Think Tanks

I'm always reading quotes from people who are associated with what they refer to as "Washington based Think Tanks," or "Los Angeles based Think Tanks," etc. I've always wondered how in the hell you get a job at a Think Tank? Are there specific requirements? What does the job application look like? Do you just have to think alot? Are there questions on the application asking you to list any prior thinking experience?
Here's a thought from a amatuer thinker; think tanks are stupid.

Sometimes I Just Shake My Head

Now that the lid has blown off the Jack Abramoff scandel, the Republicans and Democrats are racing to see who can be the first to bring a "tough new campaign financing bill" to the floor.
This crap is so predictable it's beyond laughable. It seems to me we cycle through this very same thing every few years. Wasn't McCain-Fiengold supposed to be the cure for all this corruption?
Republicans now trying to draft campaign reform legislation is something like a bank robber holding a press conference from jail to demand tougher larceny laws.
Let's see, as I sit here at home, the solution seems clear and very simple to me.
Apparently there are 100 senators and 535 representatives that can't seem to figure this out.
1. No lobbyists. Get them all the hell out of Washington. No exceptions.
2. Absolutely no corporate campaign donations. None. No exceptions.
3. Tighten up all the loopholes, meaning no more "soft money."
4. Finance all Federal Office campaigns with public money. Put a ceiling on how much a Federal candidate can spend, and then let them have the discretion on where and how to spend it. This will end a lot of problems that always occur during a national election year. Using Iowa for example; candidates always blow into
Des Moines about 2 years prior to election and rent office space. More than once, the day after the caucuses the losers are never seen again, leaving behind unpaid debts to property owners for office rent, etc.
5. Get rid of all these so called non profit organizations such as Moveon.org and the hundreds like them. I believe collectively they are referred to as 503B's or something close to that. Even idiots can see these organizations are nothing but an unoffical tool to the particular party or candidate they support. These groups are nothing more than a huge campaign finance loophole. George Soros be damned. Between public campaign financing and the banning of the 503B's, maybe we wouldn't be subjected to the endless litany of political campaign commericals that are due to start bombarding the public later this year. 95% of the political advertisments bear little if any resemblance to the truth.
Now to me those steps would greatly reform campaign financing. And I didn't get paid anything to figure it out. Couldn't someone in Washington who DOES get paid figure it out?
The funniest part is watching these politicians tripping over each other to get the Jack Abramoff money out of thier wallets. Charity donations they say. Yeah right, Assholes.

Apology

I am sorry if I offended anyone in my earlier post with my use of the word ethiopian to describe lowlife members of Congress.....He said with a smirk.

Check Out These Evil Bastards

Well it's happened. I never thought I would ever utter these words. The Republican Party and all of the chump politicians associated with it can kiss my ass and drop dead. The days of me defending these stupid bastards has come to an end.
First, along comes lobbyist Jack Abramoff. This guy is about as low down and dirty as you can get. Snakes look down on this guy. It started with Randy "Duke" Cunningham, (R. Ca) receiving millions of dollars from corporations thru Jack Abramoff. At the time, I said every party has it's embarrassments, and that this guy Cunningham needed to be removed from office, and go to jail.
Well, of course that was only the tip of the iceberg. Now Abramoff has cut a deal with prosecutors and is singing like a bird. Which means now you have Republican congress people running for the hills in fear of exposure, and hastily donating to charity the campaign funds they gleeflully accepted not too long ago from Abramoff. We haven't scratched the surface yet about the gifts and trips and who knows what else Abramoff bribed these guys with. And what scandel would be complete without these rediculous denials crafted in double speak, that these fine Republicans are now trying to sell the public?
Now for all of you butt weasel Democrats, I wouldn't laugh out loud just yet. There are a few of your ilk that are knee deep in this cesspool as well. So there is no moral high ground for you clowns to run to either. But the majority are Republicans.
I think it's high time to line these ethiopian ratf*** sluts up and fire them all. All the way to the White House. Just do a google search of Jack Abramoff. The results are frightening.
What this country now needs I firmly believe is the leadership of two honest Americans as President and Vice President. Joe Leiberman and John McCain. In either order. Doesn't matter to me.

This Needs To Be Noticed

All too often we hear about pampered collegiate and professional athletes getting into trouble with the law for just about every offense you can think of. And more times than not, they seldom pay the same debt to society that the rest of us ordinary people pay. The news is full of stories of athletes charged with all forms of assault, drugs, steriod abuse, gambling and many other offenses.
So occasionally when there is a story about one of the good guys in sports, I think it's fair to bring it to light.
Charlie Weis is the football coach at Notre Dame University. He made a promise to a ten year old terminally ill boy.
It's worth your time to click on this link and read the story. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2172623
Charlie Weis is no doubt one of the good guys.

They Do It Everytime

I've noticed over the years that everytime an overpaid, overhyped athlete/entertainer/celebrity does something incredibly stupid that steps beyond the bounds of socially acceptable behavior, they always start their public apology with "if I offended anyone."
When you qualify an apology with "I apologize if I offended anyone" you are in essence saying "I don't think I did anything wrong, but apparently enough people think I did, leaving me no choice to apologize publicly in an attempt to salvage whatever I can of my image."
They do it everytime.

Can We Ever Thank You Howard Stern

Howard Stern, the self proclaimed King of All Media, begins a 5 year deal with Sirius Sattelite Radio on January 9 2006. Stern has said the reason for the move is because he is tired of fighting the censorship battle with the FCC. At Sirius, he'll be free say whatever words he chooses, because Sirius is a subscriber based network, not subject to decency standards upheld by the FCC. That being said, I can't help think that a 500 million dollar contract over 5 years might have had something to do with Sterns desicion.
Howard has fought with the FCC for nearly all of his radio career, which spans many years. To his credit, he is a very powerful force in the entertainment industry. But to promote Stern as a warrior fighting the good fight to protect our First Amendment rights is just a little bit inaccurate.
Sirius proclaims that Stern is making history by moving from traditional "free" radio to subscriber based sattelite radio. For one thing, it's already been done. Opie and Anthony, who host the same format as Stern have been on XM radio already for quite some time.
Also, this isn't even remotely a victory for free speech. Free speech isn't exactly free, in the case of Howard Stern. In order to hear Stern drool over naked womens body parts, use every slang ever uttered in refering to womens breasts, Stern fans will be required to pay a monthly fee, and oh yes, a modest charge for the required equipment to recieve the broadcast.
So if your cup of tea is the denegration of women, mentally handicapped, drug addicts, alcoholics, and the homeless, to name a few then by all means sign up.
Thank you Howard for your service in breaking ground in First Ammendment rights, and try to not spend the 500 million dollars foolishly.
Your fans thank you too, as you reach into their wallets for their subscriber dollars to make sure you get yours.

Goodbye Tookie, We Knew You Too Well

On Tuesday Dec. 13, 2005 at 12:35am, Stanley "Tookie" Williams was executed by the state of California. And the death penalty debate heats up all over again.
Williams, co founder of the Crips, was not a nice man. Williams was condemned in 1981 for the murder of 4 people, including a family of 3, and a convenience store worker who was shot in the back twice while begging for his life.
Supporters will tell you that over the course of nearly 25 years on death row, Williams had been rehabilitated. He had written childrens books expressing an anti gang message. He had been nominated for awards, including the Nobel prize for peace. He has an impressive group of supporters, including the same misguided Hollywood bunch that supported John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election.
To me, award nominations and the predictable support of the Hollywood crowd has little to do with wether or not Williams deserved clemancy. The black community says this execution is racist. I don't fault them for that position, simply because through out the years it sometimes was and still is. My question is if he did the crime, then how is the punishment racist? Is it because a white convicted killer would not be put to death? If so, then shame on everyone.
As for the celebrities, it's more of that pie in the sky touchy feely nonsense rehashed again. They talk about how Mr. Williams was rehabilitated, and what an asset he was to the inner city poor people. And how wonderful his anti gang message to kids was.
Once again it's time for celebrities to shut up, and pray the rest of the real world doesn't wake up someday and ask ourselves why we collectively continue to subsidize their grossly overpaid and overhyped lifestyles. I have little patience left for the Mike Farrells, Joan Baezs, the Jamie Foxxs, the Snoops, the Janine Garofalos, the Al Frankens, th Rev. Jesse Jacksons and their contemporaries foisting their "crusades" on a public that makes them perversely wealthy and immesensly over-indulged.
You have to ask yourself how do you give crediblity to a whole society of people who cannot function with out their agents, managers, personal assistants, publicists, nutritionists, personal trainers, accountants, maids, nannies and of course the ever popular body guards.
Once again they blame the system. And of course they can't resist taking a shot at the current administration as well. If only the evil President hadn't cut taxes, or had allocated more money to their ever popular list of "social programs," then somehow Stanley Williams would not have murdered 4 people and the world would just be so serene and loving.
The one thing that money can't buy for the Hollywood folks is that they can't feel the pain of the victims loved ones. Not only can they not feel it, they would rather ignore it.
As I've said before, there are times when the punishment has to fit the crime. This is one of them.

Is It Justice or Not

On Novemeber 17 2005, a jury in Sarasota Florida convicted Joseph Smith of the abduction, brutal rape and murder of 11 year old Carlie Brucia. Shortly after Thanksgiving, the same jury recommended the death penalty to Judge Andrew Owens Jr. Florida law is such that the jury makes a sentence recommendation, but the ultimate sentence is determined by the presiding Judge. Rarely in Florida does a Judge reject the jury recommendation.
Does Joe Smith deserve to die for this crime? I think so. I've heard all of the arguements on both sides of the death penalty issue. Is execution a crime deterrant? Most statistics say no. But sometimes the act is so vile, and heinous that execution really is the right punishment.
I know there are some idealists that would like everyone to think that the purpose of prison is to pay a debt to society and be rehabilitated. I suppose that occaionally that may be so. But sometimes the offender is too evil to be allowed to live. What Joe Smith did was so brutal that execution should be carried out sooner than later.
Do mistakes happen? Yes. Have inocent people been executed in the past? Again yes. The death penalty can work, but it has to be administered correctly. It has to be administered with the utmost judiciousness as well. I don't have all the ansers. Possibly there may need to be a series of qualifiers that need to be met before the next innocent person is put to death.
To suggest that a life sentence without parole is actually more punishment than execution is simply not so. If that were so, why does every convicted defendant argue so vigorishly for life behind bars? Hmmm...maybe it's because THEY DON"T WANT TO DIE. Believe me given the option between life in prison (guys like Joe Smith have to be protected from the prison population.) and death by execution, most murderers choose jail. Smith will be isolated from the general prison population for his own safety. Jail house justice is swift and sure for kiddie sex convicts.
Not everyone convicted of murder probably needs to be executed. But with overwhelming evidence there is no question as to Joe Smiths guilt. This trial was a prosecutors fantasy. A video of the abduction and confessions to his brother top this off.
Joe Smith deserves to die. Sadly, the mandatory appeals process will take more time than Carlie Brucia was allowed to live.

Uh Oh

I had a revelation today. An epiphany if you will. It just occured to me that nobody gives a rats ass what I think about anything political or socially. So I have decided to announce that I'm not going to waste my time writing about things that nobody but me cares about anyway.
Or....what a minute! Maybe I'm just tired. Yeah that's it. Maybe tomoroow I'll be back to my opinionated self rightgous self.
Just a couple of thoughts to share right now. Molly Hoffard should not swear on my blog.
Also, I really like this cd by Ellis Hooks titled Uncomplicated.
One more thing. I hate my job. It's sucking the life out of me. I'm thinking of quitting and following my dream of fronting a blues band. I think my wife will understand and suppport me in this. We'll survive on love through the lean times.

Do I have the strength

So many societal and political issues demanding commentary from me. Where will I start?

Interstate University: My qualifications

I am your one stop source for any knowledge that you may need assistance in. Want some political insight? I am your guy. Sports? Once again, ask me I know it all. Social Issues and pop culture? None better than me. Feel free to take advantage of my vast wealth of knowledge. I don't mind sharing. Really.
My opinions and views on all things social and political are honed from years of observance and study of people and why they think and do the things they do. From that, I have determined that I am uniquely qualified to offer THE quintessential range of opinions on any subject. Just ask, and I'll be happy to share.
By the way, I am also a sports expert as well.

Interstate University: Real Life as seen by ME!

I decided to have a stupid blog just like everyone else. I usually don't buy into trends until they've nearly died out. Assuming that is true, then blogging must be one step away from complete oblivion.
Thank you for your attention.

Interstate University