Scam? - Investor Protection Association for America (Update)

It seems our friends at IPAoA have up'd the anti a little. Here are a few more updates to this ongoing scam.

http://rodgerv.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/investor-protection-association-for-america-dont-do-it/

http://stockideas.org/content/view/1949/86/

Just remember folks; if it sounds too good to be true, most likely it isn't. Their message has been updated to reflect our current problems but their goal is the same, they only want your data so they can sell it. If you get one of these information mining letters, just throw it out and ignore it. The only way to stop these type of people is to prove thier tactics won't work. Stay informed folks!

Jury Duty

Tomorrow I get the privilege of doing my civic duty by participating in jury duty. Now I will be wearing my uniform, which I think is the reason why I always get excused, but it doesn't mean I don't want to sit on a jury. When I was 19 I sat on a jury in Colorado to try a case where a Dentist was accused of shop lifting. We ended up as a hung jury but it was a fun 5 days none the less. I hope tomorrow I get to experience this again and for almost the same reasons. Participating in a jury is one of the unique things a democracy offers their citizens. I will enjoy the fact that I get to help out in our system and preserve the freedom we have to be tried by a jury of our peers. I don't have any peers I know of that are criminals but you know what I mean. So whether my service to our community is long like it was the last time, or short since they don't want an active duty person on a trial, I will do my duty proudly and to the best of my ability.

Flaunting my straightness

Last week we took the family vacation in Disney World. We had a great time enjoying the various theme parks down there especially Epcot. On the last day we hit Hollywood Disney where they had a Star Wars thing going on. A lot of the guests were dressed as their favorite Star Wars character and it was kind of fun. One girl had on the white skin tight outfit that Natalie Portman wore in Episode 2 and I have to say it was a little risque for a family venue. Other than that though it was fairly tame except for one thing, the overt flaunting of heterosexuality.

While at the park I saw many "couples" holding hand, hugging, kissing and carrying on without any regard for how the gay community felt. Married couples were there flaunting their ability to have children naturally, many of which had a lot more than they should. It's really a shame that the gay folks that were there had to endure such a blatant display of the sexual choice those couples were displaying. Of course I was right there in the thick of it holding hands with my wife and taking care of my family. I guess it was rather shallow of me to do this in front of them but it's so natural for me since I'm straight. It's hard for me to hide my straightness especially when I'm out in public. So to the gay community out there, please forgive me for being straight. I only wish I could hide my straightness like you hide your gayness.

Okay, enough sarcasm. You know, I could care less what you are but don't rub it in my nose. Is being gay an excuse to act like a deviant? Effeminate men, butch women, all acting, dressing, and generally displaying themselves to the world that they are gay. Do you see heterosexual couple out there doing these things? No, because in a social atmosphere it's considered inappropriate behavior. Just because your gay doesn't change the rules of decency and everyone would appreciate it if you would practice them. I really don't need to see two women wearing six foot rainbow colored wings on their back groping each other as I'm trying to enjoy my vacation. It would be different if I was going to a venue or community that was for this, but Disney World? Since when did Disney World become Market and Castro? I know this is a free country and being gay is a choice you make but don't make me a part of your lifestyle.

You know there is a gay stereotype out there. If you remember the TV show Will and Grace they had characters that were molded and shaped to fit this stereotype. Stereotypes are created to display the negatives of a trait and in this instance they show a side to homosexuality that is laughed at. You would think that as a person who wants to "just be accepted and fit in" you would want to shed these stereotypes and be upset when they're portrayed. Right now the homosexual stereotype promotes the weaknesses of the person and not their strengths. I don't think your sexual preference makes you weak so why do you want to display weakness to me? Here's a simple rule; you men act like men, and you women act like women. Think about that next time you look into your wardrobe and consider wearing those rainbow wings. Do you want to be looked at as a normal person or laughed at as a deviant?

Mediterranean Shrimp Salad

With it being Lent I try to come up with some unique and interesting ways to cook on Fridays. Yesterday I concocted a very nice dish that I would like to share with all of you. It is very simple to prepare and was a big hit for the family. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Mediterranean Shrimp Salad

• 1 pound medium to large shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
• 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped sweet onion
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup klamata olives, chopped
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 1 bag baby spinach
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare a few plates or pasta bowls with a few handfuls of baby spinach to act as a bed for the shrimp. Saute onions and garlic in approximately 1 cup of olive oil. When the garlic starts to brown add the shrimp, sun dried tomatoes, and olives. When the shrimp is finished cooking (make sure you don't over cook them), pour over the beds of spinach making sure to include the some of the hot olive oil. Do not stir the spinach once the shrimp and oil is added. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and crumble the feta cheese over the dish. Serve with a glass of chilled Chardonnay.

There are many additional things that can be added to this dish. If you like things spicy, sprinkle a little crushed red pepper into the shrimp while it's cooking. You could also add some bacon bits for flavor.

For a nice side dish for the shrimp, try slicing some Roma tomatoes and soft mozzarella cheese. Arrange on a plate then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with garlic salt and fresh ground pepper. If your familiar with Caprese Salad then you will recognize this dish.

This was a hit at my house, hopefully it will be at yours as well. Enjoy.

Stimulus Plan Reap Scams A-Plenty

You know it's always been said that there is never a free lunch. With the government making it very well known they are passing out all this money for the stimulus plan, scammers are jumping at the chance to take advantage of this publicity. Check out the PC World article "Scam Alert: Don't Fall for Bogus 'Stimulus' Checks".

Most likely there are several reasons we're seeing this upturn in on-line scams. First, people are in a bit of a panic; panic being fed by the over abundance of financial doom and gloom stories in the news. It's not surprising that average folks are looking at any way possible to get a leg up in this time of uncertainty so they're more prone to getting involved in a get rich quick scheme. Throughout history, frauds and carpetbaggers have taken advantage of times like these to line their own pockets by preying on the uninformed or panic stricken populous. In the news we hear about how bad the credit market is yet in the commercials we see someone who will fix all our credit problems. It's like they are the miracle cure for the problem I've just been told I have. Do I really have a problem? Most likely no. Hey, I've got an idea; why doesn't the government tell AIG to go over to one of those companies who advertise that they can boost my credit rating? After all if they have the ability to fix my problem why can't they do it on a larger scale?

I'm not saying we don't have problems, it's obvious that with the downturn on Wall Street and the decline in the job market that something is going on. There are tons of indicators out there that point out that we're in a real mess but the problem is that we also have all these folks out there with seemingly miracle cures to our financial woes. Do you realise that most of the folks out there saying they can fix your credit score are going to do nothing more than what you can do for yourself? The companies that tell you they will intervene with your creditors to lower your payment are doing nothing more than the same thing you can do for yourself. Although perfectly legal it's still a scam because they're charging you for a service you don't need to buy.

Another reason scammers are becoming more prevalent is the anonymity of the internet. The article at PC World outlined a few scams that were targeting ads posted on Facebook. These ads are simple, cheap, and can be done from anywhere in the world. The very thing we love about computers and the internet help us create the illusion of security. We go to a website looking for some tidbit of information and the sites are saturated with advertisements. Here's what I'm talking about; go to your favorite search engine and do a search for Disneyworld. You'll find many websites with information but only a few that are actually run by Disney. Click on one of the ones that looks like a site from the Orlando tourist bureau and you are suddenly on a site that surrounds you with ads for hotels, travel agents, car rentals, everything but information on the park. These sites have now become a revenue generation device created by folks that have no interest in providing you what you want. All they care about is that you click on one of their ads.

Google is getting into the ad fray as well. With AdSense, you can allow Google to place ads on your blog or website and you will supposedly get paid if people click on the ads from your site. For a blog like mine I'm sure they potential for revenue is very small but what about some of the more popular sites? I'm sure a site like PC World or Disney generated millions in ad revenue just by allowing someone else to advertise on them. Facebook is becoming replete with these types of ads. Along the right sidebar of Facebook is a column dedicated to ads like the one that was outlined in the article. Are they scams? Well I'm sure some are but they're not going to be removed unless people complain. The key to AdSense and Facebook is that they need to look legitimate but they don't really have to do anything. The cost and effort is low but the rewards potential is great; a "perfect storm" for scamming. When you click on one of these ads they activate their counter one more time so someone can claim their advertisements work. Someone is getting paid with every click but we are the ones that are paying. Advertisement revenue is at an all time high and we users are the ones paying for it. And on top of everything else, the folks generating income from illegal activity are advertising right along with the legitimate ones.

Both Facebook and AdSense have people dedicated to fighting fraud in their advertisements but they only focus on the ones people complain about. This is how we get involved. If you see one that is a fraud, something that looks too good to be true make sure you report it. In Google you can contact AdSense but in Facebook you have to click on the "thumbs down" icon below the ad. It's a short and simple process either way but could potentially have huge rewards for all of us. There's nothing wrong with either of these advertising service but they are being preyed upon by the scamming community just like us. In order to reduce the scammers success though, we all need to get involved and tell these companies about the frauds. As a rule of thumb, if it's too good to be true, too easy to do, or just flat out false we should report it. The other way we help fix the problem is to simply not click on the ads. A little "mouse discipline" will go a long ways in reducing the income of the criminals and they will go elsewhere to peddle their fake wares.

It's All Post Apocalyptic Training

Now I finally understand why we have the games we do. Oh and just in case you're worried, I've got us covered if Tiberium really exists :) http://www.theonion.com/content/video/are_violent_video_games?utm_source=a-section

Sony's latest product

A-ha, their evil plan is finally revealed.

What would you do with a trillion dollars?

It's hard for many of us to fathom the amount of money the government is talking about when it comes to the stimulus plan. We all grew up thinking millionaires where the aristocratic upper tier crowd seeded with a few billionaires; but a trillion, who has that kind of money? Think of the wealthiest of the world (i.e. Bill gates, Donald Trump, Oprah, ect.) and none of them even come close to this about of money even if you where to combine their income. It's such a large amount of money it's hard to think about how big it really is. If you think of a trillion dollars in terms of weight and put it in simple terms people understand, say $100 dollar bills... well a trillion dollars would weigh 22,026,432 pounds or about 11,000 tons. To put this is something you can grasp, the Eiffel tower weights 10,500 tons. So a trillion dollars weighs more than Paris's most famous landmark, but not by much…

I've often wondered what I would do if I came into a large sum of money. I pass the billboards advertising the local lotteries and they spark thoughts of "what if". What if I won the money, what would I do? Being that I'm naturally lazy, of course I would “retire” from working but what would I do after that? Would I become a philanthropist, entrepreneur, or miser? Well here's my "what if" plan:Since I have children my first thought would be for them. All three of my kids are in collage and are creating their own debt via student loans so I'd have to erase these loans and then make sure they would continue their education by creating some kind of annuity for them to draw from. I'm not real big into giving out money "just because" but by making sure they have an education I'd be setting them up for success throughout their lives so they can find their own path in the world without the burden of finding the funding. I'm not a materialistic person but I do like being comfortable so I would also make sure they have a reliable car and a comfortable place to live during their college years. That way they would only have to focus on studying and not where their next meal is coming from or having to go out and get a job to make rent. One of the main things I would do is to establish independence for my kids by encouraging them to choose their own path in life. College is an important aspect in this process so by giving them this opportunity without limitations I'd be setting them up success throughout their life. This wouldn't end with my own children however; I would establish some kind of scholarship for all my nieces and nephews so they could enjoy the fruits of a good education as well. Education breeds success, and success breeds happiness.

Family is one of the most important parts of my life. We look at brothers, sisters, and parents who struggle with the day-to-day burdens of life and want to help any way we can. One of the things I would like to do is to have a large ranch or farm with several homes on it open for my immediate family to live in when they need to. It's not going to be an open checkbook however; I'm a firm believer in establishing one’s own destiny not through charity but through pride and a sound moral center. I would not want my brothers and sisters to piggyback their success off mine nor depend on me, but I would like to give them a leg-up so they could establish success within their own family. Nothing brings more pride in someone than becoming successful in life and providing for your family.

Business... If I had an unlimited amount of money what kind of business would I create? I don't know really because it's hard for me to describe what I like to do. One thing I've learned about myself during my military career is that I like to help people out. I look at myself as a fairly good leader but I have very few skills that apply to a particular trade. I have a brother in-law that is a talented machinist that can create almost anything you could imagine with a CnC machine. He's had several businesses but for one reason or another all of them has had their problems and now he's selling machines (and being very successful at it). I've never had a marketable talent like this but one thing I do have is an ability to manage and lead people. If I was going to create a business most likely it would be a family business exploiting each of the talents of the family. Here's the individual talent I could draw from just within my siblings; a computer guru, an office manager, an accountant, a visionary, a social worker, a marketer, 2 natural salesmen, and me, a leader. We have all the attributes we need to create a successful business but we lack the funding or vision to initiate it. I still don't know what we would do but whatever we decide, with a talented force like this how could we fail.

One of my favorite things to do is to travel and see the world. I’ve been blessed with having a career that fed this desire but I’ve had about enough of traveling the globe just to see the confines of the airport we land at. I want to travel to the far reaches of the globe and see all those things that most people only experience on the Discovery Channel. Machu Pichu, the Antarctic, fishing for Arctic Char above the Arctic Circle; these are then things I want to do and see but I want to do them with the people I love and care about. I did a search one time for a cruise and found one that originated in Australia and ended in New York, It would take about 6 months and cost about 50 grand but the port of call were all once in a life time locations. New Leland, Easter Island, the Panama Canal and many others, all of those dream places we only hear about. Now that would be an experience of a lifetime and all from the posh comfort of a 5 star cruise ship. Now that would be a definite thing to do but I would want my family to come with me. With 11000 tons of cash I think I could afford it.

These are all things that having unlimited cash can allow people to do. Right now I don’t have an unlimited amount of cash but I do have my dreams. One day I will be able to do some of my “what-ifs” but right now I do what I can. I have a wonderful family that no money can buy and we are all happy in our lives. Money can’t buy happiness but it can sure make a life less of a burden and more of a dream. We can all do a little dreaming now and then, it keeps us hoping and keeps us interested in living. So go out there and do a little dreaming and if you are lucky enough to come across a butt-load of money, share it with the ones you love and fulfill their dreams as well.

February Surgery - Not a reason for Universal Health Care

Monday, I finally got some problems fixed that has been causing me many problems. At least that's what we're hoping. It all started several years ago when I was on a C-5 mission in Puerto Rico. It was raining slightly and I slipped when leaving the airplane while carrying a suitcase. I fell about 10 feet to the tarmac but at least I had the presence of mind to try to roll into the fall rather than just smack the ground. At the time the only problem I incurred was a broken wrist but as time went by a few more problems came up. About 4 years after that I started losing strength in my left arm and went to see a neurosurgeon. The MRI found that I had a herniated disk in my neck that was impinging the nerves in the arm causing the problem. He went in and opened up the nerve conduit in the spine and relieved the problem but in the process weakened the vertebra. At the time we didn't realize this but recently I fell again but this time the impact was on my right arm. The transfer of the impact reinjured the weakened disks and I started having the same symptoms again but this time centered in my right arm and wrist. The MRI revealed another impingement and herniation which required another surgery. Also the Doc identified a carpal tunnel problem in my right wrist so back under the knife I went and now I'm in the recovery phase. Here are some pics of the results:

A few points I'd like to make here. First, the quality and expediency of the medical coverage we in the military get is almost unequaled in the civilian world. Of course being an crew-member covered under the flight medicine program helped out but still from the time the problem was diagnosed until the surgery happened was only a few weeks. We in the military are taken care of very well although I know there are a few folks out there that would disagree; for me I'm pretty damn happy with them.

The other point I'd like to make is how even though I'm in a government run health care system this should not be a statement as to how a system would be beneficial for the rest of the country. We in the military reap the benefits of an affluent private medical system that augments our own. When I first joined almost every base or post had its own hospital with its own cadre of doctors. Since then the government decided to shift the care to an insurance based system (Tricare) with referrals from our primary care physicians at the base. This system uses the local medical infrastructure to support the base population so we get top-notch care at no cost to us. It's pretty much transparent compared to what we used to have. While this process works for us it only works because we have a local civilian medical team to feed off of. If the government decided to take over the health care system we would be back to what we had before with long waits, poor service and endless amounts of red-tape and bureaucracy. As far as medical care goes I'm almost in a perfect world right now, why would I want to go back to an antiquated system that had problems supporting the very people it was there to service? No, don't equate what the military gets when you try to argue for government run health care, its apples and oranges since we still depend on the strong prosperous medical system our country enjoys.

By the way, I'm doing fine now and with luck, should fully recover. :)

Myopic?

Some of you may think my opinions are rather myopic but I do a lot of reading of other folks opinions.  Here's an example of something I found during my readings which supports why we need to continue to be vocal.  http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/29-01-2009/107030-Europe_Obama_tongues-0

This op-ed writer obviously doesn't look at the world the same way I do but some of his points are interesting.  His opinion is formed just as mine is by the events and perspectives of our world.  I hope that your opinion is formed the same way and not just a regurgitation of what your told.

Oh, but wait, this is the same place that posts this fact-based article

http://english.pravda.ru/society/anomal/17-12-2008/106840-weird_females-0.  :)

Funny Condom Ad

A New Blog

I have created a new blog to cover the political aspects of my writing.  My original idea of this blog was a place for me to ramble on about personal thoughts and ideas but it has become a dumping ground for my political frustrations.  So I have decided to create a stand-alone place for my political issues.

This idea came to me the other day one my way to work as my mind wandered around and my body focused on driving.  It sounded like a great idea however I told myself I needed to come up with an interesting name for the new blog that would capture the intent of the blog but be unique and easy to remember. A name that people could identify with.  I came up with Polithobbyist (pronounced Polly-thoby-ist) or political hobbyist. The blog is about politics and my understanding of politics is nothing more than as a hobbyist.  I figured it fit and it was definitely unique.

I have copied over all the political posts from this blog and have added some new ones so lease check it out.  Plus the comment part works over there.  Check it out; I think you will be pleased.

Governments Role in Freedom

What is the role of government when it comes to our freedom?  Do governments manifest freedom for their people or do people manifest governments once they've achieved freedom?  The answers to these questions are the very root of who we are as a country.  I was watching Braveheart today and became intrigued with the story of the people fighting to become free men.  One quote from William Wallace that I found most telling of their struggle was when he was discussing with the other Scottish nobles why they needed to fight. "You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom." What a powerful statement on the role of government.  Have we lost sight again on what a government is supposed to do?  During that day and age, government was a feudal system run by ruthless nobility who had lost sight of the need to allow men to be free.  The ruling class pushed peasants to the verge of slavery through overtaxation and subjugation. When peasants tried to fight for their freedom the nobility called them traitors and dealt with them swiftly and brutally.  This same series of event has been repeated through human history and is still continuing today.  Look at civil wars around the world and they can all be diluted down to this simple formula; governments start forgetting why they exist and the people rebel.  

In a webmemo published at the Heritage Foundation, Ryan Messmore asks ten questions regarding the role of government.  His answers outline what the role of a government supporting free people should be. Governments created by free people support and defend the rights and freedoms of the people.  The rights and freedoms the people have defined, not what the government defined for them.  When governments forget this basic fundamental they forget what put them there to begin with.  It's like putting the cart before the horse; you just can't get anywhere.  In Braveheart the nobility had forgotten what their role was and the people responded.

Today we have a government that has engorged itself into a money sucking behemoth who has a hard time remembering the freedoms we have defined for ourselves.  This situation is fed by career politicians that have become comfortable taking a very long drink from the taxpayers teat. Many of them report to Washington at our request and soon become sucked into the corruption and decadence just feed they're own re-election. When are we going to stop this cycle?  When are we going to fix the problems in Washington by instilling the corrective actions we know are needed.  Corrective actions such as term limits and citizen oversight.  

In the Declaration of Independence it states; "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed".   In other words people create governments and give them the power to enact laws to protect them. Farther on in the preamble it states; "(W)hen a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." 

While I don't think we're close to having despots in power, we do have some that take advantage of the role we have given them for their own gain.  Many of our politicians have abused the position we have given them and usurped their power limitations of their office.  We sent them to Washington to do the business of the people and they end up doing business for themselves.  This is what I think is the biggest problem we have in Washington right now and I can only think of one way to correct the problem; TERM LIMITS. Instilling term limits will stop the cycle of corruption we see today.  The term "career politician" was never in the Constitution and goes against the intent of the Declaration of Independence.  When the founding fathers started our country they did it with the intent of everybody being equal and refused the notion of royalty. Today politicians have successfully reinstalled this concept.  Look at the case to put Caroline Kennedy in the Senate.  Is she being considered by the voters or being considered because of her lineage? There's already talk of how long she's going to be in office and how easy it will be for her to fund a reelection. Are we making a new career politician?  Is she going to be a representative of the people or one thrust upon the people by the government? 

What about the mess in Illinois for Barack Obama's seat.  Are we seeing a massive corrupt government machine instilling yet another crony to do their bidding? Yes, the appointment of a senator or representative to a vacated seat is a state affair but that doesn't mean that the rules are right. The people of New York and Illinois should be outraged at the total disregard of their rights by their own state. What happened to a government of the people, by the people and for the people?  

So what is the role of government in regards to our freedom?  It is to protect it, to support it, to defend it, but never to get in the way of it.  Let's take back our government. Vote to support term limits.  Vote to support new blood in government and not the tired, corrupted people that have long taken advantage of our hospitality.  When you see government buffoonery such as the exploits of Governor Blagojevich, the bailing out of failed businesses, or the by appointment people to represent us without consulting the represented, take note of the culprits involved and respond.  We still have our ballot boxes to speak for us so take advantage of the voice they give us and vote the idiots out of Washington. We have fought and died for our freedom so lets all do our part maintain it.

Updated my Picassa site with some new pics and face tags.  http://picasaweb.google.com/thebass25

Corruption in America - It's our own fault

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (Lord Acton, 1887 )

I've used this quote before (see "Looking Forward to the 2010 Election" ) but in a different context.  In that post I used the quote to emphasis the need for term limits and a more active role of the populous in our government.  In today's news you'll find how true the wisdom of this quote really is.  Corruption in our government at almost all levels is rampant and entrenched in our political process.  I've outlined a few times how certain members of our government (Barney Frank and company) twist their own actions to focus the blame for our current financial mess to their opponents while their own pockets are lined with the ill-gotten-gains of the true backers who steer the votes of our representatives. I'm sure Mr. Frank isn't the only person doing this, after all, this is a proven political tactic legally pursued by lobbyists to promote the agenda of the organizations providing them money.  This is how things get done in Washington.  The bottom line is that money talks, unfortunately the ordinary citizens voice is lost in the process but I'm sure the congressmen and senators think their doing the right thing... right?

If we know that no matter where you look in Washington your going to find some level of corruption, why is it such a surprise when this mess about Senator Obama's senate seat hit the news?  Why should this be such a surprise that the seat doesn't got to the highest bidder?  After all, don't most politicians make decision based on the highest bidder?  When we vote a person into the government a process starts to temper their polly-anna views towards right and wrong.  This tempering makes the elected official realize that their constituents are morons who really don't know what good for them.  They mindset matures to the fact that only they (and the lobbyists who provide clarity on issues) know what is best. Since dollar amount's are indicators of correct decision making I'm sure Gov. Blagojevich was only trying to make the choice he felt was the best for his people, right?  

When is America going to pull their heads out and fix this problem?  This isn't going to go away until the people make it stop.  We as a people need to make our voices heard on how outraged we are about the corruption in our government.  We need to take back our voice and stop the insanity happening in Washington and around our country.  My suggestion is that more and more of us get involved with what is happening and when corruption is found, shout it to the world.  We need to clean the halls of Washington and then put the processes in place to prevent corruption from re-emerging.  Term limits, oversight, proper candidate vetting, and continual citizen involvement are the only true way of keeping everything above board.  Get out there and do your part folks and help clean up this mess.

Basis of Racial Slurs

     Where do racial slurs start?  We all know about the "N-word" and how derisive it has become, but how about all those other words used around the world that are race based?  While the  "N-Word" has basis in the Spanish, French, and Latin words for black, it was  transformed into a slang word to by slave traders in the 1600s to identify the goods they had to sell. Since then it has taken a life of it's own with meanings dependent upon the speaker or the receiver.  In other words; I can't use the word without it being derogatory, however a black person can use it to identify a comrade or friend.  Very few words in the English language hold this wide a spectrum of definition but this is a testament to it's dubious beginnings. Why do words like this come about though?  As with the slave trade these words created a dehumanized depiction of a race of people allowing the speaker to apply less than human status to the slave. Calling a slave a "negger" makes them less human and thus able to be sold as property the same as a farm animal or a pet. It's a form of social engineering that allow despicable acts to be done on other humans and has been going on for as long as humans have been on the planet.

     Another way these terms develop is due to military conflict.  Two examples of this are the terms Tojo and Kraut. These words were used by Allied GIs during World War II as derogatory slurs to identify enemy forces. I know that sounds like a fairly benign definition but rest assured when said during the WWII era, the tone was definitely with hatred. But what was the basis of the words?  During WWII, Hideki Tōjō was the Prime Minister of Japan and General of the Imperial Japanese Army.  His name was used to identify all Japanese combatants by the soldiers and was picked up by the civilian populous as a racial slur towards all Japanese.  Hideki Tōjō was thought to be the mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor so a lot of hatred toward him boiled over to the rest of Japan as a result. Kraut was a term derived from the German food sauerkraut.  The common theme here is the use of nicknames and slurs that dehumanize our enemy.  Allied soldiers weren't sent into battle to kill people, they were sent to kill an sub-human nameless enemy.  All Japanese where Hideki Tōjō and all Germans where Himmler and Hitler.  These were serious motivating battle cries that were extremely effective at encouraging ferocity in battle and solace in the aftermath.  You can look at almost every conflict around the world and find similar slurs being used by both sides to dehumanize the enemy.  It makes killing easier.

     Even in todays "politically correct" world we still see these terms come around.  If you where to walk into a military camp in Iraq or Afghanistan and use the term "hajji " or "raghead" every GI would know exactly who you are talking about.  These words are rapidly becoming racial slurs even though they have benign beginnings.  The real definition of Hajji is a honorific title giving to a Muslim that has completed the Hajj and in that region is considered a good thing.  "Raghead" refers to the headdress worn by the locals.  When these are uttered by a GI however it's spoken with disgust and disdain and takes on a whole new meaning.  During one of my recent deployments a co-worker of mine said he was going to the "hajji-store", meaning he was going to the shop run by the locals.  One of our other co-workers happened to be of Indian heritage and took offense to him using the term.  Both of them knew the origins of the word but it was the way the word was used  to made it offensive.  It ended up getting pretty ugly and finally the commander had to get involved finally deciding that it was a racial slur, not in the definition but in it's contextual usage.

     This ability of humans to dehumanize our enemy will not go away.  If a superior race from another planet came and invade, we would come up with a derogatory term for them.  I'm sure if the Zaphoids from Zaphod landed today the term "Zap" will have a whole new meaning.  Our ability to dehumanize our enemy allows us to do things to them we can't do to other humans.  Sometimes we use this for good but, as in the case of slavery, it can become an evil thing.  If the slur is conflict based, we need to be able to turn it off once the conflict is over.  You will still hear people referring to Japanese and Germans as Tojos or Krauts and this is truly terrible.  Pick a racial slur and most likely it had a legitimate meaning at one time but it's relevance has long since passed and the only thing left only creates pain now.  No matter if you use these words as a positive or a negative we need stop using them so their derogatory definitions only exist in our history books.

American Fighting Words: Zawahiri refers to Obama as "abayd al bayt"

The term "abayd al bayt" translate to English as "house slave" or "house servant". Terms such as these have been removed from the average American vernacular by our civil rights movements deemed as unacceptable and demeaning language. It seems though that our enemy has not yet been enlightened to what is acceptable conversation and what is not. But who would ever imagine that it would? Al Qaeda's rhetoric show's their true side on this subject but not as you would imagine. No matter who we elected as our next president they would have attacked the person; I'm sure they had a litany of comments regarding John McCains POW status ready just in case. Comments like this are expected but what do they say about our enemy? Who frack'n cares? These people have attacked us outright and threatened to attack us again. They have threatened our way of life, attacked our religious beliefs, even gone so far as to call us the "Great Satan". They threaten our allies, and bolster our enemy's. Who really cares what they say about our present or future leaders. Well actually we all should. Every one of us should look at these comments for what they are; real and credible threats to our very existence.

As I said earlier; it wouldn't have mattered who we elected. Al Qaeda was waiting until we decided to make a statement on the newly elected. They are our enemy so a comment like this isn't any surprise. The surprise to me is the reaction of some of our media about concerning these comments. Some brilliant commentators act surprised by these comments stating how these racist remarks have undermined Al Qaeda's standing in the world. What the hell are they thinking? Are they thinking that Al Qaeda are these nice respectable mainstream people? Damn it folks, these people are THE scum of the earth. They want to kill you and your way of life; they have said so! Don't ever think they have the same morals we have, they don't. They're religious beliefs state that if you don't believe as they do then you should be put to death. How can anyone equate a belief system that allows these type of ideas as mainstream and thus apply mainstream reactions to them? We believe is equality and freedom of belief, to them this is a totally foreign and threatening attitude. They will kill you if you decide not to "believe". If Al Qaeda really was concerned with our election system (which they're weren't!) wouldn't you think they would have put up they're own candidate? Not really, they don't believe in a public voice so this is a totally unknown concept to them. They abhor what we hold dearest, our freedom. Our freedom of speech, our freedom of religion, and most importantly, our freedom of choice. They never cared who we chose, they wanted us to choose so they could attack our choice. So what do we do? Do we react to this lame attempt to make us react? No, it's a hollow threat, it's just a little more rhetoric to add to the steaming pile of rhetoric they've already spewed. Nope don't let them get our goat folks, however there is one aspect to this little attack that we shouldn't ignore. Never attack our leaders.

With the power of freedom of choice and our right to vote comes our responsibility to our leaders. Sometimes we don't get our person voted into power but that shouldn't mean we stop supporting those that are elected. As individuals we stand by our individual ideals but as a community we stand by the decisions of the majority. In other words, if you put this in family terms, parents may disagree about a decision regarding the kids but when they confront the a united front is always the most successful front. Al Qaeda looks at our pre-election divisions as a weakness and tries exploit this. What they don't realize is that as a nation we will defend to the death our right to have these disagreements. They can't fathom a world were difference of opinion flourish as they do in our world. They don't hold dear the right to dispute the decisions of the government. They also underestimate our ability to unite behind the defense of these beliefs. These are free choices we hold dear. Freedoms that we have defended in battle in the past and will in the future. These are beliefs that they do not, nor ever will agree with; these are basic human rights of free men and we should and will always defend them to the death.

I think we need to bring back the "Don't tread on me" flag but re-name it to "Don't threaten me." In other words; don't threaten my lifestyle, my beliefs, or my freedom. If you do, you define yourself as my enemy and I will kick your ass. Pass this on folks, this needs to become out mantra; this needs to become the words we live by. Always defend your freedom because their end may be only one defeat away.

Bailout Bill 2 - "Operation Rescue Detroit"

     Wow, another round of bail-outs.  I am so glad we have all this money to bailout our largest corporations. Wall Street, Detroit, what's next?  Now I know they are planning to take this money from the $700B of the original bailout bill but what are they actually planning to do?  The bill is very long but here are the highlights : 

-- $25 billion in 10-year low-interest loans, charging 5 percent interest for the first five years and 9 percent for the remainder of the loan terms.

-- Parts-makers as well as the Big Three would be eligible.

-- The money would come from the $700 billion rescue/bailout plan.

-- A prohibition on bonuses for automaker employees making more than $250,000 per year.

-- Fast processing: Eligibility for loans will be determined within 15 days of application.

-- Fast turnaround: The loans would be distributed within seven days of approval.

-- "Clawback" provision: Bonuses can be taken back by the government if executive statements are found to be inaccurate.

-- No golden parachutes of any sort.

-- Companies receiving these loans cannot pay dividends for the duration of the loan. 

     Do you notice what's missing out of this bill?  How about a reliable, marketable car?  Something that can compete with the imports?  No, there's nothing like that here but what else would we expect from the "Big Three".  All three of the US auto makers have been making cars based on a warranty life span.  It's been a scam they've been pulling on the American populous for many years.  They build a car that will make it just until the warranty is up then small things will start failing.  It starts with little things first then progresses to larger things until you're in a no-win situation and decide to buy another vehicle.  This process makes sure there's a constant market for cars and a constant demand without the car makers having to make any real progression in fuel economy, technology, or safety.  There are two reasons people buy cars; need and desire.  Car maker's recognized early on that desire is too unpredictable so they have forced need on us.  Hmm, here's a coincidence; factory warranties are three years and the normal car loan is four years.   How convenient.

    Ok, back to the bailout; back in 1979 the government did bailout Chrysler.  I know a lot of you weren't around to remember this event but I do.  Do you know what we average citizens got out of that bailout?  The K-Car.  One of the biggest piece of crap vehicle ever created by Detroit. This line of vehicles was created by Chrysler as a cheap vehicle who's mass sales generated the cash flow to get Chrysler back on it's feet.  One aspect of that bailout was the government was supposed to buy their fleet vehicles from Chrysler so what did they buy? That's right, K-cars;  which, due to their low quality had to be replaced within a few years.  So we gave Chrysler the money they needed, they produced a cheap piece of crap so they could become solvent again, then we all had to buy new cars within a few years.  Do you notice a problem with this scenario?  It's a repeated fleecing of the American people to fund a failing business model.  What is the reason Detroit is in the place their in today?  They produce crappy cars that are low quality, over priced, and get poor fuel economy.  Wow, it's history repeating itself.  

      There's a lot of talk about how Chrysler paid back their bailout early and that we actually made money on the deal but in reality did we?  If Detroit had really learned their lesson they wouldn't be in the world-of-hurt they are now.  We as American need to ask ourselves if we want to go down this road again.  Do we want to bailout yet another company just so they can continue to fleece us by providing us crap.  When are we going to stand up for ourselves and say NO to this type of treatment?  One of the best advice that has come out of all these bailouts is to "not throw good money after bad".  The Detroit big three bases their business on bad practices and we should not be supporting them. I'm all for "buy American" but I'm no fool.  If buying American means we're wasting money then it's un-American. You know the old adage "fool me once shame on me, fool me twice shame on you"?  Well Detroit is trying to make fools out of us again and we all need to say NO.  Just say NO Washington, do us all a favor and just say NO! 

Don't take things too serious

When you think life is getting a little too tough check this  out. :)

Scam? - Investor Protection Association for America

     I got a letter the other day soliciting me to fill out a survey and mail it back.  The survey had a cover letter outlining this groups idea to use my inputs and many others to lobby congress  on our part regarding our responses to questions surrounding tax cuts, energy, and the economy.  Sounds good right?  Well it sounded a little too good too be true for me so I did a little research.  I found this website called STATLISTICS.COM  which had a very nice outline of who intended target audience is for this letter.  What the hell!  This letter may be a legitimate request for information but then they turn all your information into a commodity for junk mailers and spam artists.  What a SHAM! 

     Folks, if you want Congress to know your opinion tell them.  It's very easy; all Senators, Representatives, the President, and even the 1st Lady have e-mail addresses, web sites, and snail-mail addresses.  They also have phone numbers that are in the public record so if you want to let your opinion known, take advantage of those venues, not an unsolicited request that comes in the mail.  This is a perfect example of something being too good to be true; it's nothing more than a con-artists scheme to mine for your information.  The unfortunate thing is that many people will fall for this and millions of dollars will be made at their expense.

     So what do we do?  A bi-product of my research may have found a suggestion; a blog called "Nerd on a Plane " has a great suggestion that you use the pre-paid envelope to send back an anonymous letter outlining your rage at this fishing scam.  This is a great idea, but I like the less time consuming approach; throw the crap away.  Oh, and since it has your address all over it I'd make sure and shred it first though.