By far the coolest thing to come out of Fox News....

FOXNews.com - Python Filmed Attempting to Swallow Kangaroo Whole - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News


Make sure you click the link at the bottom of the article to watch the video. Good stuff.

One last thought before hitting the polls

The Insanity of Mass Democracy

If you out there tonight, surfing around the internet and trying to ignore that indecisive twang in the back of your head about what to do tomorrow -- give a read to this article by Anthony Gregory.

I have no way of conducting a mass poll obviously, but I wonder how many of the truly undecided voters out there are that way because they are simply trying to determine which candidate is the lesser of two evils? It's fairly clear cut -- at least from this current standpoint -- that Obama could be better for the nation, but worse when it comes to foreign relations and vice versa for McCain. Aren't you sick of having to make this decision? Which of these two candidates will slow the descent of the nation?

You will be berated and I am sure whoever may read this blog will spew some sort of democratic rhetoric in my direction, but the sheer reality of the situation is that the the majority vote is simply that -- a majority. 51% to 49% is a majority victory. So, who is to say that the current president is the "president of the people" when nearly half of the nation did not vote for him? Campaign promises are made by both sides and then once the smoke settles from the election, it seems to be business as usual. Politicians sell their souls to the small interest groups and lobbyists on the campaign trail and spend a great amount of their time in office helping to prove to these people why they supported the right candidate -- thus putting the Middle Class out in the cold.

So think about it this way. If there is so much power posited on the concept of the "people's president", what would happen if vote turnout was dismal? Would the politicians and media carry on the status quo and just attribute the lack of voter turnout to some other excuse? Or would they really stand up and realize that the American people are trying to make a statement? I would seriously hope the latter, but it would be just as easy for the media to say, "Well, didn't see that coming, but it doesn't change anything." At 5:00 PM, everyone is still going to turn on the local and national news broadcasts, and a great amount of knowledge they will amass about the world will come out of the mouths of news anchors. I'm not trying to say that this is a bad thing (unless you're listening to Bill O'Reilly), but people just have to realize that this medium is much easier to control. Do not write something off because it seems too radical. And on the other end, do not write off the criticism of radical ideas. It is only through understanding all the elements of an issue that will come to realize what you, as an autonomous being, truly believe. Do not simply take what hear on television at face value.

But just remember, voting against one candidate in protest of their theories is not a protest in any means. It is just a vote for a candidate who probably has a few ideas that you don't agree with as well. Just interesting to wonder what would happen if we got to the close of polls tomorrow and we saw news anchors shaking their heads in disbelief at the lack of voter turn out. It would send a message to Washington that the people are sick of voting for the candidates that are chosen for them, simply because the respective parties believe that their candidates will be the mainstays of their ideals for the next 4 years.

A thought for tonight...

Faces of War

Why is it that we don't hear more about this? How is it that one "war" is more important than something else? How many people have been slaughtered Iraq and Iran in the last few days?

So is the amount of armed forces present in a country directly related to the amount of oil located under the ground?

Just a thought.

A little about the author...

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression about the title of my blog. It's not all doom, gloom, and depression out there. But there are a great many things that don't get properly discussed. While I'm going to admit that I'm a fairly biased person when it comes to my beliefs (as it goes for everybody) -- but I strongly believe that you should never enter an argument without having knowledge of the other side.

Anyway, my name is Steve and I'm 25 years old. I just recently moved up to Liberty Lake, WA -- a little old town right on the Idaho border. Nothing like being right in the middle of conservative, white America to make one question dominating ideals.

When it comes to interests, I'm a huge sports freak and I love books. When I moved from Missouri to Washington, I had three boxes of clothes and 10 boxes of books. I think that art is the most important thing in the world. There is more to be learned in the words of famous authors, in the images of famous artists, and in the visions of movie makers than in any other medium. We have become far too concerned with careers, business, material possessions, media, politics, etc. that many people have forgotten what is truly important. It is impossible to ignore these trappings that have fallen into our laps, and, thus, in order to analyze our world as it stands, we must explore all sides of every issue.

By no means am I trying to advertise myself as being bias free or fair to each side of every argument -- but I will, to the best of my ability, try to have as much knowledge about those things that I am arguing against.

With that in mind, I hope that I can find people to read what I have to say because it is only through discussion, debate, and the open flow of ideas that we can progress as a civilization.