Dishonoring Our Veterans

I recently attended a Memorial Day service in Green Bay, WI at Fort Howard Memorial Park. I was thoroughly disgusted by the service.

Memorial Day is meant to be a day to honor *all* of the fallen soldiers who have served our country. It is a day to remember *all* of the solders and to honor their sacrifice. It is not a time for religious propaganda nor a time for politics. Unfortunately, the people who were leading this particular service didn't understand that.

The service was filled with references to the current war in Iraq, the catch phrase "war on terror," and references to Jesus. The speaker referenced that God was on our side in the "war on terror" and that our soldiers would be victorious. He said that God would watch over them and protect them and that Jesus was to be praised.

Let's get something straight... Muslims, Christians, and Jews worship the *same* god. If there *were* no belief in this god, we would not have the fundamentalism that has caused this war. This war cannot be won through a belief in a god. God, or rather the belief in God, is the cause of the war in which we find ourselves.

*Not once* did the speaker make reference to the fact that our soldiers have different beliefs, that this country was founded by people of differing beliefs (Deists, Unitarians, Atheists, and yes, Christians), and that because of the sacrifices that soldiers throughout history have made, we are supposedly free to believe what we want. All of the speaker's references were of the "Praise Jesus and Pass the Ammunition" type. The speaker at this service did *not once* offer remembrance to any of the soldiers of over 40 other religions. He only referenced the Christian soldiers.

The speaker also referenced the freedom that all American's enjoy because of the sacrifices of our Christian soldiers. Well... let me tell you... I do not enjoy the freedoms that other Americans enjoy. I am not free. As long as Christian Fundamentalists, like the speaker at the Memorial Day service, continue to push their agenda onto those of other faiths and as long as they continue to make laws that take away my freedom, I am not free.

I considered those soldiers who are not Christian and yet died fighting for freedom. I believe that as long as fundamentalists refuse to honor and respect those soldiers, and as long as those of us who are non-Christian citizens are forced to live by laws that go against our beliefs, we are not free.

The type of behavior displayed by the speaker only furthers my disdain for the theocracy that this country is becoming and for the pride and audacity of these religious fundamentalists. The speaker's lack of respect for *all* of our soldiers is truly unpatriotic and disgusting.

It was as if the speaker at this service, by honoring only the Christian soldiers, was implying that all others died for nothing. To him, they were already forgotten.

Swallow it down...

This post isn't going to be one of my usual... this one... well, is more of a window into the inner workings of my head. It's an attempt at trying to focus in and understand all of the noise in my head... all of the screaming, doubt, anger, sadness, hopefulness, happiness, joy, and beauty that it perceives. It's an attempt to quiet the storm, to hush the voices (all my own of course... there's no one else living here), to find some solace, and to come to terms with the fact that this is not the world in which I wish to live. This post is free form, flowing thoughts, with no beginning or end - like many thoughts in my brain, only a middle.

blue pill... take the blue pill... why? why does everyone insist on taking the blue pill?.. Is it because they have not the capacity to deal with the wrongs? Is it too much to handle?... Prozak, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, why do we fell the need to medicate ourselves until death... why are we so anxious, so depressed, what is wrong with society that damn near everyone I know is on some sort of anti-depressant?... $3.50 a gallon, no freedom of speech, don't dare disagree with the administration, starving children right here in our own back yards, NEW JOBS CREATED they cry... yet all of them low wage, expanding health care costs while CEOs make millions off the backs of the working poor, religion influencing the laws that others must follow, laws which only serve to help a few and stomp on others, socioeconomic discrimination - legalized, my family doesn't matter... fuck the reich, those holier than thou hypocritical bastards... ignore the fact that it's all illusion, believe in the illusion, take the blue pill and it'll all be so much better... believe the way 'we' do, live the way 'we' live... No! Fuck you!... I find no solace in the blue pill... pretending everything's ok... EVERYTHING IS NOT OK!... open your god damned eyes!... fuck the blue pill!... but then it makes everything so much more difficult... is the path of least resistance really the best path? Take the damn blue pill? Ignore the veil and live in the illusion? Fucking fascists... that's what they would prefer... a dictatorial government where only they have privilege and everyone else has no rights... excuse me if I still believe in the American Dream and opportunity for everyone... not in privilege for few... why the hell should I blindly follow laws and morays created by those with greed for money and power? ...laws created by those whose IQs are significantly lower than my own and which only serve a handful of people? People are fucking stupid. I despise this world. I despise the blue pill. Oh, but just take it and you too will be able to function in 'our' illusion. Don't want to take it? Well we've got a solution for that too... we will force you to. We will medicate society and subdued them with fear... fear of eachother.. then we will be able to control them all because everyone will be too afraid of eachother to even communicate with each other... to afraid to learn that different is not bad, it's just different... yes, we will medicate and paralyze everyone... only then can we carry out our true plan of world domination... those who disagree with our own "values" will be socioeconomically bludgeoned into non-existence.. no one really cares about them anyway... cause they're different... and remember, the blue pill tells you different is bad and everything is going to be okay.. just do what we say and fear your neighbor... take the blue pill and just pretend right along with us that everything will be okay. Fuck the blue pill... then again... until I find a way out... it is easier... I do not want to live in this world which they are creating. I do not wish to live in their reality. This is not the reality which I choose for myself. Maybe I'm an idealist... but I don't see how this blue pill bullshit is benefiting humanity. It only makes us fear and hate one another while pretending that everything is okay.... EVERYTHING IS NOT OK... but for now, I've no way out... so... for now, I'll swallow it down, I'll give in, I'll pretend, and maybe... everything will be okay.

The king of veto power...

Well, today the White House vetoed yet another war spending bill. This bill gave the President full authority to ignore the suggested withdraw deadline, yet still he vetoed it. It is clear that he does not care that there are people dying every day. It is clear that he wants it his way or no way.

...remember, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. "-W. ... and by "us" he means "me" ...and by "terrorists" he means "everyone who disagrees with me."

It's really no surprise... has everyone forgotten this great Bush quote?

"I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me." -W.

That's right... the Barney The Dog holds more weight than the voice of the American people.

Falwell's Death

Some people were wondering how I feel about Falwell's death.

I was taught that if you don't have anything nice to say... don't say anything at all. So that's what I'm saying about this... nothing.

Instead... I'll leave you with some of his quotes and leave it up to you to figure out how I feel about it.

Jerry Falwell Quotes:

Regarding 9/11 and terrorism:

1. "The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'" --on the 9/11 attacks
   
   
2. “I had a student ask me, "Could the savior you believe in save Osama bin Laden?" Of course, we know the blood of Jesus Christ can save him, and then he must be executed”
   
   
3. "You've got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops. And I'm for the president to chase them all over the world. If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord."
   
   
4. “God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve”
   
   
5. “I sincerely believe that the collective efforts of many secularists during the past generation, resulting in the expulsion from our schools and from the public square, has left us vulnerable”

Regarding homosexuality:

1. "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh's charioteers ... AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."
   
   
2. “Homosexuality is Satan's diabolical attack upon the family that will not only have a corrupting influence upon our next generation, but it will also bring down the wrath of God upon America.”
   
   
3. “[homosexuals are] brute beasts...part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven.”
   
   
4. “I do not believe we can blame genetics for adultery, homosexuality, dishonesty and other character flaws”
   
   
5. "He is purple — the gay-pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle — the gay pride symbol." –from a "Parents Alert" issued in Jerry Falwell's National Liberty Journal, warning that "Tinky Winky," a character on the popular PBS children's show, "Teletubbies," may be gay

Regarding marriage, paedophelia, prostitution, and adultery:

1. “Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them”

Regarding the Government and Politics:

1. "I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!"
   
   
2. “Textbooks are Soviet propaganda”
   
   
3. “Pat ran for president once and he's a very political person, and that is the way politicians talk. They all use intimidation and political strong-arming to hopefully pick up a vote or two.
   
   
4. "Nothing will motivate conservative evangelical Christians to vote Republican in the 2008 presidential election more than a Democratic nominee named Hillary Rodham Clinton - not even a run by the devil himself ... I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate. She has $300 million so far. But I hope she's the candidate. Because nothing will energize my [constituency] like Hillary Clinton. If Lucifer ran, he wouldn't." --at a "Values Voter Summit"
   
   
5. “The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country”
   
   
6. “The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi party is to Jews”
   
   
7. “The whole (global warming) thing is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and our economic stability”
   
   
8. “We visit prisoners on death row, and some of them are saved, but we believe their sentences should be carried out because they have a debt to society”
   
   
9. “Joseph Farah raises a clarion call to action in his new book, 'Taking America Back.' He hits the nail on the head on every issue. What's more, he lays the blame for America's problems right where it belongs ? in the lap of liberalism. His insightful analysis of what he calls 'this evil ideology' is worth the price of the book. Don't miss it!”
   
   
10. “What we've worked on for 30 years, to mobilize people of faith and value in this country, what we've done through these years is coming to culmination right now.”
    
    
11. “Now we're looking at what we really started on 30 years ago, reconstruction of a court system gone awry.”

Regarding Religion:

1. “Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”
   
   
2. “Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan in America”
   
   
3. “If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being”
   
   
4. “It appears that America's anti-Biblical feminist movement is at last dying, thank God, and is possibly being replaced by a Christ-centered men's movement which may become the foundation for a desperately needed national spiritual awakening"
   

Pineapple! Pineapple! Pineapple!

Another funny video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7336037952396897588&q=ross+the+intern+steve+irwin

There's a bear in the back yard!

This has got to be the funniest thing I've seen in a long time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cv4a0OMgrE

The Meaning of Life

For those of you who don't know, my grandmother, Baba (that's Slovak for Grandma), passed away a few months ago. She was a sweet woman with a beautiful smile and we are now learning that she was quite ornery and had a wit that was cutting as well! :)

Anyway, since her passing, I think I've talked with her and spent more time with her than when she was alive. She shows up quite often in my dreams and we hang out and have wonderful little conversations.

Here's last night's dream:

My sister, my dad, Baba, and myself are sitting in a little hotel room (these dreams almost always take place in a waiting room or hotel room... I'm not sure why). My sister figures that since my Baba has passed over to the other side, that maybe she can offer a little insight into things. So she asks her, "What's the meaning of life?"

I laugh and reply, "42."

My dad starts into this big long speech about how you have to define what the word "meaning" means before you can even answer the question.

My Baba just sat there and smiled. "Do you know?" I asked. Her eyes smiled at me and she said, "Yes."

"Well?" I say, "What's the answer?"

She replies... "Everyone thinks they need to drive a damn car."

WTF!?

So, I'm on my way to work today and I see this big ass SUV pass me going at least 10 over. On the back of this huge 15mpg Tahoe carrying one passenger is a window painting of a landscape with horses. Underneath the window painting is a bumper sticker that reads: "Save gas. Ride a horse."

Electric Vehicle Solution - maybe...

So I'm wondering what your thoughts are about solutions for electric assisted or fully electric powered vehicles. Sure they're great for short trips into town for work or school, but they're not so great if you want to go on a road trip.

So what I'm thinking is that they need to come up with exchangeable batteries. I guess it would work a lot like propane tanks. You pull into the fuel station when your battery is low, pop your battery out of your vehicle, pay a few dollars, and exchange your low battery for a fully charged one that you can pop back into your vehicle and be off!

The batteries could even be recharged using renewable energy resources like wind.

Now, I have no idea the amount of wind power would be needed to charge a battery for a 2 or 3 person small vehicle... but I'm sure that some of you out there have thought about it or already have it figured out.

So... what are your thoughts?

Damned if I do.

Ok... so I've come to the conclusion that no matter what I drive, it's still a car and it still sucks.

If I buy gasoline for my car then I'm supporting big oil, war, and all of the atrocities, including human rights violations, that happen in countries like Sudan. As well, I'm definitely contributing to CO2 emissions.

If I fill my car with ethanol, since most of it is made from corn grown in second and third world countries instead of corn made here, and also because it's made from a food source that isn't very energy efficient, I'm supporting starving people rather than letting them have food to eat and still contributing near the same CO2 emissions.

Not only that, but the cost of producing 1 litre of ethanol is about $1.24 inculding tax subsidies. That's $4.59 a gallon!

Even worse, the good byproducts do NOT outweigh the bad byproducts! Corn crops contribute the most herbicide pollution and soil erosion that any other crop grown! Also, ethanol plants are not held to the same standards as other refineries when it comes to chemical pollutants. That means that they can, and do, produce and introduce into the environment more pollutants than other fuel refineries.

Ethanol from sugar cane costs $0.33 per litre. That's certainly better... and people don't need raw sugar to survive. Unfortunately, it also amounts to a net negative energy savings.

Apparently the only thing that *might* be a viable renewable fuel source is not a liquid fuel at all. It's a pellet. Switch grass pellets have an energy return of about 1:14.6 kcal. Pellets can also be a good alternative source of energy in stoves for heating. Unfortunately, I don't see any automakers rushing out to make pellet fueled cars and trains.

So... I guess as long as I'm driving a car and as long as the city continues its 20 year argument of *how* and *where* to build a commuter rail, then I'm stuck being responsible for killing and raping people in Sudan or starving people in South America.

Damned if I do. Damned if I do.