Bright Lights

If you have been following the news at all lately you should know that the Health care Reform Debate is sharply divided along the lines of “Haves” and “Have-nots”. Of course, I’m not speaking economically here. I’m referring to those that “have brains” and those, who, well don’t. Am I being a little harsh? Well, let me give you a sample of what I mean.

Getting Pwned, Congressional Style

First on our list is a woman who was, and I will say this over and over, “Pwned” by biblical proportions by Rep. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts. She equated H.R. 3200 to Nazi Germany, and President Barack H. Obama to Adolf Hitler. Now, I am not certain how she makes a connection between H.R. 3200, a bill on reforming the modern American Health Care System, and Nazi Germany, and frankly I don’t want to know. However, for those who seemed to have forgotten, if you remember from school World War II was about the hostile takeover of Europe by the National Socialist (Nazi) German Party led by Adolf. It involved the systematic killing of Jews, Gypsies, the Disabled, Muslims, homosexuals, and pretty much anyone they didn’t like, for whatever reason. I may have been asleep during that part of history class, but I don’t recall WWII era Germany making headlines over sweeping health care reform.

Now, I have to commend Rep. Barney Frank, who is not only Jewish but openly gay as well (meaning being in anything like Nazi Germany would be far from a vacation), for keeping his cool and not physically harming this person. Although, he did proverbially torpedo her like she was a U-Boat. I would really hate to be this person right now. Not only did she make herself look like an absolute fool on international television, but, she opened herself right up for being verbally toasted by an elected official. However, no act of idiocy goes unpunished, so the unnamed woman will get the wonderful joy of bringing about a new term for the Republican Party. Henceforth, we shall call them ‘The Dining Room Table‘. It is only fitting, since she’s not the only Dining Room Table that seems to be too engrossed with Hitler these days.

The Ultimate Social Faux Pas, or, When Stupidity Attacks

So, we have our first Dining Room Table getting slammed by a Congressional figure, but in Las Vegas, another Dining Room Table takes the sport of Grand Stupidity to a whole new level.

Wearing a shirt from the Israeli Defence Forces, a woman repoted by KTNV in Las Vegas as Pamela Pilger, decided to interrupt a Las Vegas news crew talking with an Israeli Jew about health care in Israel. If you guessed her interruption was a “Down with Health care” shout, you’d be wrong. If only that is all she did. Instead, she gave the man a “Heil Hitler!”… a Jewish man… getting a “Heil Hitler!”

I doubt there is a better example of the ultimate social faux pas. You would think that after the man said “Heil Hitler? To Me? I’m Jewish! Shame on you!” she would have slithered away into the dark abyss she came from. However, that would have required a conscience, something clearly lacking here. So after he explains that without insurance it cost him $8,000 for a 2 hour visit to the ER, she mocks him with a sad whiny sound.

Clearly I’m missing something here. I mean, I used to think the conservative side of the coin was an intelligent group that had viewpoints different from mine. While I don’t want to go and claim that anyone who is conservative is also incredibly dumb, I do clearly think their spokespeople need better training. Ms. Pilger should also probably refrain from putting her foot in her mouth in the future. It tends to cause Athletes Mouth.

Just the Beginning

Sadly I am certain that outbursts like this are just the beginning. What is also sad is that most people have not read the bill in question! I have gotten up to 300 pages of this 1017 page document, and so far I don’t find anything reprehensible. The plan is a good one, including the public option. What amazes me is that people think that blogs and emails are ‘real news’, that the Media is trying to hide some scandalous part of H.R. 3200. Newsflash, ladies and gents, there is no scandal, there is no cover up, and quite frankly, there’s nothing to be so disgustingly mad about. Blogs, including this one, do not constitute ‘news’, and emails… well, emails are their own special form of dubiousness. Did no one pay attention in school? Just because you read it in an email, or a blog, does not mean it is necessarily true. That does include Bright Lights, which is why I’ve sourced everything with links above! This is what we like to call research, and it is so easy a Dining Room Table can do it.

Or, perhaps not. They’re too busy with delusions of Nazis and ihren Kampf (their struggle). I would implor, if not outright beg, anyone and everyone to stop listening to the absolute BS that is being thrown out there by Hannity, O’Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh, and others of The Dining Room Table Party. The outlandish lies and downright vile contempt coming from the conservative side of politics is disgusting.

Your Homework Assignment

Read H.R. 3200. Then, and only then, do you have the right to speak about it. If you can’t take the time to read the bill, why should anyone listen to what you have to say? I mean, if you haven’t read the bill how can you have formed an opinion? Oh, you heard about it. Take the time to read the bill, that way you can make your own opinion. Homemade opinions always taste better and are lower in saturated fats, sodium, trans fats, and toxic waste.

PS – I have to add, after reading this, the request to read this DailyKos Diary Post.

The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else’s view in any way, including those of my employer. Anyone named above is either a public figure or has had their name in print by a major media outlet. All issues are sourced with corresponding video. Any analysis or critique of the encounter is within my First Amendment Rights. I bear no requirement to remove anyone’s name from this post as long as it has been sourced correctly.

So, I’ve held off writing this rant for a while, but I feel I just have to after a post on TechCrunch. The writer complains about AT&T’s continued failures and how ‘once the iPhone is available on other networks’, he’s gone.

The iPhone is not really that great of a piece of equipment. In fact, I would have to say it’s pretty much a pile of shit. Why? It’s a product of Apple, that’s why. Oooh touch screen! Yeah, you can get that on hundreds of other phones, smartphones, and PDAs. They’re not all that great, because they’re always dirty and smudged. But, what is worse about the iPhone is it has spawned a new breed of Apple Fanboy, and they are growing in annoyancy.

I’m not one to stand here and defend Redmond for even a moment. I’m a devout Windows user but I know they’ve had major flaws. Their Internet Explorer team needs to be repremanded for running fast and loose on IE8, slinging code and incorporating a push-beta. Yet, for all their problems, Microsoft is still king. When you buy Windows, you’re buying the OS. Don’t want their OS? Ditch it. Want to put in new parts from a different vendor on your computer? You can. 

Apple on the other hand, they don’t sell anything. It’s more of a long term lease. In order to use their products, you have to use their other products. In short, once they got you in the door for an iPhone or iPod, they got you on the hook for iTunes, and if they could do so, a shiny new Mac OS X. My problem with Apple has never been one of saying that their OS is horrid. In fact, it is pretty decent. Their PC designs are OK too, very trendy. However, that’s all about Apple has ever really been. Decent and trendy. If you like Apple because you like Apple, that’s fine.

My real allegience falls on the Isle of Man. Canonical, the driving force behind Ubuntu Linux, will be awesome once they get more big named companies to agree to write drivers for the Open Source OS. And once MS Office 2010 comes, bringing with it Web Based MS Office, Ubuntu will be a wonderful lightweight option.

Back on topic. I really hope Verizon never agrees to the the iPhone on their network. The iPhone is crap, really does not do anything overly special that other SmartPhones offered by Verizon can’t do already. I would love to see Verizon tell Apple to go suck a core, then walk over and shake hands with Mr. Google himself and bring aboard Android. That would be impressive.

Eitherway, the hype over the iPhone just makes me shake my head. AT&T was crappy pre-iPhone, and it was crappy post-iPhone. Expecting anything different was really, really stupid.

233 years ago, a group of men (and the women who supported them) committed treason against the Crown of England. There was a passion, a drive, a desire to be free that produced a nation born of liberty. Committed to single purpose, to rid themselves of the tyranny of the distant Crown, they fought a battle that stained the ground, clouded the rivers, and filled the air with the burning smell of gun powder.

That was 233 years ago.

Today, what was a cause to shed blood for is barely a resemblance of its former self. If at this point you feel that I’m talking about carriages and top hats, I’m going to have to ask you to continue reading with more urgency than you have ever experienced. This letter… it is about you.

233 years ago, this nation was formed with some very lofty ideas in mind. The establishment of a government that empowers itself from the confidence of the people, and enacts its will as long as that will holds dear to the constitution. The establishment of a sectarian society in which religious freedom is guaranteed. A nation in which its citizens were secure in their property and papers. As one can imagine, it didn’t take long for the stories of a land of free men circled the globe and called deep into the soul of many a family.

What we have created though is a nation far, far different from the ideas set forth 233 years ago. We sit here with a government that empowers itself through corruption and greed, ensuring corporate interests that paid for election campaigns get their repayment in the form of ink and pen. For the eight years prior, we saw an administration that viewed the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, as nothing more than very old toilet paper upon which to wipe their asses upon. We see a society where God has become such a mythical power that many will take up arms in defence of ‘His Word’, killing others simply because they do not believe as they do. We’ve been left with a nation whose government has routinely spied upon its people since the early part of the 20th Century. Today, a different story runs around the globe, and it is one in which we are the boogeyman.

If it is hard to see, I’d like you to open your eyes.

233 years later we have a disparaging class war that is getting more virulent with each passing hour. The wealthy continue to sip champagne and drive their expensive foreign cars, while whisking to the District of Columbia in a private jet to beg the Government for more money, our money.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I haven’t been able to afford to even fly coach for over 4 years, much less buy two of the cheapest tires available for my car. Yet some rich bastard has the gaul to fly to the District of Columbia and ask for money? I don’t care if he came by fucking donkey cart. I guess he should have realized his seven figure salary plus perks might be playing a part why the ship he commands is on fire and sinking faster than the bilge pumps can go. Meanwhile, you and I are stuck on the bottom where our options are to either crack the last casket of Rum and be shitfaced when it all goes wrong; or hold our breath and hope we survive.

In 233 years we have developed a society that worships credit. I don’t dare fantasize that I’m not part of that mess. I have debt, and a lot of it. Not nearly as much as friends who have gone to college on student loans, but I have my own share. Yet, I sit looking at the website for University of Massachusetts and pondering taking out some student loans to get a Certificate of Journalism from their institution. A piece of paper that says I know how to write.

La-tee-da, I’m already doing it. However, paper speaks volumes. I wonder maybe if all that it really says is how willing you were to put yourself in debt for a piece of paper that says some douche-bag told you how to write.

Friends, let us not continue the fallacy of today. Let us not continue to carry this burden. Let us tell the wealthy corporate bastards they can pay their own way. Most importantly, let us take a lesson from our brethren in Iran who have something we don’t have: balls.

That’s right, I didn’t stutter. We don’t have balls. Do I see anyone heading to the District of Columbia reminding our elected officials that the first words of the Declaration of Independence is “We The People”, and how the rest is a license to revolution? You may ask “What about you? Why haven’t YOU got off your fat ass an gone to D.C.?”

I’m ready to go once enough of you are willing to put rubber to pavement.

I’m not saying revolt. I am saying go and remind them that we still retain that right.

But, instead I am afraid many will find it easier to sit at home and grumble, drinking the kool-aide being dished out by the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, and, O’Reilly. Perhaps you find Lou Dobbs more to your liking, finding various reasons to blame all our hardships on the Mexicans.

Here’s a newsflash: we wouldn’t have as much of an illegal immigrant problem if the affluent didn’t find their cheap labor such an appealing resource.

No, instead we’re going to wave our flags this Subordination Day and listen to music about how real men die in war, and how America is this beautiful place of freedom with freedom on the side. I’m not sure which to call it anymore, Subordination Day or Delusion Day. Either way it is NOT Independence Day.

As I do every year, it is time to read the document that brought us to where we are today. Read it, and don’t skim over it. These words and phrases are the most important ones your eyes will ever have the distinguished honor of witnessing.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

I don’t expect anyone to actually give a damn this year, much in the way no one has actually given a damn in years past. However, I hope maybe, just maybe I have reminded you that freedom means recognizing when you’re in slavery, and that Blind Patriotism is the ultimate perversion of the vision of our Founding Fathers.

So, a late night entry here on Bright Lights. I haven’t been really in the mood for writing lately, so I just haven’t. However, there comes a time when you must write about something. This, is one of those times.

If you haven’t heard the Virginia Folk/Alternative Rock band Carbon Leaf, you should. I would even suggest starting with the earliest part of their discography and go forward. Carbon Leaf is an amazing combination between soft electric sound and accoustic wonder. In other words, they sit well on the ears. Their sound is fairly unique, consisting of good melody and amazing lyrics.

So, back to the title of this post, their  new album Nothing Rhymes with Woman is an increadibly musical journey from start to finish.

Indecision will hit home with anyone who is living far from where they grew up, especially those who get homesick from time to time. I call Arizona “The Wastes” for a reason: although I was born here and love the layout of the flag, this region is like oil to my water. Although it is an amazing place to tour and is rich with history, this state and I will never gel. Indecision makes me think about Washington as the lyrics reminisce about being back home in Virginia.

Another Man’s Woman has an increadible sound. Definately a favorite on the album. As with Miss Hollywood, the album’s third track.

Cinnamindy has a great sound, however it is probably one of my least favorite songs on the album, followed closely by What have you learned? Both are excellent songs, just not my favorite. They remain in my Sansa rotation, but are least likely to be skipped to.

Mexico and Meltdown are excellent songs, each with their own unique sound. X-Ray, Drops of Rain, and Pink are also great songs, with X-Ray taking anyone with a good memory of their childhood back to those days. What is funny is I would have bought one of those X-Ray Glasses mentioned in the song had my parents not explained they were a sham. Pink may be hard for some people to digest, as the entire song is about a young girl sick with cancer or some other terminal illness. It is a very emotional song.

Snowfall Music is one of the longer songs on the disk, and is one of my favorites.

Now, for the ‘outstanding’ songs:

Seed, or as I know it ‘Vagabond or a Bag of Bones’, is an absolutly increadible song. Listen really hard to the lyrics, and you’ll find melancholy imagry not unlike R.E.M. or other greats. The song is perfect for a ride in the car, its beat and lyrics will leave you tapping your stearing wheel. The song is also very long, over 5 minutes in length (all three of my top picks from this album are over 5 minutes).

Finally, Lake of Silver Bells. Wow. This is definately the crown jewel of the album, and quite possibly the best song I’ve heard in a long time. Sounding great both on my Music Phone, my Sansa, or my computer sound system, this song is hauntingly beautiful. It is one of those songs you have to listen to in order to understand it and understand what I mean.

If you at all like Folk/Alternative Rock, and are looking to fill your ears with a delectable treat of sound and poetry, Nothing Rhymes with Woman is what you seek. Carbon Leaf delivers a great sound yet again, and if you mix in their latest works with their past, you’ll be like me: patiently waiting for more.

You can get the album at www.carbonleaf.com.

It is by far time for a vacation. I can feel myself being drained constantly. Its effecting my work, my school, my projects. I need to get out of the valley, and soon. I think I’ll schedule a three-day weekend sometime soon and get up to the high country.

So I’m in the CVS Pharmacy today after work (mind you that is about 2 AM), and thought I’d pick up a few things. I ran out of gauze so I needed more. Anyway, the place had been pilfered of all surgical masks! Not a box in the store. What makes this funny is…

… wait for it…

A FACE MASK DOES NOTHING TO PROTECT AGAINST H1N1/SWINE FLU!!!!

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

It only helps those who are sick from passing it on to others. Thats it!

What helps? Washing your hands, covering your mouth, and stuff like that. So what did I buy as part of this ‘Pandemic’?

Two large bottles of Hand Sanitizer that I planned on buying anyway for work.

So, when you see someone in line in front of you at the store with boxes of face masks, point and laugh. Please, I am really asking you to laugh uncontrollably at their sheepish behavior.

This shouldn’t be scary to anyone. It’s the flu, and you don’t die from the flu, you die from complications… meaning if you get really sick you got to the hospital so they can put you on tamiflu, fluid IV, and something to calm a fever so you don’t bake or hallucinate.

Otherwise, you stay home and drink lots of Gatorade and sanitize everything before you venture forth.

Thats it folks, in a nut shell.

Remember: Plagues can be thwarted by simply being clean and not coughing on people, as well as not going to work sick. I know everyone has the “I can’t afford time off” excuse, or “I exhausted all my sick/vacation time” excuse, but really, do the world a favor and not subject us to disease. If you’re working in a place that has no PTO (Paid Time Off), you should consider a career change. If you’ve exhausted all your sick or vacation time… you probably have an attendance problem and have too many “Sick of Work Days”.

So, thats my rant on H1N1. I’m going to stop calling it Swine Flu. It sounds stupid, and the only reason it’s not called “Mexican Flu” is because it would be not ‘politically correct’, although many flus are named geographically.

http://www.kvia.com/global/story.asp?s=10224525

I saw this today on CNN and just really, really couldn’t wait to get home to watch the video. My younger Brother plans to be a cop, and I certainly hope he doesn’t end up like this D-Bag. In short, this guy jumps a highway railing and orders a Reporter and Cameraman from a local TV News station to leave the area. They were on the opposing side of the freeway, parked in the emergency lane, reporting the news (a major accident on the freeway). From the camera footage, they were out of the way. However, enter Mr. “Respect my Authority”, and he orders the reporter to leave. Now, rightfully the cop states he is out of the area doing his job, just like the cop is doing his job. The cop gets in the guys face, then, as the reporter says “Fine, we’re leaving” and starts to walk away, the cop changes his mind.

And places the reporter under arrest.

In rather a prickish way.

The Cameraman, meanwhile, is filming the ENTIRE incident.

Then, as the cameraman says “I’m leaving, let me grab the reporters mic of the hood of the truck”, the cop takes the camera from the cameraman and shoves him up against the railing, placing him under arrest as well.

Now, for the audience, I will remind everyone that El Paso, although very close to Mexico, still is within the USA. Because it is still within the USA, it still falls under the jurisdiction of The Constitution, and in this case, freedom of the press.

Cop is 0/1 at this point. I really don’t think “Denying Constitutional Freedoms” and “Misuse of Police Power” will look good when trying to find another job as a cop.

If that’s not bad enough, apparantly he also threatened a Nurse who had stopped at the scene to assist accident vitims with arrest. EMS had not yet arrived to the patient, and the guy is reportedly a trained medical professional.

Now, apparantly the Cop never got the memo that says “Trained Medical Professionals should not be threatened at an accident scene.”

So, hopefully when this cop gets the boot, his firing notice will also mention additional misuse of police power.

The El Paso Police Department would serve themselves well by firing this officer, and issuing a public appology. It is just pathetic in this country that we have Peace Officers who behave in this manner. The reporter should have been left alone, and, the nurse should have been left alone as well.

End of rant.

I come home each night to an otherwise empty apartment. Why do I say otherwise empty? Oh, because I have my boxes, my various computers. Well, my flagship PC, named “Olympia” (Each one is named after a city in Washington, and since this is my main desktop, it is “Olympia”) did not turn on when pressing the power button.

Nothing but silence.

See, in the computer world, this is the equivilent of reaching over to wake your child and finding no response, no breathing.

So, immediately begin the lifesaving procedures. I checked the cords, I checked everything, nothing. Just silence. Silence is not good, because silence means… no information. Silence means there is a hardware problem.

Pop the case, and take a look. Everything appears to be in good working order on the Motherboard. Tracing along I start fidling with the power supply, including shining a flashlight inside the fan blades.

The fan blades would at least move if the power suppy worked, but, the fans do not rotate.

There appeared to be significant dust inside.

Conclusion: Congestive Heart Failure (a.k.a. the fucking Power Supply has taken a dirt nap).

Sadness, I has it.

Villagers in UK prevent Google Maps from getting StreetView of their town… by forcing them out. Okay, now this is absolutly dumb. People in an affluent town in the UK forced out the G-Car because they didn’t want the pictures of your home online, fearing it might invite criminals to strike.

Here’s a hint.

Total Known Burglaries Tied to StreetView: 0. Zero. Zip. Zilch. None.

Total Number of Paranoid People: I don’t have enough room to type that number.

Lets put it this way, if a criminal is using Google Maps, Google Earth, etc. to burglarize your home, you’re name is probably on the list of the 10 richest sons-a-biches in the world. Or, you’re a rival coke dealer. Or, for some other reason they really, really want YOUR home.

Fact of the matter is, affluent or not, nice or not, burglaries and home invasions are typically crimes of convenience. Teams of burglars don’t sit around cruizing Google Maps to find out a home to strike, becaue that doesn’t tell them what they need to know.

Furthermore, you’re not as important as Mom and Dad lead you to believe. Meaning you’re probably NOT likely to be a specific target.

Finally, have you ever used Google StreetView? It’s not like its exactly High Def. I use it to try to read the signs of businesses all the time of places I’d like to go, to make sure the phone book is correct and they’re really there. All I get, is a blurry image. It’s really not detailed enough for much of anything other than getting the lay of the land before you go some place. Microsoft Live Maps has Birds-Eye View, which is a bit more useful in many instances, but you don’t see people out side with RPGs trying to shoot down the Live Plane. Oh, that’s because it looks like ANY OTHER CESSNA.

Folks, get a grip, and get a life. “Paranoia, Paranoia, everybody’s coming to get me…” should not be your life mantra.

</rant>

So today was our Departmental fun event. Every quarter we give our people 2 hours off the phone and feed them, and let them watch their bosses and co-workers do kareoke sans liquid encouragement, as well as other fun stuff. Yet, just as Neko sits down and starts drumming, the power in the whole block goes off. And still hasn’t come on.

So after running folks back to their desks (since it was a little dim, not too dark though) and moving all operations to our backup site in the North Valley, my entire body hurts like hell.

And it is all because the Arizona power grid sucks.