Archive for February, 2006
Fight Government Censorship in Cable TV
Feb 28th
I think all Americans should fight government censorship proposals for cable and satellite TV. Congress has no right telling Americans what they can and cannot see on paid television. Americans make the choice to actively pay for cable or satellite TV services. With today’s technology, one can easily get digital cable and use the cable box to block certain channels, certain ratings, etc.
John Rockefeller is pushing a bill that would allow the FCC to censor cable and satellite-based programming.
These ideas that are being pushed are, in my book, unamerican. Where do we draw the limit? What will be next to be censored?
People are turning to cable because of poor programs on broadcast and to have more of a choice of what they choose to watch. They can pay for certain channels or not. I doubt few Americans want government involved in their viewing choices. I posted the other day about trash TV, and I think we should try to get away from trash TV…especially on broadcast networks. But, the fact is- I want this to be voluntary. Better yet- I want Americans to choose NOT to watch these programs, and parents mainly to make sure their kids watch better programs and stay away from the trash that clutters so much of television. But, again- I do NOT want the government at all involved in any of this. I want freedom from government intervention into my television viewing. If the federal government gets involved in what a cable network can and cannot air- it’s obvious there’s no limit to what areas of life they can control.
Please contact your federal representative and tell them you oppose the congress from trying to censor cable and satellite television. Tell them that this should be a choice by the American people- if we don’t like it, we can switch the channel, use the V Chip technology or even the ratings lock outs built into nearly all digital cable boxes. Let’s stop the government from being even more involved in our private choices.
I should also mention here that I completely oppose the idea of an ala carte system where you pick only the channels you want and drop the ones you don’t. I don’t see how this model will work for consumers. Many consumer groups like this model, because they say they can get rid of certain channels that contain content they don’t want in their homes. Fortunately, the technology already allows for this. Use the V Chip that most of us have in our TV’s today or use the cable box to block the channels, put a password lock onto the thing- and bam- you’re done.
I haven’t seen any models of an ala carte system, but it makes no sense- it would raise prices, I’ve no doubt. A bundle is a much better option…maybe you don’t want all the channels you have, but bundling channels together in a package will be much cheaper for the consumer in general. Having a plan that would allow you to say- ‘I want Disney, USA Network, Bravo, MTV, and CSPAN is all great and good- but I can imagine this will kill cable companies in some regards, which means the prices for all of us will go up. I can’t imagine a scenario where someone says- I want the bundle I have now, all the channels you offer (which is what I currently have with my cable company), but I don’t want any increases. The lost money with the ala carte consumers would drive my prices up- also, it would drive the prices up for the ala carte folks as well. No doubt that the price for each channel will be raised in connection to the lost revenue that the system itself will cause.
I think too many people complain about TV, channels they don’t want, etc. yet refuse to do the simple thing- switch the channel, use the chip, use the box. If it’s a matter of money- they have to realize the ala carte idea will raise prices for everyone. I haven’t studied this issue, but it seems like a no-brainer to me…if you have all your customers in a bundled cable package, and then many move to ala carte where they pick and choose the channels or a tier of channels- they will expect to pay less…and they will…but that lost money has to be made up, of course, and it will be made up with those of us who want a bundle.
In the end, when it comes to government intervention- I say no thank you. Keep government out of what channel I can see and what I can see on that given channel at what time of day. The idea is nice- to “protect” children, but the government is also limiting my rights to watch what I want in the process. There are better, smarter ways- government intervention isn’t one of them.
Biting Demons
Feb 28th
I’m wondering how many times I can get bitten. And while I think about that, I’m wondering how many holes that will spill my blood can be made in my fingers!
It’s great fun- hamster is nice and crawls into my hand. The, the next second she is bitting my thumb as hard as possible. I feel like I’m a diabetic testing my blood sugar 100 times a day.
What a bonding experience. I tell ya.
Calling Me Night and Day
Feb 28th
Michelle Kwan, my future wife, well- she calls me all the time. I mean, she adores me, this much is obvious. I check my voicemail and it’s full of messages from her…my e mail inbox is full of quick notes of how wonderful I am and how lucky she is to know me. It’s sometimes too much to deal with, but you’ve gotta do with you’ve gotta do for those special people in your life, right?
Full Auto (XBOX 360) Part 2
Feb 27th
I posted a press release and some information before about the new XBOX 360 game, Full Auto…I placed some banner links on some of my pages around the site. Anyhow- I received the game in the mail Saturday (just noticed it last night)…Now all I need is an XBOX 360 to play it. 
I won’t be purchasing one anytime soon tho…not even available at amazon.com, and it’s too expensive right now. Maybe if the price comes down a bit I’ll pick one up. Who knows. I’m content with the few XBOX games I have but haven’t even started yet.
Sheen, Jimmy, and Carl
Feb 27th
I was watching Jimmy Neutron and had to share this lovely pic of Sheen, Jimmy, and Carl (L to R). Jimmy invents a sick patch that makes you look and feel sick when it’s on, and you’re all better when you take it off- so they can all miss school and have the day off. Well, as with nearly all his inventions, there’s a problem…the patches start absorbing into the kids’ skin and they can’t get better…
A Honeymoon Surprise?!
Feb 27th
People are weird. Here’s proof. Women getting cosmetic surgery to get their hymens umm, what the heck word would you even use really? They say they want to get their hymens back intact for cosmetic reasons and to give their husbands a surprise on their second honeymoon.
Here’s a snippet from the article:
They usually opt also to have one of the new “designer vagina” procedures, such as tightening up of the vaginal canal slackened by childbirth, or the cosmetic trimming of enlarged labia.
You’d think it was a joke, or the daily activites of insane people (actually, my bets are on some form of insanity!), I mean seriously…”designer vaginas”?!
Like I said, people are weird.
Where I Live (Robert Crais)
Feb 27th
Robert Crais is the author of my favorite detective series. It just doesn’t get better than Elvis Cole and his partner, the mysterious Joe Pike. A cool pair, tough, good with the ladies, a cool car (Elvis at least), great at what they do…real guy’s guys.
If you’re into mystery, you should totally check out the series- it’s a fairly long series of books (there have to be at least 12+ books so far…)
Anyhow, Robert Crais writes about where he lives, why he likes living there, and his writing. Interesting article.
Trash TV: WB Set to Debut Show All About Sex
Feb 27th
TV is becoming trashy…well, more trashy. The WB is proving this by debuting a series called The Bedford Diaries- a show about a group of college kids in a sexuality class. Matthew Modine is the open-minded, “progressive” professor, who wants the kids to record sex diaries- they talk about sex, they tell of sexual encounters, heck- they might even have sex on camera! All to share with the class. Yay! That’s education in the fictional college for this WB series- tho actual academia isn’t far off with some of the absurd, stupid, and even dangerous courses some schools teach.
In the trailer for the show- we hear the professor ask the students to think of their last sexual encounter…was it with a lover, a stranger, yourself? We see a girl unzipping her jeans, her hand moving down slowly…another girl underneath some guy, looking up to the camera in bliss, a guy talking about how his sexual past is like a PBS murder- mystery, you wake up wondering where you are, who you’re with, etc. The teacher’s ex-wife is getting it on with one of his students, another girl says that she’s pregnant (she’s white, her boyfriend is the token black guy of the cast- they are, together, the token interracial couple)…it’s obvious from the scenes that he’s having sex with yet another girl (a girl from class- who mentions that they should record it for class.) Yet another girl says she met a married couple and had sex with the husband. We hear numerous times how tough NYC is and how it takes no prisoners- thanks for the lame info. Let’s move on…
There are scenes of people kissing, people touching, people making out- there’s a mention of suicide, there’s a scene with a college girl in bed with a very older man…there’s really nothing but scenes of sex, talking about sex, wanting students to talk about sex, discuss it, take part in it, etc.
It’s the cheap ploy used by bad TV shows to pull in the targeted audience- unfortunately, the WB’s audience is mainly in their teens and in high school- which means, the already oversexed society will become even more so, and let’s not even talk about the many society destroying side effects this new found “progress” has on society in general.
It looks like a regular WB show, just with maybe more sex.
And if all of this wasn’t enough- the show is clearly desperate for horny viewers. Here is a shot of the trailer- it was meant to be very obvious, as you can see for yourself. A young girl and guy sit across from each other at a library table, both on cell phones (it’s “progressive” to talk on cell phones 2 feet apart), the girl talking about how hot she’s getting, the guy saying they should go for a beer, the girl telling him that she has a much better idea, doing her best “sexy” face (tho, to me, it looks like an ‘I have diarrhea face.
In the shots that follow…we see a girl jump into a pool after disrobing. Now, you tell me what’s wrong with this picture, and I’ll tell you what’s wrong with society.
Tune in teens across America, we’ve got boobies!
US Policy In Regards to Cuba
Feb 26th
I was watching a story on CNN concerning 15 Cuban refugees who were clinging to a bridge (they were in the water) in the Florida Keys. They were taken in by the US Coast Guard and one of the Cuban guys says that they told him and his family if they got in they would be taken to America- they were holding onto the bridge, they were free.
Now, for those of you who don’t know…the US has an odd policy towards Cuba. We gladly let a ruthless dictator sit in power, doing nothing to stop his daily abuses a mere 90 miles off the US coast, yet we have a wet-foot, dry-foot policy in regards to those trying to escape Cuba to come here. If you reach dry land, you’re considered free to stay, and you’ve made it…you won’t be sent back. Well, you won’t be sent back unless Janet Reno and Bill Clinton decide that you’re some odd exception and kidnap you at gunpoint to deport you.
Anyway- I think the policy itself is ridiculous. You’re telling people- you can come here, not respect our borders, not respect our laws, violate the law in coming in, but if you make it to dry land, you can stay- we’ll reward you for being a better law breaker than the rest. Sounds ruthless of me, but it’s a double standard. If a Mexican citizen wants to come to the US to find work, if he makes it onto US soil, he’s sent back- there’s no ‘you’re a better law breaker, here’s the welcome mat’ law for Mexican citizens. Nor any others, as far as I know. Well, I think the Cuban policy goes for other nations in the area as well- not positive about that tho.
I should mention- the story reported on CNN- the 15 Cubans were deported due to the fact that the bridge in Florida was an old bridge, the part in the sea wasn’t connected to the bridge section linked to US soil- the part they were holding onto wasn’t connected because a section of this old bridge had fallen down. If they had been hanging onto the new bridge 200 yards away, they would have been allowed to stay. Either way- the policy makes no sense, because it’s telling people they merely have to be better law breakers in order to be rewarded. If you’re 5 feet from land, you go back home…if you’re 5 feet closer and standing on a rock in the ocean- you can stay? It makes no sense.
What’s worse- we could put an end to the situation by pushing Castro out of power. There is no Soviet Union anymore…we don’t have to abide by any promise not to oust that thug or face the punishment from the USSR like was once the issue years ago. If we can remove thugs like Saddam in far off lands, why do we allow a thug to sit free and clear a hundred miles away? It’s nonsensical. Why fight terrorist regimes, while allowing commuinist regimes to sit back without fear of being forced into line with human rights demands? Does a Cuban suffer more than a Mexican?
Maybe it’s the overall US policy to the thug Castro and the nation of Cuba that’s messed up…not the arguments over whether a refugee is on US soil or not and what counts as being on US soil. The Cuban American protests in areas such as Miami, I’m against as well. They’re protesting the wrong thing…they should be demanding a policy change towards Cuba and only that- not advocating law-breakers be given special treatment.
If we’re going to remove punks like Saddam Hussein and demand changes in the middle east, we should do the same thing closer to home and demand that nations like Cuba and brutes like Castro fall in line as well.
Do the Iraqi People Not Have the Desire?
Feb 25th
Is it just me, or does anyone else get the feeling that, from the various reports, the blogs, the newspaper and magazine articles, and more that maybe, just maybe the Iraqi people aren’t trying hard enough? I mean- not all Iraqis could be lumped together into one category…but, I just get the feeling that there aren’t enough Iraqis that are actually wanting to put forth too much effort.
It’s either that or the US and British militaries (and whoever else is over there at this point) have no idea what they’re doing. I have no faith in the idea that the US and British cannot properly train the Iraqi army- so why are there no battalions ready to fight after 3 years? How come no battalions are ready to fight without US help? Are the recruits just THAT bad?
And what of the terrorism- the US went through a war for independence, and granted- this was a different time, and we weren’t dealing with muslim loons, but we did suffer forms of terrorism, and look at us now. Is it possible that the Iraqi military, the police forces, the public officials are just incapable of making progress? Well, surely, there’s been progress- but has there been enough?
Maybe the media is to blame, when they seemingly cast the process in such negative terms. Maybe the Iraqi people are doing all they can, and they are grateful, and they are willing to fight to get where they want to be- but, then again, you see reports of negative comments from some Iraqis that seem ungrateful- I actually saw footage of some idiots saying that it was better under Saddam, because at least they had the power on all the time. I’ve actually heard that statement many many times from many different Iraqis from kids to grandparents- what does that say about Iraqis in general, if anything? To be so screwed up in your mindset that you’d rather have power and a murderer who ruined your nation’s economy and standing in the world as opposed to a freely elected government with some struggles that go along with it. I can’t imagine how backwards one would have to be to choose Hussein and his raping, murdering sons merely because they had constant electricity!
I think, in general, it’s hard for most Americans to grasp the situation at all. Living the way we do everyday, that alone makes it hard to understand…we also don’t live in a muslim dominated country, and be all politically correct if you want, but the fact remains- the most backward countries on earth are the ones in the large block of arab and muslim nations…the muslim nations are, for the most part, in turn, backwards in many regards. So- I have no problem saying the two go hand-in-hand…islam as a majority position has never been a good thing for any nation at any time in history. We can speak of certain muslim nations that did well- but I don’t put any of that success on the islamic foundation of the nation- no way, no how. If history has shown us anything, it’s that this system doesn’t work as a form of government, it impedes real progress, and it usually tends to keep people down. Like the Soviet Union did for so many years in the 20th century.
Back to the point at hand- is it possible that there aren’t enough Iraqis that care enough to make things work? It’s an awful thought that I hope is completely off the mark, but sometimes when you read about the situation, when you see interviews, when you watch the media reports, you sometimes get the feeling that, in some part, this might just be the case.
Let’s pray I’m wrong, for the sake of Iraq, their neighbors, and for the safety of our own nation.
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