Chew Toys

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 14:44:58 GMT

Adios mis amigos.

It's been a good run but it's time for me to sign off.
I appreciate all of you that have stopped by and made this fun.
Take care and good luck.

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 22:54:27 GMT

Be Humble in Victory.

The Democrats were given a gift by the American people, the trust to lead, to do the right thing. It's time to put up or shut up. This wasn't a sweeping mandate for the Democratic Party, it was a sweeping mandate of "we don't like what's going on and it has to change." I don't feel that the Democrats entirely earned this victory so much as had it handed to them. The anti-Bush anti-war sentiment was their greatest weapon. The Republican scandals helped a lot as well. It's time to earn this victory with action. Hopefully the Democrats will have learned some important lessons this week. If you follow your party leaders blindly even when you know those decisions are wrong you will pay the price. The strong armmed tactics of the Republicans to keep the ranks in line is bad politics. If you know a particular piece of legislation is good then support it no matter which party brings it up. Forcing your members to go along on legislation that may be bad for their constituents is not good politics. Congress must also remember that their constituents are the people that live in their district, not the lobbyists that throw money at them. Another lesson to be learned is that you have been given your office by the American public. If you abuse that public trust you should be gone. The Democrats need to deal with ethics issues swiftly and justly. Trying to cover things up in order to retain power doesn't fly. You retain power by doing the right thing, by showing you can lead.

The sad part of this election is that the moderate Republicans that were most likely to work with the Democrats were the one who were defeated. This doesn't give the Republicans much incentive to move towards a more centrist position though clearly their far-right position isn't resonating with the public.

I guess my message to the Democrats (and Republicans) is this: Don't be a dumbass. Learn from the mistakes of the past, do what's right for the people of this country. Show us that you can get the job done because if you don't we'll find someone else who can. We'll be watching. We are paying attention.

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:26:33 GMT

Coming Out.

I do not believe in religion. I think it turns people into sheep. I believe that it prohibits freethinking. I believe that it's bad for America. We have a thing in The Constitution called "the separation of church and state." That means that no one religion can dictate the laws of the country against all other religions. I'm an atheist so what I believe doesn't necessarily jibe with what you believe. In a true democracy that would be okay but we don't have a true democracy. The religious right wants to dictate what the rest of us should believe. This is in total disagreement with the Constitution (the most important document in the land, i.e. not the bible). If you are in the "bible is law" camp then move somewhere else. That is not the tenant that this country was built upon. We are supposed to be a freethinking society. One of the last in the modern world. Do not let the idiocy of the religious right sway your convictions. Think about what's right for humanity, and what's right for humanity is right for the world. Kick these bastards out! Take charge of your minds!

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 14:25:41 GMT

Only 4 more days and then I can turn my TV back on. If I see one more lying, mud slinging, attack ad I'm going to put my foot through the screen. At least I can watch the BBC and not get hammered by this garbage. Both parties do it and regardless of how much everyone says they don't like them the ads are still highly effective. Write to your congressman and senator and demand that their campaign ads speak about what they will do and not about why their opponent is such a total scumbag that should be run out of the country. Taking back the country has to start somewhere. A change is brewing on Capitol Hill. Let's keep the momentum going by forcing the new and the old to clean up their act.

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 15:30:15 GMT

From The Freeway Blogger

Finally a ribbon that means something.

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 00:52:02 GMT

I'm mad as hell and I don't know what to do.

I want to slap people out of their apathy, I want to scream in the faces of those who follow blindly, I want to tell America to wake up and take back their country! Do not follow the religious right blindly. Think for yourselves. Get off of your lazy ass and vote is the best I can do it seems. It's not enough. When we let big business usurp our power, we've lost. When congress gives up it's constitutional duty of checks and balances they gave away America. This country has lost it's meaning. The Constitution has lost it's meaning, The Bill of Rights has been ripped to shreds. What has happened to us. It's time to remember what the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are all about. It's the Soul of America that's at stake. Those two documents are what made us the greatest country on earth. We've lost the basic principles of what our country was born from. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin must be spinning in their graves. What they sacrificed for has come to this. What a disgrace. We MUST kick the think tanks to the curb. We must tell the defense industry that they work for us, not the other way around. I'm starting to believe that revolution is the only way. There are good people on both sides. It's time for the not soulless republicans and not spineless democrats to step up and reclaim our country. It's the Soul of America that's at stake. Those two documents made America the greatest country on earth. Why have we so easily cast them aside. I fear the worst.

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 14:56:40 GMT

We didn't listen. Is it too late?

"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

- from President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farwell Address, Jan. 17, 1961 (The whole text can be found here)

I was watching the movie "Why We Fight" last night and I heard these words. I got very depressed. We were warned 46 years ago, we became apathetic and let it happen. The defense industry and the think tanks now make the decisions that run our country. We didn't vote for these people. We can't really call ourselves a democracy any more. We are purely a capitalistic society. Business doesn't do things for the good of the country, they do it for the good of the company. I don't think it matters which party is in power since the decisions guiding us are from outside the government. The defense budget is so ridiculously large right now that it is killing us. It dwarfs the combined budget of the rest of government's Departments (the Departments that actually do something for the American people). The worst part is that this defense money is not going to the soldiers. How can that budget be that huge and our soldiers still not have the supplies they need? Countries that spend huge amounts of money on defense instead of spending it helping their own people always fail. Eventually the people do rise up. That's what brought the Soviet Union down. That's what will ultimately bring us down. Our country must change, the decisions guiding us must be made by the people that we elect not "outside influences" as Eisenhower said. We as a people slept, they took over, can we get our country back?

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 06:06:18 GMT

It seems very strange to me that the party of "family values" seems to have none. I would think that if you knew you had a sexual predator in your midst that you would do something about it. Silly me. Got to cover it up for the good of the party. Well those days need to be over (Katherine Harris, if you believe that the separation of church and state is immoral you need to read the Constitution, you are unfit for office). A message to both parties, if you know someone is doing something wrong, do something about it. Your party's credibility will go way up if you do. george bush has done very well hiding behind the bible in his political career. He makes himself out to be a good christian. Unfortunately he doesn't practice what he tries to preach. I wonder if he has actually read any of the bible (there are a lot of big words in there). David Kou has written a book called "Tempting Faith" which addresses this point. bush holds the bible up but he doesn't utilize any of it's teachings. Bill Maher brought up the point on "Real Time" that we know dubya loves Jesus but would Jesus love him. Well Jesus would love everybody but I think he would disapprove of what dubya is doing. It's one thing to talk about Jesus' teachings and quite another to live and abide by them. I'm an atheist so I look at this totally in human moral code. My parents are Methodists, the walk the walk, they talk the talk. They live their lives in a moral way. They do not preach. The key is that to live your life in a moral way has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with what is decent and caring to all other people. Gay marriage, I've got no problem with it. Why should anyone else? How does it affect you? I'm divorced, it had nothing to do with moral values, things just didn't work out. Nobody to blame. Over 50% of all marriages end in divorce. This "protection of marriage" amendment that is on many ballots this year is a joke. Let gays have the same legal rights as the rest of the population and the red tape that comes with it. Why should you care? We as a country have so lost sight of what's important. We can't get a bill passed for health care for everyone but we can sure as hell put up an anti gay amendment on our state's constitution. We need to send a message, politicians need to get their act together and realize what is truly important or we'll find someone else who will.

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 05:45:38 GMT

STAY THE COURSE!
STAY THE COURSE!
STAY THE COURSE!

Of course now that the mid-term elections are looming, "stay the course", ehh, not so much. Amazing what a 30% approval rating will do to change your mind. Most of us could have told you long ago that to stay the course was the absolute wrong decision. It's very sad that when the potential loss of the House and Senate rears up that the administration decides to change it's tune. This is not leadership, it's blowing with the wind. I'm not saying that the Dems don't do it as well I'm just saying that it's pathetic. Accountability is what I'm looking for. The administration has been making the wrong decisions for the past 3 (or more) years. It's time to tell them what we think of those decisions. Get out and vote on Nov. 7th. Vote for a change. Make these people pay for their arrogance.

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 05:36:34 GMT

My boys are getting some press!

MASON MADNESS HAS BEGUN!

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:56:08 GMT

A beautiful day in DC today. A perfect day for the dedication of the U.S. Air Force memorial in Arlington, VA.....

...So Ouzo and I headed down for some photo ops. The memorial is meant to represent the famous Air Force Thunderbird's "Bomb Burst" maneuver. The highest spire reaches 270' high. It's very impressive and not to be missed if you come to DC.

For RogSmitty.

And because it was such a beautiful day here's a pic of my town, DC - the Potomac River, Key Bridge, and Georgetown.

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 00:47:26 GMT

Too Funny! Thanks Kel!

Asylum Street Spankers. "So put a yellow ribbon on your SUV."

Not for kids!

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 00:32:05 GMT

Time once again for the

"IT SUCKS TO BE YOU" AWARD!

This week's winner is Mark R. Downs Jr. of Dunbar, PA. Mr. Downs has brought the phrase "complete asshole" to a new level. Mr. Downs is the coach of a Little League baseball team. Mr. Downs had an autistic child on his team and he didn't want to have to play him so he bribed another kid on the team to bean him in practice. Yeah, you read it right, throw a ball at a kid's head in order to knock him out of the lineup. What a dick. Not to mention how the kid who might have thrown the ball would have felt afterwards. Kids don't immediately see right and wrong until after the fact. Happily Mr. Downs will be going to jail for one to six years. There he will meet Bubba who will try and bean him. Mr. Downs, it sucks to be you!

Very Distant Runner up: Paul Robinson, goalie (English National Team and Tottenham Hotspurs of the English Premire League ) Robinson didn't do anything horrible against humanity (unless you are an English soccer fan) but he did screw up so badly in England's match against Croatia this week that he probabaly wanted to crawl away and hide. See for yourself.