I haven't had a website up in some time. Many years ago, when I was about 13 years old, I kept an up to date website on various science fiction shows and books as those were my interests back then. Needless to say, I was a nerd. However, recent events have triggered something in me, a desire to put forth things I know to be true. You see, I fear that we are now living in something close to the distopia described in George Orwell's 1984. For those of you who do not appreciate classic science fiction as I do, the inhabitants of Orwell's fictional world would believe anything the "telescreen" told them, even if it was the exact opposite of what was previously broadcast a short time ago. Sound familiar?
When did I first suspect things were going awry? A few years ago I was a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. President George Bush came to our school to give a speech. Obviously security was stringent. Students were rousted from their racks around 0400 to begin going through the screening process. My memory fails me now, but I'm fairly certain his speech did not begin until 9 or 10. Obviously we were not allowed any extraneous materials to entertain ourselves with lest they conceal contraband. Thus, the midshipmen, who are typically sleep deprived anyhow as they frequently stay up until midnight or later finishing lab reports and various assignments, passed the time by catching up on their zees. The press was present and began snapping pictures. Later, when I was watching t.v., I saw some people had the audacity to try and say those pictures of sleeping midshipmen were taking during the president's address. A blatant lie! How could the media, who are supposedly the watchdogs of America, betray the public trust in such a manner? It was disgusting.
Now a few years have passed and I've recently returned from a deployment to Iraq. I don't claim to be anything special. I was a pogue for the most part. But my job did entail reading spot report after spot report and keeping statistics. I watched the troop surge work. And yet, politicians can stand in front of millions of people at convention centers and at home watching their t.v. and claim that it wasn't a success.
Look, I don't support any particular party. Honestly, I prefer my politics a la carte anyhow. I like this party's position on that, another party's position on this, nobody's solution to a particular problem... I'm not trying to force my opinions on anyone. My point isn't that I believe this country should be going in one direction or another. I'm just pointing out blatant lies that I've noticed. I'm giving out a warning that we must challenge all information giving out freely to us in this day and age. Refuse to be a lemming blindly believing whatever you are told. You cannot trust the media. You can't even trust me. Lord knows you can't trust the internet. Americans must begin actively searching for the truth, consulting primary sources, and refusing to take anything on face value. Until there comes a day when journalism is once again a profession with honor, until it once again takes its rightful place as protectors of the truth, we must find our own truth. Perchance, one day, they will be much like the "fair witness" of Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Yes, another science fiction reference. Per chance I am still a nerd.
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06 Sep 2008
As daddy (a.k.a the city of Jacksonville) has given me a curfew to protect me from the awesome power of tropical storm Hannah, this over reaction no doubt caused by the Katrina fiasco, you, the reader, can continue to enjoy my new, though not yet aesthetically pleasing, website. I've decided to share with you my quirky/whimsical side.
Ever wonder what you would do if you were president? With the upcoming election there's been a lot of talk about health care reform, and reducing the number of harmful emissions produced, and what to do about the cost of oil. Well, I have a plan. In fact, my plan encompasses all of this things. I plan to fix them in one eloquent stroke.
How you say? As president, I would put forth legislature to revoke the the driver's license of fat people. Think about it. Nearly a third of the population is obese. Depending on where we draw the cut off line, that's a lot of cars off the road. Think about how many fewer smog alert days there would be near cities?
Not only would there be fewer cars on the road, there would be far less demand for gas/oil. A simple economic theory of supply and demand which we all learned in high school tells us the the gas prices for the remaining drivers should fall to some degree at least.
But how will this help health care you say? Obesity is the second leading cause of death in this country. Nearly 400,000 deaths a year might be caused by poor diet/lifestyle. Imagine the incentive that losing your drivers license would be to get into shape. Not to mention some people would choose to walk or bike to work. As people lost weight and increased their activity level, the strain on Medicare/Medicaid would be lowered. This is obviously just a first step. People need insurance for more than being fat and not everyone can be covered by the government. Not that you would want that. If nation wide health care is anything like military health care....shiver. Let's put it this way, our government has a very low approval rating right now. Yet, people who will not be named oh what the hell Michael Moore, would put their health, their very lives, in the hands of people they claim don't do a very good job at, well, anything. Hmmmm...They will have to make up their minds on that one. (Michael Moore, btw, doesn't like my plan because he wouldn't have a drivers license.)
Now, for all of you out there with ridiculously small brains that cannot tell satire from sincerity, put down the phone to Jesse Jackson and stop plotting to sue me for discriminating against fat people. First of all no one feels sorry for you. Sorry, I don't feel sorry for anyone with too much food. I've had people beg me for my half drunk bottle of water. But mostly, I want you to employ something in short demand right now, common sense. This was a satire in the spirit of Jonathan Swift's, "A Modest Proposal." It was based of a discussion I had with one of my friends about the handicap stickers they had been giving out to the obese civilian workers on base. We both thought it was ridiculous and that if they were to be giving special parking places, it should be be at the back of the parking lot vice the front. That way they're guaranteed at least 20 feet of exercise every morning.
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07 Sep 2008
Has anyone else noticed that the population in this country that is most in love the Islamic terrorists is probably the same population that incites their hatred in the first place? Now, I know there are some Muslims who will never like Americans until we're all dead, converted, or paying taxes for not being Muslims. We also have idiots in the south who will never like black people. Some people are just stupid. Those extremists aside, many who dislike us, dislike a culture that doesn't actually reflect the average American's lifestyle. While myself and my circle may never be canonized, I can say for certain that we're not constantly strung out on drugs and alcohol nor do we switch sexual partners on an hourly basis. Yet this is the image of America that Hollywood portrays to the world. And this image is everywhere. I think I had the Iraqi IPs call me everything from Shakira to Brittany while I was deployed. They see our movies and our videos and think all American women are ready to go at it like bunnies 24/7. Honestly, if Hollywood is going to keep putting out ridiculous crap, they should provide a few battalions of extras to deploy every so often and give the soldiers fighting for them some extra dwell time.
I have other issues with celebrities. How many of them majored in anything besides Theatre or Art History? And yet they insist on giving their opinions on politics, war, and other subjects they know nothing about. That's another reason I started this blog. It's about time I get as much say as some twit who gets paid millions of dollars to emote for the camera. Being able to cry on cue shouldn't make your vote or your opinion more important than mine.