Looking for an old Blue Cross ad

I'm going to put this out there and see what turns up.

When lived in Canada as a child I remember a Blue Cross commercial urging Canadians to buy travel insurance before going to the US because it lacked free national health care, and that not doing so could have deadly consequences.

It was narrated with a somber woman's voice and the deadly consequences were illustrated by souvenirs from the US that would fade away, indicating death. One of these souvenirs was a pair of porcelain figures of a man and a woman one with the word Cape and the other Cod and only one of them faded indicating the loss of a spouse or loved one.

What's interesting about this commercial is that it's Blue Cross trying to convince Canadians of just how dangerous not having insurance in the US is. I'm going to see if I can find this old commercial somewhere. If any here knows what I'm talking about and where to find it please contact me.

What if, every pro legalized marijuana smoker showed up out side DEA headquarters and lit up on the next 4/20?

That's right folks, today is double feature Thursday and the second what if is, what if every pro legalized marijuana smoker showed up out side DEA headquarters a lit up on the next 4/20?



Now put down the bong and think about that for a moment. What would happen? They would be forced to arrest well over 50 million Americans, about %15 of the population and that is a conservative estimate. That doesn't even include people like me personally. You see I've tried weed on more than one occasion and rarely have I ever enjoyed it. That doesn't mean however I think it's a good idea to outlaw it. My personal taste, or that of others, should not be enforced on others through the law. If they were the only legal vices left would be whiskey on the rocks, and romeo y julieta cigars, and lets face it, not everyone is built for that.

I digress from my original point tho. If every pot smoker in the county showed up out side the DEA on April the 2oth and lit up they would be forced to arrest 50 million people. Hell pot smokers wouldn't even need to do that, they could simply show up at their local police station and turn them selves in. Why do this? To force the goverment to spend time, resources, and most important, money on enforcing a stupid law. Their only recourse would be to legalize it to avoid the prison population from growing to 6 times what it is now. In other words what would happen if every pot smoker simply turn them selves in all on one day and flooded the system?

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

What if, high school ran to the 16th grade?

For today's what if question, what if high school ran to the 16th grade?

I really don't see why it couldn't. I see no reason why people can't come out of high school with a degree in office management, human resources, or information technology. Why do people who want to earn a decent living required to go into tens of thousands of dollars in debt? Isn't the point of an education system to prepare young people for work and society as a whole? Why does the current system stop just short of that finish line?

Now I don't expect a 16 year high school to pump out PhD's, but why not get all that premed stuff out of the way? Why can't people come out of high school ready to pass the bar examine? I think these are good question to ask anytime the question of education reform comes up.

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

What if, the rest of the westernized world imposed an embargo on the US over our lack of health care?

Ahh it's been awhile since I last posted, but I'm here today to start a new series of articles called, "What If?" I kick it off with this question. "What if, the rest of the westernized world imposed an embargo on the US over our lack of health care?" Why would they do this you ask? Well for the sake of argument, let's say it's because the rest of the west sees health care as a fundamental human right, and their reason for the embargo is because they see any nation with 50 million uninsured, and 100 million under-insured, as needing a swift kick in it's ass to get it's act together, and to fix it's problems.

Unpossible you say? Where too economically, and militarily powerful for that to happen you say? Are you sure? While we are the richest nation in the world our GDP is $5 trillion less than the EU, and the EU doesn't including Japan, Canada, or Australia, just to name a few. Additionally we are in the midst of our most economically vulnerable state since the great depression. As for our military it's a little busy right now with two other wars. What are we going to do? Bomb Toronto? Assassinate the Queen of England? Re-nuke Hiroshima, and Nagasaki? Yeah, I think not. What would we do? Well at first I think our government would panic, then blame across the aisle, then blame the rest of the world, then it would pass health care reform for all.

It would be like an intervention. EU is a friend we made when we backed them up in a bar fight, Canada is our sister country from mother England, and we helped Japan kick that nasty imperialism habit. They all really love us, and that's why they want to help us kick our own addiction, predatory capitalism. While they all enjoy capitalism in their own right, we enjoy it a little too much, like Barney Gumble and Duff Beer. It's getting in the way of what's really important to a country like ours, the welfare of it's people. I'm not saying the US needs to give up capitalism, just switch to a non-predatory, alcohol free kind. Of course like any addict we will swear up and down that we don't have a problem. We will curse out and threaten anyone that tries to confront us about our problem and help us. But in the end, after 90 days in rehab, we will come out stronger, more confident, and healthier, and we will thank everyone that helped us get there.

In any case that's just my 2 cents on the question, what if, the rest of the westernized world imposed an embargo on the US over our lack of health care? What do think would happen in this hypothetical situation?

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

One American's View On Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit of Happiness, In The Context Of The Health Care Debate

I made the above poster. It's just my point of view, but I hope others share in it, and spread this idea around. In this post I also included the text of the poster for easy copy, pasting.

One American's View On Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit of Happiness, In The Context Of The Health Care Debate

Life - The inalienable human right to live. All those who live seek to live seek health, for they inseparable, and interdependent.

Liberty - The inalienable right to freedom. While no person has the right to live shamelessly, the heavy, solid, chains of debt should not be incurred for the simple act of living, and seeking health.

The Pursuit of Happiness - Happiness becomes impossible to obtain in a system where both life, and liberty are held for ransom. It becomes both the duty of the citizen, and his duly elected government, to right the system, and put both back in the hands of the people.

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

I think I found the Jon Stewart of Canada

I like this guy, I'm gonna watch his show.

Seriously look Rick Mercer up on you tube. He not only has an interesting view of Canada, but the US, and the world as a whole.

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

Why the continued survival of human kind may require space elevators, and O'Neill-type colonies.

To put it simply, earth if a finite system. It has a set amount of every chemical element, drinkable water, breathable air, and farm land. The earth's population will most likely reach 9 billion plus inhabitants by 2050. Additionally, our industry runs as a linear system with in our earth's finite system. This contradiction is beyond repair with the nearly 7 billion people we have now, let alone 9 billion.

The only way to bring a resolution to the problem is to turn to the infinite resources of space. We can break the limitation of the finite earth, by bridging the gap between it, and space. A space elevator would serve this purpose, and O'Neill type colonies would provide room for a growing human population.

The human race may even escape it's own extinction from a catastrophic impact. Sooner or later, something, as big, or bigger, than what killed the dinosaurs will collide with the earth, it's not a question of if, it's a question of when. O'Neill type colonies may very well become Arks floating through space.

How we do this is a topic of growing debate, as the technology needed presents it self at a steadily increasing rate. What is lacking is the political vision. While a manned mission to mars is both exciting, and tempting, it is ultimately a goal that should come after human kind has a steady foot hold in space, and is able to build a mars lander primarily in space. Going to mars means little if we can't even live just a few thousand miles above our own earth.

Ultimately my argument is this, the human race doesn't desire a space elevator, and colonies It needs a space elevator, and colonies for it's future survival, and we need to keep this in mind during our efforts in the 21st century.

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

Allow me to explain it to you Lou Dobbs

Not too long ago Lou Dobbs said this;

"I thought we had gotten rid of this left-wing pest for a while," Dobbs said. "But I guess he is just resurgent. He is a blood-sucking leftist. You have got to put a stake through his heart to stop this guy. So you have to give him credit for resilience even if he is a lefty."

Recently he wrote to the Huffington Post and said this;

"I'm sorry if a Bram Stoker allusion is too literary for some, and for those who could not make what was seemingly an obvious connection, my deepest apologies and I'll gladly withdraw the latter part of my remark"

He seems rather miffed as to why some people might think he meant this literally, but I know why, and I'll explain it.

It's because you lost your creditability as a rational person with your recent birther debacle. When sane rational people make vampire reference jokes, people trust, that it is indeed, just a joke. When loony irrational people make vampire jokes, people question whether or not you really believe what you just said, or if it had deeper meaning, or if it was indeed just a joke. So you see, Lou Dobbs really has no one but himself to blame. If he hadn't utterly destroyed his reputation as a rational voice, nobody would be worrying about him, or his vampire jokes.

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

The Iraq war is illegal.

I was going to do a post about Iraq war being illegal, but then I realized even a cat can prove it.

Pinky the cat show - gently poking your brain with a stick

iReporting
Keith.J.Lemire

Sarah Palin is not just an idiot, but a dangerous idiot.

It's been said by many, including those on the right, in fact I do believe former Republican Christopher Hitchen was the first. Sarah Palin is not just an idiot, but a dangerous idiot. I will now use her latest act of stupidity, making the allegation that their will be death panels that decide the fate of children like her son, and implying that they will choose euthanasia over long term care, based on their economic value to society. To prove beyond any reasonable doubt that she is not only an idiot, but a dangerous idiot.

For starters she did this despite the fact that every American citizen with severe mental, and/or, physical disability is already being taken care of by the government run social security programs that helps families, or simply take over all care when family is not in the picture. The fact that she said this can only mean a few things. First, she was told to say this and squawked it out like a pea brained parrot that has no concept of the weight that words carry with them. Second, she thought this little gem up on her own, and put it out there for the purpose of creating fear. Third, whether she was told this, or came to her own conclusion is a moot point if she does in fact believe the bull. Let us examine why these are all dangerous.

If she did simply, squawk like a parrot, what she was told to, then she is a puppet. Puppets are dangerous because they are controlled from a far by pulling strings. We the people never get to know, see, or hold accountable, the puppet masters. These unseen individuals can be anyone from party hacks, special interest, or religious loons in the order of the christian coalition, or worse. Point being she doesn't think, feel, or act with out the input of some outside force. This is dangerous.

If she thought this one up on her own then she is a fear monger of the worst degree. Failing to understand the natural progression of human emotion. Fear leads to panic, then chaos, destruction, anger, then hate, and if you hate someone, something, or some group enough you wind up with atrocities on a grand scale. Many of histories most notorious monsters used this to great effect. Remember their are people like Orly Taitz who believe that their is some grand conspiracy, and that their country was stolen from them. People that truly believe that, are also truly desperate, and will fight back at any cost against an imaginary enemy, and they will spill blood. I realize that as I describe this darkness, that I myself am stirring emotions of fear, but I am at a loss on how to describe fear itself, the only real thing that we should be fearful of, as FDR pointed out in his historic 1933 inaugural address. "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear... is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Fear-mongers are dangerous. Especially the idiotic ones that can't see beyond their own nose, or to where fear leads.

Last but not least, far from it in fact, if she believes this bull. If she is willing to believe that, their will be government sponsored death panels that are willing to send children to their death, then what else is she willing to believe? That the earth was created 5000 years ago? In "holy wars" that are the will of God? That the "end times" are upon us? That she has a holy role to play, and that it might be her christian duty to rain fire across the land in the form of a nuclear holocaust? Where does she draw the line? I ask because I haven't seen her draw one yet, and that worries me. The founding fathers believe that nobody should be discriminated against because of their religious believes, but then again their were no nukes back then either. They also believed in separation of church and state, Thomas Jefferson coined the term him self. It is wholly unconstitutional for the government, to promote the will of god, or any other deity, by pen, or by rifle. Yet people like Sarah Palin ignore all that, and use government to promote their own narrow view of the bible. If people like Sarah Palin are willing to ignore the first amendment, what about the rest? Will someone like her run for an unlimited number of Presidential terms because they claim it to be god's will? What about the bill of rights? or human rights? Are non-christians subhuman in her eyes? Will we be forced to convert to a narrow view of the christian belief if we want to vote, go to school, or get a job? Can you see why I have a problem with her? Can you see why she is a dangerous idiot?

I think I stated my case pretty well. I think any reasonable person would read this, and come to the same conclusion as I have. Sarah Palin is a dangerous idiot, and should be kept as far away from the white house as possible. I rest my case, and make my exit. I need a drink.

iReporting;
Keith.J.Lemire

Dear Sarah Palin; The Death Panel Already Exists and People Have Already Been Judged, an open letter.

On May 30, 1996 Linda Peeno testified before congress that she was responsible for the death of a man by denying him life saving care. She testified that no one held her accountable, and instead, she was rewarded with a six figure raise.

How dare you Mrs. Palin, how dare you accuse a possible solution to this problem with the monstrously sick crime that is already taking place. Everyday your fellow Americans are being put before panels that will decide their fate. Only they never get to see the faces of the people that hold their fate, and they get no appeals. They are powerless, vulnerable, and they need our help. They are, our neighbors, our friends, our lovers, and our children, and we the people, that are stuck in this broken system demand to be given a way out. Obama promised us change to a broken health care system, and we yelled, cheered, and with the power of our vote put, not only him, but his entire party into majority power status. They know what we want, they know that we put them there, and they know we can replace them. They answer to us, we the people.

However you are lucky, or rather your son is. If tragedy should take you, and your husband away from this world, and from Trig, he would be taken care of. His food, shelter, cloths, and medical expenses would all become covered under social security, and medicare. He would most likely spend the rest of his life in a group home with people much like himself, and a 24 hour nursing staff who will not only take care of him, but will spend time with him, play with him, and laugh with him. Social security is the safety net for all people like Trig, and it is a government run, publicly funded, system that has lasted 74 years. Would a private, or public enterprise whose sole purpose is to make a profit take care of Trig? Or would they put him before a panel? I think we both know the answer to that question. So why are you advocating in favor of the death panels, that really do exist, for so many of your fellow Americans?

iReporting;
Keith.J.Lemire

United We Stand, Divided We Fall Flat On Our....

And make no mistake about it, trusting the health insurance industry, is the equivalent of trusting Lucy van Pelt, to hold the football.

Health care CEO's really do smile when they do this,
after all they make billions of dollars this way.

And yes, America is Charlie Brown in this analogy. It's a pretty fair, and simple one too. Lucy is a health insurance company, and the foot ball your policy. Lucy promises to hold the foot ball until Charlie Brown kicks it, just like a health insurance companies promises to, hold in trust, the policies we buy. Lucy tells Charlie Brown that she will hold the foot ball in place when he comes in for the kick, just like a health insurance company will tell you your policy will be there when you need it. Now we both know Lucy isn't going to let Charlie Brown kick that foot ball, she is going to pull it away for her own sadistic amusement. Insurance companies do this for profit. When ever they deny a claim, cancel on a policy holder, or purge an employer's policy from their coverage, they pull the foot ball away from someone they made a promise to, and another fellow American lands on their back.

Let us examine how they convince people that they are the only ones who should be allowed to hold the foot ball of health insurance, despite the bad habit of pulling it away when we need it most.

Argument 1: Government will ration care.

This is different from insurance companies how? At least we can hold government accountable with our vote. And where did the idea come from that the government would ration health care? Canada, France, Great Briton, and Japan certainly do not. Any party in a free nation like ours would quickly be removed from power if they started killing grandma, and while health care companies haven't started euthanasia of old farts yet they do dump them at homeless shelters, other hospitals, and even at the homes of total strangers.

Argument 2: Government will choose your hospital, and your doctor.

Again this is no different than the way things are now. Your insurance provider chooses which hospitals you can, or can not go to, and who your doctors can, or can not be. They even have their own claim review doctors who decide, weather or not the treatment plan, or specialist recommendation of the doctor you did see, is "medically justifiable", and when that review doctor's bonus depends on denying a certain amount of claims, you can bet plenty of people will have that foot ball pulled away at this point too. Would this same problem exist in a government plan? Maybe it would in an American run system, who knows? What I do know is that it's not a problem in any of the above mentioned countries. All those Canadians that come to Minnesota to see a specialist still have that care paid for by their government. All those specialist are there, right by the boarder, because working with the Canadian government is easy, and profitable. That might not always be the case as doctors here are increasingly buried by insurance paper work, and insurance red tape, that takes up to %40 of their total time, and forces them to watch people suffer while they stand by helpless. Would you want to stay in a system, or a country, that forced you to do that? In the future, Canadians might not need to leave their country to see an American doctor.

Argument 3: A Government bureaucrat will stand between you and your health care.

I'm starting to see a patten here, because we already have corporate bureaucrats standing between us, our doctors, our drugs, and our care. It seems the overall strategy here is blame the reform for what the health care industry is already guilty of. Again I will point out the difference between a corporate bureaucrat, and a government bureaucrat. A corporate bureaucrat is paid, by their company, to prevent cost by denying care, and you can't do anything about it. A government bureaucrat is paid, by your tax dollars, to provide you with efficient health care, and if your not happy with it you can get his supervisor, the governor of your state, voted out of office. If the problem is with the whole party we can vote them into minority status. Remember how everyone was pissed off at the republicans by the 2008 election season, yea democracy at work right there.

Argument 4: It's socialist!

So? If your argument is socialism is evil your wrong. Only human beings, are good, or evil. Socialism is just an idea, it's inanimate, and is only as good, or as evil as the people who wield it. Religion can be used for good, or evil. Weapons can be used for good, or evil. Law enforcement can be used for good, or evil, and in fact, our law enforcement is socialized. If your argument is because Hitler was a socialist, wrong again. He was a national socialist, and a dictator. One of the first things the nazis did was force democratic socialist to wear red triangles, and they were some of the first sent to the concentration camps. So if your going to compare a group of people that wants democratic social reform, at least have the decency to compare them to this guy, and not the guy with the funny mustache that tied to kill all the democratic socialist in his own country.

I could go on, and on, but I don't feel like it any more. Having a battle of the wits with the neo-cons out there is like playing chess with a 7 year old that knocks over all the pieces when you declare checkmate, and then declares him self the winner. Tho at least in a chess game you can reach over the table, and clock the ass hole. At least that what I did when my brother tried that crap.

Keith.J.Lemire,
iReporting

P.S.

For all your Christan right wingers out there.

"Then shall the king say to those on his right hand, Come ye, the blessed of my Father, inherit the reign that hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I did hunger, and ye gave me to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye received me;naked, and ye put around me; I was infirm, and ye looked after me; in prison I was, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungering, and we nourished? or thirsting, and we gave to drink? and when did we see thee a stranger, and we received? or naked, and we put around? and when did we see thee infirm, or in prison, and we came unto thee? And the king answering, shall say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] to one of these my brethren -- the least -- to me ye did [it].Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Go ye from me, the cursed, to the fire, the age-during, that hath been prepared for the Devil and his messengers; for I did hunger, and ye gave me not to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me not to drink; a stranger I was, and ye did not receive me; naked, and ye put not around me; infirm, and in prison, and ye did not look after me.Then shall they answer, they also, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or infirm, or in prison, and we did not minister to thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of these, the least, ye did [it] not to me. And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during."

-- Matthew 25: 34-46 Young's Literal Translation

Internet Effect Thoery, Does Lou Dobbs Pass the Test?

Short version, no. Long version no x 10^44.

Let us run "Lou the birther" through the motions of the internet effect theory.

-Step 1: Lou Dobbs decides to take up the birther story, support it, and add his two cents to it.

-Step 2: Lou's take on the birther movement hits the internet. Where it has existed for months before Lou ever made his first comment, and is promptly, and vigorously, chewed-up , spat-out, and tossed in to, forgive the pun, loony news bin.

-Step 3: This is the point where, based on the mountain of evidence, Lou Dobbs should have come up with a new story, and started back at step 1. However, as we all know, that is not the case. Instead Lou is fighting against the internet effect, and argue that he is not yet satisfied evidence provided. This is all fine, and good when their is little to no evidence, BUT their is a treasure trove of undeniable evidence, that would satisfy any rational skeptic.

This brings me to my next point, Lou Dobbs is delusional loon that has no place in CNN, or any other serious news organization. Would you call a man trying to swim up Niagara Falls rational? How about a man that believes the world is only 5000 years old? A man that believes little girls need to be circumcised to prevent future sexual immorality? That Jews control all the banks, and world resources? That flying a commercial air liner into building is the will of God, or any other deity?

Anyone that believes in something contrary to evidence, and rational thought is a delusional loon, and no amount of money, or network protection is going to hide that from people. It's time for CNN to pull the plug on Lou Dobbs, before he drags the whole network down, so he can pursue his new career over at Fox News. On second thought even Fox isn't subscribing to this birther crap, so I guess Lou is worst off than I thought. Maybe Orly Taitz is hiring real estate agents.

Fellow iReporters, and bloggers, I implore you to demand CNN deal with Lou Dobbs. Write an iReport in your own words describing why, you think, Lou Dobbs should be pulled off the air.

The Internet Effect Theory, How The Light of Instant Information Exposes the Bearers of False Witness and the False Witnesses They Bear. part 1

Straw man arguments, fear mongering, fuzzy math, and misinformation. All seem a lot easier to spot now, and days. This is in no small part thanks to the internet. Indexing, and reference books, have been replace by Google. Endless rooms of endless video, and audio tape, have been replaced by You Tube. Anyone, from anywhere, at any time can look up a representative's voting record, or criminal record. Collaboration is as easy as joining your favorite chat room, or forum. And bringing facts to debate, or argument is as simple as a hyper-link. This does not bowed well for those who defend their positions with false witness.

When Pat Robertson, and Ralph Reed, started the Christian Coalition in 1987, their is no way they could have predicted the world wide web boom of the early nineties. If they had they would have done everything in their power to stop it, not because %90 of the web is porn, but because it has became the ultimate median for the free exchange of ideas, and put every verifiable lie, and fact, ever recorded, at the tip of your fingers.

The whole point of the Christian Coalition was to get religion interjected into politics, and government policy. Then to make a party of god, the coalition's choice was the republicans, and make them an over-whelming permanent majority. Then put god above all other authority in the country, and with people like Pat Robertson claiming to have a god hot line it would make them, the defacto god appointed rulers of the country, just like Iran, except with christianity. To pull this off was the Christian Coalition was going to need, a whole lot of money, and whole lot of support, but most importantly, they were going to need to tell a whole lot of lies.

This is where the Internet comes in, and the Christian Coalition, and other like them, hit a major stumbling block. Lies are now exposed in near real time, and the false witnesses that bear them immediately scrutinized. This leads to millions, of random, anonymous people, hyper-linking related information to the exposed lie. Showing it's origins, history, related lies, and the goal behind them. This whole process has been evolving over the last decade, and was at it's most ruthless, and visible in the 2008 elections. Hilary Clinton was exposed on her sniper fire lie. The McCain campaign was exposed as rove-politics-as-usual. Sarah Palin was exposed over, and over again, to be not only an idiot, but a dangerous idiot. As for Barack Obama nothing legitimate ever came to light, and stuck, so his opponents were reduced to egregious allegations, from his being a secret muslim, to his being the antichrist in living form. Even now the process is at work on the latest lie. As multiple sources point out the lobbyist connections to the town hall out rage events.

The internet effect has also reinforced journalism. While the quality of news media has most certainly gone down, the volume produced has skyrocketed. In a news paper format this would result in unexciting, but important news stories getting buried on page A6, continued on page A14, with an Ikea ad stuck right in the middle. In the case of cable, or evening news, such a story would get a blip on the scroller, and then be promptly forgotten. On the internet however their is no page A14, and the internet never forgets. Any piece of news that hits the web is destine to be read, reviewed, proven, or disproved, and ultimately hyper-linked to, and from, any remotely related story. Fark, and Digg are the best examples of this. In fact when it comes to obscure news Fark is often the first place it hits before major network news, as exposed by Drew Curtis, in his book, It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap As News. What all this means is a seemingly small, and unimportant story doesn't need to stand, or fall on it's own. It becomes part of a greater whole, and its legitimacy determined by where it fits in to that whole. Is it the final piece that connects many small stories in to a major whole story, or just more wharrgarbl. Thanks to the internet, news is no longer fact based solely on it's source. It has become more like a scientific hypothesis. A journalist, or even a blogger, puts a news story out on the web, and it becomes subject to unforgiving trail of review, research, and testing. Only after passing this pier review trial, does it become recognized as a quality theory, that rational people accept, and use to make decisions in their day to day lives.

End part 1

Why the full name?

I was asked by a friend why I attach my full name to my blog. Why not stay anonymous so I can say what ever I want, and not worry about repercussions.

Seemed like a good excuse to make my first video

And there you have it.

Update: Here's a picture of the Greater Internet Dickwad Theory from Penny Arcade.


You can buy this as a T-Shit, and it is da shit. Oh and the original comic strip is here.

Anthony Weiner is my kind of democrat

This is only my fifth blog post but I think it would be safe to say, that if you read my past posts I have shown my self to be an in your face, kick your ass, kind of commenter. I appall hypocrisy, demand "facts" come with supporting evidence, and my only true ideal is rationality. This is why I like Anthony Weiner of New York's ninth district. He's young, has good ideals, polite, and apparently, really pissed off. I can't really blame him for being mad, because not only is his last name a euphemism for penis, but he is also an idealist in non-idealistic times, and that is why I like him. He is idealistic, and pissed off. If this was the 1830's I'm convinced Anthony would have kill off half of the republican house members in duals, Andrew Jackson style.

Case, and point.

Since we don't have duels anymore people like Anthony need to get creative.

Here we see Anthony offering the republican party a gun, and daring them to step out side with him so they can put this issue to rest in a nice gentlemanly style. Of course since republicans are a bunch of hypocritical, cowardly, clowns none of them take him up on his offer.

Anthony Weiner represents what I hope the future of the democratic party will look like. A party of rational people willing to put their boot up the ass of irrational, hypocritical, fear mongering, cowardly, dullards, who claim to be the moral authority, that have the welfare of the whole country at heart, all the while only doing what is only good for the top 5 percent. If more people like Anthony were around to chastise, challenge, and call out people on their nonsensical bull shit, then we would have a lot less fools in government. They would be a lot easier to spot, and it's a lot harder to get elected when you have been proven a fool. No party would want these fools as members because if your party is proven to have too many of them time, and time again then your party will be labeled as a party of fools, and your party's agenda would become a fool's agenda, and that would lead to your agenda being marginalized by the voter.

And that is why Anthony Weiner is my kind of democrat.

Obama market connection only valid when it's on the down swing? Bull Shit!

The right has a hobby, blame the 10 year in the making market meltdown on their favorite negro-in-chief, their words not mine, President Barack Obama. Right leaning market witch doctors have been at this even before Obama took office. Of course if you've been following the stock market you'll notice more than a few market tarot card readers saying the word bullish. What they mean by that is, we can look forward to is approximately a 17 month long up ward trend, and if you ask Larry Kudlow, it's because Obama's master plan to destroy the free market failed. Because the free market is just that bad ass. In other words the right only gives Obama credit when it makes him look bad.

This of course this is all bull shit.

The market did not go down because of Obama, it is not going up because of him either. The animated stock ticker is not a magic tell all of how well the economy is doing at that moment, or how good, or bad the president is doing at his job. It's just one of many complex indicators of how well the investors think the economy is going to preform, and with Christmas right around the corner it's kind of a no brainier. Money will be spent, retailers will post profits, and stock will go up. The market is going to take an up swing at least for a little while.Unless of course Rush Limbaugh cancels Christmas to help Obama fail, like he hopes for.

This is my real pet peeve however. Here we have a group of people who claim to be expert market professionals, whose main duty is to give good sound market advice, lying to our face about the market, to further their own political goals. If your an expert, and a professional, you should be expected to put your pettiness aside, and just give us the numbers. Failing that you should at least be able to defend your reasoning , and behavior to a comedian.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jim Cramer Extended Interview Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

apparently not...

I almost feel bad for Jim Cramer in that interview. But then I remember that he was really asking for it in the days, and weeks leading up to that beautiful jewish bitch slap that Jon Stewart delivers, and like a kid who throws a rock at a wasp nest, I can't help but laugh when he gets stung in his dumb ass. The more serious question here is why is it up to Jon Stewart, a comedian, to call this foul bull shit. Economics is a science, you can earn a PhD in the field, and if CCP can hire one to help them with their pretend economy, to help their player base with their pretend money, I demand the same from MSNBC, FOX, CNN, and CBS when it comes to the real economy, and real money. Is a clinical level of professionalism really so much to ask?

If we can arrest pedophiles for raping children overseas, why can't we arrest the CEO's of Nike and Wal-mart for child slavery?

In 2003 the PROTECT Act was sighed into law making it illegal to travel overseas and abuse children. This is unquestionably good thing, unless your a pedophile. If you are, please follow this link and turn yourself in. This law brings a bit of are own hypocrisy in to the light as well. Personally I hold the individual who would rape a child in the same regard as one who would enslave a child and really don't see the difference. Rape is all about violating an individuals freedom, will, and decency for the purpose of gaining sexually and, or, egotistical gratification. All that holds true to slavery except the end goal is economic gain. Even then sexual exploitation maybe a side result, or even the means to economic gain.

That brings me to my point. If slavery is equal to or greater than rape, why is it an acceptable practice for Corporate America? Why are people like Mark Parker and Lee Scott allowed to enslave people, including children? Think about it for a moment before you continue reading.

It's because by time we realized what was going on we've become dependent on it. People like Lee Scott have enslaved over a billion Asians at the point of dictatorial governments bayonet, and has enslaved 304 million Americans at the point of a dollar sign. Our slave made goods are so cheap that no one can compete with out using similar business strategies, and with more and more good paying middle class jobs going overseas, to these slave operations, we can't afford to buy anything but cheap slave made goods. How did they pull this off? They used a face synonymous with slavery to sell us on slavery.

Yea that's right, I'm going after the king of air, Michael Jordan.

Now I'm confident Michelle Jordan had no idea back then that the shoes he was helping to sell were produced mainly by slave labor. I have to ask tho, now that it is common knowledge, what is his excuse? I don't see how any rational moral being can endorse slavery. I find it especially appalling coming from a descendant of slaves. I don't blame people for buying slave made goods, like I stated earlier many people simply don't have a choice any more simply because of shrinking options, and economic constraints. I would like to think that if Michelle Jordan had known all those years ago he would have told Nike to go fuck them selves, and step up as a representative of not just the Black community but for America as a whole and said that he would not buy slave made goods, and implored the rest of the world to do the same. In fact he still could, I think I'll use this opportunity to ask him.

I, Keith. J. Lemire, implore Michelle Jordon to stop the endorsement of slave made products, and to, speak out against the companies, and their management who abuse such practices.

Man just imagine if he had done that 22 years ago. I think a lot more people would still have their jobs.

Well we have touched on the how. and really asking why is to obvious since it will just boil down to good old fashion greed, money, and power. So let speculate on the how do we fix it. I say we start by getting a law passed that is like the PROTECT Act except it extends our employment laws such as minimum wage, and that whole no slavery bit to anyone employed by an American company either directly, or indirectly, no matter where they are or what their citizenship is. This law would include all the same penalties for those who would violate such laws. This alone would destroy any and all incentive there is to overseas slave labor because not only does it take away the economic appeal, but anyone exploiting slave labor would be risking their own freedom as well. Now is this a realistic solution? I don't know I'm not an economist, nor a lawyer, but I do recognize evil when I see it. It's a yellow smiley face, and promises lower prices in exchange for my freedom, and morality.

Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three will get you beer with the president

A cop gets a call to respond to a possible break and enter. He arrives at the address where he finds a damaged front door. He finds a man inside the home. The officer not knowing who the man is, asks for identification. The man begins yelling at, and accusing the officer of being one of the most amoral type of people we have in modern society, but in the end does show the officer his driver license. The officer realizes the man lives there and begins to leave. Now one would think that this is the end of the story. However it is not. The man follows the officer as he leaves the home, continuing to yell and insult him. The officer then loses his cool, and arrests the man on his own property for violating a law meant to enforce decent human behavior in public areas such as parks, and shopping malls. An unstoppable ignoramus has crashed headlong into a unmovable dolt. However this sundae of intrigue comes with a cherry of short sightedness, and poorly expressed words on top. The president of the United States of America tossed in his two cents and managed add a bit more fuel to this fire.

By now most you realize who I'm talking about, those of you who don't I commend you on your physical ability to literally place your head firmly up your own ass. That being said most of you are probably wondering who is the ignoramus, who is the dolt, and why I think that way.

The ignoramus in this case is Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. One of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, he was arrested the afternoon of July 16, 2009 at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. I call him a ignoramus because it's the only thing that can explain his conclusions and subsequent actions. He assumed that officer Sgt. James Crowley had to be a horrible racist pig who was solely there for the purpose of harassing him in his own home. To come to this conclusion he must have been completely ignorant of what forcing your way into a home, even your own, makes you look like to the out side world. On top of that he continued to berate Crowley as he was leaving, meaning he had to be at best ignorant of what would happen next, or at worse purposefully baiting Crowley into making his own mistake. However I do believe that Gates was just being an ignoramus since I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and hope for the best in people.

This brings us to the dolt officer. Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police. Another three minutes of patience and he would have been in his car and on his way with the satisfaction of being the bigger and more rational man. Instead he let his ego get in the way and arrested Gates on a very thin technicality. Only the most supreme dolt could be blind to the ramifications of this. This is tantamount to Gates triple dog daring Crowley to arrest him, and see what happens, and Crowley fell for it, like a dolt.

What Gates and Crowley may have actually looked like.

But the cherry on all this, the last detail that really brought all this to the forefront was Obama. It really was just a poor choice of words on his part. All he had to say was, "it could have been handled better by all parties involved." If he had simply said that no one would have been able to make any rational argument against his comments. We would have still seen the tirade of predicable irrational attacks. Hell I can already hear Glenn Beck accusing Obama of, "throwing his own race under the bus", for not automatically siding with Gates if he had kept his comment simple and unbiased. Hell they even try to make Obama seem unpatriotic based on his choice of beer. I wounder who else endorses Budweiser products.

Oh right...

On the subject of the beer summit I happen to think it was a brilliant idea. alcohol is the great social lubricant after all, and when your part of a media cluster fuck of this magnitude everyone could use a little lube.

A long time ago in a one bed room apartment far far away. . .

A guy looked around at the world around him and exclaimed, "what the fuck is going on?". He simply could not make sense of what was going on in the world. Their were news outlets that claimed to be fair and balanced but in truth were vaguely disguised propaganda. Even news outlets that pointed out the many lies and hypocrites of these bearers of false witness had prominent members of their own staff, putting their own spin, on the same bile they claimed to be opposed to.

The guy was stunned when he realized that creationism, a religious dogma, was still being pressed on to schools, science teachers, and students despite the fact that it had been ruled unconstitutional over 83 years ago. If that was not enough he felt true dread when he realized that several individuals, running for the highest office, in the most powerful nation on earth, still held true to this belief despite the over whelming scientific evidence that proved other wise. True terror is what he felt when he realized that any one of these literal believers, revelations and all, could someday have their finger on the button.

That was not the end of it however. The guy soon realized that many churches, a once shining beacon of morality, had some how become evil and corrupted, playing host to con men and hypocrites. Instead of teaching love, acceptance, reason, and understanding, hate, bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance now flowed from the lips of men and women who claimed to speak for God.

So this guy, this absolute nobody with no higher education, did the only thing a guy could possibly do in the strange, backwards, bizarro world, that threaten his very sanity. He stared a blog.