"Thinking for yourself - a novel concept" written by Jessbob on estrip.org

02/11/06 10:35 - 25ºF - ID#24166

Thinking for yourself - a novel concept

The Washington Post today had an article about former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, a VERY conservative congressman that lead the impeachment charges against Clinton, and how he has been highly critical of President Bush's eaves dropping program.

In the article Bob Barr says, "Are we losing our lodestar, which is the Bill of Rights? Are we in danger of putting allegiance to party ahead of allegiance to principle?"

I am so glad he is calling out conservatives on this. I saw soooo many people in DC (republicans and democrats) just blindly tow the party line without thinking for themselves about whether it is actually in line with their beliefs. If it is in line, fine, you can believe what you want to believe. But at least think about it.

At the conservative conference that he said this, Barr got the following response, "But nobody said anything in the deathly quiet audience. Barr merited only polite applause when he finished, and one man, Richard Sorcinelli, booed him loudly. 'I can't believe I'm in a conservative hall listening to him say [Bush] is off course trying to defend the United States,' Sorcinelli fumed"

If Bush isn't being conservative (which I believe he isn't, the party of individual rights - B fucking S), then he should be called out on it. Just cause he comes from the same party does not automatically mean you should support everything he does.

Read the article for yourself, "Bob Barr, Bain of the Right?"

Permalink: Thinking_for_yourself_a_novel_concept.html
Words: 257
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: info

02/10/06 04:32 - 25ºF - ID#24165

Hindu v. Hindi

Little peeve of mine came up today and I have heard the mistake made many times. I just want to clear the difference between Hindu and Hindi

Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism (the religion)

Hindi is a language (from India that Hindus may speak)

People cannot speak Hindu and People cannot be Hindi

Permalink: Hindu_v_Hindi.html
Words: 66
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: politics

02/09/06 12:36 - 23ºF - ID#24164

WP editorial on NASA

Here is a Washington Post editoral on the NASA communications person that (e:ajay) posted about

Permalink: WP_editorial_on_NASA.html
Words: 25
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: thoughts

02/01/06 09:40 - 36ºF - ID#24163

God

Regarding the whole God/religion issue that has been discussed a lot here lately, here is an interesting piece on NPR that I heard a few months ago by Penn Jillette (the tall one in Penn and Teller) on his belief that there is no God.

It is interesting not in that it has some deep philosophical insight, but in how this belief that there is no God informs his approach to life.

Permalink: God.html
Words: 82
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: coincidence

01/30/06 12:18 - 47ºF - ID#24162

Someone's got to be drivin this car

The world is a crazy place.

Saturday I got three packages from amazon.com that were addressed to my apartment, but I had never heard of the person.

Not knowing what to do, I was going to take them back to the post office on my way to class and have them return them to sender. After I got on the shuttle to campus, a guy sitting behind me asked if I had gotten some packages for "John Smith." I said I had, and he said that he was John Smith and use to live in my apartment and had acidentally sent them to his old address. I checked his ID to be sure and then gave him the packages.

Seriously, what are the odds that he would be riding the same shuttle as me when I was going to return his packages.

It reminds me of another crazy coincidence when I went to a Latter Day Saints Church. I thought I had posted about it but it looks like I hadn't, so maybe I will post about it some time soon.

Seriously, how can there not be someone/thing controlling this show

Jesse

P.S. so much for my regular posting. That lasted all of one day

Permalink: Someone_s_got_to_be_drivin_this_car.html
Words: 208
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: school

01/23/06 10:53 - 32ºF - ID#24161

Getting Organized

I am back at Maxwell and have just completed a full week of school. This semester will be good in that I am taking three classes that I am actually interested in, State and Local Finance, Metropolitan Politics, and Urban Policy, and I don't have a single test. The bad part about this semester is that I am taking five courses and as none of them have tests, it means I get the pleasure of writing papers. Getting back into writing papers will be annoying as I didn't write anything over 4 pages all last semester (the joy of being in an MPA program is that they are preparing you for a job, so you just write lots of memos instead of long papers). Also, last semester I only had 4 courses, now I have 5, but I don't have an internship anymore.

As I do at the beginning of ever ysemester, I have to start getting organized, and this time I am trying to do it right off the bat rather than later because with the writing I will have to do, I won't have time to jerk off for the first few weeks (in previous semesters, I had done jack shit for the first month or so as evidenced by the fact that my last two internships started more than a month into the semester). I am trying to firm up a good routine, especially with my sleep cycle. Part of this routine will try and include a nightly posting of 15mins on (e:strip) to better keep track of my life. This semester, two days I have 8:00 classes and two days I have 12:45 classes. Hopefully I will wake up at the same time each day and exercise or something else that is good for myself. I am not there yet but I should be soon. OK, my 15 mins is almost up. I'll see you tomorrow.

P.S. My hair is all now gone courtesy of (e:maureen)'s beauty salon and I now have a beard courtesy of my mother's genes. I'll post the pics (e:maureen) took soon.

Permalink: Getting_Organized.html
Words: 348
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: estrip

12/19/05 12:31 - ID#24160

Back in the -lo

It has been a while since I've posted. The last few weeks of classes were a bit rough but I am done now and enjoying doing as little as possible in the B-lo

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the party on Saturday night. Thanks (e:PMT) for throwing the party. Happy bday (e:hodown), I hope you had a good night, and it was nice meeting and hanging out with all the (e:peeps).

Also, I found out that one of my friends from the year I went to Starpoint died. I was just flipping through the news and happened to be reading the obits and there was one for him there.

He died the other day in a car crash cause of the weather. I haven't spoken to him since 9th grade. It is weird when I find things like that in the news because I rarely read the obits and just happened to be flipping through.

Well that is all.

-Jesse

Permalink: Back_in_the_lo.html
Words: 177
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: school

11/19/05 09:27 - 34ºF - ID#24159

Fuck You John Hughes

Last night my friends here threw me a birthday party. It was really nice. I was kind of a surprise in that it was originally going to be an 80s teen movie night (it still was an 80s teen movie night too). So I didn't know until my friend picked me up and asked me to hold my birthday cake. I am really glad I came here. Though I cannot go on the racist tyrades I could at AU, I am feeling more comfortable with and really like the people here, even if some of them drive me up the wall sometimes. (thanks for talking me out of that one (e:maureen)).

At the party we watched Pretty in Pink and part of another movie (Say Anything?). This was the first time I have watch Pretty in Pink and I was pissed. I really related to duckie in the movie and felt he got fucked. He was the only one with real balls. Fuck the pretty boy. Plus the pretty boy broke the number 1 rule of friendship - bros over hos. I am very bitter in how the nerd gets screwed in these 80s teen movies. Like at the end of Breakfast Club when they all pair up except Anthony Michael Hall who has to write the paper. That's fucking BS. Fuck you John Hughes. At least we have revenge of the Nerds.

Permalink: Fuck_You_John_Hughes.html
Words: 233
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: politics

11/12/05 01:17 - 37ºF - ID#24158

Business isnt the only one who buys pols

For all of those who think that evil big businesses are the only ones who buy politicians should read this article in the Buffalo News.

Unions donate $108,000 to Brown (11% of his campaign fund) and the first thing Brown does is ask for the resignation of the nonpolitical commissioner that heads the civil service who still has three years left on his contract (this is due to state law that staggers the appointment of the commissioner so they can't just hire all of the newly elected mayor's cronies). This commissioner is who negotiates the union contracts and has been very unpopular with the city's unions lately.

Guess you get what you pay for.

-Jesse

Permalink: Business_isnt_the_only_one_who_buys_pols.html
Words: 119
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: school

11/10/05 07:00 - 41ºF - ID#24157

TGIT

Hello All,
Thank god its the weekend and thank god for veterans day 11-11. I was so ready to get done with this week. I had two midterms. The stats midterm I took today was really rough. After working on it for a while, I opted to not be graded on it and have its points be shifted onto the final. I really need to pay more attention in the class. I just kept getting confused over what formulas are used for what. Oh well, it is done.

I just wanted to add some more pic from Halloween. On the first set of pics, my friend Jess commented that I reminded her of Buffalo Bill from Silence of the lambs. Unfortunately, I never saw the movie though I have read the book and seen both the sequel and prequel (Remember seeing Red Dragon (e:Maureen)) and I couldn't find an image of him on the internet, so I guess I will just have to rent it to see. Here are the pics: