It's been 8 years and this is all I've got... I'm in need of a pretty big decompression from social media right now as I'm sure most of you are too. 

I am going to choose to take this whole thing and look at it as a challenge. A challenge to be better. To be kinder. More thoughtful. To not go immediately to anger. To show my daughters, my wife that I am good. To show my fellow citizens that while we may not always agree on everything, that we can, or I can at least, treat them with respect. To do more listening and less talking. To be present. As disappointing as last night's result was, we really do have an opportunity to make America great, again. A great place where no one lives in fear because of the color of their skin, or because of how they worship, or who they love, or because of their gender. It's going to be painful and likely quite ugly for some time, but I want to hold out hope. I need to. We have a duty to ourselves, our families, to each other, to be better. Humility feels like it is the worst thing to be feeling right now. It is making me feel empty and it stings all at once, but I need to learn from this. We all can learn from this. I really hope we do. 

Keep your chin up today. It gets better when we work together. Rosie said it best "We can do this!"

Love to you all and take care of yourselves and each other. Onward!

And What is Behind Door #2?

The wife and I found out today that our second child is going to be a girl!  We couldn't be happier.  We already had one reason to make a change in our lives for the better, actually about 3 feet and 28 pounds worth of reason, who just happens to be the soon to be older sister of our next girl.  If there is any reason to take care of this planet then it is for them, so that they have a place to live.  We really should be leaving this place better than how we found it. 

The Change is Real

Climate change is happening.  This is undeniable.  What is easy to deny, for some, is that we human beings have had nothing to do with it.  To deny that we humans are not in some way responsible for contributing to the rapid increases that are taking place in all of our varying environments, is irresponsible.  Yet there are those that continue to believe we are not culpable.  Now there is a distinguishing characteristic between someone who continues to question the science and another who questions the reality, they are called skeptics and contrarians.  Skeptics have participated in the science and continue to.  Contrarians choose not look at the science at all, yet still find themselves in a position where they are able to continually contribute to the onslaught of misinformation that negligent corporations feed.  They do this, one, because they are protecting interests that they somehow feel they are invested in or are actually invested in or, two, out of narcissism.  Corporations have a bottom line to maintain, and rarely is what is best for the people or the environment taken into consideration, (see big oil and coal and then follow the money).   The narcissists are contrarian because they do not want to believe that their actions contribute to the problem of negative climate change.  It is hard for people to change for the better and by better I mean doing what is in their best interest.  We often do things that are counter to our best interest, mostly out of comfort for the position that we have found ourselves to be in.  What we must do now, if we are to make a change in our lifetime, or the lifetimes of those who will come before us, is to simply acknowledge that something must be done, for the better, so that this planet can sustain us as a species.  Make no mistake, the Earth is very resilient, it has been here for far longer than we have, but it would be nice if we could be here a bit longer too. 

Ricky Gervais Is Not Just Another Pretty Face...

Ricky Gervais of The Office, the original British version mind you, and HBO's Extras has written a great essay on why he is an atheist.  Poignant and of course, funny.  

Do the cut and paste thing...

http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/best-mind/My_Argument_with_God

Why I Don't Believe

I wrote this for the "newbie" forum on Richard Dawkins.net.  It's a pretty great site and I encourage you all to visit it. 

Adam and Eve and Noah's Ark

by Giantbluerobot on Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:19 am

For me it was really quite simple. First off, I must qualify that I am not the world's smartest man, nor would I venture so far as to say that I can boast the highest I.Q. on the street for which I live. With this in mind I find it very easy to not believe in God, and that it need not be the occupation of those who are considered high minded or uber-intelligent to continually debate why God does not, in fact, exist. For me it first began with the two stories from the bible which are second and third most popular after that of Joshua the King, or Jesus Christ as he is more popularly known, again a qualification, this polling to determine popularity of stories was very unscientific. It began with a question... If Adam and Eve were the first two human beings on this planet they needed a means to populate the planet, how did they do so? To get straight to the point they used incest. And so on and so on, etc. etc. World populated! Okay, great, now that that is out of the way... This is something that many people around the world are seemingly able to operate with or whom choose to not acknowledge. The second part of the question takes me to Noah and his Ark. God, supposedly, being omniscient mind you, chose to allow his gift given free will children, to fall out of his favor, and then drown them. There may have been a warning in there, not too sure, if there had though, you can rest assured that it is chalked up to the gift of free will. But not all of them drowned, he left Noah and his wife and their children and their spouses. So to skip right to it, we now have two instances in the bible, in which God felt it necessary to equip his "children" with incest as a tool to repopulate the planet. Hmm. Some kind of designer. I do not believe in God solely based on this reasoning. I have since thought about it much more and have come up with even more reasons why I think that it is unfortunate that there are those who feel that it is alright to believe and have faith in such stories. For me my struggle isn't on whether God exists or not, but rather, to keep myself from engaging in debate with those that I care about who do believe in God and hammer them on why they choose to do so.

There must first be a God before there can be an atheist.

Why They Will Get Away With it Again!

Isn't it great to be fat, dumb and happy?  Today the government came out and talked about the details of the Bear Stearns bail-out.  To be so stinking rich that you never have to worry about ever losing what you have, this has to be a most comforting feeling.  JPMorgan was indeed very generous when they decided to raise the per share price of the B.S. stocks to 10 bucks, up from the 2 that they had originally partaken of.  So, how would you have spent your part of the 29 billion dollars used to take the sting out of JPMorgan coming in to save the day?  Sadly, I can say that I will more than likely not immediately notice it.  But it has to come from some where, and that will probably be from programs that help those that could really use it.  I wonder if JP is going to guarantee the pensions and retirements of all the folks who had worked to make B.S. function day to day.  I should hope so, what with the 29 billion that they didn't have to pay I should think they could manage something. What are the chances that our dear government will do anything to help those folks.  Why stop at just helping keep the company afloat.  Why does it have to end there? How can anyone argue that it is okay to bail out corporations but it isn't okay to help out those in the middle and lower classes that seek bankruptcy protection?  It couldn't be that the corporations are looked at as being more important than the people from whom they benefit, is it?  By the people for the people.  Remember?  What has to happen for all Americans to understand that this means something.  And that there are factions within our country that are fighting with the mighty dollar to keep this from happening.   Corporations are not people.  Corporations are machines.  People are but the oil that finds itself lodged between the cogs of the gears that corporations use to operate.  Sometimes machines work well, sometime they are just B.S.  And this is how they get away with it.  Our government, which is run by two parties that are increasingly if not already inextricably connected to the corporate machine, has allowed for those with the most to screw up and make those with the least pick up the tab.  

The Politics of Change

I want to believe that politics mean something.  That it's not just about who is the most popular, and who by the way just happens to have the most money.  I want to believe that my gut could actually be right for once.  I would love to look at Hillary Clinton and see someone who I am more than comfortable with answering the phone at 3 in the morning.  A person that has the experience to get the job done.  Funny thing though, she has just as much experience as Barack Obama.  Only most of her experience was gained as the First Lady.  So does this mean that the time Obam spent in the Illinois state senate meaningless?  I should think not.  If she is touting this experience as legitimate than what the Hell was Al Gore doing?  I would hate to think that the Vice President was the one actually getting all the First Lady chores.  Are our Democratic choices perfect?  Not when lumped together, as much as two can make a lump, but they are a far sight better than what my counterparts in the seemingly G.O.P. have to choose from.  McCain is pretty much walking around with his gaskets within reach so that when his supposedly legendary temper gets the best of him he can re-screw said gaskets back in place.  100 year war anyone?  Come on.  Seriously.  Darth Cheney said that if we didn't vote for Bush the younger and he, that we would be inviting certain terroristic actions.  All the while having flags in the shades of red and orange waved in our faces.  And now John "I have seen the evil that man is capable of" McCain telling us that we are going to be engaged in a 100 year war? Sorry, either we get out now or we end it for good.  That is why I am voting for Obama.  We must, through politics, engage a culture that is, believe it or not, capable of being political. Only we must be smarter.  These cultures are willing to go to extreme lengths to keep whatever power that they have.  Like the Republicans.  Only we must take a page from that very playbook if we are to be successful as a nation first, and a party second. We truly must do the same.  Hillary will say whatever she needs to get what she wants.  To be surgically blunt, McCain is quite simply more of the same... Darth Cheney paired with his faux redneck sidekick sliding across the hood of their souped up corporate machine.  Straight Talk Express.  Is anyone really buying this?  It's like Kerry voting for the war and then voting against it.  Fast forward to McCain voting against the tax cuts and then voting for them.  Because we've seen them work. Really?  Now for something completely different... someone with a plan.  If you are doubting still.  Obama's website plainly explains his plan.  I don't want to sound simple, but I am comforted by someone who can plainly speak in terms that I can understand and stand by. Obama is really the only person who can do for this for a country that is capable of, and always has been, greatness.  In order to accomplish these goals we must be respected and trusted. If we continue to bet on the same horse (renamed McCain) then we will continue to suffer from lack of both.