Strong language

When I was in high school, around the time of steam power and the Guttenberg printing press, I was fortunate to have a History/Social Studies teacher, Mr Jim Nicks, who instilled in me many of the values that I carry today - one of which is this - that freedom brings with it great responsibility and accountability.

I've been thinking a lot lately about one of our most valuable freedoms, freedom of speech, and the responsibility that comes with it, and I keep coming back to something Jim Nicks taught me 30 odd years ago;

"Your right to free speech extends only to the point where your fist meets my nose"

In a nutshell, this is to say that freedom of speech is NOT an absolute, there are conditions attached to it ie your right to free speech extends only to the point where it is poised to infringe on my basic human rights.

What brought this to mind were 2 recent incidents. The first was an e-mail from a gentleman who objected to something I posted on a message board wherein I called out a poster who'd slandered an acquaintance of mine, all the while hiding behind an alias. The e-mailer insisted I was denying this person's right to free speech; I responded that free speech does not exist where an individual shirks the responsibility of owning up to their remarks by publishing their real name.

The second incident was something I stumbled upon quite innocently. While searching on youtube I came across a tv interview with a woman whose right wing fundamentalist "Christian" organization pickets the funerals of dead soldiers, victims of natural disasters, gay rights supporters, and any number of other groups, while holding picket signs that read "Thank God for dead soldiers", "God hates fags", and several other slogans that I don't wish to repeat - nor do I wish to repeat the name of her church. Simply put, and I offer this after having visited their website, this is the most viciously, unabashedly hateful group I've ever seen in modern times. They are racist, they are homophobic, they hate Jews, Catholics, Muslims, and anyone else who does not subscribe to their fanatically twisted misinterpretation of the bible.

Unfortunately the American Civil Liberties Union has come to the defence of this group, insisting that they have the right to voice their opinions, as guaranteed by the constituion.

I disagree. Free speech is NOT the freedom to say whatever you wish about whomever you wish, whenever you wish. Free speech is the right to engage, to express, to contribute, to agree, to disagree, to debate, to use this wonderful thing we call language in order to further ideas that build up our societies rather than tear them down. We have the freedom to use language to put an end to hatred and bigotry, we have the freedom to use language to oppose repression, and we have these freedoms because of, and only when we accept responsibility for our words.

"Your right to free speech extends only to the point where your fist meets my nose"

jm

I'm mad as hell...

I'm so sick of politicians and beaurocrats jumping on the bandwagon at our expense.

I'm talking about BC Premier Gordon Campbell's "Carbon Tax", which will raise the price of gas by 7.2 cents/litre over the next 3 years. The trickle-down effect, from air transport to the cost of food, will be enormous. And why are WE paying for this? Because Campbell and his sidekick, Finance Minister Carole Taylor, say "we all have to do our part for the environment". The BC LIberals wish to be seen as the "green party".

I agree, we DO have to do our part for the environment - but they are offering NO ALTERNATIVES TO DRIVING. The only public transit option I have from my home in Mission BC to my workplace in Richmond BC is a train into downtown Vancouver, then 2 buses back to Richmond. Travel time is 2.5 hours EACH WAY. I will NOT spend 5 hours a day commuting.

When I asked my MLA and Carol Taylor how public transit will be improved, which I'm assuming is what the Carbon tax is all about, neither of them were able to answer. In both cases they passed the buck onto another level of government.

I cannot afford to sell my vehicle and buy a hybrid.

I WANT to find alternatives, but our highly paid government officials are not offering any.

At a time when gas prices are at an all time high, and still rising, the BC Liberals are going to make us pay even more so that they can look good.

See you at the polls folks.

NRA - No Rifles, A**hole

Hey, when Charlton Heston passed, I wonder if anyone did pry that rifle from his cold, dead hands? Just wondering... pz

Barium? I hardly even knew 'im!

This past Thursday I went for ex-rays, an "Upper gastro Intestinal series" to be exact. BTW this would make a lousy band name, so don't even considerate it.

I've had this type of procedure before, due to an ongoing acid reflux problem. Acid reflux is one of the very few conditions NOT invented by big pharma in order to sell a lotta drugs, despite all the remedies that are advertised. In a nutshell it's like having heartburn all the time. Pisser.

Anyhoo, the highlight of an upper G.I. is downing a cup of Barium Sulphate. Barium is a chemical element, defined as a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal. I know, you're already salivating, I can hear it. Few things spark a Pavlovian reaction more-so than the mere mention of a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal.

"Hey mom, what's for dinner?"
"Your favourite"
"You mean...a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal???"
"You got it, mister, now go wash up"
"Gee mom, you're the BEST!!!"

Truthfully though, I guess this is the only way of detecting abnormalities in the upper G.I., or "guts" to use the lay term, so whatever. But does it really have to taste like Pepto Bismal mixed with more Pepto Bismal? Mixed with one of those petroleum by-product McDonald's milkshakes? Mixed with more Pepto Bismal? Apparently, yes.

So here's how it all went down. Swallowed a pill cup full of "gas pills" designed to bloat the stomach (believe me, my stomach doesn't need more bloating at this point in life); gulped down a juice glass full of delicious and nutritious Barium Sulphate; rolled around on the x-ray table a few times to mix it all together; laid still for a few shots; drank another cup of Barium; more shots; have a nice day.

Oh well, I suppose it could have been worse, they could have asked me to lay still while they fed 6 feet of half inch flex hose up my ass and took snapshots...oh wait, that's next...nevermind.

pz

We only got 6 months to wreck the world...

George W. Bush, who will leave office with probably the worst record of any U.S. president in history, is travelling the world in an effort to create a lasting legacy by starting a war with Iran.
D U M B E S T M A N A L I V E
jm

Bush prods allies for tougher stance on Iran
By DEB RIECHMANN – 2 hours ago
KRANJ, Slovenia (AP) — President Bush says the United States and Europe must rally to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, calling the threat an incredible danger to world peace.
Speaking in Slovenia at his final European Union-U.S. summit, Bush said of Iranian leaders, "They can either face isolation, or they can have better relations with all of us."
Bush said the U.S. and its European allies should work together to make that abudantly choice clear to Iran.
The president spoke as he and EU leaders were poised to threaten Iran with further financial sanctions unless it verifiably suspends its nuclear enrichment. They said Iran must fully disclose any nuclear weapons work and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that work.

You need to know this

I've been farting non-stop for 3 days now. Talk about the high price of gas!!!

(ba-dum, dum)

You're welcome

jm

Jeopardy

You know when Alex Trebek briefly interviews the Jeopardy contestants when they come back from the first commercial break?

Obviously the contestants have been pre-screened with the answers, but I'm almost positive the question they're given is "Tell us the most insufferably banal thing about yourself".

It's GOTTA be...

btw this is the best Jeopardy clip ever - keep your eye on the kid who gives the incorrect answer

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6CzEx7Z4QIk

jm

“Dr Thompson, please report to the political arena, Dr Thompson…”

One of my most prized possessions is a paperback copy of “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas”, autographed by the good doctor himself, Dr Hunter S. Thompson.

The inscription reads “John, crush them when they tell you to fuck off, Hunter S. Thompson, July 1986”

Now, more than ever, we need HST. We need his razor sharp insight, his macabre prose, and his brutal honesty so we can make some sense of the political cluster fuck in the United States.

Sadly this will never happen since HST took his own life in 2005.

At the risk of naiveté, there was a time when politics was about issues. Now politics is about winning, at any cost, and the issues have become merely a fulcrum to shift the balance in favour of a given candidate. We cannot trust most mass media as they have their own agenda, be it political or commercial. CNN? Fox News? Michael Moore? Each has their agenda, and god forbid the truth get in the way.

So who is left to tell the truth?

Who even knows what the truth is anymore?

Lying to the public has become as acceptable to leaders as has telling the truth, there is no line to be crossed, no nagging conscience, and no moral compass. In an irreparably divisive political and social arena, where we are either “with” the government, or “against” them, we are expected to accept all “oracle” as truth.

Thompson was flawed; he was a drug addict and a severe alcoholic. This is no secret and he never attempted to keep it so. But in his darkness and anger lived a disarming intelligence and perception that made him as politically savvy as they come, and even more fearless.

RIP HST

jm