The Robot's Thoughts

(11:13:22 AM) valaXXXX: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2438836820080625
(11:13:26 AM) valaXXXX: news like this is comforting
(11:14:09 AM) redrobot5050: yeah, what's it called when you invade 2 countries for no good reason?
(11:14:16 AM) redrobot5050: oh yeah, imperialism
(11:14:24 AM) redrobot5050: def. not a draft situation
(11:14:41 AM) redrobot5050: i mean, when we're maiming 30,000 soldiers and teaching them that voting republican is a mistake
(11:15:07 AM) redrobot5050: its nice to know that nobody but their families and their friends will be asked to sacrifice for the good of the country
(11:15:12 AM) valaXXXX: gonna need a draft after that
(11:15:19 AM) redrobot5050: its like Chrysler's $2.99/gallon gas
(11:15:25 AM) redrobot5050: we're locking in "prosperity"
(11:15:40 AM) valaXXXX: i wish i could get a lock on prosperity
(11:15:47 AM) redrobot5050: (Hint: WWIII == war with iran)
(11:16:27 AM) valaXXXX: yeah, believe that was implied right?
(11:17:23 AM) valaXXXX: Dobson, who has previously said he will not vote for McCain because of his past support for stem cell research, on Tuesday said the Arizona senator wasn't doing enough to stop gay marriage in his home state.
(11:17:36 AM) valaXXXX: tollerant people those christian leaders are
(11:17:45 AM) valaXXXX: "fuck those homos in wheel chairs, and their hope"
(11:17:49 AM) valaXXXX: im fine brah
(11:18:21 AM) redrobot5050: yeah
(11:18:44 AM) redrobot5050: if only christianity was a religion that was founded by a messianic leader who believed in peace, love, and brotherhood
(11:19:14 AM) redrobot5050: not homophobia, nationalism/fascism, and monday night sports (football or wrestling, take your pick)
(11:20:06 AM) valaXXXX: yeah, keep wishing bro
(11:20:19 AM) redrobot5050: i know, right?
(11:20:29 AM)valaXXXX: last time i checked the religion was found by a combination, part hitler, part joe nameth and part alligator
(11:20:47 AM) redrobot5050: you think the alligator part would be pretty tolerant
(11:21:03 AM) valaXXXX: one would think, but its jsut like the alligator on Joe Dirt
(11:21:05 AM) redrobot5050: but it was actually an alligator that was inducted into the KKK as a grand marshal
(11:21:12 AM) valaXXXX: just waiting for you to stick your head inside, then CHOMP
(11:21:19 AM) redrobot5050: yeah
(11:21:30 AM) redrobot5050: which is in fact
(11:21:34 AM) redrobot5050: what will happen to America
(11:21:47 AM) redrobot5050: if it sticks its head inside the glory hole of gay marriage
(11:21:52 AM) redrobot5050: CHOMP
(11:22:26 AM) valaXXXX: u know, with all the famine, financial difficulties and general shit-i-tude (R) in this country
(11:22:29 AM) redrobot5050: "I do not believe the draft is even practicable or desirable," McCain said.
(11:22:44 AM) redrobot5050: (But everlasting war is)
(11:22:36 AM) valaXXXX: the thing that bugs me the most is the gays, and stem cells
(11:22:43 AM) valaXXXX: how DARE someone think they're my equal
(11:22:48 AM) valaXXXX: how, fucking DARE they
(11:23:11 AM) valaXXXX: how dare you have health problems that you would want cures for
(11:23:23 AM) valaXXXX: just be like me, perfectly normal, perfectly healthy
(11:23:31 AM) redrobot5050: and hard working too
(11:23:38 AM) valatruck: pos
(11:23:45 AM) redrobot5050: let the market find a solution to poverty
(11:23:53 AM) redrobot5050: its worked so well for big business in this country so far
(11:24:12 AM) redrobot5050: like the time the Japanese tried to knock out American competitors in making TV sets
(11:24:29 AM) redrobot5050: one of them survived. Zenith. Its a brand I woudln't even give to people I wanted dead.
(11:24:42 AM) valaXXXX: hahaha same
(11:24:42 AM) redrobot5050: the free market won, dawg.
(11:24:48 AM) valaXXXX: i wouldn't cast that upon my worst enemy
(11:25:02 AM) redrobot5050: "Its either a Zenith TV or Herpes."
(11:25:24 AM) redrobot5050: "Fuck, does valtrex suppress Zenith on a daily basis?"
(11:25:27 AM) redrobot5050: "No!"
(11:25:39 AM) redrobot5050: "Well, at least nothing falls off with herpes. Let's get this over with."
(11:26:14 AM) valaXXXX: yup
(11:26:20 AM) redrobot5050: seriously, McCain just needs to eat a flag or shit out a flag to win my vote. With his lucky 4 leaf clover and crazy spiritual adviser, a daily flag pill supplement isn't too far behind
(11:26:36 AM) valaXXXX: haha spiritual advisers kill me
(11:26:39 AM) valaXXXX: how do i get that gig
(11:26:52 AM) redrobot5050: molest innocent children for 20+ years
(11:26:55 AM) valaXXXX: really, u don' thave your own set of morals that u live by
(11:26:56 AM) redrobot5050: and not get caught
(11:27:04 AM) valaXXXX: u need someone to tell you what to think
(11:27:18 AM) redrobot5050: think of it as one of god's exit pollers
(11:27:28 AM) redrobot5050: he tells you what the religious mouth breathers expect of you
(11:27:30 AM) redrobot5050: you know
(11:27:35 AM) redrobot5050: the same people on Pitt's campus
(11:27:40 AM) redrobot5050: that wanted to nuke an arab nation
(11:27:43 AM) redrobot5050: on 9/11
(11:27:48 AM) redrobot5050: for "retaliation"
(11:27:58 AM) valaXXXX: same guy that picked a fight w/ an italian dude, because he was a "arab looking" ?
(11:28:49 AM) redrobot5050: haha. Yeah. How did nate not get hate crimed by mistake that day? Assuming he got out of bed after he found out that classes were canceled around 10ish when he woke up around noon
(11:29:08 AM) redrobot5050: (dude, its cool, i can skip my CS class. I totally rock at it.)
(11:29:34 AM) redrobot5050: admitting we don't need a draft
(11:29:37 AM) redrobot5050: is tantamount
(11:29:56 AM) redrobot5050: to admitting that our nation's survival -- which is the ONLY justification for war -- isn't on the line
(11:30:07 AM) redrobot5050: and that this is a military grab at oil resources for energy corporation
(11:30:09 AM) redrobot5050: s
(11:30:35 AM) redrobot5050: Democracy and Syphilis: Both are best spread at gunpoint.
(11:31:23 AM) valaXXXX: obviously
(11:31:34 AM) valaXXXX: fuuuck, need to get lunch before this meeteing, we'll continue this @ a later hr


You'll need some David Cross references explained (like Flag Pills) if you're not already a fan of him. I'll leave that up to you YouTube. Anyway, I just thought I should post something to keep people occupied, and my friend and I cynically ranting about America's political climate seemed to do the trick.

Labels: crazy people, IM conversations, me trying to be funny, politics

I found three articles I really felt like sharing from my usual social news site, Reddit.com

1. Why I'm (Probably) Leaving The Mac Platform: A Bucknell Student (disclaimer: I'm a sort-of alumni) whining about how its wrong that Apple updates their OS platform, strives to make it more unix-compatible than Linux, how it has a separate window manager, blah blah blah. I'll probably do a post later really smacking the shit out of this poor, know-nothing kid, but right now the entire blogosphere is calling this guy a waaahmbulance.
2. Truth or Consequences NYTimes Op-Ed Column: I really like this article for the same reason it will piss off most people in the US. It makes sense. At $4/gallon for gas, people actually start to cut back on driving. This didn't happen at $3/gallon gas, even though economists predicted it would. So, this columnist is calling for a price minimum of $4/gallon. That means if gas prices drop down to $2/gallon again (unlikely) the government would impose a $2/gallon gas tax, which would be used to fund public transportation, alternate, green energy, and buying back people's gas guzzling SUVs so they can be crushed.
   
3. The New Homeless of America: Rent is so high in Santa Barbra that people laid off because of the housing crash are finding themselves sleeping in their car, in special parking lots where its legal (sleeping in your car in a public street is illegal). This article, which I found to be slightly heart breaking, details one Santa Barbra resident whose been laid off and is living in her car with her two dogs. Sadly, the number of people using these parking lots are likely to grow.
   

Labels: gas prices, links, politics, pop culture, ramblings, Reddit

Talking Points Memo has "Exit Poll" data from the Clinton campaign, supposedly. Obviously, this is one of those "written by an Obama supporter as a joke" things, but at the same time, it hilariously sums it up the primary in WV today.



FTA:

"West Virginia voters fit squarely with the Clinton demographic; hard working, white voters whose deep seated racism and superstition makes them believe the most outlandish and bizarre lies that they've heard", said Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson . He continued, "I don't want to generalize because there are some college students and unlucky, miserable smart people who are desperate to move to someplace - any place - better before their souls are ground down. Other than that, we're solid, though."

Once again, here's the link

Labels: free expression is vital to the growth of every human being, politics, quotables, ramblings, WV

The hookah bar I went to, the Sahara cafe, had an interesting conversation happening in the booth behind mine. A marine that was stationed in Al Anbar province was home visiting friends and family. He talked to the owner, an former Iraqi that's apparently a doctor in the area. I don't know this gentleman's history, but the two discussed the war. Its funny how the "grunt" admits that he doesn't know why they're over there. And that what we're trying to accomplish militarily is impossible. And that his 15 buddies died over there in senseless ambushes. And how the civilian death toll there is untold, and very, very unfortunate. The Doctor, who again is apparently an Iraqi who spent some time in Jordan (or the other way around) says that the deaths on both sides are tragic and unfortunate. He doesn't want American troops to die. He just also wants them out of Iraq. The marine agreed.

Its funny how "the right thing to do" or dare I say "the smart thing to do" is glaringly obvious even to grunts in the field -- the very people in harm's way. I think that needs to be said that the people who didn't get a chance to finish college because they had to answer the call to serve seem to actually KNOW MORE about what's going on in the world today than our countries leaders if the last presidential address and 'loyal opposition' response are any indicator.

We're past the John Kerry Vietnam testimony moment in Iraq -- How do you ask another person to die for something you know to be a mistake?

This "peace with honor" smokescreen that's being trotted out by GOP candidates was tried in Vietnam. We didn't save face there. People still try and argue that we could've won there when we easily killed over 2 million civilians (and that's a guess -- in that war, like in this one, we don't do body counts) and we dropped more bombs in that country than we did world wide in WWII. The people that make this "we could've won" argument are missing the point. You cannot military intervene for the better in a culture unless it wants you to. Or you just want to end that culture. And if its a foreign culture (e.g. a non-western background, and you're a western culture) you will be met with hostility.

This is basic stuff you're not supposed to need a history book for, but we're inundated with what's called "American Exceptionalism" -- the idea that historical trends do no apply to the United States. Our leaders will have no waterloo. Our empire will not fail, falter, or decay.

I don't know why I'm putting this out there. I guess its because two perfect strangers were talking about geopolitical events and I happen to share their thoughts, and its easier for me to quote them anon then state the same idea myself. But silence equals consent, and I do not consent to what's going on in "our" names. And I really don't care if a boss from 10 years from now googles my name and find this post. I was against the war before it started. I was against the war while it happened. I'll be against the war when its architects try to shift the blame to someone else. And I have this feeling this isn't going to be an opinion thats frowned upon 10 years from now. I have a feeling that 20 years from now when people are explaining what they did during the Iraq war, everyone's going to have a case of "I was on the right side of history -- I was against the war" story to tell their kids (and conveniently forget about all their yellow bumper magnets). And I believe this because my parents were active in the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement in Vietnam, and they found it funny how many people who did nothing and never spoke out took the "victor" side when all was said and done.

But then again, History doesn't apply to this country -- we are the exception, right?

Labels: 2007 Predictions, anti-war, free expression is vital to the growth of every human being, late night thoughts, politics, pop culture, ramblings

Can you imagine the whole state of West Virginia (pop 1.2 million) being "Collateral Damage" by some foreign military?

Labels: bush, free expression is vital to the growth of every human being, government failures, politics, war

Discover Magazine did an article following up what many people are calling the 'real' 9/11 conspiracy. That of people like then Mayor Guiliani declaring that the air is safe for rescue workers to work in without respirators and special suits.

The towers each had over 1,000 tons of asbestos. Each computer in the tower had about 4 lbs. of heavy metals like lead. The tower's florescent lights all contained mercury. How many thousands of computers and lights were in the trade centers -- a pile that smouldered and burned for hours, releasing a giant toxic cloud of deadly aerosols?

The EPA actually refused to use their most accurate asbestos sampling equipment, choosing instead to use a cheaper, much less accurate test. Since the EPA ceeded authority to local organizations for the clean up, its very likely that a conflict of interest arouse: Wealthy
landlords of Manhattan don't want to evacuate tenants and pay $10,000 to $20,000 per apartment to clean up the asbestos, and as such, pushed local testing authorities to declare the air safe.

Parts of Manhattan might STLL be polluted. Something like 70% of first responders and clean up crews are showing clear cut signs of contamination and exposure to heavy metals and asbestos and fiberglass. So are a lot of residents that lived OUTSIDE the one square mile zone that was "unsafe" according to the EPA.

Its a depressing and frightening read. We really haven't moved past the 'duck and cover' days of the government. The reality of what happened on September the 11th, 2001, isn't at all like the fairy tale politicians like to tell when running for office and promising to protect us.

Labels: 9/11, EPA, government failures, politics, science

I attended a vigil against the war in Iran (and the coming one with Iran) this past week. It was my first act of political free speech and assembly since I applied for my Security Clearance. I'm not saying I got my clearance. I'm not stupid enough to talk about that on my blog. I'm just saying I went to an anti-war protest. And it was decidedly anti-war. It was not "Anti-War, but a bunch of pro-impeachment people showed up and took over. Or, Anti-War, but a bunch of Universal Health Care people came and took over." Just anti-war folk.

A Gulf War Vet spoke. Beforehand we were bullshitting about what candidates we like. Its funny because all of the candidates that receive media play like Hillary, Edwards, Ron Paul, etc, are pretty much either completely unelectable (e.g. they're populists, but aren't considered 'serious' candidates by the MSM) or they're more of the same (Hilldog, Obama, Guiliani). This election feels like we're just going to swish the same shitty taste from the right cheek to the left, and I'm left with the feeling that nothing is going to change.

They've been trying for Universal Health Care for almost 20 years. Nixon didn't like it. And now the health care lobby has more than 600 lobbyists under its employ. That's more than 1 lobbyist per elected representative in both House and Senate combined. Big money triumphs over little people. Our system is built upon the two words: Money Talks.

So yeah, I'm a little cynical, and I probably wasn't the best person to be giving 18 year olds who're going to be voting on their first presidential election in 08 voting advice.

We did one thing at the Vigil that I both liked and disliked. We read the casualty timeline. It read like, "On such and such a day, 4 US soldiers were killed. They were from Anchorage, AK, Someplace, PA, such and such, KY, bumblescum, SC." It was kinda long and tedious, and felt a little past the line where I wanted to go in terms of political expression. However, at the same time, I felt it was necessary. The war has been out sourced to a professional class that middle america has almost no contact with, and middle america has no real stake in this war. Most of us just want to "win" for some unfounded reason like like it would be better for the iraqi people (unlikely) or to prevent America from dealing with the same shame it felt after losing Vietnam.

(Just listen to anyone running their mouth about how we could've won that conflict. We dropped more bombs than we did in WWII. We were there for 16 years. Our best estimates put the civilian dead at 2.5 million. Its nothing but a lie born of revisionism -- brought on by the shame that military might cannot and willnot end cultural differences of a foreign culture.)

So we read the timeline. It omits the names of the fallen, so that their names aren't used in any political purpose. (As opposed to their deaths, which at this point I think it is nakedly obvious is for nothing but a political purpose.)

One army guy was 'disgusted' by what we were doing. It was a waste of time to tell him that we were not his enemy. Trying to educate those who don't really think/feel/care about the war is one thing, but those that have a personal stake in it, those that believe in it, and that could be going into a shooting war in the next 6 months, the truth is those are the ones that you feel the worst for -- they're already gone.

Anyway, it was decent.

Labels: anti-war, politics

This article by Kurt Vonnegut is a great summation of what's going on in the world today. In terms of the fight for oil, the military contracting, etc.

Like anyone sane, he doesn't have anything nice to say about the Bush administration. Its quite a good read, like most of his stuff.

Labels: links, politics, pop culture, today's generation

This is another post where I put up links from Reddit.com.


Here's some favorite quotes from Chuck Palahniuk -- the author of Fight Club, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Rant (and many more!)


Learning By Example: How Bad Code Proprogates. This talks about how some tech books have incredibly poorly written code samples (and even worse when it comes to editing, formatting, etc) and while a good/great programmer might be able to grasp what the author was hinting at and build a top notch implementation, the average or poor programmer will re-use the bad example code without understanding.

The Republicans are on the wrong side of history. This is a commentary article on the GOP Primary "debates", and how not a single candidate would support gays in the military. The commentator goes on to compare "seperate but equal" the phrase of segregation to "don't ask, don't tell", which is our current policy. Its well worth a read. If anything, you'll find yourself agreeing that there's a huge lack of leadership and vision on both camps.

Reactance is the psychological principal where one does the opposite of what one is persuading them to do. Such as teens drinking because alcohol is prohibited. Or kids rebelling because of the rules being too strict.

Pictures of Iraq, as seen through soldiers' eyes. I found this to be pretty moving. Some people took pictures of spots where comrades had fallen. Others just declared their love for their girlfriend Kelly on the side of their tank.

Crod Porn: A photographer on flickr.com took pictures of people's faces in a mosh pit waiting for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to come on stage. Everyone was stripped down to minimal clothing, hot, sweaty, and with a look of anguish on their face. It looks like an orgy (but isn't) -- and not the good kind. (Links are safe for work).

Labels: AJAX, links, pictures, politics, pop culture, quotables, ramblings, Reddit, thoughts

Bill Moyers interviews Jon Stewart.

Jon Stewart, in this interview, is as insightful about the truth of the games being played in D.C. as he is funny on comedy central. Well worth the half hour.

Check it out here.

Labels: Bill Moyers, Jon Stewart, PBS, politics, quicktime, Reddit, video