Irony on the rocks with a twist...

I was watching the local news today and heard a shocking statistic. In the past 5 years, 160 young children have died because their parents left them in the car during the summer season. This may seem like a drop in the bucket, but to me it's 160 too many. I am not a parent, but it doesn't take a parent to feel absolutely devastated for the families this has happened to.

Experts say that this phenomenon generally occurs to with new parents whose driving routines have recently changed. They have so much on their minds that they forget they've strapped their baby into the child seat. It seems inconceivable, but I can think of many other things I've forgotten to do, or misplaced, due to changes in my routine. A child seems a bit more important, however. Trying to put myself in the shoes of a parent who left their child in a car is hard for me to do.

Imagine that this happened: that you were the one who left your sleeping child in the car. If it's 93 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the inside of a car will heat up to 120 degrees in just 20 minutes. Heat stroke is when the body loses its ability to regulate its own temperature. This only requires the body temperature to be rapidly increased from 98.6 to 106 degrees for as little as 15 minutes, and, if not remedied immediately, can cause irreparable brain damage, or death.

Maybe we need to put parents in a similar situation for just a few minutes. We strap them into a seat and increase the temperature in the room just enough to make things uncomfortable for a few minutes, as a reminder that they have to stop and think that they've got someone whose completely helpless and relies on them for survival. The Navy taught me what could happen if I put my gas mask on incorrectly by making me take it off in a room full of tear gas. I think I'd rather experience a few minutes of tear gas, than a very short lifetime of nerve gas. Another not so drastic measure is to place a stuffed animal in the car seat and leave it there. Why? Because when you have to strap your child into the seat, you'll have to move the stuffed animal. Put it in the front seat as a reminder that there is someone sitting back there. This might work.

Here in Las Vegas, a seven-month old baby was left in a hot car last summer. The father is a highly respected teacher and coach at a local high school. This year, they are commemorating the loss by holding a special month filled with reminders and helpful information for parents. The students are passing out blue and pink ribbons to be tied onto car antennas to remind parents that they've got "precious cargo" with them.

Some Sites concerning this Issue:

Babies Left in Cars

Gentle Parents

Brian Carnell- Baby Killing Season Starts Early

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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Last year, I was given the opportunity to do a heck of a lot of research using the Web. As a result of this research, I developed a keen sense of where to find things and which search engines were appropriate for which types of searches. Contrary to popular belief, Google is not always the best choice, (although it must be said that few search engines spend so much of their time reinventing their own wheel as Google does).

Like anything else, the Web has layers. The deeper into those layers one delves, the more fascinating it becomes. It is something similar to the geologists who can look at the layers in rock and tell you how old they are. The web constantly reinvents itself at the "top layer," compressing and pushing the layers underneath downward.

One of the pivotal moments in the development of the web was the addition of meta tags, or keywords to web pages. This made it really easy for search engines to compile and reference lists of web pages by similar subjects. Of course it wouldn't take long for the Spam and porn industry to catch on, and start coming up with all sorts of ways to scam the search engines into giving their sites more "hits."
Meta tags brought websites "to the surface," but in so doing, it pushed others down.

Traditionally, search engines relied either on calling up meta tags, or on a predetermined list of websites chosen by humans. Soon the search engines would evolve to include both these techniques, and beyond. These new search engines were called Meta-search engines; such as Metacrawler, one of the first I ever used.

The nature of the web began to change. Sites which had commercial content and were more constantly updated stayed closer the surface, while sites which were not so well maintained began to fall away. Many of the sites that were pushed down were maintained by more transient populations, such as universities, government agencies, and other non-commercial entities. Many of these sites contained massive amounts of useful information, but they were no longer able to be easily called up by doing a more "modern" browser search. Imagine being a non-swimmer in a pool for the first time. More than likely, you'll stay to the shallow end. Maybe you'll never feel the need to head to deeper waters, but there it is, just the same.

The deep web consists of a wealth of sites that have sunk below the more "popular" layer of the web. Alot of these sites contain huge amounts of database information that are extremely relevant in research applications. Instead of simply leaving these poor sites to their demise, new techniques were developed to bring them back to the surface.

This led to the advent of a new kind of search engine: the trawler. Traditionally, trawlers are boats, primarily used in commercial fishing. The boats drag large nets behind them, scooping up schools of fish, shrimp, whatever. In the days before deep water diving, a trawler could be outfitted with a series of hooks on a chain to literally "drag" bodies and objects off the bottom in any deep water. The Web Trawler is software that uses a number of different methods to search for web sites. A very good explaination is available at http://turbo10.com/trawler.html Turbo 10.

I discovered that the web was really a series of webs, one built right on top of the other, the way some civilizations built their cities upon the ruins of previous civilizations. It was like discovering the World Wide Web for the first time all over again. I had started looking more closely into Internet-based research for my wife, who is pursuing her doctorate, and for my supervisor, who needed to compile some statistical data in a hurry. I ended up writing a very long guide to internet research on an extremely broad range of topics. I began to distribute it to friends, collegues, and fellow students. I found it very useful to group these sites loosely by their main objectives, and I gave them a rating based upon functionality, commercialism, and ease of use. One of these days, I might even get around to publishing it on the web for everyone to use.

Some more places to learn about the Deep Web:

Virtual Private Library Deep Web Research Site

SUNY- Albany Library Site on the Deep Web

Salon Article on The Deep Web

About.Com site on the Deep Web

An excellent white paper on the Deep Web

Same white paper as above in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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I apparently made an impression upon my former company. I wrote an E-mail to their corporate website and I recieved a response today. One of the Executive Vice Presidents got on the phone with me and we had a little chat. I kept it pleasant and sociable. I told her I applied for unemployment compensation, and she seemed to indicate that the company would not contest it (we'll see).

She asked me what they could do to improve the process, and I certainly gave them a few strong suggestions about supporting their consultants and establishing up front with the client that they need continual feedback from them. She gave me a lot of those "repeat back" questions: "So, if I understand you correctly, you're saying..." I hope she lets the field office in on some of my suggestions. I felt very betrayed by the whole situation.

She said she could tell from what I told her that I cared a great deal more about my work than about being released from my contract. She indicated that this was a positive factor. I told her that if nothing else, I took away a great deal of skill and knowledge I did not previously have, as the court did not give me a whole lot to do. I think of all the taxpayer money they've wasted already, and how much more they'll have to waste trying to get someone else to fill my shoes. Government agencies just love to spend other people's money.

I still may put in a claim to the EOC. I feel there is discrimination involved. I was treated like a used piece of garbage to be thrown out on a whim. I feel that there was intentional retaliation involved here. We'll see.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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This past Friday, my contract-holder took me out to lunch to "celebrate" my 1-year anniversary with my current client. What I did not know was that they were also there to give me the news that the client no longer wanted my services. I was given no reason. I was asked to turn over my badge. When I asked about my personal affects, I was told that someone else would collect them. This did not set well with me. I indicated that I had a lot of items and they would be heavy. Again I was told that this was not my concern. Unfortunately, it was very much my concern.

After my half-eaten lunch, I decided to go back to the office and pack my own things. I had forgotten to give over my keys, and I was concerned about anyone else having to go through all my stuff and figure out what was mine and what was the clients. I also thought I would jot down an E-mail thanking everyone I could think of and saying goodbye. As I sent the E-mail, a system message came up saying my account was no longer authorized. They had already taken me out of the loop. Had I not sent that message, I would have just been another person who was there one Friday and gone the next Monday with no explanations.

As it turned out, the client was furious that I violated her orders. She called up the agency that held my contract and gave them hell for it. As a result, when I went to get my personal items the following Monday, I was told me I could no longer represent them as a consultant. The price I paid for valuing my personal effects. Nobody seemed to consider the idea of asking for a security guard to escort me to my desk so I could pack my own things. Like I want someone going through my belongings, let alone the fact that I had four boxes worth of items that were scattered amongst two desks. I do not feel it unreasonable to ask that I be allowed to pack my own things. If the client is too much of a coward to look me in the eyes when letting me go, then at least they should have the basic manners to throw me a bone here.

I put over a year in at this place. I gave it my heart and soul. Unfortunately, a "new regime" came in to power, and my supervisor requested a transfer out, leaving me exposed for all to see. Apparently, I had a lot of bad habits, like an over abundance of enthusiasm for helping my fellow workers, and a desire to do everything I could for the people "in the trenches," dealing with the public every day. I guess my desire to remain productive while at work was perceived as "too aggressive," for the mediocre bureaucrats who sat on their fat asses waiting for the day they could collect their fat government pensions.

On several occasions I told the "professionals" who held my contract that the work environment was difficult and ambiguous. They considered what I had to say as merely rants and raves, because of course I wanted the steady paycheck worse than I actually wanted them to pull me out of there.

I am no politician, nor do I wish to play "company politics," even when my employer happens to be a government agency. Might I be expressing some "sour grapes," here? Probably. I am frustrated that I put so much time and energy into a place and project where my efforts went unnoticed. I am frustrated that I got no guidance except when I crossed someone's "invisible line." I'm frustrated that others could send accusatory, degrading, and highly critical E-mails concerning my work to every member of the administrative team, and yet I was chastised for the times I defended myself. I am very angry that from day one, I was given no idea what my duties were, what was expected of me, nor how I should conduct myself. I was merely told to "stay busy," thus I became "self-promoting," finding ways to help people and make a difference. Officially over the course of a year and two weeks, I was directly given three assignments. The rest of my activities were left completely up to me.

Of course perhaps this is not the ideal environment for someone like me. I am a creative person. I thrive on challenges and live to solve problems using whatever I can scrounge. I do not like to sit and wait for someone to tell me what to do. I want to do whatever I can, while I can, for as long as I can. When the new department head took over, all of this began to change. Suddenly, my wings were clipped. I wasn't to go anywhere, E-mail anyone, or call anyone without getting the direct permission from my supervisor, who was always kept so busy; she had no time to spend talking with the likes of me. I was essentially "chained to my desk," but I couldn't conduct my projects from my desk. I have to have contact with the people I worked with. It just wouldn't work that way. Then my supervisor requested a transfer out, and I fell directly under the new department head.

The new department head seemed eager to "micromanage" everyone. I believe she perceived me as a "loose cannon," and the fact that I was in another office three blocks from her desk only served to increase her irritations in my direction. As a sub-contracted temp hired as a "Vendor," I could be employed indefinitely, but it appeared my time was over. Now I am unemployed, technically "fired," so no unemployment. I can't help but feel I fell victim to a Hostile Work Environment due to the factors that I was never given any guidance, never given any duties, subject to constant accusations and abuse by one manager, whose very presence only confirms the "Peter Principle," that administrators are usually promoted way past their level of competence.

I do believe the contract agency let me down more than once. They failed to create or maintain a relationship with the client. They failed to defend me when I needed it. They failed to really listen when I asked them for help. They failed to consider just how wrong it was not to find a way to allow me pack my own personal belongings. To add insult to injury, they abandoned me because they refused to defend my right to my possessions, and I insisted upon packing them myself, something I should have had every right to do regardless of the situation. If there was some sort of security policy issue, then send someone from security to remain present until I was finished.

I have tried several times to get in touch with my former department head to no avail. I did talk to the top Administrator of the client in question; all she did was wish me well in the future. I am terribly depressed and frustrated by what has transpired here. Even if some of it is my fault, I was unfairly treated by both sides.

The Consulting Company

The Client

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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Being an IT professional, I am quite alarmed at the growing trend in Outsourcing. The President is obviously being paid to do nothing on the issue, if for no other reason; this is sufficient in my opinion to show him the door.

I propose that the government, through the use of taxation, make outsourcing hurt American companies until they see the light. For every 10% of their workforce that is outsourced, they will be assessed a 10% tax liability against their net profits. The money will go directly to job retraining programs, a relocation fund, and unemployment benefits. The government is essentially saying: “You’re outsourcing? Great! You’re going to help pay for the Americans you’ll displace.”

Of course if we’re going to sock them for outsourcing, we should be encouraging them to insource. For every 10% of their workforce that they shift back to the U.S. in that tax year, we’ll give them a 5% accross-the-board tax credit.

If a company or corporation moves its operations out of the United States, they’re going to be assessed a 25% tax liability on that year’s net profits. Once again, the monies collected will be earmarked specifically for job retraining, relocation expenses, and unemployment for displaced American workers. For every company or corporation that moves or returns its operations to the United States, we’ll offer a 25% tax credit for the current year. For maintaining 50% or more of their operations in the United States, they will receive a 5% credit for every 10% over the minimum, (at 50% they get 5%, at 60%, they’ll get 10% and so on).

In the long run, keeping professional jobs and major corporations in America is better for America, This promotes growth, and represents a long-term investment by our government in the people, which our government is supposed to serve.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown


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Being a “computer geek” with a liberal arts background, it should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of the popular Matrix trilogy. The fact that the whole series of movies is one big metaphoric “mirror” of our own society is something that probably escaped the masses, which delighted in the flash, violence, and special effects, (which, are by no means anything to sneeze at).

When Morpheus tells Neo that the Matrix is about control, he wasn’t lying. Nor was it a coincidence that just about every major myth, legend, and spiritual belief in existence was somehow represented within the confines of the three movies. Perhaps we aren’t “human batteries,” as it was portrayed in the films, but we are certainly moving through a world based upon rules and controls.

Consider how we get our information. How do we know whether it is “true” or not? Most of us accept what we are told because we don’t have the time or inclination to root things out for ourselves. I cannot think of one source of information that is not “filtered” through several other levels before it reaches me. Even the Internet, that bastion of freedom and rebellion, is not entirely free of the potential corruption. Many of us are so “...hopelessly dependent on the system,” that there is no way to “unplug” us from it.

How about our dependence on “the basics” of survival: food, shelter, electricity, running water, a reasonably maintained system of sanitation, vehicles, fuel...what if these systems and sub-systems suddenly “broke down”? What would happen if so many of our layers upon layers of support were suddenly ripped away? How many people would be able to fend for themselves? How many people would starve to death, or succumb to diseases that our civilization had previously wiped out? If the “structure” we so greatly depend upon were to come crashing in upon itself, I suspect we would see a lot of primal instincts and urges from our past resurfacing. The evolutionary concept of Laze Faire, or “survival of the fittest,” would surely come into action.

The message is clear: we have become lazy. We have allowed the control over our thoughts, our feelings, and our very survival to become so hopelessly over dependent that many of us would not know what to do without these structures. We have become voluntary victims of the success of our forebears to the point that their success, has led to our excess. We have way too much and no clue what to do with it all. This in and of itself creates a level of control- we are the ultimate consumers. We consume far more than we can produce, and we take far more than we need, without replenishing what we take.

The Matrix explores just about every method of control there is. When one is broadcasting into the matrix, one is pretty much “strapped down” into a chair. If one’s “projected self” dies within the matrix, the body in the “real world” also dies. All our understandings and beliefs control how we think, feel, and operate within the world. Try, even for a moment, to consider the possibility that everything you’ve ever been told, come to understand, or taken for granted to be “true,” is a misrepresentation or an outright lie. Imagine that the very fabric that allows you to function as you do each day is torn asunder. Could your sanity survive? Would you be able to salvage what was left and continue to function?

I submit that most of us have come to understand our world through our own personal interactions with it. If we were to discover that our interactions were flawed or somehow “separated” from “true reality,” we would no longer have the frame of reference necessary to function. We would have to start all over again, rebuilding our concepts and beliefs until we could come to terms with our environment. We humans tend to be contextual beings. We quite often create contexts by which we are able to assimilate and accommodate everything around us. Without these “artificial constructs,” many of us would be unable to do so.

Our sense of “artificiality” has led to the advent of so-called “reality TV,” where we passively partake in the struggles, trials, and tribulations of others. It is sort of a “rehash” of the highly successful formula used in soap operas: most people become mesmerized by OPP (Other People’s Problems) because in so doing, they can, even for a moment, escape their own. When we no longer have to fight and struggle to stay alive, we must find other ways to channel these instincts, naturally, we have turned to sex, drugs, violence, thrill seeking, and all manner of distractions. It seems we need something to immerse ourselves in that allows us, even for a moment, to forget that we are more-or-less “stuck” in our own lives. If we want to keep what we have, and add to it, we have to be willing to give up much of our freedoms to do so. Just like in the movie, it is a choice we’ve made, but I’m not so sure we’re really interested in understanding that choice. Perhaps this is why we spend so much time distracting ourselves.

Even time is an artificial construct. We never seem to have enough of it. When we are busy, it seems to “fly.” When we are not, it seems to drag on indefinitely. The numbers don’t change, just our perceptions of the count. So many people make themselves frantic trying to “stay on time.” We try to squeeze more and more into the same amount of time, and somehow justify that someday if we keep working hard, we’ll actually get a chance to relax. Usually, by the time “someday” comes, we no longer have the health or vigor left to enjoy whatever is left of our lives.

Time is an illusion. It controls us because we make choices based upon our faulty perceptions of it. It drives a sense of urgency that is also illusionary, but many of us feel we cannot ignore that either. The more “urgent” our time becomes, the more desperate we begin to feel, the less likely we are to consider others around us, and the more likely we are to justify rude behavior in our expedience. The more we allow time to control us, the more selfish and less compassionate we become.

One of the more important elements to The Matrix is the concept of choice. According to Agent Smith, the first matrix was a disaster, people refused to accept the programming because it was far too Utopian in nature. Without a sense of purpose and a sense of struggle, humans don’t know what to do. We cannot live in a state of constant pleasure without the corresponding (and interwoven) possibility of suffering. Yet there are many who, even today, believe we can deny those things that we perceive to be “unpleasant,” by clinging to that which we perceive to be “pleasant.” All things are one, they must be accepted as they are, not as we would wish, hope, or pray, for them to be.

This brings us to faith. Such a small word, and like love, it means many different things depending on whom you ask. For some, it is about surrender, for others, it is about unquestioned belief, still others see it as something they can turn to for solace, guidance, and ultimate understanding. Faith may be all of these things and more, but at the core of faith there is one very important principle: letting go. When we have true faith, we let go of our worries, our concerns, and our troubles. Faith trusts that, whatever happens, that is what was meant to happen, whether we believe it to be by “divine intelligence,” or sheer coincidence. It doesn’t matter which. At some point, we all have to let go of the things we cannot control, and trust that events will unfold accordingly. We must recognize that, having done the best we can, whatever happens, happens. Somehow, I doubt that everyone would agree with my interpretation of this issue.

People have turned faith into a type of control. They have turned it into a sort of clingy, needy, and desperate, longing for events to unfold a certain way. Many people build their entire lives around the idea that having faith means they must not only cling to their beliefs with steadfast vigilance, but that they must also convince others that they too should believe the same way. Such people have confused ego with faith, and cannot abide the idea that anyone would believe differently than they do. A familiar pattern emerges, yet another form of control, (which begs the question: whom is the controller, and who is being controlled?).

This brings an interesting paradox to the whole equation: “If faith is about letting go and most of what we encounter in our lives is a control of one form or another, isn’t faith simply accepting those controls thus making us willing participants in our own enslavement?” Recognizing that our current state of affairs is pretty much designed to control us is only part of the issue. Recognizing that our best way of gaining back control of our lives is to let it all go, that is the tough part.

Most of us have been convinced we do have control over our lives. We have been “programmed” to assume that, because we are making decisions and choices every day, that we are ultimately in control of our own destiny. Once we realize that the current system does not really permit that level of autonomy over ourselves; only then can we accept the choice to let it all go. Our feeble attempts at controlling our lives within the current framework usually end up going awry anyway. In order to regain the freedom to control our own lives, we must first recognize that we cannot control the situation we now find ourselves in. Then we can let go. Once we let go, we realize we were being fooled into giving away what was never really ours to give.

We have, each of us, made a choice. We have chosen to accept what we understand, perceive, and feel right now to be reality. We have chosen to rely on this vision of reality to the point that it has become the keystone in our collective “arches.” Yet, in order for us to evolve, to grow, to learn, to become something greater than we are right now, we have to be willing to push outward from the “safe boundaries.” We must be willing to travel into the unknown and discover what it is it has to teach us. This is how we break out of the controls, rules, locks, and bars we have established around our lives. This is how we shake loose the sediment and dust of our current circumstance and open ourselves up to new possibilities. Fear may be a part of this process, but it does not have to dominate or control us. We can choose our own path, but first, we must recognize the path we are now on, and decide to choose another.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S.Brown

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I owe some money to a lender. I also incurred some serious debt when I was unemployed. I made arrangements with this lender to start making regular payments last week. After carefully looking at my expenses, I was able to shake loose $100.00 per month to pay them.

They called back today asking if I had made arrangements to pay them. I explained how much I could afford and don't you know the person was not happy with my arrangements?

"This is not Let's Make a Deal." she said.

"No I realize that, but this is all I can afford right now." I said.

"Its not enough to get you out of delinquency." She said.

"Would you prefer I sent you nothing then?" I asked.

"That's your choice, but this is unacceptable. This is not Let's Make a Deal." Again she reminds me.

"That's fine. Thank you. I'll spend the money elsewhere then." I replied, and hung up.

I can't believe these people! Considering the statistics surrounding how rare it is for them to deal with a debtor who wants to pay them back, they seem to be so ungrateful, it's disheartening!

I am well aware that I am responsible for incurring a debt that must be paid. I am doing everything in my power to pay that debt, but that's not good enough for them. I show a little good faith and they can't even thank me for at least trying to honor my agreement?

I'm going to leave the arrangements in place and see if they're not going to accept them. How much you want to bet they'll take it and shut up (I'm betting $100.00 a month on it)?

Selfish greedy bastards is what they are.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S.Brown

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Lost in Translation

Some days I feel like everything just gets lost in the translation.

I had trouble locking down the location of my blog. I swear I stuck a copy of this location in my favorites, but come Monday morning, nowhere to be found. I had to backtrack through the recommendation I got from TechTV to come here, and then struggle with some difficult interface choices to finally get here again.

For anyone who might actually be curious, yes I am an IT professional living somewhere in the desert jungles of Las Vegas, Nevada. I originally envisioned this as a place for me to vent my usually minor frustrations about the world, throw a few of my opinions concerning computers and software out there, and generally feed my ego on the idea that maybe one or two people might actually read what I have to write.

I am called upon to be creative and thoughtful on the job, sometimes my errant ideas get in the way and I need to purge them before I can get to what needs to be done. Somehow the idea of "binge and purge" seems to fit well with the concept of "Weblogging."

Of course I am blogging "on the clock." I need frequent breaks between writing custom applications and helping people with their various IT needs and issues. If I cannot reflect and amuse myself in this way, I'm relatively certain I'd lose my mind somewhere (you haven't seen it, have you?).

It is comforting to have anything that resembles a job in a time when the IT industry (not to mention the whole employment economy of the U.S.) is in such turmoil and transition. I am grateful to be a sub-contracted temporary vendor (on a long-term contract) for an undisclosed part of local government, but one does harbor wishes, dreams, and aspirations for something a little more consistent (with benefits and a retirement too).

A look at my past career choices is a shmorgasbord to say the least. I have been all over the map. I served honorably in the U.S. Navy, I went to college to become a teacher, I worked helpdesks for ISP's and Dell Computers, I've been a field technician for a national pharmacy chain, I've been a field technician for Dell, Gateway, and Compaq. The hits just keep on rolling. It's a lot of "hit-or-miss" contract work that often leaves me at the mercy of people making decisions thousands of miles away.

Some days I feel like everything just gets lost in the translation.

Where was I?

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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What the Right Wing is Saying by what it Does

1. It is far better to pass ineffectual laws that look good in the press than it is to refrain from passing anything but effective laws that get the job done. Perception is everything.

2. A government’s profit is supposed to go to the people; therefore it is ok to spend more money than they take in (and offer tax breaks to the wealthy at the same time).

3. It is ok for some Americans to go without as long as the majority of Americans appear to be comfortable.

4. The best way to affect domestic tranquility is to spend the majority of our resources elsewhere.

5. Give the wealthy tax breaks and they will be more inclined to share their good fortune with everyone else.

6. It is acceptable to loosen or disregard regulations that might restrict short-term profits without any regard for long-term consequences (we can always call for “more study”).

7. Might (and the majority) makes right.

8. It is ok to sink billions of dollars addressing the effects of social problems while completely ignoring their causes.

9. Laws should reflect our specific morality, not equality (if you don’t agree, get out you atheist, disloyal pinko, traitor!).

10. It is perfectly acceptable to bribe other countries to be our friends (while they are looking for the opportunity to stab us in the back the moment our heads are turned).

11. It is perfectly acceptable for us to go against international agreements, treaties, and laws, if we don’t agree with them.

12. We really don’t care too much about public education (after all, our children go to private schools).

13. It is ok for us to lie about foreign governments and to invade their sovereignty so long as our overall cause is righteous.

14. If we must, we will use emotionalism, personal attacks, and moral outrage, to discredit, diminish, and destroy anyone who opposes us.

15. We will embrace “family values” so long as it keeps the peasants happy.

16. Pithy slogans with appeals to emotion which are easy to remember, remains our most effective marketing strategy for control over the masses.

17. If the current bureaucracy is unable to accomodate our grand designs, we will create new bureaucracies to control the old ones. The sky is the limit (so long as we're spending your money and not ours).

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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Recently, my wife bought a newer car and I “inherited” her 1995 Honda Accord (this is a good thing, since the red ‘90 Honda Civic I had been driving was small, and slowly dying, and the newer car is blue, my favorite color). One of the things I got with the car was a new set of wiper blades. I have never quite understood why car manufacturers make their windshield wipers so complex that it takes a rocket scientist and a roomful of engineers to get them attached. I managed to snap the end off the driver’s side blade. I didn’t think much of it at the time, after all, this is Vegas, and it hardly ever rains in Vegas!

Of course this does not mean it never rains in Vegas. Case in point. Over the last few weeks, we’ve had rainy days about a third of the time. The tip of my wiper blade fell off at some point, so half of my wiper blade was working fine, the other half sort of “slithered” across my windshield, leaving the area I generally use to see covered in water.

I tried to endure it, rationalizing to myself: “The rainy season will be gone soon.” Of course, last night about 10:00 PM, it started raining steady. When I got up at 5:00 AM, it was still raining. Going to work with a sloshy windshield was more than I could bear.

The only place open at 5:30 AM in my neighborhood is Wal-Mart, so reluctantly, I made the trek. The store is in the middle of being converted from a retail store into a Super-Center, so there was all sorts of interesting things going on, but I made my way back to where the wipers were, quickly determined the right size, and made my purchase. So desperate was I, that I probably bought the most expensive single wiper blade in the entire store.

It’s still dark out, it’s still raining, but at least I parked under a pole light. I begin the arduous process of trying to figure out how to connect this wiper blade in the rain. After about 10 minutes of no-go, the pole light above me goes out. I whip out my trusty Mini-Magä flashlight and continue my struggles. I’ve got the hieroglyphics that pass for instructions more-or-less pasted to my hood by the rain.

Finally, I manage to attach the blade. After a total of 30 minutes, I have my triumph over adversity, my wipers gracefully whisks the water off the entire viewing area of my windshield once more. I am elated, I am wet, I must now battle the hoards of cars on the wet streets of Vegas, but at least I can see.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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Unions--Marriage--Blah Blah Blah!

I am of the opinion that if there is a moral component to the definition of "marriage," it should be up to the people getting married to figure that out.

The Social Contract should never be utilized as an ultimate instrument of morality. It remains a contract of our obligations as citizens to our government and our government's obligation to us. When we start attempting to use it as a moral instrument, we start to degrade the purpose for which it was written: to establish freedom, justice, and equity for all Americans, not just some of them.

If religious institutions wish to limit who they will or will not marry, it is their right to do so as private institutions. The government is obligated to treat everyone the same and not to become overly involved in the individual moral decisions of it's citizenry, but to protect their right to reasonable self-determinism.

When I say "reasonable self-determinism," I am allowing for the fact that we do NOT live in a democracy, rather a democratic republic. We do not have absolute freedom to do anything we wish without reprocussions or consequences. There is an established body of laws that attempts to protect everyone from harm caused by the negligence or deliberate actions of another. These are reasonable provisions for which we all must give consent as citizens. Should we choose not to, we will find ourselves behind bars.

Reasonable self-determinism, does not give the government or anyone else the right to determine consentual adult behavior. Anywhere that our legal system has done this, they have done it at their own peril. We have seen the legacy of prohibitive legislation-ignorance of the basic rule of economics: if there is a demand, there will be a supply. Along with this, we have seen a society that is far more eager to attempt to stop the effects of harm rather than face its causes.

There is little doubt in my mind that homosexuality is deviant behavior. There is little doubt in my mind that it goes against the basic laws of nature for the purposes of procreation and survival of the species. However, there is also no doubt in my mind that there will always be enough people who find the opposite sex as appealing as ever, men and women will pair off as they have since the dawn of time, and babies will continue to be born "the old fashioned way," despite the doomsayers who are so terribly threatened by what other consentual adults do with their lives.

It is not up to the government to arbitrate what is moral or immoral outside the clearly defined boundaries of the Social Contract. It is up to the individual citizen to make those determinations for themselves. Anything less and we are unwittingly exchaging our Social Contract for "Social Engineering."

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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"He used to say that lost causes were the only ones worth fighting for."

Jefferson Smith - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

I do not know how to begin such a thought as this, so I can only begin it with the words I find right here and now. There are some serious problems with our nation; we have lost perspective on what is really important. It didn't happen overnight, it was a gradual situation that happened because we started to become more worried about those things that affect us personally and less about those things that affect our neighbors and strangers we've never met. Maybe this was because the world suddenly got thrust into our living rooms and we didn't know how to deal with how much of it there really was. Maybe we saw all the suffering going around us and felt we couldn't do anything about it, so the best we could hope for was to take care of our own.

Whatever the reasons, the cause has been clear: our country is no longer run "...For the people, by the people," it is run for the elite by the elite. A distinct and separate class of individuals who shape policy and opinion like master craftsmen. They do it quietly and subtly, so as not to alarm us. It is like a game of tennis, where the crowd follows the little yellow ball as it is batted across the court. When the ball is in the far court, we're not watching what's going on in the opposite court.

You see, every year, there are things we become aware and concerned with. These "issues," they take over the airwaves, they fill our publications, and they permeate our collective consciousness. We look at these issues and determine how we feel about them, of course our feelings lead us to make a choice, to take a stand, to rise up and be heard. But then we find out that if we want our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings to be heard, we have to join one of two groups who hold a monopoly on the political machine of our nation.

Oh, there are third and fourth groups out there, but they are essentially "locked out" of the process, the rules require them to gain enough majority votes to be heard, and because the other two have become so habituated into our lives, these alternative choices are never given a fair hearing, the same system that makes the rules is the same system forbids it, and the people are oblivious to this fact. So we must choose one of two groups that "best fits" what we believe our ideals, beliefs, values, and feelings to exemplify. We may have to compromise with some of them, because there is no "perfect fit," but by and large, one of these two groups will cover the majority of how we have chosen to live our lives, and we are able to give them our allegiance and loyalty.

These two groups, they are masters of disguise and deception. They know exactly how to tell us what we want to hear, while simultaneously outraging and angering their opposites. These groups aren't our friends, they are con artists and the American people are the marks. They aren't there to solve social problems or make us safe, they are there to keep us angry and at each other's throats. They use our prejudices, our beliefs, our feelings, our values, and our thoughts as a method of turning the people against themselves. The one thing they truly fear is that some day the people will awake and realize that they've been cruelly manipulated, they will put aside those differences that keep them separate and rise up with one voice and shake the very foundations of the corruption, greed, and vice that has so entangled it's roots in our corporations and capitols.

That voice shall pierce the armor they have placed before them and force them to respond to our demands. We have lost this voice over the years, we have been taught not to question, to go about our business. We have been burdened with more and more toil so that those who have placed themselves above us can maintain their positions. We have to work harder and harder to maintain what little we've managed to scratch out for ourselves while those who have reshaped this country's image continue to pillage, plunder, and strengthen their defenses. It is very much like the move The Matrix, where people are so "...hopelessly dependent on the system..." that they will help fight to defend it from anyone trying to show them the truth. They have been programmed and conditioned by professionals to believe what they are told to believe without question or worry. They accept what they see and hear as automatons. They no longer really think for themselves, they let others do their thinking for them. Opinions are fed to them as "facts" by "loyal followers" of their cause. They trust their leadership to do the "right thing" by them; and even when these leaders fail to deliver, their followers give them loyalty none-the-less.

Everyone knows politics is a dirty business. It is made even more murky by it's relationship to religion, to corporations, and the media, all of whom may have different reasons for snuggling up to politicians, but the end result is the same: we no longer know anything that resembles "the truth." We are given "the truth" by sources that have hidden agendas behind them. Through the cooperative lens of religion, media, government, and corporations, we are told what it is we are to know, believe, feel, support, and rally against. The delicious irony of it all: the very mechanisms of mind control in our society do not have to be forced upon us; we voluntarily subject ourselves to them on a daily basis. It is everywhere we are at all times, it is the very air we breathe and echoing through the very depths of our minds, but we can no longer see it for what it is, we can only see what we want to see, what others want us to see.

Why is it that there is so much desire to "regulate" the Internet? Why is it that totalitarian states strictly control the flow of this medium into their countries? Because it is a medium that exists outside the "mainstream" of control. The Internet was invented and designed to create a functional communications network in the event of a nuclear war. Information does not travel through it in a direct path, but is broken down into "packets" that are routed according to Internet "traffic" and reassembled on the other side. If any packets get lost, they can be resent. This makes it very difficult to regulate what is being sent or received. It is a nightmare for any group or entity that wants its people to believe only what they tell them.

So-called "reputable" sources are the first ones we should be suspect of. They are all looking to survive not by serving the public interest or trust, but by making money. They are nothing more than marionettes, and the purse strings are pulled to move their mouths. We have been dreadfully misled. No matter whether you consider yourself a "conservative", "liberal", or "independent," every single one of us has been tricked into hearing what others say and responding to it with undeserved loyalty. Alas, people do not want to leave the "safety" of their status quo.

Change is frightening and change is hard to face, but if we do not find a way to take back our nation, our government, and ourselves, there will soon be nothing to salvage. All great civilizations have fallen prey to corruption from within. Sooner or later they become empty shells and collapse in on themselves. This is the direction the United States is heading. We have been silently recruited to assist in the machinations of our own demise. We are taught that unless we stand up and fight for what we are told to believe in, the "enemy" will gain total control and domination over our lives. We are provided with great "social crusades" to hold us together to their purpose, ironically, it is these things that have kept us apart.

The struggle is everlasting, the fight is never finished, when someone falls, another is raised up to take their place. Neither side can be allowed to "win," the system demands that the constant struggle be perpetuated indefinitely. It is perpetuated in very perceptible cycles, but most of us don't notice them. We are too busy concentrating on the wrong things. The illusionists hold us spellbound as their misdirection continues to keep us from seeing the truth. We are watching the fireworks in the sky, complete with "ooohs" and "aaaahs," while what we're not supposed to see goes on at ground level.

There is only one way to take back our nation. We must stand up to the bureaucrats and tell them to pack it in. We must fire our government and hire a new one, we must take back the burdens and responsibilities of being citizens true citizens concerned with the welfare and well-being of everyone, not just ourselves. We must force a separation between the greedy corporations, the media, religion, and politicians. We must root out influence peddling and campaign contributions meant only to "buy votes" on issues critical to short-term profitability and not long-term prosperity. We must break the hold of the private banks and insurance companies have over our economic well-being.

They have been allowed to dictate economic policy for the better part of a century and this has only served to benefit them, not us. We must force our government to return to being a lean instrument of the people that spends money responsibly and balances it's budget. We must bring sensible rules to taxation that do not "trick" us into believing that our getting some sort of "refund" is a bonus or dividend to our indentured service. We must look at our personal feelings, values, and beliefs and recognize that in order for us to protect them, we must also protect the feelings, values, and beliefs of many others that may not be the same as ours, for if we seek to promote our own beliefs at the expense of others, we are imposing the very kind of tyranny our nation was founded to prevent.

We must simplify our legal system until "the law" is something everyone can understand, not just people who have gone to law school (and stopped being part of the solution). We must stop fighting over education, for as long as we are so busy fighting over how and what our children should be taught, nobody can truly concentrate on teaching them anything. We must learn to accept that, while we hold to what we believe to be right, good, and morally correct, each of us has a "dark side," and we must acknowledge and face it so we can stop being silly with regards to sex, violence, drugs, and other problems.

For too long, our collective attentions have been focused on the effects of social problems without facing their causes. We cannot address a problem based upon its outcome, that only promotes addiction, a criminal underground, and overcrowded prisons. If we instead focus our attentions and energies to the source of our social problems, we can begin to discover why these things happen and correct them, rather than waiting until afterwards to try and pick up the pieces. I implore you to step outside the narrow viewpoints, the "catchy" sound bytes and slogans, and really take a good look around you. Are you happy with the way the system works? Is it truly "...as good as it's going to get?" Would you like to really make a difference instead of fighting amongst yourselves for the table scraps of people who consider themselves your betters? If you truly want to know what freedom is, if you truly want to know what our nation is meant to be about, then you have to stop taking everything you are told at face value and look deeper. You have to stop fighting over issues that are designed to keep everyone split down the middle. You have to set aside all the rubbish we have been repeatedly programmed to spout when confronting our "enemy," and realize whom the true enemy really is.

Our enemies are not threatening us from without; they are not threatening us from across party lines. Our enemies are the ones we are taught to admire and respect. They are the ones who give speeches and say pretty words we like to hear. They are people we think we "elected." They are the ones who decide how our money is spent. They are the people who determine how our nation will deal with the rest of the world. They are the people who set policies that affect our quality of life. They are the people who protect the powerful and rich at the expense of the powerless and poor. They are the people who can be bought and sold on a whim. They are the people who create the social injustices and then pretend to solve them so we will look up to them and praise them. They are the people who keep us trapped in the illusion of what we want to believe is true. They use our beliefs, our myths, our emotions, our desires, our hopes, and our dreams to manipulate and control us.

We have given up our freedom for their chains and we have locked ourselves up in their prison willingly. When we believe what they tell us and repeat it to others, we are perpetuating their lies and their gossip as if it were gospel. We are unwitting pawns in their eyes and their game. They have tricked us into doing most of their dirty work for them and we beg for more. If this is how you choose to live your life, so be it. I choose free will. I choose the right to take back the responsibility of being a citizen of the greatest nation on earth. I choose to speak out against political corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse wherever it may be, not according to "party lines," but according to higher principles. I will no longer let the propaganda of one side or the other affect how I make my choices. I will instead weigh the issues myself and make an informed decision. I will stop being an unwitting source of one-sided truth. I will embrace everyone holistically instead. I will pay attention and question every source of information I access.

I will recognize that there are no sources of information above reproach, that all of them have a hidden reason for saying what they say. I will seek compromise where I can, and work together with those who disagree with me to find a solution that best suits everyone's needs, not just mine. I will remember that this is a nation full of wonderful diversity and variety, and that is a strength, not a weakness. I will not let my efforts continue to support a privileged few while others suffer the indignities of hopelessness. I will show compassion, not pity to all those who need a hand up, not a hand out. I will provide everyone with the same basic rights, because separate but equal is not equal.

I will expect that everyone be given an equal opportunity to excel, not by quotas or unfair adjustments, but by promoting merit. If a person wants something badly enough, let them earn it, not expect it to be doled out. That only serves to weaken the whole system and preserve the current class distinctions. We cannot change this nation by allowing the current system to continue, we can only change it by waking up and sounding the alarm. The cherished "American way of life," has been hijacked, and we cannot get it back by remaining passive slaves sworn to one party or another.

We must unite for the sake of all Americans, not just some of them who happen to agree with us. The time is now for us to speak with one voice. If we choose to remain asleep, we will lose that voice forever. It will be drowned out by the powers that be. They will continue to feed us what they want us to hear and we will haplessly thank them for it. If this nation stands for something worth believing in, if it stands for something worth fighting for, then we must stand up and believe, and fight, and win. I am just one voice, but I have spoken. We can make a difference if we truly want to. We can change the face of this nation and we can make a difference in the world, but we cannot do it separately, we must do it together.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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We are a culture of extremes. Right, left, black, white, theist, atheist, this, that. Everything has to be measured by where you “fit” on the spectrum. If one expouses one point of view, they are quickly categorized, labeled, and dismissed according to that point of view. Our culture constantly extolls the virtues of taking a stand on topics and issues, and we make fun of anyone whom we percieve to be “sitting on the fence.” Anyone who is seen as a moderate is considered weak, because they cannot make up their minds and join the rest of the crowds on either end. However, your position puts you at one end, you will be generally accepted by that end and generally rejected by the other end, and visa versa.

The topics and issues which separate these two spheres are many, but they center around only a few themes- political, social, and moral. Some “overlap,” other do not. Generally accepted stereotypes are quickly gathered up and applied without mercy. Examples:

· All liberals are/are not socialists

· All conservatives are/are not rich and greedy

· Anyone who disagrees with the current administration’s foreign policy isn’t being patriotic

· Homosexuals are/are not immoral and wrong

· Abortion is/is not murder

· All religions except the specific sect, denomination, etc I belong to are wrong

· Anyone who believes that the recent flap over the 10 Commandments was indeed a violation of Church/State must be an atheist.

· Those who do not believe the U.S. is/was/always has been a “Christian Nation” is a traitor.

These are just some of the general assumptions being thrown back and forth in a constant game of tug-of-war between extremes. They are merely kinding for the fire. They keep the extremes embroiled in a constant struggle over who is right and who is wrong, who is the “winner” this time around, and who is the “loser.” It is a perpetual melodrama that never really gets resolved, very much like the soap opera.

If I were in charge, I would want to keep these sorts of controversies going. I would want people to be fighting amongst themselves over issues that will come and go and come back all over again. I would want them distracted, divided, and unable to see “the big picture,” because it means myself, (and my cronies), could pretty much get away with anything we wanted. So long as the people remain unable to see beyond their petty differences and unite, the people in power will find themselves able to get away with all sorts of shennanigans.

The power of politics, of the media, and of our disagreements is the power of misdirection, and distraction. It is the power of keeping the masses riled up, and perpetually tuned into the wrong stations. As long as the waves of misperceptions, misrepresentations, hysteria, and emotionalism and soundbytes keep pounding the shores, people will remain in their comatose states believing that their stance is the only one, and any compromise is wrong.

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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Where's the fire? Whose having a baby? What's the freaking rush? People are in such a goddamn hurry these days that they don't even have time to realize there are OTHER PEOPLE around them? What's up with that?

Driving to work is an adventure in "Sin City." Vegas has grown so big, so fast, that the roads aren't adequate to contain all the traffic. So of course, they are doing what has failed in every other big city-widening the roads. It seems like every single route I would take to work is under construction.

Can anyone tell me why people stay in a lane when the big orange signs say: "LANE CLOSED AHEAD: MERGE NOW MORONS." But people figure they can "squeeze" ahead a few more car-lengths and merge at the last minute, which only makes the whole mess thatcongestede conjested and slow. They wait until the cones are starting to angle out and that big sign is flashing ">>>>" or "<<<<<" before they're inspired to merge. I often intentionally lag back a few car-lengths in anticipation of those schmucks who make the "last minute mad merge dash" (had a jerk pull out from directly behind me, pass me on the right, and pull in front of me today, what a freaking idiot! Oh, he advanced an entire car-length. That means he'll get where he's going a second or two ealier).

Of course all sorts of people start bailing out on the side streets. The idea of only moving 10 miles an hour for a few miles is absolutely abhorrant to people. I figure that the time it's going to take me to re-route is about the same time I'll spend hanging right where I am. Why bother? I'm still going to get where I'm going. I may as well relax. What's the use of stressing over it?

This isn't to say that I never stress about getting things done, just that I've discovered there is a way to remove a lot of the urgency from my day: I just add an extra half-hour or so to the time I leave the house. I need to be at work by 6:30, it takes me 25 minutes or so to get to work, I leave by 5:35. Invariably, when I run into construction, I've got the time. I'm relatively certain this isn't a revelation to anyone, but giving yourself a little "cushion" so you don't have to rush isn't such a bad idea, the life you save might be mine, or even your own!

TANSTAAFL!

© 2004, J.S. Brown

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