It's what's LEFT when you're tired of being WRONG.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Iran

I find THIS very interesting... Iran is about to move several warships through the Suez Canal, and the only indication I can find of it in the news is on the Irish Independent website. Why is it that American media is silent on this? Hmm...

Friday, February 11, 2011

First They Came...

I thought I should reprint this here, in case some of you haven't ever heard
it before:

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

--Pastor Martin Niemoller

The Banned-wagon

There is apparently a very strong new effort to ban smoking by hospital employees altogether. In other words, treating tobacco like an illegal drug. Potential employees would need to take urine tests to detect the presence of nicotine, and employees found to have been smoking, even at home, would be subject to termination. This is pure insanity. It's done ostensibly to reduce healthcare costs and to encourage healthy living. This is akin to Detroit's big-three banning employees from driving gasoline-powered cars. Why would a producer ban it's employees from an activity that the producer believes could possibly lead to a need for the producer's product?

This ban-this-ban-that mentality has got to stop. You can't protect people from themselves. When you try to do this, you damage the fabric of a free society, and the ability of people to pursue happiness. Part of life is the aspect of risk. The reason we have insurance is to hedge against risk, NOT to remove risk. You can't get out of bed in the morning without risking your life, and even so, many people die in bed in their sleep. No place is completely safe, no activity or lack of activity is completely safe. The most important thing you can do in life is to ENJOY it, provided you're not hurting others through your enjoyment. We need to stop banning things that some people are on the bandwagon for, in the name of protecting from themselves those who aren't on the bandwagon.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Chris Lee

What in the HELL was this guy thinking? Up-and-coming Congressman, married, and sending shirtless pictures of himself to women he meets on Craigslist? This seems to me to be a profoundly out-of-control guy. I wouldn't TAKE a shirtless picture of myself, let alone send one to a perfect stranger. He lied to the woman, saying he was 39 and divorced, when of course he's 46 and married, so there's that angle. Then, he lies about it, tries to say that his computer was hacked into, and then finally resigns. This guy obviously lies in all situations where it suits him, he's simply not to be trusted. It just seems so bizarre that someone SO high-profile would pull something so ridiculously boneheaded. Good riddance, Chris Lee.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Transportation after the Big Snow

Lots of people are complaining that they're "annoyed" by late or full busses and trains. Many people are "troubled" by their experiences with less-than-normal situations with mass-transit after Tuesday's monster blizzard. All I can say is, I have had no problems with my 10 year-old Chevy Blazer 4x4. It continues to get me where I want to go day after day. It doesn't stink like a CTA bus, there aren't germs all over the seats and handrails like on a CTA train, and I don't have to walk up and down icy stairs and platforms to get to it. (not to mention, I don't have to deal with the smelly homeless creep who's staring at me from across the aisle) Additionally, if I change my mind mid-route, I can go anywhere I want without worrying about transfers. To top it all off, my entire cost for this luxury, including gas, insurance and maintenance is around $10 per day. I have a hint for all you mass-transit riders: If you don't own and control the vehicle you're riding in, stop complaining and lower your expectations. You are nothing more than a human cow, loading yourself onto your transport pod that is graciously provided to you by taxpayer subsidies and a mismanaged, money-hungry transit agency. If you're tired of leaving your fate in someone else's hands, pick up your deflated self-esteen and go buy a 10 year-old Chevy Blazer 4x4 instead.