Governor Henry Has FAILED

The state of Arkansas will vote in November on whether or not to start a state lottery. I hope the citizens of Arkansas will do what Oklahomans didn't do and research the history of lotteries for education. They will have to look no further than their neighbors to the west who have a failing lottery ran by a failure of a governor. Brad Henry is a sick joke. He was elected for one reason and that reason is failing. He once said that the lottery would bring in $500 million a year!!! Well that total is now $69 million, 30% of which goes to the state. The lottery has failed, Henry has failed, and Oklahoma has failed because they elected this crook twice. Democrats ruined education during their 80 years of congressional control and now they are digging the hole even deeper from the states highest office. Henry should have been impeached years ago, but instead we fall farther and farther behind other states. Henry will go down as the WORST Governor in Oklahoma history. Somewhere Steve Largent is sitting there laughing at the failure that is Brad Henry, but yet crying at the thought of how many kids go to substandard schools because of the lies of one man and the greed of the clueless citizens who voted for the fool.

Shopping Is Hard

I don't like to shop, but sometimes if you really need/want something you have to put in the time and effort to find what you really need/want. In my case it is a new pair of glasses. I've been wearing these same glasses for about 5-6 years and figure that it is time for a new pair. I went to the mall this weekend with two friends. One of them was looking for glasses as well so we were focused on the task at hand. Once we got there I was a little overwhelmed. My friend started trying on pairs immediately, but I took my time. I hadn't thought about wire type frames or the big plastic type. These are very contrasting styles and I hadn't thought about it. I wear the wire type right now, but think a change could be good. To make a long story short I tried on a million pairs of glasses and got some quality feedback from my friends. Its always nice when people are flat out honest with you. They told me the ones they liked and the ones they didn't. There was no gray area.

Here's what I'm thinking though. I need a female opinion. The two friends who went with me were both guys. I think it will be good to get a female opinion to contrast with the male opinion. I want to make the purchase in the next few weeks, but I have trouble committing. These glasses are like an old friend. It will be hard to say goodbye, but it must happen. It will be uncomfortable, but it must happen.

Cool Things and Not So Cool Things

Well the semester has almost reached the halfway point. I have a midterm exam on Monday, which is weird because it seems like the semester just started. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about this, but its really starting to sink in that I will be graduating in May. Graduation has always seemed like some far off mystical land that doesn't really exist, but I am finding out that it does actually exist. Hell of a feeling!

This is going to get random now...

So I was at work last night and saw a GUY with breast implants. Yep, you read that correctly.....BREAST IMPLANTS. This was brought to the attention of a small group of coworkers (not in the presence of the boobs guy) who all immediately kind of smiled and said "no way" or "yeah right". But they quickly found out that it was indeed true. Their responses quickly changed to "gross" or "sick". This guy was in the middle of switching genders and his body was rejecting the effort. I won't go into great detail, but things weren't working like he thought they would and the resulting infections and such were not pretty. So for anyone looking at switching genders or something over the weekend you might want to think about the damage you are doing to your body. But hey, if you are really thinking about switching genders the real thing you need to worry about is your mind. Seek help. THIS IS NOT NORMAL.

Now you can go tell everyone you read a blog that had graduation and fake man boobs in the same post!

I'm back. I had to come back and add something to this. Just ran across this link on the DrudgeReport and it pissed me off. Add this mental midget to the list of actors/actresses I won't pay money to see. Shocking that she is French....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/01/wcotillard101.xml

Sunday Thoughts

Well the sun is going down on another Sunday and another long week of crap will begin anew tomorrow morning. Here are a couple of random thoughts about tonight and the past week.

The Oscars are tonight. Always a tough night for me because I hate "Hollywood" and all the "stars", but yet I love movies. So I will probably watch some of it because I would like for a few movies I saw to do well. I really enjoyed No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Juno. One cool thing about each of these is that there aren't any "Hollywood types" in them. So I'm pulling for each movie and all the actors in them. Just spare me the George Clooney's of this world.

This week the New York Times made their first attempt to discredit a Republican candidate. The great thing about this is that many liberals are even calling it weak and I see it as a sign that this dying rag of a "newspaper" is on their way out. They are no longer relevant and their bias just keeps getting exposed year after year. People are tired of it and their falling subscription rates and upcoming firings prove this. You can only print jokers like Frank Rich and Paul Krugman for so long before people see you as nothing but a joke. The crossword remains as the only thing "fit to print". The weird thing about the story is that they have been holding it since December, but yet endorsed McCain before Super Tuesday. So they knew they had this story and that they were going to use it against McCain, but yet still endorsed him.

Fidel Castro stepped down as the leader of Cuba this week and his brother was selected to replace him today. On the nightly news tonight they interviewed a bunch of Cubans in the local government ran markets and listened to all the complaints about food shortages, long lines at healthcare facilities, and low wages. Isn't socialism great!! Nothing beats hungry, underpaid, sick people watching state tv and reading their state newspaper!! Oh wait...that sucks. Surely the nightly news has it wrong though. Michale Moore took sicks veterans to Cuba for treatment because of their great healthcare. So who is right? Actual Cubans or a liberal propagandist trying to persuade uneducated Americans like Oprah?? I'll go with the actual Cubans. The moral of this story? When you walk into that voting booth in November think about those sick, hungry, and underpaid Cubans. Look at their leaders and how much the government runs their lives, then compare that to the candidates we have. For those of you who aren't catching on I will spell it out for you. Put fatigues, a beard, and a few wrinkles on Obama and you've got Castro.

Enjoy your Sunday evening and I'll see in the bread lines!!

Interesting Stuff

Two interesting things I have read in the last couple of days. One is from the latest issue of Forbes magazine. The piece is an editorial written by Steve Forbes himself. Mr. Forbes has had some interesting ideas over the years, but his favorite cause has been the idea of a flat tax. His editorial this month comments on Rudy Giuliani's very interesting ideas on tax simplification. I'm very intrigued by the ideas mentioned, but sadly my vote doesn't count because I don't live in Iowa or New Hampshire and I will never know what could have come from these ideas. ANYWAY...here is the link to the online version. Check out the hard copy if you get a chance because it shows a sample tax form under the Giuliani plan and it is simply amazing. Oh yeah...there are multiple editorials on this link, but the tax part is under the heading "Reagan Would Applaud".

http://www.forbes.com/columnists/forbes/2008/0211/019_2.html

The other interesting thing I read was an interview in the Gazette that came out today. The interview is with Senator Tom Coburn who just visited Iraq and came away with some interesting observations. I was honestly shocked to see this in the Gazette since they hate Senator Coburn, but I think his disagreement with the Bush Administration on the handling of the war and war spending is what got him in this weeks issue. Senator Coburn remains as one of probably ten people who actually belong in congress. It gives me hope for Oklahoma that we elected Coburn and sent lying jokers like Brad Carson packing. Coburn has announced that he is not interested in being VP, which I would have loved to have seen, but we still have him in the Senate fighting for Oklahoma and for what is right. If only we could get a man like Coburn to be our Governor. Henry has failed and it is time to find someone qualified for the job.

Ahh The Weekend

Another weekend is winding down and I'm faced with my least favorite time of the week....Sunday night. Sunday nights are terrible because you know what you face the next morning. In twelve hours I will be walking into biometrics for another lecture about something I will never use. Depressing thought.

This was a weird weekend. I worked until midnight Friday night and then came home and passed out. The storm woke me up once or twice during the night, but it made sleeping in a beautiful thing. The only problem is that the rain didn't stop. It just rained and rained and rained. Amazing how something is so great when you are sleeping and then sucks so bad when you are awake. Every minute of my week is planned except for the weekend. So when it rains on the weekend it flat out blows.

One positive is that I got some good studying done, but the weekend should be more than that. I also watched the movie Fargo for the first time. Great movie. I have no idea why I have never seen it since I enjoy so many of the Coen brother's other films.

Well I better go...here comes Monday....

Iowa Doesn't Speak For Me

Short blog for you today. In this political season we have a HUGE problem and I have the easy solution. The problem is the way we go about electing our President. Right now we have individual states deciding when to hold their own primaries. There are many problems with this, but the main problem is that essentially we have the people of Iowa and New Hampshire deciding which 2-3 candidates from each party get to move on. Why do they get to decide that?

Here is why....the media. The media has somehow romanticized the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. They paint it as some grand historical event that somehow makes American politics great, but they are wrong. Lets say you live in Oklahoma and wanted to vote for John Edwards or Rudy Giuliani...you couldn't. Well I guess you could have, but it wouldn't have mattered. So here is the big question. Why have a system where you don't get to put your support behind someone because of where you live? The issues that the people in Iowa are voting on might be different than those of people in New York or Alaska or Oklahoma.

The solution is obvious....a national primary day or primary weekend. Put it in early February and you can cut down on the incredible costs associated with being a candidate. It would still be expensive, but imagine how much money these people could save on commercials, transportation, staffing, print advertising, etc. I think you would also need some regulation on when someone could start campaigning so we don't have people starting even earlier in advance of this early national primary. I think this would level the playing field and allow everyone to support the candidate of their choice.

Lastly, it would force people who already hold office to do the job they were elected to do. The people of New York and Illinois each have one senator who is not currently doing the job they were elected to do. Obama and Clinton should both step aside if they aren't going to represent the people that elected them. They were elected to serve, not to run for other offices.

And Then There Were Three

I was at work last night and was kind of bored (nothing new) so I picked up an old issue of Time magazine. It was an issue previewing the New Hampshire primaries, which were the following week. Inside the magazine they had some behind the scenes type stuff from McCain, Clinton, and Obama. There were pictures of each, but something about the pictures struck me as odd. In at least one photo of each you could see a campaign sign of some sort that had the word "Change" somewhere on it.

Now probably every election that has ever taken place for any office from school boards to class presidents to President of the United States has had at least one candidate running on a platform of change. So I guess I shouldn't surprised to see the photos of our final three candidates, but the word "change" seems to be used more in this campaign than any other I can remember.

All of the Bush bashers out there like to throw the word change around a lot and they like to tell you why their candidate can bring this change (whatever change means), but are people out there really this dumb?? Lets take a step back and look at a few things. First, what do the three remaining candidates all have in common? They are each current US Senators. They have already been elected by their home states (weird because I thought Hillary was from Arkansas, but whatever) to go to Washington and serve. Clinton has been in office since January of 2001, Obama since January of 2005, and McCain since January of 1987.

So I ask you this. Haven't they already had plenty of opportunities to "change" whatever it is they want to change? If they think things need to be changed then aren't they proposing to change something they were a part of? Why are grown people showing up at political rallies and dancing and cheering for candidates talking about changing something they created?!?! THEY ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is why I supported Rudy Giuliani for President. His record of public service is one of ACTUAL change, not just some campaign signs with the word written across them. In four years we will be watching another campaign season unfold. Some of these same characters we have seen in this campaign will jump back in again. They will all complain and bash the incumbent. Some of the faces may change, but the message of change will still be there as we continue to elect people who are happy with business as usual in Washington.

In my opinion America won't elect a real leader of change until many of you reading this aren't able to retire because Social Security has gone bust. When it messes with your bottom line you will support real change. Until then get those flashy campaign signs ready and cheer for the candidate (problem) near you.

Politics, My Blood Pressure, and the Super Bowl

I can't prove it, but there is a direct correlation between politics and my blood pressure. Surely I know someone in the science building who could hook me up to an ECG and bp monitor while I watch a debate or while I read something political. It would be interesting to watch my pulse rate make a quick journey upward as Obama and Clinton are flashed on the screen. This isn't good news since the election is still quite a ways away, but I'm already seeing commercials for both of them. Commercials in general are bad enough, but being lied to in a commercial just makes it even worse. If I wasn't poor I would have Tivo and I could eliminate the madness.

On a side note. If you have never read about all of the suspicious deaths surrounding the Clinton's you should Google it. Crazy stuff.

The Super Bowl is tomorrow evening. I'm not a huge NFL fan, but it is the Super Bowl. There is some history involved with the Patriots trying to become the first team to go 19-0. I think I'm going to pull for the Giants though. The Patriot's coach is a real first class asshole and I think that is reason enough to pull for the Giants.

Is Being Unemployed A Job??

I think being unemployed could suddenly become steady work for some Americans if Democrats in the Senate have their way. Many in the Senate have said that the recent economic stimulus package should include extended unemployment benefits! WHAT?!

Have we learned nothing from Medicaid and other programs that are designed to help, but ultimately get taken over by abusers. When will Democrats learn that giving people an option to do less than is expected of them will be taken and exploited EVERY time.

I'm sick and tired of hearing about unemployment. We have an unemployment rate that is extremely low!! The 2007 average was 4.6%. Bill Clinton ran an entire reelection campaign touting his 5.4% unemployment!! So it appears to me that there are jobs out there. A steady drop in the unemployment rate over the last decade tells me that people are finding jobs.

We are a society of enablers and its about to get worse (Obama).

Things Never Go As Planned

I don't feel good today. It started two days ago with a VERY dry cough. The kind of cough that destroys your throat in no time. I feel bad for the people that sat around me in biometrics on Friday morning. I tried to cough quietly, but that doesn't work very well.

I'm not sure if you can OD on Halls cough drops, but I will let you know. I really love these little things. The Honey-Lemon is my favorite. The gift shop at work (OU Medical Center) ran out of this flavor and I almost cried. I had to settle for Cherry, which was a nice surprise, but not the same.

ANYWAY....I feel like crap. I'm fighting it though. I woke up this morning and decided that tea was the thing to drink. Tough decision for a loyal coffee drinker, but a wise one I would say. So I went to Starbucks and had a green tea. I dumped a bunch of honey in it because I heard that it would help a sore throat. I then went and bought some Dayquil. I got the orange flavor, which was ok. Now I'm laying on the couch.

So the title of this was "Thing Never Go As Planned". That is because I was planning on spending the day in the library doing work (nerd alert), but I just didn't feel up to it. So that is why I am fighting this evil cough and other crap. I want to go to the library tomorrow. Hopefully I will feel up to it.

Oh and I wanted to go to the movie tonight. I might just load up my pockets with Halls and do it.

Nancy Pelosi and Other Idiots

Yesterday it was revealed that the House and the President had come together in a bipartisan effort to put together an economic stimulus package. The proposed package would send checks ranging from $600-$1200 to most Americans. This sounds great and I'm in favor of such a plan.

What I'm not in favor of is "leaders" such as Nancy Pelosi who stand in front of the media touting the new plan and the hand she had in creating it, but then hedges her bet by adding that the plan isn't exactly what she wanted. WHAT?!?!

So now what we have is this "leader" standing up and taking credit for this plan and how quickly it was put together, but making sure that she has wiggle room in case things don't work out. You can bet your bottom dollar that if things go south with this plan we will hear all about the reservations she had to begin with. The fact that she had a hand in creating it will for some reason be forgotten. The media will have no problem helping her do this, just as they had no problem is trying to persuade voters that the 2004 election was over by mid-afternoon and that Kerry had won, thus making people think that their vote didn't matter and that they shouldn't waste time even going to the polls.

This reminds me of one of the great idiots of our time....John Kerry. The man who never really could get it straight on his war vote. In 1991 Kerry voted against the first Gulf War, a war in which Iraq took aggressive action, but then in 2002 he voted for the war when Iraq took no aggressive action. Or what about when Kerry voted in favor of the Patriot Act in 2001 saying that it, "has to do with things that really were quite necessary in the wake of what happened on Sept. 11th". Then while campaigning in 2003 he was in favor of, "replacing the Patriot Act with a new law that protects our people and our liberties at the same time". So which is it John?

This is what you get when you continue to push career politicians through election after election without taking a look at their voting record and noticing what idiots they are. It makes me wonder about the water quality of the state of Massachusetts when they continue to elect the Kennedy/Kerry idiot tag team.

Marriage

On our class message board there is a thread on marriage that is pretty interesting. I have found it to be interesting because of a few conversations I have had with friends recently and a few observations I have made.

One of the conversations I had was with a single friend of mine who is 29 years old. The topic was how it seems like every girl in Oklahoma who is 20 years old or older is either married, engaged, or divorced. The larger point of the conversation was how shallow the dating pool is in OKC among young professionals, especially in the 25-32 age range.

So the question is why? I think the obvious explanation is the old school way in which the state of Oklahoma still operates. Like it or not the majority of the state is made up of small towns and small town values. Getting married at a young age is what peoples parents did and they just see it as the thing to do. The same thing applies with having children. I just can't seem to understand any of this!! What is the rush? Why are people in such a hurry? As you can tell this post has many questions and few answers.

So my next question is this (and this may step on some toes)....does the young age at which Oklahomans are getting married have anything to do with our divorce rate, poverty level, and the education level of our citizens?

Lets think about it. Young people are getting married and taking on major life decisions before they are firmly established in their careers. This means they are going from providing for one to providing for two or more people on relatively low incomes. This can cause financial instability, which brings on stress, which makes people irritable, which puts strain on a relationship. This could help explain why so many people list financial problems as the reason for divorce. Couldn't this be avoided by taking a step back and looking at the big picture? Perhaps (and I think this is true) some have different priorities than myself and aren't worried about establishing themselves before taking on a wife and kids. I think statistics prove that they are more likely to have their relationship fail, but sometimes you learn things the hard way.

And what about education levels. Could fewer Oklahomans have post-graduate degrees because they are firmly entrenched in relationships at a young age? Relationships that have produced children and that force grad school candidates to put off school in favor of trying to earn more money in order to put food on the table? I think so. Biting the bullet and being poor for 2-4 more years to finish a graduate school degree is easier to do when you are single, but the financial gains down the road and the quality of life betterment is potentially much greater.

My thoughts on this are a little jumbled and might not be clear, but I think it is quite interesting. I have a sister in NYC (and another one on her way there) who just doesn't understand what I am talking about. She will be 26 next week and this problem just doesn't exist there. People are more career establishment first, family second. I think they really set out to enjoy life more as well. Of course I have no data on this and it is only one mans opinion.

I've been doing some research and I'm looking to move out of Oklahoma this summer. I have lived in Oklahoma almost my entire life, but I think other places have more to offer someone my age who is single.

I'm Back

Alright so the blog is back up and running again. It was funny to pull it up and read some of my blogs from last spring. One in particular was about how early the Presidential campaign was starting. At the time the election was still 20 months away, but was yet already a big topic of discussion. Now we are 11 months away and the train has gained momentum. I predict that at this time next year the talk will be all about the 2012 Presidential election. I wish I was joking...

More to come over the next eight weeks. Hopefully I can think of something slightly interesting to blog about.