I agree with this video. The war has been tough, and it really wasn't properly managed until Petraeus and the troop surge, which is working fantastically well. Some parts of Iraq are safer than Chicago by far, meaning you have a better chance of getting killed in a big US city than Iraq.
I think that some people forget that A) what happened to our country was unprecedented in many ways, and our actions have prevented another attack on the US from happening again, whether you like the war or not. B) We forget that the Iraq we liberated lived in oppression, racial tension, violence, rape, and suppression. All of these things both Democrats and Republicans can agree are awful and evil. Did everything go perfectly, no. Did we find a solution that works now, yes. Is Al-Queda on the rocks now? I think they have been increasingly disorganized and live in fear.
It's fine that Obama took the popular party line and hated on Iraq, but there are men and women there doing good work, and the people there are far better off than they were 8 years ago. Bush has made mistakes, he's also had unprecedented challenges, but the war is not an overreaction, it wasn't for money, and it has liberated a nation. If you agree with it or not, you must not diminish the sacrifices of those men by leaving the job unfinished and treating the whole thing as an "evil Republican mistake." As I recall most of American wanted something done after 9/11, and it has been.
All I know is that if I had a choice between Bush and Jimmy Carter, It'd be Bush; we have had many worse presidents (Hoover, FDR, even though WWII gets him off the hook). John McCain is not George Bush, and in fact I think Barry is closer to a Jimmy Carter, I've read history and I don't want that again. Whoever wins, they'll have a lot to do, and my understanding of economic principles, history, law, and morals leads me undoubtedly to John McCain. I am not racist, dumb, or a bad person, and I'm voting McCain. There's things I don't like about both, and I'm not the guy who lets politics make walls that stop normal human interaction. I in fact hate that attitude which many people on both sides have. Politics are important, but it shouldn't bring forth hate like the Daily Kos or prevent people from working together or living together in the everyday world.
I think that some people forget that A) what happened to our country was unprecedented in many ways, and our actions have prevented another attack on the US from happening again, whether you like the war or not. B) We forget that the Iraq we liberated lived in oppression, racial tension, violence, rape, and suppression. All of these things both Democrats and Republicans can agree are awful and evil. Did everything go perfectly, no. Did we find a solution that works now, yes. Is Al-Queda on the rocks now? I think they have been increasingly disorganized and live in fear.
It's fine that Obama took the popular party line and hated on Iraq, but there are men and women there doing good work, and the people there are far better off than they were 8 years ago. Bush has made mistakes, he's also had unprecedented challenges, but the war is not an overreaction, it wasn't for money, and it has liberated a nation. If you agree with it or not, you must not diminish the sacrifices of those men by leaving the job unfinished and treating the whole thing as an "evil Republican mistake." As I recall most of American wanted something done after 9/11, and it has been.
All I know is that if I had a choice between Bush and Jimmy Carter, It'd be Bush; we have had many worse presidents (Hoover, FDR, even though WWII gets him off the hook). John McCain is not George Bush, and in fact I think Barry is closer to a Jimmy Carter, I've read history and I don't want that again. Whoever wins, they'll have a lot to do, and my understanding of economic principles, history, law, and morals leads me undoubtedly to John McCain. I am not racist, dumb, or a bad person, and I'm voting McCain. There's things I don't like about both, and I'm not the guy who lets politics make walls that stop normal human interaction. I in fact hate that attitude which many people on both sides have. Politics are important, but it shouldn't bring forth hate like the Daily Kos or prevent people from working together or living together in the everyday world.
Labels: Election 2008, McCain
Rock Band+Beatles=Don't Bother With Guitar Hero
0 Comments Published by d.t.blaser on 10/29/08 at 8:51 PM.
Somehow MTV was able to break through the Yoko wall and get to Paul McCartney. In a new deal MTV's Rock Band will now feature several Beatles songs on its platform, like "Revolution," "Helter Skelter," and "Hey Jude." Rock Band was already far better in my opinion, with the set lists and DLCs already edging out Guitar Hero, which was very late in making more instruments than just the guitar.
There are still some folks out there who vouch for Guitar Hero, and there are some good songs on that system like "Jessie's Girl" and some Aerosmith tracks. However, I like the interface, the instruments, and now even more the set list on Rock Band. This is truly great and you can read the full story here.
There are still some folks out there who vouch for Guitar Hero, and there are some good songs on that system like "Jessie's Girl" and some Aerosmith tracks. However, I like the interface, the instruments, and now even more the set list on Rock Band. This is truly great and you can read the full story here.
Labels: Games
Last year at Emory we focused on James Cone's interpretation of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. He did most of his work during the civil rights movement and is a black liberation theologian. Most of his arguments that I read did not match up with Jeremiah Wright's view of a God who does not and cannot bless whites. However, looking back on it, Cone used a lot of language as God for the oppressed. I believe God is for the oppressed, but I think he's for all the oppressed and one could argue everyone born into a sinful world is oppressed. However, Cone goes onto say that Jesus cares deeply for the oppressed as shown in scripture, and that his actions were solely to lift the oppressed up, Christ was for the oppressed. Cone argued that Jesus was symbolically and literally black then, since at that point in history blacks were oppressed. Christ was black and conquered in order for the oppressed to conquer through his death and resurrection.
That's a very simple tidbit from Cone, and indeed it is controversial. My Systematics professor at Emory was quite brilliant, and I appreciated the opportunity to study this stuff, although I do believe Black Liberation Theology is outdated and filled with folly.
Cone wrote in the 1960s and 1970s, and then, blacks were oppressed in many places. However, one could make the argument that it is no longer blacks who are the most oppressed people, even if you limit your search to America. What about God of the Latino? God of the poor? God of the mentally challenged? We most likely will have a black president next week, how can people possibly hold onto the "White Devil" image when so much has changed? Racism goes both ways. In Atlanta, I think whites experience the same amount if not more racism thrown at them than Blacks. And why?
Perhaps people like Wright, who profit off of Racism and make careers out of hatred of the past have a lot of power of the mindset of Racism in this country. Either way, Black Liberation Theology started off as a platform for talking points in the civil rights era and never should have been considered to be proper theology, only a place where current issues can be brought up. Even with noble issues like civil rights, I think people like James Cone do a disservice to the Church when they make Church about only one issue and limit their doctrines to look through one pair of glasses. Dr. King would not have tainted the Christian message for promotion of civil rights, he was smart enough to preserve the importance of both without marrying them into an improper and ill-conceived marriage.
The God of the Bible and of sound theology is not one who harbors hate and ignorance in the name of injustice. God blesses America, the whites, the blacks, the latinos, and in many way blesses anyone and everyone. People like Jeremiah Wright should not impede the march of equality or promote a hateful, man-made God that only exists for the purpose of one race. Dr. Wright, stop the hypocrisy, stop the hate, and stop your backward ways for the benefit of all the world and every race.
That's a very simple tidbit from Cone, and indeed it is controversial. My Systematics professor at Emory was quite brilliant, and I appreciated the opportunity to study this stuff, although I do believe Black Liberation Theology is outdated and filled with folly.
Cone wrote in the 1960s and 1970s, and then, blacks were oppressed in many places. However, one could make the argument that it is no longer blacks who are the most oppressed people, even if you limit your search to America. What about God of the Latino? God of the poor? God of the mentally challenged? We most likely will have a black president next week, how can people possibly hold onto the "White Devil" image when so much has changed? Racism goes both ways. In Atlanta, I think whites experience the same amount if not more racism thrown at them than Blacks. And why?
Perhaps people like Wright, who profit off of Racism and make careers out of hatred of the past have a lot of power of the mindset of Racism in this country. Either way, Black Liberation Theology started off as a platform for talking points in the civil rights era and never should have been considered to be proper theology, only a place where current issues can be brought up. Even with noble issues like civil rights, I think people like James Cone do a disservice to the Church when they make Church about only one issue and limit their doctrines to look through one pair of glasses. Dr. King would not have tainted the Christian message for promotion of civil rights, he was smart enough to preserve the importance of both without marrying them into an improper and ill-conceived marriage.
The God of the Bible and of sound theology is not one who harbors hate and ignorance in the name of injustice. God blesses America, the whites, the blacks, the latinos, and in many way blesses anyone and everyone. People like Jeremiah Wright should not impede the march of equality or promote a hateful, man-made God that only exists for the purpose of one race. Dr. Wright, stop the hypocrisy, stop the hate, and stop your backward ways for the benefit of all the world and every race.
Obama's 2001 interview hit the news today, which shed light on his further ideas to spread the wealth, this time to blacks explicitly. I do not wish to get into politics about that statement, but I do have a problem with Obama blaming Fox News. Fox News did not break the story, and they try very hard to be fair expressly because people like Obama often throw them under the bus when something doesn't go their way.
Obama said that Fox News is just dispatching lies, but Obama did the interview, and the interview transcript and recording floating around is legit, and it's not Fox News' fault.
It's funny to me that Fox News is "biased" and the people who yell curses at Fox News reporters trying to cover a large story and disrupt their telecasts are still allowed to call foul. Obama is a fine politician, he could sell ham to Jews if he wanted, and that skill is commendable. However, blaming hard working folks and falsely accusing them AND outright lying to people in order to slink away from something is not cool. Man up, figure out a solution, and don't throw lies around to cover your ass.
My personal opinion of Fox News is high. They take pride and ownership in their coverage, have the highest cable ratings, and are always quick to get something straight. I think Fox does a good job, they take journalism seriously, they have liberals and conservatives on alike, and they are trying to do their jobs. Do some of the opinion shows have conservative hosts, yes, but their newsroom is always balanced and believe or not even folks like Bill O'Reily (made out to be a conservative) is extremely fair and always avoids slanted views. This hatred for good journalism, which seems is nearly dead, just needs to be left behind.
Obama said that Fox News is just dispatching lies, but Obama did the interview, and the interview transcript and recording floating around is legit, and it's not Fox News' fault.
It's funny to me that Fox News is "biased" and the people who yell curses at Fox News reporters trying to cover a large story and disrupt their telecasts are still allowed to call foul. Obama is a fine politician, he could sell ham to Jews if he wanted, and that skill is commendable. However, blaming hard working folks and falsely accusing them AND outright lying to people in order to slink away from something is not cool. Man up, figure out a solution, and don't throw lies around to cover your ass.
My personal opinion of Fox News is high. They take pride and ownership in their coverage, have the highest cable ratings, and are always quick to get something straight. I think Fox does a good job, they take journalism seriously, they have liberals and conservatives on alike, and they are trying to do their jobs. Do some of the opinion shows have conservative hosts, yes, but their newsroom is always balanced and believe or not even folks like Bill O'Reily (made out to be a conservative) is extremely fair and always avoids slanted views. This hatred for good journalism, which seems is nearly dead, just needs to be left behind.
Labels: Media Bias, News
Went to the Texas State Fair the other day and had a great time. The thing was so huge, I had no idea. I got to go there once for Fine Arts class when it was closed to look at the murals on the buildings, so it was neat to go back and see everything filled with people. We didn't do muesums or rides or anything, but we did chill with a lot of great food and look at some nice exhibits, the best of which were the two car show buildings.
The above is a picture of the new Camaro coming out soon. In looks it surpassed the Mustang and the Challenger, and I think for the price it's your best bet for a car like that. It was pretty fun to walk around and get in each of the cars to see how it feels. Barring excessive choices, the two cars I would put on my short list if I won the lottery or something would be the Hyundai Genesis and the Saab 9-3 sedans. Both had a ton of room and nice performance. Hyundai is pretty amazing, they give you so much car for the price and the Genesis has nearly 400hp, which makes it a good deal all around.
That's a picture of Karen looking confused in front of a butter sculpture. I think it's funny, but I don't know why, I think it's because she's secretly wondering why I would take a picture of a butter sculpture and there were lots of people around. Finally, the food there was a amazing. Had some corn dogs, chicken fried steak, and great root beer. I avoided the fried PB&J, ice cream, coke, snickers bars, and banana splits. It amazes me how many foods can be fried. Despite my aversion to the latter fried foods, my body still said "wtf?" on Sunday and I stayed on the couch watching sports most of the day. All in all, I'd do it again, and it was fun to go to the big fair.
Labels: State Fair, Texas
So the Tampa Bay Rays just beat the Red Sox in game 7 of the ALCS in what was a great game of baseball. I still think one of the annual events the sport has to offer is watching the Yankees beating the Red Sox at Fenway, but these Rays play such good baseball that it's now a toss up. Baseball is great because the better team always wins, there's no lobbying, no financing, and no "truth squads." So hats off to Tampa, it's been fun watching them all year. They play scrappy, smart small ball and it's really fun to see a team of young kids really work like a team. I'll be cheering them on in the World Series and thank them for kicking the pretentious Red Sox out on their butts. Go Rays!
Penn and Teller have a pretty sweet show called "Bullshit." They take a look at many different topics from "Being Green" to "Dolphins Delivering Babies" and look at reason, law, science, and common sense. Below is their take on the 2nd Amendment, which no one seems to know how to read in some circles, but they pretty much nail it.
P.S. When did it become so cool to throw out Constitutional Ideals? Wouldn't we hold that document up with the highest respect? Sometimes social concerns do a great job at chipping away at the freedoms America was founded on, and that all of us deserve.
What's funny is that gun control laws are often "racist" in the sense that they apply to far more black people than white people. I guess Jim Crow's spirit still hangs around for some proponents of gun control, after all, that's where the origins lie.
P.S. When did it become so cool to throw out Constitutional Ideals? Wouldn't we hold that document up with the highest respect? Sometimes social concerns do a great job at chipping away at the freedoms America was founded on, and that all of us deserve.
What's funny is that gun control laws are often "racist" in the sense that they apply to far more black people than white people. I guess Jim Crow's spirit still hangs around for some proponents of gun control, after all, that's where the origins lie.
Labels: Constitution, Gun Control, Penn and Teller
One of our cats, Reggie, is deeply in love with q-tips used to clean ears. I'm not sure why he likes them so much, but he'll take any available opportunity to sneak some from an unguarded box and play with it until nothing is left. Karen and I try to not leave the box out, but the other day we did. I was able to catch him just as he had a paw on the lid and removed the q-tips to a drawer in the office. To the best of my knowledge, the cat didn't see me put them in the drawer. None the less, the other day he kept getting on top of the desk and poking around. After rebuking him a couple of times, we started to wonder why he did that all of the sudden, and then we saw him put a paw up on the drawer with the q-tips. What the heck? Do q-tips smell or something? Is he just a smart little sneak? I don't know but it was pretty funny. I think I'm going to move the box around to different locations and see what he does to try and find them. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I apparently am that bored and indeed that lame; stay posted for updates.
Labels: Cats
I have changed my personal blog from my "Mobile Me" Mac address back the the good old blogspot. The other address is now being used for hosting www.cogentrenderings.com, which is the freelance business for graphic/web design that Erin Bender and I run. While the mac setup was slick, I think I'm more inclined to post on this, so it all works out.
It's kind of fun to look back here at all of my LU posts, kind of nice to have everything tie together. I'm looking at applying to SMU (Perkins School of Theology) here in Dallas for the Fall of '09, either part time or full depending on the financial aid situation. I have enough time and money invested in a seminary degree already that it would just be irresponsible not to finish it, and to be honest, it's pretty fun. That being said I'm glad we took a break, I'm glad to be out of Atlanta, and I'm very glad to be back in Texas (specifically Dallas). So things are going well. I worry about making everything work, and I'm continuing the business as best as I can. Karen always has tons of more trust in God, which is good for me. So I'm just going to keep plucking along on the path as stated above and hopefully things will keep working out.
I'm also looking at being a Chaplain in either the Air Force or the Navy Reserves during college (and 8 years after), which has been fun. Going back to before I changed my major I wanted to be a pilot in the forces, and I have always wanted to serve my country in some way, so doing the reserves seems like a great fit for me. I could request active duty after seminary, but I don't want to leave Dallas right now nor do I want to give up on the business or other connections; we have a lot of fun friends here. Karen especially is a people person, I'm glad everything is working out for her right now especially, she's been happy and calm and that has been good for me.
So things are alright, we're getting by and having fun doing it, can't ask for more really. Stay tuned for more at this address.
It's kind of fun to look back here at all of my LU posts, kind of nice to have everything tie together. I'm looking at applying to SMU (Perkins School of Theology) here in Dallas for the Fall of '09, either part time or full depending on the financial aid situation. I have enough time and money invested in a seminary degree already that it would just be irresponsible not to finish it, and to be honest, it's pretty fun. That being said I'm glad we took a break, I'm glad to be out of Atlanta, and I'm very glad to be back in Texas (specifically Dallas). So things are going well. I worry about making everything work, and I'm continuing the business as best as I can. Karen always has tons of more trust in God, which is good for me. So I'm just going to keep plucking along on the path as stated above and hopefully things will keep working out.
I'm also looking at being a Chaplain in either the Air Force or the Navy Reserves during college (and 8 years after), which has been fun. Going back to before I changed my major I wanted to be a pilot in the forces, and I have always wanted to serve my country in some way, so doing the reserves seems like a great fit for me. I could request active duty after seminary, but I don't want to leave Dallas right now nor do I want to give up on the business or other connections; we have a lot of fun friends here. Karen especially is a people person, I'm glad everything is working out for her right now especially, she's been happy and calm and that has been good for me.
So things are alright, we're getting by and having fun doing it, can't ask for more really. Stay tuned for more at this address.
