Tea Party Tyranny

Jon Stewart Roasts Jim Cramer on The Daily Show

I know, I know, this has been all over the news, but I was ecstatic to see that Cramer had the testicular fortitude to play an away game on The Daily Show. My dad has been a big fan of Cramer's 'Mad Money' show in MSNBC for quite sometime. I'm not sure if he still is or not after I sent him this link.

That aside; however, I think it is important for us to realize the moral behind this exchange. The financial reporters must choose a side: they are with the big money investors and corporations or they are with all the little guys who are worried about how they are going to retire on accounts that have dwindled to nothing. Financial reporters on CNBC and other networks have the power to fool people into believing their 401k's are safe, slow money, and they shouldn't ever worry about them. While the market has shown a nice turn around in the last week due in large part to good housing reports, the economic situation our country faces has only highlighted the incompetence of our financial reporting. As Jon so brilliantly points out in this clip, these reporters are in a privileged position to ACTUALLY report the news and hold these scumbag executives accountable for their deception and lies. I'm not jumping on the scumbag executive bandwagon, I want to make that clear. I know plenty of successful business owners who have done the right thing for a very long time and don't take advantage of others.

That being said, where is the oversight? These corporations have got to become more transparent, and we have to make the way they report their financial health accessible to all of us. We shouldn't have to dive through 9000 documents to understand the bottom line and to realize that something is wrong. This way, investors themselves and any others who have the inclination to become civilian watchdogs can ensure that these companies are not burning the house down and running away rich. Companies these days are far too large and far too complex for the Government regulators to control them (case in point: the current controversy over AIG bonuses). So Mr. Cramer, I think it would be a good and noble thing to put away your fart machines and cow horns, and make your show entertaining by exposing those who are stealing our money. If there is anything this recession has taught us, it is that we need to be happy with less "things" in our lives, and we need to hang people by the haunches who are using investors money to buy $1000 trashcans (yes, that really happened). This is America. We will bounce back leaner, stronger, and more capable of exposing a disgusting greed that bleeds our country of its riches and its integrity.

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What's Wrong With Kansas: Church Says Obama is Muslim

By Tommy Christopher [from: aol.com/news]
Nov 18th 2008 10:26PM

A church in Wichita, Kansas, is engaging in a strange bit of advertising. From MyFox Kansas:

The sign at Spirit One Christian Center reads, "America we have a Muslim president. This is sin against the Lord."

The sign, which the pastor says he won't take down, references Exodus 20 verse 3:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

What, exactly, does this guy think Barack Obama won on November 4?

The verse is the first of the Ten Commandments. I guess he forgot the ninth commandment, since Barack Obama is a Christian.

The sign also says he is the pastor of "A Church Without Walls." Instead of walls, the church is held up by an irrational fear of other religions. What he's really saying is that being a Muslim is a sin. You can read more about Pastor Mark Holick's views on Islam at their website, under the heading "6 years after 9/11, many outside the Muslim faith is still trying to grasp what it is..."

There are several other stories listed on the website that might lead one to believe that Holick is a publicity Jezebel. He was arrested a few times at gay pride parades, and offered scholarly corrections to the news accounts of those arrests.

There is a temptation to simply dismiss this kind of idiocy with pure, unadulterated (7th commandment) mockery. I'm going to go with that temptation for all it's worth. I will leave it to real Christians to handle this travesty.
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"It is not for us to say who, in the deepest sense, is or is not close to the spirit of Christ. We do not see into men's hearts. We cannot judge, and are indeed forbidden to judge. It would be wicked arrogance for us to say that any man is, or is not, a Christian in the refined sense."
-C.S. Lewis (Preface to Mere Christianity)

Why You Should Never Try to Steal a Law Student's Laptop

by Dan Reilly, Switched.com, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 2:41PM

A thief learned the mistake of trying to steal a law student's laptop last week after after becoming a punching bag for an Arizona State student he tried to rip off. Armed with a baseball bat, the intruder, Gabriel Saucedo, allegedly climbed through an open window into Alex Botsios' apartment, waking the student and threatening to smash his head in.

Botsios was willing to let Saucedo take his wallet and guitars. Then the robber made the mistake that ultimately landed him in the hospital -- he went for the laptop. According to Botsios, he said "Dude, no -- please, no! I have all my case notes...that's four months of work!" Saucedo, obviously underestimating the fury of an overstressed, overworked first-year, was unsympathetic. That's when Botsios could take no more.

Wrestling Saucdeo to the floor, Botsios separated the bat from the thief and repeatedly punched him in the face. When it was all over, police had to get Saucedo stitched up before charging him with armed robbery and kidnapping, while Botsios only suffered some scrapes and a bruised knuckle. Most importantly, at least to the student, is that his laptop, which he called "his baby," escaped unharmed. Next time, Saucedo might want to try robbing a third-year student, as they're generally more docile. [From: KTAR.com]

When I was young, I asked my priest how you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God said to His children: "You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves."

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

--Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

Excerpt From Obama's Victory Speech

[E]ven as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

Election Projections

President - Barack Obama
Electoral Votes- 298
Percentage of Popular Vote - 54%
OH- Goes to Obama
Percentage of Ohio vote - 52%

Whatever You Do, Don't Vote.

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Sometimes it is a little frightening being in a new place. Being completely honest, it can be downright terrifying. It is never easy being somewhere unfamiliar, having to make new friends, and having to deal with new challenges. Even when I went home last weekend I really didn't feel myself, and I had trouble letting go and just enjoying my family's company. This weekend reminded me of something, though. When the going gets tough, you just have to buckle down and enjoy the ride. I've been a little down in the dumps the last few weeks, and really feeling the weight of my decision to attend law school fully. First there was the exhilaration of being on my own in a new city, then there was the realization that I was in for the long haul without being as close to my friends and family, with an incredibly challenging curriculum ahead of me, and a lot of debt to face when I'm done with school.

Perhaps this is an experience that everyone deals with at some point in their lives, not necessarily graduate school, but when you have to make a tough choice and deal with the consequences. Yeah, it is scary. Yeah, it is challenging. Yeah, it is going to be a long ride. But what I found out is that I still have it better than I ever realize. I paid a visit to some friends and family in Bloomington, got to sleep on some nasty couches, crack jokes with my old coworkers, and throw back a couple of pints while listening to a jazz band that sounded more like elephants being burned alive.

I think that sometimes my greatest fault in this whole experience is not letting tomorrow worry about itself. The worst part is the guilt of not understanding why you feel unhappy, when you have everything in the world to be thankful about. That is the greatest sting of all. That aside, I remembered that just trying to do whatever you can to live in the moment is sometimes the best remedy for anything. When I think about my struggles with my faith, and with staying grounded while I am away from home, I am reminded of why Jesus was such an amazing man. This was a person who did nothing in his life but live in the moment for all those around him. Sometimes you just have to go out and shoot a couple games of pool with your brother and sister. Sometimes you have to talk with your best friend about what he is excited about in his life. Sometimes you have to let the worries wash away, and live in the moment for those you love. Because the greatest thing to remember is that you are who you love.

A Lecture Upon the Shadow by John Donne

Stand still, and I will read to thee
A lecture, love, in love's philosophy.
These three hours that we have spent,
Walking here, two shadows went
Along with us, which we ourselves produced;
But, now the sun is just above our head,
We do those shadows tread;
And to brave clearness all things are reduced.
So whilst our infant loves did grow,
Disguises did, and shadows, flow,
From us, and our care; but, now 'tis not so.

That love hath not attained the high'st degree,
Which is still diligent lest others see.

Except our loves at this noon stay,
We shall new shadows make the other way.
As the first were made to blind
Others; these which come behind
Will work upon ourselves, and blind our eyes.
If our loves faint, and westwardly decline;
To me thou, falsely, thine,
And I to thee mine actions shall disguise.
The morning shadows wear away,
But these grow longer all the day,
But oh, love's day is short, if love decay.

Love is a growing, of full constant light;
And his first minute, after noon, is night.

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I've said it before, but this is truly the funniest thing I've ever seen

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An episode of Its Always Sunny with some good lawyer tidbits.

Recently, I've been struggling with a question that every lawyer or aspiring lawyer must at some point ask themselves. Some decided to go to law school because it seemed like the logical next step, some because they don't know what else to do, and others still because they want to mirror the charisma and power of the district attorney on Boston Legal. Some decide to become lawyers so they can buy the world, some decide to become lawyers so they can run the world, and some others decide to become lawyers so that they can save the world. The reality is that the majority of lawyers do none of these things. The reality is that a courtroom is often the last place the truth shows its face.

After a few weeks of the law school experience and staring down the real possibility of spending over a hundred grand to earn a Juris Doctorate, the question is a legitimate one, and at times, a frightening one. Already spending countless hours studying legal concepts, briefing cases, and writing legal memorandums that eventually seem to blur the passing of the day, I wonder...why do this for 3 years? Why put myself in social isolation, leave my family and friends with limited opportunities to visit them, and why spend more money than I can currently fathom on a graduate degree? The answer is actually much more simple than it seems, and begs another question. What is it that I pray for?

My real prayer, my honest prayer, most of time, is nothing. It is easy to forget to converse with God when one feels disconnected, or pressed for time, or possibly a multitude of other things. The answer, when it is at its best, it to be a good man, and to do good things for others, with honesty and integrity. That is the example I learned from my father, and from my mother, and from my true father in heaven. A lawyer has an unadulterated ability to do exactly those things. Whether or not most lawyers actually live up to that potential brings something else to mind:

The devil visited a lawyer's office and made him an offer. "I can arrange some things for you, " the devil said. "I'll increase your income five-fold. Your partners will love you; your clients will respect you; you'll have four months of vacation each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that your wife's soul, your children's souls, and their children's souls rot in hell for eternity."

The lawyer thought for a moment. "What's the catch?" he asked.

What's the catch, the lawyer asks? So why would God call a man to be a lawyer? A profession that is riddled with distrust from the average person and rewards those within it for twisting the system or even twisting the truth? Because God calls us as Christians to be beacons of truth. If the courtroom is the last place where truth can be found, that is where we must bring it. Think about this, courtesy of the movie A Civil Action:

The odds of a plaintiff's lawyer winning in civil court are two to one against. Think about that for a second. Your odds of surviving a game of Russian roulette are better than winning a case at trial. 12 times better. So why does anyone do it? They don't. They settle. Out of the 780,000, only 12,000 or 11/2 percent ever reach a verdict...[t]rials are a corruption of the entire process and only fools who have something to prove end up ensnared in them. Now when I say prove, I don't mean about the case, I mean about themselves.

A week ago, I developed an enormous feeling of anxiety. My heartbeat felt unusually rapid, I developed a cold sweat, I asked someone to take my blood pressure, and I was scared that I was having a heart attack. For the first time in my life, I feared death. For a few hours I feared it as though it were staring at me face to face, testing me. I felt alone, I felt isolated, and eventually, I felt selfish for feeling all of those things. I prayed, albeit awkwardly and badly, but God knew what my heart felt, and He answered me today, in an opera He said:

Live still, I am life. Heaven is in your eyes. Is everything around you just the blood and mud? I am divine. I am oblivion. I am the God that comes down from the heavens, and makes of the Earth a heaven. I am love!

I am love

So the answer for me as to whether or not I made the right choice to be where I am has already been answered for me. God has great things in store for all those who love Him and for all those who pray sincerely to Him. If I know my place with God, I know my place in the world. What made me want to be a server of justice? Because the one image of justice that has forever been burned into my mind is the one of a man who drew a line in the sand and said to those who stood ready to strike down another, "May ye who have no sin cast the first stone." One by one, the stones dropped.

Monkeys Are Funny

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Electricity

I was in Cincinnati this weekend hanging out with a good friend and watching a Reds game when I got a text message, the power was back on. After nearly a week of taking cold showers by candlelight, eating out continuously, and having to walk to the library to watch tv, in a strange way I felt let down by the fact that the power was back on. The whole week I listened to myself and others complained about how terrible it was that we couldn't watch cable and couldn't fix a frozen pizza in the oven. Despite the fact that these are really great comforts to have, I felt ridiculous every time I complained about it. Hurricane Ike ripped through Texas and took people's homes, businesses, and the like, and I'm pissed off because I can't watch the new episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. In any event, the power outage was a very keen reminder that there are way too many comforts that we take for granted. Sadly, it only reminded me of my own self-centeredness, and I find it ironic that it took a power outage to give me that little insight (lightbulb!).