Well played, George Orwell

But Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, said lawmakers are entitled to regulate the use of tax dollars taken from Arizonans and "demand that our publicly funded education teach and inculcate our youth, our children with the values that make America what it is, the greatest and most free nation in the world."

Values like enslaving those we consider to be less than us, nearly exterminating an entire race of natives, stealing and raping a continent that had previously been inhabited by generally peaceful people, and turning South America in to a corporate colony! That way they will love America and not care so much about their idiotic cultural history. If they wanted to learn it so much their ancestors should have fought harder for it. Maybe they should have invented guns or something instead of screwing around so much with stupid corn.

To think that we have gotten to a time in history where our government thinks it's OK for them to step in and regulate what is being taught in schools is very scary. Reading the comments on the article is even worse. So many people are wholeheartedly behind this, but they don't seem to realize two things: First of all, they do not understand that this sets a precedent and can be applied to ALL types of teaching, not just that being done in the specific classes mentioned here and second, that the American history we were taught in our youth is far from what really happened in the early years of this country. Our country has filled the minds of most people with this "America is #1! America is #1! America is #1!" b.s. instead of teaching them about the real history of the United States. Maybe we'd see a little more humility and a little less NASCAR if our school system was designed to make people smart instead of to keep them quiet and ignorant.

We are seeing some disturbing trends in America today, especially when it comes to the actions of our government. Lying to the public at a level not seen in more than 30 years, ignoring the protests of many countries (friend and enemy alike) as we shove our corporate foreign policy down the throats of whomever we like, deficit spending at a level never before matched, stifling dissenting opinions through the media and by forcing protestors to set up shop blocks and blocks away from events featuring the president, the further militarization of local police, warrantless surveillance of anyone at any time for any reason, and soon perhaps determining what can and can't be taught in schools.

Does that sound fascist to you? Don't bother answering. It IS fascist.

"They voted unanimously to keep the sign up."

Oh, the South. You're like our retarded cousin.

I'm glad for Bill Hicks that he's dead and isn't witnessing this right now.

How Can We Be so Wrong?

As a nation and as a society in general, how is it that we can continue to be so wrong about so many things? Examples, you ask? Well, I barely know where to start. How about this: For the last 7 years we've had, as our "leader," a man who had absolutely no business being in office and who, for that entire time, has done absolutely nothing to benefit the lives of everyday Americans. The first time he was appointed (no, not elected) was a ridiculous fraud (read about it here), as was the time that he was re-elected (if you haven't read this, you should). However, outside of that, were the candidates he was running against worth anything in their own right? Al Gore was a somewhat weak candidate who could not fully capitalize on his President's perceived achievements over the previous 8 years to keep his party in power and though he lost under a cloud of controversy, there's no evidence that points to him being a great candidate in his own right. Plus, his running-mate was Joe "Neo-Crat" Lieberman and that can only be viewed as a bad thing. In 2004 John Kerry was the "lesser of two evils" candidate, but in hindsight, would he have been any better? Had he won in '04, would we be in a different position 4 years later? Unlikely, in my opinion. So, not only were we wrong in our Presidential selection over the last 8 years (though who knows what would have happened had the votes truly been counted), we were also likely wrong about the alternatives.

Well, at least after the tainted results of the two elections the American people stood up and railed for changes in the electoral system, and got those changes through sheer power of will. Wait, we didn't do that, you say? In fact, we didn't even really make a stir about it save for a protest here and there directly after the elections? Well that certainly can't be right! We must have done something. Hmmmm, now that I look back on it, I guess we didn't. Was that the right thing to do? Of course not. But surely over the last 8 years we've stood up to this oppressive regime and fought tooth-and-nail for our civil, political and privacy rights, yes? Oh, you say we didn't. Well, that certainly can't be right either, can it?

Hey, at least now the Democrats have worked out their issues and decided to stand together behind a strong candidate so "we" can take the power back in 2009, right? Hmmmm, you say we haven't even done that, and that what we do have is a petty battle between two more John Kerry's who don't have anything but re-hashed ideas from 20 years ago wrapped in discount paper that was bought at Wal-Mart? At least one of them got a discount on that paper though, right, since she worked on the Wal-Mart board for something like 6 years? And hey, at least the other candidate isn't another pro-Israel tool who disguises old ideas in sheep's clothing and gets by mainly on his charisma and charm rather than the merit of his policies, right? Hmmmm, I guess I'm wrong again, eh. Well, at least the republican candidate is a stand up guy who has bucked the recent neo-conservative trends in his party and who actually values traditional republican ideas and stances, right? Oh...I guess not.

So, where do we find ourselves nearly 8 years after Bush was elected? Inconceivably, we are in an even worse position than we were when the news broke that the Supreme Court had handed him the presidency. We are here in a wasteland, looking at three pools of tainted water and trying to decide which one won't kill us...Which one will sustain us, help us stumble on to the next polluted oasis and allow us to make yet another odious choice, with each one in succession bringing us closer and closer to death. Unfortunately there is no reservoir, no wonderful well dug in to a water table that can actually help us start to recover from our dehydrated, delirious state. Yet we are America, the world's lone Superpower, and we must stumble on. We have no other choice.

Bear Stearns, Bailouts and Bullshit

First Citigroup, now Bear Stearns, who's next? This is a major crisis and we have not seen the last of it. In fact, perhaps this is barely the beginning. These stop-gap decisions by the Federal Reserve to prop up banks that are "too big to fail" seem merely to be prolonging the inevitable. Here's an interesting video on the subject (about 10min but definitely worth watching):




Bear Stearns Stock:
January '07: $171.52 (peak)
March 13th '08: $60 and falling
March 14th '08: $36 and falling
Post-Buyout: $2 (valley)

Ouch.

Obama is a Muslim Who Won't Pledge Allegiance to the US Flag!

...And he wants to be sworn in on the Koran if he does become President. Ok, of course that's not true, but did you know that people are spreading such information, and that ignorant people who won't look in to it for themselves actually believe it?!?! I mean, I am not a huge fan of Obama but that is because of his foreign policy and his willingness to invade Pakistan and Iran, as well as the fact that he's yet another very pro-Israel/AIPAC politician, not because some moron at my church has been spreading lies about him. This is the reason that we have had 8 years of George Bush (well, this and a corrupt election system), and there are a lot of people in this country who think the same way as those interviewed in the video. Until that changes or more smart people vote (but let's fact it, the idiots far outnumber the smart people), we are not going to make the progress our country needs to make and we will continue digging this hole for ourselves, which only seems to be getting deeper all the time. Vote smart, people!

87 Year Old New Hampshire State Rep on Hunger Strike for Impeachment

87 year old Betty Hall, a 14 term New Hampshire State Rep has refused to eat again until John Conyers begins impeachment proceedings. Read the story here.

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out. She seems set in her decision and it is one that will hopefully help force Conyers' hand. I mean, these guys are guilty of War Crimes, and I see no reason why Bush or any of the rest of his cohorts should be allowed to sit out their vile reign in office without paying a price for their despicable acts. Go Betty!

McCain "Stumped" On Whether Condoms Help Prevent Spread of HIV

No, seriously. What a tool! And this guy is actually the front runner for the Republican nomination! Well done, sir.

Read the full article here.

Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”