Michael Steele is a Toole

I was just reading about Michael Steele's latest CNN interview and he said he was 'done' with reaching out to Obama.

I've been watching his media circus rounds with an amazement that only rivals what I thought of Sarah Palin. He is a tool like no other. First he says the government doesn't make jobs only work, then he says that Rush Limbaugh is a monster (or something like that), then he apologizes to Rush a day later because he's afraid he's going to lose electors, then he says he plans everything, including all of his squabbles, and now he is acting like a child toward Obama.

I'm with Rachel Maddow on this. I hope he stays around, constantly putting his foot in his mouth so the stupid conservatives keep up the in-fighting and petty squabbling instead of actually showing the voters they can get shit done. Steele looks goofy, acts goofy and is downright retarded. I think as a person not of the media there's a catch-22. I don't care for what he says but I can't get enough of his idiocy.

I'm going to keep watching him contradict himself right and left, on things like abortion rights, the role of the Republicans in national and regional politics, and the Obama administration. Because there is nothing better than a politician being constantly reminded that he remains a populist, never holding to a set of core beliefs.

Critics Call Freedom Tower Name Change Unpatriotic (LINK)

Critics Call Freedom Tower Name Change Unpatriotic

Story is about the recent call the rename the new building where the World Trade Center used to be from Freedom Tower to One World Trade Center.

Ok, where's the news? I see that there is huff over the name, but who cares about the name? Do I have to quote Bill S. here? "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Exactly. Who cares what it is called when the new building is erected? What matters is the symbol it represents. Sure the name should be fitting, but what better name than what it was originally called? Yes it represents Americans ability to rebound after a huge terrorist attack, our fortitude, and our desire to get back on our feet. But if we want to remember something by the words "Never Forget", then the name of the building will always be there. However, as I said the symbol is what matters.

Perhaps we can get to more pressing things at hand int he world instead of griping over the name of a new building. Enough of these straw men news stories.

I say, call it what you want. It your memory, and it represents where you were and what you were doing on that fateful day.

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Vince Shlomi, ShamWow Pitchman, Arrested For Battering Hooker (LINK + VIDEOS)

Vince Shlomi, ShamWow Pitchman, Arrested For Battering Hooker (VIDEO)

Check out the link, which contains two YouTube videos of this guy promoting two as-seen-on-tv products.

What's great about this is that this guy, Vince Shlomi, is he is the epitome of weirdo/freak/crazy person. And you get that vibe from his infomercials, especially with that weird side headset mic he has. So it is just hilarious to see that he was busted for beating up a hooker.

He's like Billy Mays, except more brash and frank in his infomercials, telling you you're basically stupid if you don't buy the products he's promoting. It's almost like, "Hey, idiot, I'm gonna make your life easier with this piece of shit, so pick up the goddamned phone and get to buying it, alright? Hold on, you want me to spell it out for you, douchebag? I thought as much. Fuck you." That's how I'd like to see it with his accent and his fast-paced schtick.

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McCain's Chief Strategist Comes Out In Support Of Gay Marriage (LINK)

McCain's Chief Strategist Comes Out In Support Of Gay Marriage

I am pleased to read that the guy classed as "Rove's protégé" is saying such things about gay marriage and that he voted 'no' on Prop 8. It is extremely unexpected, and it means that Conservatives aren't a total loss. I also heard on Rachel Maddow this evening that his sister is a lesbian, which makes him similar to Dick Cheney, but unlike Cheney, he is actually acting on the beliefs and implications of having a loved one directly affected by discriminatory legislation. I applaud him for this. 

Unfortunately, I did not see much of him during the campaign, so I don't really have an opinion on this guy, and what I do was soured by the fact that he was said to be using Rovian tactics when routing the discussion about the campaign. And so, my opinion got that much better reading this story. We'll see what he does next.

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In other news, I've removed the second part of my blog title, as I felt the joke made its point and all of you reading understand why I named my blog "The Swan Doctrine" now. I think Charlie Gibson gets it and explained his respects.

I much like the forceful "Swan Doctrine," and I hope my worldview is apparent to make it such a doctrine.

And lastly in blog news, I've added "ShareThis" to my blog, and so at the end of each blog post is a little rotating "ShareThis" icon. I hope it gets used. You can pretty much post my blog anywhere online with ShareThis, and I'm so glad serendipity keeps knocking on my door. USE IT!

The Pro-Pot Position... from a Non-Stoner

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-sweeney/taking-the-pro-pot-positi_b_179653.html

It's a good blog post by Dan Sweeney, and I tend to agree with what he has to say about legalizing marijuana.

I do have one caveat though: There has been enough study about marijuana to know it its effects, addictive qualities, outcomes, etc. Is it conscionable to legalize, tax, and put age limits on something we know is harmful? The argument I see is, well, tobacco and alcohol have been legal for decades (except for Prohibition, but people still drank... wood alcohol), so who cares, right? People should make their own decisions and if it's harmful to themselves, well, so what. They made that choice. 

However, I don't think it's that easy. Cigars and cigarettes are heading the way of the dodo. Slowly, but it's happening. With so many restrictions in place, it's not cool any more to smoke cigarettes. Sure you still see a bit of romanticizing, but more and more places are placing smoking restrictions, so if you even try to light up, you're gonna get harassed.

Alcohol is a bit different. There are way too many variables for this one to ever be handled properly. You've got the fact that it is one of two things you can't do when you turn 18, you have organizations like MADD promoting a designated driver, but people still die everyday due to drunk drivers, you've got hundreds of different types of alcohols running around, and you have teens drinking like it'll be gone the next day. If you ask me, it's not taxed enough. It's more like price-inflation to make some profits.

So now we have two legal drugs and their various forms that we've had legal for decades and have known for years are damaging to our health. Yet, they're legal and you can go to most countries and 49 states to get them anytime. I just mentioned the most striking difference between pot and alky/smokes: The latter two have been around longer than we've known the full extent of their damaging effects, and it is the exact opposite for the former.

Now, I believe that if marijuana is legalized, taxed, and set with age limits, you will see the rate of arrests for nonviolent drug offenders drop significantly. It would be a revenue source, especially in California. However, you will still have home-growers and black-market purchases. I don't see much changing, except producers may come to the public view for added revenue themselves. So if that is the case, should we allow more people access to the drug who wouldn't otherwise get it? Would it be in good conscience as a society to present people with a known harming agent (other than war and guns)?

Perhaps, yes, since marijuana is the least of the drug worries. And perhaps, yes, since there are bigger things from which to die or be harmed, so what's a little more government revenue to sweeten the pot?

The Obama... Deception?

I stumbled across this lovely video on YouTube just now. It's a promo for this guy Alex Jones' conspiracy documentary on Obama lying to us about everything and that bankers control the world. YouTube does have the hour-45 minute documentary, but I won't bore you with that, so here's the 5-minute preview:

Aside from the fact that he's high on cocaine, watch the parallels that are drawn together in the images. It is very powerful stuff to human perception to match crazy music, with random images of those you are discussing, and with speech not directly tied to those images. It sets up straw man tactics, red herrings, ad hominem attacks. There are countless in the five minutes this guy is blabbing. He juxtaposes the "All-Seeing Eye" with the White House, he uses emotionally charged words such as "Ponzi scheme" that all the bankers are using to gain massive wealth, and he gives no evidence for his statement that the government plans to use military force on the American public. For one thing, the military IS the American public, and the government IS the people. No way any of us would let it happen. Those are just a few of what I caught when I watched through it once. There is definitely more. Oh, and he repeats himself. For what reason, I'm not sure, but what I can be sure of--it's dumb.

Can we put a lid on stupid speech? I'm all for free speech, as long as it isn't a waste of oxygen, and is coherent and lucid. But all of these crazy conspiracy theorists out there ruin free speech for the rest of us. They make it stupid speech, and I can't stand stupid speech. Just stop moving your mouth, Mr. Jones, and we'll all be better off.

God, I can't believe I share a name with this guy. The horror!

Flying Cars... I Want One!

In the video, it looks like he's not going very fast until the Silverado races by, then you're like 'whoa'. I want one now. I'll park it at Van Nuys Airport.

Lou Dobbs Complains About 'Ethnic Holidays' Like St. Patrick's Day (VIDEO) (LINK)

Lou Dobbs Complains About 'Ethnic Holidays' Like St. Patrick's Day (VIDEO)

This is classic Lou Dobbs, being as ethnocentric and nationalist as ever, calling St. Paddy's Day an "ethnic" holiday. I find it incredibly stupid to class that celebration as a "holiday". Did the government stop working for a day? Did banks and the financial sector shut for the day? No, they didn't, therefore not a holiday. It is very simple. Columbus Day (however controversial) is a holiday. Banks take the day off, and some government do as well. Schools in California don't, but that's because California gets that he is a guy that shouldn't be celebrated. But that's a different story for another day. Christmas -  all government and banks are shut. If anything should be called out for holiday status, it should be all the Christian holidays America observes. there's a legitimate argument there. But St. Patrick's Day? Leave the Irish alone! They might have funny accents and not like the British, but they should be allowed to celebrate a guy who sent the "serpents" away... by drinking lots of alcohol (since it's one of the only things that they're good at, besides bombing people) and wearing green.

It just goes to show Lou Dobbs doesn't understand what America means and CNN should really kick him off the air. He's utterly retarded.

Also, he sucks at making Jewish jokes. There's a fine art to Jewish joke execution, and he fell flat on his face. He's lucky he isn't on any other network ruled by the Jews!

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One Tin Soldier

I'm not much a pacifist, but I do believe wars are asinine, especially for totally wrong reasons and such. However, having said that, I do believe humans are inherently selfish and horrible (evolutionary, really). This means we can't really get away from fighting as long as people are people and everyone is different. I was listening to my iPod earlier, and I listened to a song that I haven't heard in a while. It was "One Tin Soldier" covered by Me First and Gimme Gimmes. Here are the lyrics:

Listen children to a story
that was written long ago
Bout a kingdom on a mountain
and the valley far below
On the mountain was a treasure,
buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley people swore
they'd have it for their own.

So go ahead and hate your neighbor,
go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven,
you can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing,
come the judgment day
But on the bloody morning after,
one tin soldier rides away.

So the people from the valley
sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure,
tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom,
"with our brothers we will share
All the secrets of the mountain,
all the riches buried there."

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses, draw your swords"
And they killed the mountain people,
so they won their just rewards
Now they stood beside the treasure,
on the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it,
"Peace on earth" was all it said.

So go ahead and hate your neighbor,
go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven,
you can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing,
come the judgment day
But on the bloody morning after,
one tin soldier rides away.

I feel the split in ideologies that exist in the world today, conservatism vs. liberalism, match these lyrics exactly. I'm not going to say who is who, because it could really go either way for anybody that looks at it. It is seriously too bad that people are willing to go to any means getting what they want. Again, it all reeks of evolutionary undertones, the whole survival of the fittest thing, but for a world that is getting smaller and smaller, we don't seem to be getting over that.

It's unfortunate, but what are you going to do? The song is a good lesson in hypocrisy and sharing. We'll see if it gets any credence in the future.