed, it is Toyota's sterling reputation for quality and fuel efficiency that has lifted its global sales, including the popular Camry, Corolla and Prius gas-and-electric hybrid.
GM, meanwhile, cut production last year as high fuel prices drove people away from its trucks and sport utility vehicles. To shore up earnings, it has cut jobs and closed plants.

Hahaha.. good riddance! Nothing pleases me more than to see all the news articles of the Big 3 automakers scrambling around trying to figure out how to stay in business, ahead of the foreign automakers and the unavoidable implosion that is arriving soon. I hope all 3 take a bath in the bullshit they've been handing us for the last 20 years.

Why am I happy? Because America will hopefully take a good long hard look at itself, its work ethics and the atrocious impact of ALL labor unions in the USA today. Keep it up Japan, keep it up European automakers! Teach these bastards a thing or two about QUALITY and price. Teach these bastards that any labor union is nothing more than legalized organized crime ala mafia style. Teach these bastards why we've lost most of our manufacturing jobs to 3rd world countries. Show these idiots how lazy fat ass Americans have made our mid-range auto prices jump in the last 20 yrs to over 30% of the average home price.

With most of us caring more about their autos than foreign affairs hopefully a few Big 3 automaker bankruptcies will spur up some much needed press on this whole matter.

Gooooooood riddance. Bring on the plant closures and quick!

Bush likened himself to the venerable forefather the other day, claiming how he is just "misunderstood". Hardly. Stupid? Stuck-up? Pig headed? Indifferent? Arrogant? No, not any one of those, all of those and more. I hardly think anyone is going to be building a memorial to you, seriously.

He's pissed of course, because he has the complete inability to admit he made a bad decisions based on bad data and still intends to prove everyone wrong by trying to make it right. Well son, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. There's a reason they invented that saying.

So the bullshit is flying thick and fast. Penned in by a slow but steady attrition of senior advisors and friends who are headed to the witness stand to defend semi or non-even legal activities based on abuse of power in the name of their administration. The president is snapping angrily at every attempt to reconcile with the American public and their elected officials.

"Instead of fashioning a bill I could sign, the Democratic leaders chose to further delay funding our troops, and they chose to make a political statement."

Read instead: Instead of kissing my ass when I bend over like congress has in the past, these people have the outrageous intent of demonstrating their own mind. Don't they know that I'm in charge, and I'll do what I like no matter how many lives it takes?

The whole pathetic argument over the establishment of a deadline for withdrawal is hilarious. According to their "logic" if you tell someone when you're going to leave... well they're going to know you're going to leave. So? We're not staying there forever, are we? Are we? What do you think you can magically remove the entire American presence overnight in a "Surprise! We're gone - please make up the room now" kinda way? Dumbass, no matter when it is, they're going to know.

Is it defeatist to call a spade a spade an cut your losses or is it realistic?

As for Cheney. Dude, do you think anyone cares about you any more and what you say? Like Mr. Reid said: "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush says Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony before Congress ''increased my confidence'' in his ability to lead the Justice Department.

Someone needs a good solid wack with a cast-iron clue bat. Veteran politicians, many from his own party, have called for the AG's resignation. A nice way to say it is that there are "discrepancies" between fact and Gonzales' description of his actions. The honest assessment is that the man has lied and is continuing to get caught more and more in his own web as time progresses.

Loyalty at all cost, seems to be the current administrations motto. Loyalty until the situation is untenable, like Rumsfield, like Rove... and hopefully soon to be like Gonzales.

The pope, in asking medical science to "respect life" in their advances, means what? Preservation of life at all costs? That seems to be the message. Obviously the roman catholic church embraces medical benefits as pertaining to longevity which might seem contradictory to what might be god's will. Do they have their teeth cleaned? Do they have annual exams? Do they take blood pressure medications, or any medications in general? I believe so, if I'm wrong then this post has no meaning, but I don't think I'm wrong.

So the church is willing to embrace all the things medical science has provided to prolong life, and yet unfazed by the looming crises in energy, food and space, they would have everyone live on till... till when? That's my question.

So lets say medical science finds a way to make humans virtually eternal. At some point science finds a method for removing the body and packaging the brain for a duration of eons. Would the church reject hat? They already accept the utility of life-support, as evidenced by the whole Schivano fiasco. Does this mean that a pope accepting this type of preservation as a "respect for life" can live almost forever?

I can see it now, a bell-jar with a pope's hat perched on top, parading down the street to cheering crowds on a fancy-flatbed. Is this the future of catholicism?

I'm at a boys little league practice and the ground is understandably muddy. It's rained here recently. In fact it's rained a lot. The boys are kneeling, rolling and sitting on the muddy ground with nary a peep from the parents. There is one little girl in the spectators however, and every few minutes her mom is admonishing her "Don't get dirty!"

Now this little girl is, by my estimate, between seven and nine - the point being she's not a toddler that needs constant reminding. On the other hand she's clearly not old enough to be buying her own clothes. While she is dressed in pants and a ruffled shirt, they're both light colored, beige to be exact.

So what give here? The Mom can wash the mud out of the boys clothes, but not the girls? They brought her to a muddy field in the first place, maybe a little foresight was in order to pick more appropriate garb? Or maybe it's just early training to force the girl to understand that she should sit quietly and quell any urge to run around because she might get "dirty".

As ironic as life tends to be I can only hope that all this nagging backlashes and she grows up to be a construction worker. Then she'll have good reason to thank her Mom for all that useful nagging.

I listen to all kinds of music, and I explore all kinds of music. I have recently come across a rapper named Lady Sovereign. Her fast staccato raps are well put together and many are funny as hell. She is so good, that Def Jam's Jay-Z (for you that don't know, a pretty big fish in the rapper world) wants to bring her into his house.

Here's her problem - she's white (sometimes dubbed the Fem-Emenem) and she is British. Much of her subject matter has to do with being British and poking fun of London. But just as much has to do with making fun of some of our pop-culture across "the pond". My self and some of my peers get her humor, but I am not the in best demographic for boosting rap record sales. The demographic she would be shooting for isn't interested in world politics. It is likely lucky if they can squeak by with a passing grade in social studies, world studies, whatever the education establishment wants to call it these days.

Unfortunately for very talented world artists, we are a myopic culture, us Americans. Much of the world gobbles up our culture. However, we completely ignore most of theirs. Even when an artists from around the world occasionally regurgitate some of our stuff (i.e. rap) back at us, with their own very worthwhile slant. And in this case, you can't even claim language as a barrier - the girl raps in English, with a British accent to our American ears, but English never the less.

I think collectively, we need to seriously get over ourselves.

I read stories like the one below and it affirms my belief that some women just "have what it takes", no matter their age. Our society likes to shutter off the elderly, parking them till they wither because it's just too time consuming to care for them. That's sad because we lose touch with our history and the capabilities that an active and mature mind can offer.

I have hope that our understandings will change as the Boomers age. While they're the most self-centered generation that I've ever encoutered or read about they have the singular power to change american society and viewpoints simply based on their numbers. In fact it's their lack of desire to shoulder the responsibility of their own parents that has established old people as useless, burdensome baggage to be minimally maintained.

I'm certain we'll see a change in that attitude when they're the ones facing the retirement home...

WAYNESBURG, Ky. (AP) -- Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder. Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment.
...
She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.

''I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it,'' she said. ''If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now.''

Props Ms. Ramey. You kick ass.

It's a pleasure when people disqualify themselves in a single action. McCain did a spectacular job of proving just how unqualified he is to be president in one fell swoop:

While campaigning for president in South Carolina on Wednesday, McCain responded to a question about how to deal with Iran by breaking into the melody of the Beach Boys song ''Barbara Ann'' but changing the lyrics to ''Bomb Iran.''

''That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, 'Bomb Iran,''' McCain joked and then added: ''Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb ... anyway, ah ...'' The audience responded with laughter.

...

When reporters asked if the joke was insensitive, McCain said: ''Insensitive to what? The Iranians?''

Clearly the man doesn't get it. You can't portray yourself as the future leader of a nation like the United States and make infantile jokes like that while campaigning for the job. Remember Regan's gaff about bombing Russia? That haunted him for a very long time after, even now it's one of the key things people remember about him.

Good going McCain. Please, ham it up some more.

I have this to say to your misogynistic, male asses:

1. fuck you
2. you're not a doctor
3. fuck you

You know I'm surprised you guys aren't more sympathetic to being pregnant because you certainly don't have the balls to be considered men.

I hear they have openings for your type of "justice" in Iran. I'd pay your air-fare if you want move. I hear property is cheap over there.

The guy I am dating had his checking account cleaned out several months ago. It was evidently an off shore account that was quickly closed. "Sorry sir, nothing we can do about it". He accepted this line of bull until I urged him to challenge this, after presenting the scenario to MY credit union and hearing their answer.

After getting the run around for a bit, finally one manager agreed to look into it further asking "why didn't anyone investigate?" How the hell is HE supposed to know - It's YOUR bank! finally the conclusion, since it happened to long ago and so quickly, sorry bub.

OK, excuse me, IT IS A BANK! Its not going to the casino, its not playing the ponies, it's not under the mattress, ITS A BANK!!!!!!! Bank = safe. People's money is not supposed to be robbed from within the bank. And it is especially not supposed to be robbed without someone taking responsibility.

AND, ahem, what is that NCUA logo for anyway? Doesn't that mean it is insured? It was stolen on YOUR watch. You were obviously sleeping at the wheel. Doesn't off-shore activity for a local schmo warrant the tiniest little warning? I mean, for Christ's sake, this ain't the kind of guy that vacations in Bali!

I repeat - Sunmark, YOU SUCK!

AND - If you have an answer for why you treat your customers so poorly, please do respond. I would welcome an explanation.

So now that Iraq is no longer governed by a pompous, overbearing, narcissistic dictator there needs to be a competition for the next retarded regime. It's nice really that Iran wasted no time in stepping up to the plate. I often wonder how muslims can complain that they're casually labelled as politically and socially retarded when their governments demonstrate such characteristics in spades.

TEHRAN(AP), April 18 The Iranian Supreme Court has overturned the murder convictions of six members of a prestigious state militia who killed five people they considered morally corrupt.

...

Iran’s Islamic penal code, which is a parallel system to its civic code, says murder charges can be dropped if the accused can prove the killing was carried out because the victim was morally corrupt.

This is true even if the killer identified the victim mistakenly as corrupt. In that case, the law requires blood money to be paid to the family. Every year in Iran, a senior cleric determines the amount of blood money required in such cases. This year it is $40,000 if the victim is a Muslim man, and half that for a Muslim woman or a non-Muslim.

...

The last victims, for example, were a young couple engaged to be married who the killers claimed were walking together in public.

...

The six accused, all in their early 20s, explained to the court that they had taken their victims outside the city after they had identified them. Then they stoned them to death or drowned them in a pond by sitting on their chests.

Wtf. There's really nothing to say, other than wtf. Turkey, Egypt might be moderate islamic nations, but they too have policies in varying shades of lunacy that first-world nations can only shake their heads at. For now however muslims need to realize that this is what non-muslims see, and understand what kind of stereotypes will result.

I love reading the search strings people type in that lead them here. It's a good solid ten minutes of side-clutching humor. Let's take a peek...

- men that can suck themselves
{so we're talking circus acrobats here I guess?}
- world of sex
{yaawn. old}
- best sex suck machine
{ford? chevy? briggs and stratton?}
- you have no choice suck me bitch
{not posted by any gun-toting koreans I hope}
- offensive rolling rock ads
{did we post on this? I can't recall}
- blue ribbon mortgage fraud in south dakota
{well that's a tad esoteric}
- does it suck to work at bank of america
{yes WoS can help YOU with your job search}
- teaching a woman to suck dick information
{information... as opposed to what?}
- www.sex tips on where to suck,kiss&fuck women.com
{think they mistyped the actual URL?}

But there's always a few real peaches in the list...

- fucked up shit alien movie sex pterodactyl
{uh, yeah...}
- signs my child is gay
{sorry no, we don't offer advice}
- anti-plastic surgery slogans
{so I take it you weren't satisfied with the results then?}
- doctors suck they can't keep up with +evolution
{go on, drop the other shoe - keep up with what?}
- jim bob dugger blames son's sin for losing 2006 election
{er... I don't know where to go with this}
- Rou up banner stand
{something's missing here... I sense it}

And there's my fav:

- my wife fucked our Llama
{picsktnxbai}

I love flying in planes. Yes, it's hard to inflect tone in the written word but that first sentence was dripping sarcasm. Still there's something better than actually flying in a plane - it's going to the bathroom in one. Claustrophobics probably have a field day on a plane, locking themselves into a space smaller than a coffin with not enough room to drop your drawers much less get them back up when you're done.

The floors are sticky, the seat is wet, the sink is slopped with damp paper, the whole "convenience" smells, yeah it's a veritable paradise. And the best part is - you're controlled as to when you can go. Locking yourself in this flying cesspool is a privilege, not a right you must remember. And the stewardesses, direct descendants of Cerberus himself, control the access to these "gates of relief".

Now depending on the length of my flight, and the number of rounds made for in-flight beverages, I time my trips for the lightest number of people waiting. Good times are at the start and climax of the movie (if there is one), or midway through the flight. Bad times are at the start, end or right after the movie.

I feel bad for the people that get hammered by aggressive stewards and stewardesses. Most of the time they seem to be ok with people queuing for the loo, but sometimes they're nasty and generally if the fasten seatbelt sign is on - you'd better make a dive for the unoccupied spot before someone else gets in there and you get sent back to your seat.

On my last flight that happened to two women who were told very forcefully that they had to return to their seat because the sign was on and the lavatory was full. Both made protestations that they really, desperately had to go. And in both cases when the current occupant left the stewardesses made no attempt to let them know it was free - thus they waited a good thirty to forty minutes before they had the chance.

I think there should be a system wherein if the restroom is full and you're not allowed to wait - they hand you a chit, ticket, token or whatever, to prove you're next in line. That way you can guarantee that you get to go next, no matter what and you can't get usurped in a desperate situation.

I read an article about some guy who relieved himself in a barf bag. See? Now that's the kind of thing we're trying to avoid....

Read. Discuss.

http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/66339.html

Imus is a jackass. He always has been a jackass. To make him even less relevant, he is a dried-up, has-been jackass who should consider retirement before he embarrasses himself even more. So he called the black members of a basketball team a few names. He thought he was funny. He wasn't. However, it is also hypocritical of the black community to nail him for something they embrace and find "cutting edge" if it were from a black entertainer. Al Sharptons and Jessie Jacksons of the world, call out some of the antics of black entertainers. For example, I find David Chappelle offensive. Grossly offensive. I'm not black. I can not profess to know exactly what it is like to be black. But ANY entertainer that picks out a race or culture and degrades it is offensive. I'm not talking about some good natured teasing - I make fun of my cultural heritage all the time. However, the nasty jabs I have seen black entertainers make at black culture are far, far worse then few very poorly chosen words by some has-been.

So, I don't want to hear anymore complaining from the black community until they at least criticize a few of their own for degrading the black community's image and making cheap pop-shots. Chappelle - skits about a black KKK member - not funny. Any number of male rappers calling women bitches and 'hos - not funny - these are your mothers, sisters and daughters. Female hip hop singers talking about being a good fuck as the only way to keep their man - not funny. The black people I know are hard working and conscientious - they deserve to be characterized better than how "pop-culture" characterizes them. As much as a group of young ladies on a college basketball team did not deserve to be called "nappy-headed 'hos".

How much trust is there between humans? I would venture to say very little. Even if you have a formal relationship with someone; Wife, Child, Boss, Neighbor, fellow New Yorker, fellow American, another human being, what trust do you have in the other person?

Can you trust that the other person will smile and wave if you do the same? Can you trust that they'll respect your comments and ideas? Can you trust that they won't hurt you, maim you, kill you, either for money or just 'because'?

As a society we don't have much trust in our peers - thus the need for laws and enforcers. We have judges to make decisions when there's conflict. We need police to physically make people submit. In national cases we have armies and forces, but that's on a global scale that doesn't have direct bearing on what I'm trying to convey.

The point I'm coming to is that we, today, have structures and organizations we depend on because we do not and cannot trust our brethren. So that leaves a choice: either we can say that everyone should be prepared at all time for the worst, or, everyone should be restricted in their ability to do the worst. Which makes more sense?

On the one hand, as Senator McCain likes to point out, every American who wants a gun should have one. Ok, so does that mean that everyone should be mandated to carry a gun so there can be lethal equality (read: self-defense) when one person runs amok? It seems unclear that having the potential to kill even more people accidentally by equipping everyone with guns is a good idea. Yes it's a deterrent, is it a good idea? I'm less inclined to believe it is the "safer" solution. Florida likes the idea of shooting first and asking later, but then Florida, like Texas, isn't much of a role model for safety and security.

It seems that if we can't trust people with guns not to run amok then should we make guns accessible? It's a statistical given that if more people have guns then there is more opportunity for mayhem. Thus how surprised can we really be when someone murders as many people as he can carry ammo for? Statistically it's only a matter of time....

There's really not much to add to this article from the Associated Press:

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's leading toilet maker Toto Ltd. is offering free repairs for 180,000 bidet toilets after wiring problems caused several to catch fire, the company said Monday.

The electric bidet accessory of Toto's Z series caught fire in three separate incidents between March 2006 and March 2007, according to company spokeswoman Emi Tanaka. The bidet sent up smoke in 26 other incidents, the company said.

''Fortunately, nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out and there were no injuries,'' Tanaka said. ''The fire would have been just under your buttocks.''

The company will repair 180,000 toilet units manufactured between May 1996 and December 2001 for free, she said. A manufacturing defect is thought to have led to the faulty wiring.

Toto has been a pioneer in high-tech toilets fitted with pressurized water sprayers -- a standard fixture in Japanese homes.

The popular Z series features a pulsating massage spray, a power dryer, built-in-the-bowl deodorizing filter, the ''Tornado Wash'' flush and a lid that opens and closes automatically. Prices range from $1,680 to $2,600.

The model is not sold overseas.

A real man knows when he's lost a fight. Further a real man will admit he's lost, learn a lesson and move on. Clearly the guy in the Oval Office isn't that quality of male.

The majority of Americans, the people he's supposed to represent, don't want to send their fellow citizens to suffer and die in Iraq. They elected Democrats to tell him so. But instead of sitting down and dealing with what his people want, the president instead has decided to kick and cry like a spoilt child because someone is taking his toys away.

The elected body has stated they want a deadline, to the spending, to the fighting, to the death of our soldiers. Instead of hearing the message like a man and working with the people elected by his pubic, the president has told congress what he will and will not accept.

Attention Mister, here's the deal. Having to work with the other branches of government does not impair your ability to do a good job. Blaming other people for the future results of your own actions only says that you're not capable to make the right decisions in the first place.

Playtime is over. It's time to listen to the people who pay your salary.

For anyone with a brain this really isn't news...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Students who took part in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress.

Again, stupid people, with stupid ideas need to spend good money on research to prove that, yes you guessed it, they're stupid. So what happens next? Well, clearly even though they funded the effort the government is going to dismiss the results because they don't support the political agenda.

The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. Critics have repeatedly said they don't believe the programs are working, and the study will give them reinforcement.

However, Bush administration officials cautioned against drawing sweeping conclusions from the study. They said the four programs reviewed -- among several hundred across the nation -- were some of the very first established after Congress overhauled the nation's welfare laws in 1996.

On the positive side abstinence training didn't increase unprotected sex either. So what's the message here? The message, as I read it, is that teenagers are smart enough to make their own decisions about what they want to do and that no amount of preaching will really have an affect on their decisions. The bottom line is teens are "rebellious", "independent" and driven by their own goals and desires, and nothing short of manacles and chains can modify that behavior.

And the government needed to spend up to fifty million a year to discover this.

Yes, they're idiots. And yes we pay them.

Updated blog link

The economy can be tough. Job seeking is one of the least pleasurable activities that you can be involved in. It exposes the seeker to all manner of insecurities and self doubt. When you NEED a job, you're vulnerable.

I've been there. And I hope I never have to do it again. Though I'm pretty sure I will at some point.

Katherine Coble just wrote an article about J. L. Kirk & Associates in Tennessee. Apparently her husband was trying to use their agency to assist in his job search. After an initial interview, they requested he come in again. And... he should bring his wife. Let me just say... that's fucking weird. Alarms, bells, whistles and klaxon horns.

Anyway, they went through a long interview that she felt was pretty aggressive and predatory. Just to note, those are OPINIONS. That's important later. Then, at the conclusion of the interview, the agency requests close to five thousand dollars to be put down as a deposit on their services. And if they found him a job, they'd take a chuck of the action. Somewhere in the area of 30-40%. Those are FACTS. Also important.

She was mad. She blogged. Everyone on THIS site understands that. She complained that they seemed to be trying to take advantage of the NEED for a job and were trying to use that to force the couple into agreeing to terms with them.

She closed with a recommendation that others not use the agency.

Got all that. Feel free to check the link and read her words for yourself. Sometime after, someone from the company noticed it and responded. Not very well though and makes some rather unflattering comments about the couple. Which, naturally Katherine takes exception to. So she makes a new post with the employees quotes and responds to the comments.

You see, that's icky and annoying, but it's the next part that is rant worthy. THEY THREATEN TO SUE HER. Demanding that she remove the post, the employee's quotes and her response. Refusal to do so would result in them suing her for tortuous interference and other damages.

Total fucking BULLSHIT.

Look fuckheads at JLK&A... you're idiots. I don't give a rats fuck if the woman's account is accurate or not. It's half opinion and half factual. There is abso-fucking-lutely nothing you can do about it. Free speech mother fuckers. Proving libel or slander is real fucking hard. Oh, and your dumbass threat, has backfired and I'm 100% glad to be a fucking part of it. Instead of removing this little dispute from public view, you're center stage now bitch. #1 hit on google goes right to this shit. Aren't you proud? Good fucking job at sweeping this under the carpet.

Seriously, how far up your ass is your head? This is throwing bad PR at bad PR. And despite popular thought, not all PR is good. And now you've got a number of people aware of your company and not in a good way.

Why do companies think that threatening bloggers is really going to make them fold up their tents and run away. Do they have any fucking idea how difficult it is to prove libel? Seriously... read the post. Tell me where she lied or fabricated quotes. Back it up. Support it.

Otherwise, sit down, and shut the fuck up.

Oh, and for the record, I don't recommend ANYONE use a headhunter. Particularly not JLK&A.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland officially became the first state in the nation Tuesday to approve a plan to give its electoral votes for president to the winner of the national popular vote, instead of the candidate chosen by state voters.

That's some seriously fucked up logic right there. Conceivably, every single person in the state could vote republican and if a democrat won the majority of the country's vote, suddenly, Maryland's electoral college votes will go to the Democrat. Someone that didn't earn the votes in Maryland.

I get what they're going for. I just don't think this achieves their goal. Instead of making people care about politics and the importance of their vote, it's demonstrating that no matter what they vote, it's the the rest of the country that really matters. They'll be included in that count of course, but only as a percentage of the whole

Instead of being fully in control of your states voice, you just pimped it out to the will of the nation. It's fucked up on lots of levels. Just wait until the first time this law changes the course of a national election. I think MD is traditionally left leaning. Wait until those votes go to a republican. And if it's the difference (ala 2000)... You'll damn sure make your citizens care then. They'll care enough to light the courthouse on fire.

Or at least that's what I would be saying if I were my co-worker.

Cubicles give a false sense of privacy . . . or perhaps some people just doesn't care. My co-worker sits over a half wall from a woman. Evidently he is privy to her obviously eventful dating and sex life. In his words: "She gives new meaning to the term open up and say ah." I have heard some of her banter, and although he may be embellishing a bit, he isn't to far off the mark. Furthermore, she would have no right to claim that he is eavesdropping - he wears headphones and anyone that can hear a conversation despite trying to drown it out is not eavesdropping. Besides, comments like: "Damn we were playing tonsil hockey and fogging up the windows for three hours", *giggle, giggle*, tend to draw attention to themselves. What makes it worse, is she feels the need to share with everyone of her friends, separately, and at her desk.

So if I were my co-worker, I'd be tempted to say: "Hey honey, I typically know the name of ladies I know as intimately as I know you, so care to introduce yourself?" or "Do they have condoms that fit over ears?"

So, sweet cheeks - I can call ya sweet cheeks since I know you so well, right? - Maybe you should go out to lunch with all your friends, together, say it once. Or move it to the ladies room or maybe the breakroom. Just a suggestion, 'cause frankly, its just a bit TMI.

A web-based "news" site asked me, as an "expert", for an interview. The site, www.VBS.TV - has something that appears to be an intro on the left hand side with no less than three fucks. I am not an uptight sort of individual, but when I see that liberal use of profanity on a self-proclaimed news-like site I immediately, wrong or right, think the site is not serious about how is portrays the news. After looking at a couple of the VBS.TV segments, they seem to have some good information to share, something worthwhile - but they seem to also have a bit of a image problem.

OK VBS.TV, here's the truth - It is hard enough for a web-based alternative news outlet to be taken seriously by the establishment. If that web-based news outlet comes across as crude, it is going to be near impossible for the establishment to take you seriously and no self-respecting "expert" is going to go near you (or be allowed to go near you) with a 10-foot pole. Even though I am a proponent of freedom of speech, I am afraid you will make mince-meat out of me if I let you interview me, if only because I can be considered part the establishment.

I debate science with the uninformed, uneducated and willfully ignorant all the time. I find it amusing in many respects.

Recently, during a.... discussion... about the creation of the universe, I had a quick thought. It occurred to me that I finally understood the stumbling block many people have to the concept of the Big Bang.

It was nothing. The concept of it at least. It seems easy to grasp, but it's really not. When I tell someone that nothing existed before the big bang, at least nothing in any terms that we would know, they tend to picture the wrong thing.

They picture empty space. But space isn't nothing. Space is something. It has dimensions and properties that we understand. Just as it's difficult to imagine infinity, it's equally difficult to picture true nothingness.

The big bang wasn't just the creation of the matter in the universe, it was the creation of the rules that govern universe. Before the Bang, there was no time, no width, no length, and no height. All of the matter and energy that would become the universe was condensed into a single point. There wasn't anything outside the point. It's not like you could be outside it and see it sitting there. Or that it glowed white. The point was all there was. Then... BANG.

Suddenly... things began. Suddenly, there was time. Things had size, because there were dimensions for them to have size inside of.

The concept of before the bang requires there to be some sort of measurable event. There isn't. At least, nothing that we, inside this universe can understand. It's too far outside the frame of reference.

If you really need it, I say that we don't know and will probably never know. But for fun, try to wrap your head around m-theory. 11 dimensions is enough to make your head hurt. However, the short version is to try to envision our little universe floating around in a big pot with other universes. An infinite number of them. Some of them are 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 dimensional. Now.. imagine our pre-bang universe bumping into another one inside this giant pot. Suddenly, the universal equivalent of kinetic energy surges into our tiny dot of energy. Too much energy to be contained. BANG. I don't think it's any more likely than conventional nothingness, but I do have to say, it's got a flare for the dramatic. Plus, if you feel insignificant in the grand scheme of this universe, it'll draw you even further to think of this just being one of an infinite number of universes. Technically... mutli-verse at that point? Not really uni.

No, there really isn't a rant here. Just a thought.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- NASA's top watchdog routinely tipped off department officials to internal investigations and quashed a report related to the Columbia shuttle explosion to avoid embarrassing the agency, investigators say.

Cronyism? In Bush appointees? Nah, never heard of such a thing.

NASA administrator Michael Griffin has proposed sending Cobb to leadership training and requiring that he meet regularly with department officials on how to improve, but that is not enough, said Integrity Committee Chairman James Burrus.

''All members of the committee believe that disciplinary action, up to and including removal, could be appropriate,'' he said in a previously unreleased report that also accused Cobb of abusing authority to create an ''abusive work environment.''

If there's one thing that American's can count on it's that our president appoints like-minded individuals into to posts that demand accountability.

Internal e-mails and documents made available Thursday paint a picture of Cobb as an IG more concerned with preserving cozy relationships than maintaining independence in the agency he is charged with overseeing.

Of course it means that honesty and integrity aren't exactly qualities that are in demand are they, but then again people like that would hardly fit into the current administration now would they...?

Only President Bush can dismiss Cobb, a former White House aide and 1986 law graduate whom Bush selected as NASA's IG in 2002. The White House has said it is satisfied with NASA's plans to require leadership training for Cobb, who once was an adviser on ethics to then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, now the attorney general.

Cheney seems to have a little problem in differentiating fact from fiction. Just recently, in a sermon to the choir (re: interview with Rush Limbaugh) Captain "I can make up the facts if I want to it's my party" Cheney reasserted that Al-Qaida was in Iraq before, during and after the invasion. Quaint. More so since the Defense Department simultaneously released a report saying explicitly that Al-Qaida was not, that's right not, associated at all with Saddam and his regime.

What's most annoying, and the source of this rant, is just how blandly Cheney can lie and how smug he is in pandering to an audience that wants to believe him at all cost. On top of that it's the fact that not only does he know it's a lie, but he's so crude as to try and propagate it while the government he works for is publishing factual data to the contrary. Clearly he knows the people he's posturing to are idiots and retards, since no one else could possibly believe his claims in the face of published fact.

At a certain point you have to feel sorry for the Republicans. Their elected leaders obviously think so very little about their ability to reason that they don't even bother to window-dress the bullshit.

I have an idea for how to stop people from parking illegally. Anytime they're in the fire lane or handicapped spots or in front of a fire hydrant... normal people are allowed to key them.

I think it'll solve a lot of problems. Someone double parked you in? Tell him how you feel by etching it on his brand new car. If they don't want to put the time in, I think the new paint job is a reasonable fine. If a cop catches you you just demonstrate the illegal parking and continue etching to your little hearts content.

Of course, there have to be limits... you have to prove it was parked illegally. Camera phones would be ideal for that. Maybe you could anonymously send a picture of both the illegal parking and the etching to the police to back up your claims.

Yes, I know.. I know... it'll never work. But it's not that hard to park properly. The walk isn't THAT far, even from the back of the lot. And it turns out, they're not the king of the world, able to do whatever they want. I just think we should be able to convey that message to them in a permanent fashion.

Is that so wrong?

Went to the store today. Much like I do every week. Sometimes my lady comes with, sometimes not. Today, she gave me a list of things we need. On the list were a couple of 'feminine products'. I'm not one who has a problem with that, so off I go. Get to the checkout lane and some dipshit near me does the whip cracking sound. Then proceeds to further humiliate himself by saying 'She's got you on a short leash, eh? Sucks about your balls. How long they been missin?"

That he has teeth still is a demonstration of my supreme self control.

Putting the sophomoric reaction of Mr Neanderthal, what is the concept behind it? Seriously. Is it because men are that insecure in their masculinity that they're afraid others will think the box of tampons is for THEM? That just by buying it, we're somehow less of a man?

Think about it for two seconds. You know what it says? That you have a significant other who is comfortable with you. Wife, girlfriend, whatever. Alternatively, that you have a teenage daughter that needs said products.

No matter which of the above is true, isn't is MORE masculine to have them than not? Even in the most base terms, it means you have a woman that you care for. I'm going to take a big chance here and say that dipshit... probably doesn't. So, I'm one up on him. Good job dipshit!

Three months ago, our office was busting at the seams. The two people I supervise and I got moved to another floor on the opposite end of the building to make room. Why were we chosen? Because we can be trusted to do our work and not need a lot of supervision. Aww, what a great reward! We get a bunch of extra exercise running back and forth and we get to figure out how to work the piece of shit printers near us. Plus, I lost my window seat, but who wants natural sunlight when the florescent lights give off such a nice harsh glow?

Now, I have to move. Why? The folks we are borrowing space from need my cubie for someone they are hiring and that person needs "privacy to do personnel stuff". So, you guessed it, the place they are moving me to has NO privacy. Has a four foot wall. They removed the two newer desks, and put in a was-going-to-be-surplussed desk. At least they left me a file cabinet (since the new cubie has NOTHING, and old cubie had cabinets). I get to sit next to an intern (typically interns get the crappy spots), but at least he is pretty cool. I get a crappier set up than most of the secretaries. At least I have a bookcase that I will be strategically placing for a semblance of privacy.

*bends over* Thank you Sir, may I have another. Harder this time, please.

The commercial opens with a man kissing his wife goodbye as he heads to work. It's a nice early morning in suburbia, a jogger in sweats smiles as he lopes down the street. The mood shifts as the husband drives away, the jogger, suddenly yanking up his hood turns around - bolts back to the house and kicks in the front door. The wife, in the kitchen, screams and drops a plate. Then the alarm goes off, and the would-be criminal takes off in a panic. The spot ends with a cut to a rapid series of phone calls, ADT calling the wife, saying the police are coming, the worried husband, etc.

Clearly the message we're to receive here is - even in multi-million dollar, white suburbia you must be AFRAID. Always be AFRAID. Even at 9am, be AFRAID. That's fine, they're trying to sell security and it's kinda hard to do if there's nothing to fear. But.. lets look at the truly asinine parts of the commercial:

1. It's first thing in the morning, how many crimes are done at 9am? Seriously you think druggies come down off their fixes while watching the Today show and then head out for a busy day of breaking and entering?

2. Wife is in the kitchen, cleaning dishes. Ok get fucking real. To afford a house like that in a neighborhood like that either the wife -has- to work, or the husband is so fucking stacked that she doesn't have to wash dishes. Give me a break.

3. The alarm system is on. Ok most people alarm the house when they go to bed or when they're away, but NOT first thing in the morning. So what's happening here? The husband is locking his wife in the house? And setting the alarm? This means if she has to open the door to buy GirlScout cookies she has to turn off the alarm? Can she open a window to let in fresh air or does the whole house need to be vapor-locked?

4. Clean shaven, college boy jogger turns burglar. So let me guess, kicking in front doors is part of his morning workout routine or this is a part time hobby while he's off-semester working on his MBA.

Overall the whole spot is retarded, I know ADT needs to scare people but ffs do an effective job at it would'ja?