Impeachment.

I touch upon my political views from time to time, but rarely go in-depth on them. Today will be one of those days. I am very much for the impeachment trials of both the President and Vice President. And I'm saddened, disappointed, and more than a bit worried that such a movement has not come to the forefront. If there's one thing that I don't like about the Democratic party, it's their collective lack of conviction. When our last Democratic president received oral sex, there was an uproar. The entire country was stirred into a frenzy. Impeachment proceedings were brought on. However, we are currently under the rule of a Republican, who has committed atrocious crimes against our nation, our Constitution, and humanity in general, and no one in power can muster the courage to make the move toward impeachment.

I believe it was summed up best in an article I read, quoting a resolution passed last night by the town of Middlebury, Vermont:

“We the people have the power -- and the responsibility -- to remove executives who transgress not just the law, but the rule of law.
The oaths that the President and Vice President take binds them to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The failure to do so forms a sound basis for articles of impeachment.
The President and Vice President have failed to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" in the following ways:
1. They have manipulated intelligence and misled the country to justify an immoral, unjust, and unnecessary preemptive war in Iraq.
2. They have directed the government to engage in domestic spying without warrants, in direct contravention of U.S. law.
3. They have conspired to commit the torture of prisoners, in violation of the Federal Torture Act and the Geneva Convention.
4. They have ordered the indefinite detention without legal counsel, without charges and without the opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention -- all in violation of U.S. law and the Bill of Rights.
When strong evidence exists of the most serious crimes, we must use impeachment -- or lose the ability of the legislative branch to compel the executive branch to obey the law.
George Bush has led our country to a constitutional crisis, and it is our responsibility to remove him from office.”

Fortunately, the movement has recently been gaining ground. In all, 36 towns in Vermont passed similar resolutions last night. Some states have already started the process (albeit very slowly) of drafting impeachment resolutions. New Mexico's resolution has already passed through two committees. And a former legislator from Minnesota who introduced an impeachment resolution there is now a member of Congress. Unfortunately, Congress as a whole has failed to act appropriately. They have thus far made it clear that they will not pursue such actions any time soon. This lack of action needs to be changed, and soon. The President has already been putting the pieces in place for his next illegal war.

And time marches on...

In case you haven't noticed, my blogs are random writings about random topics. I jump from one topic to another, based soley on what interests me at the moment. This is not unlike my life. Having ADHD can make life both very interesting and very boring. On the one hand, it's interesting because I'm reading about / thinking about / doing something different all the time. On the other hand, if I'm in a situation where I can't fulfil that need for constant change, life can grow incredibly boring and monotonous, and time will drag on. Take my job for example. I sit at a desk and write code for 8 hours a day. There are interesting facets to it, like when I'm put on a new project. That provides a challenge, and keeps things fresh. But when I'm put on random tasks, tedious tasks, it's all downhill. Those are the times I end up surfing the web. Those are the times I'm talking to people online. I'm not using it as an excuse, I just have a hard time focusing on things that are less than interesting to me.

This brings me to the times when I question my career. I knew from the start that this particular job would not be something I did for the rest of my life. I needed something that I was good at, and that paid well, to get me going after school. And that's exactly what this job offers. It raises the point of post-collegiate confusion. You go through school, pick a major (or 5 or 6, hehe), and then move into your chosen field when you're done. But then what. What happens when your chosen field isn't quite what you expected? Or even if it is what you expected, but your feelings about it aren't?

I spend a moderate amount of time trying to find that perfect job. The one that will somehow hold my interest. The one that caters too the things I enjoy in life. And I have yet to find it. And I wonder if I will find it. And I wonder when I'll find it. And how I'll find it. It's been said to me before that most people don't love their jobs, but they go because it's what they need to do. They never find that perfect job. They just find something that works for them. I don't want to live my life that way. And I know a lot of other people don't either. But that then brings us back to the question of finding that job that's right for us.

The key to getting started on this path of good job-ness (it's my blog, I can make up words if I want to) is to start walking. All too often, I see people that have fallen into a pattern. They find a job, and stick with it, based on the fact that it's there. It's the familiar, and people like familiarity in their lives. Sometimes you just need to shake things up. Admitedly, we al can fall victim to circumstance. It's a lot easier to up and change your life when there's no one else involved. But when there are relationships, children, and so on, things get complicated. It doesn't mean you can't make change. It doesn't mean you can't try out new things. It just makes it harder. No one ever said life was going to be easy, eh.

It's interesting how topics can flow while writing. I started this with the intention of rambling on about my lack of ability to find that elusive perfect job, and then I start giving advice on life and careers. Anyway, I'll try to get back on topic while wrapping this up. There is an underlying assumption that once you finish school, you move on to your career, and life carries on from there. But what happens when it doesn't all go according to plan? I know there are many other people out there that feel the same. In the end, writing this gets me no closer to the elusive perfect job. And reading it most likely did not have that effect on you either. But, hopefully, it at least got you thinking. And that's really what everything I write aims to do. I like to get people thinking. And as always, I encourage discussion.

The world has gone mad...

Ok, it's only Boston that's gone mad. In case you haven't heard the story, I'll sum it up for you. Turner Broadcasting wants to make some hype for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force show and upcoming movie, so they come up with a plan to put mooninites around major cities. They are in place in 10 major cities around the US for 2-3 weeks. Someone in Boston saw one and freaked. Boston officals freak. Bomb squad called in. City shut down. Guys who put them up get arrested, and law suits are pending.

I'm not going to delve too far into this issue right now, I just wanted to get it out there. This is absolutely rediculous. The Boston officials are calling these guys terrorists that made a bomb hoax. No, they put up the equivalent of Lite-Brite signs with a cartoon character on them. One of my favortie quotes from an official so far:

"Assistant Attorney General John Grossman called the light boards "bomblike" devices and said that if they had been explosive they could have damaged transportation infrastructure in the city."

Wow, you mean that if they had been explosive, they could've blown things up? This man is pure genious. Here's a link to the article that the quote came from, that also gives an overview of the entire thing:

http://www.cbs4boston.com/video/?cid=9&id=28369@wbz.dayport.com


Well, enough on this for now. I'll get more into it later, I'm sure. Oh, and be sure to visit 13107.org. It's not much at the moment, but I'll try to set up a forum on there within the next week, basically to get people to be able to voice their opinion on this, and other related topics.

Discuss.

The new Hitler?

As far as I can remember, I have refrained from politically based musings thus far. However, I couldn't hold back any longer. I’ve noticed a certain number of similarities between the two leaders, and felt the desire to point them out. Now, I’m not saying that Bush’s ultimate goal is genocide (at least, not intentionally). However, there are other similarities.

They both worked their way up the political system, with a firm agenda in mind. Hitler had to rely on his charisma slightly more than Bush, but they both made the rise. Once in power, they went to work on their agenda. Unfortunately, I have to give them both credit. They both pushed their agendas in a very smart manner. Neither one went all out right away. They edged along, bit by bit. They convinced us of a goal that we “needed” to attain. Then, they went about gathering up support of that goal, through propaganda. And yes, in both cases, there were little white lies strewn about to help make the case. Then came the power play. They slowly stripped us and the rest of the government of our rights and powers, and funneled supreme power unto themselves. That was the final piece of their equation.

You are undoubtedly aware of the various loss of civil liberties we’ve suffered through this administration. I won’t go into detail on that. But in this most recent step, Bush has taken that final turn toward attempting to make himself dictator. Ignoring the wishes and wills of the people, the advisors, and even the other branches of government. If you’re unaware of this, I’ll quote from a recent article regarding the buildup of troops in Iraq.

“President Bush, facing opposition from both parties over his plan to send more troops to Iraq, said he has the authority to act no matter what Congress wants.

"I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it. But I've made my decision. And we're going forward," Bush told CBS'"60 Minutes" in an interview to air Sunday night.”

The full article can be read here. It also touches upon the subject of Iran. This is coming to light as a possible goal, of which the Iraq war has been merely a setup. Time shall tell on that. And with that said, I’ll end this rant.

The state of literacy in America today

So, allow me if you will, the opportunity to step up onto my soap box once again. This time, it's over one of my biggest pet peeves: grammar and spelling. Now, I'm not saying everything I write is perfect. I'm human to a large extent. However, these errors are generally attributed to pressing the wrong key than not knowing the correct way. And I was by no means the scholarly type in school. Far from it, actually. (note the horrific fragmentation of that sentence!) I'm still not really sure how I ever passed my English classes.

One of the worst (yet most frequently occurring) infractions on decent language stems from that fun little symbol we like to call the apostrophe. Used correctly, it can take two words, and combine them into one, compact, time-saving unit! Used incorrectly, however, it can send me from zero to annoyed in not much time at all. I'm still not sure how people have such a hard time with these. Granted, there are some cases that are not easily figured out. For the most part, however, it comes down to a few easy to remember rules. Rule one, apostrophes are used to make contractions and indicate possession. Rule 2, apostrophes are generally not used to pluralize. For example, this was taken from a sign in a restaurant. You can get 5 taco's for some amount of coinage. NO. You can get 5 tacos. Or, the outer part of the taco is the taco's shell. Note the difference. When making it plural, just add an 's'. It's as simple as that. When making it possessive, then you add the apostrophe and 's'. This is a general rule of thumb here. Not a difficult concept. Yet, I see so many people struggle with this everyday.

Alright, this has turned more into a lesson than I had originally intended. So I'll shift slightly to another aspect. People have a hard time with using the correct spelling of certain words. Too, your, and their are probably the three biggest offenders. Allow me to switch back into teacher mode again. To - We are going to the park. Too - It is too cold out to go to the park. Two - There two of us were going to the park, but it's too cold out. One down, two to go! (note the double t-words in that one, mee-oww!). Let's move on to the y-words. Your - I like your jacket. You're - I see that you're wearing your jacket. Yours - That car of yours is very nice. Your's - THIS WORD DOES NOT EXIST, STOP USING IT! And finally, we have the other t-word. Their - We are all chillin' on their porch. They're - While on the porch, they're drinking their beer. There - That's the porch we're talking about, right over there.

I'm back out of teacher mode now. I just felt the need to illustrate my point. And who knows, maybe I've helped someone along the way. I now relinquish my soap box. But beware, I'll be back to claim it again another day!

The "tomorrow justification"

You've used it before. You know others who've used it before. Heck, I just used it myseld about 5 minutes ago. It's the "tomorrow justification". And this is the time of year when it makes it grandiose apperance. It starts around Thanksgiving. It definitely goes on at Christmas time. And makes its grand finale on New Year's eve.

What is the "tomorrow justification," you ask? Well, first, it's not always a "tomorrow," but sometimes a "coule of days," "next week," or on occasion even a "next month." The last is not for the faint of heart, however, and recommended to only be used by professionals with years of experience with the "tomorrow justification."

Now, to the actual definition. The "tomorrow justification" is a means of allowing yourself guilt-free indulgence into the vice of your choice, because "as of tomorrow, I'm not going to be able to / let myself anymore." Now, how it relates to the aforementioned examples.

Case study 1: Sitting around the Thanksgiving table, having already consumed twice your normal daily intake. Grandma offers another 5 pound hunk of Turkey, 4 scoops of mashed potatoes, and enough gravy to swim in. Literally. Normally, you wouldn't dream of trying to polish all of that off. But then the "tomorrow justification" kicks in. "Oh, I'll start eating better again tomorrow, it's Thanksgiving after all!" Start swimming!

Case study 2: Holiday parties. And in comes your aunt, co-worker, friend, random person off the street, carrying yet another tray of cookies. "I can't eat any more cookies, I've already eaten 3 dozen today!" Ah, but then it happens. The "tomorrow justification." And in you go for dozen number 4! Go get 'em, tiger.

Case study 3: New Year's eve. This is where it all started. Sure, you've been drinking since noon. Sure, you already washed down enough nachos to feed a small country with a case of beer. But, then your buddy brings out the chicken wing dip. And another case. "I can't eat and drink all that" you plead. "I made a resolution to lose weight." To which your buddy, always looking out for your best interests, replies "New Year's resolutions don't kick in until tomorrow, you're fine for today." And so it began. The manner in which the "tomorrow justification" was born, and the manner in which it holds supreme.

So, until next time, have a great New Year's Eve, and a Happy New Year! I think my chicken wing dip's almost ready...