The Trauma of Celebritism

We live in a world where there are many billions of people, but less than one hundred or so that we follow feverishly. Tom Cruise, for instance. An amazing actor, one of the greatest of our time, is plagued by the fact that his religious or otherwise societal choices are followed on a day by day campaign of paparazzi and badly written tabloids. It seems, that we are a society that focuses more on the doings of celebrities than the life and times of our own family.

Just recently, Jamie Lynn Spears, the sister of Britney Spears and star on Nickelodeon, admitted that she was pregnant with her boyfriends child.

I personally find celebrity news childish. A grown-up rendition of school yard rumors, propagated by the modern day technological advancements that can both create and destroy celebrity and civilian alike. But its sad that Jamie is so young and worrying about what the world will think about her mistake. She is quoted to saying "As soon as I found out for sure from the doctor, I took two weeks to myself where I didn't tell anybody," she says. "Only one of my friends knew because I needed to work out what I would do for myself before I let anyone's opinion affect my decision. Then I told my parents and my friends. I was scared, but I had to do what was right for me."

It is a typical reaction from any teenaged girl caught up in the scary situation such as pregnancy. Unfortunately, Jamie's after school activity puts an even larger spotlight on her situation than most teenagers. She now has to raise her child in a world where the child itself will be the source of controversy and fear from some, and others just unnecessary attention from the public.

I wish Jamie's child the best, but I wish moreso that I never had the inspiration to write about her. Jamie has not only the responsibility of raising a child, but the added fear that she has let America's young girls down, and she is in a predicament few can match.

No doubt, this will undoubtedly mark the news headlines for weeks to come. Front pages of newspapers the world over will react with all forms of opinions, but good or bad, I only hope that we realize that little Jamie is just as freaked out as any other kid, and that its not the publics job to judge.

Refuge

Refuge is when your mind finds a place to which it can grow. A like mind would be amazing, unfortunately, no such thing has ever reared it's head.

I Like Politics, I Hate Politicians

What is wrong with our political system? It's not the system, it is the crazies running it. We are so drowned in our own political circle jerks that to change a view for the good of the countryis political suicide. We elect officials that have strong views because the only people that vote are the crazies with slightly psychotic and somewhat pessimistic views about our government. That's why the religious right and the commie left are the only ones represented, because they are the only ones with the smarts to vote. And when a cray votes, naturally, they vote crazily. As they walk into the voting booth,they wonder to themselves, "who can fuck up the worst, but in the craziest way?" and then they mark [L. Craig] and wonder why he's so damn nuts 4/8/12/16/20 years later. So many people complain about how screwed up our government is, but then they say, "No, I don't vote, my vote isn't counted" because their 5th grade teacher gave a tangent giving them an unspecific attempt at telling the class what the electoral college is. It's phenominal how completely ignorant we all are.

Then there's the fuck ups we put in office. Not only are they bound and tied by high election campaign costs, making them the eternal butt slave of many corporations, but then they begin to enjoy screwing up america so much, they just keep going. Also, we have within the system the wonderful 2 party system, which basically guarantees that all those in office will vote the same as the guy sitting next to them. And if they don't there is a guy assigned as the whip (I can't make this shit up) to basically beat the shit out of the renegade congressman and make sure he never does it again (I know there are women congresspeople, but there are too few, therefore it is politically correct get over yourself.)

So basically we have a system where the votes will be forever predictable, this man will vote this way that man will vote that way. It's not even because of political ideology either. It is the lack of balls in congress, itis the amount of money that it takes to get to where they are. It is basically a giant orgy of stupidity that has a cage around it,one for each side of the aisle. If you stop contributing to the orgy and try to run away to the other cage because you have a good idea, or you try to stop the orgy because orgies do not help the people, some guy, either a crazy voter or a fellow crazy congressman, will castrate them and make sure they leave the orgy forever.

And that's why congress can't get anything done, they are too busy with their massive butt sex orgy.

My Head is a Maze

I am human. I am a being capable of speech, love, and complex thought. With that distinction comes a sense of responsibility and need to create, write down, and hold forever onto these complex thoughts of mine. I fall into daydreams of the questions, trying constantly to answer them in a way that my mind can comprehend. Somtimes I get angry at how little I really know, how primatively driven I really am. I look around at other humans and I read about their mundane lives and I wonder if they too share the same thoughts that I do, but cannot broadcast these thoughts out into the world.

I wonder if humans will be remembered, and if so, how? Will we be remembered as the war mongering civilisation of advanced monkeys? or we be remembered as the loving caring intelligent creatures that we are capable of being. Unfortunately, my fear as that history has already marked us as the former. Our manipulation of our environment will assuradly be remembered, and the advent of our complex technological advcancement will, too, be remembered, but our books and our journals most thouroughly describe our wars and the evils that we humans will grow famous for.

Some wonder sometimes why I am such a pascifist. Why is it that someone could have such little hope for the world ad the people that control it? Because as of now, humans have done little but gone from war to war, killing. We still have religion, the greatest cause of consentual hate. We still have the destrution, the bigotry and the idiotic resistence to change as yesteryear. Because no matter how far along we have gotten, humans are just as stupid as our primitive counterparts 3000 years ago, now we just have computers. I really do want to be proven wrong. I want to blieve that a religious fanatic doesn't really beleve in the impossbile. I really want to believe that killing can be ended. I really want humans to prove that sanity is possible en masse, unfortunately the only indicator I see that group mentality is ever used is in our own democratic system, and that elected Bush.

Guns

Guns have dictated the playing field of every conflict since their conception. The mere idea of a gun strikes fear into the hearts of both victim and prey. Without this tool, man would still be tossing rocks and slashing swords, and since this weapon, any man, woman, and child can weild a killing force.

In America we love our guns. The largest contributor to every campaign is the NRA, a highly conservative gun rights organisation that petitions for the right to bear arms, as the constitution well states in the second amendment.

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Well stated, I must say. Lately politicians, like politicians tend to do every election, are rallying the NRA for their support. They say things like, "I'll work to make sure that if somebody commits a crime, they go to prison. If somebody commits a crime with a gun, they'll go to prison for even more time and for mandatory sentences. No plea bargains, no exceptions; you go to jail. That's the way to reduce crime," -Giuliani. But what is it that really causes these crimes? Maybe it is best to not punish harder, but reduce the reason to shoot.

What causes crime? Well according to William A. Niskanen's report "Crime, Police, and Root Causes", crime hasn't really changed all that much in the past 20 years, the amount of time the report's statistics span out to. The root cause of crime, it seems, is the condition of the economy. The poorer a person is, the more he likely he will steal, kill, rape, so on. The opposite goes for the rich. Therfore, higher jail sentences will not reduce crime, it will merely take people off the streets for a while, postponing the wrongdoers wrongdoing.

A heightening of gun laws may even increase crime. In todays society, every business is like another political figure. If the business has a criminal working for them, that looks bad, whether or not the ex-criminal really is a bad guy or not. Therefore, a criminal, released from jail, has little to no real chance at making it in the world, and the only way he can survive is to go back to what he knows, crime. So yes, at first crime will fall after a new law is passed and more and more criminals go to jail, but after all those criminals are released, they go back into that feedback cycle of crime, and that's bad.

Also, if you want to lower crime, give lower income people a chance. By giving gobs of money to large corporations, you are only restricting the amount of money that can be used by those who need it, the poor. I know, I know, liberal propoganda bullshit written by John, but it's true. If you want lower crime, take away the reasons crimes are commited. If people are stealing because they have no money, give them a job. If people are mugging to feed their family, give them a food stamp. When someone leaves jail, give them a job. Give people a chance, that's all I'm saying.

I'm not saying they shouldn't go to jail, no, by all means, if someone commits a crime, they should be punished. But we should also think about the ways at which we can get rid of crime so that there is absolutely no excuse for people to be criminals.

How would this help? Well for starters, we would reduce the crime rate, that's good. We reduce violent crimes, we get more room in prisons, we look better on an international scale, we feed hungry, we have a better economy because people are at work, we get more true violent people because police aren't as overstretched, we feel better when we go to sleep.

Then why is it that we aren't already doing this? Our government has always been built around the principle, "you work hard, you get your dues," and rightfully so. Those who work hard in America get wealthier then in other countries. Within that statement is the statement of, "You don't work hard, you don't get your dues," and that too is rightfully so. I am not asking for a handout for the poor who aren't trying, I am asking for a helping hand to the poor who have a job, work their asses off everyday, and still cannot support their families.

Give them a hand, or at least something canned.

Bush is like a Bad Father

"The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is: return on success. The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home,” -Bush

In other words, "finish all the food on your plate or you don't leave." All the while you are staring at your inedible food, contemplating how to palate such a horrible concoction whilst the watchful eyes of your family stare through you as though you mean nothing to them until the plate is as clean as it left the dishwasher.

This is the mentality of our commander-in-chief, I will bring them home when they are a)dead or b) done with a mission that is impossible. Now, some may be saying, "well all we otta do is blow up them terrorist people and its over." but unfortunately it isn't that simple.

Let's start a the beginning of modern warfare with WWI, the so called war to end all wars. This war was started by the rampant overuse of secret negotiations among neighboring and otherwise allied countries so as to protect their better interests. US only got involved to simply end the war, and 10 million men later this was accomplished. With the end of this war came Woodrow Wilson's Versailles Treaty which basically kicked Germany whilst down, but the war was over, and everyone was happy, except the losers. 20 years later, Germany with the oratory genius of Hitler regained its military passion and started kicking butt once again. Meanwhile Stalin and his gang of bandits started regaining its military prowess for a possible war with Germany, which it eventually got (yay?). After Hitler was dead and WWII finally finished up, the cold war immediately preceded. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States had risen from WWII as the main world powers, however their viewpoints were contradictory, therefore, they stared eachother to death with giant nuclear weapons for whoever blinks first. Then in 1948 Israel declared independence, pissing off every Muslim in the world, and US supported their subsequent fight for the aforementioned. Then oil became a bigger friggin deal. As a result, the USSR did what any other crazed overpowered country would do, try to take over the middle east. In an effort to turn the tide, the United States did what any other crazed overpowered nation that hated another crazed overpowered nation that happened to be trying to invade a country that had oil would do, they gave weapons to terrorists. That's right, the US gave weapons and training to Osama bin Laden back in the 80's, why? To curb communism of course. Then, Bush 1 went into Iraq in '91 to get Saddam Hussein. Of course, he had to go in through Saudi Arabia, holy land for the Muslims. He accomplished the destruction of Saddam's army in record time, just over 6 months, and righted the wrong of killing innocent people in the most horrid way imaginable (he gassed the Kurds in random attacks with biological weapons, (supplied by the US to curb communism in 1954)), but now every Muslim was really pissed at the US for stepping into their holy land.

And that, in a really simplistic way, is why Osama hates us. Why does this matter? Because history shows that war simply begets more war as hate begets hate. So what will this Iraq engagement do in the future for US-Muslim relations? Only the future can tell, but so far history is telling us that it isn't going to roses and posies. My prediction:

We're Fucked.

Google and the World

Google has revolutionized the way we live, breath, work, play, and think. It is a modern marvel in itsel allowing the world to be merely a click away from the common human, which, since the dawn of civilization, has only been possible for the overly powerful. The advent of the public library system gave way for such advancements as the university and the overall boosting up of human existence from merely surviving, to truly having a sense of existence. Since the invention of the internet we can now have the option of reaching out into the world and truly creating a mark for ourselves, and with Google, we now have a truly democratic system that allows anyone to know anything.

Now that Google has become a corporate leader and indespensible tool of everyday life, Google now has, and is using, the option to comandeer the landscape for the common good. Recently, Google has offered 10 million dollars for the invention of a usable moon rover in an attempt to land the private sector on the moon. This will open the doors to not only a faster affordable space traveling to other worlds while also giving way for the same thing for government agencies, this continues the important tradition that google seems to have taken up of giving oppritunities to those who otherwise may not have had it without the persistence of Google and its beneficiaries.

Also, Google has taken a lead into the managing and creation of the business atmosphere with the recent proposition of universal privacy policies that would streamline the process of protecting consumer security and peace of mind, while also giving less of a reason to resist the changing landscape that is the internet. The biggest fear on the internet that has consumed the news and our every thought is privacy. With the application of universal privacy standards and encryption, less people would be scared of signing on and therefore web induced enlightenment will proceed. Overall, Google is a good company with far reaching goals. It is one of the few companies in the world who aren't driven purely by money, but the common good, for which Google was founded upon. Hopefully this budding company will continue on its journey with this same viewpoint and shine a beacon of light upon other, less trustworthy corporations.

To Summarize

This is a blog that I have been thinking about creating for some time now. I have always had another blog called John's Head that had assorted thoughts and observations, but was geared towards a different audience then the one that I am creating today. Within this blog, I am trying to portray the more deeper afflictions on our human existence that cause for the world to rethink logic. In this blog I will try my best to steer away from non topical joking or otherwise stupidity that can sometimes be found within the depths of John's Head, and instead note on the changes in our world and my otherwise bleak look at how we logical humans can decimate ourselves with stupidity. With that, I will begin.



Yesterday, Osama bin Laden released a video that has followed in a line of videos since his recession into the unknown. Many news carriers have covered this video and the video from last Friday, but few have gone too far indepth into what I think is the true message of this video. In the beginning, Osama summarizes the torturous past of the Christian world, linking it to our own. The thing I find amusing is that he is completely right. The terror leader meticulously notes Christians' destructive holocausts (plural) of the Jews/Muslims/other Christians and now the Iraqis. Religion, in this context, is a horrid thing, ironic coming from the religious fanatic that is Osama. He notes that we voted in our democratic majority back in '06 expecting change but never receiving it and therefore our government is not to be trusted. Standard ramblings of a propagandist, using truth to back up your overall point, but what I find scary is it is not he who is firing the ammunition, it is us, he is just showing the bullet holes. I am not, in any way associated with nor do I like what Osama or his cohorts are doing, I hate that he can use religion as his cannon, and our own stupidity as his shell.



But as I've always said, religion gave us our rise, and will lead to our fall because religion begets extremism that is controlled by blatant rejection of facts. If it does not follow the path of religion, then it is not true and things that are not true are either eradicated or ignored. Religion begets hate despite its blatant bias against it. It discriminates, it kills, it burns, it murders, all because of a book and a bum. Now, terrorism has brought a new and scary time in human history, and is driven by the same thing that has driven every other war ever commenced in the dark depths of man's existence, differentiation.


Human's are just animals with opposable thumbs. some use their thumbs for the flicking of a quill, others use it for the gun we use to kill.