Freedom Isn’t Free – What does this mean?

The words “Freedom isn’t Free” is used at the drop of a hat by the far Right when any Liberal dares to to imply that GWB is anything less than poifect.

Ok, I have a problem with this argument for a few reasons. I will get to that in just a bit.

I truly understand that if it weren’t for WWII, we’d probably all be speaking German under a dictatorship right now. WWII was a necessity, and I have always been behind it 100%. With that said, I truly thank and respect those soldiers who died for our freedom in that war. I have respect for any soldier that’s willing to give their life for our country. Period.

One could possibly argue that our being in IRAQ is helping us to win the war on terror which in turn would help us maintain the freedoms we have in the United States. I’m not too sure about this. I will not go into major detail, but my biggest problem with this war is that Bush has changed his reasoning for this war on a number of occasions. First it was for finding WMD, then it was for to make IRAQ a democracy, and now it is to “win the war on terror” as in nailing those responsible for 9-11.

If it is true that IRAQ and Sadan have a connection with those responsible for the attacks on September 11th, then why did Bush not make this crystal clear from the beginning?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m open to the possibility that there may be something here that I’m just not getting. Have you ever heard this famous quote before?

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” –Bertrand Russell

Well, let’s just say that I’m full of doubts. But in defense to any personal attacks I may get for my feelings about the war, all I can say is that I never did get a clear picture from Bush from the get go. The first words that come to mind are

1. wishy washy
2. vague
3. grasping for straws

Perhaps some day, me and all the others who have doubts will find out the truth – whether that be that the war was justified or that it was unnecessary.

But the Republicans keep repeating “Freedom isn’t Free!” ad nauseam.

In my opinion, this logic does not hold much water. Let me explain. You soldiers die and have died for our freedom, right? So, are you now telling us that what you died for — we cannot take advantage of?

You may as well stop enlisting. If for the American people to have their say on what is right or wrong (about our president or government) is dishonorable or improper, you’ve fought and are fighting for nothing.

Karla Homolka: A Victim or a Murderer?

Take a look at the below video. More lies coming out of Karla’s mouth. And much worse, she’s still blaming the crimes on everyone but herself. While she says that she’s “remorseful”, she’s still playing the “victim card”.

The following video was provided by CBS News World.

You’ll need to view the video in full screen to see the English subtitles.

Radio-Canada’s Joyce Napier interviews convicted killer Karla Homolka. (Runs 12:42)

I love the way she complains about the “over sensationalized media” taunting her and her little criminal cohorts in prison that she still has relationships with. Is she pulling out another victim card here? Has the media caused her trouble? What about the trouble her victims were in when Karla and her “partner in crime” killed them slowly? What about the victims that are still alive: the families?

Here are the transcripts from the interview.

Look how she continues to lie:

HOMOLKA:
I was an exemplary detainee. There is no doubt about that. I did all my programs. I even did those that weren’t part of my rehabilitation program. I did volunteer work. I went to school. I helped other women. I never received an internal report. I did all kinds of things. I went to school. I got my BA. I improved my French.

The Crime Library depicts a different picture of her:

The National Parole Board ruled Jan. 17, 2003 that Karla Homolka must stay in prison until her sentence is completed in July of 2005. The board’s decision represented the third time that Homolka’s request to be transferred to a half-way house was refused.

Two reasons for the refusal were given. One reason was her sexual relationship with another convict at the Ste.-Anne-des-Plaines detention center. The other reason stated by the board was her refusal to participate in rehabilitation programs. The Toronto Star reported on Jan. 19, 2003, that “Commissioners noted she had not yet started therapy for her role as a sexual aggressor and showed little interest in other rehabilitation programs.” Adding to the scandal, the Toronto Sun published photos it bought from Homolka’s former lesbian lover when the two women were housed in a prison in Quebec.

The lesbian lover apparently was guilty of the exact same things Karla was: helping her husband “molest and kill” other women.Karla’s Feeling Remorse?

I have my doubts about that for a few reasons.

NAPIER:
You said a few minutes ago that you will always have to live with what you did. Do you feel any remorse?

HOMOLKA:
Yes.

NAPIER:
How does it manifest itself, that remorse?

HOMOLKA:
I cry often. I can’t forgive myself. I think about what I did and often I think I don’t deserve to be happy because of what I did.

NAPIER:
How do you judge now what you did? When you think about it, how do you judge yourself?

HOMOLKA:
What I did was terrible and I was in a situation where I was unable to see clearly, where I was unable to ask for help. Where I was completely overwhelmed in my life and I regret it enormously because now I know I had the power to stop all of that. But when I was living through it, I thought I had no power.

NAPIER:
To stop even what you did? You didn’t have the power to stop yourself?

HOMOLKA:

Well I didn’t initiate the crimes. I followed. Yes, I did what I did but ….

Then what do you call this?

Paul was a nocturnal creature, driving around, looking for girls, and staying out all night. He raped a young athlete, an older woman, and a young career woman. He spied on a waitress and videotaped her undressing and grooming herself. He raped a young student on campus. One day Paul was out driving around when Karla called him on his cell phone. She whispered for him to hurry home, she had a wedding gift for him. When he arrived, he saw that Karla had used the same drugs that killed her sister on a young girl that had been Tammy’s friend. They videotaped each other having sex with the girl, and got about 15 minutes of tape, that Paul was thrilled with. He had everything, and everything he did had to have style and attitude. He was almost comic, as a serial killer, like Patrick Bateman in
Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. In a twist of fate, the police seized the book from the couple’s home. Many people had the opinion that Paul He had a music room in the den, with thousands of dollars of music equipment. He wrote rap lyrics, in a blue notebook, and nicknamed himself Young Hype. He thought that Vanilla Ice was a great rapper and when someone called him that one day on vacation, he was convinced he could become famous and get Madonna to sponsor his tour. In reality, his voice was whiny, and his songs were about how to score with chicks and how he should be feared. He made his little voice overs and showed them to the girls they managed to get into their home. He would sing to them and won the trust of several, which wound up being drugged and raped and videotaped.

And then we’ve got this:

June 7,
1991 - Karla invites Jane Doe, age 15, for a “girls night out” but her and Paul are actually planning to drug and rape her that night When Karla and Jane return home from an evening of shopping and dinner Karla begins plying her with drinks Eventually she adds Halcion sleeping pills to her drinks. Paul in the meantime is out, impatiently waiting for the message on his answering service that Jane Doe is unconscious When he gets the call he returns home and then he and Karla begin raping Jane while they both take turns holding the videocamera The next morning Jane is sick and vomiting but has no idea she had been raped She just feels embarrassed because she thought she couldn’t hold her liquor – it was her first time she tried drinking alcohol…..

And this:

Aug 10,
1991 - Karla again invites Jane Doe over to spend the night so she and Paul can drug and rape her This time, in the middle of the act, Paul notices that Jane isn’t breathing In a panic, Karla phones 911 and tells the emergency operator that someone in her house has stopped breathing A few minutes later, however, Paul notices that she is in fact breathing and says everything is fine Karla phones back to the 911 operator and gets the request for an emergency crew canceled, after she assures the operator that everything is alright…..

To top that off, you’ve got the videos of her enjoying every minute of her sexual and demeaning empowerment over her victims.

Read more from Frances Farmers Revenge.

Secondly, I don’t see this as being remorseful. If you have a good look at her video, she doesn’t appear too remorseful there either.

While technically she too is a victim, she needs to take responsibility of her crimes and apologize like she means it.

But now she’s out of her cage, and already causing others to “question her”, if you will:

Karla’s boss raises concerns — Homolka’s Rehabilitation Questioned

Karla Homolka Blames the Cops and the Media?! ?!

….And she’s also violating her probationary conditions….

Many Quebecan murderer apologists out there are crying for everyone to just leave her alone and to give her a second chance. Karla and her lawyer are receiving a lot of emotional and written support. To all you hippies out there: Last time I checked, when you murder someone, there are consequences. And these are just one of the many. As far as I’m concerned, she hasn’t been punished yet.

Logical Fallacies

Thanks to the blog of Strange Musings, I stumbled upon this entry: Logical Fallacies.

I’ve always wanted to type of a post about logic as I see flaws in logic all over the place on message boards, blogs (especially about POLITICS!), and of course in real life. Most people don’t know how to debate or just don’t care. I am no professional at logic, but tend to use more logic than others when debating an issue. This is not to say that my emotions don’t get involved, though. This is also not to say that if I’m personally attacked that I’m not going to retaliate either. Debating and fighting are two different things.

I’m going to post a similar entry to that of zandperl, but in my own words, of course.

There’s a list of logical fallacies on Wikipedia. I’m just going to list and discuss a few.

Ad hominem as logical fallacy

An ad hominem fallacy consists of asserting that someone’s argument is wrong and/or they are wrong to argue at all purely because of something discreditable/not-authoritative about the person or those persons cited by them rather than addressing the soundness of the argument itself. The implication is that the person’s argument and/or ability to argue correctly lacks authority. Merely insulting another person in the middle of otherwise rational discourse does not necessarily constitute an ad hominem fallacy. It must be clear that the purpose of the characterization is to discredit the person offering the argument, and, specifically, to invite others to discount his arguments. In the past, the term ad hominem was sometimes used
more literally, to describe an argument that was based on an individual, or to describe any personal attack. But this is not how the meaning of the term is typically introduced in modern logic and rhetoric textbooks, and logicians and rhetoricians are widely agreed that this use is incorrect.

You’ll find this more on Cyberspace than anywhere else. Most people have in their disclaimers, “Don’t attack ME, attack the subject”. People never learn to play nice, but I never bat an eyelash when I see this happening. Let me introduce S.P.Q.W as a repeat offender in this case. His best art work is exemplified in all of the comment sections in the Two Guys from Kabul Blog toward other Americans especially found in this post.

My favorite Logical Fallacy of all is

Appeal to authority

The Nizkor Project has an awesome definition:

An Appeal to Authority is a fallacy with the following form:

1. Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S.
   
2. Person A makes claim C about subject S.
   
3. Therefore, C is true.
   

People repeat like parrots the words from the president and religious figures. But I’d have to say the most annoying one for me would be those parroting their parents. Sure it’s all good and “wholesome like” to respect your parents and your elders. But any good parent would only hope that when their child becomes an adult, that their children develop their own mind, their own values, their own religion, their own political beliefs, and most importantly they hope that their children become independent thinkers.

I strongly believe that most people are sheep. I also strongly feel that grown-ups are still trying to please mom and pop (even though they may have already passed away) or are too old to really care. As far as I’m concerned, these nipple-sucking goody-two-shoe types may have developed physically into adulthood, but intellectually and emotionally they are still attached to the umbilical cord. I’m guessing this is due to an irrational fear of possible rejection from their parents.

You know those people who try to do everything right and perfect? Children aren’t born this way, folks.

Here’s one interesting testimony from Mychal.

I came to Augsburg with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I felt forced into a higher education because it felt like my family expected that of me. Both of my parents went to the U of M,so it felt like there was an expectation there. I lived most of my life trying to please my parents because I was scared to let them down or them being disappointed with me. I guess college made me grow up a lot!! I was more immature back then, then I knew. I came to Augsburg with the intention of just trying to get through with a degree. I am sure that is most freshmen’s idea of college. But, college really changes you. It shows you that getting better education is what you need to excel in this world.

I understand that some parents want the best for their children and need to guide them in such a way that so that their kids can achieve success. This is only natural. But kids shouldn’t be driven to do that out of fear. Kids need to want to become successful NOT for their parents, but for themselves.

Also I can understand a little girl or boy living growing up in a threatening environment placating the hell out of their parents to either shut them up or avoid a beating.

However, I would expect grown-ups to be able to split from their parents and have the ability to think independently from them. And if they are not able to – to at least admit that they cannot because they still fear their parents. I have nothing to back this up with, but I’m willing to bet that this is a very common fear.

Appeal to belief

Yet another sheep-minded Logical Fallacy. “Most people are for the Iraqi War, so it’s got to be right”.

“Most woman think Vin Diesel is handsome, so then he’s handsome.”

Next Fallacy: Some parents are very guilty of this one: APPEAL TO FEAR!

Next…

Argument from ignorance

Example: I can’t believe that such a young, handsome, innocent-looking, and rich guy such as Scott Peterson could kill another person, therefore he’s innocent.

Bah!

Next Fallacy: Did you all watch Larry King Live with Bill Maher on August 11th? Speaking of Logical Fallacies, I thought this excerpt was interesting:

KING: Anti-terrorism. It appears — you can say all you want about it,
we haven’t had an attack on this soil since 9/11.

MAHER: Yes. That doesn’t mean that’s because…

KING: We must have thwarted something.

MAHER: Why?

KING: That’s a pretty good guess, that we’ve thwarted something, isn’t it?

MAHER: Well, actually that’s a logical fallacy.

KING: A logical fallacy?

MAHER: Yes, just because A — B follows A, doesn’t mean that B was caused by A. You know that that’s a logical fallacy.

KING: I see. In other words, no speeding ticket was given on Wilshire Boulevard today doesn’t mean no one sped?

MAHER: Right. Exactly.

Now, look, I think on the local level, even on the federal level, lots of good people have been doing a lot of good work to thwart terrorism. So I don’t want to discount their efforts. But it also could be, for a number of other reasons, like they work — they, meaning the terrorists — work on a much different timetable than we do. They’re much more patient, much more patient. I always say if they had a sitcom on al Jazeera, they’d give it, like, 50 years to catch on.

I wonder which Logical Fallacy this one was?

The list goes on forever. And the more I read it, the more I find myself guilty of many of them.

We Will Win the War on Terror?

And President Bush said yet again:

“So long as I’m the president, we will stay, we will fight, and we will win the war on terror.”

Hat Tip: Orge’s Politics and Views

How are we “winning” the War on Terror, and how can we say this just after the London bombings? How long have we been in Iraq now, and these kinds of things are still happening? And you and I both know that we’ve got terrorists living and lying in wait on U.S. soil and in all countries siding with the U.S. We all know it’s just a matter of time before the next terrorist attack.

Next, and most importantly, how could Mr. President and his ilk have the nerve to say this leaving our borders wide open for even more terrorists to enter. And all you Republican Conservatives are denying that Bush finds his rich white friends more important than our own security?

I am pro-America.

I am pro-homeland security.

I am pro fighting terrorism.

So is Bush, right?

But I don’t see his actions proving this. I just see him letting terrorists in through our precious borders while milking the Saudi Arabians (those that have been funding and supporting Muslim Extremists all along).

Do I have a better solution? I believe we did the right thing by invading Afghanistan. We should have never gone into Iraq. But it’s too late for that, and I believe that we need to stay there now to help them stabilize their country. We need to shut down our borders and only let in those with proper documentation to enter the U.S. We need to put all of our energy into keeping our own homeland safe rather than invading countries that had nothing to do with 9-11. If you have proof that Sadan was somehow involved with 9-11, I would like to see that.

Oh! Don’t We Just Love to Hate Amber Frey?

You see, it’s people who think like this:

I am with the ROCHA family, that “skank” Amber Frey pretented to be a voice for Laci & Connor! Turns out, Amber is a bitch, tramp, whore & more.. I have a daughter & I cherish her, like Sharon did her’s (LACI). Amber is now milking all she can to get $$$! I hope that skinny cunt who pretends to love the Lord, she will soon meet SATAN… Greedy Bitch!!! BURN IN HELL.
Written by Lynn.

…that if there’s another case similar to that of Scott Peterson’s in the future, if there’s “another woman” involved, she may keep a low profile and distance herself from the case as much as possible. If that’s so, that’s pretty sad. Sad for people who like to see bad guys go to prison.

We only know very vaguely what brought the jurors and Judge Delucci to believe the Death Sentence for Scott Peterson to be appropriate. It is possible that Amber Frey’s tapes are what tightened the nails in the bastard’s coffin.

I can only speak for myself here, but if I were ever in a similar position as Amber Frey, I would keep my mouth shut.

(1) I don’t want my sex life and all the private details of my past shed all over the U.S. and throughout the world.

(2) I don’t want the whole world making judgments about me based on the twisted lies of a hyperactive sensationalized media.

(3) I don’t want untruths being spoken about me.

(4) I don’t want to be the topic of discussion at the dinner table, internet chat rooms, message boards, blogs, news sites, and the like.

I will keep quiet. Even if it hurts the case. My private life is just that: private! I may be a whore, I may be a lesbian, I may be bisexual, I may be a meth addict, I may weigh 500 pounds, I may be bulimic, I may be an alcoholic, I may have a bad habit of biting my toe nails in public, I may be a lap dancer at night, or be secretly rich.

Whatever the case may be, it’s nobody’s business unless “I” decide to talk about it.

I’ve listened closely to every tape recorded conversation between Amber and Scott, and have read most of the transcripts regarding this case – especially Amber’s testimony. What I find most interesting is how the public can be so gullible as to believe and latch on to every word the sensationalized media has to say about Amber. People don’t know the facts.

Secondly, what’s wrong with being a whore (that is, if she is one)? If you’re a woman and decide to sleep with every Tom, Dick, and Harry, isn’t that sexual agreement a mutual one? How does that make a person bad? I feel sorry for whores because they must think so little of themselves to be tossing their precious bodies out to strangers like hot potatoes! It’s a sickness, it’s a shame, but that doesn’t make them bad or mean.

Can you prove to me that Amber knew Scott was married and made an active choice to destroy their marriage enough so that he killed his own wife and unborn child? Can you prove to me that the recorded tapes show a sign of home wrecking malice on Amber’s behalf? Can you prove to me that Amber was lying under oath when she testified? Do you even know that much? Maybe “I” don’t know that much. But if I have a choice to pick and choose, I prefer to listen to the legal facts over the media any day of the week.

You know, that’s another thing. Women commonly blame the “other woman” and make no mention of men who run around on their wives. Don’t you find that a bit odd? Ironic? Strange even? Does Amber strike a nerve in you because of your OWN problems keeping a man?

Now, as far as “cashing in on the deaths of others” is concerned, have you heard that Sharon Rocha is writing a book too?

So….. let me get this straight: It’s okay for a family member to make “blood money“, but it’s not okay for anyone else?

Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? Ironic? Strange even?

In a nutshell, these Amber Bashers and Scott Peterson apologists have serious issues to work on. And I’m willing to bet those “issues” have nothing to do with Amber.

What Makes a Man Super Macho ???

When a man’s masculinity is threatened, watch him turn into Macho Man.

In a Cornell University study, men who perceived their masculinity to be maligned displayed more homophobic attitudes, tended to support the Iraq war more and would be more willing to purchase an SUV over another type of vehicle. In other words, men overcompensate when they feel their masculinity is threatened.

“Masculine overcompensation is the idea that men who are insecure about their masculinity will behave in an extremely masculine way as compensation,” explained study leader Robb Willer in a news release announcing the study findings.

Bottom Line: If ya gotta prove it, ya ain’t got it.

Read the rest of this interesting article here.

Are you THAT hungry for attention?

There are 8 million bloggers out there and 32 million people who READ blogs. Why are so many of us addicted to both writing and reading blogs? The answer is quite obvious. You can easily keep a personal journal and keep it private, but bloggers write to be heard.

Some or most of us say things in our blogs that we wouldn’t normally say face to face to anybody. The anonymity of the internet is a huge advantage in getting out our most controversial or non-controversial messages out there. I think this is a good thing. Some may think it’s “cheating”, but I think it’s great that we take advantage of our “secret selves” and “just say it”. Sometimes I may cause some feathers to fly, but I can handle the backlash.

Now that I got out the “whys” and the “need to be heard” element out of the way, I must say that there’s one thing that I don’t understand about some bloggers out there. It makes me scratch my head.

If someone could help me with this…. why are so many of you concerned about the AMOUNT of comments you get and/or the amount of viewers you get per day? Are you comparing yourselves to The Instapundit who gets approximately 300,000 hits per day? Or perhaps other popular bloggers? Are you THAT insecure about yourself that you need to make comparisons that determine your self-worth?

I won’t deny it myself that back in the day when I was blogging like a bat out of hell, I was constantly checking my stats and of course, looking for comments. I also won’t deny the fact that I am flattered to see that people are listening to me and/or taking the time to comment (good or bad). However, I don’t judge my intelligence, the richness of my blog content, my self-worth, whether I’m a good person or not by the amount of viewers and commenters I receive. I want more of both – yes, but I don’t fall prey to suicidal impulses or make an emergency call to my psychiatrist when I don’t. I wouldn’t even go as far as complain about it. Lastly and most importantly, whether I get 10 views a day or 300, this will not stop me from blogging. It’s what I like to do.

Am I supposed to feel inferior or that the content of my blog needs to be in check because I only get comments from just a few people?

When I see people like you out there complaining about “blog stats”, it actually makes me feel like I’m not as crazy as I think I am. While my mental health may be unstable at times, I feel that as far as my sense of “worth” is concerned, I’m not doing that bad.

I am a member of sites which help get my blog out there for the world to see (only used when I blog regularly). I want attention just as you do! But, I will not change my blog content because I’m not getting enough comments from a lot of different people. My blog content is ME! I’ve got my 10 viewers a day. I’m happy and those that don’t like me or my blog have a choice as emphasized in my disclaimer that I keep going on and on about.

Everyone has choice. It’s up to you to decide to make them or let others control you. Which do you prefer?

Do you prefer quantity or quality?