Ultimate Masochism

Writing is like hanging out with the woman who is the love of your life, but rejected you. It's that feeling that, "It could be so great," but it just isn't and hurts like hell every time you see here. That's what writing is like for me anyway. It's pain. It's torture. It's, I don't know, like that cancerous tumor in "Phenomenon."

Why am I writing this? I just came to the realization that I don't like creating things as much as I used to. I used to love sitting at Starbucks with my journal to just write. But now I realize why. I never go back to those journals once I write in them. They sit in my closet, or, if I'm lucky, I lose them.

The reason it's so hard for me to enjoy writing now is that I am my harshest critic. I can read anything I've written in the past, anything I've been proud of, and shred it to pieces. I can read anything that people in my classes liked and disagree with them all, preferring to believe that it actually sucked. In fact, I look more forward to my classmates harshly criticising something I wrote than them praising it. Weird, I know.

The truth is, I can't be pleased by anything I write. It tears me to pieces knowing that this is so. I want to pick up something I wrote and be proud of it. I appreciate it when people say that something is good, but in the back of my head I always feel that they are lying.

What does this mean for me writing in the future? Eh, same ol' same ol'. I'm a masochist. I'll torture myself until the end of days. Until next time.

Today's Media Sucks

I'm usually an optimist when it comes to our society. "Oh, we are fine," I say. "It was just as bad in the 1950s." I still believe that - spousal abuse was kept secret and approved of, racism was out in the open and accepted, etc. However I have to admit that the current generation of music, television and the movies are crap... and harmful. There are two types of dangers associated with the deterioration of the arts. The first is, all of our art forms are going to turn to crap. Look at our movies; they are mostly formulaic remakes of one another. The second danger is a more serious one. The popular arts today are pushing sex on children like it has never done before.

Think about today's hit movies. There are good re-dos: "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Superman" and "Miami Vice" are a few. But then there is a crapload of crap. "John Tucker Must Die," "Scream 10," "The Fast and the Furious." My girlfriend Deanna and I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" a month back. Before the movie, there were previews for a series of artsy movies. She asked why these never play at the local Edwards or AMC theaters. "They wouldn't make enough money," I think I said. But I wonder if that is even true. I mean, how could I possibly know if that's true. What was the last "artsy" movie to play at the major theaters?

Instead of Edwards movie lineup being this:
Accepted, The Ant Bully, Barnyard, The Descent, John Tucker Must Die, Little Man, Material Girls, Miami Vice, Monster House, The Night Listener, Pirates of the Caribbean, Step Up, Talladega Nights, World Trade Center, You, Me and Dupree and Zoom...

What if it was this: World Trade Center, Talladega Nights, Pirates of the Caribbean , Miami Vice, The Night Listener, Monster House, The Ant Bully, Zoom, An Inconvenient Truth, Little Miss Sunshine and Quinceanera.

No more previews for crappy movies like Accepted or John Tucker Must Die. No more cheap movies marketed to the horny teen. Instead, the money could be put into improving blockbuster movies, or the teens - the moneymakers for theaters - would be required to actually think when watching something like Quinceanera, which is about an Echo Park girl who becomes pregnant a few months before her big day. Then they can actually witness what happens when they screw around.

Anyway, that will never happen. Instead we'll be forced to go to independent theaters like the Laemlle Playhouse to watch these movies.

Not only are movies being dumbed down, but children's TV as well. This column by Joel Stein is classic. Elmo, the cute, little Sesame Street puppet has ruined what was once an educational show.

Whereas Count Von Count markets math and Oscar markets the acceptability of negative emotions, Elmo, brilliantly, just markets Elmo, leading him to be the show's cash cow, or whatever misshapen animal he's supposed to be. ...

I desperately don't want the show to go away, so I know they can't afford to run the "Elmo accidentally drank bleach and died" episode. Instead, they need to simply take Elmo and his buddies and give them their own hourlong show for the idiot spawn. Then put Luis, Gordon and the cool Muppets on their own half-hour "Classic Sesame" for the kids who will one day actually contribute to our society.

Anyway, but even more than a dumbing down of society, the media is working quite well to damaging kids for life.

Just the other day, a study was released that showed that children who listen to raunchy, sex-laced lyrics are likely to have sex sooner than those who don't listen to that type of music. The study of 12 to 17 year olds found that 51 percent of those who listen to that type are likely to engage in sex within two years. That means if 10-year-olds starts listening to the likes of Chris Brown or Nelly it's more likely than not that he or she will be engaging in sex by the time they are 12.

Check out these Chris Brown lyrics... remember he's 16 and this song spent some time at No. 1:

Girl I can set you off
Don't believe my age is gonna slow us down
I can definitly show you things
To have you sayin I can't be 16
Once I get in you won't wanna go
(and I...)
I'll have yo girls wishin they were you
...
wait til' you see my....
wait til' you see my...
let me fall back
You ain't ready for all dat
have you sleep late
real late
yeah takin a long nap
you tell your friends...
to get wit my friends
we can be friends
switch and meet friends (switch)
we can do it all night long, and...
til' da clock hit mornin ya dig

16 YEARS OLD. This guy is marketed to junior high and high school kids. Same with so many other artists who are marketed to this age group.

I can say so much more on this topic (I probably will later), but I just want to end with this. The responsibility lies with parents. They need to know what their children are watching and listening to. The Internet has made it simple! If your kid is going to watch a movie, go to Common Sense Media movie reviews. You can also check out music reviews there. Or you can just read the lyrics.

OK, the Truth

I have become David Sedaris. The only difference is that instead of an oft-referenced boyfriend named Hugh, I have an oft-referenced girlfriend named Deanna.

I say this because my family is scared of me. I'm not violent. I'm not volatile either. I'm actually quite even-tempered and gentle. They are scared that something embarrassing they did might end up on my blog.

"Oooh, I bet that'll end up on his blog," Matt, my little brother, always says. He still refuses to act a clown whenever I pull out my camera. He doesn't want to end up being immortalized by a photo such as this one we took while in Chicago:



My sister covers up her face every time I try and take a picture of her. In fact, I can get anything I want from her by just threatening to put one of her "bad" pictures on Myspace. "I'll kill you," she says whenever I bring up the possibility.

My dad is really the only one willing to be made a fool.

Well, my dad and me.

I don't know what it is. Maybe I would rather have our Hawaiian - Chicago before this - vacation be about my family rather than about the location. I mean, we're all here relaxing - it's very beautiful - but we're also being ourselves. I just find our actions much more interesting than the island.

For example:

My sister tries to be cool. But in reality, she is a violent, lazy geek. Look at this photo:



Then there's Matt, the most serious kid I have ever met. This photo is a perfect illustration:



A little anecdote: On Monday, we ate at Kobe's steakhouse. Matt had excused himself to the bathroom, but before he left had ordered himself a Roy Rodgers. The drink came, but Matt was gone. I had accidentally - I swear - dropped a couple of pieces of fried rice into his drink. "Oh sh--," I said to my sister pointing at the rice. She agreed: "Oh sh--." We knew that if Matt came back and saw the rice floating in his drink, he'd flip out. So we tried to get out all we could. Finally we said screw it and pushed the rice all the way to the bottom. Matt came back and didn't see the rice. He took a drink and actually sucked a grain up. He pulled it out of his mouth assuming that this grain was stuck in the back of his mouth and came out with the liquid.

Anyway, Matt didn't flip when we gave up the secret - we couldn't contain our laughter when he drank the rice. But we were sure scared he would.

Then there's my dad. He too is a ball of stress. This is him stressing out about his car before we left LAX:



But since he retired from being a cop more than a year ago, he's learned how to relax a little bit more - Hawaii is his favorite place to do so.



Sure he may need a few drinks to relax, but at least he's relaxing.



Me, on the other hand, I'm not good at relaxing. I either need to read, write or surf the Internet nearly all day long. It's just me - drinks or no drinks. But if you're reading this blog, I don't want you to think that I think I'm perfect. I'm not. In fact, I'm probably the biggest geek in my family.

From the clothes I wear:



To the faces I make while taking pictures of myself:





I am a geek. But that's cool with me. Being serious just doesn't seem to be much fun. In fact, it makes life a bit boring, which is why I write the blogs making fun of my family members. But we are having a real good time while in Hawaii. Most of the time, they aren't worried about my blogs. Most of the time we are swimming, eating or even just relaxing in front of the TV or outside with a book.

Truth is we're a loving family that enjoys each other's company.



I look forward to the rest of the week. We are going to see a show tonight and are going to snorkel on Saturday. But most of all, I look forward to the laughs and memories that we will take home from the trip.

This is a pepper grinder:


This is a pepper shaker:


Got that, pops? You can't shake a pepper grinder and expect the pepper to come out of the top.

True story. Dad is at breakfast preparing to eat his scrambled eggs. He grabs the pepper grinder, shakes it expecting pepper to come out of the top. Nothing comes out, but he looks at his eggs and is satisfied. He puts the pepper grinder back down and prepares to eat. My sister and I look at each other and share a "Did-he-just-shake-a-pepper-grinder look."

Funny thing is that pops had not had any drinks... yet. But it was sure a sign of what our first full day in Maui would bring.

We went back to the hotel and I slept. And slept. And slept some more. Two hours I slept. I was tired from the day before. Long flight, late night, bad food. All that stuff. So I recovered with a nap. Then I woke up, went down to the pool and hung out with the family; they were already there. Dad had already had a few drinks. "Cocktails" he calls them. We call it two shots of vodka on the rocks.



The more he drank, the more his behavior deteriorated.

Truth is, Matt was actually frightened here. He thought pops was going to eat him - you know, when you've been drinking, you'll eat anything (except steak as you'll learn later).



I guess being drunk is contagious. I mean, my sister hadn't had any drinks and she was drunk.


She didn't even wear proper clothes. She got a big brown towel, two ribbons and wore it out.



I was ashamed and had to look away.



But although Vanessa had her moments, today was definitely dad's day. He stole the show. First the pepper shakers. Then dinner. We went to Kobe's. No, not my boy Kobe, but a steak and fish house. Dad couldn't be found without his cocktail.



He was also found to be attracted to things that weren't even alive.



But one thing was for sure:

"I can't eat steak. I don't know how you guys do it," he said to me and my sister. "I just can't eat steak."

"OK, dad, just eat your fried rice."

"All I want is my fried rice."



"OK, dad, eat your fried rice."

"I don't know how you guys can eat steak."

Pops finished his fried rice. He was happy.



... and so were we. Well, except for Matt. Something to do with "That's vodka, not water, fool." But that's a different story for a different day. Peace.

The Longest Day

Perhaps the hardest part about vacationing in Hawaii is the travel. Five hour flight. Babies kicking seats. Little brothers yelling at you because you ask him to hold your full Starbucks cup, your jacket, your USC hat, your sunglasses, your book and your bag - then your sister does the same to him.

Maybe it's the scary people that are on planes that made the plane ride here tough. Check out this chick:



Oh, wait, that's my sister... what's up with her eyes?

Well, she's not really that scary. So I guess we can cross that reason off the list. Well, maybe it's not all the unattractive people that are on planes, like this chick:



Crap! That's my sister again! Oh well. I guess the plane ride wasn't that bad. Some of us got a little bit irritated. Well, one of us anyway. Matt's thinking, "Dude, you are doing everything wrong." He said it too.



Well, eventually we got to Hawaii. We were hungy. Vanessa was thirsty and needed to cover her breasts since she forgot a bra. She's text messaging her boyfriend to tell him of her embarassment at forgetting such an important clothing item.



My sister's bralessness made me feel like this:



When unpacking I remembered I had forgotten to purchase swimming trunks. How could I come to Hawaii without trunks! So I went downstairs and was about to buy a pair when the cashier said, "You want to try those on? We don't allow returns of swimwear."

"Even if it's unused?" I asked.

"Yes."

I could've continued the questioning, but decided not to. I found my answer in the dressing room though:



However, I got my trunks and by the end of the day, everything was all good:

My parking tickets

It was a good day. I walked to my car excited about lunch with my beautiful girlfriend Deanna. I thought, "Gosh, can't wait to hear Harry Potter on my iPod when I get in my car." (I have the audiobooks.) It's like that scene in Spiderman 2 where Peter Parker is walking without a worry in the world. I could've been humming a song. I don't know. I call the aforementioned girlfriend. We're chatting.

Then I walk to where my car should be, but it's not there.

I think, "Pee-Wee Herman." Remember in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" where his bike got stolen? Yeah, that's how I felt.

"Aw, f---," I said to her. "My car was stolen."

She was silent.

"I need to call the cops," I said.

She agreed.

I called 9-1-1, not sure if that's the number I need to call for a stolen car.

"Are you sure it wasn't towed?" the guy on the other end of the phone said. "Here, call this number."

"Wait!" I wanted to shout. "Times-a-wasting. Can't you take a report?"

It was too late. He had hung up. Greater emergencies, I guess. I called the other number.

"Your license plate number?" guy says on the other end.

"5AKK131. Wait, did I just say A KKK?" I wasn't sure if it sounded like I was supporting the Ku Klux Klan. Didn't want to offend him.

"Yeah, they towed your car for unpaid parking tickets. Call this number. You have to pay at one of our walk-in facilities." He gave me no other instructions. Remember that, it comes back later.

I called the other number; it was for the towing company. They said that they had my car, but couldn't get it back until I got it released by the city. So I had to get to 2nd and Broadway from USC without a car. That's basically 26 blocks north and about 10 blocks east. I couldn't walk it. So I jumped on a DASH bus.

The bus took me to 7th and Figueroa, where my girlfriend works. We met, I ate my lunch and she gave me a hug. It was the best part of my day. We looked up how to get to this place; the directions said it was .36 miles away.

"I'll walk," I said.

She didn't think it was a good idea and tried to find a bus for me.

"No, I'll walk." So I gave her a hug and a kiss and took off. It was then that I first noticed I needed to pee. It was 12:45.

I walked. And walked. And walked. It wasn't .36 miles. No way. I walked some more. I was already soaked with sweat. Then I approached a hill. "This sucks," I told myself. I walked up the hill huffing and puffing. Fumes emitted from cars filled my lungs. But I continued to walk. I made it up the hill, got to 3rd Street. Then I looked for 2nd. It wasn't there.

"You have to be kidding me!" I kept walking. I could see 1st. Finally I saw a little street that led to 2nd. I found the parking ticket facility. There was only one person ahead of me. It was 1:25.

"Do you guys have a bathroom?" I asked the security guard.

"Nope," he said.

I went up. The lady at the booth - perhaps the dumbest lady I ever met - says, "Do you gots your registration?"

"My what?"

"Registrations."

"My registration."

"That's what I said."

"It's in my car. Where it's supposed to be."

"Well, we can't release your car without it."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope, plus you have to pay $666 for your tickets." They had amassed extra fines. "We only take money order or cash."

This sucked. I looked up, took a deep breath and said, "I need the address to the towing facility." It was on 23rd and Hill.

I left. I walked down Broadway. Have you ever walked down Broadway? Yeah, don't. A lady grabbed me and said something in Spanish. I shook her off. The whole street smelled like urine. People shouted on bullhorns. "Buy this, buy this," but in Spanish. I continued to walk hoping to see a cab, or catch a bus that went down that far.

I walked for eight blocks. Finally I said, "F--- it" and jumped on the next bus. Luckily it went down to 21st. A few stops later, a thug's family got on the bus. I had seen "Menace II Society," but never thought that such gangsters actually existed. They do. Guy had braids, a red shirt; he was probably packing. His kids were running around the bus. He's son, couldn't have been older than 4, said something like, "Mom is an f---in b---h." She told the dad to say something to the son, but he just laughed instead.

I was thankful when I reached 21st. I got off there and walked to the towing facility.

"Do you guys have a bathroom?" I asked the first guy I saw.

"Not for public use," he said.

I stood behind a guy who also had his car towed. He needed to register it with the DMV, but all the paperwork was inside. They wouldn't let him get it. He started yelling and screaming. Then he left. I talked to the guy behind the glass; I'll call him Pablo. Then the crazy guy came back. He wished a bloody and painful death on Pablo. But Pablo wasn't a bad dude. Took me straight out to my car. He even let me charge my phone for a few seconds. I got my registration.

“Do you have the number to a cab company?” I asked him. I was done with buses and done with walking. He gave me one. My phone was still low on battery, so I called Deanna. She called the cab company for me.

Before they picked me up, I had to walk to a bank to get a money order for $666. An ominous number, I know. I had already tried to get a money order, but this particular place didn’t take credit cards for them. So I had a to walk to Wells Fargo.

“Do you guys have a restroom,” I asked the security guy at the door.

“Nope,” he said. My stomach was starting to hurt.

They were really nice there. One of the employees, I’ll call her Blanca, took my credit card so she could write out the withdrawal slip. However, the cab was on its way to the bank. I kept looking out the door to see if it was there yet. Then I noticed the security guard looking at me. Did he think I was about to rob the place? Then I saw the cab pass. Crap! I called Blanca over. “Can you tell that cab to wait?” She couldn’t, but the security guard could. The cab pulled over and I relaxed.

I told the cashier to forget about the money order. “Just give me cash,” I said. He gave me $670. I put it in my wallet. “It’ll be safe,” I thought. “I’m going to get dropped right off in front of the place.”

I walked out to the cab.

“Thank you for waiting,” I said to him.

A nod was all I got.

“I’m going to 213 6TH Street.” (The guy at the towing company gave me this address. “It’s closer than the other one,” he said.)

Another nod.

“How are you doing today?” I asked.

Nothing.

“Those are nice rosaries,” I said pointing to two rosaries hanging on his rearview mirror.

Nothing.

“It’s hot today,” I said.

A nod.

I gave up trying to talk to him.

“We’re here,” he said a few minutes later. I looked out the window and saw nothing but homeless people.

“I don’t think this is it,” I said.

“You wanted 213 6th Street. This is it.”

I didn’t want to make him angry.

“But this doesn’t look like the place,” I said.

“You want to pay your tickets?”

“Yes.”

“While this is the place,” he said with his voice elevated. I paid and got out.

It wasn’t the place.

“You lookin’ for the ticket office?” a homeless man said sitting in front of a boarded up building.

“Yeah,” I said.

“They moved it. It’s at 315 2nd Street.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Want a dollar?”

“Yes, please.” I gave him a dollar and walked. I got scared. I had $666 in my back pocket. I also had to pee. If I stopped and peed in the alley, would anyone really notice? I didn’t stop. I walked. And walked. And walked. It was a hot day. Then I heard my phone beep. I looked at it. Low battery. Crap.

Finally I got to the ticket office. I walked in. They had just called number 65. I drew number 75. I called Deanna and asked her to help me again.

“I will text message you when I need you to call the cab, OK?”

“OK,” she said. She’s great. I shut off my phone. Then I sat there. Waiting. 66. Waiting 67. Waiting. 68. Waiting. DUDE YOU DON’T NEED TO ARGUE! PAY YOUR TICKET AND MOVE ALONG. Thank you. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. I turned on my phone. “Can you call them in 5 minutes?” I wrote in the message. Then I shut off my phone again.

75.

I jumped up.

“I just need to get my car released.” The lady at the window had long fake fingernails and was popping her gum. “Here’s my license plate number.” I said it again, making sure I didn’t say three Ks.

“$666,” she said. I gave it to her. She marked each $100 bill to make sure it wasn’t counterfeit. Then she checked for their watermarks. This process took five minutes itself. Again I found myself looking out the door for a cab. Then she walked away. I couldn’t see her, but I heard her giggling away.

“Dude, this chick needs to hurry,” I said to myself. But she didn’t hurry. She took her time. Ten minutes had passed. The cab had to be almost there. I looked back. Nothing yet. She still hadn’t printed out my receipts or the release form. WHY IS SHE RECOUNTING THE MONEY FOR THE FOURTH TIME? I looked back. No cab yet.

Finally she pulled out the release form and started to fill it out. I looked back; the cab was there. Crap.

“Hi, can I run outside and tell the cab to wait?”

“I’m almost done,” she said. Her nails were getting in the way of her work.

The cab had its blinker on. It was leaving. As it started to take off, she passed out the release form and all receipts I needed. I grabbed them and sprinted outside. I jumped in the cab as it pulled away.

“Thank you,” I said. “23rd and Broadway.”

My stomach was killing me. I want my car. Then I want to pee. He thought it’d be a good idea to take Flower instead of Broadway, but it took twice as long.

“Sorry,” he said. “I thought Flower would be faster.”

He finally got me there. I ran in. I also thought about asking for a bathroom again, but decided against it. There was one guy working. He was there dealing with the crazy guy I had seen earlier. He obviously got what he needed as he had calmed down a lot. Then the phones started to ring like crazy. He kept answer. Five minutes passed. “My bladder is going to explode,” I thought.

I gave him the release, my license and my credit card. “Here.”

It was 4 p.m. by the time I got back in my car. It was hot in there. I needed to pee.. I drove back to 7th and Fig to pick up Deanna. I ran into Robinsons-May. It was cool inside. I ran to the restroom. I peed. I peed so long that a kid walked into a stall about 10 seconds after I left and finished peeing, washing his hands and walking out the door before I finished. I washed my hands. I had to wait 15 minutes before she came outside to meet me. I hugged her and we drove home.

I'm not anti-Semitic

I was at a talk by author Gore Vidal a few years ago. He was asked a question about Israel and the Middle East conflict overall. Vidal basically said something that Israel needed to pull out of Palestine and Lebanon. Someone got up and shouted at Vidal, basically calling him an anti-Semite. I think that this event symbolized Americans' relationship with Israel. Any person who criticizes that country is not pegged anti-Israel, but anti-Semitic.

Ever since Israel was founded after World War II, the Jewish state had a certain about of capital because of the holocaust. The thing is, Israel expanded beyond their territory for "relgious reasons" and eventually began wasting that capital. In fact, because of that capital that Western nations granted Israel, the country - not the Jewish people - began to bully its neighbors. In fact, every instance of an Israeli war with its neighbors in an overreaction and "safety" is used as an excuse for expansionism.

To fully understand the situation, let me show you a map from CNN:



Notice the locations of Lebanon, Egypt and Syria to Israel. Now here are some of the conflicts that have taken place since the end of World War II in that region:

1948 Arab-Israeli War - In short, after World War I, the British were in charge of that region. They split it into several pieces. "At this time (1922) the population of Palestine consisted of approximately 589,200 Muslims, 83,800 Jews and 71,500 Christians." However, Jews from Europe began to immigrate to the region. They called for a Jewish state. In 1947, two separate territories were formed in Palestine, one Jewish and one Arab. This immediately led to fighting. Several Jews were killed by Arabs. Initially, the Arab armies had the advantage, but by late 1948 that had all changed. Israel began to take more Palestinian land ... they also began to conduct "ethinc cleansing" (read: genocide) in the region.

1956 Suez War - In 1956, Egypt leader Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company, which controlled the Suez Canal. England and France joined with Israel for economic reason - they needed the canal. Israel invaded, but was forced to withdraw because of a U.N. resolution.

Six-Day War (1967) - Although Israel was forced to pull out of Egypt, the invasion showed how strong its military was. So with increased Arab aggression, Israel once again attacked Egypt. During this six-day war, 21,000 Arabs were killed and 45,000 were wounded - 779 Israelis were killed. As a result of this war, Israel took over the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

Lebanon-Israeli Conflict - In 1978, terrorist organizations began conducting attacks on Israel. Israel than invaded Lebanon and only stopped because of U.N. resolutions ordering them to. The U.N. setup a security zone in Southern Lebanon. Then in 1948, after some more shelling by terrorist organization, Israel attacked Lebanon again. With the aim of "evicting" the terrorist organization. Sounds familiar, huh? They finally left the Lebanon security zone in 2000, but not before taking over a small part of Lebanon and building settlements there.

Israel has gotten away with being the aggressors in the region for 60 years. That needs to stop. The terrorism needs to stop too, but until Israel stops trying to grab more Arab land it won't. This cycle of small attacks by Arab countries, major assaults by Israel, will continue until this happens. My opinion doesn't mean I'm anti-Semitic. It also doesn't mean I'm against a Jewish state. All it means is that this country needs to end the cycle of aggression against its neighbors.

All the news fit to sorta print

Wow, the world is just crazy right now. No, really, there is more than just an Israeli-Lebanon-Palestinian conflict. Kim Jong-Il has gone Kim Jong-Il, that means he's gone crazy. President Bush is about to use his first veto, on stem cell research of all things. The San Andreas Fault is primed for a major quake. In many instances, the situation for Iraqis is worse under U.S. occupation than it was under Saddam Hussein's rule.

Phew, let me catch my breath. Where have I been while all this has happened? Well, I got a new job - I will be a teacher beginning Aug. 21. I also got Lasik surgery. Yes, no more glasses for me. So I've sort of been occupied with that stuff.

Anyway, back to the real news.

San Andreas Fault - Why isn't anyone talking about this? The biggest fault in California is set to go off and we just sit back and talk about Pam's and Kid Rock's marriage? There hasn't been a major quake on the fault in 300 years. As a result, "the fault has accumulated a slip deficit of roughly 19 to 26 feet." That means that there will be an earthquake magnitude 8.0 or above if the fault slips 19 to 26 feet in a single event. Crazy, huh?

But let's not talk about this. Let's talk about something a little less scary. Something like ruthless North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il having long-range nuclear missiles.

North Korea - Before I begin, let me say that I feel bad for Kim Jong-Il. Yeah, he's a ruthless dictator who's killed thousands and thousands of his people. He's a bastard, in fact. But dude screams, "Look at me, look at me!" Fires off a few missiles, including a long-range missile that malfunctions less than a minute after takeoff. Then Israel steps in and says, "This is how you get the world's attention." Lo and behold, the world is asking, "What's a North Korea?" My hunch is that dude just wants some food and other goodies to feed his people so that he won't get overthrown.

Well, now that North Korea is off the front page of the New York Times, maybe it's time to talk about Iraq. Wait, are we allowed to? CIA, are you tracking my blog? I am not a terrorist. I'm not even Arab or Muslim. I'm a Mexican. No, I'm not a Zapatista. I'm a Mexican Catholic. Now that I got that out of the way... Let's talk Iraq.

Iraq - I have no other way of saying this, but it's getting all f---ed up over there. Sunnis are killing Shiites. Shiites are killing Sunnis. Iranians are getting murdered. Mosques are getting destroyed. Christians are fleeing for safety in Syria of all places. This is nuts. Nearly 6,000 people were killed in May and June. That's 100 civilians a day.

(Sarcasm alert) However, Iraq is so 2005. We're there. Let's just support our troops as the situation deteriorates into a bloody civil war. I mean, withdraw them? Crazy. Only idiots would think it's time to withdraw our troops. We need to be there until the job is done. (sarcasm off)

Israel - Then there's Israel. Can't go a whole six months without Israel being a major story in every American newspaper and news channel. It's kind of sad when I can name Israel's Prime Minister (Ehud Olmert), but I can't name Mexico's new president or Canada's prime minister.

A soldier gets kidnapped by Hamas in Palestine, Israel attacks full force knocking out the fledgling country's infrastructure. The reasoning? Palestine isn't doing enough to disarm its terrorist groups.

Two soldiers get kidnapped by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel bombs the crap out of the country and continues to do so. The reasoning? Lebanon isn't doing enough to disarm its terrorist groups.

In fact, Olmert (Israel's prime minister remember?) said that his country won't stop until it disarms Hezbollah and Hamas itself. But it also might pick up some new land at the Southern Lebanon border. Also, don't be surprised if Israeli troops never leave the West Bank.

I'm so sick of this conflict. So freaking sick of it. I'm sick of my tax money being used to support an Israel that reacts with collective punishment. Don't know what collective punishment is? Well, imagine a person in your neighborhood committing a horrible crime like kidnapping. It really has nothing to do with you though. But instead of the punishment being directed at that single person, the entire neighborhood, no the entire infrastructure - power lines, gas lines, sewage lines - are bombed and destroyed. Well, that's what Israel does. Then its leaders wonder why the terrorists don't stop attacking their country. Then the West wonders why Arabs hate them. I mean, Israel commits a war crime, which collective punishment is, the West says that Lebanon and Palestine are in the wrong. Talk about blaming the victim.

Look, I have no love for terrorist organizations. They are evil and need to be stamped out. But I have even less love for a country that commits terrorism itself and then gets applauded for it. Israel needs to stop its actions. The Arab countries in that region have all said that they will recognize a Jewish state in Israel, but that's only after Israel recognizes the Palestinian state. But they won't. Why? Because illegal settlers will not leave their illegally built houses on foreign land. Olmert, the prime minister, needs to sack up and stop providing protection for these illegal settlers. Then he needs to allow Palestine to become a stable state that way it can stomp out its terrorist organizations.

Blah, anyway, that's my attempt to catch up with the recent news around the world. I'm sure I'll have more to say about these things as they progress. I'm out.

We can all vote, can't we?

I think I'm pretty good at predicting what will happen politically. I know that every year while the Republicans control the House and barely control the Senate that the plan to open the Alaskan Arctic refuge up for drilling will get past the House, but die in the Senate. I know that a radical immigration bill will come out of the House and then once it's in the Senate will be killed. I know that the minimum wage will never be increased to where it should be as long as Republicans control both the Congress and the presidency.

I also know that Republicans will NEVER try and get rid of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I mean, they wouldn't dare, would they? I mean, even the most radical Republican realizes that voting is every American citizen's right.

Don't they?

GOP Halts Extension of Voting Rights Act - LA Times (June 22, 2006)

Holy crap! What could it be? Women again? Blacks? They don't want blacks to vote? Actually, I think it's the Chinese. The House is scared that the Chinese will overrun the country. That's why they don't want to allow ballots to be both in English and Mandarin, or whatever Chinese language is necessary. This is America, damn it, learn our official language! (Note: The United States does not have an official language)

Oh, maybe the act is discriminatory against the "reformed" states with a history of racism and other forms of discrimination. Why should they have to run their election laws by the federal government. I mean states like Texas (James Byrd), Alabama (continues to permit segregated schools) and Mississippi (Trent Lott) have all reformed, right?

So yeah, I just wanted to share with everyone my surprise at being wrong for once! Peace.


P.S. Keep your eyes on this. If the voting rights act isn't extended, tens of millions of people WILL be disenfranchised.

Traffic sucks, but this could make it better

While reading the newspaper (latimes.com constitutes a newspaper for me now), I came across an article about a $3 billion study that suggested building a 4.5-mile long tunnel under South Pasadena to connect the Long Beach (710) Freeway to the Pasadena (210) Freeway.

First thought: "Are they crazy?"

Second thought: "When are they going to start?"

I mean, let's face it, traffic sucks. That semi-Downtown/semi-San Gabriel Valley area is particularly bad.

Of course earthquakes are another thing people think of whenever it comes to building a tunnel, or anything for that matter, underground in Los Angeles. Well, Japan has tunnels. They have survived earthquakes. Plenty of earthquakes actually. And as the article points out, engineers actually think it'd be safer in the tunnel during an earthquake than it'd be on one of Los Angeles' freeways.

Finally, I just think it'd be great to do something big in Los Angeles. We are always thinking small. Add a carpool lane here, make reversable lanes, put in left-turn signals. A tunnel would be something huge. But its impact could be even huger, sorry bigger.

President Bush: The Environmentalist

OK, brace yourself to read this. You braced? OK. Here it is:

"President Bush will create the world's largest protected marine area today, designating as a national monument a 1,200-mile-long chain of small Hawaiian islands and surrounding waters and reefs that are home to a spectacular array of sea life, senior administration officials said last night." - The New York Times

REALLY. There doesn't seem to be any strings attached. Like, it's not Bush's "Healthy Forest Restoration Act," which allowed loggers to cut down more trees and build more roads to "protect" forests from "dangerous" forest fires. Or his plans to "protect" our oceans or to "protect" the Alaska wilderness by opening both up for some oil and gas drilling. Or when he pledged to "protect" our drinking water from arsenic.

But this pledge seems to be pretty honest. So I have a few more suggestions for our new "environmental" president.

Join the rest of the world and sign the Kyoto Accord to limit greenhouse gases being emitted by this country into the atmosphere

Pledge to make at least 50 percent of this country's energy come from renewable resources by 2015

Protect our wetlands. Ban any construction or draining of any of this country's wetlands

OK, that's enough for now. Can't ask for too much, right? I mean, he is protecting an unexploitable area of the United States. How dare we ask him to protect areas that his supporters are exploiting on a daily basis? Really.

Traffic stops make sense, ya know?

Am I the only person not shocked, or appalled, that blacks (and to a lesser extent, Hispanics) are being stopped at an unproportional rate in this county near Sacramento? Stopping blacks at three times the rate that other drivers are stopped seems a little dramatic. But honestly, stopping blacks and Hispanics more than whites makes some sense - we cause the most crime!

OK, OK, I'm not a sellout. I just think we need to be realistic. Who lives in the areas with the highest crime rates? That's right! Blacks and Hispanics. If police officers are conducting good policing, they are checking out anyone who looks suspicious. And to be honest, I'm somewhat thankful for this. I hardly get stopped (mainly because I don't look like a thug), but when I do, I am fine with it. Know why? I didn't do anything wrong.

Sometimes we need to be inconvenienced a little for our own good. You know, like buying a smaller car to save some gas?

It's so easy to say that cops are racist because many are. But they are also charged with protecting us. With gang crimes out of control, cops need to try numerous things to make sure that us non-gang members are kept somewhat safe.

I know what my liberal friends will say. "Whites commit just as much crime, but they aren't prosecuted!" Yeah, whites do commit a lot of crime. But facts are, most of those crimes aren't street crimes. Street crimes stem from economic despair. White communities in the Midwest that are in economic despair have tremendously high crime rates. I'm sure the amount of traffic stops there are extremely high as well.

I also know that this can be a slippery slope. If we are asked to accept the fact that cops will pull blacks and Hispanics over to "check them out," what will they ask for next? But what is the next step? Honestly, unless this country continues marching down the path of fascism, they will not ask us to allow ourselves to be temporarily detained. Our leaders are not that stupid.

So yeah, let's be intellectually honest about this and not be ACLU-appalled at every instance of racial disparity in statistics. Thanks.

Part 2: SUV Drivers are JERKS

"Yo, Mike, what you got against SUVs?" he began. I gave a quick look like, "You got to be kidding me" and then almost began to list a bevy of reasons, but stopped before I began. Instead, I put it like this: SUVs hurt people.

I'm not going to really get into the environmental problems with SUVs here; instead Im going to write about the tangible dangers caused by these trucks.

Did you know that the majority of traffic fatalities involve SUVs hitting smaller vehicles? In frontal collissions between SUVs and cars, the car driver is 4.3 times as likely to die as the SUV driver. Did you know that SUVs clog up roads and highways? Did you know that SUVs block other peoples ability to look at the entire road?

SUV drivers are also prone to be more aggressive on the road. It's like a 7'1" center in basketball being guarded by a 6'0" guard - the center is going to get his way whether or not the guard likes it. Honestly, look at the road and pay attention to SUV drivers. Just notice how aggressive they are on the road. It's not just me who believes this, experts say that "SUVs are inherently aggressive." In fact, it's believed that the biggest danger to others from SUV drivers IS that aggressive attitude - that attitude of risk. "If drivers realized that they are no safer (in fact somewhat less safe) in an SUV than in a subcompact, their concentration and driving behaviour would compensate, SUV accidents would fall, and millions of ruined lives would be spared the consequences of this unwitting recklessness. Unfortunately, as long as SUVs convey the illusion of control and safety, that's not likely to happen," said a blog on Salon.com.

I won't lie, if I'm not visibly flipping off every SUV driver I see, I'm flipping him or her off in the inside. I believe you can tell a lot about a person by what car he or she drives. And if a person drives an SUV, it tells me that he or she is either a) ignorant and believes that an SUV is actually safer than a passenger car, or b) selfish and doesn't care about anyone else. Whether it's a or b, SUV drivers are a danger to themselves, but more importantly, they are a danger to everyone else.

Part 1: I Hate SUVs

I hate SUVs. Let me lay that out there right now. I think they are too big and ugly. Not only are they big and ugly, they are uneconomical, dangerous, roadhogs and environmental villains. But people continue to buy SUVs and manufacturers continue to make bigger and "better" (not really) ones.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and convince everyone that if they are thinking of an SUV, think again. And if they have an SUV, I hope I can make them feel like one of the world's biggest jerks - because they are.

Fact 1:
SUVs are NOT safer than cars.
"The SUV has become the new station wagon." "I have five kids, what else can I drive?" I don't know how often I hear these comments when it comes to people driving SUVs. But let's get this straight right now, SUVs are NOT safer than cars. They never have been and never will be.

In 2002, it was estimated that there would be 70,000 SUV rollovers, which would result in 2,000 deaths. SUVs have become even more dangerous in recent years.

Check out the statistics on rollover possibilities that is provided by the government's National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.

Did you know that there is a 28 percent to 34 percent chance your Ford Explorer will rollover? Will you risk yours and your children's live day after day by having them ride in a vehicle that will rollover nearly a quarter of the time an evasive maneuver is needed? My Honda Civic has an 11 percent chance of rolling over.

What does that mean in real numbers?

Say the sales of those two types of cars were equal - 320,000 Explorers were sold and 320,000 Civics were sold. That would mean that it could be estimated that 89,600 of those Explorers will eventually rollover, while 35,200 Civics would - a difference of 54,400 rollovers. (In 2003, 373,118 Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Tracs were sold. That same year, 299,672 Honda Civics were sold.) Are SUVs worth that risk? Are your children worth that risk?

Up Next: SUVs, dangerous to others

Fiction and those who believe it

I've watched a documentary called "Loose Change: Second Edition" several times. The movie proposes the idea that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were actually perpetrated by the Bush administration, not Osama and Al Qaeda. The movie provides some interesting "facts" and raises some important questions, but is it the truth? No way. I liked it because it confirms my worst thoughts about the Bush administration.

However, a little bit of critical analysis pokes New Orleans levee-type holes in the movie's premise. But many of my friends believe this movie verbatim because it confirmed their suspicions.

While reading articles about "Loose Change," I thought of "The Da Vinci Code." The movie opened this weekend and made $77 million in the United States and more than $200 million worldwide. I discouraged as many people I could from seeing it, but unfortunately wasn't too successful.

I don't know how many times I heard the words, "It's only fiction" this week and those leading up to this weekend.

"Why are you going to see the 'Da Vinci Code'?" I'd ask. "It's a dumb story that is filled with lies."

"Gosh, don't be so sensitive, it's only fiction."

This was an actual quote in The Boston Herald: "It is just a story," Herald reader Deborah Germano wrote. "People need to remember that Dan Brown did not write this book to claim it as actual facts."

Dan Brown claimed over and over again that his book was full of facts. Many people believed him.

The NY Times reported that 25 percent of the people in this country who say that the "Da Vinci Code" led them to some spiritual growth or the 5 percent who said the book actually changed their beliefs.

A survey in London found that more than 50 percent of readers had their beliefs changed by the book:

[The Opinion Research Business] interviewed more than 1,000 adults last weekend, finding that 60 percent believed Jesus had children by Mary Magdalene - a possibility raised by the book - compared with just 30 percent of those who had not read the book.

In fact, I can guarantee that every person who actually enjoyed this book either a) had a pre-conceived bias against the Catholic Church, or b) were dumb enough to buy into a gimmick and believed it was a good book because they read it in two days. (Read my review of the book here.)

Yeah, this book is "fiction." The only thing the author got right was that the Mona Lisa is in the Louvre in France. It's too bad people don't seem to realize this.

State of the Lakers

Well, the season is over. The Lakers lost a heartbreaking series to the Suns, but in all, the state of the Lakers is good. They exceeded all expectations this season mainly because of a guy formerly known as "Ocho." They didn't suffer through many injuries like they did last season, but, minus guys like Caron Butler, Jumaine Jones and, yes, Chucky Atkins, arguably had less talent than they did last season.

But the Lakers made progress throughout the season.

Kobe Bryant had an MVP-type year. A+

Lamar Odom was above average the first 2/3 of the season, but turned it on after the All-Star break. C+/B+

Kwame Brown was a bust until the injury of Chris Mihm, but turned out to be the Lakers best position defender as he could body up with the best big men in the league. His offensive game remained sporadic culminating in a horrible game 7 against Phoenix. D/C+

Chris Mihm continued to be a solid center. He struggled with weak fouls throughout the year and was unfortunately injured near the end of the season. He was a solid offensive player. Would the Phoenix series have been different if the Lakers would've been able to run Mihm out there when Kwame struggled offensively? C

Devean George was a flat-out disappointment this season. The lone holdover from the championship days, Devean did not bring the defensive intensity or offensive sharpshooting the Lakers needed from him. D

Brian Cook was solely a spot-up three-point shooter last year. His defense consisted of taking charges. He was better this year. He developed a mini-post game and actually jumped on defense and for rebounds. Don't get me wrong, he was still poor on that end, but better than last year. C

Luke Walton came into camp in great shape, then he pulled his hamstring. He didn't seem to find his rhythm until the end of the season when he became the role player the Lakers needed in their offense. Incomplete/B-

Smush Parker was a surprise to not only make the team, but to start every game this year. He showcased his offensive skills brilliantly sometimes, but failed to show the same effort defensively. Did not really change throughout the season as he started off with consecutive 20 point games to be followed by several single-digit scoring performances. C-

Sasha Vujacic was written off by a good number of Laker fans in the off-season and it was said that he couldn't cover a 2-year-old girl if he had to. It turns out that Sasha worked on his defense and became one of the hardest working Lakers out there. His stroke continued to struggle throughout the season and, as a result, didn't give the Lakers the offensive boost they needed coming off the bench. C-

Ronny Turiaf wasn't supposed to play until next year, but he came back and provided instant energy off and on the bench. Give him a training camp and good conditioning, he'll be a very good player off the bench next year. A

Andrew Bynum struggled with his conditioning all season long. He needs to train hard in the summer again and get ready for next year. He seems very teachable and I expect great things from him coming in more than one or two minute bursts. Incomplete

Didn't see enough of McKie/Jackson/Green/Wafer to grade them.

But in all, the Lakers are on the right track. Look for them to go after a guard to play next to Kobe, a small forward to replace George, and a power forward who can play consistently on both ends of the floor. Players the Lakers should talk to: Keith Van Horn, Ruben Patterson, Bobby Jackson, Sam Cassell, Marcus Banks, Fred Jones, Laron Profit, (Nick Van Exel?) and Matt Harpring.

I'm excited about next season.

MVP

Most Vicious Posterization ever!!!

The Coming Fascism?

While working this morning, I read about a disturbing "game" that is available on the Internet. The game's objective is simple: shoot Mexicans coming across the Mexican-U.S. border. Lovely, huh? This comes a day after I hear five minutes of one of those ultra-right radio talk shows that blasted Mexicans, not illegal immigrants. And that comes a day after I read an article full of lies about the negative economic impact that illegal immigrants have on jobs, the U.S. economy and American culture. All of this reminded me that we are living in dangerous times. Fascist times.

I recently read a George Orwell essay about how hard it is to define "fascist." There are all types of fascists, he writes, conservative fascists, social fascist, Communist fascist, Catholic fascists. But, at least in my opinion, are the prototypical fascists symbolized by the goose-stepping Nazis in Germany. Hypercapitalism, unchecked government leaders, scapegoating, militarism, hypernationalism are a few characteristics of Nazi Germany.

Nearly all of those characteristics are present in modern America:

American corporations run the show in this country. What's good for business is what's good for America, or so the thinking goes. (Let's not mention that the corporations little under-the-table donations to make sure that regulations that would limit their growth would not go through.)

Until recently, whatever the president wanted he got. Tax cuts for the wealthy? Sure thing, George. Money for an unnecessary war? Sure thing, George. Create an unwieldy bureaucracy that is supposed to protect our nation from terrorist attacks and natural disasters and then place buddies to head this bureaucracy and the departments within? Sure thing, George. Why? Because with a far right House of Representatives and a right-wing Senate, anything that the right likes goes through.

I'm going to skip scapegoating for a second.

I already mentioned militarism. But this current administration has pushed constantly for more war and if not more war, more war toys. Bush has actually tried to start building new types of nuclear weapons, while people in his administration have floated the idea of nuking Iran if they don't comply with American orders.

Hypernationalism is the idea that no matter what, MY country is right. Couple that with xenophobia, or fear of strangers or foreigners, and you have a country that hates everything outside of these borders - Mexicans and Arabs come to mind.

So, other than fascism, what does hypernationalism + xenophobia + a far-right Senate + a radical House + a country at war + a declining economy + an increase in the number of poor people equal? The need to scapegoat. More and more the people with power and the powerless are blaming Mexicans - from what I hear and read, the blame is not limited just to illegal immigrants - for problems in this country.

Take this comment from one of the biggest bigots out there:

"It's one thing to wave a Mexican flag at a restaurant or at your house. It's another thing when you bring it into the public discourse," said Joseph Turner, executive director of Save Our State, a California nonprofit group that opposes illegal immigration. "When you come to our country, you'd better adopt our values, our culture, our customs and our language. Period."

And here, you have one of those radical Republican congressmen equating illegal immigrants who come to this country to work to terrorists:

"Fighting the war in Iraq is critical to this war on terrorism. Fighting the war in Afghanistan is critical to this war on terrorism. But I have to think equally important is making sure that our borders are secure. That is as big an issue as we have today in the area of fighting the war on terrorism. We can't be effective on that issue unless we have the resources and the people in order to take care of securing the border."

Sometimes the right wing pulls a handful of legitimate cases out of the bag. An illegal immigrant recently killed four people while driving drunk. Forget about that man driving drunk, but instead he killed the four people because he was an illegal immigrant. Or there are those hyped-up cases of illegal immigrant drug dealers. But although those cases probably total in the hundreds, the truth is that they are an extremely small sample of what most illegal immigrants do - come to the U.S. to work, follow the laws, pay taxes hopefully become citizens and give their children better lives.

Truth is, those comments, especially the first one are so off the mark when it comes to the true nature of immigration that you have to wonder if the person saying it is crazy. This article quoted a Princeton University professor:

sociologist Douglas S. Massey reports that 62 percent of illegal immigrants pay income taxes (via withholding) and 66 percent contribute to Social Security. Forbes magazine notes that Mexican illegals aren't clogging up the social-services system: only 5 percent receive food stamps or unemployment assistance; 10 percent send kids to public schools.

As far as adjusting to our society? Numerous studies have shown that the children of Mexican immigrants are pretty much in step with the rest of the country and that the grandchildren of the immigrants are earning their diplomas and college degrees at a great rate. A study by USC Professor Dowell Myers showed that "90 percent of [immigrants] who have been in that state for more than 20 years have escaped to middle or upper income classes."

With the FACTS, not scapegoating, it's hard to understand why the hate. Illegal Mexican immigrants can also be thanked for affordable fruit and clothing, not to mention all the other marginal jobs they take in order to "make it" in this country and help their families at home.

But those people, the scary thing is that they are either in charge or have influence with those in charge, will never admit this. Because of this, we cannot walk idly down the street toward fascismm. We need to, like "Rage Against the Machine" sang, "Take the power back." That means supporting Democratic candidates, especially in Republican districts.

Democrats need to gain six seats in order to gain a majority in the Senate. They need to gain at least 17 seats in the House in order to gain a majority there. Although Republican numbers are low, many people will continue to choose that party for "moral" reasons - gay marriage, abortion - and walk down that street toward National Socialist Republic of the United States (fyi, Nazism is known as Nationalist Socialism). If those two issues are your major ones, I urge you to bite the bullet this time and fight the immediate battle and create some checks and balances in our government. Find out if there will be a contested election in your district - don't waste your energy fighting a losing or winning battle. Then go here and look for contested House elections and do what you can to help. Donate. Volunteer (if possible), but fight these battles to win.

If the hatred toward immigrants doesn't matter to you, or you think the noise is just being caused by a small segment of this country, don't forget that most Germans during Hitler's reighn were not anti-Semites, but look at what happened because they didn't speak up. I just want to end this blog with this famous poem by Martin Niemoller:

When the Nazis arrested the Communists,
I said nothing; after all, I was not a Communist.
When they locked up the Social Democrats,
I said nothing; after all, I was not a Social Democrat.
When they arrested the trade unionists,
I said nothing; after all, I was not a trade unionist.
When they arrested the Jews, I said nothing; after all, I was not a Jew.
When they arrested me, there was no longer anyone who could protest.

Hooked on Oil

I've often argued that the environment trumps every other political issue our country faces. The issues we talk about - gay marriage, abortion, even war - come in far behind the environment in importance. Central to my argument about the importance of the environmental issue is this country's dependence, strike that, addiction to oil. I argue in favor of windmill-generated electricity because that means less oil-based power plant pollution. I argued for higher fuel emission standards on our cars because that would mean less airborne particulate pollution - one of the most dangerous types of air pollution.

But this article in Salon.com argues that oil IS the issue. Oil production has reached its peak and that it's going to become more difficult and more expensive to keep our addiction to oil strong. Couple that with a oil-hungry China and this country will have a severe crisis, possibly a catastrophe on our hands, the article says.

See, everything in our society is based on oil. Farms use petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. Most power plants use oil, coal or some other fossil fuel. Ships, airplanes, cars and most public transportation systems are all based on fossil fuels. I honestly can't think of a single thing our society uses that isn't based on oil, or some other type of fossil fuel use.

Imagine if we ran out of oil without developing alternatives? What would happen to our country? That's right, we'd collapse. Completely.

Six years ago I argued with everyone that electing two former oil industry executives to president and vice president was probably a bad idea mostly because I knew that they'd keep our country from developing solid and realistic alternatives to fossil fuels.

Six years later, the one suggestion they've had for decreasing our dependence on oil is to develop hydrogen-based energy - something that is decades away from being anywhere close to becoming a realistic alternative. The Bush Administration stood in the way of increasing fuel efficiency standards in cars. "It'll hurt the economy," they said. They have not aggressively subsidized corporations who are hoping to improve alternative fuels more realistic than hydrogen. (Remember all the land grants and other subsidies given to the oil tycoons of the late 19th and early 20th centuries?) Instead, the administration has proposed opening up pristine Alaskan wilderness for oil drilling - drilling that won't yield any usable oil for about 10 years.

It's amazing, but hopefully not too late, that people are beginning to talk about the decline of America being directly related to our dependence on oil, not gay marriage, abortion or "family values." Kevin Phillips (lefties like to call him a righty, but he's more of a centrist historian) recently wrote "American Theocracy," which claims that America is on the downfall. He cited oil as one of the primary causes for this downfall.

Oil and the environment are the real issues this country should be focusing on and I am convinced that in the next few years it will. Hopefully it won't be too late.

Why I Love My Buddy, Mike

A lot of you know our fearless leader here from all sorts of places in your life. Maybe he's the guy that constantly tries to pick up on you while you are on your shift at Starbucks. Maybe he's the nice guy that drives the car on campus that is always being ticketed. He could be the guy in the book store thoughtfully picking out his next read.

In case you didn't realize it, my friend Mike has a birthday coming up soon. I have known Mike for years now. I'll spare you the details of how we met, but I will say that we became fast friends and he is, to this day, one of the only people in the world that can make me laugh with just a couple of words.

I cherish this man's humor and insight and friendship. I am amazed that he still wants to be this sinner's friend as I feel that being in my company will put him on the outs with the Lord.

I haven't written in weeks. I have neglected my blogs but I make it a point to read this one- and just thought that everyone should know that this great guy that prays for all of us (whether we deserve it or not) has a birthday coming soon and that needs to be noted.

~kp

The New Great Game

When historians look back at the two wars of George W. Bush, they'll almost undoubtedly see two failures. But they won't blame the troops or the generals. Instead, history will convict Bush and his people of careless planning and the lack of a historical context when they went to war. But they'll also talk more about Iraq because that country was more civilized - with its roads, bridges, schools, museums - than that other country where we are at war with, Afghanistan.

But Afghanistan is also on the verge of collapsing. An NPR report suggested that the Taliban and drug lords are again terrorizing villages and the stability of the country is deteriorating quickly.

There are many reasons to be concerned about losing control of Afghanistan. The most important might be because of its geography - its central location.

Here is a map of Afghanistan:

Notice it's location - Central Asia. Next to two countries the United States has had tensions with historically - Iran and Pakistan. To the east of Afghanistan is China and to the north are former Soviet republics. Also notice that on the upper left-hand corner of the map is the gas-rich Caspian Sea.

I point out geography because the country's location has been a major source of the tensions and wars that have occurred there over the centuries. But I'll spare that detail because I don't think you all want to read about a few millennia of conflict in this country.

But before I start, I think a brief history of that country from the late 19th century to the present is needed.

In the early 20th century, Britain was the great world power and had control over India. But to the north of India sat the ever-growing power Russia. Separating the two empires was the region known as Afghanistan. Both the British and the Russians knew that this region would be important for trade and commerce, so for almost 30 years they fought for control. British are eventually defeated.

In 1919, Afghanistan claimed independence.

1921, Third Afghan-Anglo War.

1933-1973, Afghanistan enjoys its longest period of stability. Schools, roads and museums are built.

1973, The Empire strikes back. Communists in Afghanistan begin to exert control and in 1978 lead a bloodless coup.

1979, unhappy with who was in charge in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin was assassinated. Soviet troops moved into the country.

1980s, the United States began to fund the mujahideen, Afghan freedom fighters. In addition to these freedom fighters, Arabs from neighboring countries began to join in the fight. Among these Arabs? Osama bin Laden.
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1989, after years of war against the mujahideen - and a new group called "Al Qaeda" - the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan.

Early 1990s, after the United States left Afghanistan mostly to its own doing - main purpose of driving out the USSR accomplished - several warlords gained power. And they abused their power.

1994-1995, under the leadership of Mullah Omar, the Taliban gained control of the country. The enforce strict Islamic law on the country.

1995-2001, Taliban rule Afghanistan. They destroy several historical objects, close schools and crack down on drug lords (however drug production actually increased after 1997).

1997, Taliban begin meeting with Unocal officials about a pipeline that would run through the country to the Indian Ocean. Taliban officials take a tour of Texas - including a trip to the Texas zoo. This site has a timeline of the pipeline plan. Unocal decides that the region was too unstable for the pipeline and the plan dies.

Sept. 11, 2001 - Terrorist attacks on the United States leads to the overthrow of the Taliban, who had sheltered accused leader Osama bin Laden.

2002, Hamid Karzai, a former oil executive, is elected president of Afghanistan.

OK, so there is the brief history. A country that has suffered from years of war because of its geographic situation appears to be on the verge of another large outbreak.

For strategic purposes, fighting in Afghanistan was the right thing to do. A regime that had been violating human rights was overthrown and replaced with a Democratic one. The pipeline would (and still may) have brought needed revenue to the country. But unless the country is brought under control, it will become a breeding ground for opium production and for terrorism.

Who/what is to blame? Well, that's easy. George Bush and his rush to go to war with Iraq. Afghanistan could've had a chance if the United States had moved in with a full force and secured it. But we didn't. We sent enough to overthrow the government, but not enough to ensure the success of a new government. That was the biggest mistake. Sure the United States has put in billions to help the country, but it's not enough. The success of Afghanistan should have been our goal since day 1. But obviously, the war in Afghanistan was just a stepping stone to get to a war in Iraq.

Defeats - withdrawals without victories - in Afghanistan were precursors for the downfall of two of the great 20th-Century empires. What would that say about this country if the United States is eventually driven out and defeated?

Al Gore in 2008

I can already hear people, "Dude, Al Gore was so 2000. He got beat." "Get over it. He lost, now move on." Well, for those people, predictably, I will say that a) Al Gore received a million more votes than the current president, b) if all of Florida was recounted, Al Gore would have carried the state, and c) I am over it-I'm looking forward to 2008.

I thought Gore should have ran in '04. But I understand why he didn't. He was busy teaching at Columbia, starting the viewer-based news channel Current TV, and was giving countless speeches not only about the state of the nation, but the state of the world.

Now, I'm not pulling Gore's name out of my butt. His name has been popping up in the media here and there.

U.S. News & World Report has mentioned rumors of a Gore comeback.

They See Al Gore by a Nose in 2008
Is Al Gore coming back? If allies we talked to have their way, the former veep will be the next president. "It's Gore Time," says a political strategist and fundraiser who is opening a bid to get Gore into the race.

It was also mentioned last night on CNN's "The Situation Room." Of course his name wasn't mentioned without some scoffing by the folks at the unbiased CNN. In a report about the Hollywood primary, Gore's name came up. Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender said this about Gore: "He's great on all the issues. He's - he's - and he's passionate. He's funny. He's grounded."

There is even a Web site that is pushing a Gore candidacy.

Gore got screwed by the media and a few unfounded myths, such as the "I invented the Internet" claim last time. But despite these issues, and a poorly run campaign, I believe Al Gore would've been one of the best presidents of our generation. He was tough on terrorism - ask Richard Clarke. Al Gore took a major role when the United States sent troops to Bosnia and Kosovo to stop the genocide that was taking place there. These became two of the most successful, albeit late, military campaigns in U.S. history. Finally, just using Current TV as an example, Gore has continually pushed for a free and diverse media - something this country is in dire need of.

See his movie. It might make you realize how big of an issue global warming is and how it will continually increase until we take some dramatic steps. Al Gore in 2008.

Disciplined Disciple

One thing I've really noticed about myself is my lack of unbreakable priorities. I told myself I'm going to write everyday. I don't. I told myself I'd read everyday. I don't. I told myself that I was going to formally pray every couple of hours. I don't.

Honestly, I don't know why I don't follow through with my priorities. Laziness maybe?

I had a discovery recently. I thought about Jesus' disciples (cue for all of my non-religious friends to stop reading). And then I thought of the Latin origin of the word in disciple: "Disciplina."

disciplina -ae f. [instruction , teaching; training, education]; esp. [military training]. Transf., [results of training, discipline, ordered way of life; that which is taught, learning, body of knowledge, science; a rhetorical or philosophical school or system].

For someone to be a disciple, they have to be disciplined, I discovered. Am I disciplined? I think the obvious answer is no. I'm very undisciplined. I need order. Luckily I have people who keep me in check. My (future) goddaughter especially. They remind me of the things I need to do. But without these people I wonder where I'd be, what I'd be doing, how much trouble I'd be getting into.

But am I alone in this? I doubt it. I think a lot of us, until we reach that level of discipline, struggle becoming disciples. Even Jesus' disciples had trouble being disciplined. They slept when He told them to stay awake. Peter denied Him three times. That's not discipline. But after various reminders, they were disciplined. And they followed and spread His Word across the globe.

So, the message of this blog is to listen to those reminders from the people who keep each and every one of us disciplined. Kill our pride and our desires and listen to those who, believe it or not, can see right from wrong easier than all of this. Thanks to all those who attempt to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Peace.

The ticket sham

So I'm searching everywhere - my pants, my desk, my coat pocket, even under my car seats - for two quarters. Actually it didn't even have to be two quarters. It could of been a combination of quarters, dimes and nickels. Anything. All I needed was 50 cents for the stupid parking meter. I found 45 cents and put that into the meter - I was safe for another hour and 45 minutes.

Or at least I assumed I was. Then I thought of all the types of tickets I've received parking at the meters. Expired meter ticket? Check. Street cleaning day ticket? Check. Parking over the 2 hour time limit? Check. Parking without a front license plate? Check. Could they get me for any of these?

As my anxiety built up, so did my anger and it hit me: the biggest sham in city government is parking tickets!

Now I understand the need to ticket people who park on the street during street cleaning day; I can even dig ticketing the people who haven't fed the meter. But a time limit? Ticketing a car that lacks a front license plate even though the car is parked? That's a rebuff.

I'm always tempted to send in a jar of vaseline when I pay my fine. Attached to the jar would be a note: "Thanks for sticking it to me." But with my luck (and looks) they'd probably decide that that joke would be a terrorist threat or something like that. Then I'd probably get my phones tapped. And maybe they'd even use my vaseline I sent in for a different type of probing.

Why is there even a time limit? I assume it's to make it fair for other people who want to park at a meter. But really, when does a city, especially Los Angeles, care about being fair? No. There is a time limit because the city wants people to exceed that time limit to gain an extra $30 revenue - even if the meter still has minutes in it. Why ticket for lack of a front license plate? The signal cameras in LA aren't even turned on. That's really the only reason for front plates.

I had a conversation with a parking officer. She said, "We have to ticket out-of-staters and people who have no place to put their front license plate." She mentioned Corvettes, which don't have room for a front plate.

Now I'm sitting at my desk and have a good view at my car. I've probably looked at it about 10 times while writing this to make sure the parking officer isn't there writing another ticket. I know that if I get a ticket I won't fight it. The city knows this too, which is why they have no qualms ordering their officers to write them. Jerks.

The DaVinci Sham

I'm the type of person who promotes free speech to a fault. I'll go see a movie, even if I don't agree with it, just to see it. When people in the Catholic Church boycotted "Dogma" because it promoted the idea that, among other things, the Virgin Mary had other children, I went to see it. It couldn't be that bad, I told myself. And it wasn't. Sure it was irreverant, but overall the movie wasn't mean. It didn't go out of its way to insult an entire segment of the population. In fact, it actually made me feel pumped up about my faith and includes one of my all-time favorite lines about faith:

Faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is small, and it's easy to fill up. But the older you get, the bigger the glass gets, and the same amount of liquid doesn't fill it anymore. Periodically, the glass has to be refilled.

Some people will point to "The Passion of the Christ" as an insulting movie. They said it was anti-Semitic and that Mel Gibson makes it the Jews fault that Jesus was crucified. Gibson took precaution and actually tried to appease the Jewish leaders who approached him with their concerns.

But times have changed a little bit since 1999 when Dogma came out and even since 2004 when "The Passion" came out. First there were the insulting cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The responsibility of the cartoonist and the newspaper editors to make sure that what they are publishing is at least of some redeeming quality.These cartoons do nothing but aim to insult an entire segment of the population - they have no redeeming quality.

That brings me to what I want to write about: "The DiVinci Code." The movie comes out May 19 and will probably make $100 million or more. And it will make that amount of money solely because of its anti-Christian, more accurately, anti-Catholic theme.

This movie will have NO redeeming quality.

How can I say this if I haven't seen it? Well, I read the book. And being a book lover and hearing all the hype, I pored through it. But when I finished it, I thought, "This was a piece of crap." The writing was bad. The characters weren't characters, just poorly rendered stereotypes. The book was a "page turner" because the author cheated. He used a technique of short chapters accompanied by cliffhangers to get people to keep reading.

When I finished, I thought to myself, "Why did this book become so successful?" I pondered it for a few days, I knew the answer, but I guess I gave this country too much credit. But I came to the conclusion that the only answer for the book's success was its anti-Christian theme. The book basically calls Christ's divinity and as a result, Christianity, a sham. The protectors of this sham? Opus Dei - a strict Catholic order - and cardinals of the Catholic Church itself.

Then the book - and now the movie - claims that Christ became "divine" only after the Emperor Constantine declared it for political purposes. Yet, the earliest followers of Christianity professed Christ's divinity.

So I ask again. What made The DiVinci Code such a phenomenon? It was a phenomenon because in this postmodern culture we live in, truths are no more. People are looking for any reason to bring down established institutions. The book reinforced this generation's belief that cynicism is synonymous with intelligence. And people read this book with every cynical synapse in their brains going off - "I told you so," they told themselves.

It didn't matter that the book was filled with lies.

Opus Dei responded to the many false claims in the book. The villain in Dan Brown's book was an monk from Opus Dei who practiced mortification by tightening a belt or a chain, or something like that, whenever he felt the desire to sin. Well, Opus Dei has no monks. But they do believe in mortification, but not the type that Brown accuses the organization of committing.

In the area of mortification, Opus Dei emphasizes small sacrifices rather than extraordinary ones, in keeping with its spirit of integrating faith with secular life. For example, Opus Dei members try to make small sacrifices such as persevering at their work when tired, occasionally passing up some small pleasure, or giving help to those in need.

When the movie comes out on May 19 there is no way I will see it. People will accuse me of being narrow minded. They'll tell me that I should see it just to see another viewpoint. Keep in mind that these will be the same people who said, "I will never see 'Passion of the Christ.'"...On a side note, I remember that among my friends "Passion" became a litmus test. If you saw it, you were too radical. You were a religious zealot who oppressed other people...

Barbara Nicolosi's article says it perfectly about needing to see the movie.

Further, we absolutely do not need to see the film to talk about Jesus. No more than we need to see porn to talk about human sexuality. Or to read Mein Kampf to decide whether we can have an opinion about gassing Jews. Besides, it would be dignifying a really inane story. "The Da Vinci Code" is so ridiculous in its premises that it is giving it a false gravity to even take it seriously enough so as to argue about it.

Nicolosi suggests that everyone go to the movies on May 19, but not to see the DaVinci Code.

We need to bring our kids, our church groups, our youth ministry clubs, our seniors groups--and buy tickets for the homeless for after we feed them. And we all need to go to see THIS!

I'm in. Who's with me?

Feast of St. Valentine

One of the easiest things to do is to find what is the cause of a specific holiday. Martin Luther King Day celebrates, well, Martin Luther King's birthday. Same with the holidays that celebrate Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays. Labor Day celebrates laborers. Christmas celebrates Jesus' birthday (although it's unlikely that Dec. 25th was the actual day He was born). But Valentine's Day, where did that come from?

Well, I guess, the origin of the day goes back to St. Valentine, a 3rd century priest in Rome. According to Catholic Online, the story goes that Valentine was arrested for marrying Christian couples and helping those who were being persecuted by the Roman Emperor Claudius the Goth. While he was imprisoned, Claudius became friendly with Valentine, that is until Valentine tried to convert the emperor. Yeah, not a good idea. Valentine was beaten and then beheaded. But his death - like the deaths of all the martyrs - helped the faith grow in Rome.

Anyway, one story has it that Valentine returned the sight of a jailer's blind daughter and another story said he sent the daughter a farewell note before his execution that was signed, "From your Valentine."

In the fifth century, the feast of St. Valentine was placed on Feb. 14. In 1969, the feast of St. Valentine was removed from the Church calendar because his historical record is not necessarily clear.

But chances are that the roots of the day stem from a pagan holiday that was celebrated Feb. 15. According to AmericanCatholic.org, the festival, known as Lupercalia, allowed a Roman man to draw the name of a young Roman woman and keep her as his sexual companion for the year. Yeah, once the Church had a hold of Rome this festival was changed to a slightly calmer version in which the names of saints were placed in a pot and the young men were forced to imitate that saint for a year.

Although there is no longer a feast day that honors Valentine, he is still a patron saint of many things, including affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers and young people.

So, as you celebrate this day, either celebrate it with a loved one, or celebrate it commemorating the plague and bee keepers.