Embrace your Non-Infinite end! (by anon)

infinite - unbounded or unlimited; boundless; endless

"Everything that has a beginning has an end." -Oracle

This is a contradiction.  If "everything that has a beginning has an end" and infinite means to be unbounded or unlimited, then how can anything exist?  If something, even one thing, has no end then not everything that has a beginning has an end.  Everything we know of and can prove exists, therefore it must have a beginning and everything we know of has ended before.  If Infinity exists then wouldn't it have to have some end?  Logically speaking.  So the concept of Infinity is not useful.

           

The finite-infinite problem of the physical world.  To be finite is to have an end.  Everything that we can speak about and deal with is physical and thereby finite.  Words, numbers, items, ideas, etc., etc.  If everything is finite, including words, then how can we as constructs of the finite realm engage with or even mention the infinite realm.

           

To say there is no infinite is the same as to say there is nothing.  There is a finite and there must then be an infinite because everything has an opposite.  If there was no bad then there would be no good because bad is in relation to good.  If there is something physical then there must also be something that is non-physical.  So it would be wrong to say there is no infinite.  But we cannot interact or experience or do anything with the infinite, so should we even worry about what is infinite or seems as so?

           

Infinite often is referred to as a number or a phenomenon that is beyond something.  The famous Buzz Lightyear line, “To infinity and beyond!” illustrates this absolutely beautifully.  This shows that people have a future in which infinity is a part of.  Infinity is never a single moment and is never right now because right now is so precise that it would in someway bind infinity to a specific time.  The past has already happened and therefore it has a boundry, thus not infinite.  So infinity must refer to the future right?

           

The future has no bounds it doesn't even exist.  It can't because the future is that which has not happened.  If something has not happened, then how can you say infinity is a part of future?  Well, if infinity does not logically fit in a physical realm and it must surely exist then it has to be part of the non-physical realm.

           

What can be said is that there is an infinite and finite.  We are finite, that is we will inevitably end.  Finite objects and beings cannot interact with the infinite.  So to try to interact with the infinite would be pointless.  Only a foolish man would play with such an idea.  So there is an end, sometime, but it is not predictable at all because it operates from the constructs of an infinite realm and not our finite realm.  So anything that is infinite simply put should be disregarded and ignored for people who are living in the physical world and want to survive.  Who want to be awake and aware of what we can actually control.

           

So STOP with your life-after-death fantasies, STOP with your all-powerful or all-anything ideas, STOP dreaming of what you have no idea of, STOP thinking there is a future because there isn't, STOP wasting your time on things that do not matter.  WAKE UP!  Realize you will end and live life with this knowledge.  Do not fear the end, embrace it and make the end be your persuasion to do whatever the hell you want!

Spring Break problems (by anon)

I strongly believe that all colleges in Wisconsin should have spring break at the same time. Most students (not all) tend to have a strong focus on their classes, assignments, and other school-related tasks during the semester. Those who keep an extremely busy schedule, which I would say is safe to assume for the majority of full-time students, really need a week off once spring break comes around. The problem is each university has their own calendar they follow, wherein each school's individual spring break schedule lies.

The joy of spring break is being able to take a week off of school, relax, and spend some quality time with friends and family. Do you see where this can be a problem? If students have their breaks on different weeks, often times they don't even get a chance to visit one another. I know with certainty that UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, and MATC have a different week for break this academic year. A busy school schedule can really put a damper on the student's social life during the semester. I know I always look forward to spring break, hoping to reunite with some friends I haven't seen in a while since going off to school. I believe maintaining friendships and connecting with peers from other universities is crucial for students.

Also, what happens if one of your siblings goes to a different university? Assuming the schools function according to different schedules, family members quite possibly are unable to spend time together over breaks as well.

My concern is not so much at the high school level; although, I am writing this complaint from my standpoint. Being a UW-Whitewater student, I have spring break this present week (beginning 3/26). However, my boyfriend, who studies at UW-Madison, and my mother, who works at my hometown high school, both have spring break this upcoming week. This break I feel like I missed out not being able to spend much time with my mother, boyfriend, or other friends from different universities.

Sure, I understand that schools planning their spring breaks at the same time would result in an insane number of individuals traveling to and vacationing at the popular spring break destinations. I can't imagine how many more individuals would be in Florida right now if more students were on spring break. However, I think this is a problem that resorts, airlines, hotels, etc can possibly tackle. Simply put, if a flight gets filled or a hotel is fully booked, they will have to turn individuals down. I get that's easier said than done. However, as a student, I would much rather have to plan ahead, keep my options open, and be flexible, than not be able to spend spring break with my closest friends and family.

Can anyone relate?

-Anonymous

Whitewater is NOT boring (by anon)

Many people complain that the city of Whitewater is the most boring place on Earth.  UWW has a student organization called Student Entertainment Association League (SEAL) and they try as much as they can to provide events for students to participate in on the weekends, but students still decide to complain about having nothing fun to do.  Take for instance, this guy: http://criticallypissed.blogspot.com/2012/01/whitewater-and-its-people-suck-by-anon.html.  I know that everyone has their own definition of “fun,” but no matter where people live there are bound to be complaints about having nothing fun to do.  It goes with the territory of have a place become really familiar.  But Whitewater has plenty of activities to occupy someone’s time like going to the movie theater, or bowling, or playing billiards.  If that isn’t good enough then this is the time to get creative with friends on what to do as a fun activity.  You just have to figure it out and not blame someone else for your boredom.  Being bored has everything to do with your inner self, not what the outer world can or cannot offer you.

What a waste of money! (by anon)

Many of us students here at Whitewater have all been on Desire2Learn (D2L) for one reason or another. One thing that has pissed me off recently is the fact that not a lot of professors actually use the site for it's intended purpose. Even if they do use it, chances are they only use the "Content" tab.

I get seriously PISSED off when I log into D2L and I see that the "Grades" tab is completely empty. The professor uses his/her own grade book to maintain and monitor grades but how does that help YOU as the STUDENT monitor your progress in the class? It doesn't. A virtual class room such as D2L makes grading easier for the student to monitor their progress and it also helps them dispute grades when they notice that they got an F on a paper, but on the copy handed back to them it says A.

Why don't professors use D2L? One comment I heard was that "D2L is hard to use." Do you know my response? That's too damn bad that it's confusing. You're a PROFESSOR at a UNIVERSITY. You'll sit in a lecture and tell me how you know EVERYTHING there is to know about anything and everything, but you can't learn how to use a virtual classroom? I hate to say it, but if that's your excuse, you need to quit your day job.

I know that I am bitching to a small crowd but let me explain this a bit further. I took a few classes now that didn't allow me to see my progress as I went on. The first time I saw my grade was when I got it on WINs and the grade was final and submitted to the Registrars office. Do you think it's fair that you pay as much as you do to come here and then never see the progress of how you're doing in the class?

Last year, an organization that I was in spent roughly $2000.00 to add a BUTTON to a website owned and operated by the University. That is ONE single button. Now, imagine how much an entire virtual classroom costs, it's probably a lot of money, why aren't professors using it to its fullest extent?

If a tree falls in the forest... (by anon)

If a tree falls in the forest when no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

For me, my way of looking at this question is ‘yes’. Any object that falls will make a sound.  In my mind I have two ways of looking at this question and why I think the tree would still would make a sound. The first is that the tree would make a sound. When a tree falls in nature, and no one is around to hear it, the sound will be “silent” in a sense because we would not hear it, but certainly it would make a sound because we know that when trees fall they make sounds.  It is just that in this case, it would make no difference to us because we would not hear it. The second way to look at this is to ask "do we really know when the tree falls then?" I think that when a tree falls in the forest, somewhere there is something subtle that happens around humans.  Think of the butterfly effect.  Something as little as a leaf falling around us could indicate a tree falling. So even though we believe what happens in nature is a mystery, it’s not a mystery at all.

Mind over matter (by anon)

People get sick. We get viruses, infections, diseases, injuries, etc. of all sorts.

To an extent, we cannot control what happens to our bodies. We get sick and many times, we just can't avoid it and we can't control what the sickness does to our bodies. However, I would bet money on the claim that we can certainly significantly affect our illness, after we've contracted it, through means other than pills or any other kind of physical medical treatment. I'm talking about using our minds.

I think a lot of people have this notion (as I used to have) that when we get sick, our only options are to obtain some kind of medication to get rid of the illness/treat symptoms until it goes away and/or passively let it run its course. Furthermore, people get upset (as I used to) that they're sick and they become frustrated because they believe they can't do anything other than consume medicine, be patient, and (at best) "look up", because they are under the impression that they don't have any other real effective means to gain control of the sickness that has manifested in their bodies.

This is dualistic thinking - it's the idea that somehow, our mind is separate from our body so much that even though in our minds, we would like to be well again, our thinking can't do much for our body when it is unwell, because our bodies are material, and our minds cannot control the material world. But, if you consider the mind and material brain to be one apparatus, then we can begin to see how utilizing our mind in a certain way can effectively change how our body functions. Note - I'm not saying that if you just think hard enough, you won't have cancer anymore, or if you get a big gash on your leg, you can think about it and you won’t need stitches. Of course there are physical limits to what our minds can do for our bodies. Having said that, our mind can have a significant effect on our bodies, and we seem to be unaware of this most, if not all, of the time. It kills me that when people are struck with any kind of ailment whatsoever, it is as though they find themselves helpless, and they rely wholly on medication and physical treatments, and they are completely ignorant of how real the mind's effects can be on the body.

Visualization and meditation are examples of ways one can self medicate using just the mind, and I dare anyone to try it. But one MUST believe in it in order for it to work. So seriously - next time you get sick, even if it is just a minor cold, take time each day (even just 5 or 10 minutes) and sit quietly and comfortably, with your eyes closed, and envision to the best of your ability your body healing. Imagine your body producing white blood cells and sending them to fight the bad bacteria or virus. Imagine new skin cells forming on a wound. Or just imagine whatever it is that would constitute the healing of whatever part of your body needs healing. (As a disclaimer, let me just say that I'm not a wacko who says if you're sick, meditation will cure you and you never need to go to the doctor, because like I said, there is a limit to what we can do with the mind. So if you have a serious illness, relying on your mind alone to cure you is not what I would recommend).

You may find that treating your illness this way works to a significant degree. I've tried it myself with various ailments that I've had in the past, and I believe it works. Like I said though, just thinking about your body healing isn't going to necessarily be the cure - however, it can and will, I believe, promote faster healing as well as slow down, or possibly even prevent, the worsening of an illness. And this goes both ways - if thinking of healing can improve the illness, thinking of being ill can just make it worse.

So next time you come down with something, be aware of your mental state and at least try to control the illness in some way using your mind, and believe in it. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Having a baby is the worst STD you can get (by anon)

Let's face it- a baby is the worst STD you can get.  Stop contracting them!  Here's why:

1. We don't need more people- adopt. Having your own is selfish.

Sure, they're cute when they have your eyes and you get to relive your childhood vicariously through them, but we're intelligent beings able to think about the state of the world (OMFGWTF 7 BILLION PEOPLE!). So why give in to our selfish evolutionary instinct to pass on our genes? Is it because a part of everyone believes themselves to be the best genetic creation ever therefor our offspring will allow our successful genes to survive? NO! Otherwise people with metabolic disorders wouldn't reproduce- they know if they have bad genes! (like we need more fat people giving other fat people reasons to be considered a normal human being in our society even though the only reason A LOT of people are fat is because they can't put down the fork). There is no unselfish reason in choosing to bear your own children over adopting, ignoring any possible cost differences between adoption and all doctor visits (which can still be considered selfish).

2. Most people are stupid: don't risk making more stupid people.

Everyone think's they're intelligent. We know this not to be true. A jerk probably knows he's a jerk but an idiot doesn't know he's an idiot (no matter how many times you tell people to their faces). Don't assume you're smart unless people tell you regularly. Even someone with a PHD can be borderline retarded- there is a BIG DIFFERENCE between those who ARE smart and those who get good grades because of hard work. If you work hard, you can become knowledgeable, but you'll still have to work hard to become knowledgeable on other topics. Some people sit in class and LISTEN TO (not hear) the professor speak once and they understand- maybe want to get deeper into the issue- and do fine on a test. Others hear the professor, take notes, go to study groups, do the homework, reread the reading, and still need someone to dish out a core concept on a silver platter to do well on an exam. Some people work smart. Others work hard. If smart people work hard- great things are accomplished. Point is: don't assume you can relate to Einstein- you don't. Period.

3. You're probably dumb for having kids so young.

As a college student, you are at your reproductive peak in your craving for sex as well as your biological ability to successfully reproduce. You're a walking node of fertility waiting to pop something out at some point. Don't be a dummy, come on her tummy. Or just use a jock lock, knob knot, cock dock, pole lock, wet suit, cock coat, wand wallet, whatever. To all the bro's: use a condom. To all the ladies: pop the pill. Or we can hope that more gay people are born! Pray for more gay! PLEASE! As for STD's- Just get checked, use a rubber, and don't be generous with your genital deformities. Thanks.

4. Birth

OUCH! Not to mention the doctor bills combined with the monthly visits leading up to the event. This costs money and, as a college-aged student, you are, by definition, not financially stable enough as you should/could be in the future when you are possibly mature enough to raise a child.

5. Sleep, free time, money, worry, laundry, work, pain, rebellion, dissonance, changed relationships.

Kids cry at night as babies. Then toddlers have "nightmares." Young kids have night terrors and wake up early too. You also drive them to school. Teenagers rebel and make you stay up late. You lose a lot of time and sleep. You buy them EVERYTHING. Imagine paying for all the things you had as a child ON TOP of yourselves mortgage, utilities, and every expense down to the last detail. Stress- you worry about your child. You love them and you get stressed out- NOT TO MENTION how they'll fight you the entire way until they're old enough to move out. You're relationship with your partner changes too. After little Ricky ruins your game to get laid for a couple weeks straight, you get a little tense. Then there's the coordination with your partner about managing EVERY aspect of the kids' lives. You will fight and argue.

6. Failed expectations and lost freedom

Are you expecting to raise the next Payton Manning? A beauty queen? A nun? President? You are. Every parent has high hopes. No parent aspires to raise a 40 year old World of Warcraft Wizard living in their basement or a drug dealer. Your kids will disappoint. Not to mention the struggle of raising a handicapped child. Or the parents who got a problem with a homosexual kid. Or the kid who runs away or dates a degenerate. You're gonna have problems with who your kid is in some way while you're raising them. Fact.

7. Diapers

Yeah, those suck. You will get puked on, pooped on, and peed on while they're a baby. When they're a toddler you can expect to have oatmeal on your pants almost daily. Then when they're kids, you won't know what kind of guck or animal they snuck into the house. As a teenager, you won't know what that is on their bed sheets.

8. Advice - everyone will leap forward to give you some. (Including but not limited to: "DON'T DO IT!")

It's gotta get real old real fast. Everyone has a quick tip here and there. Some help, some are just stupid hippy suggestions. (You see that one lady on youtube who throws and spins and flips her baby around n shit?)

9. You're stupid for having kids young.

Oh wait... Yeah, just reminding ya.

10. Tantrums- we're all secretly wishing you'll hit them.

I recently learned I'm not alone in feeling this way. You're kid is kicking the back of my chair/screaming in the store/bothering or hurting another child/don't understand common courtesy . Your kids are nuisances to everyone around. When they misbehave- you tell them. But there comes a point within that 18 year period where no matter how many times you repeat yourself you just feel that the kid won't listen or learn. You will then sit back, void out every sensory source around and spend some time alone with your thoughts and regret that fateful night you conceived the little parasitic bastard from the fiery pit of annoyances. That is when it's a problem to the rest of us. Avoid the situation entirely.

12 year old commits $200,000 worth of damage (by anon)

A 12 year old in Plainfield, Illinois was charged with setting over 10 cars on fire and also causing $100,000 in damage to homes in the area.  I just can’t believe what the world has come too when a 12 year old boy goes around and starts setting cars on fire.  The police say, “He did not know what he was doing and had tunnel vision”.  I agree that the boy is only 12 years old but he definitely knew what he was doing.  I am 22 years old so I know that I have been a long ways down the road from being classified as a “juvenile” but I am upset that this kid is just going to get off from doing this crime because he was a juvenile.  I don’t know if it’s the things that kids are watching on TV now a days or what but most kids don’t go around setting cars and houses on fire.  I feel that a juvenile should not be treated any different than a grown adult because look at this fact, if you murder someone and your 12 years old it’s the same as if your 22 years old.  Just because one of the two people is not an “adult” yet doesn’t mean he should be treated any different for a terrible crime.  Don’t get me wrong, if it was a crime such as stealing a candy bar from a store then I don’t care if you charge a juvenile a different way then an adult but were not talking about just stealing a candy bar here.  

 I personally feel as you may have already guessed by reading my previous statements that I wish the kid would be charged as an adult for what he did.  I can guarantee you that the woman who’s house now has $100,000 fire damages to it would be supportive of him being charged as an adult.  If the court is going to try him as a minor and give him a lesser charge then they should mandate he goes to counseling or get some sort of mental help.  The story says that he stayed with his foster family, well then where is this family when he is going around starting cars on fire to see “how big the flames could get”.  Some may feel that I am being to hard on this kid because he is only 12 years old, but I can tell you right now that I don’t care what sort of parent I will be to my kids but I guarantee they will never be going out and setting fire to random cars.  I just feel that this kid should be charged as an adult for the crime he has committed and that’s all I have to say about it.

More UWW woes...will they ever end? (by two anons)

There have been articles within the Royal Purple in the past few months that indicates that students here at Whitewater are having to pay hidden fees when it comes to classes. I myself haven't really taken notice to this until this semester. The hidden fees that I am talking about are the fees that come once you've already handed the University your left arm and right leg. You'll get to all of your classes during the first week of the semester and your professor hands you your course syllabus and within that document are a list of books, materials, or subscriptions that you have to sign up for. More recently, I've had to sign up for ITBE 280 and a Website Development course. For my ITBE 280 class I had to purchase a book that cost roughly $80.00 and then the license for the website that cost about $60.00. That's $140.00 that I didn't pay within my tuition and that I didn't know I had to pay. To add more icing to the cake, I also have to purchase a subscription to a tutorial website for a Website Development class. The subscription will be at a discounted student price (roughly 20% off) but it will still be between $45-$90.

Side note: If I am here at this University to be taught by professors, why do they insist on me getting a subscription to a tutorial website that will teach me how to make a website instead of them teaching me themselves? I just pissed away a couple of thousands of dollars on tuition just to sit in the same room as them, but they don't want to teach me so they're having a website teach me? I could have just as easily of bought the cheaper subscription and taught myself and received no credits than having to pay both fees. But that's just how lazy some professors are I suppose...

Back to the main topic, it's really made me 'critically pissed' at the fact that I have to pay all of this money on tuition, housing, meal plans, etc and THEN I have to purchase all of these hidden requirements just so I can earn a measly 16 credits. Thanks Whitewater for the hidden fees, I guess I didn't want to save my money anyway.

Sincerely pissed,
Anonymous

********************************

The reasons why I came to Whitewater was that I would love it here being on the bowling team and going to school to be a teacher which can land me a job anywhere in the US. Little did I know that I would end up having a few days of just plain irritation on campus whether it be a not so great professor, the class not being very up to date, and the college of education not being helpful at all!  So, what is the point of people here getting paid when they either don’t want to do their job or don’t know how to do their job here on Whitewater’s campus? I have a class that I absolutely hate just for the simple fact that the professor won’t hand out a syllabus or put it up on D2L. Isn’t that their job or is that just a nice thing that all of my other professors have given me up until this semester with this specific professor?

Besides that irritation, what is the point of taking a different class that I have this semester when every assignment I do hasn’t been updated, so therefore it is wrong. I am getting so annoyed when I have to figure out how to do something I have never done before by myself. For example, rather than saying file then print on the instructions it will say print and then later on say you have to do file then print. When your whole class is like that and you have to make time out of your day to take a stupid class that has all the instructions wrong wouldn’t it piss you off too?

Lastly, why is it that last Spring, when I went into Winther Hall to try to change my major  they tell me to go to the third floor, and that lady tells me to go back down to the second floor where I was at the first time. So they tell me this time to go to another lady on the third floor again and when I get there the lady says she can’t help me and that I need to go back home and research what I want to change my major to. Well I already had done that, so I filled out the major change form after talking to the history department and found out that yeah I would have been turned away last year without help, and they had no reason for why. I turned that in but I still have my entire folder from the history department with all my information on my major requirements. Well I asked why my major on D2L hasn’t been changed this spring semester, after a year, and Winther Hall could only tell me that they might have lost my major change slip because they moved recently. A friend of mine later that day told me that her friend works for them and it’s just that they are backed up on paper work could be the possibility. 

So with all this happening in one week at school, wouldn’t you be annoyed with some of the professors here that aren’t willing to give you a syllabus, or that aren’t willing to update their class information, or the college of education not caring about what they are supposed to be getting paid to do?  With these reasons, something should be done to increase of the quality of our education.

Teachers Teaching Us vs. Teaching Ourselves (by anon)

I strongly believe if a teacher has their degree in Education, they should be required to lecture in class. Having the title of "teacher", it is obvious their role is "to teach."  I have a class this semester where it is the student's job to teach themselves all materials.  Each class period, students are required to do readings and pair up with a person to teach them the material on the assigned pages.

After completing the inner-teachings with a classmate, we fill out an assessment on how well we feel we know the material and taught each other.  On that sheet, we are able to write down areas we want covered in class.  The teacher will sometimes shed light on a couple of those questions, but never all of them.

What is the point of taking a non-online class if a student has to learn everything on their own anyways?  Teaching ourselves the material seems to create a border between the teacher and student.  Students often feel like they can't ask questions, because the teacher has already made it known he hates to lecture.  This teaching style has made it difficult for other students and me to feel like we have a full understanding of the material.

This class is crucial for my major and covers a broad range of difficult topics.  Maybe if it was simply a GenEd course, I can understand why teachers wouldn't frequently lecture. However, this course covers material that demands direct instruction from teachers.  Needless to say, I am very frustrated with the type of teaching the teacher has implemented in the classroom.  Or should I say, the type of teaching the teacher hasn't implemented?

Laptops in class....grrrrr (by anon)

It has come to my attention that more and more students are starting to bring their laptops to class for NON-CLASS usage! I usually do not mind because for one, I have done it a few times, but this has gotten way out of hand. Almost every time I go to my biology class, there is this kid that sits next to me that uses his laptop to go on FACEBOOK. Basically, the whole class period whether he is on facebook or other unrelated websites, he is bugging the crap out of me. I mean what is the point of coming to class if you are not going to pay attention. Oh yea, not to mention that there is no attendance policy for my biology class! I try really hard not to pay attention, but this kid is always watching random videos on his facebook or youtube which I catch on the corner of my eyes. This not only distracts me, but when he starts watching videos like NBA highlights, the next thing I know is, I'm sitting there watching it with him as well and forgetting to take notes for class. I mean COME ON! I know for a fact that students sitting behind us would probably be getting distracted too since the room is somewhat crunched. So, this message is for all you people that brings a laptop to class and is on unrelated class websites/materials!  Please for the love of God, don’t come to class because chances are you will be distracting other people. Other people that pay good money so that they can LEARN!

In conclusion, laptops used for non-class things during class are bad, so let’s go to school to learn, not distract others from learning!

Our Great War (by anon)

“We have no great war” was Tyler Durden’s reason given for the state of apathy and feminization of men in society.  I disagree. The war (or rather wars) we fight are ever present in our lives and affects everyone, yet it is because of our acceptance and apathy that we cannot see them clearly and do not resist them in any way.  The wars, the problems in our lives are covert agents that seemingly make our lives better, and that strength is the opiate that puts the public in a state of malaise.  We don’t want to react to the problems, or even see them, because doing so would diminish the “quality” of our lives.  While we are constantly content with our state, presented with whatever may want that will stimulate us, we stray from any critical perspective that would allow us to fight back.  This is a fight that takes two fronts: one against the oppressive enemy, and one against ourselves.

To gain perspective on the problem, recall Thoreau’s purpose for living at Walden Pond: “To live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life”.  In our modern age, our lives are so cluttered with everything non-essential that we confuse these distractions with the essential.  How many times have we heard someone say, “I can’t live without my cellphone”?  The only essentials in life are the things that allow us to continue to live.  In our cozy lives, we have grown accustomed to BEING entertained, to BEING fed, to HAVING and WANTING. And the greatest problem is that we are sated. 

The satiety doesn’t last long, though.  We always want more and will demand more, which is exactly what those who give to us want.  Our desire keeps them afloat.  Because we know we can get more, we yearn for it, and too much is never enough.  The manifestations of this disease of desire can be seen and felt physically as our health declines in myriad ways and monetarily as we sink ourselves further into debt.  The manifestations further feed the powerful as we plead for quick solutions to our problems.  They have cornered the markets and have us under their thumb. 

Who are they? The producers, the money holders, the people who make decisions for us concerning what we buy, how we live, the choices we make – what we want.  They hold the power.

The only way to fight against the oppression is to defy it and break our own bonds to it.  This is the most difficult task, and the reason we have thus far failed.  This is because we are happy – sedated and happy.  We have at our disposal almost anything we want, and what makes the situation worse is that what we want is offered at a value; high availability and cheap prices coupled with a greedy consumer base make for both provider and consumer happiness.  So why would we want to break away from this state of contentment? The gods are appeased so their subjects are rewarded, and no problems are present, right?

This is a perfect system – if we are willing to sacrifice our personal freedoms.  In order to break these bonds we must stop buying what is put in front of us for the sake of convenience.  This isn’t just a rant about big business; it’s a rant about becoming aware of our controlled status in life and asking ourselves what is really important.  Do we want to be led, to silently follow what others tell us we want, or can we leave the comforts of this sedated life to take personal stock in what we value individually?  I’ve left the causes vague intentionally to allow anyone who reads this to think of their own position and their own values, lest I become hypocritical. 

Get off your protesting butts and work (by anon)

I’m tired of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Although my family is more well off than most families in America, I still understand what they are trying to do. They want to help spread money and have everyone else change to what they want. The only problem? WHAT DO THEY WANT? The whole movement is full of people that are just saying “change this”, “why do we do this?”  But none of what they are doing is a plan. How do you expect the nation or even the government to change things if you are giving them no ideas or options? Also people need to realize that they need to change too to help the problem, you can’t expect other people to change to conform to your problems. Going out and loitering in the streets is not a protest, a protest has a unified group of people that have a specific goal. No one has come out as a leader of the Occupy movement.  What people of the Occupy movement don’t realize is that all people are not equal, not in race/sex/orientation but in skills and working skills. I agree that people like athletes make too much money while teachers, and workers that keep our communities going are barely getting by. BUT this does not mean that people who are not trained in a specific skill have the right to more money. The reason why most of the people are richer than you is because they worked hard in school and climbed up the ranks. So go get educated and keep working hard.

This cancer awareness stuff makes me sick (by anon)

I’m sick of it.  All of this cancer awareness stuff is going to be the death of me, I swear.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I think that there should be plenty of money donated to finding a cure for cancer, but all of this pink, blue, green, whatever ribbon stuff needs to stop.  All I hear is “omg don8 fer breast canzers,” and it makes me want to kick a kitten.  How good am I supposed to feel knowing that I may be donating to breast cancer research, when there are 100’s of other cancers out there that are just as deserving of that money as the breast cancer research is.

You sure as hell don’t see anyone asking for money to research a cure for Lung Cancer.  Why is that? It’s clear to me that the average population thinks that whoever has lung cancer did it to themselves, or in some way can be blamed on smoking.  Brain Check: My mother died of Lung Cancer, never smoked a day in her life, and never was around any more second hand smoke than the average human being.  Are you going to tell me that just because a cigarette causes most of the lung cancer cases in the world, my mother shouldn’t be able to get the respect she deserves?  Trust me, she didn’t get that respect more times than not.

So instead of donating your time and money to a specific cancer, I urge you all to donate to cancer research in general.  You can get more information from the American Cancer Society at <http://www.cancer.org/> www.cancer.org<http://www.cancer.org/>.

19 kids and counting....? (by anon)

Is anyone else offended by the Duggar family? I put them in the same category as Miracle Whip.. just offensive. Michelle and Jim Bob practiced birth control when they first married and shortly after stopped to conceive their first child. They then practiced birth control again only to stop shortly after to try and conceive another child. They lost that child to miscarriage and blamed it on the use of birth control. After this, Michelle and Jim Bob decided to allow God to determine the number of children they should have.  Michelle started giving birth approximately every year and a half after this...

I'm sorry, but if every couple decided to "allow God" to determine the number of children we should have, we would have an even larger population problem than we currently have today.  Her last child was miscarried and the child before that was born prematurely.. I think that's God's way of saying "Sweetie, maybe you should be done now." Michelle continues to say that she wants MORE??  Honestly, why do you need 20 kids? What is the purpose?  I understand maybe back in the day people had a lot of kids so that they could work on farms, and the survival rate of children was not that high. However, now? in present day?  There is absolutely no reason to have that many children. ESPECIALLY because they are all going to have a long and hopefully healthy life.  Their oldest child, Josh, is now married and has two children. Lets take all of the 19 Duggar children and presume that they get married and have two children, that is 38 children. This is assuming that they only have two children each.. which is probably not going to be the case, but who knows. The youngest child, Josie, is already an aunt and can barely talk!

The thing that really pisses me off is that Discovery Networks provided the construction and furnishings for the home that they built.  We honestly couldn't think of anything better to do with all that money? We wanted to give them a brand new home to house ALL of their children?  This whole ideal of having numerous kids and not using any form of birth control is total against my own;however, I just feel that the whole show and promotion of it is extremely ridiculous.

With that being said, I can't wait to compete with the Duggar familly for food in the future, all 19 of them..possibly 20, should God allow them to conceive just one more time.

Don't die little spermy dudes! Sperm are people too. (by anon)

Sometimes truth is far stranger than fiction.  The Wilmington City Council is urging the Delaware legislature, as well as all US legislatures, to grant personhood rights to sperm.  They just passed the resolution on March 1^st (8 votes to 4 votes), and here are a couple of the ‘wherases’,

“WHEREAS, each ‘egg person’ and each ‘sperm person’ should be deemed equal in the eyes of the government and be subject to the same laws and regulations as any other dependent minor, and be protected against abuse, neglect, or abandonment by their parent or guardian; and

WHEREAS, laws should be enacted by all legislative bodies in the United States to promote equal representation, and should potentially include laws in defense of ‘personhood’, forbidding every man from destroying his semen.”

Well, shit, I’m screwed.  I had sex the other night and I’m pretty sure a baby didn’t result out of that experience.  Greater than 20 million of my sperm died a horrible death, without me to comfort them, without a shoulder to cry on, without even a single piggy-back ride.  Crap, just think about that.  If that resolution becomes law, I’d be responsible for killing more than the number of all the deaths from the Holocaust.  I’d be one hell of a serial killer!  In just one night!  At least I didn’t kill as many as Stalin – that would require two nights of “un-reproductive” sex.  Shit.  Oh wait, it wouldn’t matter if it was unreproductive or reproductive sex!  Reproductive sex only saves ONE spermy person.  Double shit.  Over the past week then, I’ve probably killed more than Stalin and Hitler combined, and all without saving even one!  I’m going to get life in prison or most likely the death penalty.  All those spermy people…

This doesn’t even touch on masturbation!  Nuff said?  Or should I continue.  Yea, why not – you whackers out there have committed genocide like there is no other.  Your kleenex tissues are mass graves that will be used as evidence to prove your serial killer asses deserve the slammer.  Just no more killing in jail either, k?

But here’s the rub (har har, I made a pun).  If that asinine resolution somehow becomes law, EVERY male will end up going to jail.  EVERY SINGLE ONE, unless the guy doesn’t produce any sperm, ever.  You see, you kill sperm when:

a.    you masturbate

b.    you have sex without reproduction

c.     you have sex with reproduction

d.    you have a wet dream (involuntary manslaughter?)

e.    you don’t “release” your sperm from your own body in 74 days.  That is the life span of a sperm.  Technically, I guess this wouldn’t be “killing.”  Rather it would be “letting die,” but if you are going to “let die” millions of people, that would be damnable negligence.  You’re going to jail anyway buddy.

Thus, sooner or later, you’re gonna be killing those defenseless little spermy people.  Even if you get your tubes tied, you’ll still have little spermy people dying inside of you.  It seems the only way to stop killing sperm is to lop off your nuts!  But, alas, you’ll kill many sperm doing that too as many sperm would still be in the “factory,” at least if you are past puberty  To save yourself truly, a boy would have to get his testes removed before he hit puberty when the sperm starts being produced.  And, I’m sorry, that just ain’t going to happen.

Yes, this is all just bat-shit.  Call it one of the most ridiculous resolutions ever passed.  It’s a resolution that, if made into law, eleven of the Wilmington City Council members themselves would have to be arrested immediately since they’re males.  I’d call that a reductio ad absurdum!  “Hey guys, let’s try and get a law passed that would even send us right to jail!  Sound like a good plan?”  Maybe someone should have killed the sperms that helped produce those council people and replaced them with smarter ones.

On the (Im)Practicality of Saving Sperm and Calling Them Persons

There is actually another way to save all of one’s sperm besides lopping off one’s balls before puberty.  Once puberty hits, all a guy would have to do is “release” his sperm every 73 days into some freezable container and freeze them.  Just put those peeps on ice!  That way, none would die, all would be safe in frozen limbo.  Yes, that means one could never have sex since that would entail the deaths of millions…and that's kind of a big bummer.

I figure we could set up spermy hotel freezers with catchy names like Sperming Heights Hotel, Sperm Lake Inn, Hotel NoFux, Big Dick’s Halfway Hotel, and Lose No Load Motel.  These would all have to be liquid nitrogen freezers so that the spermy persons are assured “solid” care.

But here’s the tricky part, if these little guys are to enjoy all the “same laws and regulations as any other dependent minor, and be protected against abuse, neglect, or abandonment by their parent or guardian,” then they will all have to be named.  If one dies, that sperm will have to be represented in a court of law for any prosecution to happen, right?  If a sperm is a person, the person must be named, even if the name is only a catalog identification.  You might think this is crazy (well, it is!), but this is one of the consequences if such a law were enacted.  Thus, to avoid jail, we would literally spend the rest of our lives naming all those spermy people unless we found a fancy-dancy automated way to name them.  But that doesn’t even take into consideration the virtual impossibility of separating out our millions of individual darlings from the frozen mass.

The point of all this is to ask: why are our politicians getting so stupid?  Is it too much to ask for a little sanity?