th1nk

OT: What do I want to accomplish this semester?

2008-01-13T01:27:00.001-08:00

I use this blog as a vent alot of times. Other times to explain my opinions on the happenings of the world and other times to just sticky note goals or specific ideas I have for myself.

This is one of those sticky notes.

I'm in my second semester of college after completely changing what I want to do with my life and have to say I'm taikng some interesting classes.

History 212 - History of the US; 1877-Present.
Math 050 - I only took one math class in high school and now I pay the price.
Polital Science 240 - Intro to Public Policy.
Philosophy 151 - Intro to Critical thinking.

Compared to my last semester, these are all classes that I think I need to take. I need a refresher on the my countrys history. I need more numerical problem solving. I am absolutely fascinated in the role of government in our society and applying logic is something I'm not new to, I just want to make sure I'm right ;)

I hope to pull a 3.5 this semester and find a part time job. I didn't work last semester and not having a reliable cash flow really hurt. I'd actually like to be able to come out of my hermit cave and maybe head to the bar or just go have some fun while doing these classes.
I'm also starting to find out some scary things about the world that I will divulge into on a later blog - probably in a political rant, but we'll see ;)

SC GOP Debate

2008-01-11T11:40:00.001-08:00

FOX calls Paul the GOP's "whipping boy".
Angered me slightly.
If you care to watch the debate yourself, or just Paul's remarks, click the identified link below :P

GOP SC Debate 01/10/08
Ron Paul only

Ok, so the whipping boy comment got to me a bit.
So I thought I'd do my own shot at the political attacks/actual truth.

click here to view the rest of it (too big to fit on blogger)

The Paradox of Our Age

2008-01-06T18:14:00.001-08:00

The Paradox of Our Age
By Dr. Bob Moorehead

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

~Found this little gem on a lifting forum I've been posting on for awhile now.
http://www.ironmagforums.com

Scribefire test

2008-01-03T12:31:00.001-08:00

Iowa caucuses are today...

Left

Obama
Clinton
Edwards

Right

Paul & Huck (tie?)
Romney
Rudy

My guesstimations/wishful thinking :)

New Years post

2007-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

As we say goodbye to 2007, I hope in '08 we can all just grow up.
It seems some people still can't put their petty problems and differences aside and be peaceful. The same problems they had 3-4 years ago are still excuses for not being able to get over things that have happened in the past and all they are doing is making things worse for the rest of us. I have to pick and choose when I see people because someone may have a problem with them for the SLIGHTEST reason, or they don't like their 4th cousin, twice removed who walked their neighbors dog 3 times a week, who dated the person who walked their dog the other 4 days. The he-said she-said bullshit still trumps logic and people become divided amongst friends.
Can't we all just get along? Or even agree to disagree?

The strangest thing to me, is that this can be directly related to issues throughout the world.
Country A, likes Country B & D, and hates Country C.
Country B, hates Country C, likes D and is neutral with Country A because they don't believe everything they say
Country C, hates the entire World, except Country D.
Country D, likes everyone.

Substitute "Country" for "Group" and you have the shit I go through with friends - Can you guess what "Country" I am?

These groups then have their own peoples/friends who have all different views but are manipulated by others to believe otherwise or are stiff armed to believe what they are told to about others without investigating the facts for themselves.

Not that trying to learn the facts from "he said she said stories" works, but its better then nothing.

I'm on another rant, because I can't goto one New Years party or see some friends because they have some problem with another of my friends. Completely ridiculous.

Happy 2008

Ron Paul 2008

2007-12-26T22:40:00.001-08:00

Ron has NEVER voted to raise taxes.

Ron has NEVER voted for an unbalanced budget

Ron has NEVER voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

Ron voted AGAINST the Patriot Act.

Ron votes AGAINST regulating the Internet.

Ron voted AGAINST the Iraq war.

Ron voted AGAINST NAFTA and CAFTA.

Ron votes AGAINST the United Nations.

Ron votes AGAINST the welfare state.

Ron votes AGAINST reinstating a military draft

Ron votes FOR conservative principles.

Ron votes to CUT government spending.

Ron votes to LOWER healthcare costs.

Ron votes to END the war on drugs.

Ron votes to PRESERVE civil liberties.

Ron votes to SECURE our borders with real immigration reform.

Ron votes to protect religious freedom.

Sources provided
You do the research
Vote Republican
Vote Ron Paul 2008

~Friendly political message from Northy :D

PS - Sorry for the grammar lately, I've been trying to play xbox and blog at the same time. Sort of non-sequential thought process/randomness has been happening :P

Ron Paul & Tony Blair (No connection) :P

2007-12-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

I need to stop drunk blogging - I read this morning's early post and am almost forced to go back and almost re-write the whole thing. But I'm not going to, so lets just start off fresh with a new one :P

So apparently, Ron Paul is a white supremacist because he kept a campaign donation from a man named, Don Black. Mr. Black is a pro-white nationalist who runs www.stormfront.org/ which just happens to be a.. White Nationalist Website!
Who woulda-thunk it?
Paul is being accused of being a white nationalist and supporting the movement. At least on most mass media political pundits shows, and throughout the blogosphere. It's quite sad their becoming this desperate against Dr. Paul, that their using this kind of perverse logic in a sad attempt to slander him.

So apparently, Hillary Clinton took money from Al Sharpton (closet Black Supremacist), so she must support black nationalism!
I'm sure someone accepted donated money from a homosexual, so they must be gay too! [/sarcasm]
Source: Paul keeps donation [Yahoo News/AP]

So, former prime minister Tony Blair supposedly converted to Roman Catholicism last week - he's already planning upon becoming a deacon after meeting with Pope Benedict.
-Go Tony, Go?

Source: Blair 'may become catholic deacon' [dailymail.co.uk]

Ron Paul 4th Quarter Earnings: $18,771,570.76
Free Ron Paul Bumper Stickers (Just got mine yesterday!)

So I watched Freedom to Fascism..

2007-12-25T23:50:00.001-08:00

Astounded by it. I remember a few years ago, the Michigan Militia went to sue the State Government because the Income Tax or just Taxes in general were unconstitutional. I remember thinking "Wow, what a bunch of fucking idiots."

Now I sit in my chair wanting to do some of my own research on the matter because I feel like the fucking idiot. I don't want to believe there is no actual law saying that Americans DO NOT have to pay their Federal Income Tax. Luckily I know a few Tax Officials in the Upper Hierarchy of the establishment (State Tax/IRS) so I can question them for shits and giggles.

The movie came across just as "Loose change" (9/11 "truth" video) did. It left me in a shock and awe state of mind. But after researching it for myself I just think the LC people are a bunch of nuts.

This movie seems different. It's not everyday you see the person your hoping to be the next President (Ron Paul) backing the views of a generally fictitious netumentary. This movie makes more general sense and I hope through my own research I can find some truth.

Updates coming in teh futecharz lloz!!~1!!

http://www.freedomtofascism.com

Realistic approach To the "War on Drugs"

2007-12-24T23:11:00.000-08:00

The topic arose for me to post while listening to the Alan Colmes radio broadcast on FOX News Talk. Having a self-proclaimed liberal sound off the issue and really got me going.
In 2004 my best friend died from cancer at the early age of 18.
To start story time I'll explain our personal drug use. Medicinal usage of marijuana helped prolong his life and if nothing, ease his suffering. He was on boatloads of prescription painkillers amongst other drugs to help his prognosis. He was given synthetic form of marijuana called Marinol - pure THC in liquid capsule form to stimulate his appetite while undergoing kemo-therapy. Eventually the capsules ability weened and he switched to smoking the herb itself. We (Dear Patriot Act, I'm admitting to marijuana use) smoked through a water-pipe to negate the main toxic effects of the herb and it was the only thing that I believe helped with his attitude toward his soon self-known mortality.
Marijuana positively changed his mentality, made him believe even for a short few hours that all was well and we were just a couple of normal stoned kids enjoying life, bullshitting about whats going on and discussing the latest skit on the Chapell Show. It also helped his appetite or as us "stoners" call, he got the damn munchies, and a motherfuckin pizza and shit tasted gooooooodddd. Increasing his nutrient intake through smoking is one of the key factors in my mind that kept him alive. The synthetic THC quit working and pain killers (valium/Oxycodone) changed him into an enraged state - strange for my easy-going-joke-telling-hilarious-impression-acting friend.
Eventually he passed and his life ended. It hurt. It really fucking hurt. I remember sitting in his computer room by myself with his lifeless body crying on the floor, not allowing friends or even his family to enter while I mourned. I "pulled myself together" and faced the fact. I remember coming to grips with reality, that my friend had died - nearly seconds later the funeral caretakers walking to his room and the sheet of white going over his body while his magnificently strong parents shut his eyes before the drape fell.

The war on drugs is absurd. At least with marijuana. We have people spewing on ideological vomit saying "Its a gateway drug" and it "Causes irrefutable mental consequences". In layman's terms, you smoke weed, you'll get hooked on heroin and become a dumbshit.

Wrong.

Find one person to argue with me and the motherfucker will go down.

Marijuana is a gateway drug. But wait, I'm just agreeing with whomever first stated that making me the motherfucker! Wrong. Weed is a gateway drug because it is illegal. The main way people come by it is going to some dealer whom sells a variety of illegal substances. Then the purchaser (whom usually is baked out of their mind - baked meaning high as fuck for you slow people/non-pop culture elite) happen to purchase another drug because you can. The fact that something is illegal, people tend to want to defy the law/government to get a feeling their "defying the system" or "being a rebel" as the Steve McQueen in me comes out (Older actor/my hero/original American Badass - Maybe a bad analogy for todays times). Defying the system and calling the President a Fascist (Idealist in my opinion) and calling him the worst President of the US, seems to be all the rage with todays political circles and within todays youth.

If I haven't come across the point yet, Marijuana should be legalized, a system of testing its on-demand/instant usage needs to come. The same laws that regulate liquor/beer need to be put in place. 21yrs of age and able to accept the consequences using while driving or any time when a citizen can be hurt by its use. Limits should be in place to regulate how much a person can be allotted to hold while transporting (vehicular) and for personal use. An individual does not need to carry a large surplus amount while in public or excess holding in ones vehicle. Taxation should not be implemented because this would only cause underground growth for the movement.

I'm not the only one that feels this way. Writhing with public discourse I can name several extremely successful people that have or will use marijuana, just by looking for the NORML (Nat'l Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Advisory board. Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Hunter S. Thompson and Bill Mahr to name a few. Times have changed, research has been done, people agree (They just need to vote..) the laws of marijuana need to be changed.

Now comes the argument for "harder" drugs. PCP, Acid, Mushrooms, Heroin and Cocaine. What about them? Personally I despise use of all of these "drugs", except psychedelic drugs ("shrooms and acid"). Coke and Heroin are quite debilitating drugs, and I disapprove of their usage completely. Acid and Mushrooms are another story. The reason? I like them ;) Kidding (sorta). The argument I generally face is they are directly linked to the downgrade of society. Shady Drug dealers are a menace.
Yes. They absolutely are. But its pick your poison these days. If you truly want to help the American people, make McDonalds and Burger King Illegal. More of use die from Heart Disease and Obesity then these drugs COMBINED.

To take a quick stance. People do drugs for a variety of reasons as stated above. One can choose the way they want to go out in this world, almost. Drink to much, your kidneys and liver fail, eat too much, your heart quits ticking, smoke too much your lungs stop working, snort too much coke and maybe your heart explodes.

I do not (yet?) support the legalization of psychodellic drugs, cocaine and heroin. Marijuana on the other hand needs the be de-criminalized.
Drunks goto clubs and stab people, start bar fights and cause irreconcilable consequences the next morning (Hey... What's your name again?).
Stoners sit in their basement, listen to some Zeppelin or Pink Floyd and watch funny or trippy movies.

This "War on Drugs" has gone far enough. Marijuana is equally has "harmful", if not less then alcohol and yet still remains illegal from the baby boomer generations movies of Reefer Madness and old-outdated studies done by a ideological press.

Legalize it like Denver and Ann Arbor, or at least return the fucking power to the states.

Welcome to thinktwice

2007-12-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

So. Somehow you've stumbled upon this blog and for some unfortunate reason your reading my posts. Well, since you're reading this, I may as well try to explain what the point of this is, or why I even keep a blog.

I started getting into Politics/News/Whatever is the politically correct way to say your interested in the chaos that we call society and government these days last march from listening in on a talk news shows. I had always watched the news with my family at night, listening to the crazy things that happened in the world and disregarding it and going back into my little perfect world bubble.

I popped the bubbled one day, started listening to talk radio more instead of the absolutely terrible "music" thats on the radio, began watching C-SPAN, updating myself on world relations, and reading books ranging from Machiavellian politics to some mouthy political pundit trying to convince more people to believe what they say, buy their books and listen/watch their show.

Then came the great biasm or biased thinking upon nearly every person in every paper, tv show and blog. I'm still in this phase, trying to root fact from opinion and vice versa. I tend to lean right but also am quite a liberal. I believe in small government, strongly in civil liberties, the right to defend yourself and ourselves from threat(s). I believe the constitution is one of the most magnificent writings ever and use it to back most of my beliefs. I get caught up on a few issues - I may have not researched them well enough or rendered a logical opinion to state but everyones got some quirks :P

Anyways. About the real me. I'm a 21 year old empathetic "high school drop out", former volunteer fire fighter, "know it all", hard worker, smart ass and full time student in Michigan. I a attending a community college to take my core required classes then plan to transfer to Eastern Michigan Univ. or Michigan State. I am thinking of majoring in Political Science, but officially who knows. I am going to try to enroll in Army ROTC and earn a commission as an officer in the US Army. Regardless of what happens, I plan to get my degree (in something), join the Army (as an NCO if ROTC is out of the question), do my service, return to firefighting then become a teacher and maybe run for office - but who knows.

I have alot of goals and only time will tell if I can accomplish them. All I know is I've done enough fucking around, its time to buckle down and do this shit, and while I'll do all of this, I may as well whine/bitch/teach/complain/rant on something, so it may as well be this.