Patrick’s Rants

I received the following email from my wife:

How a woman’s brain works…men, this is overwhelming for you, I’m sure!!

*Subject:* Re: Fw: How a Woman’s Brain Works

Have you ever wondered how a woman’s brain works? Well….it’s finally explained here in one, easy to understand illustration:

Every one of those little blue balls is a thought about something that needs to be done, a decision or a problem that needs to be solved.
Please Note: There is no male brain diagram to compare, as they usually only use two little balls.

When I received the email it was blank. It was supposed to have this image

Now. Men are continually belittled by women in this fashion. We don’t think enough or work hard enough at home or whatever. And they really like to poke fun at us. This time, however it was easy enough (and I was stupid enough) to fire back. I sent the following email as a “Reply all”, meaning that anyone my wife sent it to, I sent it to as well.

I think it is appropriate that this email didn’t have the illustration
when I received it. It explains so much more really.

Guys, we are supposed to believe that this email contained an
illustration with little blue balls floating around in a cross cut of a
woman’s head. What this really tells us, though, is that women want us to believe that they are thinking all of these things and that if we *don’t know what they are thinking* (or why they are mad at us) then there must be something wrong with *us*. If we were to draw the illustration we wouldn’t use white on white. And now that I’ve gotten you all in trouble, at least this once you will know what it’s about.

I am in so much trouble. It’s hard not to laugh though, because I do know why I’m in trouble instead of getting the stereotypical, “if you don’t know I’m not going to tell you.” Of course I now have to hide my smile when I look at my wife so I don’t get into even more trouble. I guess I made her point for her. She just doesn’t see the humor in me knowing why I’m in trouble.

I Have Nothing Against God
It’s His Fan Club I Can’t Stand

And on the same Jeep (this one’s for you S*)

If You’re Born Again,
Do You Get 2 Belly Buttons

The Decline And Fall of Truth

Frank Rich’s book, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina” looks at the man behind the curtain in the White House. In a scathing review of a public relations machine run amock Rich details just how poorly Bush has done and how nearly perfectly the PR machine covered up his ineptitude.

In absolute clarity Rich examines the Bush administration, tying George & Co. directly to the bald faced lying Swift Boat Veterans who perfectly unseated John Kerry without having to depend in any way on truth. He exposes the chasing of imaginary WMDs in Iraq. A feat that was accomplished not just by ignoring the intelligence that we had, but by falsifying and creating new evidence that suppported the agenda of the administration in “taking out” Saddam. The idea that Republicans were making us safer by capturing terrorists and foiling plots against the United States was much in play in the 2004 election year. Increased terror alerts were a constant, fear the great motivator. This while the administration artfully claimed that Democrats are somehow weaker.

While the White House brought out larger and larger banners to proclaim and enforce the Bush message of the day the peek behind the curtain tells a far more sinister tale. It is a tale of deceit, artfully played by a man whom Rich proclaims only purchased his ranch to give him the air of a blue collar man.

This book is a brilliant exposé, sure to anger even the mellowist of centrists. The press should take notice. While not as “sexy” as Clinton’s escapades, this should end in impeachment and jail time for the entire Administration. Deliberately misleading the public and the world to exact revenge is not what real leaders do.

IQ Chart
———-
Genius (over 140)
Very superior(over 130)
Normal (100)
Retarded (under 70)
Believe in God (under 50)
Voted for Bush (under 20)

As we come to the brink of another election cycle, you have to ask yourself, “Am I a Patriot?” But before you answer that question remember, “you’re either with us or against us”.

Glenn Greenwald, was a self-proclaimed political “indifferent”. He did not vote. As he puts it in his Preface:

“I never voted for George W. Bush–or for any of his political opponents.
I believed that voting was not particularly important. …I firmly believed that our democratic system of government was sufficiently insulated from any real abuse, by our Constitution and by the checks and balances afforded by having three separate but equal branches of government”

Enter George W. Bush. As a constitutional attorney, Greenwald is well versed in matters of law, specifically the cornerstone of our entire society. He details the eroding of our Constitutional rights under this president, from illegal wire-taps to holding suspects for years without letting their families know where they are, without charging them with crimes and without letting them talk to their attorneys, to outright physical torture. This isn’t the “land of the free and the home of the brave” anymore. It’s the land of Big Brother whose citizens are billy-clubbed constantly by this president and his ultimate power through intimidation, fear-mongering and outright lies. Fear is Bush’s ultimate weapon against our rights and Greenwald rips back the bandage to poke at our sensitivities with a sharp stick.

I’m sure that I’ve written it before, dissent is patriotic. Rebellion against a tyranical ruler is what this country was founded on. There is a quotation that I see on the community site, Slashdot:

“There are four boxes used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order.”

We have exhausted the soap box, the ballot box has been stolen, and the President declares that he is the supreme ruler not subject to the law or the courts. We may very well only be left with one option, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Just remember, “None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead” – Sen John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Read “How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok“. Then ask yourself, “Is this President doing his sworn duty?”

There is an amendment to the constitution on our ballot that purports to protect marriage by defining it as one man and one woman. Well, if that won’t tick off the Colorado City residents.

What it also does is strip away any rights non married heterosexual couples might have. Like health care for domestic partners, like removing any rights that a surviving partner may have to estates or pensions. Here in Arizona there are a large number of elderly couples who choose to live together but not actually get married. They do it for estate planning and other reasons. Many times these couples are widows and widowers who find each other after the passing of their spouses. If one happens to work in a job that offers domestic partner benefits such as covering the partner under health insurance this amendment would remove the health insurance options, not to mention that if one of them gets sick and goes into the hospital the non-spouse would not be able to visit if the family so chooses.

These rights have been fought for. To completely ignore a couple’s commitment to each other to promote a religious agenda is wrong. It is in effect telling that couple that they don’t matter relegating them to second or third class citizens with fewer rights than someone afflicted with a disease(ADA).

One man one woman. Someone at a party recently said that they thought that the one man and one woman were already married and the rest of us should be left alone.

The Replublicans have signs advertising that they will close the borders here in Arizona. The candidate for Governor has blamed everything from the dropout rate to the crime rate on illegal aliens – more specifically, the “failure” of our governor to “secure our borders”. This is a job for the Federal government to secure the Federal border. My question is, “why after all this time in office are you only now concerned with the border?” Repulicans have held the highest positions in the country for at least six years. It has been five years since the event that “changed everything”. Why should we believe you when you say now you want to secure the borders? You have had six years to do it if it really was an issue for you.

After posting my review of “Letter” you might not think that my very next trip assignment would be for the Promise Keepers, but it was. On the return trip, we stopped at the Outlet shops at Anthem for a really quick bite to eat and bathroom breaks.

As one group of men was walking toward the entrance one of them was struck by a pickup in the parking lot. He had abrasions and tire marks on his legs. The group gathered around him and subsequently around the driver of the pickup who appeared to be ready to leave the scene. Not only did he appear ready, he was yelling and began to push and shove against the men who started out with slight restrain such as holding the door of his truck closed and ended with the older man pinned against the truck by our resident DPS officer. (more…)

Sam Harris responds to his critics in “Letter to a Christian Nation“. The book is written as a letter to a Christian, but could apply to any religion. At at little over 90 pages, it is readable in a single day. From the keeping of slaves to stoning a woman to death on her father’s doorstep on her wedding night if she isn’t a virgin, Harris looks deep into the “morality” of religion with a skeptical mind. He finds that the bible (and other religious works) is full of self contradiction and questions whether an omniscient, omnipotent being could have contributed to the writing in any manner.

Harris turns 90 pages into a religious smackdown of biblical proportions. Anyone who has questions of their own religiousness should read this. Anyone who has complete faith in their own religiousness should too, but they won’t. There are just too many questions raised that cannot be answered properly by a zealot no matter the level of zealotry.

www.samharris.org

Well, not exactly. But the signpost ahead was for, “Speed Calming” with speed reduction to 20 MPH in a 25 MPH zone.

I approached the Calming zone with apprehension. The curb was designed as a chicane that zigged and zagged and would have been fun in a fancy little sports car or even a real race car, but I was in a 40 foot long bus. OMFG. Tire marks were all over the the curb where people hadn’t made the turn completely. In a “late steer” bus such as this one it would be fun. One, two, three turns of the wheel. I made it. And then came the second calming zone, then the third. I managed to make all three without incident.

That Scottsdale is a strange town.