Science & Tech Advisors

This blows my mind.  Well, if I hadn't already lost all faith in the judgement of McCain with his selection of Sarah Palin for VP it would blow my mind.  It's still a little surprising however.

Obama Science & Tech Advisers:

Harold Varmus: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Don Lamb: University of Chicago

Gil Omenn: University of Michigan

Henry Kelly: Federation of American Scientists

Sharon Long: Stanford University

Jason Grumet: Bipartisan Policy Center

Dan Kammen: University of California, Berkeley

Not a bad line up, even though I'm sure most of us haven't heard of any of them before.  At least they're employed by Universities or other science related facilities (aside from Jason Grumet).

McCain Science & Tech Advisers:

James Woolsey: Former CIA Director

James Schlesinger: Former Secretary of Defense

Robert McFarlane: Former National Security Advisor

Carly Fiorina: Former Chief Executive of Hewlett-Packard

Meg Whitman: Former Chief Executive of eBay.

WHAT THE HELL?!  Only 2 of those are even related to Science & Tech, and I'd call their experience in the field on the business side, not the Science & Tech end of things.  Not surprising, McCain would be a horrible choice for the already battered (thanks to Bush) Science & Tech fields.  It is pretty surprising that a weak point for McCain and he doesn't at least have at least some qualified and experienced scientists on his panel.  The man lacks anything remotely close to vision, though I guess that should be expected of a man at his age.

Group Projects

So when was the last time that you were forced to work with near complete strangers for a common goal given to you by someone else?  If you exclude class projects, which are often argued to help you in the real world, the answer is almost certainly "never" for a majority of the population.  So then why do professors love giving group projects and saying things like "you should get used to it, because you'll be doing it in your profession for years to come" or some such nonsense?

That argument doesn't even touch on the topic of getting stuck with the lazy stoner who you wonder how he remembers to get the class each week, the dumb blonde ex-cheerleader who doesn't stop smacking her gum long enough to contribute, and the overbearing perfectionist that has to have the entire project done his way and cries that nobody else is doing it right in your group.  Luckily, I'm not actually stuck with any people like that in my group for my current "group project," but it's annoying anyway.  I work full time, have a girlfriend that I actually want to see sometimes, and am taking this class, as are most of my fellow group mates.  Attempting to actually get together outside the classroom is a near impossibility because we all have lives.   I just find the college group project to be a waste of time in the "preparation for the future" category and lacking in the overall learning experience.  Instead of learning what the project was supposed to teach, you spend most of your time worried about where you're going to find time to actually meet with the other people in your group.  And yet, every professor seems to have some favorite group project he must throw at you after the drop date has passed and you're stuck in the class!

Strike... um, I lost count... against Palin

It seems that it would be pretty much common knowledge that Sarah Palin lied about not supporting the "Bridge to Nowhere" to begin with, backing off after it became a national punch line on wasteful spending.  But there are those who still defend the act, saying she was the one who stamped out the funding to it, even though nobody can deny that she kept the funds.

However, I now see this woman will lie about anything! WHY WOULD YOU LIE ABOUT THIS?! The woman is bad news, and I just hope that people begin seeing past her "pretty face" to the ugly truth of who this woman is and what she really stands for.

Like, oh, I don't know, supporting the "Bridge to Nowhere" and then backing off and throwing water on the fire and claiming to be a hero by killing the project? How about claiming to be a financial watchdog against wasteful spending while blowing $50k in taxpayer money to redecorate her new office to "look like a bordello" almost as soon as getting in to it? And doing it without the council's approval, which makes it illegal on top of wasteful and in bad taste.

It turns out that John McCain's first choice for VP wasn't even Nick Carney's (Palin's original political "mentor" of sorts) for City Council!

 "It was a very casual process, she wasn't even our first choice. We had known her since she was a girl, she went to school with our daughter. It wasn't that she was the brightest thing on the horizon, a rising star or anything like that."

And this is who McCain thinks should be our Vice President? What planet is McCain living on?

Introduction to the Blog & Why

For the last couple of months, I've debated starting a blog. I like to debate politics & religion quite frequently, but most people seem incapable of debating such things without becoming overly agitated. I myself sometimes get that way when people refuse to think logically, follow facts, or are just plain stupid in their side of the debate. So in realization of these factors, a blog became, in my mind, a way for me to discuss the controversial and enraging topics that come to my mind without the risk of a debate becoming a fight.



As for an introduction to myself, I would say that most who are going to read this already know me, but I'll go through the motions anyway.



Some "Christians" never go to church and know very little of the bible, but will argue with you about those topics. I bring that up, because we all know someone who fits that mold. I, however, would have to say I'm the atheist equivalent of such a Christian. I don't really believe in God (at least not in a religious sense), but I do have doubts as to whether I'm right or not, and I don't go out of my way to make people aware of my religious beliefs, though I'm not ashamed of them either. And I will argue certain points that tend to infuriate certain religious people (normally people who are overzealous to begin with), though the infuriating is NEVER my intention. I also truly believe that everyone has a right to their own beliefs and would never advocate any nonsense such as banning a peaceful law-abiding religion.



When it comes to my political views, I would call myself a Democrat if forced to make a distinction, however, I choose not to just line up with any 'ole thing that the Democratic Party tries to push down my throat either. I even agree with certain policies that the Republican Party claims to stand on (though, they haven't done a good job of following these during the reign of Bush, in my opinion), such as low taxes and smaller government (in many situations, not all). I tend to be a little skeptical of politicians and the things they promise, but not so far to the point to believe that not a single representative in Washington has a heart or could be sincere in their cares about those who they represent. I would say it's the exception and not the rule, however unfortunate that may be.



I'm sure that I'll discuss some things outside of these 2 topics, but those are probably the 2 that will be discussed most and would benefit most from an introduction to my views on the topic. I hope you enjoy the Blog.