Politicals and News

So, this is no joking matter, the stats for the recent spate of wildfires is staggering, thousands of acres burned, hundreds of homes destroyed, and we are really just at the beginning. This will get a lot worse before this fire season is open.

I am truly sorry for everyone who has been harmed by these events.

So why the joke?

Well, it's to make a point. I'm sure the greenies will blame "Climate Change" since that is their mantra, and they repeat it religiously. However, this may be the worst year we remember, but we have wildfires every year. Why is this year worse? Why do they keep getting worse? Is this year actually worse? Not yet, but it's still early.

It is my opinion that we have failed in our responsibility to manage the forrests. We should be logging, getting rid of the dead wood, thinning our the forrests so that what is left is healthy. We simply don't do this as much as we should.

Yep, that's right, it is the fault of the greenies that protest logging and prevent proper forrest management that are causing this disaster, and this won't be the last. Even if we started proper forrest management today, there are too few left in that industry and too many acres that need help.

Don't get me wrong, I'm for responsible forrest management, not clearing and planting. It's more expensive to not clear, but not as expensive as these fires will be.

Link: http://www.google.com/

You may have guessed I'm not the biggest fan of Google. For the most part google is just fine, but there are a lot of things I don't like about the way they do business.

It's not just that they are a Liberal company, it's that they have such a great impact on society, and choose to not be neutral. I'm not talking about who they support, donate to or anything of that nature. I strongly belive in an individual (and companies) right to support who they will. What burns me is Googles censorship.

I've been saying for years that Googles search results are not neutral, that when looking up certain topics, they make sure the results they agree with come to the top more often. I havn't been able to prove it, just anecdottal examples, which could be explained away by different search engine algorithms.

Well, here is some proof. Go to google, as you type into the search box it gives you suggestions. A handy little feature to be sure.

Now, if you type in "Christianity is", the first few suggestions are "Christianity is Bullshit", "Christianity is not a religion", "Christianity is a cult". There are a bunch of other negatives in the list, only a couple of the suggestions being what you'd expect to see.

Now, do the same for "Judaism is", and the first two you get are "Judaism is a gutter religion", "Judaism is false", the rest being essentially what you'd expect of a suggestion.

OK, now do "Islam is", you get no suggestions. That's right, not one.

Is google a bunch of cowards? Maybe, afterall they did bow down to China when China said they had to censor results to it's citizens.

Personally, because of this and previous experience using their Search engine, I think they are Liberal Idealists that want to force their Philosphy on the rest of us. That's my opinion anyway.

Yet I'm still using their ads. :) It is a bit Ironic.

Link: http://www.google.com/phone

The Nexus one, is the newest Android phone from google, but the real news is the website. The Nexus one which google is offering on it's new website either with a Contract for T-Mobile, or Unlocked for AT&T or any other GSM carrier. There are also promises of plans for CDMA Carriers Verizon and Vodafone for Spring 2010. So By spring 2010 you could potentially get a phone for any network.

The phone is an android phone, quit probably the best android phone to date. I'm thinking about getting one myself, it's beautiful and seems to do everything I want in a phone.

The phone isn't the real story though. It's the website "google.com/phone." It seems that google wants to tear down the Phone/Carrier relationship. I can see some great benefits that might occur. The carriers would have to compete on the basis of price, customer service and quality, rather than what the hottest Phone is. We saw how powerful that phone connection is with the way so many people jumped to AT&T with the release of the iPhone. Really, I think this is what Google always intended with the android platform, to break that Phone/Carrier relationship.

All good, right? Well, that remains to be seen. Currently, the reason most of us can afford a smartphone is because of the phone/carrier relationship. You see, the carriers know that as long as you prefer that phone over any other you will stick with them, so they can afford to take a bath on the hardware, knowing they will make it up with the recurring subscription fees. But, if the phone won't lead you to the carrier, then the carrier will need to upgrade service, quality etc, which costs money. So say goodbye to the such great deals on phones. You're likely to have either longer contracts, larger ETF (Early Termination Fees) and/or more expensive phones.

We'll have to see how it all shakes out, I'm truly not sure what effect, if any, googles Phone store will have. It may have been created with the best of intentions, but we all know the path good intentions pave.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/25/state/n193421D23.DTL

Authorities say a 37-year-old Los Angeles man has been arrested on suspicion of murder for the death of an unborn child believed to be his.

Police said in a press release that Joshua Woodward was arrested Sunday in Los Angeles and is being held on $2 million bail in a county jail.

Police say the arrest came after an investigation on Monday revealed "suspicious circumstances of a miscarriage." Investigators estimate the fetus was in its 13th week.

Police released no information on the mother or the circumstances of the child's death.

Is it a life or not? The authorities can't seem to make up their mind. If a woman wants to have an abortion, it isn't a life, it's just a clump of cells. But if the fetus is killed by anyone other than the mother, it's suddenly a life, and a murder is involved.

If you're a regular here, you should know that I believe life starts at conception, and if this man did cause the miscarraige, then he should be punished. However, I really am bothered by the double standard. Make up your mind, either it's a lump of cells, and doesn't matter if it's destroyed, or it's a baby, and it's life is just a presious as any of ours.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/10/26/EDE71AAQ5B.DTL

Mayor Gavin Newsom's office has argued that San Francisco's sanctuary city policy protects undocumented immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding residents.

But as The Chronicle's Phil Matier and Andrew Ross reported Monday, San Francisco has a new policy starting on Nov. 1 that prevents city cops from automatically impounding cars driven by giving never-licensed drivers 20 minutes to find someone with a valid license to drive their car. Only if an unlicensed driver is caught again within six months, is there an automatic 30-day impound, which can cost around $2,500.

So otherwise law-abiding residents now refers to people who only violate federal immigration law and the state law that requires that drivers have valid licenses. (And auto insurance.)

I really don't get it, how can this be considered at all fair. You break the law and drive on a suspended license, you get your car impounded for 30 days, and get a ticket for driving on a suspended license. You drive having never gotten a license, and you get a ticket for driving without a license, and get to have a friend drive your car home for you? What? Of course, since you don't have a license, you probably don't have any valid ID, so you never even have to pay the ticket. This is supposed to make us safer? Seriously, someone that's never had a license is a better driver than someone that had it suspended for speeding to often?

I think the author of the article put it well:

Talk to City Hall about how expensive it is to park, and city solons will tell you there is no right to drive.

But if you break federal immigration law, they'll work on it.

It doesn't stop there though, back in August the state legislature decided that if you've never had a license, you only deserve to have your car impounded for 24 hours, not 30 days like people with suspended licenses.

The Lesson is, if you get pulled over in San Francisco, pretend to not have a license or registration, and give the police a fake name. Then have a friend pick you up.