Visually Impaired? Sucks To Be You If You Seek Government Assistance!

Here’s a fun one.

Chances are, you know what a Captcha is. If you don’t, check it out here on Wikipedia. In a nutshell, a Captcha is a type of challenge-response test used on many webforms. It is to ensure that a human is filling out those forms rather than a computer program.

Go to Recovery.gov, click on Contact Us link on the top toolbar. Click on “Feedback” on the left toolbar. You are presented with a webform. Skip filling out the form. Scroll to the bottom and see the Captcha. Pretend you are visually impaired, and click on “Get an audio challenge” link indicated by a microphone icon. You’re presented with random – I think – movie bits, most of which are undecipherable.

All I have to say is you’ve got to be kidding!

Haiti’s Earthquake – The Conspiracy Continues . . .

On January 23, I posted a conspiracy theory about Haiti’s earthquake. I received some comments, lots of personal emails and a whole lot of face-to-face conversations about it.

At this point, having nothing to lose since everyone thinks I’m already crazy, I’ll just keep going with those conspiracy theories. Here’s the latest:

Israel’s Earthquake Machine

So, you still believe earthquake machines couldn’t possibly exist? Here’s more proof from our BFF in the Middle East. Even Israel is getting in on the game, and they are publicly admitting it according to Israel National News. → source

Cloaked as “part of a scientific project intended to improve seismological and acoustic readings in Israel”, this earthquake machine is capable of creating “an earthquake of Magnitude 3”. Can we not extrapolate from there and assume that the US could posses a better, more powerful version of this toy?

Unlikely Allies

Still not satisfied? Here’s another crazy theory. Countless charities and foundations are now taking your donations for Haiti. One of those happens to be the ‘Clinton Bush Foundation’. Seriously? When did these two Presidents get together and create a foundation? They have nothing in common. Don’t try to convince yourself that, irrespective of their differing philosophies, they have joined forces for a worthy cause. That makes a nice Disney story, but it should scream conspiracy.

But wait, it gets better! Go to ‘Clinton Bush Foundation’ website: https://re.clintonbushhaitifund.org. Stop! Check out the SSL encryption certificate on this site. It’s from Equifax. EQUIFAX! The company that tracks your credit reports. Coincidence? Yeah, go ahead. I dare you to use this site to donate money.

Donate your money to Doctors Without Borders.

Haiti – The Tragedy & The Conspiracy Theory

I was looking around Fox News’ website the other day when I noticed an interesting article: Hugo Chavez Mouthpiece Says U.S. Hit Haiti With ‘Earthquake Weapon’ → source

I’m the first to admit Chavez is crazy, but I’ve always felt crazy people view the world from different lenses. And different does not necessarily equate to false. Remember in the movie Men in Black when they checked the ‘hot sheets’ (tabloid)? That kind of ‘different’!

So I looked around. Here’s what I found. You’ll like this.

The Earthquake Machine

In a Department of Defense (DoD) briefing on Monday, April 28, 1997, the then Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen said:

. . . some countries . . . are designing some sort of engineering, some sort of insects that can destroy specific crops. Others are engaging even in an eco- type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves.

Yes, earthquakes! Don’t bother looking for that information on DoD’s website. It’s not there. You’ll find it on web archive site → here.

It’s not too far-fetched to think that governments, including our own, are working on top-secret and unthinkable weapons that we, normal people, don’t consider within the realm of possibilities. Don’t assume something is impossible just because you think it is.

The Plan

OK, so what if we possess an earth-quake weapon? Where’s the proof we might have used it? Consider this. One day before the earthquake, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami was testing an emergency response system. The scenario? Providing relief to Haiti in the wake of a fictional hurricane. After the earthquake hit on Tuesday, SOUTHCOM decided to go live with the system immediately. How convenient! Check it out for yourself here.

The Reason

So, let’s review. It’s possible that we possess an earthquake machine and it’s also possible that we deployed it in Haiti. The question is why. Well, oil – possibly. Google oil in Haiti, and you’ll find many sources suggesting the possibility.

The Proof

According to bloggers monitoring flightaware.com (a site that records tail number of airplanes landing at most airports), at least one of the planes landing in Port-au-Prince since the earthquake has the following registration: N419AR  → source.  Who owns this plane? Mar-Don, Inc. What kind of company is that? An oil reclamation service → source

One more thing.  Somehow, much of our relief efforts for Haiti has ‘reform’ connotation attached to them. Here’s one example from a CNN headline: “Ex-envoy: Earthquake gives opportunity to reform Haiti”. Why reform? Why now? And that brings us back to oil.

Even Ron Paul said the following about the Haitian relief efforts: “There’s been a coup – have you heard?” 🙂 → source

My heart goes out to those affected by this earthquake – whatever the cause may have been: God, tectonic plate geology, or earthquake machine.

In Support Of Publishing Photos Of Dying American Soldiers In Afghanistan

We the people . . .

A major news story recently is about Afghanistan and how President Obama must make a decision to either send more troops there or scale down the forces. This reminded that earlier this month, AP published a photo of a dying American soldier in Afghanistan. Aside from objections from the family (I’ll address this later), most of the outcry came from Conservatives (don’t tell me it’s not true, you know it is!). The basic premise was that publishing the photo is an attempt by the liberal media to break the resolve of the American people for support of the war(s).

First, that argument is pathetically disingenuous. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear Conservatives cry foul about Obama’s policies. The phrase most used is socialism. The objection most aired is that the government is taking over everything.

Let’s examine that argument for a moment. In a socialist state, the government controls everything and the people are along for the ride. The American government was established based on a constitution with a pre-amble of ‘we the people‘. Have we forgotten that? ‘We the people‘ should run the government (we haven’t for a long time, but work with me), not the other way around. Therefore, ‘we the people‘ have every right to see pictures of war casualties. That is our right, and it is the only way ‘we the people‘ can decide for ourselves whether the sacrifice is worth the price.

Second, although I whole-heartedly support the right of ‘we the people‘ to see war pictures, I see no altruism in AP’s act of publishing this picture. Director of AP photography, Santiago Lyon defended publishing the photo by saying:

“We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is.”

I don’t believe a word of it! Where has AP been for the past 8 years? Their claim of ‘journalistic duty’ doesn’t impress me. This is nothing more than a stunt in search of more readers, attention and revenue.

Third, my heart goes out to the family of the soldier. ‘We the people‘ have every right to view such photos if we wish, but that should not be at the expense of a grieving family. That soldier’s face could easily have been pixellated with the click of a mouse. His identity was not germane to the story; the rest of the picture conveyed the narrative adequately.

Finally, if you’re in the slightest bit afraid of what such pictures may do to the resolve of ‘we the people‘, or if you’re unable to stomach the gruesome nature of such pictures, then perhaps it’s time to rethink our war strategy.

Are we still ‘the people’ referred to in the preamble to the US Constitution?

Who Says Secession Is Bad?

So a few months ago, everyone was talking about secession – OK, maybe just some Republicans in southern US States. All went quiet for a while until just recently.

As I think about secession, I’ve come to believe that it is not necessarily bad for America or that it will negatively impact our country.

Consider this. The old Soviet Union was  a super power and the controlling center of many states – willing and otherwise. Soviet Union’s breakup resulted in many independent countries; some prospered and some continue to struggle. Nevertheless, I believe that all those independent states are more content now than they were under the Soviet umbrella.

Think about it. Russia is just as powerful as when it was the Soviet Union. That power may not resemble that of the days of the cold war, but it is unmistakable. Russia is able to derail many UN resolutions by voting against them. It is able to alter the course of international policy purely by projecting (or retracting) its support. How many times in the past few years have we heard that Russia and China formed an alliance to oppose international sanctions or policy proposals?

By the same token, a separated United States could also conceivably remain just as powerful and effective but perhaps in different and, as of yet, undetermined ways.

Here’s more food for thought. Consider a severely contentious issue in American politics. Let’s choose abortion. I’m willing to bet money that if we asked Californians whether Texans should have access to abortion, a majority will say that they don’t really care. The greatest thing that matters to Californians about abortion is preservation of their own right to abortion. On the other hand, I’m betting the same amount of money that if we asked Texans the same question about abortion involving Californians, a majority will say that no one in the US should have access to abortion. In other words, the more Conservative and religious the state, the more likely it will be to impose its views on the entire union.

What does this tell us? Well, remember what this country was based upon: individual liberties for all and a non-dictatorial central government. So, why not permit a State such as Texas to secede from the union if the values of its people are in direct contradiction to those of the rest of the United States? Texas and anyone who cares to join this independent state will be happier and more free. In the process, the balance of power will remain the same for the rest of the union, and the US will continue to exist and prosper over time (once we get past this recession).

Change and opportunity come in one package. Embrace them.

Michelle Bachmann’s Logic: CO2 Is Natural, Therefore Harmless!

I found this interesting. On April 22, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) talked about carbon dioxide in the context of global warming, climate change, or whatever it is called these days.

“Carbon dioxide, Mister Speaker, is a natural byproduct of nature. Carbon dioxide is natural. It occurs in Earth. It is a part of the regular lifecycle of Earth. In fact, life on planet Earth can’t even exist without carbon dioxide. So necessary is it to human life, to animal life, to plant life, to the oceans, to the vegetation that’s on the Earth, to the, to the fowl that — that flies in the air, we need to have carbon dioxide as part of the fundamental lifecycle of Earth.”

“Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful, but there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows  that Carbon Dioxide is a harmful gas. It is a harmless gas. ” 

I personally have not decided whether human activity is harmful to the environment. Tag me as indecisive. I don’t care. We simply do not have sufficient evidence, or time line, to irrefutably prove it one way or another, and we never will.

But I’m sufficiently intelligent to know one thing: natural does not necessarily equate to harmless. To think otherwise is just un-naturally stupid.

Do you know what else is natural Congresswoman? Poo. Is poo harmless in your world?

Tax Problems All Around For The Administration

Why is it that this administration’s cabinet members cannot go a few weeks before admitting to some tax problem?

The latest is Kathleen Sebelius who’s the Health and Human Services secretary nominee. She has now admitted that she made “unintentional errors” on her taxes and has corrected her returns from three different years. In total, she and her husband paid just over $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest.

Before Sebelius, it was Tom Daschle who was the first Health and Human Services secretary nominee. He withdrew his nomination over tax issues.

Before Daschle, it was Nancy Killefer, the Chief Performance Officer nominee, who admitted to tax problems.

Before Killefer, it was Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary.

Before Geithner, it was Ron Kirk, US Trade Representative.

Before Kirk, it was Hilda Solis, Labor Secretary.

I’m no genius, but I’m detecting a pattern here.

The Best Glenn Beck Interview Ever

Every once in a while, even Glenn Beck conducts a brilliant interview. This video is kind of long – 10 minutes. But it’s absolutely brilliant.

Glenn is interviewing Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.The premise of the interview is very simple. Glenn is asking Blumenthal what law AIG executives broke when they dished out those bonuses. Irrespective of your outrage over bonuses, the right answer is none. And Blumenthal is not prepared for that.

Clearly Glenn Beck is capable of conducting a great interview, just not every day . . . or week . . . or month . . .

Animal Husbandry: The Act Of Taking Animals As Husbands?

Don’t ask me how I came across this bit of news. I don’t even remember. But you’ll love this display of unbelievable lack of education, culture, and common sense.

State of Florida is working on legislation to make bestiality illegal. OK, good! I’m all for that! It”s perhaps a little too late, but better late than never.

The language of this proposal was carefully chosen to target those who derived or helped others derive “sexual gratification” from an animal. The amendment specified that conventional dog-judging contests and animal-husbandry practices are permissible.

The vote on the amendment was temporarily held up by Senator Larcenia Bullard (D, FL) who had a few unanswered questions: “People are taking these animals as their husbands? What’s husbandry?” → source

Even after it was explained to her that husbandry was the rearing and caring of animals, she still didn’t quite get it. She asked: “So that maybe have been the reason the lady was so upset about that monkey?” She was, of course, referring to a recent horrific incident in New York where a woman’s pet chimpanzee viciously attacked another person.

These are the politicians that we, the people, elect to Congress.

Bonuses, Suicide, Tits: Chuck Grassley Sums It Up.

Seems like Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

It all began on Monday when Sen. Grassley was steamed about AIG bonuses. He suggested that AIG executives should resign or “commit suicide.” Not surprisingly, he apologized the next day by claiming that he didn’t mean suicide literally. → source

So, how can Grassley redeem himself? Easy! He throws himself a press event and utters the following sentence: “From my standpoint, it’s irresponsible for corporations to give bonuses at this time when they’re sucking the tit of the taxpayer.”

One thing is not quite clear to me. Does the sucking tit part come before committing suicide or as a result of it?