Thousands Standing Around

I've never been a fan of the TSA. It's the one jobs program to result out of Bush's so-called War on Terror. It's an incompetent organization that is reactionary at best and an infringement on privacy at its worst. They certainly cause unnecessary hassle at the airport following their ridiculous "remove your shoes" and "no more than 3 ozs of liquid per bottle enclosed in a 1-quart ziploc bag".

Travelling alone, they're an annoyance. I only remove shoes when told and never smile at these folks...sure, they're just doing their job, but in my mind they can find a job that serves the greater good. Traveling with small children, they're a downright nuisance. No TSA "officer" "agent" or whatever the fuck they're called is authorized to make a common sense decision. They're useless automatons that follow policies and procedures developed in response to the latest Al Qaeda reject's failed plot, such as the shoe-removal and liquid policies. On our trip Tuesday, I had to not only empty my pockets and put my shit up on the table, I had to remove Jack from the stroller...of course he begins running around. That's a pain in the ass, since no one in the airport has a sense of humor...they probably think he's a baby terrorist trying to jump through the checkpoint. Once I grab him, I'm told that he can't wear shoes...I guess his baby flipflops could be used by a baby terrorist to make a baby bomb. What the Fuck? Reminds me of a trip through Reagan Airport w/ Carter when I asked a question about these senseless checks on the baby. Some dumbshit behind me starts talking about the "shit he saw in Nam with Charlie using babies". What the Fuck? Do I look like VC? Are we to suspect all to be terrorists unless proven otherwise? A terrorist with half a brain could defeat TSA's security...no doubt about that.

Kauai

Just got back from Kauai. Looking through our photos for a picture to sum up the trip, I settled on this one...unfortunately, I was unable to capture the entire scene...the folks sitting up on their balcony, sipping mai tais, enjoying their tropical escape only to have their view obstructed by my son taking a crap in his diaper. He spent a good 15 minutes working on this one. As you can see, he had his head down and was fully focused on the job.

More from Rudy

Did I ever mention that I dislike Rudy?

The douche is running on his foreign policy credentials...not sure why anyone would buy that load of shit. He apparently recently outlined his foreign policy in a recent issue of Foreign Affairs. Here's a critque from Slate. I don't plan on wasting my time reading Rudy's essay in Foreign Affairs, especially after looking at the excerpts singled out by Fred Kaplan. From these passages, it appears that Rudy's as naive and idealistic as Bush.

Motivation

Went to Spin class this morning. A new instructor showed up today. She fancied herself a motivated work-out addict. Reminds me of that guy with the ponytail on the elliptical trainer infomercial...I think his product is called the Gazelle. Her introduction rambled on liked that of a a hyperactive new commander speaking at his change of command ceremony...full of tired cliches and motivational words to the troops ...words that really lack substance. Anyhow, Spin instructor (from hereon known as Gazelle lady) not only barked the normal orders related to the exercises, she also threw out gems like "everyone's a champion" or "ride this interval like it's your last". At this point, I started to tune out. I'm not one for cheerleading, that's probably why I wasn't a star performer at SOS or ROTC camp. During one interval she threw out something about "focus on the goal that motivates you" and threw out some generic goals like weight loss, faster 5k, etc....basically rhetorical gibberish. At this point some tool in the front of the class screams out "...the freaking pit bull is chasing me". Of course, anytime there's a weirdo in the room, that's sure to get everyone's attention. Looked over and saw this guy pedaling at about 150rpm. As we proceed through this interval, pitbull is looking over his shoulder yelling at the imaginary pitbull. Gazelle lady is left somewhat speechless, but still manages to encourage pitbull's behavior. By the end of the ride, the guy's taunting the imaginary pitbull chasing him. Then to top it off, after the interval, he pulls out his imaginary gun and shoots the imaginary pitbull. Then gazelle lady tells him what a great job he did, way to work hard, etc, thus encouraging this buffoonery.

All this is unfortunate, since I enjoy spin class. What I do not enjoy is silliness and motivational words from the instructor. I prefer my normal riding group...if someone has a good ride, or climbs a hill exceptionally well, someone will say "good job". That's about all I need...and about all the motivation I'm willing to put on others. I really don't give a damn about an imaginary pitbull.

Freedom to Fascism

Watched Freedom to Fascism over the weekend. In the past few years, I've watched several documentary films critical of the Bush administration, big business and threats to our civil liberties. Some are well done productions, all have an agenda to pass, all contain at least a bit of truth, and almost all are flawed in some regard. Freedom to Fascism was one of the worst of the bunch. I agree with some of the basic assertions...mainly that our income tax system is not fair by any means, and that the Federal Reserve Bank gives too much power to the bankers. In the end, the film touches on attacks on civil liberties...a real concern while Bush is fighting his war on terror.

In the end, I thought this was a sloppy film by "award-winning" producer Aaron Russo. I had to put "award winning" in quotes, since Russo makes this claim several times throughout the film. The wiki page has a few Freedom to Fascism criticisms. If I had some more time, I could probably come up with more. Using the Google a couple times throughout the movie, I noticed that Russo was stretching the truth just a bit in order to make his point. Russo has proven himself to be a poor man's Michael Moore.

Giuliani's a Douche

There are many things I don't like about Giuliani.

Here are my anti-Rudy posts from TP's blog:

More Drivel from Rudy

Rudy

A lot of other comments scattered throughout the blog have my anti-Rudy rants, as well as Louis Winthorpe III's defense of this douche.

Giuliani Time provides a scary look of what a Giuliani Presidency may look like.

Hopefully as the campaign goes on, Giuliani will be exposed further. I really don't understand the evidence that says "Giuliani's tough on terror" or that "Giuliani's a 9/11 hero." These comments are ridiculous and unfounded. Aside from Bush, this man's done more to exploit 9/11 than anyone in the world. Good on the John Edwards campaign for stepping up and calling out this dildo for exploiting 9/11.

Mock Chicken

Had something today called "mock chicken". Best I can tell it's a chicken substitute made from tofu. It tasted a little like chicken, but was very dry. It also left a bad aftertaste. Even worse, I've felt sick all day...can you get "mock salmonella" from "mock chicken"?

I must not have a firm grasp on veganism. I thought the basis of this philosophy is a love for animals and a desire to not harm them. If I love animals and detest the idea of eating animals or products derived from animals, then why am I creating substitutes for them, such as tofurkey, mock chicken, and vegannaise? It seems this is taunting the animals by eating their likeness. If you truly loved the animals, just eat the bland tofu, or vegetable tofu...don't create a substitute for meat. If you like meat, eat meat. Eating mock chicken is like drinking non-alcoholic beer...where's the joy in that?