I’ve gotten into a lot of arguments over the years with people who support the death penalty. While I would usually cite the moral and philosophical issues I have with it, that argument was usually countered with “we are spending too much money on criminals as it is, so just get rid of them.” Was happy to see that in light of the economic crisis, law makers are taking a closer look at their respective state budgets, and in an effort to save money by reducing spending where it isn’t needed, many have targeted capital punishment as an expense that should come off the books. This NYTimes article explains how death penalty cases cost millions of extra dollars in court costs, and how the years of appeals and trials only exacerbate the problem of over-crowded prisons — an issue so severe in some areas that states are simply releasing [non-violent] offenders on the basis of capacity limitations.
Whatever the reason, let’s hope the tide against the death penalty continues to rise.
as a much more somber follow-up to the post below…
This articlefrom today’s NYTimesexplains Israel’s admitted censorship of free press in Gaza since its invasion of the occupied territory, which has almost completely shut out international press from the areas in and surrounding the war zone, while practically offering guided tours of every uninhabited piece of dirt in Southern Israel that has fallen victim to a Hamas rocket.
The Foreign Press Association of Israel has summed up the shut-out by stating that “the unprecedented denial of access to Gaza for the world’s media amounts to a severe violation of press freedom and puts the state of Israel in the company of a handful of regimes around the world which regularly keep journalists from doing their jobs.”
And what is the job of journalists? To report the news, to expose the truth, to inform a public that needs to make informed decisions. These restrictive practices only serve to point the compass of public opinion towards the conclusion that exposing the truth and informing the public may not be in Israel’s best interests after all.
* * * * *
This accompanying blog article on the NYTimes website offers a cursory glance into the extremely well-planned PR campaign Israel has been implementing — pretty interesting.
What kind of supposed democratic country doesn’t allow internet porn? This is an atrocity. The internet is all about the free exchange of ideas, and my uneducated guess is that the idea that porn is obscene and should be banned is probably not one that most people in China would agree with (if asked in private and out of the range of Big Brother, if such a place exists in China) . It’s restrictive, and it’s censorship. And it will only serve as a boon for China’s already massive and constantly burgeoning black market. I think all this fast-track image sculpting the Chinese government is implementing will come back to bite it in the ass in the not so distant future.
At a minimum, it will definitely make for a lot of lonely nights and cranky mornings.
I was watching videos of George Carlin on youtube and man, that dude was a genius. RIP man. The great satirists just have a skill for cutting through the bullshit and explaining things to people in a way that not only makes sense, but is also funny as hell. And it’s not just about politics — it’s about all of the many forces and waves tugging at and crashing around us that try to move us, shape us, scare us so that they can then be the ones to comfort us, and turn us into sheep so that they can herd us into cages locked the second we let others think on our behalf.
But the greats like Carlin and Bill Maher and Jon Stewart clear the fog a bit. Not to say you should believe whatever it is that they say, but if you listen, youll notice that theyre not telling you what to believe, like your politicians, parents, teachers, and priests (rabbis/imams) do; theyre telling you to open up your eyes and start thinking for yourself.
Here are a few great clips i came across:
this one explains why I am a francophile:
More videos to come, but I have to leave the office before they make me do work.
First off, sorry for the hiatus…life has been hectic. But no matter how busy things get, Ive always got a finger on the pulse of the sports world, especially the part of it that interest me most: the NBA.
Its hard for me to write about sports in a coherent way, because I get excited and have too many thoughts about the same topic. So, here goes:
The Clippers have to be bummed about losing Elton Brand, big time. Sterling was trying to shake his image as the tight-wad owner by signing Baron Davis to a big deal (though impressively shrewd), and after he did that no one thought Brand would seriously give up the chance to play with a top PG. Brand didnt even really get more money than what was offered. I understand business is business and Brand has to look out for himself, but Im disappointed by how he handled this because since he got the same money than LA was willing to give him, he must have had other reasons for leaving for Philly, probably cuz it was a competitive playoff squad last year without him and figures to be a conference contender with him…but i think he went out his way to make the Clips think he was gonna resign and encouraged them to sign another player who he could contend with in LA, and after they did what he asked for, he still bolted. I’m not hating him for playin the game, but when he does youve got to call him a playa. Maybe Im biased cuz now Philly is gonna dominate the division that my beloved Knicks will serve as a doormat to.
Yes, Philly will dominate the Atlantic because Toronto is overrated and NJ is in it for the green, not the gold. The Toronto trade of a TJ Ford, one half of the most productive PG platoon in the league for a broken and beat up Jermaine ONeal who is making something like $42 million the next 2 years alone is not a good deal. TJ Ford is agreat player and they couldve gotten more for him. If ONeal returns to full strength and plays the defense he was playing a few years ago, then the trade will have been a good one, but I think that it way too improbable for the Raptors to bank on.
NJ traded Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlin for the SOLE pourpose of cashing in on his popularity in his native country of China and opening up the market in order to lure LeBron in 2 years. Pitiful. So now they have Yi, no Jason Kidd, no RJ, and a player in Vince Carter who will be in the first year of a rich multi-year contract…oh yea, he’ll play with tONS of trademark tenacity. They have some decent rookies but they are still gonna stink it up for a while.
I like Washington giving Arenas his money because you never have to worry about his motivation to play hard — he’s too cocky to let his rep suffer. To think…Rashard Lewis got a contract worth $15 million more than Arenas. That is nuts.
Bur Lewis’ Orlando squad was good last year and will be better with newly signed and underrated Mickael Pietrus, who can guard the perimeter and shoot the 3-ball.
Dallas gave Dasagna Diop something like $30 million to resign with them. ¿¿¿WTF??? The dude does nothing but block a shot or 2 a game and he gets $30 million? I dont get that. Nor do I understand the Bucks giving Andrew Bogut $72.5 million (!) to stay in Milwaukee, and then trade Yi and his Chinese fan base for Jefferson only to then draft Joe Alexander, who plays the same position. They shouldve saved 72 million by letting Bogut go, drafted Brooke Lopez who was the top center prospect in the draft but gets paid rookie money, an then put themselves in position to be a major player in free agency with all that money and a promising young core of Michael Redd, Jefferson, Lopez, Mo Williams, Charlie Villanueva and Charlie Bell. Tell me they couldnt have gotten a top free agent to join that squad! They couldve signed Emeka Okafor who is a top defensive center (perfect for coach Scott Skiles and the new defense oriented style he will surely implement) for way less than 72 million. This is maddening to me.
Golden State losing out on Davis and Brand has to hurt, and no, signing Corey Maggette does not ease the pain. I like him as a scorer because he gets to the line (hes insane at drawing fouls. In a healthy season most fans would be surprised to learn that Maggette gets to the line more than almost any other player in the league — 3rd most in 06-07) which puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense and makes things easier on his teammates, who can be more aggressive against defenders in foul trouble or a team in the penalty. But he’s not a facilitator, he needs the ball in his hands and doesnt make much of a difference on defense. He could be a great complimentary player, to say, Elton Brand..or..Baron Davis. Yes Warriors fans, it’s time to worry. At least they seem committed to keeping Monta Ellis, who is restricted and crazy talented, but theyre gonna end up overpaying Andris Biedrins big time so they can have at least one decent big man in the lineup. Im not so crazy about Chris Mullin’s personnel moves, I gotta say.
As for the Clips, who knows what to expect. I dont think theyll make the playoffs next season with the lineup they have. GS didnt make it last year and they had a better and more cohesive lineup than LA has this year..so far at least. Al Thornton will continue to impress, Kaman is a good 5 and Davis is nasty when healthy, but that he played 82 games in his contract year does not mean that he will go the distance again now that he has a brand new contract and is closer to his Hollywood homies trying to convince him to focus on his film production company (Davis is a member of the screen actors guild). I think the Clips are back to being the Clips that we know and love to not care about.
Not basing this on the one preseason game he played, I think Beasely is gonna make a loT of people feel stupid for saying he did not deserve to be picked first in this year’s draft. That kid has something to prove but wont even be the 3rd best player on his team, so the spotlight is not on him and he can just play the game. Rookie of the Year, write that shit down.
As for my beloved Knicks, it’s too early to write a seaon preview but I like the Gallinari draft, I guess, kinda sorta, because the obviously better players were off the board, the other impressive talents did not fit team needs at all (Jerryd Bayless), and Gallinari isnt the typical young European “project”. This kid has been a star in very competitive and heavily scouted European leagues, already knows how to play the game, has guts and size and shooting skills, and most importantly, if there is anyone who is qualified enough to determine whether or not a Euro league player can make the transition to the NBA, its Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.
If Gallinari develops, D’Antoni can work his offensive magic to get Curry and Randolph to be productive, and the Knicks do something smart with the many, many millions coming off the books this year, NYK can compete for a low playoff seed while working it’s way out of the tangled mess known as Isiah Thomas’ legacy. After 7 years of ineptitude, I am a humble and patient man.
I texted this message to my friend on my way back from dinner, where I discovered that someone I care about is huge liar and hypocrite. It was a depressing discovery because I had a lot of respect for him before… my friend wanted to know how the dinner went, and here is the message I sent, in it’s original texted format:
Not too bad. But bad. I need to start doing drugs. Numbness is good. Short term at least. Words have limits. Theyre pretty worthless. But powerful. Weird. Limited, worthless…but so powerful. Mayb the impact is a result of the realization that theyre worthless…when you didnt believe them to be b4. Thats powerful.
Relax, Im oK i swear.
I dunno how I feel about this now, as I read what I wrote…I guess words arent totally worthless, cuz if they are, why am i even writing this? But maybe words are just the conduit through which we share our thoughts and feelings…ourselves…making words shallow in and of themselves, yet precious in effect. Hypocrisy, more than anything I think, illustrates that words are nothing in and of themselves, and that they derive meaning from their source. I’m gonna start paying as lot more attention to the source going forward.
Whatever. Words are overrated sometimes. I’m gonna bike to the park and lay on the grass for a while.
I wrote about the plight of Khalid al-Masri in thispost back in October, describing the disgraceful US Supreme Court decision to exercise a loophole and avoid hearing the case of man who was abducted, sent to Afghanistan where he was tortured and interrogated, and then later abandoned by the CIA. But al-Masri hasn’t given up yet. Along with a growing bastion of supporters, he is again putting pressure on the German government (he is a German citizen) to acknowledge what was done to him hold accountable the agents involved.
The ACLU has taken up his case in the US. We’ll see how far that goes.
Good for al-Masri for sticking to his guns and having the courage to relive this horrible ordeal in order to expose governmental corruption and receive the public apology he desrves. I hopes he gets a few billion out of it as well..though a billion dollars probably only exchanges to something like 3.5 euros. Good luck dude.
This really pissed me off. I’m going to Turkey for a few months on vacation; it has always been my dream vacation. I think about it as a crossroads of modern human history, where so many civilizations have made their mark on the world, a mark whose beauty is reflected today in the diversity of the Turkish culture.
That’s why I was so pissed off by the news reporttoday that the Turkish High Court overturned a legal change issued by Prime Minister Erdogan that would allow women to where the headscarf at Turkish universities on the grounds that the change violated laws protecting Turkish secularism.
Read that sentence again. The purpose of the overturned legal change wasn’t to require women to wear the headscarf; it was to allow women who choose to wear it to attend a Turkish university.
I know the history of Turkey is complex and that there is a strong general desire to protect secular laws from religious extremism, but this isn’t a question of zealotry or “Islamism” or security. It is a question of liberty, justice, and equality. Secularism can be maintained while preserving individual liberties. These kind of laws cannot be made to assuage irrational fears; think about where the U.S. would be if lawmakers and courts never took a stand against irrational and often ignorant public opinion. The decision of the high court is appalling because Turkey is trying so hard to kiss EU ass and prove that it is progressive, yet refuses to pass laws securing individual liberties for it’s own citizens (the other well known grievance is the strict code of expressive censorship Turkey enforces). The courts are also considering banning Erdogan and his widely popular AKP party from politics altogether…they have banned entire parties in the past and are expected to do it again here.
Obviously there are many other countries in the same boat, but I guess I just expect more from Turkey. I am also especially sensitive to human rights violations that are validated by the courts…I place a lot of faith in court systems as the guardians against corruption, and I feel indignant when they instead become the purveyors of it (I wrote about a similar story a few months ago regarding a US supreme court decision).
Here’s hoping that Turkey can be a place where all people are afforded equal rights, and that any protests that result from this decision are widespread, yet peaceful.
If you’re gonna punish an animal like a human, shouldn’t the animal be given human rights? I highly doubt the Donkey was Mirandized, or even given a phone call. And good luck providing him with a jury of his peers…I’d love to voir dire that one.
Not only that, but I have evidence proving that the Donkey was drugged and incapacitated against his will prior to the alleged assault, and therefore cannot be held responsible for his actions:
They’re all over a web, but here’s a video of McCain’s Pastor, Rod Parsley, on a rant about his view of America’s sacred mission.
WTFis up with all these crazy pastors? Obama’s pastor flipped on him and this dude Parsley is straight-up deranged. There are some key differences, however, between the two Reverends and the candidates they are linked to.
Obama’s pastor didn’t have a rep for being crazy until he turned on him, and when he started making all these crazy comments, Obama went out and publicly renounced him. McCain never renounced Parsley despite making comments that were far more hostile and egregiously inflammatory. On the contrary, He has actually welcomed the support. Moreover, seeing as this is not a case where there is some kind of feud or rift between the two (as with Obama/Wright), I cannot imagine that Parsley just came up with this crazy shit recently… I’d wager that he’s been “preaching” (more like spewing) this crap from day 1. I don’t know about you, but the thought of a guy who has a decent shot at becoming the president of the United States sitting down in church (as I would imagine he has, as he brings up religion and spirituality quite often) listening to Parsley say the kinda stuff he said in this video, nodding and hallelujah-ing and going through the motions and coming back the next week, it just makes me a little queasy. And by a little I mean a lot. Don’t you think that if Rev. Wright never publicly insulted Obama, or even if he actually still supported him, but made the same kind of comments as Parsley makes regularly, Barack Obama would renounce any ties with him immediately?
I think he would.
Who knows, maybe these pastors are just gloryhogs who want their day in the limelight. But these dudes don’t preach in front of empty seats, so maybe we should look a little closer to find the root of the problem. It’s a cryin shame that these politicians would probably catch more flack for not having a pastor than they would for having one who is a malicious psycho.
They got me. After years of evasion, including several name and address changes, fake social security numbers, and 4 years of college just so that I could qualify for the student exemption, they found me. I shouldn’t have been so surprised. No one can escape from…Jury Duty! (queue evil foreboding organ music]
I spent a few hours trying to think of ways to get declared exempt, which has become increasingly difficult in the NYC court system. With my job and education, I couldn’t get the language exemption, and I’m not over 75 or whatever that age rule applies [there is no age limit for jury duty, but those over a certain age have the choice of declining]. I tried making a helmet out of foil and wearing my shoes and shirt the wrong way and taping a plastic parrot onto my shoulder, but in NYC, I realized that I would pass more for a hipster from the East Village than for my intended mentally-disabled exempt-ee. Deflated, I just sucked it up and went to Queens County Criminal Court to start what would be a long day, finding some solace in my paid reprieve from work.
The first day was long and boring…200 people spending all day in a room waiting to be assigned to a case. Once that happens, the pool of jurors for a specific case get sent to a court room to be questioned by the judge and the attorneys (in a criminal case, the attorneys would be a defense lawyer and an assistant district attorney). There were so many jurors that my turn to be questioned didn’t come until 4pm the NEXT DAY (I came early the next day and waited..and waited…). Finally, selection was over. I was the last juror picked.
[quick sidebar: during the first day of jury selection i was sitting behind an annoying woman who kept trying to make converation with everyone, except that she was rude and loud and no one wanted to talk to her. Everytime the lady in charge would excuse people who claimed that their english wasnt good enough for jury duty, this lady would slap her knees and bitch about how “these immigrants are disgusting! they come here and dont wanna learn the language. They spit on our great country and we have to clean up after them! Bla bla bla bla bla, I’m a whore, a lousy wretched whore!” At least that’s how I remember it. I shot spitballs into her hair all morning.]
Jury selection was brutal. But then the case began. And contrary to what both lawyers said to us during opening statements, the next few days actually did play out a lot like an episode of Law & Order. (I’m pitching a new idea to NBC…seeing since Law & Order has so many versions on TV already, I have begun writing a script for the latest volume – Law & Order: Pissed Off Jurors. Starring myself of course. Open auditions next week for the role of sassy Court Officer.)
The case sounded boring at first – the defendant was indicted on the charge of bail jumping, a class E felony. During trial, however, it was revealed that the defendant violated her bail not just for missing one court date, but by trying to jump ship so as to never show up at all; the defendant was brought into custody 8 months after the bench warrant for her arrest was issued. And while the exact nature of her original charges were not specified (due to the hard-fought wins of the defense during pre-trial motions to suppress that information for fear of prejudicing the jurors), it was revealed during witness testimony that there were no less than 8 counts brought against her, a number of them felonies.
The drama reached a climax when the ADA was conducting her direct examination of the former attorney of the defendant. That was a risky call because her own witness, as a former representative of the defendant, had motive to be hostile and withhold information on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. And hostile she was, though she proved no match for the ADA in the battle to see who could get the most flustered. The ADA got so hot n bothered by the countless sustained objections and the obviously fabricated ignorance of the witness that she looked as if she might, at any second, charge the box and ninja kick her in the face (I was hoping she would; I noticed that the court officer had a taser handy). Instead, she resorted to yelling over the calls from the judge to cease her improper line of questioning, and after being reprimanded by the judge for her lack of self-control, she unleashed the soliloquy of all soliloquies, explaining to the judge that we were all here to find the truth but no one could handle it, and how this was supposed to be about justice but she’s not being allowed to ask the questions she needs to ask…basically blaming the court for everything short of ozone depletion just because she couldn’t figure out how to properly phrase her questions. She even turned around and started yelling at the trial spectators, and asked the judge to throw them out because of their constant snickering (they were laughing at her). I felt really embarrassed for her, but I couldn’t help but feel excited by all the drama. As a fellow juror put it, “They put hot sauce on it today, boy!”
This is just about how it happened, more or less…
Yes. Jury duty was spicy.
I won’t dwell on the deliberation, but that part was exciting too and I took an active role in explaining to the other jurors the deductive approach we had to take in order to reach a fair verdict, as well as my personal opinions on the case. In other words, I used a stern tone and menacing glare (framed by my dark evil arab eyebrows) to render them my mental slaves and subsequently instructed them to find this chick GUILTY. It worked in swaying all but one of the holdouts who kept insisting that the judge had something against the defendant, forcing us to take another whole day to deliberate, locked up in that dreadful musty back room. I was pissed, but she would not relent, and we went back and forth.
She eventually had a change of heart. (I had a taser, too.)
The verdict? Jury duty is cool! I give it a rare “whatchu talkin ’bout Hasselhoff?” thumbs up.
I just received a startling news revelation that there is a person running for president not named Obama or Clinton!
YES, John McCain is not a myth. He is real. And with all the crazy infighting between the Dems going on — I’d be surprised if this thing gets settled in a way that does not involve mudwrestling or a contest to see who can tell the best yo-mama joke — this McCain character actually stands a chance in a general election. Which means that we need some dirt on this dude to find out what he’s all about.
And what better source than the amazing Jon Stewart? With his assistance I will begin my McCain bashing, as it is never too early to sully the reputation of a future adversary. Stewart’s McCain highlights on a recent episode of the Daily Show include the following juicy tidbits, along with my own ruminations:
◊ McCain does NOT wear an American Flag lapel pin! What gives? Nazi bastard.
◊ McCain cares deeply about civil rights and plans on being a pillar of the black community. This is evidenced by the fact that he recently went to Selma, Alabama, home of the landmark civil rights march, for a speaking engagement about civil rights….in front of a crowd composed almost exclusively of white middle class citizens. He was also later seen standing next to a black woman singing in a church, with an awkward smile and an alarmingly sweaty brow. This man obviously loves black people. He also has firmly stated that slavery was probably a bad thing and that he has seen the entire Roots mini-series, twice. Now that is impressive.
Personally, I’m not buying it. You wanna see how he really feels? Let’s see what happens when his daughter Meghan comes home one day with a big black dude she met at a G-Unit concert. My guess is that Papa McCain’s 71 year old heart skips more than a few beats.
◊71. Jesus. There is a minimum age for presidential candidates, so why cant there be a maximum? This dude was born in the 30’s. I’m afraid he might randomly enforce a food ration in anticipation of the next Great Depression (which, judging by the current value of the dollar, we might already be in).
◊ McCain has a Reverend even crazier than Obama’s! That is quite an accomplishment. Actually, Rev. John Hagee is not McCain’s Pastor but is a prominent one who’s support was sought after by the McCain Campaign. Hagee has been quoted as calling American Muslims disloyal, and thinks Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment against New Orleans for being the Sin City of the south. The difference here is that McCain totally stands by the endorsement from this jerk. How can he do this, but then also go on record as saying that Katrina was a terrible disaster that deserved much more attention and government assistance than it received? How can he be proud of this endorsement?
◊ John McCain looks like and may actually be a leprechaun. It’s true.
What if he’s not a nice leprechaun that helps you find gold and marshmellowy cereal but an evil leprechaun like from the movie Leprechaun with Jennifer Aniston! This possibility can’t be ignored.
Do you really believe in what you think you believe in? Do you really believe in what you say you believe in?
There were so many ways that I could begin this conversation, but I started with those two questions because of the Pope’s visit to the US and the articles Ive been reading recently about how people flock to see him and be blessed by him, and about how others have angrily protestedthe Vatican’s inaction regarding the implementation of stricter policies governing the handling of priests found guilty of sexual abuse. I was also thinking about someone I overheard in the pantry at my office, speaking to another person about how good his bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich was this morning, and laughing about how “bad” a Jew he was.
What does that even mean? I wonder if he has ever thought about what it means to be a “bad Jew”, about what the word “bad” means in that context, or even about what the word “Jew” means, in any context. These words could easily be replaced with “good” or “practicing” or “moderate” or “Muslim” or “Christian” or “Hindu”.
I’m a Catholic. I heart Jesus. If it wasn’t for him being born, I wouldn’t have gotten that PS3 for Christmas. Crap, it’s Lent…I should give up something important to me…OK, no green skittles for a week.
I’m a Muslim, but I loves me a cold beer every now and then. And that interest I’m collecting from those bonds I bought? I’m gonna take that to Vegas and let it ride.
Obviously I could continue on that thread for a while. I just find it strange, these labels we throw around all the time, terms that do little to define who we are and what we believe, even if the terms are meant to do just that – classify us into groups of “organized” “religion” that are supposed to unite those who claim to believe the same things. But do these labels really serve to unite us? Or do they just cram a bunch of people under a roof that is inherently fractious? And do not the walls supporting that roof divide us into separate rooms? And does not that roof obstruct our view of the heavens, where the history of our origins lie – the origins that unite us all?
Man, there are so many directions I can run with this, I don’t know where to start.
You may wonder why I quoted “organized” and “religion” separately. I just think that these words that we use to classify ourselves are thrown around far too often without any thought being given to what they actually mean. Good luck using a dictionary — I tried looking up “religion” online, and the results were incredibly diverse, and in many cases, stunning. Does religion have to be a collection of stories and verses that are carved in stone, and whose message we are obligated to embrace as a means of avoiding divine wrath? Why do so many people equate adherence to a specificset of doctrines with virtue? Why are we so eager to exalt our own beliefs as a singular, one-way path to salvation?
I believe that religion is a highly personal relationship between an individual and some other being, or force, or any other greater power or feeling that that individual chooses to acknowledge. I believe that an individual’s religion is the totality of his or her philosophies and feelings towards that being and the connection they have with it. In turn, I believe that this relationship is so unique that no two people in the world believe in and act out those beliefs in exactly the same way, and therefore, no two people have the same religion. For example, suppose there are two brothers who both call themselves Muslim and believe in the Qur’an as the source of divine knowledge. One brother believes that every word of the Qur’an, without exception, is divine, and he chooses to practice it as strictly and literally as he possibly can. The other brother uses the Qur’an as a guide to model his life after, but disagrees with a few aspects of it, or refuses to adhere to one or two codes of conduct (e.g. canon dictating how inheritance should be distributed amongst family members). By choosing to ignore or expressing doubt in even a single verse of a book that is supposed to be the preserved and complete word of God, he is actually expressing doubt in one of the most fundamental principles of Islam – that the Qur’an as a text is divine. That cannot be understated; something cannot be almost divine or partially divine, and by choosing to believe in 99% of a text claiming to be 100% divine, the second brother is implicitly rejecting that text’s central claim to divinity. And while it may seem that the doubt that the second brother harbors regarding one or two specific passages out of an entire text amounts to only a small fracture in his devotion to that text – in this case, a devotion on which piety is utterly dependant – a small fracture in a divine text is one through which the entire universe can pass. I believe that it would be wrong to say that the two brothers have the same religion, and that, one way or another, this example can be applied to us all.
Accordingly, if we all have a different religion, how can our religions be “organized”? I don’t think they can be, nor do I think we should strive to make them so. We do not all have to believe the same thing in order to be unified; on the contrary, I believe that such a philosophy inhibits unity by creating an us/them mentality. I have met so many people in my life who say that they were born into a religion, as if it was a genetic attribute, and people who claim to be a member of a religious organization yet openly admit to disagreeing with many aspects of that religion. If you do not believe in it, then it is not your religion. I think that if religion is merely something you affiliate yourself with rather than something you truly believe in, then you cannot honestly and conscientiously call yourself a practitioner of that religion. You can only be a practitioner of your own religion, because consciously or not, your practices – the very way that you live your life – are a reflection of what you believe, and what you believe is in fact your religion. Unity is not achieved through conformity, but rather by accepting and embracing each other’s individuality; ironically, our differences are the one thing that we all have in common.
Freak College BBall and filling out brackets you stole from your favorite sportswriter (with a few tweaks of your own based on teams whose jersey colors you like the most). College sports aren’t intimate enough. Weird schools Ive never heard of with names like Texas Christian Southern Baptist Marxist or Western South Dakota or George Winthrop Davidson Billy Bob Bubba Mason or Sacred Heart of our Fatherand Mother and Baby Mama and cousin RayRay or American Eagles (I think their mascot’s name is Abercrombie) are far too meddlesome and keep me from caring about sports at that level. College sports were created so that students at schools with campuses way out in the boondocks can have something to channel their energy into other than weed, cocaine, fornication, drunk driving, frat hazing, cow tipping, and quad streaking – basically, to prevent Old Schoolfrom being the school’s official recruitment video. Follow it if you have nothing better to do, but know this: it does not compare to the NBA playoff chase.
The Western conference playoff chase is one of the closest ever, where only a handful of games separate the top seed from the bottom seed, where every game has huge playoff implications – we’re not talking about positioning here, we’re talking about a team finishing more than 10 games above .500 and not even in the damn thing. That’s not even mentioning the fact that so many of the huge powerhouse matchups this month have featured top teams that were part of recent blockbuster trades, either by sending out key pieces for aging superstars and praying to God that they won’t end up in the geriatric ward before the end of the season (Mavs, Suns), or by extorting a rival GM with a naked picture of his wife in the backseat of Stephon Marbury’s jeep in order to get him to send over his team’s best player in exchange for garbage (Lakers – that is the only viable explanation for the Pau Gasol trade). That adds a huge dimension of drama to these already meaningful games, as all of these trades were made for one reason – to turn already good teams into title contenders. Out east you have Boston (which did its superstar shopping in the offseason) and Detroit making legitimate claims to be the best team in the league, Philly refusing to rebuild and making noise with a cast of spare parts (but winning against some quality teams on the way), Orlando widening the gap up top on the watermelon-lookin shoulders of Dwight the beast Howard, and of course BronBron putting up intergalactic numbers to keep his team in the pack. Throw in the Houston Rockets and their amazing and recently ended (more like murdered) 22-game win streak (second all-time in league history); AI going back to the franchise he [re]BUILT in Philly to battle the feisty Sixers and the other AI; Glen Taylor, owner of the worst team of the league, calling out KGnow that he left to play for the best team in the league; and the Kobe/LeBron/Chris Paul/T-Mac/Jamal Crawford MVP race (Crawford plays 53 minutes a game for the Knicks, and there are only 48 minutes in the game. that’s value.), and NCAA sports just can’t match this type of drama…this type of MADNESS.
I realized last night that I wouldn’t have had to go to sleep as stressed out as I did. I have been sick the last few days and really needed a peaceful night’s rest, and I could of had it had I not decided to check the primary results online before turning in. Why did I do it? Anxiety, most likely. But my anxiousness must have been the result of the fact that I foolishly gave in to that forever-failing mental mirage we humans call hope. Why did I have faith in Ohio? Did it not screw America hard enough during the 2004 election? When I think about it, I really had no reason to believe Ohio would come through, but I hoped that it would. Had I lowered my expectations and been faithful only to my cynical nature, I would have avoided the grief that now grips me.
The glass-half-empty approach is always the safe way to go. If two people are trekking across an arid desert towards a refrigerator they see from afar, sitting on a sand dune, and one dude says don’t rush, it’s gonna be empty, and other says no way man, there’s a case of beer inside, I can feel it, and then the second guy runs toward it and opens the door only to find a box of baking soda and a jar of peanut butter [which you couldn’t possibly enjoy if your mouth is dry and you have nothing to drink; also, I think those are the only 2 things in my fridge right now..], he would probably use the last remaining amount of energy he has left to bash his head in with the refrigerator door, because the pain is easier to bear than the disapppointment of dashed hope. Meanwhile, glass-half-empty dude just keeps walking listlessly, living a little longer and giving the rescue team searching for him [which he doesn’t believe exists] more time to find him.
Hey NYT, what’s it like up BILLARY’S ass? They should know, theyve spent so much God damn time there lately. I generally like to browse through the Times every day, but their constant pro-BILLARY editorials are really starting to piss me off. First of all, I don’t think a newspaper should pubish an editorial exlaining its own support of a candidate in the first place, as the NYT did. But I thought that after that opinion was expressed, theyd go back to what theyre actually sposed to be reporting — the NEWS. Every other day I read another buttkissing Billary Op-Ed written under the guise of neutrality, and I think it’s a major blow to the paper’s rep. This recent article was written by a supposed Republican who hates everything Clinton, but quickly turns into an explanation of why she is the best chance democrats have at reclaiming the White House. Oh, but he still thinks Obama is a great guy, because he can make dumb college kids interested in politics. Thanks for throwing us that bone, NYT. Hillary is the better candidate, but Obama is one hip mamma-jamma! That is propaganda on a platter, people.
It’s fine to have an opinion…but I prefer to read about them in blogs, not my daily newspaper. I expressed my displeasure by pissing on their comment wall, but they didnt rejected my comment!
I was at the gym a few days ago watching sportscenter while running on the treadmill [ok, walking. but fast walking, and on a steep incline. I hate running.] Anyway, they were showing highlights of Tiger Woods’ latest victory and then began a brief discussion centered around this question: who was the more dominant athlete — MJ or Tiger?
Let’s just put this shit to rest once and for all. GOLF IS NOT A SPORT – it is GAME. You know, as in ping pong, billards, bowling, checkers, monopoly, parcheesi, GOLF. The reasons for this are many, but the way I see it, if all those tubby bastards who can’t bend over low enough to tie their shoelaces can go out and dominate with a cigar in their mouths the whole time, it’s not a sport. There has to be a certain level of exertion involved…isn’t that what makes someone an athlete? I mean damn, I sweat more on the can after eating Mexican food then Tiger does to win a week-long golf tournament. Granted, I apply hot sauce generously to my chicken quesadillas, but still, that disparity doesn’t sit well with me [pun intended].
OK, I take it back..this guy probably does a whole lot of sweating playing golf.
And for those of you hypersensitive plaid-loving golf afficionados who take offense to my athletic taxonomy (a condtion known as the Country-Club Conundrum), understand that I am neither trivializing the game nor questioning the amount of skill it requires; and I am certainly not alone in this classification.
Bottom line, unless Tiger Woods is a UFC fighter on the weekends, the “debate” over his dominance as an athlete is over before it even begins.
She finished a close second to Tiger at the Buick Invitational. Ok she didnt, but she could have. The chick wears diapers and could still be a terrific golf player. Case closed.
My friend Miss Fufu sent forwarded me one of the those “cleverness test” quizzes that are designed to make you feel stupid. There were 4 questions and I got only 1 right, which, according to the test, means that the average 4 year old is smarter than me, and most other adult professionals.
I replied and gave the quiz a piece of my mind.My response to the quiz is below, in blue.
__________
this is the stupidest thing ever. I refute the results of this test. I am smarter than almost every four year old I know. Not just because I only got one right, but because it is stupid. heres why:
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close
the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an
overly complicated way. Doesnt a smart professional have to be prudent and use common sense? This answer requires the professional to throw common sense out the window and assume that there is a refrigerator big enough to store a giraffe, or a giraffe small enough to fit into a refrigerator. I would wager that either case is unlikely.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Did you say, open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the
refrigerator? Wrong Answer. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions. This is ridiculous for the same reasons as number question# 1. plus, if there can be a refrigerator big enough for giraffe, then why can’t there be one big enough for both animals? ALSO, the instructions never stated that the questions were related to each other. If you’re going to go and ask a crazy random question like how do you put a giraffe in a refrigerator, then I am going to assume that the next crazy question is just as random. I would have done the due diligence before taking this exam so this cannot be considered a real simulation.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals
attend…except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You
just put him in there. This tests your memory. I got this one right only bcause I anticipated the stupidity of this exam.
Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you
still have one more chance to show your true abilities.4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you donot have a boat. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been
listening? All the crocodiles are attending the animal conference. This
tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
This is the stupidest question of all. I saw the lion king (six times) and I never saw any crocodiles. The lion king only chills with herbivores that he and his pride can eat anytime. There are hyenas in the movie that eat meat, but they live outside the kingdom of the Lion King and thus never would have been invited to the animal conference. In Office terms, that’s like Dwight inviting Jim to a beet-pickling party. It just doesn’t make sense. Thus by extension one can safely surmise that the crocodiles, as fierce carnivores, would not have been at the party, but rather in the comfort of their swamp waiting to eat me if I swam across — if I can even swim at all.
I’m actually busy at work today….still found time to do this
ZuNormous 
