The Power of One

History is often defined by the works of individuals. Martin Luther's 95 theses, Gutenberg's printing press, Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, Gandhi's fight for Indian independence, Martin Luther King and civil rights. Today, announce my attempt to change history.

Just to be sure, I am not putting myself at the same level as the gentlemen listed above. However, I will be taking risks. I may be rejected, cast-off, or made a pariah. People will think that I am weird or a leftist hippie. However, for my cause, I am willing to take these risks.

My cause? The Sacagawea dollar. I have been a fan of this currency since its entry into circulation and was disappointed in its failure. Not only would the widespread use of the dollar coin revolutionize the vending machine industry, but according to the Government Accountability Office, it would potentially save the country $500 million because they last longer than bills and would not need replacement as often.

Therefore, as of November 1, if all goes according to plan, I will no longer be using $1 bills, but the Sacagawea dollar instead. Yes, I anticipate great challenges and a few setbacks. For example:

1. Actually getting enough golden dollars to use
2. replenishing my supply
3. the looks people give me when I use them
4. the extra weight in my pockets
5. the possibility of people not accepting them (which would be illegal by the way)

In any case, that's my plan. If you don't like it, I would suggest that you avoid asking me to borrow a dollar after November 1.

...like a turtle on its back

I normally don't rail on the dead, but I'll make an exception for former Enron con-artist Ken Lay. As a reminder, he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy after ripping off billions from Enron employees/investors as well as electricity consumers. Then the old fart went and died on us back in July before he could be sentenced. Now a judge throws out the conviction because Lay is too dead to appeal. I know what you're saying - who cares?!? he's rotting in hell now. Yeah, well this overturn means the government can't go after more than 40 million that he left in his estate. I'm sure when his old hag wife is lighting her Virginia Slims with $100 bills the 4,000 people that lost their jobs due to this twat will be OK with this decision.

Second, here's a hypothetical: A candidate running for office happens to also been in charge of that very election because of his current job. Said candidate is getting smoked in the polls so he considers using his position to remove his opponent based on a technicality. Sounds a little like Soviet-style politics? Try Ohio. Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell is now running for governor. His opponent, Ted Strickland, is beating him by almost 30 points. Now Blackwell is considering throwing Strickland off the ballot because there are rumors that he may not live in the Ohio home that he registered to vote in. They argue that he actually lives in a condo that he owns - which is still in Ohio. Where's the problem? The problem is that Blackwell is a twat and a cheat.

Slate.com has been running this Election Scorecard, which is pretty interesting. Right now, they are showing a 49-49 split in the Senate with the momentum shifting towards the Democrats. In the House, my count shows that there are 22 incumbent Republicans that are losing or tied in at least one poll. Some of those are blowouts, although others look to be questionable. The stunning one to me is that somehow George Allen is winning in Virginia despite making overt racial slurs in a public appearance, having a Confederate flag in his office, and going crazy after he was asked about his Jewish heritage. Yeah Virginia. Again, why is the South still allowed to be part of the Union? Maybe its the oil or the fried food.

Another page scandal? Yep. Oh wait. There's actually a third. Who are we electing?

Finally, despite his connections to Jack Abramoff and the investigation into his being bribed to pass a defense spending contract, Jerry Lewis is still considered a safe bet to win back his seat as the Representative from the 41st district where I grew up. I warned them. Now it appears that they are going to the shit like the rest of the 909. Oh well, I live in the 626 now

Just Watch This

All I can say is "I'm in".

More than just a bad haircut

In case you haven't heard, North Korea claims that it detonated some nukes the other day. Now, I'm not much for conspiracy theory, but I don't think its too far-fetched to guess that North Korea actually does not have any nukes. I got this idea from listening to an NPR podcast the other day. (This might be a link to the story). The question was posed as to how you can check the validity of their claims without actually entering North Korea (which Americans can't do really - well, government people at least). The answer was that you can test two ways: seismographic testing from the time of the explosion and checking for radioactivity in the air around North Korea. You can get these samples by flying in international airspace around the border of North Korea.

Now, seismic tests aren't that reliable. As Japan found out, their detectors can give a nuke warning when there is an earthquake. In the NPR story, they said that you could actually use TNT to simulate the seismic waves created by a nuke detonated underground. You may say "yeah, but nukes are huge so you could tell the difference". To that I say this: Put your face into a pillow and yell. Its a little muffled right? Couldn't you re-produce a sound of the same volume by yelling softer without the pillow? So there you go. Maybe their regular bomb was not as far underground as a nuke would have been.

I know some of you may think I'm crazy, but stick with me. Today, the AP puts out a story that these airplane tests that I mentioned picked up no radioactivity. The Chinese didn't find any either. Hmmmm... not so crazy now am I?

The next logical question is "Why would North Korea want people to think that they have nukes when they don't?" I think there are several answers to that question. #1: Don't think logical. This is Kim Jong-Il we're talking about. He's nuts. Didn't you see Team America: World Police? #2: If the U.S. and other concerned parties give North Korea some incentives (like money or food or DVDs of American Idol or something) then North Korea gets something for nothing. #3: When you have nukes, or if people think you do, you get to pretend that people care about your country. North Korea wants to be important, therefore it needs people to think that they have nukes. #4: It certainly helps Republicans if we are all scared of another country since the terrorists seem to be taking a break a bit (except in Iraq). Plus, it just helps Bush's argument that North Korea is part of his "Axis of Evil."

In any case, that's where I stand right now. I think we definitely need more proof that they have these nukes. Maybe we should say "OK, prove it Kim Jong-Il. If you really have nukes, nuke some place we don't care about - like Canada or some island out in the pacific. Those islands are probably still glowing after all the nukes we tested out there back in the 50s and 60s." Then he'll have to put up or shut up.