Life is the Parallels Episode on TNG

"Parallels" is my favorite Start Trek, The Next Generation episode.  The first time I saw it, I had just come home from a meeting of a mental health board in a county in Michigan.  During the meeting the topic turned to how to berate me, as the representative of a private company contracting with this entity, because my agency had failed to do exactly what they told us NOT to do the month before.

The First Amendment Wasn't Passed to Protect Polite Speech

That's all.

Kthxbai.

"Capitalism is a philosophy,founded upon individual rights...in which all property is privately owned."

"It's not economics.  It's not profit.  It's not business.   Those are all aspects of capitalism,..." says Rick Koerber,

but the main aspect of capitalism is individual rights and private property.

Rick Koerber hosted Free Capitalist Radio, which has some great podcasts about what capitalism is and isn't.  Unfortunately it looks like the last one was in January 2010.  Fortunately, it's one of the best if you're new to the whole capitalist thing or if you thought you knew everything about capitalism from school.

Free Capitalist Radio | News and Politics Audio Podcast | Podcast-directory.co.uk - your podcast directory with English video and audio podcasts

What Government has joined........

Whenever I hear my conservative friends talk about "traditional marriage", and the need for a "traditional marriage amendment",  I react in one of several different ways:  Looking over my glasses and saying "Really?", running screaming from the room, putting my fingers in both ears, and grabbing shoulders, shaking them, saying: "Do you hear what you're saying?????  You're saying, 'Congress, stay out of my business!'  'Mr. President, stay out of my gun case!', 'Government, stay out of my pocket!' 'Government, please regulate marriage!' It makes you sound very silly."

Emergency Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Evil, Woman Hating,Child Beating, Racist Conservatives

(We are in a large conference room with one of those long tables that look like real wood.  There are about eight men, one of whom (LEAD MAN) is standing at the back of the room in front of a screen, fourteen of whom are mumbling to each other about stocks.  The director can have more men around the table, but be sure to let people know there are only 8 speaking roles. Truth in advertising and all that.)

LEAD MAN: I'm sure you'd all like to know why I called you here to this emergency meeting.  I'm here to tell you, boys, that we are dying in the media.

(One man shoots his hand up in the air)

GUY #1:  "Is it because Rush Limbaugh called someone a slut?"
(concerned murmurs all around)

Best. Nigerian. Spam. Ever. (and my reply)

From my facebook page, in case Notes go away (you never know):

 by Kelly L. Norman on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 3:25pm ·

1) The spam (remarks italicized & in brackets were added by me; not in original e-mail)

----- Original Message -----
From: mr roger
To: undisclosed recipients
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 2:15 AM
Subject: Re: Payment Notification:

Why USians think we know languages when we don't

Earlier this year I posted about an unpleasant interaction I had with a Frenchman who lives in California. He scoffed at me for posting on my facebook page that I "know" French. I explained that the template for listing languages in your profile says "knows".  So don't blame me, blame Mark Zuckerburg.  It is probably more on target to say I study French.  What followed was his stubborn insistence that I was somehow being dishonest and a poseur of sorts -- pardon, poseuse. I was really exasperated by this.