Author Archive for JCE

No Happy Mother’s Day for Me

Published
by
JCE
on May 11, 2008
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*** If Michelle Duggar uses her vagina like a pez dispenser, then I have used mine like a swiss bank account. Perhaps if I had had more children and increased my odds, I would not currently be winning the "Worst Mother of the Year" award. But I didn't and now I am faced with the ugly consequences of having the unmitigated gall to ground my son shortly before Mother's Day. I had no reason whatsoever to do this, it was simply a fleeting idea careening around my brain and I acted on it. Just...

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Consciousness and Politics

Published
by
JCE
on May 4, 2008
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*** Yesterday I listened to a broadcast on NPR discussing the "new" proposed Windfall Profit Tax announced by Ms. Clinton as her way of addressing the skyrocketing costs of fuel. The broadcast interviewed Joseph Thorndike, director of the Tax History Project at TaxAnalysts.com and he explained that this is not a new tax at all and is in fact a very bad idea. The problem being that it is a windfall profit tax...not profits. There is another sort of tax that has been used in the past during...

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From Ridiculous to Flat Out Ludicrous

Published
by
JCE
on April 29, 2008
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*** For the record, I am not a staunch Obama supporter. Now that that is out of the way, the latest news stories regarding his former minister have left me wondering just how much the good reverend was paid to make his retarded comments. Support him or don't support him, Barack Obama has never, not one time ever, shown any hint that he shares the views espoused by the reverend. Quite frankly, I am embarrassed on behalf of every reasonably intelligent American that Obama has been forced by...

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A little political humor

Published
by
JCE
on April 28, 2008
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*** We've all been feeling a bit blah over here at The Information Paradox so to lighten the mood (in addition to Susan's excellent post about the 95 year old hero) I thought I would post some political humor cartoons:

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Quotes of the Day - Fathers

Published
by
JCE
on April 27, 2008
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*** This post is in remembrance of my best friend's best friend...BGH, your dad will always be in your heart. “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.” ~Charles Wadsworth “It is a wise child that knows its own father, and an unusual one that unreservedly approves of him” ~Mark Twain quotes “Good fathers make good sons” “My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” ~Clarence B. Kelland...

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Surviving in a tough economy

Published
by
JCE
on April 20, 2008
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*** A recent article in Yahoo News discussing the spike in food prices mentioned some possible, scary measures people may take in order to cut their food budget: For some, that means adding an extra cup of water to their soup, watering down their milk, or giving their children soda because it's cheaper than milk, DiChiara said.As a lifelong thrift-monger cutting my food budget has become so much of a habit that it never occurred to me that others don’t do the same. Basically, I have never...

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Pope Mephistopheles

Published
by
JCE
on April 19, 2008
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*** In Latin, Benedict means blessed and the utter irony of Joseph Ratzinger's choice of name is enough to make even a believer cry. If one uses the political definition of blessed, that being, blessings that one manufactures for themselves, then, yes - Ratzinger is a very blessed man. His visit to the United States prompted the usual spike in pseudo Catholics rushing to find their long-forgotten rosary beads and dust off their bibles in order to lay a false claim to faith pay top dollar in...

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Freedom of Religion or Freedom to Murder?

Published
by
JCE
on April 18, 2008
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*** This past March, Carl and Raylene Worthington were indicted on manslaughter charges for refusing to seek medical treatment for their 15 month old daughter who died from pneumonia and bronchial infection - both easily curable with antibiotics. They claimed their religious order, Followers of Christ Church, prohibits them from using doctors (surprise) however Oregon law does not allow a religious exemption for these cases. In a somewhat bizarre twist, their attorneys (that's right,...

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Women in Science - Emilie du Chatelet

Published
by
JCE
on April 17, 2008
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*** Every time I research one of these women, I become more and more impressed by human abilities and less and less impressed with cultural laws. These women have left permanent footprints on the path of intellectual growth and yet their contributions are largely overlooked in the schoolbooks and by the media in favor of equally accomplished men. This gap in information has been our loss, but fortunately their work lives on, recognized or not. Today's Woman in Science focuses on Emilie du...

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Hillary, Say Something Original….PLEASE!

Published
by
JCE
on April 14, 2008
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*** Recently, Barack Obama gave a speech in Pennsylvania, which has received national attention for his choice of words to the voters. Here is copy of the text from the Huffington Post (emphasis added): OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this...

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Why isn’t there more public outrage over gas prices?

Published
by
JCE
on April 11, 2008
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*** The media reports the increases in the price of crude per barrel daily almost as if they are reporting the weather. Congress held a farce of an investigation that was largely ignored by the media and general public. Posts have been made here and many other places wondering why more isn't being done. The comments received here indicate a partial desire by the public to defend the oil companies. These comments do not offer any definitive or credible reason for the surge in crude oil...

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Why are people such assholes?

Published
by
JCE
on April 7, 2008
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*** There have been posts here before regarding the human condition, most notably, Susan's post regarding rude people and this post runs along the same lines, with one little twist... Why are parents such jerks at their child's sporting events? This past weekend my son participated in a bowling tournament. Bowling is fun, but it isn't one of those activities that jumps to mind in terms of competitiveness. Of course, that fact did not stop a few parents from attempting to ruin the event for...

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Medicine May Fail But Research Always Helps

Published
by
JCE
on April 4, 2008
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*** What to do when you find out the medication you've been taking doesn't work? Well, first you should sue someone - anyone. Then, take a different pill. But, by all means, whatever you do, DON'T research your diagnoses and/or prescription to educate yourself. (sarcasm) Once again, a medication that has passed clinical trials (and by clinical trials, they mean, they checked it to see if it was capable of being swallowed, but not whether or not it could cure anything) has proven to do...

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Get Out!

Published
by
JCE
on April 4, 2008
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*** Last night I attended my first local Atheist Meetup meeting. It was great!!! It was perfect for me because this particular meeting was an informal gathering of about 10 people for coffee and conversation. Everyone was very welcoming and the conversation that followed was fantastic! It was kind of like sitting around talking with the family except that the conversation was intellectual - HA! (j/k - my family conversation are usually pretty intellectual too). The meeting did not have a...

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Women In Science - Hypatia

Published
by
JCE
on April 1, 2008
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*** From Women In Science: (370?-415 C.E.) SOME HISTORIANS THINK HER DEATH HERALDED THE END OF FREE THOUGHT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. BUT HER WORK CONTINUED TO BE STUDIED FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS AFTER SHE WAS MURDERED. Letters addressed simply to “the Philosopher” were delivered to her at the Museum in Alexandria, the intellectual center of the world in the 4th C. Self-possessed and confident, she had no qualms about addressing an academy full of men. In fact, Hypatia’s...

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The Pope is gonna be pissed when he hears this…

Published
by
JCE
on March 31, 2008
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*** In the game of religious tag, the Muslims are winning. According to recent news reports Muslims now outnumber Catholics making it the most populous religion. While this report did not shock me in the least, I’m sure a fair number of Catholics are concerned. This is undoubtedly why the Pope has been urging Catholics world wide to reproduce – please. Please don’t. I thought this would be a good time to compare some of the things brought to us by each of these wonderfully useless...

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Blackwater can kill you….no really!

Published
by
JCE
on March 27, 2008
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*** Things that make me go "hmmmm...." Blackwater Fever is the common name of a deadly strain of malaria and has been around for quite some time. Recently, however, the Iraqis have put the common name back in use except that they are linking the term to the much more insidious private security firm hired by the U.S. to fight in the Iraq war. The disease has seen a resurgence in Iraq so naturally they are latching on to the connection to make the most of it. While I don't blame them, I am...

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Allergies Suuuuuuuuuck!

Published
by
JCE
on March 23, 2008
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*** It is Easter morning and I am trying to decide whether I should take my son to the local Urgent Care facility or wait until tomorrow to get him to the doctor. The cause? Allergies. We have both been up most of the night trying to combat the symptom of his latest attack. Until I had him, I was not even aware that people suffered from allergy “attacks” other than from food. His only food allergy is shellfish and at the prices of shellfish, this particular allergy is not a huge concern...

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The Answer: Duct Tape and Velcro

Published
by
JCE
on March 20, 2008
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The question: How to build a space shuttle worth billions of dollars. BGH sent me this photo from NASA and although I don't think this was their intent, try to spot how many pieces of duct tape and velcro are used to hold this engineering marvel together: (Just to set the record straight, this post is intended to be funny. Not funny Ha Ha, but funny ironic. I have enormous respect for the engineers at NASA and am constantly amazed at their achievements. I just never knew duct tape...

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I’ve Discovered the Problem with the US Economy

Published
by
JCE
on March 20, 2008
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*** I've never actually considered myself poor...until now. Listening to NPR this morning, there was a segment covering the fallout from the Bear Stearns collapse that focused on all of the people dependent on that company and it's employees for their own livelihoods. Among them are the limo drivers that provide service to the Bear Stearns execs. Here is part of the segment that caught my attention (emphasis added): Galal Jean, who goes by Jimmy, is sitting in a black limo in front of Bear...

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And the Rains Came…

Published
by
JCE
on March 19, 2008
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*** Living in Missouri brings some very unpredictable weather. Lifelong residents have learned how to deal with these anomalies (except when they have to drive in it and then they lose their minds). However, flooding always seems to bring out a fresh crop of lunatics that will claim god's wrath is raining down on us. What exactly is the disconnect in the thought process that occurs when one thinks that their little tiny scrap of land constitutes the entire world? I mean, okay, Missouri...

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Why I am an Atheist - Reason #27

Published
by
JCE
on March 19, 2008
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*** Easter. Passover, resurrection, spring....it is all one big jumbled up mess, isn't it? Even as a child, the concept of determining the date of Easter every year seemed a bit peculiar to me. I mean, supposedly christ died, right? Shouldn't we know when that happened and celebrate the resurrection accordingly? Naturally the explanation I was given for this ran along the lines of "Well, it was a long time ago so we celebrate symbolically in accordance to the Christian calendar." Great...

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My Mother; My Hero

Published
by
JCE
on March 19, 2008
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*** I talked to my mom last night for about an hour. While this seems mundane enough, it struck me that I am lucky. Not just to have my mom around, but to have this particular woman in my life. She has always been there for me and my siblings. She has always understood every nuance of every problem we encountered even when we were unable to vocalize them. And yet, I barely understand her at all. As I have gotten older, I have been given rare glimpses into her past and what has happened...

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Religion, Politics and Finances - The Other Holy Trinity

Published
by
JCE
on March 16, 2008
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*** It is a well known social rule that religion, politics and finances are never discussed in polite company. I've always been a bit mystified as to why, though. All three topics are not only important in society, but often drive the laws we all abide by so it seems to me that all three topics should be discussed willingly and openly but this is not the case. The unanimous answer I have received is that these topics are too personal. Oh really? The same people saying this have no problem...

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Apathy: The Greatest Enemy of All

Published
by
JCE
on March 16, 2008
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*** It has finally happened - the general apathy in the United States has, like a deadly virus, finally taken it's toll on the public. Although the reports from economists state we are in a recession, I beg to differ. We are in a depression, if not now then within the next few months. And this is what will finally wake up the general public to the fact that our government has failed in every way imaginable. All while we slept "peacefully". We have mortgaged our liberties and our freedoms...

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800 dogs + 82 parrots + 1 mobile home = HOLY CRAP!

Published
by
JCE
on March 13, 2008
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*** This headline caused a muscle spasm in my neck on the double-take: 800 Dogs Seized From Home After reading the full story my eye had gone into a full-fledged twitch. Who does this? Why? 800 dogs!!!!! I can't even fathom that many dogs! The noise - the mess - the friggin HAIR! How in the hell does this even get to this point? 8 dogs are noisy and messy but in a rural area would go unnoticed. 80 dogs probably sounds has a decibel level close to a radio perpetually turned up too loud...

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Quote of the Day - Criticism

Published
by
JCE
on March 11, 2008
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*** "I had already learned from more than a decade of political life that I was going to be criticized no matter what I did, so I might as well be criticized for something I wanted to do." - Rosalynn Carter ***

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Blackwater in hotwater

Published
by
JCE
on March 11, 2008
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*** The investigations into the private contracting company, Blackwater continue to surface. The latest round of investigations questions the classification of their employees as independent contractors. If the investigative committee, headed by House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), find that Blackwater incorrectly identified employees as independent contractors, Blackwater could find itself in a big pot of financial hotwater from which it may not be able to recover. One...

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Religion Doesn’t Teach Intolerance My ASS!

Published
by
JCE
on March 3, 2008
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*** I am writing this as an addendum to BGH's post regarding the Holy Catholic at work. One thing to note: BGH and I work together and although we occasionally bicker like siblings, for the most part we get along very well and almost always have lunch together. I look forward to these lunches more than he will ever know. Our conversations are open and he is one of the few people I trust enough to share all my thoughts on these subjects. He respects my opinions and values my input. So, that day like most others, we were talking and laughing about a variety of things. (This is usually what we look like except that we don't spin around in the office chairs.) How the subject of religious intolerance came up, I do not remember, but it did. It was right about then that the Holy...

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Spanky Does NOT Equal Naughty

Published
by
JCE
on February 29, 2008
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*** I am so monumentally frustrated with the news headlines released around the study on spanking that I could scream! Once again, the media has managed to take non-news and turn it into ratings generating non-news - way to go! Here is an example: Spanking may lead to sexual problems (Every single headline regarding this study read pretty much the same way and you could have hardly missed them so I won't bother listing all of them here.) There is so much wrong with this it is hard to know where to begin...but I'll try: The study was NOT about spanking - it was about violence. Violent spanking is only one form of degrading behavior that should never, ever be used on children. Spanking does NOT lead to sexual problems - the goddamn lead researcher even states that in the article. ...

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