End Prohibition

• Update to previous post: My friend Eric had referred me to the book, "Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in our Free Country" by Peter McWilliams. It expands on the discussion of legalizing drugs to include all crimes that are consensual and do not harm others. He highly recommends the book. I'm beginning to read it and have found an HTML posting of the book at:
  
  Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in our Free Country
  
  ************************************************

I was listening to the Charles Goyette Show on Air America Radio today and he was speaking to a man from LEAP (Law Enforcement against Prohibition). These are current and former members of law enforcement who support regulation of drugs over prohibition.

This is a cause near and dear to Michelle and me as it is something we have always believed in. People just can't seem to get over the stigma of legalizing drugs ... though they have no problem looking the other way with two other "legal" and more dangerous drugs: cigarettes and alcohol. Our prisons are filled with offenders of victimless crimes. We are breeding new generations of criminals in prison. The gentleman who writes the following article, however, can explain it all much better than me and I highly recommend it:

End Prohibition Now!

Slipknot/Lamb of God/Shadows Fall --- April 6

I'm too old for this shit!

My brother Darin and I went to Glendale Arena last night and checked out Slipknot, Lamb of God, and Shadows Fall. We were definitely on the older side of the crowd.

We spent over 3 hours 30 feet from stage trying to avoid the huge mosh pit that encompassed the entire floor. We were reasonably successful. No internal injuries that I know of. Though, I do think I have permanent hearing damage.

Slipknot ... obviously great. Glad I finally got the opportunity to see them.



Lamb of God ... incredible. Tight and agressive. I am impressed both by their performance and by their latest album (a recent gift). An added bonus was that Darin caught a drumstick tossed by the drummer.



Shadows Fall ... OK. Good performance but just not as talented musically as the other bands.

DeLay

If you use products from any of the following companies:

RJReynolds
American Airlines
Verizon
Nissan
Bacardi

Visit Drop the Hammer and sign up to send them e-mails condemning their recent contributions to the Tom DeLay legal defense fund.

Wake Up!!

It is time to call to task everyone who, through their ignorance, blind trust or agreement with this administration is, in effect, advocating this war. Your cognitive dissonance is not an allowable excuse. If you voted for Bush, you are responsible. No one gets a free pass. Everyone who cares about this country and this world needs to start making their voices be heard. Do this with your money and your words.


"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists and the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron." -- Dwight Eisenhower


"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Progressive Talk Radio

This is a really good article on the growing market for progressive talk radio ... specifically Air America:

Message Received

Here in the Valley, listen to Air America on AM 1010 KXXT.

Speaking of talk radio, one of my favorite movies is the Oliver Stone move Talk Radio, starring Eric Bogosian.

Ah, Baseball ... my favorite time of the year

Checked out the Surprise baseball park for the first time today, courtesy of some free tix from my brother (thank you). The Royals played the Rangers in the last game of spring training for both teams. A gorgeous day (just a bit windy). Click on the image to see more pictures:



Here are the results from my AL ESPN Fantasy Draft a few days ago:

Randy Johnson, NYY
Octavio Dotel, Oak
Freddy Garcia, ChW
Zack Greinke, KC
Tom Gordon, NYY
David Riske, Cle
JJ Putz, Sea
Jamie Moyer, Sea
Scott Elarton, Cle
Frank Francisco* , Tex

Victor Martinez, Cle
BJ Surhoff, Bal
Ron Belliard, Cle
Eric Chavez, Oak
Alex Gonzalez, TB
Aaron Rowand, ChW
Randy Winn, Sea
Raul Ibanez, Sea
Alex Sanchez, TB
Laynce Nix, Tex
Alex Cora, Cle
Ben Broussard, Cle
Carlos Pena, Det
Juan Rivera, Ana
Gary Matthews Jr, Tex
Mark Teixeira, Tex

And my NL ESPN Head-to-Head League draft from today:

Carlos Zambrano, ChC
Kerry Wood, ChC
Guillermo Mota, Fla
Jason Marquis, StL
Doug Davis, Mil
Luis Ayala, Was
Tim Worrell, Phi
Brian Fuentes, Col
Ramon Ortiz, Cin

Michael Barrett, ChC
Todd Helton, Col
Luis Castillo, Fla
Sean Burroughs, SD
Clint Barmes, Col
Corey Patterson, ChC
Jason Bay, Pit
Geoff Jenkins, Mil
Brady Clark, Mil
Jeff Conine, Fla
Placido Polanco, Phi
Jeff Bagwell, Hou
Nick Johnson, Was
Hee Seop Choi, LA
Chris Burke, Hou
Wes Helms, Mil

Hypocrite of the Day

Our dear friend, Rick Santorum, senator from Pennsylvania, and champion of tort reform.

Easter Egg Hunt

There was a great kids event at the Washington Adult Center downtown that we took Alex to, called the Great Eggosaurus Hunt. They had an egg hunt in the sand, various crafts tables, food, etc. Click on the image below to go to a page with a few pics from it.



Here are some pictures form Alex's Easter here at the house:

Monster -- Movie Review

Monster is the story of Eileen Wuornos, Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer. This movie doesn't glorify the killings that she did, but rather gives a glimpse into the background and the possible things that lead her to those fateful decisions.

It is convenient to think of evil in terms of black and white. It is a scarier proposition to think that each of us has the seeds of evil within us and that in that right circumstances, each of us could do horrific things. Our society would be better if we tried a little harder to identify with that class at the bottom rung of the social ladder. When you grow up in white-bread America with a roof over your head and 3 meals a day, it is hard to identify with those that were not blessed with those things.

The performance by Charlize Theron is nothing short of one of the most amazing acting jobs by a female in recent memory. Even without taking into consideration the amazing physical transformation (gaining of 30 lbs and making ugly one of the most beautiful women in the world), this is still a fantastic performance.

The movie is similar to Boys Don't Cry(beyond the obvious lesbian love story angle) in several senses. It involves phenomenal female acting performances by actresses that you would not have previously thought capable of such depth: Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry and Theron in Monster. In addition, they are supported by equally great acting performances by the love interest; Chloe Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry and Christina Ricci in Monster. Plus,both movies effectively examine that fringe part of society that most of us don't want to admit is there.

Monster is a very good movie with great acting peformances. It is not an easy movie to watch and you'll probably want to follow it up with something a little less weighty but I believe you will be glad you watched Monster.

Super Size Me -- Movie Review

We bought a few used DVD's the other day at Blockbuster. Super Size Me was one of them. Going into watching this, I was already a big fan of documentaries, and had heard good things about this one in particular.

The gist of the movie is that the filmmaker, Morgan Sperlock, would embark upon a month long adventure of only dining at McDonald's. That means that every meal ... breakfast, lunch, and dinner ... would be items off of their menu. When he started, he was 6' 2", 185 lbs and in good health. When he finished, he weighed 210, his cholesterol had taken a major hit, his percentage of body fat had doubled, etc. The movie follows the daily adventures and steady degradation of his health. Throughout, his health is monitored by 3 doctors, a nutritionist and his vegan girlfriend.

His filming style is very similar to Michael Moore's. It is very funny and flashes back and forth between experts and man-on-the-street type interviews. He is the major star of his documentary ... a lot like Moore's movies. Even though it is funny, it is in a sad way because it is exposing a serious issue: the increasing obesity of our population and specifically, our children. It goes into how we are all indoctrinated into gross consumerism even at a young age. Who doesn't know a child that can identify the golden arches by the time they are 3? Plus, the food industry is not interested in having a healthy populace but rather just wants to maintain generation after generation of consumers.

If you like Michael Moore documentaries, you will like this film. It is irreverent and doesn't take itself too seriously. So, if you are afraid of this being some stuffy, scholarly type documentary, don't worry. I highly recommend it (and you can borrow our copy if you'd like).

Rage Against the Machine - "Know Your Enemy"

"... Come on!
Yes I know my enemies
They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
All of which are american dreams ..."

Coulter

Further proof that Republican shill Ann Coulter is a racist and a moron:

Ann Coulter and the Cherokee Nation

For more info about the Cherokees, read the great book Trail of Tears.

My great grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee. But you don't have to be Cherokee to see Coulter for what she is ... a bigot. This is after her statements about Helen Thomas:

• "Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president," wrote Coulter, who once argued the United States should invade Muslim countries and "convert them to Christianity."

Hypocrite of the Day

Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader had the following to say before the November election:

• "I find it opportunistic to use the death of someone like Christopher Reeve -- I think it is shameful -- in order to mislead the American people," Frist said. "We should be offering people hope, but neither physicians, scientists, public servants or trial lawyers like John Edwards should be offering hype.
  
  "It is cruel to people who have disabilities and chronic diseases, and, on top of that, it's dishonest. It's giving false hope to people, and I can tell you as a physician who's treated scores of thousands of patients that you don't give them false hope."

Hmm ... public servants giving false hope to someone with a chronic disease. Sounds familiar. What a different tune he sings before and after the election. Now that they are in power, they will do anything to keep it.

"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely" -- An observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Very fitting.

Cognitive Dissonance

There is a psychological term that best describes people that voted for Bush: cognitive dissonance.

This is a mental state of people where they find themselves contradicting themselves by doing things that don't fit with what they know, or having opinions contradictory to other opinions that they have.

Put another way, many people voted for Bush believing his lies, and now that his lies are being exposed, they still want to believe they made the correct decision. They'll strongly defend their choice and not accept they made a mistake rather than lose face.

What other explantion could there be for people continuing to give Bush and his administration a free pass? Every justification for the Iraq war has been refuted. A group of people who are supposedly for limited government, the sanctity of marriage, states' rights and fiscal responsibility have violated every one of those beliefs. Yet you won't hear other Republicans say a negative word of any of it. They'll just put some spin on it.

Bahhh, we the sheep-le.

Schiavo

Tucson

Way to stop those 13 year olds with deadly weapons (eggs):

UA Young Democrat Banned from Forum

Schiavo Case Hypocrisy

I know I'm in danger of sounding like a broken record, but they're at it again (or have they ever stopped). Bucking their own constituency, Bush and the Republican bad-boys (Frist, Delay, etc.) are making a political football out of something that should be a family matter. The courts have already decided, so let it alone. For people that are supposedly for smaller government and states' rights, they are sure trying to make a case for more intervention. And Bush ... don't get me started ... is again proving how much of a hypocrite he is. He is for life when it is politically expedient for him to be and when it financially makes sense. He sure wasn't for life when he signed the Texas Futile Care Law, which would pull the plug in certain cases where the family couldn't pay for the continued care of an incapacitated patient.

Luke Air Show

Today we went to the Luke AFB annual Luke Days Air Show. Though there were a few too many gung-ho types there for my taste, but that can be forgiven considering it was on a military base. Besides, that's not why we went. We went to see the planes. For a nerd with an aerospace background, it was great. To see some pics, click here, or click the picture below:

Skyscraper Challenge

This was forwarded from my friend Christine. I strongly encourage you to donate:

• "I have a friend who is doing the Big Climb for Leukemia in Seattle (climbing the 70-flight Bank of America building - the tallest building west of the Mississippi). This benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, which is one of my pet charities. Those of you who went to Aaron's and my wedding may remember him: he was the tall Egyptian-looking guy. In fact, 6 months before my wedding both our mothers were diagnosed with the same kind of cancer (even the samy type and class) and underwent the same exact treatment. My mother will be officially cancer-free this summer as she hits the 5 year mark; Derek's mom died three years ago from the cancer. So, cancer fundraisers are pretty near and dear to both of us, and I am sure may be to some of you as well.
  
  So, if any of you are looking for a good place to start your 2005 charitable donations, here is a fun one for a good cause. Personally, I think there should be a bonus option where you donate more if they puke at the top...
  
  Here is the link to donate. This is handled directly through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and they issue the receipt. There is a picture of Derek on this page, so be warned. He looks kind of evil, but he is really a nice guy (he is from Prescott after all). He is an artist for Warner Bros. and works on video games. If you know anyone else who may wish to donate, feel free to pass this along."
  
  Derek Chatwood's Vertigo Challenge

ISU 64 Minnesota 53. Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Minnesota helpless against suffocating Iowa State defense

In a fit of nerdiness, I was actually updating the score on my blog from my cell phone during the game. Using text messaging, I can message to a specific e-mail address and the blog has a special address that you can e-mail to that will post immediately on the blog. Laugh if you will. I probably deserve it.