CA Condors

Millions of years of evolution is a beautiful thing.

 

 

DC Gun Registration

Registering your gun in DC is such a pain that if I happened to live there I'd likely skip the whole process for now and wait a couple months for the permanent rules.  You need to complete a safety test, get fingerprinted, and kiss the Mayor's ass.  Maybe that last part is a joke, but they do seem to have a lot of discretion.  

The worst part?  A vision test.  So if you have trouble seeing, you cannot own a gun.  This would seem to violate many existing laws, such as the ADA act.  Just because someone is visually impaired does not mean they are prohibited from owning a gun.  Per federal law, only criminal acts and mental illnesses are barriers, not disabilities.  Make all the jokes you want about blind people and guns, but if you believe in the Constitution, they should be able to own them.

Offshore Drilling is not the answer

Today George W Bush lifted the mortatorium on offshore drilling put into place by his father.  Oil companies cannot yet begin drilling offshore until Congress passes a similar law.  As always, the whole issue of offshore drilling is BS.  Here is why:

1. More oil will not lead to cheaper gas.  Our oil refineries, which turn oil into gas, are maxed out.  Oil companies have been closing them, and none have been opening.  Even if we had a lot more oil, we could not product much more gasoline and this is why the prices of gasoline are so high.

2. Even if oil companies choose to drill offshore (and most won't) the oil won't be produced for at least 5-10 years, so there is no short-term fix.

3. We are now hearing about shale rock in the Rocky Mountains, which could outproduce Saudi Arabia.  

Oil shale, offshore drilling, and arctic wildlife refuge drilling are not the answers.  Everytime we burn some type of fossil fuel, we are slowly fucking over the world.  We have seen changes in our lifetimes, which are comparatively small to the 5 billion years that our Earth has been here.  We've done so much damage that ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic is melting at a rate that has never been seen.  While I disagree that our coastal cities will be flooded soon, it is not outside of the realm of possibilities.  

We need to harness cleaner form of energies such as wind power, an idea advocated by an oil man, T Boone Pickens.  See www.pickensplan.com

Real American Beer

Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, has been sold to InBev, a Belgian beer manufacturer, which will now be the largest beer maker in the world.  

Over the next few weeks, you will hear lots of politicians talking about America losing a great company.  You'll see a bunch of hicks from all over the US saying that they will no longer drink the "foreign" Bud.  This is all bullshit, of course.  Many drink Coors (owned by the Canadians) and Miller (owned by South Africans).  

I don't drink Bud.  Maybe occasionally, but I don't take pride in it.  It is cheap and alcoholic and not much else.  

Who cares who owns a shitty beer like Budweiser when we Americans have much better domestic choices.  Here are just two:

Boston Beer Company - A publicly traded company based in Boston that brews Sam Adams.  These guys are the best "big beer" makers.  They experiment a modest amount and make some kick-ass beers like the Black Lager and their winter collection.  They also encourage home brewing.

Dogfish Head - This is the 25th largest microbrewery that I toured over the weekend.  These guys are absolutely crazy and make some very strange beers.  They've put everything from coffee to oysters in their beer, and now make a fair amount with different kinds of fruit.  Their beers are so good they can be pared with foods like wine.  

When you've got American brewers like these two making truly world-class beers, who cares about Bud?  Bud has been our national embarrassment for decades (go to any other country and order a Bud), and I'm glad that the Belgians took it over.

Delaware Beach Trip 2008

McCain loses his memory about football and Viet Nam

It was likely pandering to voters. But now, after going to Pittsburgh and saying that he used the Steelers players as names to give the Vietnamese when he really used the Packers... is McCain pandering or senile? Neither answer is very good for his prospects.

Jesse's Rants

Jesse Jackson was caught on Foxnews saying that he wanted to cut off Obama's nuts for "talking down to black people."  Can Jesse please shut up?  He is on the brink of seeing the man he supports, Obama, win a landslide against the GOP sacrificial lamb, John McCain.  Is this not enough?  

Jesse is always in the middle of a controversy, but I think in this case he is showing the divide between old and new black leaders.  He is a black man who tried to lead black people.  Obama is a black man whose goal is to lead the United States.  

Sick People

Wisconsin: people digging up a dead body to fuck it.  

The craziest part is that they are being charged with rape, as the court ruled that the corpse cannot consent to sex.  In one way, I disagree with this charge.  Should they be put in a looney bin?  Sure.  But in jail for rape?  Raping a dead body is no more different from raping a pillow, its not living.  In any case, with their pictures plastered all over the internet, the future is not very bright for them.

Iraq wants us out

The prime minister of Iraq has officially asked for a US timetable for withdrawal of our troops, and specifically said that they do not want another Korea, in which we would build bases and remain there forever.  

Bush will likely ignore the request, meaning that we will be seen as occupying the country in which a new government that we helped secure power now wants us out.  This situation will only embolden radical elements and increase the likelihood of attacks on both the US and its allies.  

John McCain is also going to look a lot more like Bush, and a lot more likely to end up on the losing end of a landslide come the election.

One thing worth pointing out is that this issue could be McCain's first big flip-flop.  In 2004, he said that if an elected Iraqi government wanted us out, we could not stay.  Today he says that the president is just "being a politician" and that while they will look out for their interests "we will look out for ours."  

One more reason to end Don't Ask Don't Tell

Another study is out that says that gay military members would not compromise our ability to fight and win.  

Yet another reason: the Israelis and British allow gays to serve openly.  I doubt any would doubt the ability of their armies.

Conservatives for Obama

A good article from the San Francisco Chronicle on why many conservatives are saying no to McCain and Yes We Can to Obama.  Many of my reasons for doing likewise are listed in the article.

Article is here.

Shrinking Products - Who Cares?

There's a big fuss right now about product sizes.  I noticed the other day that the Edy's container looked a bit smaller than normal, but the price was still $2.50.  The old container was 1.75 quarts and it is now 1.5 quarts.  Many companies have started this type of downsizing to compensate for higher fuel costs without making consumers pay more.  

Why do I not care about this?  I usually do not use all of a product I buy, be it milk, eggs, or cheese.  It usually expires before I've eaten all of it.  We as Americans are used to these huge product sizes, and it shows, since we are likely the fattest society in the history of the world.  I think that reducing product size may actually be a positive thing.  

Several years ago, Morgan Spurlock single handedly got McDonald's to get rid of the Supersize with his movie, Supersize Me.  Now companies are getting rid of the Supersize for their own bottom line.  Regardless of the reason, less can be more.

Happy Fourth

Happy 232nd birthday to my country!  Regardless of your political stance, one thing remains certain, there is no country even close to being as good as the one we live in, and hopefully next January it will be a lot better.

Dark Knight looks awesome

The trailer for the new Batman Movie: The Dark Knight looks like its going to be a great movie.  It is coming out on July 18.  Heath Ledger is cast as the joker in his last role (he passed away in January).  There is even talk that he may get an Oscar nomination from his role as the demented clown.

Director Christopher Nolan filmed the movie partially in IMAX and we can also expect it to be much more like an action movie and much less like a comic book.  Batman Begins was easily the best Batman yet and this looks even better.  

Add this to your must see list for the summer.

Stupid Laws (TX Edition)

Supposedly a new law requires all computer shops in Texas to have a private investigator's license, or else they could face big fines and jail time.  So would a consumer who took their computer to an unlicensed shop.

If this is true, it is complete horseshit.  A PI license does not make someone eligible to repair my computer.  Most likely the bonehead legislators passed this law without reading it.

What's next?  Requiring barbers to have MDs?