Thursday, February 28, 2013

Spock Lives! -- In Rats...

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/02/28/rats-mind-meld-across-continents-but-to-what-end/

The point? My grandkids endlessly text, my greatgrandkids will endlessly mind meld...the only question is, what corporation will be first to exploit the potential?

The Voting Rights Act

In opening the hearing on the Voting Rights Act, Justice Antonin Scalia referred to the law as a "perpetuation of racial entitlement,". So Justice Scalia joins the Taney Court, affirming that Backs are second class citizens whose right to vote is merely a racial entitlement, not an actual right. Note: the Taney Court delivered the infamous Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Blacks weren't even citizens. Scalia has made some progress, at least he thinks they are citizens, just without then full rights thereof.

Monday, February 11, 2013

The Good War

I just gave up on my effort to sit through CSPAN 's coverage of a presentation at the Bush School on the historical revaluation of the first Gulf War. I gave up because, while I sometimes like puffed rice and can tolerate puffed corn, I cannot stomach puffed war.

Day Is Done

From yesterday's facebook post at about 5:25 -- Soon it will be sundown, time for taps. Today was a very long day, a very quiet day. Just what I needed , since last week was a long and active week.
Taps is my vespers. -- Vespers is the sunset evening prayer service... The word comes from the Greek ἑσπέρα and the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." It is also referred to in the Anglican tradition as Evening Prayer or Evensong. --
From Wikipedia

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

More Washington as Star Trek


The GOP as the Cardassians, conquering wherever they can, seizing every opportunity by employing any methodologies, however vile. They're totally ruthless, yet, somehow, they can't seem to hold on to what they've already won, much less make any more gains. However, there seems to be some hope for them. At least a few Cardassians are willing to admit that perhaps they have taken the wrong path.

The Democrats as the Federation . They mean well... No, they really do mean well. It's just that they're so wimpy. They let enemies behave ruthlessly until the enemies become such a threat that they must be faced and then it's too late to do it without bloodshed and horror. I'm not sure there's any future for them. Still, with Capt. Sisko speaking for the prophets and Capt. Janeway now returned home, there may yet be a shred of hope.

The Koch brothers as members of the Q, mysterious super beings, who meddle in human affairs for their own amusement.

The Right Wing smear machine as the Obsidian Order, spreading disinformation, propaganda and outright lies to support the ambitions of the Cardassian Empire.

Rush Limbaugh as Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd, notorious con artist and grifter. He'll say or do say anything for money and power. If he won't take the part, it could be admirably played by Glenn Beck. In fact, anyone working for Fox News, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, etc. will do in a pinch, but they're third rate grifters at best.

George Bush (aka: Junior, Georgie Porgie, Dunderhead the First, King George IV , etc.) as Nomad, the Earth probe which is taken over by the alien device Tan Ru, transforming him into a brutal destroyer of civilizations.

Dick Cheney as Data's evil brother, Lor. Ruthless and cruel, he hates everything except himself, but can tolerate the existence of sycophants.

Fox News as the Borg. Once they get their hands on you, you are assimilated. Resistance is futile!

It may not be Star Trek, and I've already used him twice, but how about Bill Clinton as Neville Chamberlain? Faced with the so-called Reagan Revolution, instead of undoing the damage his predecessor had so carefully crafted during his administration, Clinton started his terms of office by agreeing that the era of big government was over. We're still paying the price for that capitulation.

Note: I never liked Clinton and I still don't -- just in case you haven't figured that out yet. Oh, and I mean Bill, not Hillary. She's getting a bit long in the tooth, but she's still sexy.

A Never Ending Story

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/blog/2013/02/why-is-the-higgs-so-light/

The article is summed up in the excerpt -- Thus, the small mass of the Higgs boson all but ensures that there is new physics to be discovered. --

New physics is the best physics. New ways to see the world, new discoveries, new science. The unexpected lightness of the Higgs boson might be due to the existence of super symmetrical particles, which would support string theory, or might not. The search will be fascinating.

I wish the faster than light neutrinos HAD been faster than light, not an experimental error. I hope super particles are real and that dark energy is a kind of antigravity we can harness. Science is the best mystery story, a never ending story...so far, anyway.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Second Amendment, Third President


Speaking of the Second Amendment, it's time to draw your own political cartoon again!

First panel: A woman is sitting up in bed. Her husband is standing in the doorway in his pajamas with a smoking gun in his hand. She asks "Did you get him? Did you get the burglar who was breaking in?"

He replies, "Well, Sweetheart, the good news is that the person who was sneaking into the house is dead and I still got 25 rounds of my extended magazine."

Second panel: The wife asks, "What's the bad news?"

He replies, "That person breaking into the house… was our daughter trying not to get caught sneaking in after curfew."

Third panel: The wife then states, "At least you don't have to reload, in case the next one IS a burglar."

If you don't get it, "A gun in the home -- thus available for self-defense -- is 22 times more likely to be used in an assault or homicide, an accidental shooting or a suicide or attempted suicide." So, if your goal is a safer family, you might want to rethink the gun.

And I repeat, I am a gun owner who enjoys recreational shooting. However, my guns and ammunition are stored separately and safely. I do not feel the need for the "protection" of a firearm and I am disgusted by the idea of "defending" myself against the US Army by shooting down our soldiers in the streets. I have no "bug out plan" and I do not anticipate the end of civilization.

Yes, Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it's natural manure." But he also said that Blacks "are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind". In other words, he wasn't always right.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Journalism

Bobby sent me the following link -- http://www.theonion.com/articles/god-freaks-self-out-by-lying-awake-contemplating-o,31097/

So I replied:

I checked that Onion link. I like the Onion, it's so much more accurate and full of fact based investigative journalism than its closest rival, Fox News. But you listen to me, Bobby! You stop picking on God. He's in a very vulnerable state of mind right know and He doesn't need you picking on him!
Remember what Thumper said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all."
Be good!

The Celebration of Inbreeding

The AKA-Eukanauba National Championship is on. You know, the effort to seek out the most inbred and genetically damaged dog in the world and give it a blue ribbon.
It is an improvement. We used to seek out the most inbred and genetically damaged human in the world and give him a crown.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Washington as Star Trek



John McCain as Lieut. Cmdr. Worf. Seeking revenge on everyone who beat him in a fair and honest contest.

Pres. Obama as Capt. Sisco the Emissary, who brings the word of the prophets to us all, thus bringing an age of peace and prosperity to last for a thousand years.

Hillary Clinton as Capt. Janeway. Lost after a terrible disaster, she seeks to find her way home and succeeds admirably after visiting alien cultures while wandering the universe making friends and fighting new enemies.

Rand Paul as Kahn, attempting to destroy his enemies with his ruthless determination to rule the universe.

Bill Clinton as Spock. He feels our pain but he is coldly calculating and utterly logical .

Or Bill Clinton as Capt. Kirk. He just can't keep those velour pants zipped up! (Velcroed shut?)

And guest starring as Data, Mitt Romney. He desperately seeks to find a way to attain human emotions.

Any other casting suggestions? Come on, it's fun