I Now Pronounce

Here is my view on marriage. You notice I didn't say gay marriage because when you think about equality - it isn't necessary. See how easy that is?

I think all couples (gay or straight) should be considered Domestic Partners in the eyes of the Government. If they would then choose to be "Married" in a church then the churches can wrestle with the issue. We have a separation of Church and State for just this very reason. But the laws of Domestic Partnership would apply equally to all with respect to hospital visitation, immigration, property ownership, taxes, divorce, etc.

Oil Soup

As major hurricane Gustov churns in the Gulf of Mexico, we can all expect gas prices to rise rapidly again (until the election gets closer). This is yet another reason why off shore drilling is not a good idea. Major hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico are not rare and, and due to global warming (which the oil folks don't believe in) will be even more frequent. So not only will we have to deal with high gas prices when the inevitable storms threaten (a threat is all it takes raise prices), we will also have to deal with the very real possibility that a storm like Gustov will damage the rigs enough to cause a major oil spill. This is the case in all the areas now under consideration for new drilling around the Gulf of Mexico, coast of Florida and coast of California. These storms are real, they are powerful, and they are inevitable. Putting more toxic rigs in these areas is stupid. Especially given the fact that the oil companies are not drilling in areas already approved on land.

As a side note - I pray this storm weakens before it makes landfall and I also pray it spares the New Orleans area. For some reason - 3 years later - many folks are still living in trailor houses there. That reason is the Bush Admin. The fence on the Mexico border is almost done but those homes have not been rebuilt.

My point made

As if to prove my point on my last article John McCain surprised everyone with is VP pick. The discussions, predictions, and forecasts over and over in the media over the last several weeks are now pointless in hindsight. It was a total waste of airtime when their were much more important issues going on in the world. The media needs to get out of the gossip business and back into reporting real news.

I rest my case on this one.

News Forecasting

The future is not news. We have entered an irritating age where people are so eager for drama that they would rather hear speculation than actual facts. All of the news outlets we have today spend most of their time reporting what might happen rather than what has been proven as true. This hearsay type of reporting is not only annoying but possibly dangerous. It gives power to the media to sway public opinion to what they think might happen - or more accurately - what they want to happen. To forecast the news is not technically lying so therefore it is not illegal. But it is not truth either and therefore it is not real news. And it is so very much worse in an election year. For example - can't we wait until the VP picks are announced to report it? Why waste so much time speculating who we think it might be - that doesn't matter. It is not news until it is a fact.

On a related note, I'm also irritated with the phrase "speaking on condition of annominity because they are not authorized to comment". If you are not authorized to comment then you should not be speaking #1 and what you say should not be reported #2. If you can't reveal your source then how can we know your information is fact and not just gossip? I want proof.

Isn't there enough real news and proven facts that people need to be aware of to fill your newscast, newspaper or website? Leave the gossip to the blogs.

Evil Entities

There are a few corporations that I refuse patronize due to their business practices I find either unethical or unacceptable. Here is my list of the most evil corporate entities that I try to avoid. "Try" is the key word here because some have become so close to a monopoly that they are hard to avoid.

AT&T
Walmart
Capital One
Comcast
J.I. Kislac Mortgage Company
FOX News
Bank of America
AOL
Haliburton
AT&T (they deserve to be listed twice)

State Farm - you have been issued notice - shape up or you will soon be at the top of this list.

Sprint deserves honorable mention but despite all the problem I've had with them (and I've had a lot!) they continue to show good customer service and usually offer some sort of compensation for my inconvenience.

Fay Loves Florida!

Tropical Storm Fay has visited almost all of Florida causing massive rain events for a most of the state. It has been an interesting storm to follow because it seems to love land - only venturing into the water to take a quick breath to ensure its survival.

No offence Fay but we are tired of you - you may leave now.

Election Gas

Did you notice that gas prices are finally dropping a bit? Well it is no surprise to me - an election is fast approaching. If you don't believe that gas prices are being artificially controlled, check out the prices over the last 8 years. Through that entire period prices have been rising rapidly except several months before elections where they went down considerably. That simply can't be a coincidence. Getting the prices lower before the election seems to show that those currently in power are working hard for the people. To me it shows they are manipulating the people.

"They" Might Be More Advanced

I read an article yesterday that said scientists are now theorizing that it might be possible to travel at greater than the speed of light using some sort of "bubble" that travels on a wave of "space time". But of course, the article states, this would be far into the future.

Well perhaps it will be far into the future for humans on this planet. But I strongly believe that life exists elsewhere in the Universe. In fact with the vastness of the Universe - the uncountable stars and planets that clearly exist - it is almost silly to think that we are the only planet with intelligent life. So what if other intelligent life does exist - who is to say they don't already have this technology that we are only theorizing about? After all, they may be billions of years older than we are.

Suddenly, the concept of visitors from other planets doesn't really seem that unlikely. I just hope they are more peaceful than we are.