5.31.2004

Libertarian Candidate Named

Michael Badnarik was won the Libertarian Party's nomination Sunday with 54% of the vote. I encourage you to read the whole article. I am very sympathetic to the Libertarian Party, but have not yet decided who I will vote for November.

Contra Kerry: I'm afraid that, at this point, Kerry would permanently screw up the Middle East by pulling out within 6 months, regardless of the situation.

Contra Bush: The president is cutting taxes while spending like crazy. I like 1) but not 2). And yes, a lot of it is going towards the war, but there are many bloated programs out there. Will Kerry be any better? It's doubtful.

*UPDATE* The first sentence should read: "Michael Badnarik won the the Libertarian Party's nomination..." I am an imbecile.

Abortion Trend

Say Anything Blog reports on a trend in abortions: abortions of potentially handicapped babies rose 8% last year. It's scary, and he hits the nail on the head with his analysis:

Women are already getting abortions because they simply do not want the baby, why would it be surprising that women would also get abortions when they don't want the handicaps that come with the baby?

Read the rest of it.

5.29.2004

Why We Need Freedom

Samizdata has a post on debating in general. The author found an an incredible quote (IMHO) regarding legislating restrictions on fast food:

"'Whenever the government does something for us, it takes away from our own ability to do that for ourselves. This diminishes us as human beings.'"

YES! And this applies to almost every part of government.

5.28.2004

Saudi man to be deported?

After 9/11/01 and the subsequent Patriot Act, I was concerned that we might overreact in our attempts to prevent future attacks. There are indications that we are indeed overreacting. Hasan Saddiq Faseh Alddin, a Saudi by birth, is potentially going to be deported, despite becoming a permanent resident of the USA in 1999. His crimes: two misdemeanors from domestic violence, one in '98 and one in '02. However, in the '90's, Alddin was the roommate of a friend of the 9/11/01 terrorists.

This is a little too tenuous of a connection for me. The terrorists didn't enter the country until after Alddin left the apartment. Hitting his wife twice (or whatever he did) isn't enough reason to deport him. We have worse citizens that need deported first.

Thanks to World Mag Blog for the link.

5.26.2004

With That Name, You Really Should See It Coming...

There's a clown named Spanky in the Ringling Brothers' Circus. Now before you make crude, immature jokes about his name, like you might if you took a class from this man, let me tell you that you are completely justified in doing so. Turns out, Spanky is a child pornographer. Why would a circus hire a clown named Spanky? Wouldn't they expect something was up?

Conclusion: if you are a circus manager, don't hire clowns named Spanky. That goes for Teabag, as well. If you are a child pornographer posing as a clown... wait, if you are a child pornographer, go repent of your sins now before I castrate you. With a rusty knife.

(Thanks to Dave Barry for the prof link)

Shrek 2

I saw Shrek 2 with Jeff last night, after he kicked my ass in Monopoly. It was pretty good. Now I want to see the first one. Somehow, that movie slipped through. I generally see computer animated movies, because they're more fun.

The thing that really struck me about the movie was that it's not a kid's movie. I don't mean that it's inappropriate for children, just that it's not geared to them. There are blatant references to Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, and Cops, and the humor is sexual or crude. Thus, it is obviously a movie for high school kids. Overall, it's a very good sequel. Note: some of the jokes are too predictable. I started to laugh at the jokes before the punchline came. Two or three lines before the punchline ^^.

I won't give away the ending, but I thought that it was odd (and firmly established Shrek as an anti-fairy tale).

5.24.2004

Iron Blog

Inspired by the Iron Chef, this blog appears to be pretty incredible. There are uses and abuses of the Internet, and this is a great use. We now have a way for people across the nation to debate each other in written format, but more rapidly than through the traditional process of academic papers.

I'm excited to watch this next debate on torture.

The Flyshooter

The Flyshooter! Check it out; this is a lot of fun and a lot easier than older methods, although my girlfriend seems to think that chasing a fly all night long with a rolled-up magazine is great entertainment.

I'm considering cutting the string off the dart so that I can get more range. The spring in this baby is surprisingly strong.

5.20.2004

Jars of Clay Concert :D

I'm going to a Jars of Clay concert in A-town on Saturday with Maureen. Hopefully I can go up Friday night ;D , but that's contingent on the (currently sleeping) parental units.

In case you are a loser or have never heard of Jars of Clay, they are a mainly Christian, mainly acoustic rock group. Their big hit was "Flood" in '95, but they've gotten significant airplay with "Five Candles," "Unforgettable You," and "Show You Love" since then. Since I'm such a rabid fan, it's hard to believe that I've never been to a concert. Wait, I live in the boondocks. Never mind.

Another Puzzle Game

I found another puzzle game, kind of like the Crimson Room or Viridian Room, but much, much edgier: Panda Adventure!

P.S. I found this via a Dave Barry link to a very edgy, physics-minded golf game.

Wow, I think this may be a personal record for links in a post

5.19.2004

Alright, Time to Clear Up Some Confusion

Is my family the only one, or have a lot of people been confusing cicadas with locusts? It's true that they are both insects, and both come in swarms to devour trees and other plants, but they are not the same.

This is a cicada.

This is a locust.

Thank you for using the correct terms. ;)

5.18.2004

Cicadas are actually deadly killers!

Here is what appears to be a very reliable and scientific website on the dangers of cicadas to young children. I want to be just like Dr. Gene Kritsky when I grow up!

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the find.

5.17.2004

Is Democracy Morally Neutral?

Alex made some very insightful comments on my muddled posts. The most thought-provoking comment was about democracy:

-----
As far as the Muslims, there are at least two distinct groups. The extremists won't stop until all the women are veiled and we all read the Quran and worship Allah. However, Muslims are also living peacefully in the U.S., claiming that the extremists are wrong about their own religion, and that they promote peace and tolerance. This is not unlike the situation with Christianity in the U.S., with its many different factions.

Democracy is neutral; it promotes the tolerance of all beliefs without passing judgment. There is no right or wrong. Therefore, it should not be compared to any religion as far as moral correctness.
-----

I disagree with Alex on this point. If there are two factions of Muslims, and democracy clearly falls on the side of the tolerant, then it cannot be neutral in this battle. Democracy supports a certain interpretation of the Qu'ran that is less literal and farther from the Muslim tradition. I agree that Democracy is not pro- or anti-Muslim, but that, philosophically, it supports certain values.

Maybe it is the tolerance and anything goes attitude that has created this whole travesty. Yes, I know, as a libertarian, I am speaking heresy, and should be burned at the stake of freedom now.

Don't worry, I'll be back to normal in a few days. I hope.

I smell an end to this Presidental race

We have found sarin and mustard gas in Iraq, apparently. If this is true, and further tests confirm the preliminary tests, then GWB looks pretty invincible, come November. For those of you that don't know, sarin and mustard gas are both chemical WMDs.

Even if the economy doesn't recover and Kerry nominates Hillary as his VP, Kerry still doesn't have a shot. The biggest reason Kerry has been successful thus far in challenging President Bush is because he is against the war in Iraq. If we do find WMDs, then Bush is justified in the war (at least in the minds of most), and public support will shoot through the roof. We all will forget about the prison abuses, anarchy rampant in Iraq, and disapproval of the rest of the world in no time at all.

5.15.2004

Italian Police

Lamborghini donated a Gallardo to the Italian police the other day. It has a top speed of 192 mph, according to the article.

This makes me want to move to Italy and become a police officer.

Thanks to Dave Barry

World Cup in South Africa for 2010

FIFA gave the 2010 World Cup to South Africa today. It was pretty much a lock, since FIFA had decided to have an African nation host it. I mean, who else are you going to choose? The other finalists were Morocco, Libya, and Egypt. Come on. With an international event, those countries are time bombs. It'd be like holding the World Cup in Israel or something.

I'm all for it. Just keep your fingers crossed and hope that they can get adaquate facilities ready in time.

5.13.2004

What If The Muslims Are Right?

After all the prison abuse news hit the presses, I started thinking about the war. It really rattled me. This had been brewing in the back of my mind for a while now, probably the growth of a seed planted by an anti-war friend. Here are some initial thoughts.

Suppose that the Muslims are right and we are indecent and decadent. Maybe these abuses that are sexual in nature are not aberrences but the natural outgrowth of our culture. You've all watched MTV, I imagine. What does modern music glorify if not promiscuous sex? If they are right, then we have no business "cleaning up" Iraq. If the natural outgrowth of democracy is the proliferation of values that Muslims hate, why should we convert them?

In the end, I don't know what to think. I wish I did, though. I don't think that it was a wise decision to attempt to liberate Iraq. However, I'm going to continue to support the war, because there isn't any better option.

Comments are back!

Even though it is infrequently used, the commenting feature has returned. Much thanks to Alex for his help; it turned out that I had to manually perform step 2 on HaloScan.

5.12.2004

What Theologian Are You? I am Erasmus!


"It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is."

You are Desiderius Erasmus!

You have great love for others and will do just about anything to show it to them. You are tolerant
and avoid confrontations, so people generally are drawn to you. You are more quiet and reserved in
front of strangers, but around some people you open up. When things get tough, you like to meditate
alone. Unfortunately you often get things like "what a pansy," or "you're such a liberal."


What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

Blogger and HaloScan are like oil and water

Well, who knows why, but after reformatting my blog, I can't get the commenting feature to appear. I was able to reinsert my hit counter and links easily, but I've been trying without success to get my comments back in. Oh well... hopefully I can fix this in the morning after some more sleep.

(I slept from 6:30 - 11:30 this evening!)

5.10.2004

Back home!

Well, finals are finally done, and I'm back home. I got back Saturday evening, but I was too tired to do anything, let alone post on here. Looking back on the week, I think that it went well, but could have been better. I procrastinated way too much.

Van Helsing was an excellent movie. As with all horror movies, it requires the viewer to suspend his belief. This didn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie. I thought the theme music for van Helsing himself was excellent. Any movie that combines vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein runs the risk of being ridiculous, but Van Helsing succeeds admirably. With that said, I still won't buy it on dvd. However, I buy very few movies. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers are the only two I own.

5.07.2004

Teddy Bear = Bomb?

What a bunch of idiots we have in airport security. At least this was Britain and not the U.S.

This guy is going to get jail time because he didn't immediately pick up his bag. Security thought there was a bomb or something... maybe it was the teddy bear that fooled them.

5.05.2004

I made it to Purgatory!

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
LevelScore
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)High
Level 2 (Lustful)Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)Very Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Confessions of a Libertarian: why I don't like pot

I agree with libertarians on almost every issue. Their logic makes sense to me... wait, they're the only politicians that use logic. GWB and The Terminator have convinced me that the Republican party is going down the drain. I am pretty much a full-fledged libertarian now. Except on one issue: the legalization of drugs.

Being in college, I've seen what alcohol can do to somebody. It can get pretty scary. I agree that pot's not really as bad (not from personal experience, of course). I don't like the government regulating substances, either. But I'm still not convinced that because alcohol is worse than pot, we should legalize pot. It's still pretty bad.

People are influenced strongly by laws, and what is legal and illegal. I know many people that would be more likely to try pot or do it regularly if the government legalized it. Even though it's wrong, we look to the government as big brother. If he says it's ok, then it must be. While I support the right of people to choose, I also realize that legalizing pot would lead to more people getting high. This would be counterproductive to society. I'm not convinced that legalizing marijuana would be a good move at this time.

On an interesting note, the Dutch are considering regulating marijuana because of its strength. Yeah, this is kind of old news.

5.02.2004

Viridian Room

The sequel to the Crimson Room has finally been created. The Viridian Room is 7 times as hard. Make that 7 times 70 times as hard.

5.01.2004

Hit Counter

I've added a ghetto hit counter, courtesy of Alex's link. I imagine I'll account for the majority of the hits.