Bob’s Blog

After 3 months of trying to look for a job, I’ve come to the conclusion of one thing, and one thing only. And that is this: I have filled out way too many job applications and there needs to be an easier process in doing all this.

What *should* be done is have a system set up where all you have to do is fill out one application (online) and be able to use that single one that you filled out and send it to any business, school, service, or anywhere that is hiring.

It would just be so much more efficient instead of continuing to fill out individual applications for each place; it’s annoying, aggravating and time consuming.  And we all know that my time is severely limited as it is already with this unemployment business. I don’t need applications to eat up anymore of my tv, X-Box 360, and internet time.

Also: ATM’s. Sometimes, I don’t want to take out money that is in the multiples of20. Sometimes, I only want $10. Or maybe $15. Perhaps only $4. ATM’s should be at my command and these banks should make these machines much more suited to my needs.

It’s all a scam, I tell you.

Bill Maher explains why Bush is the worst president ever, but also takes on the rather spineless Democrats. Funny, smart, and dead on as usual.

President Bush’s approval rating sits at roughly 30%. Pretty low, to say the least. The War in Iraq is not going smoothly but the Democrats have just recently given the President a seemingly blank check to do what he wills in Iraq.

There is a small part of me that sympathizes with Bush and this current situation. Places like AMERICABlog and the DailyKos will scream their heads off with the deaths of a handful of soldiers and say what a terrible day it was. And granted; anytime a soldier dies, it is a sad day. However, in comparison to other wars of previous generations such as Vietnam, Korean War, WWII, etc. it seems almost next to nothing. I seriously question how many liberals in this day in age would react to a battle like that of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War, where despite laying huge casualities on the enemy, we still suffered casualities in the thousands in a single battle. I think, in some ways, this country has gotten soft towards war. And that’s probably a good thing in the end. But it’s something that I wonder about time to time and I question whether people on the left are that outraged about the deaths or if it’s simply for show and it’s just something else to strike at Bush for.

It saddens me that the soldiers, the people dying out there and are getting disrespect, are getting played around like puppets by both sides. The soldiers are being used for self-serving purposes on both sides of the fence and it disgusts me. And it doesn’t matter if it’s rhetoric from the Right stating, “If you don’t fund the war, you hate the troops!” or from the Left with stating things how if you support the war, you hate the troops. It’s all disgusting. Leave the troops out of the politics.

Moreover, there is much historical precident in people being unhappy about war and calling for the country to pull out; despite how well intentioned and “good” the war might actually be. For example, the country was calling for FDR to pull out of WWII and his opponent (for FDR’s 3rd term) ran on a platform of peace and to pull out of the war. As laughable as it might seem to us now because of Hitler’s atrocities and what took place, FDR was in serious trouble through much of his term because of that war; the American people wanted no part of it. FDR slowly brought the US into war (and even outright lied about US involvement early on at times), despite popular disapproval and it has become the crowning achievement in our country’s history.

The same can be said about The Great War (whcih ultimately also became unpopular even after the war ended and was generally disliked for many years), The American Revolution, and just about any other war we have been involved in that we look back at fondly and praise our actions for. It’s funny how history works sometimes, isn’t it?

As much of a liberal as I am, I cannot help but be bothered by the hard left’s assertion of this war and how they’ve handled it. There is a seemingly incredible short term memory problem (held by both sides, no doubt) and quite frankly – a lot of people analyzing this war need to pick up a history book and learn to put people and events into context.

Now, granted. The Iraq War is unjustified and we were lied to about the war. There were never any threats of nuclear or biological warfare and the assertion that Saddam “had to go” because he was a bad guy is absurd given the fact that the US has a very long history of working with brutal dictators and governments (especially Hussein’s) in order to meet national interests and desires. The reasons going in were ridiculous, and I firmly believe we need a timetable to withdrawal troops. In fact, I’ve maintained many times on here that President Bush and his cabinet all need to be impeached. Not just for this war, but also for the seemingly endless scandals and corruption taking place. Rolling Stone has a great article on why President Bush is the worst president ever in the country, and makes a good case for it (and no, this wasn’t written by a RS staff writer but rather a real historian).

But, let’s be fair here to Bush and state that if the President were to act at the whim of the people and pull out whenever the people were unhappy with war…this country would be a far different place and this world would be a far different place. And I think it would not necessarily be for the better, either. President Bush has a certain and valid point here. Presidents often don’t act for the people, but rather will act for themselves and will carry out policies they believe are genuinly good for the country as a whole.

And, for whatever reason that I’m sure God only knows, he believes that what we are doing in Iraq is good.

Needless to say, many people on the hard Left really need to be fair here and open up their eyes a little bit to the realities of the US Presidency and this war.

We have LOLCats, LOLJesus and ROFLWalrus. Now we have, LOLPresidents. Thank you, FARK.

Something I recommend at least browsing through:

Thousands of detainees continued to be held in US custody without charge or trial in Iraq, Afghanistan and the US naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. In June, the US Supreme Court struck down the military commissions established by President Bush and reversed the presidential decision not to apply Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions to detainees suspected of links with the Taleban or al-Qa’ida. Congress passed the Military Commissions Act stripping the US federal courts of the jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus appeals from such detainees, providing for trials by military commission, and amending the US War Crimes Act. In September, President Bush confirmed the existence of a programme of secret detentions run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). There were reports of possible extrajudicial executions by US soldiers in Iraq, with a number of soldiers facing prosecution. There was a continued failure to hold senior government officials accountable for torture and other ill-treatment of “war on terror” detainees despite evidence that abuses had been systematic. There were reports of police brutality and ill-treatment in detention facilities in the USA. More than 70 people died after being struck by police tasers. Fifty-three people were executed in 14 states.

I find it rather ironic that this country’s officials since the ending of WWII often pride itself on trying to be the moral standard for the world, wage wars against known torturers, and “spread democracy” around the world yet we cannot hold those same values ourselves and will carry out the very same actions we are fighting against.

Funny how the world works sometimes.

I’ve never really outlined my current thoughts about the current war or about Bush lately and I feel as though I’m long over due on it.

Plain and simple – it’s time to get out. It’s not necessary to be in this war any longer. I’ve been hesitant on this issue for quite sometime, but the more I think about it, the more I come to the fact that it is simply time to leave and set up a timetable. Most people would argue that if we leave now, then the country will enter a state of chaos and will create havoc in the area.

Well, let’s look at this argument:

1) First and formost, the country is already in a state of chaos. There is no question about this. The country is in a state of civil war. Despite what the Right will tell you, there is a civil war taking place within the country. No matter what we do – this country is going to be scarred for generations and the violence will not cease and it simply doesn’t matter if we leave or not. With the history in that region,  it would not surprise me to see Iraq once again becoming a brutal dictatorship and/or the country splintering even further. And it seems as though our efforts in trying to push away any Iranian influence is futile with one of the major and influential Iraqi leaders actually flying into Iran for medical tests. That should, without question, raise some questions.

According to Juan Cole, Al Qaeda only makes up 7% of all alleged attacks within the country. But while that number is currently on the low end, things are starting to get worse and Al Qaida seems to actually be profitting from the war:

In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said al-Qaida’s command base in Pakistan increasingly is being funded by cash from Iraq, where the terrorist network’s operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.

The influx of money has bolstered al-Qaida’s leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of al-Qaida funds, with the leadership surviving to a large extent on money from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells.

This war is ruining any progress we made post-9/11 in Afghanistan in eradicating the Al Qaida network. Occupying Iraq has hindered and hurt us and is only making our real enemy stronger. Not only that, but there was a report released last September that stated that:

…over the next five years “the confluence of shared purpose and dispersed actors will make it harder to find and undermine jihadist groups.’’

It also suggests that while democratization and “exposing the religious and political straitjacket that is implied by the jihadists’ propaganda’’ might dim the appeal of the terrorist groups, those factors are now outweighed by the dangerous brew of fear of Western domination, the battle for Iraq’s future and the slow pace of real economic or political progress.

Moreover:

And while Mr. Bush talks often of transforming the Middle East, the report speaks of the “vulnerabilities’’ created by the fact that “anti-U.S. and antiglobalization sentiment is on the rise and fueling other radical ideologies.’’

The result, it said, was that other groups around the world are radicalizing “more quickly, more widely and more anonymously in the Internet age.’’

In short, it describes a jihadist movement that, for now, is simply outpacing Mr. Bush’s counterattacks.

Iraq has become a breeding ground for terrorism and being in the middle of a civil war between the different ethnic groups, and trying to deal with the Iraqi Parliment – it is no place to fight this type of war. We need to pull out and re-focus our efforts in areas such as Afghanistan and Pakistan and eradicate them for good.

Speaking of the Iraqi Parliment…

2) The Iraqi Parliment doesn’t even want us there anymore. They have now rejected US occupation and want a timetable.  And rightfully so. We have been inside that country longer than we were involved with WWII and there is no significant progress being made within the country. It is time for Iraqis to step up and take responsiblity for their country and they have clearly spoken and want us out.

It has been proven through history that generally speaking, you cannot force democracy onto other countries, especially with the Middle East. The Middle East doesn’t want US intervention and that is something, for whatever reason, our politicians don’t seem to understand.

Not only all that, but now you have these very same Iraqi lawmakers heading on a two month summer “vacation”. So while our brothers and sisters are risking their lives for this country that is currently in a state of chaos…they are going to go on a “vacation”.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but that certainly rubs me the wrong way and it should raise eyebrows on why we are still occupying the country.

With all of this said. Why are we still there?

The similarities between Iraq and Vietnam are too similiar to ignore. Fighting for a shaky and questionable cause, fighting invisible enemies, having a half-hearted ally, and not being able to understand the geographic and historical problems of this region have all added up into one giant mess.

History has repeated itself and nobody in Washington seems to either care or understand.

This is not a situation we can win and it is time to set up a withdrawal table and leave. Sometimes there’s more dignity in knowing when you have been defeated and accept it rather than trying to fight for something you know you cannot ever win.

It’s time to leave. If not now, then when?

Expect a thorough look at Bush within the next couple days.

You have your wish, Andy Warhol:

Our Oceans are Turning into Plastic

At the same time, all over the globe, there are signs that plastic pollution is doing more than blighting the scenery; it is also making its way into the food chain. Some of the most obvious victims are the dead seabirds that have been washing ashore in startling numbers, their bodies packed with plastic: things like bottle caps, cigarette lighters, tampon applicators, and colored scraps that, to a foraging bird, resemble baitfish. (One animal dissected by Dutch researchers contained 1,603 pieces of plastic.) And the birds aren’t alone. All sea creatures are threatened by floating plastic, from whales down to zooplankton. There’s a basic moral horror in seeing the pictures: a sea turtle with a plastic band strangling its shell into an hourglass shape; a humpback towing plastic nets that cut into its flesh and make it impossible for the animal to hunt. More than a million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish die in the North Pacific each year, either from mistakenly eating this junk or from being ensnared in it and drowning.

Bad enough. But Moore soon learned that the big, tentacled balls of trash were only the most visible signs of the problem; others were far less obvious, and far more evil. Dragging a fine-meshed net known as a manta trawl, he discovered minuscule pieces of plastic, some barely visible to the eye, swirling like fish food throughout the water. He and his researchers parsed, measured, and sorted their samples and arrived at the following conclusion: By weight, this swath of sea contains six times as much plastic as it does plankton.

Now, you’re probably scratching your head thinking, “Well, how does this impact me?” Read the following:

It’s not fair, however, to single out fast food and new cars. PBDEs, to take just one example, are used in many products, incuding computers, carpeting, and paint. As for phthalates, we deploy about a billion pounds of them a year worldwide despite the fact that California recently listed them as a chemical known to be toxic to our reproductive systems. Used to make plastic soft and pliable, phthalates leach easily from millions of products—packaged food, cosmetics, varnishes, the coatings of timed-release pharmaceuticals—into our blood, urine, saliva, seminal fluid, breast milk, and amniotic fluid. In food containers and some plastic bottles, phthalates are now found with another compound called bisphenol A (BPA), which scientists are discovering can wreak stunning havoc in the body. We produce 6 billion pounds of that each year, and it shows: BPA has been found in nearly every human who has been tested in the United States. We’re eating these plasticizing additives, drinking them, breathing them, and absorbing them through our skin every single day.
Most alarming, these chemicals may disrupt the endocrine system—the delicately balanced set of hormones and glands that affect virtually every organ and cell—by mimicking the female hormone estrogen. In marine environments, excess estrogen has led to Twilight Zone-esque discoveries of male fish and seagulls that have sprouted female sex organs.

Some of these impacts on us? Possible future mutation, cancer, and obesity. Scary.

Lately, I’ve been thinking more and more about trying to shed a few pounds. After all, I now have a lot of free time on my hands and it’s now a good time as ever to finally starting to eat decently. I’m actually pretty comfortable with my weight, but it doesn’t hurt to shed a few pounds. I originally wanted to lose weight back in January but we all know how those New Year’s Resolutions go.

But after 5 years of college, I think it’s safe to say that my body hates me and it’s time for a bit of a lifestyle change.

So, I decided yesterday to go out and buy some running shoes. They’re nice too. Very comfortable and I even spent money on the overly priced iPod arm band. This is serious business, folks. Part of the reason for the nicer shoes and stupid arm band is to always guilt trip myself into going running. I spent a good chunk of change on this stuff – I might as well go out and make the most of these things, right? That’s the plan, anyways.

I’m all geared up to go this morning. I have my sun glasses, my new kicks, a mental map of where I want to run,  determination and a ridiculously awesome playlist that was painfully and meticulously constructed that contains bands like Discharge, Metallica, Slayer, Rage Against The Machine, Rise Against, and anything else that will get me pumped.

The stars have aligned for a great day of running, friends!

Or so I thought.

About 5 minutes into it, I wanted to die. I struggled hard. Suddenly, the mental map of where I want to go seems a helluva lot bigger than I originally envisioned. I haven’t done this type of running since high school and it showed. I did about 2 miles. But that was more than enough for me on this day. I struggled into the door of my apartment; out of breath and sweating profusely and fell on the couch and said to myself, “Holy shit.”

Trying to be beautiful is painful.

Day 2 however, will be a day of victory. You watch.

There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a friend with so much potential and so much going for them see them waste it away in some awful retail store. For the past 5 years, an old friend has struggled to find a decent, consistent job. He’s into carpentry, and he’s damn good at it. But, it’s a feast or famine business and he had zero help from the local union in finding work. He has worked with some shady companies and has gotten screwed over. So, with that – he’s stuck working in a Wal-mart. I have my own personal feelings on that place, but I’ll save that for another time. He keeps putting off school. I’d like to see him take some business courses and get a basic understanding of how to run a company and be fiscally responsible. He keeps putting it off; you can’t put off school forever. As one gets older, it becomes increasingly harder to get back into school.

To shed some light on our own personal lives; growing up, I never had much. I can’t say I’ve always had it easy. I grew up extremely poor. I’ve been thankful and blessed enough to recently just graduate from an accredited, decently renowned university. In high school and elementary school, I got beat up daily, verbally or physically. In high school, all our friends were junkies who weren’t doing anything with their lives. Some have been in and out of rehab. Currently, they are working in minimum-wage dead end jobs, in jail, or they dropped out of college all together.

Out of the few friends I did have in high school and prior – he had/has the most potential. His life in school was the complete opposite of mine – he was the most popular guy in school, no question. He’s the lady’s man, he’s funny, charismatic, and charming. That cool guy you want to be around. He’s really the complete opposite of me. He can slack off from work and still be on the boss’s good side.

I remember one time, when working with him, he got a job promotion over me. I had been there longer and worked more than he did. That’s just the type of guy he is. He can go far; his work in carpentry is outstanding and he genuinely loves to work with his hands.

So, with all that. It just frustrates me to see someone not take advantage of opportunities in life and not do something they genuinely love to do. Admittedly, he’s made a lot of mistakes especially financially. He’s told me he’s not entirely happy with the Wal-Mart gig. But he keeps talking positively about the place and how he can move up to manager and that it’s “something”. And it is something.

But it’s just frustrating as a friend who see’s him as so much more than a Wal-Mart employee.

Graduation has come and gone. It’s surreal and it still hasn’t entirely hit me yet. Though – I was freaking out an hour or so before the actual ceremony. But, it was nice and it’s an amazing accomplishment. As my uncle told me, “Anyone can graduate from high school. But graduating from a university? That’s something to be proud about.”

Looking back at how I grew up and the hardships, looking at the friends I had in high school and where most of them are at in their own lives, and looking at many of the things I had to deal with personally in the past 5 years…it’s an amazing, amazing accomplishment. First person on my mom’s side of the family to graduate from college, only the third on my dad’s side. That’s big. And it’s amazing and humbling.

So, here’s Life.

Hi Life.

It looks as though I will be flying down to Atlanta for a little job hunting. Hopefully, I can fly back home and say I have a job waiting for me. It would ease my mind a little bit, to say the least.

Current Tuneskies that Bob is Diggin’:
Explosions In The Sky – All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone
Everclear – Welcome To The Drama Club
Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero
Sage Francis – Human The Death Dance
Silverchair – Neon Ballroom

Your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger
Apparently, the new Spider-man is, in a word, awful. I’m going to catch it this week sometime and to be honest? I’m totally in the mood for piss-poor movies. For example, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was on TV and I was excited about watching it. Why? Because it’s terrible. So terrible that it’s utterly laughable.

A complete abomination to American cinema. Completely offensive to every person that has ever watched it. Yet – I love every second of watching that garbage.

So, I’m hoping Spider-man 3 is on par with that. Though, you really have to try and make a real solid effort to create a movie as poor as MK2.

“Bear”y Goodtimes
Over the weekend, Dale bought me this bear figurine. What’s so special about it, you ask? It’s a bear, for one thing. So it’s already kick ass. And two, the bear is in a cowboy outfit. It’s utterly fantastic to say the least.

If Fantasy Would Only Become Reality
The Dustin Diamondbacks, my Fantasy Baseball team, continue with their struggles. My pitching is utterly fantastic with the likes of Maine, Sabathia, Willis, Beckett, and Peavy. However, I’m sorely lacking in the runs department. Sitting near the basement and I am not happy with that.