My prediction:

After Iowa and New Hampshire, we'll be down to four Republicans:

Rudy Guliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and Ron Paul

I honestly think Huckabee and McCain will show so bad in both, they'll drop out. Who they endorse might make things interesting, but I expect McCain to be the only one giving a push and that push going to Guliani. Paul will remain in for a while, due to his internet following, but eventually he'll bow out or go for an indie run.

We'll be down to five Democrats:

Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich

Richardson will only be around to try to make a good showing, in order to try and get the VP slot from Hillary winning. If Obama wins, or Edwards wins, the other will be the VP slot. Kucinich will ride it to the end, even though his only chance is to get all the pod people and Elvis to recruit on Mars for votes.

More whining today about Hillary being 'beat up' by those mean, vicious bullies running against her for the Democratic nomination.

Tell me, Hillary...how do you expect for people like Ahmadinejad, who believe in sharia law and that women are second class citizens, to listen to you?

How do you even expect to step into an area controlled by sharia law, and walk out alive?

A woman who has a clue can do such a thing. Former Prime Minister Bhutto in Pakistan, for example, has the guts to tell people like Musharraf where to stick it. Margaret Thatcher was no-nonsense. The current leader of Germany can be forceful without looking like she's reading off a script, or with James Carville's hand stuck up her back.

But Hillary won't quit this race, and will keep whining. Though I don't want any of the Democrats as president, only Dennis 'I carry a constitution in my pocket, but can't read it' Kucinich rates worse on my scale.

Ron Paul is getting a little publicity today for his supporters getting a fundraising record of $4 million in a 24 hour period.

I would support Ron, except for two major issues. First, he does not understand the meaning behind the war in Iraq. He's an isolationist, which honestly can't be done in a global economy. We have to protect freedom for everyone, not just those in the United States. The Muslim states, and especially those that subscribe to sharia law, are probably the most totalitarian of all. His ignorance of that fact would eventually end us up in worse situation than we were on September 11, 2001.

Secondly, Ron is pro-abortion. For someone who claims the truth and morality angle, I cannot fathom how killing babies is an issue other than freedom for the young to live. The mother gave up her rights the moment she got pregnant. If she didn't want to get pregnant, then she and her mate should have used protection. Unlike a number of conservatives, I don't have problems with those over the age of 13 getting protection from being pregnant.

Note that age: 13. Yes, the age of 'majority' is 16 (to drive), 18 (for most everything), and/or 21 (drinking). However, traditionally the age of majority is 13 in both the Western and Eastern world. Again, this is an area where I cannot be labeled a conservative. On the other hand, it does mean I also advocate throwing 14 year olds that murder into real prison and not these locked dorm rooms and then get let out at 18.

For those who know me, you know I used to belong to the RPGA (mentioned below), as well as played in the Living Rokugan campaign.

I'm rejoining the Heroes of Rokugan (new name, and not tied to the RPGA) campaign and have been pretty cryptic about what I'm playing.

So, here's the answer:

Even though my throat tells me that a cold is in my future, this has still turned into a good day. I finally got the server I've been working weeks on to work, so now the next test becomes Friday when I try to put it into our DMZ.

I do have a question, though. Why do hackers from other countries attack little city and county servers like I administer? We have zero information that a hacker could ever want, unless they just wanted to disrupt things. I would think a hacker would be more likely to go after a .mil site, or a .gov site that was state-related.

My second question is why behind the Koreans (who are bored), Chinese (who are either bored or working for their government), are people in Holland the third highest source of hackers going after our sites? I could think of a lot of things to do in the Netherlands instead of attempting to break into some American city's website.

Time for a little sports...

I know he wants to be nice and all, but Tom Osborne has got to give the entire Nebraska coaching staff the heave-ho.

Getting beat by 76 is bad enough, but Kansas? You've just got to be kidding.

As I wrote in an email to the local sports talk station, Xerces personally killed the general who caused the Battle of Thermopole. The Romans fired generals continuously until they found Scipio to fight Hannibal of Carthage. Lincoln fired generals constantly until he found Ulysses Grant.

Who else kept getting sacked in history until the replacement produced results? Just about every major conflict in the world had someone either fired or executed after battles that were 'blow outs'.

As another said on a message board, when it was said Nebraska wouldn't settle for mediocrity, the fans and supporters weren't thinking that meant we'd zoom right past mediocrity for total incompetence.

Fire Callahan and company, and fire them now. Stop digging a deeper hole to get out of come the end of the season. Stop the bleeding now.

What goes around, comes around.

Honestly, I've been in a depression for three years or more. Frankly, it sucks. I have to take medicine to sleep, on top of my thyroid problems. I've gained at least 20 pounds since the start.

And now, one of the people that triggered the initial depression has just gone through the exact same thing that started my descent.

However, I'm resolving right here and now that I'm not going to let him get to my point. He's a good guy, if a bit too idealistic...but then, over three years I'm a realist.

I rejoined a couple of Yahoo Groups today, or at least tried to do so.

The first, a club I was a founding member of, let me join but has me set on moderation. Boy, makes me feel good that people who I thought were friends were so scared of my opinions when I left that they locked me out.

The second requires administrator approval. Now, this I can understand but the group isn't that big. If it has so many issues with spammers getting in, then the spammers have no clue who they are dealing with: broke adults. :-)

Next year, at GenCon 2008, Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast will be rolling out a new, 4th edition of the Dungeons and Dragons game.

Now, being a somewhat conservative person, I understand the need for the creation of a new edition of the game every so often. The money needs to keep flowing in, and I do not begrudge the fact they are going to do it.

I will, though, scream at the top of my lungs on how this new 'version' is conceived completely irresponsibly by those at Hasbro who do not understand paper and pencil gaming. For example, the new system is going to have new books for players and monsters every year.

Not a problem, you might say. They do this anyways. But, this time they are not going to include all the 'core' classes and monsters in the first book. In the past, every new book just added more options onto the basics of the game. This time, you won't get the basics all up front.

Huh?

This sounds like a computer game that has jumped from beta before being finished, not a paper and pencil game. Let's have 'content updates', and game 'patches' when the players in the RPGA find exploits in the system. That way, we'll have 'game balance' between the classes and races.

Sounds just like a computer game, doesn't it? Hasbro does not get it. People like paper and pencil games because they are NOT computer games. I mean, I love computer games and play them religiously (3 level 60s on WoW, working on 50s in Matrix Online and CoH/CoV currently), but I like to step away from the computer and actually roleplay with my buddies on weekends when I'm in the mood. Many of us do.

When the man instrumental in the creation of the original game, Gary Gygax, has to sigh about all of the 4th Edition talk coming out of Hasbro, you know someone has lost touch with those who they are attempting to write towards.

Oh sure, there still will be plenty of sheep going along and buying these new rules. For example, most of the RPGA will buy the rules, even if they don't like them, because they will be forced by the RPGA (owned fully by Hasbro's marketing department, btw) to use the most current rules system if they want to continue to play. Others will buy the rules, and will try to justify Hasbro's marketing.

Roleplaying will be forever changed in August 2008, and not for the better. I do not want a computer game on paper; I want a paper game that I can roleplay. Leave the computer games to the computer, Hasbro, and wake up.

Surprise.

Yes, I am actually getting back to this. I promise.

The political bluster is finally getting to a point where I'm going to have to comment on some of the things going on, and I'm getting back into some of my other hobbies. Thus, it is time to get back to this and start blogging again.

Yeah, right. Last time I said this...well, you can check the date on the last post. Yeesh. I'm bad about remembering things like blogging. I just am doing too much to think any longer. I'm hoping things will improve THIS time, though.

It's been at least a half a year since I posted here.

Welcome to the Chaos that is my work life.

Anyways, I have to give my thoughts about Oscar night, and just how stupid the Hollyweird left is. Let's take for example, the winners tonight in the major categories:

Supporting Actor - George Clooney
Clooney's role is that of a CIA man who is trying to guarantee oil access.

I checked and no, Osama Bin Laden is not in the writing credits of this one. Except for the actress in the movie not wearing a burkha, this movie would be deemed Caliphate-safe.

Supporting Actress - Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz portrays a passionate activist whose investigation into the dealings of an international pharmaceutical company leads to her murder.

Ah, but this one is different than Clooney's, even though it is against the United States and capitalism. See, she's an uppity female without a burkha, who is obviously educated. Women receiving schooling is a crime under Sharia Law. Because of the three strikes, Weisz would face the death penalty in the Caliphate.

Leading Actor - Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman portrays author Truman Capote in the years leading up to the writing of his best-known book, "In Cold Blood."

Unfortunately, Capote was a homosexual. Making of a movie showing homosexuality is not acceptable to the Caliphate. In addition, homosexuality is a crime punishable by death in Sharia Law. Pediophilia is not, btw.

Leading Actress - Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon plays country singer June Carter, whose strength and compassion guide her through the early days of her relationship with Johnny Cash.

Yet again, the Caliphate rears up and smites this movie, because in Sharia Law, women are not allowed to sing in public. It is, once again, a death sentence to do such a thing.

Best Picture - Crash
The lives of a diverse group of people living in Los Angeles connect and clash over the course of two days. As a series of events unfolds that will heighten already-existing racial and cultural tensions, individuals are brought face to face with complexities that their prejudices have prevented them from seeing.

The drinking, the swearing, the showing of streetwalkers, and other reasons would make this movie not one that would have been made by the Caliphate. Not that a variant would be made, but you sure would not have 'hip hop' lyrics, and the oppressed race would be Muslims, not blacks.

What conclusion is reached in all of this? Hollywood, with its "Can't we all just get along" mindset is blinding itself to reality. The Caliphate trying to be formed through agents of the Muslim Brotherhood - Hamas, Al-Qaida, PDLP, Islamic Jihad, etc. is the greatest threat to world peace and freedom. Hollywood is the ultimate expression of freedom in the world, which is why the United States is considered the Great Satan...not because we support the Jewish people. In essence, Hollywood is causing the problem that they think they can ignore.

I call it ignorance...ignorance that has been perpetuated by blinders formed by following the ultraliberal/progressive line of reasoning in recent years.

You would think that I'd post more than once every two months...

You would also assume, then, that I have time to do so.

I have another 'rant' that I am formulating as I type, but it will be a second post for later. In the meantime, I'm struggling to figure out just why things are not working concerning work.

Geez, I really haven't been posting much here at all.

But, it is time to resume my streaky posting once again.

What woke me up? Statements by three 'Democrats'...but, they no longer qualify as being called such. No, they have gone over the boundary of good sense and political discourse.

So, I am as well.

Dick Durbin, Howard Dean, and locally Barry Rubin are all, to a man, the result of the Democratic race baiting, anti-Democracy clamor.

1) They are all three socialists, which means they want the government to control and drive the economy.
2) They are all protectionist, wanting to enrich the labor unions at the expense of the American consumer.
3) They are all for gun control, specifically restrictions on the right to bear arms by the general populace.
4) They are all against religion, being backed by 'new age' religions such as Scientology and bigotted against Christians.
5) They are secretly racists. They attack Jewish people, blacks, and hispanics if they are not on their side. In fact, they use racial epitaphs to describe these folks, such as Rubin's 'Tio Thomas' (spanish for Uncle Tom) in describing the Douglas County Nebraska election commissioner. Many of their supporters go farther, attacking Jews and Christians in very virulent terms that not even the Islamists do.

1 through 5 were the hallmarks of another political organization back in the 1930s and 40s: the National Socialist German Workers Party.

Deny it as much as you like, but the 'New Democrats' or 'Progressives' are, in fact, neo-Nazis in disguise. Why more people cannot see this is beyond me, but then, it shouldn't be a surprise...the Nazis fooled three countries (Germany, Austria, and Italy). What is so sad is they constantly call conservatives Nazis. And the news media supports them with such a lie, even like the news media trumpetted Neville Chaimberlain with his idiotic 'Peace in our time' deal with Hitler.

So, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being called something I vehimently oppose, but those calling me such support in secret.

I know few people read this, but it needs to get out there. It needs to be trumpetted and proven to be true by others.

Progressive = Nazi, and don't you forget it.

Last Friday, driving home from a very late night at work, I heard about the fight between the fans and the Pacers. Yesterday, the commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, issued his suspensions.

Now, I realize suspensions in this case are needed, to prevent players from pulling this stunt again. However, I feel the sentence on Ron Artest, though he is a certifiable looney, is too much. Half the season would have been fine, considering it was the fans that provoked him into action.

But what sanctions are there going to be against the fans? I'll tell you: none. That's right, the NBA will do, in all honesty, nothing. And this will cause the fans to get even more belligerent. This was not the only incident involving 'fans' in the past week or so: an Oklahoma Sooners 'RedNeck' was bumped into by a Nebraska Cornhusker player during warmups, and is now suing the player for assault. Also, during that game, we had the traditional orange throwing by the Sooner fans. Last time that occurred, an official was beaned and was in the hospital for quite a while with a concussion.

What happened to the fans? Nothing.

Here is what I would do: For the NBA - take 5 games, one for each division opponent to the Pistons (whose fans caused the fight), and turn those 5 games from home games to away games for the Pistons...and do not allow any refunds or discounts to the season ticket holders.

For Oklahoma - Change one conference home game next year to an away game.

In both cases, the fans will actually be punished, and will be put on notice that if you act up, you could well cost your chance to see further games. Both the Pistons and the Sooners would lose revenue from those games, which acts as a defacto fine to those organizations for not keeping control

And for Ron Artest? If I were him, and the suspension is upheld, I would sue the NBA for providing an unsafe working environment. That's exactly what happened, and the NBA is at fault for not having sufficient security available to handle the situation.

I normally only write to my local paper. Today, though, was an exception because it plays right into previous posts here.

The post I refer to is at http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_58164.asp.

Dear Editors,

I am not a Tennessee native, I live in Nebraska, another 'red' state. I read, however, the article by Mr Tim Price calling conservatives and those who voted for Bush 'fascists'.

Mr. Price needs to go back to his history books at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and learn a little bit about what the meaning of the word 'fascism' is, as well as the related term that the left like himself like to label us conservatives as - Nazis.

Nazism first stands for 'National Socialist German Worker's Party'. This should first raise some suspicions about where Mr. Price is directing his statements, considering those of the Left in this country are the socialists. If one then looks into Mein Kampf, written by Hitler, you discover the four basic tenets of the Nazi beliefs. This includes control of the mass media to indoctrinate the people, as well as control of major industry. People are to become dependent on the goodness of the state to provide for them, while they work for the glory of the state. In other words, social programs keep the people in line. Lastly, of course, is the hatred of the Jewish people, but what does Hitler really say about this? He says the Jewish people control the banks, therefore the Nazis must take the banks back. But, Hitler also states that the Jews created Communism in order to subvert the Socialist ideals.

When Mr. Price, and others of his ilk, attack 'fascism', he is in fact attacking nationalism. Honestly, nationalism is a separate creed than fascism. Fascism and Nazism deal with the economics and government. Nationalism, however, is opposed by internationalism on one hand, and anarchy on the other. When those that support Mr. Price claim they are anarchists, they are in fact internationalists. Anarchy is the total absence of government. This does not mean people are 'equal', in fact anarchy is exactly the opposite of that. People are what they are, and the most powerful people rule. The days of the Tennessee frontier after the Revolutionary War are much closer to an anarchy situation than what the so-called anarchists want this day and age. They want communism, or in general parlayance, government-controlled equality. Everyone is to be forced into being equal. Not only is that the opposite of anarchy, it is also the opposite of capitalism.

As has been shown in the world, forced equality does not work. Freedom does. On Tuesday, the people of both Tennessee and Nebraska joined with over 50 million other people to vote for capitalism, for national pride which could be called nationalism, and for freedom.

Mr. Price and others want to take away your freedom in order to enforce their version of equality. Remember that the next time you go to the polls to vote.

Well, today is the day.

Do we reelect a President who saw us through 9/11, and understands the goals of terrorists?

Or do we elect a wimp, who can't show he really has any sort of plan at all?

You know who I am voting for, and though I am in a 'Red' state, I have already voted and encourage people to go out and vote FOR freedom, FOR women's rights, FOR America, in other words: FOR George W Bush.

Dear President Bush,

I want to thank you very much for running, and becoming, the President of the United States when you did. I do not believe this country could have survived as well as it has with another person in the most important profession in the world. You were strong while the media was panicking. You did what was right, first coming to my hometown, where we have the greatest military communication complex in the world, and then when you went to New York, to Ground Zero, you gave the speech of your life to a grieving nation.

But, you did not just stop at that. You understood the threat of terrorism. So, you took the fight to their backyard, since they had attacked our backyard. What has happened in Afghanistan has been nothing short of amazing, cementing with the election of a president of that country just today.

People continue to not understand your actions concerning Iraq. Iraq sponsored terrorism. Those who attack you do not understand there are more terrorists out there than just Osama Bin Laden. You know this, and with your leadership, not only is the evil of Saddam Hussein ended, but Libya has abandoned its nuclear program.

Domestically, I want to thank you for cutting my taxes. The increase in the exemption for individuals you got through Congress has improved my standard of living. In no small part due to the tax break, I am now the proud owner of a home.

My mother died just this June, due to medical complications from the medicine she was taking. However, if she was in the medical system that has been proposed by your opponents, she would have died long ago. People in Canada wait months for hip replacements, her original issue. She had osteoporosis, one of the many diseases that are being looked at for stem cells, so again, I want to thank you for being the first President to actually fund stem cell research.

So, thank you, Mr. President. I am rooting for your reelection.

Once again, an article appears in the media which claims Kerry is smart, Bush is dumb, and we Bush supporters are stupid.

Guess what?

The smartest woman in the world, Marilyn Vos Savant, supports Bush.

I support Bush, and my IQ has been measured in the 99th percentile.

Bush's IQ has been measured in the 95th percentile.

Kerry's IQ has been measured in the 91st percentile.

Bush may not have gotten good grades in school, but neither did I...because, in my case, my classes did not appeal to me. When the class did, even if it was outside of my field of study (Native American History and English Literature come to mind as qualifying), I did well. Same with the President. So, the President could not remember the name of some leaders of nations...at least he knows it isn't 'Lambert Field' either. He may not know where Saddam hid his WMDs (though Syria is a good educated guess), but he does know small things - like the Buckeyes play in Ohio and not Michigan, that being a mother is the most important job in the world, and that one should always double-check publicity photographs before being released to the media.

He also knows that if he's relying on votes from Animal Rights activists, one should not go hunting and kill a goose and be photographed with it.

There is a difference between intelligence and wisdom. Kerry may be intelligent, but he sure has shown how much of a moron he is in the wisdom department.

And what we need is a WISE leader, not a smart one.

Let's take a look at the headlines for today:

• Kerry flubs question from sympathizer Couric
• Edwards' Wife claims no riots if Kerry elected
• Kerry lied about meeting Security Council
• Kerry takes campaign donations from Osama front organization
• US Military did not secure WMD-grade explosives in Iraq fast enough

4 hits on Kerry...in reality, 5 hits. If there were no WMDs in Iraq, then why have such high-grade explosives available?

God, I hope Kerry loses. We cannot survive him as President. I am very, very, very nervous though.

Hugh Hewitt has on his website a contest: in 250 words or less why vote for Bush, and why not Kerry.

I think I can do it in less:

George W Bush is a man that tells it like it is, to the best of his ability. It may offend, it may irritate, but no matter what the Left claims, he tells what he believes is the truth. He is fighting for America against the terrorists, for the safety of our families, for the spreading of our way of life and freedom throughout the world. He is doing all of this, and helping out less than $200k people by giving them tax breaks, and helping those making more than $200k to make more jobs.

John Kerry is a man who could not tell the truth if he tried. He believes in old, tired, and disproven communist/socialist philosophies, not in free enterprise. He is fighting against America, because he believes in One World Government, ran by the French and the UN. He is peddling a health care plan that would have killed my mother 9 years ago, because she would have died having to wait for a hip transplant. He wants no one but his Hollywood buddies and billionaire financiers to make over $200k.

That's why we CANNOT allow him to become President, and why we need George W Bush back in office for the next four years.