Sunday, December 27, 2009

Privilege of Anonymity

Although it is repugnant for me to do so because it has a chilling effect on free speech, I had to change the posting requirements for this web-page. Of course, I am happy to receive any and all comments here, and I will only censor spam (i.e., repetitive duplicate posts), hate speech, or obscene material. I believe the privilege to publish one's opinion anonymously is central to any functioning free society. Nevertheless, as this blog becomes more popular, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to moderate appropriately. I hope the new policy doesn't discourage too many people from posting here. Anyone who is interested in becoming an official contributer to this forum please feel free to send a writing sample to my email address.

Bloggers, please feel free to leave links with your comments.

As always, I am grateful for your participation!

World War III

How does one make a distinction between "occupation" and "invasion"? It should be obvious right? Most would immediately say that an occupation is temporary and an invasion permanent.  But, let us look more closely at these words.

My Encarta Dictionary tells me that the first definition of "occupation" is "1. the job by which somebody earns a living." That makes sense when I think about what the United States is doing in the Middle-East. But wait, we're talking about a military action, right? The traditional military use of  the word "occupation" according to Encarta, is "4. MILITARY the invasion and control of a country or area by enemy forces."  Hhmmn, there is nothing there about leaving the invaded country...

The order by which Encarta lists the definitions for any given word are supposed to be representative of the commonality of their usage, so I was not surprised when I looked up "invasion" to find that the first definition was perfectly military in its application, "1. a hostile entry by an armed force into a country's territory, especially with the intention of conquering it."  Again, there is nothing here about leaving the invaded country. I like this word better for a description of what our country has done in the Middle-East; there is no deception with this word.

Of course our troops in the Middle-East are planning to leave...just as soon as they are done building a few more permanent military bases. Just like in Viet Nam, our presence there will eventually change the culture into a more "American friendly" place to be. The US military never had a plan for "leaving" Iraq, because that is not what an "invasion" is all about.

Let us use words that convey the true meaning of our actions in the Middle-East when we talk about our "enterprises" there. And let us not pretend that we are conducting "police actions" or "occupations"--this is not a "war on terror." We are in the middle of nothing less than World War III! How many nations are involved in this global power struggle? I think they all are...

Please leave your comments below.  Especially if you disagree with me!

American Made US Flags

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Israel Admits Stealing Organs From Palestinian Corpses



Apparently, after some hemming and hawing the Israeli government has finally admitted to stealing organs from the corpses of dead Palestinians. Why is this not surprising to me? The Israeli government has committed countless war crimes against the Palestinians, and they show no signs of changing their ways. This story has barely been reported in the United States, so I thought I would make a point of mentioning it here.

As always, I welcome your comments.

DeGeneres To Palin On Gay Marriage Ban

Although I see her as one of those "centrist" liberals, I fully agree with Ellen DeGeneres on this subject.



If there are still conservatives who will debate with me that the right-wing is the enemy of freedom in the United States, I would love to hear your comments on this...

Friday, December 18, 2009

Wedding Photographer Ordered to Pay Same Sex Couple

It appears that the photographer, a Christian, felt that it was against her religious beliefs to photograph a same sex couple who later brought a civil suit against her for discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Taos judge agreed and ordered the photographer to pay the couple $6,600+. The case is on appeal, of course.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/judge_upholds_ruling_against_photographers_who_declined_work_at_homosexual_ceremony/

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Let Us Remember The Heroes

Do you recognize this man? Most will say he looks vaguely familiar, and he should...in my opinion, this is the greatest hero of the war in Iraq. This man had the courage and the fortitude to stand up and say what he believed in, in spite of the swift and brutal retaliation that he knew he would receive for doing so. This is the famous Shoe Throwing Reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi. He had the nerve to throw both of his shoes at Former President Bush in a show of disgust for the lies and propaganda spread by the Bush administration. He endured nine months of torture in an Iraqi prison for his act of defiance, and was released last September.

After his release, al-Zeidi said that he believes US forces "...will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary in a bid to kill me..." He has since gone into hiding with his family.

Please post a comment below...especially if you disagree with me!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Green Party Takes Over California Town


Arcata, California........this small northern California town has just become one of very few in the nation that has a City Council which is dominated by Green Party council members.

Read the article here: Hippie Kids Call The Shots

The controversial Green Party, has raised rancor among Democrats who claim that they take liberal, libertarian, and independent votes away from Democrat candidates. Many Greens feel that the Democratic Party hasn't done enough to stand up against the inhumane Republican party and its expansionist, pro-corporation policies. Some believe that the Democrats and Republicans are really all working for the same masters--a small 2% of the planet's population, which is in control of virtually all of the its wealth.





Wage Slavery In America (how they did it)

Here is a beautiful little gem I found on the web. This is a classic propaganda cartoon which warns of the dangers of state regulation of private enterprise. It is interesting to look at the statistics cited and compare them to our current situation. Comments anyone?

Friday, December 4, 2009

Number of "Unemployed" Americans Much Higher Than Reported

I didn't think of this until I saw this funny little movie, but there are a lot more people out of work than the news agencies are leading us to believe...now I don't feel quite so bad.



Call your representatives now and tell them to stop giving money to the military. We need road maintenance, bridges, schools, hospitals, housing, and food, not bombs to blow up schools and hospitals in other countries. Thank you!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Conservatives Still Deny Global Warming

I could be paddling a rowboat down Market Street in San Francisco after the poles have melted, and there will still be conservative fanatics who deny that humans are responsible for Global Warming or that it is even real.



Why this stubborn refusal to acknowledge the most respected scientists on the planet in favor of studies funded by lobbyists and political organizations with obvious ties to corporate interests? I see four possible reasons:

1. They believe it, but don't care: These people are so attached to the wealth created by their surreptitious business holdings that they are incapable of concern for their less fortunate peers, other species, or future generations of humans. This would be very disturbing, because it would mean that a huge portion of our population is actually evil.

2. They are simply to afraid to face the truth: Like ostriches who hide their heads in the sand when there is danger present, their fear doesn't allow them to admit their impending doom.

3. They are racked with guilt: Perhaps they just cannot face the guilt associated with their participation in the destruction of thousands of species of plants and animals; the possible extermination of the human race (or at least our civilization); and the destruction of an ecosystem which is the legacy of every person alive as well as those not yet born.

4. They are just ignorant: This is not very likely, but maybe they simply lack the intellect required to process the information available and come to the obvious conclusion that most intelligent people came to, back in the early seventies.

Such foolishness reminds me of the catholic church's pathetic attempts at stifling any theories that threatened their geocentric model of the universe. Whatever the reason for this self induced ignorance, we must try to educate them of the truth however difficult that may seem. The next time you hear some uneducated hick exclaim, "Global Warming? What global warming? This was the coldest winter I can remember, so how can the planet be warming up?" or, "These are just natural fluctuations in the Earth's climate." Please speak up and explain to them that only religious fanatics who cling to the notion of creationism and a flat Earth still doubt the unfortunate reality of global warming.



I liken our current situation to that faced by the inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) before western explorers arrived to find them eating each other just to stay alive. The island was rich in resources, but its superstitious inhabitants squandered those resources trying to outdo each other by carving and erecting enormous stone monoliths which were meant to bring luck to their individual clans. Had they used those resources to build ships instead of statues, their culture may have survived and even flourished. Earth is also a remote island with finite resources. Our skyscrapers are our monoliths, our nations are our clans. If we don't stop our petty clan squabbles and get busy building space ships and space colonies, we may lose the opportunity altogether. Humanity may revert to an agrarian society only to be wiped out eventually when the Sun or a nearby star goes supernova; we are struck by an asteroid; or some other global catastrophe wipes us out. We cannot continue to allow the greedy, ignorant, and/or incompetent to exploit and squander the Earth's resources, which are the legacy of all life on Earth.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Right Wing War Mongers Honest At Least
























I admire one thing about the right-wing...they are fairly straightforward about their objectives. See the PNAC's mission statement:

http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf

At least they aren't afraid to admit their evil intentions....

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Affiliate Marketing For Dummies

Although I generally consider this publication to be a right-wing propaganda outlet, I do like to stay informed on how the neo-cons are spinning the latest news stories to their favor. I highly recommend getting your subscription to USA TODAY today! Just click the link below for a special trial offer:

Subscribe to USA TODAY

Friday, September 18, 2009

Obama Seeks to Continue Federal Wiretapping Under Patriot Act


Even though President Obama voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act as a senator in 2006, he was opposed to provisions in the Patriot Act granting the FBI (and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies) powers for warrantless surveillance. Critics say that such provisions in the Patriot Act have the effect of nullifying certain rights guaranteed to US citizens under the Constitution of the United States (most notably the right to privacy). Now, as President, Obama seeks to continue those provisions which he himself voted against less than four years ago. Obama even goes further by taking the position that the Federal Government is immune to lawsuits stemming from warrantless wiretapping. We need to tell our Democratic leaders that there is not enough of a difference between them and their Republican counterparts. A government spying on its own citizens is the first sign of a fascist state. It is time to drop the draconian Patriot Act and restore the Bill of Rights. Let your government representatives know that you are in favor of restoring freedom and democracy by repealing the Patriot Act: Send them a letter now!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Financial Bailout

In a 2006 study, the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University(UNI-WIDER)reported that more than half of the world's wealth is in the hands of only 2% of its population, while the poorest half of the world's population owns less than 1% of the world's wealth. The study was based on data obtained from 2000, so it is likely that these numbers changed significantly during the Bush era.

Meanwhile, the US government decides to give hundreds of billions of dollars to the lending industry, even though both the Democrats and Republicans said they and their constituents were against doing so. It's not hard to see who they are really working for is it?

This movie from the Zeitgeist website offers some keen insight into the way things work and how they got so bad. Please share this with as many people as you can.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Democrats v. Republicans

new world order Pictures, Images and Photos

There is not enough difference between the Democrats and Republicans. Both parties have been ripping off the general public, since way before I was born.
Because I lived in very blue voting district during the last presidential election, for the first time in my life I had the luxury of "voting my conscience," instead of voting for "the lesser of two evils."
I voted for the Green Party candidate...not because I thought she would make a great president, but because I really agree with the Green Party agenda, and I wanted to send a message to the Democrats.
I agree that Obama was a better choice than McCain, but only by a small margin. The thing that worried me about Obama right from the beginning was his warlike and hawkish attitudes. We need to stop giving money to the military, and Obama never talked about that.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

The Final Frontier



"Human kind, as imperfect as it is, strives towards new horizons, both within and without the body and mind. Space is the ultimate horizon because, paradoxically, it is without end. And in the absence of the possibility of complete fulfillment lies the eternal challenge of the stars."
Wilson, Peebles, Arnold (235).

The United States was built with the pioneering spirit; when the first colonists were coming to America in the 17th and 18th centuries it was a dangerous and frightening enterprise. Most of these migrants just wanted a better life for themselves and their children. Europe at that time was like a pie that had already been sliced up. You were either a land owner or a renter and, if you were the latter, the chances of ever owning your own land were very slim. Once society gets to this point the lower classes start to become restless; these are the people most likely to take the risks associated with the crossing of an ocean into the unknown where they might find their own slice of pie. Today, we are again in a situation where the pie has been sliced up: But this time there is nowhere left to go but upwards.

I have always been interested in the exploration of space. Clearly, it is only a matter of time before the earth becomes uninhabitable, so we will have to colonize space someday anyway. Even if the Earth is spared from collision with a comet or asteroid; even if we don’t destroy ourselves with pollution; even if we are not wiped out by a super-volcano the grim reality exists that in order to survive as a race we must eventually colonize other planets.

The colonization of space will lighten the load on the resources of Mother Earth in many ways. It would also serve to help perpetuate our species. Many people I have spoken to regarding space colonization are against it. One of the things they always bring up is that they feel we should learn to take care of our own planet before we go mucking about with the rest of our celestial neighbors. I feel that this argument is both nearsighted and unrealistic: space in our neighboring area is already a radioactive wasteland. There are no developed life forms that we know of in our solar system which might be damaged. Also, when we begin to colonize our neighboring planets and their satellites we will bring the seeds of the Mother Earth with us...planting and propagating trees, vegetables, and herbs. We will bring with us animals, both domestic and wild. In Mars’ case, the very real possibility exists that we could cultivate the Martian atmosphere through the introduction of chlorofluorocarbons, and oxygen producing plants. In short, we could bring life and beauty to what were once empty and desolate worlds. Of course, a time could come when we are able to travel to nearby stars, and there we may find worlds already teeming with rich and diverse eco-systems: But we won’t have to use their resources for agriculture, mining, hunting, or animal husbandry. We will have the ability to manufacture anything we need, utilizing the unlimited energy we can generate from the safe use of nuclear power in space, and the limitless materials available in the heavens.



Nuclear energy production on Earth is, of course, a terribly dangerous endeavor; the toxic radioactive matter generated cannot be disposed of safely. In space however, nuclear waste could easily be deposited into the Sun, or shot out into the limitless empty space between galaxies. The argument that sending parcels of radioactive waste into the Sun would damage it are ridiculous; the Sun is nothing itself but a giant glob of thermo-nuclear explosions, since the Sun’s diameter is over 244 times that of the Earth the trivial amounts of material that we would be adding to it would have no more effect than the many objects that fall into it every day. Further, in his book The Sun Shines Bright, Isaac Asimov tells us that the Sun loses 4,200,000,000 kilograms of mass every second. There are 31,557,000 seconds in a year, so the Sun will eventually burn up the fuel it has and turn into a red giant; when that happens it will expand to engulf the inner-most planets, including Earth. Unfortunately, we might not have that much time anyway. In Target Earth, Jon Erickson says that the Earth has collided with asteroid and comets many times in the past. “On October 30, 137, the asteroid Hermes shot past Earth at an estimated speed of 22,000 miles per hour…” it was a mile wide and missed us by about 500,000 miles. If it had hit us, it would have generated an explosion equivalent to “100,000 on one-megaton hydrogen bombs,” more explosive force than all the nuclear weapons in the world. Hathor, Oct. 21, 1976, 1988 TA, Sep. 29, and on Mar. 22, 1989 FC, all are asteroids that have narrowly missed striking the Earth. In the event of some global catastrophe, our space colonies could help us by sending us “good packages” from the sky.

The raw materials available in space are limitless; in the The High Road, by Ben Bova, he tells us “we live in a solar system that is incredibly rich in raw materials. More wealth than any emperor could dream of is available for every human being alive in interplanetary space” (75). Just the asteroid belt between the Earth and Mars contains enough raw materials to keep legions of miners busy for centuries. In Spaceships of the Mind, by Nigel Calder, we read “A cubic kilometer of asteroidal material, which might be recovered from a single asteroid, will provide 6900 million tons of iron, 800 million tons of nickel, 40 million tons of cobalt and 8 million tons of copper” (77). With these resources the construction of spaceships, giant orbiting greenhouses, and factories capable of sustaining entire cities on Earth (as well as themselves) would be possible. Additional materials could be found on the Moon, Mars or other satelites. No longer would we have to plunder our own planet for the needs of our race: Instead whatever we needed could be sent to us from the heavens; great packages of food, Medicine, clothing, and building materials could be delivered anywhere on the planet within a few hours notice. It would no longer be necessary to destroy thousands of square miles of rain forest to grow coffee, rubber, and beef. No longer would we have to use our precious supply of fossil fuels to ship these products halfway around the planet: Roads would be used only for the transport of people. The cost would be negligible.


The greatest expense in space flight is escaping the Earth’s gravity well: once in the gentle arms of zero gravity, moving about from one place to another is fairly easy. We now know that the Moon has a considerable amount of water around its polar regions; water can be divided into oxygen and hydrogen, the fuels we need to propel our spacecraft. A colony on the Moon is now not only feasible, but it would pay for itself in a few short decades; we could build factories on the Moon. The lunar gravity is only one sixth that of Earth’s, making the delivery of goods from the moon fairly economical.

Other economic benefits could come from the tourist industry that would develop; souvenirs from space have great value to Earthlings already. Hotels restaurants and adventure packages could bring in billions of dollars. The creation of a new culture would occur; the “Spacers” as we might call them, would have their own dialect. They would develop their own traditions and new customs.

Some say we should learn to control our population in order to preserve our resources: I say let’s make more room for more people. Many of the products we now use on a daily basis are products of the space program; nylon clothing, gore-tex fabric, electronic transistors, and catalytic converters are just a few examples of the rewards we have already seen. Technology serves to increase the wealth of each and every person: Yes, technology is a double edged sword; but a sword with two edges can be a valuable tool when wielded with responsibility and compassion.

David Scott, 1999

It is unfortunate that we will be able to say we were alive when the rivers dried up; when the glaciers melted and the oceans rose; before the big storms came and the beaver and polar-bear died. .. David Scott 07/07/07

Works Cited:

Asimov, Isaac. The Sun Shines Bright, New York: Double day, 1981.

Bova, Ben The High Road Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.

Calder, Nigel. Spaceships of the Mind, New York: Viking, 1978

Erickson, John. Target Earth!, Pennsylvania: McGraw-Hill, 1991.

Wilson, Andrew, Curtis Peebles, and H.G.P. Arnold, Man in Space. Chicago: CLB, 1993

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Mao Dollar


In order to pay for Bush and Cheney's illegal and immoral war, the United States borrowed trillions of dollars from the industrialized nations of the world (most notably, China). In essence, China (and the other industrialized nations) now own most of the United States' assets.

Thanks to neo-conservative policies the world's economy is in ruins; the reputation of the US has been seriously damaged all over the world (especially in Muslim nations); millions of US citizens are out of work; millions of innocent people are dead and things may still get worse before they get better. Now conservatives are complaining that President Obama hasn't "fixed the economy" yet!

I hate to say it, but it will take more than six-months to fix the mess the conservatives have created since Bush took office nearly nine years ago. To those critics of Obama, I say this: You had your chance and you were wrong. Now shut the hell up, while we try to clean up your mess.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Iraqis Celebrate US Troop Withdrawal


The news media has been so focused on the death of Michael Jackson that people in the United States may not have noticed that US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities today.

The Iraqi people noticed though, and they have been celebrating the event with great joy. In an article from the Associated Press, one Iraqi man, Waleed al-Bahadili, is reported to have said "All of us are happy _ Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds on this day....the Americans harmed and insulted us too much." One Iraqi woman said that she "...finally feel[s] liberated."

A flagrant violation of international law, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has lasted over six years. It has destabilized the entire middle-east; caused the needless deaths of thousands (some say millions) of innocent Iraqi civilians, and seriously damaged the reputation of the United States all over the world; it has cost the US taxpayers trillions of dollars and destroyed the United State's (and the world's) economy.

The pullout is mostly symbolic, as some US troops will remain in the cities to "...train and advise Iraqi forces...," while the vast majority of them will be conducting operations from their newly built permanant military bases, outside of the cities.

Coincidental to the pullout, Iraq's oil interests were placed on the world market, allowing international investors to buy shares of Iraqi oil.


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Obama Takes Out Fly With Stunning Ninja Speed!

During an interview President Obama was being harrassed by a fly. At first he tried to bat it away, but the persistant fly kept hassling him while he was trying to make a point. Finally, he focused his gaze on the offensive insect, and with a quick motion knocked the little sucker out cold. A camera man filming the interview was actually able to get a clear shot of the stunned insect on the carpet. At first, animal rights activists protested, but the attorney general said the President was acting in self defense. The fly was later executed for its viscious attack on our fearless leader.

Check out the video!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Is Waterboarding Torture?

I my opinion, waterboarding is torture. Check out this video and see how long this guy lasts:


via videosift.com

There is a big difference between what this guy is enduring and what a suspected "terrorist" would be enduring, because he had the option of ending the experiment at any time. The person being "interrogated" doesn't have the ability to stop the procedure and therefore is enduring an excruciating  experience that can and has led to death.

The ACLU has posted the secret memos which they forced the Bush administration to release with a lawsuit; see them here: http://www.aclu.org/accountability/olc.html

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Iraqis Mark Sixth Anniversary of Invasion With Protests


Watching the news this morning I noticed that there was little to no mention of the thousands of Iraqis who turned out to protest the invasion and continued occupation of their country.

Even internet searches fail to produce results for the protest, which dwarfed the handful of paid protesters that were filmed pulling down Saddam Hussien's statue with the aid of US soldiers after the sacking of Baghdad in 2003. There are few people who don't remember the video footage of that event, which was aired over and over again.  

The failure of the US media to report on today's protest is reprehensible.  In fact there has been very little mention of Iraq in the news lately.  Meanwhile, US military spending continues to increase, despite the soaring national debt which has resulted from the illegal and immoral war in the middle east.

With some difficulty, I did manage to find this article on the protest

I welcome your comments, especially opposing viewpoints...

Friday, March 20, 2009

Bush Administration Tortures and Kills Whales

It has always been my position that the Bush administration and the Republican party in general are enemies of environmental protection and the protection of human rights. I have been citing a lot of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle lately, and there were a couple I noticed today which support my position.

As if we didn't already know it, the Senate Armed Services Committee has confirmed that the Bush administration has been in favor of and encouraged the torture of political and war detainees (prisoners) in contravention of international law and the Geneva Convention.

Also, only six weeks before leaving office, Bush and his gang of war criminals are also doing everything they can to ease restrictions designed to protect endangered species in favor of big business and the oil industry. Is anyone surprised? This kind of thing is consistant with the activities Republican politicians all over the country and at all levels of government.
December 14, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene

Nuclear Power

Recently, I have heard a lot of conservatives talking about how "safe" nuclear power is. Is it possible that they don't remember the nuclear-meltdown that is still affecting the Town of Chernobyl? They don't remember the Three-Mile Island debacle? Can it be that the never head about what happened in Japan a number of years back? Nuclear power is not safe. It has never been, and never will be safe to use on Earth.

However, nuclear power could be safely generated in space. Space is already radioactive, so there would be no harm from the radioactive by-products that result from generating nuclear power in space. Nuclear waste could be fired out of the solar-system or into the Sun, and it wouldn't hurt anybody. The energy generated could then be be transmitted to a receiving station on Earth, via microwave.
November 4, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
The Three Mile Island accident affirmed how well the western world designs and builds their nuclear power plants. Even in a worst case accident, US reactors' containment and other design enhancements will protect the public. If Russia (or Ukraine) built an inferior naval ship, we would conclude that America can build better ships. However with nuclear power, people want to lump all nuclear power globally together, when there are different standards in the western world. All of the used nuclear fuel produced in the united states in the past 40 years (that has provided 20 percent of our nations electricity) could be placed in an area the size of a football field and would only be seven stories high. Critics of nuclear power often cite the weight of the used fuel instead of the volume, because weight sounds worse than volume. Used fuel is made of some of the heaviest metals known to man. Fossil fueled plants do not have to pay for what they emit. Nuclear power has no emissions from the generating unit. In fact it only has small amounts of emissions from fossil fueled generators on site that are run periodically for a few hours for testing, but their only operational purpose and use is for emergency support of the plants safety systems.
Scottdavene, not only is space radioactive, radioactivity is all around you. Everything has a certain level of natural radioactivity. Though we can communicate using a wireless medium, we can not efficiently transfer energy through wireless means. Transmitters and receivers employ an external power supply to allow signal processing to occur.
It is unfortunate that nuclear power has not been more widely used globally, because it's benefits to mankind are overwhelming. Nuclear proliferation is a large concern, but we need to own that risk and manage it, not treat nuclear power as unnatural. We have the capability to produce proliferation resistant fuel and sell it to developing nations, so that they can benefit from the peaceful uses of nuclear power without acquiring the deadly capability to produce nuclear weapons. There is a wealth of technical knowledge and ideas behind nuclear power, just waiting for the people to become educated enough to allow and promote its growth. Nuclear power plants have a large upfront cost to build, but once they are online they drive older fossil fueled plants offline that are significantly more expensive to operate than a nuclear power plant. Our environment deserves the best source of energy that money can buy, and nuclear power is the only emission free source that can offer that on a large (baseload) scale. Nuclear power plants are almost always producing 100 percent power, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
http://www.terrestrialenergy.org/
November 6, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterNot believing, knowing
Thank you for your comment, Bel Air, Maryland.

However, I noticed that you didn't address the reason I say that nuclear power is not safe, and never will be safe on Earth. Never mind the very real possibility of a nuclear meltdown which you brush a side so casually, you have not addressed the problem of how we dispose of the deadly nuclear waste that your power plants will produce. Further, you pretend that you can accommodate or nullify any nuclear disaster, and fail to realize that a similar disaster in any other country would be just as deadly to the entire planet, regardless of where it occurs.

Please elaborate, and tell me why you can't build your reactors in space instead?
November 6, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
It takes a lot of work to perform this labor of love, please help to keep this site on the web

Election Tampering

There is only one way the Republicans can win this election--If they steal it, like they stole the last two elections.

The world is in deep doo-doo, if they do...
October 31, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous
I hope that any type of voter fraud that allows McCain/Palin to win the election is met with such fierce intolerance that Americans will stand up and protest in ways that have not been experienced since the 60's. I for one will not stand back and be silent.

On the other hand, if Obama is elected I will for the first time in my adult life, raise an American flag in front of my home. Hell, I might even buy a bumper sticker.....
November 2, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda

Security Guards in Hardhats

Watching Palin's speech on CNN this morning, I noticed that her bodyguards were dressed up as construction workers. I have never seen that in an election before. Ironic, coming from a person who spent $150,000 on wardrobe...
October 27, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene

Attack on Syria, the Republican "October Surprise"

Oh come on. Are you kidding me? At virtually the same time the press was reporting that the only issue McCain has a lead on in the polls is Iraq, we go in and stage a preemptive strike on Syria? I thought the news of the Holocaust flyers was disgusting enough. But the only surprise here was that it wasn't Israel attacking Iran.

I for one have contacted my representatives to express my concern and disgust at what appears to be a last minute attempt to to sway undecided stupid Americans to vote for McCain....at the cost of the lives of innocent people.

It's shameful.
October 26, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda
....at the cost of the lives of innocent people....you enjoy your freedom today because we killed the British.
You do not believe in preemptive strikes... Of course you always warn your bad neighbor before you hit?
Let's wait for the media or the rest of the fact like why it happened?
Of course the WTC victims were killed by BUSH and McCain.
Obama wants to attack Pakistan unilaterally and you have no problem with that.
Your euphoria with Obama is like Jim-Jones, without a second a guess you will take the Kool-Aid when he will ask you!
October 26, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterverbum
How casually you discuss war. Don't you understand that children are murdered in these situations? Oh, but not to worry--they aren't exactly like our kids, so aren't quite human. Bombs away!
October 27, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRosemary Molloy
I think he said if 'we have actionable intelligence'. He also said he would enter into discussions before he would use military action. And besides, that wasn't the point. The point was using military action to further his pathetic struggling campaign.

No, I do not prescribe to the Zeitgeist theory of the WTC, but I will be a prouder American if Mr. Obama is elected. You strike me as someone who ran out and put a flag on their pick up truck 3 days after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

One generalization deserves another.........
October 27, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda
Verbum is totally wrong. There is a big difference between defending your own country on your own soil and invading a peaceful, non-aggressive country.
October 30, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
It takes a lot of work to perform this labor of love, please help to keep this site on the web.

Fox News - Where Will They Go

Will Fox News start changing their bent towards the democrats? Being owned by Murdock..and knowing that it's all about money, I for one see a slight change in their coverage of the debates. Will they fold to what will bring in more viewers and more moola? Hmmmm. I'm wondering.
October 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda Funk
Brenda,
Thank you for your insightful comment. I have observed that before Bush came to power, the Fox network was perceived by most to be liberal. I was surprised, after the rise of neo-conservative movement that they moved so hard to the right. I wouldn't be surprised if, as you suggest, they now go back towards the left again.
Although, I personally am so far to the left that even the even the democrats appear to me to be "right-wing," I certainly hope that they win this election. If they don't I fear that this country, indeed the entire planet is in serious trouble. The war that the conservatives have rekindled against the Muslim nations is already likely to last for years, if not centuries. Hopefully, Obama can do something to ease the tension.
This war is really a continuation of the holy wars that began so many thousands of years ago. And unfortunately, it appears that religion has shown itself to be the biggest catalyst of hatred that the human race will ever see.
October 21, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous
Hey "Anonymous" you have some very relevant comments there: "And unfortunately, it appears that religion has shown itself to be the biggest catalyst of hatred that the human race will ever see."

A few years ago, there was a National Debate Forum that chose the following question to discuss: "Which has been more destructive in the history of civilization........................RELIGION or SCIENCE?"

It really made me think. I can't remember which side of the question won, but I know in MY mind that it would definitely be RELIGION! Thanks for reminding me.

BE A SUCKER FOR THE RICH...........................VOTE REPUBLICAN!
October 25, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJNH88KR
Yes, JNH88KR. Definitely, Religion has been more destructive in human history. I actually see science as the beginning of civilization. Before humans became self-aware and started to study their surroundings, we were basically wild animals. Unfortunately, that same self-awareness "I exist" led to question "How did I come to exist?", so perhaps Science and Religion were born at the same time and are somewhat interconnected.

I astonishes me how many poor and middle class people are Republicans, when it is obvious that the Republicans are doing everything they can to benefit the wealthy at their expense. Maybe it is a matter of lack of education...
October 26, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous
Interesting that this has taken a religious bent. I would recommend a very good book for thinking through the falicies and tragedies of Religion--Richard Dawkins - The God Dillusion.

For those who would say that religion is a personal and private issue, I would vehemently disagree. When it affects political and financial decisions in this country...it becomes public domain and can and should be criticized by every rational thinking person in this county.

No only has it been the cause of suffering and intolerance in the past....religion and the belief in a supreme being, no matter what the religion, is alive and well in this country. Religious zealots in this country are JUST AS frightening as fundamentalists in any other country or culture.

October 26, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda
I'd rather be rich so that I can help the poor without violence but with money.
(October 21, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAnonymous said "I personally am so far to the left that even the even the democrats appear to me to be "right-wing,"......The war that the conservatives have rekindled against the Muslim nations " ) <------------ Rich Muslim nations should stop supporting Muslim terrorist all nations w/ Muslim terrrorist group. Race and religious agenda using our political groups must be exposed.
October 26, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterverbum
I'll agree with the way this thread seems to already be headed and concur that more EVIL has been done in the name of GOD than any other point of focus period. It would be so nice if we could all somehow live in harmony complete with all our diversity. It would be so nice, if as a society we could agree that certain good things are just GOOD and not have to create a corresponding BAD to try to kill off with laws and wars. I too am so far left of center that I'm completely off the charts. It's good to have a place to vent a bit of it. Maybe this place and others like it can be the root source and drive of some of the change our world so badly needs.
December 2, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterFrank

$750 Billion Bailout

Why don't we spend $750 billion on building schools and improving the infrastructure? That would create jobs and solve a lot of other problems. At the same time it would build the economy from the bottom up. Rich people are tight fisted, we know they aren't going to spend money for no reason. The poor and the middle class have to spend every dime they have, just to stay alive, so making money available to them is the best thing we can do to ease the economic disaster that the morons in Washington and on Wall Street have created.
October 13, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
Everybody wants to be rich. But people who defrauded the banks and now our taxes should pay back what they took. Now the same people may get more money because they are failing. Jailing will just cost us more money. We spend more wisely when we earn it. Free money knows no limit, until the giver get bankrupt.
I got this from e-mail:
Here goes
> Investment Advice If you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one
> year ago, it would now be worth $49.00. With Enron, you would have
> $16.50 left of the original $1000.
> With WorldCom, you would have less than $5.00 left. If you had
> purchased $1000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00
> left. If you had purchased United Airlines, you would have nothing
> left. But, if you had purchased $1000.00 worth of beer one year ago,
> drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum
> recycling refund you would have approx. $214.00. Based on the above,
> the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.
> This is called the 401-Keg Plan.
October 26, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterverbum

World War III

As I predicted, Bush has started World War III. If Palin (and McCain) get elected, we will see an escalation of this war and continued financial disaster for the entire planet.

As usual, the Republicans can't win an election on the issues, so they have resorted to personal attacks--something they said they wouldn't do. Unfortunately, there are enough blindly patriotic sheep in this country that they might actually win again.
October 6, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
www.pocm.info

Palin is the Taliban

The referenda to stop gay marriage is NO different from the Taliban.
October 22, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBruce Becker
Thank you for the comment.
I know little about the Taliban, but I do believe that the neo-conservative movement can be compared to fascism.
October 23, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
I agree with your comment about neo-cons using fascist techniques. We see that from Congresswoman Bachman, setting up the House Un-American committee in her fantasies.

Nevertheless, relative to the use of Biblical scripture to rationalize legal stances such as the slew of anti-gay referenda on the ballot right now, the Taliban analogy is apt:

A fundamentalist group uses its forms of force, to make its points of view the law of the land, in an erstwhile non-religious society in our case. The religious right are making claims that 'the Bible' was always the law, and that the founders were Christian.

My point of view on the force of the BIble to make law, is best represented by www.POCM.info

Happy day.
October 23, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBruce Becker
Bruce,

I agree with you completly. I will check out your web suggestion.

B
October 31, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda

Palin - Biden Debate

Palin is one scary lady. Together with McKain, they could set this country's civil rights progress back by 150 years.

Unfortunately, I don't have much confidence in the Democrats either, and I'm sick of voting for the lesser of two evils. Although I am a registered Green, I will probably vote for independent, Frank Moore. He is a write-in in California, and most of the northern states.
October 5, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
Understandable that you would feel that way. Sometimes making a statement is the most important thing. However it's the principles of the democrats that I am voting for. There is a long tradition of corruption in both parties, but I still feel that the dems have a more honorable world and domestic view. It is SO critical that we end the republic regime and try to regain a balance that is desperately needed. I am prety convinced that given the opportunity, and keeping the house and senate a majority, Obama will look for a modern day New Deal to stablize the current situation the best he can and to promote service an hope.
October 11, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda
Kudos Brenda, I agree...........thanks for explaining it that way......O'bama all the way!
That is the realistic way to look at this.
October 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJoni

Financial Bailout

The Democrats and Republicans will push the financial bailout through, no matter what Americans really want. They threaten us by saying that we won’t have credit anymore, as if we are supposed to be grateful for the ability to pay interest on everything we buy. Why? They are the owners of the lending institutions that are failing. They pretend to be against it, but they are heavily invested in the lending industry and they will spend tax-payer dollars to save it. This is organized crime at its highest level.

The financial bailout bill only benefits the wealthy. If we are going to socialize any industry, it should be health care.

The hard reality is: we cannot continue to spend money on wars that we can’t afford, and which offer no economic returns.
October 1, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene
Ok if this doesn't spark some conversation, I don't know what will:
Why would anyone admit to being a Republican? To do so is to admit that you are in favor of:
Increased government spending
Interference in individual freedoms
Global Warming
Corporate Greed
Polluting and destroying the environment
Killing whales and other endangered species
Illegal pre-emptive war
Invading peaceful countries
Killing innocent women and children
Robbing from the poor and giving to the rich
Stifling free speech
Raping the planet for coal and oil
Forcing your children into loveless marriages
Racism

Republicans have consistently acted against:
Freedom and privacy of the individual
Peaceful co-existence with other countries
Better education
Clean alternative energy
Conserving the environment
Peace
Improving the countries infrastructure
Protecting endangered species
Cultural, religious, and ethnic tolerance

I know somebody out there must disagree with me!
September 27, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene

Replies

So what's up with your google ad ....... yes on 8?
October 26, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrenda
Brenda,

Thank you for your comments on these pages.

I don't have control over the ads that Google puts on my website. Google puts ads on the site based on the content of the pages upon which they appear.

Best Wishes,

Dave
October 26, 2008 | Registered CommenterScottdavene

I asked AI if it has been used to influence the U.S. Presidential Election and the answer was disturbing.

Question: Has artificial intelligence been used to influence the U.S. presidential election? ChatGPT: There have been concerns and investig...