Today's rant:
Ok, so this is what I'm wasting my time on, rather than looking for a job. A couple of things today are eating away at me, so rather than be a ranting lunatic, I can look like a concerned citizen and document things here for the world to see.
U.S. withdraws offer of $15B to Turkey. Good. The last thing we need in this crappy economy is to give another country $15B. I have an alternative plan. It's called "drop a shitload of bombs on Iraq". That way we don't need to worry about defending Turkey. They already have a ton of Patriot missile batteries, and if they'd shut the hell up and let us put our soldiers there, they'd have adequate defences already. If we're going to spend $15B on turkey, it'd better be the kind that sits on bread with mayo and mustard.
The TSA gets personal. Our illustrious Transportation Screening Agency, another bloated beauracratic nightmare, claims that they won't violate people's privacy as they check bank records, credit ratings, and criminal and traffic records. They even promise not to keep the data after your travel is completed! Why should we worry? After all, this is from the same Federal Government that promised a short-term income tax in the 1940s to fund WWII, and certainly they've repealed the 1% income tax that they instituted once the war was completed, right? After all, our government wouldn't keep records on its citizens, or use them as financiers for their pet projects, would they? That would just be wrong! Let's face it, our government has recently been trying to BUY fingerprints, pictures, and other digital information from various state's drivers license databases using YOUR tax dollars under a corporate front to start a database that could be used to track your interstate movements. So why should we be worried that this same government now wants to tap into your deepest and darkest secrets in order to harass you every time you want to get on an airplane? Wake up, people. The government has a hard-on for your information, and they're going to use every excuse (security is always a good excuse) to get at it. Remember the famous expression (paraphrased here) - "those who would gladly trade Liberty for Security deserve neither Liberty nor Security." That one was courtesy of Ben Franklin. I find him to be incredibly wise. He also said that "beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." How can you argue with logic like that?
Can I screw you some more? Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco that is accused of stealing $600M from his former employer now wants back pay. That's right. He wants "deferred compensation" from when he was an employee. If I stole $600M from my employer, I'm pretty sure they'd fire me, have me arrested, and burn down my house. It takes Balls of Steel to ask for money from the company you ripped off. I hope they give him a cell-mate who used to be a stockholder. Better yet, make his cell-mate an Enron investor who had chiggers. I hope they find some new way to screw him. Something creative. Something worth $600M. I know, I know, he's only "accused" of stealing it. Really he's just holding on to it for "safe keeping". Give me a break.
ET phone home, using 1-800-COLLECT. The SETI@home project, in it's 4th year, is looking at the 150 best signals to give them a closer look. I received an email from them telling me that I have 2 of the 150. If they DO discover something, and it's with one of my blocks, I get 50% credit. Let's all pull for me. That way I can become famous, make lots of money, take over the world, and restore order. Also, I can outlaw phone company commercials, car ads, Dell ads, Subway commercials, "reality tv" shows, Madonna, Eminem, and "choose life" commercials.
If you have ideas, comments, or criticisms, please let me know.