kev_dawg

True love? Are you kidding?

Love at first sight DOES NOT EXIST! So what if two people hit it off instantly? What that tells me is that there's a potential for a booty call or nothing more than an infatuation, plain and simple.

1. Pay off all my debts
2. Pay off my parents' mortgage
3. Invest in stocks, bonds, etc.
4. Operate a business

There are some people who have recently let it be known that they don't like it when others use the word "gay" in describing something as stupid. As a matter of fact, some gay rights groups even got on Katy Perry's case last summer for having a song called "UR So Gay" in which she blasts a boyfriend for being a loser. Quite frankly, I have no sympathy for these homosexual groups because they themselves hijacked the word "gay" in the '60s and '70s when they stated their movement. After all, a half century ago, being gay meant being happy. Using the word in its original meaning today usually gets a person ridiculed. As a matter of fact, in 1997, a town on Martha's Vineyard changed its name from Gay Head to Aquinnah (meaning land under the hill) because of political correctness surrounding that three-letter word. So, I don't want to hear about the word being hijacked in the names of sophomoric humor and lack of coolness when the homosexual agenda first hijacked the word for their own political purposes when the word gay was exclusively used to describe a person who was in a happy state of mind.

On December 17, 2003, I graduated from NC State with a degree that I thought would lead to me working in a fun occupation, Tourism. Well, where I'm at today is definitely different than what I planned. I'm still in the same miserable small town that I couldn't wait to leave upon graduating from high school. I'm still working at a part-time job that was supposed to be a stopgap for a better-paying occupation (December 15 marked four years since I started working there).

I got to this point by not properly planning. Once my internship ended in Myrtle Beach, I should have gone to the Career Center much sooner to find out what kind of jobs were there. At the very least, I would have something to fall back on. Secondly, I should have kept in contact with my internship agency by promoting other NC State students to intern for them the following summer. Had I not burned that bridge, I might have been able to work at a resort or even plan all kinds of activities for tourists. Finally, if I had taken the time to plan things throughout winter 2004, I would have never had the worst year of my life! After all, it was poor planning that caused me to go to Nashville for almost two months. I should have waited until a more opportune time rather than jumping up to say yes to Trey under some kind of pressure. If I had waited, I could have been a supervisor in Orlando in the summer of 2004, my bank account wouldn't have been closed, I would have never been in a position to go to UNCG and leave after one semester due to burnout, and I would have some kind of job security.

Currently, I'm working at a job that offers no benefits, and I just got a pay raise last year. The underlying sense from society is that an undergraduate degree has become so devalued that it might as well be equivalent to a high school diploma. If that's so, where is the money for grad school? I have enough problems paying back student loans right now. Given that going to graduate school costs at least five figures, how can I even think about attending when loans are basically the only way to go and grants are virtually nonexistent? I went to UNCG to get a second undergraduate degree in Accounting. I am currently leaning towards Transportation or Transportation Planning because I'd like to plan America's future transportation projects rather than working for someone in that industry. Being a train station attendant is working for someone else in the travel industry. I'd have liked to be part of the leadership, but since this recession is preventing people from traveling, it may be time for me to give up on this dream and move on to something else.

I will forever be kicking myself for waht happened in May 2007. I had an interview lined up with a California tour operating company. The first day, a Tuesday, the interviewer had language problems with a group and had to reschedule. After waiting around on the second day, I decided to go to the Triangle to fight off boredom and to dig up an old newspaper article. Oops, it turned out that the interviewer had called while I was away. Since I had worked all day the following day, we had to rescheudle for that Friday. I checked my e-mail on Thursday. Nothing during the day. The following day was supposed to be the interview
at 5:00 my time. I was at work until 3:15 due to late trains and my new boss meeting with my then-station supervisor. I did not get a phone call after that Wednesday. So, imagine the feeling of horror that I received when I checked my e-mail that Friday night--an e-mail was sent to me Thursday evening. In all honesty, that was my last good chance at a job in the travel and tourism industry.

During my birthday last year, I did a chart of where I'd like to be and what I would to do withing the next five years. Honestly, other than throwing out old newspapers to be less of a packrat (as well as to put the past behind me), going back to school and investing in things like stocks, I'm not sure that any of my goals are going to be possible within the given time frame due to this economy possibly blowing up into another Great Depression.

Edwards and Huckabee: Pseudo Populists
The proof is in the pudding:
-Both are globalists
-The only real good thing about Huck was the FairTax. Everything else was standard social conservative fluff
-Edwards had already lost points with me when he pretty much blew off NC State. Without NCSU, Johnny Boy would have never gone to law school at UNC. Also, the $400 haircut exposed him as as phony before the NAtional Enquirer toppled him with the Reille Hunter scandal

Unhappy in Victory, Unhappy in Defeat
When they were winning earlier this decade, I never got the sense that conservatives were really all that happy--rather than celebrating, they used the victories to demonize their opponents and anyone who slightly disagreed with them. When the public got tired of the right's bullying act, the elephants were tossed out. If the GOP et al weren't happy in vicotry, I could only imagine how angry they'd be in defeat.

WHAT Bradley Effect?
The era where white voters lied to pollsters' faces ended on November 4. Now, Obama must right the ship. During the campaign, it was one thing after another--Obama's not black enough, he's too black, he's a Muslim, he's a (pseudo) Christian, he's in league with Farrakhan--but none of those associations stuck. Now, whether the 44th president gets a short or a long honeymoon period will be left up to the press. However, I do know this, if Obama fails to turn this country around, every negative stereotype about black people (like being incompetent leaders) will (unfairly) stick to us as a race--and push racial relations back a quarter century.

Black Prez No Longer an Imagination
The really good thing about Obama achieving the impossible is that we no longer have to hear about how Bill Clinton was out "first black president." Instead of hope, we will finally have the real thing. Also, we should no longer have to ask about "the black leader." Ever since the CIA and the FBI took out MLK in '68, "the next black leader" has been an irritant. Jesse Jackson (Senior), Al Sharpton, and Louis Farrakhan have all been given that title. No longer! All of these demagogues have finally been pushed into irrelevance as an old mindset that no longer works has been replaced with a new one that will work. The Black Leader will reside on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 20 days.

Conservatives are back to ridiculing the Electoral College. Before the 2000 election, they were imploring the Republicans in Congress to get rid of it. Then when, Bush narrowly won the electoral vote, they got religion and proclaimed that "the EC works" and had nothing else to say about voting reform. On his November 5th, Mark Levin pretty much called the EC "irrelevant." He sure as hell wasn't saying that eight years ago.

Now, that the impossible has become possible, the black community shouldn't overdo things. Obama, if anything, will have a shorter honeymoon period than any other president because of the economy's sad shape. We shouldn't expect him to be a miracle worker, but we can't start acting like a bunch of damn fools either.

On the Jeremiah Wright controversy, it seems to me that the very same people who blasted him as being anti-American were the same ones who agreed with Jerry Falwell's post-9/11 statements where the late president of Liberty University blamed everyone from feminists to gays for 19 terrorists killing 2,750 people in NYC. So, according to these folks, it was okay to blame hedonism for Hurricane Katrina (as well as invoking God's name) but completely sacrilegious if someone cites America's ugly history and foreign policies as a possible as possible causes of a terrorist attack. What a bunch of fucking hypocrites such self-righteous people are.

Historical Significance
Personally, I never thought that anyone other than a WASP male would get elected. So much for that mindset. Whether Barack Obama ends up the real deal or just a token like JFK being a token Catholic president will be up to history.

Governor's Race
Here in North Carolina, three very likable candidates (the only contest where I could have voted for any of the listed candidates) ran to replace term-limited Mike Easley. I voted for his successor, Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue, because she had some good ideas and also has ties to the the parks and recreation industry. Her major party opponent, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, could have taken some of his pro-transit ideas up to Raleigh, but his problems were the fact that it was a Democratic year and his speech at the '04 GOP convention highly praising the current lame duck in chief. As a result, the Charlotte Curse lives on. Finally, there was Libertarian Mike Munger, a Duke professor who would have been a refreshing alternative to the major parties.

And Now The Hard Part
I have been saying since April 2006 that no matter who succeeded Bush that the 44th president would have it really rough simply because of the mess that person would have to clean up—two wars and possible third with Iran, an economy that is going in the crapper faster than the Lions' season, a rising deficit, worldwide terrorism, and the decline of America as a superpower. I've asked often “who would even want this job?” Obama has a lot to clean up—and a lot of impatient Americans. Think about it, if he stumbles, the 44th prez will have lot in common with the 31st, and none of it good. This would be due to Americans having such a short attention span that if things aren't back to the good days of 1997-2000, Barack Obama will be looked at as a failure. Since we're bailing out all of these companies, I think that thing will get worse...and worse, not things getting worse before they get better. My reaction to the new president is to be cautious.

Palin: Strong Woman or Delicate Flower?
Which one is it conservatives? Once she was selected as John McCain's running mate, the Republican base went gaga. When all that stuff came out about her daughter being pregnant among other things, it was almost as if a Bible got burned. Then again, with their track record against strong women, social conservatives have mostly ripped female political figures who don't fit their mold of what a woman should be, hence the delicate flower reference.

Lousy Alternatives
This was a very bad year for any alternatives to the two-party system given the overwhelming early support for Obama, Hillary, and Ron Paul among the youth. Anyhow, the main third party and independent candidates were underwhelming. Ralph Nader took money from globalists earlier this decade and is part of the problem. Bob Barr—even though he apologized for it—was a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens back in 1998. The southern-based group is a spinoff of old White Citizens Council groups and is pretty much the Klan in business suits. Chuck Baldwin is so far to the right that he was simply unelectable. As far as Cynthia McKinney goes, she's the polar opposite of Baldwin, and she got into trouble with Capitol Hill police in 2006.

My name would be The Lone Wolf, and my finisher would be the STF.

All throughout this year, talk radio host Allan Handelman has given pro-offshore drilling guests a chance to make their case for why drilling should be done. He has also asked them whether the oil drilled would stay in the U.S. So far, none of his guests have been able to answer that question.

The truth is for all of this talk that drilling will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it is only a short term fix. What will happen once America runs out of domestic oil? Uncle Sam surely can't go and beg the big bad Saudis for some given that India and China are already on America's tail when it comes to oil consumption and superpower status. In other words, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT DRILLING WILL KEEP U.S. IN THE U.S. BECAUSE, IT WON'T THE U.S.! So when I hear all these AM talk show hosts, pundits, and politicos spew the same Republican lines and blaming environmentalists for $4/gallon gas, it is way beyond disingenuous, it serves as a major distraction to the long term when the whole world runs out of oil.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic
1. Flyers (President's Trophy)
2. Penguins
3. Rangers
4. Devils
5. Islanders

Northeast
1. Canadiens
2. Bruins
3. Sabres
4. Senators
5. Maple Leafs

Southeast
1. Capitals
2. Hurricanes
3. Lightning
4. Thrashers
5. Panthers

Western Conference
Central
1. Red Wings
2. Predators
3. Blackhawks
4. Blues
5. Blue Jackets

Northwest
1. Flames
2. Wild
3. Canucks
4. Avalanche
5. Oilers

Pacific
1. Stars
2. Ducks
3. Sharks
4. Kings
5. Coyotes

Stanley Cup Playoffs
East Quarters
1. Flyers over 8. Canes
2. Habs over 7. Sabres
3. Caps over 6. Rangers
4. Penguins over 5. Bruins

Semis
1. Flyers over 4. Penguins
2. Habs over 3. Caps

Finals
2. Habs over 1. Flyers

West Quarters
1. Wings over 8. Hawks
2. Stars over 7. Preds
3. Flames over 6. Sharks
5. Ducks over 4. Wild

Semis
1. Wings over 5. Ducks
3. Flames over 2. Stars

Finals
1. Wings over 3. Flames

Stanley Cup Finals
Red Wings over Canadiens

The Coalition of Independents
The concept would unite all regional parties with smaller parties that have a national following. This unified approach would pose a legitimate challenge to the status quo known as the two-party system. The only catch is that the interested parties will have to either support the platform below or at least be open to supporting the given ideas. Independents can also join the coalition just as long as they agree to the platform.

Party Platform:

• Replace the income current tax with the Fair Tax (National Retail Sales Tax). Go to www.fairtax.org for full information. The Fair Tax would coincide with repealing the 16th Amendment.
• Major immigration reform must be implemented. Neither party is willing to seriously touch this issue out of fear that they will lose the Hispanic and immigrant votes. However, a strict immigration policy is needed to prevent America's borders from being infiltrated by terrorists. The reform effort would apply to all nationalities in a significant effort to avoid being prejudiced towards a significant ethnicity or nationality. If there is to be a guest worker program, a national agency would be created to work with businesses to determine how many migrant workers are needed. Then, the workers would be brought in to work for however long employers need them. Once the work period expires, the workers will be sent back home.
• Border security. The Mexican government should do more to uplift its citizens rather than encouraging them to illegally cross the border. Not only should the number of Border Patrol agents be increased but so should their pay. Should Mexico City fail to comply, Washington should adopt a get tough policy.
• The need for a balanced national transportation policy. The Interstate Highway System's original design is nearly complete 52 years after its conception and there are only so many new interstate highways that can be built before it comes to head with the growing NIMBYism in certain areas of the country. The airline industry is currently undergoing a downturn that is eerily similar to what the railroads experienced in the 1960s. we are now suffering from a rise in gas prices and crude oil costing over $70 a barrel but are nowhere closer to providing alternative energy resources. Drilling in Alaska would only be a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Now, imagine America in 25 years with no passenger rail, very limited air travel, and gas at $20 a gallon. The antidote is very simple: The transportation funding must be evenly spread out among highways, air, and rail!
• Get serious about alternative energy sources. Whether peak oil exists or is an exaggeration, this nation must be prepared for extremely high gas prices  as well as other world events and should take the appropriate steps to combat these problems. Let’s get one thing straight--all the offshore drilling in the world won’t be enough to break U.S. dependence on foreign oil--so we have to invest in other sources. Nuclear power should definitely at the top of the list of new energy for us to use. Tax breaks for use of alternative energy will only pave the way to break our dependence on foreign oil, which should have been done three decades ago.
• Move elections to Saturdays and make Election Day a national holiday. Elections haven't always been held on Tuesdays. It has only been held on that day since the mid 19th century
• Healthcare. Go to http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/29/news/economy/grove_column.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007052916 for possible ideas.
• The War on Terror. The threat to Islamic extremism is real and it is past time that Americans treat it as such or the entire world will be subject to a second Dark Age by mid-century.
• Iraq. This war had nothing to do with the War on Terrorism and September 11 until Sunni insurgents appeared and made it a terrorism issue. Only a substantial troop increase would show enemies that America means business.
• Modify senatorial representation. Be open to the idea of either modifying or repealing the 17th Amendment by letting state legislatures appoint one or both senators. This way, the senators can truly represent the states’ interests.
• Reduce the role of Big Business in politics. Corporations have too much influence to the point where we are becoming more of a corporatist society. This new party would advocate responsible capitalism that does not become a pawn that does favors for every single corporation--some of which may compromise the well-being of this country.
• Free trade agreements to play a reduced role in foreign affairs. As Americans call for more nationalism, deals like NAFTA and CAFTA will become less significant instead of more. Based on NAFTA’s effects, there will be no more trade agreements without rigorous scrutiny.
• Repeal the Real ID Act of 2005. Unconstitutional!
• The North American Union. Speaking of corporatism, plans to merge the U.S., Canada, and Mexico would promote the agendas of multinational corporations, not the working people of North America. The SPP was done in secret in March 2005
• Culture War. There are many other issues which merit much more concern than so-called “hot button topics and wedge issues,” which do nothing to address whether there will be another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The people who are still bringing up these issues are doing much more to harm America than help it. After the constant celebrity worship, the constant bringing up of polarizing issues from the 1960s is the biggest red herring of this era.
• Space. Encourage private operators to participate in travel, research, and transportation. Support the current NASA plans to the moon and Mars, but be prepared to rely on the private sector during the transition period between space vehicles if U.S.-Russian relations continue to deteriorate.

There were a total of 37 nonwhite faces at last week's GOP convention in St. Paul, according to a local city councilman who didn't attend but has contacts. You know what that means? More emphasis on playing the "weird card." No tattooed, pierced people, or anyone who stood out inside the Xcel Energy Center. As a matter of fact, I saw very few young people in the audience--the majority were middle age or older.

That's what I have to say on the death of Jesse Helms. No, sir, I do not feel any sadness for a man who was so stuck in the past. People here in this state like to talk about his consistency and how nice he was. Well, whoopdefuckingdoo! I mean, Samuel Bowers was a "nice" person acording to his neighbors in Mississippi, but he was a member of the KKK and killed NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer when the latter tried registering black voters in 1966. Thankfully, Bowers was sent to prison in 1998 and to hell in November 2006. Same thing with the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader, who led a double life by pretending to live such "good Christian life" while binding and torturing his victims in his spare time.

Helms was THE roadblock when Congress was passing a bill to make MLK's birthday a holiday! Other dubious acheivements of "Senator No" include:

*Calling school desegregation "a mistake"

*Having Dick Morris use racial scare tactics to get him reelected in 1990 like the infamous "White Hands" ad, falsely suggesting that blacks were going to take jobs away from whites

*Supporting apartheid governments of South Africa and Rhodesia

*Consistently endorsing segregationist views

*Backing the Pinochet regime

So, that was the man people in this state backed because he was (allegedly) such a good Christian?

WHAT THE FUCK? These people were the reason why people shit on the South all the time. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised since a lot of these same people actually used Bible verses to support segregation and apartheid. Without any sarcasm, I can't wait for these people to completely die out so this country can truly hammer down its racial issues.

For all I care, Helms can burn in hell with Orval Faubus (Arkansas governor who had Little Rock's Central High School blockaded to black students in '57), Kirk Fordice (ex-Mississippi governor who was another unrepentant bigot), and Lester Maddox (ex-Georgia governor who refused to serve blacks and chased them out of his restaurant).

So, anybody who excused Helms's act, FUCK ALL OF YOU!

Everybody likes to extol the virtues of “the free market” and “the marketplace,” but does the nature of competition stretch to competing modes or is it restricted to different entities within one mode? A perfect example is the energy situation that has festered for decades. At the turn of the last century, electric vehicles were advocated, but they were stopped by the oil lobby's internal combustion engine. During the 1900 World’s Fair, Rudolf Diesel promoted the idea of running vehicles on vegetable oil. However, the petroleum industry discredited Diesel because vegetable oil powered vehicles not only stood in front of their gasoline engines but Diesel’s idea also meant no profits.

During the last Golden Age of Rail, the Interstate Highway Act was passed and various interests--Holiday Inn, road constructors, and politicians wanting interstates through cities--decided that railroads were obsolete and did everything to get people off the rails. The result? Class I railroads got out of the passenger industry altogether by 1983.

When it comes to sweeteners, some people know about the stevia-FDA battle of the early 1990s, but stevia was also blocked by the sugar industry in 1918. So much for completion. Stevia, unlike the chemically based sweeteners we all know about, is natural and has no effects on anyone’s health. As for sugar, if they hadn’t been so afraid of a little competition nine decades ago, maybe G.D. Searle & Company (who was later bought by Monsanto) and others would have never had a chance to make people even sicker with their sweeteners.

On the topic of ethanol, the corn lobby got Congress to impose a tariff on Brazilian sugar cane. As a result, food prices have gone up drastically worldwide. During primary season, most of the presidential candidates went to Iowa to pander to corn farmers. If this country is to ever get serious about alternative energy, then our leaders should not be taking money from special interests to block competing modes. Instead, all types of alternatives must be considered.

Some people have opposed federal funding for stem cell research because the pharmaceutical companies would become unprofitable. I say to these people what’s more important--profits or people getting well?

After they agreed to some FCC concessions, on of which included supporting net neutrality, AT&T bought out BellSouth and Cingular Wireless in late 2006. It's been over a quarter century since the Supreme Court ordered a breakup of Ma Bell into seven regional companies. Now, three remain--AT&T covering most of the nation, Verizon having the East Coast from Virginia to Maine (except Connecticut), and Qwest serving the West. With gas at or near $4/gallon, it wouldn't surprise me if the oil companies themselves merged into oligolpolies or regional monopolies as a way of dealing with the end of cheap oil.

The talk of  even more airline mergers seems to have caught some people and consumer groups off guard. While I do not favor reregulation, something just doesn't seem right--the legacy carriers buying each other out (Delta and Northwest talking about merging, United and US Airways doing the same), leaving three major airlines and Southwest as the only recognizable companies nationally with a handful of low-cost carriers--well, the ones who haven't gone out of business yet. As long as companies continue thinking inside the box--don't even get me started on American's stunt they pulled last week with the baggage fee--the government will step in. However, Uncle Sam would basically run the remaining airlines like they do with Amtrak. If that ever happens, then it will be bad news for all of us.

Today here in North Carolina was the biggest primary in years. Well, after thinking about it, I selected "no preference" in the Democratic presidential primary because after weighing the pros and cons of both Hillary and Obama, I could not come to a decision even though I nearly went with the ex-first lady twice in the voting booth.

Hillary's pros:
-she's capable of dealing with the big boys on the big stage
-she has a big following

Hillary's cons:
-she is very polarizing
-she's opportunistic
-people are tired of political dynasties

Barack's pros:
-he has re-energized young voters
-he has assailed baby boomers for polarizing the nation

Barack's cons:
-Jeremiah Wright
-inexperience outside of Illinois is a big turnoff
-people may hate to be told the truth about certain issues

I previously said that white males would continue to get elected as president but it looks like I'll be eating my words in six months. However, either Clinton or Obama may be nothing more than a token just as how JFK was a token Catholic president. This society is in my opinion, getting to be a bit more closed than anyone imagines. There are a lot of people who aren't comfortable to vote for a black or a woman and are looking for any kind of an excuse to do so (Exhibit A is the Wright controversy).

This is based on a different kind of thinking. Everyone knows how bad things are now as opposed to eight years ago. Let me count the ways on what Dubya's successor has to deal with and clean up:
1. A war that may or may not expand to include Iran
2. A housing crisis that could get even worse
3. An economy that could slide into a depression if there are more companies that go the way of Bear Stearns or Countrywide
4. A significantly weakened dollar
5. Oil at $200-350 a barrel/$5-15 a gallon gas
6. Worldwide food crises due to the (corn-based) ethanol hoax (I'll discuss this later)

The thing is that whoever wins in November may end up being the biggest loser come this time in 2012. Given how Americans have an extremely short attention span, Clinton, Obama, or McCain could go down as the 21st century's Herbert Hoover. So, given all of this, it may be in a person's best interest to vote against his/her favorite candidate in the hopes that person is so damaged in four years' time that the incumbent is dead politician walking.

Would the contrarian strategy work? Would it be a wise move? I have thought long and hard about this and the answer to the second question is a resounding no. Voting for the least favorite candidate could easily backfire because the next president could get America out of its current messes and if that happens, that voter will have egg on his/her face. If the contrarian strategy works itself out to where the ruling party after this year's elections is swept out of power for a generation in '12, voters admitting to selecting against their best interests ON PURPOSE will be seen as "part of the problem." So, as a result, it's in everyone's best interest to NOT vote contrarian and hope that America can get out of its current malaise by 2012.