Or have there been an abnormal number of dudes violently murdering their families?

Who is working the numbers on this one?

I expect a full report on my desk by Wednesday.

HANNITY:
Let me ask you about the outgoing president. I appreciate the fact that George W. Bush went for an NSA program, a patriot act, enhanced interrogations, used all his political capitals, sacrificed any public opinion approval numbers, and at the end of the day it reformed our national security, kept the country safe.

You don't hear a good word about him.

LIMBAUGH: No, you won't.

HANNITY: What are your thoughts about him? What are your thoughts?

LIMBAUGH: Well, I think he's — he's a decent man. He's a decent — he had a reverence for the office. That's why he didn't get partisan. He thought it was irreverent to turn the oval office or the office of the presidency into a partisan strategic battle place.

He just, he just didn't want to do it. He was content to let history be the judge. I think — I heard Rove say even on your network that they miscalculated on not firing back on some of these things often enough because of the president is the leader of this party and as such the leader of his troops.

And while he's being criticized to smithereens, everybody who voted for him is, at the same time, those people needs leadership. The American people crave leadership. Our side doesn't offer any electoral leadership. There is not one elected official that is offering our side any leadership.

That's one of the things Obama does. He makes people think he is leading them. He inspires confidence in him. We have to admit that. And it's not going to help us to continue to cave and invest our hopes in him. I know what our strategy, they are hoping he fails so they can go back — we wanted him to succeed. We gave him everything we got. We worked with him.

But that's not how it works. It's — because whenever they fall out of — unison with him, if they do, the attacks on them are just going to be vicious.

HANNITY: It's coming.

LIMBAUGH: It's coming. It — they should know it's going to happen no matter what they do so do the right thing. But Bush, decent man. And his — I don't think people understand you're president of the United States, 9/11 happens. You don't know what's going to happen the next two hours, that night, the next day.

You take the oath of office, defend to protect the constitution, the people. Obviously they had to focus exclusively on that. That's the job as he determined it and we haven't been hit since in this country.

Yes, you know, domestic policy he did some things that puzzled us, creating a new entitlement, the whole immigration thing, signing campaign finance reform, but he — he's a good man. He is not hated.

Some people don't like the word "retard" or its derivatives. I generally don't use that word to refer to mentally defective people (whom the objectors to the word seek to defend, and from whom they receive no thanks, because (1) The labels are far less hurtful than the genuine abuse society heaps upon them and (2) They are fuckin mentally defective, so they don't know what the fuck is going on anyway), rather, I mean the backward, regressive element, at times funny, at times obnoxious, at times disheartening.

America, you are stupid.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN097920080909

I know that it is kinda stupid to be using creative energy to talk about football when there is some serious shit going down in the world. Benhazir Bhutto was murdered two days ago. An older person that I know said something along the lines of "The Pakistani's have to sort this shit out themseleves, we can't fix the world". I believe that many people would agree with this sort of sentiment, but "we", the USA, have had our hands in so many countries, doing so much fucked up shit, for so many years, that "we" cannot ever throw our hands up and disengage. I am confident that the US will intervene in Pakistan, and that as a result Pakistan will be a MORE fucked up place. Thats how the ball will bounce until "we" fade as a world-historical power. I tell you this: "Al Qaeda", as formulated in American popular discourse as some sort of vast evil enemy, is a myth. It is akin to the "Domino Effect" myth of communism that fueled so much misguided overt and covert foreign policy during the cold war- communism was the main enemy, so we gave weapons to death squads in central america so that they could oppose popularly elected leftist governments, and we armed mujahadeen rebels in Afganistan, and who knows what all else. "We" disregard the long-term potentials for the sake of combating near-term dangers- which more often than not are not really that dangerous. "We" make it all worse. I have come to think that there has been no American leader with any but the most short-sighted vision since Abraham Lincoln.
In short, its all fucked up. I like to watch football. It takes my mind off of things. It is perhaps a less rewarding path than, say, vispassana meditation, but it works for me sometimes. I spent a fairly carefree 3 hours watching the Bill Bellicheck, a guy who wears a fucked-up looking sweatshirt/tunic on the sidelines and was considered no-account when he coached the mediocre Cleveland Browns back in the day, coach his team to the first perfect regular season since the '72 Dolphins. The '72 Dolphins, for those who don't know, are today a bunch of cranky old men who feel underappreciated for their accomplishment. Now, probably they are underappreciated- they aren't big names, they weren't earning the multi-million dollar salaries of today's players- but still, they have been cracking champagne for the past thirty years whenever the last undefeated team of the season finally loses. Well, the fucking Patriots still haven't lost. 16 games, where the '72 Dolphins played a 14 game season. In the salary-cap, free agency era. It is fucking impressive.
So I make my apology for indulging in football instead of marshalling all my energy to make the world a better place. I do what I can, but sometimes you have to unplug and relax. I recommend the american football- it is the best of all games, and frequent commercial breaks allow for regular trips to the bathroom and beverage refills.

yours in Tom Brady,
Ferocious Hog
In short, its

Vrabel has it!

So, I really wonder about what the hell the Giants were doing on their last drive- where was the goddamn hurry-up? Don't get me wrong, I am a Cowboys fan, so I tend to cordially dislike the Giants, and was hoping for the Patriots to win this game, but really, what the hell was up with time management in that drive? Was the fix in? I am genuinely puzzled. Also, Eli Manning still sucks. Also, before the game, Tom Brady laid hands on several lepers and a man lame from birth, and a man possessed by evil spirits, and all were healed. That dude is something else.

Also, with the caveat that this is the first time I have seen them work, Bryant Gumbel and Chris Collinsworth are the best NFL broadcasting tandem of all time. Professional (cf. the late, drunken, senile Pat Summeral when he was still on the A team for Fox, or the not-very-bright Troy Aikman [forgive me, I love you Troy, but you aren't half the color commentator that Daryl Johnston is], the aged and boring Madden/Michaels combo[again, both of these guys were on top of their game 15 or 20 years ago, but they really do suck now]) Brilliant work, gentleman. A shame you are exiled to the NFL network and I never get to see you...

Anyways, I hope that you all open your hearts and allow the peace of Tom Brady to enter your hearts in this holiday season!

"Portugal, a country known for its love of children..."
said some BBC radio story... What country doesn't love children? Russia? Ancient Greece?

You'd think they would let Cleveland have a turn... Didn't they ever watch Major League?
Anyways, an amazing and unreported fact about the game: after throwing out the opening pitch, Tom Brady went on to throw three hitless innings... Is there anything that sonofabitch can't do?

One of the dominant themes during the first Persian Gulf invasion (consult The Big Lebowski if you are shaky on the history) was that whether one supported or opposed the war, the troops must be supported. This, as I take it, was an attempt to correct the anti-soldier sentiment of the Vietnam era; that is, at least with respect to the opposition- war supporters are pretty much required to support the troops, at least with rhetoric. Thus, the first flourishing of yellow ribbons and ubiquitous praise of fortes viri nostri.
Anyways, my point is this. The rhetoric of supporting the troops, springing from all political corners of this nation, has saturated public discourse to the point where nobody finds fault with the statement "These men and women are providing the ultimate service to their country."

If this is a democracy, the ultimate service to the country is to be a politician. If that statement seems ridiculous, and if service as a mercenary in a "preemptive" war indeed seems a much nobler calling, perhaps we should be re-evaluating this whole idea of democracy.

"Steve Gutenberg... You know... the guy who wrote the bible..."

was good. Everyone dies. Everyone gets laid. Freaking Shakesperian. Gotterdammerung. Freaking Awlsome!

It allows you to appreciate the humor of this graffito, in the men's room, 3rd floor of Wag:

"Choose determinism"

On the toilet paper holder, no less. See, it isn't all wasted time.

I ended up getting an A- on that totally god-awful philosophy paper.
But I suppose that's how it goes. I don't really get it... I mean, I am really NOT overestimating how bad the papers are. They really suck. It comes down to the grading...
Now, if the best paper I ever wrote (granted, I never have written one that I felt was really super-good) was graded 95, and the god-awfully barely-put-together-by-the-deadline pieces of crap were graded at 90... well, it kinda sucks in a way.
It certainly hasn't encouraged me to quit procrastinating.
Whevs, I should just enjoy my success and (just for the sake of my health) get started earlier next time.
Feh.

so why am I posting? Well, I have a philosophy paper to write. It is the penultimate one of my academic career, barring some unforeseen event(s). So, why not get to it? I have nothing to say on the topic, really. The fact that I haven't really done any reading is also an impediment.
Also, I feel like I want to throw up.
That makes it difficult both to write my paper and to enjoy procrastinating. PITY ME!
So, does anyone have anything to say about theories of knowledge? Specifically, Gettier and responses to Gettier?
If you don't have any idea who Gettier is, then what the hell are you doing with your life? How can you run around thinking you know things when you haven't rigorously adressed the question of what constitutes knowledge? Ahhhh. fuck. I should have taken the Nihilism/Existentialism class. There my superficial philosphy-douchebag-dilettante finery would have been an asset rather than a handicap. I didnt take it because I thought I wouldn't be able to tolerate a room full of my fellow philosophy-douchebag-dilettantes... Now I wonder if that wouldn't have been fun. At least I would have more to say. Maybe. I'm done with philosophy, kids.

Sam Brownback is a worthless closet-case, my-state-doesn't-teach-evolution, heartless, dickless, whitebread-chickenshit-motherfucker.

Love everybody.

Kisses.

man... how many times do I have to say "I am done with taking your guilt" before I am actually done? why does guilt have to be the most tenacious motivator in my life? I'm not even Catholic...

Goddamnit.

Anyways, I love my life. I love that I woke up this morning next to a girl of extraordinary beauty... whatever, I am not attached to it. It is just beautiful in itself, to wake up in the morning and be able to touch the truest work of art, right next to you and all... nice gig if you can get it.
I would similarly love my life if I woke up in some dank prison, or nailed to a cross or some shit... well, i mean, in theory i would...

anyways, I love you bitches... send me some money...

the Winged Victory of Samothrace...

And the modern shoe company. And sports advertising. The cult of victory in recent american culture. The role of expensive athletic footwear in the visible-honor culture of inner city gangs. αθλον- the struggle for a prize.

Yeah, fuck it.

What is up with the Utah Jazz bench players' hair? Is it a european thing? How can it be a good idea to put all that product in your hair when you are about to sweat like a pig?

On the other hand, Baron Davis's beard is freaking awesome. I mean, some people wear beards to cover a weak jaw. His beard makes an already-strong jaw a monumental, Herculean work of manly art. The only thing that would make it better would be if shaved his head... Like, Michael Jordan-smooth bald. And then have the beard explode from the sideburns down. Fuck yeah. Maybe it's cuz I can't grow any substantial facial hair... anyways, awesome work, Baron. No wonder the Mavericks were cut down like wheat under the scythe... Who could oppose such manliness?

To love the present moment. To not be thinking about things-not-here all the time. Not to run my brain ragged thinking about things that I can't really do anything about... That's a difficult one. The mind is an unruly animal.

I guess I should be meditating more, is what I am getting at here.

But also, I would like to get laid. I'm not going to beat myself up for wanting that. I like it, it is a good thing, ceteris paribus.
I'm not going to beat myself up with wanting that; I mean, let the wanting make me unhappy. And I am not going to take the fact that I am not getting laid currently, or my ill-fated recent endeavors in that department, as evidence that there is something wrong with me.

Well, I am going to try to do that, anyway.

I've been pretty good, really, mentally. All things considered. This has been a trying week.

I think this, in spite of being a nihilist and all: Love is not a bad thing. You can make it bad by attaching conditions... holding it in an unskillful way, if that makes any sense. I don't really buy the whole Platonic/religious thing of love being a manifestation of and a guide to some higher truth, or some higher being or purpose... part of God's design or whatever. Those are appealing lies. It doesn't have to be anything like that for it to be good. I am fine with it being a random biologically determined side-effect that only really serves the "purpose" of reproduction or social functioning or whatsoever the fuck. Am I rambling? Jesus, not on livejournal. NOT HERE.

Maybe pop music has warped us all.

Anyways, I think if you love someone you had better just appreciate it for what it is instead of what it can do for you. Love life like that.

So my 88.2% performance in philosophy has somehow earned me an A. So, yay me! Once again confirming that I don't need to work any harder than my slack-ass current effort.

In 2 hours and 45 minutes I get to try my luck again when I go take my Latin final. No, I haven't really studied. I haven't done very well on the other tests either. I can't quite figure out what my grade is at this point- weird system, plus I never did get one of the tests back. But anyways, the point is: I could end up with a B in Latin and then it would really suck ass. I would totally bribe the gods with the fat thighs of bulls and goats upon the altar... if such things were still done these days. So. Wish me luck. Or curses, if you don't like me. But hey, what's not to like, really...

You scored as Nihilism. Your life is marked by strong Nihilism: You feel that nothing in the world, even your life, has much or any meaning. "For out of fear and need each religion is born, creeping into existence on the byways of reason." "There are no facts, only interpretations." “Every belief, every considering something-true, is necessarily false because there is simply no true world” --Friedrich Nietzsche More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... </td> Existentialism 100% Nihilism 100% Strong Egoism 100% Hedonism 95% Justice (Fairness) 45% Apathy 10% Utilitarianism 0% Kantianism 0% Divine Command 0% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com