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Tuesday, December 30, 2003Italy bans flights over Rome Seems as if the terror warning for the Vatican was not all hot air after all: The Italian authorities Tuesday banned flights over Rome until Jan. 6 as a security measure against terrorist attack, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.Seems as if all over the world there is some sort of planning to abort terror attacks that are synchonized for New Years Day. Keep your eyes peeled folks - for threats both foreign and domestic: Last month, an east Texas man pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Inside the home and storage facilities of William Krar, investigators found a sodium-cyanide bomb capable of killing thousands, more than a hundred explosives, half a million rounds of ammunition, dozens of illegal weapons, and a mound of white-supremacist and antigovernment literature. COACH SPURRIER RESIGNS Remember way back when Coach Gibbs resigned with a few years left on his contract? We begged and begged for him to come back as Ritchie Petibon and former Cowboy Norv Turner coached the Redskins into year after year of mediocrity. Then Schottenheimer comes with a shambles of an offense, and when he finally smashes the whiners and starts playing Marty Ball, the team that started 0-5 finished the season 8-3. The Sword of Damocles drops, and Coach Spurrier comes into town. I like the Fun and Gun offense. It works, not just in college and high school ball, but it should work most especially in the NFL because speed and quickness are the hallmarks of the game. Spurrier made it work in Florida, not because the Fun n' Gun only works against college teams, but because the system works. Now thanks to meddling and petty contract issues - namely the right to hire and fire personnel - Coach Spurrier is going to play golf for the next two years, and the Skins can expect more of the same 5-11 performance. No loyalty, no heart, no spirit. If all the Redskins intend to be is a collective of mercenaries without loyalty, then we are going to have a long road ahead of us. I'm with ya Coach Spurrier. Let me know when you find a new home, maybe in Atlanta or New York, because that team is going to be incredible when you are allowed to build your team and not patchwork it from someone else's toybox. Iran Plays Down Political Impact of U.S. Quake Help Now I realize why Khatami had to say this, and perhaps behind the scenes our gesture towards Iran is being accepted as genuine and may help relations with the Islamic State in the future. But this is a prime example of Americans helping other nations and getting slapped in the face in return: President Mohammad Khatami said Tuesday U.S. aid to earthquake victims in Iran, while welcome, would not alter the state of relations between the two arch foes who broke off ties nearly a quarter century ago. Monday, December 29, 2003The Art of Argument Now these are excellent for anyone who gets frustrated (as I do) with poor argumentative style or ratiocination. All of the techniques listed in this document have actually been witnessed, told to us by someone else, or dreamed up. They are described in first person for clarity of motive. Israel warns of major 'non-conventional' attack No surprise here: sraeli intelligence officials say militant groups are planning a major "non-conventional" attack on New Year's Eve.Or a combination of all three, although I am still waiting to see how the 'Rappahannock' portion of the Christmas warnings is going to play out. A Foot of Snow. . . in HAWAII?! Check this out: Much of the state is preparing for heavy rains on Monday, but Hawaii's highest peaks are expecting decidedly different precipitation, mounds of snow.Not something that is decidedly impossible, but not something that is a normal occurence either. Saturday, December 27, 2003Leader: Terrorists Planned To Attack Vatican On Christmas Las Vegas. Rappahannock. Vatican? "A hijacked plane into the Vatican," Berlusconi is quoted as saying. "An attack from the sky, is that clear? The threat of terrorism is very high in this instant. I passed Christmas Eve in Rome to deal with the situation. Now I feel calm. It will pass." Friday, December 26, 2003Shelter From the Storm And so it came to pass that Jason and Jonathan signed a lease for a new apartment. Not just any old apartment, but an apartment in the same complex (and with ideally the same layout) that my mother and father rented when they I was born some 25 years ago. So now it is a race to get them set up in time for New Years! Heh heh heh. . . Christmas with the Kenney's was altogether good. Poor Matthew ended up getting sick towards the end of the day, and not by a little. He's still struggling today, but doing much better than before. Jonathan received a Wiggles guitar from good friends of the family, and I am now in possession of a stereo system that not only plays MP3's, it attaches to my computer via a USB port. Very cool. Missy on the other hand got nothing for Christmas. Well not exactly nothing. Her jewelry isn't ready yet. But it's a-comin', and she will be mightily pleased. Although it was awful hard to explain to her what I was getting her, how it wasn't ready yet, and why it was going to take such a long time (psst. . . it's a gold bracelet that one of her UVA roommates destroyed, unfortunately it's hollow on the inside and can't be hammered out or anything). Plus I still have a few other things for her that will accompany the jewelry, but I didn't want to give it to her half-assed. Finish well - that's a good motto. Unfortunately today I have several things to accomplish. First off, I have to fix the gas heater downstairs since there is a faint gas smell. Second, I have to fix the tail pipe on the truck which decided to rust out yesterday. Truck sounds great now, but not to State Troopers. Third, we have to clean this place up from Christmas, discard of the tree, pack up the Christmas gear, etc. Ah, the commercialization of the birth of Christ. How wonderful! Hope you and yours had a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the rest of the Christmas season! Thursday, December 25, 2003MERRY CHRISTMAS! Luke 2:1-7 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In a world made terrible by sin, let us all keep in mind the Christmas message. Christus regnat, Christus imperat, Christus vicint! Tuesday, December 23, 2003VATICAN CHRISTMAS MP3'S!!! Get them before the RIAA gets you! Actually, it's all part of a free service from the Vatican website to help promote Christmas Mass, including live webcasts, audio broadcasts, and papal messages and homilies. Cool stuff! Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus. . . Monday, December 22, 2003Gold Miner! Careful with this one folks, this game is addictive! The Power of the State and Communism Came across my inbox this afternoon, and figured I would pass it along: I just ran across this excerpt from "The Strange Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt : A History of the Roosevelt-Delano Dynasty, America's Royal Family" by Emanuael M. Josephson. The amazing thing is that this was written in 1948! "They have fallen in line with Bismarck's clever scheme to use Communism to foster dictatorships 'and monopolies. They appreciate, as did Bismarck, that the concept of Communism held by the moronic elements is absolutely false. The moron thinks of Communism as a State in which everyone shares alike. Actually Communism is a State which owns everything and everyone, in which, with one exception, everyone has nothing and is equally poor, in which the problem of poverty is solved by making everyone possessionless. The moron regards the State as something abstract, apart from men. But in reality the State is a single man or a group of men. Therefore the greater the power given the State, the greater is the power of that man or of a group of men." "Since the Communist State owns and controls everything and everyone, it is the most perfect type of Dictatorship-a Super-Capitalist Super-Dictatorship that outdoes in its perfection anything that is offered by Nazism, Fascism or New Dealism. From the point of view of the Rockefeller Empire, the Communist State is most perfect, if the man of their own choice be at its head. At any rate it is the shortest route to Dictatorship in Democracies and in attaining it there can always be the pretense of improving on democracy." Sunday, December 21, 2003Wanna Read a Great Comic? Click here. Sure it's politically oriented (and very much against the peacemongers as opposed to pro-war, which it isn't), but I like it! Sorta reminds me of the Joe Sacco comic-novels. The Betrayal of Work Great ZENIT article on the topic of the living wage this weekend: Research shows that 4% of the growth in the U.S. economy's productivity from 1995 to 1999 was due to Wal-Mart's efficiency alone. A three-part series on the firm, published Nov. 23-25 in the Los Angeles Times, noted that the resulting lower prices attract even union members, who would otherwise prefer to shop at unionized stores. Surveys by the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers -- the two unions most threatened by Wal-Mart -- show that many of their own members shop at the discounter.The problem with this you ask? Well, for starters there is a glaring problem with the idea of a living wage. Simply put, a "living wage" is the idea where a person would be able to not only live, but raise a family on the wages being earned. Wal-Mart's pricing activities, combined with the pressure they put on those who work for the superstores, are literally taking advantage of the people they employ, and in a fashion that is contradictory to family values. Concern over low-paying jobs is not limited to Wal-Mart. The trend to part-time work, outsourcing, and greater flexibility has trapped many in low-wage employment, noted Business Week in its Dec. 1 issue. The problem affects more than a quarter of the U.S. labor force, around 34 million workers.Beth Shulman recently gave a talk at Downtown Fredericksburg's Wounded Bookshop about two weeks ago for her new book entitled The Betrayal of Work. I stopped by and picked up the book only yesterday and intend to read it. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to listen to her talk. But thankfully there is the chance that she will return to Fredericksburg in the spring. Hopefully over the Xmas season, I can take the opportunity to read her book and give a review. For the moment, I''ll take the ZENIT article's snippet and endorse: As John Paul II noted in his 1981 encyclical "Laborem Exercens," No. 3: "human work is a key, probably the essential key, to the whole social question." Further on he commented: "The justice of a socioeconomic system and, in each case, its just functioning, deserve in the final analysis to be evaluated by the way in which man's work is properly remunerated in the system." Worth keeping in mind in deciding which business strategy to adopt.A very well balanced article. Good read! Saturday, December 20, 2003Latvian man claims world record in drinking Bah, just a rookie. . . come on Irish, we can reclaim the record if we only try! Latvian police say a drunk picked up with around twice the blood-alcohol level considered deadly has probably set a world record but will wake with a hangover to match. Friday, December 19, 2003You Will Never Play Guitar This Well. . . When did Jason Kenney learn to play guitar like this?! LOTR Humor (via attu) 1. Stand up halfway through the movie and yell loudly, "Wait...where the hell is Harry Potter?" 2. Block the entrance to the theater while screaming, "YOU.....SHALL....NOT..... PASS!" - After the movie, say "Lucas could have done it better." 3. Play a drinking game where you have to take a sip every time someone says, "the Ring." 4. Point and laugh whenever someone dies. 5. Ask everyone around you if they think Gandalf went to Hogwarts. 6. Finish off every one of Elrond's lines with "Mis..ter Ander-sonnn." 7. When Aragorn is crowned king, stand up and at the top of your lungs sing, "And I did it.... MY way...!" 8. Talk like Gollum all through the movie. At the end, bite off someone's finger and fall down the stairs. 9. Dress up as old ladies and reenact "The Battle of Helms Deep," Monty Python style. 10. When Denethor lights the fire, shout "Barbecue!" 11. In TTT when the Ents decide to march to war, stand up and shout, "RUN FOREST, RUN!" 12. Every time someone kills an Orc, yell: "That's what I'm Tolkien about!" See how long it takes before you get kicked out of the theatre. 13. During a wide shot of a battle, inquire, "Where's Waldo?" 14. Talk loudly about how you heard that there is a single frame of a nude Elf hidden somewhere in the movie. 15. Start an Orc sing-a-long. 16. Come to the premiere dressed as Frankenfurter and wander around looking terribly confused. 17 When they go in the paths of the dead, wait for a tense moment and shout, "I see dead people!" 18. Imitate what you think a conversation between Gollum, Dobby and Yoda would be like. 19. Release a jar of daddy-long-legs into the theater during the Shelob scene. 20. Wonder out loud if Aragorn is going to run for governor of California. 21. When Shelob comes on, exclaim, "Man!Charlotte's really let herself go!" How Will I Take Over the World, You Ask?
Thursday, December 18, 2003Warner Tax-Cut Proposals Won't Benefit Va.'s Poor, Elderly From the Washington Post of all places: More than a half-million poor and elderly Virginians would receive no benefit from Gov. Mark R. Warner's proposed changes to the state's income tax, leaving them especially vulnerable to the governor's one-cent increase in the state's sales tax. Mark Warner's Budget Adds $2.3B In New Spending So it comes to this. Raise taxes over $500 million dollars, raise the sales tax, and spend ourselves into oblivion: Gov. Mark R. Warner introduced a new state budget Wednesday that includes nearly $2.4 billion in new spending, largely for education, health services and transportation.Now this should anger every taxpayer in the Commonwealth. Why are we being asked to shoulder the burden of a tax increase for a budget being sold as "bare bones," yet Governor Warner is content to send the Commonwealth on a $2.3 billion spending spree. The House Republican leader, H. Morgan Griffith, said the state has to analyze the effect of the governor's tax proposals over the next 10 to 15 years. His greatest concern is the proposed sales tax increase, which he said would adversely affect the poorest Virginians.Damn straight he is. When the time comes, Republicans of all stripes need to be armed and prepared to contact their state representatives to ensure that the Warner Tax Plan never sees the light of day. Fredericksburg Area Transportation District Eyed Stafford County and Fredericksburg may become the founding members of a local transportation district designed to generate more money for regional road and transit projects.Now I'm all in favor of a regional transportation authority, but a tax on top of it? Don't we already have RADCO and FAMPO? And why should we be taxing commuters on the roads to pay for VRE solutions? Grrrrrr. . . Wednesday, December 17, 2003Beruit Rules Never heard it called 'beruit' before, but this is more than likely the authoritative website on everyone's favorite party game - beer pong! And of course, if you can muster the courage, you can go here to see whether or not all Americans are stupid. Frankly, I agree with the website's premise, and if you take the quiz they have the stats to prove it. UPDATE TIME! As you can tell, I have fulfilled my promise and posted a few of my papers and articles. Feel free to take a good look! At the moment, would you believe that I am writing not one but two books, first of which is a rather lengthy project on the influence of Americanism in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The second will not be a book of sorts, but rather a smaller work that will go over social contract theory, it's origins in Hobbes and Locke, and how it is applied in the U.S. Constitution and where it is not. It's a rather audacious task, but a good hobby nonetheless. "It Is As It Was" So says Pope John Paul II on Mel Gibson's account of the Passion of Christ: John Paul II, who even with the challenges of his current illness has more good sense than many of his cardinals, knew of the controversy surrounding Mr. Gibson's film, and wanted to see it. Producer Steve McEveety, who had flown to Rome uninvited to show the film to as many Vatican officials as he could, gave the DVD to Msgr. Dziwisz on Friday, Dec. 5. The monsignor and the pope watched it together. Where did they watch it? I asked Mr. McEveety in a telephone interview this week. "At the pope's pad," he laughed. In the papal apartments. "He had to watch it late in the evening," Mr. McEveety said of John Paul. "He's pretty well booked. But he really wanted to see it." It's amazing what you miss. . . For those of you who did not know, I have been essentially bedridden for the past week or so. And I'm not talking just with the flu or something you can walk off. I am talking about the worst case pneumonia I have ever experienced in my life. All you want to do is sleep. . . and I hate sleeping. Of course, you miss out on a lot of stuff. Sure I knew that Saddam had been captured, but I didn't realize that it had snowed a few days ago. Seriously, I walked out of my house for the first time a few days ago and said to myself, "Man, it really snowed quite a bit!" So there is a real accounting going on right now. I have close to a million e-mails in my inbox, plenty of news to catch up on, and on top of that a taping of Rappahannock Review this afternoon. Back to the ol' grind! LOTR: The Return of the King! Yes yes, I was one of the humble souls who saw the movie at midnight until 3:30am. In short, the movie was incredible. If you are a Tolkien fan, see the movie immediately. I can't wait until the extended edition comes out so I can sit down for a 12-hour span and watch the whole epic at once! . . . if I can find 12 hours. Monday, December 15, 2003Internet Down It seems as if my ISP isn't cooperating, neither yesterday nor today. Hopefully the situation should resolve itself by tomorrow morning. If not, I'll simply hijack someone elses computer as I am doing now. While you are waiting, you can direct your rage towards Democrat Howard Dean, who already is piling on the Bush Administration for capturing Saddam. The new line? America isn't any safer. . . Nothing will satisfy the anti-Bush peacemongers. Saturday, December 13, 2003Redneck Truck Surfing! I'm assuming that the idea is to hit the gas, climb out on top of your truck, and as the vehicle deaccelerates you and your truck will be just fine. . . That's the idea at least. Friday, December 12, 2003We'll Kick Your Ass! So says the California Kern County Sherriff's Department. Sure beats protecting and serving, now doesn't it? Thursday, December 11, 2003Aicha! Aicha! You gotta watch this if you have a cable connection or better. Poor fella. Aicha, get in this man's life!!! Not So Ill. . . So I have been taking a steady dose of drugs and antibiotics, and feel much better today than yesterday. Still tired, still not 100% (probably closer to 50%), but doing well nonetheless. Thanks to the well-wishers; much appreciated. In the meantime, let's all take a good look at what Robert Novak thinks of good ol' Howard Dean, and what I think of the H2 (language warning if you are sensitive). And if the H2 doesn't please ya, you can check out the Barry White Swearing Soundboard. Aww yeah. . . Wednesday, December 10, 2003Still Ill I hate the flu. But what I hate more than the flu is the whole bronchitis/pneumonia thing. All I want to do is sleep. . . but unfortunately now I have successfully taken Jonathan and Matthew into the wonderful world of illin'. Poor Jon was waking up all through the night and is still crashed out on the couch, while Matthew just keeps sleeping and eating, sleeping and eating. . . BTW, if you have any foregone conclusions about going to the Mary Washington ER to get an X-ray or something before a doctor's visit, don't bother. Go to Henrico, go to Dewitt Army Medical, go anywhere but Mary Washington. I'll have a rant later on about this, but if I weren't so sick I'd be extremely angry about it all. And thank God for the wireless internet. Ugh. . . bed. . . Monday, December 08, 2003Illin'. . . 101.7 guys. Not doing well, seems as if the flu has re-emerged, so expect the posting to be rather light until I get better. uuugh. . . Friday, December 05, 2003Life is too short/To live it just for you I'll be the first to admit, when Nelly Furtado came out with her first CD, I didn't buy it. I didn't even download her singles online because I have a typical prejudice against female pop artists. Essentially, they have to prove they are artists before I can break down and respect them as true artists rather than pre-packaged commercialized nonsense. Do something different, break the mold, etc. So I saw Nelly Furtado's new single Powerless on MuchMusic (I think) and I more than impressed - I was stunned. I have to admit, I like her voice and her lyrics. What's more, this song in particular has sort of an Indian/Persian feel to it that uses a banjo of all things as the primary instrument. How cool is that? And of course, being the philosopher that I am, I couldn't help but pick up on the refrain: This life is too short To live it just for you. But when you feel so powerless, What are you gonna do? I mean how cool is that? When you accept the idea that you aren't the end-all-be-all, how do you change you life (maybe this is why I am thinking of the song with an Eastern feel to it)? So now, I will buy her CD, because she is an artist, has talent, and she has damn cool music. Let it snow, let it sleet, let it rain/snow/sleet/mix. . . Welcome to winter in the Commonwealth of Virginia! Last night I was driving back from RCIA classes and noticed before I went in that some of the sleet last night was beginning to stick. Sure enough, after the catechists left and we were done cleaning et al, there was a good layer of slush on the roads. Needless to say, the 4x4 on the truck came in awful handy. Today it seems to be raining with a sleet mix, which later on this evening will inevitably turn slick. Elsewhere in Baltimore, they are getting six inches and counting, and New Englanders can expect a foot of snow. Sounds like the start of a bad winter to me. EMBREY DAM TO FALL IN FEBRUARY Too awesome! An Air Force Reserve unit, the 555 Red Horse out of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and the 7th Transportation Group Dive Company, an active Army unit from Fort Eustis, will do the demolition work. It's part of the Defense Department's Innovative Readiness Training Program for reserves to hone their skills.Oh, but it should be spectacular! We could have a couple of F-16s from the Virginia Air National Guard swoop in, use a couple of Sidewinders, and KABOOM!!! Thursday, December 04, 2003Radio Paradise! If you haven't checked out online radio, do so. This is a great way to hear a wide variety of music that you otherwise wouldn't listen to. Radio Paradise is one such online radio station that I found searching Shoutcast. Very cool stuff! Wednesday, December 03, 2003Next flu pandemic could wreak global havoc, scientists warn It's been 30 years since the last one, and the flu kills nearly 36,000 Americans every year. Keep your ears to the ground on this one folks. Let it Snow? The National Weather Service is cautioning that there could be a major winter storm brewing, beginning Thursday night and lasting into Sunday. The forecast is calling for freezing rain turning into a "wintery mix" that may accumulate. Depending on the surface temperatures between now and Thursday, it could get nasty. . . Tuesday, December 02, 2003Establishing Free Exercise Being an avid reader of First Things, this article in the December issue entitled Establishing Free Enterprise is a remarkable defense of the First Amendment, and a terrific way that the Supreme Court could resolve the Newdow case and the issue concerning state scholarships to religious educational facilities: Given the rules that the Supreme Court has laid down and how they have been applied, the Ninth Circuit’s decision is not outlandish. A candid evaluation must admit that it lies within a fair reading of Establishment Clause precedents. Therein lies the problem and the opportunity for the 2003-2004 Supreme Court.Read it all, then head out to your friendly magazine establishment and pick up a copy. You won't be disappointed! Monday, December 01, 2003
 I did it in 12 seconds. I deserved an A!! Take the How Dexterous Are You? Quiz!! Exercise is as addictive as booze and fags . . . so says the British newspaper UK Guardian: The proposition that exercise can trigger a "high" based on brain chemistry has been around for decades. But there has been less research into what happens when the trainers are locked away and the tracksuit sent to the cleaners. Now a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has confirmed that not pumping iron or pounding the pavement could trigger telltale changes in neuronal activity. They watched mice manically sprinting on exercise wheels and then measured withdrawal symptoms when they are kept off the treadmill.Surprise surprise, this isn't anything new. When you exercise, your brain releases dopamine to the receptors in your brain. So after jogging or any type of strenuous exercise, you experience what is more commonly known as "runner's high," a high that is actually quite close to the high you get from using cocaine. The difference is that with cocaine, you are literally burning the dopamine receptors in your brain as well as using the dopamine that usually exists. With jogging, your brain starts producing more dopamine and relaxing the receptors in order to get more dopamine. Hence the fact that joggers do not expereince a "crash," while cocaine abusers do (because the brain is artificially using dopamine in the latter). Now I don't know about alcohol and nicotine as they seem to be two very different chemical processes at work, but there is a difference between artificial highs such as cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine and the more natural highs associated with jogging or exercise. No big news here, other than a poorly written conclusion to a scientific study that folks will inevitably use to justify drug abuse. I just like the title of the article. . . figure someone would take notice and get offended (or vice versa).
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JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General?1) John Brownlee2) Ken Cuccinelli AboutShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia.ContactThe Jeffersoniad
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