From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:
Friday, July 07, 2006
The false religion of Scatology targets NASCAR fans.
I'll bet it works, too.
Daily Bulletin: Scientologists, start your engines: Dianetics to sponsor NASCAR race team
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Race fans, let the couch-jumping begin. The Church of Scientology, the religion for which actor Tom Cruise crusades, will attempt to spread its "Ignite Your Potential" message into auto racing through sponsorship of a race car in one of NASCAR's lowest levels.
Senator Brain Damage strikes again.
Doesn't he remember whining about "unilateralism" when the question was Iraq?
KYW: Specter Backs Bilateral Talks with North Korea
US senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) says he believes the United States should begin direct talks with North Korea. Speaking with reporters in Harrisburg, Specter said six-way talks haven’t done any good, so he believes bilateral talks should be the next step.
Rick Santorum could do without friends like this...
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Divide: Specter and Santorum differ over what "amnesty" is.
When Sen. Arlen Specter vowed to do anything to help Sen. Rick Santorum win reelection this year, he probably did not imagine serving as a political piñata.
But that in effect is what is happening as the two Pennsylvania Republicans find themselves on opposite sides of the sharp national debate over illegal immigration.
The divide was illustrated yesterday in dueling forums at opposite ends of the state.
Hours after Specter appeared in Philadelphia to conduct a hearing on a Senate immigration bill he helped author, Santorum staged a town-hall event near Pittsburgh to tout his opposition to the bill as weak-kneed "amnesty" for undocumented workers.
"People suggest the Senate bill does not grant amnesty and that I am mischaracterizing it," said Santorum, who entered Monroeville Volunteer Fire Company No. 4 to chants of "Six more years" from an invitation-only crowd of 150. "If I am, then so are 38 or 36 other senators, as well as 230 House members, numerous editorial pages, and a lot of other folks who read that bill and see it for what it is."
Santorum has been using tough talk on undocumented workers to go on the offensive in his campaign against Democratic State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., choosing the issue for the first radio and TV ads of the race. In the radio spot, Santorum says Casey has "sided with Ted Kennedy and other liberals" on the legislation.
Kennedy joined Specter at the Senate Judiciary Committee's field hearing yesterday.
"Sen. Santorum is entitled to his views," Specter, the judiciary chairman, said before the hearing. " 'Amnesty' is a buzz word that is used in derogation... . I think we're moving past that."
Besides, the Senate bill required undocumented workers to pay fines, hold jobs and pay back taxes before moving toward legal status, Specter said.
"Amnesty is when you when you forgive someone for something that they have done," he said. "There is no forgiveness here."
A couple of continuing stories of interest.
Could the Ukrainians have forgotten the communist slavery imposed by Moscow...
AP: Ukraine's Orange coalition falls apart
Ukraine's main opposition party joined together with two other groups in parliament Friday, and the new coalition proposed the pro-Russian party's leader Viktor Yanukovych as prime minister.
The realignment in Ukrainian politics means that Yanukovych could end up serving as prime minister to President Viktor Yushchenko, the man he lost out to in what has become known as the Orange Revolution.
The move underscored divisions in the country between the mainly Russian-speaking east and south and the Ukrainian-speaking west, and the country's strategic dilemma between close ties with Russia and integration with the West.
...or are they cowards who refuse the responsibilty freedom demands?
The merger creates a three-party coalition of the Party of Regions along with the Socialist and Communist parties. Coalition leaders said they hold a majority of 233 seats in the 450-member parliament.
After the signing, Yanukovych said the parties had created a "crisis coalition. We have a very difficult situation in the state. We need to create order," he said.
And we all know what Moscow-backed "order" means.
Were you just wondering whatever happened to Barbaro?
Sports Illustrated: Barbaro has cast on shattered leg replaced
Barbaro had the cast on his shattered right hind leg replaced for a third time, two days after the Kentucky Derby winner had two bent screws replaced in an injured joint.
I get mail from a mind not yet seduced by ideology...
...but it is definitely leaning in the wrong direction.
Responding to my swipe at the Chicken Littles of the left-fascist antique press and their allies from Big Pseudo-Science and Totalitarian, Inc.
Argus said...
Why do you think there's no global warming? I find the evidence convincing, but then again, I'm quite new to the subject.
Good blog, by the way.
Thank you for your kind words about my idiot blog.
The answer, my son, is blowing in the wind. (If only we had some real scientists willing to study the wind in peer-reviewed double-blind experiments...)
It is also here.
I was intrigued by this new correspondent, kiddies, so I went to Godspeed, Argus and found the following post:
I'm a latecomer to this, I know, but I've been wondering whether climate change is something that I could give my life to. I wonder whether I could make a difference in this field. Is this something that I could study and work to advocate? I am convinced that the world needs good people that are concerned with this issue. Why not me?
You can see the problem here, can't you kiddies? Citizen Argus is not talking about science, he's talking about advocacy, concern, making a difference, and giving one's life to a cause. These are political concepts. They have nothing to do with real science. Pseudo-science, on the other hand, is thoroughly political. Fyodor recommends the following book to help combat this tendency: The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. ("It is a truism that many who join a rising revolutionary movement are attracted by the prospect of sudden and spectacular change in their conditions..." )
Make no mistake. "Global warming" is a movement in search of the masses.
But I often wonder why I consider myself an environmentalist. Why is this something that I actually care about? It is because I am worried about the fate of the human race? Is it a humanitarian issue? Or is it an aesthetic issue?--Do I just want to maintain a beautiful world? Or is it even a spiritual issue?--Do I consider it is great affront to the gift of life for mankind to treat it the world, our home and our provider, with disrespect?
Men who cease to believe in God don't cease believing. They simply find something else in which to believe. (I apologize for the poor paraphrase of...Dostoyevsky?) Again, Argus' words suggest a political yearning, a need to belong to something greater than himself. Human, all too human. (I know that one is Nietzsche's.) Not a hint of science. Not a whiff.
I was extremely moved when I saw An Inconvenient Truth the other day. I've seen it twice now, and both times I came out of the film with a motivated, stimulated mindset. I wanted to act. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to become involved in a serious way.
To help combat the efforts of totalitarians, left-fascists, leaders, nazis, commies, do-gooders, and others to manipulate other people's natural inclinations for their own nefarious ends, Fyodor recommends People of the Lie: the Hope For Healing Human Evil by M. Scott Peck.
But there are a few observations that must be made about this feeling, since I'm not sure the aftereffect that I felt was genuine. Did I really feel passionate about the cause, or do I just want to be part of the cause? I felt like Al Gore was explaining the ins and outs of a club that I hadn't yet joined, and I felt like I wanted to be part of this club. I felt like he was part of something special, and I came out of the movie wanting to be part of that something, and I wanted to be an important part of it, not just any part of it.
This makes me think Citizen Argus is smarter than the average bear, kiddies. His conscience seems to be prompting healthy skepticism despite his desire to swallow (sorry) The Gorehound's propaganda whole, as Argus' political beliefs (I assume) are compelling him to do. That, kiddies, is the first sign of the scientific method.
I think this is just a specific case of one of my most identifying traits: the desire to be renowned and celebrated, honored and declared a genius. I want to be involved with this issue, but I want to be on the top of the game. I wouldn't actively settle for anything less. While this is a positive thing when looked at from the traditional American mindset, it manifests a difficulty from a more moral/teleological/philosophical point of view. This is a facet of my overwhelming superiority complex (to utilize a hackneyed pop-psych phrase), a part of my character that I know is immutable. And I'm not sure this complex can be overcome, for when I try to overcome it, I end up reinforcing the motion. I try to be humble, I constantly try it. I truly do, but I do so knowingly, and I do so with an eye to improve myself, to try to become a better person. As I feel this humility rising up inside of me, I then begin to feel a sense of self-achievement, and then I feel a sense of superiority, and the cycle is thus iterated, and the humility means nothing.
There is nothing wrong with ambition, (A gift from God and, as such, good) as long as a man is a well-rounded gentleman. (For examples of what NOT to do with your ambition, Fyodor recommends the reading of History.) Of course, this battle between will and conscience is life-long and difficult. It is one of the things that makes us humans and not beasts.
As is evident from even a cursory look at my blog, I believe Catholicism is the best and safest way to solve this problem. But the important thing is to solve the problem and win the battle in favor of conscience. Why? Because Mao, Stalin, and Hitler (in descending order of number of millions of victims) chose their defective wills instead.
But this is, obviously, a larger issue. Perhaps this isn't even self-reflection, but, since this condition may be universal among us, it's simply reflection on the human condition, philosophical babble, not something to be discussed now.
True Philosophy [Aristotle: tên onomazomenên sophian peri ta procirc;ta aitia kai tas archas hupolambanousi pantes -- "All men consider philosophy as concerned with first causes and principles" (Metaph., I, i)] is not babble. Argus may be confused by the proliferation of philodoxy under which our modern age suffers. Fyodor recommends consideration of the following terms: will, defective will, properly informed conscience, obligation, empiricism, and power.
Could I make my life, make my career, out of an issue such as this one? Do I care about it enough to pursue it uniquely? Will I ever find something that I care about enough to pursue it uniquely?
Fyodor's bottom line advice? Never define yourself with things, kiddies. And always remember that what you do is NOT who you are.
So, your 10 year old can hoop big time...
Washington's other newspaper offers more evidence of the destruction of American sports and the stupidity of adults. I am going to pray Justin grows up to be a marine biologist.
Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect 10?
Basketball Prospect Courted While Still In Elementary School
Four coaches clapped and snapped fingers in front of Justin Jenifer's face to demand his focus, but Justin's attention drifted. He felt hungry, particularly for Skittles. He turned from the coaches and tossed through the contents of his Adidas gym bag. Nothing. Justin stuck out his lower lip and looked longingly across the gym at the concession stand.
Justin is 10.
The adults who huddled around Justin spoke in hushed tones. The 10-and-under Bentalou Bombers basketball team trailed by six points. About four minutes remained in the first-round game of the Maryland State Tournament. A loss could devastate the Bombers' season.
Justin is 10.
As usual, coaches had called a timeout and turned expectantly to Justin, a 4-foot-6 point guard. One problem: Justin, 10, refused to look back at them. He rolled his eyes, bounced in his chair and playfully shoved teammate Cory Watson. "If we win," Justin whispered to Watson, "I'm going to get money from my dad and go straight for the food."
Justin is 10.
During the last two seasons, youth basketball coaches had anointed Justin as one of the most talented 10-and-under players in the country -- a distinction that would have won him nothing but cheap trophies a decade ago. But now, Justin had become the sought-after prize, pursued by Amateur Athletic Union summer league teams that troll nationally for players, high school coaches who recruit aggressively and shoe companies whose scramble for potential future endorsers continues for a second decade.
Justin is 10.
The burden of so many pressures rarely registered for Justin, even now in the waning minutes of an important game. But they weighed heavily on a handful of men who watched inside the Chesapeake High School gym in Baltimore. They had invested considerably in Justin's development, and they expected a payoff.
Justin is 10.
Howard Jenifer, Justin's father, paced behind the Bentalou bench. During the last year, he had fielded requests from at least seven AAU coaches who wanted Justin on their travel-intensive teams, including one in Atlanta who offered to fly Justin in for weekend tournaments. Howard had kept Justin with Bentalou, a team run out of an inner-city recreation center in Baltimore, so his son would remain comfortable and carefree. Could Justin stay that way under pressure?
Justin is 10.
Don Aaron sat in a section of bleachers by himself because he wanted to watch without distraction. A friend of Howard's and a private basketball instructor, Aaron had outfitted Justin with a weighted vest during workouts to build upper-body strength. He had suggested Justin cut juice out of his diet and regularly run up and down bleachers to build endurance. Would fortified legs carry Justin late in the game?
JUSTIN IS A TEN YEAR OLD BOY, YOU MORONS!
Across the gym, Scottie Bowden pulled down a flat-brimmed Washington Nationals hat until it almost shielded his eyes. A representative of Adidas, Bowden had invested many weekends and about $20,000 of company money in Justin and his teams. Bowden had provided the boy and his teammates with sneakers and travel money to tournaments in an effort to build brand loyalty in a 10-year-old with distant NBA prospects. In Justin, had Bowden accurately identified a star?
Over the next four minutes, Justin reassured his admirers. As the smallest kid on the court, he looked outmuscled and immature, with shorts that fell almost to his socks and a jersey so big the straps slid off his shoulders. But Justin spun and dribbled the ball as if it were a yo-yo. Then he dropped back on defense and shadowed his opponent, his legs shuffling furiously in perfect form. Justin scored 10 of his team's final 12 points and stole the ball twice, propelling Bentalou to a four-point win.
After postgame handshakes, Howard called to update his fiancee and Justin's mother, Kisha Hull, with the game result. She responded, like always, with tempered enthusiasm. Kisha had often told Howard she felt simultaneously thrilled by Justin's success and dubious as to where it would lead him.
Howard hung up the phone, pulled Justin aside and congratulated him. The father and son would travel to three more games on this Saturday in April, but Howard wanted to dissect Justin's performance. "You took over," Howard told him. "You played big-time out there, broke them down a little bit. What do you think?"
"It was cool," Justin said. Then he shrugged, took $2 from Howard's pocket and rushed to the concession stand.
Justin never so much as hit the rim in the first five basketball games of his life, as a 6-year-old. Timid and undersized, Justin tended to run away from the ball, not toward it. "He was scared," said Hull, 31. "He hated it."
For inspiration, Howard bought Justin a basketball DVD featuring flashy players, and the father quickly realized that his son learned visually. Justin mimicked the players by dribbling through his legs in the living room of their two-story Baltimore house, and Howard rushed out to buy more DVDs.
The DVD collection swelled -- Howard quickly amassed more than 70 -- and Justin's skill set expanded with it. By 7, Justin scored most of his team's points. By 8, he scored most of the points in leagues designated for 9- and 10-year-olds. Opposing coaches and parents buzzed about the diminutive point guard. More adults came to Justin's games to see for themselves.
Justin's confidence skyrocketed. He appeared briefly last year in a commercial with NBA all-star and Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony, and that three-second spot made him a celebrity at Arlington Baptist School in Baltimore, where he just finished fourth grade. Once reserved, Justin belted out songs from "Beauty and the Beast" in the classroom. He boasted to friends that he would play in the National Basketball Association -- or, if that fell through, at least become an NBA coach. "I don't care how hard it is," Justin said. "I know I will do it."
Howard, 32, calls his son a "young" 10-year-old, and family friends sometimes mistake Justin for 7 or 8. His silliness is revealed through big, curious eyes and a smile so big his cheeks inflate like a balloon. Justin once invited his entire team over for a sleepover and suggested that all eight boys sleep on one single bed -- even though Justin's room has two.
Justin decorated the walls of his room with posters of a half-dozen NBA players, and he decorates his body like they do. Only the tattoos of goblins and monsters that he places on his arms wash off a day or two later.
"Basketball kind of brought him out of his shell and made him silly, which is great," said Ken Gibson, who coaches Justin on an 11-year-old team.
"But it's also a little scary, cause if his basketball slips, it's like, 'Well, does everything else slip, too?' "
Howard and Kisha often remind themselves that phenomenal talent, at 10, remains tenuous and fleeting. The uncontrollable terrifies them. Justin must grow taller than his 5-foot-10 father, Howard said, and the family's genes hold little promise. Recently, Kisha told Howard she is 5-2.
"Oh no. No. Don't tell me that," Howard said. "You've got to be at least 5-2 and a half, right?
"I always tell Justin: 'Get to 6-2 and we're good. We're good,' " Howard said. "But if he stops growing way early and everybody else keeps shooting up? Then that's it, man. That's a wrap. We might as well go try badminton or something."
This nonsense goes on for a coupleof more pages, but you get the idea.
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About Me
- TheChurchMilitant
- First of all, the word is SEX, not GENDER. If you are ever tempted to use the word GENDER, don't. The word is SEX! SEX! SEX! SEX! For example: "My sex is male." is correct. "My gender is male." means nothing. Look it up. What kind of sick neo-Puritan nonsense is this? Idiot left-fascists, get your blood-soaked paws off the English language. Hence I am choosing "male" under protest.