But alls not lost. I still have hope. Things can get better, and through the Turkish prisons and assembly-line jobs, I might still be able to find what I’m looking for. Maybe it’s around the next corner… Oh, no. That’s just a bum begging for change. Maybe the next one…we’ll see once I learn to turn left instead of right - always right. The old Viet Nam wound keeps me turning in one direction, like the cocker spaniel I had when I was a kid that was incapable of doing anything but full right circles. I used to hang food over his head to try to get him to turn left, but after he’d barely turn his head as if he were about to make that miraculous switch, he’d snap back into a right-circle so fast that it almost created a miniature tornato that tried to devour my shoe laces.

None of it really makes any sense, now. But when did it ever? Sometimes life isn’t supposed to make sense - at least that’s what the little Fairies tell me at night just before I go to sleep. No, wait…that was on Coast to Coast with George Noory. But still, Fairies would be cool if they existed. Although I’m sure they’d hide my deodorant and nail-clippers - they sure have a reputation for being mischievous, which is amazing since they’re not even real. It’s mind blowing.

So that’s where I am today and that’s where I’ll be going. Maybe one day I’ll make it to my destination - or maybe I’m already there and I just don’t know it. That’s a sad thought. But if there’s one thing I know for sure, there’ll be a better and brighter tomorrow…even if it rains.

http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp

Some people shouldn’t be allowed to be parents.

If my wife and I have another boy, maybe I’ll name him “M@” as suggested in that article. Heck, it would be easy to write!

For me, it’s very simple: I simply don’t trust him.

The truth is, I don’t truly trust any of them, but I know I trust him less than I do McCain and Palin. Biden - now that’s just an interesting guy, and I’ve said it before: I have no idea what he stands for, and when he talks he’s all over the place, so it makes it very difficult to get behind him. But he’s the VP candidate and I’m not specifically going to base my vote on him. Still, someone that runs their mouth without thinking first strikes me as very dangerous, especially when it comes to foreign policy and possible interactions with foreign leaders.

Here’s a blurb of why I don’t trust any of them:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14835.html

As for lack of trust in Obama, some of the reasons are outlined in that article. Others are simply from things he himself has said. For instance, his associations with Rev. Wright - and claiming that in 20 years of sitting in on his sermons, he never heard Rev. Wright say anything anti-American or anti-white the entire time. To me, that’s like saying you went to the bar with the guys every weekend for 20 years, but never knew they were ordering alcohol.

Another one are his William Ayers comments, I posted this in another forum:

Obama has changed this story 4 times:

-He was just a guy who lived in my neighborhood.
-I was only eight years old when he was participating in terrorism
-I didn’t know about his history when we started working together
-I thought he had been rehabilitated.

Jump from the first to the last and follow the logic. If “He was just a guy who lived in my neighborhood”, which makes the connection seem completely remote, then why would he even have to say “I thought he had been rehabilitated”? There’s also this article:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/20/ob…ely-book-ayers/

(Yes, I know, it’s Fox News…wah wah). But it’s a small article simply stating facts. Another source with more photos:

http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=64

I’ve heard it quoted that due to Obama’s “contacts” he’s had in his life, he wouldn’t even qualify to be his own security guard as a President. But yet, he’s in the lead for this presidential election…?

What I’ve also found (from my own reading and research) is that most people behind him don’t truly even know why they’re backing him. They say “he’s best for the economy”, but they don’t explain how. They’ll say “He’s going to bring us Hope and Change”, but they don’t claim what that entails…I don’t think I’ve ever heard Obama himself state exactly what that means. I think America is in love with an idea: That a Black man can be president. There’s the Hope and Change, and I’ll admit, that’s definitely a change. But Hope? Hope is being able to get behind someone because you know what they stand for and you can truly believe in them and the direction they want to lead you.

I believe Obama wants to lead us toward Socialism (a path Bush has already begun jogging down). Now, some argue that it’s not such a bad thing (I’ve seen it here in these forums). France is socialist; Canada is socialist…and they’re doing just fine. But for me, that goes against what America was created for. Some people also argue that Obama’s views aren’t socialist. I’ve argued that before: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show…alism&st=45 - 4th quote down the page.

The stark difference for me between Obama and McCain, is McCain is a true patriot. He may fumble with words or flip-flop on certain issues - but that argument is moot as Obama has too. In fact, Obama recently adjusted his own tax plan so that McCain couldn’t say it was “welfare” anymore: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/…e-the-election/

People also argue that McCain’s campaign has been more negative than Obama’s, and I’m not going to argue that fact. However, I will say that Obama has had the vast majority of media coverage in his favor, and I have heard more than once from various commentators that this election is by far the most heartless and attack-driven media coverage in any election in the last 20 years, and the vast majority of the attacks are against Palin. One example is the article by “Us Weekly” entitled “Babies, Lies and Scandal”, in which Palin, just days after being nominated, is ripped to shreds with incomplete facts. Another, done by NBC, was an attack on McCain in which NBC went to Hanoi and spoke with McCains captors and, due to McCains captors testimony, stated that they never tortured McCain and that they would talk a lot and how they supported him in his presidency nomination: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25418965/. I personally found this article absolutely disgusting, because of course no country holding american POW’s would admit to torture. My wife was so apalled at that story - almost more than I was. In addition, Obama did run a campaign ad claiming “Do we want a president who can’t use a computer?”, which is absolutely insulting as his war injuries make it very difficult to use a keyboard. So maybe McCain’s campaign has been more negative, but the stuff going on against Palin and McCain are downright dirty, at least to me.

I don’t advocate any negative campaigning - it’s one reason why I ignored politics for years. But in my own estimations, McCain has attacked Biden and Obama and Obama’s connections and his outlook on the future of the country. But he’s not attacking their families personally, as the Media has done. And he hasn’t tried to grab on to personal insults, as Obama has done (referencing his lack of being able to use a computer). He could if he wanted, however. He could easily point out that in the 90’s, Biden had 2 brain operations for aneurysm’s and isn’t fit to be a VP - but he hasn’t (Nor would I approve of it).

To get back to topic, Obama seems to be surrounded with a dark cloud of disreputable relationships - all of which he denies, most of which the stories change conveniently as new evidence is found. It’s gotten so bad, for me, that whenever I see him speak I can only see a slick-talking politician/lawyer, and in the back of my mind I wonder what he REALLY plans to do as President. And that’s what scares me. I think all politicians make promises they can’t commit to; it’s just part of politics. But Obama’s denials of all of these connections he’s actually had makes me really wonder what we’re in store for with him being our Commander in Chief.

Of course there’s the foreign policy aspect, and Biden’s “fortelling” of things to come in the first 6 months, and it wasn’t just about being tested as a new president - Biden was making specific comments about decisions that would be made that wouldn’t be popular, but was begging for their supporters to stick with them - and how threats could come from 5 or 6 places… If other countries, some of which aren’t necessarily our allies, are eager for Obama to get in office, isn’t that a bad sign?

For the record, in no way am I making any claims that Palin and McCain are perfect angels. I’m well aware of the hypocracy in the McCain camp.

I respect everyone’s opinions on what they’re voting for. I’m personally sick of not having any politicians we can trust, but for me, this election is all about who I trust more.

For other interesting reads and to further back up my statements, and I strongly recommend to read them in detail:

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/orson.10.09.08.html
http://boortz.com/nuze/undecided.html

Note: I highly recommend all readers view the links posted inside my article. In addition, I always urge anyone to do research on their own to come to their own intelligent conclusions.

The writer is a Democrat, but his article is all about the truth - not parties. I’ve got major respect for this man.

http://www.rtgreensboro.com/orson.10.09.08.html

The article mainly references the mortgage crisis, and the lack of media’s willingness to pounce on the right people who caused the problem. Even if you’re not completely up on these events, the article is written generally enough so as not to confuse or lose the reader.

Enjoy!

2 months ago I got back into politics in a BIG way - just ask my wife who now thinks I’m obsessed. I listen to Glenn Beck, Bob Lonsberry and Rush Limbaugh; I read CNN, Time, Fox News and MSNBC on the web; I’ve even started watching the O’Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes - and almost any other political channel that’s on and discussing the current state of events.

One glaring factor that I’ve come to realize: There aren’t enough people paying attention to what’s going on right now.

2 months ago, I was just as guilty as anyone else - and for reasons I can’t even fathom, due to my distaste…nay, HATRED…for politics, I became interested in all of this. Fervently interested.

The main cruxt of this blog entry is to simply do one thing: Try to get other people involved. Some of this may be over your heads, but try your best to follow because we are living in dire times right now - more dire than it’s been for roughly 90 years. With that prelude, here’s what’s going down…

The Economy Is In a Major Financial Crisis
As many of you have probably casually heard, it all started with the collapse of Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae - two companies largely in control of the mortgage business. Due to poor management, extending loans to people who were “investment” buyers, extending loans to people who simply couldn’t afford homes, the government taking kickbacks and receiving “gift” mortgages and the fact that the federal government (mostly democrats) were in cahoots with these companies, they came crashing down hard and fast less than 2 months ago. Due to their size and their importance on the ecomony, the government bailed them out (with taxpayer dollars) to try to keep them afloat. On the way out, the government gave the top executives of Freddy and Fanny “golden parachutes” of upwards of $9 million as they let them go. So follow that - these executives CRUSH the companies, and in return, instead of being thrown in prison, they’re handed MILLIONS of dollars as a retirement package AFTER taxpayer money was used to save these two companies…?

Wallstreet Is Burning
After Freddy and Fanny went down and were bailed out, there was a domino effect on Wallstreet. Multiple Investment Banks (AIG, Wachovia and others) also started to cry at the government, stating they were on the verge of going under too. To sum up, pretty much all of Wallstreet was ready and poised to collapse. Retirement pensions and investments in stocks were all in jeopardy. Apparently, due to greed and corruption on Wallstreet AND government fingers in some of these pots, it was all coming crashing down - our entire financial sector. Very few banks remained up and functional - Washington Mutual folded, but Bank of America stayed strong, among a few others. The only reason some have survived was because of less corruption and better management. Most of these institutions were paying their top CEO’s upwards of $40 million a year with annual bonuses larger than the average American income. They doctored books, misreported earnings, and paid themselves quite well for YEARS - and again, some government employees were involved and supporting this behavior. These financial institutions have been raping the american public for years - and now they come crashing down and beg government for help.

The Big Government Bailout - $700 Billion worth
Due to the United States economic disaster and fear of a complete economic collapse, Mr. President Bush stepped forward and said “By golly, we have to do something”. The answer? After 1 night of deliberation, it was decided to ask the American Public for BILLIONS of dollars to “Bail out” these financial institutions - and oh, how the petitions began to fly! The common American sentiment: “These jerks feasted on us for years! Why should we now bail THEM out? Who bails us out when we’re foreclosed on? Where’s our blank check?!” And these sentiments I completely agree with. At first, stating the government needed $700 billion was called “The Wallstreet Bailout” - even by everyone in the government and media. But after petitions started pouring in and countless phone calls to Senators and Congressmen, and after the first attempt at passing the bill failed in Congress, they changed the verboligy to “The Financial Rescue Package”, claiming it was really to help the american people, because due to the economic disaster, the banks in good standing were putting holds on lending to people, making it really hard for home-buyers and small business owners. They also feebily tried to tie the failure of this Bill to pass with the decline of the stock market, as they saw fluctuations in the Dow that seemed to coincide with the Bill’s position in the White House. However, Rush Limbaugh commented that it was a misnomer and had nothing to do with each other…but the President pushed on. Congress initially rejected the bill (60% against, 40% in favor), stating that “the bill didn’t do enough for the american people”. I should also add that the American rejection sentiment was 90% to 10% against. So the President and corrupt financial advisors got together and revised the bill to make it more acceptible and would pass congress - even though the American public were screaming in protest the entire way. What did the Government add to make the bill “sweeter”? PORK! Not real pork - when the government packs “junk” into a bill just to get it to pass, they call it “pork barrelling” and that’s exactly what they did. They added things like:

Tax breaks for companies who made wooden arrow tips for kids toys
Tax breaks for Nascar
Tax breaks for importing Rum
Tax breaks for Wool Research (yes, you read that right, and I still have no idea what that is)

The government packed this thing full of crap that did NOTHING for the American public, and America knew it! But it passed!! That is a major exhibit of how corrupt our government has become. It’s not enough that America was in crisis and needed help. They actually had to BRIBE some of the congressmen/women into voting for the bill by putting GARBAGE in this bill that benefitted their home states. Shameful. So the Bill was up for a 2nd pass and the Senate passed it on Wednesday, followed by Congress on Friday. The american concensus (due to various polls): This Bailout was going to do NOTHING for America. And guess what? 3 days after the bill passed, stocks are still plummeting. Imagine that. To add to this frustration, there were still some congressmen/senators who voted against the bill, stating that it was just packed full of garbage and still wouldn’t help the american people. In addition, there were those who said that it was Wallstreet and Government who created this entire financial mess and throwing more money at those SAME PEOPLE to fix it was a ludicrous idea. But of course, those bold few were trodden over and greed won out to justice and prudence. So what does this mean for us? America is still in a downward landslide financially - stocks are dropping, government is still corrupt and so is Wallstreet. The best part: WE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE get our taxes increased to cover the $700 billion bailout that went to these pigs. Amazing. What’s also amazing is that when this Bill was up for vote, EVERYONE (congress, media, reporters) all stated that $700 Billion may not fix anything. They even admitted that the american people didn’t want it. The american people wanted indictments and people thrown in jail (which is what happened in the Enron scandal) - the american people wanted the economy to completely crash, and rebuild it from scratch. It’s also important to note that aside from the $700 billion proposal, there were many other proposals for fixing the the economy - and ALL were rejected immediately. The government simply wanted $700 billion from the taxpayers. To me, that’s like handing $500 to a bum on the side of the street. Is that bum going to use that money to buy some clothes, take a shower and find a job? Likewise, are the corrupt politicians and Wallstreet execs going to use $700 billion to fix the economy? I’m no economist, but I have a pretty good idea as to the answer to that question. In fact, just this morning I read an article about AIG. Apparently after we, the american public, handed AIG $86 Billion to save them from collapsing, AIG corporate execs immediately paid themselves bonuses and went on a retreat to a California resort. Total money squandered: $440,000.

The Presidential Race - Who Are These Guys?
First, I feel it’s best to state my affiliation. For years, I’ve considered myself an “independant”, simply because of my hatred for politics, and my views were simple: I don’t care who it is, I just want someone, anyone, to step up and be someone we can believe in. That view hasn’t changed, and although there are some democrats I WOULD vote for, I am definitely a Republican at heart.

We have two candidates: Barack Obama and John McCain

Obama (D) was raised by a single mother, and worked his way diligently through school and eventually gained a Harvard education, after which he became a lawyer (I believe in Chicago). At some point, he was also a community organizer (although he never really explained what he did in that position), and eventually ran for Senator, which is where he is today and now running for President of the United States.

McCain (R) was mostly raised by his mother, as his father was in the military and would serve over seas for the majority of his adolecent life. McCain eventually joined the military when he was of age, and served in the Viet Nam war, and was actually a P.O.W. for I believe 2 or 3+ years. After the war, he began his career in politics until he eventually also became a Senator, which is where he is today, and now also running for President.

My facts might not be 100% correct, but close enough. I do encourage all of you to read up on these two candidates for more information.

Those are the niceties of my comments. Now on to the guts.

McCain, as Senator, did his best to fight for the country that he loves, just as he fought for it when he was in the military. He has extremely strong and accurate views on foreign policy, obviously due to his war experience. I don’t want to go into the details of bills he’s supported or bills he’s fought, however I will say that on occasion, when he saw the importance, he would fight his own party and work with Democrats on issues, and of course, vice-versa. His view is to simply fight for what he feels is best, in the true spirit of bi-partisanship. He is definitely not perfect, and one of his weakest traits (as I hear and have read) is his stance on the economy. But he has consistently stood up against greed and corruption, and did his best to always fight for the good of the country. 3 years ago, he supported and fought for a bill that would put regulations on Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, POSSIBLY averting this entire economic crisis. But the Democrats had their hands in those financial pots and fought the Bill and had it rejected. It’s also important to note that one Democrat in particular, Barney Frank, who received “mortgage gifts” from Fanny Mae, I believe, was romantically involved with a male employee from that mortgage institution, and to this day claims no blame. Back to McCain… McCain has consistently voted for lower taxes for the American people (rich or poor) because he believes that the key to economic success in America is letting small businesses thrive, because that is where new jobs are created. McCain has also been one of the key advisors in the war on Terrorism, and whether you agree with the war or not, he and the President have kept America free from another Terrorist attack since 9/11. As mentioned above, he has strong views on foreign policy, and not all are bent on war. He believes in maintaining peace and bringing democracy to other countries, because that’s where peace is gained. For the most part, I haven’t heard or seen McCain blatently lie, and while I don’t think he does a good enough job being completely direct with the American public, I also don’t see him hiding anything or being “slimy” like other politicians. I think with him, what you see is what you get. He’s honest, he’s decent, and even in this election he has been slow to attack Obama with slanderous ads. His attitude has been one of not wanting to muddy the waters with slander and speculation - he wants to run an honorable Presidential campaign, arguing the issues and leaving partisanship (republican or democrat) opinions aside. McCain went off the beaten path when choosing a Vice Presidental running mate and picked an ambiguous woman from Alaska that had no Washington experience under her belt: Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin got into government by first joining the PTA, simply to help her kids achieve a better education. From there, she continued to plow upwards. She sat on city council’s, was a VP on some Oil company board, eventually became Mayor and finally the Governor of Alaska. She fought all types of corruption both in Big Oil and Political circles - cleaning up her state and smashing the big oil monopolies and forcing certain political officials to resign due to their corruption and exploitation of the Alaskan people. When she became Governor, she fired the governor’s personal chef, sold the governor’s private jet on Ebay - pretty much cut costs left and right that she didn’t feel were needed, and that the Alaskan people shouldn’t be paying for. She’s a mother of a few kids (4 I think), one of which has downs syndrome, and she is a devout Christian. When she was first declared as the Vice Presidential candidate for McCain, it took america by storm, squelching quite a bit of positive press Obama had. And unfortunately, this is where things have turned nasty…

When I first heard that the Democratic party had selected a Black man as the Presidential candidate, I was actually impressed and kind of excited. I thought that it was fantastic that our country had reached a point where race, sex and religious denomination wasn’t such a critical factor anymore. I didn’t even care that he was a Democrat. I’m all for change and mixing things up and equal opportunities for everyone. However, as this presidential race has gone on, I’ve completely changed my mind. Due to President Bush’s unpopularity, Obama’s winning ticket is simply that: He claims America doesn’t need even 4 more years of Republican failed policies that President Bush has left on the American people. He cites that the war isn’t over and it’s all McCain’s and Bush’s fault and even blames the Bush presidency for the economic woes of the U.S. What he fails to mention and what the press (whom are mostly Left Wing democrats) fails to report is that the beginning of the downfall of Freddy Mae and Fanny Mac was actually started in the Clinton years back in 1992 when government first put their fingers into those pots. He also fails to mention that the congress has been largely Democratic in the Bush years, which plays a huge role on which Bills are rejected and which are passed.

Let’s take a step back for a second, because we need to understand who Obama is. Obama is the epitamy of the American Dream. He was raised by a single mom, worked hard in school and got a harvard education and eventually became a lawyer. What’s not to like about that. But it was when he entered politics that things began to be disappointing, at least for me. Many republicans criticize Obama because he has NO qualifications to be President. As mentioned before, he was a Community Organizer in chicago, but fails to mention what that really is. When he moved up the chain and on the state’s Senate, he not ONCE tried to change or reform or bring hope to anyone or anything. In fact, when state bills would come up for voting, he would always vote “present”, but not “Yes” or “No”, which apparently you can do in Illinois, and to be honest, I don’t know what that means. But regardless, it tells me he wasn’t actively interested in pursuing ANYTHING - but simply collecting a paycheck off of the Illinois tax payers. He eventually was elected as a State Senator and moved on to the White House where he’s been for the last 20+ years or something like that. And again, he not ONCE has fought anyone in his own party on anything or asked for change or reform at all. In the Presidential debates, he’ll say things like “I sent a letter on to these two people asking for reform” - A letter?! You’re a SENATOR MAN!! Aren’t you supposed to STAND UP in the Senate and PROPOSE things!? In a nutshell, Obama has done NOTHING in his long career that you could stand behind and be proud of. In fact, there are things in his past that are completely contrary. For instance, the latest news is that he was an acquaintence of William Ayers - a United States citizen that is an anti-American sentimentist. In fact, William Ayers and pals attempted to bomb key U.S. institutions. Obama claims that Ayers was just someone he knew in his neighborhood as a child, and holds to that lie. The truth is that Obama actually first announced his running of office directly from Ayers Livingroom! In addition, Ayers at one point was a man of power in Chicago, and HIRED Obama to distribute money (Millions of dollars) for schools and education that were AGAINST traditional education, and promoted policital fanatacism and left-wing rhetoric instead. What’s amazing is that Obama stands up in the media and in debates saying he thinks this country is suffereing in Math and Science in our schools and that needs to be addressed. Huh?! Isn’t that all a bit hypocritical? Now leaving all that aside, it’s also important to note that Obama also has CURRENT ties with some not-so-reputable people. For instance, campaign managers and financial advisors of his used to be directly involved with Freddy and Fanny before they crashed. There are other “financial backers” of his campaign that draw money for his campaign, whom also have shady histories. In addition to all of that, early this year when we had more than these 2 possible presidential candidates, Hilary Clinton was also in the race. All of these “shady” people behind Obama’s campaign actually politically forced her out of the campaign. That doesn’t sound so bad, but it does when you think of the political clout the Clintons have in Washington and how well respected they are…to be forced out by your own party - there were some dirty tricks going on there, and Obama’s people played no small part in it.

Fast forward to a month and a half ago, when Vice Presidential candidates were chosen. As mentioned, McCain chose Palin while Obama chose a 35+ year Senate veteran: Joe Biden. Now my brother admits he thinks Joe Biden is a smart man. At first, I didn’t know much about Biden so I concurred with his opinion. However, I’d now like to dispute that claim. In the last 6 weeks, Mr. Biden has said some of the most outrageous things that I think I’ve ever heard in PUBLIC VENUES. A couple examples: At a “coming out” party after he was nominated as the VP candidate for Obama, he was talking to senators and members of the audience, at which point he asked a senator/politician named “Chuck” to stand up so everyone could see him - Chuck is in a wheelchair; A citizen in Ohio, at a rally, asked Biden about Coal and it’s importance as an alternative fuel, to which Biden went off on China and their coal and that we had to do something about China’s coal burning because it was “killing our lungs” in the U.S. There are also more - in the latest Vice Presidential debate, apparently Biden was lying and dropping false statements ALL OVER THE PLACE, but don’t take my word for it: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,433314,00.html

If you read that carefully, you’ll note that he didn’t even know what the role of the Vice President truly was! But here’s the scary thing about Biden and Obama… No one cares. Nobody seems to care that these two guys are liars, corrupt, dishonest and in some cases, downright idiotic. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The majority of the media is in fanatical support of them and nothing they do is wrong. Unfortunately I think a lot of this is because of Bush and how badly he’s done as president (or how badly he’s percieved, anyway). The American public are blind - they hate Bush so much they’re willing to follow these two corrupt politicians anywhere, just to get away from “republican” policies, which is what McCain is. What’s even more mind-boggling is the following Obama has borderlines on the fanatical. A video was released on the internet of Elementary School kids at a school candidly singing songs, praising Obama and that he’s our leader for hope and change (which is what the motto of their campaign is). Later, it was found out that the video was put together by a producer in California and wasn’t legit at all - these kids were being brainwashed! Just 2 days ago another video was released from a high school in North or South Carolina where a teacher had roughly 10 black high school boys militarily shouting and chanting in support about Obama and his beliefs and policies, as if they were an extension of the armed forces. The teacher was suspended from the high school due to the incident, but both of these examples simply display that these poeople in our country aren’t honoring the constitution or the United States - they’re WORSHIPPING Obama! They’re worshipping and chanting to a LEADER! Isn’t that what happens in dictatorship countries all over the world?!

But it gets even worse. Everything I stated about Sarah Palin is true. Her biggest flaws are lack of foreign policy knowledge and no experience in congress or at the White House. However, she’s PROVEN that she is a person that can get things done and fights for what is RIGHT and strives for making things better. The press and media, however, are painting her out to be completely different. I’ve heard all of these terms to describe her: Stupid; Slut; Whore; Dumb; Simple-Minded. Aside from all of those, they have accused her husband of having sex with his own daughter; that the downs syndrome baby was really Sarah Palin’s daughters and not hers; that she didn’t love her family and she should be home with them instead of being a Vice President… among many others - again, these aren’t on blogs. These are from MSNBC, Time Magazine and other nationally reputatable media sources. And of course, yes, there are Blogs out there totally trashing her. Matt Damon, in fact, was on some show trashing her - saying he didn’t want a Vice Presidential candidate who thought the dinosaurs were alive just 10,000 years ago (smashing her religious beliefs). It’s also important to note that many of the people ripping on Sarah Palin for her religion are also religious and believers in God themselves. In fact, Obama belonged to a church somewhat like Palin’s, and had a church leader who was a radical - claiming that white people were from hell and a whole bunch of other garbage like that. The religion, while based on the bible, was also based on a black-supremist book written years ago. It’s horrifying to me that someone with Sarah Palin’s integrity and willingness to fight corruption is being painted in this horribly disgusting and untrue light. What is really disturbing is that while the media takes a good person like Sarah Palin and trashes her, they won’t TOUCH Biden or Obama even though there are REAL issues there. The only people bringing out that stuff are Republicans who are trying to educate the american public. I should also mention that recently, Obama put together an ad on TV where they went and interviewed McCain’s previous captors in Japan. In the interview the reporter asked the former prison camp leader if they had tortured McCain, to which he replied “No - we were friends and would talk a lot of the time.” As if they (japanese) would admit in ANY public venue that they would have actually committed war crimes against the U.S. You don’t go after a P.O.W. trying to prove that his inprisonment “really wasn’t that bad”. That was disgusting and shameful and even ticked my wife off something fierce. In addition, McCain doesn’t use computers due to his war injuries and his inability to adeptly use a keyboard, and the Obama campaign actually came out and stated “Do we want a president that can’t even use a computer?” Don’t take my word for it - go look it up. The really disturbing fact is that right now, Obama is ahead in all the polls, and there are only 30 days left to election.

This goes back to one of my first comments: There aren’t enough people paying attention to what’s going on right now.

What’s even more amazing is when I try to talk to people about all of this (Bailout, politics, corruption) they all laugh and say “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel” and blow me off. Even when people ARE educated, they don’t want to hear it.

Where Are We Headed?
I don’t believe for one second that the Bailout Bill did anything to help the American people, and the stock market and public concensus proves that. I believe the Bailout Bill was to save face to the global economy. I watched a news clip from the French Prime Minister - she criticized the U.S. Government for not being able to fix the problem (when the bill was first rejected). Make no mistake, the Bailout Bill was passed out of peer pressure, and NOT for the good of the American people. This proves that the government doesn’t care about us, right now. They only want us to prosper so we look good to everyone else, and so that Wallstreet and Washington can line their pockets with our money.

The media and their willful ignorance to Obama and his connections - and their slandering of Sarah Palin and McCain is outrageous and an embarassment to America. But again, no one cares. In fact, the majority of American’s are jumping on board with it. It has become so blatent and disgusting, that there have actually been very affluent Democrats that have “switched sides” in this campaign out of embarassment for their own party.

I will say it again - I’ve always hated politics, and I have no clue at all what has gotten me so into it. I believe in God and I also believe, due to these recent events, that this country has forgotten the founding principles of the constitution and what the Lord has intented this country for. I will also add that it is my PERSONAL belief that the corruption, and unwillingness of the majority of the American people to recognize Him is what is bringing this once great country crashing down around us. I’m reminded of the scriptures in the Book of Mormon and how when the people hardened their hearts and turned to iniquities, but claimed that all was well - that was when their societies fell and they fell into bondage and other hardships until their hearts were softened unto the Lord again. I can’t predict what will happen, and even if I knew I doubt I would be told to share it - there are other people in the right places for that. But I do know that despite what the government and politicians are saying, we are headed for very, very rough times. There are sentiments on blogs out there right now where people are yelling to “take America back” from our government, and not in the gentle, peace-keeping way, but through the use of arms. People are likening the current economic disaster to the Great Depression of 1929. Stocks dropped 500 points today. The stock losses total over $2 Trillion currently, and are continuing to fall. The Global economy is failing - governments around the world are bailing out banks left and right due to world-wide economic downslides… With those ideas in mind, I will share that I believe a good portion of the reason I was pulled into Politics at this specific time, after 16 years of purposefully ignoring it, is because I needed to be informed. I was being told that I needed to pay attention for the sake of me and my family and our well-being.

All is not well in Zion. Now is the time to educate yourselves - READ and LISTEN. PAY ATTENTION, just as I had to learn to do. Don’t laugh it off as the people in the time of Noah laughed off a great flood saying it was impossible, ridiculing Noah for his beliefs. I’m not Noah and I’m no prophet. But the lesson still applies: Don’t laugh it off and think all is well and return to your “normal” lives. Pay attention - do what you need to do to stay informed and above all, PRAY for guidance for your own families.

Everything may end up being fine - people may rise up and save this once great nation. I will reiterate what Glenn Beck has stated many times recently: Educate yourselves - you may be one of the ones destined to help save this country and put things back on track, but you can’t do it unless you are educated. Likewise, you can’t save or protect your families if you are blind and don’t see what’s coming.

I feel it’s important to add that Glenn Beck is deeply religious. Years ago he hit rock bottom as a drunk, turned his life around and somehow managed to manuvre his way into the 3rd most listened to radio program in america, and to this day, he is baffled at how that happened. But he has said a couple of times now that he feels his entire mission is to “Warn warn warn” the people about what’s coming. And it’s not just him. Economists, radio celebrities and even average Amercians saw the housing and economic crisis coming from YEARS ago. It’s easy for us in our little pools and ponds to forget about the big sea we actually are a part of. Now, more than ever, we need to pay attention. There are just too many things happening for us to remain ignorant and pretend everything will be alright.

Update: I heard today that apparently due to a global economic meltdown, there are discussions on the table about unifying and creating a global, standard economy. Stock markets around the world are tanking. I have no other details at the moment, other than to say that IF THIS PASSES, the United States will no longer be a free country. And the people in charge of the “global money” will have NO ONE to regulate them. Aside from that speculation, I also heard that the Bailout Bill that passed contained “allowances” for the U.S. treasury to now take money from U.S. citizens and spend that money as they see fit, not having to go back to Congress to get more bills passed. Today, in addition to the $700 Billion already signed away, $900 Billion MORE has been allocated to help circulate paper goods around the U.S… And they didn’t even have to announce or ask for it. Just like that, the American People are responsible for $1.6 Trillion dollars, all to be given to corrupt corporations and politicians who got us into this in the first place. I don’t even know if we can be considered “free” any more.

I remember a prophecy (and I can’t remember from where) that stated: In the last days, the United States would fall as a major power. But they didn’t specify HOW we were to fall. Could it be economically? If so…well, draw your own conclusions.

I don’t care so much about the game as I do this “advertisement” for it. BOOOOYA!

But sitting here thinking of how bored I am, I realize how much there is in life I want to do and that finding the time for those things is almost impossible. For instance, I really want to start writing music again, both with lyrics and without. And to make it more complicated, I really have a desire to at least write two completely different styles: Techno/Synthpop and your standard Matthew Sweet/Toad The Wet Sprocket/Rush type of music.

Thinking even more, I’ve had some great ideas for some stories I want to write, and recently I jotted down those thoughts that I’ve had and fully intend on completing those stories, but again, it all comes down to time. I’ve tossed around the idea of writing childrens books, illustrating them and everything all by myself. Maybe it’s not time, as much as it is motivation. Maybe I’m just not good at self-motivating myself.

On the flip-side of that, I’m a DBA by trade, and every single day I think to myself that I need to buckle down and read more DBA-related books every week, to stay on top of the Database technology, but I somehow always manage to procrastinate myself into doing absolutely nothing about those thoughts.

So as you can see, I have a lot going on upstairs, and maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I think too much about all I want to do, when I should just “do” and not really think about it all. That’s an excellent lesson that I’m sure I’ll never put into practice, because I’m a master of procrastination.

On a completely different note, my wife and I have been watching all of the olympics, and I have to say I HATE watching the judging for gymnastics and diving. The sports are so subjective and unbalanced, and the scores are sometimes just ridiculous. Many have won medals that don’t deserve them, and many who have deserved them weren’t even close to getting one. It’s really sad. For instance, did you see the male spring-board diving competition on the 19th? One of the chinese divers kept getting ratings of 9.5’s and 10’s for his dives, and one one dive where he got 3 10’s his feet were apart, he over twisted and went in sideways and created a side-splash in the water. Really? 3 10’s? I’m not saying he wasn’t good - he looked much better than all the other divers, but 3 10’s for that dive? I’ve resolved that in the next olympics, I’m not watching either of these events. I’ll just check the web to see who got what medal, but watching judging like that is extremely frustrating and ridiculous.

Well, that’s about it. That’s all I have in my head that I care to throw out there.

We were told we’d receive a response within 10 business days.  Apparently a response letter was written on July 17, 2008, but we didn’t receive it in the mail until July 25th, 2008 (it was mailed from the same city where we live, FYI).  This response was a letter (with no signature) stating that the real reason the claim was denied was because we didn’t call or notify anyone about the appointment before-hand, and the letter didn’t really reference “out of network” any longer…so it appears I won that argument.  But being crafty and having more financial backing, they were quickly able to come up with another sly reason.  Rats!

On the 28th of July, 2008 I called up the insurance to try to resolve this claim - they told me repeatedly that I had to submit a 2nd appeal letter, but oddly after a few minutes of demanding a manager, they started to actually review my paperwork and talk to me about the claim.

Apparently my 2nd denial reason of “not notifying” the insurance company about the appointment wasn’t filed in with the rest of their notes because the lady helping me on the phone acted like that letter wasn’t even there, and only ever kept referring to the “out of network” reason.

After she reviews my paperwork, she states that the claim should in fact be coverable “in network” because my wife’s doctor’s referral was included in the claim - and since an in-network doctor referred us to get lab work/tests done, that should all be covered.

In other words, UHC never even really reviewed my appeal information - at least not in detail, otherwise they would’ve seen what this lady saw within 10 minutes of reviewing my appeal.

I then ask the lady, just for future reference, what kinds of appointments we need to call in for to ensure coverage, and she rattles off a few items, but says to me on the phone that the test my wife went in for WAS NOT ONE OF THEM.  In other words, we didn’t need to call on this type of referral!  So why the appeal denial letter with the reason of “you didn’t call us to let us know about this appointment”?

It’s also important to note that at the first appeal, I was told on the phone that it takes 48 hours to review an appeal and we should see a response within 10 business days.  On my phone call today, the lady told me that she was sorry anyone would’ve told me that and that it actually takes 30 business days to receive responses to appeals.  Fine.

At the end of the phone conversation, after she said my claim does qualify for in-network and *should* be covered and paid for (due to my insurance policy), she tells me that it takes 48 hours to review and I should receive a written response in the mail within 10 business days!  WTF!?!

I have no idea what kind of business is being run over there, but some key items:

• My claim was denied for being Out-Of-Network without really being looked at, because it clearly states my wife’s Dr.’s name on the claim.
• My appeal was denied due to the fact that “I didn’t call in and notify them”, even though for that specific test my policy states I didn’t need to
• It takes 30 business days to receive a response to an appeal, and that whoever told me that my original appeal was suppose to take 10 days was wrong - oh, but my NEW appeal should take just 10 days to receive a response

At the end of the conversation, I ask her for her name and number in case there were other problems or whatnot, and she told me she didn’t have a direct line and couldn’t give that information out.  So that’s why throughout this post I only refer to her as “the lady”.

Insurance companies FTL.

Has anyone seen “The Rainmaker”? 

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/dominos_scientists_test_limits_of

http://discuss.extremetech.com/forums/thread/1004417186.aspx

This doesn’t really compare the MacOSX to Windows Vista, but more the hardware between the two and the cost for each.

My own opinion:

People and commercials spout out how awesome the Mac is and how horrible Windows Vista is - mostly that the MacOSX operation system is more stable.  But let me just state this: 

When you buy a Mac, you’re buying hardware put together by Apple,inc.  Apple hand-picks specific pieces of hardware and then writes their Operating System (OS) to match.  To put it in english, it’s like a Web programmer who only has to write code to work with Internet Explorer, and that’s it.  That programmer only has to account for how Internet Explorer process information, so naturally, it’ll be easy to “tighten” down the issues with his program.

When you buy a PC, you’re buying hardware put together by whomever you bought the PC from, from the hundreds of manufacturers out there (Processors, Motherboards, RAM, Hard Drives, Video Cards, etc).  Windows has to be “compatible” with all of these in order to be successful.  To go back to my programmer analogy, writing the Windows OS is like a programmer who has to not only write code that’s compatible with Internet Explorer, but also Opera, Mozilla and however other many web browsers there are - so many I don’t even know them all.  In my own experience with my Blog, it is really hard sometimes to get things to work right on ALL web platforms.  Some things that look great on Opera (which I use at work) look funky in FireFox and IE, and vice-versa.  So Windows, in other words, has to account for all this hardware.

So, is Mac more stable?  Based on the logic above, of course.  Is Mac more expensive?  Absolutely.  Is Mac better?  I don’t think so at all.  Read the article for more details.  It was really interesting to read an article put together by someone who sells both types of computers for a living.  Read the comments at the end too - other people have added some other technical information that was nice to see in terms of comparisons.

My final opinion is that a PC is a much better buy.  It’s cheaper, flexible and configurable - and by “configurable”, once you buy a Mac, that’s it.  You bought a Mac.  You can’t upgrade Video Cards or Processors if you ever wanted to.  How do you upgrade?  You buy a new Mac.  At least with PC’s you can buy parts.  The article makes reference to the fact that you can’t even buy a Mac OS on your own and put it on your own hardware.  The only way to get a Mac OS is to buy a Mac computer.  They also make reference to the fact that in a Mac, the processors are physically soldered to the motherboards - in other words, there ain’t no way you’ll ever upgrade that.

One last comment:  To all of those people out there who are thinking “Windows Vista sucks”, ask yourselves why you think that.  Have you used Vista?  Have you used a Mac?  Most of the people I’ve run into that voice that opinion have NEVER EVEN USED Windows Vista!  I mean, WOW!  Stop letting commercials dictate how you think.  Do some research on your own.  I’ve been using Windows Vista 64-bit for over a year, and so has my wife.  In addition, I’ve put Vista on 3 other PC’s I’ve built for my family over the last 6 months, and no one has complained.  That’s saying a lot, especially with the 64-bit versions.  Everything I’ve used and done has been compatible with Windows Vista.  So, again, before you say “Windows Vista sucks”, do some research, or at least ask yourself some tough questions about why you hold that opinion.

I remember when this came out, a lot of the Religious community was up in arms over how this movie completely does away with God, and while we watched, I was expecting people in the movie to be preaching anti-God sentiments.  Instead, almost at the end of the movie I turned to my wife and stated my confusion over this heated topic - we just didn’t see it.

To all those religious zealots (I’m heavily religious, btw), this movie is no different than any other fantasy movie out there on the market for entertainment.  It’s just a movie…it’s not even a top-notch fantasy movie.  Does the movie enforce the existance of God, or at least a Diety of some sort?  Nope.  But who cares!!  It’s a movie!  It’s meant strictly for entertainment value.  Even if in the movie the characters were flat out saying God didn’t exist, IT’S STILL A MOVIE!  Someone had an idea in their head and wrote it all down and viola!!  A book and a movie were born.  That’s about it.

I really get tired of people complaining about this type of thing.  I’m sure parents were upset that the movie was meant for children and that it was a bad influence since it didn’t preach about any omnipotent beings and all that, but honestly, who cares.  BTW, did any of you religious types catch the rating?  PG-13 isn’t really meant for small, influential children anyway.  If you are religious in nature and your children don’t have a religious belief system by the age of 13, then I hate to break it to ya, but this movie is the last of your worries.  I don’t remember seeing any disclaimers or federal laws stating Hollywood was in charge of teaching your children about the existance of a supreme, omnipotent power.

Hollywood = Entertainment.  That’s really about it, and sometimes the movies suck so bad they don’t even entertain.  I swear the only people who complain about these types of things are the people who expect everyone else to teach their kids instead of themselves doing their jobs as parents.  There are SOOOO many movies out there that don’t even so much hint at the existance of a God, but I don’t remember this uproar over those?  Let’s see, I’ll just name a few for fun…

Harry Potter series - No gods there, unless Wizards are gods
Lord of the Rings - again, unless Galdalf is a god, there ain’t any
Narnia - These books were written by a devout Christian, but couldn’t we consider it blasphemy that he suggested Azlan, a Lion, was the “God”?
IronMan - I don’t remember any reference to God in that movie
Hulk - I think the General considered himself some sort of God, but that was about it

Those are just a few, obscure and unpopular movies I could think of where the existance of “God” wasn’t really referenced.

I hate to break it to everyone reading, but Hollywood doesn’t have anything to do with morality or spirituality.  Hollywood is all about money and entertainment.  How many sitcoms and TV shows out there have NOTHING to do with a Supreme Being?  If you don’t like what Hollywood is making, then by golly, don’t watch.  If you want to be entertained, the go see a movie and enjoy - but PLEASE don’t expect Hollywood to teach your kids about God or morality or any topic you deem “worthy” in nature.  That’s simply unrealistic and ridiculous.  It’s the job of the parents to teach, instruct and guide our children.  If you leave it up to the “world” to do it for you, well then hand your kids a gun and let them go to town because, hey, that’s what happens in the movies!