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When asked about Biden's Enneagram type, Dr. Hoffman of NECo said, "There have been zero requests for that info, but since you asked, given his aggressive bulldog rep, he's either an 8 or a 3.

"Great Ceasar's Ghost help Obama if Biden is an 8."

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Preliminary results from NECo indicate VP candidate Sarah Palin is either a type 2 or 6.

"I feel sorry for Obama if she's a TDA member," stated an anonymous NECo source.

TDA stands for Time Displacement Authority.

Insight into how fiction deals with death

Sometimes I gain insight that I wish I hadn't. That happened today. I might as well share it with you.

Fiction has different ways of dealing with death:

1. The RETURN of [Insert character].

My son, when discussing the death of a relative, said, in a calm fashion, "He's not gone away. He's not gone away." This concept of someone returning from the grave was not a problem for him.

2. Rebooting a universe, i.e. starting it over.

This gives us the opportunity to see old characters in a new light, ala Smallville reimagining Superman. It also brings an old character into the contemporary world.

3. Creating immortal characters.

If you're characters never age, they always stay relevant and hip -- see Spike from the Buffy the Vampire series.

Also, immortal characters gives you an opportunity to travel into the past, and throw your main characters into different time periods. Again, witness Buffy as well as the Highlander series for examples.



***

These are all different ways for writers to deal with the concept of death.

Unfortunately, while highly entertaining and useful techniques, as well as being potentially very satisfying for long-time fans, these techniques are simply not possible the real world.

These elements and techniques are TRULY bound to the world of fiction.

Later on, my son accepted that there was no return in real life. "He can be in our heart," he said.

***

SURE. Someday we may have some crazy nano-tech that keeps us alive well-past our current lifespans.

I suspect that our generation is a little early in the timeline for this life-expanding future technology. The advances in our era are flat out amazing ... but I don't think the advances are fast enough for us.

***

If the technology does show up in my lifetime, great. I will gladly volunteer for dangerous missions to Mars or where ever ... since I would be living on borrowed time at that point, I would gladly take some risks to advance scientific research.

***

Sorry if this sounds incredibly nihilistic.

I won't get into positive concepts at the moment. Those who know me know I believe in the after-life, the silver lining, the force, etc.

Banzai! Bet Sushi!

Banzai is a cool new DVD game by the folks at ScreenLife Games, based on the crazy TV show with the same name. If you've never heard of the show, you're in for a pleasant surprise. You get to bet Sushi (what a concept) on the results of the video clips. It's an easy game to get started, and appears to be a lot of fun. Oh, and you're likely to hear the word "Rubbish" quite a bit!

My wife and I love to play DVD games. Banzai looks like it would be a lot of fun to play with her and the kids -- in other words, the whole family! We're always looking for games that we can enjoy together. We'll definitely be adding this to our Christmas wish list.



The Banzai website is very cool. There's a Tako-Gotchi you can feed or play with(and Tako even has his own MySpace page! Go be his friend at www.myspace.com/takotheocto). There's also a great video in the How to Play section that demonstrates the game in hilarious fashion -- including a crazy clip involving a b-list celebrity and an interviewer.

If you want to purchase Banzai, just go to their website and order it there! The game is also available at local retailers near you.


ScreenLife Games is at it again. They launched a new Banzai game. Check it out:

In honor of Obama-Biden: Welcome back Google

In honor of Obama's LME pick of Joe Biden (Now we get to here Biden's greatest hits on talk radio. Sheesh), the Original DailySkew will be running Google ads at the top of the blog for the duration of the election as a symbolic protest against those who are incapable of thinking outside the box. If Obama wins, we might keep them up.

I mean, does Obama want a Happy Meal box with that Biden pick?

Damn. Zero creativity. Zero risk taking. Hours of meaningless drivel about Biden coming up on T.V. and radio.

Damn. I'm sure people will vote against Obama just because he's exposing us to this boring and predictable news-cycle.

1984 Comparison -- Part X

- Room 101, the rats
-- An instinctive fear -- my room 101 is a home invader at night, or a mugger by day. The veil of safety being pulled; an inability to defend myself in the face of an unreasoning person with a gun or knife revealed.
-- People who will say or do anything to keep their job or post.
-- People who will successfully accuse others of committing a crime they in fact committed.
-- Cheating on your spouse always leaves a wound that doesn't heal.

- Chestnut Tree
-- After a massive layoff, the remaining workers cling to their jobs. They are grateful to have been spared, and express loyalty to the company.
-- Eating up what the MEDIA dishes out without questioning it. Believing every word. Ignorance is Strength. Ignorance keeps one from being noticed or making waves in society.
-- Once you jump the shark, you can't unjump. All you can do is move forward, living with the knowledge.
-- narcissism is destroying our society. We are not trained to sacrifice for others. Our worst fears compel us to act for ourselves, without regard to our neighbors.
-- Video games and television such as Diamond Mind have replaced the need for endless war as distraction for the populace. People thinking of video games and movies do not think of the current state of affairs, and are less dangerous.
-- Justifying suffering by being grateful for what you have; loving your taskmaster b/c there is no other way.
-- 90% approval ratings for dictators in their home country -- approval powered by fear and suffering.
-- Winston's realization at the end is similar to an abused spouse who gives up.

Vahl rips IOC Rogge and defends Bolt

The following is an article from CNN.com, interspersed with satirical comments from Vahl:

(CNN) -- Jamaica's sprint sensation Usain Bolt should show more respect to his beaten rivals says International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge. [OH REALLY?]



Jamaican Usain Bolt is the first man to break the world marks in both sprints at an Olympic Games. [CONGRATULATIONS! RESPECT!]

"I have no problem with him doing a show," Rogge told the Associated Press after Bolt's latest triumph in the 200 on Wednesday night. [UH, HUH]

"But [TYPICAL POLITICIAN] I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones immediately after the finish and not make gestures like the one he made in the 100 meters." [WHY DON'T YOU RESPECT HIS CULTURE, MR. IOC CHAIRMAN? MAYBE BOLT'S NOT AN UPPITY BELGIUM.]

Rogge was referring to Bolt's antics [UH, YOU MEAN TOTAL DOMINATION] in Saturday's 100 final, as he eased up in the final meters, glanced around with arms outstretched and pounded his chest before crossing the line in a world record of 9.69 seconds [ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS IN OLYMPIC HISTORY. "THE THRILL OF VICTORY."].

"I understand the joy," Rogge said. [NO YOU DON'T, LIAR. YOU'RE JUST BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT, TRYING NOT TO OFFEND THE ISLAND NATION OF JAMAICA.]

"He might have interpreted that in another way, but the way it was perceived was 'catch me if you can.' You don't do that. But he'll learn. He's still a young man." [WHO INTERPRETED IT THAT WAY? DID YOU TAKE A POLL, MR. ROGGE? OR DID THE CHARDONNAY SIPPERS YOU HANG OUT WITH DECLARE THAT'S HOW THE PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT IT?]

[YET ANOTHER POLITICIAN WHO CLAIMS TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE THINK WITHOUT EMPIRICAL PROOF. DOES HE PSYCHICALLY TAKE POLLS? READ MINDS? WHAT.]

Bolt, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Thursday, completed his double with another runaway victory in the 200, breaking Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record of 19.32 seconds by two hundredths of a second. [OKAY -- HE RAN STRONG THE ENTIRE RACE. THAT SHOULD PLEASE HIS DETRACTORS, RIGHT?]

After his victory, he appeared to make no effort to acknowledge his fellow competitors [NOPE. JUDGE NEWS MEDIA HAS SPOKEN. WORSE THAN JUDGE DREDD] and embarked on an extravagant victory lap [JOY? HOW DARE YOU SHOW JOY, MR. BOLT? AFTER ALL, YOU JUST BROUGHT HOME THE GOLD TO YOUR COUNTRY! THE FIRST TO DO THAT FOR JAMAICA IN THE 100 AND 200 METERS DURING THE OLYMPICS! WHY SHOULD HE SHOW JOY AND NATIONAL PRIDE? WHY HASN'T HE BEEN CASTRATED INTO A GOOD SPORT YET?] in which he swayed to reggae music [WELL, THERE YOU GO. I DOUBT MR. ROGGE RESPECTS REGGAE MUSIC, OR JA FOR THAT MATTER!] and lapped up the crowd's attention.

[BY THE WAY, I DIDN'T HEAR ANY OF THIS WHEN MICHAEL PHELPS AND HIS TEAMMATES WERE GOING CRAZY AFTER WINNING ONE OF THOSE RELAY RACES BY A SPLIT SECOND. TYPICAL DOUBLE-STANDARD, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. ASK BARRY BONDS, IF YOU NEED A CLUE.]

"He still has to mature," Rogge added. [NO, MR. ROGGE. YOU NEED TO GET THAT STICK OUT YOUR BEHIND.]

"I would love him to show more respect for his competitors. [THAT'S RACIST] That's not the way we perceive being a champion. [WHO'S "WE"? I KNOW I PERCEIVE HIM AS A CHAMPION! WE HERE AT THE DAILYSKEW PERCEIVE HIM AS A CHAMPION] But he will learn in time. [UH, HOW DO YOU INTEND TO TEACH HIM, MR. ROGGE? YOU'RE STARTING TO SCARE ME] He should shake hands with his competitors and not ignore them. He'll learn that sooner or later. [HE'LL LEARN THAT YOUR CULTURE IS BETTER THAN HIS?] But [HERE COMES THE DOUBLESPEAK] (he's) a great athlete, of course. [MR. ROGGE, WE KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE THAT.]"

"Bolt is in another dimension in sprints," said the Belgian. [A DIMENSION THAT MR. ROGGE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND.]

[I WONDER IF MR. ROGGE IS RELATED TO WILLIE RANDOLPH, WHO HAD A SIMILAR STICK UP HIS BEHIND OVER LASTINGS MILLEDGE AND HIS JOY AFTER HITTING A GAME-TYING HOME RUN?]

"Bolt must be considered now the same way like Jesse Owens should have been in the 1930s. Bolt has a bigger edge than Owens on his rivals. [ROGGE KNOWS HE'S WRONG, SO NOW HE'S TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR IT.] Of course, Owens had the long jump too, so you can't compare people. [DAMN ... HE STILL FOUND A WAY TO DISS LIGHTNING BOLT!] If he maintains that in the future, Bolt will be someone that probably leaves a mark like Jesse Owens. [PROBABLY? HE ALREADY DID, SUCKA!]"

U.S. sprinter Owens famously dominated the 1936 Berlin Olympics as he won golds in the 100-200, the sprint relay and the long jump. [I WONDER WHAT MR. ROGGE WOULD HAVE SAID BACK IN 1936 ABOUT JESSE OWENS?]

Rogge's remarks sparked an immediate debate but U.S. sprinter Shawn Crawford, who crossed the line fourth in the 200 but was upgraded to the silver medal after the disqualifications of Wallace Spearmon and Churandy Martina, said he saw nothing wrong in Bolt's showboating celebrations. [THANK YOU]

"I guess there's mixed feelings among athletes," he told Associated Press [MR. CRAWFORD PRACTICING HIS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS]

"To me, I don't feel like he's being disrespectful. [AMEN] If this guy has worked his tail off, every day, on his knees throwing up like I was in practice, he deserves to dance. [PREACH IT! PREACH IT!]"

[AS USUAL, THE MEDIA WAITS UNTIL THE END OF AN ARTICLE TO REVEAL THE TRUTH]

The RETURN of Philosophical Ramblings: Different Races, Different Prices

I found out something shocking about the adoption industry: certain races cost more than others.

For example, adopting a white Russian baby with blue eyes will probably cost more than a mixed child from Guatemala.

"It's the free market," my friend told me, as he explained the situation.

According to him, if you wanted to adopt a baby from the islands, the MINIMUM cost is $11,000 ... and that doesn't include the years of paperwork and hassle.

"First, you have to pay an attorney here in the States. You have to undergo psychological review ... background check. And that's just here. In the islands, you have to pay a lawyer THERE to get the ball rolling on that end. And THEN you have to deal with immigration. It's a mess."

Now, if you're choosy about a baby ... and that baby's race is in HIGH DEMAND ... well, guess what? You're paying more.

"And the wait is longer ... five years," he said.

I told him that the whole thing seemed wrong. It reminded me of the slave trade. However, I had to admit that the adopted child is being helped, regardless of the surrounding circumstances ... but, then again, what about the children whose race is in low demand?

Damn. They're just forgotten children. They're chaff, as far as the richest people in the world (us) are concerned. Not even chaff. Less than chaff. Not even in our frame of reference. Not in our thoughts. Forgotten.

But, hey ... those kids need to be rugged individualists, right? They need to RUSH to excellence. That's right -- overcome dirty water, zero education, a language the world doesn't speak, an ethnic race with no lobbyists on capital hill demanding assistance on your behalf... good luck!

***

Speaking of forgotten kids ... I heard that Barack Obama's brother was interviewed for this month's Vanity Fair. Here's a segment of the article that talked about the interview:

The Italian edition of Vanity Fair said that it had found George Hussein Onyango Obama living in a hut in a ramshackle town of Huruma on the outskirts of
Nairobi.

Mr Obama, 26, the youngest of the presidential candidate's half-brothers, spoke for the first time about his life, which could not be more different than that of the Democratic contender.

"No-one knows who I am," he told the magazine, before claiming: "I live here on less than a dollar a month."

According to Italy's Vanity Fair his two metre by three metre shack is decorated with football posters of the Italian football giants AC Milan and Inter, as well as a calendar showing exotic beaches of the world.

Vanity Fair also noted that he had a front page newspaper picture of his famous brother - born of the same father as him, Barack Hussein Obama, but to a different mother, named only as Jael.

He told the magazine: "I live like a recluse, no-one knows I exist."

Embarrassed by his penury, he said that he does not does not mention his famous half-brother in conversation.

"If anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed," he said.

For a good mood: Obama!

Guest-blogger Angel Jimenez chimed in with this earlier today, via txt msg:

I'm voting for Obama. Why?

It's all about mood, baby. The country was in a better mood when Clinton was in office than with Bush.

We need a Democrat like Obama to lighten our collective mood. This will help boost the economy.

It'll also be nice to have a President that the MEDIA likes.

1984 Comparison -- Part IX

- O'Brien interrogating Winston
-- Doublethink, as a philosophy, is rooted in the average behavior of personality type 8. Average 8's have the ability to say or do something, and in the next moment forget what was said or done. When a 6, like Winston, who respects history and remembers, attempts to cause the 8 to recall what was said or done, the 8 with complete sincerity and honesty denies having said or done so. They tell themselves to forget and they do forget, completely and irrevocably. 8's are the masters of doublethink -- it's in their genetic code.
-- Like 8's, the Party refuse to remember recent history as it was -- they alter it to their needs. The present moment is all that matters.
-- In some ways, doublethink reminds me of religious conversions, where the person is forgiven of sins ... to the point that, in their minds, the sin NEVER HAPPENED. They believe that since God forgives and forgets, they, too, should forget ... and the sin is literally erased from history.
-- Aggressive people in charge tend to employ O'Brien's theory that making people suffer insures you are in control of them. Bosses want their presence felt -- they don't want independent thought. They like the vision of a boot stamping on a human face forever, as long as they benefit from it!
-- Captive experiencing Stockholm Syndrome
-- A person married to an abusive spouse

- Winston recovering, dreaming of the bullet in the corridor
-- Like a worker who senses he's going to be fired, but doesn't know when the exact moment will happen

1984 Comparison -- Part VIII

- Prisoners dragged off to and fearing Room 101
-- The electric chair for the unjustly convicted

- Winston, sitting in white-walled prison cell
-- compliance with the group societal norms, even unjust norms, may become necessary for survival if one wishes to avoid being treated unjustly. Examples would include refusing to help Jews in Nazi Germany, or slaves prior the Civil War in the U.S. Fear truly is the mind-killer, to quote from the novel Dune, as well as the heart and soul killer.
-- Watching others suffer injustices at work from managers and not speaking up ... praying that you can avoid the same injustices.
-- Fear of the authority figure firing you compels you to do certain things (like firing other employees), or not do certain things (like taking the time to help someone b/c you don't want to explain why you're work didn't get done) -- LME.
-- Food is a big issue for sixes like Winston.
-- Pain is a big issue for sixes like Winston.
-- It's hard for sixes to think or pay attention when they're hungry and/or in pain.
-- The equivalent of getting dumped by your partner after years of unquestioned loyalty.

Simming the Georgia Affair

I was gonna sim the Georgia affair. Actually, I had simmed it in my head ... but my sim got disrupted by a co-worker who told me about a news report that said that Georgia PROVOKED Russia into INVADING Georgia.

I not-so-calmly explained to her that Russian Tanks didn't just magically appear overnight on the Georgian border! It takes months for those tanks to cross the Caucacus Mountains ... but, hey, the news reporter said what they said. So it must be true, right?

Of course. Of course it's true. Don't be ridiculous. Georgia provoked Russia.

And I realized that even simming the situation (and I'll discuss the sim in a moment) ... there's always going to be people who take the other side, who are contrarian, who don't see what is really happening ... who just don't get it.

That confuses things.

Anyway, here is my Clancyesque sim of the situation: Georgia has been kept out of NATO by the European nations. NATO is not going to accept them magically overnight.

So, what's left? The U.S. What will the U.S. do right off the bat?

Well, obviously the U.S. will not attack Russia right off the bat. The U.S. plays by the International rules.

What are the rules? If a country has violated agreed-upon norms, like Russia has (and don't give me the bullcrap about Georgia violating anything. Why don't you kiss Putin's boots, while you're at it!), countries go after the offending party economically first.

So, the U.S. will most likely go after Russia with an economic embargo.

Now, what does Russia produce? Well, they produce oil.

So, the embargo will involve oil and that will affect us. It will affect Europe -- they won't be happy about it. Apparently, they're willing to go with the oil flow because they don't want their oil supplies to be cut off.

Too bad.

I'm sure the U.S. is going to push for this in the U.N., and I'm sure the U.S. will prevail.

Russia won't be happy about it, and ... at some point, of course, we'll set a deadline for the Russians to leave Georgia. This current ceasefire agreement appears to be falling apart (after all, like terrible houseguests, the Russians won't LEAVE). There will have to a new agreement with a new date that says, "Russia has until this date to get out of Georgia."

And, Russia will not comply, and we will have NO CHOICE but to go in and push them out ... the way we push Iraq out of Kuwait nearly two decades ago.

That, I believe, is what Putin is hoping for. He wants the situation to escalate to that point, and they want to show us that they are not Iraq ... that they will not be pushed out so easily ... and that, once we engage them, they'll say, "You've declared war on us. All bets are off."

I think that's what they're hoping for. At the same time, Iran will take advantage of the opportunity. Attack Israel, Iraq, or whatever the heck they've been wanting to do.

And, while we're at it, why stop there? China will probably take advantage of the opportunity and take over Taiwan. Who knows?

Russia and their allies do not believe the U.S. is in a position to be the world's policeman anymore. They don't believe Europe has the intestinal fortitude to back us up and step in where we can't because we're already stretched out.

They know the U.S. is bogged down in Iraq. They know the U.S. is committed to Afghanistan. And they believe we've reached our limit. They want to take advantage of this.

So, that's the sim that played out in my mind.

***

Now, I actually think it's going to be worse than that sim. I think, based on news reports and that there are people here in the U.S. who will actually SYMPATHIZE with Russia! A lot of people.

There are people who are tired of the war. I understand that. Believe me, I understand that.

My answer to that is -- the Russians just killed 2,000 people in a few days. You can't even compare this! This is not an apple, it's an orange. It's totally different. Different set of circumstances.

And, I really think, that when you get down to it, the truth of the matter is we ARE stretched out. AND, we're stretched out psychologically, as a nation. We're stretched out emotionally.

And there's enough people here in the U.S. to prevent us from doing what is right.

Here's the thing: countries like Georgia depend on us. They've asked for our help. They've bought into Democracy because of us. If we don't step in, right here, right now, (Where's Jesus Jones when you need him?) to defend Democracy in a small country like Georgia, then we've failed them. Other countries that have bought into Democracy are going to see that and say, "Well. The U.S. doesn't really believe in what they preach. They only believe it when it's convenient to them. When it's a convenient opponent, like Saddam Hussein."

You better believe it.

If the world's lone Democratic superpower doesn't stand up to OBVIOUS tyranny, this will weaken the argument for Democracy in the world.

***

But, hey -- what am I talkin' about? The Georgian's provoked the Russians. The Georgians are EVIL. The Russians are GOOOoood.

***

Now, let's remember the good old days, when we thought the Cold War was over:

New Series on Mortgage Crisis Coming Soon

I read this and it inspired me to create a new series about the Mortgage Crisis:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More homeowners than ever are selling at a loss, propelling the real estate market deeper into crisis.

In the 12 months that ended June 30, nearly 25% of all homes sold nationwide fetched less than sellers originally paid, according to real estate Web site Zillow.com.

While the nation's double-digit decline in home prices has been well documented, the new report underscores the economic force of those price declines. Homeowners are walking away with much less in their pocket when they sell. And that affects more than the real estate market.

"It's stunning what's happening out there," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics, who looked at statistics that date back to 1996. "The numbers are the worst we've seen and it's not just the magnitude of the problem but the scope - so many markets are affected."

Nationwide, nearly a third of all homeowners who bought since 2003 owe more on their homes than the homes are worth. And those that ... put little or none of their own money into the home purchases, are more likely to try to sell short or simply abandon their homes.

"They hand over their keys and walk away from the homes," says Danielle Babb, a real estate investor, instructor at the University of California Irvine and author of "Finding Foreclosures."

That adds to foreclosure rates. Zillow reported that nearly 15% of U.S. existing home sales during the last 12 months involved foreclosed homes.

That trend will almost surely continue.

The news media proves, once again, that they're about six weeks to two YEARS behind when they report a story. If you see news, just assume it's old.

I mean, they were talking about how 33% of home owners are upside-down on their mortgage, and "Gee, this crisis may be worse than we thought!"

And Danielle Babb's quote? Excuse me, but these people "Walk away" after banks refuse to renegotiate in the face of OBVIOUS evidence that home values have PLUMMETED. The Banks, apparently, would rather take a huge hit on a foreclosure and get Government assistance ... as opposed to work with individual borrowers.

So much for the efficiencies of Mass-Market banking. I guess one Call Center for the country doesn't work WHEN THERE'S A CRISIS!

Anyway, in my new series, I plan on recounting my experiences in attempting to purchase a home the past three years. It was, and still is, a roller coaster ride.

If you're wondering why I didn't do this sooner ... well, I did write about the Real Estate Market after Wilma. I won't even bother linking to it -- I've referenced it before. I have been on the cutting edge and people have ignored my words at their peril.

Arturo Sundvold: "Stop Blogging and Save the Environment"

And now, conservative-turned-porn-star and guest blogger Arturo Sundvold:

I just came out of a meeting where we discussed how we can make our film production company more green. I suggested the girls could wear green eyeshadow or lipstick.

That got a chuckle.

It occurred to me at that moment -- the advent of computers has increased our use of energy! Exponentially!

So, the answer to our energy crisis is obvious, to me anyway: ALL BLOGGERS MUST STOP BLOGGING.

If you're keeping an online diary or dream journal, get a notebook!

Are you keeping track of your family vacations on the web? Get a scrapbook and photo album!

Are you staying in touch with people via MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter? Write a DAMN LETTER on a PIECE OF PAPER and MAIL IT! Stamps are still cheaper than high-speed Internet!

Also, since you won't need to upload 10 GIGS of video to Youtube so you can have exclusive content on your next post about how you love eating at Cold Stone, you can cancel that cable-modem or DSL line and go back to netzero or whatever. The savings, spread across these United States, will SAVE THE ECONOMY and END THE CRISIS AS WE KNOW IT!

So, stop blogging people. You'll reduce our consumption of fossil fuels, which will help the environment, AND you'll save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year.

You'll have more time to go outside and exercise. You can enjoy real PHYSICAL activities.

Enjoy!

1984 Comparison with modern society -- Part VII

- Ignorance is Strength chapter by Goldstein

-- Promises by politicians running for office to fix things, change things, provide for the public welfare ... only to forget the masses that got them elected once in office.

-- Telescreens able to transmit propaganda and monitor citizens 24/7 = the Internet, 24-hour news cycle, meaningless entertainment programs, blogs, chats ... a million different ways for us to observe each other. We ARE the collective Thought Police.

-- The MEDIA focusing the public's attention on one event or tragedy, while countless others are forgotten.

-- Council on Foreign Relations

-- The G8

-- The WTO

-- "Here comes the new boss. Same as the old boss."

-- The more things change, the more they stay the same.

-- Republicrats and Demicans -- The two party system in the U.S. functions much like the three supernations in the book 1984. They basically enact the same legislation, regardless of party affiliation ... and the pundits who debate one another are the equivalent of the slave populations on the borders of the supernations, fighting the endless war.

-- The United States deposing a dictator that we supported two decades ago. Thankfully, the past cannot be rewritten. However, those who support current military action, like deposing Noriega or Saddam, have no choice but to forget our support of these dictators years before. The admission of a mistake weakens the present argument ... if we've made mistakes in the past, it's very easy to argue that our current actions to correct past mistakes are merely compounding the situation. In other words, leave well enough alone.

-- "Mutability of the Past" = Columbus "Discovered" America, Andrew Jackson "Expanded" America, etc. How about this: the Cherokees and other tribes "Discovered" imperialism, and shed blood and tears as Jackson "Expanded" America's borders. This is but one small example of how has been history is written by the victors, those in charge, the Party, Big Brother.

-- "The prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity" = No wonder logical solutions are seemingly never enacted by Government, under the guise of such buzz words as "bipartisanship" and "compromise."

So You Think You Can Dance Finale Commentary

The following was heard in a household during the So You Think You Can Dance Finale:

Twitch should win. He's long and lean.

Joshua is too short and stocky. One of the judges even encouraged him to stop running, and do some swimming. He's too bulky.

I bet mostly women are watching this show, since they're not voting for the girls.

Debbie Allen's protege was so smooth, that people voting didn't sympathize for him. He was really good.

Isn't Joshua winning sort of like Emmit Smith winning Dancing with the Stars?

Oh snap! Joshua! I guess the women like that booty.

It doesn't matter -- once you get this far, you'll get work.

<

A new search engine for my memory

Damian inspired me to write this. While he has a memory-recall superpower, I have something ... uh, else.

I remember random events from my childhood, like standing in line in elementary school, telling my best friend I had "Coughitis," and he quipped that I had the "Coughees." I remember the white tiled walls, the squares on the floor and painted lines ... everything. I also remember being at a particular birthday party with this best friend and another close friend, playing with some boxing game.

Certain memories just stand out for me. As Damian mentioned to me once, it's crazy what sixes tend to remember.

The thing is, I suspect all my memories are in my head -- I just have a really poor search engine.
There are times when a friend will say, "Remember when?" and I won't ... at first. As he or she describes the past event, eventually, a word or phrase will trigger the memory, and I'll immediately go, "Oooooo!"

Other times, the person I'm talking to will ask me if I remember something, and no matter how they describe it, the memory doesn't come back. I guess they're not using the right keywords to stimulate that particular part of my brain.

Sometimes, I will assume I can't remember something, and then it hits me later. For example, prior to writing this, I was thinking about how I don't remember specific details about a vacation at Disney world when I was ten years old. After a few moments, I remembered being on Space Mountain (WOOooooooh!), holding on to the handlebars for DEAR LIFE as I sat at the VERY FRONT, committing my life to Jesus if I survived the roller coaster ride, hearing my mother scream behind me, seeing my dad smiling afterwards.

So, the memories are there.

I suspect, as I get older, I will get better at recalling things. I just need to train my mind, kind of like switching from Alta Vista to Google, back in the day.

I hope I'm good at it, like those great baseball players from Glory of Their Times.

Random rings of truth

Here are some random items that sounded true to me:

* Brett Favre has been unhappy with Packer management since last year, when they didn't trade a 4th round pick for Randy Moss.

* Nancy Pelosi is encouraging House Dems to say they support drilling in order to pull a bait and switch next year.

* T. Boone Pickens has some crazy eminent domain plan with State of Texas where he will make billions if his plan becomes reality.

Glenn Beck praises the Dark Knight

Just listened to Glenn Beck praise the Dark Knight. How ironic that conservatives are praising a comic book movie, considering how comics were nearly destroyed by a previous generation of politicians.

Turn Out the Lights Pelosi

In case you haven't heard, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi adjourned Congress rather than allow debate on off-shore oil drilling.



Perhaps they want the next President to get credit for saving us from high oil prices, rather than Bush.

Anyway, here's some video and article clips. Feel free to comment afterwards:

Dems turn out the lights on Republicans and lower oil prices

By Ross Balano, Midwest Voices Colunist 2008

Thanks to Nancy Pelosi congress adjourned for five weeks without addressing America’s energy crisis.

Speaker Pelosi refused to allow a vote on increased off shore drilling choosing instead to leave for vacation even though Republicans protested loudly saying that the refusal to allow a vote is harmful to the economy. Pelosi’s response was to turn off the lights and cut the microphones on Republicans.

Republicans continued to talk in the dark and with no microphones and finally the lights and microphones were turned back on for a time and then turned off again.

***

Lights off & Locked Out

Posted by: John Campbell at 12:47 PM

Congress has passed no meaningful energy legislation to move us towards lower gas prices and more American energy and now has recessed for a 5 week break. Republicans, including yours truly, wanted to speak more about that on the floor of the House this afternoon. The Pelosi majority took the unusual step of calling for immediate adjournment to prevent these speeches from going forward and turned off the cameras and microphones on the House floor.

It’s one thing to not allow a vote on more energy production. It’s another to not even allow people to speak about it. I and several dozen others are speaking on the House floor right now to a gallery full of cheering people to demand that Speaker Pelosi allow a vote on more American energy production. No TVs. No microphones.

You can turn off the lights, but you cannot silence the will of the American people.

***

House Dems Turn Out The Lights But GOP Keeps Talking

By John Bresnahan

"This is the people's House," Rep, Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said. "This is not Pelosi's politiburo."

Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker's Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers.

"You're not covering this, are you?" complaing one senior Democratic aide. Another called the Republicans "morons" for staying on the floor.

Update - The Capitol Police are now trying to kick reporters out of the press gallery above the floor, meaning we can't watch the Republicans anymore. But Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is now in the gallery talking to reporters, so the cops have held off for a minute. Clearly, Democrats don't want Republicans getting any press for this episode. GOP leaders are trying to find other Republicans to rotate in for Blunt so reporters aren't kicked out.

***

Congress Adjourns, but Talks on Oil Persist

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

In a letter to Representative Nancy Pelosi, the speaker, earlier in the day, House Republican leaders demanded that she call a special summer session.

“You have the power to call Congress back into session at any moment to deal with issues of urgent national importance,” they wrote. “No one can argue that the issue of high energy costs and their impact on American families does not rise to this level.”

At a news conference, some Republicans also urged President Bush to call a special session of Congress — a power last exercised by President Harry S. Truman in 1948.