A Mosaic Life

Welcome Back Ms. Kelly! Welcome Back Kotter Theme Plays in the Background

2009-10-14T18:50:00.002-05:00

Hi all! After a whole year (or two) in absentia I think its time for me to get back in the game. For those of you who are just now joining us welcome to my blog. It is a collection of rants, raves, really weird stories, and random thoughts. As for the title: I LOVE MOSAICS! They are little random pieces that when put down in patterns create a comprehensive image that makes sense. Not only makes sense, but when viewed from a distance is beautiful... even if it is comprised of random, broken pieces... much like my life.

Yeah, it's been forever... I'll explain later

2008-10-07T21:24:00.001-05:00

Many Thanks to MH...

One sunny day a rabbit came out of his hole in the ground to enjoy the
fine weather. The day was so nice that he became careless and a fox
snuck up behind him and caught him.
"I am going to eat you for lunch," said the fox.
"Wait," replied the rabbit, "You should at least wait a few days."
"Oh yeah? Why should I wait?"
"Well, I am just finishing my thesis on On The Superiority of Rabbits
over Foxes and Wolves."
"Are you crazy? I should eat you right now! Everybody knows that a fox
will always win over a rabbit."
"Not really, not according to my research. If you like, you can come
into my hole and read it for yourself. If you are not convinced, you can
go ahead and have me for lunch."
"You really are crazy!" But since the fox was curious and had nothing
to lose, it went with the rabbit.
The fox never came out.

A few days later the rabbit was again taking a break from writing and
sure enough, a wolf came out of the bushes and was ready to set upon
him.
"Wait!" yelled the rabbit, "You can't eat me right now."
"And why might that be, my furry appetizer?"
"I am almost finished writing my thesis on On The Superiority of
Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves."
The wolf laughed so hard that it almost lost its grip on the rabbit.
"Maybe I shouldn't eat you; you really are sick...in the head. You might
have something contagious."
"Come and read it for yourself; you can eat me afterward if you
disagree with my conclusions."

So the wolf went down into the rabbit's hole...and never came out.

The rabbit finished his thesis and was out celebrating in the local
lettuce patch. Another rabbit came along and asked, "What's up? You seem
very happy."
"Yup, I just finished my thesis."
"Congratulations. What's it about?"
"On The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves."
"Are you sure? That doesn't sound right."
"Oh yes. Come and read it for yourself."

So together they went down into the rabbit's hole. As they entered, the
friend saw the typical graduate abode, albeit a rather messy one after
writing a thesis. The computer with the controversial work was in one
corner. And to the right there was a pile of fox bones, on the left a
pile of wolf bones. And in the middle was a large, well-fed lion.

The moral of the story:
The title of your thesis doesn't matter.
The subject doesn't matter.
The research doesn't matter.

All that matters is who your advisor is.

I'm Confused

2008-07-31T10:24:00.001-05:00

So if gas prices aren't the gas companies fault, then how are they making these astronomical profits?!? I'm missing something.

What could be more European than Sitting Down with a Hamburger and a Budweiser... Wait a Minute

2008-07-17T11:06:00.002-05:00

Can I just say HA HA to us all. Through American cultural expansion that has been widely criticized for the past 60 years, and our pursuit of the highest bidder, America is no longer the land of hamburgers or Budweiser. HA HA. Yes, we still make hamburgers, and there are MANY people who will never stop drinking their Budweiser, but now neither of these iconic products are solely "American Owned and Operated". The French have reclaimed the hamburger and turned it into fine dining, while Bud sold out to a Belgian brewer (the makers of Stella Artois no less) and all reported in the last week by the New York Times. Please note, this is not a complaint. I'm actually very excited about a potentially better tasting brew. Perhaps in a few years someone might mutter: "What could be more french than a hamburger, Budweiser, and of course french fries?" HA HA

Charlton Heston isn't Rolling Yet...

2008-06-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have been following the case, the Supreme Court ruled today to strike down the D.C. Gun Ban on 2nd Amendment grounds. I am waiting on the arguments to come up on Oyez before I make too much of a commentary on the decision... I'm eager to see what their reasoning is. Cheers!

What Goes Around...

2008-05-27T01:32:00.000-05:00

It looks like the vast right wing conspiracy is at it again...

The push of the Clinton camp to ignore the opinion of the people and the super delegates for the democratic nomination does nothing but highlight why HRC should stay the hell away from Pennsylvania Ave.

A Long Overdue Post

2008-05-24T10:15:00.002-05:00

It's not often that I personally go head to head with what I study, however, a few weeks ago my 97 year old great aunt began dying. I say began dying because death did not come suddenly, or really without warning. Rather, her body just began to break down slowly until death. I was witnessing death with an attempt at dignity. Her dignified death was bittersweet. First, some back story. At 97 she, we'll call her Stephanie, was nearly deaf and blind. Her knees had long since stiffened, and osteroperosis was a daily challenge. With her body falling apart her mind was left crystal clear... a clarity that became a nightmare as it was becoming trapped in a shell with a diminishing ability to communitcate. Stephanie suffered a fall a few months ago that bruised her, but she survived with no breaks. Her body, however, seemed to have had enough. Less than a week later she was back in the hospital. Stephanie was clear with everyone... doctors, family, and nurses... that she was dying and she didn't want the process delayed. When she loss the ability to swallow she quickly and firmly made a command desicion. Stephanie refused a feeding tube. She knew that without a feeding tube she would die, and in her weakened state it could be anywhere from 2-5 days for her to starve to death. As days slowly passed Stephanie spent her time talking and even joking with family or sleeping. She, the oldest of 8 siblings, was the last. Her little brother, the youngest of the 8 (and my grandfather) had passed away a little over a year before. She was tired, lonely, and in a way looking forward to moving on. The family discussed her choice, as well as her courage in facing death. She chose to die, which is a oppurtunity that many people don't get, and she was happy. We couldn't hope for anything more, but that death would be soon and painless. Doctors and nurses did the best they could to keep her comfortable, and Stephanie was adament that she was in little pain. She retained the ability to communicate until the day before she died. One of her last actions was to remove her wedding rings and pass them on after over 60 years of faithfully wearing them. After almost a full week of refusing food Stephanie passed on, quietly in her sleep.

This was not an easy process for our family. The loss of any family member is of course painful, but here we watched daily as a member of our starved herself rather than die a slow and drawn out death with the help of medicine and doctors. This is why I say that her dignified death was bittersweet. She chose to die, and I would argue that action as granting her a dignified passing. However, to starve to death is a laborious and potentially painful death. My blogs have been clear about my feelings toward allowing people to choose death rather than suffer, and to see such a senario played out in my family reaffirmed these opinions, as well as opened my eyes to the pain that such decisions might cause family members of the dying. I was reminded of my need to write this post when I saw this article in the BBC regarding Non-resesitation card and death with dignity. In the end I am thankful to Stephanie for making such a tough decision for our family, and I am furthermore blessed to have such a strong character to fondly remember.

Crazy Old, but Thats What Happens When I Don't Keep Up w/ the Blog

2008-05-23T07:02:00.003-05:00

So a while back Obama said that there are "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion". Hillary jumped at the chance to catch the golden child doing something wrong, and the debate on semantics began. Honestly, most of these people are bitter toward the government... Obama wasn't "wrong"... he just wasn't being Presidential either. I think the operative word in the line is "cling"... not bitter. People are bitter... thats why Obama's campaign of change is doing so well. But there is a part of the populace that is not only bitter, but desperate to find protection and security. If the government doesn't offer it, then they will... through guns, and a moral justification through religion. It might not be the best plan, but they see it as all they have. Admittedly I was a little offended the first time I heard the comment, but I've gotten over it. Do I cling to my guns and/or religion? No... I embrace them, but I don't cling to them. And I definately don't embrace them out of a bitterness. But for those of you who might, here's what CNN had to say on the (rather old) matter.

An interesting argument... What do you think?

2008-05-18T11:17:00.001-05:00

I saw this article a while back... its an interesting argument. Does someone have a rebuttal?

http://peternbiddle.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/trust-isnt-transitive-or-someone-fired-a-gun-in-an-airplane-cockpit-and-it-was-probably-the-pilot/

Trust Isn’t Transitive (or, “Someone fired a gun in an airplane cockpit, and it was probably the pilot”)
I’ve been saying that trust isn’t transitive for years, using this example:

We all have a cousin Bubba we trust to change the transmission in our 1970 AMX, but we wouldn’t trust him to babysit the kids for the weekend. Both involve trusting him with our kids lives, but trust isn’t transitive and we know from experience that Bubba is a hard-drinking and hard-living roustabout with greasy fingernails who can certainly keep track of little things like screws, but certainly can’t keep track of little things like children.

Bruce Schneier has pointed out many times that he thinks that arming pilots is stupid. I’d say that arming pilots is stupid only insofar as you don’t make sure they are as, or more, experienced with firearms as they are with airplanes.

Experience will make them predictable, and predictability is critical to trust.

This bring us to this: Someone ND’ed in an airplane cockpit. For those of you who aren’t gun-nuts, an ND is a “Negligent Discharge”. It is the better term, far more preferable than “AD – Accidental Discharge”, because modern guns don’t just accidentally go off. Modern guns built by reputable makers – and I guarantee that the gun this pilot had fits that category, much as the plane he had would fit it – are designed to go BANG when you pull the trigger, and to NEVER go bang when you don’t.

Just as modern cars don’t steer themselves into things they aren’t supposed to, guns don’t accidentally discharge. They go BANG when you pull the trigger. That’s it.

So someone was holding the gun, and it went BANG. There are a few ways this could happen. The pilot could have been checking the condition of the weapon. (Is it loaded? Ooops. Yes.) He (yes there are certainly female pilots, and some of them may be armed, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt in this case and say that all armed female pilots are too smart too shoot a gun in their own cockpit) could have been transferring it from a case to a holster. He could have been loading it… He could also have been showing it off to a flight attendant, which happens to be my favorite potential example:

“Do you guys really carry GUNS?”

“Why yes little lady, some of us sure do. I carry a Sig .357, it’s the same gun those air-marshals use!”.

“Ooooh, can I hold it?”

“Of course, but you need to understand that I’m a trained professional, you can’t just ”

“oh shit”

Now, how does this relate to trust not being transitive? Let’s look at this quote from the article in question, attributed to Mike Boyd: “if somebody who has the ability to fly a 747 across the Pacific wants a gun, you give it to them.” This is a horribly flawed assumption, because it assumes that trust is transitive, when clearly it isn’t.

The reason trust isn’t transitive is because trust is most often based on data regarding the past which allows us to make assumptions about specific competence, quality of performance, and behaviors in the future.

We can assume that a trained pilot, when facing piloty thingies, will act like a trained pilot. WE CANNOT ASSUME THAT A TRAINED PILOT WILL ACT LIKE A TRAINED LION-TAMER WHEN FACING A WILD LION.

Skills from one domain cannot simply be moved from that domain to another. Saliently, the pilot in question must have thousands of hours of flight time, has done the pre-flight check hundreds or even thousands of times, has been steeped in pilot-ness and thus pilot-safety, probably since he was a late teen. He’s very likely an extraordinarily safe pilot. We can assume that every experienced 747 pilot has a keen awareness of the potential lethality of full loaded 747. In the past we can assume that they at least had a deep appreciation of the potential for harm to their own passengers, and post 9/11 we can assume that they appreciate the harm their plane can be to thousands of additional people.

But this can’t just be automatically carried to guns – guns aren’t planes anymore than they are motorcycles, and many pilots will tell you that jet pilots are much more like to die on a motorcycle than they are on a plane, because they act stupid on motorcycles.

Good gun-nuts know that you learn specific skills for your weapons and then you do them over and over and over again. In my case, ensuring a gun is unloaded will consist of a series of discrete steps that I’ve repeated at least hundreds of times to ensure that only the things I want to happen will happen.

I always check the condition of a weapon which has been handed to me the exact same way, even if the woman who handed it to me is mrs super gun chick and I watched her remove the magazine, repeatedly work the slide back and forth and then lock it back, stick her finger in the chamber and then visually inspect the chamber and mag-well. Guess what? I’ll do whatever of those things are possible myself, too. And I still won’t paint her or anything I don’t want to destroy.

If you want to trust someone, you need to know about their innate trustworthiness, and you need to know about their experience. Some people are simply more trustworthy than others because, well, they are, and you can trust them more in new situations than other people.

But these people aren’t necessarily the ones well trained in , so you can’t build security systems around them. If you want to build a system that scales across many users, you want a system that mandates everyone be predictable enough for the system to work. Judging the innate trustworthiness of a person is very hard, so while you may do that you also wind up forcing people you must have a high degree of trust in to do things that makes them appear to be more predictable in the ways you need them to be.

In other words, you train the living shit out of pilots before you let them fly a plane. The same should be said for guns, and I can pretty much guarantee that the armed pilots in the sky today have probably more than 100 times more experience in flying planes than in handling guns. So – either stop the armed pilot experiment, OR train the armed pilots well enough so that they are as predictable as you need them to be, so that you can make some assumptions about their trustworthiness.

Will there be ND’s anyway? Of course. But there are also plane crashes, and that has to be okay. What is important is that the system be predictable, and of course that it have a real, tangible and measurable result. Number of plane crashes vs. flight hours is a simple equation. Now that we’ve had an ND in a cockpit, lets’ take a look at number of ND’s vs. gun-handling hours…

I have related thoughts about guns and training that apply to personal gun ownership, but that’s for another post…

I'm Back, and I'm Sorry for the Wait

2008-05-16T17:54:00.008-05:00

It's been a crazy couple of months, but that's no excuse for my lack of blogging. I'm sorry.

As a special treat, however, you all will be first up to read an article that I wrote for my hometown newspaper on my recent trip to Russia!

When asked if I’d like to write up an article on my recent trip to Russia I had to jump at the chance. The ten day trek through Moscow and St. Petersburg was such a fascinating experience I was thrilled at the opportunity to share my adventures with everyone. When I first told my family and friends that I was going to Russia they all had the same question: “Why would you want to go there?”. The answer to this question is threefold: 1) As a government major in college, and a doctoral student of political communication Russia is prime study ground. 2) I had a friend from college who had been teaching and living in Moscow for about three years who could translate and guide me. 3) Why not?

Of course, like most Americans traveling to Russia, I had no idea what to expect. Many of us are still recovering from the communist paranoia from the Red Scare of our past, and even today Russians are all too often cast as the villains in our films. The Communist USSR hasn’t even been gone 20 years, and its political footprint is still in America’s history, memory, and imagination. I landed in Moscow the morning of May 1, 2008, and I flew out the 10th; I could not have picked a better time to experience Russian cultural, political, or military pride. May 9th is Victory day in Russia, and the whole time I was there the country was buzzing preparing for the inauguration of a new President, Prime Minister, and for Victory Day. While I was there I got to visit with a close friend; Veronica Armendariz went to Berry College with me, and she has been studying post-Soviet Russian politics in Moscow for the past few years. Considering our mutual interest in Soviet and Russian politics a lot of our trip was organized around the many military demonstrations, political party rallies, and political speeches that were scheduled for the week.

Victory Day is of course the celebration of the victory over the Nazis in WWII. (Think a celebration on the scale of Memorial Day and July 4th combined.) From an American perspective it can be easy to forget just how many Russians died in WWII (most estimates put the casualties at somewhere around 25 million Russians); not to mention the struggles of the Russian citizens on the Eastern Front, such as the siege of Leningrad (for you movie buffs, it’s the inspiration behind Enemy at the Gates, which is based on the book, War of the Rats). On V-Day each city celebrates its WWII veterans, most of which decked out in their old uniforms, and everyone remembers those who died during the war. This Veterans Day was also celebrated with the largest showing of military force since the fall of the Soviet Union. Veronica and I got to watch as tanks, missiles, and troops were paraded through Red Square in Moscow just as they were 20 years ago. We had a particularly surreal moment in St. Petersburg as we watched troops parade on the Winter Palace Square in preparation for the V-Day celebrations. Watching the formations one couldn’t help but parallel them to the old photos and footage of soviet troops from years ago. We were disappointed to hear that the inauguration ceremonies and celebrations were to be closed to the public. We did, however, watch Medvedev’s first speech as President on television. This was a historic moment for Russia, and for her people… it was an honor to get to experience it all in person.

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I definitely remain amazed at the Soviet propaganda that remains throughout the cities, but Moscow in particular. The hammer and sickle, wheat bundles, as well as the red star, are prominent fixtures and themes on buildings, in the metro tunnels, and as decorations on a variety of public monuments, bridges, and artifacts. The years under communism are still a source of pride for many, especially older, Russians. The fall has been particularly hard on the generation that we refer to as the baby boomers here in the US. This older Russian generation grew up in an all inclusive welfare system where the government provided everything. No one had a lot, but everyone had something. After the fall this all inclusive support system dissolved seemingly overnight leaving a ruined economy and a smaller social welfare program than we have here in the States. Incredibly many Russians adjusted well enough to the new system to get by, some well enough to start emerging as a middle class. One point of interest- Capitalism as a economic system is steadily being embraced across the country, however, the political system has, in the past few years, been centralizing political power under Putin which seems to be reflective of late soviet corruption and authoritarianism. Shockingly, however, there does not seem to be a public outcry. Although some criticism can be found in newspapers, and from ever dwindling opposition parties, most of the populace seems indifferent at best. Putin is a very popular political figure among most Russians, and the economic stability and monetary gains, as well as the reemergence of Russia as an international super-power, seem to pacify any unrest from lost political freedoms.

While I was there we also got to explore some the more famous and infamous landmarks of the two cities. In Moscow we of course explored the Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral, the buildings that held the KGB, the Church of Christ the Savior, and the All Russia Exhibition Center. The Exhibition Center was an incredible collection of buildings, fountains and monuments celebrating communism and various achievements of the USSR. We witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and I was able to tour a variety of Eastern Orthodox Cathedrals, all of which were breathtakingly beautiful. Moscow was nice, but St. Petersburg was built to be admired and stunning. Founded by Peter the Great, St. Petersburg became the residence of the czars and royalty of Russia. It is home to some of the more recognizable Russian landmarks such as the Winter Palace, now known as the Hermitage Museum, The Church of the Spilt Blood, the Bronze Horseman, The Peter and Paul Fortress, the Kazan Cathedral, the Aurora battleship, the Yusopov Palace (where Rasputin was poisoned, stabbed, shot, and drowned), St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the northernmost Mosque in the world, and it holds the distinction as the home of the Communist Revolution. While we were in St. Petersburg we were able to catch Swan Lake at the Hermitage Theater. To see a Russian ballet in Catherine the Great’s private theater was incredible! St. Petersburg is built on a collection of islands, thus it has canals throughout the city with Palaces built on what seems like every corner. Hundreds of years of royalty, admiralty, and aristocracy built palace after palace. During the revolution most were torched, gutted, and the shells of the grand estates were used to store grain and industrial goods. The Russian government has gone to great lengths in recent years to restore these architectural and historical wonders to their former glory and the effort is certainly not wasted on the millions that flock here during the summer to tour and take pictures.

Overall Veronica and I had an incredible trip, and the people, places, and cities that we discovered while we were there made an impression that will last a lifetime. I left Russia with a new respect for the determination of the Russian people, as well as for the love and pride that they have in their country and its history. As with most travel opportunities it is wonderful to meet the countries and people behind the stereotypes. Just as Georgia is more than peaches and Atlanta, Russia is more than Vodka, communists, and Matryoshka nesting dolls… it’s an impressive, beautiful, and strongly patriotic culture that I look forward to visiting again.

A Shameless Plug:

2008-03-24T21:39:00.003-05:00

I am participating in another blog that I will be contributing to occasionally... it is a collection of politically minded folk that will be posting together. It is politicalcottoncandy.com and I encourage you to check it soon. We are currently doing site construction. See you all soon!!

Happy Easter Everyone!

2008-03-23T16:53:00.002-05:00

Nothing like bringing Christianity and Pagan Traditions together! Everyone have a great holiday! -kk

P.S.- The blog will be back soon, I promise, it's just been busy around here.

It's the Oldest Profession in the World... Get off their backs (figuratively that is)

2008-03-10T16:25:00.002-05:00

So the Governor of New York has been linked to an elite prostitution ring. Honestly, I don't see why we care. He's just stimulating the economy... among other things. I really think that we should just legalize prostitution across the board; the taxes will help pay for the war, drug and STD testing will be monitored, and with the process becoming more transparent we will know which politicians are cheating on their wives before it becomes a scandal. Embrace Capitalism! Embrace the brunette holding the whip on the corner for $500 an hour.

What really makes this whole situation a scandal, however, has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with how they caught him. A Federal WIRETAP caught him arranging to fly the call girl to D.C. and meet him in a hotel. Now, the Patriot Act okay'd wiretapping to fight terrorism. When did having some buxom blond spank you become terroristic?? Use wiretaps to find child porn rings and the 6ft middle eastern man on dialysis in the desert that we still can't find. If you ask me the only reason they were tapping the call girls' phones in the first place was for the free phone sex.

And they call it the "No Child Left With a Behind Act"

2008-03-07T22:57:00.002-06:00

So much for me making Honor Roll next quarter...

Hunting in the Education System... There's Hope For Us Yet

2008-03-07T22:53:00.001-06:00

YEAH!

Hello Strangers!

2008-03-04T20:20:00.004-06:00

Sorry about the break, but life's been pretty crazy considering I'm supposed to be taking a break right now. Today 4 states are conducting their primaries. And two of those states, the lonestar and the buckeye, have been the talk of the nation for almost a month now. I've been pretty open about my frustration with this year's political candidates, and I foresee a time of serious candidate research coming up. McCain is, officially (well as officially as you can be w/o the convention saying so) the Republican candidate. Some thoughts on this:

First, if (that is an IF) I choose not to vote for McCain this does not make me a libral or a democrat. I am beyond frustrated with people confusing a non-republican as a non-conservative. I turn the charge. I say that Republicans are NOT CONSERVATIVES ANYMORE! I AM a Conservative. What are you? You say small gov't and individual autonomy, but the party you serve has decieved and misled you for 8 years. Where is your outrage? Where is the accountability? When did conservative go from Edmund Burke to Bill O'Reilly? It is not hard to see why people call intellectual conservatism an oxymoron... look at the morons who are representing your political ideas. How many Republicans really (really really)idolize Ann Coulter, Nancy Grace, and Bill O'Reilly? There are no sound arguments coming from these "commentators". Just bullying and irrational rage at people who aren't just like them. This is not conservatism... it's not even human decency. Watch whatever news channel you wish, be thankful for the choices in political spin, but don't assume that people are your opposites if they are different. They could just represent a different octave of the same voice. America's polarization was invented to make pretty maps on television. The majority of Americans either don't care, or are so disillusioned they hate all politics. Everyone I've talked to this year is voting for their least hated option. And that my friends, is just tragic.

For the record: I hope Obama pulls out the democratic nomination. This DOES NOT make me an avid fan of Obama, nor does it make me a democrat or libral. It just means that I seriously dislike Hillary and I think that Obama would be the better candidate to run against McCain in Nov.

P.S.- Why David Brooks continues to Rock My Face Off...

One of Our Own...

2008-02-27T19:05:00.002-06:00

William F. Buckley Jr. died today. His memorable wit and writings demonstrated that intellectual conservative is not an oxymoron. They say he died at his desk, and I'm not sure that he would have wanted it any other way.

Syphilis is Back!! (Though I didn't know it had gone anywhere...)

2008-02-25T22:46:00.003-06:00

The health department where I live is doing a campaign entitled "Syphilis is Back!" Now, the first time I saw this it was on a large billboard and I was on the phone with a friend, at which point I casually threw in that Syphilis, was in fact, back. And she replied "Really? I didn't know it had gone anywhere." For some twisted reason I find this funny, and then, to my further amusement the Economist ran an article on what else, but Syphilis. So, my PSA for the year: "Syphilis is Back!"

Everyone is Seeing Green, and its Not Money or Greed

2008-02-24T18:31:00.003-06:00

Ralph Nadar is running for the Presidency under the Green Party... again. Democrats hate him for screwing over Al Gore. Republicans appreciate his splitting of the left, as well as his ability to serve as a party punchline. NYT had an interesting article on Candidate reactions as well as Nadar's announcement. Some interesting tidbits. Nadar got 95,000 votes in 2000. Wow. Yet more proof that one should never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. My reaction? Stephen Colbert should continue his run for President, but as an independent. Colbert '08!!

I Forgot to Rant on the 20th, Sorry About That

2008-02-22T22:46:00.002-06:00

So the article from the 19th discussed that genetically modified and/or cloned beef may make Americans uneasy. Here's the thing, we've been eating genetically modified beef, corn, (insert any other agricultural product here] since we domesticated it. When farmers pick the biggest bull to breed with the biggest cows, they are modifying the genetic outcome. Cloning (in the agricultural food producing sense) allows for the mass production of the very best livestock. It's letting us breed the biggest bull to himself, thus giving us him all over. If he's great why risk inferior offspring? Genetic engineering does not effect the "health" of the food. For example, you aren't going to contract some mysterious illness from eating cloned hamburger. You will contract mad cow from eating hamburgers that came from cows that were fed other cows. Genetic engineering does not add preservatives, harmful additives, or radiation to your food. 70% of ALL processed foods on your local grocer's shelf contain genetically modified ingredients.

So, if this is nothing new then why is it a big deal all of a sudden? Americans have just now realized (thanks to a hyper-sensational media) that they are eating food that has been altered. Now how, you may ask, can someone not realize that their food has been tampered with at the genetic level? Many reasons I answer, here are just a few: 1) you can't tell by looking at it, 2) Americans are doing good to know that hamburger comes from cows, much less that the cows have been specially and scietifically bred to ensure lots of lean meat, 3) We are so far removed from the origins of our food we never asked where it came from (see point 2, and read the book Who Moved My Cheese), and 4) No one told us. Now, number 4 is VERY important. Lets imagine why.

Someone walks up to you, hands you a sandwich, and tells you to eat it. You don't know how it was made, what is was made with, or why they are doing this. What is your immediate reaction?

a) Oh boy food!
b) fear
c) blind submission to instruction
d) skeptical questioning

Now to review the possible answers (remember multiple choice has many right answers, but we are looking for the MOST correct response). Only Homer Simpson would pick a, so on to b. (B) is the most correct answer. Your FIRST and IMMEDIATE reaction would be a little freaked out, to paranoidly fearful of both the sandwich and the person who gave it to you. Just for fun, lets talk c and d. For c), well I did see invasion of the body snatchers last week, so its possible, but many of you probably picked D. Congratulations, you are above the average American in your quest for rationality and knowledge to confusing and mysterious situations.

Now lets talk turkey, and hamburger for that matter. Americans, as well as Homer Simpson, have been blindly eating their groceries and fast food without asking questions of origin. Now that it has been proposed that they were infact eating Frakenfoods, and that more genetically modified foods are to come they feel betrayed and fearful of what they are eating. The government allowed research and development on our food and didn't tell us. If the person who made the sandwich had told you why they made it, what was in it, and why its good for you, we all probably would have picked A. But, when there is secrecy involved we become anxious and distrusting. Great Britain has been struggling with a very hostile citizenry over the R&D of genetically modified row crops for years now. They lose millions annually to terrain terrorists who burn R&D crops in protest. What we don't know, we assume will kill us.

The blunt point of all this: The government (and food industry) has kept the populace in the dark about the process of genetic engineering in food and agriculture. This has resulted in the mistrust of these technologies and their products. Now that the populace only knows half of the story (the "you are eating genetically modified steak" part) they don't want anything to do with it. *If* the industry had been more upfront with Americans as to what they were doing, how they were doing it, and the advancements this R&D produced we probably would not be seeing the current backlash movements.

So, that is my rant that prefaces my "I told you so" on the 19th. Bon Apetite!

Maybe the Bear and Bull Market Expressions are Outdated; Maybe We are Going Into the Cub and Calf Markets: Cuter, Softer, and Much Less Intimidating

2008-02-22T22:36:00.005-06:00

When did the Economist go soft?

Is this the start of the "new" capitalism that I discussed a couple of weeks ago? Hmmm...

And Now for Something Completely Different...

2008-02-19T21:55:00.001-06:00

I told you so. Actually, as I write that I realize that I haven't gone on this rant with you all. So, read the article and I'll rant tomorrow. G'night! (ps: you guys have been really quiet lately, and that is disappointing. Please type something back, even if you don't agree.)

Why I Insist On a Toy Box in My Office, or at least this is NOW the Reason I Keep a Toy Box-

2008-02-18T00:37:00.003-06:00

Go Fly a Kite... and throw a frisbee, and play catch, and whatever else will allow you to explore the three dimensional world around you. (I prefer frisbee, darts, and the occasional game of beer pong.*kidding*) Seriously though- lighten up, loosen up, and take a lesson from your nostalgic memories of childhood. Playing with your friends is good for you.

Oh Say Can You See, By the Dawn's Early Light, that America's Future Isn't so Bright??

2008-02-18T00:09:00.004-06:00

One article on the hostility that Americans have toward intellectualism,

PLUS

One video demonstrating American priorities,

EQUALS

Beauty Queens are becoming the American Ideal of the Model Citizen (or in some cases "have become"). David Brooks refered to Americans as the Bimbos of the world. (See "On Paradise Drive") Not only do I agree, but I sadly believe that Americans are really starting to internalize that beauty standards have replaced any need for civic knowledge, understanding, and responsibility that demonstrate good citizenship.

Post Number 50... YEAH! (Oh, the celebration of mediocrity-)

2008-02-10T12:34:00.000-06:00

Quick Note: Today (if you can't or didn't read the title) is my 50th blog posting. This is exciting for any number of reasons, but mostly because I usually don't keep up with blogs very well (not that you've noticed long gaps without posts or anything...). So, hooray for you, my readers... life has given you the time to come visit with me on occasion and I am thankful for that. HAZAA! (huh-zah)*with enthusiasm*

Longer Note: Hillary Clinton cried again yesterday. It boosted her for New Hampshire primary at the last minute, but now, well now people are starting to wonder if it wasn't a political stunt, and that she might be losing it. Well, losing her composure, we all know that she's losing in delegate counts. I will say this for this year's primary though... the American public is getting a heck of an education on the electoral college, the various primary voting and caucus systems, as well as exactly how little their vote really counts.

Short Note: This is a feedback post... as in... if you read this YOU HAVE to write a comment. Well, you don't *have* to, but it would be most helpful. Political Humor: good, bad, indifferent? Does it have any effect on the public figures or the public that it engages? What say you?