I'm Pissed/I'm Not Pissed

I'm Not as Pissed Today
Well, after reading a website on workplace fairness and realizing that my company has more lawyers on staff than god, I realized that I pretty much have no privacy in the workplace and will just have to watch what websites I go to while at work. I barely checked my e-mail and didn't work on my blog at all, other than e-mailing URL's to myself that I wanted to include. Just in case you care, here's a website on workplace fairness.

I'm Pissed at the Government
The Social Security Administration says that their Death Master File is available online - for a subscription fee from the United States Department of Commerce, not the SSA itself. Why not? Why aren't all the documents the government has available online if they are subject to the FOIA? Ok, I understand why they weren't online in 1993, but this is 2006 for christssake. Not only are we not living on the moon and driving flying cars, the Death Master File doesn't have a clickable index online. Conversely, I think the Douglas County Tax Assessor's office in Nebraska has one of the best government websites I've seen, including color aerial photos of the property in Omaha. In fact, I compared the aerial photos on the DCAssessor's website with Google Earth, and the DC site had a much better quality.

Scrap the Whole Thing, It's Shit Anyway
Sen. Joseph Biden suggested scrapping the Judicial confirmation hearings, which probably isn't a bad idea. Alito isn't saying anything that might get him in hot water with anyone, other than "I'm going to be myself." Alito is going to be confirmed regardless because he really isn't saying anything anyone is going to object to and he's going to get enough Republican votes to get in. The Supreme Court was getting a little low on elite white males, so it's probably good that their going to beef up their ranks. Here's an op-ed piece in the NYT about what Alito REALLY said.

Stone Satan for Islam
Dozens were killed at the Hajj during a stampede at the symbolic stoning of the devil. Kinda makes you want to be a Muslim, doesn't it? Weren't there several dozen killed last year, too? Some of these religious rituals worked when there were a few thousand or even a few million Muslims in the world, but with a billion Muslims, they need to re-think some of these rituals that people are expected to perform during the Hajj. Wait, what did I just say? No religion is really able to re-think their rituals, so scrap that. As long as religions keep proving themselves archaic and not able to adjust to modern society, they will keep losing the free thinkers (in EVERY society, not just Islam) and only keep the fringe fanatics. I think the state of religions is going to get worse in the next few hundred years, not better. Maybe even in our lifetime. There will be pitched battles of fanatics of each religion killing each other over trinkets and little stretches of parched ground. Oh wait, it's happening already.

We Promise Not to Break It
The government says there will be no environmental impact from opening up the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. According to this website, the "biggest ANWR advocacy organization is Arctic Power" and the energy exploration would take place on .01% of the total land of the refuge. I can't really find any reason to disagree, although I know several environmental agencies are against it. I completely agree that we need to explore more and better renewable energy resources, but until they arrive, we are dependent on crude oil.

Jesusland is in Danger - Not
Jerusalem said it won't do business with Pat Robertson after his recent comments about Ariel Sharon. I wonder if any contracts had been signed yet? I wonder if Pat Robertson gets paid if Israel breaks the deal with him but end up developing Jesusland with the other developers. That way, Pat would get money up front from Israel for breaking the contract with him and he would still get paid by whatever interest he's bought in Jesusland through the other evangelists trying to develop it. Hmm, I smell an investigative report.

Impeach Bush
I don't have the room to go into all the details, but don't miss this lengthy article about the impeachment of Bush.

"Automated monitoring...of your Internet activity"

Ok, so here's the memo we got at work:

NEW TOOLS ENHANCE MONITORING OF INTERNET ACTIVITY ON (the company)'S NETWORK
With the ever-changing and highly sophisticated technologies available, (the company) has acquired more advanced tools to further strengthen our ability to monitor inappropriate internet activity on the company's network.
Effective immediately, (the company) will commence automated monitoring of the content of your internet activity to detect and track certain inappropriate and illegal uses of the company's electronic resources. In particular, the monitoring will detect and track sexual content and pornographic material, including child pornography. Any uses of (the company)'s electronic resources for the exchange, viewing, transmission or receipt of pornographic material, particularly child pornography, is strictly prohibited and possibly criminal. Improper and unlawful uses of (the company)'s internet access and other electronic resources detected by these or any other means will be subject to progressive discipline, up to and including immediate termination. Activity involving child pornography and other criminal conduct will be dealt with most severely, including possible referral for prosecution.
Please review (link to company policy) if you have questions about the appropriate use of the company's communications systems. The company expects every associate to adhere to high standards of conduct and to promote behavior that complies with (the company)'s policies and the law. The security and appropriate use of (the company)'s network is critical to the success of our business operations and the well-being of our work environment. Thank you for your support and cooperation.

So, first I have to worry about the NSA and the FBI searching my e-mail and blogs for any mention of Bush or Al-Qaeda, and now I have to worry about my job reading my e-mails over my shoulder. I'm not saying I'm searching Google for kiddie porn or donkey shows in Tijuana, but I do have e-mails I receive that are probably not work related. There's a web site called the anonymizer (www.anonymizer.com), but even that site was restricted by our blockers. I can't view the Onion at work, Landover Baptist, and some pages on Snopes. Apparently, my company's need to protect me extends to profanity, tasteless and "gross" content. I'm just waiting now until my access to www.blogger.com is restricted, too. A lot of companies are doing that. However, at this time, I can still access www.dilbert.com, so life isn't all bad. I realize I work for a private company, and they can do pretty much whatever they want, but I think this extends just a little into the right to privacy and the right to free speech. I guess the critical question is how much can a private company restrict your civil liberties and still be within their rights? I understand that my right to free speech does NOT extend to me saying "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" all day long. And the right to privacy does not protect me when performing illegal acts (i.e. kiddie porn). But does it give my company the right to intercept and read my e-mails to determine if they conform to company standards? This is an issue becoming more and more complex in today's world where companies have to compete with the Internet for the employee's productivity. I have heard studies that show that productivity goes down in direct proportion to the amount of Internet access. I may have to see what other employees online are saying. This has never been an issue with my company until now.

First Major Underreported Story of 2006
Did you hear about this on ANY of the major news networks? The Cherokee nation has broken with Christian tradition and approved gay marriage. Right here in middle-America (Oklahoma).

Flaming Mouse of Death
Apparently, the story about the flaming mouse catching the house on fire may not be accurate. I'm actually a little relieved.

Bill to Impeach Bush
A bill introduced in the House of Represenatives in December to investigate whether Bush should be impeached. As near as I can tell, it's stuck in the Committee on Rules.

Well, Duh
And,furthers futher proof that Gore won. Evidently, double votes were not counted. Some people hated Bush so badly that they voted for Gore AND wrote him in. Thousands of them. And the courts would not take these votes into consideration when deciding who won Florida.

Bush Can't Count
Bush recently announced that the number of dead Iraqis may number up to 30,000. His handlers immediately dumbed down that number, but evidence points to as many as 180,000-500,000 Iraqis dead.

The Top 30 Facts about Chuck Norris
Silly, stupid, and addictively funny. "Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King--and got one!"


I had more, but I wanted to concentrate on the memo my company sent out, so additional stories will be posted tomorrow.

Socialism, Sensationalism and Hedonism

What happened to Harry Belafonte's Hair?
I said a few days ago that I couldn't figure out why Hugo Chavez of Venezuela was such a bad guy for being a leftist. Evo Morales has gotten similar harsh treatment from the American press. In Venezuela this weekend, Harry Belafonte, now 78, called Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world". I guess time marches on for us all. It will be interesting if the administration has any official response to this or if they ignore it, like they do most all criticisms.

Dump that legally obtained money!
I work a full-time job and earn money easily shown on my paycheck stub. However, I worry about my friends and neighbors worrying that I obtained the money illegally, so I give thousands of dollars away to charities in case I ever get questioned about how I earned it. Well, not really, but apparently everyone who ever received a dime from Abramoff is doing it. With the news that more than 60 lawmakers could be involved and that there might be bigger fish in the water than Abramoff, the Republicans might want to tread kind of lightly on the Alito hearings. With Bush's approval rating and the corruption scandal (and news they aren't releasing tax data like they should), they will almost certainly lose the White House and Congress both. So, they may see this as their last chance to leave a conservative mark on at least one of the three branches and fight like hell to get Alito confirmed. I personally see their chances dwindling, partially just because the Republicans want Alito in and people love to do the opposite of what people want when those people piss them off. And, with Pat Robertson sounding a lot like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the term "religious right" isn't sounding so superior lately. Although, lawmakers in Washington recently warned the supreme court about finding the state's definition of marriage between one man and one woman unconstitutional. My favorite quote: "We believe that the courts don't have the right to go in and change the law the Legislature has passed." -- Rep. Mike Armstrong. Apparently, they don't have checks and balances in Wenatchee.

Snowstorm Katrina
I like it when media outlets admit their own efforts at sensationalism, but it's sad that these instances are escalating, not diminishing. I wonder if society went through this kind of thing when the telegraph came along? And again with the telephone. Note to self -- research this.

Of Mice and Men
Ok, I've had mice lately, but haven't tried to set them on fire. This man would get the Darwin Award if he had killed himself in the process. This story has been on every news site I've been on and was on Yahoo's "most e-mailed" list. How embarrassed is this guy?

Who Knew?
Common sense tells us that repetition of violent behavior predicates more violent behavior. This study shouldn't surprise anyone, but I seriously believe it should be looked at more closely by lawmakers without causing a knee-jerk reaction.

The High Cost of Music IV
This is becoming a theme. I have written about the high cost of music on three previous posts, and keep finding sources to back me up. Now it has been announced that the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang tour is set to become the highest grossing tour of all time. "The average fan shelled out nearly $134 to attend one of the [...] shows".

Pure Hedonism
Ok, I have to say that I have been in love with the new Toyota FJ Cruiser since I saw it on their website two years ago. Completely unnecessary, but we are all entitled to our little slices of American Pie.

Back in the Day
In MY day, robbers holed themselves up in abandoned houses with boarded up windows and crowed around a rickety old kitchen table to plan their next heist while trying to avoid the coppers, NOT down on the beach parading around in their stolen goods! Sheesh! Young'ins today!