Viva Las Vegas

I spent a portion of last weekend in Las Vegas. I'm not a big fan of Vegas-type doings, but somebody close to me was gettin hitched (there really is a sucker born a minute,eh?), and I wanted to be there. At the wedding, I mean. Not Vegas.
After spending 2 1/2 hours surrounded on all sides by 200 miles of the ugliest of ugly scenery, known also as the Interstate 15 corridor through the California desert, a truly desolate type of desolatness found in few other places, I finally reached the final peak, followed by the final bend in the highway and, since it was still nighttime, was hit square in the face by the most magnificent illumination of nowhere... anywhere!

It looked kinda like this. (I was going too fast to stick my head out the window and take the picture myself, so this one will have to do)

In a natural environment totally devoid of any of the redeeming qualities necessary to support even a token level civilization without much discomfort, somehow mankind has managed to build a most incredible city. This city, Las Vegas, I believe will go down in history. And long after our civilization has ceased to be, will be remembered as one of the great wonders of mankind's achievements.


If he could only see it now...

Tickle Me With Somebody Else's Money

A lot has been said about Michael J Fox doing his Elmo gig for some democrat in Missouri running for the Senate. Now, I want to add my voice to the cacophony.

Contrary to much of the misinformation out there, nobody is opposed to stem-cell research. Nobody is opposed to expanding stem-cell research. What is opposed, by a sizable segment of the populace, is embryonic stem-cell research. Also seen by some as creating human life for the sake of medical experimentation.

As it is now, no stem-cell research, of any kind, embryonic or otherwise, is illegal, or restricted, anywhere in the country. Stem-cell research, of either kind, is going on now. But embryonic research is not going well. This is the reason why free market money is not flowing in it's direction. Good investors dont want to waste their money unless they think there will be a return.

What the left is attempting to do is force, through government coercion, taxpayer funding of what is a failing science.

Since such a large segment of taxpayers find embryonic research abhorant, it would be wrong to fund it publically. It would amount to forcing somebody else's moral convictions, or lack of, on others.

If Michael J Fox, and his crowd of hollywood elites, feel so strongly about the promise of a failing research, why dont they just pool their money. They have billions. They can afford it. Maybe they should eat less caviar. Drive a pre-owned Mercedes. Take fewer vacations. Put their own money where their big arrogant mouths are.
And leave this mill worker's paycheck alone.

And Micheal: i dont care how much you whore your disease. I'm tired of seeing you shake and shimmy for every camera you can find. I know. I know. Parkinsons sucks. Take your meds. And keep your jerky little hands out of my pocket.

Somehow, the world seems like a little bit better place than it was yesterday

I oppose the Death Penalty as a matter of goverment policy. But every once in while, somebody comes along who is just begging for it. Ohio has done humanity a favor last nite.
Cult Leader Who Killed Family Executed

Ohio executed a religious cult leader Tuesday for murdering a family of five followers who were taken one at a time to a barn, bound and shot to death. The youngest was a girl just 7 years old.

The details of his acts are enough to enrage anybody, even the most sissy-minded bleedingheart.

Upset by what he saw as a lack of faith, Lundgren arranged a dinner hosted by cult members. Afterward, he and his followers led the family members one by one — the father first, young Karen last — to their deaths while the others unknowingly cleaned up after dinner.

His defense? He was a prophet of God, of course.

Lundgren argued at his trial in 1990 that he was a prophet of God and therefore not deserving of the death penalty.

"It's not a figment of my imagination that I can in fact talk to God, that I can hear his voice," he had told the jurors. "I am a prophet of God. I am even more than a prophet."

I know it's hypocritical of me, but i'm glad that he and God are having their talks face to face tonite.

Time Again For "Weaker Sex Wednesday!"

Looks like 'blogger' is down for a while tonite, but since i have upgraded to the new Blogger-Beta version, i am still up and running. he!

ok, on to this weeks feature...
(click the pic for better view)



sigh...
But can she cook?
Who cares?

something for nothing

i havent posted anything for a few days. truth is... i got a few posts in the pipleine, just trying to pull the ends together, so to speak.

in the interim, a little live music to pass the time so your visit here isnt totally wasted. a stroll down memory lane. a walk on the wild side.
enjoy.

Tall Fences Make Good Neighbors

OK, now this is one for the strange pages:Law Blind To Sight Of Nude Women

A Corona woman accused of exposing herself to a 14-year-old boy will not be tried for indecent exposure because the law against such behavior applies only to men, a visiting judge in Riverside County has ruled.

As much as this may be good news to men with attractive female neighbors, I think the judge is a little off his rocker here.

California Penal Code, Section 314, subdivision 1 (misdemeanor indecent exposure):

"Every person who willfully and lewdly exposes his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed ..."

The penal code clearly makes reference to 'every person', and last i heard, this is not gender specific language. In this sentence, 'every person' is the primary noun the rest of the law makes reference to, so such following references of 'his' or 'hers' take a secondary importance.

I'm thinking the judge will be reversed on appeal.

What is suprising is that this occured in Riverside County, one of the most conservative jurisdictions in the state, and not some fuzzy headed bastion like Berkely or Santa Monica. Having lived for several years in Riverside County, I can tell you the locals often refer to it as 'a cowboy court', where traditional notions are respected and plain talk gets it's say.

Even more alarming, in my mind's eye, is that a case such as this had to go through the process in the first place. Whatever happened to the notion that neighbors, in a proper and polite society, behave neighborly?
Why couldnt the defendant have talked to the boy's parents about the percieved disruption?
Maybe she did, and the parents copped an 'i'll do what i want in my yard' attitude. We dont know the particulars, and the details/events leading up to the criminal offense are not likely to come out.
But i'm finding it awefully damn hard to just accept that the boy was playing a quiet, nondisruptive first-time game of hoops causing the neighbor lady to maliciously shed her duds in frustration.
There's more to this.
Unfortunately, there is a clear need for 'more' when it comes being considerate of others, and a need for 'less' when it comes to involving the authorities when your neighbor pisses you off.

The "Ninth Circus" Over Ruled Again

Supreme Court upholds Arizona's photo ID law for elections.

Can anybody from the left, and i know you are reading this, explain for me just how such a law prohibits any legal voter from casting a ballot?

A Sandwich By Any Other Name...

Tired of burgers? Most of use will reach for Quizno's,Subway,Blimpie's, or any one of an array of sandwich chains. Now here is something a little different from what most of you are used to. Still a smaller sized, but rapidly expanding chain, is Lee's Sandwiches.

Presented as 'fusion' cuisine, Lee's adds a different kind of twist not seen in mainstream american sandwich shops. Starting with a crusty french baquette, vietnamese-style deli meats are laid underneath a smattering of thinly siced chilies,cilantro,pickled carrots and daikon radish, complimented with thin layer of pate' spread. Thus completes what is a vietnemese sandwich called a 'banh mi'.

The banh mi is found on every corner in Little Saigon, but Lee's took it to another customer base, expanding into the mainstream. This is not your everyday sub. One bite into the tastey banh mi, and your mouth will fill with an explosion of flavors.

I love these things. Evidently, so does everbody else as Lee's is open 24hrs and even at 3 am, there is a crowd of hungry customers lining up at the window. I'm sure the constant bread baking, right on the premises before your very eyes, lends a lot to the appeal.

Be warned: this is NOT your typical american style sandwich. The prices are low, about $2-2.50 for a 10inch, and the portions are european size. If you're really hungry, better order two. And be prepared for some mild roof-of-the-mouth damage: these things are crusty.

Who Cares What Her Name Is?

In keeping with the spirit of Stacy's 'Manly Man Monday' feature, which does include some substance followed up with gratuitous beefcake shots, i've decided to launch my own "Weaker Sex Wednesday" feature, also to known as "Who Cares What Her Name Is?", totally devoid of any mindful substance what-so-ever, prefering instead to exploit the unique concept of womenhood serving mankind as eyecandy, among other things.

What To do

With all this North Korea and nuke testing handwringing going on in the media lately, all the talking heads, buck passing, blaming etc... going around, one simple answer seems to be missing: leave it alone.

North Korea should be left to it's neighbors to deal with. And it should have been the policy of the United States for a long time now. Like every other trouble spot in the world, we need to just stay out of it and worry about our own business.

Since so much has happened already, so much intervention on our part, and now we got this little tin horn blowing smoke in our faces there is only one proper action left.
Before we take my long term advice and disengage from the politics of every world nation, I suggest we blow the shit out this little guy. Level his palaces and put some hurt on him and his cronies. And then leave, never to return again.

Pull a Don Corleone.
Leave no enemy boss standing, so the message is clear. We are leaving in a position of strength, and dignity, to mind our own business, as we should have been doing all along.

And then do it again in the Middle East.

Honoring A Mirage

So it appears that in our national quest to remember and honor everyone, regardless of their effectiveness, for those looking for exciting stuff to see in El Paso we now have a brand spanking new museum in honor of the Border Patrol.

What the article doesnt mention is how many of those dollars used to build it were diverted from actual border enforcement work. Now, i'm not looking to down the agents of the Border Patrol. I do know a couple of them, and how hard and dedicated they are to the job at hand. But i am also aware, as they themselves are, that they serve merely as actors in a great charade.

But really now, do we honestly need a memorial structure dedicated to the fruitless work of these fellas? Isnt the presence of the desperate crowd of men loitering outside every Home Depot, in every neighborhood in the nation, momument enough?

It appears,though, even the Boder Patrol Museum sees the irony of it all.In a susbstantial gesture of art imitating life, somebody left the door open.

sometimes it hits close to home

Spoiled and sheltered, I sit and watch the war in Iraq from the comforts of home. By now, we all know somebody who is there, or already been there. But how many of us have a real life connection to somebody who went, and didnt come back alive?
Literally, there have been a million or more tours of duty to the the war zones. By contrast, losses have been minimal. what is it now? nearing 3,000 dead on our part? or something like that. is that all? historically, this is fucking unreal. can we say we really feel the sacrifices some families are making? be honest. of course not. generally, a family can see their loved one off to war, and have as close to a aguarrantee of their live return as never before.

THIS has changed it for me.

yeah, every few weeks/months or so the paper carries the story of a local boy, from The OC, who isnt coming back. i read of his high school, where his hang outs were... all the familiar landmarks. but this one hit home.

No, i didnt know the man. but somebody else, a longtime friend of mine, did. they were cousins. he babysat him. his own sons played with him. he watched him grow up.
And together, he and his sons prayed over him, and bid farwell.

I guess all that war shit on TV is real.

Some Folks Just Dont Know What They're Missing

On the way home, I stopped by my favorite burger joint and grabbed a Double-Double, with fries, to go.






Well, ok... mine actually looks like this: no lettuce, no pickles.



No, I'm not sharing.
Go get your own.

Window To Orange County

It's been over 30 years since the fall of Saigon, and with the fall came a flood of Vietnamese refugees to a land that had never really seen them before. For some strange reason or another, refugees that were originally disersed throughout the nation managed to reconvene in large numbers in a just a few key regions. As fate would have it, Orange County quickly became, almost from the start, a sizeable population center, and now boasts (if you can call it that) one of the largest concentrations(and still rapidly growing) of vietnamese outside of Vietnam, if not the largest.

It has not always been an easy adjustment for the original citizens, and it damn sure wasn't easy for the Vietnamese, either. For the most part, both sides have adjusted and live in relative harmony. For their part, the Vietnamese have made themselves a permanent part of the county culturescape, reshaping it as it shapes them,and adapting as americans in their new home.

The traumas and memories of what brought them here are never forgotten. While some americans desire to forget the whole ordeal, for the newly amercanized vietnamese, it is part of their collective memory. They will not forget, and hold in their hearts a reverence for those who fought, and died, for the cause.

Often I get the impression, from americans in general, that those who were lost are remembered in sorrow, as human collateral in a policy of folly. This may be true to a point. But what is forgotten in this mindset are the heroic ideals of bravery,courage and sacrifice. The american veteran of the war in Vietnam is not held in as high regard, or given the same level of reverence, in our culture as those who fought in wars previous. We built them a monument that is little more than a tombstone on steroids. It speaks of loss instead of heroics. A monument to defeat, as opposed to defiance.

The new americans of Orange County have remedied that, and with funds raised soley within the vietnamese community have built the only monument that honors both american and south vietnamese soldiers who fought in that struggle.








The designers weren't politically correct,either. Showcasing an american soldier alongside a south vietnamese soldier, standing together,proudly defiant, and fully armed. Before them flickers an eternal flame, and a pot of burning incense, while flanked by the flags of both nations.It is a source of pride, and a rallying point for the community. A place where the older generation brings their american grandkids to teach them the values, and gratitude, they otherwise might not be learning in school.

May God Bless Them

It's kinda old news by now, with nothing left but the sorrow and heartache felt by a few isolated families in a rural Pennsylvania county. The talking heads have talked, the videos are distributed, and the nagging question of "Why?" remains, as it always does.

Much can said for,against,and about the beliefs and lifestyle of this peculiar group of people, and we are all now aware of their penchant for non-violence and 'turning the other cheek'. But this, in my view, speaks volumes:

"At the behest of Amish leaders, a fund has also been set up for the killer's widow and three children."

At a time of great pain,anguish,and above all, turmoil, the community hasn't forgotten that others are suffering,too.

Maybe even I can learn something from this.

Where I'm Coming From

I'm going to attempt to clarify my mindest on a few issues.

In regards to foriegn policy, and international entanglements, I prefer a 'go it alone' United States, where we do not align ourselves with anybody. I want a non-interventionist policy.
I want to cancel all foriegn aid... to anybody. I understand this may upset a good portion of americans who tend to react as if Israel is the 51st state, but too bad. We owe nothing to nobody. This will also solve the terrorist problem, since when we stop meddling in other nations, we wont be the great evil that stands in the way of their jihadic pursuit of paradise's virgins.

War should be reserved for those times when our national soveriegnty, or the safety of our citizens at home, is threatened. And no other time.

I believe any government that willingly harbors anti-american terrorists has itself engaged in war on the United States, and should be overthrown, but not rebuilt with american wealth and labor. Any foriegn terror group operating in the United States, or fundraising within its border's, should be stamped out, it's adherents killed. We cant allow on our soil what we wont allow on another. Fair is fair.

When the need to go to war arises, we need to engage in total war. Blow the shit out of everything. Grind their cities into dust. Kill their men. Enslave their women. Sow salt into the earth... You get the idea. Do this once or twice, and we won't need to do it ever again. Seriously, who would be stupid enough take the chance? (if you need proof that this idea works, think of the last time a native american tribe posed any real military threat.)

We should declare our right to trade freely and fairly with all nations. None of this 'most favored nation' stuff. No tariffs. No quotas. No embargos. I know this will piss off the Cuban-American lobby. Too bad. If they got it for sale, and we want it, we should be allowed to buy it at market rate. And vice versa. And let nobody stand in our way, with a military willing and able to back it up.

Much of our current, and past troubles, are a direct result of not minding our business. And it started long before Bush and the neo-cons became the 'boogie man'.(The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor wasn't without provocation through the policies of FDR, despite what you were taught in school.)

Let 'Em Have It!

Much ado has been made in our media and among the politicians concerning the use of torture as part of the interrogation process for terrorist suspects.

I think its a tool we need to be able to use. I'm not saying it works, or it doesnt work. This i dont know, and will leave it up to the experts to make that call.

Nor am i saying saying that it should be ok to torture just any suspected somebody.

But, there are those who we know for a fact are involved in planning attcks, and most likely have information concerning future attacks. We need to get that information, by any means necessary.

Personally, i dont care how we get it. If buying the guy a nice dinner and a foot massage will loosen him up, do it. If pulling out his fingernails while a cattle prod is shoved up his ass is more effective, let's do it.

The argument that we 'are better than that' is just plain bullshit. Unwillingness to torture thugs and mass murderers, in order to prevent future thuggery and murder, is not a moral strength. It is a constitutional(see 10) weakeness.

Terrorists will always exploit weakness. Playing nice is not in their nature, or they would not be terrorists,would they? The fear of capture, followed by a very excruciating existence, will serve as a greater deterant than any respect for their humanity, as if they possesed much of that in the first place.

uh-oh, not again...

At one time,Germany had a popular national leader...
he was flamboyant...

















dressed well...

















with a natural flair for the dramatic...


a taste for fine footwear...








an eye for interior design...

















a career in progressive politics...











and an unconsumated life partnership...












Gay man may be next German leader
Hello Germany: are you sure you want to go that route again?

Religion Of Peace?

I have always been symapthetic to those long suffering muslims living with the embarassment of a belonging to a faith populated by a minority of vengeful,blood- thirtsy cut-throats. The Religion of Peace,they call it.



But times are changing, and so has my attitude. I can no longer ignore the obvious. The latest anger,violence, murder and rage, delivered in classic islamic fashion, concerning rather benign remarks by the Pope and twisted heavily out of context, has left me putting the blame right square where it belongs: on those self-described majority of peaceful mainstream muslims.

As long as 'nice' muslims allow this foolery to continue, they will be branded by it. It is their religion,after all. As long as they continue to remain silent,or whipped, in regard to their extreme element they will bare the blame for it. And well they should. Many times, we are what we will allow, even if we didnt actually do it ourselves. When some of their own clerics and leaders are calling for the death of the Pope, the Pope of all people, with barely a peep of opposition, a critical time has occured.
I blame them all.

There are no peaceful muslims, and islam is not a peace religion. It is, instead, the faith most tolerant and accepting of suicide bombers, radical jihad, threats, intimidation, murder and beheadings. The Religion of Pieces.

intro

Welcome to The Badger Underground.
First off, I want to tell you what this place is about. Basically, it's about whatever I want it to be about on any particular day. Poltics will be part of it. Pop culture, to a smaller extent. Something about stars and celebrities: they just dont grab my curiosity all that much, but every now and then some assinine celeb does something consistent with their nature that I just might not be able to ignore.
Current events I expect to take up the lion's share of stuff on my mind. Though it's hard to separate current events from politics much of the time, I'm not much into the partisan party stuff. Been there. Done that. Democrats suck hard. And Republicans seem intent on competing in that respect. The Libertarians were a cool idea at first, but then Cheech and Chong took them over. So I'll just remain a man without a party. It's easier.
Religion is a hot topic with me. Though I tend to shy away from the issue when left to my own, if somebody else brings it up, then I'm all in.
I like music, (yeah, dont we all) and favor the alternative and the old school punk, with occasional bouts of glam rock. Which brings me to another thought: why is it called 'alternative' when everybody is listening to it?
I am the proud owner of two adorable kittens, and one very old cranky cat. Dont be suprised if they make an appearance.
I like to travel when I get the chance, and I like to talk about it,too.

What this place is not about:
This is not an ambitious endeavor. Though it would be really cool if somehow this blog was getting 4000 hits per day, it doesnt matter a wit to me. You see, this is just a selfish indulgence. I'm not going to post a shitload of links to other blogs. If I read another blog on a steady basis, I will link it so others may know about it. But since these are few, there will be no gratuitous 'link farm' cluttering up my sidebar.

Well, that's about it for now.

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this is a test.