Move-On.org…can just move on…I’m done with them!

I've been a member of Move-On.org for a year or so now. I generally support groups who are working to increase dialog on important issues. While I don't always support the entire platform of such groups, I can overlook a few items if the general trust is positive. With that said…

I cancelled my Move-On.org membership yesterday.

The full-page ad taken out by Move-On in the Monday morning papers accusing General Petraeus of being disloyal and actually questioning his patriotism and commitment to America was completely unacceptable.

While I support the right of Free Speech, that right…just like all rights…comes with a bit of responsibility for the wielder. For Move-On to accuse a man who has spent his entire adult life protecting this country of being unpatriotic and disloyal?

Well…what else needs to be said…the liberal-nazi's live!

…and I can say that if I feel like it, because it's my right…General Petraeus has seen to that.

Other views on the General's tesimony and treatment:
http://toastie.st/2007/09/11/iraq-its-just-too-damn-late/
http://www.kowabunga.org/2007/09/kerry_tries_ti_get_it_right_on.html

Comment from MySpace

Toastie

Thanks for the link! I think the Q&A between Sen. Warner (who should command respect from both sides of the aisle) and Gen. Petraeus really summed up the situation in Iraq quite succinctly (and I hadn't seen the transcript at the time I wrote last night). Warner asked if America would be any safer as a result of our Iraq policy, and Petraeus said quite humbly that he was in no position to assert that, as his job was to focus on stability in Iraq, not to analyze how our actions to try to stabilize Iraq impact our overall security. So I agree that Move-on has picked the wrong target in Gen. Petraeus. Unfortunately, Petraeus, like the soliders he commands, is just trying the do the best he can with a disastrous situation. Posted by Toastie on September 12, 2007 - Wednesday at 3:16 PM

Citizenship: Right or Privilege?

Why bestow a valuable and precious commodity like Citizenship upon someone simply for passing a test, or worse, simply because they were born in the right place at the right time?

Who deserves Citizenship more? The person born into a family that can trace its American entrepreneurial roots back 10 generations, or the immigrant who puts his life on the line serving in the military of his newly adopted country?

Who deserves the right of Citizenship more? The woman who scrambles across the border just in time to give birth to her fifth child? Or the lady who follows the law, patiently obtaining a visa before entering the country legally?

Who deserves the benefits of Citizenship more? The 30-year-old man who dropped out of high school for an illustrious career in pizza delivery and now depends on welfare to support himself, his equally successful wife and their four children? Or the immigrant who saved every penny earned for a decade to make the trip to the U.S. and who now owns a business which supports his extended family and puts all three of his children through college?

Who deserves the honor of Citizenship more? The erudite content to espouse the wisdom of their thoughts on the ills of national policy from the comfort of a tenured position within a prestigious university? Or the high school graduate tirelessly volunteering at the local soup kitchen content in the knowledge that they helped a neighbor enjoy a hot meal today?

Why should someone with no interest in supporting a nation be supported by that nation?

How is it wrong to ask that someone earn the privilege to be a Citizen? How is it ill conceived to believe that some form of service to one's nation and community be required before bestowing this highest honor and privilege?

Why shouldn't Citizenship be earned?

On Prejudice...

Prejudice, in its purist form, should be seen as the amazing Human ability that it is.

The capability to form a reasonably accurate opinion of an individual, situation, or what have you, within the split second it takes the Human mind to do so, is an amazing feat.

From just the briefest glimpse of an individual, the mind scans through all of its accumulated knowledge to form an accurate picture…based on past experience and learned knowledge…instantly identifying the individual as belonging to a certain group with all its assigned characteristics.

While Human prejudice isn't always a pretty thing, it is definitely one of the survival traits which helped us climb to the top of the food chain. It has developed over millions of years and should not be off-handily disposed off simply to fill in a P.C. checkbox.

Comments from MySpace

Awesome	Ha that's pretty cool. I bet the early humans were like "Oh God there goes a fuckin lion again...I know what his kind is like, and I don't take kindly to lions around here" Posted by Awesome on February 20, 2007 - Tuesday at 10:01 AM

	Ashley	Here is an article from apa.org that I thought you might find interesting. Racial stereotypes can speed visual processing http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan05/visual.html Posted by Ashley on March 3, 2007 - Saturday at 7:48 PM

ikeik

That is a VERY interesting article. Sad though it is...it looks like the ol' human survival instinct is fully intact. It may be wrong to realize a gun is present faster when primed with the image of a black male, but can anyone really dispute that the very process which makes that possible is a survival instinct? Whether it's right or wrong now...the ability obviously has had its place in Human evolution. I still say we shouldn't toss out millions or years worth of ability. Posted by ikeik on March 3, 2007 - Saturday at 8:01 PM

Diversity vs. Lawlessness

Let me preface my comments by saying that I am inspired by those who immigrate to our country legally. I welcome them. I call out to them to come in mass, for they are the only hope for the stagnant, apathetic attitude that grips most of our citizenship today.

Without the continued infusion of hard working, creative, hopeful and inspired, freedom seeking peoples, our nation will wither and die.

However, there is a process in place, flawed as it may be, which our laws govern. Therefore, to the question of diversity I say this:

Diversity yes. Lawlessness no.

Diversity is the very backbone of American society. Like an alloy, the synergy of our diverse societal components make us stronger than our individual parts; just as steel far exceeds the strength of iron. However, a society, just as with any complex system, can only be as strong as the bonds that hold it together. While some would suggest Freedom is the singular bond that holds our country in form, this simply isn't so.

Freedom holds our nation above others as a beacon, but it does not bind our society together or keep it from tearing itself apart; that force is law. The rule of law.

Without the rule of law, and in the face of Freedom, you have only anarchy. With anarchy, there is no nation…no country...no society.

To have a significant portion of our nation come about their citizenship by breaking the very rule of law that holds us together, threatens to destroy the very thing that our society is built on.

So to the would-be American, I say immigrate, but do so within the confines of the nation and society which you so long to be a part of.

The Great American Loser

I'd like to know something. I'd like to know why it is that certain people get upset when someone says, "You should have to earn the assistance the government gives you."

I mean seriously, how is that asking too much? How is earning something a bad thing? Since when did it become a god given right to sit on your ass while others work theirs off in large part to support yours accumulating lard?

Why is a person villanized the moment they make the suggestion that an able bodied person should have to work? Why do we continue, as a nation, to support The Great American Loser? You know the people I'm talking about.

The Great American Loser can be over educated, or illiterate. They can be any color, race, sex, etc. They can be from any part of the country and originate from any strata of society. What ties them together into a social group is a single mind numbing belief. A belief that if they choose not to get up in the morning, the rest of us should give a damn and then work extra hard so that they can continue to eat, sleep, play video games, and procreate (which of course is also their "god given right").

They believe that just because they choose not to work or perform any productive activity whatsoever, is no reason they should be denied that steak for dinner, that Lexus for cruising, or that $3000 gaming PC for wasting away the afternoon.

The Great American Loser is also the first person to cry foul when asked by their government to perform a duty in support of the society which supports them. If called to jury, they call on their latest Medicaid check-up as the perfect excuse for being excused. If within earshot of the mention of higher taxes which might affect them, they think the speaker should be shot in the ear. If told, "No you can't buy beer or cigarettes on your EBT card.", they think you should be told, "You're fired!"

They are the losers who call into work every time they hear about a coworker who came down with the sniffles and quickly realize that they themselves must surely have contracted a brain tumor.

They are the losers who like to stand around at work shouting the wrongs of the government and the citizens who support it, while at the same time, asking to leave work early for their latest Social Security benefits review.

Yes you know them. You probably even work with one or two of them.

Why do we continue to put up with them? They have no buying power. They have no muscle power. They have little brain power.

In fact, the only power they have is the power of the vote. ...and in the vote lies the problem.

So I ask you, should the leech be given a vote as to which way the fish swims? Or should it just be happy that the fish continues to allow it to hang around, attached to it for the ride, while it sucks the fish dry of blood?

Isn't it time we forced the blood sucking parasites of American society to put-up or shut-up? Isn't it time we required able bodied citizens to contribute, or otherwise, loose that citizenship? Isn't it time we put an end to The Great American Loser?

The Ultra Right of Center Leftist Capitalistic Fascism view of Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigrants come to our country for the money they can make here. They make most of that money working at jobs which Americans...for the most part...don't want to do.

So how do we stop illegal immigration? How do we send those already here home? Simple...we take away their jobs. We take away their ability to make money. We take away their reason for being here.

To do that we only need to enforce laws which already exist. It is illegal to employ an illegal immigrant. Begin to enforce these laws, fine and imprison those who break these laws; at the same time provide an alternative workforce for these unwanted jobs.

How?

1. Put a system in place to identify legal workers.
2. Create a legal temporary worker program.
3. Require those able bodied and receiving government assistance, or welfare, to fill these positions where possible.

You've now forced employers to stop hiring illegal immigrants. You've taken away the illegal immigrants reason for being here, or for coming here in the first place. They go home on their on...they have little choice. No need for mass round-ups. No need for huge expenditure to locate illegals. For the most part, they will just leave. You've replaced them with those willing to follow the rules, and those Americans not capable of finding other work.

How do you identify legal workers?

1. Create a National ID card to replace the easily counterfeited Social Security Card for Citizens, along with an equivalent card for legal temporary workers.
2. Establish a network, similar to the credit card network, where an employer upon hiring or interviewing a new employee, swipes the card to authenticate the legal worker status.
3. Include holographic photo, finger print (or other biometrics) and encrypted smart chip technology in the ID cards.

Problem Solved.

Other benefits:

1. ID card could also be required for delivery of any social programs such as welfare, free health care, etc. If, for example, an illegal did present themselves at a hospital emergency room. The staff would of course be required by law to treat them, but they would also be required to alert the proper government authorities who would then collect and deport the illegal.
2. By requiring able bodied citizens to fill positions otherwise left vacant in return for extended government welfare, you reduce overall welfare costs, while providing low cost workers where needed, and a path to earn cash equity for those on welfare.
3. Overall cost savings from reduced social benefit cost from illegal aliens, as well as a reduction in crime etc, related to illegal's activities provide additional cost savings.
4. Increased income tax revenues when you have effectively eliminated the underground economy now funded by the illegals.
5. Decreased flow of illegals across the border, help reduce threat of terrorist infiltration across border.

Brits in America - Episode 1: Baron John of the Devine

NOTE: This was originally posted about a year ago...but it's worth a repeat. (Umm...I no longer work at Urban. lol)

With the Urban Execs now on my shit list...and far too much free time with my unexpected eight week vacation, my mind began to wonder ...which is never a good thing.

A little background: Calvin and John are both Brits. They apparently worked with each other at another company previous to their teaming up at Urban. Calvin is the big man in Information Technology. He hired on John about six months ago to run most of the department for him and to oversee a few big projects. The problem is of course...well actually you can read my previous posts to become pretty clear on what the problem is. So let's begin.

Brits in America - Episode 1: Baron John of the Devine

"Ahh! Right-O, this chap has a smart suite! Let's make him...err...Commander of the Queen's Army! Jolly Good! He's a Baron you know...that and a silken suite and all that! Bloody Colonists don't stand a chance. Might as well jump off the great rock, ruddy American rebel rousers!" Calvin is surprised as someone nearly falls into his office attempting to knock on the empty opening in the wall where there should be a door. "Merlin's beard! " He nearly drops the resume and attached photos he'd been perusing. "What the bloody hell are you on about then Jeeves!!?"

The man who has just fallen through the doorway stands, adjusting his "smart suite". He sticks out a hand, "John, my good sir."

"John!?" Calvin takes a quick look around the room, then glares back at the intruder. "Ill have you know this is NOT the john! This is my office my good man! The john is three open doorways down on the right...just past the filing department...yes yes...those stacks of boxes by the water fountain! And Ill have you know, we refer to it as the Loo here...not the...the John!"

"On no no! Begging you're pardon governor! My name...my name is John...John Devine!"

Calvin is still distracted by the vague resemblance this man has to someone he'd just seen recently, "Devine John!? Well I should think it'd be as clean as it is...and rightly so! And as I said, we call it the LOO!"

"No no no! We seem to be having a communication problem! My NAME is John Devine."

"A communication what!? I dare say you're out of line Sir! We'll have none of that talk here!"

"Right you are! I do apologize my good man! I believe these sodding Americans may have made me a bit daft!"

The pair have a good laugh after which the intruder smiles revealing excellent British dental work that even the Queen would be proud of...reminding Calvin where he had recently seen the intruder...he looks down at the resume photos still in his hand. "Jolly good! Devine! Why didn't you say so! You're hired!"

Just then there is a loud explosion and flames burst from a nearby server cabinet engulfing half the surrounding office space in a matter of seconds. The 20 or so good looking young American interns crammed into the space run screaming from the area...each shouting a warning to exit as they pass Calvin and John secluded in Calvin's hole in the wall.

"By the Queen! What are they on about!?"

John sits quietly unaware. "On about?" He turns, "Oh I dare say this bunch is a tad tight in the knickers aren't they."

"Yes. Yes. I do hope you'll be able to remedy that problem my good Sir."

"All in good time...all in good time."

"Right then, how about a spot of tea?"

Pinkies extended, they enjoy a Queens cup as the ceiling behind them collapses and flames engulf the Urban Outfitters banner hung over the upturned trash can the interns had been using as a break area.

Alien babies hurling bibles at the heads of the thinker

By now you know what I think of civilization as a whole. It's "all simple monkeys with alien babies". Alien babies hurling bibles at the heads of the thinker.

Civilization hasn't a chance in hell of surviving so long as it continues to deny the obvious. The universe is a dark, dirty, dangerous place. A place of chaos and disorder among the perfect order of the unknowable source.

Past civilizations understood and embraced this truth. For doing so, they survived far longer than our happy little moment has graced the pages of history. Those past survived until apathy over-shadowed the truth they had so long held...very much the place we find ourselves today. Their ultimate demise is ever the more bitter knowing that the purest of light can always be found edging the shadows and darkness.

We stand at the edge of the growing darkness with still the destiny to choose a step into eternal light.

Where those past have failed, we can prevail...but only by the realization that we don't belong, will we take our rightful place as the children of the Sophia. Only with the release of the material will we attain true spark and banish the creator (of chaos).

presidential hand puppets saluting abomination

in the end...
presidential hand puppets saluting abomination
storm troopers devouring religious doughnuts
adolescent veil revealing elemental abyss
obsidian sands extinguishing emerald time
...before the beginning


translucent eyes devour truth,
while obsidian tears rip reality's veil.
death reborn an abomination of light,
leads the thinker beyond the known.
sparks of tomorrow erase today,
fading color from the knower's eyes...a tear.

Ashley's Birthday 2006

Ashley and I had planned her birthday as the first get-together at the new house. Naturally, things did not go well. :)

Aside from my Step-Dad, none of my family made it because they had all come down with something. Then Publix decided to lose her cake order.

Had it not been for the Store Manager and Customer Service Manager doning aprons, gloves and hair-nets...I wouldn't have had a cake for her at all. Luckily, after my pleads of, "But all I had to do was get a cake...it was my only job...if I go home without it I'm gonna get an awful beat'in!" they were able to get a cake together. ;) At least that's what they called it. FREE makes everything taste better though. ;) Course...that didn't help the way it looked. LOL

We still had a good time finally having some company over to see the house though. And Ashley was sweet as usual and took it all in stride.