Chud's Miscellaneous Thoughts

2003-06-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

My San Antonio Spurs are the 2003 NBA Champions!!!

2003-06-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

I am becoming increasingly convinced that Islam is not our friend. Consider the following quotes:

"Well, of course I hate you because you are Christian, but that doesn't mean I want to kill you."
(A professor of Islamic law in Riyadh explaining to a visiting reporter the prevailing attitude of Wahhabism, the strain of Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia (The New York Times))

"And a July 10 military briefing at the Pentagon branded radical Muslims within Saudi Arabia as a "kernel of evil" in the war on terrorism and cast doubt on the kingdom's support of U.S. efforts." ('Saudi Envoy to visit Bush Today' by Gary Martin, San Antonio Express-News)

Perhaps it is time for the battle cry of "Deus Vult!" to ring out again...

2003-04-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am happy to see that the war in Iraq is going fairly well, and that the people of Baghdad were happy to see American forces.
Although I have some mixed feelings about this war, I feel that once the fighting started it was time to keep criticisms to ourselves and support our troops. Many of the career activists and radical liberals that have been protesting the war are doing a real disservice to our brave men and women who are overseas. I was especially disgusted by Michael Moore's shameful behavior at the Academy Awards.

2003-04-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

Now that we are at war with Iraq, I think it is important to support the troops.
I have some mixed feelings about this war, but now that we are at war I think people should keep their criticisms to themselves. Personally I am tired of movie stars, musicians, and career activists who do nothing but criticize. This behavior is inappropriate while our boys are fighting overseas. Michael Moore's shameful behavior at the Academy Awards was the worst example of this.

2002-09-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

We seem to be on a runaway freight train that is hurtling toward us entering
a second war with Iraq. I am a conservative and I voted for Bush, however I
can not understand why he seems dead set on invading Iraq again. It seems
to me that:

1.) We had our shot under Bush's dad, and should've finished the job then.
Going there again would be a 'duplication of effort' and a waste of money,
IMHO.
2.) Saudi Arabia has made it clear that they won't allow us to launch a
strike on Iraq from their soil. So where would we do it from? Israel? I
don't think they'd want our troops on their turf.
3.) Apparently I'm not the only conservative with reservations about all this.
Many Republicans including former Secretary of State (under Bush the
elder) Lawrence Eagleburger are advising caution. Others who are against the
invastion include Brent Scowcroft (former Nat'l Security Advisor under Bush
Sr.), Dick Armey, & Henry Kissinger.
4.) We're already committed to Afghanistan for the next few years, how much
more can we handle/afford? Nation-building is a lenghty process.

2002-07-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in a while, but the recent news that the House of Representatives has voted to expel James Traficant was enough to send me to the keyboard. It's bad enough that the House is removing one of the few Democrats that I actually like, but the hypocrisy here is what really gets me. So, Traficant supposedly took money from people in exchange for favors, huh? Well gee whiz, what do you call the activities of the rest of Congress?!? Campaign contributions resulting in political favors is the way things WORK in Washington! Not only that, but if Bill Clinton can serve out his term after placing this country in a constitutional crisis, then I don't know how Traficant's offenses can warrant expulsion. Beam me up!!!

2002-05-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I got sick of the cable company's monopoly and poor customer service. I decided to go with a satellite dish instead and I guess I wasn't the only one, because I've noticed that the cable companies have really stepped up their anti-satellite advertising. Some of the things they're claiming are really crazy too. For example, the cable companies say that satellite reception is lost during rainstorms. This is one of the chief reasons I left cable!!! I can't believe the cable companies are now pinning their own faults on the satellite companies!!!
The biggie to me though is customer service. Hmmm let's see...do I want to be serviced by a cable company with automated phone systems that never let me talk to a human being, and then schedule service "between the hours of 9 and 5"? Or do I want to pick up my phone and call Steve, my friendly neighborhood satellite guy, and talk with him personally? No contest! I vote for satellite every day of the week and TWICE on Sunday!
One last thing: many years ago when my wife and I had cable we saw a commercial where they said that if they were late your service would be free. When I tried to hold them to this promise, the cable rep I spoke to on the phone said, "but there's a four hour window". Oh really?!? Listen, if I'm late to work I can't tell my boss, "oh, there's a four hour window, so I'm not really late". Gimme a break!
Cable sucks, satellite rules. End of story.

2002-05-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me that if it wasn't for the internet we would be in a
terrible state. The "bi-coastal media cabal" (Camille Paglia's term) is
composed of just a few companies that own almost every major media outlet.
The internet is the antithesis of this monopoly, allowing anyone and
everyone to post their opinions to the world.