Monday, December 18, 2006
Monday, November 06, 2006
The world still loves America
An excerpt from an email I received from a close friend of mine.
We were a bit worried about visiting other countries because the media paints us as being hated by every other nation. Not so! We met people from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Korea, and of course, Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland. When they found out where we were from, they were thrilled. They all told us that the Americans were loved in their countries, and the only people we encountered that were unkind, were the French, and we were told that they hate everyone! So don't believe everything you hear in the news!
Anyway, we are home, rested, recovered from jet lag, and happy to have made new friends all over this beautiful world of ours, and in spite of how we are sometimes made to feel, I'm very proud to be an American!
love, Sue
We were a bit worried about visiting other countries because the media paints us as being hated by every other nation. Not so! We met people from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Korea, and of course, Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland. When they found out where we were from, they were thrilled. They all told us that the Americans were loved in their countries, and the only people we encountered that were unkind, were the French, and we were told that they hate everyone! So don't believe everything you hear in the news!
Anyway, we are home, rested, recovered from jet lag, and happy to have made new friends all over this beautiful world of ours, and in spite of how we are sometimes made to feel, I'm very proud to be an American!
love, Sue
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Brother President?
Gallup poll: Two thirds of Americans not ready for a Mormon president
I wonder how different the results would have been if the questions was asked:
"Generally speaking, do you think Americans are ready to elect a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as president, or not?”
I wonder how different the results would have been if the questions was asked:
"Generally speaking, do you think Americans are ready to elect a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as president, or not?”
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
How Time Flies...
Wow, I can't believe it's been 4 months since I've posted anything on my blog. I've probably lost all my readers.
Well, Sariah and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the LDS Temple in Las Vegas on September 2nd. It was such an amazing day, from arriving at the Temple in the morning to the reception and honeymoon afterwards. It was so overwhelming.
I'll give some more details soon. I promise.
Love ya all,
Carter
Well, Sariah and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the LDS Temple in Las Vegas on September 2nd. It was such an amazing day, from arriving at the Temple in the morning to the reception and honeymoon afterwards. It was so overwhelming.
I'll give some more details soon. I promise.
Love ya all,
Carter
Friday, May 05, 2006
Moussaoui's Oubliette
Unlike most people I think Zacharias Moussaoui is getting exactly what he deserves. He doesn't get to be martyr, he doesn't get to make any more speeches, he gets to be forgotten.
Moussaoui is going to be dropped into his own personal oubliette in Colorado's SuperMax prison. And when he dies in 50 years or so, no will even remember who he was or what he tried to do. Instead of a Full page layout on page one announcing his execution, at best he'll get a couple paragraphs announcing that the one time confessed jihadist died of kidney failure, and was buried in American soil because he had no family to claim him.
On Les Aura!
Moussaoui is going to be dropped into his own personal oubliette in Colorado's SuperMax prison. And when he dies in 50 years or so, no will even remember who he was or what he tried to do. Instead of a Full page layout on page one announcing his execution, at best he'll get a couple paragraphs announcing that the one time confessed jihadist died of kidney failure, and was buried in American soil because he had no family to claim him.
On Les Aura!
Friday, April 28, 2006
I'd like to sell you a sandwich.
An analogy of Gasoline prices and the American free market.
I'm a sandwich maker, I make and sell sandwiches. I buy my ingredients, bread, meat, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayonaise, etc., at the local market.
I sell each sandwich for $1.00.
The ingredients for a single sandwich cost me $0.75. Part of that $0.75 is sales tax, 8%, or 5.5 cents.
The government (State, Local, & Federal) requires that I collect $15.5 cents for taxes on each sandwich I sell.
So after selling you the sandwich for $1.00, recouping the cost of making the sandwich, and taking out the taxes, I have 9.5 cents in profit. But, because that is income, the government wants part of that too. In my current tax bracket I pay 31.6% in taxes. So, 3 cents on each sandwich I sell also goes to the government.
So, for the sandwich I made, the store that sold the ingredients got 69.5 cents, the government who did nothing at all got 24 cents, and I got 6.5 cents. So my percentage of profit is 6.5%.
Let's say I sell 88 Billion Sandwiches, at $1.00 each.
It has now cost me $61.16 billion dollars in ingredients.
You might think that I would get $5.72 billion after taxes but I'm in a much higher tax bracket and now instead of 31.6% in taxes,
I pay 83% in taxes, or $6.9388 billion.
So, 8% of the $61.16 billion for the ingredients is $4.8928, plus 15.5% of the $88 Billion in sandwich sales is $13.64 billion. $4.8928 + $13.64 + $6.9388 = $25.4716
So the government gets $25.4716 billion total, even though it still hasn't done anything to contribute to the sandwich making.
I'm left with $1.3684 billion dollars in profit. My profit percentage is down to just 0.01555.
One day the price of Bread goes up 150%. So now the ingredients for 88 Billion sandwiches costs $70 billion instead of $61.16 billion. I don't want to make less of a profit, So the price of a single sandwich goes up from $1.00 to $1.11.
88 billion sandwiches at $1.11 = $97.68 billion
Ingredients = $70 billion
Taxes = $5.6 (8% of $70) + $13.64 (15.5 cents per sandwich) + $7.0052 (income tax on my profits) = $26.2452 billion
Profit = $1.4348 (0.01469%)
So the sandwich buyers look at the extra 11 cents they had to pay and then they look at the extra $66.4 million dollars I made selling this batch of sandwiches and accuse me of price gauging even though my profit margin is actually smaller. While behind the scenes the government laughs it up with the extra $773.6 million dollars they got (almost 12 times more than what I got) for doing nothing.
So when 8% of that extra 11 cents you are paying is for taxes, and only a seventh of 1% of that extra 11 cents is my profit who's really gauging the average american sandwich buyer?
Subsidies -
In response to Jason's question about subsidies here is a quick tutorial on subsidies as it would relate to my Sandwich business.
One of the reasons reasons the tax on each sandwich is so high, is so the government can use the money for Sandwich subsidies. Subsidies are money that the government pays to a business so that the business will do something it wouldn't normally do on it's own, because it isn't profitable. So far as I know the amount a company receives in subsidies isn't included as part of their reported profits, but I could be wrong about that. Since subsidies are not used in any way to pay for Sandwich production I didn't mention it in the calculations above.
In this case the government pays me a subsidy to maintain a reserve storage of bread, meats, and other ingredients. See, the government is worried that so many people depend on my Sandwiches. If there was an emergency such as a hurricane destroying the wonder bread factories, then there would be a shortage of bread and therefore sandwiches, and this would drive up sandwich prices to $3.00 a sandwich. So the government pays me to keep a reserve supply of bread, which I wouldn't normally do, because I don't make any money storing bread.
Another subsidy the government pays me, is to help defend, service and maintian wheat and tomato crops in areas where they are in danger due to some local political unrest. For example, most of our tomatoes come from Northern California. The military invades Northern California to get that horrible dictator Arnold Schwarzeneggar out of power. This endangers tomato production, so I help to keep the tomatos safe, again insuring that the Sandwich supply remains stable.
The government also pays me a subsidy to research ways to make Sandwiches more healthy, and ways to reduce the amount of waste produced from Sandwich consumption (wrap your head around that one).
I'm a sandwich maker, I make and sell sandwiches. I buy my ingredients, bread, meat, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayonaise, etc., at the local market.
I sell each sandwich for $1.00.
The ingredients for a single sandwich cost me $0.75. Part of that $0.75 is sales tax, 8%, or 5.5 cents.
The government (State, Local, & Federal) requires that I collect $15.5 cents for taxes on each sandwich I sell.
So after selling you the sandwich for $1.00, recouping the cost of making the sandwich, and taking out the taxes, I have 9.5 cents in profit. But, because that is income, the government wants part of that too. In my current tax bracket I pay 31.6% in taxes. So, 3 cents on each sandwich I sell also goes to the government.
So, for the sandwich I made, the store that sold the ingredients got 69.5 cents, the government who did nothing at all got 24 cents, and I got 6.5 cents. So my percentage of profit is 6.5%.
Let's say I sell 88 Billion Sandwiches, at $1.00 each.
It has now cost me $61.16 billion dollars in ingredients.
You might think that I would get $5.72 billion after taxes but I'm in a much higher tax bracket and now instead of 31.6% in taxes,
I pay 83% in taxes, or $6.9388 billion.
So, 8% of the $61.16 billion for the ingredients is $4.8928, plus 15.5% of the $88 Billion in sandwich sales is $13.64 billion. $4.8928 + $13.64 + $6.9388 = $25.4716
So the government gets $25.4716 billion total, even though it still hasn't done anything to contribute to the sandwich making.
I'm left with $1.3684 billion dollars in profit. My profit percentage is down to just 0.01555.
One day the price of Bread goes up 150%. So now the ingredients for 88 Billion sandwiches costs $70 billion instead of $61.16 billion. I don't want to make less of a profit, So the price of a single sandwich goes up from $1.00 to $1.11.
88 billion sandwiches at $1.11 = $97.68 billion
Ingredients = $70 billion
Taxes = $5.6 (8% of $70) + $13.64 (15.5 cents per sandwich) + $7.0052 (income tax on my profits) = $26.2452 billion
Profit = $1.4348 (0.01469%)
So the sandwich buyers look at the extra 11 cents they had to pay and then they look at the extra $66.4 million dollars I made selling this batch of sandwiches and accuse me of price gauging even though my profit margin is actually smaller. While behind the scenes the government laughs it up with the extra $773.6 million dollars they got (almost 12 times more than what I got) for doing nothing.
So when 8% of that extra 11 cents you are paying is for taxes, and only a seventh of 1% of that extra 11 cents is my profit who's really gauging the average american sandwich buyer?
Subsidies -
In response to Jason's question about subsidies here is a quick tutorial on subsidies as it would relate to my Sandwich business.
One of the reasons reasons the tax on each sandwich is so high, is so the government can use the money for Sandwich subsidies. Subsidies are money that the government pays to a business so that the business will do something it wouldn't normally do on it's own, because it isn't profitable. So far as I know the amount a company receives in subsidies isn't included as part of their reported profits, but I could be wrong about that. Since subsidies are not used in any way to pay for Sandwich production I didn't mention it in the calculations above.
In this case the government pays me a subsidy to maintain a reserve storage of bread, meats, and other ingredients. See, the government is worried that so many people depend on my Sandwiches. If there was an emergency such as a hurricane destroying the wonder bread factories, then there would be a shortage of bread and therefore sandwiches, and this would drive up sandwich prices to $3.00 a sandwich. So the government pays me to keep a reserve supply of bread, which I wouldn't normally do, because I don't make any money storing bread.
Another subsidy the government pays me, is to help defend, service and maintian wheat and tomato crops in areas where they are in danger due to some local political unrest. For example, most of our tomatoes come from Northern California. The military invades Northern California to get that horrible dictator Arnold Schwarzeneggar out of power. This endangers tomato production, so I help to keep the tomatos safe, again insuring that the Sandwich supply remains stable.
The government also pays me a subsidy to research ways to make Sandwiches more healthy, and ways to reduce the amount of waste produced from Sandwich consumption (wrap your head around that one).
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Baby Names
Here are names that I thought would've been better for Tom and Kate's illegitimate baby:
Carrie Bien Cruise
Alice Ken Cruise
Carnie Val Cruise
Nora Weejin Cruise
Yuri Pien Cruise
Carrie Bien Cruise
Alice Ken Cruise
Carnie Val Cruise
Nora Weejin Cruise
Yuri Pien Cruise
Friday, April 14, 2006
How Taxes and Tax cuts work
From a letter to the Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2001 (author unknown) -
Every night, 10 men met at a restaurant for dinner. At the end of the meal, the bill would arrive. They owed $100 for the food that they shared.
Every night they lined up in the same order at the cash register. The first four men paid nothing at all. The fifth, grumbling about the unfairness of the situation, paid $1. The sixth man, feeling very generous, paid $3. The next three men paid $7, $12 and $18, respectively.
The last man was required to pay the remaining balance, $59. He realized that he was forced to pay for not only his own meal but the unpaid balance left by the first five men.
The 10 men were quite settled into their routine when the restaurant threw them into chaos by announcing that it was cutting its prices.
Now dinner for the 10 men would only cost $80. This clearly would not affect the first four men. They still ate for free. The fifth and sixth men both claimed their piece of the $20 right away. The fifth decided to forgo his $1 contribution. The sixth pitched in $2. The seventh man deducted $2 from his usual payment and paid $5. The eighth man paid $9. The ninth man paid $12, leaving the last man with a bill of $52.
Outside of the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings, and angry outbursts began to erupt.
The sixth man yelled, "I only got $1 out of the $20, and he got $7," pointing at the last man.
The fifth man joined in. "Yeah! I only got $1 too. It is unfair that he got seven times more than me."
The seventh man cried, "Why should he get $7 back when I only got $2?"
The nine men formed an outraged mob, surrounding the 10th man.
The first four men followed the lead of the others: "We didn't get any of the $20. Where is our share?"
The nine angry men carried the 10th man up to the top of a hill and lynched him.
The next night, the nine remaining men met at the restaurant for dinner.
But when the bill came, there was no one to pay it.
Every night, 10 men met at a restaurant for dinner. At the end of the meal, the bill would arrive. They owed $100 for the food that they shared.
Every night they lined up in the same order at the cash register. The first four men paid nothing at all. The fifth, grumbling about the unfairness of the situation, paid $1. The sixth man, feeling very generous, paid $3. The next three men paid $7, $12 and $18, respectively.
The last man was required to pay the remaining balance, $59. He realized that he was forced to pay for not only his own meal but the unpaid balance left by the first five men.
The 10 men were quite settled into their routine when the restaurant threw them into chaos by announcing that it was cutting its prices.
Now dinner for the 10 men would only cost $80. This clearly would not affect the first four men. They still ate for free. The fifth and sixth men both claimed their piece of the $20 right away. The fifth decided to forgo his $1 contribution. The sixth pitched in $2. The seventh man deducted $2 from his usual payment and paid $5. The eighth man paid $9. The ninth man paid $12, leaving the last man with a bill of $52.
Outside of the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings, and angry outbursts began to erupt.
The sixth man yelled, "I only got $1 out of the $20, and he got $7," pointing at the last man.
The fifth man joined in. "Yeah! I only got $1 too. It is unfair that he got seven times more than me."
The seventh man cried, "Why should he get $7 back when I only got $2?"
The nine men formed an outraged mob, surrounding the 10th man.
The first four men followed the lead of the others: "We didn't get any of the $20. Where is our share?"
The nine angry men carried the 10th man up to the top of a hill and lynched him.
The next night, the nine remaining men met at the restaurant for dinner.
But when the bill came, there was no one to pay it.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Pictures Of You
Lauren, Elysse, Sariah, and Harley feeding the fish at Lake Mead
Sariah at the jewelry store, the day we bought her engagement ring
Carter and Sariah (on our second date)
Monday, April 03, 2006
The new SLAVE class
And here I thought slavery was made illegal in the United States with the 13th Amendment to our constitution.
So, now we've got our Congressmen and our President talking about allowing illegal aliens to remain in our country to work jobs that Americans won't work. It makes me sick every time I hear that phrase. I bet this same argument was made in the debate arguing to keep slaverly legal over 100 years ago. "Those black slaves are doing jobs that white people won't do."
I just listened to Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor talking about his immigration bill. He talks about all the new laws that it will create. Mr. Kennedy, what difference will that make when we don't enforce the laws that already exist? He talks about how his bill is not giving illegal aliens amnesty. Yet, he just said minutes before that we must recognize that we won't be deporting the 11 million illegal aliens we have in the country now. So, they are here illegally and won't be deported, they face no punishment for their crime. Mr. Kennedy, how is that not amnesty? That is the very definition of amnesty.
So, at what point are we going to need another amendment to the constitution to free all of our new slaves? When do we enforce our labor laws and insist that all these "guest workers" are paid at least minimum wage? When will they to be given an apology and promised a plot of land and a donkey to compensate the violation of their human rights?
We have 11 million illegal aliens in this country because in 1986 we gave amnesty to 3 million. So if we do this again, in 2026 are we going to have to debate what to do with the 37 million illegal aliens we will have in the country?
So, now we've got our Congressmen and our President talking about allowing illegal aliens to remain in our country to work jobs that Americans won't work. It makes me sick every time I hear that phrase. I bet this same argument was made in the debate arguing to keep slaverly legal over 100 years ago. "Those black slaves are doing jobs that white people won't do."
I just listened to Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor talking about his immigration bill. He talks about all the new laws that it will create. Mr. Kennedy, what difference will that make when we don't enforce the laws that already exist? He talks about how his bill is not giving illegal aliens amnesty. Yet, he just said minutes before that we must recognize that we won't be deporting the 11 million illegal aliens we have in the country now. So, they are here illegally and won't be deported, they face no punishment for their crime. Mr. Kennedy, how is that not amnesty? That is the very definition of amnesty.
So, at what point are we going to need another amendment to the constitution to free all of our new slaves? When do we enforce our labor laws and insist that all these "guest workers" are paid at least minimum wage? When will they to be given an apology and promised a plot of land and a donkey to compensate the violation of their human rights?
We have 11 million illegal aliens in this country because in 1986 we gave amnesty to 3 million. So if we do this again, in 2026 are we going to have to debate what to do with the 37 million illegal aliens we will have in the country?
Friday, March 17, 2006
Eisley
Please watch these videos, fall in love with this band, buy all their records and paraphenalia, and worship them as I do.
Eisley - Golly Sandra (Live at the Troubadour)
Eisley - Like We Do (Live at the Troubadour)
www.Eisley.com
Eisley - Golly Sandra (Live at the Troubadour)
Eisley - Like We Do (Live at the Troubadour)
www.Eisley.com
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Am I Evil?
| You Are 44% Evil |
 You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination. |
Monday, March 13, 2006
Guilty before proven Innocent
Senator Russ Feingold, democrat, Wisconsin, has just stood on the Senate floor and said in no uncertain terms that President George W. Bush has broken the law and should be censured. Now I pay a lot of attention to what is going on in our country, what our leaders are doing and I watch and read the news constantly throughout the day. At no time has President Bush been indicted for any crime, he hasn't been impeached, he hasn't had any hearing, he hasn't been tried. One of the rights gauranteed by the constitution is the right to trial, and that all those accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I guess Senator Feingold is unfamiliar with the constitution.
If the President is impeached, tried and found guilty of violating the law the I would agree to appropriate punishment. However, calling for a censure of the President at this time, making unproven claims of violating FISA laws and misleading the American people, is completely inappropriate, ignorant, and is nothing more than a public political stunt. Is Feingold courting the Left for a possible Presidential nomination?
If the President is impeached, tried and found guilty of violating the law the I would agree to appropriate punishment. However, calling for a censure of the President at this time, making unproven claims of violating FISA laws and misleading the American people, is completely inappropriate, ignorant, and is nothing more than a public political stunt. Is Feingold courting the Left for a possible Presidential nomination?
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
It's Official
Yes, Sariah and I are official engaged. She has an engagement ring on her finger.
Here is the ring.
This isn't an actual picture of her ring, but it's very close. (I found this picture on the internet)
This is the actual ring, sorry about the poor focus, my digital camera doesn't take good close-up pictures.
And here it is on Sariah's beautiful hand.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Song of the Day
"Golden Ticket" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
(Sariah knows why)
(Sariah knows why)
I never thought my life could be
Anything but catastrophe
But suddenly I begin to see
A bit of good luck for me
'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden twinkle in my eye
I never had a chance to shine
Never a happy song to sing
But suddenly half the world is mine
What an amazing thing
'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden sun up in the sky
I never thought I'd see the day
When I would face the world and say
Good morning, look at the sun
I never thought that I would be
Slap in the lap of luxury
'Cause I'd have said:
It couldn't be done
But it can be done
I never dreamed that I would climb
Over the moon in ecstasy
But nevertheless, it's there that I'm
Shortly about to be
'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it's a golden day
'Cause I'd have said,
It couldn't be done
But it can be done
I never dreamed that I would climb
Over the moon in ecstasy
But nevertheless, it's there that I'm
Shortly about to be
'Cause I've got a golden ticket
'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it's a golden day
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
This is a cool little Brain Teaser
Apparently this is an IQ test given to job applicants in Japan:
"Everybody has to cross the river".
The following rules apply:
Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
The father can not stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence
The mother can not stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence
The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member,if The Policeman is not there
Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft
To start click on the big blue circle on the right.
To move the people click on them.
To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river.
http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf
"Everybody has to cross the river".
The following rules apply:
Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
The father can not stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence
The mother can not stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence
The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member,if The Policeman is not there
Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft
To start click on the big blue circle on the right.
To move the people click on them.
To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river.
http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf
Thursday, February 16, 2006
I Am Yoda
A venerated sage with vast power and knowledge, you gently guide forces around
you while serving as a champion of the light.
Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not - for my ally
is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy
surrounds us, and binds us. Luminescent beings are we, not this crude matter!
You must feel the Force around you, everywhere.
Yoda is a is a character in the Star Wars universe. More Yoda information is
available at the Star
Wars Databank.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!
The song of the day is "Yellow" by Coldplay.
(Sariah knows why)
(Sariah knows why)
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow,
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow
So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know you know I love you so
You know I love you so
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh all the things you do
Cause you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry
Its true look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine
look at the stars look how they shine for you
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Al-Qaeda recruiting in plain view of the whole world
If you've watched or read the news recently then I'm sure you've heard of the protests raging throughout many Muslim countries. The protests are against the publishing of offensive cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammed. But, when you consider that the cartoons in question were published last September, questions arise as to why the protests are happening now, why not five months ago?
These protests aren't unusual, and the current protests hide two sinister purposes -
1) All this media attention on meaningless violent protests draw attention away from reall issues, such as Iran's progress toward achieving their nuclear ambitions.
2) These protests are prime recruiting camps for Al-Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations (it's naive to think that Al-Qaeda is the only one). What better place to find young Muslims already angry with western culture, and willing to express that anger in violent ways. It's not like Al-Qaeda can advertise in the local edition of Al-Jazeera. So, they incite these riots in Afghanistan and other countries, then recruiting agents start making contact with impressionable Muslim men in these mobs, and start selling them on the glory of martyrdom and virgins in heaven. Terrorism is like a virus that spreads, and so far we haven't managed to find an anti-viral agent to stop the disease.
These protests aren't unusual, and the current protests hide two sinister purposes -
1) All this media attention on meaningless violent protests draw attention away from reall issues, such as Iran's progress toward achieving their nuclear ambitions.
2) These protests are prime recruiting camps for Al-Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations (it's naive to think that Al-Qaeda is the only one). What better place to find young Muslims already angry with western culture, and willing to express that anger in violent ways. It's not like Al-Qaeda can advertise in the local edition of Al-Jazeera. So, they incite these riots in Afghanistan and other countries, then recruiting agents start making contact with impressionable Muslim men in these mobs, and start selling them on the glory of martyrdom and virgins in heaven. Terrorism is like a virus that spreads, and so far we haven't managed to find an anti-viral agent to stop the disease.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
My choice for President in 2008
This is the man that I want to see on the Republican ticket. This is the man I want to vote for.
Mr. Romney Goes To Washington.
With this man as the Republican nominee for president, it won't matter if Mrs. Bill Clinton is the Democratic nominee, it won't matter who their nominee is.
Romney in '08!!!!
Mr. Romney Goes To Washington.
With this man as the Republican nominee for president, it won't matter if Mrs. Bill Clinton is the Democratic nominee, it won't matter who their nominee is.
Romney in '08!!!!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Libraries of Eternity
I once had a dream. I dreamt of a library. In this library were the works of all the greatest authors in history. The titles of the books were unfamiliar to me, however. The Return of the Third Son by Charles Dickens, In Pursuit of Peace by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., The King's Last Order by Alexander Dumas. Being an enormous fan of Dumas and Dickens, I was understandably confused that here were books I had never heard of, written by my favorite authors.
I sought out the librarian to inquire as to the origin of these books and if perhaps they were mislabeled. The librarian was an impossibly tall, lean fellow whose mere presence inspired silence and respect for his august position. I asked of this great man how it is that there were books here on his shelves that appeared to be written by my favorite authors but were nevertheless unheard of by me. He responded by asking me a question. "What was Charles Dickens final written work?" Well, that would of course be the mystery of Edwin Drood, which was unfortunately left unfinished when Charles Dickens died. The librarian took me in hand and led me to a shelf at the heart of the library. He removed a volume and handed it to me. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
"Yes, that's the one," I remarked.
"Take a look at it."
I thumbed through the book for a moment, then flipped to the book's list of contents. This book contained 12 chapters. Now I knew that at the time of Charles Dickens death he had only written 6 of the planned 12 parts of this story. I pointed this out to the Librarian.
"This library in which you now stand contains the works of the greatest authors ever to live on the Earth. However, you will not find here a single book written during their mortal lives. The books contained on these shelves before you were all written after the author had completed their mortal probation."
At this revelation I took a look again and the sheer size of the library. It was vast, I looked down between the enormous shelves and could not see an end to the aisle in which I stood. Finally it dawned on me, why would an author stop writing, stop creating, stop imagining, simply because he or she had passed from this mortal world into the next.
The libraries of Eternity await us, a place where there is no end, no limit, to the contributions of humans to literature, music, art, theater, film, etc.
I sought out the librarian to inquire as to the origin of these books and if perhaps they were mislabeled. The librarian was an impossibly tall, lean fellow whose mere presence inspired silence and respect for his august position. I asked of this great man how it is that there were books here on his shelves that appeared to be written by my favorite authors but were nevertheless unheard of by me. He responded by asking me a question. "What was Charles Dickens final written work?" Well, that would of course be the mystery of Edwin Drood, which was unfortunately left unfinished when Charles Dickens died. The librarian took me in hand and led me to a shelf at the heart of the library. He removed a volume and handed it to me. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
"Yes, that's the one," I remarked.
"Take a look at it."
I thumbed through the book for a moment, then flipped to the book's list of contents. This book contained 12 chapters. Now I knew that at the time of Charles Dickens death he had only written 6 of the planned 12 parts of this story. I pointed this out to the Librarian.
"This library in which you now stand contains the works of the greatest authors ever to live on the Earth. However, you will not find here a single book written during their mortal lives. The books contained on these shelves before you were all written after the author had completed their mortal probation."
At this revelation I took a look again and the sheer size of the library. It was vast, I looked down between the enormous shelves and could not see an end to the aisle in which I stood. Finally it dawned on me, why would an author stop writing, stop creating, stop imagining, simply because he or she had passed from this mortal world into the next.
The libraries of Eternity await us, a place where there is no end, no limit, to the contributions of humans to literature, music, art, theater, film, etc.
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