Plane, Trains, Buses and Fireworks II

Part 2

On my way out of Wisconsin, I joked with my colleague that I hated going through Chicago because something terrible always happens. I’ve never had an on time trip coming in or leaving Chicago. Like Ever. Pretty impressive record considering how many times I’ve flown in and out of Chicago. I’ve experienced everything from snow, broken plane toilets, broken plane, plane running into a cart, plane running out of fuel while sitting on tarmac and many other nearly impossible things that’s cause delays in my Chicago flight experience.

When I got to Chicago, I saw that there were some weather issues coming so I thought I’d be smart and change to an earlier flight to stay ahead of it. I thought I was so smart. I got the flight changed and ran to the gate just in time for them to close the door. BTW, don’t laugh at the people hauling ass through the airport. Every second counts so don’t be a dick and clear a path.

I got on the plane and the door was closed and I thought I was all good. What happened next was a fun 2 hour stay on the tarmac. I had actually fallen asleep during part of it and waking up thinking we’ve landed only to find that we haven’t moved. They had held all flights going into LaGuardia due to an impending storm. What’s funny is that the storm is in the path to NY, but both Chicago and NY were sunny and clear.

After 2 hours had passed, the pilots came over the speaker and said that they had been up since 5:30am and by law they’re not allowed to stay on the plane anymore. This was both scary (that our pilots have been up for almost 12 hours) and good because we’d get to go back to the terminal. Just to add a little bit of excitement, the pilot said that they have to leave, but we may not get to due to regulations. Luckily, this wasn’t true as I’m sure there would’ve been a riot. We were able to leave because they had cancelled our flight. The fun never seems to end.

In the announcement that the flight had been cancelled, they also gave out the number to rebook our flights. It was a mad dash for the phones as everyone was trying to get in front of the queue. My phone had died during the 2 hour wait so that was awesome. However, there was one bright spot for me. Tess and I had planned to spend the weekend in Chicago anyway and I would’ve had to fly back the next day. This would actually save me 2 flights. Score.

As I watch the passengers madly dial and put on hold, I was thinking about what some of these passengers’ stories were. Were they going to New York for work, vacation, meeting up with their long lost love or a dirty weekend with someone they’re not supposed to be with? This has always been a good way for me to past time. It’s really fascinating how many different stories there are.

I spoke with the lady sitting next to me during our wait. She was a very nice and friendly older lady from Minnesota. She was on her way to New York where her son lives. Her son was apparently very successful and has lived in several countries, most recently settling down in New York after meeting his girlfriend. The two of them were going to take a flight to London later that night for a vacation together. I was really hoping that she’d be able to make it, but after seeing how all flights were cancelled, I knew there was no way she was going to make it. Hope she was still able to have a good vacation after a delay.

I was lucky that I was on a work trip so I ended up just staying in a hotel in Chicago and it was all paid for. There are so many others not so lucky who either had to stay in crappy airport hotels or just found a corner in the airport. I went and checked with the agent that if I go ahead and cancel, I should be able to get a refund and she said yes because the flight was cancelled and they would not be able to get us out that day. After i got back and called about the refund, they said no, that's not going to happen. I was not able to get a refund because the airline said that the flight wasn’t actually cancelled cancelled. It was just delayed until the same time later so it still went (albeit 48 hours later), so no refund for me. WTF. That’s not a damn delay, that’s just the next scheduled flight, the original one did go away. I’m glad I learned this lesson on the company dollar.

As there were no flights from Chicago to New York, the same was true of flights from New York to Chicago. Tess was supposed to get on a flight the next day to come for our weekend in Chicago. As the storm didn’t move from the day before, the same situation happened with all flights being cancelled between New York and Chicago.

After finding out that she wasn’t going to be able to fly out to Chicago, she was amazingly resourceful in finding ways to get there. After exhausting several options, one finally came up. As is the case for almost anyone using this form of transportation, Greyhound buses was the last resort to get to Chicago now. A red eye bus ride that took 18 hours in cramp uncomfortable seats is more than anyone can ask. Her determination to get to Chicago to spend a weekend with me was simply an amazing feat. On the bright side, she was able to stop in cities that she would have never seen like Cleveland and Toledo. Yes, some bright side that is.

The journey seemed endless, but she finally made it to Chicago and to the hotel where we were staying. While the journey getting there was a massive struggle, we had a great time in Chicago. The weather was wonderful and we had an opportunity to do great Chicago things.

Then there’s the flight back! Just joking. The flight back was fine, just a slight delay. Way to be consistent Chicago.

Plane, Trains, Buses and Fireworks

Part 1

It’s been a few months since I’ve travelled for work. I get that like anything else, you can be rusty at doing something you haven’t done for a while. Work travel is one of those things that might seem easy, but involves a lot of things that could easily go wrong. For me this week, it all went wrong.

It all started when I got to the airport at 7am, which meant getting up around 5am. I know a lot of people wake up at 5pm on a regular basis, but I am not one of those people and I believe that’s an unholy hour that we all need to avoid. Travelling to LaGuardia airport here in New York is not the easiest thing to do at the best of times, but for whatever reason, and it had better be a good reason other than it’s Monday, there was some serious traffic on the roads. I looked later to see if the Queen or the President was in town to cause such a traffic mess, but no, just Monday getting a head start on ruining your week. Combine that with a very aggressive cab driver that’s probably been up for 36 hours and hopped up on caffeine, this did not make for a fun ride.

I finally got there and I go straight to check in machines to get my ticket. The machine kept saying that it doesn’t have a reservation for me. Stupid machine. I have my confirmation right here, why can’t it find my reservation?! I was beginning to doubt my argument that it would be better to leave it to machines to run our political life rather than to entrust humans. That’s another whole different post though.

So I head over to an actual person to see if they can figure out what the machine can’t. After looking through their system by my name, flight number, confirmation and even booking agent, the airline lady told me calmly that the booking agent has cancelled my ticket. Awesome.

I’ll spare you all the yelling that went on for the next few hours. Being that it was still 7am, no normal people were up so there was no one to call. I tried to call the travel agent’s after hour line, and I get the lady that’s probably just finishing up her night shift. I asked what happened and she said I’ll have to wait till the day team comes in. I asked what they can do for me, and she said it’s not her fault that the ticket was cancelled (I did not in any way accuse or suggested it was her fault, only that we try to find a solution).

All flights were booked and the only tickets left are $1400 (my original ticket was only $300). As much as I’d love to explain this to my boss, I don’t think that would’ve gone over well. I was trying to think of all kinds of way to get to Madison, Wisconsin. I suggested a train. That did not work out as we’re not in the 1900s anymore. I suggested a mix of flying to Chicago and renting a car to drive there. Amazingly, the cost was equal to the expensive ticket plus I’d have to drive. By now I’d be pretty happy to just jump out of the airplane or maybe get shot out of a big cannon. The lady just said, I’ll put the $1400 ticket on hold and call back after 9am and the day team will handle it. Oh, and you need to call back if you’d like to cancel it. That’s some good customer service if I've ever seen it.

Once normal work hours started, quite a few people were trying to help me from the office. It went all the way up to the head of procurement who personally called the head of the travel agency to get this sorted out. They admitted that there was a bug in their system that randomly cancelled my flight and I got on another flight later that day which they will cover the difference in cost. Before this was all sorted out, I actually went home because I didn’t think anything was going to happen in terms of me getting on a flight. Of course, as soon as I walked into my apt., it was resolved and so straight back out to the airport I go. BTW, traffic has only gotten worst since 7am so the rides back and forth were really fun for everyone. I eventually got to Madison where my colleague picked me up and it was instantly relaxing. All the open fields and much slower pace of life was such a change coming from New York. I was pretty sure the worst parts of the trip was over, boy was I wrong.

To be continued..

Everyone’s Gotta Eat

With the amazing amount and variety of food in NYC, even Pup has to take some time out in his world domination planning for some good meals.

Here are a few from this past week.  

Txikito - 240 Ninth Ave

Went to dinner with a couple friends at this nice place in Chelsea.  I didn’t know much about the restaurant other than it was supposed to be good.  Walking into the restaurant, there was a warm buzz about the place with a full crowd and very handsome waiters moving through the small space.  We had a look at the menu and couldn’t decide where type of cuisine it was.  It looked Spanish (the country) to me and Portuguese to others.  Looking at the wine list, we noticed that there were a lot of wines from Basque. 

I had no idea what that meant, but luckily my friends who were much more worldly and said that they are an indigenous group of people from around north-central Spain and south-western France.  A lot of the menu was written in Basque hence no one could make out what it was exactly.

We had a selection of small plates (tapa-ish) to share which were all delicious.  My favorites were the Octopus Carpaccio and the blistered Gernika peppers with sea salt.

Overall, the restaurant was nice and the wait staff very helpful and friendly.  The food was well executed and unique.  Be ready to wait on busy nights.

Bareburger – 366 West 46^th Street

We wandered by this burger joint and thought it looked nice so we stopped in for lunch.  Bareburger specializes in basically all-natural, free range, sustainable, organically sourced everything.  They know where every piece of their food comes from.  There are 9 types of meat you can put in your burger.  Everything from your usual beef to your more exotic bison, ostrich and everything in between.

Since it’s my first time I just went with a regular beef burger figuring if they can’t get this right, they’re not going to get the others right either.  The burger was fine, nothing to write home about, but it did taste much fresher than other burgers (it could be that I was reading about the farm that the cow was raised and how nice it seemed).  The burger was also a very good size.  Not so huge that you can’t fit it into your mouth and not too small that you’d still be hungry afterwards.  The sides were probably the main attraction here.  The sweet potato fries and onion rings were fantastic.  The salad was also very full of variety and taste.

Overall, there are way too many good burger places in NYC so I probably won’t revisit any of them.  Bareburger is good for a light snack or if you have vegetarian friends coming with you.   

Haru Sake Bar – 1327 Third Ave

After a long day of exploring the upper east side, we decided to make a pit stop for a drink and maybe a snack.  We happened on Haru Sake bar as I’m usually pretty excited about Sake bars and especially if it’s an izakaya (basically a Japanese bar with small plates).  Boy were we disappointed, they were not an izakaya (the host almost seems insulted when we asked) and the sake selection was pretty slim (for one that has ‘Sake Bar’ in the name of the restaurant).    

We had a couple of sake based cocktails and a few shared plates which were both pretty good, but again, nothing special.  The waiter seemed a bit annoyed that we were neither drinking fast enough nor ordering enough food. That didn't make for a good experience either.  It would be that we were pretty tired and cold from the day's walking, but this place certainly didn't put us at ease.

Overall, there are much better Japanese at the higher and lower end (price and location wise) than Haru.  I don’t think we’ll be revisiting this place again.

Gallo Nero – 42 W 44^th Street

After going to see Kinky Boots (and meeting Billy Porter by standing by the stage door forever like a teenage fanatic), we were looking for somewhere for a small bite after the show.  We wandering into Gallo Nero as it had a very warm open vibe to the restaurant (also a sign that said ‘Wine is how ‘classy’ people get trashed).  We sat at the little bar (6 seater) and was quickly greeted by the manager who was very friendly.  

We had 2 glasses of wine that were simply amazing.  Even better, he let us try the wines which is a new thing for me.  Often times you’re more or less guessing at which wines to order, but to be able to have a taste first is amazing.  We then order 2 of the night’s specials.  One was a Burrata (a cheese made with Mozzarella and cream.  It’s amazing and I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve had it).  with prosciutto and Beef Carpaccio.  Both dishes were wonderful and beautifully done.  Everything was so fresh.  It was light and substantial at the same time.  Reminded me of our meals in Italy.

Overall, I was very impressed with this place that we randomly found.  I would highly suggest it to anyone and it may make it on our come back list to try the rest of the menu, but with so much great Italian around NYC, we’ll just have to see.   

What the fuck is wrong with you people?

Obviously if the blogging is going to restart, it should restart with one of the most common topics that you’ll see here.  Apparently, my lack of blogging has not made people do less stupid things that pisses me off (not that blogging will stop them either, but its worth the rant).

Today, Georgia will sign the ‘guns everywhere’ law where you’ll be allowed to carry a weapon pretty much anywhere.  Besides creating this wild west scenario in the state, the law will also change a few pesky laws to make sure that it’s easier than ever to pick up a gun with no ways of tracking where the guns are.  Sounds awesome doesn't it?

Let’s just go through a few of these new rules.

You are now allowed to carry a gun into:

Schools – teachers and administrators will now be allowed to carry guns if the school votes to allow this.  That’s exactly what we need in schools.  More guns.  How do we teach the kids not to bring guns to school if the teacher is packing heat?  What kind of example are we setting for them?

Airports – You can’t wear shoes past security, you can’t make a joke about a bomb, but if you’re carrying a gun, that’s totally fine.  The new law states that if you ‘accidentally’ bring your gun to the airport, it’s all good, just take it back outside.  No harm done. You tell one joke about a bomb and you're on a list for life with possible fines and jail time.  Jokes are more lethal than guns.  Yup, that sounds about right.

Bars – Yup, cause there’s no better place to have guns than where people get drunk.  Seriously, in what world would someone think this is a good idea?  The new law allows people to bring guns into bars unless the bar owner tells them to get out.  How’s that for an awkward conversation?  ‘Sir, you’re drunk and have a gun, I need you to leave’ – said no one ever. 

Churches – Cause that’s what Jesus would’ve wanted, for people to carry gun while they're praying for peace.  You should seriously re-examine your faith if you have so little trust that your God will protect you in a house of worship or perhaps you believe you can take matters into your own hands in which case, you also don’t believe in your God taking care of you.  Either way, you might need to re-examine your church going and how utterly little faith you actually have in your lord.

Govt buildings – The law now allows you to carry guns into non-secure govt buildings.  That’s just fantastic.  Although it’s not all govt buildings, it’s only the non-secure ones with no security checks where people can carry guns into the buildings.  So it's fine to allow people to carry guns into non secured buildings?  What are the workers in the non secure buildings?  Chopped liver?  There are more anti-govt hate groups today than at almost any other time in history.  Seems like this is a perfectly good idea.

Besides allowing guns to be carried in these places, the law also forbids the creation of a gun ownership database.  Yup, as a civilized society, why would we need to keep track of who has these murder sticks anyway.  Just to add to the craziness, the law also eliminated the fingerprinting requirement to renewing weapon licenses.  Seriously, since when has fingerprints been useful in solving crimes?  Oh yea, ALL THE DAMN TIME.

The new law also made it pretty much illegal to detain a person to check if they have a weapons carrying license.  So not only are guns now legal everywhere, you’re not allowed to ask if they actually have a license to carry it.  How in the hell do you tell a difference between a law abiding citizen carry a gun and one that isn’t?  Isn't that your whole damn argument?  That it's about the law abiding citizens?  So why in the hell did you include a rule so that you can't ask if you are law abiding!

Supporters of this bill all cry out that it’s about protecting the 2^nd amendment.  It’s not.  It’s about money.  Pure and simple.  Nothing would boost sales of guns faster than a law like this.  The point of this law is not to protect anything other than gun profits and it uses fear as the primary driver. 

The most common argument you hear is that ‘bad’ guys have guns so the ‘good’ guys need to have guns too.  However, this 'bad’ guy is a boogie man created by gun lobbyist to instil paranoia into everyone.  The fact that everyone has a gun, good or bad, is also a creation by the gun lobbyist in the first place.  They created the problem and now they're creating the paranoia to scare people into buying more guns.  

Paranoia leads to fear.  Fear leads to hate.  Hate will lead to a whole lot of gun sales.

Guns cannot and will not ever bring a sense of security.  All guns can bring is paranoia.  Paranoia that that are ‘bad’ guys out there so you have to defend yourself.  This paranoia will just grow and fester in everyone who buys into these lies and then it will bleed into society in general until everyone is scared of anyone they don’t know, jumping at every loud bang and pulling out a gun as a first response.    

All these people banging their chest about being able to kill a ‘bad’ guy need to wake up from their adolescent wet dream.  You’ve watched way too much TV and movies or played too much video games.  You are not John McClane!  The gun makes it easy to shoot someone, but how many people are actually willing to kill another person?  Oh sure, in the heat of the moment many may, but killing a person will haunt you forever, guilty or not.  Are you prepared for that?  And what if you’re wrong about the person you’ve killed?  What if it wasn’t a ‘bad’ guy?  Are you willing to have that on you?    

Is this the society we are becoming?  A society where it’s all about the rule of the gun?  Where all situations only have one response?  So many people are being played by the gun lobby and I’m not sure if there is a way to make them realize that they’re just pawns in a game for profit.  The gun lobby couldn’t give 2 cents about the 2^nd amendment.  They only want to increase sales and if increasing sales means bringing a society to its knees with fear and paranoia, well then, that’s just good for business.      

I’m Back

It’s almost scary to think that this blog began almost exactly a decade ago.  A decade!  That’s like forever in blog years.  Pretty sure no one is here anymore.  After this long hiatus, I think it’s time for Pup to continue his ranting about the world, about random things and about things only a bear sitting around all day can think of. It’s probably better for everyone that no one is here. 

So what’s been going on?  I noticed my last post was the 2012 wrap-up.  Wow, that’s a while ago.  Totally missed 2013.  Well, a lot happened in 2013.  A lot more good than bad.  I think that’s all anyone can ask for.  Went on a trip that covered Finland, Hungary and Hong Kong.  There was everything from standing a foot from Katy Perry to finally realising I need to retire from playing high level competitive Frisbee.  Hopefully, I’ll get around to all these stories this year.

The big story is that I’m back in the US for a while.  New York City to be specific.  I’m sure there will be a lot of interesting adventures in the next few months and hence I want to make sure I write as much of it down as I can.  I’ll try and get to as many of the stories I’ve missed from the last year.  Of course, there will be ranting.  Oh yes, there will be ranting.  Ranting is coming. 

I’m back.  Get ready.    

2012 Wrap up

I noticed I might have skipped last year’s wrap up, or have been too lazy to actually look for where I’ve put it.  Either way, that was 2 years ago now.  That seems like such a long time ago.  Another amazing thing is that I started this blog 8 years ago!  Oh how much has changed in these last 8 years.

Ok, now it’s for the 2012 wrap up.

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been living in Australia for over 4 years now.  It really does seem like just the other day I arrived at the Sydney airport with my 2 big pieces of luggage and such excitement at finally coming to a place I’ve always wanted to visit.  Who knew 4 years later I’d still be here and have no intention of leaving. Sydney has really become a home for me.  I don't think I've felt this way in quite a long time.  I'm glad that life has brought me to such a great place.

2012 had a few big changes with a new job and a new house that I get to share with a wonderful person.  These things seem to be very positive signs that I’ll remain here in Australia for the foreseeable future.  One thing that I got to do in 2012 was really explore Australia.  This is such a large and diverse country, it was great to visit some of the different areas such as Darwin where I saw the most amazing crocs and across all the different wine regions that are only within a few hour’s drive from my house.

I think 2013 will see a bit more exploration of other countries.  Every time I speak with someone it seems there’s another country that I need to visit and explore.  I still kick myself that I never did much traveling when I was younger.  I don’t think I knew that many people that traveled while I was growing up.  It just wasn't part of the plan when one was younger.  Here in Australia, it would be a complete oddity if someone hasn’t gone out of the country.  Especially, someone who's relatively young.

   

There were some bad times in 2012 as well.  Re-injuring my back and coming close to needing a neurosurgery was certainly on top of my list of things that I could’ve done without.  After 6 months of rehab, I seem to be on my way back now.  Now to get back in shape in time for some summer Frisbee.  This is not going to be easy given I have done absolutely zero exercise in 6 months (doctor's orders).

Overall, it’s been a wonderful year, but I am really looking forward to 2013 and 2014 which are already packed with lots of major exciting changes and event.  Can’t wait!

To all of you, have a wonderful year.  

Evil? Yes please.

I define it as the conscious act of inflicting pain, physically or psychological, directly or indirectly, onto another being without any feelings of remorse or pity. Evil is all around us, the seeds are in all of us. However, most of us do not have the potential to harvest the powers of the seed. One must be willing to nurture the seed, to see it grow within one’s mind and soul, and eventually, allow the growth to take control. This is not such an easy task, and as of yet, there have been no one who is able to succeed.

What does it feel like to be truly evil? We hear accounts of ‘evil’ people everyday in the news; the murders, the rapist, the molesters, the drug dealers, the religious rights, etc. Are these people truly evil? The answer is no. Some of these people have a sickness, some are mislead, and some are just trying to achieve happiness in their own twisted way. That perhaps is evil in the view of many people, but there is a difference in what they do and true evil. The difference here is that these people have a self-interest in what they do. The drug dealers are trying to make money, the serial killers and molesters are trying to satisfy an uncontrollable thirst in their twisted mind, and the rapist a sense of power. These are self-gratifying actions, and although they can be deemed evil, they are nothing special. Nothing more than a pathetic primitive urge.

No, Evil is something completely different. Evil is a higher order state of being. Like being enlighten. Just as someone can become enlighten through the light, one can also become enlighten through the darkness.

In order to understand evil, one must understand the role evil plays in the balance, and in our world. As many have said, without evil, there would be no good, and vice versa. Without evil, the world would not exist. Evil is in our nature, as is good. Evil sparks life and ideas. It is only after evil has existed that good comes in to extinguish the flames evil has ignited. As is good, evil will never be able to be extinguished, and so, it will flare up again and again only to meet its match with good. So the cycle continues. However, it is the evil that first brought about the change. Without the existence of evil, or evil rising, we are complacent with what we have and hence do not evolve.

If we had not seen the harshness and evils of nature, we humans would have never banded together in the first place. If we had not seen the evils of wars, countries would’ve never been formed, and if cruelty and suffering were never caused by anyone, we would’ve been ignorant of our own full potential. It is only by these acts of evil that we allow ourselves to explore our true potential. We have the potential for great deeds good or evil. As we’ve mentioned before, good always comes after evil.

If there were no tragedies, where would the good deeds go? If there were no tyrants and evils, where would our heroes come from? If there were no evil in the world, what would be the point of existing?

Ok, so I went a bit off the topic there. I just wanted to show the important of evil in our world. Without it, there would be nothing. Anyone who would argue otherwise is close-minded and not able to see the views of the truly enlighten.
Back to the topic at hand. What is the action of one who is truly evil? The answer is simple. We can simply look at those who have achieved this feat, in the ways of the good. Those who are pure at heart acts not for any self-interest, but for the greater plan. Great figures of good such as Mother Theresa, Gandhi, or Martin Luther King Jr., did not act for self-interest, but for a goal that was greater than themselves. Great figures are passionate and devoted to what they were doing. The only joy they knew was knowing that their actions would have a greater impact for the present and the future.

So too are the actions of one who is truly Evil. The actions that are taken are not those of self-interest, nor of pleasure. These actions are done only to cause the maximum amounts of pain and suffering. These actions may be random, without reason, and without cause or could be carefully planned in order to inflict as much damage to others as possible. One may ask, this seems so robotic? However, that is not the case at all. Just as the great figures of good are compassion towards those that they help, the action of the Evil one must replicate the same feelings. The victims must know that the actions taken by the Evil one is a conscientious and deliberate act to harm them. There is no remorse in the actions that are taken, and there is no joy. These action are done just because the individuals inflicting the pain just feels it is something that has to be done.

The Evil one will cause the people of the world to shake with fear. A fate far worst than death, to live in fear and wonder. What will the Evil one do next? Who will it be? The Evil one will make the world rethink what it truly means to be Evil, and what they have taken for granted for so long. The Evil one will bring destruction and chaos to the world, without prejudice, and without care. The Evil one will continue to bring the mayhem, never yielding. Any hope of the light returning will be diminished by the Evil one. There will be nothing left but sorrow and the flames of hope will be extinguished.

As the prophecy of balance holds, the Dark one will not run rampant for long. After a period of time, the goodness of man will rise up, and a hero will be born to challenge the Darkness. This light of hope will no doubt win the war against the darkness, and soon the dark one will fall once again.

The acts of the Dark one will not be forgotten however, man will try to make sure that the Evil will never be able to rise again. They will put it in their history book. They will write books and make movies about the Dark one in hopes of helping following generations understand what could happen. However, as with all things, time will make people forget.

People will forget what had happened. People will cease to care. People will once again need to be reminded. The Dark one will wait as long as needed. Then the Dark one will once again rise from the ashes. Perhaps in a different form, but always with the same intentions. Thus the cycle continues.

What NOT to say on a date

• I'm very anti-gun. I mean, it's so impersonal. You feel so disconnected from the person you're killing. I like to have that connection so I prefer knives.


• I see dead people riding in the back seat of my car sometimes.


• People are really not that special. Really statistically, there's probably like 1000 people just like you.


• Yea, most of the things I want to do involves a lot of danger.


• Pot is hilarious. The people that use it, the whole culture. Hilarious.  I'm high right now. 


• I can drink so much. Seriously, it's almost a problem how much I drink.

Look at Us

For all the times that we, We ever wouldn't be,

Look at us baby,Look at us now,

For everday that I should have you by my side,

We'll make it baby, look at us now,

Remember the time, when our love wasn't so fine

We made it baby, look at us now

Everybody believed we would never be,

Look at us up above,

We are so in love,

Everyday in your arms,

For every night I dream, Together you and me,

Look at us baby, look at us now.

I knew it all along,

Baby look at us.

What are Your Real Intentions?

The Conservatives and GOP ran on a platform of jobs during the 2010 election. They railed against government spending and promised to work to lower the unemployment rate from the near 10% it's been sitting at since the aftermath of the global financial crisis. A crisis caused by years of uncontrolled and unregulated banking practices.

This message of jobs got them a majority in the house of representatives and won may state governorships in the election. Then the country waited for their plan to bring jobs back. What we have been seeing from this group of Republicans is far different than what they had advertised.

Looking at the GOP's behaviour, it is obvious that the GOP's number one goal is to take over the white house. Even though they were elected to create jobs, they have blocked and rejected all job bills that has been brought up in congress. As the economy will be the number one issue during next year's election, the GOP will do everything to further destroy the economy or at best keep it status quo in order to blame this on Obama. The GOP may have talked about jobs during their election, but it is only one job they're concern about.

Even though it is their sworn duty as a member of congress to do what's best for the country and all Americans, the GOP only cares about winning the presidency. Even if it has to further destroy the country, they're willing to sacrifice the country and her people for power to drive their regressive agenda.

As we have seen in the last year or so, the GOP has focused on 2 main types of legislation. The first is to tear at the fabric that has made our society great. In the name of saving money, they seek to get rid of anything that helps the middle and lower socio-economic status. They have cut budgets for everything from public libraries, parks, to even elmo. What this does is it opens the door for private companies to come in and provide these services, but at a cost. A cost that will further drain the already tight budgets of middle and low income families. Again, the loyalty of the GOP is openly seen here. Sacrifice American families for profits.

The 2nd type of legislation that the GOP has heavily pushed are regressive social agendas. The GOP has focused most of the attacks in the last 2 years on women and women's health. What's scary is that they have evolved in their attack to restrict and take away rights from women. No longer will you hear the GOP talk about repealing Roe vs. Wade. They realise that the country is not ready to wholly reject providing safe legal abortion practices for women.

What conservatives have done is to change their their tactics so that it's much more indirect and deceptive. They have gone after funding for abortion providers, they have made legislation to make it very difficult to be able to buy insurance for women, they have even done things like make legislation so that a women has to travel to the health center multiple times to get the care she needs.  They have also made it difficult for clinics that provide abortion to remain open with outrageous rules and specifications.  Together, they have it more dangerous and difficult than ever for women to receive the proper health care they need.

As I've mentioned before, today's GOP are not conservatives like the ones in years before.  The people in the GOP and controlling the party today are Neo-Cons.  Neo-Cons are a twisted mutation of conservatives.  They are very well funded, well organised group that's been planning for the take over for decades now.  They've set their plans in motion years ago and now we're seeing the fruits of their plan to dominate the country with their twisted theocracy.  They use ideas like Christianity to influence the masses while subscribing to none of its teachings.  Neo-Cons don't have a belief other than to rule with absolute power.  Power and money is their religion and the only thing they look up to.