AZ Hot Ops

Noise, Noise, Noise, and spin

2011-04-08T11:43:00.001-07:00

I am so fucking sick and tired of the spin cycle noise that permeates the American media. Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a while, too bad. I've been busy living my life, but this past week has just finally rubbed the wrong nerve raw for the last time.

Okay, NOW HEAR THIS! You are being lied to by the media with regards to the "government shutdown" and the military. I know you're being lied to, because I was in the military during a Clinton shut down. Guess what? Federal law MANDATES that military members MUST BE PAID, even in the event of a government shut down. Did you read that? If not, read it again. If you still don't get it, READ IT AGAIN!

This bullshit that is being thrown around the airwaves, 24/7, is just that, bullshit. Yes, some entitlements are stopped. Yes, there can be a delay in the next paycheck being sent out. No, it is NOT accrued pay, it is real pay. Over all, the military, like the FBI, CIA, NSA, and other Federal law and defense agencies, MUST BE PAID DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN.

What? Did you honestly think the FBI would close its doors because congress screwed up? Did you believe that the US Marshal's service would stop transporting fugitives? Are you so gullible that you think the Coast Guard is going to STOP running rescues at sea?

If you are that stupid, then it's a good thing Glenn (fucking idiot) Beck is going off the air. Perhaps, you will take a moment and THINK for yourselves. Maybe, just maybe, you'll do a little thing I like to call, research, before you blindly believe what some talking air head on the tube tells you to believe.

Lastly, for you frightened little rabbits that still refuse to think, you won't have long to wait before the morons in congress finally get their shit together. You see, a government shutdown is very bad for business. And since the lords and masters of congress, the corporations, don't want anything to screw up their sky high profits, they will take control. The lying lip flappers in DC, from the Prez on down, will get their new marching orders from Wall St., the banks, the mega-corps, and they will fall in line. A deal will be worked out, because after all, those poor wittle billionaires have to be paid, on those high priced government contracts. If they aren't, they may not get their big fat bonus at the end of the quarter, and that would make baby CEO cry.

Educate yourself people. This crap has been going on for better than 40 years, you'd think you'd have learned how the game is played by now.

Sharing The Love

2010-08-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Being an old married man, there comes a time when you start to branch out a bit in sharing your feelings with others. Sweetie and I have a great relationship, even if it is not perfect. But even we can get bored with each other, and need a way to reconnect with our emotions. Now, before anyone gets any bright ideas, I'm not talking about swinging or swapping here. We don't share.

So how do 2 long time married people get back in touch with their feelings? Simple, spend some time with those less fortunate than we are. Share some moments with folks older than us. Bring some smiles to the faces of people that are lonely, and in some cases, forgotten. It has been 4 years in the making, but this last weekend, our plans finally came together.

Sweetie, Shortcake, Duncan, and I, spent Saturday at the VA State Nursing Home. We went through our volunteer orientation, followed by a walking tour, and our TB tests. Then, it was time for Duncan and I to be tested as a therapy dog team. My little cocker preformed flawlessly. He treated every person he met with respect. He waited patiently to be petted by the veterans. Best of all, he brought out a lot of happy smiles. He passed his evaluation when I placed him on the bed of a vet who is usually not very responsive. This man not only smiled at my dog, but spent many minutes petting the happy puppy. When his wife arrived and heard what happened, she thanked me with a big smile of her own.

Sweetie and I are going to be visiting the home at least once each week. Duncan and Shortcake now have jobs to preform. We are, to the best of my knowledge, the only married therapy dog team for the home. There are a few other folks that bring their dogs in, but as individuals. Sweetie and I work together. Also, because we have smaller dogs, we have been asked to pay special attention to the dementia / Alzheimer ward. Those folks are isolated enough as it is. Having a visit from a happy puppy gives them a reason to smile.

By sharing our time with these former military members, Sweetie and I see ourselves as the happy couple trying to bring a little joy to someones day. I think it is good that these veterans see a married couple. It might help them to remember some of what they were fighting for, and that the future is not all bleak and selfish. Just as Sweetie and I care for each other, we want these people to know that there are still folks that care about them. We may not be their family, but we can try to help them feel more at home in their situations. This is why we have trained and worked so hard over these past 4 years to have our dogs ready.

In return Sweetie and I see ourselves as we might be, someday. No one knows the future, but it is always possible that one, or both of us, my end up in a home like the one we visit. I hope if that happens, we are together. I also hope that someone will remember that we took our dogs to visit people, so that they will bring their puppies to visit us. We have learned that there are ways to share our love with other people. Some of whom have not felt a warm, tender touch, in a very long time. It makes me want to cuddle my Sweetie even more. So that she will never forget what it means to be cared for.

Hero Hands

2009-08-04T07:23:00.001-07:00

They have to go out, they do not have to come back. Men and women, some young, and some old, live by those words. They know what they mean, and they know how true that statement is. Some do it for the pay, times being what they are. Some do it for the sense of heroics. Others do it because of tradition. What ever the reason these heroes come from all walks of life.

They do a job most people would run from. They risk their lives every day against forces of nature that you cannot win against. These people train, study, and train even more, to be ready for when that call comes. No one shirks, no hesitation is seen. When the call goes out these heroes run head long into danger, never being really sure of what they'll face.

It can happen at night, or during the day. The weather may be fair and calm, or cold and filled with raging winds, and snow. The heroes may have just gotten up after a good nights sleep. Or, it might be their third call in the last 2 days, and they are exhausted. What ever the circumstances, they will go. They have to, other lives hang in the balance, and the sea does not give up her dead easily.

You cannot fight the sea. No force on earth will ever stop the sea from moving. And when the sea becomes riled, angry, and strikes out at anything in it, that is when the heroes in their small boats are needed the most. There is no time for fear, no time to second guess. The training takes over, and they move about the deck in a dance of life. Each movement has a reason, a job to be done. The crew will not think of themselves, only those that need their help. In a race against time you cannot afford to be selfish.

They watch out for each other, making sure of their shipmates safety. The lines are laid out, the hoses are ready, the pump is primed and one crewman is in his wet suit. He hopes he will not be needed, the waves are huge, and the water is frigid, but he will go if he has to. He has been training for this for a long time. His shipmates would trade places with him, if they could. But his name came up, and it is his duty to throw himself into the sea if it will save a life.

Day in and out, scenes like this are played out all around the beaches and shores of this country. Men and women in little boats with a unique racing stripe risk their lives every day, that others may live. We don't see them unless it is because of a big case. They ply their trade, and live their lives in obscurity, hidden even from the media in most cases. But they are out there, training, waiting, and willing to do what has to be done when life on the high seas is in danger.

On August 4, 1790, Alexander Hamilton executed a congressional order to fight against piracy and smuggling on the high seas of our new country. The Revenue Marine Cutter Fleet was born that day. Over the years there would be many changes, some additions, and at least a couple of wars. In 1915, a number of different organizations were merged together to create one very large entity dedicated to safety and protection along the coast of the United States. From those early days in 1790 the tradition moved into a new era, with a new name.

Happy Birthday, United States Coast Guard.

WHO?

2009-05-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, another week, and another media driven, badly researched, foolishly followed panic. Yes folks, once again the world is on the brink and we're all gonna die. Breathless bubble heads have for days been screeching the fear mongering line of the World Health Organization over the latest threat to the very existence of humanity, Swine Flu.

Take just a moment and think, remember. The WHO is the very same organization that has been threatening us for at least the last 9 years, that we're all gonna die from the Bird Flu. For years, every few weeks, we heard how Bird Flu was on the verge of becoming a global pandemic and could potentially wipe out millions of people. Strange, you don't hear an awful lot about Bird Flu these days.

As of this mornings half asleep, coffee hasn't kicked in, I really need a vacation research of Total Swine Flu cases world wide, the top story from the Wall Street Journal breaks it down by country:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124126480414780235.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

World wide: 653 confirmed cases
World Wide: 16 confirmed deaths
World Wide: 6,500,000,000+ people in the human race

I think the WHO need to go back to school and get just a little more education on this thing called numbers. I'm no doctor of medicine, but some how, 653 out of 6.5 billion, doesn't seem to be that large.

Of course, the media carries the greatest responsibility for this latest round of "let's scare the shit out of people." Before the number of cases had reached 200, media outlets were acting and reporting the End of Days, whipping up as much fear and panic as possible. And it worked. The evidence is all around you if you open your eyes and look.

Schools closing, hospital phone lines jammed, attendance at movies and other events down. People, you are so easily manipulated. You watch the news and blindly believe what you are told, no questions asked. You hear trigger words and let your fear run away with you. The flashy graphics and looming music at the top of the hour, fill you with dread because micro-organisms are going to get you.

But you never latch onto the numbers, never look at the over all scope of the story or issue. 653 confirmed cases world wide. WORLD WIDE! You are letting the media control you, frighten you, manipulate you over something that does not even register as a single percentage point on the world population.

Cut the strings folks. The media is about ratings, not truth or facts. You don't need puppet masters telling you when to be afraid.

And The Hits Just Keep On Rolling

2009-04-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, 3 days, 4 excuses. If there was ever a proper example of how NOT to let the public know that you've screwed up, Amazon is that example. From the Ashlyn D reply, stating that it was Amazon policy to not display "adult" titles, to the amazing vanishing "glitch", to hackers, to human error. Yes folks, Amazon has now run the complete list for their attempted censorship and with yesterdays pronouncement that it was basically, "One of our coworkers fat fingered an entry through our tool," Amazon has again placed the blame squarely on their own shoulders. Unfortunately for them the crushing weight of their ludicrous attempts at spin will not be soon forgotten.

So, a quick recap of the weekends events.

Author notices that titles are not being ranked by Amazon. Contacts Amazon and is told that it is company policy to not display rankings for "adult material". Author Twitters/blogs. Internet rises up and media becomes involved.

Amazon back peddles away from "policy" statement and claims that a "glitch" in the system is causing the "adult material" to be de-listed. Bloggers point out that this is the same excuse Amazon gave for the sudden deletion of a vast number of negative reviews for "Spore" last year. Basically, no one buys it.

Surprise, a "hacker" claims credit for the Amazon problem because he wanted to start "moral outrage". Within a few hours, hacker story is a dead story as the Internet rises up again to point out that the "hacker" in question is a well known troll who lies for the fun of it all. Computer experts also point out that the "hackers" code is childish and probably useless.

Finally, the latest. Someone at Amazon was updating the system and keyed in the wrong information. This caused a cascade kind of effect and over 50,000 titles were affected. Believable? Sure. In my 20+ years of IT support and engineering I've fat fingered my fair share of commands and parameters. However, unlike Amazon, I admit it, up front, when it happens.

So kiddies, what have we learned from all of this?

Well, for starters Amazon should have kept their corporate traps shut right from the start. A statement to the press of, "We have been alerted to an issue with our ranking system and are investigating at this time," probably would have saved them a great deal of embarrassment. Second, don't use the "technical glitch" ploy unless you can back it up with code.

Third, keep your lies straight. The whole "glitch" noise was shot down hard when it was learned that the first reports of this issue date back to February of 2009. That's a long time to know about a glitch and not fix it. Further, the earlier reports of GLBT themes being de-listed does cast a great deal of doubt on the latest excuse of human error. Again, if that error was keyed in 2 months ago, why is it that it was only an issue over the Easter weekend, when the press got hold of it and hauled you onto the carpet about it?

Lastly, if you have an unpopular policy in place, which I firmly believe is the case here, remove it, apologize for it and do something nice for the people affected by it. I don't know, a month of free service or something. Just to show that you have learned the error of your ways.

The fact is, this whole mess with Amazon is a microcosm of business in America. You'd have thought that after the last election, corporate America would have gotten the hint and changed their practices. Well, apparently some folks are slower learners. Because of the very long retention of information on the Internet and the fact that the consumer is no longer taking things at face value, you CEO's and company execs had better wake up. People are tired of getting burned in the name of your bottom line. You'd best get the hint:

If you lie, you will get caught. Long term memory has gone digital and we can learn about your past quickly.

Amazon's new lie

2009-04-13T05:09:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Amazon.com received an enormous amount of criticism for its decision to cull "adult" titles from its ranking lists. Titles that might have themes of gay, lesbian or poly lifestyles. Amazon released a press statement making it clear that this was a decision undertaken by Amazon and done for various reasons. The Internet saw it in other ways and responded accordingly.

This morning, the news is about how there was a "glitch" at Amazon and that the executives and management of the company had NOT made the conscious decision to block those books.

Having been in the computer industry for better than 20 years and working on systems and programs long before Amazon was even dreamed up, I call bullshit. That's one damn selective "glitch" you've got there boys.

Can anyone explain to Amazon that CYA does not work AFTER you've made statements to the contrary?

Blue Nosed Bunglers, Again

2009-04-12T16:01:00.001-07:00

Well, that sure didn't take long. With the failure of the Republican party to secure any kind of relevance after the election, pressure is on to control the minds and entertainment of the masses in more insidious forms. Yes folks, the guardians of moral health are at it again. This time, you'd best watch what you read.

Today, Amazon.com announced that it was pulling some genre's of books from its search engine. Even though these books may be best sellers and have good size customer bases, Amazon will no longer display these titles when they are searched for in the rankings list. The books in question are of an “adult” nature. They can be sub classified as various types of romance novels and stories. But, the bigotry and hate circulating this country have crept into a book seller in an attempt to censor certain types of books.

The books in question will be any book that has a gay, lesbian or menage theme to it. These books do not have to have overtly sexual content, just the suggestion of romance and relationships, “out side the norm”, will be purged from Amazons lists when rankings of best selling titles are requested. Despite half hearted claims, this is censorship. It is also the beginnings of a slippery slope of censorship.

Today, Amazon decides that the best selling novel about two guys in a happy relationship, can't be listed. What's next? “Tom Sawyer”, because Tom and Huck go off together. What about “Of Mice and Men”? Many classic stories and books could fall under this heading, does Amazon plan to censor those from its listings as well? Recently NBC reported that romance novels are reporting record sales. Almost all books in this genre have implications of sex and not always between one man and one woman. How many more people do the blue nose idiots plan to put out of work on their march towards a theocracy?

I've said it before on this blog and I'll say it again. If you don't like it DON'T FUCKING READ IT! It is that simple people. Amazon is not going to come to your house, hold a gun to your head and force you to read a romance story about two women living together. They are not going to come to your job, tie you to a chair and read you a tale of two guys trying to discover their relationship together. No one is going to stake you out and make you listen to a reading about the adventures of a man and his five lovely bodyguards. GROW UP ALREADY!

And to Amazon, guess what? You're supposed to be in the business of selling books, amongst other things. Not so good for your bottom line if you limit the number of titles a person can choose from. I don't know which one of you ivory tower morons came up with this plan, or cowered to censorship zealots, but you should be fired and blacklisted from anything dealing with publications and literature.

For more on the story go to: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/593110.html and http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/in-protest-at-amazons-new-adult-policy

Idiots over seas

2009-02-25T06:09:00.000-08:00

I have been laughing my butt off since the beginning of the trial against The Pirate Bay. Nothing funnier could be broadcast without a large team of script writers and major comedic actors. Yet, in Sweden, there is a giant comedy of errors happening almost daily in the entertainment industries case against 4 guys that run some servers.

For those of you not familiar with The Pirate Bay and it's function, here is the nutshell blueprint. People upload torrent files to TPB which stores those files and adds them to a database for people to search. The torrent files can be for anything from your geeky high school year book picture to the DVD rip of “The Lord of the Rings” movies. Once stored on TPB servers, users from all over the world can search for topics or titles, pull the torrent down to their machines and using any number of client software packages, retrieve the files pointed to by the torrent files. The torrent files only POINT to where the actual file you want is located and TPB acts as a torrent tracker, updating torrent information as new locations are added.

In other words, despite all the claims from the entertainment industry, TPB DOES NOT store or share the actual content people download. Other users around the world, have the content and they are the people sharing it. All TPB does is to lend a helping hand in finding that content.

Since the trial started, the prosecution has had to make several “revisions” to not only the number of charges, but the remaining charges themselves. Support for TPB is enormous, not only in Sweden, but around the globe. Many individuals, outside the entertainment industry of course, are cheering on TPB and wishing them well. The entertainment industry needs to win this case, in order to remain relevant and so they can use it as more of their propaganda play against file sharing.

And there in is the rub. TPB stores torrents that point to much more than just copy written material, such as movies and music. They have a vast database section on software, and within that software area, a huge collection of the latest and greatest Open Source software to be found. Despite the claims of morons like the RIAA/MPAA, bit torrent users and sharers are part of a vast network of people that hare helping to spread the Open Source movement and the concept of free software around the globe.

If the entertainment types have their way, TPB shutting down turns off a resource for projects such as Linux and all the software that goes with it. However, despite reassurances from the entertainment industry, if they win in Sweden, they win nothing. TPB is spread out now around the world, with servers in many countries, outside of Sweden. Those servers are being supported by people that are not bound by Swedish law. Guess what Mr. Prosecutor, even if you win, you lose. The Pirate Bay will not be going away any time soon. All you've succeeded in doing is making yourself, and your clients, look foolish and vindictive. Good job.

Reflections on Elections

2008-11-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

It has been a tough few weeks here at Rancho Taylor. The death of my father in law, learning what it means to NOT be care givers, finding out that PTSD is common among the people caring for the dying and elderly and trying to get help for that. Throw into this one of the ugliest, dirtiest elections in history and you can understand why some of us are a little rattled.

I hate politics, and I have no great love of politicians either. As far as I am concerned, they are all nothing more than a bunch of lying lip flappers, that will tell you everything you want to hear to get into that office, then turn their backs on you once there. The Constitution starts out with, “We The People...” unfortunately, we keep getting duped as a people. It's not who is best qualified, it's all about who raises the most money, speaks the best, and tells the people what they want to hear at the right time and is supported by the media. Our brain dead capacity to be swayed by the one eyed monster in our living rooms is what elects people to office. We don't think anymore, or research, we are the slaves of the talking heads on the boob tube.

And don't even get me started on special interests, lobbyists, corporate donations and big business. Politics in the US has become a big money maker, if you know how to play the game. It is rightly said that we are the only country on earth with self made royalty, and those self made princes and barons are buying our kings. Or, some of them, are making presidents through technology. Hello ES&S, how are those little vote stealing machines of yours this year? What? You still won't add a paper trail? Don't want independent analysis of your systems? You still won't have your crap properly tested by independent review. Silly people, no wonder more and more Americans are using early PAPER ballots.

When politics in America became a career option, something to be retired from, the Constitution became a joke. The last eight years have shown clearly what happens when people, in desperate need of retirement or a career change, stay in their jobs for far to long. I don't care what party they are with or what their platform is, the Ted Steven's and Ted Kennedy's of the world need to sit down, shut up, and go away. Thank you for your service but get the hell out and make room for some younger blood and fresh ideas. Your 1950's and 60's ideologies do not work in the 21st century, time for you to go.

And Mr. Nader, knock it off. You have no standing, you are a joke and a waste of media time. There are only 2, read that again, TWO, parties in the US that have any real power at all. The only thing you accomplish sir, is to draw attention away from the real issues by trying to blow your own weak little horn. Go back to finding fault with cars and leave politics to the pond scum we deal with now.

But the media, that is the biggest disappointment with the whole election process. The last two years have shown probably better than any other election cycle just how much power and influence the media has. It's not about the issues any longer, they latch onto some obscure little tidbit of information, then blow it so far out of proportion that it becomes a weapon for the other side. Yes, Mr. Obama had a working relationship with a radical who did and advocated horrible things, when Mr. Obama was 8 years old. But Oooooo, that made him someone that associated with terrorists. (I call bullshit)

Yes, Mr. McCain has a temper, and that made him a crotchety old man unfit to lead. (again, I call bullshit)

Cynical, perhaps. I may have a warped view of politics in the US, but I would not have it any other way. Yes, I think the electoral collage has outlived its usefulness, but it is the system we have. Work with it. Yes, I think e-Voting is fraught with pitfalls and can easily be used to steal an election, fight for change and transparency to correct the issue. And yes, I think ALL politicians are out for only themselves and their party. I don't believe any of them actually care one wit for the citizens of the US. But it is the system we have and to not use it, simply gives power to our detractors.

Do I know what will happen now, what is actually going on in Mr. Obama's mind? No, I don't. NO ONE DOES. Except Mr. Obama himself. I will have to wait and see what happens, just as all Americans and the world have to. I might be pleasantly surprised in the years to come. Maybe not. One thing I do know for sure however, the hate, threats and vitriol being thrown at our president elect do not help this country. The elections are over, the regime is changing.

You can either be part of the solution or you can get in the way and be run over by it. The choice is yours, choose wisely.

Inspiration

2008-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to redefine myself, for my own sanity it turns out, I've taken to trying to change my career. After 20 odd years in the Technologies and Internet world, I've grown tired of the byte race. Users, the reason I have a job, are on my nerves. If I hear one more time, “Why is the network down?”, I swear I'll find a way to reach through the phone and...

Well, you get the idea. So, after years of tech writing I've decided to try and branch out to fiction.

I love books. I have a huge collection of bound paper on all sorts of topics. Not just for my job, but educational as well as entertainment. Through out my life there have been several authors that I have admired and enjoyed. H.P Lovecraft is by far my favorite. I also enjoy the works of F. Paul Wilson, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Poe, Homer, Lawrence, Wolf and many others. I am not tied to one genre either. I enjoy Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Erotica, Western and Classics. I enjoy reading and use it as an escape from the rather antiseptic world of technology.

There is something refreshing about holding a book in my hands and reading the thoughts of someone else. True story tellers, those people that can move our emotions with just words, are a special breed of people. I have learned that sentence structure, punctuation, grammar and all are important, but the story is what interest me. Does it get under my skin in a good way and stick with me months after I've finished the book?

So in my own writing, I started to examine those things that inspired me while writing. I discovered that at times, when I'd written myself into a corner, that looking at certain pictures, or hearing certain songs, helped to bring out the words I needed to finish a thought or scene. The pictures help me identify with my characters, give me ideas of what I want them to be like and act like. The music however, pulls at my emotions and causes me to find ways to manipulate an idea to match the music. I have found this works extremely well when I'm writing love scenes and erotica.

One of the greatest sources of inspiration though music is Pandora at www.pandora.com . I know, it sounds like a plug for a web site. Maybe it is. But the system works extremely well and the selection of music is fantastic. My best inspirations come when I'm listening to Bond. Since I started using Pandora, I have discovered many wonderful musicians and groups with a very similar style to Bond. The music is very moving and brings to mind all sorts of activities and words that my characters need. This type of inspiration also comes out in my stories. I try very hard to meld music and words together into wonderful visions and ideas.

So, what inspires you? Music, people, movies? When you need help to get your own creative juices flowing, what do you use?

Memory Lane

2008-10-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Thirty years. Sometimes I still can't grasp that it's been thirty years. The things I've seen and the changes I've made.

Today, at the Biltmore Embassy Suites Hotel here in Phoenix is the thirty year reunion for Central High School class of 1978. My class. I've never attended any of my reunions before, mostly because I was not in the state to do so. I did attend my wife's 20th reunion, but this will be the first I have gone to for myself. And after what has happened in the last couple of weeks, I need this.

So much has changed. When I graduated high school, there was no Internet. The idea that an out of work, B movie actor could be president made us laugh and topics like “gay marriage” and “values voters” were things no one mentioned. How things change in just three decades.

Now, I can't ride a bus in this city without some joker trying to save my soul. My 25 year marriage is “under attack and needs to be saved” from some unseen force that no one can identify clearly. The economy in this country has pretty much sucked for the last 30 years, except for a few years when a sleazy politician was getting blow jobs in the oval and everyone wanted his head for it. Religious extremism has taken over as the boggy man under our beds and fanatics of all shapes, sizes and ideologies want control over everyone.

Life was simpler in 1978. The Macho TA and Camero were the most popular cars on Central Ave. on Friday and Saturday nights. Cursing, meant showing off your car, maybe getting laid and hanging out with your friends or people that shared an interest in cars. The movie “Star Wars” would blow our socks off and other then some extreme idiots in a sand box called Iran, the world seemed pretty quiet, compared to today's standard at least.

Then, life changed. I grew up. I married a wonderful woman, five years after high school, helped bring a son into this world two years later. Joined the U.S. Coast Guard less than a year after that and would remain with that honorable service for 8 years. Came back to Phoenix a very changed person and continued my career as a computer systems engineer and analyst. Helped to take care of a dying mother in law, had the crap scared out of me by my wife when we thought she'd go like her mom did. Helped to take care of her father, survived the tech bubble implosion by working as a security guard until I could find work again in my field.

I watched my country change into the land of frightened rabbits on September 11th, 2001 and have felt sick every time that day is used to try and scare us into submission. I have lived during the time of the most corrupt administration many of us have seen and watched as young men and women have their lives snatched away from them, based on lies and power hungry politicians. I've seen our civil liberties being taken from us one by one and I've cried in frustration that my home, the country I swore to defend, doesn't give a damn about it's people any longer. Now I watch as I and the rest of this country are about to be bent over our desks and screwed from behind yet again, because some people can't run a business or a bank, and we, the tax payers have to bail them out.

So, I'm going to my reunion this weekend to remember some of the good times from my past. To eat fine food, probably drink a little too much and dance with my wife. To see, I hope, a few old friends and a whole lot of old enemies. To brag a little and to hear a lot of bullshit, even spread some myself.

But mostly, to spend time with the woman I love, away from the reminders of her father and the pain we have felt. I have to start work again next week and I can't think of a better way to end bereavement leave than with a happy party.

My new family

2008-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Been a while I know, but many things have happened and life changes in ways we don't always expect.

For more than 14 years, my Sweetie, son and I had been care givers. Not to each other, but to her mother first and finally her father. Last week, September 25, 2008, Sweeties father, Byron Glen Myers finally passed away at the age of 83. He had fought congestive heart failure for more than 10 years, but in the end, we knew the score.

We knew what would happen, but you're never truly prepared for it. Now, Sweetie and I are trying to figure out what life is, for us. We've been married more than 25 years, but we have forgotten who we are and what we mean to each other. We're also kind of lost now. How do you deal with time, when just a week before, every minute had a reason or purpose? Now, we find time idle and it is a strange feeling.

I had been working two jobs since May, now I find myself down to just one job. Again, a very strange feeling. I have time now to do things I haven't had time for. Writing is a passion of mine, but I had to give it up because of work and care giving. Now, I find I have time to write, but my head is over flowing with ideas for books, stories and guides. It almost hurts sometimes, the number of concepts I have.

In the week since his death, I have found it hard to deal with the phone ringing, and it's not my wife in need of my help with her dad. In fact, I've found it very strange to wake up each morning to find her in bed by my side. For the last several years, her being able to share our bed with me has been, sporadic at best. Now, she's there every morning and it is a weird feeling. I expect her to say she has to run off to some doctors appointment, or get to dad's house to start his day. Nothing, she just sleeps and I am strangely confused by it.

My son is still attending classes, he only took one day off. He had been dad's live in care attendant, now, he's back home with Sweetie and I. It's a little unique hearing him start his day, seeing him in the kitchen or listening to him in his room as he studies, music blaring from his computer.

I guess the strangest part of all this is that I am no longer alone. I know I never really was alone, but now, they both are back in our house, under our roof. For a long time I had the house mostly to myself. Now I have to share it with my wife and son again and I'm not totally sure where the boundaries are. I even snapped a bit at my wife the other day for starting a load of laundry. I had set times for doing housework, around my job(s). She threw off my schedule and I suddenly realized, it was okay for her to do that.

I may have lost a good friend in my father in law, but I have gained something as well. I have my family back. Now, I just need to remember what that means to me.

A day of fun for everyone

2008-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

We had a whole month of this back in May, but it is that time again.

Tomorrow, July 31st, National Orgasm Day.

Do something nice for yourself and someone you care about.

It is all in how you see yourself

2008-07-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Todays big news, which for the life of me I can't figure out why it's big news, the Atkins Diet WORKS!

You know the Atkins diet. That diet started by the guy who died not too long ago, of a heart attack, who claimed that as long as you ate almost nothing but protein, you'd loose weight? You remember? All those people scarfing down hamburgers and sausages, steaks and ribs like there was no tomorrow?

Well, now, front page on several publications, reports that the Atkins Diet works.

Of course, the study that proved it works was funded by, The Atkins Foundation.

That wouldn't tend to taint the results, would it?

Failed arguments and foolish statistics

2008-06-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday the 13th. Some folks think it is unlucky. The folks at The Center For Arizona Policy probably should heed that advice and take the day off. They have made fools of themselves today and apparently are unable to see that little fact.

I have written several times, both here and in the comments section of the Arizona Republic and azcentral, that the fools at CAP have yet to explain exactly HOW, two men or two women of adult status, living in a committed relationship are going to affect and indeed, threaten my marriage. Well, today CAP attempted to do just that. Try to explain how my marriage is threatened by gay marriage.

Upon listening to or reading their commentary, words like, red herring, non sequitur, straw man, come to mind very quickly. They start out with good ole Charlie Markle telling us that, “They're [people like me] suggesting that laws can only be judged based on how they personally affect you. But that's just not the case.” Then, he goes on to bring up child abuse and how studies have shown that children need both a mother and a father.

Okay, if you kept up with that, you have quick gears. First of all, child abuse has been destroying families long before the whole topic of gay marriage came along. Each year thousands of children, from both single and two parent, (read mother and father), homes are abused, neglected, even killed. It is a sad state of affairs yes, but it is a fact of society that some people just should not be parents. However, what this has to do with gay marriage is, at best, reaching. Perhaps the folks at CAP think that two men or two women adopting a child will make child abuse worse. Yeah that 1% of the population are really going to increase a problem that has not been solved by traditional marriage and it's supporters in thousands of years.

Then there is the whole, kids need both a mother and father. Hmmmmm, funny how this comes up hard and fast in the conversations about gay marriage. Does CAP ever bring this up when the legislature starts work on bills to increase benefits to single parents? How about those parents with children that are, oh I don't know, widowed, like my mother was? Funny that CAP is all worried about children having two parents when it might be a pair of ladies looking for a son. But they are no where to be seen for the mothers who just said good by to their kids father, inside a flag draped coffin.

And finally, just two days before, CAP reported this little ditty, “a full seventy percent of Americans said divorce was acceptable”. 70%, that's a pretty impressive number. Let's see, less then 1% of the population wants to marry someone of the same sex as they are, but a full 70% of our population sees nothing wrong with ending a marriage on grounds other then death. We have some of the highest divorce rates in the industrialized world, but that 1% really gives CAP nightmares.

Strange how CAP thinks. 1% of the population is apparently somehow responsible for 70% thinking divorce is okay. Alright, yeah, I know, that's reaching too. The fact is, marriage in the US had been suffering for decades before gay folks decided they wanted to become involved in the FAILED institution of marriage. I say failed because if current trends continue, marriage will be an historical oddity in the not too distant future. And in someways, that might not be a bad thing.

Maybe it's time we let people live and love as they see fit and stop telling them what is fit.

Marriage Matters

2008-06-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

Just for the fun of it all, I have recently been exploring some of the more intimate blogs out there. The Internet gives all people a chance to write and express themselves freely. It also of course gives everyone a chance to be a critic, but that goes with out saying really. As the old saying goes, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. The blogs however that I have have been looking into deal with sex and relationships. They are for the most part very well written and some of them are very insightful into what is happening in the relationship world.

See, I'm married, very happily married in fact. My wife and I just celebrated our 25th anniversary in May. I come from a family were marriage was important. I had two fathers and one mother. My biological dad, died in a car accident when I was two. My step-father, came into my life when I was five and it was mom's foremost priority that I and my siblings have a dad. Mom died when she was 40, my step-father was by her side the whole time. It is the only way I know to be married and I am working hard to follow the examples that I grew up with.

But out in the blogsphere, there are many lonely and unhappy people. Folks that are having a tough time finding their Mister or Misses right. People complaining, rightly so in fact, that romance is dead. Relationship building just isn't what it used to be. It's tough to find that person that you feel you can spend the rest of your life with. Unfortunately, there are other forces at work as well.

Jobs, careers, politics and other forces seem to conspire against the love lorn to keep them isolated. Some people have unique views on what a relationship is, and there are those that don't agree with them. People are judgmental on all sorts of worthless issues when it comes to relationships. If you think the ideal person for you has to step off the cover of a magazine or out of the silver screen, get real. Hollywood is no role model for successful relationships. And if you think for one minute that religion will hold your love life together, think again. I've pointed out several times that in a country where better then 80% of the population holds to some kind of religion or faith, that the vast majority of divorces are happening to faith based people. Even believing in deities is no guarantee that your relationship will last.

So what is the secret? What is it that makes some marriages and relationships last for decades, when all around them, the vast majority are failing?

Well, for us, it was a solid choice early on. The word “divorce” is a dirty word to my wife and I. We don't use it if possible. When we argue, (and if you think your relationship can only be happy if you don't argue, think again); if the word is used, we chastise each other for even bring it up. We can get loud when we disagree. We also get loud when we make up after disagreeing. We apologize to each other, just as forcefully as we argued with each other. We agreed early on to try very hard to not hit below the belt with our comments. And that there is a statute of limitations with things we have done wrong. Events are in the past, that's where they need to remain.

The world outside our home only affects us as much as we allow it to. Sure, there are some things that we can't control. The price of gas, food, the war, our corrupt government and people that just plain don't like us. But if we don't dwell on those things, we don't let them affect our relationship. We are aware of them, but we don't fear them. Together, we face life as a couple determined to share this life and everything in it, together. Good or bad, hard or easy, happy or sad, we're in this together. We support each other, love each other and work to keep each other happy in the life we have chosen. Each of us must find our own way to make the relationship work. But there are two things that all of us can do that will help.

Divorce is not an option

Life happens, so get use to living it together

And with every rule, there is an exception. With these two, my wife and I agreed as well, that there was an out. Physical violence against either of us by the other, is grounds for an immediate divorce, while the abuser sits in a jail cell. NO ONE has the right to physically assault their lover or spouse under any circumstances or for any reason. There is no excuse for it and those that do so, are not human.

Other then that, don't ever allow anything to threaten your relationship with the person you love. Take your time, go slow. Romance is what you make of it and what you put into it. You only get out of it what you offer the other person. And never forget, relationships are work. It's not, “and they lived happily ever after” no matter what the fairy tale might say. It's hard work, you can't just sit back and watch it happen. If you're lazy about it, your relationship will fail.

It's up to you and your love, to keep the sparks flying and the love flowing. No one is going to do it for you and everyday will bring new challenges for both of you. So hold each other by the hand and face your life.

Together.

New gig causes musings

2008-06-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

I just started this really great new gig for work. I picked up a second contract and I'm enjoying it a great deal. My first contract was supposed to “expire”, in January. I've been extended now twice on that one. So it hangs by a thread. The new contract is great. Pay raise, new computer the works. The best perk of the whole thing however is, 100% telecommuting with 0% travel.

That's right, no office. No driving, no dealing with rude motorists, no heart palpitations at the gas pump and here in Phoenix, no sitting at traffic lights in 100+ temperatures when I'm trying to get home. No waiting for the broken down bus, or the THREE broken down buses. And I get to work in my jammies and Tigger slippers. My coffee mugs can have rude sayings on them, and I won't offend anyone and if the phone rings when I get out of the shower, who cares that I'm naked. (Except the wife of course. There is one type of sexual harassment on the job that is okay.)

There is a very large section of the work force in the US that have jobs that allow this type of work environment. The IT industry, of which I am part, is only one section. As many of you know, many of the jobs that have been off shored, are jobs that can be done by telecommuting. In fact, a very large number of clerical and office type work can now be done remotely by the people skilled at doing those jobs.

So, why are we not doing more of it?

Gas prices in the US are now $4.00+ per gallon. Granted we still are not as bad as some locations. There is a great graphic on Yahoo that compares US gas prices with some other countries in the world.

( http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//080530/480/73311f0dd089466c8bca82b45df522a5 )

I too would have a bit of an issue of paying over $11 per gallon, as they do in Germany. The point is, with all the bitching and complaining about high fuel costs and our dependency on foreign oil, you'd think more company's would be looking at telecommuting as a viable option for their clerical staff.

You'd be wrong. I have run into this several times and it pisses me off to no end. My last contract, I actually had a boss that stated clearly, “Contractors are never allowed to telecommute.” When asked why, he hemmed and hawed and gave no real answer. I knew the answer however. His myopic view was, “If I can't see you, then I don't know if you're working or not.” This is stupid on many levels but shows just exactly what kind of mindset is out there.

If you are fortunate enough to have a job where you telecommute a couple days a week, then you are on the leading edge. There are not many company's that will even consider telecommuting of more then 25% of the work week. I am very lucky that my new contract is 100% telecommuting. I'm saving more money now then I ever expected I would.

Telecommuting is a GREAT way to help bring down the cost of gas and save on costs. If you work with computers for your current position, talk with your bosses about telecommuting at least one day per week.

You'll be very glad that you did and so will the earth.

Talk about double standards!

2008-04-07T14:32:00.001-07:00

Last week, the legislature of Arizona made it 2 for 2 on the question of bigotry. I am happy to report, that bigotry was shot down again. Now if only the proponents of bigotry would get the memo, we'd all be a lot happier.

Allow me to explain. Back in November of 2006, there was a silly little attempt to try and codify bigotry into the state constitution. Yes, I am of course talking about the marriage amendment that the voters of Arizona, voted down. We didn't want it and we all voted as we felt we needed to. The amendment, died.

Now, in preparation of the 2008 election and polls, the amendment, sponsored by everybody's favorite theocracy seeking busybodies, The Center for Arizona Policy, resurrected the attempt to worry about who is sleeping with whom. For many of us it was a classic case of, 'here we go again', for others, it was a rallying point. A point which today interfered with my regular work, through the telephone.

See, you have to look at the issues from the outside looking in. As an impartial observer. When I look at the issue, I see one group of nosy people, trying to peek into the bedrooms of other adults, because they don't like who those adults choose to live with and love. I also see a group of two faced liars, that easily blame the government process, when they don't get their way.

You've heard the term “activist judges”, ever notice that the people screaming about activist judges are the folks that lost the court case? Well, it's happened again, only this time, it's the legislature. See, in 06, the legislature was on CAP's side, because the amendment was on the ballot. This time, the legislature is “stealing” your right to vote, because the amendment will NOT be on the ballot.

The word “stealing” is not my choice, it's CAP's. Read the web site. Listen to their attempts to sway the situation on the phone as I did today. They are accusing our legislature, the people WE put into power by lawful vote, of stealing your vote, because CAP didn't get its way. If it sounds like I'm calling the people at CAP, a bunch of spoiled brats, you'd be pretty damn close to right.

CAP hates anyone that does not agree with them. They especially hate the gay / lesbian community because, well, because their favorite mythology tells them to hate those people. They worry up one side and down the other, about what two consenting adults are doing in the privacy of their lives. They bitch and complain that marriage is under attack. But, when asked how, they hem and haw and never answer that question. I have yet to see one single “traditional marriage” destroyed, by two guys living happily together in their relationship. I don't see my marriage falling apart, because two women love each other on my block.

If CAP is so worried about marriage, traditional marriage, then maybe CAP should start looking at the more then 80% of the population that believe like CAP does, but for some reason can't stay married. It is a curious footnote to their bigotry, that traditional marriage in the Christian concept, has the highest divorce rate of any other life style. Of course, since Christians make up most of the population, you would expect the numbers to go that way. Still, CAP's failed project of the “covenant marriage” shows that in reality, despite the polls, people don't care how other people live and who they love. I don't see CAP trying to make the “covenant marriage” a state constitutional amendment, but they have no problem at all amending their hate of another group of people to that same document.

CAP doesn't actually hate divorce, just gays and lesbians. CAP doesn't really care about marriage, just so long as everyone that wants to be slightly different, is told to shove off. In fact, CAP really does nothing to support or enhance marriage, they just bitch a lot about people that don't see eye to eye with them.

CAP is right now, nothing more then a group of school yard bullies, that got caught, and are blaming everyone but themselves. They cry and stamp their feet, because it has been shown, they have no influence or power.

Especially, if we don't give them any.

No double standard here

2008-03-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, someone explain it to me, please.

Here in the lovely sunny state of Arizona, in a nice little city called Phoenix, and in one of our more expensive suburbs, Paradise Valley, one Jennifer Mally has pleaded guilty to sexual charges involving a minor. Jennifer was an English teacher and cheer coach at a high school. She pleaded guilty, to only three of the seventeen counts against her, as part of a plea bargain.

Her maximum punishment when she is sentenced, two (thats 2) years.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0314phx-mally0315.html

In other news, Lawrence Carulli changed his plea to guilty. For you that don't know, Lawrence Carulli is the man arrested in front of “America's Most Wanted” cameras for soliciting sex from a 14 year old girl. Thing is, the 14 year old girl turned out to be none other then Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson. An adult. Lawrence didn't even get to meet a minor, much less have sexual contact with one. His possible sentence 5 years.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0314UndercoverBeauty14-ON.html

Both a couple of perverts. Both pleading guilty to the charges filed against them. Both charged with crimes that any rational, sane human being would find heinous in every way.

So why is she basically getting off, and he is not?

I am not, NOT, excusing the actions of either one of them. I just want to know, why?

Here come the hornets.

Faith, faith and more faith

2008-03-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

There are times when I would like to simply not exercise my constitutional right to vote. Seems that again, the 2008 election will be one of those times when I'll be standing in the booth, pen in one hand and holding my nose with the other.

Now that the Republican nominee has pretty much been decided, we await the outcome of the Democrat's race and then the running mate picks. I am of course an Independent so party affiliations really mean nothing to me. However, the president of this country does mean a great deal to me as it is the president that is the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution. That big piece of paper in the National Archives that has been so badly abused during the last seven years. The basis of all law in the US.

Well, seems we have again, another great crop of pandering politicians. Once again the call to faith and religion, permeates the airwaves and pits one party against the other. Who is the most pious? Who is closer to Jesus? Who will swear their oath of office on the bible? Who is going to clean up the messes that our ultra religious idiot has created in our world?

Wait a minute. That last question does not belong there. After all, George W. Bush is doing “Gods work”, or so he claims, so it can't be a mess. Well, there are now three people competing for George's job, all claiming that they too will be doing “Gods work” for the American way.

Excuse me a moment as I try to hold down my breakfast. After seven years of continuous religious interference into the businesses of government, you'd have thought that not only would the candidates realize that going overboard on religion, is one reason why GWB is the worst president in history, the most unpopular president in history and the most dangerous president in history, but apparently that little piece of logic has eluded all three of them. Messrs McCain and Obama are both pandering to the religious establishment just as much as possible.

From John Hagee agreeing to endorse John McCain, thereby assuring that another possible president appears to support war for Israel, at the expense of American lives. To Senator Obama preaching in churches and quoting from his future biography about his faith in Jesus. Interesting how the Senator from Illinois ran from the endorsement of the Nation of Islam. I find it rather curious that neither McCain or Obama feel the need to be welcomed by “the religion of peace”, no matter what wrapping it comes in.

And Mrs. Clinton? Well, not as vocal about it, but vocal enough that she wasted time on national debates answering stupid questions like, “What's your favorite bible verse?” She spent valuable time and money on a religious event with the Sojourners, a rather liberal but influential Christian group. And she has made no bones about her desire to have MORE Jesus in politics, not less. Even claiming that her faith is what got her through the whole Lewinsky affair and her husbands infidelity.

Am I missing something here? I was taught in school that there is no religious test for the position of president. In fact, there is supposed to be no religious test for ANY elected position in government. Yet for some strange reason, religion is all the rage these days. It is almost as if the politicians compete with each other to see who is the most religious of the accepted religions. And since in the US the “accepted religion” is anything that even vaguely resembles Christianity, well, that's what they all claim.

Now far be it from me to tell people what to believe. I don't care what you believe so long as you respect my right to NOT believe you. But when you are talking about the most powerful position in the country. A position that allows for the creation of religious institutions by executive order, (Department of Faith Based Initiatives), then we have a big problem. You see, which religion is the right religion to have in that position of power? And should one religion be decided on, what voice do the others have in government?

Then, there are the estimated 30 million people like me, that have NO religious affiliation what so ever. What happens to my voice? I don't fit in any more then the Muslim does, or the Hindu, or the Buddhist. Where is my representation in government when all I see and hear about are the religious affiliations of those in government or that want to get into government?

I long for and hope for the day when I can see a political debate where a stupid question like “What's your favorite bible verse” is responded to with “none of your business.” When someone elected to office, causes an uproar in the media and public, by swearing their oath of office on the Constitution and not some moldy old book of mythology. The day when a candidate for office, or even the president, put the Pope on hold, because the Center for Missing and Exploited Children is on line one.

The day when religion is personal, and not a matter of public record.

They didn't learn the first time

2008-02-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

OH for crying out loud, here we go again.

CAP, that wonderful, big nose, long finger, busy body organization that thinks what I do in my private life is their business are one again, being busy bodies. As if the defeat in 2006 was not enough, this time they plan to “defend marriage” but with out the bothersome bit about money and benefits.

There is again, two bills, HCR 2056/SCR 1036, that would again try to define marriage in the state of Arizona as being between one man and one woman. The reason will of course once again be, to protect marriage. From what, they never say.

And that really is the problem. According to these busy bodies at CAP, marriage is under “attack”, the very fabric of society is going to fall apart if the two blokes down the road are allowed to get married. Run, hide, flee and scream in terror that the big bad GAY community want to get married and be accepted as normal people in society.

Well, I'm not gay, I'm also not narrow. My sweetie and I are coming up on 25 years this year and we look forward to another 25, if we can stand each other that long. But we have beaten the odds a number of times and we are very proud of our marriage. Neither of us attend church or practice any form of theism. My wife calls herself a Quaker, but she does not attend meeting. I am, as you probably noticed, a clear cut atheist. I practice no form of theism at all, don't claim one either, that makes me an atheist.

So, how is it, that two people that are so different have been successfully married for so long? We don't need CAP's “covenant marriage” to help us stay together. We don't need laws to help us stay together. We don't even need busy bodied fools like CAP telling us what marriage is.

So could someone PLEASE explain to me how my marriage is under attack and why I need an amendment to my state's constitution to protect my marriage?

For those of you that have not heard or seen him before, Lewis Black does a very funny bit about this and it makes a lot of sense. He asks the same questions I do, but he theorizes for a moment about a group of gay banditos, that every night, slip into their cloaks and sneak up to a house, where an American family is just sitting down to the last meal of the day. Then these queers, break into the house, AND START FUCKING EACH OTHER IN THE ASS!

Well, if that is happening, then there are other crimes being committed that we again, already have laws for. I have not experienced this event, and I doubt very seriously that anyone else in Arizona, or America for that matter has either. The fear mongering of organizations like CAP, plays up only to those weak minded, bigoted individuals that already hate what they don't understand or don't agree with. In the coming weeks, there will be many ads run trying to tell you that marriage in Arizona is under attack.

Watch closely and see if they tell you just how your marriage is being attacked. Chances are, it's not. It won't be, and no law or amendment is going to do anything to protect your marriage either. You protect your marriage, no one else. If you feel that your marriage is worth keeping, then there is nothing anyone can do that will harm that marriage in the least.

(Thanks to Lewis Black's “Lewis Black, Red, White and Screwed”)

Ever wonder what we wear under our kilts?

2008-02-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

What could be better then a man and a half?
(This is a shameless plug, deal with it!)

I know this one will probably generate some hate mail from all the SCAers and RenFair lovers out there. To bad.

This year, the 44th annual Clan Gathering and Highland Games takes place in Margret Hance park, the last weekend of February. This is a different venue for the games from their many years at Mesa Community College. It is an event that not only allows you to see large burly men in kilts throwing big heavy items around. Nor just to have your teeth set on edge by the wonderful sound of bagpipes, out side of an argument with a fundy that is.

The games have a long and proud tradition. When the Caledonian Society of Arizona puts on the games, they spare no expense to make it very enjoyable. Bards and musicians from far and wide are brought in to entertain. The clan tents always have a wealth of information on family history and genealogy. The Celtic studies are informative and fun.

Now, I said at the top that this will probably generate some hate mail from those that think the SCA or the RenFairs have a corner on historical facts when it comes to medieval Europe and the Celts. They don't. There is a huge difference between pretending to be and do something from the past, and the actual past.

I am Scottish. I come from a long line of Scots that emigrated to the US over several decades in the early years of this country. And unlike my Irish ancestors, the Scots were well received and thrived in this new land. The one thing neither my Scottish or Irish ancestors did, was to forget or give up on their heritage and past. Adapt to the new world, yes, forget where they came from, no.

This is why for any one that has the haggis eating, pipe playing, plaid wearing family history, you should always remember your roots. Take a weekend off from watching people that wish they were what they pretend at, and join those that do have it. Come to the gathering and the Highland Games. Enjoy the food, the dancing, the music and the games. Learn a little that Hollywood won't tell you, and have some fun. The RenFair will be there next week, and the SCA will always find people that want to play at being historical.

Don't mess with the lads in plaids
and
a man in a kilt, is a man and a half.

Back, Bothered and Bitter

2008-02-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry boys and girls, the hafar has been a bit busy since his last posting, April of last year. Seems that in my family, April is a terrible time of year. I'll explain and it might answer your questions as to the title.

You see, my wife, son and I are the primary care givers to my father in law. He is 82 years of age and is like an old Buick, breaking down. Seems he has a tendency to crash about every April or May. This cycle has been going on for 4 years now. But last year was the worst. He was in the hospital 5 different times and it took a huge toll on my family.

We all became short with each other, angry and stressed. My son attends ASU and the stress was affecting his grades. My wife and I had to cut him loose for his sake. I didn't see my wife much. Between my own job and trying to maintain the house we were less then roommates. Once in a great while, I would feel her crawl into bed with me. This would wake me up and anger me as I needed my sleep too.

Things came to a head in August and the explosion was inevitable. Too much had gone on for too long and we all had taken all we could. In September I was diagnosed with chronic depression and my wife with exhaustion and depression. My son escaped relatively unscathed as we had relieved him from helping to take care for his grandfather. But we did not want him to take care of us either.

My wife and I started counseling and treatment for depression. Things went along pretty well, till December. Dad ended up in the hospital again, for an infection that none of the doctors could track down. This caused the congestive heart failure to get worse, and for his liver to become congested. We were at our wits end, so we called Hospice in. That was when then fun began.

Folks, I know you've heard many things about Hospice systems, now for the other side. Did you know that if you're too healthy, you can't be on Hospice? That's right, dear old dad came out of the hospital on Hospice and started to improve. Now the problem here is, there are several very critical things wrong with dad.

He has congestive heart failure, a bad gall bladder, prostate cancer, partially blocked carotid arteries, blood pressure issues, atrial fibrillation, CPOD and skin cancer. None of which are bad enough at this time to qualify for Hospice. You see, he has to have ONE of these issues that is bad enough to kill him, before they will let him in. That's not the case and just when my wife and I thought we were finally going to have some help in giving him some peace, the rug was yanked out from under us.

We are now left again, holding the bag so to speak. Dad's care is now our responsibility again. None of his doctors or the Hospice people listen we when tell them about how much care we have to provide. It's almost as if they look at us and say, “Congratulations, you are the exception, not the rule. Keep up the good work.”, and walk away. WE are tired. WE are burned out. WE love dad dearly but WE can't keep doing this.

WE thought WE had help. WE got stabbed in the back by the medical establishment.

I read an article not too long ago on Yahoo about how we do medicine here in the US. We as a country, now have the ability to keep a body going well beyond its “best if used by” date. Medical interventions can be done for all kinds of old age issues. The problem comes in when the interventions interfere with the natural process of death. As one doctor said in the article, “We don't to death very well.”, and she was right.

I've written before about death. Seems that I can't get away from it sometimes. No one wants to die, but we must. I don't want dad to suffer, but we are being fought against by the very establishment that we turned to for help. We have all the documents in place. The advanced directive, his living will, medical power of attorney and business power of attorney. Dad will NOT go to a nursing home, those are his wishes. But how do my wife and I provide a comfortable end of life for this man, if he's too healthy for assistance?

In Arizona, dad does not have the option of ending his life when he wants to. Even he has seen that our taking care of him is a strain on our marriage and personal lives. He does not want to be a burden to us and has said so many times. But all we can do is continue to provide for him as per his wishes and wait.

We wait for the next big crash that will put him back in the ER. My wife feared she would have to make the decision to let him go. Since I have MPOA as well, I told her to simply be his daughter when that time comes and to let me make the call. She thanked me and I hugged her tight. Her bomb shelter, that's what she calls me. And inside, my depression and anger build. No one cares about one old man, except the small family around him. No one helps us. We do this alone and we have to wait till we can let him go. And we know, it will not be a peaceful death or a comfortable one. It will be in an ER and I will have to make that decision for all of us.

April is just around the corner. I hate the spring time.

ref: http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/07/27/livingwell.endoflife.reut/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail

Freedom of and from

2007-04-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

As my part of the Blog against Theocracy Weekend.

Well, here we are again folks, holy weekend for what the latest polls show is 91% of the country. That’s the US mind you for our friends overseas. Yes, according to Newsweek, 91% of the US are theists. They hold some belief in some god, somewhere and make no bones about it, they like to push that god right in your face.

As winter turns to spring each year, the theocrats come out in full bloom. The gray petals of their spread are so lovely in their manure saturated ground, as the spiteful aroma of delusion fills the air. Ahhhh spring, that most wonderful time of year. A time when yet theists and theocrats all come together and declare yet again, that some 3% of the US population have declared WAR on their beliefs.

People like to throw the word “war” around a lot. Look in the media today. The WAR in Iraq, the WAR against terrorism, the WAR against drugs, ad infinitum. The dumbest ones however are the WAR against Christians and the WAR against Christmas. This time of year, we have the spring festival of Easter.

I have already seen in the media a “few” allusions to the WAR on Easter. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no war on Easter, or on Christians in this country, or on Christmas for that fact. Theocratic con artists would like for you to believe that there are such events happening, problem is, there is one piece of law that prevents that.

The Constitution of the United States has this little blurb in it that you may have heard of:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

This “establishment” clause makes up only part of the First Amendment, but it totally debunks the idea of any kind of WAR on theists belief or traditions. The government can not enact any laws that prohibit a person from exercising their religion as they see fit, with in the bounds of that it does not infringe or violate the rights of others to do the same thing. Strangely enough, this same clause has been used by politicians to claim that the US MUST have a religion. They claim this on the faulty logic of the statement “freedom of religion, not freedom FROM religion”.

If this were the case, then a vast number of people, far lager then the number of atheists and agnostics at least, would be in strict violation of the Second Amendment of The Constitution as well. Take a look at this:

“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Do you see there, anywhere, the same out clause? By using the theocrats logic, ALL law abiding Americans should be carrying firearms, all the time. The Amendment states clearly, “the right to bear arms, shall not be infringed.” it says nothing about the right to NOT bear arms. Since the term “Freedom of Religion” actually does not appear anywhere in The Constitution, it is a ludicrous argument to state that we have no freedom from religion in this country.

If I do not have the right to NOT believe in any gods, then the entire First Amendment is worthless. It becomes worthless when people are required to believe in something they know is not true. Just as the government and citizens of this country can not force me to carry a gun, I should also be afforded the right to NOT have any religion forced upon me, by either government or citizenry. Unfortunately, in the US, there is a very small, but well funded minority of theists that want to do just that very thing. They have been working hard at it, and many of us have slept while they have worked.

Did your state vote for a state amendment defining what marriage was? Theocracy.

Does your state try to force laws on to women about what they can and can not do with their bodies during a pregnancy? Theocracy.

Does your state have laws on the books condemning who you live with and why? Theocracy.

Does your local library cave into the demands of shouting people as to what books they can carry? Theocracy.

Does your state support doctors and pharmacists that refuse to perform their duties, because of their theology? Theocracy.

The real question is, who’s theocracy are we building? In the mythology that is Christianity, there are many sub-divisions that can’t seem to agree on anything. The Catholics have one view, the Protestants differ in that view. The Lutherans don’t agree with everything the Episcopalians say. The Pentecostals can’t stand the Baptist. And the Dominionist always claim that they are right and everyone else is wrong. The JW’s and the Mormons both think they are right, but that each other are wrong, and all others view both of them as cults.

Throw into the mix as well, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, Judaism, Humanism and atheism and you start to see just how confusing the whole thing becomes. In order to abide by the First Amendment, the government MUST remain neutral in matters of religion. If one religion or faith, becomes the dominant religion of the country, by law, then all other religions become illegal.

To have true freedom of religion, you have to also have freedom from religion. Our founding fathers knew this. To deny people their right to not believe, is a slap in the face to those men and women that gave their lives to protect that piece of paper. When you see and hear of theology being made law, do the right thing.

Push back, hard. Vote, write, protest, but push. If we fail to protect that First Amendment, we will be no different then Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Is that really what you want?

Technology Reverses Evolution

2007-04-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

On the lighter side of life, there has been a bale of stories in recent months on a unique phenomenon taking place in cyber space. From speed freak morons on motorcycles, to riot roving kids in the cafeteria, people have stopped thinking and started posting for the world to see, their stupidity.

I’m talking of course about the dry end of the gene pool that seems to think posting videos of crimes and bad behavior, does not have consequences. With the advent of You Tube and others, people that normally would not have been caught for minor illegal acts, are now becoming celebrities of the stupid kind.

Just where do these idiots come from? Do they honestly think that posting illegal activity on the Internet is not going to bring down police and legal scrutiny on to them? When ever I hear or read about one of these stories, it reminds me of the dweebs that think they can out run the police, in a high speed chase. I have to laugh at jokers that think they can out run both a radio and a helicopter. Is it just the thrill of being on television that makes them stupid, or are they really that ignorant?

But now, a new species of fools have discovered that the Internet gives them the ability to broadcast their crimes, with out having to wait for the police or news media. Yes, you too can be an overnight sensation. Have your buddies use a camera phone to record you breaking into your neighbors house, post it on the Internet and there you have it, instant fame and a matching pair of shinny silver bracelets. Girlfriend finally give you the cold shoulder and dropped you for the loser you are? Hey, no problem, just post that video you took of the two of you doing the nasty, you know, the one you never told her about. Congratulations, lawsuit city here you come.

Caught your boyfriend cheating on you with that little number from the market? Well, fret not, just have your sister record you vandalizing his car and post it for the world to see. His insurance company will thank you for providing the evidence to pay for the damages. Oh, and they’ll send you the bill in return.

Back in the 70’s there was a ridiculous television show on called “That’s Incredible”. It was literally nothing more then a program that gave people a chance to look foolish in front of millions of American views weekly. Generally, like today’s “reality” shows, they did not allow you to commit an illegal act on television. The Internet however has changed that. Now, foolish people, doing foolish things can actually broadcast their foolish, or illegal activity, to literally billions of people at one time.

And here all this time you thought technology was helping us evolve into a higher form of humanity. Don’t flatter yourself. A small segment of humans seem to have this one defective gene, the “show of my ignorance to the world” gene. And if science ever finds a way to switch that gene off, maybe, just maybe then, the human race will advance to a higher level. Till that time however, keep watching world. People are so entertaining.

Bedrooms don’t need bodyguards.

2006-08-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

With the rising cost of gasoline, and owning a very large pickup truck, I have taken to riding the bus to work each day. It’s not really as bad as you might think, sure there’s the odd day where you have to wait two and a half hours in one hundred twelve degrees for the bus to show up, but other then that it’s not really all that bad. I have also met some of the most interesting people while riding the city buses, not counting the ever present drunks that seem to congregate at bus stops.

Recently, I met one unique individual who seemed to be very concerned for the welfare of my bedroom. I had just gotten off a rather difficult day at work, when I was asked how I would vote on the Protect Marriage Amendment in the election. I stated quite softly, and directly, that I would vote no on the amendment proposition. This brought out a very sharp reply for the woman, “Don’t you know that marriage is under attack?” to which I started laughing, quite hard in fact. My laughter apparently was not appreciated, not only by the woman asking me the question, but by a number of people around us on that bus.

If you read the proposed amendment, you will find that in actuality, it does nothing to “protect marriage” at all. In fact, other then a definition that some people feel defines what a physical marriage is, it only succeeds in eliminating rights and services to people that do not fit the very narrow definition setup in the amendment. This in no way protects marriage, nor does it do anything to strengthen the institution of marriage or make it any more desirable to people. Instead, the silly amendment does the one thing that this country is not supposed to do; it elevates one class of people above others. It denies rights and privileges to any couples that do not fit the very narrow definition of marriage.

I fail to see however the attack on my marriage. I have been married now to the same woman for over 23 years. No, it’s not perfect, no marriage ever is. Together, she and I have raised one child to adulthood, and done a rather decent job of it. He’s a college man, trying hard to find his way in the world, and seems to have a great deal of respect for others, but won’t let people walk on him either. Our marriage has been strong, seen a lot of tough times, and survived eight years of military service and all the headaches that go along with that. I fail to see how the man and two women that live down the street from me, in a committed relationship with each other, is attacking my marriage to my wife.

Further, how in the heck is it an assault on my marriage, if two women, or two men, join together in a committed loving relationship? After all, they are not forcing me to join them, and they are certainly not crawling into my bedroom window at night, telling me how wrong I am for sleeping with my wife. I have no interest in what they do in their own homes, and I really don’t care that their idea of a couple might be different then mine. They have their lives; I have mine, so long as we respect each others privacy and rights, who cares whom we sleep with.

I find it interesting that statistics show, that marriage is a chance proposition at best. About half of all marriages in the US wind up in divorce. Many of the divorces in this country are second and third divorces for at least one of the parties involved. With some eighty percent of the country claiming to believe in a god of some sort, and that marriage is a sacred, holy institution, ordained by this god, you’d think that marriage would be able to stand up on its own, and not need the help of narrow minded people. Alas, it would appear that the vast number of divorces in this country, happen between the bible thumping, god fearing believers. The same bible thumpers that want to deny the rights and benefits they enjoy, to the gentleman and his two ladies down the road from me.

I find it ironic that marriage must be protected from people that are not a threat to it, instead of the people that actually partake in it. Since there is no possible way that a gay couple, lesbian couple, multiple partner couple can threaten my marriage to my wife, I find the entire Protect Marriage Amendment a slap in the face to my intelligence and dignity. The honor I pay my wife, and that she pays me has nothing to do with the rule of law, or narrow minded idiots that don’t like how others live. We honor our marriage and respect each other not because it’s what some mythical deity has ordained, but because we choose to. We want to stay together; we fight our own battles with bills, illness, disagreements and stress, to keep our marriage together at all costs. The folks next door, or down the block do not affect our marriage in any way. We don’t tell them how to live, and they don’t tell us. Trying to tell me that my marriage is under attack, is stupid, fallacious, and above all else, bigoted in every way.

You want to protect marriage in Arizona, tell the bodyguards of your bedroom that their services are no longer required. Then, spend time with your spouse. A little cuddle goes a long way in this world.

On Death, and Dying, and very long fingers

2005-10-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it figures it would happen again. Another one of those “hot button issues” is grabbing media headlines, and causing folks on both the left and the right to get the vapors over another very private matter.

Some time ago, an arrogant, nasty, myth following moron named John Ashcroft, Who was appointed to a position of power and authority by another moron named Bush, decided that the state of Oregon did not know what was proper and correct in the world of medicine. And he took the whole state to court, over a issue that the state residents, the people, had voted to support, twice.

Physician Assisted Suicide, has been a very touch issue for a very long time. However, our charming media has again, put a left or right spin on this issue, and spun it so hard, it now suffers from a Doppler Effect. You see the issue, long before you hear about it. From Bill O’Reilly trying to blame the courts and government of the state, (and failing to see democracy in action, what a putz), to the liberals miss labeling the whole issue as “Right to Die”, (it is not a right, it is a fact, morons).

We are all going to die, there is no if about it. It is only a matter of when, and how we die that is up in the air. We would all hope, that we would die after a long, productive life, peacefully, in our sleep, at home, in bed. No one wants to die, but there is no getting around it. You will die someday. Sorry to be blunt, but as stated, it’s not a right, it’s a fact of life. People die. People also fear death, one of the main reasons people follow mythology, and look for gods and an after life. But that’s another post, and I digress.

My own mother died horribly at the age of 40. She fought ovarian cancer for 6 years, and it was the kind of fight that horror movies could be made from. Towards the end, when she entered hospice, her digestive systems had shut down. She could no longer eat, and laid in a bed, and literally starved to death. She was in great pain, and suffered terribly. When my step-father called me, the morning of her death to give me the news, I was relived, not sad. My mother was finally free of the pain and suffering she had been going through. Would that she could have had the choice, to never go through it at all.

It was not a dignified death. It was not a rational end to an all too short life. She should have had the option, months before she got to that point, when she was still rational, and active. I know for a fact, she would have rejected that choice. But, she was not even given the opportunity to reject it. Arizona has no such option in the law. So she died in great pain, her mind blasted into dementia, from lack of nourishment. Thank you Radical Religious Right for making her few remaining weeks the equivalent of The Spanish Inquisition.

And thank you, Looney Liberal Left, for turning the very private matter of death, into a media circus. Had you a brain in your head, the matter would not be PAS, but the preservation of estate and insurance payments, after someone with a terminal illness, takes their own life. Right now, in every state but Oregon, if a terminal patient takes their own life, the insurance company’s do not have to pay the surviving spouse and family. Because suicide is not covered by life insurance, the person escaping the pain, leaves a family without recourse. But all you see are doctors, drugs, labels, and big bad government, the chance to bitch slap the right.

Death awaits us all, there is no escaping it. The government can’t stop it, religion can’t stop it, doctors can’t stop it. We all will die, end of story.

For me, I would like to have an option, a choice of how I die, and when. To me, the most loving thing I can do for my wife and son, would be to leave this life, able to know them both on sight, and have them remember me fondly, as the man they loved, who simply went to sleep one day, and never woke up.

It’s my death. Keep your ideas and your fingers out of it.

Dr. Karl E. Taylor

Shoes: A new definition

2005-08-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

Shoe: noun [C]
one of a pair of covers for your feet, with an upper part made of a strong material such as leather and a base made usually of thick leather or rubber.

Recently I have become fascinated by the word shoe. I thought I used to know what these thing were, but in the last couple of weeks, I have found that the above definition for the foot apparel of the masses is painfully inaccurate.

More to the point, I am fascinated by the foot apparel of the gods. It seems that what the gods wear on their feet is strangely shaped, and usually very ugly. The shoes of the gods seem to have multiple terminations, hair, in some cases, and strangely colored coverings.

It also seems to me that the footwear of the gods, is worn in a very unique fashion. The gods insert their feet into this weird covering, by shoving their toes into a small opening, made larger by ugly statements and chants. Usually, words, said by the shoes as attempts to express the thoughts of the gods. As if shoes can think.

Some examples are in order here:

"I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it."

This charming statement was issued by a pair of the gods shoes, named Robertson, just last week. Strange that this same pair of shoes, seems to say a lot about what the gods think. And yet is a very ugly pair of shoes, strangely admired and desired by a large number of unthinking, uncaring, vile people, that agree with the shoes.

And earlier this month, another pair of shoes said:

"The Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind."

And all because the gods apparently think that using science to cure human suffering is wrong. The Dobson shoes look extremely fetching, when the feet of the gods are firmly planted inside of them, up to the knee.

And then there is the famous fashion statement by the shoes named Kennedy, D James to be exact:

"The Christian community has a golden opportunity to train an army of dedicated teachers who can invade the public school classrooms and use them to influence the nation for Christ."

This pair of footwear, apparently is very clued into just exactly what the gods want students to learn, and by what method to teach them. Should be interesting when the biology class reverts back to the biology of 2000 years ago.

And lest you think the US is the only place with shoe issues, well:

"We hope that these brothers (Muslim casualties in Pakistan) are among the first martyrs in Islam's battle in this era against the new Christian-Jewish crusade led by the big crusader Bush under the flag of the Cross; this battle is considered one of Islam's battles"

The Bin Laden sandals are extremely popular in desert settings, with the feet of allah, tastefully shown, covered in the blood of innocent people.

It is rather apparent, that since the gods do not speak for themselves, knowing that foot in mouth is a terrible condition, the gods are more then happy, to let their mouth pieces suck on their toes.

Dr. Karl E. Taylor

Know what you believe, when you speak of it.

2005-08-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

A very interesting weekend, this past one. Aside from the usual news of political corruption, failed promises from our elected leaders, sex, lies, and activities sanctioned by the government in the name of "security", I had a server die, and was interrupted during the rights of resurrection.

It is a spectacular sight, when three CPU's of a four CPU server, all decide to croak at once. No log files, no real reason why, just POOF, 1 lone CPU, and considerable screaming at a large box of disk. Then the calm reasoning process, of discovering what can be done to salvage the data on those disk. And then, the dreaded Saturday ringing of the door bell.

Now, I usually give the Saturday door to door salvation brigade the classic run around. Let them spout there usual dribble about how I need to be "saved", from what I'm not sure. Or how I need to be "born again", as if the first go around was some how flawed, and mom went through all that trouble for nothing. This time, it was different.

Instead of the ever present JW, or Mormon at the door, it was a young Hispanic man, and he wanted to give me a cheaply made flier about some play in some park that evening. Now, I like a good play as much as anyone, but I could not make out what was on the small piece of paper, and was still part blind by the rage at my very sick server downstairs in my computer room. But when he said, "god will change your life", something snapped.

"Which god?", I demanded. The look on his face was priceless. I started rattling off one contradiction of his religion after another. I did not even give him the chance to explain, which religion he was. Since all religions fail on the same level, it really does not matter. He attempted to claim that the wars and blood in the world, laid at the feet of various gods, were the result of "sin", what ever that is. The blindness of his religion, kept him from seeing where the gods demand the wars. And by the words coming out of his mouth, he was a very devout follower of the christian war / blood god. Unfortunately, not very well read. As he was apparently unaware that this particular war god, is guilty of more blood and murder, by it's own hands, then all the wars combined. (There are not many gods that can lay claim to flooding the entire world, with plans to destroy it totally again, by fire. What a loving example)

The fact is, this young man, through blind devotion to his religion, it's leaders, and probably his parents, walked up to the house of an hafar, totally unprepared, and uneducated in what he was supposed to believe in. And then, states that he wants to "help me with my UNbelief". Condescending statements do not sit well with me.

I do not have, UNbelief. I lack faith in gods, devils, heavens, hells, demons, angles, and all things supernatural. I see no evidence for these things, and find massive numbers of contradictions and fallacies in the theologies that support faith in these things. Historical documents do not support the sacred text of the various religions. Events, sometimes global in nature, go unrecorded by large numbers of races, who were recording history at the time. And in no case, has any one member of any religion, been able to say anything to me, that some member of another religion, won't say about their own. They all claim to be true, and they all claim to be correct.

And they all fail, every single time. Generally due to the lack of knowledge, in the people sent out to try and convert the human race, to their way of thinking. As was the case with this young man at the door. He had never even looked at a book on other religions. Never bothered to study actual historical documents, never bothered to consider that the massive fallacies damned his religion to the realm of mythology. He was sure he was right, because he wants to believe he is right. I handed him back his flier, and wished him a nice day. Then I went back to my very sick machine.

A word to the wise, or at least the foolish that may knock upon my door in the future. Study. History, mythology, other religions, your own religion and it's history. I have many questions, and many of them are historical in nature. I would expect an answer, from those that claim to have "the truth".

So far, I have always been left, with questions unanswered.

Dr. Karl E. Taylor

Culture of the Big Noses

2005-07-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, a new Harry Potter book is out, reviews are glowing over it, and children are flocking to the local book stores to get their tiny little hands on this latest novel. And once again, the Big Nose Brigade are up in arms over what your offspring may be reading.

Here in Arizona, we have a loud, organized group of Big Noses that just can't seem to leave parents, and individuals alone with their lives. The Center For Arizona Policy, and their extremely vocal followers seem to have made it their lot in life to stick their noses into every facet of human rights and liberties. And they just don't seem to be happy if they are not some how involved in making everyone else miserable.

They base their silly right on butting into your life, strictly on a fundamental reading of their favorite book of mythology, the bible. As an hafar, I find this call to control peoples lives very offensive. The Constitution gives them the right to believe in, and worship what ever god(s) they want. But it does not give them the right to push that belief on to me, or you.

It is strange to me, that here in the valley, we have had almost two dozen heat related deaths in the last week. Mostly homeless and poor people. And where was CAP during this crisis? They were getting worked up over the very private matter of whom you might marry. Especially if the person you want to commit to happens to be of the same gender as you. Naturally, they also ignore the fact that their covenant marriage act, is a complete failure, and has done nothing to improve, or protect male / female marriages in the state.

There have also been several very young children, injured or killed, due to the lack of thinking on the part of those who should be protecting them. Where was CAP for them? Being frothing fundies over the governors appointment to the state supreme court. For some reason, the political affiliation of a court appointee, is more important to them, then a toddler left in a hot car. Or siblings taken by force by their father, across the border, after that father has killed members of the family to get at those kids.

And we have also had a number of other, human issues this past week in Arizona, that impact people and their ability to live. And where do we find The CAP in relation to these issues? No where. They are far to busy running around, trying to force their personal religious views on to you and I, concerning what we read, hear, say, and listen to. More concerned are they about a hunk of rock in the capital plaza, then they are about the widows, and homeless in the state they call home. More worried about a woman's right to her body, then about the indigent grandmother dying alone in state sponsored housing.

I have no problem with what god(s) a person wants to follow. But the least they could do is follow the teachings of those god(s). The bible does not tell the followers of Jesus to push their views on to others. In fact, it clearly states, in the mans own words, that if you are not accepted, then leave, and shake the dust of that town from your feet as you do so. Clearly, CAP needs a refresher course in bible theology. I have searched long and hard in the bible for some verse or story, that explains CAP's relentless push, to control whom I might sleep with. The bible may condemn some actions of people in their lives, but no where does it say to try and pass laws to take away a persons right to choose. Obviously, CAP has failed to understand where they are in the "Render unto Caesar" position.

Theocracies are very dangerous things. When faith in a god, replaces secular law, and the individuals right to choose, then you have no rights. When blind devotion to a collection of mythical folk tales takes the place of humane action, then abuse is all you have to look forward to. When a slab of stone, takes priority over a bottle of water in the desert, then death becomes an all to common sight.

It's time to slam the door of the state house, on the Big Noses from the Culture of Big Noses. You want to believe in a god, fine, knock yourself out. It's your right, a right I swore to uphold and defend with my life if need be. However, don't quash my rights in your rush to believe in your god. What I read, see, hear, and do is up to me. And if I'm wrong, that's my problem, not yours. If you don't like Harry Potter, don't buy it. If you don't like pornography, don't go looking for it. If you don't like homosexual marriage, then don't marry someone that is gay.

And to CAP, keep your mitts off of our rights to choose those things if we so desire. Oh, and one last thing, if you don't like what is on the internet, last time I looked, my computer had an OFF switch. Try using it.

Dr. Karl E. Taylor

And now, a word from our sponsors

2005-07-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

Seems that corporate greed, and power have finally run amoke. Not that this is news of course, we have all seen the power hungry pigopolists in their true light for the last few years. Why, just look at the RIAA, suing the socks off of 12 year old kids, and 80 year old grandmothers, all in the name of profits.

But now, it seems there is this photographer in India, that has ruffled the feathers of a large, American, soft drink company, because their billboard appears in his picture. So watch where you aim those cameras kids. Your summer photos could be a violation of copy rights and large multi-billion dollar company's might get just a tad upset with you over that.

The story I am relating to is here: http://tinyurl.com/7hcea and is apparently worthy of Reuters attention. It's a charming little ditty about a man in India, that uses a public display of corporate power, to bring out the very real problems in the community. In this case, a severe lack of water. His photograph is a protest to corporate greed and avarice.

Consider if you will for a moment. The billboard is a public advertising tool. Hundreds of people see this thing every day. And there are thousands of them around the country, and millions around the world. Ad dollars count up into the billions every year. And yet, in this one case, the company in question, screams about trade mark infringement, and basically, copy right law. And why do they scream?

Simple. They are being taken to task for running a plant, using the very little water there is, in an area of the world were the work force is only slightly above slave labor. It makes there logo look bad, and they don't like criticism. So, sue. Sue the photographer for everything he's got.

And if that does not work, let's try and get a trademark anti-defamation amendment attached to the US Constitution then.

Now you see where this is going, don't you. Like the company in question, and the photograph which is a protest, the ludicrous amendment to our Constitution to ban desecration of the flag is offensive.

You, and I, my not agree with a flag burner, or using the flag, draped in a toilet as a form of protest art, but it is all part and parcel of the first amendment, and it's freedom of speech clause. And like it or not, those of us that have served in the armed forces, did so to protect the protestors right to say what they will.

It's also quite strange to me, that we as a people will bitch and complain about some snot nosed, never had a job, lives on a college campus, thinks he knows the whole of life from there, flag burning protester. And yet, the idea of a beautiful young woman, tastefully clad in an American flag bikini, is not an outrage. Neither is the sports fan, with the flag painted on his bare chest. Nor are the drivers of the gas sucking SUV's, that have left their 9/11 flags to rot on their antennas. Or the home owners, that went out and bought a flag on 9/12/2001, stuck it up on the front porch of their home, and have never taken it down, so that now it looks more like a wasted piece of red, white and blue tissue paper. Faded and bleached to a point of none recognition.

I love my country, and I love my flag, and I served my time to defend your right, to say what you want, when you want, how you want. Even if it personally offends me, it's your right. Congress is over stepping it's bounds, by trying to regulate one form of speech. What's next?

If they can stop you from protesting, using the flag, they can stop you from defacing corporate trademarked logos in a protest as well. Then, when the right to protest that which is offensive, or dangerous becomes a crime, ask yourself a question:

Who owns you then?

Dr. Karl E. Taylor

AZ Hot Ops

2005-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to AZ Hot Ops, (Arizona Hot Opinions).

I started this blog, as my own outlet for views and opinions about issues in the state of Arizona, politics, and life in general. Since the glorious Arizona Republic is very candid about what types of editorial opinions they will publish, and since I seem to get ignored a whole lot, I write here because I can.

I don't plan to pull punches, and I don't plan to not offend anyone. If you think you have a right to not be offended, please find a copy of the US Constitution and read it. I also expect to be offended by responses and other peoples views. Oh well, that's what we get for living in a free society.

I am a military veteran, (8 years U. S. Coast Guard, Desert Storm), registered Independent voter, and an Hafar( Humanist, Atheist, Free thinker, Agnostic, Rationalist), a term I will be using a great deal in these postings.

So, sit back, relax, and open your mind. We all might learn something from here.

Dr. Karl E. Taylor