Happy Thanksgiving!

27 11 2008

It’s that time of year again. Good old turkey, mashed potatoes and pecan pie, along with seeing extended family. I had to check the calendar ahead of time so I remembered what week it is this year. That always confuses me because Thanksgiving isn’t held on a specific date like October 31st or December 25th. It’s always on the last Thursday in November – right before Christmas shopping season – so the date on which it takes place is variable. It confuses me – whose idea was it to schedule it like that? I know it’s pretty much always been on Thursday, but it first became a national holiday on the last Thursday in November when Abraham Lincoln declared it in 1863. I guess he was planning on being hungry that day. And maybe he was tired of getting letters from Sarah Joseph Hale (she’s a 19th century writer who wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) – she really wanted it to be a holiday so she lobbied the government repeatedly until they were finally forced into submission (figuratively.) We should do the same for St. Patrick’s Day – I saw a petition on Facebook a while back to make St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday. Guinness was a sponsor.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving now. Like other holidays, there are those who try to bring the holiday spirit down. Halloween has the fanatically religious trying to say it’s a devil-worshiping abomination – instead of people having fun with costumes and candy. Christmas has the fanatically secular trying to ban it and censor the word “Christmas” across the country. Thanksgiving has crazy hippies preaching about how our ancestors mistreated the Indians – oh, sorry, “Native Americans,” must have slipped my mind. Us down-to-earth traditional folk can do our best to ignore such bums, as we try to do on other holidays as well. Sometimes party-poopers do get in the way and sometimes their attempt to is simply comedic.

Anyhow, this year my nuclear family is taking a break from cooking and we will travel to Uncle Frank’s newly-opened restaurant in Worcester, Massachusetts. Lots of cousins will be there and it’s always nice to have that connection – with turkey. Hopefully the animal rights fanatics don’t try to ban eating turkey like they did racing greyhounds. If there’s any kickback time later on I might watch a nice Thanksgiving special. Probably an old South Park one. Maybe the one from the fourth season since I recently watched the one from the first season.


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Categories : Boston, Craziness, Life

End the Crack-Powder Disparity!

26 11 2008

22 years ago on June 19, 1986, College Basketball star Len Bias had it all. He was a pretty good basketball player. Scratch that. He was a pretty great basketball player. I mean he was going to be like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing. He was supposed to be the next big player. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics, who had just won the NBA Championship and he would undoubtedly continue to lead the team to further greatness. Then he died of a crack overdose.

When a tragedy like this happens – especially to one so young talented and full of life as Len Bias – it triggers a lot of solemn, negative emotions in a lot of people. This is perfectly understandable. Unfortunately, in this case, the negativity of it all did not end there. In this case people used those negative emotions to deal further harm. It was following this incident that Congress took swift action to pass a 1:100 sentencing ratio of Crack to regular powder Cocaine. This meant that while possession of 5 grams of Crack triggers a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, the same sentence is triggered when one possesses 500 grams of Cocaine in the powder form.

Given that a big-time celebrity had just died of the drug, a crackdown on Crack may have seen like Conventional Wisdom at the time, but it is definitely far from Common Sense. Crack and Cocaine are the SAME drug! They are grown from the SAME plant, trafficked in the SAME shipment and delivered to the SAME buyers at the SAME time. The difference between the two is the form that it takes and the manner in which it is typically ingested. Crack is typically smoked. Cocaine is typically snorted. The drug is of varying levels of danger to the one who ingests, but this depends mainly on factors such as purity and whether it has been cut/laced. The form that it is in is not the issue. It’s actually all Cocaine and only the final part of the process is what converts it into the Crack form. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : War on Drugs

International Space Station is Now 10 Years Old

23 11 2008

I was awed to notice that surfing the net these past couple of days. The International Space Station was launched on November 20, 1998, so that would indeed make it just barely 10 years old. I think it was 16 countries that are involved in it – I could be wrong on that since I’m recalling that from memory and am too lazy to go look it up right now. Wow! I remember when the project first took shape – seems like only yesterday. It was right around the time Hillary Clinton began talking about running for Senate while her hubby Bill was still in the top spot. So, how has the space station done in its first decade of existence? Not so well, I believe, is the answer. Its taken way longer to produce than was originally anticipated. There have been setbacks along the way. Then again, much of our general worldview is now different than it was before – 1998 was pre-9/11, if that has anything to do with the whole thing, really.

I like to stay optimistic when it comes to scientific breakthroughs. This is especially true when it comes to astronomy, which I maintain a personal interest in. Some members of NASA have told the public that they do not worry about the setbacks and that, when it is finally completed, it will be used for trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond. God knows when that will be – but it will be awesome!

A lot of people look down on the prospect of space exploration because they see no tangible value to it. After all, if we have so many problems here on Earth, why are we wasting our time traveling in space instead of solving those? While I understand and respect this viewpoint, I beg to differ. I think that while there has not been as much real benefit as one may hope, that it is a key to greater progress of mankind. Somewhere in space may lie answers to some of the questions we have about other areas of science and possibly even greater questions about existence and the cosmos in general. My grandfather was a NASA engineer and he would probably share my opinion on this – though he would hold sympathy for some who believe otherwise.

Check out this website for more updates on the progress of the International Space Station:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html


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Categories : Astronomy, History, Space Exploration

The National ID Card Cometh…

22 11 2008

I am out of town and unable to make a new post at the moment. Here is a post on Ron Paul New England I made nearly a year ago on December 1, 2007. It is about the National ID Card and was one of the reasons I decided to support Ron Paul in the primary season for the 2008 Presidential Election.

Here it is:

The REAL ID Act, signed into law in 2005, provides for nationally-standardized ID cards to be designated to residents of the US by each individual state. It originally was scheduled to take effect in mid-2008, but that deadline has since been rescheduled for late 2009. Ron Paul, as a congressman and as a candidate for president, has consistently opposed the measure. This may not seem threatening to some people at the moment. After all, it’s just a harmless card with your picture on it-right? Wrong. As Ron Paul has pointed out in his speeches, a national ID card is just another assault on civil liberties on the part of the federal government in the name of war. Paralleling the issue of gun control, measures that require guns or a certain type of gun to be “registered” with the government may seem harmless. After all, it’s no big deal-the government just wants to know where those guns are so they can fight crime better. Right? Afraid not. Some time later when the government decided to ban assault weapons entirely, they simply used the registration list they compiled before to confiscate the guns from private law-abiding citizens and render them powerless against criminals who possess such guns illegally. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Federalism

My Reaction to Tom Daschle

21 11 2008

tom-daschle

As the day slowly comes when Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, he will inevitably be going through a rigorous cabinet selection process that precedes any new administration. Very little is known at the moment as to what the exact makeup of the Obama administration will look like. I have heard the names Hillary Clinton and Chuck Hagel tossed around and I anxiously await the final result as far as those are concerned. In the midst of all the uncertainty, we do know for certain who one of the appointees will be (assuming he doesn’t get run over by a truck in the next several weeks.) That is Tom Daschle, whom is now poised to succeed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

 

Daschle has previously served as a Senator (D-SD) from 1987 to 2005. He was also Majority Leader early last decade. When he was defeated for reelection back in 2004, I doubted that he would make a return to politics. Today, I am proven wrong. He had supposedly originally been considered for Chief of Staff, but that appointment ultimately went to somebody else.

 

So, what to make of this? Health Care is a pretty big issue for Daschle these days. He wrote a book about it after leaving the Senate: Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis (after all, what can you do after your political career has halted except write a book.) I have not read this book, but I do know that Daschle is a staunch supporter of a public universal health care system and I assume, for now, that his book makes a case for that. Obama did make health care a big issue during his campaign and this appointment makes a statement where he would intend to lead us. We may very well end up taking a couple steps toward a system like Canada’s, with low efficiency, low innovation and long waiting periods. I do not foresee any change in our policy regarding HMOs, which I see as an obstacle toward true health care reform. Expect Daschle to promote his big government agenda while in office next term.


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Categories : Obama Administration, Politicians

Modern Government: Ever So Distant

20 11 2008

Our country is over 200 years in the making and much has changed in that time. When America was founded, the notion was for it to be led by a constitutional republican government, rather than an authoritarian monarchy, as was the fashion of the time. This seems second nature to us now and sometimes it seems like we take it for granted more and more. Our generation is a spoiled one who has grown up with freedom all their lives, lacks the vigilance of past generations and scarcely is willing to lift a finger to defend freedom for oneself – even less for others. I am not totally innocent of this societal laziness myself and I do not claim to be. I believe we all need a wake-up call sometimes though.

Throughout the last hundred years the role of government in people’s everyday lives has increased a fair share. This has left many people less self-reliant and personally responsible than in past times. I do not mean to say that this time that we occupy is not a fortunate one – many advances have been made by humanity recently and there are so many conveniences in our lives now that we can barely comprehend life even only 20 years ago. However, not all the change has been for the benefit of the common man. A fully responsible citizen under small government is replaced by a distant, “entitled” citizen under a nanny state.

I believe America is still the most free and prosperous nation on Earth – but I also believe one should always strive for more. I envision a world where government exists to protect people from coercion and is responsible and accountable to the people. In theory, this is similar to what we have now, but there is much in practice that contradicts this notion. Not all important economic and personal decisions are made by private citizens anymore and government has assumed much of that responsibility. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Federalism, History, Theory

Can’t Get Enough of the Llama Song

19 11 2008

About two years ago I got introduced to a little online fling depicted here:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama

It keeps repeating. It has a nice tune to it. It’s on my favorites list. In fact, I have it on while I am typing this post. I watch and listen to it every once in a while. I would not necessarily call myself addicted to it. I do like the way the pictures are displayed. Let’s see…what else is there to say about it….I never could figure out what the meaning of the song was. I doubt there is one. It’s just a collection of pictures and words. The lyrics seem to make no sense whatsoever, but the song is addicting despite that. I bet there are hardcore stoners somewhere who just keep this open and watch it repeat and repeat and repeat for hour after hour after hour. Or just some teenager with ADD. Some people might lash out at the llama song for contributing to the dumbing down of society. I would not say that myself – at least not on a large scale – or even a medium-sized scale. I wonder who created the llama song. There is a request to put up a Wikipedia page on it – it has not been accepted yet. I always watch it from its original source – not youtube or something like that (because it doesn’t keep repeating that way.)

Anyway, I’m going to cut this post short now, because one can only keep listening to the same thing for so long.


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Categories : Fads, Internet

The Unnecessary War on Population

18 11 2008

“Be Fruitful and Multiply” –Genesis 1:28

I have heard recently that the new President-Elect of the United States, Barack Obama, may make some drastic changes in policy on the first day he takes up office. Among them are undoing the Mexico City Policy, which assures that US taxpayer money is not used to fund international groups which participate in the practice of abortion, and also giving taxpayer dollars to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a tyrannical organization. One of it’s faults – though not in-and-of-itself the worst of it’s faults, has been the leading of an ineffective cash-for-condoms effort to provide aid to Africa. Unfortunately one does not solve real problems by attacking symptoms. As economist William Easterly has pointed out, a condom is one of the cheapest products on the global market. Handing them out to people whom one may believe cannot afford a simple condom but can afford food, clothing and shelter for eighteen years, is just lunacy. Therefore, throwing condoms at population doesn’t do anything. They don’t want condoms, they want the kids. Families in poverty tend to have more children as breadwinners and their actions will reflect this incentive. That is not to say learning about condoms is not important. I subscribe to a Palinist view of sex education which rejects both special interests and abstinence only in favor of a combined teaching of contraception and abstinence alongside one another. But, the point is, Africa needs to develop economically through good policy and protection of property rights to solve it’s woes. UNFPA has run into a stone wall on this issue for decades and will likely continue to do so. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Population

Politically Correct Precedents in Arizona

17 11 2008

arizona-stateruth-mcgregor

This week Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor issued an order to pander to thin-skinned activists and establish a tyranny of language by the disgruntled few. According to her directive, illegal aliens can no longer be called illegal aliens. They must instead be given sensitive, positive connotation names that do not highlight their criminal status. Terms that were deemed offensive include “illegals,”

“illegal aliens,” “illegal immigrants,” “immigration crisis,” “invaders” and “anchor babies.” These terms will be censored from all Arizona legal documents and replaced with politically correct jargon such as “foreign nationals” and “unauthorized workers.” McGregor has indeed committed herself to the task of policing the speech of the laws of the land in Arizona.

McGregor’s action was in response to a prior demand from the Hispanic Bar Association to eliminate “derogatory” terms against those “without lawful immigration status.” So, they’re saying we should not call criminals “criminals.” Why stop there? Let’s be sensitive to thieves and robbers. Call them instead persons who possess property “without lawful ownership privilege.” Excuse me, but if someone breaks the law I think it is ok, in fact, justified, to be derogatory towards them. In a stable, free society one must have the rule of law. Any breaking of the law or disrespect for it thus harms society as a whole. The United States has a reasonable immigration policy which these people have decided is not worth their trouble, so they deserve to receive derogatory terms. One should not use a derogatory term against someone for anything but their actions, but it is well-fit to use one against someone because of their actions. If this were not the case, then Osama Bin Laden would not be a terrorist, but a “person with political differences.” The Hispanic Bar Association goes too far here. I know that Arizona has an open borders streak in its culture (Senator John McCain has long been an advocate of guest worker programs and other amnesty-like initiatives), but I expected more from their state. An upstanding official like the State Supreme Court Chief Justice can’t be expected to pander to every sensitivity concern that comes their way. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Craziness, Immigration

Boston Bhangra Competition 2008

16 11 2008

For those of you who don’t know what Bhangra is, Bhangra is a form of Hindi music and folk dance. It is an art form that energizes a formidable following – mostly consisting of those with Indian ancestry. There seems to be a traditional dance aspect to it, often in boy-girl pairs. However, there are also aspects that appear like martial arts and instruments. There are several dimensions and I guess the only way to really understand it is to see it. I myself had no idea what Bhangra was until my Indian friend Chirag (Indian in family background, American in nationality) told me about it and invited me to the Boston Bhangra show, which took place yesterday from about 7:00 to about 10:30.

I guess you could say that I had somewhat of an Indian Saturday since I went to an Indian restaurant for brunch in the early afternoon. The place was the Bombay Café on Mass Ave here in Boston. A friend recommended it to me. It’s got a good lunch deal – I got a whole all-you-can-eat weekend buffet for only $6.95 (not including tax.) As far as Indian food goes, I’m a fan of a good old chicken tika masala. But everything looked good so I had a little bit of everything on my plate. That’s something I love about buffets – they cater to indecisiveness ever-so nicely.

So, now, how I ended up going to the Boston Bhangra show. Like I said before, my buddy Chirag, who goes every year, mentioned it to me and I, despite having not a clue in the world what Bhangra was, graciously agreed to accompany him along with some other mutual friends of ours. After all, I love a good cultural fling – I do not immerse myself in multiculturalism on a daily basis, but I do genuinely enjoy it as a part of my whole worldly experience. I bought my ticket – or, more accurately, Chirag bought my ticket and I reimbursed him, for $20. It’s a pretty steep price but the show goes on for a while and I don’t do this kind of thing very often, so it seemed worth it. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Boston, Culture, Fads

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