VFTW Screwing

Vote For The Worst what have you done? Dumb Dumb Dumb. I like the site, I do. I started keeping up with it during the Carrie Underwood season. For those who aren't familiar VFTW is the group that tries to pick the "worst" contestant on American Idol and drums up as much support as they can for them. It is kind of funny when you know about it and other people don't and they are like," Why is that sucky person still on the show, they couldn't carry a tune in a bucket." Ahh why indeed. But that is the funny thing about VFTW. They can get someone into the top 6 from the top 12, but that is about it. Unless they blow it somehow... like by going on David Letterman and bragging about. It is like watching someone's head grow larger and larger until their body collapses under the enormous weight. "Hey we are screwing American Idol, look at us." Now I know it sounds like a good idea to go after the publicity and maybe drum up a little business for the old web site in the process (you know have some people click on the old ads, nothing wrong with that), but wait until you actually accomplish something. See the thing that bothers me about VFTW is that they think they pick the winner in the end, but that is only after their real guy was eliminated six weeks earlier. Once the first choice is eliminated in kind of makes the site irrelevant, although professor Chan's weekly deal on grading the idols is always a good read. See if you take the top 5 plus the 12th place person in the top six there is a good bit of difference between talent level. But once that 12th place person is finally eliminated, your just picking between who America thought was the real top 5. If you follow AI and VFTW you know that once the lesser talent is gone VFTW just kind of leeches on to the next lowest person, which still goes pretty quick, then someone else and so on and so on. Until you get to a legit final two between Bo and Carrie and then you pick the "worst" out of those two. Common, they are too talented at that point to say VFTW had any real influence on the show. It's like saying that a Ferrari is worse than that Lamborghini, yeah maybe so but it is still a hell of lot better than a Prius. Anyway, when VFTW came out saying how it would be great if Sanjaya won on David Letterman, it rubbed people the wrong way. He had a good shot of making it far on that show maybe top 4, but ultimately they screwed him and themselves. You see when you have this inside joke that people don't know about and then you let everyone in, the joke is over. VFTW operated on the premise that they were screwing AI, but you can't just throw that in peoples faces. That is like telling everyone you are trying to fix the World Series, peoples is gonna get mad at you. That is precisely what happened here, people got mad at VFTW and then they started there own little inside joke to screw VFTW and pretty much vote off whoever VFTW was supporting. So even though Sanjaya had never been in the bottom 3 and Phil Stacey had been for like the last 6 weeks, old Sanjaya went home. There were so many more votes than there ever had been so it was pretty obvious that they really struck a nerve. But hey look on the bright side, maybe it will work next year because more people will be in on the "joke". Either that or there will be another website called www.screwVFTW.com and they will try to get people to vote for anyone, but who VFTW does and that site will work until you know, someone from that site goes on Letterman and starts the whole cycle over.

Gun Control

Well, it was pretty much inevitable that once a shooting like this happens people start calling for more gun control. Take a minute and listen while I explain how this doesn't make any sense. Number one - in this instance at Virginia Tech the shooter knew what he was going to do months in advance and there was no time restriction on not getting weapons that was going to stop him. He completely followed the law in Virginia and obtained the guns legally, which took 5 weeks to accomplish. That should be more than enough time for any impulse killing to pass, but since he stuck with it you know this is what he had in mind from the beginning. Number two - he had no intention to live past that morning, and I believe that, whether he had killed himself or the police had. When someone has already committed to killing themselves it doesn't matter what the punishment is for carrying weapons onto a campus. Think about it, he has no intention of living until Tuesday, let alone graduation, so what good is the threat of expulsion - ABSOLUTELY ZERO. The only way this crime could have been stopped is if one of the students or teachers in the buildings he attacked had a gun of their own and could have returned fire. Gun laws mean nothing to criminals. Think about it, who is going to break a gun law? - Someone who doesn't want to get expelled from school or fired from their job, NO. The people who break the laws are the ones that would break any laws because they either don't care about the repercussions or they are not expecting to live to see them. The current laws - like keeping guns 1000 ft. from schools, and having to wait certain periods before getting a firearm - are (I believe) intended to keep people from doing something rash or completely on impulse, that under normal circumstances they would never do and after having a reasonable amount of time to think about it would come to their senses. The laws also allow someone who really really wants a gun to still get one. If you are just going along thinking "gosh, I think I would like to own a gun." and you do the research and find the gun you want, you'll jump through the necessary hoops to get it. Or if you are premeditating murder for months or years you will also be able to wait. The problem with gun laws are that the more areas you "protect" by not allowing "law abiding" people to have guns, the easier it will be for criminals to kill in those areas because they don't have to fear that anyone will fight back while they are attacking.

Now the solution. What needs to happen is teachers, professors or the deans of the individual colleges within a university have to be given the ability to carry concealed weapons on campus. If you don't want to allow any students then that is fine, but I would almost make it mandatory for at least one administration personnel in each building on campus be required to carry a weapon. This also needs to be done in the most secretive of manners, so that if some crazed gunman decides to attack the school he will have no idea which rooms to avoid. Call it the Virginia Tech exemption and then pray that we have already witnessed the worst school shooting in American History.

4/16/7 - Virginia Tech Massacre

What a tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families that lost someone yesterday. Where to start? This is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, to record my thoughts and feelings at the moment I was witnessing history. I felt sick today. Not from this story, but just light headed and extremely tired. My family has been battling the roto-virus for the last 3 weeks and I guess in finally caught up with me. Anyway it allowed my to see some of the coverage of the scene at VT. I watched the ceremony at 2 PM, the president, governor, various others offering condolences and kind words. Nothing really stand outish. The real tragedy is not knowing if part of this could have been prevented. I suppose there will be a lot of second guessing in the weeks to come and eventually there will be some "standard" set forth to deal with this kind of incident. This was by far the the worst college shooting in the history of America. The other one of note was in Texas in 1966, when an ex-marine opened up fire from a clock tower before being gunned down by police. In Virginia the situation was a little different, the gunman had two separate targets that Monday. Cho Seung Hui, was a Korean by birth and lived in the US legally since 1992. He was set to graduate next month with an English degree, but instead decided to end his life taking 32 others in the process. The second guessing starts with the administration. He went to a dorm with an ex-girlfriend or acquaintance or something and shot her and the RA. The an hour and a half later opened fire in Norris hall killing 30 others. My thoughts are that with a shooting happening in a dormitory, you lock down the dorms and cancel the classes and post armed police at the entry of each building, because you have a responsibility to keep the students SAFE first and when a shooter is running loose on campus that is not safe. Second there were reports that this guy had written plays or stories about shooting up teachers and classmates. I know there is a certain creativity that schools try to foster, but eventually you get to a point where it is no longer "creativity" and it becomes foreshadowing. People really need to take a hard look at exactly what people are telling them and err on the side of caution. To the people at VT now, it is going to be hard but you will make it through. You have to, for all of the people that won't have a chance now. Remember God won't give you more than you can handle. You can only look at the past, and you can only go forward from here.

Not So Good Reasons to Procreate

All right, let's start the list for "Not so Good Reasons to Have Kids". Sofie has graciously volunteered to give her input. Amazingly without me even asking. Note: there is some adult content, so be advised.

1. "Oooo, there's a cute maternity outfit."
Note: Pregnant women know that there is no such thing.
2. Hello tax deduction.
3. I need someone to blame, for losing/ruining all my stuff.
(i.e. remote controls, DVD players, computer screens... this part can pretty much go on and on and on...)
4. Need someone to blame gaseous releases on, if you know what I mean.
5. If your pregnant you can eat whatever you want.
Note: Sofie says,"You can but it won't come off when the baby comes."
6. Don't ever call your pregnant or post pregnant wife fat. This doesn't have anything to do with kids it is just sound advice.
Note: Sofie says,"You should never call your wife fat anyway!" Ouch. Cause watch out if you do.
7. I wish I knew more people that don't listen to anything I have to say.
8. I wish I could shop at the baby gap, cause they always seem to be having such good deals in there.
9. I have way to much free time/money to just be hoarding it all for myself.
10. To keep a man. Bad very Bad.
11. If you get pregnant we can have as much unprotected loving as we want.
Note: Yeah, until it gets weird. Plus in the 3rd trimester it can induce labor. Then you gotta cross that six week love desert cowboy.
12. Well I got the minivan. Might as well fill 'er up.
13. Dale Jr. needs another fan.
14. I've just been getting way too much sleep at night.
15. If you have kids, no one can criticize you about watching cartoons all day. Hey it's for them.
16. "I really like that name".

Well that will do for now. I'll start working on that list for reasons to have kids shortly.

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New Remote

Ordered a new remote for my TV today. Apparently my daughter after she found out about the how the trash can works, promptly went around "cleaning" up. I mean I really can't yell at her for it, because I really can't prove it. However, it is really easy to blame kids for stuff when you can't find something. I think I'll put a list together for good reasons to have kids and not so good reasons to have kids. Stay tuned....

Also in that 2.48 year gap me and Sofie had another kid, Peach.

Motivation

Yo Yo Yo Everybody. In case you were wondering about the math it was 2.48 years between posts. That might be a record. Oh yeah, and I just signed for the old adsense from Google, so now I can set back and watch the money rollllllll in.

Any time.

Just waiting on that money to start rolling in...

Just give one of the ads the old clickty click click and I collect a little cash. Ah sweet capitalism. Go ahead, give it try. Did I mention you was my BFF. Come on just click on an add.

Are you still reading???!? Come on click the ads already, I'd do it for you. I mean I need that cash to help pay for the old Regional Income Tax my local government insist on screwing me with.

Oh by the way, Thank you for your support.

Imus

whoosh...cough cough. Ugh well I guess it is time to knock the dust off this sucker. Well it sure has been a while. If you're wondering I did forget my password... and login name... and well that's all.

Figured Imus might be a good subject to come back on the blog seen with. A little background. Don Imus - radio host at CBS, simulcast on MSNBC in the morning considered a bit of a "shock jock", liberal, experience ~30 years or so. On Monday or Tuesday 4/09 or 10/2007 he says the Rutgers women's basketball teams has a bunch of tattoos and they look a little rough then he drops the BOMB - "they are some nappy-headed hoes." OOPS. How can 2.5 seconds ruin 30 years of work you may ask, pow right there. It seems like every woman and or black person has jumped on the "I hate Imus" bandwagon as though he raped and shot the Rutgers basketball team. Depending on when you read this it may not seem that way, but let's recap. First CBS and MSNBC give a 2 week suspension. Not overly harsh you may say. Outrage from Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Barak Hussein (sp?) Obama, Oprah, and well pretty much everyone. (Self not excluded. Don't get mad, keep reading.) All of the big sponsors decide to pull advertising on MSNBC, so he gets fired from there. No worries still got the radio. Thursday, CBS decides to fire him. Yikes. Also 3 hours later he meets with the Rutgers team at the New Jersey governor's mansion.

(Funny thing happens on the way to mediating the meeting ... The governor is in a car accident, but he is not wearing a seat belt. Uh Oh! A $46 fine under New Jersey law, but no probs he was being driven by a STATE PATROL OFFICER. What, he didn't notice the guy next to him doesn't have a seat belt. I'm sorry but no one in the state of New Jersey should ever get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt again. can i get an amen. Anyway the governor got punished by God - broken leg, six broken ribs on each side, broken sternum ... oh yeah, Buckle up New Jersey it's the law and you will be severely hurt if you don't.)

Overall I would say Imus 'lost' this week, along with the governor of New Jersey. But there are a few things that worry about this episode.
(1) Imus has said a lot of hurtful things through out his career. At one point he called someone a boner-nosed, beanie wearing Jew boy. At another point he called for the Iranians to be nuked at a funeral. Then this latest statement. But when no one has stood up before, why wouldn't he just say whatever he wanted to without fear of repercussions. There is something special about this situation I guess. He targeted more than just one person, so it wasn't a completely singular insult, and it wasn't against some generic group of people. This was specific enough and yet general enough to garner severe attention, but the guy really should have been jumped on beforehand. ...Something here about enough rope...
(2)The backlash from every nook and cranny is very disturbing. Jesse and Al, the NAACP, women's groups and it seemed to happen even before the Rutger girls had a chance to respond. I am sure none of them were listening at the time it was said, I know I never heard of the guy before, but it seems so odd that people were willing to jump on him because of the "great insults" he hurled at the girls. -2.5 SECONDS- and he probably spent less time thinking about the comment before he made it. Something here doesn't add up, but I am not sure what it is. What would have happened if the girls said, "Imus, never heard of him. Whatever some sad little man had to say is far less significant than what we were able to accomplish this year. It doesn't bother us, because he has no influence on what we think or do and definitely not on the people that really support us. Clearly he doesn't know us." End of story. Kudos to the Rutgers' women's team for being the bigger people... but that never happened.
(3) The first amendment. I know this is "hate" speech and all, but when someone is allowed to act in a certain manner for 30 years and he gets paid to do so, it is not exactly grounds to recondition his behavior. ... something about Pavlov here... Someone on the radio said this was retribution for him ripping a congressman the previous week, maybe. But we can't let ourselves forfeit our rights, because of ... well other people? I don't know, it seems like if Imus can go because of this, then really no one is off limits, but where does it end? Will it end? Will all of the free speech on the radio be silenced because some group or person will find it offensive? Maybe. And that is really the sad thing. Probably 90% of whatever is said anywhere is useless, but the 10% that matters is only said at the encouragement of what is said in the 90%. By being free to communicate as much worthless nonsense as possible we also create ideas that further the society. And I believe that is what the 1st amendment is for. Yes people will say things you disagree with, but that is your opportunity to truly further your cause and put your ideas out there. You really can't be afraid that people will hate you and you shouldn't hate others for what they say no matter how bad it is. What if Martin Luther King Jr. had been afraid to speak? What if Abe Lincoln didn't want to talk at Gettysburg? Or Kennedy never spoke out about serving the country? All words are not great, but it can't be up to "groups" to stop ideas because you never know what could inspire greatness. Censorship can't be the way. People have to make up there own minds and in the end if you want people to really live the "right" way then you have to give them the better ideas, the better way to live so they choose what truly is right.

(disengage Soap Box)