scrambler

Trask, you're fucked.

You're making my brain hurt. Could it be just an artifact of how laws are enacted? When the punishment for transgression is determined, do lawmakers take out a big book of all laws and punishments to compare? Yes, the punishments are disproportionate and sends the wrong message when you compare the two side by side. Crimes against children are particularily heinous yet we place a premium on human life over the ecosystem. I may hate my mother in law but damn she's a human and she's better than a slimey clam even 20,000 of them. Personally I don't believe it's productive to compare these two offenses. It just reinforces the idea that the world is hopelessly unfair.

Scat comedy Masturbation comedy---slogans for peace Spread your flower's power Slap your tool, don't fight for fuel Rub your snake for peace's sake War's for squares, play downstairs Stop war now, milk your cow When you jerk tonight, keep peace in sight. Down with war, stroke some more War is cruel - flog your mule Don't attack - play with Jack Get peace fever, rub your beaver! Give your Bush the finger! For peace to work, you need to jerk War is heinous, thumb your anus You Can't Beat Off with Nuclear Arms War is Mean, Flick Your Bean War is wrong, whack your schlong. My 'friendly fire' harms no-one I'm going blind for Mankind War is silly, whack your willy Think globally, whack locally web page Comedians are sick!

I came across a story once, I think I might have read it in Little Big Man, that if you save someone's life at first that person is grateful but eventually that person begins to hate you because he cannot repay the impossible debt he owes you. Also there's the old cliché that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Highway workers lament increase of human waste

Good points, JayB. I'm considering my formal declaration of affliation with the GOP. ...or not.

Controversial thoughts...(not completely organized or refined) Is this such a black and white issue? Why are some people so intent on keeping abortion legal and propagating death of fetuses but when the other extreme is aired out it's considered wrong? I suspect this practice occurs more frequently than is reported. A family doctor in this case can administer the last rites so to speak while the patient is able to coherently say goodbye to his family members. The nurse may be judged crazy or criminal by today's standards. But if he did it with the patient's consent and with intent of providing death with dignity, i.e., the patient chooses death while conscious before entering into a twilight period of drugged existence. Couldn't you consider this the last conscious act of a sound individual? Why must death remain god's realm? We already control much about the birth and existence of people. Why is it ok to keep someone alive by intervention but keeping said patient doped up? I heard a statistic that up to 80% of all health care dollars are spent during the last six months of dying patients' lives. This practice is devastating to the surviving family.

Ok, this just seems logical but we must use all means as a nation to rid the world of Kim Jong-il (North Korea) and Fidel Castro (Cuba). North Korea is known to have weapons of mass destruction, its leaders have killed and oppressed their people, most likely exported violence through weapons sales and transfer of technology. If any state were a rogue state then North Korea is the biggest culprit. Iran also is well on its way to WMDs and has cracked down harshly on critics of its ruling government; has most likely exported terrorism through groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Cuba widely exported soldiers in 'wars of liberation against former colonial oppressors' during the late 60's in Africa. Castro has used extreme means to keep his people in check. What about all the numerous current and former military dictatorships throughout South and Central America and parts of Asia? Some of these countries or rebel groups within these countries are involved in exporting drugs to this country as a proxy weapon in their fight, e.g., Maoist guerillas and Columbia's FARC in the cocaine trade. Yeah, I understand these threats are not equal and there are other reasons for not pursuing them, but the justifications our leaders have made for war are clearly evident. The world is full of tyrants and illegal arms dealership and exporting terror by whatever means, so why all the inconsistency? I suppose, in all fairness, we do have black ops in countries that pose a threat to us in some way. But it just seems that it's another game of cops and robbers, that we keep some of these villains around as pawns in our geopolitical game because we receive as much vindication due to their existence. Let's let the leaders play the world like a game of chess. Work, enjoy your weekends and evenings, drink beer, etc. but don't try to change the world because your efforts are bound to fail against money and power. So, consume and spend your money like the good citizen you are. And, if one day you're asked to pay the ultimate price, then swallow the bitter pill without question 'cause that's your duty.

Uh,...the Prince of Darkness is Richard Pearle, also known as Darth.

That's interesting considering that there are governments of other countries that believe that the war was illegal according to international law. This includes the declaration by Richard Pearle that he understands this breach of international accord. In that light, then the term, war criminal, can be used more widely. This is a world where might is right. The weaker nations have to kowtow to the strong. Why should any nation follow the rules if he has a bigger stick? That begs a larger question, will the meek get their revenge on the tyrant nations? If the rule of law does not provide remedies for relief then will these nations seek to use terrorism, unconventional means and weapons, to exact their revenge? Is our unilateralism helping the fight against terrorism or actually turning it into a perpetual and perhaps growing problem? BTW, I support the war effort in regard to the grunts on the ground but I like to point out some of the absurdities of the leaders of the current administration. People live and die by their decisions while our leaders do not have to pay a price.

I think it's somewhat absurd to place all collective blame on one person, as if killing that person will absolve all co-conspirators of culpability. It's like saying that Hitler was an evil magician who cast a spell on the German people and held them trance-like in his sway. No, there were popular elements in the culture which helped propel the man upward and maintained his status. He would also have had the help of powerful people, perhaps important members of industry who would have seen a boon in rising nationalism and militarism. I would contrast Saddam of the Iraqi with the late Shah of Iran. Both were believed to have been feared immensely by their people yet we saw the popular uprising against the Shah dispose him of his position and effectively driving him from his land. People power from within. Sometimes you see that breakout in the world, e.g., was it Indonesia or the Phillipines where the mass peaceful demonstrations swept the leader from power? There are other examples such as Poland and Russia(?). Seems in most cases that there has to be some organizing power such as labor unions or churches, etc. that concentrate the mass force of the people. How many people can an army kill before it revolts against its handlers? An liberating army from without always has an ulterior motive, most likely installing a favorable government or as a countermeasure to a growing threat. My 2 cents...

All I know is that had George been Georgie she would have been one fugly woman. More images at link. There's nothing sacred about these people. They're all subjects of ridicule. Of course, they're having the last laugh though, some of them all the way to the bank.

Here's a funny story about the degenerate drug and sex addicted lecher. web page "The other elves and I used to speculate about what went wrong with Santa Claus. Jolly Ol' St. Nick must have spent one too many years staring at the blinding snow or living through those long interminable stretches of night and day that you get at the North Pole. Whatever it was that drove him over the edge, nothing could have been so horrible as to prompt the depravity he eventually exhibited."

This just in... The former Iraqi information minister, Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf has declared that the man captured is not Saddam but instead is the leader of the Taliban.

GANDALF!!!!!!! Guy has obviously caught LOTR fever while hiding in his bunker ...Or illegitimate son of Karl Marx?

Yeah I agree with Will. The real credit goes to all the grunts and others on the ground in Iraq. Capturing Saddam alive might turn into a snafu if he's brought to trial under the auspices of the UN. Get ready for a replay of allegations and actual charges of complicity involving elements of our government, either intelligence apparatus or arms dealing, in conjunction with the motives of Saddam as a dictatorial accomplice in countering threats then posed by Iranian extremists, Communists, etc.

Good job. Chump captured! Accomplished: Baathist government toppled, Saddam captured w/out resistance, sons killed in gun battle, no weapons of mass destruction discovered Efforts continue to root out Baathist elements: U.S. General Sees More Attacks Despite Capture

News story from BOROWITZ report.com : IRAQIS FAIL TO LOVE RAYMOND The Pentagon today acknowledged that their attempt to introduce an American-style sitcom to post-Saddam Iraq had been a dismal failure, as Iraqis expressed their overwhelming disapproval of the CBS hit “Everybody Loves Raymond.” “We were operating under the assumption that everybody, indeed, loves Raymond," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters. “Apparently, plenty of people hate Raymond, especially in the Shiite south.” In Shiite strongholds like Basra where the program debuted over the weekend, Iraqis watched the sitcom in stony silence, seething as if mocked by the raucous laugh track. “Why do they let that idiot [Doris Roberts] in their house?” said a visibly angry Hassan El-Medfaai, 47. “If this is what democracy will bring, I'll have none of it.” Sources inside the Pentagon blamed the decision to broadcast “Raymond” on the advice of Iraqi exiles who had enjoyed the sitcom on American Airlines while jetting back and forth between London and Washington. The discovery that Iraqis do not love Raymond is only the latest in a series of setbacks for the Pentagon planners, who last month unsuccessfully attempted to introduce Sara Lee breakfast treats to Iraq. “Whoever said ‘nobody doesn't like Sara Lee’ never asked the Shiites,” Mr. Rumsfeld acknowledged at the time. The Pentagon will make one more attempt to introduce Western culture to Iraq next week by broadcasting the‘80’s dance single “Everybody Wang Chung Tonight” on a 24-hour-a-day basis. “If I had to guess, by the end of next week every citizen of Iraq will be wang chunging,” Mr. Rumsfeld said. “But I've been wrong before.”

It's more correct to say that the bolide impact was the final nail in the coffin. The 'dinosaurs' were already in decline before the K-T event and for a variety of factors including the rise of angiosperms, changes in continental configuration, etc. Same with the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. A host of changes were occurring over time. The aggregation of the continental landmasses to form the supercontinent, Pangea, effectively reduced the area of continental epeiric seas thus eliminating many shallow water fauna. Other associated changes occurred such as changes in upwelling. The fossil record is biased towards shallow water marine invertebrates with regard to preservation, thus the percentage of species extinction is set at 96%. You're not looking at single causes but instead a dynamic earth with secular and cyclical changes within its coupled earth systems.

It's all about appearances, isn't it? BTW, I luv the patriotic theme colors.

The popular image of hippies was created in the minds of Madison Avenue advertising executives pulling together such inspirational sources as the writings of Herman Hesse, Carl Jung, Timothy Leary, Norm Chomsky, Marshall McLuhan, et. al. and the influence of other cultures, foreign currently existing and those of distant past. Those that look most like the popularized image of hippies are those that understand the least of what it constitutes.

I luv it when you talk dirty.

I thought there was a news article about a couple of days ago or so, that mentioned Tommy Thompson's view on legalizing the status of the immigrants currently residing here. Seems he was supportive of those now working and paying taxes here but wanted to get on a firm footing for imposing control on this situation. I just wanted to throw this in. ...And, in other California news today: Follow the story at this link:The Sheriff's Department's “decal controversy” is sticking around

* - Several days ago I posted several pictures of a demonstration in Iraq. An Anti-terrorist demonstration. It was one of the largest in recent times. It was reported inaccurately on page 5 of the Seattle Times Yesterday. Why wasn’t it on the cover of the NYT? Seattle Times? LA Times? I say because it did not conform to the prejudices of the press. Again thanks for the heads up! The difference between you and me, is that I can disengage my thinking from rote obedience to the party line. I am reminded of this quote: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." -- Aristotle (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher Also, true of a school of thought. My exact words: "Also, though you didn't mention anything of it , a bullish stock market and the overall health of the economy are two different things." I have to say that economics isn't one of my strong points. Lots to learn here. Maybe you can help me out, for example, can you tell me the long term effect of a weak US dollar? The important thing to remember is that Tet was considered a surprise that, whatever the spin, overwhelmingly changed our perception of the war. I remain unconvinced that we have honed our military intelligence to prevent this from happening. Regardless, this election prediction is not a science, it's an art and there's a shit load of wild cards. Well, I took the demonstration as a exhibition of popular demand for a freely elected government as opposed to one imposed from without. This is the shit storm we might face: that of a freely elected government hostile to our interests. Do you think that this hypothetical gov't will be predominantly Shiite?

In some parts, every day is redneck day.