Computer back in commission

A few months ago, a hard disk crash left my HP laptop utterly stranded, forcing me to buy an iMac as a replacement. The real issue was the crapware that had been supplied with the laptop, none of which were good enough to resurrect it, even with a new hard drive. Not even the OEM Windows XP reinstall disc worked.

While the iMac is a great machine, I missed having a laptop - so I decided to once again attempt to revive what had been a $2,000 doorstop for the past few months. Thanks to tips on how to use the upgrade version of Windows Vista (I have Home Premium) for standalone install, I bought a new hard disk again and gave it a try. Fortunately, it worked, and thanks to lack of crapware on the clean install of Windows Vista, the laptop is working better than ever. (This is legal on my machine, since it had been supplied with OEM version of Windows XP, even though it was unusable.)

And while HP is a company that has fallen out of favor with me, it is still good at providing drivers through its website, and I was able to gather all the necessary drivers to ensure that my laptop works well.

At least now, I have a laptop that will enable me to surf the Web and process photographs, while on business or personal trips - despite its 17" bulk and weight. I had been contemplating purchasing a MacBook for the past few months, but it looks like I won't have to shell out the money for the next 2-3 years.

Toyota: the Company That Supports American Theocracy

The Supreme Court, now headed by a former Toyota corporate lawyer John Roberts, has just handed down a decision declaring W's "faith-based initiatives," notorious for their illegal and unconstitutional discrimination policies, off-limits to taxpayer challenge.

Thanks to Toyota and its grooming of Roberts, Americans are now forced to pay taxes to support religious doctrines and dogmas they disapprove of.

Unfortunately, the liberal community just doesn't see how evil Toyota can possibly get, simply because it's not a white man's company. The same way the Unification Church and other yellow perils sneak past them. The same way the liberals can't possibly imagine the likes of Rape of Nanking ever happening, at the hands of a nonwhite race.

MSNBC

Hillary's campaign theme song

Hillary Clinton, Senator from New York and former First Lady, has now picked a theme song for her presidential campaign.

Unfortunately, she picked a foreign song - Celine Dion's "You and I."

Honestly, that song makes me want to take a vacation in Canada (it was used by Air Canada and www.canada.travel before), as opposed to voting for the next President of the United States.

I think this is a choice that will further cement Hillary's alienation among activists, many of whom have been reluctant to support her over her support of the Iraq War.

BBC

Lieberman threatens peace activists

Senator Joe Lieberman has been saber-rattling in regards to Iran, supporting every pathetic move by the W regime.

Lieberman agreed to meet with CodePink activists. But not only did he cancel his meeting without notice, he also threatened to have the activists, who showed up at the appointed time, arrested for trespassing.

I got some live feedback from the scene thanks to Karen Bradley of Democracy Cell Project, who was there with the CodePink activists.

Lieberman should've been voted out last year, but the people of Connecticut failed to do so, and the world will pay a heavy price. And I'm incensed that the Democratic Party had presented Lieberman to the American public as its vice presidential candidate in 2000.

CodePink

Marriage Equality, 40 years later

Forty years ago today, the final barrier to interracial marriages in the US was thrown out in the US Supreme Court, in the decision Loving v. Virginia. At that time, 70% of the American public opposed interracial marriages, and sixteen states, including Virginia, banned them outright. (When California became the first state to allow interracial marriages, the opposition stood at 90%.) But this was a decision that was based on fair application of basic constitutional rights to everyone, not a popularity contest or a religious dogma.

There are many parallels to the current gay marriage battle. In fact, in a rare show of solidarity, ethnic and gay organizations have come together to celebrate the Loving decision, and to plot the course of action in the gay marriage battle.

With the gay marriage debate, there is one more hurdle to overcome; the so-called "Defense of Marriage" Act allows individual states to refuse to recognize out-of-state valid gay marriages, and so far, most states have done so, including the once-pioneering California, thanks to the Republican exploitation of Third World immigrants' homophobia.

More information below:
Freedom to Marry

Maria Leavey tribute video

Karen Bradley of Democracy Cell Project created a video montage of various peace activist women, to carry the spirit of the late Maria Leavey. There are speeches from Diane Wilson, Gael Murphy, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and other major figures in the peace movement.

I am honored to have been included (I am about 40% through the montage, in a black miniskirt suit, and the photo dates from September 2005) in this montage alongside all these great activists - some famous, others not-so-famous but just as hardworking.

Given that I work in the defense sector, I have not been as outspoken as I ought to be in the peace movement. But just because I make money off of defense does not mean that I support endless wars - au contraire! I'm proud to be part of a movement that seeks to instill a true culture of life in American politics, instead of the war and death those in power have favored for the past several decades.

I want to thank Karen and all the other hardworking activists for keeping my sanity alive, and for trying to make America a better global citizen.

Travel plans changed

It looks like I may be "on call" to report to work for minor administrative stuff during the July 4th week. As a result, I had to scratch my Canadian road trip.

A truncated road trip will take me to the Grand Circle of natural attractions in Arizona and Utah instead. Sights will include Monument Valley, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. A night in Las Vegas will finish things off.

Granted, I would rather spend my money in Canada than in a reactionary state, and the Canadian Rockies hold my fancy much better, but I can always go up there in the future... I'll find some excuse to fly up to Calgary, either this fall, or next year.

From a fellow blogger

Christy Cole hails from Louisiana, and I've known her through Democracy Cell Project for a few years now. She introduced me to blogging, and we also used to work together on another blog, named ReBelle Nation.

A tragedy had struck her family in 1983, when her aunt Faye Aline Self went missing - and was never found. The corruption of her parish was so great, that the investigation of Aline's disappearance/murder has been at a standstill. Only now, and only due to a determined sheriff, are the facts starting to be revealed - devastating Christy and her family over and over again. So far, two unrelated men have confessed to Aline's murder (and up to 30 others), and nobody knows which man is speaking the truth, if at all...

Below is a blog set up in memory of Aline.

Forever Faye

California Democrats out of touch again

I've been complaining about the California Democrats for months now. They have taken their razor-thin lead for granted, completely conceding Southern California suburbs, the small businesses, the motorists, and the sportsmen to the reactionary state Republicans. (And I am definitely the first three demographics.) And they are very close to conceding the conservative immigrants too.

Now, in a move that shows how out of touch they are with the average Californian, they have rammed a low-priority but highly intrusive legislation through the state Assembly. This new legislation will require all dogs and cats to be neutered or spayed. Noncompliance will cost $500. Exceptions will be made for breeders, of course.

While pet overpopulation is a serious issue, there are far more serious issues, involving the PEOPLE - yes, human beings - of California. Better education systems are needed, housing problems need resolution, and businesses need more incentives to function in California. But a small band of NorCal ideologues couldn't care less.

A more voluntary approach would've been a much better solution in this specific case, in any case.

No wonder the state Democrats are under siege - from the Greens in NorCal, and from the Republicans, American Independents, and other right-wing parties in SoCal. I'm sorry, but I am with the hated Republicans on this one.

MSNBC

500th post!

And I'm marking this milestone by discussing my travel plans (again).

I am planning on taking the entire week of July 4th off, with July 4th being Wednesday and all. And I intend to spend the week, by driving to Canada - most likely Jasper and Banff, maybe Vancouver (again). I have two rough itineraries right now, one covering the Rockies, and the second covering the Rockies AND Vancouver.

Although I had been thinking of going to a different part of Canada - Toronto - I scrubbed that, since I had just done a mad round of Chicago museums, and another big city (and its museums) will surely burn me out. (And speaking of Chicago, I will post pictures this weekend.)

And yes, I'll be driving - the airfares and car rental rates are too high to justify flying, even if I go alone.

It's extremely difficult for me to get a summer week off, so with this natural, rare opportunity, I have to seize it. I'll see how the itinerary will shape up, and who will join my trip. (Depending on who end up going with me, I will need to adjust the stops.)

I'll have to give up my Labor Day travel plans, however, but given that it's only a long weekend then, I won't mind giving it up (and saving the money for my apartment).

CIA jails "confirmed" in Poland

The CIA, which the Black Eyed Peas describe as one of the "terrorists livin' here in the USA," has been rumored to be running secret torture prisons in certain European countries, in violation of US and international laws.

The newest news articles say that a Swiss senator by the name of Dick Marty has proof of those activities, in Poland, including documented landings of a well-known CIA-registered jet at Szymany.

Poland is not only a major human rights abuser in its own right, but a collaborator of the Nazi, the Soviet, and the W regimes. It was also home to Pope John Paul II, who yanked the Roman Catholic Church hard to the right, and reduced it to the US Department of Faith. And W is handsomely rewarding this rogue state, with participation in the US missile shield program, and with Rummy's rhetoric of a "New Europe." I'm also pretty well convinced that the Poles are enjoying special perks in US immigration laws, much like the Cubans since 1959, the Vietnamese in the 1970s, the Nicaraguans and the Koreans in the 1980s, and the Ukrainians and Venezuelans today.

This is one European country I am in no hurry to visit.

BBC