April 2008 Archives

Recently, I went back and started reading some old Iron Man comics in preparation for the new movie. In the process, I stumbled across a Captain America story that I think has great relevance to today. Written in 1987, the story is about a time when the United States government put together a commission to investigate the contract of Captain America. In a nutshell, they mandated that Captain America abide by the terms of his contract. In the end, Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) refused.

So the question is: What if there were a Captain America today? What would the stipulations of his contract be? Here's how some of it might read:

1. He would be a financed creation of the United States government.
2. As a volunteer, he would have signed a contract stipulating that he serve his country in an official capacity until the President relieves him of duty.
3. As a symbol of fighting America, he would agree to serve his country as an official mascot.
4. His uniform, shield, and the very name of Captain America would be the property of the United States government.
5. He would be an employee and the property of the United States and would be required to follow the orders of his superiors.

Now, knowing the kind of hero Captain America is and the ideals he holds, imagine if the government ordered him to serve in Iraq. Would he do it? Or would he do what he did in this story and turn in his uniform and shield? Given the circumstances of Iraq, the war profiteering, the lack of accountability, the lies, I think Steve Rogers would refuse.

In my opinion, if there were truly a Captain America today he would embody that which is true patriotism. He would be more than the colors of his uniform or the symbol of America on his chest. To ask him to do anything that goes against the nature of his patriotism would go against what this country is all about.

Here's what he said to the commission at the end of the issue:

(Note: the 40-year old document he's referring to is the original contract he signed back in the 1940's)

"Gentlemen, I have given the matter we discussed yesterday a great deal of thought, and I regret to say that in all good conscience I cannot accept your conditions of employment.

"Captain America was created to be a mere soldier, but I have made him far more than that. To return to being a mere soldier would be a betrayal of all I've striven for, for the better part of my career. To serve the country your way, I would have to give up my personal freedom and place myself in a position where I might have to compromise my ideals to obey your orders.

"I cannot represent the American government; the President does that. I must represent the American people. I represent the American dream, the freedom to strive to become all that you dream of being.

"Being Captain America has been my American dream. To be come what you want me to be, I would have to compromise that dream...abandon what I have come to stand for.

"My commitment to the ideals of this country is greater than my commitment to a 40-year old document. I am sorry but that's the way it must be.

"Gentlemen, I believe these are yours."

And at that, he turns in his uniform and shield.

Seriously, how much proof do you need? Not only does Hillary Clinton lie, it looks like she's even hiring others to lie for her by pushing them onto others via poll calls. Say "hello" to Hillary's new head of her campaign team, the firm of Geoff Garin:

Clinton Camp Testing Attacks on Obama

This is absurd! How can anyone in their right mind vote for her knowing damn well that she has lied her ass off to get their vote? I don't buy the excuse that we expect politicians to bullshit us. I'm tired of that line. If this is her idea of a well run campaign, I don't want her anywhere near the office of the President of the United States!

Ever see any of those unboxing videos? Check out the ones for the MacBook Air, WiiFit, and Rockband. There seems to be a weird preoccupation with this sort of thing. So, it should come as no surprise that Merlin Mann and Jeffrey Veen did a little unboxing video of their own:

Select Nuts: An Afternoon in the Castro

Recently, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer described Vista as "a work in progress" at an annual Seattle event (InfoWorld, Ars Technica). I don't know about you, but I find that statement quite disturbing. Let's take a look at what Ballmer said and see if we can translate it a bit:

"Windows Vista: A work in progress." [Laughter, applause.] "A very important piece of work, and I think we did a lot of things right, and I think we have a lot of things we need to learn from. Certainly, you never want to let five years go between releases. Can we just sort of kiss that stone and move on? Because it turns out many things become problematic when you have those long release cycles. The design point, what you should be targeting. We can't ever let that happen again."

Translation: Windows Vista: A failure in progress. A very important piece of works because, let's face it, we never get things right the second time or fourth time. Why would the sixth time be any different? Actually it's six years between releases, but who's counting? Kiss my ass if you don't like it. I know it took a long time but, you know, it's hard to design this stuff. We can't ever let anyone know that we don't know how to design anything other than shit.

"Vista is bigger than XP, and it's gonna stay bigger than XP. We have to make sure it doesn't get bigger still."

Translation: You upgraded and went from fat to obese. We know that. But diet and exercise won't make it any smaller.

"So the desktop business, it's our heart, it's our soul, we continue to drive forward from this foundation."

Translation: We know we can't keep this up. So, we're gonna try and buy up companies that aren't a good fit for our core business, share a different philosophy, and does nothing but hurt the consumer. Three cheers for Microhoo! Woo-hoo!

Regarding the search market...

"There's an opportunity to knock the socks off in terms of innovation."

Translation: There's an opportunity to kiss our competitors good-bye and innovate by stealing from them. Cause, you know, that's just business.

"It's virtualization time for Microsoft...We're gonna make sure we democratize virtualization."

Translation: We may be late as hell in the game but we're gonna do for virtualization what Hillary Clinton has done for the Democratic party. We'll lie, cheat, and steal our way to the top!

Imagine if you bought a brand new car, took it home, and within the first few weeks you noticed problems and annoyances. You filled it up with gas twice already after only driving a couple of hundred miles. Two of the tires have slow leaks. A weird burning oil smell keeps coming out of the A/C when you turn it on. The engine light keeps flashing at you telling you that your engine requires attention. The radio doesn't play any CD's except those distributed by Sony.

Now, imagine you took this car back to the dealership and was told that your car was a "work in progress" and wasn't actually fully tested nor completed when it rolled off the assembly line. Would this be an acceptable answer for you? Would you put up with it? Didn't think so.

Got this in my inbox today:

Quote of the day

"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." -- Barack Hussein Obama

What ?

Problem with this is that it's a lie. That is not Barack Obama's quote. Want proof? David Emery mentions it on his Urban Legends Blog.

I looked it up and, sure enough, I could not find that quote in any transcripts of Barack's speechs. All it took was a simple Google search. ;)

Clinton drops hospital story from stump speech (CNN)

You know, this story reminds me of a song that my man Henry Rollins wrote with his band. Hillary, this one's for you:

Liar

you think you're gonna to live your life alone
in darkness
and seclusion
yeah I know
you've been out there
tried to mix with those animals
and it just left you full of humiliated confusion
so you stagger back home
and wait for nothing
but the solitary refinement of your room spits you back out onto the street
and now you're desperate
and in need of human contact
and then
you meet me
and you whole world changes
because everything I say is everything you've ever wanted to hear
so you drop all your defenses and you drop all your fears
and you trust me completely
I'm perfect
in every way
cause I make you feel so strong and so powerful inside
you feel so lucky
but your ego obscures reality
and you never bother to wonder why
things are going so well
you wanna know why?
cause I'm a liar
yeah I'm a liar
I'll tear your mind out
I'll burn your soul
I'll turn you into me
I'll turn you into me
cause I'm a liar, a liar
a liar, a liar

I'll hide behind a smile
and understanding eyes
and I'll tell you things that you already know
so you can say
I really identify with you, so much
and all the time that you're needing me
is just the time that I'm bleeding you
don't you get it yet?
I'll come to you like an affliction
and I'll leave you like an addiction
you'll never forget me
you wanna know why?
cause I'm a liar
yeah I'm a liar
I'll rip your mind out
I'll burn your soul
I'll turn you into me
I'll turn you into me
cause I'm a liar, a liar
liar, liar, liar, liar

I don't know why I feel the need to lie
and cause you so much pain
maybe it's something inside
maybe it's something I can't explain
cause all I do
is mess you up and lie to you
I'm a liar
oh, I am a liar

if you'll give me one more chance
I swear that I will never lie to you again
because now I see the destructive power of a lie
they're stronger than truth
I can't believe I ever hurt you
I swear
I will never to you lie again, please
just give me one more chance
I will never lie to you again
I swear
that I will never tell a lie
I will never tell a lie
no, no
ha ha ha ha ha hah haa haa haa haaa
sucker
sucker!
oh, sucker
I am a liar
yeah, I am a liar
yeah I like it
I feel good
ohh I am a liar
yeah
I lie
I lie
I lie
oh, I lie
oh I lie
I lie
yeah
ohhh I'm a liar
I lie
yeah
I like it
I feel good
I'll lie again
and again
I'll lie again and again
and I'll keep lying
I promise

Microsoft Sends Letter to Yahoo! Board of Directors

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently sent a letter to the members of Yahoo!'s board of directors basically telling them they have three weeks to make up their mind or Microsoft is going to get nasty. Here's a play-by-play of the letter:

Dear Members of the Board:

It has now been more than two months since we made our proposal to acquire Yahoo! at a 62% premium to its closing price on January 31, 2008, the day prior to our announcement. Our goal in making such a generous offer was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction. Despite this, the pace of the last two months has been anything but speedy.

That's probably because your offer sucked, Steve. Not to mention that even at a 62% premium the offer is still undervalued. Price alone isn't a valid measure of the value of this company.

While there has been some limited interaction between management of our two companies, there has been no meaningful negotiation to conclude an agreement. We understand that you have been meeting to consider and assess your alternatives, including alternative transactions with others in the industry, but we've seen no indication that you have authorized Yahoo! management to negotiate with Microsoft. This is despite the fact that our proposal is the only alternative put forward that offers your shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.

So it's all about the shareholders again? Where does my voice come into this? Do consumers have a choice in this? Didn't think so.

During these two months of inactivity, the Internet has continued to march on, while the public equity markets and overall economic conditions have weakened considerably, both in general and for other Internet-focused companies in particular. At the same time, public indicators suggest that Yahoo!'s search and page view shares have declined. Finally, you have adopted new plans at the company that have made any change of control more costly.

The whole industry has declined. And the publicity surrounding your bully tactics and possible hostile takeover of Yahoo! hasn't helped either. Yahoo! is doing what it can to be creative and branch out into other areas in an effort to expand their business and offer their customers more choice. Hmm...seems like a contradiction of that last sentence. In other words, only Microsoft can make the right choices and adopt new plans that give consumers better choices.

By any fair measure, the large premium we offered in January is even more significant today. We believe that the majority of your shareholders share this assessment, even after reviewing your public disclosures relating to your future prospects.

Again with the whole "It's all about the shareholders" talk. This sort of corporate bullshit and old-school management style is what's stifling competition, bub. Google is running off of a different mindset and different style of management and Yahoo! is doing it's best to play catch-up. Best get with the program.

Given these developments, we believe now is the time for our respective companies to authorize teams to sit down and negotiate a definitive agreement on a combination of our companies that will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders, creating a more efficient and competitive company that will provide greater value and service to our customers. If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board. The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

Your arrogance is overwhelming.

As I've said on my blog regarding this very thing, Yahoo! and Microsoft are two different companies with drastically different philosophies using completely different technologies. How these two companies can offer such superior value after the fact is likely to be an impossible task. If the Yahoo! board doesn't see that then the company is surely sunk and they might as well let you gut it like a fish, Steve.

It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!'s shareholders and employees. We think it is critically important not to let this window of opportunity pass.

Sincerely,

Steven A. Ballmer

Man, talk about a contradiction. Steve, you used to scream that it's all about "Developers! Developers! Developers!". Now, with this whole Yahoo! mess, it's very clear that it's all about "Shareholders! Shareholders! Shareholders!". Makes me sick.

This story really brings it all into perspective. Read it and you'll understand:

Factor military duty into criticism

Regardless of how you may feel about him, there's no denying that Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a true patriot and has served his country well. Anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn't know what the word patriotism really means.

Ann Coulter made a post on HumanEvents.com called Obama's Dimestore 'Mein Kampf' comparing Obama's book Dreams from My Father to Hitler's Mein Kampf. Now, I'm not going to say that all conservative Republicans are like this, because their not, but this is about as insulting as it gets. Comments like these are way out of line:

Here's a little inside scoop about white people: We're not thinking about you. Especially WASPs. We think everybody is inferior, and we are perfectly charming about it.

So I took the high road and added a well written, respectful comment to her post:

Ann, although I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to free speech and I respect your opinions, I find your evaluation of Barack's book highly flawed. The subtitle of the book is "A Story of Race and Inheritance" so it's clear that part of Obama's experiences are going to entail racism. The experiences he wrote about were set in the '70's and '80's. Racism was still a very prominent problem even then. What Barack talks about is very much in line with what Reverend Wright referred to as "self-examination". Barack is very candid about his experiences. The problem I have with your views on this is that you're taking it out of context. Barack is far from the raving, racist, lunatic you make him out to be. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You mean to tell me that this man is a racist even though he has a white mother and a family filled with people from all walks of life? Please. Barack made one speech about race and that's it. That didn't happen till folks like you, Pat Buchanan, and Hillary Clinton took Reverend Wright's sermons, took them out of context, and made him out to be a raving, racist, lunatic in an attempt to make Barack guilty by association. Context is important. I listened to the two most controversial Wright sermons and, let me tell you, I didn't hear a damn thing that shocked me once I heard everything in context. I'm white. I'm not racist nor prejudice. I do not proclaim to be a Republican, Democrat, or Independant. I'm just an out-of-the-box thinker who does his best to educate himself on the facts at hand. The only two things I can not stand is ignorance and stupidity. Ann, I feel what you say here is both ignorant and stupid. It lacks any common sense and has no basis on fact since it's clear you didn't actually fully read and understand the context of his book. You merely reacted to the Reverend Wright incident and tried to find more dirt on Obama. Spreading lies, distortion, and hatred is no way to improve things in this country.

"Get over it!" isn't a solution. And comparing his book to Mein Kampf is a back-handed, racist comment in and of itself. That's highly insulting! Man! Talk about taking things out of context and twisting them around! This sort of thinking isn't doing a bit of good for this country!

A family friend recently sent me an e-mail with a story called The Barack Obama Double Standard written by Doug Patton. What I read shocked me and, in response, I took the time to really look at what Reverend Wright had to say in his sermons. Read on:

Imagine in 1999, that a videotape had come to light showing the pastor of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's church making vicious, hateful comments about America and cruel, racist statements about Americans of color. Suppose this preacher had given a lifetime achievement award to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and had traveled to Europewith Duke to meet with neo-Nazi terrorists. Now try to envision that the candidate's family had attended this church for more than twenty years, that George and Laura Bush had been married there, by this pastor, and that the Bush daughters had been baptized by him. Picture George Bush titling his autobiography after a phrase in one of this minister's sermons, writing that the man was his mentor, and then putting him on the presidential campaign staff as a trusted advisor and confidant. Say it came to light that for several years George W. Bush had been friends with Eric Rudolph, the notorious Olympic Park bomber and anti-abortion terrorist .. Furthermore, let's suppose that Bush had remained friends with Rudolph over the years and still considered him a colleague today. Now imagine Laura Bush, on the campaign trail for her husband, telling supporters and the national media that America is "mean" and that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of her country. Is there a doubt that Republican officeholders would have run from the Bush campaign like rats from a burning barn, that he would have become the political leper of the 2000 campaign? And what about the media? They virtually crucified candidate Bush that year for daring to give a speech at Bob Jones University, which had once banned interracial dating. I cannot imagine the field day they would have had with something like this.

And yet excuses are made for Barack Obama, who now finds himself in exactly this situation. Obama's pastor of more than two decades - the man who married Barack and Michelle Obama, who christened their daughters, who inspired the title of the candidate's book, "The Audacity of Hope," - is now at the center of a storm that would have destroyed the candidacy of any Republican the day the story broke. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for the last 36 years, has been caught on tape denouncing the United States and the white race in terms that should shock and disgust every thinking American. Wright and the church swear allegiance to the "mother country" - Africa. (Presumably this includes the Obama family.)

Rather than trying to infuse his congregation with hope and encouragement, Wright poisons them with vitriol about how the U.S. government has tried to commit genocide against the black community using drugs and the AIDS virus as weapons of choice. "Don't say God bless America," Wright screams in one sermon. "God damn America! " Wright, representing the church, bestowed a lifetime achievement award on Louis Farrakhan, the racist leader of the Nation of Islam. In the 1980s, Wright traveled to Libya with Farrakhan to meet with Muammar Gaddafi.

If Barack Obama has not been paying attention in church, it is apparent that his wife, Michelle, has. Campaigning for her husband recently, she said that for the first time in her adult life, she is finally proud of her country. In a separate speech, she said America is "a mean country."

Obama is friends with William Ayers, an admitted domestic terrorist with the Weather Underground, which declared war on the United States and claimed responsibility for bombing several government buildings, including the Pentagon and the State Department building, in the 1970s. In an interview with The New York Times, ironically published on the morning of September 11, 2001, Ayers was quoted as saying, "I don't regret setting bombs; I feel we didn't do enough. " Now a tenured professor at the University of Chicago (only inAmerica!), Ayers met Barack Obama in the 1990s. They have remained friends ever since.

We are judged not just by our words, but by the company we keep. The litmus test should not be whether or not everyone a candidate knows is ideal. That is an impossible standard. The true measure of a man is in his ability to choose friends with which he can be proud to stand shoulder to shoulder, not those about whom he must equivocate and for whom he must apologize.

This is one of the worst perversions of context I've ever seen. Did Doug Patton even take the time to listen to Rev. Wright's entire sermon? Evidently not. Otherwise, he would have understood exactly what Rev. Wright was talking about. Seriously, take some time out and listen to his sermons. Videos of both the most controversial ones can be seen here:

Lies of Omission: Rev. Wright in Context

Here's a few articles about the sermons as well:

The full story behind Rev. Jeremiah Wright's 9/11 sermon

The full story behind Wright's 'God Damn America' sermon

So, after seeing and listening to the sermons, after reviewing what others have observed from a non-biased point of view, ask yourself: Is Rev. Wright a racist? Personally, I do not think he is. Sure, his sermons are controversial from a certain context, but does anything he say in his sermon strike you as bullshit? Absolutely not. In fact, what he says is very honest.

Now, you could say that he's un-American. But patriotism isn't about wearing a flag on your lapel. It's not about putting your hand over your heart when you say the pledge. Those are just symbols and do not reflect a man's (or woman's) patriotism in and of themselves. No, true patriotism comes from someone who loves their country and wants to help improve it so much that they are willing to question their leaders and sacrifice themselves to do so. That's what our founding fathers did when they wrote the Declaration of Independence proclaiming their independence from England. Why is it un-American for someone to question our leaders now?

And, no, we are not always judged by the company we keep. Think about some of the friends and family you have. Do you agree with them on everything? Do some of them piss you off because of what they believe in? Do you sometimes want to slap them silly? What makes Barack Obama or anyone else any different? No, people should be judged on their character and actions above anything else.

Double standard? Best look in the other direction. You want to talk about racism? Best look in the mirror, buddy. The only thing I can imagine is a world filled with people like you who continue to pervert things, distort the truth, and somehow justify it to make yourself seem more right.

Evidently folks like Pat Buchanan don't get it either (A Brief for Whitey). The things Pat Buchanan says are far more racially charged than both Reverend Wright and Barack Obama combined:

..No people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

Gratitude? Grievances? What? Is he kidding? Somehow welfare, food stamps, a such are enough? Holy shit if that ever wasn't a racist, "slap in the face" series of statements!

The hypocrisy of all this is just mind blowing! And the crazy thing is that it isn't just right-wing conservatives spewing this nonsense either. There are plenty of left-wing liberals in the mix who are pulling all the stops to preach more lies and propaganda to mask the truth. It's time the American public opened their eyes and realize that this kind of politics must stop!