Easy Prey and Cowards

Those who lobby against federal and state support of higher education by and large represent student loan lenders - predators all. 

Since by law you cant just walk away after defaulting a student loan or even dismiss the debt in bankruptcy I would then have to ask what reason the high interest rates? What reason the systematic defunding of our universities and colleges by government resulting in rising tuition that for many, is unreachable - except through student loans and strangling debt. 

Student loan predators and a corrupt government overly influenced by them and their lobbyists - that's what.

So hey, good idea. Prey on our future scientists, physicians, researchers, and engineers, poets, novelists for a quick buck today - never mind bankrupting our future.

People spend 20 years in prison for drug offenses. By those standards these predators should die by lethal injection. The harm they do - immeasurable.

Do me a favor

Most of the New Testament was written in the first and second centuries A.D., but not compiled into a single book probably until the fourth century AD. Both the authors and those that compiled it, were men who were at least partially influenced by the need to expand the church's base and power.
According to them Jesus was born during Hanukka, died and was resurrected during Passover, as example.

If I wanted to convert Jews or Pagans in order to expand my congregation, I would for sure offer rites, rituals, and holidays to compete with existing ones. So coincidence or competing for believers? Gods words or human invention?

Here's the thing. As a non-believer I recognize these questions are a matter of faith - not for me to question another's faith. If only believers could learn to return the favor.

Redneck Earthlings

Planet Earth - love it or leave it.

Media, Mayhem, and Money

America you have become fraidy cats.
You live in a state of constant fear of imagined threat - and it has consumed you.
Death panels, a terrorist behind every bush, mushroom clouds, a child molester on every street corner.

Where are your children who should be playing in your neighborhoods free to roam and explore as children should? Play date?

What purpose your airport surrender of civil liberties?

Tell me again why you must arm yourself to the teeth?

Because you live in constant fear of imagined threat and you haven't the guts to get on with living.
You have swallowed hook, line, and sinker the 24 hour news cycle and the state of constant hypervigilance, paranoia, and fear so necessary to sell you the news. Coming to get you.

Oh sorry - didn't mean to frighten you.

One World

Here's a question for you.
How many people died in Vietnam? 50 odd thousand??
Wrong.
4 million civilians died in vietnam - 4 million.
Hitler killed 6 million jews. We murdered 4 million vietnamese.
I'd like to see a memorial to them.
I'd like to see a memorial to all those that have ever died in war.
I'd like to see us all mourn human death and suffering wherever and to whomever it occurs.
I'd like to see the day when we learn to value human life - all of human life.
Not just the culturally familar. .

Highly Functioning Sociopaths

At the center of sociopathy is a lack of empathy for others. Or rather an inability to experience, to feel, for others.
It is a necessary but not sufficient condition of sociopathy.
Add in a lack of conscience,a large dose of narcism, and a grand and glorious "master plan" to finally obtain the power, control, and glory owed - not earned - owed - and you have all the conditions necessary for a highly functioning sociopath.
Dick Chaney, Carl Rove as examples.
But this idea that one has to be a smart or as good at it as they are to be sociopathic is wrong.
I know lots of less successful sociopaths - academic medicine in my experience - full of small minded, less intelligent, highly functioning sociopaths.
I can only imagine Wall Street, and big business.
Here's the thing.
They are not to be admired as cunning, focused, and skilled at what they do.
Take away empathy and conscience and almost any fool can do the same.

Verizon and a weapon of mass financial destruction

As you travel internationally data roaming on your smart phone can be expensive - very expensive.
So you do what I do - turn it off.
Here's a little secret - Verizon has now turned your phone into a financial bomb.
Ticking away in your pocket.
If that roaming gets turned on, even for just a minute, while you're still roaming you can be billed $500, $1000, $2000 in data roaming usage.
What they do is stack all the undelivered data waiting for that moment when that data gets turned on - then they dump it all -  make a one minute mistake - get a $500 bill.
Tick tick tick......