Duck Goes Moo!

Bill Richardson has just recently announced that he is officially running for president. He might actually be a good person for the job. He has a lot of experience as an administrator and diplomat.

Here is a bit more about him: link

Michael Moore, who has made many famous documentaries like “Roger & Me” and “Fahrenheit 9/11″, has got himself in trouble with the US government for taking ailing 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba to be treated by their health care system for their lingering problems since the attack, which of course was all done on camera for dramatic effect.

It’s all part of Moore’s new documentary, SiCKO, which takes a stab at America’s health care system and the companies which profit off of it. The documentary will premier in France this month and come to the US in late June.

more here

The ten republican presidential candidates were recently asked if they thought that the constitution should be amended to allow non-natural born citizens to run for president. The general response was a humorous no.

more here

The vote in the House to block President Bush’s veto of the war spending bill came to 222 against 203, which was 62 votes short of what was needed.

more here

Hillary Clinton is no longer the assumed democratic nominee for president as Barrack Obama has pulled ahead of her in recent polls. This is a bit odd, as this comes shortly after Hillary announced that her husband would be utilized in her presidency as a world-wide diplomat.

Personally, I think ol’ “Slick Willy” could do a good job at that, and I thought that was some coded speech for saying that Bill won’t be sitting in the Oval Office influencing policy… or is it the idea of having Bill Clinton vicariously serving two more terms that has people voting for Hillary? Eh… it probably all comes down to who is spending the most money on their campaign, and Obama has a slight edge on Hillary if I understand correctly.

More Here

Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is filing articles of impeachment against Vice-President Dick Cheney:

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I don’t really understand people who profess to be “pro-life”. I myself think abortion is morbid, but I don’t regard an embryo as a human being; it’s a potential human being. Pro-life people may say that by killing an embryo you are stopping a human being from coming into the world, and that accounts to murder… but do you know what else stops a human from coming into this world in just the same manner? Not being pregnant.

By using the same logic as anti-abortionists, every moment a woman who can become pregnant does not become pregnant she is killing a child that could of been. An egg in a woman’s ovaries is just as much a potential human being as an embryo. Why don’t Pro-Lifers praise the egg as the start of human life instead of an embryo?

Still, once again, I do consider abortion morbid… but it isn’t murder.

And yes, I am a liberal.

Oh, I’m a Liberal, with a capital “L”.
I like to burn flags just for the smell.

– A song I’m working on.

I was watching a comedy special for Demetri Martin and it was sponsored by The Institute for Advanced Personhood, a fake organization Microsoft created to advertise for Windows Vista. The commercial spots were okay and mostly silly, but I really liked the name: “The Institute for Advanced Personhood”.

I’ve been thinking for a while about trying to create a sort of “Open Source Scientology”. By this I do not mean a recreation of the ideas of Scientology, but I mean an organization that purports to help people live better lives but does not charge exorbitant fees and doesn’t try to brainwash people for power and profit.

The idea would be an organization where they use data recovered from genuine scientific studies to determine what humans can do to live more fulfilling and meaningful lives. It would have to be free to members, there would have to be no fees for meetings, and the texts and conclusions would be under review and contribution much like an open source software project.

I believe there are things that individuals can do to make their lives better that are independent of class, culture, and economic status. People should not have to pay money or reverence to those who propose to help them live a better life. People should not have to believe in magical beings to be able to understand inner truths about their lives.

I wonder if I could get goverment funding for this sort of thing…

The DoomsDay Clock, originally created by a group of scientists from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is now not only taking nuclear war into consideration for the end of the world, they now count the climate crisis as a factor ticking towards our destruction.

“Not since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world faced such perilous choices,” the scientist said in a statement.

“North Korea’s recent test of a nuclear weapon, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a renewed emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia are symptomatic of a failure to solve the problems posed by the most destructive technology on Earth.”

“The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons,” the statement continued.

“The effects may be less dramatic in the short term than the destruction that could be wrought by nuclear explosions, but over the next three to four decades climate change could cause irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival.”

from CTV.ca

“An Inconvenient Truth” is up soon on my Netflix queue; perhaps I should move it up to the front of the list.

This just in: Barrack Obama has begun the first step of what may be his run for president. He is going to launch a committee to explore a presidential bid, which has the effect of letting him raise money and recruit people for a presidential bid… so essentially, Obama is running for president.

Here’s more down here:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/news/article_1247275.php/Obama_takes_first_step_toward_2008_presidential_bid

It’s official, Edwards is running for president in 08, and now I am finding myself confused.

Edwards was my pick for the Democrats’ presidential candidate in 04, but he ended up running second fiddle to Treebeard Fangorn, A.K.A. John Kerry, whom I voted for (he was still better than Das Bush).

I actually had forgotten about him with the bright shine of Clinton and Obama in my eyes, and now I am having trouble deciding who I would want for president in 08.

Hmm… which team would be best? Edwards/Obama or Obama/Edwards? Maybe Edwards/Clinton… Clinton/Obama?

I can’t decide!!!

Well, since Edwards is the only one officially running I guess for now he is my pick for prez. in 08 for now. When Clinton and Obama make their move I’ll think about them again.

And what about Vilsack and Kusinich? Well… I like them personally… but they don’t have my vote for now.

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On the Republican side, I was potentially thinking of McCain, but I’ve become less enamored with him over the years. Perhaps we’ll see some of his old fire when he officially is running.

Tired of America or wanting to hear about those who have left? Here’s the book for you, “Getting Out: The Guide to Leaving America” by Mark Ehrman. It’s put out by Process, a publishing house based in Los Angeles.

It details how to do it, new nations to start anew in, and stories of those who have already taken the definitive leap of expatriation. Chapters include:

* Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
* Foreign Citizenship and How to Get It
* Work and Study Options Abroad
* Choosing a Country: How Do They Stack Up?
* The Top 50 Expat Meccas
* Doing It: How to Begin, What’s Involved, and Where to Turn
* Web Resources

Here’s a sample page about the Netherlands: PDF

Pretty neat stuff, but you can get a lot of the same info from government websites and the CIA’s world factbook: link

But of course, the info presented in “Getting Out” is a bit more concise and directed towards those looking to actually live in another country.

I have not really thought of moving to a new country as of yet; I’ve barely been out of the country save a trip to Cancun.

I’ve been thinking of paying Canada a visit sometime soon to see what it really is like up there, but of course visiting is different than actually living there.

I’ve also thought about Ireland, being that it has a quickly growing tech sector, they speak English, and I hear the people are right friendly. Though living in Ireland could be a little awkward, as I am of Scottish decent… or do they like Scots?

It has just been announced that William J. Clinton, former president of the United States, will be giving the commencement speech at the 2007 graduation ceremonies at Knox College. He will also be receiving an honorary degree.

This is three commencement speakers in a row that I would have loved to meet and shake hands with, the previous two being Stephan Colbert and Barrack Obama.

I recently watched a presentation about the Evolution of Intelligent Design. It was about how Creationism became Creation Science and then became Intelligent Design and is now becoming “Emergence Theory”.

When the Kansas School Board had a hearing to decide whether Intelligent Design should be taught in schools or not, one student took it upon himself to add something to the debate:

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Though one thing I recently found out that Knox College, a college I attended for a period of time, is now teaching a philosophy course about Intelligent Design. No, really:

http://www.knox.edu/x11236.xml

Believe it or not, some people think Barrak Obama is responsible for 9/11:

Oy Vey…

It seems that in Japan that there is a belief that one’s blood type can tell much about one’s personality. Makes me wish I could remember what blood type I am.

Is it accurate? Well, George “dubbya” Bush has type A blood, and they are believed to be conservative and stubborn… hmm…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_blood_type_theory_of_personality