July 16, 2008

Damn catchy tune. . .

If I do sayso myself, it's quite the toe-tapper.

Enjoy!

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 6:22 PM | TrackBack

June 30, 2008

Pretty damned impressive. . .

Amazing, stupendous, and oh. . .so. . .cute!

Talk about Dog Whispering.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:40 PM | TrackBack

November 30, 2007

Too funny to not mention. . .

62 percent of Democrats admit they are either a little or a lot crazy.

That's probably too mean, let's try this:

62 percent of Democrats aren't playing with a full deck. Yeah, that's better.

Hey! Don't get mad at me, I'm just the messenger, Gallup is the one that put together the report. (via WSJ Best of the Web Today)

The WSJ calls it "The Sanity Gap" but I like my phrasing better, I think it gets more to the point of the matter.

It's an interesting report, and worth taking a few moments to read through it. It also suggests a few possible explanations for the debacle at the CNN/YouTube Republican Primary Debate such as:

1. The reason so many Democrats thought it'd be ok to insinuate themselves into what was supposed to be a Republican Primary Debate of Republican candidates for Republicans. They were simply too mentally unstable to understand that they get their debate, and if they want to have all the questions asked by Democrat activists, interns for Democrat representatives, Democrat campaign steering committee members, Democrat campaign volunteers or Democrat Senator employees, former CAIR interns and Democrat aspiring TV writers who think that absurd racist stereotypes are funny, that's fine; and Republicans should be allowed to have their debate free from interference from Democrats masquerading as Republicans.

2. It also could explain why Democrat and Democrat agenda driven producers at CNN thought that it would be acceptable and appropriate to fly a sitting Hillary Clinton steering committee member from one side of the country to the other (creating what most likely is an illegal in-kind campaign contribution) and then have said Hillary Clinton team member miked up for more uninterrupted air-time than some Republican candidates (Hunter and Tancredo) at a Republican Primary Debate.

3. It could also explain the inability of CNN producers to use Google to vet questioners to insure they were on the up and up about their party preferences, affiliations and endorsements. They simply didn't have the mental capacity to use Google apparently.

4. It explains why Democrats would accept as valid the excuse, "that depends on what your definition of 'is' is."

5. It also explains why a majority of truthers are Democrats.

In all seriousness though, I think the report does raise some interesting points and suggests that accepting and believing in Democrat principles and policies is bad for your mental health. Which makes sense to me as the Democrat party moves farther and farther to the left and into the realm of socialism and communism. It can never be healthy for someone to intentionally subjugate their individualism in favor of collectivism in direct opposition to natural human nature. It also calls into question the validity of Democrat policies when a majority of Democrats admit themselves that their mental health is suffering.

The WSJ suggests that the fragile mental state of Democrats could be the result of spending 7 years in the wilderness while Republicans held the three branches of government, if that's the case, then one has to not only wonder about their mental health but also about their maturity. I've always thought that the Democrats penchant for demonizing Republicans, failing to accept the will of the people in 2000 and claim near constant victimhood status from the actions of Bush, Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld etc was a sign of immaturity just as their penchant for calliing Republicans infantile names like "rethuglican" or "Bushitler" was.

I agree with the WSJ's assesment that without longitudinal data we can only speculate as to the reasons a majority of Democrats are willing to claim themselves mentally defective. If such a survey is conducted over the long term we may find out why a majority of Democrats feel they are mentally defective. At least I hope we can, so that we can address the issue appropriately and turn them away from ideals that seem to be harming their mental health.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 2:19 PM | TrackBack

September 5, 2007

The end of farming. . .

Ok, so that lead-in is a bit, um. . . misleading, but it does seem that we've hit a very important milestone in the history of the human species. It's a milestone that will undoubtedly go overlooked by 99.9 percent of the world's population, but it shouldn't; so I'll shine some light upon it in the hopes that others run with it, so here we go:

In the beginning, mankind searched high and low for the grubs, shrubs, nuts, berries, insects, small animals and the occasional windfall of larger game that sustained him. This gatherer existence gave way to the more familiar, hunter-gather existence; whereby early man took his primitive tools to the task of taking down larger and larger game, in greater and greater numbers. As man followed migratory species, he noticed that certain plants fared better or worse in differing climates. Eventually he began to collect and distribute seeds in close proximity to one another for later harvest. This in turn led us to an more agrarian existence, allowed for permanent settlement, the development of civilization and all that came after that.

I don't by any means intend for the above to be a complete or exhaustive examination of our past, but merely a cursory examination of where we were and what we transitioned to. Sources differ, but for simplicity's sake, let us say we began our agrarian existence approximately 10,000 years ago, and depending upon your interpretation, sometime around 8,000 years ago, farming or agriculture in all it's various forms became the dominate occupation for humankind.

That is, until now.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 5:42 PM | TrackBack

January 29, 2007

Today's Grab a Cup of Coffee - NASA Director Griffen's Speech

This is worth reading, on a number of levels. The quote below is pulled from the speech NASA Director Michael Griffin's speech accepting the Quasar award on Jan. 17.

"Let's think for a moment about national security. What is the value to the United States of being involved in enterprises which lift up human hearts everywhere when we do them? What is the value to the United States of being engaged in such projects, doing the kinds of things that other people want to do with us, as partners? What is the value to the United States of being a leader in such efforts, in projects in which every nation capable of doing so wants to take part? I would submit that the highest possible form of national security, well above having better guns and bombs than everyone else, well above being so strong that no one wants to fight with us, is the security which comes from being a nation which does the kinds of things that make others want to work with us to do them. What security could we ever ask that would be better than that, and what give more of it to us than the space program? "

Read the whole thing.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 10:55 AM

December 27, 2006

President Gerald Ford passes at 93

If you had lived in Vail, CO for any length of time through the 80's or 90's your path was bound to cross with the former President of the United States, Gerald Ford. At the very least, you'd come face to face with his Secret Service detail somewhere, I was lucky (and unlucky) enough to do both.

My first experience was with the agents that secure President Ford's home in Beaver Creek, situated directly under the Strawberry Park lift, is common enough (if you consider slopeside multi-million dollar homes common) but the pillbox shaped plain vanilla Secret Service residence and the tiny slopeside guardshack stands out, especially when Ford is in residence and the friendly but firm agents are directing wayward skiiers and snowboarders away from the residence.

On other occasions I was priviledged enough to meet, eat and converse for a few moments with the former President on multiple occasions, in short, he is a down to Earth, sensible and friendly man, whose presence not so much demands respect, but inspires it. He is quick to recognize that one is nervous or seeks a meeting and is quick to calm a visitor and greets humble meeting seekers warmly and with genuine courtesy and friendliness.

For a man who carried the nation's burden at one of her most difficult periods in history, Ford is perhaps a man who was ideally suited to the task. He was certainly not loved by Republicans and Democrats alike, but he was deeply respected by both parties for his intellect and logical approach to things. His decision to pardon Nixon was widely criticized yet proved to be the right thing to do and whiile comedians portrayed him as a bumbling klutz, in reality, he was a graceful, atheletic, surefooted. If you don't believe me, I'll give you a few challenges to prove the point.

First, head out to you local regional airport on an sunny day and bring a pair of very dark sunglasses, find yourself one of those staircars and stand at the top. Now take off the glasses and immediately walk down the stairs as fast as you can, smile and wave at some object/person in the distance and don't hold onto the handrails. Now repeat this exercise 100 times and see how many times you make it to the bottom without stumbling.

Next, lace yourself up a pair of cleats and head down to the local NFL franchise and challenge the boys to a little scrimmage and see how well you fair. Finally, cart yourself to the top of your local ski hill and strap on some vintage 60s era straight skis, bomb the most difficult runs and see how many times you fall. Now, do it again when you're 60, 70, or 80.

Sure Chevy Chase got some laughs at Ford's expense, some even say it cost him the election, but like most modern Presidents, their popular conception is misleading at best, grossly inaccurate at worst. Nixon, indeed, was not a crook, John F. Kennedy was not a saint, Reagan was certainly not an idiot and Ford was not a bumbling clown.

Like the others mentioned, now history can go about the task of evaluating Ford outside of the partisan spotlight and give us an accurate portrayal of the man as a leader, intellectual and genuine American President, who toasted his own muffins in the White House while restoring much confidence and repsect to the Office of President.

Ford won't go down as one of the nation's best Presidents, his term was too short and his tasks were not ones which gave opportunity for greatness, but President Gerald Ford was himself a Great Man, who loved his nation and his fellow citizens. President Gerald Ford had the mantle of a nation forced upon him at a time when few wanted it and still fewer were capable of wearing it.

I wish I could be more eloquent and describe my meetings with the man and the President in terms that showed a greater importance or say that we talked about great things, but alas my meetings were pedestrian, simple and the type one would have with acquaintance at mundane social functions, they were cordial, simple and short. We talked of the food, the snow, the games and the heaviest political discussions we shared revolved around the politics of a tiny ski-town. I will however forever count myself lucky however to have broken bread with him, share a few brief moments and consider myself lucky be recognized by someone I consider a Great Man when we met a second, third and more times.

Rest in peace President Ford, I and many others are sincerely grateful for your service, appreciate your sacrifices and honor your legacy. History will be kind, as well they should, for you were a Great Man in horrible times.

--Jason

President Ford passed at 93 at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA at 6:45 pm December, 26, 2006. [Link]

P.S. Above I allude that meeting President Ford's Secret Service detail was "unlucky". I mean that in jest. While certainly getting shoo'd away from his home while skiing was unlucky, I did have multiple occasions to meet his protective detail on multiple occasions. I even shared more than a few off-duty beers with them. These men and women were always the most professional and honorable of law enforcement officers, although they liked a good joke (as did the President) and were quick to remind me that their Department was under the Department of the Treasury just as the BATF was and since I held a BATF Brewer's license, they could make me squirm from time to time for fun (and it was fun). Professionally, the agents were masters of their craft; efficient, dedicated and trust-worthy almost to a fault, off-duty they were raucous and fun-loving (and some were quite good skiiers). I cherish my interactions with them just as much as I do meetings with the President. The term "unlucky" is used solely in jest.

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:59 AM

October 2, 2006

Some people wont agree with me. . .

Some people won't agree with me, but I'm pretty sure that I'm right on this one. One day, most probably in my lifetime, there will be a terrorist attack involving a nuclear device, or a rogue state will use a nuclear device as a first strike weapon hoping to bring about a one hit coup de grace.

Some people will completely deny this as an impossibility, they will state that groups capable of producing a nuclear device will understand it's implications and only use such a device as a "deterrent". Others will claim that I am being alarmist and armageddonist, and totally dimiss this idea on that basis alone; without addressing the probability of such an attack, they merely will stick their heads in the sand. Still others will claim that such an event will only occur by the hands of the evil Zionists or equally evil Americans, which is simply ridiculous because neither nation needs a nuke to lay waste to their enemies, both groups can defeat almost any comer with conventional means quite easily from a military standpoint.

There is a sect within Islam that sees the use of a nuclear device as a means to bring about the reappearance of the 12th Imam, who will organize the world along Islamic lines and bring about the Koran's version of Biblical Revelations. There are groups, lets call them Islamists for simplicity, but recognize that they are known also as Islamic Fascists, Islamofascists, or elements of Radical Islam, and some of these groups have openly stated their desire to acquire a nuclear device, or a hybridized device (dirty bomb) for the intent of using it upon the United States, Israel or the nations of Western Europe with the stated purpose of destroying these institutions and jumpstarting the Second Caliphate. Other entities may "pop a nuke" as a last gasp of power concentrated in a select group of insane rulers (North Korea). Then there is the unknown, the threat of tomorrow, the threat we don't see at the moment, but nevertheless grows in dark corners of the world, biding it's time, waiting for the geopolictical climate to be right.

If you sit back and think about it, it's basically inevitable that sometime in the future these weapons will be used. The effect will be great and depending on the target, the results will range from destruction and horror quickly passing and settling into rage and revenge, at the other end of the scale, nations could fall within hours or simply cease to effectively exist (Israel could be an example, so could Great Britain or any other country with a small geographic footprint).

The device will most likely be small, in the kiloton range, not a city killer megaton nuke, but a man-portable "tactical" weapon used deep within a society to produce a profound strategic effect. There may be just one, which will be bad enough to deal with, but there most likely will be more than one, near simultaneously, or in a quick succession of a few days.

Some people will have already stopped reading because they can't handle thinking about such a possibility. I suggest that these people are more likely than not, the same people who would suggest that WE need to change in order to stop THEM from attacking us. That WE cannot fight THEM, because WE cannot change THEM, so WE must change and be kindler, gentler, and more accomodating to those who would wish US dead. To me, this seems like total insanity run amuck. It just doesn't make sense. If WE change, THEY will be emboldened. If WE change, THEY win, and their victory does not ensure our safety, in fact it only assures that another group will arise with another agenda to demand that WE change for THEM.

I don't have any answers, I don't have any program to make this all go away. I can only observe that it will happen, someday. Someone WILL use a nuclear device on a unsuspecting population sometime in the relatively near future. The only suggestion I have is for people to realize that there is a war on, it's a World War, and it's not the Global War on Terror I'm referring to, the GWOT is part of it, but it's more a battle or a theatre than it is the whole war. The war I'm referring to has not yet been named, it's not even realized by most that it's taking place, but it is taking place and it's important that people begin to recognize it.

We are at a unique place in the history of mankind. No longer are we disjointed and separate groups of people separated by trade routes and occasional contact. The entire world has become a community against it's own will. Disparate groups with different worldviews have been thrust together via the Information Age and the bridges between nations and people have been physcally bridged by the culmination of the Industrial Age providing mobility and travel options never before seen in human history.

Some call this a culture war, others call it a clash of civilizations, others call it all manner of things. I prefer to use the term, The Long War, because I don't see any resolution to this war coming any time soon, and by my reckoning, this war has been going on since the late 1940's. That means we're already 60 years in and the war isn't even recognized, to expect that The Long War could last for another 100 years is not unrealistic.

So what is this war all about? In short, this war is about the future of the human race, ALL of the human race. That word ALL is very important, it should be thought about at least a little. ALL of the human race. We are at a convergence of human society where every human on the planet, if he or she so chooses, can interact with almost every other human on the planet through travel and electronic communication. A global consciousness is emerging. Humanity as a whole has entered a NEW infancy, this new infant is taking it's first tenative steps and only beginning to explore it's world, and realize it's potential.

While this war rages on, it will take various forms. Just as World War 2 had smaller, seemingly separate "theatres", this war has component parts that can't properly be called theatres, so lets just call them for the purposes of this discussion "a battle" as opposed to "the war". I recognize that I'm using battle incorrectly, but we just don't have the terminology to describe what is happening yet, we are living it right now, and defining it as we go, which makes the realization of what is happening all the more difficult.

The battle that is the GWOT is a battle of religion, religious wars are common throughout history, and this is another in a long line of religious wars. I believe that this will be the last. Islam is the last "unreformed" universalizing religion. It's highly unlikely that another true religion will arise. Cults will rise and become somewhat legitimate, like those cultist who worship "the envrironment", but these are minor players and not capable or desirous of global war like the Catholics did once and the Islamists do now. This religious war, the GWOT, is one we can fight, and we can win, the endpoint will be the reform of Islam and the rise of Islamic moderates to the positions of power within Islam. Once the moderates gain control of their religion, it's unlikely that it will retain it's extremist appeal for very long, the radicals will be marginalized, and eventually they will fade away. While this might seem a condemnation of the GWOT in favor of an internal Islamic solution, it isn't; the GWOT is a necessary battle, because Islam cannot reform without pressure from the outside, just as the Catholic Church would have never reformed were it not for the Princes of Europe demanding and fighting for it in the Wars of the Reformation.

So we will go forward with the GWOT, we must. I say we in a much larger sense than it is now. The WE in the equasion will grow as more people begin to realize what is at stake and what the other side, the Islamists, are aiming for. The second Caliphate will not rise and any attempt to create it, no matter how severe the attack or action, will be resisted, and as the attacks from THEM increase, the WE component will grow. Eventually the WE's will conquer the THEM's and Islam will reform, it won't end the problem of Islamists, but the threat will be effectively mitigated, and when it gains strength, it will be slapped down hard again, just as Nazism is slapped down when it makes it's periodic resurgences. There is no real threat of a Fourth Reich or a disciple of Hitler arising to take over the world, such a threat would immediately be pounced upon and destroyed if it began to seek conquest of others. Such will be the case when Islamism arises again the future after this battle is won.

Yet The Long War won't be over when Islamism is defeated. Other ideologies will arise or existing ones will decide that the time to strike is at hand. It must be remembered, that it is STILL the goal of Communist China to control the world and bring all of humanity under the banner of Communism. That battle lies ahead. It may be another violent clash, with guns and bombs and death, or it may be a relatively peacefull battle fought in boardrooms and with policy speeches and the will of the masses determining the victor. This battle is coming, we just don't know what shape it will take and whether it will be a HOT part of The Long War, or a COLD part.

Down the road we'll have battles we cannot conceive of now, against enemies we do not know, cannot see and do not suspect malice from, but THEY will challenge the WE and the battle will be fought.

Will The Long War ever end. Yes, it will, but the nature of what the world will be like at the end cannot be forseen, it's simply too far off and to many variables are in the way. What we do know is that it will end one day, and there will be a victor. This planet is simply too small for multiple ideologies and worldviews to exist indefinately. Multi-cuturalism will not be the future of the planet, a single global culture will eventually emerge as transportation and information transfer improves.

We are still in a phase of our development where different groups of people are given different sets of information to base their opinions and actions upon. One day this will not be the place. We are only a few short years away from information access being a uniform global process. Just as fiber replaced copper, WiFi will eventually be replaced by SatFi and any human with a simple device will have access to the same information as every other human with a simple, portable and self-contained device, accessing a global network that cannot be interfered with by local or national governments. If you want to look at the US internetsat, you will be able to, if you want to look at the China internetsat, you will be able to, access points in orbit are coming, and keeping a population in the dark will become impossible. When this occurs, it will be the strength of the ideas and goals of groups that will make them powerful and not merely their access to weapons and their local power over a population.

As transportation evolves, it too will give greater access and greater range to the individual. Highways will be replaced by skyways, and mankind's mobility will both act as a dampening effect and inflamatory effect on the violence and scope of The Long War. Combatants will have greater and greater access to their targets, but those targets will be contaminated more and more by unwanted bystanders. How this will play out cannot be forseen, but transportation will both increase the violence of The Long War and decrease it over time as populations continue to merge and high value single targets become more scarce.

The Long War will determine the future of mankind. Will we take to the the stars seeking out new homes, new science and a greater understanding of the universe? Will we stay earthbound, working like ants to serve the desires of a select few in a Communist utopia? Or will we see a new "religion" preventing us from developing our technology in some warped sense of respect for the planet where we see mass starvations and depopulations before a complete technological collapse that sets us back hundreds or thousands of years because we must not damage our environment for the sake of improving the lives of humans?

The Long War will have an end. There will be an eventual one world culture, there will be one world language, it's inevitable. There will be one world system of government, that too is inevitable. There will be a common set of information and it will be universally accessible, that too is inevitable.

That language does not have to be English, I'd sure like it to be, because I feel that it's got the greatest headstart and would be the most efficient direction to take and retain the most knowledge along the way. That system of government does not have to be Democracy, I'd sure like it to be, because Democracy empowers the individual, and does not reduce man to slave. That set of information does not have to be science and truth, it could be a political information set a la Orwell's 1984, or a religous set that teaches only one fantasy worldview, I'd sure like it to be the science and truth set, and I think the reasons are obvious.

So what is the whole point of this. The point is to realize that things are going to get worse before they get better when it comes to the GWOT, the point is to realize that the GWOT is just a battle, or a theatre, in the larger war for humanity, The Long War, which will determine where we, as a species (think about that: WE, as a SPECIES) decide to go with our opposable thumbs and big brains. The point is for people to realize that we are in a War that we have not yet named, a war that we do not yet see it's full scope, a war that will make past wars seem unimportant and a war that will change the very nature and scope of what is considered humanity.

The point is to hopefully spark other discussions about the future, and how it will be shape by the new interconnected small world we now live in as opposed to the old disconnected large world we inhabited just a few short decades ago. Where once we could have oceans and deserts as barriers, we now have everyone thrown together in one big bowl, and we must hash out our differences and come to a realization of what humanity is and what our purpose will be. Are we to be ants? Are we to be worshippers? Are we to be individuals? What will it mean to be human at the end of The Long War? What will we have to endure to get to that end?

This is survival of the fittest, who will it be? Athens or Sparta? (See the PS below for an explanation of that.)

Comments are welcome and will be responded to.

--Jason

PS, This screed, rant, commentary, post, whatever you want to call it, was sparked by a reading of this fictional piece by Dan Simmons. If anything in this post sparked interest, and even if it did not, I highly suggest you take the time to read the April 2006 Message from Dan. It's interesting, it's thought provoking, it's scary, and it's enlightening, take the time to read it, make the time to read it.

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:50 AM | TrackBack

September 11, 2006

Eine minuten bitte. . .

As we enter this day (I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to call it an anniversary), that marks the fifth year since the attacks of September 11, 2001; many will have Islamic Terrorism and the greater threat of Islamic Fascism on their minds. This is appropriate, it will be on my mind as well. I just want to put the brakes on a second and remind people that Islamic Fascism is not the only threat we face in the world today.

As we prepare to remember our fallen, North Korea plans to announce to the world that they have indeed created an atomic bomb. Their only possible motivation for this is to blackmail the rest of the world into accepting a regime that starves millions of it's own people intentionally, that imposes an iron fist of state control on a completely opposite end of the scale from the Islamic Fascists.

Now is good time, if you haven't before, to read Bill Whittle's Tribes.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 12:50 AM

August 31, 2006

How FAKE is Burning Man. . .

This is going to take a while, and you still might not get it. . .my apologies in advance if this is the case.

Oh what has become of my beloved Burning Man. Ok, for starters, that's a bit much, even for me. So let's back up.

I've been to a couple of Burning Man celebrations in the Nevada desert. People who are familiar with me generally find this to be a shock. The festival is a moonbat carnival to most people, it's really not, but that's what people portray it as. Let me be straight though, Burning Man IS a moonbat carnival, it's a hippy freak show, it's a bunch of leftist morons sitting in the desert talking about how great Communism is. It's about raw unadulterated sex and violence, it's about free-love and all that jazz.

Burning Man is a lot of other things also. It's about showing up in the middle of nowhere and creating a city, on the fly, on demand. It's also about destroying that city and dancing around it in glee as it burns. It's an oxymoron wrapped in an enigma obscured by camouflage. In short, it's great fun.

Some people have called Burning Man "Mardi Gras on steroids." Let me assure you it's not. It is, but it's not. The night of the burn is like "Mardi Gras on steroids with some blotter acid and an IV drip of tequila". I could talk about the Burn night, but that's not the intent of this post.

The "Community of Burning Man" is a special thing. It's spontaneous, friendly, open, loving and accepting. It's also EXTREMELY judgmental if you're. . . say . . . religious (but only mainstream religion, trying to organize a traditional Canonical Catholic service wouldn't make you any friends, but a hippy dippy worship ceremony with actors playing out the Moon and Sun having intercourse will get you lots of play from the "spiritual" among Burners.) Religion is just one example, if you were to seriously show up with a Pro-Bush, Pro-War or Pro-Israel viewpoint, you'd also most likely be ostracized if you admitted so publically or loudly. Likewise if you had anti-homosexual viewpoints, or a number of other views. Burning Man is tolerant, but it's also intolerant.

Personally, I love Burning Man, I don't agree with half the things other people there do or say, but as I look at, they don't agree with half of the things I do or say too, so it balances. I can say so many horrible things about Burners, each paired with a great thing. It's a brief glimpse of a "possibility for Community" that I can certainly agree with and accept. I could live in a year round Burning Man, I would probably be successful and thrive while generally being pretty happy.

95%+ of Americans and 99%+ of other inhabitants could most certainly not write that above paragraph and mean it.

Burning Man is an ideal living set, it's a fantasy land where there is virtually no crime, no personal property, no income, no expenses, a barter economy based on gifting rather than trading, environmentally friendly (apart from the massive burning destruction at the end of course), tolerant, safe, secure and a haven for personal liberty.

Simply put, most human beings can't handle that. That's not an insult, it's just an examination of reality. Most humans want and need a sense of structure and order, they need to know that there is a "safety net" of public infrastructure (non-Westernized nations less so), they need to know that their personal property and security of person is protected by an organized and capable force. They need to know that the mail will come, not because someone has created a cool art project and is playing mailman, they need to know that the mail will come regardless of whether or not the artist continues his personal commitment. Most need to know that there will be oversight of public eating facilities, clean potable water, etc etc etc. Burning Man delivers all these things, so to the supporter of Burning Man, they may not understand what I'm saying, BUT, at Burning Man, these things are FAKE, they are an illusion. Yeah, there's WiFi now at Burning Man, but it's not economically stable, it couldn't support a society. There's mail at Burning Man, but you couldn't trust it for commerce. There's so so much to see and do and touch and feel and play with and jump on and roll in and more, that Burning Man FEELS real. It FEELS like something you could get behind and support as a "lifestyle".

Alas dear reader, it's FAKE, completely FAKE.

Fake people, doing fake things, creating fake art, in a fake city. It seems real when you're wrapped up in the moment, but in reality, it's just a "vacation", it's not real, and it can't be real, because if it were real, you'd have to support it. For it to be real, people would have to make more of a commitment to it than taking a week off from work and spending evenings and weekends creating costumes.

There are some truly REAL people at Burning Man. In fact I'd suggest that almost all are REAL people. People who deep down realize that they are on vacation, at a great party, and as such, they are generally disposed to good behavior, having fun and not harshing their own or others vibe. That's what makes Burning Man fun, meeting these REAL people in a wholly UNREAL world. That's what makes something in your head click when you pass through the gates (or begin to pick up random CB signals if you've chosen to drive in across the dry lakebed from the East). That click is the "disconnect from reality", you're in the world of Burning Man now. Things are different.

Burning Man truly is a great experience, it's impossible to describe Burning Man in short form. Countless books and DVD's have been devoted to documenting and exploring what Burning Man is. None of them are right, they are just various perspectives offering a view of varying broadness, never encompassing the whole.

I highly recommend the event if you are of the philosophical worldview to "handle" it. To enjoy Burning Man you have to be able to rationally disconnect the two worlds, if you try to bridge them you will fail and only diminish the experience. You have to accept that the world of Burning Man is ordered chaos with outbreaks of Fascism and Anarchy, there is no law, although sometimes there is, and there is order, although sometimes there isn't. If you can "accept" this, if you "roll with it", and you can realize that it's FAKE. You can have a great time.

So I hope I've giving some of you a perspective on Burning Man. So let’s just shift gears here for a second and laugh at just "How FAKE is Burning Man. . . "

The Burners like to think of themselves (as a group) as being generally leftist/Democratic/Progressive in orientation. There are certainly exceptions, this is Burning Man after all. The "collective" of Burning Man embraces many environmentalist concepts and carries them off quite well. The event encourages it's attendees to use environmentally friendly products and to leave no trace (camping lingo: meaning to take everything you bring with you when you leave and leave the environment in as close to the same condition as you found it). There are groups that attend to assist with recycling and green cooking. The event puts a premium on being kind to the Earth and you're bombarded with environmentalist messages throughout. It's is after all a moonbat carnival, a "progressives" party.

Never mind that at the end a significant portion of the content of the event itself is set ablaze to burn unmitigated sending tons upon tons of unmitigated pollution into the atmosphere. Personally, I think it's a sacrifice on the altar of the cult of global warming, but that's another issue.

For years, they've been trying to mitigate this obvious hypocrisy between the conscious of a super-majority of attendees and their actions in burning tons upon tons of wood, paint, plastic, fabrics and other items in the open air.
But finally folks, today, that's all changed:

A group of "scientists" have "created" a way for the Burners to mitigate their destruction of the environment. Burners can now "buy credits" to compensate for their pollution.

Yes, now for just $5, you can burn away to your hearts content. Because someone in the background is going to mitigate your personal pollution, which you are creating just so you can have the joy of burning it.

What's the first project they will fund with the Burners money?

A windmill to provide power for a Native American casino.

See, I told you it was all FAKE.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 3:09 PM

August 24, 2006

Look here MSM, stop with the armageddonist blather. . .

So I was going through my daily routine of hitting the bigger news sites looking for interesting stuff when THIS caught my eye.

Here, via Reuters, we have the alarmist report of a "Tropical Wave" heading for the Caribbean. Got that? A wave, not a tropical storm forming, not a hurricane about to ravage unsuspecting non-white people, but a wave.

Yes, yes, I know it's been a slow year for all those reporters who were banking on a heavy-weight hurricane season to pay for their new condos purchased with their bonuses for Katrina coverage, but to report on a TROPICAL WAVE, give me a goddam break people.

Look, I'll grant that a Tropical Wave is a somewhat important meteorological construct, and weather forcasters should pay attention to such a construct, but for al-Reuters to come out with a statement like:

"If the wave gets into the Gulf of Mexico, it could disrupt the U.S. oil and natural gas producing and refining facilities, damaged last year by hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

This statement is simply bullshit. IF the wave gets to the Gulf of Mexico, and IF conditions are right, a tropical depression MAY form, and IF conditions are correct, then a tropical storm MAY form from that, and IF conditions continue to be favorable for it, a hurricane MAY form, and finally, IF a hurricane forms, it MAY disrupt oil and gas facilities.

To try to elevate this Tropical Wave into the realm of imminent weather threat is simply alarmist and armageddonist blather from the MSM, it's what I could call a "most ridiculous" or "bottom story" of the day.

--Jason

PS This reminds me of the lunacy a few months back when "hurricane experts" were calling for the scale to go up to 6 for categories of cyclonic storms. Which in turn reminds me of the amplifier that goes to eleven.

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 10:31 AM | TrackBack

August 22, 2006

Required Viewing. . .

I, a Muslim is a Czech documentary from a series called "infiltrator", it's runs about 30 minutes and is Czech with English subtitles. The documentary uses hidden cameras, microphones and a "potential convert" to Islam to enter Czechoslavakia's Muslim culture.

I believe the program speaks for itself. Watch it now, I'm sure it won't last long on the big public video servers.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:42 AM | TrackBack

August 18, 2006

15 Years Ago Tomorrow. . .

The Soviet Union collapsed under it's own weight, helped along with a shove from one of our nation's greatest Presidents, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

To many, including me, the collapse of the Soviet Union proved the fatal flaws of Communism. The Soviet directed economy was unable to react to local economic crisis and unable to find efficient ways of distributing resources. The simple fact that after decades of Soviet rule, the Communist Party was unable to find a way to feed it's people, provide goods and services and deliver the promise of a better life than that which existed in the West, condemned it to failure.

Gorbachev's policies of glasnost (political openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring), which included an easing of government censorship, exposed the average Soviet citizen to the fact they were far behind the West despite years of government propaganda. Regional economic autonomy led to a rise in regional nationalism and a diminished allegiance to the central government and the Communist party in general. The unintended results of glasnost and perestroika led to uskoreniye (speed-up of economic development) which was unable to counter the economic costs of inflation despite the government's attempts to hide it from the masses. Citizens began to realize that taking control of their own economic destiny (as exemplified by the rapidly expanding black market) led to greater prosperity for the individual, but still didn't match the prosperity of the West.

When they compared themselves to the West, Soviet citizens finally began to realize that they truly were "oppressed". As individual discontent grew, Soviet "states" began to become obstructionist to the Central Government's policies, turning instead to local initiatives and withholding tax revenues from Moscow. As the Politburo's power diminished at the local level, the Parliament (which prior to this period was a largely symbolic body) saw their power and prestige grow.

The Warsaw Pact states, looked upon the weakening power of the Soviet government as an opportunity to escape the Soviet's iron fist, by early 1991 the governments of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania had thrown off the yoke and set the stage for a revolution in Soviet Union.

On August 19, 1991 a group of Communist Party hard-liners seized control of the government. The world watched in fascination as the State Emergency Committee placed a vacationing Gorbachev under house arrest and tried to take the Soviet Union back to a period of iron-clad Soviet control. Despite the political power of the Committee's members, which included the KGB Chairman, Internal Affairs Minister and Defense Minister, they were unable to consolidate control as Russian President Boris Yeltsin and members of the Parliament defiantly held the "White House" (Russian Parliament Building) and the citizens of Moscow and Leningrad rallied round the resistance.

Soviet armor arrived on the scene at the White House and promptly defected to Yeltsin's side. Yeltsin's denouncement of the coup via megaphone from the top of a Soviet tank was broadcast to the world and marked the beginning of the end for both the coup and the Soviet Union itself. Commandos dispatched to seize the White House and arrest Yeltsin and leaders of the resistance unanimously refused their orders and stood idly by.

The "Vodka Putsch" collapsed after four days and Gorbachev returned to Moscow. His power was fatally wounded, and in very real terms, Yeltsin was the nation's new leader, if not yet in name. Despite resigning from the Communist Party and the promise to purge Communist Party hardliners from the government, Gorbachev was never able to regain real power. By December, the transformation was complete, all of the Soviet Republics had declared independence and the Soviet Union was no more. Communism was no longer on the march, it was in full retreat.

Fifteen years is a long time on the world political stage. Today a new breed of Communists is organizing in South America, while China's communists are embracing a hybridized free-market system in an attempt to mitigate the inefficiencies of Communist economic policy.

In my view, China and the new Communist states of South America are doomed to failure just as the Soviet Union was. Their hybridization of economic markets into a "free yet directed" economy is merely smoke and mirrors. While such policies may increase the economic prosperity of citizens in the short term, it's this very economic prosperity of individuals which will eventually lead to the collapse of the world's remaining Communist States.

Die-hard leftists and neo-Communists point to Venezeula's apparent success as proof that a Communist state can survive, they also point to China's role as a major industrial produced as an indication that Communism will rise again and be a viable alternative to Democracy and free markets, these are both false beliefs. While Communism can indeed create short term benefits for a people, the inflexible nature of a directed economy can never compete with a free market without crippling government subsidies and false economic props. Likewise the unparalleled capacity of the free market for economic development cannot be matched by centralized planning; it's simply not flexible enough or quick enough to effectively respond to changing market conditions.

Prosperity, which Communism promises, is also Communism's greatest enemy. Prosperity leads to a desire for greater prosperity as individuals realize their potential and seek greater wealth and the comfort and security it provides. The nature of individuals to seek a better life for themselves consistently trumps the misdirection of their economic activity for the support of others. This doesn't mean that people do not have great capacity to help others, but forcing people to give up a portion of their economic prosperity against their will through centralized planning, and forcing people into economic roles they don't wish to take is are untennable positions for a government to take.

Venezeula cripples itself with each move into a directed economy; Citgo (the Venezeulan oil-company) has the potential to be a major player in the world oil economy, in many ways it already is; but the interference of the Central Government in Citgo will lead to it's demise. For any economic entity to succeed, it must be able to recognize and adapt to changes on it's own. Citgo is hampered with a Government that sees it as an unlimited cash cow, while investment in the structures needed to ensure it's viability go ignored and development of new reserves are hampered by the removal of the cash assets needed to ensure viability go to other, unconnected projects. The failure of a Communist State to re-invest in the economic structures that support it is a common theme as managers who have no real hard experience in the industry make decisions from political perspectives rather than empirical economic perspectives.

A similar economic hamstringing is occuring in China, while the Chinese have been very effective in creating a broad based economic engine, it has no depth as critical infrastructure is put into place as window dressing to pay homage to the state rather than put into place to give solid support to China's growing industry. Across China today, there are scores of viable yet abandoned factories from projects which have fallen out of political favor and have their support or even liscense to operate stripped from them for political considerations, causing much needed capital to simply evaporate. As millions of citizens stream into the cities to find work, they are herded like cattle into appaling living quarters and become virtual slaves to the state and its favored industry of the moment.

For sure, there is great economic improvement of the lives of individuals in China, but this improvement is not based on an individuals performance under the whip, but rather his or her loyalty to the party. Businessmen have to constantly balance the needs of their economic activity with the dictates of the state, this leads to the inevitable hiding and hoarding of capital and the development of the black market. This black economy will continue to grow in China just as it did in the Soviet Union. As people begin to rely more and more on the black market and less and less on the state, the state's power will be undermined, and once individuals have tasted the sweetness of the economic apple, they are loath to abandon the flavor for bland handouts of Soylent Green. The Chinese culture historically has produced shrewd economic minds and many would argue that this culture actually supports the Communist system, I beg to differ. While today, Chinese culture independent of the state is complimentary to Communism, it's a certain eventuality that as the masses migrate into the middle class, the dictates of human nature take over, driving the individual to acquire more, want more, and most importantly, want more than the other guy. This desire to not only keep up with the Joneses, but to surpass them will eventually manifest itself in China, and in many ways it already has. As people move up in social and economic status, they demand a share of the political power which governs it. With prosperity comes a desire for more prosperity and as this desire increases, it must be accomodated. Communism by it's very nature, no matter what hybridization you put into it, fails to meet this challenge of the masses for greater and greater economic and political power. Eventually the balance will tip in the favor of the indivual as he (or she, but not in China) gains power and demands more control over his life.

The Chinese will be able to keep the lid on for the foreseeable future, but underneath the facade is a growing middle class, a middle class that will begin to demand protection for it's status and the protection of rights that become a need when wealth is generated. The state can not only content itself with protection of life (security, food, shelter, etc.), it must, if it wishes to survive in a modern economic construct, provide its citizens with protections for liberty and secure the mechanisms necessary for the pursuit of happiness, these latter two philosophic constructs cannot be accomodated in a political system such as Communism. Communism cannot deliver liberty to the populace, because the populace must always remain the property of the state to continue its viability. An individual cannot be considered property and have liberty at the same time, the two concepts are mutually exclusive. The pursuit of happiness means the pursuit of the things you want, not the things the state decides to provide for you, central planning cannot deliver the broad spectrum of goods and services the pursuit of happiness entails. Even if a Communist government were to try to respond to the changing tastes of individuals, it is incapable of responding fast enough or efficient enough to effectively deliver.

[Aside: Before you fire off an email telling me that Chinese citizens are not property, I will address that as follows: If someone (state or individual) tells you where you must live, if you must receive permission to work, if at a moments notice you can be forcibly removed from your home and job to be placed in another home and job not of your choosing, you are in fact property of another, be it individual or state.]

Communism, in a very real way, is slavery. The only difference between a traditional "slave" (as some Muslim communities still practice) and a Communist slave is who holds the whip. It doesn't matter to the slave if the whip is held by an individual or an actor of the state, he is still a slave, and slavery cannot be tolerated.

So on this day, with the anniversay of the collapse of the Soviet Union on the horizon, I urge you, my meager readership to think about the existance of Communist slaves the world over. Realize that our fellow human beings are held in bondage and prevented the very freedoms we all too often take for granted. I urge you not to fear the rise of Communism in South America or it's continued presence in China, Cuba and N. Korea, instead I urge you to despise it as the citizens of the Soviet Union came to. Recognize that "Che worship" is the worship of oppressors and those that would enslave other men to their will, to their dictates. The concept that a state can make better decisions for an individual is an truly evil concept. To deny an individual the control of their own destiny is to encourage evil in the world. To fail to support Democracy is to support the imposition of another's will on the individual.

As we remember the collapse of the Soviet Union, we must turn our attention to the other Evil Empires emerging. We must, at every turn do whatever we can to encourage dissent and rebellion in those areas of the world where an individual is stripped of his individual right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We must expose the man behind the curtain of Communist regimes and point out their failings at every turn, as loudly as we can so that the oppressed of the world know that we support them in their natural quest for freedom and liberty. We cannot continue to stand idly by while more and more people fall under the control of their "betters", for the concept of "betters" does not exist in a world where all men are created equal.

As we remember the collapse of the Soviet Union, we must look forward to the disintegration of Communism worldwide; in some cases this means we must destabilize those nations which oppress their citizens, in others it means we must "cook" their economy, drive it to a fever pitch where the ability of the state to control it collapses, in others we will have to act to remove regimes that are bent on oppression and where starvation is considered a means of control, in all, we must reject the tennents of Communism and do our best to bring about it's eventual demise.

This is what we should think about as we remember the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a victory over Communism surely, but it was only one battle, albeit a major one, but the war against Communism and for the freedom of mankind is far from over.

--Jason

UPDATE: Welcome Ace of Spades HQ readers, please feel free to take a look around, and thank you for taking the time to give my words a brief bit of your attention.

MAJOR UPDATE: Just a few hours after I posted this, Bloomberg reports that the last Soviet Premier/Dictator, Mikhail Gorbachev, praises Hillary Clinton. If that's not telling, I'm not sure what is.

There are those that would look favorably on Gorbachev, I do not. While his policies led to the eventual fall of the Soviet Union, don't think for a second that Gorbachev was anti-Communist, he wasn't. The collapse wasn't an intended outcome of Gorbachev's polices; the intent of his policy was to stave off the economic and political collapse of the Soviet regime. He would have been more than happy to serve out his time as a Soviet Premier / Dictator for Life, thankfully, the world had different plans.

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:33 AM | TrackBack

August 16, 2006

NYC 9-11 Calls Released. . .

New York City officials today released over 1600 emergency calls and transmissions between dispatchers, first responders and other responding agencies today. Included are calls from individuals trapped inside the World Trade Center complex and individuals reporting the terrorist attack upon the Twin Towers. Also included are calls between responders and supervisors offering help, support, direction and information as the attack and the its aftermath unfold.

Listening to the released material is quite difficult emotionally and brings the horror of that day once again into sharp relief. I'd recommend that everyone take at least some time to listen to the recordings as they are an important part of understanding the scope of the event for the individuals tasked with responding and managing a crisis previously unimaginable.

I have nothing but praise to offer for the courageous efforts and professionalism the recordings demonstrate.

WARNING: There are some very graphic descriptions of tragic events included in the recordings, they are most definately inappropriate for young children and those easily disturbed.

Links to the released tapes after the jump.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 4:05 PM | TrackBack

August 14, 2006

Has Google jumped the shark. . . .

Internet behemoth Google, seems to be setting itself up to jump the shark. From censoring results in China, to some dubious methodology in it's click-based advertising system, Google has already been under fire.

Now it seems they are taking offense to the terminology "to google" claiming that its use by media outlets is approaching trademark infringement.

While I can see Google's point, and I can almost agree with its, I think it's a seriously bad move to send menacing legal notices to media outlets. Google is on shaky ground with the rest of the world media via it's Google Video and Google News services. Further, their plans to digitize and make available on the web, every book ever published is setting the internet giant up for a showdown with Big Media over intellectual property rights.

Personally, I think they are setting the stage for a battle they cannot win by antagonizing the media and trying to play the bully. When push comes to shove, it's highly unlikely that their plan to digitize and offer up every published work will succeed. Authors like readers, for sure, and so do publishers, but both groups also want to be paid for their intellectual output and the resources used to publish such works. If Google succeeds in dealing such a fatal blow to print media, the public will be ill served as publishers will begin to step back from publishing hard copy and publishing only via electronic means where they have a greater control over who can access their content.

To take books away (as Google is unwittingly trying to do) would be a significant negative blow to the education of the masses. As much as Google would like it to be so, access to the internet is not universal and it never will be. Additionally, the ability to transfer knowledge without additional technological support (other than handing over a book) will be seriously harmed. Google is facing a showdown and before they get to the dance, they are further antagonizing their partner and will only gain enemies by trying to buck common vernacular and determine how people use the English language.

If Google wants to fight the use of their name as a verb, they need to go first to the publishers of Oxford's English and other dictionaries, not the people using the terminology found there.

Google is severly over-valued as a company, their position is far from stable at the top of the heap and as we've seen time and time and time again, your position on top is short-lived if you go after the people who put you there.

If they press this particular issue with the media, eventually they'll get a backlash, and the lawsuits over Google News and other services will begin to mount up. Remember, it only takes one successful lawsuit to force Google to shut down it's News or Video services. The sudden injunction on either of these services would severely hurt Google's stock, it will also produce a pile on effect as lawyers descend on Google en masse to begin a "death of a thousand cuts" which will be championed by the media that Google is antagonizing. Google has alot of cash, cash that once tapped with a successful lawsuit, will bring about a legal swarm of locusts that will make drug company liability cases seem pale in comparison.

For me personally, I don't rely on Google as I once did. I found over time that there were other search engines which produced better results with particular subject matter. While Google's interface is clean and fast, their results are being "gamed" more and more everyday. Just like Windows is targeted by virus developers because it's the prominent platform, Google is targeted by SEO con-artists and spammers because of it's position at the top.

Unlike Microsoft, there are simple and widely available alternatives to Google. Their position is not secure, they live in a multi-layered glass house, and if they start throwing stones at the brick and mortar media, the brick and mortar media will throw back. It doesn't take a structural engineer to determine who will win the rock throwing contest.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 12:54 PM

March 8, 2006

If this pisses you off, go away. . .

Because I think it's absolutely hilarious.

The audio is a bit hot, so be ready to turn it down, and you may not understand all the lyrics at first, but give it a little bit and I promise it gets better. About half way through, you'll be tempted to turn it off because you'll feel like it's run it's course, but I encourage you to stay with it for the entire video.

If you don't find it funny, well, let's just say that if you don't, then, you're not really my target demographic, OK?

If the embedded player isn't working for you, you can click here.

A small bit of commentary below the fold. . .

Now I know SOME people are going to find this offensive, but I'd suggest that anyone who doesn't realize the stress and the activitiy levels of our troops in harms way, also won't recognize that humor is their way of coping with being far from home, doing a tough job and most importantly, battling the feelings that people at home aren't behind them.

I post this because A) I find it hilarious, B) I like poking those who would find it offensive and C) I really support the boys and girls in harm's way and can empathize with their desire to lash back a little by using humor.

So before you fire off that 10 page hate mail missive to me, just realize that if this offends you, and you bitch at me about it, I'm just going to laugh at you.

Also, lets just say that if you snipe at me or have a problem with me, that's cool, take a swipe at the troops or my "target demographic" in comments and I'll delete ya. Got it?

--Jason

UPDATE: Comments are closed due to spambots.

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:30 AM

March 7, 2006

Behold, the Dhimmitude of Europe continues. . .

Somedays I just look at my inbox and shake my head slowly. I can't believe where the world is going sometimes.

Of interest to me today is a report coming from Islam Online that says that the top rock act in Germany will be prohibited from appearing at Berlin's ECHO Music Festival after a television station announced they would not broadcast the performance because to do so would be an "irresponsible act".

Read the article and decide for yourself if the organizers are doing the right thing by banning the top rock band in Germany (named Oomph!, by the way) from the festival to appease potential religious troublemakers.

For my part I'm going to do something "irresponsible" and post a sample of the "offending song" entitled "Gott ist ein Popstar (God is a pop star)." Click the title for a sample.

I hope all those who would be offended by such music are profoundly offended. I'm still waiting for that Fatwah folks, I keep checking, but I don't think anyone has decared a jihad on me yet.

More musical interludes later tonight folks, and I promise that this next one will be a howler!!!! You're gonna have to wait for it though, cause I'm like that.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 3:48 PM | TrackBack

February 23, 2006

Two tales of a city. . .

Ok, not quite a city, more just a place, and a people. The place is Lalish, Iraq (Kurdistan Iraq, for whatever that's worth), the people are the Yezidi. The tales are from Michael Totten, who focuses more on the religion, and Michael Yon, who focuses more on the people.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:34 AM | TrackBack

February 17, 2006

The international language of. . ..

"Common Sense."

First found via my favorite web diva.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:43 AM | TrackBack

Did I say hell? ? ?

Freigh-train, I tell ya, freight-train!!!!

Where's my jihad?!?!?!

First caught this at California Conservative, then at Cake or Death.

It's a must see, but be warned, Not Necessarily Safe for Work (Language, and if you're an easily offended jihadist wannabe Muslim, you'll really hate it.). You've been warned.

Courtesy of Zipperfish.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 1:47 AM | TrackBack

February 15, 2006

More of what the MSM won't show you. . . .

Something tells me that you'll never see an article about this type of reconstruction in Iraq in the New York Times, LA Times, Boston Globe, nor will you probably see it on ABC, NBC or CBS.

Yes, that's in IRAQ, and so is this.

To find out about this kind of reconstruction. You'll have to look to the blogs. This time, you'll specifically have to check out Michael Totten, who's taken to blogging directly from the Middle East. Until recently he was living and blogging in Lebanon, and now he's taken his laptop and digicam to Iraq.

Have a look around his site at MichaelTotten.com, when you're done there, check out Michael Yon.

The MSM is dying on the vine, I'm just glad we have something to take it's place.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 3:29 PM | TrackBack

February 1, 2006

Dear Alcohol. . .

Did I ever tell you I used to own a brewery??? Anyway, I just wanted to share.

Dear Alcohol,
First & foremost, let me tell you that I'm a huge fan of yours.

As my friend, you always seem to be there when needed.

The perfect post-work cocktail, a beer at the game, and you're even
around in the holidays, hidden inside chocolates as you warm us when
we're stuck in the midst of endless family gatherings.

However, lately I've been wondering about your intentions.

While I want to believe that you have my best interests at heart, I feel
that your influence has led to some unwise consequences:

1. Phone calls: While I agree with you that communication is
important, I question the suggestion that any conversation of substance
or necessity takes place after 2 a.m. Why would you make me call those
ex-girlfriends when I know for a fact they do not want to
hear from me during the day, let alone all hours of the night?

2. Eating: Now, you know I love a good meal, but why do you suggest
that I eat a kebab, a butter chicken curry along with a sausage with
cheese,onion and mustard (washed down with WINE &
topped off with a Kit kat after a few sweet chilli and sour cream old
dutch chips)? I'm an eclectic eater, but I think you went too far this
time.

3. Clumsiness: Unless you're subtly trying to tell me that I need to
do more yoga to improve my balance, I see NO need to hammer the issue
home by causing me to fall down. It's completely unnecessary, and the
black & blue marks that appear on my body mysteriously the next day are
beyond me. Similarly, it should never take me more than 45 seconds to
get the front door key into the lock.

4. Furthermore: The hangovers have GOT to stop.
This is getting ridiculous. I know a little penance for our previous
evening's debauchery may be in order, but the 3pm hangover immobility is
completely unacceptable. My entire day is shot. I
ask that, if the proper precautions are taken ie water, vitamin B, bread
products, aspirin
prior to going to sleep/passing out face down on the kitchen floor the
hangover should be minimal & in no way interfere with my daily
activities.

Alcohol, I have enjoyed our friendship for some years now & would like
to ensure that we remain on good terms. You've been the invoker of great
stories, the provocation for much laughter, and the needed companion
when I just don't know what to do with the extra money in my pockets.

In order to continue this friendship, I ask that you carefully review my
grievances above & address them immediately. I will look for an answer
no later than Thursday 3pm (pre-happy hour) on your possible solutions &
hopefully we can continue this fruitful partnership.

Thank you,
Your biggest fan

P.S.

THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Innovative
2. Preliminary
3. Proliferation
4. Cinnamon

THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Specificity
2. British Constitution
3. Passive-aggressive disorder

THINGS THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY
WHEN DRUNK:
1. Thanks, but I don't want to have sex.
2. Nope, no more beer for me.
3. Sorry, but you're not really my type.
4. Good evening, officer. Isn't it lovely out tonight?
5. Oh, I couldn't. No one wants to hear me sing

----------------------------------------------------

I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't. I read it first some time back and had been looking for it ever since. Found it, so I'm putting it here so I won't lose it.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 7:57 PM

January 31, 2006

Oh this is too good. . . . (It's in the Koran!)

Give it a bit to load and then click play. . .

It's in the Koran!

As always, give it a few seconds to load then click play, and PLEASE, no hot-linking. Link to the page, and that's great, but please don't just steal my bandwith without referencing, it's just uncool.

UPDATE: Google Video was originally serving the video but in their march toward Dhimmitude, they've taken it down. Never fear however, I had a copy laying around and am now glad to serve it up for ya.

Oh yeah, and just for Googles sake, lemme put in some keywords here: It's in the Koran song plus lyrics and audio, Islam's Not for Me.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 2:11 AM | TrackBack

DUDE!!!

Kirkwood has a 200 inch base!!!

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 12:14 AM | TrackBack

January 24, 2006

If there is a Hell. . .

Yes, yes, I know I'm an Atheist (really, I am), and I don't believe in Hell, but I'm also quite cognizant that I could very well be wrong, and there may in fact, actually be a Hell.

I'm certain though, that if there is. . . I've got a reservation for putting this on my blog.

Give it some time to load, click play, and watch the whole thing. Leave hate mail in the comments.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 2:55 PM | TrackBack

January 23, 2006

It's as if. . . .

Mother Nature creeped up on the libbies and leaned in close to their ear and then screamed:

HA! There's your Global Warming for ya!

Seriously tho', I don't subscribe to the Global Warming nonsense. Sure there's evidence that the earth is getting warmer, but there's also evidence that it's getting colder. There's plenty of evidence that our Sun is cranking out more energy than ever before and that our planet and it's various ecosystems are responding in kind.

[NOTE:It's important to realize that our Sun is going to keep getting hotter and hotter over geologic/astronomic time until it cooks us right off the planet and absorbs the Earth into it's ever expanding disk just a few million years before it collapses back upon itself. So if you want to bitch about "global warming" and use the SUN as your boogeyman, that's fine, but pretending that WE HUMANS are the culprit is just ludicrous at this point in our scientific/industrial evolution.]

In essence for me, it just seems as if we simply don't have enough of a grasp of global climate change or even the global climate in general to understand what the last 100 or so years of data means. That's really all we have ya know, about 100 years of "somewhat" reliable data on temperatures. Not to mention that MOST of that 100 years of data was collected within big concrete heatsinks that make up our cities. Those sinks keep getting bigger as cities grow so it's not really surprising that collecting data in our universities and our city-based weather bureaus over the past 10 or so decades has skewed the temperature data upwards. We're doing much better now with satellites since people began pointing out the heatsink effect of cities.

There are plenty in the Global Warming crowd that will harp that we have THOUSANDS of years of data, but that's mostly theoretical data at best and wholely fabricated at worst. Although I do just LOVE this graphic from the IPCC via the Wall Street Journal some time back.

In all intellectual honesty we simply don't have enough information to say that WE are doing THIS or doing THAT with regard to the climate, even with ice cores and tree ring fossils.

Sure pollution is bad, but industrialized societies compensate for pollution with wealth. Yep, I said it, wealth. Think about it for a second. I'm not rich, rich, rich, but I'm Bill Gates when it comes to most of the third world, and I do something with that wealth that many people take for granted. I landscape my yard. That's right. I have a lawn, I have flowerbeds, I have trees and schrubbery that not only enhance the value and appearance of my property, but also absorb far more CO2 and produce more O2 than the same piece of property would if left to the natural state. I'm not alone either, there are MILLIONS of us doing this. Think about it.

Now I'm not about to say that nice lawns and landscaping are the cure for global warming, but I do know this, they certainly help quite a bit. In case you hadn't noticed, North America is a NET ABSORBER of CO2 (That's one of dem der "greenhouse gasses" ya know). Yep, that's right, even with all our cars, our power plants, fireplaces and heavy industry, we still absorb more CO2 than we crank out. I suggest that's mainly because of our land use practices, especially our more modern ones (post WW2). We rarely let land go to "waste" in the United States. We do hold some aside and we do have some that doesn't appear to be doing anything, but the vast majority of land in the U.S. is managed in one way or another.

That management can take many different forms, it could be local and individual, as in the case of my house, which is surrounded by a green lawn in summer, regularly watered and cut so it's always growing and cranking out O2 and absorbing CO2 at a fair clip. I also spread rye grass in the winter to keep a lawn growing, then I have fruit trees, decorative cypress, some schrubbery and plenty of other decorative plants which I try to keep healty and do my best to avoid them becoming deer food (which I'll come back to later), as well as another area set aside in it's natural state to provide a bit of habitat for critters, birds and the like.

There's also the big agri-business land use and management on the other end of the scale. The United States produces ALOT of vegetation for foodstuffs, and that vegetation has a significant impact on the CO2 level. This vegetation has also been selected, domesticated and hybridized to produce a fast growing crop, maximizing both the amount of food produced and also the amount of CO2 and O2 processed and produced (not necessarily intended, but definately a benefit). We grow far more than we need as a "people" and then we sell the extra to others who don't grow quite so much because either they can't, they won't or they try and fail to produce enough to feed their own people. We also grow alot of food for fun (private gardens which hardly every outproduce commerical farms economically) and then we do strange things like grow corn in Indiana, ship it to Alabama and then spread it out in our backyards to encourage a deer population that's already over-abundant to visit our yards and eat our ryegrass, but hopefully not to eat the pansies in the front yard or kill our fruit trees (go figure).

Then we have trees. Lot's and lots of trees. The libbies are going to react to that statement and bitch and whine about logging, but that's ridiculous. Responsible logging, like that practiced in North America and most other industrialized areas of the world, is GOOD for the environment. Sure, it might be better, if we let wildfires rage out of control every few years to take out our older forests, but managing the forest seems to be a little better for all concerned. So we cut down a tree and we plant 7 in it's place, and those 7 young trees are going to process more CO2 and produce more Oxygen over a given reasonable period of time than that one older tree did. Then that tree is going to be processed into lumber for a house that's going to have a lawn and landscaping around it. So yeah, I'll say it. Logging is GOOD for the environment.

I know this is all VERY VERY simplistic, but I didn't really intend to write this at all. I just wanted to point out that just when you think the clamor about Global Warming can't get any louder or be any more insane, Mother Nature herself tosses us a curveball to just point out how little we actually do know and throw all the proconceived notions about climate change and how evil us humans are right out the window.

I also love the recent "Global Warming CAUSED by plants" info that's recently surfaced. Showing that we plainly and simply have no freaking idea what we've been talking about, are talking about or think we might be talking about.

So in short, Europe, break out the winter gear, it's probably going to continue to be a chilly one for you. As for me, I'll keep working on my lawn and hope that one day I can match my Dad's skills in cultivating the perfect patch of grass. For the rest of you out there, stop worrying so much about global warming and start concentrating on just being good to yourself and those around you, get yourself a hybrid if you're worried about it, grow some plants, blacktop that driveway instead of concrete, or vice versa (think about reflection vs. absorbsion) and stop worrying about Global Warming (which we don't really know exists anyway).

I suggest you start worrying about REAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS, like the nutcase in Iran who can't wait to start splitting the atom in the open atmosphere in order to bring about the 12th coming or something like that. Freaking nutcase.

How's that for a RANT!!!

Oh yeah, there's always THIS IDEA too.

--Jason

PS - The above was provoked by someone who e-mailed that I hadn't been ranting enough on my blog lately. Is that good enough for ya!?!?!?!?!

Posted by JasonColeman at 5:15 PM | TrackBack

January 22, 2006

"Trash Talk" props for Birmingham (News). . .

The Birmingham News isn't very "up" on things happening on the internet, they occasionally throw a few stories about internet happenings here and there, but it takes a bigger connection to get the news to chime in.

College Football is definately one of those connections, hence the Friday story about OnePeat.com.

"Memo to USC: Your college football "dynasty" won exactly one BCS championship in a row.
You didn't win the 2003 BCS title. LSU did. You lost the 2005 BCS title game to Texas.

Even your 2004 BCS ring should include a diamond asterisk. You may have gone 13-0 that year, but so
did Auburn.

In case you've forgotten these true facts, some LSU fans, with the help of a Mobile ad agency, are going to
remind you very soon in a very big way." [Emphasis mine.]

You gotta admit that's some hellacious trash talkin'.

Find out more about the billboard at OnePeat.com.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 1:47 AM

January 18, 2006

Could be a rough one today kiddies. . . . or a banner day . . . who knows???

Somethings brewing over in the Pacific, so the powers that be took the pot off the stove so things could cool off.

Enough dancing around the issue for you?

Ok, here it is. The Nikkei got shut down overnight because of a massive sell-off triggered when the Japanese government raided the offices of the internet company, Livedoor. The sell-off amounts to $300 million in assets in the last three days, or roughly the gross domestic product of Sweden. That's quite a bit of cash that doesn't have a home right now.

The sell-off has triggered a shut-down of the Japanese exchange as it approached it's daily volume limit.

So what does all this mean to us here in the States??? Who the hell knows. There's alot of money out there that needs a place to go, alot of investment capital is up for grabs, but it's skiddish capital at best. I expect we'll get alot of that capital flowing into U.S. markets and companies in the next few days and we'll see a bump (after what will probably be a VERY shaky start to today's trading), then some profit taking and the Dow will settle into a solid 11K plus stance. I think what's bad for our friends in the Nikkei, in THIS case, should be good for us.

We'll see though, won't we.

IMAGE: Market Close 1-18-06

If you're curious who Livedoor is, here's their translated portal/homepage.

Oh yeah. . . I am not a stock-broker, nor do I play financial advisor on this blog. If you take any of this for "financial advice", you are an idiot and had better not come crying to me. . . EVER!

--Jason

UPDATE: Well, with a little more than half the trading day to go, doesn't seem like my prediction is panning out. I'm surprised that such a dramatic event in the Japanese exchange hasn't had a more noticible effect on our market, either positive or negative. Twenty point swing by mid-day just doesn't seem to match the chaos the Japanese are experiencing. I guess that just shows how stable and robust our market really is. See why I'm not a broker?

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 4:31 AM | TrackBack

January 16, 2006

On this of all days. . .

On the annual observance of "Martin Luther King Day", a day when it's suggested that people reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King and the principles he stood for. A day when people should take a moment and think about the "One Nation" and about the "liberty and equality for all" and about King's, dreams.

Among those was King's dream that one day this nation would be:

"where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers"

We now present Ray Nagin, soon to be ex-mayor of New Oreleans (hopefully). . . Go ahead, click the play button. I dare ya.

CLICK HERE for the "Chocolate City" video clip.

Oh, oh, but wait, that's not all . . . Nagin's channeling Pat Robertson as well. . . just in case you weren't confused, befuddled or dumbfounded enough already, click here for more.

I could probably type for hours about how angry I am, how totally offensive, counter-productive and hypocritical Nagin is; but I won't, I'm just going to leave it there, and point to it whenever someone trys to drag out the "racist" crap when speaking of Katrina and her aftermath. I'll tell you where the racists were and ARE, they're right up there in those videos, and Ray Nagin has become their leader apparently.

As Ian asks, "Is that a “black power” swastika on his shoulder?"

Sick I tell ya, I'm just sick over this, and sick because the main stream media will give Nagin a pass, they will gloss right over this and pretend it never actually happened.

Oh well, while I got ya. Go back and read this and this about Nagin's success as Mayor of New Orleans. I no longer have mixed feelings, Nagin's got to go.

--Jason

PS, If you'd like to have your own copy of that little gem by Nagin to send to friends and family and don't want to link here, just RIGHT CLICK HERE and "Save As. . .", or for the God comments, right click here and "Save As. . . "

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:59 PM | TrackBack

December 31, 2005

If I had to choose. . .

I choose this to represent 2005:

Click the picture for an explanation.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 10:16 AM | TrackBack

December 19, 2005

A few days late, but still worth it. . .

Michael Yon, for those of you who don't know, is an independent reporter in Iraq. He went over as an embedded reporter on his own chops the first time and has redefined what a blog-reporter can be. Since his original stint during the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Yon has picked up sponsorship from The Weekly Standard who offered him "affiliation with independence" (find out more about the embed process at this post of his).

Currently Yon is the front-runner for Time Magazine's Photo of the year with his photo "In His Arms" which deserves the top spot as it's one of the most moving pictures of the war IMHO. You can view the Time nominees and vote here.

Other bloggers have made the jump from "citizen jounalist" to "citizen foreign correspondent" or "citizen war reporter", namely Michael Totten (who's still freelancing pieces in addition to his blog) and Bill Roggio who blogs and writes for ThreatsWatch, but it's Mr. Yon who's on top of the heap.

Rather than just pumping up Yon, Totten and Roggio, this post has another purpose, Yon put up a flash presentation from the Iraq Elections on his site that he says:

"The video was not attributed, and I saw no information regarding the authorship to ask permission to run it. Apparently the author sent it out to be distributed by the winds"

So I'm adding my own little gust of air to the hopeful storm that this video represents and present it here:

Spread it around, you can "right click and Save As. . " here to download it and send to friends or post it wherever you can, no need to link back to me, but if you want to throw Michael Yon a link, it'd be appreciated. The world needs more of reporting like his.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:17 AM

December 18, 2005

Clap. . . Clap. . .

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:16 PM | TrackBack

November 9, 2005

In case you were wondering. . . .Islam's Not for Me

Here's reason number 376383472 that:

Islam's Not for Me

IF, the copy above doesn't work, OR, you want to be really nice and save me some bandwidth, please click the player below and listen to the song via InfidelsRock.com (I've asked and they say it's OK.)

Enjoy!, then take a look around the rest of the site.

Here's the lyrics so you can sing along:

They try to tell me my religion is wrong
They try to tell me to follow Islam
They said their prophet was a righteous dude
But I found out none of their words were true
I read the Quran and I read the Hadith
And the sickness of Muhammad was apparent to me
He justified perversion in the name of Allah
When he married a girl too young for a bra
She was playing with dolls when the prophet came
Her childhood was stolen in Allah’s name
Aisha was nine when he took her to bed
Don’t tell me that fool’s not sick in the head
Ain’t gonna follow no child molester, sex offender, prophet pretender.
Aint gonna follow no child molester

Islam's not for me.
Islam's not for me.

The sickness of the Islamic mind
Has caused the Mullahs to be blind
To justify their prophet they would justify sin
So the sins of the prophet are repeated again
All over the world in Islamic states
9 year old girls suffer cruel fate
Sold into marriage to twisted men
And Aisha’s sad story is repeated again
Ain’t gonna follow no child molester, sex offender, prophet pretender.
Aint gonna follow no child molester,

Islam's not for me.
Islam's not for me.

Do you care about women all over the world?
Do you care about those little girls?
Then stand up and fight for human rights
Speak out against the laws of Islam
Ain’t gonna follow no child molester, sex offender, prophet pretender.
Aint gonna follow no child molester,

Islam's not for me.
Islam's not for me.
Islam's not for me.

Of course, in case you didn't know what my #1 reason was. . . I'm an atheist.

--Jason

UPDATE: I included this in The Political Teen's Open Trackback Thursday as well as the midweek trackback fest from Stop the ACLU and GM's Corner.

UPDATE 2: Help keep this clip on the internet! You may or may not know that services like YouTube! and Google Video have been pressured often to remove "objectionable" content from their services. While sites like the Internet Archive and their "Wayback Machine" have done wonders for archiving content on the web, when it comes to file resources like this, it comes to individuals to keep the file alive as blogs come and go, personal sites get abandoned and more. I want to keep this site active and keep this file alive, but that requires purchasing bandwidth, so I've included Amazon ads into this page in the hopes that some of you might consider starting one of your Amazon searches here and support the site and the cost to keep this file alive. Just thought I should mention why I added the ads to the original post.

-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 12:50 AM

October 20, 2005

Boy. . . South Park wsa great last night. . . Quick Hits

And Time Blair thought so too.

MVRWC, well, they think's they're rich now. I just feel like a baby blogger growing up a bit. Thanks for the contest Beth.(fixed)

Dan is reporting that someone has posted Taylor Behl's livejournal photos and comments, I haven't really been following this at all but; I'm not feeling good about this.

Charmaine Yoest says it very politely about Tom and Katie. I generally agree.

Sister Toldja fell off the fence with regard to the Miers Nomination. I didn't pay attention to today's events in the nomination process, so I'm still on the fence until the 1st Day of the first hearing, then I may fall off, don't know.

HyScience tells us about Herceptin, and that's great news, but there's always a catch so read the whole thing. Hyscience also helped with my post today, in fact, he started the whole ball rolling.

I'd like to personally thank those linked above (and don't worrry, there are more to come, it's just alot of posts to read through) for linking or contributing to my post earlier today. Which I'll be commenting later tonight.

--Jason

**Comments are closes for this entry, if you'd like to add something, contact me via email.**

Posted by JasonColeman at 7:09 PM

September 5, 2005

Thoughts on Katrina, a beginning. . . .

It's been very hard to put together something about the disaster in New Orleans. N.O. is my hometown, the place of my birth and where I came to realize who I was and what the world around me was like.

This hurricane was devastating to N.O. The city has been killed, it's quite possible that it can be resurrected, but not into the same form. I physically hurt for my friends and family that are suffering so much right now in the wake of this, this blow to my family is hard to wrap my mind around, but with time, we'll recover, like the city, and we'll all be stronger for it.

ANGER wells in me however, and it's hard to deconstruct it into something positive. I dwell on it constantly and resist the urge to lash out, instead I've been focusing on understanding the failure and breakdown of the systems and communities in the wake of the Hurricane and the second disaster of the breached levees after the storm passed.

There are many out there ready to blame President Bush. There are some that blame him for global warming, asserting that Bushco and the oil companies in the past five years have somehow cranked the pseudo-science of global warming into high gear, that his policies have somehow created more frequent and dangerous hurricanes. They don't want to acknowledge that the United States is actually a NET ABSORBER of greenhouse gasses, or that hurricane ferocity and frequency is actually on a downswing right now.

Others try to blame Bush by saying he's racist, wants black people to die and somehow delayed efforts to get the poor out of New Orleans. It doesn't matter to these people that it was actually President Bush that prompted the evacuation [1] after local officials refused to do so, and of course they've never been comfortable with admitting that the Bush Administration is more racially diverse than any administration previous.

Still others try to blame Bush by saying that he failed to act quick enough getting federal troops into the city. I'm sorry, and you know what, I wish that Bush had dropped regular Army troops in day one, but there are certain things that have to be recognized in this situation.

First and foremost was the law forbiding posse comitatus:

Section 1385 of title 18 (commonly known as the Posse Comitatus Act) prohibits the use of the Armed Forces as a Posse comitatus to execute the laws except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress.

Bush did not have the legal authority to drop federal troops or National Guard from other states into Louisiana without the request or approval of the Governor of the State of Louisiana. Governor Blanco didn't give approval until well into the third day after the levee broke. Does the left think that Bush should have played fast and loose with the law, or even downright violated it by sending in other states National Guard or Federal troops.

YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS THEY DO, because that would have been just the excuse they need to actually catch Bush doing something wrong. You can bet dollars to doughnuts that shortly after federal troops hit the ground in N.O. over the objections of the Governor, that Senator John Kerry or most probably Ted Kennedy would be calling for impeachment (the Dems aren't going to rest until they can get a Republican President impeached, regardless of the facts, so they can feel avenged for having their guy impeached).

Blaming Bush for anything related to the disaster that Katrina has become is ludicrous at this point. The President is NOT a micro-manager, and no one with any intelligence wants him to be. FEMA director Brown may have made some mistakes, and he'll probably pay for them and others that aren't his, DHS Chertof will take some heat too, and when all is played out, there may be some other administration officials that take heat rightly so and unjustly, but "blame" does not belong on the head of Bush.

But I will tell you where it belongs:

Clarence Nagin Jr., Mayor of New Orleans, if anyone deserves blame it's this worthless excuse for an elected official in a time of crisis. Mayor Nagin had to be essentially TOLD by the President of the United States that his city was in immediate danger and needed to be evacuated. Mayor Nagin, finally, called for the evacuation with less than 24 hours before the storm's landfall south of New Orleans.

Delaying the evacuation isn't all of it though. Mayor Nagin also miserably failed to implement the Hurricane Evacuation Plan for the city of New Orleans. He failed to evacuate those people that collected at city shelters via the buses he had at his disposal (ironically, within 24 hours of the levee breach, Nagin was in front of TV cameras blaming Bush for not sending buses, when he ordered the evacuation when he had over 1000 buses, that he never even tried to budge).

Click image for more info on these buses.

More buses Nagin had the authority and responsibility to use here:

When Nagin failed to follow the evacuation plan for New Orleans, he threw a HUGE monkey-wrench into the activities and responsibility of the Lousiana National Guard, who now had to shift gears to manage the masses converging on the Superdome. His failure disrupted the State of Louisiana Disaster Management officials and plans, which in turn set the State of Louisiana against the city and federal government. Nagin's failure left a gap between the First Responders on the ground in New Orleans and the Federal efforts. When Nagin abandoned all the plans in place, he sent the city into chaos, the National Guard had to play catch-up, the Fire and EMS officials had no plan left to follow, the Police became incoherent and simply disintegrated.

Nagins failure travelled throughout the city, state and all the all the way to Washington D.C. His failure caused a communications breakdown and total absence of civil authority, leaving the city in the dark to the outside world and the outside world clueless about the real situation inside the city.

Nagins failure is as inexcusable as it is tragic, but no doubt, he'll be defended by the left, as will Blanco. The fact that Nagin had the means and opportunity to save thousands of lives will be ignored, the facts that Blanco broke down and became totally incompetent, and at times counter-productive will be glossed over. The Robert Kennedy Jr.'s of the world will blame the republicans and global warning regardless, and the Michael Moore's will claim that we don't have enough troops to deal with this because they are all over in Iraq, despite the fact that less that 13% of the US military might is deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

The Left in general will blame Bush, they will develop conspiracy theory after conspiracy, about how this was all a plot to kill off the poor, or that it was some secret weather manipulation plot, or that it's all just another way to get Haliburton more contracts, or that somehow this is all a plot against the black man. It's ridiculous really, but easy to see when you have Oprah wanting overflights along with the NAACP, or when Sean Penn shows up with a boat that almost sinks (through his own incompetance for not putting the drain plug in) and a motor that won't start, that Katrina in the eyes of the left is not a tragedy, they view it as an opportunity.

Go ahead Lefties, blame Bush, harp over and over how it's all Bushitler's fault that he created the hurricane, then broke the levees, then plotted to get rid of a few thousand poor people. Keep ranting your pink heads off, keep being chicken little and looking for your equivalent of the blue dress, we don't buy your "false but accurate" thinking anymore.

Over here to the right of center, we'll keep on winning elections and managing the nation.

Back on topic, Clarence Nagin Jr. killed New Orleans, just as sure as he were the hurricane itself, he should never be forgiven for leaving the citizenry of New Orleans literally out in the rain when he had the ability and the assets in place to save them, and subsequently, save the city itself.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 10:34 PM

It's long past time to choose. . .

And I choose to be a Sheepdog.

Read the whole thing, come back later if you have to, but read the whole thing.

Then please take note of this:

In the absence of information and outside assistance, groups of rich and poor banded together in the French Quarter, forming "tribes" and dividing up the labor.
As some went down to the river to do the wash, others remained behind to protect property. In a bar, a bartender put near-perfect stitches into the torn ear of a robbery victim.

While mold and contagion grew in the muck that engulfed most of the city, something else sprouted in this most decadent of American neighborhoods - humanity.

"Some people became animals," Vasilioas Tryphonas said Sunday morning as he sipped a hot beer in Johnny White's Sports Bar on Bourbon Street. "We became more civilized."

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 2:09 PM | TrackBack

September 4, 2005

Read This. . .

READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS, READ THIS.
Thank you,

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:06 AM | TrackBack

August 17, 2005

In case you're unsure why the Islamists are so bad. . .

You should take a deep breath, prepare yourself, then read this:

Of 1,554 women and girls over 10 years old interviewed by WADI’s local medical team, 907, or more than 60 percent, said they had had the operation [FEMALE CIRCUMCISION]. The practice is known to exist throughout the Middle East, particularly in northern Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, and Iraq. There is also circumstantial evidence to suggest it is present in Syria, western Iran, and southern Turkey.

It amazes me that groups like the National Organization for Women are against the war in Iraq. In the world the Islamists want, women are little more than chattle, subjected to every sadistic whim of their male "owners", forced into the burka and given no chance to advance their place in the world.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have quite literally "freed" millions upon millions of women who have long been denied education, personal freedom and even the most basic of human rights. Yet groups supposedly supportive of women's rights and women in general, call for an end to the war and neglect to recognize that George W. Bush has given more women the franchise, and therefore the right and ability to control their own destinies, than any other figure in history. You'd think that that would be something the NOW would be pleased about, ironically, they don't even acknowledge it.

It's long time that the hypocrisy end. It's time that those groups on the left that constantly harp that this war was "all about WMD", WAKE UP and realize what we are really fighting over there. We're fighting groups of people with a warped world view, one that would roll back the freedoms of women worldwide and reduce them from human beings to property.

--Jason

PS - If you're looking for a gift to give that certain someone in your circle of friends who still doesn't understand what we're really fighting against, consider this:

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam
-JC

Posted by JasonColeman at 9:33 AM | TrackBack

August 13, 2005

Never forget. . .

The New York Times has the NYFD Dispatch calls that were among the recently released oral histories of 9-11.

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:13 AM | TrackBack

August 4, 2005

Snuppy, the franken puppy. . .

Ok, that's a little harsh on a puppy that really doesn't deserve it, but seriously, if we as a somewhat "cogent" species can't get the abortion debate settled have got NO BUSINESS cloning anything.

I've touched on this before.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 8:00 AM | TrackBack

June 21, 2005

Really Mixed Feelings

Killen convicted on all 3 counts.

#1 - EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE

#2 - EXTREMELY DISTURBED WITH THE ADDED DRAMA OF THE CONVICTION BEING HANDED DOWN ON THE 41ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE CRIME ITSELF.

#3 - I'll toss in the "Anti-Lynching" Vote in the Senate.

My Point? This contrived drama seems to be coming together better than a Hollywood script. I'm not sure I like the idea that our courts and mediascape have now combined to present morality plays.

Or perhaps they should.

Let's hold a public trial and televise it for the 20th hijacker guy. Pull a jury of 12 plus 88 alternates (100 or 2 from each state) lets lay it all out on the table. Let's talk about the USS Cole, the 1st Trade Center bombing, Bali, Israel, and then 9-11. Then we can talk about air-conditioning, Christina Aguillera and handling books THAT WE GAVE THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE with rubber gloves and surgical masks. Then lets talk about Nick Berg and countless other beheadings. Connect them all up with the guy that WANTED to be a part of the Twin Towers attack. <-- Video you might want/need to see again. If you start, WATCH THE WHOLE THING!

On the side we can have a smaller trial televised from Europe (Italy), the one where the woman is on trial for "defaming Islam". Oops, looks like the guy that complained just got convicted for "defaming Christianity".

Oh yeah, don't forget, it's ok to sleep with little boys.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:24 AM | TrackBack

June 15, 2005

Life. . .Death. . .not quite life? Death?

Today the news is full of the autopsy reports of Terri Schaivo. The general scientific sense is that nothing more could have been done for Terri, her brain had atrophied to less than half normal size and some parts had simply been completely destroyed, in effect, GONE. I didn't agree with taking Terri off life support, but I didn't necessarily support keeping her on it either. It's a difficult case, and that's what I want to expound on today.

As a society, we've got real fundamental problems when it comes to discussing life, death, the creation of life and the brining of death. It amazes me day in and day out when I see the far right and far left square off on things like abortion, the death penalty, war and stem cell research. Further, these debates have at their centers, a core that touches the fundamental building blocks of religion, then builds from that a moral construct of how everyone should behave, interact, create, destroy and relate with regard to one another.

So lets put some things on the table.

Abortion -- I hate abortion, I think it should be a last resort. I've been involved in decisions about abortion, I've seen it as the only acceptable recourse in a situation and I've seen it as a horrible consequense of fear and misunderstandings. In short, I'm firmly Pro-Choice, but the concept itself makes my heart hurt. Does this make me a contradiction? Does it make me a hypocrit? Of course it does. In questions of morality, justice, fairness, economics, faith, life and death we are all hypocrits, those that claim they are not are either deluding themselves or big fat liars.

The Death Penalty -- Big supporter here. Gotta have it gotta use it, in fact, it should be expanded to include so-called lesser crimes such as rape, molestation and transmitting potentially fatal infections knowingly. There's a point in every situation that you have to simply give up and bite the hard bullet. The goal here is to protect the life, liberty and happiness of the population at large, and defend these same rights for the individual. However, when someone starts hacking people up with axes because they lost a poker hand. You gotta stand back and say to yourself, "Ok, that guy doesn't get to play anymore, EVER!"

People could say that we can accomplish the same with locking people up for 20 years, life or 20 consecutive life sentences, but does that really solve the problem of the axe-murdering loser??? Of course it doesn't. It does however create a person with nothing left to lose, who will live on in a state of semi-anarchy, fighting for life in a colony of similar dead-enders who form semi-fuedalistic fiefdoms based upon fear and violence preying on "lesser criminals" who we are supposedly "rehabilitating". You need to eventually cut your losses in the investment of societal capital in the aforementioned axe-murderer (or rapist). There are FAR BETTER uses of our finite resources. DO YOU REALIZE we spend more money (and resources) keeping a killer locked up than we do caring for an orphan placed in foster care? THAT'S A CRIME IN AND OF ITSELF. As a society, we've placed a greater value (determined by the use of resources) on a killer than we do the potential for a young human life to develop into a productive member of society.

War - There are times when people NEED to fight it out. Diplomacy is the big concept, and WAR is a subset of that concept. There are times when you truely NEED to kick the living shit out of a group of people. The NAZI's were a perfect example, perhaps THE perfect example, but there are plenty of other examples out there. Napoleon truely needed an ass kicking, Atila the Hun needed one too, we're just lucky he choked on a chicken or dog bone or something. Throughout history there have been groups of people that come together under a philosophy, religion, economic system or person that just wind up being a bad idea, at a bad time, in a bad place for bad reasons. Usually, this collection of "badness" creates a groupthink that leads to invasions, threats, attacks and passive aggressive behavior that seeks to impinge on those that hold a different perspective. It can be as simple as "Who own's that river?" or as complex as "My God's name is Allah, but you call him Jehova, you must DIE!!!"

The events leading to war are generally pretty similar, but vary in particulars. In a nutshell though, normally one group or collection of groups decides that their views are the only right, just and correct views to hold. This is followed by posturing, chest pounding, and thumping of clubs on the ground (this part is generally referred to as diplomacy). Eventually, someone's going to give ground. Normally the side that gives ground first is the one that holds the stronger deck of cards, it's usually the more tolerant and submissive side. It's also usually side that is happy with the way life is progressing (generally) and the side that wants everyone to get along and move forward together. The other side (now known as the aggressor) usually takes this backing down or inaction as a sign of weakness, which increases the agressors furvor as they misunderstand the appeasment as a victory for their cause, many times, the aggressor will use this opportunity to ATTACK. Then you get a WAR!

Sometimes, the aggressor is far stronger than the just party in the conflict, such as Germany and Poland. Other times, it's a ludicrous display and a last gasp or grasp for power that the aggressor hopes will lead to victory or worldwide revolution (think Yugoslavia).

Which brings us to today's war. Let's face facts and I'll make this quick because what I really want to get to is Stem Cells. The Western World has been giving ground to Muslims for some time. While the West (and in many cases, the East) is seeing great success in improving the quality of life of people, the Muslim world is doing everything it can to move in the opposite direction. The Western (and Eastern) world have effectively destroyed slavery in their midst over the last 300 years, the Muslim world still clings to it, even expanding it. Whilst the Western world (and to a lesser extent the Eastern one) is giving women equality with men, the Muslim world is moving in the opposite direction. As the Western and Eastern Worlds embrace science, medicine and technology for the betterment of mankinds, the Muslim world is rejecting many of the most basic scientific advances. The culture that gave us the ZERO and was once the most scientifically active on the planet, has, after the teachings of Mohammed took hold, effectively become an Iron Age culture that believes that God/Allah is turning little girls into dogs for throwing a book.

We gave ground to the Muslim extremists. We tried for years to accomodate them to the point of lunacy. We've thrown money, food, shelter, education and protection at them for the last 100 years and they still rage against the world. Our conversion is their only goal, with our deaths being the only other acceptable option. Anyone who doesn't realize this simple fact is an idiot. I'm sorry to be that harsh, but come on now. These people want us dead because we choose to recognize people have different views on who Allah/Jehova/Yahweh/Buddha/Bob is. They want us dead because we're not willing to submit all of our waking energy to the worship of an as yet unproven, unseen, unheardfrom and totally irrational construct of THEIR creation.

It's INSANITY in it's purest form. For this reason alone, it must be stopped, and that, unfortunately at this time and in this place, means WAR.

Which brings us to the final topic of this rant, but the one that hopefully ties it all together to demonstrate some very basic problems we have as a society. They are problems that we can overcome, but it requires some intellectual honesty and some decisions that will make both the anarchist atheist and the most devout Deist cry.

Stem Cell Research - This is a very tricky subject because it brings with it so many different possibilities for research avenues and promises to bring forth many advances that might be helpful or even life-saving to so many people. Personally, I support stem cell research, I support any scientific research avenues that can lead to a betterment of the human condition.

HOWEVER, and this is a BIG however, stem cell research is a HUGE pandoras box awaiting to devour us as a species. If we cannot answer very simple questions such as "when does life begin" and "when is it acceptable as a society to take life" WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER playing around with stem cell research and it's associated offshoots.

This issue is truely going to be one that will plague us for some time forward, and no one seems willing to tackle the questions necessary for this issue to move forward without causing major trainwrecks in the future.

Lets ponder for a minute where this is going to go. Suppose stem cells become the great savior for millions of people that the supporters fortell. We're going to have to get these cells from somewhere. Discarded embryos won't supply the demand if this works out. You may scoff, but someone, somewhere will capitalize on the demand for stem cells and travel down a road we don't want. That road involves, impregnation, then abortion and harvesting of the relevant cellular material. If that concept doesn't horrify you as a reader, I suggest you stop reading now and check yourself into a mental institution.

Proponents will say "that will never happen" we'll pass laws to prevent it. We will??? Yeah right. If we can't get a consensus on the fact that aborting a 7 month old fetus is wrong, I doubt we'll be able to put restrictions on someone aborting a pregnancy for profit. And who ever said this would happen here? Many rogue entities in various countries are already going forward with cloning humans, Italian scientists have already claimed that they've succeeded. If stem cells work, mark my words, within a few years of a standardized treatment protocol, we'll have news items describing wards in Russia or Africa or South America where women are repeatedly impregnated and then undergo abortions to collect the necessary material. It will happen, all it will take is ONE person to make the moral leap that it's "for the good of others" and BAM, we've got mommy-farms. If it's illegal, it'll become a black market, and what's illegal here won't be illegal someplace else if there's money to be made.

Beyond the mommy-farm nightmare scenario, we're opening up the cloning door more and more by travelling down this road. All of your science fiction horror stories about clones being grown and kept are going to come to life. Eventually, the populace will be so intoxicated with the possibility of "eternal life" that cloning will be accepted. But what property rights will become involved. Are we to become a society where for every human with means will have a few clones in storage for kidney transplant? What happens when some rogue nation decides to develop a clone army a la Star Wars? You may laugh, but don't you think that if the technology were available that Kim Jong Il would be running with it?

What value will we place on human life when we can create it in vast numbers from a gene bank, after we've refused to answer the hard moral and ethical questions about "what is life" "who owns their own genetic material" and "what are the rights of a life form created in mass quantities"?

At what point to we place the individual human rights we hold so dearly on an entity? Is it when a baby is born to a mother? Is it at conception? That won't fly once we're growing clones. But then again, if a clone baby has rights, but no parents and was created by a corporation, does that corporation have the same parental rights and responsibilities as a human set of parents? What if that particular clone was grown to provide a second heart or liver for a customer and the time comes to take that heart from the clone? Will that clone have a clone, ad infinitum?

But back to stem cells. As I said, I'm supportive of the research. I'm also VERY supportive of the current policy to NOT ALLOW government funding to finance such research. The proponents of Stem Cell research try to call this a "BAN" on Stem Cells. That's just political gamesmanship. There is NO BAN ON STEM CELL RESEARCH. There is a prohibition of federal funding for such reasearch, and I think that's for good reason. If the government were to suddenly find a treatment and be in need of massive quantities of stem cells to implement said treatment, we've have a severe dilemma on our hands. The government would be literally forced to create life on some level and then destroy it. Over and over and over and over again. Such an activity would rip the very fabric of our society apart as the bonds of family, education, responsibility, human rights and almost every interpersonal interaction would be tipped on it's ear.

The simple point that this all boils down to is this. We're reaching a point in our society that we MUST confront some of these questions about life and death that face us everyday but we play the ostrich by sticking our head in the political sand and avoiding it. We must sit down and have a respectful, calm and well examined discussion about the nature of life and our rights as they apply to it. We can't keep on playing a political game where large groups of people argue for abortion on demand with their left hand and then with their right, they decry the death penalty. Conversely we cannot keep playing the game where we call out for no abortion while supporting the death penalty.

These are the fundamental problems with both sides of our political spectrum. Sure there are more issues out there, but these are by far the most important when we think about life, rights, death and even taxes (Would a clone be required to pay taxes on the financial worth of their organs ready for harvest? Yeah, that's extreme, I know).

Most unfortunately, this is an issue that's very easy to ignore becuse it's so hard to deal with rationally, both sides of the debate have so much invested in their absurd rhetoric that they can't sit down and logically look at the real issues. Adding to this is the fact that in order to answer the questions and deal with the issues, BOTH SIDES WILL LOSE, on the up side, the winner will be humanity as a whole.

Thank you for taking the time to read this rant. It's a huge issue and I've skipped many facets of it. I've expounded on some elements in the extreme, and I've simplified others. It's not intended to be anything other than an encouragement for people to begin thinking about the issue of life, death and how human rights apply.

It's a debate that needs to happen, I only hope we can have it and come to a consensus before the questions themselves devour us and we become some science ficion nightmare of a society.

To recap -

Abortion - Hate it, understand it, Pro-Choice, but not happy about it.

Death Penalty - Gotta have it, gotta use it, it's a matter of what's best for society as a whole.

War - It's inevitable, try to avoid at all cost, when it comes, be brutal and quick and get it over with to move on.

Stem Cells - For it, but I realize that we're not ready for the consequences. We aren't really ready for the question, much less the answer.

Cloning - See above, but now the question is bigger and the answer is gargantuan.

Time for a real debate world. Not just political soundbites and appeals to heartstrings and cries of oppression.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:28 AM | TrackBack

June 5, 2005

Rest in Peace, President Reagan

It was a year ago today that President Ronald Reagan passed away. While I don't go as far as Regular Ron does and call him a "saint" (I am atheist after all), his comments are very similar to my own feelings about this great President.

Trey Jackson also has an excellent "in remembrance" post.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 7:00 PM | TrackBack

June 2, 2005

EPIC: 2015

Here's the bitorrent for EPIC: 2015 by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson. Right click and select Save As. .

If you don't know how to use BitTorrents, CLICK HERE - It will take a while to download (Note, this link will go away if bandwith issues come up. So you might want to right click and Save As. ., in case you want to watch it agin.)

EPIC is a shockwave based animation depecting the future of our mediascape, the internet and how they might develop into the construct named EPIC. The battle between the internet and "old media" is played out as well as the News Wars between Microsoft and Google. It's an interesting piece.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 7:30 PM

Days Like Today . . .

It's days like today that I really appreciate having a covered porch-
__________________________________

It's a heavily overcast afternoon with fissures of sunlight periodically approaching, only to veer off to the south or northeast, pushing a dark rolling mass of thundercloud directly overhead. The rain begins with a gentle pop, pop, pop rising to a crescendo of howling winds and roaring rain, punctuated by sharp cracks of lightning crashing all around. It seems the very earth itself is cowering away from the angry sky above.

As quicky as it began, it ends, as another river of sunlight burns through begins to drive the meanacing clouds away. The raging waters relax with a sigh, fading in insensity to a mist. Thunder booms and rumbles near and far, seeming to briefly stop time in a final desperate rage.

It's over. The tress and bushes seem to sigh as they settle their limbs and return to their placid states. The first few chirps are met with whistles and calls and songs as they birds assess the scene and reestablish order from the recent chaos.

The chipmunks chase away a lizard interloper who only dashed into the open to suck up precious moisture pooled on the walkway. A squirrel charges out to defend his territory against anxious finches who covet his little pile of soggy spilled seeds and corn recently liberated from the the birdfeeder but abandoned when the sky let loose.

A quite calm returns to this little place on earth, the sunlight slowly drifts away to the south.

Pop. . pop. . pop. .

________________________________________

Ok, time to get some work done.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 3:24 PM | TrackBack

May 29, 2005

Race Day

Seeing as how I'm blogging from Birmingham, Alabama, you may think that this red-blooded Republican male is also a NASCAR fan. Truth is, I'm NOT. I really dislike NASCAR, I don't think it has near the difficulty of other forms of auto racing, and the "NASCAR" mentality leaves something to be desired by your humble author.

INDY RACIN' is a totally different story, and today's the holy day for IRL (Indy Racing League). The Indy 500, the race of races is going hot and heavy right now. Actually in truth, it was hot and heavy until about the 140th lap, now things are in slow motion after 4 yellow flags.

Why do I like Indy racing? It's simple actually. The "rubbins' racin'" is gone when you get to the big 650-hp open wheel indy cars. The slightest touch usually means one or the other car is about to spin out, crunch the wall or dive into the infield. Another high point for me, is that when crashes do occur they usually create a domino effect and chaos for all the cars around the offenders.

Now I don't want you to think that I only watch for the crashes, that's far from the truth, I like Indy racing for the surprises, the hole shots, the importance of drafting and the technology involved in the cars themselves. Sure NASCAR has drafting, and hole shots and high tech cars, but it's an order or magnitude higher in Indy racing and even higher still in Indy's older bigger cousin, Formula Racing.

So there you have it, I'm out of the closet and I've said publically that I like auto racing --- I'm just a snob about it.

I also like Rally Racing, most people don't actually know what rally racing is, but I have to say that I REALLY enjoy rally racing because it's as close to watching a blind man race as anything. Bascially a Rally Race car consists of a car, driver and a navigator. The cars are usually beefed up smaller cars similar to many consumer models out there. They of course are stripped and highly customized, and lately most are all wheel drive. These hot rods are then thrown around a course carved out of the countryside on winding uphill, downhill, forest and village roads as hundreds or thousands of spectators line the course.

The nature of the courses mean that a driver needs a little help in course management, with anywhere from 100 to 1500 turns in a Rally course, a driver could never memorize the course to take the turns at full speed. Instead, Rally teams rely on a navigator whos plotted out the course and constantly feeds the driver information on what's coming up. Changes in road surface, number of degrees in a turn and even placement of wayward telephone poles are all things on the navigators list of things to warn or inform the driver about.

Rally racing isn't exciting in terms of passing and hole shots and drafting. Rally cars generally race in a timed stage format. The excitement comes from knowing that the driver is coming around a blind turn at 90 mph to negotiate two back to back hairpins with spectators standing just a few meters off the course with no walls or barricades between them and the action, but maybe there will be a hay bale or two there.

So there you have it. My take on Sunday racing. I'm enjoying the Indy 500, really liking Danica Patrick's run right now. Could this be the first female win of the INDY??? Who knows, but it's fun.

Lap 174 out of 200 and the Chick is out front.

Do Danica Go!!!! Woot. Ok, it helps that she's attractive.

UPDATE: Well, she couldn't hold onto it. Seems like earlier problems with the front wing of her car forced her to pit out of series and coming into the last laps she was simply running out of fuel. Oh well, she made a good run and I'm sure she's gonna be scaring the bejebus out of the boys for a few years to come (after all, this is her just her ROOKIE season). Not bad for a rookie to take fourth in the INDY 500. I take back MOST of what I've said in the past about woman drivers. For the record, the winner, Dan Whelden, ran out of gas on the victory lap, HAHAHAHA. Good show.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 2:36 PM | TrackBack

May 6, 2005

More useless info

It's my birthday. Woot! Big 34, which equals 7, which is a lucky number, with should bring good things this year.

But then, in the back of my mind are those comments my mother's psychic made to me one day. Right off the bat, first time I meet the guy. He looks at me and says --- "Ohhh, you need to be very careful."

I think to myself . . . this doesn't sound good.

"One day, you will be framed for murder."

Can you believe that, right outta the box and the guy just wants to freak me out like that. NO FAIR!!!

Anyway. Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to you. Da Dee Da Dee Da!

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 12:30 PM

February 24, 2005

Dammit, just STOP THIS LUNACY

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

The number of syllables in your title DOES NOT make you more important. In fact, it lets everyone know that you're an over-inflated suck up within an organization that is more interested in puffing themselves up than they are in actually accomplishing a task.

Teachers are not LEARNING FACILITATORS. They're TEACHERS!!!!

Bus driver is now a "Transporter of Learners" -- Gimme a break.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 1:49 PM

February 22, 2005

Morning Blogroll roundup ----

LGF points how how Australia really is a good ally to the US and one of the more responsible countries out there.

Powerline touts George Washington. Truely a most phenomenal man.

New Sisyphus gives up a great report of Bush's speech in Brussels.

Classical Values points out that neither the left nor right can lay legitimate claim to Hunter S. Thompson's legacy. I agree, and prefer to just consider him a very unique American.

Reform protests in Lebanon and Egypt. OH yeah, and Togo??? (Togo apparently slipped under my radar, I'm gonna have to learn more about this one.)

Captain Ed caught my attention this morning, he's wondering if the war in Afganistan can be considered over.

Seems to be a good day.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 8:06 AM

February 21, 2005

Ah, feel the sympathy from the Democrats

I'm an atheist. I don't believe in God, and I certainly don't support organized religion. However, I could be wrong about my beliefs; I realize that. I firmly support the right of anyone to worship any God they so please as long as they don't interfere with or harm others in the practice of their beliefs, that includes crashing planes into buildings, selling Child-Crusaders into slavery or refusing to have a doctor set your child's broken leg.

That being said, I also have a certain amount of compassion for all human beings. I think that our relationships with each other should be respectful and sympathetic for the good of all mankind.

That also being said, I want to direct your attention to a site that just makes me shake my head and wonder every time I visit it. The site is DemocraticUnderground, by far the best collection of moonbattery on the planet. In particular I would like to point your attention to this thread about Jerry Falwell's recent hospitalization. It simply boggles the mind.

To think that DU was touted (by Dean and others) throughout the election as the "internet home" of the Democrat heart and soul, is simply. . . well. . . read through the thread and form your own opinions. While I'm not a fan of Falwell, I would NEVER wish what these people do on him in light of his illness. In fact, I wouldn't even wish some of this or feel this way about Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Hitler or anyone (although I would wish these, in particular, a speedy recovery so they could be justly executed).

Lemmings they are. . . . and we all know what happens eventually to lemmings.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:24 PM

February 19, 2005

Yardwork is ruling the day.

Much to be done in the yard today before it rains, rains, rains. It's almost time to start cutting the grass on a regular basis, UGH! Oh well, that's the price ya pay, I guess.

Anyway, I don't want to leave you hanging with nothing, so take a look at this interesting article from Deroy Murdock. Few new factoids in there for me, maybe they'll be new to you too.

Thanks to Release the Hounds (a new addition to my blogroll) for the link.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 3:03 PM

February 10, 2005

The NEW E.T.'s

When a person says "E.T.", images of the "Phone Home!" puppet come to mind for most. Others think of Grey's and Green's and world domination conspiracy theories emanating from the not so secret "Area 51".

Full Disclosure: I have been "removed" from area of the "secret base" in the past. Three times actually.

But there's another E.T. out there that people should take notice of. It's not Extra-Terrestial life, it's Exo-Terrestrial Life. Life on Earth that's not like "life as we know it." We generally consider "life" to be carbon based forms that use oxygen as it's primary fuel to keep all the various cellular structures running and giving us "life".

For a few decades now we've known about organisms on the ocean floor, clustered around volcanic vents that use sulphur compounds as their primary fuel. The discovery of such organism sent waves, not ripples, through the scientific community proving that life can exist in a variety of environments. The organisms were as different from other Earth life-forms as an IPod is from a glass of orange juice. It was a great day for science and revealed in a very real way that "we are most probably NOT alone."

Now we've got another player in the Universal Definition of Life-Forms. Organisms that are based on carbon, but use hydrogen as their basic fuel. Scientists have identified microbes in Yellowstone Hot Springs that use the most basic of all elements as their primary source of life sustaining energy. On a scarier note, similar organisms living on hydrogen have been discovered INSIDE THE STOMACH of other living beings, including humans.

The discovery is epic in that it adds yet another possibility for life to exist outside the planet Earth. After all if nature has developed THREE (and probably more yet undiscovered) very different life forms on our little blue green planet, it's almost certain that on other worlds, and not necessarily those similar to ours, life forms have developed in ways we can only imagine.

It's a great day for science. However, every time I read about stuff like this I feel so very very small. That's ok though, I'd rather be a small fish in a big pond than a big fish in a small pond.

Hydrogen based life forms found in this hot spring.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 2:04 PM

February 8, 2005

Quick Hits-Feb 8th

I didn't watch the Superbowl. The Saints weren't in it, so I could care less. I'm not watching the Superbowl until the Saints are in it and it's in their new stadium. Ok, well I'm not sure I'll keep that promise, but I needed someplace to put the links and I wanted to show you where the SuperBowl Commericials are.

If you're looking for the President's Budget Proposal, you can find it here.

There's been no sighting of Kim Jong-Il yet, but they're setting the stage for the coup. Military leaders are re-affirming their allegiance.

As are "spontaneous" groups of youths.

I tell you, I think the guy's dead. Pushing up Daisy's. Doing the dirt nap.

IF I'm wrong? Well then I'll feel stupid, but I gotta call it like I see it.

I know that it's not until 2029, and I know that it's not going to hit us, when when you put out an image like this one:

that's showing that an asteroid will pass between the Earth and the Moon, I get a bit nervous. But I already covered this.

Peace is breaking out all over.

And Liesl is throwing a party.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 4:22 PM

February 3, 2005

Fallen Hero

On April 4th,2003, Sgt. Paul Smith was killed in the successful defence of his comrades in arms. For his heroism and courage under fire, Sgt. Smith has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The highest honor our nation can bestow and first such award since 1993. I cannot give justice with my words to Sgt. Smith, so I encourage you all to visit the Saint Petersburg Times site to learn more about this extraordinary man, husband, and soldier.

(Thanks Beth, for the link.)

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:38 PM | TrackBack

January 31, 2005

The Philosophy of Liberty

Ken Schoolland's "The Philosophy of Liberty" flash animation is worth taking a look at. Thanks to LibertyFlash for turning me on to it.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 7:00 PM

January 17, 2005

The Racism Thimble

Trying to discuss racism on a blog would be similar to trying to fill a swimmingpool one thimble-full at a time. It simply can't be done effectively. The motivations, activity and solutions to the problems of racism are so complex and far reaching that people spend their entire lives just trying to grasp the totality of the issue.

That being said I just thought I'd give a few quick hits about current racially charged issues running through the American stream.

First, the IDIOT OF THE DAY award has to go to Rob Blair of KTNV-TV in Las Vegas. Blair, the ABC affiliate's weekend weatherman, made the following statement on-air.

"For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s."(Underline added)

Do you think there was a collective "Oh shit!" muttered in the control room followed by blank looks among colleagues as the import of the happening was realized. I wonder if the Station Manager was sitting at home sipping a cup of coffee watching his crack weekend news crew when he suddenly blew coffee out his nose and raced for the telephone?

Well to make a long story short, Blair has been fired, and gave an on-air apology; he'll probably be working as a weather assistant in some backwater burg or possibly get a job with the USMS as far away from cameras and microphones as they can probably get him. More than likely, his career as a weatherman is completely over and he'll be simply staring up at the sky rather than reporting on it.

Yep, he's definately the IDIOT OF THE DAY.

Next, we can move on to the VILLIAN OF THE DAY, and this award has to go to Sheriff Victor Hill of Clayton County, Georgia. Apparently, Sheriff Hill was planning for some time his moves on the day he was to take office, because in one of his first official actions, he took the extreme step of firing 27 of the County's senior officers without notice of cause. To add insult to injury, the new Sheriff had the newly unemployed peace officers escorted from the premisis under SNIPER COVER FROM THE COUNTY SWAT TEAM. Of course this was AFTER they had been stripped of their firearms and badges. He then had the former officers loaded into inmate transfer vechicles and driven home.

Now I know that there seems to be more to this story and I'm sure there is. Here's a short list of what we know so far.

1. The officers fired were white.
2. The officers were replaced with new black officers.
3. The firings did not follow standard dismissal procedures for the county.
4. Sheriff Hill, if you hadn't guessed already, is Black.

Now had this been racially reversed, the public outcry would be horrific. I'd imagine that in nearby Atlanta there would be rioting in the streets and cry's from Florida to Washington state of the horrible state of race relations in the South. There would already be calls for Congressional inquiry and you can bet dollars to donuts (pun intended) that the Governor, Georgia Senators and Representatives, the Georgia Legislature and any other elected official the media could get ahold of would be paraded in front of TV cameras far and wide to decry the situation.

But NO, not in this case. In fact, the story "broke" over a week ago. Most Americans today haven't heard a peep. The New York Times covered the story (buried), and so did the Washington Post (on the back page of the news section). CNN put it on their website but didn't broadcast a story about it. Basically the main stream media has been quiet as a mouse on the story.

Since first reported on January 4th, a judge has ordered that the officers be reinstated to "status quo" and Sheriff Hill is being tight lipped about why the firings took place. Needless to say his motives for the "sniper cover" have not been sufficiently explained either. He does point to the assassination of another Sheriff that occured 5 years ago in a nearby county (in that case, the Sheriff who was voted out of office shot the incoming Sheriff, no deputies were involved) to try and give some credence to his actions, but that excuse is tenuous at best.

There are more curious questions here as well, where did these "new" black officers come from? They were obviously hired prior to Hill's first day because they had uniforms, guns and badges. How did Hill hire these officers before being sworn in? How did he authorize the uniforms, guns and badges; what policies and vetting procedures did he bypass to amass this personal squad of black officers to replace the white veterans?

Needless to say, this story won't get legs in the main stream media. Personally, I'd be willing to give Sheriff Hill the benefit of the doubt if any of these officers could be said to be under investigation for anything. I'd be willing to listen if Sheriff Hill was out there saying that these guys were bad eggs, or accused of some malfeasance. Noteably, none of this is coming out. Hill stands by the dismissal and even in the face of judge's rulings to the contrary, he hasn't returned the officers to duty, he's put them on "administrative leave" (some status quo).

On the surface this seems like an extreme case of "reverse racism". The 27 officers have all had their careers effectively ruined, they will always carry this damage inflicted by a racially motivated attack. No matter what the outcome, these officers will never be able to carry the law with them and will always be subject to some doubt as to their legitimacy as deputies.

But lets be honest. In America, the only people that can be racist, apparently, are white.

(Full disclosure: I am white. Yet had this situation occured in the same way as this is playing out, and Sheriff Hill was white, I'd be just as outraged. I'm outraged at the actions of the Sheriff, the so-called "keeper of the peace". I'm also outraged at the media for not bringing this issue to the light of day. I'm outraged at the Congress of the United States and the Legislature of Georgia. I'm outraged at the black community that is supporting this, and I'm outraged at the white community that isn't screaming "holy hell" because they are afraid of being branded as "racist" for opposing this. How's that some irony for you.)

Yes, the VILLIAN OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY, is quite ironically, Sheriff Victor Hill of Clayton County, GA.

I'd love to have something more positive to report today. I wish I could say that Jesse Jackson and Jerry Fallwell met on the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church here in Birmingham and proclaimed the Civil Rights Struggle over, that black and white in America are living in harmony. I wish I could report that today we judge a person on the value of his acts and deeds rather than on the color of his skin. That's what MLK wanted. That's what Harry Truman wanted (yes, Harry Truman, ya'll probably forgot that he got what we call the "Civil Rights" movement rolling with the integration of the US Army). I think that's what all Americans want.

I believe in the equality of man, I believe that "all men are created equal" that they all are endowed with "certain unalienable rights", and I truely wish we could have an honest discussion of the issue of race in America today. I wish we could come together and talk about what's happening today with some intellectual honesty. We can't though, at least not without someone screaming about slavery and reparations; we can't without someone screaming that Affirmative Action is actually "reverse discrimination". We can't without someone screaming about how the South is to blame for all the ills of Black America (nevermind that Vermont kept slaves until well after the Civil War ended). We can't discuss it because the two sides can't come together and realize that it's 2005, and what happened yesterday isn't necessarily going to be repeated tomorrow, unless we continue the denial we're wrapped in today. We can't because there are people that believe that because I'm white, that my ancestors must have been holding their ancestors in bondage and that somehow I'm guilty for that.

We can't discuss it because just discussing it if you're white and not willing to accede to any black accusers charge or demand, you are branded racist. We can't because just by writing this piece, there are many people out there that will call me racist.

I wish we could discuss things with honesty, but that requires that we open our eyes to the excesses of both sides. We can't because any deviation from the Politically Correct line on racism supposedly invalidates the argument. I charge that being Politically Correct in this discussion invalidates it. To have any real progress in this issue requires that we be HONEST FIRST and politically correct second (or not at all).

We have another year until we hit Martin Luther King Jr. (Civil Rights) day. Perhaps in that time each and every white person out there can find a black person to sit down with and discuss the situations and problems of race relations in the country honestly. Hopefully they can get past the cries of reparations and bigotry and affirmative action and get down to what people really are. JUST PEOPLE. Brown, Black, Yellow, Red, White, and Purple (Goths are people too) people, perhaps we can begin to "recognize" that without having to "react" to it.

I'm doubting it, but at the very least I will try to do my part.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 4:44 PM

December 23, 2004

Somethings VERY wrong here.

Ok, first off let me make a couple of things perfectly clear. First, I am an atheist. Fully, and without qualms or doubt, I am an atheist. I also have no problems with homosexuality. I feel that a person's sexual orientation is their business, PERIOD.

What I'm INFURIATED about is what I see in THIS VIDEO. (10 Megs / 7 min.)

What I see here is a peaceful protest by members of an organization with a message, the message is a religious one. I see them exercising their constitutionally protected right to assembly and speech. The event in the video is a festival called OutFest held in Philadelphia. The festival is a gay pride celebration and a Christian group called Repent Now staged a protest during the festival which occurred over 15 city blocks, and did not charge admission.

What I also see in this video is a group of people DENYING those constitutional rights. The group doing the denying happens to be a homosexual advocacy group called the "Pink Angels". What I see in this video is one group of people denying another group of people access to public streets and thoroughfares. I see them surrounding them and denying them their right to move freely and speak freely.

This is VERY disturbing, but it gets better. The activity of the "Pink Angels", denying others their constitutional rights was announced in advance.

But it gets better. The police wind up arresting the Christian group. YES. They sure as heck do, and it's all right there in the video. The police watch as the "Pink Angels" surround the Christians, the police whatch as the "Pink Angels" harrass the Christians. The police also watch as the "Pink Angels" impede the Christians on public thoroughfares, and deny them their right to assembly and speech. Then the POLICE arrest the Christians.

Ok if you haven't watched the video yet, HERE IT IS again.

This is HIGHLY HIGHLY disturbing to me. I could care less if one group wants to parade their gay pride around in a street festival, and I could care less if a group of Christians want to preach gospel at the same festival in protest. That is the CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED right of BOTH parties. What I DO CARE ABOUT is that the Constitutionally protected rights of one group was denied to them repeatedly by another group of people in PLAIN view of the police.

You'll see in THE VIDEO, that the POLICE even acknowledge briefly that the Christians are being impeded and harrassed. But when the Christians finally put their foot down and exercise their CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED RIGHTS. They are arrested.

This is an OUTRAGE. But it's not over yet. The Christians that were arrested are now in danger of being sentenced to 47 years in prison for the activities shown in THE VIDEO. Please, I implore you, my readers, few that you may be to please watch THE VIDEO and then decide for yourselves. I'll put up more about this OUTRAGE as I investigate it further. Here are a few links about the incident so you can start investigating yourself. As I learn more about this I'll be updating this, as well as commenting on the larger implications of what's going on. PLEASE view THE VIDEO and read the links below to learn more.

Link 1 - Bill of Rights/Amendments to the US Constitution

Link 2 - Announcement of the intent of the "Pink Angels" published in advance of the event. NOTE: DEAD LINK, either this site has been getting hammered with hits in the last 24 hours or it has been removed by the owners. Below is a relevant quote from festival organizer Chuck Volz. I will try to find another source for the advance anouncement of the groups plans.

"We'll have a moving pink wall around them [protesters]," Volz continued. "Hopefully, they [protesters] will be so frustrated, they won't come again. Talking to a piece of Styrofoam is not the same as talking to a crowd of people."

Link 3 - Press Release from the AFA

Link 4 - Press Releases from the arrested group [ONE] [TWO]

Link 5 - Coverage of the incident by Ex-Gay Watch

Link 6 - WorldNetDaily Coverage - [ONE], [TWO], [THREE]

Link 7 - Philadelphia Inquirer coverage of the recent court decision.

I'll be adding more to this tomorrow when I've learned more about it, please check back and a special hat-tip to Geek Blonde Girl. Please feel free to save the video (right-click and "save target as. . .") and email it to concerned parties or direct them here to view the video.

The permanent link for this post is:

http://www.jasoncoleman.com/BlogArchives/2004/12/somethings_very.html

--Jason

UPDATE: Unrelated but equally egregious is this item from California

Posted by JasonColeman at 12:10 AM

December 4, 2004

Now I'm no prude -- however

I've finally been triggered to talking about indecency on television.

Personally, for me, nothing that could be broadcast over the tele could possibly generate outrage in me. I'm not going to be offended by language, violence, nudity, crassness or even poor taste.

I'm simply going to change the channel, turn off the TV or ignore it while my attention wanders over to something else, like this BLOG.

But I was watching "NewsWatch" on Fox, that's the program where they spend the hour doing the news "about the News." They go back and forth about media events, but it's the end of the show that prompted this rant. During the email segment, someone named Robert had written in and said basically:

at issue isn't the nudity or the activities promoted, but rather the issue is me as a father trying to teach my son to be respectful of women or my daughter to respect herself and her body and to be responsible in their actions, and then to have all of that undermined when we try to sit down and watch a football game

And DAMN, if that just ain't the IT of all this hullabaloo that started with Janet's "Wardrobe Malfunction" and has most recently included the Monday Night Football / Desparate Housewives Promo.

This guy Robert has hit the nail right on the head. It's about choosing your programming and then getting thrown that unexpected curveball. Expecting to sit down with the Family to watch the game and suddenely you're involved in a "Deep Ethical Conversation" with your son or daughter about the events on the screen. If you're any type of good parent you can't just let it slide. You have to address it. If you don't you've given tacit approval to the attitudes of the athelete and actress and there goes all that social programming you're fighting the losing battle on, right out the window. If you do react to it and begin a "family discussion" you've ruined the game and have to on the fly disect and analyze the situation you just saw in an unexpected flash. It's simply unfair for you, the consumer.

Just like with Janets "wardrobe malfunction". I saw that live. I was in a room with many other people, we were all talking about this or that, and no one was really paying attention to the half-time show. But I was angled so that I still had the TV in my field of view and . . . WHAM . . . there it was. I think some liquid may have come out of my nose. No one else in the room saw it. Only me. I knew immediately that it'd be an issue, or was I wrong? Maybe I didn't see it. I'd definately have to check the news later.

AND THAT THE RUB. This is AMBUSH MARKETING, and I don't think we're going to see it go away any time soon. Because it works. Desparate Housewives couldn't have been happier with the free advertising on EVERY network for their Monday Night Football stunt. The NFL, Janet, CBS (it was CBS right?), and even pretty boy accomplice made out pretty well with their half-time stunt too.

That's how AMBUSH MARKETING is going to be from now on.

1. Identify your demographic
2. Insert racy/raunchy/whatever material into unrelated high viewship programming.
3. Wait for the outrage.
4. Feign innocence, misunderstand or just sack the producer with a golden parachute and rehire said producer later.
5. Rake in the viewer and the profits.

I really don't like this tactic with advertising. And I SURE AS HELL didn't like it when Rather used this marketing gimmick in the election with his "false but accurate" reporting. But it seems that the last vestiges of honor and decency are leaving us in group interactions. It's a matter of rudeness, it's a fine example of the lack of respect that media outlets have for their consumers and it's just simply, in the commonest sense, WRONG.

But I don't think we'll see it go away anytime soon.

--Jason

The Internet is a great thing. With a few clicks you get this.

Posted by JasonColeman at 11:01 PM

December 2, 2004

Battlefield Robotics

The US military is always looking for ways to be a leaner, meaner fighting machine. Most of the superior performance of our war-fighters in the field can be attributed back to our technological edge.

You probably don't think twice about Unmaned Aerial Vechicles when they're mentioned on the news. But in the near future, you can also expect to begin hearing about UGV's, Unmanned Ground Vechicles.
Robots are making tremendous inroads into the ground battlefield environment. The Talon, which has been serving as bomb defusing or ordance disposal robot for years, is now being equipped to carry a grenade launcher and machine gun. The Terminators have arrived.

Also in the development pipeline is the REV or Robotic Extraction Vechicle. This cool unit is essentially a robot ambulance. Safely incased in a light armor shell, the wounded soldiers can be stabilized, then shuttled back to the rear for attention at field hospitals.

John Deere is even working on a version of it's small utility vechicle the Gator for the military. Currently, infantry units are using the small truck/tractors to haul gear. John Deere wants to enable some sort of robotic technology into the M-Gator so that the troops don't have to drive the vehicle. It will just follow the group around and react to information is receives from its sensor array.

Finally, I have to mention the iRobot company. No relation to the movie. These guys make the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. Which is a good christmas present for bachelors, BTW. You can buy one here.

But iRobot is also developing the SUGV, otherwise known as The Soldier's Robot. This things being designed to serve as a personal assistant to the individual soldier, serving as a shooting platform, pack mule or outfitted to whatever speciality the soldier needs.

Very cool technology. Of course I get the mixed feelings about taking the Humanity out of war. Will leaders be more willing to start shooting conflicts when their armies are swarms of UAV's and UGV's instead of humans? What happens when war becomes just another video game?

But generally, I support the development course with all these projects. I'm all for keeping our guys overseas in all the gear they need and anything we can do to make their job easier and safer, I'm giving it my full support.

Oh yeah, the Gladiator for the Marine Corps is really cool too.

--Jason

Posted by JasonColeman at 10:46 PM

November 24, 2004

In the quest for "Equality"

I support women in the military, though I'm not necessarily a fan of women in combat roles. I think it's OK for men to be a little stubborn with that position. We can be a little chivalrous, after all, that's a benefit of being the most powerful military force on the planet. HOWEVER, I do want to point out an example of what a great job some women are doing in Iraq.

While I'm at it, here's a great post showing why Condi will make an EXCELLENT Secretary of State. She has great potential to encourage women's rights initiatives all over the world.

Since I've already addressed changes in the cabinet here, what about Bill Cosby as Secretary of Education? Sounds interesting. [2] [3] I wonder if this is the start of something?

Posted by JasonColeman at 1:21 PM

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