They Served Too

Today is the day we honor the fallen members of our Armed Forces.

The question I ask is how many have fallen who have been given no honor at all.

Let's start with:

Blacks: During the American Revolution, any black soldier who fought in George Washington's army was promised his freedom, and generous payment for it. This promise was frequently never kept. Many of them were even returned to slavery after their service.

Women: Women served actively in the military during every war since the Revolution. And yet most of the time their service was never recognized or rewarded. In most cases, it was often ignored.

Homosexuals: The case of Margarethe Cammermeyer springs immediately to mind. This is a woman--not American born, but a naturalized citizen--who dedicated her life to serving America as a military officer. But when she revealed she was a lesbian, she was immediately dishonorably discharged. The narrow-minded military policy against gays once again deprived it of a valuable asset, a college-educated, highly skilled nurse, for no other reason than her sexual orientation.

On this day, when we remember our fallen military heroes, let us also pause to remember those who will never have a chance to receive the same honors, because they were simply born at or of the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong gender, the wrong race, or the wrong orientation.

A Random Thought

Today I had a random thought, which I think has potential.

Today we were treated to the theatrical release of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. This movie is apparently based on a popular video game.

An aside: Why would the movie's makers cast Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular character of the movie?! He's about as Persian as Woody Allen! I realize that having a popular actor helps out at the box office, but surely there is some well-known actor of Persian descent who could have filled the role...

But I digress. In the past few years, we have seen a number of movies derived from immensely popular video games. In no particular order, we have seen often more than one film based on Mortal Kombat, Doom, Resident Evil, Max Payne, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy, just to name a few. The list gets bigger if you include animated movies produced in Japan.

The movies themselves have met with generally mixed reviews. It may be impossible to make a movie that lives up to the expectations of the fans of a game that is loved by millions, or tens of millions, of fans.

But my thought was this: why not try tapping the people who make these games, who obviously know how to create popular entertainment?

There's a chance this has already happened. Maybe some of the people who create these wildly popular games already work in Hollyweird.

But, given what's coming out of there these days, I seriously doubt it.

Meanwhile, I'll keep waiting for the adaptation of Half-Life. It's got to come eventually...

Why is Anyone Surprised?

Anyone who has followed the news over the past few weeks has watched as BP has tried--and failed--many times to cap the uncapped underwater oil well that is spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day. They have also watched as the government has stood back and waited for them to fix the problem, using everything from drilling a second hole into the gushing broken well to cap it to trying to use a giant concrete condom to cap the gusher. Nothing has worked--yet.

Why are people surprised that nothing has worked?

Companies that tap our planet's natural resources to produce energy have only one interest in common--to get as much profit as they can out of the ground with as little expense as possible. Safety be damned.

We have seen this happen time and time again with coal mine disasters. Miners die, inevitably as a result of safety cutbacks. And now we have seen an offshore oil rig that failed as a result of shoddy safety practices. And that failed offshore rig is continuing to pump oil into the Gulf. It is guaranteed to become the worst environmental disaster in history. The Gulf states may never recover from it.

But the corporations will survive. Because they always do.

The Lost--cops out

OK so it had no choice.

What else could it be but a cop out?

It turns out he was dead all along. Lame, lame, LAME!

It could not possibly have lived up to the expectations everyone had.

I should expect no less from the man who took the Gene Roddenberry Star Trek Universe out into the courtyard, tied it to a tree, gave it a cigarette, and executed it.

I'm talking to YOU, J.J. Abrams!

OK What the Hell?!

THAT is a finale?!

Please post a comment if you think the finale of LOST sucked the sweat from a dead bear's anus.

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Edit 11:11 PM Well the finale has gone past the normal ending of prime time. We will wait...

A Glimmer of Hope...Dashed

Official results of yesterday's pivotal primary and special elections were announced today. On the morning news.

An aside: As a Democrat-leaning independent, I have to say I'm mostly pleased with the results yesterday. Particularly in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

But I digress. This morning, as I wandered into the office, I caught a snippet of conversation between two of my female co-workers. I picked up the words "vote" and "last night".

Finally, I thought to myself. It's finally happened. The people in my office have decided to take an interest national politics. My tireless work to get these people interested has paid off! I was ecstatic.

The feeling lasted about ten seconds.

As I wandered over to join the conversation, I realized as I got closer that they were talking not about the results of yesterday's elections, but about voting on American Idol. I should've known better than to get my hopes up.

I weep for the dying IQ of this nation.

An Obama Assassination Geometry Lesson

It seems that a geometry teacher in Alabama has used a theoretical assassination attempt of President Obama as an example in his geometry class.

I really don't know where to start.

Threatening the life of the President is a Federal offense. I don't care how innocuous it may have been. This guy should go to jail. I can't imagine what the outcry over this would be like if a geometry teacher in a high school in, say, Massachusetts had done the same thing using George W. Bush as an example.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. This is, after all, in Alabama, which produces politicians like this.

I weep for the dying IQ of this nation.

Crystal Crazy

My city of Toledo has gone completely Crystal Bowersox crazy.

This American Idol winner wannabe came to Toledo today, performed at an Open air concert (where she apparently showed up late and sang two songs and then left), went to the Ottawa County fair, then returned to Toledo to sing the National Anthem at the Mud Hens game (the Mud Hens, by the way, will ALWAYS be more famous than any American Idol contestant), and then ran back to Hollyweird.

She is NOT from Toledo. She is from a place in Ohio called Elliston. Search for it on the web. You won't find it. You also won't find it on any current map of Ohio. That will no doubt change after this year. It's an "intersection town". If you are driving down a two-lane highway and come to a stop sign, you will see a few houses scattered nearby. That's what this town consists of. That, and a couple of churches.

I have NEVER watched a single episode of American Idol, and if I never watch an episode of the show, I will consider one of my life's goal's fulfilled.

I have probably said this before: I imagine the following meeting in FOX's production office:

"Hey! I have an idea for a show! Let's send out a call for every no-talent hack in the country to come and audition in front of cameras while singing badly over-produced Karaoke. We'll get a trio of judges with no power to change anything that will include a snarky English guy, a fading Pop star, and a token Black man that no one has ever heard of to choose the people that get to face up to whichever faction can manage to muster the most artificial internet and text votes to keep them in the game.

The sad part is that this show has become one of the most popular shows in the nation.

I weep for the dying IQ of this nation.

The Fuglies

Attention any female readers of this blog: I am about to be a shallow, insensitive prick. Stop reading NOW!


Are they gone? OK, good.

The president has announced his nominee for the next supreme court justice:



Yes folks, meet Elena Kagan.

A woman who, not to put it mildly, looks like she took a nose dive out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

(I did warn you!)

The Democrats seem to want to select the ugly ones: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Janet Reno, Nancy Pelosi, Teresa Heinz-Kerry. Don't get me wrong--there are a few exceptions.

Meanwhile, Republicans have ones like Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham.

I guess that having a soul and a conscience apparently weighs you down enough that the warts start to show.

It must be easy to be cute if you don't care about the welfare of others.

From the Department of Redundancy Department

I was at my dad's house today, and I was flipping through the cable TV channels, looking for something that would convince me to get cable (as I have done many times before, without success).

On the Fox Sports Channel for Detroit, I encountered a baseball game between the Indians and the Tigers. The Channel info described the game as being "MLB Baseball".

MLB stands for "Major League Baseball". So the channel info stood for "Major League Baseball baseball."

I weep for the dying IQ of this nation.

It's Not Right

Today I took one of my occasional (about once a month) trips to Costco. I needed to stock up on a few things.

Two of those things were cans of V-Fusion juice and cans of Coke. If you've never tried V-Fusion because the whole vegetable thing scares you off, then don't sweat it--The stuff is great! All you taste is the fruit juice (This commercial announcement NOT paid for by Campbell's!)

But my problem is this: 24 11.5 oz. cans of V-Fusion cost $15. 32 12 oz. cans of Coke cost $9.

An 8 oz. glass of V-Fusion contains a full serving of fruits and vegetables, contains only natural ingredients, and is extremely good for you. A 12 oz. can of Coke is...incredibly NOT.

You have to pay twice as much for the healthy products as you do for the unhealthy ones. Is it any wonder most people tend to take the easy way out?

Ballbuster Video

Recently I have heard news that Blockbuster Video rental has encountered financial problems. I couldn't be happier.

You see, a few years ago, I was a BV member. I rented videos from them regularly.

An aside: Those of you younger folks may have heard stories of how us geezers would sometimes make trips to video rental stores. There we would pay a small fee to obtain copies of movies released on VHS tape, take them home, watch them 1 or 2 times, and then return them to the same rental store so others could do the same thing. It happened a lot. Often enough that said stores would be very profitable.

One of the features of these stores was that they would often charge fees when these videos were returned a day or more later than they were rented for. This was understandable, to a certain extent--Not having copies available of a certain movie that was in high demand cost the store money, and they were within their rights to expect their customers to make that up to them the next time they tried to rent a video.

But where Ballbuster Video went wrong was this: I returned a movie one day late one time. A few weeks later, I received in the mail a bill for $2 for my late fee.

No other video rental store on the planet had ever sent me a bill for a late fee. They all assumed (safely) that I would simply make it up to them the next time I rented a video, which I was willing to do.

My reaction? I immediately tore up my Bal--er, I mean Blockbuster Video card. I have never since rented a video from them, nor will I ever do so in the future. (I never paid the bill, by the way, and I never will)

Seriously. Think about it for a minute, Blockbuster. You sent me a bill for $2, and you lost a customer for life. And pause to think for a minute about the number of people I have told this story to over the last few decades, including the 3 readers of this blog.

You deserve to fail.

There is Truly no Limit...

...to how far Fox "News" will go...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
A Farewell to Arms
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

God bless Jon Stewart!

Thank You, Mr. Justice

I want to say thank you to retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Thank you for his nearly four decades of service on the nation's highest court. Thank you for his valiant fight against an ever-encroaching right-wing agenda. It may be impossible to replace him.

But now that's out of the way, I have to point out something. His 90th birthday will be on April 20th. He has been on The Bench since I was in elementary school. The reason for this is that the framers of the constitution decided that Federal Judges should have lifetime appointments. In other words, they could hold their posts for as long as they lived, or until they alone decided it was time to step down, whichever came first. There are, of course, ways of removing a Federal judge from the bench by other means, but instances of this happening are few and far between.

The problem with this is obvious: When this was decided, a person living past the age of 55 was the exception, not the rule. A "lifetime" appointment could be expected to last 10 years at the outside. Nowadays, however, a person appointed to the Federal bench at age 40, for example, can be reasonably expected to be able to hold onto that post for 50 years or more, if he or she desires. In other words, said person will be able to hold onto their position of extreme power and influence for 5 decades or more. No one in this day and age should have that much power.

I am definitely NOT advocating elections for Federal judgeships--one need look no further than any of the states that elect judges to their positions to see what a disaster THAT would be. What I am advocating, as have many before me, are term limits for federal judges. A 10, 15, or 20 year term for a federal judge would be much more acceptable. That way, no judge ever has the ability to impose his or her personal ideology on a society that may have become radically opposed that personal ideology, for better or worse.

I know it's a pipe dream, but wouldn't it be nice?

The Mission

This morning I attended Easter Worship services at Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC) here in Toledo. At this point, I should point out that I am not a member of this church, but I have attended it many times before, mostly for convenience--the service is at 11 A.M., and I hate getting up early on the weekend. One of the things I happened to notice in the worship bulletin is the 5 parts of the Church's mission statement:

1) Belief and Hospitality: Believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and graciously invite and welcome others into our community of faith.

2) Regular Worship: Attend worship every Sunday that you are in town.

3) Concern for others: Participate in at least 5 hours of service each year with a focus on caring for the poor, sick, and/or disadvantaged.

4) Faith Development: Participate in one small group or Bible study each year.

5) Generous giving: Give generously in the mission and ministry of CPC. Recommend giving at least 5% of household income, and work towards giving 10%

Fairly simple and straightforward. All derived from the various teachings of Jesus.

It got me thinking back to when I studied Islam back in school. One of the things I remembered was the 5 pillars of Islam. So I looked them up, and I would like to list them here. I have re-ordered them slightly from their traditionally listed order.

1) Shahadah: (Roughly translated) "[I profess that] There is no other God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger." "Allah" means "God" in Arabic.

2) Salāt: The requirement that Muslims must pray five times per day.

3) Sawm (also known as Siyam): Ritual fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

4) Hajj: The requirement of making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.

5) Zakāt: The requirement of giving alms to the poor. The standard rate is 2.5% of household income.

Now compare the two.

Really not all that different, are they?

Going Too Far.

It has happened. A Republican Florida doctor has decided to post a sign on his practice's door telling his patients that if they voted for Obama then they should seek care elsewhere.

I really don't know where to start.

Violating the Hippocratic oath?

Disregarding the needs of patients?

Being a total jackass?

I really want to send a message to Republicans. That message is this: You have got to stop embracing the extreme right. No matter how bad things got under the GW Bush administration, we progressives never became as vitriolic as you have become.

When you get to the point where your followers have decided that they will refuse their services to people they don't like, you have crossed a line. What's next? Separate entrances? Separate but equal?

Deja vu, anyone?

Arrested

As I write this, nine members of a "Christian" militia group have been arrested for allegedly plotting to first kill a police officer and to then kill many more--along with their families and friends--by planting bombs at the funeral of said officer.

The scariest part? These folks all lived within a 50 mile radius of me. This wasn't some isolated survivalist cult living in the mountains of Idaho or the deserts of New Mexico or Arizona--this was a group living in southern rural Michigan, less than 50 miles from 2 major urban population centers (Detroit and Toledo). A co-worker of mine lives less than 10 miles from where these arrests happened.

And these were not Muslim fanatics, born overseas and in this country on expired student visas. These were U.S. citizens, born right here, and educated--if that word can be used--right here.

These are AMERICAN CITIZENS who apparently have no problem with thinking that extreme violence against the government of the country they were born in is perfectly acceptable. I wonder what they would think about such a plot being hatched against American troops deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

But that's not the biggest irony in this whole affair. No. The biggest irony is that all nine of the defendants have asked to be represented by public defenders. These nine people. who seem to despise the government and everything it stands for, have no problem with that very government defending their rights.

To paraphrase quotes from The West Wing*:

"What do you say about a government that defends the rights of all of its citizens, even when they want to destroy it?"
"God Bless America".

Amen.

*Check out Season 2, Episode 3

In Memoriam

Robert Martin Culp--August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010

Most folks who are, on average, about 10 years or more older than me, will remember him as the star of I Spy, the TV show that is perhaps best known as being the first network TV show to feature a black actor (Bill Cosby) in a leading role. It was the show that launched Cosby's career.

I mostly remember him from his role as FBI agent Bill Maxwell in The Greatest American Hero, a TV show probably better known for it's title song than anything else (Believe it or Not)

But to a much younger generation, he will be forever known for a far more obscure, and yet also far more notorious role: The voice of the evil Dr. Wallace Breen, the puppet administrator of post-invasion Earth installed by the Combine between the events of the FPS games Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Few game villains have ever been more reviled--a sleazy, smarmy opportunist who manipulated events that took place after Earth was conquered by invading aliens to seize the kind of power he never would have gained otherwise. (For those non gamer-speak savvy folks, FPS stands for First Person Shooter.)

It's a role that probably gained him more fame than he ever got from his other roles. After all, Half-Life became one of the most popular FPS games in history, and its sequel, Half-Life 2 and its follow-up episodes became one of the biggest sellers in video game history, and it earned over 40 Game of the Year awards. I'm not ashamed to admit I played the game. I still play it on a regular basis. It's one of those games that never gets boring.

It may not be the greatest legacy in the world to be known to gamers far and wide as the voice of one of the biggest villains ever created, but I think he probably enjoyed the notoriety.

Farewell Dr. Breen!

There was no one that we members of the human resistance loved to hate more than you!

How Far Will They Go?

Teabagger activists posted the home address of Democratic Congressman Tom Periello on the web and told people to "stop by and thank him" for his yes vote on the Health care reform bill.

Apparently someone took this advice at face value. At this address, the main gas line that feeds the house was found cut.

One problem: The address they posted was not the Congressman's but his brother's. A married man with 4 young children.

I have been increasingly concerned about the Tea(bag) Party. It was Mahatma Gandhi that once said, "First they ignore, you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

Well, first we ignored them. Then we laughed at them. Now we are fighting them.

The difference, however, between the Mahatma's situation and ours, is that he was fighting for a good cause. He was fighting for the independence of his country, against a tyrannical colonial power that was oppressing his people.

In this case, however, progressives are fighting against a health care system that has placed profit over people. We are fighting against a health care system that can drop you from coverage the moment you get an illness that might cost them too much money. We are fighting against people who are opposed to big government spending only when a Democrat controls the White House. And we are fighting against people who are in favor of states seceding from the union, and who seem to like it when an AMERICAN CITIZEN loads a small plane full of too much gasoline and crashes it into a Federal government office!

These people are NOT on the side of good, or right. There is nothing about these people that is to be admired. And we cannot lose the fight against them.

March Insanity

It never fails.

Every year, I scoff at the silliness of the NCAA basketball tournament. 65 teams, most of whom have no business being there, play each other in a single elimination tournament that completely captivates the entire country for two and a half weeks.

The first bit of silliness is the play-in game. 2 low level teams that have no business being there in the first place play each other for the honor of being eliminated by a number one seed.

The second bit is matching the 16th seeds with the 1st seeds. In the 25 years since the tournament was expanded to 65 teams, not once has a 16th seeded team beaten a 1st seed.

And the final bit is the inevitability of a first-seeded team or two falling by the wayside. Everyone from the professional sports commentators to the people at the water cooler seem amazed by it. This never ceases to amaze me. How can anyone expect the opponent of a favorite to bring nothing less but their A game to the battle?

And the game itself is silly. It has become not so much a sport as a circus sideshow. After all, how can anyone possibly be that tall?

But I always fall for it. I dutifully fill in my brackets every year. I don't put any money on it--learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago--but I do follow it. And inevitably the choices I make are wrong. Case in point: Only one team I picked to be in the Final Four is still in the running.

But there are stories to be proud of too. I have spoken with a man I work with who attended Cornell. He says that for Cornell to have a competitive team is unusual. The reason for this is that Cornell does not offer athletic scholarships. Imagine how hard it must be to put together a competitive basketball team with nothing but athletes who are not only smart enough to attend an Ivy League school but also talented enough to compete on the higher levels.

Yeah. It can't be easy.

That's why I fall for it every year.