Lies, D Lies, and Statistics

The Title of this post is a phrase that my Statistics professor often uses. I am a History Major, and I see how history is important to the present and the future through the lessons it can teach us beyond mere facts of past events. I however never saw how most of the other subjects could claim such a thing. Professor McCaa has tought me otherwise. He taught me that often times the truth is not always the truth. People can distort statistics to make the out come appear to be what they want it to be. People can also do this with spoken facts. Rewording and synonyms and many other things can cause the truth to appear as something else. Saddam Hussain was executed for crimes against humanity. People in Iraq seem to be happy about this fact. Professor McCaa says to always question what to are told, because it could be meant to mislead you. So Iraq is in turmoil, things in that nation are very bad. Are the people of Iraq happy about the execution of Hussain? Now the innocent hide where? Not in false loyal obedience to their aggressor, because now their enemy exsist on the fringe of society, and are more than one group. Everyone is a possible victim. Bombs explode in everyday places. they are safe nowhere. On the otherhand, before the smallest thing could be seen as trechery, and could be punished by death. They had to be careful with their actions living nervously on the edge. So when were the Iraqis better off? I am not giving my opinion on which situation was best. Just saying that before we make our opinions on any subject we should look at the situation beyond the manner in which the facts are given, and looks at the facts only. So that our opinions are truely our own and not the regurgitated opinions of other people.

Culture

At my job their are a lot of people from places other than the United States. There are two girls from India, Two girls from Jamaica, and a girl from Poland. That is just where a work. My college as a whole has people from just about anywhere. It is often said that Americans are oblivious to the culture and customs of other places. I thought that, that was just a sterotype of Americans, but I soon came to realize that it may not be that far from the truth. I thought that I was on the up and up on cultures, but right before Thanksgiving I wished Sharon from India a happy Thanksgiving and asked what she was going to do for the holiday. She replied nothing. Then I thought about it "is Thanksgiving even celebrated in India?" Sure enough it isn't. I felt like and idiot. The Dumb American assuming that everyone does what we do. From then on I asked a lot more questions than I usually did. the girls and I would have back and forths about our two respectable cultures. I would ask a question about Indian, Jamaican or Polish culture they in turn ask a question about american culture. I found out many things. In India you pay for school from Kindergarten through 12th grade, and america and her citizens are seen as all being rich. They have a saying in India if you are looking for something and can't find it "If you were in america, you would have found it." Christianity is a major religion there. They assume that all americans are black or white. Sharon has told me she now know these things to be untrue. Those are just some of the things about her culture that she taught me. I taught her things about american culture also. Jamaican Culture is not so strikingly different. They have similar things there. The place just isn't as commercialized as america. the way they cook their food is very different. Nadia told me that she did not know that such a wide variety of food is fried. She says that they rarely fry food. They steam or boil their food. Meeting new people from these various cultures is a wonderful experience that hope to not soon forget.

Happy Holidays

December is a month filled with holidays. This time of the year is supposed to bring out the best in everyone. The world is a varied place, overflowing with different cultures, races, and ideas. So in the spirit of that I would like to wish Remorji, Tim, KB, Celtic Sister, Xtralicious, Alexhb, Jhenene, Deborah, Mrs. Jones, Saralulu, Ms. Liberty, KariinAfrica, Dirk Star, Yuri, Betmo, Rajeev, Matthias, Annie, Tanie, The Family, Nikki Jilton, Meander, Lizard Princess, Amazll yeo, Mypurpleink, Steve Novak, Sneha, P.O. Patricia, X. Dell, FRIDAY'S CHILD, Enemy of the Republic, Undeniable Liberal, The Future was Yesterday, Imran MD, Starlet, and anyone else who visits my blog a Happy Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, and general well wishes.

You

Time magazine announced it's "Person of the Year" and they chose you. Not you really, but the average, everyday person. The title "Person of the Year" is supposed to highlight the man, woman, idea, or movement that most influenced the year. The choice of "you" is supposed to highlight the movement of the average person coming up and making their voice be known through the many user friendly services. Services such as Blogger, Wikipedia, Facebook, My Space, Black Planet, Flickr, and You Tube. I agree that user friendly services have had a major impact on this year. I do not agree with their choice. Had I had an input I would have cast my vote for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I am not claiming that he is a good person. The truth is that he has influenced this year in more ways than anyone else. I say this because since the begining of the year he has been in the news. He of course is pursueing Nuclear power, he says to help power his nation, not weapons. Whether he is telling the truth about this is uncertain to me I can't just dismiss what he says. Nuclear power is a good, but dangerous source of power. Then his ardent speech at the United Nation. Ahmadinejad gave a speech which he shows clearly that he believes in what he says is not just some power hungry terroist despot. Then His fervent hatred of Israel. Ahmadinejad's misguidence about Israel is not in question. You can not deny that this hatred of Israel is a major factor in International politics. It drives all politics in the Middle East. The United States is heavily tied in with that region so it affects our life here, and from us to the rest of the world, seeing that the U.S. is the only superpower left. I am not saying that Ahmadinejad is a good person, but just because someone isn't good does not mean you can't respect him and his influence on the world. Ahmadinejad's stirring speech at the UN showed me that whether imprudent or not are sincere. He to me seems that his belief come from actual thought out means. Unlike other bad men he sat down and formed his own opinion. Right or wrong you have got to respect that, in a world filled with people who rarely make their own opinion he did. That is my selection and why I chose him for "Person of the Year" So who do you think should be "Person of the Year"?

Limits

I think that people and nation should be able to understand their limits. The U.S. has reached it limit in Iraq. We can no longer hold to the fanciful thought that we can make Iraq a better place. We are foreigners, not only to the nation, but to the region and the culture. We have to enlist the aid of nations that can take some of the weight off our load. I am being repetitive, but we need a time table. Pulling out of Iraq is going to be a slow process, but we need to start now. To help ease this process we need to recruit the nations in the region who are familiar with the culture. Senator Bill Nelson visited Syria and plans on visiting other nations in the region to enlist support. I know that Syria is not the best nation, but the truth is we can't help Iraq and neither can any other nation in the "coalition". Syria can. If we only ask them to help secure their border not much trouble can come from that. I think that Senator Nelson did a good thing the executive branch won't do what needs to be done because of their pride. I know if we leave, but get other nations from the region to aid the legitimate govn't I think that is the best course to take right now. There are no really good options to consider. If we take a step back and do what is really in the best interest of Iraq, the situation will be a lot better than if we stay there. Many Americans feel that we need to stay, because thing we get horrible. In fact the situation is already too far gone. Iraq, really the entire Middle east needs to be stablized and we are not doing that. If we can teach those nations to work together without our help the entire region will be in much better condition.

Bad Situation

Not to long ago, a couple days at the most. The Iraq study group relesed it's findings which stated that the situation in Iraq is beyond repair. No good options are left. What does that mean for the U.S.? I have long thought that to be true. I am glad that it has officially been stated. I know it is going to be a long and hard road to us getting out of Iraq, but we need a time table so that we can begin to systematically pull out. This will prepare the Iraq govn't to handle it's own affairs. I just hope that the American people will see that the situation in Iraq is extremely bad. We need to get out to save some of our image. We have already tarnished it. Hopefully not beyond repair. People are dying everyday young men and women, American and Iraqi. Horrible things are happening over there All I have to say is that Iraq is out of hand.

I can only imagine what horrible things he has seen

Education

I feel that Education is the way that humanity can better itself, and in doing so save itself. I also think that America has the potential to be the leader in this movement. Yet, lately I have read that America is behind a lot of countries in the academics. Fifty percent of students on average graduate high school. At first that seemed unrealistic to me, then I thought. My graduating class consisted of eighty-three people. I know that a lot more people went to school with me than that. Some failed, some moved, but an overwhelming number did dropout. I say this after thinking how many people I saw on the streets of Winnfield, who should have been in school. What is it? America was once the leader of the world in the sciences. The newest, and best developments came from here, but not now. I personally think that it is the culture we live in. We glorify the people who contribute least to society. Athletes, they serve a purpose, they entertain us which is needed in a society. To me the thought of professional athlete is the most ludicris idea I have ever heard. Teachers and scientist the people who contribute the most are paid the least. That does not make sense to me. The millions of dollars that athletes are paid to play a game. What really gets me is that not only are they idolized, but also remembered. Think about it. Who has the most rushing yards? Who created the polio vaccine? Who scored the most points in their first professional NBA Game? Who invented the printing press? If you think about it you know which questions that most people can answer. It is not only athletes, singers, rappers, and actors also get too much recongnition. Most people who drop out aspire to be like the people or rather persona's that they see on TV. Thugs is what they want to be. People feel that school is not necessary to be a singer or actor. Both are very respectable arts, but I feel that they don't want to be artist they want to be famous. That is a huge difference. So now we have an epidemic of actors who can not act, singers who can not sing, rappers who can not rap. People aspire to be famous, they want the recognition, money, andd the easy life for the littlest amount of work. What I just spoke of disturbes me very much. This is causing people to shift their focus from education. Which in turn is causing America to fall behind in the math and sciences. All of that means that people no longer want to do good for others. To better humanity. They only want to betters themselves. What happened to making a difference that will better the world for future generations?

Tagged!

My blog is mostly serious and rarely light-hearted. So today is a light-hearted post. on Tuesday Undeniable liberal "Tagged" me so this means that I have to list six weird things about myself. I also have to tag six other people. So if I tag you play along, it's all for fun. Well here I go six weird things about myself.

1. I am afraid of heights, but love to fly
2. I was afraid of chucky the doll until I was Sixteen ( he still creeps me out)
3. I like the show Smallville
4. I don't like anything on my burgers
5. I think gasoline smells good
6. I like to eat fritos and spaghetti together

There it is, let the laugh fly. I hope you enjoyed that, and look out I am about to start tagging.

Memories

Sunday night I saw a show about a pill that can weaken memories. The application of this is to help people out who have just had a traumatic encounter. The Pill makes the memory weaker. You don't lose the memory. It just isn't as strong and therefore harder to remember. This at first glance is a good thing accident and rape victims, and soldiers don't have to have the horrible memories. How many steps is this from memory manipulation. We have to think long and hard before we take a pill that causes our memories to be warped. I understand that it is for people that have been through a horrible experience, but our memories make us who we are if warp our memories into something that they are not then do we become someone else. As I said our memories make us who we are. They link us to our past and we learn from that. That is is a hop and a skip from memory manipulation I promise you that. If a man can change the memories of another person , what kind of power is that. What ever type it is a human being has no right to have that power. If a person is in the way of a strong political orgnization and that person's memories are changed to remove the threat. Then you killed someone you took their life from them. I have said it before we must be weary of things like this. Technology must be regulated. I just don't want to see a world where people who stand up for what is right can be changed in to something that they are not. Our Memories make us who we are. Be careful before you mess with that. Who you are is a fragile grouping of events in your life. Think about it, different memories make you a different person.

Changes

I supported the dems in the mid-term elections. I think that they can actually make some changes. I would also like to see some of thoses changes. I am a proud liberal, but that does not mean I always support the dems. They can be scutinized just as the reps can. I know the 110th congress doesn't meet until January 3, 2007. I just thought maybe some plans would be announced. One of the things I am waitingg on is a time table for Iraq. That has been on the table for sometime, the Reps didn't give us one hopefully the dems will. I also want to see other plans. I know that no actual legislation will happen now. I just want to see some plans. I may be being a tad bit impatient. I only hope that the dems don't let me down I have high hopes for the new congress. One thing that I really want to see is for that patriot act to die. I hate that thing, everything about it. The invasion of privacy angers me in ways you can't understand. The patriot act gets under my skin. I want that thing gone, hopefully the dems will get rid of it, or tone it down a lot. I would like to see some indepth reviews of some Govn't agencies. I may have too high hopes, but at the very least I would like to see some positive changes.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to share with family and loved ones. Family is one of the most important things in this world. Thanksgiving is the time we show that to them. Despite what families go through the bonding love is always there. So put aside differences, and disputes so that you can enjoy your family. Be glad that you have them. Never take them for granted. Enjoy the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to Remorji, Tim, KB, Celtic Sister, Xtralicious, Alexhb, Jhenene, Deborah, Mrs. Jones, Saralulu, KariinAfrica, Yuri, and anyone else who visits my blog.

Symbolism

Malcom X, Ghandi, Martin Luther, Susan B. Anthony, Muhammad, Dr. Martin L. King Jr. all of these people stood for something. They will live forever. Can a person achieve immortality? The above named people attached themselves themselves to an ideal, they are now symbols. Dr. Martin L. King Jr., and Susan B. Anthony stood for equality. Malcom X and and Ghandi stood for Freedom. Martin Luther stood for religious integrity, and Muhammad stood for Spiritalism. I want to attach myself to an ideal and become a symbol. As a man I can be corrupted or Ruined. No matter how strong you are you will always have loved ones, and you will also always be human. Which means that you can be harmed, killed or silenced. As a symbol of an ideal you are always strong, indestructible, and immortal. That is what I want to be. This world is full of dishonesty and injustice. The poor are held down and the rich keep getting richer. I want to fight this. So that possibly I can help make this world a better place. I still have hope for humanity. I would like to be strong for all of humanity, but I don't know how yet. I am still young, but one day hopefully I can stand for equality, democracy, and Justice. Can a man who wants to be a symbol for and Ideal actually become one or must it be inheritly rooted in a man. Am I only wishfully thinking? Maybe I am naive and in realty the world doesn't need a hero, but Maybe it does.

Lady of the Mist

This statue is in the centet of my College. To me she is almost like a mother figure welcoming people to tech. I think she is a good choice for my first pictue post. I would like it if you would just look at her. She is a beautiful statue to me. What do you think?

Politics

The Mid-term elections ushered in sweeping changes for America, not all of it a direct result of the Mid-term elections. First of all the Democrates took not only the house, but the Senate as well. That itself is a major change for six year this nation was run by conservatives. This political coup by the Democrates makes me happy, because of the change it will bring. Even though I oppose Republicans I was willing to give them a chance. I am registered as a Democrate, but I do not like labels Democrate or Republican. My view on politics is what ever is best for this nation, so if it be Republicans or democrates that doesn't matter to me. A label that does better suit me is a liberal. I am absolutely not a conservative, and as longs as Republicans keep up this super-conservative attitude of theirs I feel I will continue to oppose them for the most part. The second thing that happened was Sec. Donald Rumsfeld (Rummy) stepped down. This is a huge thing, Rumsfeld manages the Iraq War. We will have new blood in charge. Rumsfeld, in my opinion, is a person who refuses to acknowledge wrong doing and that frustrates me. Now that Rumsfeld is out we may veer in a little bit of a new direction. Last is that Sen. Lieberman was reelected. I would like to admit that I was wrong the people did want him back and perhaps he knows more about his constituents than I do. I still think its was childish for him to run as an Independent after he lost the primary, but my ideas about what they wanted were misguided. So the U.S. is entering a new political environment, hopefully it will be a better one.

Execution

We had all forgotten about the former Iraqi leader. The other day it was announced that Saddam will be executed by means of hanging. I am an opponent of capital punishment. In any form. I do not think that Saddam should be spared punishment, he is a horrible man. and deserves everything he gets. We as a nation had no legitimet reason to invade his country. Iraq in theory would have been better off without Saddam in power. I admit I felt that way, but now I understand that was fanciful thinking. We as human beings have to be better than the monsters of this world by killing him will not heal any wounds. I know that by killing him we are not being more moral than he in fact we stoop to his level. Saddam is a madman. What he did while in power was horrible. He committed attrocities at the drop of a hat. I promise you that I will not lose any sleep over his death, I don't feel any compassion for Saddam. I think that capital punishment is a punishment carried out by primitive society. I think all cultures have move beyond a point where legalized killing is necessary. We may not have realized it yet. It has been said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If you have the right to take a mans life you get one more step to that absolute corruption. This by no means excuses Saddam. I will not challenge the ruling, but that doesn't make it justifiable.

Question of the Day

When my grandmother was sick it was a hard time for me, But eventually she got better. So I thought. When she got really sick I found out that she had put on a strong face for me. This was during my graduation. When I thought she was better I was extremly happy it seemed thing were fine. After her I found out the truth, I was hurt. So When was I better off, ignorant, or knowledgable.

Question: Is false hope better than no hope?

Please post your opinions

Rhyme Time

North Korea successfully tested a nuke awhile back. This has sent the world into an uproar. Japan is furious, China is midway, U.S. is in shock, Asia as a whole is about to wet itself, and the UN is threatening sanctions. I personally think that N. Korea is a huge threat to world security. I know that many nations have nuclear weapons. I feel no one should have at all, period, but they have had them for sometime now and nuclear weapons have been used only twice. That itself was two too many. N. Korea has a tyranical leader who I feel would readily use them if he feels threatened. I felt back in 2003 when they announced that they were researching Nuclear power, in hopes of making a bomb, that something should have been done. Pres. Bush was trigger happy when it came to Iraq, a possible hazard at best, but when a nation comes forward and admits it wants WMDs we talk to them. Three years passed, and here we are N. Korea has WMDs, and Iraq never did. Ironic I think. So Japan isn't allowing N. Korean ships into its ports and is ready with warships if N. Korean ships pose any threat to Japan. China is worried about rerfugees flooding in across it border, which they say will happen if too harsh sanctions are placed on the nation, but they have placed some sanctions on N. Korea. China and N. Korea are road dogs. they have a very close relationship with N. Korea, so they may not be an ally in this case. The U.S. is proposing sanctions, and wants N. Korea to return to six-party talks. Pres. Bush has also stated that the U.S. will not use military force against the nation, but will help its allies in the area with ballistic missle defense. The UN gives idle threats again. The UN needs a backbone to enforce their own rules. It has been said that history repeats itself, But a better statement is that History ryhmes. Think for a moment Rogue nation N. Korea( Nazi Germany), One nation who sees the real threat Japan(Great Britain) and the nation that agrees, but won't get involved U.S.(U.S.), the circumstantial ally China(Russia). Sounds familiar to me. Hickory dickory dock?

Spin

By now everyone knows about the Foley scandal. The Story with Foley is bad enough, but how both political parties are turning it against one another is bad too. Foley was caught conversing with teenage boys, via e-mails, in a very inappropriate manner. Apparently this was a well known fact among some people in Washington. Yet none of them said anything to authorities. I do not know why they didn't but they didn't. Then the e-mails were released, and immediately the spin begins. Dems trying to turn it against Reps, Reps turn it against Dems. In reality it shouldn't matter what political party you're with Foley needs to be punished. The way the two political parties are playing the whole situation makes me sick. They are too worried with promoting their own agendas that they can't just do their jobs. Which means do what is best for America. I understand that the two parties have differing views on what is best for America. In the end those should be secondary to what is obviously best for this country. The main problem with a two party system is that what is best for the nation becomes secondary, the nation becomes divided more and more. All of that creates a country that will die from internal problems unless it's citizens and officials start working together for what is best first and promote their ways second. Bipartisan should be a more common thing especially in this age. Partisans should be occurring less.

Diversity in Bedrock

I may be wrong about this. I have thought long and hard, but to my recollection their are no minorities of any sort on the Flintstones. I know that may sound silly now, but I do have a point to prove. In Bedrock everyone you saw was white. They never showed the projects of Bedrock. Or the China town of Bedrock. Why is this? In our reality, by our I mean the people in the western world. We have predetermined views or ideas that are either wrong or that are misconception. If you think of God, God is always a he, that really makes no sense to give the supreme being a limitation such as gender. When you read a book often times the race of the characters is not mentioned, but are assumed to be white. In the movie World Trade Center, the unknown heroic marine who risked his life to help in the recovery of victims is portrayed as an older white man. The truth is that he is a young black man. Since no one knew who he was he was automatically portrayed as white. Diversity need to grow in America. Even on black show all of the main characters are black, why are there no Asians or Hispanics, whites, or even native Americans as characters in black television shows. We all have preconceived notions about the different peoples of this world. What we need to do is try to overcome those notions. In every sense. The ideas we have about the standard conceptions of human beings of all races is a deep rooted pyscological problem we have as a culture in America. Maybe when we get over that problem we will see some diversity in Bedrock.

Voting

Today, for the first time I voted. Elections were held in the state of Louisiana and I voted in those elections. It felt good to participate in the demorcratic process. I have wanted to vote every since I was eleven years old. A long time coming. I often talk about the elected officials of this country in a critical manner. I do that, because I love this great nation of ours, and I only want the best for it. I felt I was doing my duty as a citizen, and it really made me happy. If you have any thing to say about the elected official, the policies they install, or the way they are running the counrty in general, please vote.

Truth editing

The current administration will do anything to keep power. I read somewhere that a new report is being held from the public. Rep. Jane Harman has asked for its release. She claims that it show a horrible image of the Iraq war. The report will not be released until January. Which is conveniently after mid-term elections. It is obvious to me that the Bush Administration uses 9/11, Terrorism, and The Iraq war to win elections. They have played that card out. People continue to fall for it. The officials claim that the report was first drafted in august and needs more revisions until it is ready for release. I think that they are only using that as an excuse to wait till after Mid-term elections. They know that if they release it now it may show the American people that the Iraq war was a terrible mistake, and that the mistake is not only costing Americans, but also being mismanaged. America need to wake up and see that it is being played by the Bush administration. Americans have been duped into believing that if they go against the current establishment then they are un-American. That can't be farther from the truth. Speak out, that is what the colonist did when the British mistreated them. We have the Bill of rights. Each American citizen has the right to speak up and say "hey this isn't right" and demand some change. I want to know what that report says. Maybe when the truth is revealed we may get to see some changes come November 2008. Maybe not, perhaps the people will contiue to be trick in to voting a certain way by threats and fear mongering.

Disappointment

One of my closest freind and I were talking one day about the state of music especially rap music. Rap music whether you like it or not was at one point a respectable genre of music, it had substance to it. Rap music was about something, but now it seems what ever song you listen to is about the samething. Then there are the songs that aren't even about something they are just beats, and a hook to go along with a dance. Maybe I am wrong, but I expect more out of my music. I also expect more from the listeners of music. They should want to be treated like they have some sort of intelligence. In the era of "gansta" Rap the rappers were supposedly gansters, but they each had their own experiences to tell they varied some. Tupac didn't rap like snoop, and Jay-z didn't rap like Ice cube. Now when you listen to rap it really all about hoes, getting money, selling rocks, how much money you have now, and club life. There is no difference if you listen to five current rap songs chances are that at the least 4 out of 5 of those songs will contain one to all of those topics. Rap has let me down. It was supposed to be the way black people expressed our hardships, culture, and let the other peoples know how original, thoughtful, and poetic we really can be. There are still good rappers out there if you want to know how rap really is supposed to be listen to Kanye West, Common, The Roots, Talib Kwali, Lupae Fiasco, and Tupac. These people, varied in style, are showing you there lives, and how they see it. Real artist. The majority of mainstream rap has gone commercial, and just really disappointed me.

College

Yestereday I started college. This is something millions have done before me, and millions will do after me. Not all people finish college. I hope I won't be one of those. I believe in education, I beleive that those who are educated can be a positve influence on the world. I also believe that the more people who are educated in the world the better off the world is as a whole. Humanity can be great, greater than what it is if we put more emphasis on educating the world. I am doing my part to help not only myself, but the world. It is difficult at times. No one is here to help me I do it all on my own. In the end I think it is worth it on a grand scale.

Question of the Day

I have seen many tragedies in my life. I have often seen the reactions to those tragedies. People who were truely were horrified by what they saw. Also I saw people who seemed to enjoy seeing the pain that was caused by the terrible acts. Humans are a varied people. This post deal with what the true nature of man is.

Question: Do people have a deep need for good to exist in the world or do they just want it?

Please post your opinions.

Stubborn

I am writting today about Sen. Lieberman. I know this is old news, but I felt like speaking out on this. Sen. Lieberman lost the primary in his state for the democratic nomination for senator. Instead of bowing out gracefully he pitches a fit, and decides to run as an independent. Now this undermines the entire process. what was the purpose of that primary. If Sen Lieberman is going to run anyway. One of the main problems the Democratic party is having right now is lack of unity. They don't make decision together. Now, don't get me wrong I am all against voting a certain way just because everyone else is. You should vote the way you want on the issues. I am just saying that if the Democrats want to start to regain power in the mid-term elections, stunts like this will not help. The Dems need to work together, have their own personal opinions, but still stand together. If they were to work together they actually have a chance. Sen Lieberman is sending a message to his constituents that he thinks they are stupid, and cannot make their own decisons. They want to go in a differnt directon this term, and he is effectively saying no. Not only does his actions hurt the dems it hurts his image. He appears to a sore loser, a man without integrity, no honor. He lost, he should sit back and take his career in another direction. Run for another office, get ready for the next senate election, or become politically active in other ways. This is a dispicable act on his part. I often didn't agree with Sen. Lieberman on his views on the Iraq war, but I respected his for having the courage to have his own opinion and go against the stauts quo. Now I have lost a lot of respect for Sen. Lieberman.

Humanity

Today I saw the worst things. Innocient people being slaughtered. The War between Israel and Lebenon is senseless. As a human being it hurt me to see images of dead babies, women carrying their dead children,and mutilated bodies lying about the street. This has to stop. The U.S. will not even try to do something. We are the ones who destabalized that region we played jenga with regional politics. we are partially, not fully, but partilaly to blame. When we are needed to step in we want to play as if it hasn' t any thing to do with us. Genocide is occuring there, and we stand idly by and watch. where is everyone's humanitarian spirit now? Intervention is needed. Human beings cannot be allowed to be treated this way. We get the sanitized version of the events occuring. So I go to www.fromisraeltolebanon.info, and see what is really going on.

Unity

Yesterday I was over my aunt's house, and my family and I engaged in a good conversation. It was about the problems with the Black race, and how other races work together. We were saying that black need to stand united and help one another. That is true, but my uncle was talking like black and white people are enemies. That is one problem this nation faces. Black people need to come together and no longer be divided. So does Humanity. We need to acknowledge our differences, and at the same time ignore race. Equality is what the world need more of. Racial tension is what the world need less of, because that is the source of the worlds problems for the most part. A person's race should be a secondary thought. If each race purposely segregates itself then we are no better off than when we were forced to segregate. Racial inferiority and superiority complexies cause so many problems in the world. If we all respect our diffferences, but at the same time not put one race above another then the world will be much better off. Race is not the only problem that divides humanity. Poor against Rich is also a problem. The rich are only concerened with increasing their bank account. The problem in this battle isn't solely the rich's fault. The common man when he gets a little money snubs his nose at his bretheren. When he should help them get where he has gotten. Money tends to make a man forget his roots. The rich won't help the less fortunate, so when the little man gets up he acts the same. Money should not define you as a person just as race should not. We should each man help one another so that we can take one more step towards complete unity.

Question of the day

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because each man's perspective is different. Although we all see the same thing it is rare that two people see the world exactly the same, the world appears different. In saying so that means to each man you are a different person. The way that you are seen varies from person to person.

Question: Is evil in the eye of the beholder?

please post your opinions.

Summer of Death

Today I lost someone very special to me. My grandmother left this earth. She is the first person I have ever lost that was close to me. Death has been dancing near me all summer. First it was only people that I knew then death got closer. My Grandmother was a good woman. She treated all people with respect. She loved her family and friends unconditionally. Her family came first what made her babies happy is what made her happy. I can still see my grandmother's smile, hear her voice and laugh. Even now since I am older I sat in my Grandmother's lap. We sat and talked about her life, our family, and things that happened before I was born or when I was little. I will always remember the stories she told me. My grandmother went through a hard time the last part of her life, yet she remained strong for her family. She was a great mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Aunt, Sister, Wife, and Friend. She lead a full life. You will always be loved. I love you, and miss you .

Forgotten

It seems to me that People have forgotton the national tragedy that took place in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina seems now to have been nothing more than a ratings cash cow for the news networks. Mid-term elections are comings up and it seems to me that the events that happened in New Orleans, and following lack of planning and leadership would be a huge point to make. People's live are forever ruined the least that people could do in the media is have updates. It isn't just the media that has forgotton the government has let it slip their mind and so did our fellow americans. It was once you couldn't have a conversation with out New Orleans coming up. Now I will be lucky to hear one thing about Katrina. The Hurricane Season started, yet my confidence that New Orleans is ready for another hurricane is low. levees aren't completed. Also there needed to be a major cleaning of house in FEMA they fumble that whole situation. To add the pain that the orleanians went through tax fraud is occuring. Money that FEMA received to give to the victims is either gone or going to people who don't need the money. We as americans tend to give a lot of attention at one time and treat things as if they mean so much to us until we get bored with it then its "oh, I forgot all about that". New Orleans is still in disarray, people still live in tents or on the streets. the govn't oblviously has bigger things to deal with like securing foreign nations, banning gay marriage, televison obsenity, killing terrorist (conveniently close to mid-term elections?). My point here is this the people still need help. The problems that were there in november are still there, we can't forget about our brothers and sisters.

Adulthood

Last Friday, the 19th, I graduated from high school. I have said this out loud to no one, but the whole thing is surreal. All my life I moved on to the next level without ever actually going anywhere. The next level of my life seemed as if it would never arrive. Now it has come and it makes me think about my responsibility to this world. I have a duty to make the most of myself and in the process change the world for the better. I know that graduating from high school doesn't make me an adult, but I am on my way to being one. Along with this first step to adulthood comes the duty of reshaping the world.

The Immortal Bigotry

Recently there is has been a battle over immigration. The way I see the issue is on the fence. I agree with the anti-immigration on some parts, while I also agree with the other side on some parts. I think that illegal immigrants should not have the same rights as citizens, but they are still people and deserve respect. It is a little arogant that they believe just because they live here they should be treated just the same as the citizens. It is fairly simple to become a citizen and many loopholes. Why can't they just get naturalized, because then they will have every right to the rights of americans. Now that doesn't mean that the conservative fanatics are right. I believe that the real reason they don't want the immigrants here is because they are bigots. They feel a better that these immigrants not because of race, no not anymore now it is nationalty. Certain people in this country seem to always have a need to be superior than other people. Whenever we get close to next level of equality something new comes about to take us back a step. It is not just this that is an example of the bigotry, also on issues of religion, politics, culture, and maybe less now but yes race. We need to overcome our prejudices inorder to become a better people, because americans come in every shape, color, and form. So I welcome the immigrants to american and to the rights and priviledges that come with it. All I ask is that you go about it the right way.

Watched

I was watching televison the other day, the show was about spy tech. The show had many gadgets that could keep track of people in the most unique of ways. One way was that GPS that many cars have. The satellites can know anywhere in the world you are within minutes. Another is a wrist watch that you plug into the computer and from there you can take any files from that computer that you want, and it only takes minutes. One more is a type of spyware the can get onto your computer through use of an e-mail. Once on your computer the spyware searches for certain words or phrases. When the word/phrase is detected the spyware then records everything you do on your computer and sends it to the person who sent the spyware. The things that I just talked about are things that can be bought at any good tech shop. I guess what I am getting at is if that is what the average joe has access to what do you think the Govn't can do. I promise it is a lot more impressive than what I just discussed. The world is becoming less and less private. Someone has to dictate the way that type of tech is used because if regulations are not put in place to prevent unlawful invasions then Freedom is on the verge of collapse. What I want you to get from this is that it is too easy to gain access to peoples lives.

Hero or Villian

There is a new movie out that I am looking forward to seeing. The movie is V for Vendetta. At first I just wanted to see it because it looked to be a good action movie. As I looked up the movie, I learned it was much more. The movie takes place in a facist like a Britain. V (antagonist of the film) takes measures to install fear in the govn't, and at the same time arouse the public to the fact that their govn't has no right to treat them the way that they do. V takes some pretty extreme measures to achieve his goal. Here is were I get split. Some say he is a terrorist, because he uses violence to try and teach facist Britain a lesson. On the other hand he can be seen as a fredoom fighter, because he acts out against injustice on everyone's behalf. The line between the two is very fine. Too even begin to have an opinion you must first look at it from both sides. If he is a terrorist, because of his use of violence then we must also call america's founding fathers terrorist or the Texas revolutionaries terrorist. Now if we call him a freedom fighter, because he fights for what he believes in then we must also call Osama Bin Laden a freedom fighter. The line is fine and being either one is too close. I personally believe that V is a freedom fighter, because when it come down to it the real question, in my eye's at least, is whether or not the cause is just. So is V a hero or is he a villian?

Abuse

In the news lately is a teacher who went on a twenty minute rant against the U.S. & Pres. Bush. I am not a fan of Pres. Bush or his administration, but because he was down talking Bush does not mean I will defend him. That man had no right to do what he did. He is a high school teacher inflicting his personal opinions on his students, that is an abuse of his power as a teacher. If he was a college professor that would be a different story, but these are young people very impressionable some of them. The students and the teacher weren't even having a discussion he was teaching them his beliefs as fact. That is wrong whether you are a Liberal, conservative, or just somewhere in between. The teacher was very wrong I know if I had children I wouldn't want their teacher ranting on about some insane conservative belief that was his own personal opinion. A teacher once did that at the high school I attend he told us his own opinion, but stated it as a fact. That teacher was wrong I just hope that my fellow classmates can make up their own opinion. People are very one sided these day they see their side only, and that leads to abuses of power, and division among us.

Worry

I watch the news a lot and I worry, where are the people who care about this country, not saying all politicians are uncaring. It is just that they are too few. Most politicians have hidden agendas, and they all play the blame game. No one will take responsibility. The people in-charge press issues that really have no impact on the american people inorder to hide what is really going on. Just think when was the last time your representative,represented something that really concerns you. I think it is time that someone step up and retake this country for the little man.

Too late

One thing that I have seen in the paper is the man on death row in California who may just get off. The Man was to be executed, but the doctors refused to take part. Now they can't find any other doctor who will perform the procedure. If the man wasn't lucky enough after awhile if he isn't executed then the Judge who originally issued the death warrent will have to issue another one, but the judge said that he won't do that. I personally am opposed to the death penalty, and think that the people involved are taking a just stand. I am also obliged to bring up Stanley "Tookie" Williams. A man who turned his life around, was actually doing some good. Mr. Williams wrote books to get children to stray away from the life he had, he was a Nobel Peace prize nominee. Mr. Williams was a completely different man from the one that fist entered that prison, yet the State still executed him. So I wonder is this stand against the State funded killing of men a result of the lesson learned from Stanley, or is it that this man some how deserves to live more than any other man. Maybe Stanley was just a couple of weeks too late.

Fine Line

Today I am Commenting on the whole situation with the Middle Eastern Company trying to take over some U.S. ports. I think that, that is a fine line to walk. If we don't allow it, then we come off as rude to our middle eastern allies who have been very helpful to us. On the other hand if we do allow it then we are trusting our port security to foreign people. There is the possibility that they may be infiltrated, and could use the control to harm us. When I think of us turning them down solely on the fact that we don't trust them because of the actions of a few people who may not be associated with the cmpany, how does that make us look. This is a delicate situation that requires deep thought and consideration. I honestly do not know which way to side on this. Certainly it is wrong to judge an entire people based on a few, but that doesn't mean that we should automatically trust them or anyone else. I don't believe that all Middle eastern people are terrorist, but on the other hand terrorist have been known to find there wasy into supposedly safe places.

Faith

True faith is blind, but that does not mean we should believe everything we are told. Today Christianity is under attack by the very people claiming to be its protectors. I in my own opinion think that we should treat all people equal no matter what. People claim that by removing religion from school and other aspects of Govn't is wrong but please remember that church and state are to be seperate. The gay marriage thing was big a while ago, but the people trying to outlaw it are hipocrits they speak of wanting to protect the sanctity of marriage but, then shouldn't you also be trying just as hard to outlaw adultry or divorce and all other things facing marrige. If you were to do that then it wouldn't bother me either way, I could care less. Also Intellegent Design theory shouldn't be taught in school. School is a place of learning, church is the place for spiritual enlightenment. By making religion a science you are belittleing it. I personally believe that our views of God and religion should change and we advance technology wise. The U.S. is falling behind other nations in the sciences and maths, if we cling on to archaic beliefs about God and mans place in the universe then all of humanity is doomed to go the way of the dinosaurs just in a more civilized way.

Honesty & Incident

I often watch the news just to see what is going on in this world of ours. A couple of days ago I saw that VP Cheney had shot a man accidentally, it was completely understadable if it was an accident things like that happen all the time I'm sure. The VP refused to talk to the press about didn't inform White House Press Secretary McClellan of what had happened. Now I am not all up in arms over what the VP did if it was an accident Okay. What gets me is his attitude towards the whole thing. When the police tried to talk to him about the Secret Service wouldn't allow it, then he refused to talk about it, and then when he did talk to the press about it he would only talk to a certain news organisation. The VP still feels his actions were okay. I guess what I am getting at is how safe should we feel if the man second highest on the totem pole feels that something minor like this is not the people busines. Makes me wonder what larger things is this administration hiding form the people who put them there. It is abount Honesty not the incident.