No one is free from the coercion of physics

Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson - TAM6 from JREF on Vimeo.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman - Candid Shot in San Diego, July 4th 2010.

Social Consciousness.

This sign is in a "drinking zone" or "bar district" in downtown San Diego. Could the 75 bars within one square mile contribute more to alcohol abuse than giving nickels to homeless veterans? Maybe these charities can spend some more time picking up homeless people and taking them home instead of putting up signs. 

God Hates Fags Who Take Bong Hits 4 Jesus While Drinking Their Juice in the Hood

According to recent rulings of the US Supreme Court, a sign reading "Thank God for dead soldiers" at a military funeral is protected speech, but a sign reading "Bong hits 4 Jesus" on private property is not. (read about each case here) (and here)

If you are unable to detect the slightest bit of hypocrisy at this point, return to the top of the previous sentence and meet me back here in few seconds. Repeat if necessary.

Isn't the aversion to this ridiculous double standard the reason why we protect all speech in the first place? Why did the court find that God's rights to hate fags are superior to Jesus's right to inhale? What could be the source of such obvious hypocrisy?

The first usual suspect would be religion, an endless goldmine for logically inconsistent thought. But both phrases contain some reference to religion, and religion was not the legal justification cited in the courts written opinion. The Military might be another source of the problem, they have been known to bend the rules from time to time. But the court ignored the dignity of the individual fallen soldiers to honor the integrity of the rights that they allegedly died to protect. If not by the power of God, and not by coercion from the military, then why no protection for "Bong hits 4 Jesus"?

The answer is the War on Drugs. The court ruled in 2007 that the word "bong" might encourage marijuana use. The great threat of marijuana was enough justification for an 18 year old man to be censored and disciplined by a government employee that happened to be near by during his display of words. As if one more display of the word "bong" is going to make marijuana into a billion dollar industry with tens of millions of Americans that use it regularly.

From random DUI roadblocks, to no-knock search warrants, to the DEA trespassing to attach GPS tracking devices on cars with no warrant at all, the war on drugs has been pissing away the fourth amendment rights of Americans for decades. We no longer have any expectation of privacy. Just ask the TSA.

Now the war on drugs is coming for your first amendment rights. Speech that mentions a device that might be used for something illegal is too dangerous for the eyes of the public, but armed paramilitary drug-troopers storming in to a house with guns drawn is safe for the public. The word bong is bad, but hundreds of billions of dollars to put non violent peolpe in prison is good. And lets not forget that due process and property rights have been subverted through the asset forfeiture racket. If the police claim you are dealing drugs, then the police can steal your property and the burden of proof is on you to show how you purchased your property. In the war on drugs, you are guilty until proven innocent.

Its a good thing we have the freedom to speak out against such injustices, and we are lucky to have American men and women brave enough to be killed in action while protecting that right. Thank god for dead soldiers.

No More Secrets: Wiki-leaks, 'Anonymous' & other current events predicted in 1992.

With an ensemble cast that includes James Earl Jones, Robert Redford, River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier, these four short clips from the 1992 film Sneakers predict the recent events of the information wars.

Lets start with some internet hacking: Wikileaks discovers the power of the internet, which some think is just a series of tubes. The Federal Reserve, power grids, and critical government infrastructure become vulnerable. Did I just see a 9/11 reference from 1992? The conspiracy nuts are going to go crazy, if they haven't already.

No More Secrets
Sneakers at MOVIECLIPS.com

Jump to an accurate prediction of the 'Anonymous' costume. The non-violent face of Gandhi (Ben Kingsley) stands in for the Guy Fawkes mask. 'Anonymous' tempts the worlds good hackers to join the global revolution: "Banks, Small countries.....the whole damn system". Are we seeing pattern? Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Tunisia, Egypt, the whole damn system?

Changing the World
Sneakers at MOVIECLIPS.com

The theory that the modern world is controlled not by armies, but by information is too obvious to be a legitimately unique topic for social commentary, but it surely has been relevent during the recent events of Mediterranean uprisings. Another accurate prediction: that Anonymous started as a prank.


And to bring it home, a prediction of strong African Americans, like Barrack Obama (James Earl Jones) achieving the highest positions of power within the US Government

Leave it to a Brotha' to tell it like it is.

Fair Use!

Petrollionaire

I hereby coin the phrase "Petrollionaire".

–noun

1. a person whose wealth is so great, it is measured in units of millions of barrels of oil rather than in units of currency, such as dollars.

"The famous software tycoon is a Petrollionaire, with a new worth over 350 million barrels."

It did not show up when searched in Google.

Hoarding Nickels, Collecting stamps? Is this the best investment for America's working poor?

Should you stick your money in a bank at 0.1% so they can lend it back to the public at 6% for mortgages, and 8% for car loans, and 14% for people using credit cards to pay utilities and for food. Maybe you can out smart the investment bankers at their own game and play the stock market? Sure, if you can afford to make trades large enough to offset the transaction costs, this can be a viable strategy if you can stomach the losses when things go bad.

But what about those with only a few hundred dollar a month, or only $20 per week, or $2 per paycheck to save for a rainy day? Wall street will eat them alive. I suggest hoarding nickels.

US five cent coins contain over 7 cents worth of raw material as of this afternoon, mostly copper and of course, nickel. If there is inflation, the prices of metal will increase, and the coin will have 8, 9, 10 cents worth of metal. Pre-1965 dimes contain over $2.42 of metal today, while pre-1965 quarters have over $6 worth of metal. (www.coinflation.com)

If there is deflation, the coins are still currency at face value. They will always be nickels. There is also no transaction cost for "buying" these coins. Just save them as you get them from change, or pick up $2 rolls at local banks.

If you need to "cash out", return the rolls to the bank, or use them as bullion if newer "cheap nickels" are circulated in the future. Some shady banks refuse coins, Bastards! Don't worry, most mom and pop shops will take them off your hands, and it is your right to use them as legal tender to pay debts, public or private.

If coins are too heavy for you, try "forever stamps" sold by the United States Postal Service for 44 cents. These stamps are good for one first class letter no matter what the price of a stamp in the future. They were first sold for 41 cents on April 12 2007.

If you had invested 100 dollars into the Sp500 on the same day of the first "Forever Stamp" after re-investing dividends you would be DOWN 1.3%, and down more after any broker fees and taxes on the dividends. If you put $100 into forever stamps, you are UP over 7%. (Based on investment in SPY)

And just a reminder for everyone: Join a Credit Union, and Quit Funding Wall Street Bonuses With Your Savings!!!