County library or Blockbuster video?

It seems to me from my experience at the circulation desk, from my non-scientific assessment and tally of circulating items, that at the county library, most of the circulating items are videos. I personally would like to see people reading more, but if one is a visual learner that I understand too. However, the movies in question are Hollywood films--very seldom are people borrowing non-fiction, math, science, history and other brain-stimulating media. It may seem petty, but if this were to be a snapshot of even just a slight portion of the county, then the observation should warrant worry. I hope that this isn't a sign of an impending erosion of wonder, curiosity for knowledge and a reintroduction to something similar to a modern dark age... a kind of informed ignorance, self imposed upon itself by society. A cognitive sleep spell, if you will.

Don't mind me, I'm just ranting myself to sleep committing bucket loads of fallacious reasoning in the process such as the Brobdingnagian slippery slope at the end of the previous paragraph.

:(

Message to Barack Obama

Please just please, when confronting the rumors about what invisible man in the sky you worship, clarify that you are Christian but at the same token, ADMIT THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING ISLAMIC. This is coming from an agnostic/skeptic whatever you want to label me... goodness, this is the fundamental problem with "organized" religions and largely the world today. I thought we were above this crap...

Republican party and the foolish US of A

Don't forget this...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

I don't know how the Republican party fooled the automatons of the nation into thinking they have the moral highground concerning family values, "religion", patriotism (see Iraq war; lack of proper equipment dispersal, irresponsible duty rotations, sending troops out though medically deemed not capable, etc). It's almost laughable, no wonder this country is viewed the way it is around the world.

Only way he will win in November is through the Archie Bunker vote.

What's the latest and greatest? Attacking Obama (the Democratic candidate) on foreign policy. FOREIGN POLICY?!?!? From the camp that wants to continue the war in Iraq, which not only most Americans are coming around on, but the world knows is as disastrous as it was stupid to get into. Experience? Since when did this become a prerequisite for a viable candidate? Lincoln didn't have much experience, JFK didn't... they were GREAT presidents with the former leading the country through a Civil War. The founding fathers were, by and large, students of HISTORY!!! As Ben Franklin said, to paraphrase, those that are willing to surrender a few essential liberties in the name of freedom deserve neither. What's at stack in 08? Due process and right to privacy in exchange for (as the Repubs would have you believe) security from TERRORISM.

Listening to fox news is tantamount to watching Fear Factor.

Truer words seldom spoken

I can't say much more to add to this... KO is spot on at every point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXBXD2zizIY

Help end foie gras

For those that don't subscribe to PETA...

Dear Kenny,

I have an urgent request for you. Today, the Maryland General Assembly is debating a possible ban on the sale of foie gras. Foie gras is a "delicacy" made by shoving pipes down the throats of ducks and geese in order to pump massive quantities of fat and grain into their stomachs until their livers grow to 10 times their natural size.

We need you to call your state senator and state delegates immediately to ask them to support a ban on this hideously cruel product.

Investigations at every foie gras farm in the United States and throughout Europe have documented sick, dead, and dying animals, some with holes in their necks from injuries caused by the force-feeding pipes. At one farm, dead birds were dangling by wires as blood and vomit spilled from their neck wounds onto live birds beneath them. The state of California, the city of Chicago, and numerous nations have banned foie gras—and the Pope has condemned it. For more information about foie gras, click here.

To find the contact information for your state senator (not your U.S. senator) and state delegates, enter your address at http://www.mdelect.net/electedofficials and click on each person's name. When you call, all you need to say is the town you live in (so it's known that you're a constituent) and that you support the ban on foie gras (pronounced "fwah gwah").

When you are done calling, please send this urgent alert to anyone in Maryland who also cares about animals.

Thank you so much for speaking out for ducks and geese!

Sincerely,

Jenny Lou Browning
Special Projects Coordinator
PETA



Check this out:
http://www.goveg.com/feat/foie/

Thanks for reading!

Tacit endorsement of Barack by Bill Clinton?

Or does this not apply because he said it in 2004?

Now, one of Clinton's laws of politics is this. If one candidate is trying to scare you and the other one is try get you to think, if one candidate is appealing to your fears and the other one is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope. - Bill Clinton, 2004

This is in reference to Hillary trying to scare-up some votes with her "3am" commercials.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200803010340.htm

Late night with Carl Sagan

Scooped up this book from the local library, Evolution, by Edward Larson. Quite the read, don't know why I'm posting other than an attempt to promote, generate and inspire others to think and read.