Crossroads

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

excerpt from the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

That is probably my favorite poem. And kind of illustrates where I'm at today. There are two different paths that I can take, but like most people, I don't have the time to go down both. Here they are.

As most people know, I post quite a bit about politics. Not out of love, but out of a dislike of the current state our government is in and the impact on us normal people. I have found a really good local political group that deals mostly with state politics. Like me, they believe that the whole Democrat/Republican fight is a smokescreen to make people think they have a freedom of choice. Just look at all the Bush policies that Obama said he would change, yet he hasn't, and in fact, expanded some of them. Joining the group and getting involved is one road.

The other is Buddhism. I've always been interested in it and lately I picked up a few books about it. A lot of my own thoughts and personality draw me towards this ancient religion. So I'm thinking of taking it a step further and visiting a local Buddhist center. The one I'm looking at attending is called The Austin Zen Center.

So there's my dilemma. Two very different roads, and only time to travel one.

Piracy on the High Seas pt.2

Piracy on the High Seas

Yesterday there was a bold act of piracy committed in International Waters. AP and Reuters carried the story, but none of the United States news stations covered what happened (that I know of). The BBC did, but misrepresented it to make the pirates sound like they had a good reason for it. And no, it wasn't those evil Somali Pirates the media like to portray as villains so much.

So what did these pirates do? They kidnapped 21 human rights workers including a Noble laureate and a former U.S. Congresswoman. They also stole their cargo of medical and reconstruction supplies, and children's toys.

So why wasn't this deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat (that was a clear violation of international law) not reported on? Because the aid was for Gaza, and the pirates were the Israeli Military.

The group is called The Free Gaza Movement. And here's the news release of the kidnapping and piracy.

Here's a video of the Free Gaza boat from last year.

Questioning Government

pa·tri·ot·ism
Pronunciation:
\ˈpā-trē-ə-ˌti-zəm, chiefly British ˈpa-\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1726
: love for or devotion to one's country

Notice it doesn't say ":love for or devotion to one's" government.

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King

So in the spirit of patriotism, I added 2 new links to my blog.

Ixquick - Web search engine that does not track your web searches and hands them to the government. Unlike Yahoo and Google. So I no longer say "Google it." I say "Ixquick it." Hey, it might catch on...

9/11 Truth - I think the name alone describes the website.

Billy Connolly

Here's some stand up from comedian Billy Connolly. If he looks a bit familiar, he's also been in a few movies.

Watch the language in these videos. So make sure no kiddies or bosses are nearby.

Anniversary

Today is my 18th wedding anniversary. And she still likes me! The picture is from our Senior prom, and as you can tell by the haircuts, it was taken in 1990. We got married just a little over a year later.

And in spite of what most people think about marriage, it hasn't been that bad. And the funny thing is, my wife and I are exact opposites, but somehow, it works. Kind of like Abbot and Costello with my wife being the straight (wo)man and me the funny man. But I guess since we agree on the important issues, the trivial ones are easy to overlook.

Anyway, for those who tell you marriage is hell, maybe it is for them, but for me, it's been pretty good.

Ready to Go

Our government just can't wait to send out our Centurions to their next conquest. Hmmmm, which country is next? Iran or Korea. We have so many choices that the politicians are almost to the brink of orgasm.

Republicans demand stronger Iran response.

"The president of the United States is supposed to lead the free world, not follow it," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

"Both the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly last week to condemn an official crackdown on the mostly peaceful demonstrations"

That's funny. The "Anti-terrorism training materials currently being used by the Department of Defense (DoD) teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests should be regarded as "low level terrorism." According to the ACLU.

So our government regards American citizens who protest as "low-level" terrorists, yet John McCain said. "I think we ought to have America lead." If that were so, Iran would lock away the protesters and hold them indefinitely without trial or even charge them with a crime. Oh yeah, then water board, and torture them for some false confessions to justify the entire process.

Iran should watch some YouTube video's to see how to properly beat the s* out of protesters in a free country.


The hypocrisy never ends.