This economy is a Croc

If there is to be a silver lining in the disaster that is our--the world's--economic crisis, it is the coming demise of Crocs. Those hideous, neon colored foam shoes that everyone from nurses, to musicians, to gardeners, to former Presidents wore.

Finally. Perhaps some respectability will return to the casual cloths wearing American.

Illegal immigrants and the Dream Act: Where's the fairness in that?

Despite the overwhelmingly liberal swing of my blogging, there is one topic I have avoided discussing, both here and in conversations with friends and coworkers.

However, when it comes to the matter of immigration and illegal aliens in the United States, I can be counted as a conservative.

I ask you however, what is so conservative about wanting to know who is entering your borders? Or wanting the strict laws and procedures that we citizens have to follow, applied equally to those who have no right to be here?

Laws and procedures such as paying taxes, driving with proper and up-to-date licenses and insurance, etc.

What is so conservative about wanting the rewards from following those laws to go to citizens and not to those who have put nothing into the system?

And yet, the same people who break these laws, want us--citizens of this great nation--to feel obligated (and dare I say guilty) to bend over backward to make life easier for their undocumented illegal alien lives.

Well screw you I say. When an illegal immigrant has the gall to tell me that the Dream Act should be passed so he or she can go to college and dare to live a better life in a country that is not theirs, I want to laugh.

Why should they have that right when millions of American Citizens don't have that chance?

Where is the Dream Act for poor, at risk American children?

Where is the Dream Act for American college and masters graduates who did nothing more than follow their dreams, but now find themselves saddled with overwhelming debt to private loan corporations?

Why, I ask you, do illegal, undocumented aliens deserve a better chance in this country than this countries own citizens?

My answer: They don't. Call me a conservative, but I believe in tougher immigration bills and stiff punishments for those who think they can buck the system to do what they want, and then expect someone else to pay for them.

Islamic Law: Marital rape gets the green light in Afghanistan UPDATE

Back in April of this year, I reported on the passing of draconian marital laws in Afghanistan, by President Hamid Karzai.

I am happy to say the leaders of Afghanistan listened to the national hue and cry over the passing of such laws, and have since reformed the marriage laws.

Is it perfect? By no means. Is it better than it was? Yes. Does Afghanistan, and for that matter nearly all Islamic nations, have a long ways to go before achieving equality and respect between men and women? Good God yes.

But remember, every change must begin with a single first step.

Iranian election monitors: No shit there was election fraud

As one of thousands of Americans who were disenfranchised and impossibly angered by the 2004 election results that wrongfully concluded that George W. Bush had one a second term, my prayers and support go out to everyone in Tehran, Iran.

May the senior panel of election monitor's admittance to election discrepancies and fraud lead to a peaceful and fair resolution that will lead to Mir Hussien Moussavi's being declared the presidential winner.

Of course, I'm still a cynic and don't know if I believe if that will happen at all, or at least, not without more bloodshed.

Hispanic boy dragged by noose in parking lot, perp gets off with jail time sleepover

I haven't written in a long time. But it's hard to write about things that piss you off when it seems as though everything in the news does.

But this just took the cake. Could someone please explain to me how,

"[An Ohio 18 year old] accused of putting a noose around a Hispanic boy's neck and dragging him in a parking lot..."

is sentenced to ONLY 10 (read TEN) days in jail?! I mean what the hell?

This incident is far too similar to the dragging deaths in Texas (Brandon McClelland and James Byrd). Of course, I could make connections to the "possible" racial motivations behind this sentencing, but that would preposterous given that America is in a "post race" era since we now have a Black president.

Gruesome crimes like those in Texas happened in barbarian times -- you know, like a year ago.

Guns in national parks

Only two types of people who go to national parks with guns: The park ranger and those going to kill someone and bury them in the park.

Seriously, why would anyone need a gun in a national park?! Is Bambi really that much of a threat? Or maybe that mountain lion some 3 year old brat or annoying yappy dog was harassing...

Then again, I would side with the mountain lion if it chose to eat either one.

I just don't understand how President Obama, Democrats, or any right-thinking human being could agree with this, much less sign it into reality.

Gay rights & hospital policy

I don't care what your stance on the gay rights issue is. We each have our own opinions that are formed from our different experiences and beliefs. But there is no way that anyone could agree with the actions of the doctors and hospital staff towards Janice Langbehn.

"When a loved one is in the hospital, you naturally want to be at the bedside. But what if the staff won’t allow it?

That’s what Janice Langbehn...experienced when her partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, collapsed with an aneurysm....She died there, at age 39, as Ms. Langbehn tried in vain to persuade hospital officials to let her visit, along with the couple’s adopted children."

At what point does policy overrule or outweigh personal decision making? Mrs. Langbehn's partner had clearly chosen to spend her life with her; they had children together, spent 18 years together, where taking a vacation together, and had filled out health care proxy paperwork.

Should not the hospital and staff, no matter their personal beliefs or hospital policy, honored the LEGAL right that Janice Langhehn had to visit, care for, and make medical decisions for her partner?

Islamic Law: Marital rape gets the green light in Afghanistan

I have sat here for ten minuets, trying to find the words to describe just how utterly ashamed and angry I am, and how news like Afghani President Hamid Karzai signing Islamic Law into effect scares the hell out of me.

Did you know that Canadian and European governments have considered allowing Sharia laws to their systems in order to be more inclusive and supportive of Muslims, and so as not to be seen as unwelcoming or prejudice?

How would you like to have laws that:

"[make] it illegal for a woman to resist her husband’s sexual advances," or "[require] a husband’s permission for a woman to work outside the home or go to school," or "[make] it illegal for a woman to refuse to 'make herself up' or 'dress up' if that is what her husband wants"?

Well, news flash: laws like that just became reality for Afghani women.

Sound of Music Train Station Dance

I came across this video while checking out yahoo!

It brought tears to my eyes. I laughed, I sang along, I wanted to move to Belgium.

Nothing like spontaneous dances to make ones day.

Texas Rep. Betty Brown: Asian-American names are too hard to say!

Wow. "There's dumb, then there's Texas dumb!" said one commenter in response to Texas Representative Betty Brown.

This woman actually let these words trip happily out of her botox enhanced mouth:

"Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?"

And yet she wants to claim it's the Democrats who are trying to make this about race when they demand an apology (which she still hasn't given).

Oh those Texas Republicans! Always reminding us that while every village has a missing idiot, some idiots make a box of rocks on a log look damn smart...

Big Oil reluctant to trip down Obama's golden road

Can you honestly tell me that anyone could be surprised by this NY Times article about oil companies:

"...many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made."

Or this:

"The oil companies have frequently run advertisements expressing their interest in new forms of energy, but their actual investments have belied the marketing claims....

Shell, for example, said it spent $1.7 billion since 2004 on alternative projects. That amount is dwarfed by the $87 billion it spent over the same period on its oil and gas projects around the world."

Of course they are straying from the golden path of green technologies! They are in the business of profit. Americans, despite the growing number of motorized toy skates on the road, are forever addicted to their gas guzzling cars and trucks.

But it isn't just the vehicles as the article hints at. "The world consumes about 85 million barrels of oil a day." I'm sorry, be we'd have been dead a long damn time ago if that was all going into the gas tank.

That oil is in toys, plastics, cookware, roads, building materials, lawnmowers,...nearly everything we own, buy, use, and throw away is made from oil.

Is it really any surprise that our reliance on oil isn't such an easy habit to kick?

Barack Obama: Change you can believe in (and fear)

This is a comment in response to the Op-Ed piece by Maureen Dowd titled, "The First Shrink."

"April 05, 2009 3:15 pm

I am a student of history. Professionally. I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten - fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back. Why?

We learn that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has 'loaned' two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom, or why, or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of 'we the people', who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and we no longer teach our founding documents, showing why we are exceptional and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so 'controversial' that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman!). Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago? We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then allow mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government, and our education system is worse than a joke. (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x ten. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion, an enemy who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
Now we have elected President a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla , Alaska . All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling, if not downright scary. Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a 'mandatory civilian defense force' stronger than our military for use inside our borders. No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over, and then demand he explain it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important to the media.
Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now! This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning."

Tom Woods, Professor, Missouri

Monies: the secret word for colleges and universities

"If you are a student of means or ability, or both, there has never been a better year [to apply]" Robert A. Sevier, enrollment consultant to colleges, NY Times.

Great news! If you can afford to go to college or university, go! If you can't afford to go without assistance, well, lets see how many spots are open after we fill them with everyone richer than you.

What the hell? The only reason I was able to go to my alma mater is because my hard work in high school got me a scholarship, and because there was no way my mom was going to be able to help me much.

According to this article, if I were to try to go to school now, I'd be over looked in favor of the person who can whip out his check book and cover tuition in full.

Education, no matter if it is high school or higher ed, should not be a business. The purpose of education is to prepare you to work in the real world, where businesses rule, money is king, and the bottom line is God.

I second many of the comments made in response to this article: There has to be some kind of education reform. This society already marginalizes the poor and underclass. Higher education is damn near the only way to over come these limitations, and it is already cost prohibitive to go, and just getting more so as time goes on.

Clinton: US Addicted to Mexico Addicted to US

How refreshing plain and direct speech is!

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians" (Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton).

She has a very strong point. It is very hypocritical for the US to bitch about "all those damn Mexican drug cartels" when in fact we're the ones buying and giving them every opportunity to increase their profit margin.

The day we take real responsibility for our growing addiction—to the big name drugs (cocaine) AND the small name ones (marijuana)—and the day we take real steps to solve these issues, is the day there will be real progress.

Until then, they'll keep selling, we'll keep buying, and everyone will continue to blame everyone else but themselves.

13 year old student strip search in the name of War on Drugs

At what point do adults, serving their community as school principals, nurses, and administrators, think that strip searching a 13 year old is remotely close to being a good idea?!

This seriously has me thinking of making a new blog label called: WTF?! Or something like that...

Anyway, it's true. A 13 year old girl (A) was strip searched after another student (B) was found to be in possession of prescription strength Ibuprofen and said she obtained the pills from someone else (A).

Basing their invasive and thoroughly unnecessary and unwarnetted search on this flimsy "evidence," school officials required the student to submit to a search, which, as you can guess, resulted in no pills.

The child's mother wasn't call. The police weren't called. And the school seems to think they did the right thing.

Seriously! WTF?!?

Jonathan Krohn: 14 year old Republican Party pundit

"Conservatism is an ideology of protecting the people and the people's rights." (2:45)

Really? Then why are conservatives always trying to turn over votes MADE BY THE PEOPLE or CHOSEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE on abortion, gay marriage or civil unions, national health care, equal pay for women, equal protection under the law from hate violence and speech, etc. etc. etc.?

This kid scares me. He is proof of how ignorance, hatred, and close mindedness spread and continue to damage the US and the world.

The world in numbers

You wanna see something creepy? Guy came to my job to help out with some repairs (damn broken heater), and we got to talking about the number of people who use the internet in a given day.

It's hard to say what I'm more freaked out by, the global population, the growing debt, the carbon dioxide output, or the number of people who spend their time in front of some sort of electronic device (TV, computer, cell phone, etc.) vs. the number of new books published.

What did you find most interesting/creepy?

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses... SIKE!

I'm having a problem. No existential crisis or anything like that, but a problem nonetheless.

The economic crisis that is the USA right now, is causing a disruption to upper middle class White folks lives. I take it back: for them, this might be an existential crisis.

As with any economic upheaval, the poor and disenfranchised are the first and often hardest hit. These also happen to be, in most cases, people of color.

Every winter, public libraries see an increase in homeless patrons. This year however, the "problem" is exacerbated by our devastated economy. Homeless men, women, teens, and young adults (20's), and families. The mentally and physically handicapped, not to mention the sick, the smelly, and dirty.

All sharing a public space with Entitled Americans.

Some of my coworkers feel we must "control" the problem, that these individuals should be removed from inside the library. Patrons complain that their tax dollars were not meant to run "another shelter" (never mind we have ONE shelter in SLC).

Never mind the ONE shelter in SLC kicks residents out during the day time. Never mind it is cold and snowy outside. Never mind that the library has chairs, internet access, bathrooms, and a fireplace to relax by. These people, these homeless are a threat to Privileged America, and God forbid we should be reminded of that privilege.

Perhaps it is because I was once in the same shoes as the disenfranchised patrons of public libraries that I feel empathy and understanding for their tough position. Or perhaps it is my complete and total fear of hearing those final words, "When I was hungry you did not feed me; when I was naked you did not cloth me. When I was imprisoned you did not come to see me; when I was ill you did not come to minister to me," and not having a answer.

Unless they are breaking the rules, for God's sake, leave those people, and yes, they are people before they are anything else, alone.

"Fitzgerald: The Ill-Founded Assumptions of Obama's Address To Muslims"

So I'm not the only one, along with a conservative I still can't believe I agree with, who sees and has a problem with President Obama's address to Muslims.

What's that make it? 3 to...millions of "kum-bi-ya why can't we all just get along" left-wing nut jobs.

Fuck.

Charles Krauthammer: Pres. Obama's kissing Middle East ass

Shit. A conservative I agree with? What is the world coming to.

But seriously. I actually don't think he went far enough. Is America enemies with the "Muslim world?" No. But here is a list of things I think we should be enemies of:

Killing children just because they are Jewish
Beheading bus riders
Religious persecution
Again, killing children
Infringing on Americans rights ON American soil
Throwing family members out of windows
Killing aide workers
Attacking people based on their sexual orientation
Beheading pro-government tribal leaders
Abusing societies disaffected

I could go one but I got tired of copy/pasting links. But you should get my drift. Was the Iraq war a mistake and thoroughly mishandled? Dear God yes. Was Afganistan mishandled? Again, yes.

But at what point are Americans and other "kum-bi-ya why can't we all just get along" left-wing nut jobs understand that not everyone can be friends with everyone? There are times when one side's "philosophy" is just so out of whack, that you have to step in and say, "hey, I'm not perfect, but even I know what you're doing is FUBAR and I'm going to have to impose my will on you."

No, America isn't enemies with Muslims everywhere or even Islam. But we should be enemies of the evil actions committed in the name of the "Muslim world" or Islam.

And damn if we should apologize for doing what we think is right to stop atrocities such as those listed above.

Going Green American Style

This. Is. Amazing.

And kinda sad I think.

Remember the days when people did a thing just because it was the *right* thing to do? Not because “as Americans, we are good at entertainment and competition....”

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for going green and damn if I don't hope SLC will employ something similar.

But what part of "without the Earth you will DIE" don't people understand?

Still, props to California. Always on the cutting edge of smart.

Beijing Fumbles the transition

I always said China shouldn't have gotten the Olympics. Oh sure, they pulled it off with style and pizazz, convincing (nearly) everyone that they were ready for the 21st (or, at least 20th) century.

The homeless, the sweatshop working poor, and grieving mothers of children fallen victim to governmental cheapskate syndrome were hidden away. Toothy grins and eagerly waving hands greeted tourists, Olympic junkies, and anyone glued to their TVs.

But all that aside. How do you turn that marvelous architectural work of art, the Bird's Nest Stadium, into an empty overpriced souvenir shop for tourists? Please, someone explain this to me!

Polictial reflection during study break

Tomorrow, President-elect Obama will become Present Obama, leader of the United States of America.

In recent days, my "I voted for him out of necessity, not some fantasy of hope" bubble has been forced to rub elbows with the general sense of "oh isn't this wonderful" mindset of the masses. While I grumbled, I realized that perhaps I was not taking his inauguration in the fullness of its scope.

Despite what I think of him as a man and politician, he will be the first racial minority president elected. No small feat for a country built on inequality and violence.

Though I may find his "fancy rhetorical dance moves" overbearing and deliberately misleading, for the first time in years, we have a president who is not afraid of espousing the need and rightness of higher education. If indeed there is one thing I hope for from President Obama, it is the restoration of education as a good thing in the minds of American citizens.

In him we have a leader focused on individuals rather than corporations; community and national service rather than greed and rung-climbing; the reaching for high ideals rather than submitting to the ease of brute force.

Perhaps, perhaps, there is reason to hope. As they say, any change from what we had is good (minus Governor Palin).

To President-elect Obama: I don't quite like you and I still don't trust you. But good luck. As my President, I now stand by you.

Permission or no? Police req. to search cars

I thought this was one of those "duh!" factor things.

It seems in Utah there was some question as to whether or not a police office actually *needed* your permission to search your vehicle after pulling you over.

Seems a little simple doesn't it? But to be sure I have it, lets do some math:

My = possessive. My vehicle = individual possession of vehicle. My, not yours infers need for permission. Thus: My vehicle, you need permission to enter, touch, or do anything with said vehicle.

I may suck at math, but I think this works out.

Of course, there are instances where "my" is canceled out by "reasonable proof of wrong doing" such as having a gun on the seat, drugs, open bottle of alcohol, person tied up and gagged in the back seat, where a police officer doesn't need your permission.

Next time a cop pulls you over for speeding or no lights and asks to search your car, stick to your hypothetical guns and say no way!

Of course, this won't happen unless you are any of the following:

*Black/listening to rap
*Mexican/have the Virgin Mary as back window decorations
*Gay/listening to Cher louder than neighborhood regulations allow
*Muslim/have something other than a...well, nothing, on your head

Truth falsified: Memoirs faked for...what?

This is the third article I have seen in the New York Times about some previously unknown writer falsifying his or her "true" story.

What the fuck?

These people have had some legitimately good stories that had elements of truth, but were on the whole fiction. If, as I see it, the message is more important than the facts, sell it as fiction and be done! That way the message gets through without the taint of author greed and duped publishers and promoters like Oprah.

What I don't understand is why? The truth will eventually out—why go there in the first place?

Besides, the student side of me shudders at the idea of plagiarism.

For more, visit: "A Lineup of Recent Literary Fakers" by Mokoto Rich.

Utah Utes: Running Utes dominate the Crimson Tide

I won't often blog about sports, but in this case, I got to.

Utah: ranked #7. Alabama: ranked #4.
Utah: undefeated season. Alabama: 12-1 season.

Can someone please tell me why the BCS seems to think that Mountain West teams don't deserve to play in their little tournament?

The U of U was the first Mountain West state to bust into the BCS, and we slaughtered the other team. Two more times Western teams were invited, and we split the difference. The Utes were invited again (4th time for a Western state), and again, Utes with an undefeated season, prove their metal.

News flash BCS: Up Yours.

Go Utes!

Digital deviousness: the text messaging trap

Like anyone between the ages of 1 to 30 years of age, I text message. A lot. In many ways, I prefer text messaging to talking on the phone.

Talking requires conversation and a fake acknowledgment of things I don't care about at *that* specific moment:

"Hey, it's me..."
"Hey, how are you?"
"Not bad. Counting the minutes until I'm off of work. You?"
"Meh, about to go to a meeting. I hate meetings..."
"Yeah, they can be pretty boring."

A few minutes in and I still haven't gotten to the point! What was the point?

"Hey, I get off in an hour. Want to grab lunch at Crown Burger?"

But this convenient mode of communication comes with a price.

I thought I was getting a deal with Verizon's unlimited text messaging program. Not exactly. According to the New York Times article, "What Carriers Aren't Eager to Tell You About Texting," the cost to send these tiny, 160 character messages is minuscule. Minuscule. But I pay an extra $10 or so a month for unlimited messages, and I don't even send 300/month.

I think I'm getting ripped off...