If People Simply Followed Their Respective Religion...

Today at work, a coworker and I were talking about morality and ethics. He argues that morality/values comes from religion. I can sort of agree that our value systems are influenced by religion, but what about atheists? They would have a different value system. For example, Christianity holds adultery morally wrong. An atheist may not have the same moral point of view. But what we can generally agree on is ethics, or what we as society hold to be right or wrong. A Christian and an atheist could generally agree that adultery is a breach of contract and therefore ethically wrong. Cool.

But before we arrived at that conclusion he made the statement, "If people simply followed their respective religion, then we wouldn't have all these problems." He's correct in a way. Christians would love their neighbor, Hindus and Buddists would be nice because of karma, Muslims and Jews would treat their brothers with respect, and atheists would follow the rule of law. Being Floridaegu, I, of course, had watched a funny video of what would happen if someone followed the bible literally.

So for your viewing pleasure, I give you a TED video.

Poor Taste and Intolerance

Over on Facebook, there are a couple of fan pages or groups that are praying for the death of Obama. Even though I don't like the guy for his politics, his lying, or his ignorance, I can't really pray for something like that. It's just so tacky; it's in poor taste. It's something an ex-girlfriend would do to me; it's a real bitch move.

So while that's just a bunch of 8 year-olds acting out their playground inadequacies, there is another group petitioning facebook to get this poor taste group censored. They are trying to get this prayer labeled as hate speech. I didn't see any derogatory language, and to try to stir up emotions by using the race card (again) is disingenuous.

Wow!

I don't know know whose worse, the group that's prays for someone's death or the group that is intolerant. For Pete's sake, just ignore them. Let's reverse the tables and go back to 2004. Remember when Bush was calling the people that questioned the Iraq war, un-patriotic in order to get them to stop their complaints? Very similar, no?

A majority of people dislike supremacist groups (Black panthers, KKK, VANK, etc), but their right to free speech should not be abridged. If someone dislikes the message they should ignore it or counter it with their own statements, not use force (albeit soft force) to censor another person or group. That's weak and intolerant, and quite frankly, un-American. We're better than that, but we must have forgotten.

Obama's Spending Cut - Visualized!

He he.

Washington DC -- Control Thyself!!

A cool little video.

Is Washington bankrupting America?

hint: Yes

A Topic for the Close-Minded

Over in my blog roll you'll see Long Time Gone. It's your typical expat blog located in Korea. He works for the US military and he has similar thoughts about politics and economics as I do. One of his hobby horses is the global warming / climate change crowd. He was in a back-and-forth with another blogger, ROK Sojourn (now defunct) about the legitimacy and reality of this environmental debate. I was able to read ROK's beliefs and his rebuttals to LTG, and it more or less came to this: If you don't believe what I believe, even though I can't provide reputable, scientific evidence, or counter the opposing claims, then you need to shut the hell up because you're just a dummy.

That is a classic case of close-mindedness. Science is never settled as much as The Messiah claims it is. We used to think the world was flat or there were four elements, but we had to change our perceptions as the evidence became clear. There's nothing wrong with finding out your beliefs are wrong, it's forgivable. What is wrong is staying the course in the face of evidence; that's just being stubborn. If the global warming community's scientific evidence was solid, it would blow away any doubts and they wouldn't have to resort to playground tactics. So weak.

So, good reader, I present to you another topic for you consideration...

Should we get rid of the restrictions placed on DDT?

For some reason, I recall very clearly the television episode of 60 Minutes back in the late 70's or early 80's about bald eagles and their egg shells being very thin. The cause of this was, supposedly, DDT. DDT was building up in the food chain  and the bald eagles were consuming large quantities through their food. This was the reasoning, but recently I found out that chickens were not affected by this. The problem came when DDT was it was given over to public use instead of restricted use. Overuse of any chemical leads to biological resistance and environmental build-up. Another benefit, besides increased agricultural output, is it's mosquito repellent properties. Tens of thousands of deaths that have occurred in areas that once used DDT but stopped due to the 2004 Stockholm convention.

If you've been in Korea for more than a few years, you'll remember the motorcycles and trucks that go through the neighborhoods with a fogger. That fog is DDT. Kids run behind that truck, the cloud goes into your house and people breathe it in, yet nothing happens. There aren't kids with three arms, but what there is noticeably less of is mosquitoes (mogi).

I still have to roll this one around in my head a little bit longer, but if you had asked me a couple of weeks ago if DDT should be allowed, I would have said no, but in light of evidence and the benefits, it's becoming increasingly difficult.

Flex Time

I'm working about 16 hours today. I don't mind. I wasn't looking forward to it, but there are benefits. If you're Korean, then you're probably saying, "so what." I won't dispute the fact that Koreans work the most hours of all OECD nations. If you're European then you might be shocked. I think, however, that if you had the ability to flex your work hours, you too, wouldn't mind working 16 hours.

The reason I'm working 16 hours today is because my wife is going on vacation for a few days and I need to stay home and take care of the baby. The days I need to take off coincide with my work days. I've asked someone to cover my time off, but I still would like to work my hours so that I don't have to take any vacation time off. Yeah, I'm greedy like that. There's nothing unethical about it; I can flex my time within certain limits; I am being productive, and my manager doesn't mind so long as I can account for all the hours. It's a win-win for everyone.

Another Email, SUBJECT: Colonoscopy

This email has been going around for a while, but every time I read it, I can't stop laughing. I'm an avid reader of Dave Barry's column, if and when I can get to them.

ABOUT THE WRITER
Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.

Colonoscopy Journal:

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment
for a colonoscopy.

A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon,
a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing
briefly through Minneapolis.

Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring
and patient manner.

I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my
brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'

I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a
product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a
microwave oven.  I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it
to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of  America 's
enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.

Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation.  In accordance
with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was
chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.

Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep.  You mix two packets of powder
together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water.
(For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons).
Then you have to drink the whole jug.  This takes about an hour, because
MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and
urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense
of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may
result.'

This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may
experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but,
have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch?  This is pretty much the MoviPrep
experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode
had a seat belt.  You spend several hours pretty much confined to the
bathroom, spurting violently.  You eliminate everything.  And then, when you
figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep,
at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and
start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.

The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic I was very nervous.  Not only
was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional
return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage.  I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?'
How do you apologize to a friend for something like that?  Flowers would not
be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and
totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a
room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained
space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments
designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel
even more naked than when you are actually naked..

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand.
Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already
lying down.  Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep..
At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered
what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so
you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode.  You would have no choice
but to burn your house.

When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where
Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist.  I did not see the
17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere.  I was
seriously nervous at this point.

Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking
something up to the needle in my hand.

There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing
Queen' by ABBA.  I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be
playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least
appropriate.

'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.

'Ha ha,' I said.  And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for
more than a decade.  If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am
going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.

I have no idea.  Really.  I slept through it.  One moment, ABBA was yelling
'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was
back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.

Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt.  I felt excellent.  I
felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my
colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal
organ.

Money from Legalized Pot -- Visualized!

Any thoughts?

Taken from the here, the awesome people at mint.

The "War on Drugs" is a failure. Let's end it.

Being Libertarian and supporting the 10th Amendment (States' Rights), it means I also support a State's decision to legalize or criminalize anything that doesn't abridge the rights of the people as enumerated in the Constitution. The cool thing here is if say New York doesn't like legalized marijuana, that's fine, the good people there don't have to, so at least they don't infringe upon Californian's perceived rights and privileges. Any federal laws passed in this manner affects everyone in the nation and may infringe on say, Floridians' rights and privileges. This is awesome because if I don't like what's going on in New York, I can move to California, what a great way to express you views -- by moving.

The 10th Amendment Center

What is that you say? You don't know about the 10th Amendment? That's fine good reader, it's not a topic that's oft discussed. Sure, we all remember that there are twenty-something amendments to our Constitution. Some of the more famous ones are the 1st (freedom of speech), 2nd (self-defense), 4th (privacy). What you may not recall, if you're under 50, is the 10th amendment (states' rights).  To quote:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

You see that. Anything not explicitly expressed in the Constitution is left to the states or the people. That means, that authority is left to the people or the states to decide what they want to do. So...I don't see health care or education in the Constitution, therefore they are up to the States or the people to decide how they want to implement (or not) any laws. Further, jurisprudence states that any unconstitutional laws passed are void from the date of passing, not when a court decides. From American Jurisprudence via Wiki:

The legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence says the following in regard to constitutionality:

The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form and the name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void and ineffective for any purpose since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it; an unconstitutional law, in legal contemplation, is as inoperative as if it had never been passed ... An unconstitutional law is void. (16 Am. Jur. 2d, Sec. 178)

We have forgotten as a people what we are capable of. The concept of nullification and true liberty and tolerance has been lost but we are beginning to remember. The good folks at The Tenth Amendment Center and further the Florida chapter are helping remind us that we have the power, not the out-of-control politicians in Washington, we just have to exercise it.

Recently, Michael Boldin of The Tenth Amendment Center gave a speech about nulification. If you have time, give it once over.

Affairs

I received this in email today and thought you'd like it.

The 1st Affair

A married man was having an affair with  his secretary..

One day they went to her place and made love all afternoon..

Exhausted, they fell asleep and woke up at 8  PM.

The man hurriedly dressed and told his lover to take his shoes outside and rub them in the grass and dirt.

He put on his shoes and drove home.

'Where have you been?' his wife demanded.

'I can't lie to you,' he replied, 'I'm having an affair with my secretary. We had sex all afternoon.'

She looked down at his shoes and said: 'You lying bastard!

You've been playing golf!'

The 2nd Affair

A middle-aged couple had two beautiful daughters but always talked about having a son.

They decided to try one last time for the son they always wanted.

The wife got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy.

The joyful father rushed to the nursery to see his new son.

He was horrified at the ugliest child he had ever seen.

He told his wife:  'There's no way I can be the father of this baby.

Look  at the  two beautiful daughters I  fathered!

Have  you  been fooling around behind my back?'

The  wife smiled sweetly and replied:

'Not this time!' Honey

The 3rd Affair

A mortician was working late one night.

He examined the body of Mr. Taylor he was about to be cremated, and made a startling discovery.

Taylor had the largest private part he had ever seen!

'I'm sorry Mr. Taylor,' the mortician commented, 'I can't allow you to be cremated with such an impressive private part..

It must be saved for posterity.'

So, he removed it, stuffed it into his briefcase, and took it home

'I  have something to show you won't believe,' he said to his wife, opening his briefcase.

'My  God!' the wife exclaimed, 'Taylor is dead!'

The  4th Affair

A  woman was in bed with her lover when she heard her husband opening the front door.

'Hurry,' she said, 'stand in the corner.'

She  rubbed baby oil all over him, then  dusted him with talcum powder..

'Don't  move until I tell you,' she said, 'pretend you're a statue.'

'What's  this?' the husband inquired as he entered the room.

'Oh it's a statue,' she replied, 'the Smiths bought one and I liked it so I got one for us, too.'

No more was said, not even when they went to bed.

Around 2 AM the husband got up, went to the kitchen and returned with a sandwich and a beer.

'Here,' he said to the statue, have this.

I stood like that for two days at the Smiths and nobody offered me a damned thing.'

The  5th Affair

A man walked into a cafe, went to the bar and ordered a beer.

'Certainly, Sir, that'll be one cent.

''One  Cent?' the man exclaimed.

He glanced at the menu and asked: 'How much for a nice juicy steak and a bottle of wine?'

'A  nickel,' the barman  replied.

'A  nickel?' exclaimed the man.

'Where's the guy who owns this place?'

The  bartender replied: 'Upstairs, with my wife.'

The man asked: 'What's he doing upstairs with your wife?'

The  bartender replied: 'The  same thing I'm doing to his business down here.'

The 6th Affair

Jake was dying. His wife sat at the bedside.

He looked up and said weakly:  'I have something I must confess.'

'There's no need to, 'his wife replied.

'No,' he insisted,

'I want to die in peace.

I slept with your sister, your best friend, her best friend, and your mother!'

'I know,' she replied, 'now just rest and let the poison work.'

A Good Point

I received this in email..

We are the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food,water, tents, clothes, bedding, doctors and medical supplies. Imagine if we gave ourselves the same support that we gave other countries. I feel bad for them, but who cares about America.

It makes a good point.

I'm going to go off topic a bit because I recall several media outlets complained that America didn't respond fast enough, didn't respond with enough for Haiti. To them and to all you MoFo's out there that think that America, as the richest nation, should lead and help you in your time of need...Fuck you.

Every time there's a disaster we're criticized for not leading the aid effort, then for leading the effort. I'm tired of my country leading the world, dealing with other nations' problems, and getting spat on for our charity. When some 3rd world country asks for help, we are criticized for being slow or not sending enough. It's not an easy task. When it's time to leave and take our expertise and equipment, we are cursed for depriving them of needed aid. Pay for it or fuck you.

When my government decides to spend money (my/our tax money) on giving aid to other nations which I may or may not agree with, there is a moral conflict. If my neighbor wants to help the people of Haiti, that's fine. That's what a donation to a charity can do. If I disagree and think the people of America need help, I can do the same with a charitable donation. BUT, to take taxes, which we are in dire need of, and are meant to help Americans, and send it to another country is simply wrong. If congress and the president wanted to send money, they could have dug into their pockets and passed the hat around. It's contemptible how easy they spend other peoples' money. Fuck you.

Obamacare's Costs

The Washington Examiner has an opinion article of how much the Democrat Obamacare plan will cost us. Despite "The Messiah's" promises to not raise taxes on those making $250,000 or less we'll all feel the pinch and still not receive affordable nor better quality service. Let's repeal this crap!

The health overhaul plan just enacted represents the largest tax hike in U.S. history - $569 billion over 10 years through a dizzying array of taxes and fees that promise to frustrate taxpayers at every turn.  ObamaCare will make every day feel like April 15^th.
And despite President Obama’s campaign promise that no one making $250,000 or less would see a tax increase, Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation confirms that these tax hikes will hit millions of middle- and working-class families who are struggling to make ends meet.

Read more at the Washington Examiner

Pimping -- Driving in Korea

Good reader, let me show you to a site that I visit. It's called Driving in Korea and I'm pimping it, baby. A fellow blogger called Mr. Wonderful introduced the idea to me by pimping my own blog.

Anyway, I know the gentleman that started it and quite frankly I'm a bit jealous that I didn't start it. If you've lived in Korea for more than a few days you'll know that driving, hell, being a pedestrian here presents its challenges and it's peculiarities. It's often joked about amongst expats and Koreans alike. The driving rules or laws are merely suggestions. Also, don't expect a police officer to help you out. Judging from experience and the stories I've heard, an expat will have about a 80% chance of the accident being called against you because YOU are the foreigner. Also, don't be surprised when, after an accident occurs, to be yelled at, the other driver running up and down the street gathering fellow conspirators, and when the cops arrive, lie down on the street to be taken to the hospital.

But don't take my word for it, have a look-see at Driving in Korea.

If GW Bush had...

Received this in an email and thought I share it with you. I'm not pro-Bush, but the email makes a point about the media's (and people's) hypocrisy and inconsistency.

 If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

 If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

 If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a  minor slip?

 If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had stated that there were 57 states in the United States , would you have said that he is clueless.
 If George W. Bush would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in Texas , would you have thought he was a self important, conceded, egotistical prick.

 If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

 If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?

 If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?

 If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low  over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown    Manhattan  causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually  get what happened on 9-11?

 If George W Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in    New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue  with claims of racism and incompetence?

 If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved.

 If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

 If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?
 

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 10 months -- so you'll have three years and two months to come up with an answer.

End The Mandate!!!

The Campaign for Liberty started in 2007 by bringing together people that supported Ron Paul. After Ron Paul pulled out of the race in June 2008 the movement, that was so inspired by such a candidate, continued. What we saw were more candidates and people mobilizing in the same small government mentality. These people, these independents, were fiscally conservative and socially liberal. They/We love individual liberties that were reduced under Bush and despise the fiscal irresponsibility displayed by Bush and Obama. The recent health care bill is such an example. It will require a reduction of liberties, such as privacy, because the government will need to maintain personal information; I don't need to go into the fiscal lunacy of this bill.

Luckily, our republic can change for the better. I haven't given up hope (Not the Obama-style hope). It is possible to repeal laws. It's rare, but it can happen. I think the last time this happened was when I was a budding teen during the Reagan administration. It was the repeal of the national speed limit law of 55mph. Anyway, here is a flier to get rid of the mandate in the health care bill. If we can't repeal the damn thing, at least we can pull the teeth out of it. Keep it, pass it along, and keep up the fight, good friend. You can also find C4L in my sidebar.

A Bit of History with Rain

I apologize for the age of this minor controversy, but it relates to my post about Time magazine and their top100 this year. You see, a couple of years ago, Rain, the famous Korean pop singer, better known to Americans as Ninja Assassin or "the Asian guy" in Speed Racer, was number one in Time's 2008 most influential people. Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central was playfully enraged, but of course the Korean press and netizens took it seriously as if it were a national insult. Come on people, lighten up. The back an forth made for a good read in the blogosphere back then and I wanted to post it here for you, dear reader.

So here it is, a compilation of what happened in 2008 between Stephen Colbert and Rain...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Stephen vs. Rain
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Time's 100

Time is conducting its online poll of the 100 most influential people in the world and of course the Koreans are doing their best to put Rain and Kim Yuna on top. It's a poll that people can vote on multiple times so results will vary.

Let's see, currently Kim Yuna has a rating of 94, but I'm sure the K-netizens will fix that. Rain has a rating of 96. The K-netizens are definitely pushing him because of previous years when he was on the list and beat out Stephen Colbert, currently 86. The other good thing about this poll is that you can vote down someone you don't like, as evidenced by Stephen's 86 (I'm biased towards Stephen). Another celebrity of note is Ron Paul, currently at 93. I think for many Americans, he's reawakened our political spirits.

Vote to heart's content! Bonus points if you have a script that I can run to help me outvote the K-netizens.