Recently, I purchased seasons 1 thru 4 of House MD through a second party seller on Amazon. I paid $117.00 for these DVDs. The first season of disks were no problem. However the eighth disk of the second season was a Chinese counterfeit. It was recorded off of a Fox station on Direct TV. It says so during each of the episodes. The episodes contain no Universal Studios banner, no FBI warning and menu is bright red with no graphics and the menu choices are in English and Chinese. However the graphics printed on the physical disk are perfect. I buy what I watch and I do not condone pirating. I sent a message to Universal studios telling them about this problem and got the following reply: Dear Mr. XXXXXXX, Thank you for taking the time to contact Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It appears that the "House," Season 2, DVDs that you purchased are illegal copies. The information you provided has been forwarded to our Internet Anti-piracy group for their immediate attention. Should they require further information, they will be in touch with you directly. We suggest that you contact Amazon's Customer Service group for resolution to this issue. Amazon has a strict policy regarding bootleg DVDs and it is important that they know about such illegal activities. We appreciate your concern and your patronage, and we hope that you will continue to enjoy our products. Sincerely, Consumer Relations UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT That is all I ever heard from Universal. As they suggested I contacted Amazon and related the same story. They sent me this email: Thank you for writing to Amazon.com with your concern. Please let me apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced as a result of this particular order. I've checked your order #XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX and found that you purchased "House: Seasons 1 - 4 Collection" from XXXXXXXXX, one of our registered third-party sellers on Amazon Merchant. Amazon (sic)Merchat listings are created by sellers other than Amazon.com. When you buy an item at Amazon Marketplace, the individual seller processes and ships your order. I'm sorry to learn that the item you received was not as described for order #XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX. In a case like this, we do ask that you first contact the seller to explain the situation so they can resolve the issue. To contact the seller: 1. Click the "Your Account" link at the top of our web site. 2. Click "Go!" next to "open and recently shipped orders." 3. Sign in with your e-mail address and password. 4. Click "View order" next to the relevant order. 5. Click "Problem with this order?" On the next page, you'll see a button marked "Contact seller." For your convenience here's your seller contact information: Seller Name: XXXXXXX XXXXXX Email: XXXXXXXX@gmail.com We do want to assist you; however, please give your seller a chance to respond and resolve this first. Please be assured that, if a transaction with a third-party seller is unsuccessful and you are unable to resolve the dispute with your seller, you can contact Amazon.com again and also note, we will reimburse you the order cost from Amazon payment under A-Z guarantee. If you don't receive a satisfactory resolution from your seller within 3 business days, please let us know so we can help. Please visit the following link to provide the information we requested: http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX When we receive a report from you using the link above, we will investigate your order and do what we can to resolve the problem. We can indeed understand that it is a bit frustrating to wait till that length of time. However, please understand our system does not allow us to issue a refund or take any action on any third party order until 3 business days have passed since you tried to contact the seller. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these restrictions may cause. However, please understand that our A-Z Guarantee file system will not let us to process the refund until these three business days have passed. I am sure you will co-operate with us. If your seller has not help you to resolve the issue, I suggest you to submit the A-to-Z guarantee online for full reimbursement of your order cost, including shipping. Our guarantee is located online at: http://www.amazon.com/o/tg/browse/-/XXXXXXXXX/ We want everyone who visits Amazon.com Marketplace to have a safe, enjoyable experience. Not only do participants in transactions review one another, but Amazon.com also provides oversight and will suspend participants who violate our terms of use. Credit card information is held on Amazon.com's secure server, and is not shared with Marketplace sellers, ever. Furthermore, if a transaction with a third-party seller is unsuccessful and you are unable to resolve the dispute with your seller, you may be eligible for the A-to-z Guarantee. Subject to certain guidelines, Amazon.com may reimburse the complete price up to $2,500.00. Again, I am sorry that this experience has been a disappointment. Even though your purchase was made from one of our third-party sellers, we realize that it may influence your decision to visit our stores again. I hope that this issue is resolved to your satisfaction soon. Thanks for shopping at Amazon.com. We look forward assisting you. Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question: If yes, click here: http://www.amazon.com/XXXXXXXX If not, click here: http://www.amazon.com/XXXXXXXXX Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site. Best regards, XXXX XXXXXX Amazon.com Customer Service ============================== Check your order and more: http://www.amazon.com/your-account While waiting for a reply, from the seller to reply, I watched the rest of the DVDs. All of season 4 is counterfeit. Each disk is compressed to fit on a 4.3 GB DVD and the Universal banner and FBI warning have been removed. The compression causes each disk to stutter constantly. However the graphic printed on each disk looks professional. I sent a second email to Universal about the 4th season disks and Universal bounced the email back to me. The email to Universal was entered on Universal's web site and accepted when entered. My only conclusion is that they don't want to hear about it. My question is: Why is it OK to counterfeit DVDs and sell them for $117.00 but it is a terrible crime for a student to download a $1.00 song. The downloaded song isn't being used to defraud someone but I was defrauded out of $117.00 for these DVDs on Amazon.com. Why does the studio not care from whom I bought these DVDs and where the seller obtained them. However they will try to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from a kid for downloading a few dollars worth of songs. What am I missing here? I did as Amazon requested and the seller took two weeks to reply. He said he will refund my money. I'll return the disks tomorrow. gmanterry

I just found this site: http://charterforcompassion.com/

The video has people talking about religion, civility, and common sense morality. I say common sense morality because morality is derived from common sense, not religion.

They are talking about getting the world to realize that some moral teachings within religions are the same morality that is among us even without religion. That is to say that it is not borne of religion, but of common sense. The golden rule? Come on now. You do not have to be religious to see the common sense of that.

I'm thinking even Bonobo primates understand this. I won't steal your bananas if you don't steal mine. I won't hit you with a stick if you don't pick on those in my group. It's common sense. No religion required.

Lets think about this for a moment. Yes, there are somewhat militant defenders of atheism, the four horsemen and all that, but they are hardly a physical match for the millions of people who go out to 'witness' to others. They are undefeated warriors of logic in the public arena, but they cannot stop the indoctrination of young children. They cannot stop the spread of hatred that is xenophobia. While religions pretend to be compassionate, accepting, and loving, they seldom manage to be viewed that way. It does not take an atheist to judge them. All other sects judge them already. We have been trying to teach morality via religion for how long now? oh yeah, 2000+ years. It seems that the religious among us are the most intolerant. I think it's about time that we tried something different. This current plan is not and has not been working out very well.

Those Christians among us, ask yourself this: if your god is so loving and powerful, why are there still wars? If your message of love is so important and powerful, why are there still starving children in the world. Why is there still hate? Is your message failing? or is it your theistic beliefs that fail? Yes, of course, everyone has to believe in your god as strongly as you do before change will happen. Why can't we apply common sense to matters of man without bringing in some invisible alien to tell us what to do?

The religious among us want people to accept their beliefs so that the world will be just. I care not for religions, and I still want the world to be just. I want people to do what is fucking common sense.

If you Christians were sitting in front of a wall, bashing your head against it with blood running down your face, I'd try to help you. As things are now, you turn and tell me I'm wrong because I don't bash my head too. I'd be willing to let you bleed out on your own, but you keep coming to my house to invite me to come to your church and bash my head on a wall.

If you are reading this and are somehow offended, you have no reason to be. You didn't have to come here.

Is common sense and critical thinking a substitute for religion? NO. I say that because religion was forced on people, replacing the former. That is to say that real coke is not a substitute for a substitute coke. When you get the real thing, substitutes are not needed any longer. Religion was the substitute.

********** Update/addendum *************

There is a reason that atheists are becoming militant-like. That reason is simple: if atheists do not fight for their rights, they will be washed away in a great movement to create a christian country that destroys anything not in agreement with it.

A story about how American Atheists Inc. sued the state of Kentucky in state court over a 2002 law that stresses God's role in Kentucky's homeland security alongside the military, police agencies and health departments. The group claims the law violates both the state and U.S. constitutions.

Words like this are fantastic as they leave no doubt as to just how wrong this is. I won't quote all the evidence to support separation of church and state as many have already done this. What I want to do is bring to your attention this group, and their work to help atheists everywhere. Not only are they helping atheists, but they are helping Jews, Muslims, agnostics, Buddhists, GLBT groups, and basically anyone who is not accepted by the fundamentalist christian sects. Should the government of any state or all of them become dominated by christian views we are all in trouble. Our only hope then would be god himself, and we know how that will work out.... especially if you are adjudged to be in cahoots with the devil. I'm sure there is some precedence we can draw from the Spanish inquisition, or perhaps the witch trials in this country.

How in the hell is this NOT as bad as Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on your door and teaching you about their religion? Not only that, but can you show me a state who managed safety and security WITH the help of some almighty god? The Jew's (god's chosen people) never managed it. Currently they use nazi tactics to secure 'safety and security' of their state. Just ask the U.N.

Personally, I'd rather have a quote from Heinlein if we are going to put fiction quotes in public buildings, such as this one:

I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

There are lots of other quotes too.

And here is a pretty good quote FTA:

Like I said, not even the Jews are trusting god to make it 'all okay' in their state.

Disclosure: I am not a scientist. Hell, I'm not even a college graduate ... yet. I am however what I think of as a reasonable and thinking man. Please, if you are a climate scientist do speak up here. Even if you are a non-climate scientist, please speak up.

I have presented poorly my beliefs on global warming and climate change on several occasions in the past. I have finally found someone that seems to speak in accord with my understandings of the matter. Despite the fact that this has a particular Australian slant, the reasoning behind it applies to any country.

http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2008/451/the-futile-quest-for-climate-control

In this article Robert M. Carter addresses the politics and rumor that permeate almost every discussion of climate change, and of ALL discussions of global warming.

His is a reasoned voice of calm analysis, taking time to note the politics and history of the current 'out of control' debate. He does not delve into the science as I like to, but he does calmly discuss the politics of the discussion. When politics are in the way, science can make no progress as he notes:

emphasis is mine.

The big problem with self confessed experts on climate change that I have is this: If you can tell me when and why of global warming, why can't you tell me the when and why of global cooling? Surely if you understand the Earth's climate mechanism(s) you should be able to tell me both, and consequently why and how much carbon dioxide will affect that balance. (if we choose to call it a balance of warming and cooling)

Clearly, since we have not been able to disprove gravity, the law of gravity stands as has been stated... even if we suspect there are subtle differences between reality and that law due to new information. Clearly, many other scientific laws and theorems have withstood much criticism and testing, and they remain the best explanation that we have. I have yet to see anything that even intimates that it is as strong a proof of global warming as these other things have. That is to say, if there were inarguable proof in abundance about this global warming, we would not still be discussing it. Do you argue with coworkers about whether gravity exists or not? Whether the world is flat or not? We don't yet have that kind of proof, so I think that alarmist attitudes are unnecessary and cause discordant and counterproductive discussion and activities.

I have searched for some time now and have yet to find cogent argument for or against global warming. There is some for climate change, but it is incomplete and often hijacked by global warming alarmists for their own purposes. The ONLY critical thinking that I've seen to date is that of people like Robert M. Carter who advocates a more calm, scientific approach to determining exactly how the Earth's climate mechanisms work before deciding that we are in dire need of making drastic and exorbitantly expensive changes to save the planet. More specifically, he concludes in part with:

emphasis is again mine

Can anyone out there, who happens to have enough spare time to read this journal, explain to me why it is that we should vary from this conclusion and move directly to alarmist reactionary wasteful efforts to change something we have very little real understanding of? While you are explaining things, please also explain how and why what you think we must do today to save this planet from global warming will not cause greater harm in 10 years or some other future date.

Please feel free to agree or disagree, but if you wish to state your belief that global warming is man made or not, please provide some links or cogent argument as to why. I'd rather see something that takes me hours of reading to understand than someone simply telling me that I'm stupid because I don't want to buy into the alarmist ideals of CO2 obviously causing harm because of SUVs etc.

I truly want to understand the global climate mechanism(s), not just your argument of why we need to drive smaller cars or use nuclear power. I'm actively seeking help in understanding the Earth's climate mechanisms.

Sometimes you see an opinion piece and it just seems to right to let it settle alone on a blog site. Below is such an opinion, and it is taken from http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=B93243EA-B390-4B86-BA89-DCAA36A66277

While the US Constitution does not apply to all people on this planet, this does a nice job of stating why the right of free speech SHOULD apply to all peoples.

I don't really want to make any political comments per se' but I'd like to drop a few quotes down to think about. I don't think there is anything I can add that is more appropriate than what a few figures from our past have already said about politics. I think that NOW is the right time to reflect on the sage words of wise men from the past.

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
-- Mark Twain

"Sometimes we have to choose between what is right and what is easy.
--Albus Dumbledore"
-- J.K. Rowling

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
-- Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
-- Robert Frost

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost."
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

"Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it."
-- Mark Twain

"The major problem- one of the major problems, for there are several- one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of whom manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
-- Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed frequently and for the same reasons."
-- Robin Williams

"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. " -- George Orwell

"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair." -- George Burns

"I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves."
-- Ronald Reagan

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top."
-- Edward Abbey

"You have to remember one thing about the will of the people: it wasn't that long ago that we were swept away by the Macarena."
-- Jon Stewart

"A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?" -- George Washington

"One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens would pay nearly half of everything they earn to the government."
-- Ron Paul

"Under the United States Constitution, the federal government has no authority to hold states "accountable" for their education performance...In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats."
-- Ron Paul

"I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. ... These two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."
-- George Carlin

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. "
-- Pericles

"I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine. (12 May 1780)" -- John Adams

"Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Civilization, in fact, grows more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. Wars are no longer waged by the will of superior men, capable of judging dispassionately and intelligently the causes behind them and the effects flowing out of them. The are now begun by first throwing a mob into a panic; they are ended only when it has spent its ferine fury. " -- H.L. Mencken

I have to say, I just read something that nearly ruined a night of good beer drinking. It can be found at: http://www.proofofreincarnation.com/ If the link itself is not enough to warn you, let me: coughbullcoughshitcoughcoughfuckcough

First, science does not contradict. When a theory seems to contradict, it is merely indication that more works needs to be done to explain why this seems so. It is NOT a failure. It is simply reason to analyze more and study more to find why. The author continues on to almost prove that science is about reconciling known knowledge, even when it seems to contradict itself in places

Okay, he's laid out some questions, basic high level analysis (someone else's obviously) but did nothing to persuade the reader that he is leading somewhere. Why exactly did the author mention all this? read on.

Ahh, there we have it. Tolerance/acceptance of someone else's ideals simply because we do not yet have all the facts on the ideas we are working on. Yes, that makes sense. Right? Now, lets move on to allegory. If there is doubts in one science, it means that all other science fields have wiggle room to apply faith, or unsubstantiated beliefs.

The author then follows on with simple statement of belief, not anything scientifically factual, so you can dismiss any previous discussion of scientific value. Though, on this one topic, there may be wiggle room. Not because other science fields have some unsolved riddles, but because this particular scientific field is ... well, VERY open for interpretation.

He continues:

Now, sit back tight in your seat. Here comes the kicker. I'm sure that I'll offend some, but meh.. this is MY journal. Here is a presumption with NO factual basis:

If that part about reincarnation being science was not enough, he continues...

Right back to the beginning of the argument? Without those 'native' investigative methods of validating a theory, it's not science. Uhmmmm Some Hindu's claim that the concept of zero was invented by their civilization. If so, kudos. Having had all this time, why has no-one yet applied 'real' science to it and proved reincarnation? Oh yeah, that's right, it can't be proved. Nobody comes back from the dead. The one person that claims to have done so isn't Hindu and doesn't believe in reincarnation. Go figure.

Okay, preliminaries out of the way, lets move on to why this perturbs me. First, consciousness is the one thing that confounds all religions. If it were not for our ability to ask existential questions, we'd not be having a philosophical discussion/argument at all. So there is the rub. When you are discussing the cause of your discussion, deep regression becomes an issue. Why do we think? Well, so far, what we know is that one school says 'god' made us that way. The other school says hey, evolution gave us this little twist of fate, a mutation that was very beneficial. Possible several such mutations. Walking upright and the thumb .. it turns out... are really fucking handy. So, here we are.. some tens of thousands of years ago... most believe in some sun god or similar. Eventually, this belief system 'evolves' into a good vs evil belief system, and that beats everything else available so spreads like wildfire across the globe (more or less). Turns out that the really strong and militant and warlike of our species really like this good/evil thing... That's something I'd change if I could.

Back on point. Now we have this thinking thing going on. Hmm how did that happen.. well, must have been god, right? Well, what does this god want us to do with life, what is our purpose? This is where man's new found creativity has shown its brightest. Long before scientific methods were discovered, men decided that the one who had the best story usually ended up with the most glory... writing and reading not needed. So, today we have a blogger who despite thousands of years of time to prove reincarnation is factual, decides that it only seems like 'religion' because nobody has devoted time to studying it.

Well, I'm here to do one of two things. My next post will be proof of the outcome. If there is any real god, Hindu or Abrahamic or any other.. .let them strike me dead right now, as I write this for doubting their existence. Let me not come back as anything, never mind something vile. Just obliterate me from existence. Go on? I'm waiting....... sigh

I guess you will have to endure a few more posts from me. You cannot prove a negative, so don't ask me to prove that reincarnation is not true. I can firmly and happily rely on the fact that wild claims need wild proof, and since there is no proof, I need not start worrying about becoming Hindu.

For some really nice quotes about religion and science and atheism, try this link: http://dailyatheistquote.com/list.aspx

Yes, I know that is an .asp site... sorry about that :-)

It was just pointed out to me that any idea can be good, might even save the human race from itself. The problem is that without proof, evidence, and repeatability it is ONLY an idea, and will eventually be shoved off to the realm of religion.

Flying cars and personal jet packs as well as reincarnation are cool ideas. Trouble is that of the three, only two have facts, evidence, and repeatability. Even if very few of us will ever experience first-hand the two that are real, they remain real. The third remains religion without proof. While there is not much in the way of flying cars right now, people are working on the problem, and it is one of engineering, not proving religion. Further note: the guy that used a jet pack to fly over the English Channel is a fucking hero. THAT was and will remain very cool, even if I never get to do anything like it. It's no longer just an idea.

For some further reading by people that seem much more educated than I:
http://www.thebigview.com/mind/

And, of course, let us not forget real wisdom: http://xkcd.com/386/

To prove that the USA has actual and real separation of church and state, the USA should take democracy to Israel. If that upsets you, read the subject line again. If it still upsets you I have only one piece of advice: pills are subtle but a bullet to the brain proves you are a real man. Don't leave this life with everyone thinking you're a girly-man.

I didn't really want to write about politics... it's just not a subject proper folk should talk about in public, and it tends to upset a lot of people. The trouble is that this election is upsetting me. It's not that there are the typical political shenanigans going on, it is that we are calling Americans names like terrorist, Islamic, and other names that on their own mean nothing, yet taken in context of the last eight years of complete disregard for the Constitution mean something. It makes me sad, very sad.

The religious among us and the ignorant have not missed an opportunity to decry who the bad guys is, or who we should believe the bad guy is. Despite all the negative and vile things said and done, very few are actually saying, "hey, look ,these are the real issues, lets see how these people line up on the issues." Instead what we are getting from the political parties and the MSM is stories about who the bad guys are.

I'm pretty tired of this bs, and it is bullshit. On the one hand, someone says "look how bad the other guy is, so you have to vote for me because there are only two choices" and on the other hand I'm thinking "who the fuck let you people out of the zoo?" Given a choice and unconditional indemnity, I'd execute them all. Of course, that's just anger at how this is turning out. Apparently American politics can't be completed with out most participants either looking like assholes or pretending the other guys are.

America and Americans are facing real issues. Issues of such import that history might actually show them as more important than either world war, or even the revolutionary war. Because of America's place in the world, the world is facing issues like it has not faced since WWII, and all we can do here in the "homeland" is argue about which of the two main candidates is the most evil. Holy fuck!!

We're not talking to each other about which is the 'best' candidate, we're arguing who is the most evil in order to get the vote out for people to choose the lesser of two evils. That is so wrong that words fail me on all but the best of occasions. There are christians praying that god sees the election through to a right decision. Gays hoping that christians are as fucked up as they sound. Finance people hoping for more handouts. Osama bin Laden is probably near death from laughing.

My dear grandmother used to say "if you have nothing good to say, keep your fucking mouth shut, asshole"... and I'd like to pass that on the the general populace tonight.

When I first saw reality tv, I thought WTF? then I thought OMG these people are stupid. Follow the link below to find out why I think America is fucked:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/john-amato/obama-spokesman-gibbs-smokes-sean-hanni

Well, to be fair, my wife got the phone call. She is from the balmy area known as the west coast of Canada. The call was from a cousin in that area to the north of New York. All the details of the phone call are not important... just one sentence: "Please, Please, for the love of god and all that is good, spend all your free time convincing family, friends, and neighbors to NOT vote for McCain/Palin... please please please, we beg you"

It was stated from the bottom of her cousin's heart. Deeply felt, as though fear had driven it out of their mouth. These are not Americans begging us, they are world citizens who have no influence over the choice of the two people that have more control over their lives than we like to give the Whitehouse credit for. The world is asking us to NOT elect McCain/Palin... not just this election, but ever!

I'm doing just that right now. See this page http://www.newsweek.com/id/160080/output/print

I grew up in that same denomination church. Trust me, we don't want her having access to nuclear codes and the world's largest military might.

Also see this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxkrm9uEJk

While I normally expect Matt to be a bit more eloquent, but his concerns are the concerns that you and I should be thinking about very hard right now.

"Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban ... At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question... Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals ... If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear,"

- George Orwell, from his proposed preface to "Animal Farm."

I'm sure there are good people in Arizona, as there are anywhere, but lately I find myself wondering what the hell is wrong with so many people in Arizona that they keep electing McCain to office.

Do they believe the lies? http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&output=googleabout&btnG=Search+our+site&q=john%20mccain%20lies

or is there something in the water? http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&output=googleabout&btnG=Search+our+site&q=water%20quality%20arizona.

I ask this because we all know they don't smoke weed or do drugs http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&output=googleabout&btnG=Search+our+site&q=drug%20use%20arizona

and of course Arizona is not full of angry criminals who don't give a damn http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/azcrime.htm.

So, can someone please explain how this senile man keeps getting re-elected?

No, I'm not going to break down what oil companies say that the $5 is spent on. What I do want to comment on is this:

Ike destroys a number of oil platforms

Full story at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/14/ike-destroys-number-gulf-oil-platforms/

I just want to say something here. If they are making net profits of upwards of $90,000/day in record profits, why can't they do something to protect their investments in infrastructure? A category 2 storm blows through that area of the country on a regular basis. Any company that make that stupid sick volume of profits could at least spend a little to make sure their processing plants won't be shut down every time the weather gets a bit nasty. Our government should fine them for NOT making their infrastructure more sound and secure. By the way, oil company profits are not just obscene, they are unimaginably obscene. Check http://okk2.com/wwip/countriesg.htm to see how many countries make less than any of the big oil companies. Yes, that is entire countries.

For more fun, try these:

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/02/high_oil.html
http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/1168.html

It's just something that I don't understand... WTF?

The most insightful comment I've seen in awhile was on Reddit today.

Now, there is a person that understands the current administration of the USA.

The trick is not to complain artfully about the time I spend on the computer, but to make of yourself something that is much more interesting....
                                                                                                An Internet Widow's Spouse