The Seattle Aquarium - Nature's Toilet

This weekend I visited the Seattle Aquarium.  I will not tease you with my opinion of it and will just state it bluntly.  I'd rather look for living creatures in my downstairs toilet than visit the Seattle Aquarium again.  If you visit Seattle, please STAY AWAY from this so-called attraction.

The aquarium expects you to fork over an admission cost of $15 for an adult to get in...and it doesn't take long once you're in to wonder why you ever bothered.  You're greeted with a large entry hall that has a large wall tank toward the back.  You'd expect a breakdown of what you're looking at inside the tank somewhere or even perhaps using some multimedia headphones with some slick voice like James Earl Jones telling you what obscure mollusk you're looking at but basically  you're left with just a big boring tank of fish and junk.  Wow.  Where do I get a refund?  Well wait...maybe it gets better.

Head down a hallway and a large part of the area you're standing in is dedicated to things that live in a tide pool.  The aquarium itself is built on Pier 59 in downtown Seattle so most of what you're seeing in this large area is stuff that's probably living beneath the facility itself.

Here in this tide pool area you can touch the living creatures.  I watched one poor starfish get pawed over by several different kids in a span of five minutes.  I'm sure if the creature is able to think and feel at all it wishes for death every moment.  I know I was.

A circular "doughnut shaped" tank contained Jelly Fish and a propelled current within moved the jellyfish through past the watchful eyes of many.  I was finally seeing something interesting until the person I was with pointed out one small problem with the exhibit.  All but about two Jelly Fish looked dead.  I told myself they were probably sleeping and moved on...and looked at the similarly sleeping Octopus. 

SHARK!  Finally something cool.  The six-gilled shark which is native to Puget Sound.  The wall had a cutout of the creature showing its size so you could measure yourself up against this impressive creature.  Hanging from the ceiling was a full-scale model of the shark...wow big teeth...now where is it?  Hmm, must be around here somewhere.  As you're looking around you see that you're standing next to the shark exhibit.  It's a mock-up of an underwater research lab containing three empty chairs facing some monitors looping footage of sharks.  That's it.  Wanna see a shark?  Then go to some other aquarium because AT THIS AQUARIUM THEY EXPECT YOU TO PAY 15 BUCKS TO SEE AN EXHIBIT OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO LOOK AT SHARKS...not the actual sharks themselves.  Bullocks.

The Orca (Killer Whale to non-northwesterners) exhibit was similar and my expectations were already being flushed down nature's toilet far enough to know that I'd probably only be looking at a picture of a whale...something I could do on any website.  Here let me replicate the whale exhibit at the incredible Seattle Aquarium:

There you go...free of charge.  Keep your $15 and stay away from this absolutely worthless aquarium.

People! - upon demand - UPDATED

The blonde guy is Larry Norman.  To build on Grump's warning...please do not drive or operate equipment after watching this video.

UPDATE: I misspoke when I said that this was The Animals...it was in fact The Zombies. Forgive me for the mistake but I was escaping sniper fire and had to scurry away to an awaiting vehicle.

 

Podmess?

Are you ready? Many of you have heard my voice in person whether it was across a table with a sandwich in my mouth or in a public speaking event where I've droned on about things like Financial Management Software, Libertarian politics, and on occasion Theology. I plan to do a podcast as time allows and when certain current events just demand an audio approach. Have fun and would appreciate feedback as well.

Click here and enjoy the best 15 minutes you'll ever get from me.

Wow, our next president will suck too.

Hillary's experience is vast...though it appears that most of it only exists in her head.  This is a person who has wanted to be president for a long time and got a taste of it from the all important position of first-lady.  I'm not afraid of Hillary like some of you weirdos that email me but I will say this:  Yawn.

Barack Obama has been a member of a church that practices something called Black Liberation Theology.  It's a social justice church that emphasizes the gospel through social justice.  There are many churches like it though this one is not in the National/American Baptist Model where the civil rights movement is rooted.  I still don't believe Barack Obama is a racist...and so what if he is?  Will the republic be a little less off if the country's prison population began to more closely match our nation's population?  But seriously I would be in definite error if I didn't at least say this about Barack Obama:  Yawn.

John McCain...whatever.  Goes to Iraq while the other two are fighting and then the sheeple polls are reflecting that he seems more presidential.  Let me give you all some advice.  Go get some Myspace pages and begin chatting to each other and leave the grown-ups to handle the republic...okay?

Voting for any of these three will only encourage them.

Who would win in a fight? #1

Dick Cheney	vs	Pope Benedict XVI

 

Begin voting...NOW!

Okay, you made me do it.

Canadians, progressives, liberals, and statists listen up.  I'll explain this once.  After this you may only expect my replies to include the most dismissive hand gesture that I can think of at the time of its reading.

The 2nd Amendment:

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

The intent of the 2nd Amendment is not a matter of my opinion or yours.  It is chronicled quite nicely in the writings of the founding fathers as they attempted to give evidence for the need of a constitution.  Its intent is clear and to confuse it is merely a function of attempting to change its meaning to fit your own sensibilities.

The amendment states an intent to preserve (not grant) the pre-existing right of "the people" to keep and bear arms.  The word "people" was used in the Bill of Rights as a careful way to exclude slaves as the word "persons" was too inclusive.  We have thankfully cleared that up through additional amendments to our founding document.  Look at the other amendments and ask yourself if the Fourth amendments "...right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and affects against unreasonable searches and seizures..." is a right for a people group or a right of an individual citizen.  Could this be more clear?

The militia element of the amendment is an attempt to state purpose.  You'll find this pattern throughout the Bill of Rights.  They state individual rights and describe their collective purpose.  None of these rights are meant to be collective or restricted to a people group.  There is not a single sentence of writing by the founding fathers throughout history (Including the Federalist Papers) that states that membership in an active militia is a requirement for keeping and bearing arms.

The 2nd Amendment is not a guarantee of the right to hunt.  This amendment has one purpose:  It is the intention of the federal government to preserve nature's right to protect life, liberty and property from anyone who would presume to take it.

So there you have it.  History sides with me, the Constitution sides with me, the founding father's own writings side with me and to believe you I must consider them all wrong and you alone correct. 

I won't charge you for this lesson.

Supreme Court legalizes freedom

Well how about that?

According to the Supreme Court decision on the 2nd Amendment it appears that the court has upheld the opinion that the right to keep and bear arms is the right of an individual and not a collective right.

I won't go into a discussion about my opinion on this as I've written several posts in the past on this very discussion.  I can sum up my reaction to this decision with one word, "Duh."

I have two very polite collectivists that email me regularly from a country known to many of us as Canada.  I posted a discussion about gun rights that they discovered and neither have left it alone since...and coincidently neither has offered an opinion worthy of mounting a defense.  Like playing basketball with a toddler...you can swat the ball away all day but to what end?

To celebrate this decision I'm going to go clean the weapons I have in my home and ponder in my heart how much discomfort that brings to some of you weirdos.

Tah!

A Thought Experiment

One time I presented a thought experiment to many male co-workers.  The question was:

If you had to marry another guy who would it be?

Most of the intelligent guys I worked with wanted to know where I was going with it so they turned the question around on me.  I'm okay with that...after all it was my experiment.  Here is how I answered:

Without question I would marry my buddy Eric.  We've never been in a fight.  I respect him quite a bit.  He's funny and we have a great deal in common.  I would marry him.

After they heard me answer they began listing different guys they would marry.  I'll never forget my boss at the time who said he couldn't make up his mind which two guys he wanted to marry so he asked if he could marry them both.  In my experiment I allowed that he could not only marry a guy, but two guys if he wanted.  He seemed relieved.

One guy in my department though struggled greatly with the experiment and finally said that he knew of no guy that he'd want to marry because he'd want to have a guy that looked like a girl.  When he said this everyone went quiet...and then wisely a colleague named Jason stated the obvious:  "Uh, dude...they'd still be a guy."

So I'm presenting this thought experiment to you:

If you had to marry a person of the same sex (by "had to" I mean that in my experiment conditions exist where there is no choice) or if you had to marry a pet...who or what would it be and why?

IRS - ugh

It's easy to hate the IRS. 

Last night I called them because they sent back information I gave them stating that they needed another form that contained all the information I already gave them.  Nowhere in their instructions does it mention that this other form is needed.

After talking to a few people and then finally getting transferred to a 'Tax Law Expert' their phone system hung up on me.  I'll probably try again tonight. 

Putting in your thumb and pulling out a plum

About 10 years ago my mom was feeling pretty lonely.  My dad has passed away about a year before and living alone for the first time in decades was beginning to be painful.  One Saturday she received a phone call.

The phone conversation went like this:

Caller:  We're calling from the United Kingdom, would you talk to us?

My Mom:  Who is this?

Caller:  I got a free call to the United States and my 10 year old son and I picked the numbers for your phone out of a hat.  We had your area code and picked the rest because we wanted to call the Seattle area.

My Mom:  Sure, I'll talk to you.

______________________________________________

The phone conversation goes for a little while longer and a few minutes later I pull up into my mom's driveway.  My mom kept them on the line and asked if I wanted to talk to them.  I thought it was a scam...until we talked.

The lady was a recently divorced woman raising two kids.  The younger boy was interested in the United States and Seattle in particular (music, software, etc.) so with only an area code to go with they assembled the rest of the phone number picking the numbers out of a hat...and got my mom.

Ten years later this wonderful family is still friends with us.  We've exchanged photos, stories, heartaches and celebrations.  We've exchanged wedding gifts, baby shower gifts and have spent many hours talking on the phone.

This is just one of those great feel good stories and even seems a little unbelievable...even as I type it.  I wish I had more of these to share.

The Greatest Podcast in the World

The Dave and Steve Show is like your garden variety morning radio show without unenlightening traffic reports, annoying commercials and the business stock report that no one understands.

I draw your attention to it because sometimes Steve's busy schedule takes him to other places and I have been invited on the show as an emergency spare.  Similar to the little donut spare you have in the trunk of your car...it's not something you'd want to rely on for very long but it will nervously get you by until you can get a real tire back on. 

Grump and I have talked at length about doing a show based on travel but we have yet to settle on a format.  It could be coming soon and you'd be in for a treat since Grump actually had a successful radio program at one time (he even had me as a guest) and well...I've owned a radio for years.

So go to The Dave and Steve Show and you can hear a great show and hear my dumb voice at the same time.

Larry Norman - In Another Land

I learned today that Larry Norman died.  It's okay that you haven't heard of him.  I hadn't for a long time either.  Back in the 80's someone loaned me a vinyl album of Something New Under the Son and I was afraid I would wear it out.  This was a fantastic electric blues album.  I was irritated that I couldn't find my own copy for another seven years. 

Larry has often been given the distinction as the father of the Jesus Movement but Larry was far more complex than that.  Personally I might give that distinction to groups like Love Song.  Again, I'm not pretending like you know what I'm talking about.  I'm just talking out loud for your benefit.

Larry sang anti-establishment songs, anti-war songs, songs about love, life, death, Jesus.  George Martin (Beatles director) helped direct the masterful album Only Visiting this Planet that is a 70's rock album that everyone should own.

I won't recount much of his life but I will say that if and when a biography comes out...it'll be unbelievable.

Larry had a bad heart.  His heart trouble started from a blood clot that caused him to have the first of several heart attacks.  He should've been dead years ago really.  Many fans including myself helped with medical bills.

When he moved to Salem, Oregon he occasionally did concerts.  I was in attendance for the one that was billed as his last (I went to another one a year later that included a reunion of his original 60's band People!) Larry was good enough for me to visit Oregon, something I wouldn't do for just anyone.

I spent a moment with Larry and I could tell he was tired.  His health problems were diminishing his vision and his hands were wounded from medical procedures enough that simply shaking hands was too painful. 

From his deathbed he dictated a letter that I've reread a few times and I'll include below:

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finances and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry

Thanks for everything Larry. 

Correcting a 20 Year Wrong

1988 was my first chance to vote in a presidential election.  That November I cast a vote for George Herbert Walker Bush.  To add to that I was a delegate to the state GOP convention on behalf of Bush.  Also, I should note that since 1988 I've regretted that vote.

I later learned of Ron Paul and discovered that he ran for president in 1988 and I was eligible to cast a vote for him.  If I hadn't had my head so far up GOP establishment I would've been more aware of my choices.  I do remember seeing Ron Paul on the Morton Downey Jr. show and he was being criticized for his opposition to the war on drugs.  I knew his position made him out of the mainstream and I continued to believe that a vote cast for Bush would serve to keep our country from stepping in Dukakis.

In 1996 I discovered Harry Browne and he was the first man I was truly proud to cast a vote for.  Ron Paul had just come back to congress and during the eight years that I had last seen him on TV my own political views had gravitated toward his.  Since 1992 I had not cast my vote for any Republican until this year.

Three years ago when I ran into Ron Paul in the foyer of the Canon House office building I told him if he ran again, I would vote for him.  I never thought he would but the offer was an attempt to correct my ill-conceived vote from 1988. 

This month though afforded me the opportunity for full redemption.  Above is the photo of me casting my primary vote for Ron Paul.  And though I still regard Harry Browne as the man I was most proud to cast a vote for, my vote for Ron Paul is still a very special one...and one 20 years overdue.

A Study in Non-Intervention

This week Kosovo declared their independence from Bosnia.  The United States among a few other nations recognized the new nation and promised diplomatic support and beyond that the promise of force of arms if their newfound independence is challenged.

One of the first responses was a protest in Bosnia that resulted in a mob breaking into the US Embassy and setting a wing on fire.  You may be wondering why they attacked the US Embassy if they're angry about Kosovo...if you're a Republican you're probably thinking to yourself, "Well, they're crazy Muslims and you can't reason with them." and like so many other times when a Republican attempts to think you'd be wrong...since Bosnians are typically Orthodox Christian.

So why are these Orthodox Bosnians angry at the USA for the independence of Kosovo?

It likely has to do with the endless bombing of Bosnia and their major city of Belgrade (under Wesley Clark) during the Clinton administration.  The reason for this was to stop a genocide that was occurring where Muslims were the victims.

Let's keep score:

After Military Intervention here is what we have accomplished.

1. We helped Muslims who were victimized by a ruthless leader and consequently radical Muslims still hate us.
2. We bombed Bosnia even on their holiest day of Orthodox Easter and consequently these Orthodox Christians hate us.
3. A new nation was born out of our intervention and we promise more intervention to defend their independence...so that more people will hate us.

But remember what we've been told by both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush:  Our intervention in the world is both moral and necessary to keep us safe.  I say the score says otherwise.

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot

I just spent the better half of a day looking at Barack Obama's issues platform and I'm really lost on where exactly the "change" is.  There must be a code in it that I don't understand but on the surface it just looks like the New Deal Part 2.  Not exactly progressive.  He talks about fiscal responsibility but the other portion of the plank uses the word "investment" too much. 

Let me explain something about investment:  Anyone who owns something or produces something can invest.  They can take the profit from their risk and invest it to provide more wealth, security, or insurance against a rainy day.  That is what investment is. 

Government cannot invest.  Government does not own anything.  Government does not produce anything.  To "invest" it must first take by force the property of productive people and then spend it by giving it to someone else.  You may call it an investment but it's really just tax and spend.  Not all tax and spend is wrong but when they couch it in terms of investment I begin to find myself trying to control a gag reflex.  As the old saying goes...don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.

So on the subject of Mr. Obama...I'm not exactly sure what the love affair with him is but if you all want him as president...I suppose we can give it a shot.  He likely won't earn my vote.

The Stimulus Package

The best description I've read regarding Bush's stimulus package comes from Bob Higgs at the Mises Circle in Houston:

Bush's stimulus is akin to filling up buckets of water from the deep end of the pool, then spilling them into the shallow end, and expecting the water level to rise.

Credit Max Raskin at the LRC blog at Lew Rockwell's site.

My Precinct Winner: Ron Paul

I just got back from my caucus.  It didn't surprise me that Ron Paul won our precinct because the Paul campaign here is well organized.

We had less than 15 people at our caucus which seems like a small amount but it isn't really since the precinct is really just our neighborhood.  Factor in that Republicans have been single-handedly flushing their platform and the US Constitution down the toilet over several decades and it shouldn't alarm anyone to learn that this number is small.

There were several Romney supporters there but once I counted votes (acting as Caucus Whip) I switched from uncommitted to a Paul supporter.  We not only won the presidential preference poll (Beauty contest that Miss Washington wouldn't have a chance in) but we also aced them out of delegates.  Here was the breakdown:

Precinct Committee Officer to convention - Ron Paul supporter

Two delegates to the convention - Both Ron Paul supporters

Two alternate delegates - Both Ron Paul supporters

Everyone else - Well let's just say they got a similar amount of time that Dr. Paul got in all the debates.  There's your lesson in blowback jerks.

Oh yeah, we also had crackers and cheese.  Yum.

Government is force - part 2

Hillary disclosed recently that she is prepared to garnish the wages (take money that doesn't belong to her) of citizens who do not buy healthcare to ensure universal care for all.  This is a brand new take on her overall idea of the role government:  Force = Compassion.  Like the old saying goes:  Those who rob Peter to pay Paul rarely hear a complaint from Paul.  Our country should be very wary of electing anyone who think socialism is still a great idea but just hasn't been tried by the right people yet.

Police brutality videos are all over the Internet and growing daily.  People being tazed, beaten and strip searched for doing terrible things against society like:

• Not signing a traffic ticket
• Refusing to be searched without cause
• Not calming down when a cop is shouting CALM DOWN into your face while pointing a weapon at you.

The Rodney King video went a long way toward making the routine traffic stop anything but routine.  Resentment was born from the frustration in minority neighborhoods where the police have been out of control for a long time.  Now the setting for these videos is largely white suburbia

This isn't a good trend and it's not a good time to be a police officer.  If this continues, law enforcement is going to see a backlash.  And if they lose middle-America as an ally people will start coming to the aid of victims of police brutality and abusive force. 

Had snow this week

It's not very common to have snow in Western Washington though I did manage to have about six inches in my yard and driveway.  I enlisted the help of a two year old to dig out my Ron Paul sign.

When you hire two year olds you have to take the good and the bad.  The good is that they'll work hard for a cup of cocoa and a handful of goldfish crackers.  The bad is that they cry and do a pretty terrible job.  (to be fair this one did a remarkable job)

The snow is gone now and our caucus is 8 days away. 

Oh maybe you haven't heard that Rudy got out of the race.  I read in the paper he is to support McCain but every time I see him speak in public he is surrounded by Ron Paul signs.  I guess being Mayor of NYC during 9/11 doesn't make you as popular as he had hoped...but he did perform a useful function in this race.  He single-handedly made Ron Paul a rock star.  Good riddance Rudy.

Ups and Downs in the news

Turns out there's more going on out there than presidential politics.  I sat down for a minute and decided to break down the news of the weekend according to good, bad, and ugly.

 

The good:

Miss Washington got 2nd runner-up in the Miss America Pageant.  You have to understand that I've watched both Miss America and Miss USA for a long time and can put this in historical perspective.  You usually had to quickly watch the beginning of the pageant to see Miss Washington and get a small glimpse of her in the introductory big dance number.  Basically Miss Washington got as much face time as Ron Paul at a Fox News debate.  Congrats Miss WA!

Ringo Starr walked off the Regis and Kelly show because he wouldn't shorten his song performance to less than 3 minutes.  His offer to get it down to 3:45 wasn't good enough so he left.  Good for Ringo.  He was a Beatle after all.

The Bad:

The FCC has proposed a 1.4 million dollar fine against ABC because of a scene containing "nude buttocks."  Sure, send our kids off to war to fight for the freedoms of others but do everything in your power to keep a naked ass from appearing on our televisions.  I never saw the episode because I censored it myself and kept my TV off.  I'd recommend it for you too.

Members of Philadelphia's Police narcotics division have complained that 'Ice Breakers' mints look too much like drugs.  Bill Katzel an activist and retired medical administrator for the federal government said:

"A better solution would have been a total recall of this product."

The Ugly:

A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or early March.  Apparently it's the size of a bus and all of its contents are going to crash and burn.  Sounds like Fred Thompson's campaign if ya ask me.