and now for something completely different

i don't know if this really is completely different, but i wanted to write something else. after all of those shenanigans. .. anyway. i'm just noticing that my cohort are rapidly becoming adults. for the most part. within the past year or two things have changed. the dynamics have completely changed in my peers. it's very odd. many are buying homes, many have had the same job for several years now. some are embarking on their real goals, rather than dalying around with nonsense, some are having children, some have toned down their partying, some have started paying attention to their health, some have started paying attention to their fiscal responsibilities. some are forming real intellectual and political and emotional identities. it's all very strange, i suppose all these things could have been happening for the last 10 years, but i just noticed because i arrived here too, in fact that's all very possible.

i noticed the other night at my sister's party i noticed how young everyone seemed.. but not as young as i remember feeling wheni was their age.. but i felt old with them. i'm not old. but i'm not that young anymore.. i have to think about bills and health and saving and maintenance and all that boring stuff that people think about when they're adults. i can't just buy myself toys wheni get unexpected surpluses, i have 50 million things i forgot to budget for, like a new dishwasher or a new refridgerator. anyway. gonna go to sleep.. early. because i have to get up .. early, and go to work.. early. then i'll come home and think about how i don't get paid till friday. blump.

Our Saviour was Inaugurated Today!!!! HALLELUJAH!

this i found worth doing something with. i want the person who sent it to me to understand i am writing this not to offend you, i just thought the ideas warranted further discussion and dissection. for those of you who find my comments at the end offensive, consider why.. because you may need do examine the reasons you feel this way.. sure enough, these are opinions, both mine and the opinions of the person who wrote the forward, and the fallacies mentioned can be found at :
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html
(and much thanks to shannon for introducing me to those...)

so here it is:


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

HISTORY TEST Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take thefollowing multiple choice test. The events areactual cuts from past history. They actuallyhappened!!!
Do you remember?
1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a. Superman b. Jay Lenno c. Harry Potter d. Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17and 40


1. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes werekidnapped and massacred by
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40

2. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken overby:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40

3.During the 1980's a number of Americans werekidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40

4. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut wasblown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40

5. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro washijacked and a 70 year old American passenger wasmurdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchairby:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


6. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens,and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengerswas murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


7.In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


8. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed thefirst time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


9. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya andTanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention fromWild Bill' s women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


10. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; twowere used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of theremaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashedby the passengers. Thousands of people werekilled by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck andElmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


11. In 2002 the United States fought a war inAfghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40


12. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnappedand murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the agesof 17 and 40

Nope, .....I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?
So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone,particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will nolonger be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searchesof 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with properidentification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail,85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former GovernorJoe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone because ofprofiling.
Let's send this to as many people as we can sothat the Gloria Aldre ds and other dunder-headed attorneys along with FederalJustices that want to thwart common sense, feel doubly ashamed of themselves -if they have any such sense.
As the writer of the award winning story "ForrestGump" so aptly put it, "Stupid is as stupid does."
Come on people wake up!!! Keep this going. Pass it on to everyone in youraddress book. Our Country and our troops need our support!

--------------------------------------------
this really chaps my business. chaps it good.


FALLACIES:
SELECTIVE OBSERVATION -- this manages to leave out every single terrorist incident perpetrated by non-muslims. hmm? does anyone remember oklahoma city bombing? every single presidental assassination or attmept (robert kenedy was not president, and several others were assassinated by disgruntled americans). how about the unabomber? what about ever abortion clinic bombing.. that is terrorism. what about the terrorism we commit in other places? like iraq...
GENERALIZATION--again, the people who don't like america aren't only to be found in countries where islam is the predominant religion, also, far from all muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40 would ever do anything like these things. how many xtian americans would ever kill an abortion doctor? i doubt the number is above 500.... (and that's a liberal estimate... )
SMALL NUMBERS--there are 12 examples. that's it. planes were hijacked in the seventies all the time. presidents have been assassinated since the 1860s..

TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT--o.. because they *may* pose a threat, we should strip them of their constitutional rights. rights you would be outraged to be stripped of. "but i'm willing to trade my freedom for security!" you say? well, guess what, you're an idiot. you will never have security. there will always be a chance someone will hate you and kill you. a much greater chance if you go around offending people, and humiliating them, and disrespecting them.
PIOUS FRAUD--if you think this racism is justified by the end result of you being less paranoid.. then you're petty. because you wont' be less paranoid. not as soon as something slips by your false screen and you get attacked again.

oh, and a note about "common sense"... i don't believe that common sense is universal at all. if you think about it, if it was, fill in the blank test questions would always be just as easy as the ones where you get multiple choices. assuming you went to the classes.

today's tripe

i guess it would be best if i keep writing things. well..maybe that's not true. i was reading the list of fallacious arguments. it makes me happy and mad at the same time. because i can think of these arguments and justifications coming out of the mouths of the politicians and media idiots i hear all the time. i have to say, that upon reflection, anyone i've ever heard speaking from a public office is a moron. perhaps they're not morons themselves, because many of their words are written for them by others, and those writers may not be morons either. so i'm left with this explanation: i've talked before about how communication requires that both the person sending the message and the person receiving it have to be using words and ideas the other can understand. and if you're a good communicator you'll do your best to speak in the way that best conveys your message (not necessarily the most elegant words, but those that will be best understood), so on that note, consider that because all these public officials are talking to us (the american public) they are using the words they've discovered will get their point across the best--i.e. catchy slogans and idiotic rhetoric, and loaded questions and appeals to authority and dogged recitation of false or misleading statements because if you hear it enough times you'll think it's more than garbage.. it's garbage you hear alot. so i think that's the point. they're that way because they require our approval for survival. how parasitic is that? they have to rule us to survive (maybe they can't make enough to feed themselves by other means) and once they are ruling us, they have to lie to us to keep that position. i'm glad i didn't pursue any of these fields.. like politcal science or journalism.. i would be angry all the time. and i'd probably end up moving to some other country. why am i an optimist about the flaws of individuals but an extreme pessimist when it comes to the flaws in this country and it's mechanism of government? why. well.. at least i'm not angry right now.

owa

it's been a great many days since i posted. i am too busy mostly. and by busy i mean currently playing PS2 and watching tv and going to sleep way too late for me. i need another vacation. i don't have enough time off. gurgle. well. if i get to work part-time i know i'll be much much happier.. i wish cat could work part-time now. that would make her much much happier. i think all people would be happier if they were free to work way less. too bad that means not spending as much money.. and that is the greatest american sin.. dropping out.... if people only bought things they NEEDED the economy would really change. i'm not sure how.. oh, we watched the daily show last night, and itwas fromthe night before i assume, and the thing i found funny was how stupid bush is. not like he just misspoke, but he was an idiot. like the concepts that he obviously doesn't understand but was trying to convey to a bunch of people who don't understand just came out like mangled garbage. and i really felt sorry for him.. the people at the thing were idiots more than he is.. it was sad. social security is socialist. so is welfare, so are all our public works. so what? those things help us more than we know. and when they're gone.. do you know.. if all the old people mismanage their privatized social security that they'll need us to pay everything again? not that i object to supporting them, but i know all the people who like the privatization do. beceause they're short-sighted selfish bastards. no, i'll put it this way. republicans are short-sighted self-centered but still think they're better than everyone else kind of people. and more people should call them on it. they don't give a rats ass about the good of the people unless thosepeople are superbly wealthy.. whatever. i have to start the car. now i'm mad again.