swfong

An acquaintance just made a dramatic pronouncement that he is abandoning Facebook at midnight because of too many idiots. Of course, many of his "idiot" friends posted their "well-wishes" on his page in the form of pointed criticism over his antagonist political rants. You see, my acquaintance has been railing many of his now ex-Facebook friends about their hypocrisy over the lack of outrage over Obama, the last over his handling of the BP Oil Spill. There are a lot of comparisons being made now between Bush and his handling of Katrina versus Obama and BP, and most of them are for political capital. Considering this is an ongoing event, I have yet to hear any suggestions about how to cap the spill, because not surprisingly, pundits and talk show hosts are not engineers, rig workers, or well control experts. Actually, if you pay attention, no one who has been interviewed has actually worked on the stopping the spill, or even works in the industry. I wonder if it ...

With all the turmoil, with market volatility, the oil spill, and political upheaval; my channel surfing to FNC had O'Reilly discussing why ethnic studies in Arizona are bad and Hannity talking about a mosque being built 12 blocks away from Ground Zero. Really hard hitting news. Watch Rachel Maddow for 30 minutes. The reason why conservatives target her is that she concisely reports the news without bluster. You may disagree with her politics but not with her reporting.

I saw an article from a New York tabloid describing this commercial as creepy , and I think it describes it perfectly. For me, it reminds me of my own lost youth, a fuller-faced Tiger who is careening into middle-age. A man who participated in irresponsible behavior, suitable for the frat house, not a married man who was the spokesman of many companies. However, this whole affair should have been a private matter. Besides the minor traffic incident, he has done nothing which he owes the public or society an apology. But the massive advertising campaign behind Tiger has created a public image which was not true. He is not the happy-go-lucky family man who is the greatest golfer of all time. He was a serial cheater who is also the greatest golfer. Having Nike do anything to repair Tiger's image just exacerbates the problem. Tiger's real life is in direct conflict with his media image, and there is no one to convince anyone that the two will ever be in sync again.

I read this article, With No Jobs, Time for Tea Party . The focus of the article, was pressing for more government benefits while spending all of his time fighting the current government (which, of course, is trying to fix the mess that previous regime left for us). I wonder though is this a new era in politics, where tradition allegiances, such as Republicans and big business or Democrats and unions, will be changing. I think many recognize the problem with big business and unions, but had nowhere to turn to. Of course, since the Tea Party movement is being pushed heavily by Freedom Works, an organization which includes Dick Armey and Bill Bennett, two ex-high ranking Republicans, many of these people might have their understandable outrage directed towards the current Democratic government. I wonder if McCain had won, would the Tea Party include large groups of liberals?

I still can't believe the stupid look of someone who destroyed another person's life...

This is the playlist for my 35 mile motorcycle commute to work via 101. I Will Follow - U2 Mongoloid - Devo Date With The Night - Yeah Yeah Yeahs Detachable Penis - King Missile Clap Your Hands - Wu Tang Clan Soldier - Eminem Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers Disorder - Exploited Ride To The Bottom - Small Axe Raw Power - Stooges Wicked - Ice Cube Metal Militia - Metalica This mix started with riding at night. The streets are for the most part quiet and weirdness steeps into my ride. Part of it is the limited visibility; navigating the road surfaces at speed becomes a mental exercise. Sometimes you can remember how the road bends or bumps, or you can draw from your experience to find you the right line. I will just imagine how I am are going to roll through it and hope for the best. It was also an experiment. I wanted to see if I could ride safely while listening to my Ipod. I listen to music on most of my rides, safety and the laws be damned. This playlist originate...

"The people who try to divide society on the basis of ethnicity we call racists. The people who try to divide it on the basis of religion we call sectarians. The people who try to divide it on the basis of social class we call either populists or elitists." - David Brooks I think this was an elegant statement on racism and other means to divide us. Beyond the very clear cases of discrimination, most stories about racism are really about rudeness. "Someone said something I found offensive concerning race". There is a blog on the SFGate website, and the author wrote about visiting an Oakland jazz club and his outrage seeing "Happy Nigger Day" scribbled on a bathroom wall board. Is this graffito offensive in a racial? Definitely. But is something written on a bathroom wall even worth mentioning? I thought it was more racist to comment about the almost entirely white audience, as if personal tastes in music and friends is an attempt at discrimination. But...