Mother of the Year

I'm always skeptical of any product that claims to cure the common cold. The "Mother of the Year" commercial for Vicks First Defense is hilarious, though.

Apparently, the product is an anti-viral medication for one of the more common viruses that causes the common cold, so it is only effective if you have that one type of virus. With any other form of the cold, it is my understanding that it wouldn't provide a benefit.

The Paradox of Dubya

Dubya is a highly educated, successful business man, with woeful speaking skills and a poor vocubulary, known for using words such as "misunderestimated" on multiple occasions.

He is a conservative who believes in lowering taxes, especially for businesses, but has led government spending on a record pace, never vetoing a bill that crosses his desk, and leading the country to record deficits.

He is the leader of a party controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, yet he was elected to the Presidency in 2000 after failing to win a majority of the popular vote. He leveraged his popularity after the 9/11 attacks to enter into a war in Iraq that is now a large cause for his extremely low popularity ratings.

He is a highly religious man who believes that only God is infallible, yet the biggest weakness of his administration is lack of public trust, because, until recently, they would never publicly admit that they could made a mistake.

My family would love to have one of these...

Too bad they're so expensive!

For just under $16,000, you too can understand Ben Logic!

How to Dispose of Unused Items for FREE!!!

Okay, so maybe it isn't the greatest idea...

Why Hillary Can't Win

Conservatives are horrified at the thought of Hillary Clinton becoming the next president of the United States. They really have nothing to fear. Hillary has only slightly more chance of winning than Randee of the Redwoods did in the late '80s.

For those old enough to remember him, or young enough to have watched MTV in the '80s, don't you wish Randee would run again?!? I searched the internet for him, and was unable to find any pictures of the character. I think it's a government conspiracy to keep him out of the White House.

But anyway, back to the subject:

I've heard liberal women say that Hillary doesn't get support because she's a powerful woman, and that she intimidates men. That's a bunch of Bill, er I mean, bull. Female Democrats support her because they want to see a female Democrat in office. Many have such a skewed opinion of her (due to their own desires to see her win) that they fail to see the obvious. She can't win because she does't have the support of many male Democrats, and she lacks the support of those men because she lacks the one key quality that her husband possesses: charisma. While many Democrats would still follow Bill Clinton, like a bunch of lemmings jumping off a cliff, any male Democrats following Hillary onto the ledge would simply be there to give her a push. If she wins the Democratic nomination in 2008, it just ensures that the Republicans control the White House for 4 more years.

I have nothing personally against Hillary Clinton. I just think she's a bore. When Bill Clinton gave speeches, his followers were enthralled. When Hillary Clinton gives a speech, it is hard to keep from muting the television. Check out the website for her Presidential campaign. It's fairly amatuerish, but at the bottom, you can cast your vote on whether you think she should run in 2008...

Added 4/3/06: Apparently the poll at the bottom of Hillary.org was removed. Maybe they didn't like the answers they were getting...

Eta Gives Up Violence

Eta, the Basque separatist movement in Spain / France has decided to give up violence.

How much of their decision, like that of the IRA in Great Britain, is due to the dramatic change in public sentiment toward political violence since the September 11 attacks? How much is due to their dwindling numbers?

More importantly, how do we decide what constitutes a "Terrorist", and what constitutes "Freedom Fighters." I'm sure that new movie, V for Vendetta, will clear everything up.

Fan of Helicoptors?

Sometimes it's hard to imagine what others could be thinking...


Do you think the rotors actually spin?

Bush Impersonation

I don't care if you're liberal or conservative, you have to admit that this impersonation is pretty good...

The Other Ben Logic

Apparently, there's a website out there called BenLogic related to hair care. I wouldn't know, since I don't have much hair to care for. Luckily, I think it would be hard to confuse the two sites...

Literary Passages

Following are a couple of passages from books that I have really enjoyed:

"Nobody, up to now, has doubted that the 'good' man represents a higher value than the 'evil,' in terms of promoting and benifitting mankind generally, even taking the long view. But suppose the exact opposite were true. What if the 'good' man represents not merely a retrogression but even a danger, a temptation, a narcotic drug enabling the present to live at the expense of the future? More comfortable, less hazardous, perhaps, but also baser, more petty -- so morality itself would be responsible for man, as a species, failing to reach the peak of magnificence of which he is capable?"
-Friedrich Nietsche, The Geneology of Morals

"It is our noticing them that puts things in a room, our growing used to them that takes them away again and clears a space for us... The clock -- whereas at home I heard mine tick only a few seconds a week, when coming out of some profound meditation -- continued without a moments interruption to utter, in an unknown tongue, a series of observations which must have been most uncomplimentary to myself."
-Marcel Prouse, Within a Budding Grove

Opinion of Islam in America

Yesterday, I read a poll indicating that Americans' opinions of Islam are declining. The poll numbers are even lower than just after September 11, 2001. Overall, the opinion is that Islam teaches or encourages violence. I'm not going to argue the validity (or lack thereof) of the idea, but I'd like to look at the cause for the change in poll numbers. The two key factors, as I see it, relate to media and politics, and both are playing on Americans' fears.

Obviously, there is extensive coverage of events in Muslim countries right now, primarily Iraq and Iran, but also the Palestinian territories, Saudia Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, UAE, Egypt, Syria... When looking at international news coverage in the U.S., it almost seems that the rest of the world, other than Muslim countries in the Middle East, have ceased to exist. I can still remember Bill O'Reilly's ratings-gimick to boycott France, but other than Russia helping Iran with their civilian nuclear program, I'm not sure that the rest of the world is still out there...

The news out of those Muslim nations has been largely negative. We are looking at a possible civil war in Iraq, with no real plan to rein in the two sides, or what to do if/when it happens. Donald Rumsfeld says the goal is to avoid civil war, and then to let the Iraqi forces handle it, to the extent that they are capable. Tell us, Mr. Rumsfeld, how capable are they, and what do we do if they are not fully capable. After insufficient planning for post-war Iraq, I'd like to think that they have a plan for the scenario of a civil war. Of course, I also trusted that they would have solid evidence of WMD before invading. When Rumsfeld asked Congress for emergency spending for the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, not one of those Washington blowhards bothered to ask him his contigency plans. So much for "Congressional Oversight."

Iranian news coverage has been just as bleak. The talk is whether Iran will develop nukes in the next year; whether the U.S. or Israel could pull off a strategic attack to eliminate the nuclear program in Iran; or whether Russia will help Iran with their nuclear program.

Unfortanately, the media and the American public have nearly forgotten Afghanistan, but the news there is similarly bleak. We also see fires, protests, and gun shots ringing in the air across the Muslim world because of cartoons.

Is it any wonder that Americans' opinions of Islam are falling? And do the opinions match reality? We don't hear news of those working for reform in Saudia Arabia, or Egypt. We hear the quote from Achmadinejad that Israel needs to be wiped from the face of Earth, but we forget that Iran has captured al Qaeda members trying to flee from Afghanistan. In local and national news, we tune in to see the horrible car wrecks, police-beaten drunks, or gang violence. Similary, in international news, our attention is captured only by our fear of Islamic terrorists. News programs know that if they show stories on progress around the world, Americans tune out. News programs use the dire news in the Middle East to capture our imaginations, and a couple points in the Nielsens.

Politicians are even worse than the media when it comes to pandering to our fears. I'm fairly liberal, but I'm disgusted at the Democrats' use of the UAE ports deal to win support. The Dems saw the opportunity to act like the protectors of the American people, a role that they haven't known since long before terrorists flew planes into our buildings. They jumped on the port deal like a pack of hyenas, knowing that Americans equate "Arab" with both "Muslim" and "Terrorist." Many people, including our president, actually use "Arab" and "Muslim" interchangeably, and believe that all people in the Middle East are both, if not all three. Just this past week, when Mr. Bush stopped in Pakistan, he referred to President Musharraf's country as an "Arab" country, demonstrating the lack of American understanding of the region and its people. ("I believe that a prosperous, democratic Pakistan will be a steadfast partner for America, a peaceful neighbor for India, and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world." March 3, 2006) By the way, Pakistan also isn't a democratic nation.

The fight to keep a UAE company from controlling American ports is counter-productive to our "Global War on Terror," or whatever the administration wants to call it. It demonstrates to Muslims around the world that America is a proponent of free-market capitalism, and participation in globalization, only when it doesn't include them. It reinforces the idea in extremists' messages that America is hypoctrical, and worse, anti-Muslim.

We claim to fight for democracy, and then we turn our backs immediately on one of the most open democratic elections in the Middle East in a long time -- Hamas winning in the Palestinian elections. I'm not suggesting that we should be happy about Hamas winning, or that we should show them our support. However, its not as if isolation has worked against Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussien, or Kim Jong Il.

Terrorism is a symptom, not the disease. Until we have a plan to attack the disease, we cannot make the problem go away. We must also accept the part we have played in creating the disease. We have consistently put Middle East stability ahead of human rights or democracy in the region. We have put our interests ahead of the people of the Middle East. Of course there are extremists who dislike us for it. As long as we continue to put their interests last, we will continue to encourage their attacks. I am not an apologist for terrorists. I do not excuse extremists or their actions. However, if we want to defeat their message, we have to understand where it comes from. We have to address the cause of extremism if we want to win.

A few things I believe

The following list is in no particular order, and should not be construed as having any relevance to anything:

1. Financial Peace University should be taught in every high school in America.

2. Osama bin Laden doesn't give a damn that we're free. Platitudes that suggest otherwise serve no purpose other than rallying the masses.

3. Two Hearted Ale is a great beverage, and could be the reason Elvis is hanging out in Kalamazoo.

4. Patriotism and Religion are important for pacifying and uniting the masses.

5. Dan Quayle was right when he said that a mind is a terrible thing to lose.

The Origin of Ben Logic

I'm not sure which family member originally applied the term to me, but I do know it isn't used in a flattering manner, and is actually an oxymoron. I've heard the term used to describe my side of an argument ever since I was little, so imagine my surprise when I found out it didn't simply apply to me.

It may be "ben logic", but because my reasoning makes sense to me, I'm going to share as much of it as I can in the hopes that others might see some logic in it, too. If you read something here that you appreciate, please let me know by commenting. If you think it sounds like more crap, it could be that it is.