Rush Limbaugh Needs to Shut Up

Honestly do I even have to explain why? Just listening to the man is torture in and of itself. Why the Republican party lets this man be their cheerleader is baffling. I mean nothing say progressive and modern like a middle aged, fat, white bloke who enjoys smoking cigars, playing golf, and abusing prescription drugs.

If the Republicans want to change their image and get back into power they need to appeal to a wider range of people including the moderates and *gasp* some left wingers. Having people like Mr. Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter and Bill O'Rielly leading the charge isn't going to win any favours with those who aren't already staunch conservatives. All these "commentators" are doing is driving people like me, who used to consider themselves conservative, away with all their idiotic remarks. Mr. Limbaugh's recent comments where he has stated he hopes President Obama fails pretty much did it in for me. I don't care who the president is, I don't want to see them fail because that ultimately means the country is going to fail as well. I'm sure Mr. Limbaugh is sitting comfortably with his $33 million a year salary, but most of us don't have that luxury and I'm pretty sure most of us do not want to see the USA fall flat on it's face because it's going to take all of us with it. 

And to show I'm not biased against conservatives I think plenty of liberal commentators need to stuff it as well, mainly Michael Moore who is another middle aged, fat, white bloke with to much free time and a camera. There is also Keith Olbermann who's just as whacked out. The only difference is not nearly as much attention is paid on this guys. The last time I heard from Mr. Moore I was laying in a hotel bed in Barcelona watching an episode of Leno with Catalan subtitles. That was back in 2007 and I haven't heard much from him since. 

So why are the conservatives so outspoken to the point where they just need to shut up? Well I think they still think it's the 1980's and Ronald Regan is still in charge. I also think they are upset that the United States wants to become more progressive and, I don't know, advancing. I agree that Bush did get a bad wrap from everyone under the sun and he didn't deserve some of what was thrown at him but still that does not excuse Mr. Limbaugh from looking like an idiot when he says he hopes our president fails. 

Now as I've said, I'm not a huge Obama supporter but I want to see him succeed because that means America will (hopefully) succeed. So really these commentators need to just shut up about things, because while they are making millions of dollars of their media outlets the rest of us average people are struggling to ride out the recession. 

For Once Listen to Hollywood

So scientist at the University of Melbourne and the University of Texas have discovered a way to get genes from extinct animals (Link). Now forgive me if I sound a bit cold hearted here but why on Earth do we need to bring back animals that went extinct? What good could possibly come from it? 

Let me put it this way. When I was first taking my anthropology classes I was taught that in the course of evolution a species either has to move, adapt or die when a new challenge is given. This is why we do not have legitimate Neanderthals promoting Gieco, only modern humans in costume. Obviously the animals they are trying to bring back failed somewhere along the way which is why they are extinct now. 

Yes, I understand many animals went extinct because of something humans did. The dodo bird is a prime example, if humans hadn't introduced new species that killed the dodos they would still probably be here today. However, that still does not dismiss the fact the dodo died off because it was unable to move or adapt. Left with the only option the dodo slipped off into the sands of time.

Then there is the issue of what will happen if we reintroduce some species into a ecosystem not designed for them. I can help but to use the example of Jurassic Park (the film, the book is long and wordy). I sure most people have seen it in the 15 or so years it's been out so they will know what I am talking about when I say I don't want a T-Rex running through downtown San Diego. Granted they probably won't be able to bring back dinosaurs and it's questionable whether they can bring anything at all, but I'm still concerned they are even trying. 

Let's just hope this idea goes the way of the dodo because honestly extinct animals are probably best left that way. I mean would you want your species to be brought back from the dead only to be either over hunted again or turned into a cute and cuddly pet? Probably not. 

Is the Apocalypse Nigh?

A recent study found that more American than ever have turned away from religion altogether according to CNN yesterday (Link). I know the Atheist will jump up and down and say they are winning and I know the religious will shout from the roof tops that America is suffering moral decay. The article uses a quote from William Donohue, who is the president of the Catholic League, which basically states that people are not turning into Atheist but are rather becoming fed up with religion telling them what to do. 

I think Mr. Donohue has a very good point since more and more America is becoming a nation of individuals (unless of course you are a teenager) and we want to do our own thing. But I also think now that science is beginning to answer more questions more people are starting to question things they have been taught to believe from religious scriptures. Creation stories being the main one that I can think of. Science is constantly collecting more data on evolution and showing how it probably worked, so that right there goes against just about every religion worldwide. There is always going to be a group of people who will say science is wrong, which is fine since this is America and you can believe whatever you want, but I think the majority of people will just accept things because it has been shown to be correct. With that accepting they might begin to question some of their other beliefs...it's all part of being human. 

As I've said in previous posts, I don't consider myself religious so I suppose I fit into that group that is growing in America. I do not consider myself an Atheist because I can't say for sure there is no supernatural being out there. I guess the best thing I can classify myself as is an Agnostic, or in layman's terms "I don't know" and as I've stated I really think more and more Americans feel the same way. Religion is confusing since there is little or no evidence to go on and people are scared of things they do not understand for the most part. 

So on to my point in all of this, is this the sign the apocalypse is nigh? Depends on who you ask. Some of the more bible-thumping people I know would say this shows what happens to a country when a liberal takes over (Link), when you legalise gay marriage or allow stem cell research. They would also tell me that this un-Christianising of America shows our moral decay and will lead to the end of the world. What I think this people don't understand is that you have morals even if you don't have religion. Yes religion can enforce certain morals but morals are not the result of religion no matter what your bible-thumping friends tell you. 

So no the apocalypse is not nigh and no just because people are turning away from organised religion doesn't spell doom and gloom (unless of course you consider Wall St. a religion). There are plenty of other countries where religion isn't very strong and they have not imploded yet so I don't really think we have much to worry about here in America.

Jesus Wouldn't Bash Homosexuals, So Why Would You?

Apparently there was a huge protest in California last night over Prop 8 and there is a court ruling today, somehow this was overlooked in the news because two NFL players more than likely drowned.  CNN never ceases to amaze me on their priorities of news. Yes it's sad that two people died in a fishing accident but the court case concerning Prop 8 is a big one and should be reported on. I know homosexuality is taboo in America for whatever reason but people need to understand that there are going to be attracted to the same sex, so deal with it. 

I didn't really understand Prop 8 very well since I live about 3,000 miles from California and like I said the national news found other things more important. Now that I've actually read up on it it makes me just shake my head at the way democracy works here in the US. Apparently there were 18,000 or so legalised same-sex marriages in California but now that Prop 8 passed they are not. It's little wonder why the rest of the western world thinks we are socially backwards. 

I've heard some rather inane remarks about same-sex marriage as well, with my favourite being that homosexuals want more rights than everyone else. I don't quite seem to understand that logic but then again it comes from bible thumping Conservatives and whacked out, Constitution thumping Libertarians, so really I'm not surprised it is a head scratcher. Homosexuals aren't asking for more rights, they are asking for more equality in our society which I think is only fair. 

The only argument against same-sex marriage that I know of is that most religious groups do not support it. As far as I know the United States is supposed to have a separation of religion and government but apparently I learned a different view of history. I have nothing wrong with people being religious and I have nothing wrong with those people saying same-sex marriage goes against their beliefs. However I do find it wrong when religious view points make it into the government since this is suppose to be a country where you can practice any religion you like or choose to not practise anything at all. 

Another thing that gets me is how same-sex couples are treated by people who claim to be Christian. Now I don't know if Jesus really did all those things the bible says he did or if he was even a real person, but I'm guess that if Jesus was real he would have befriended those who were outcasted in society...like homosexuals. I think many Christians need to go back to the "What Would Jesus Do?" school of thought.  

I just hope the US realises eventually that we no longer live in the 1950's and we need to accept that there are going to be people who are different. Honestly two men or two women marrying isn't going to affect you in any way, shape or form, so really why be against it? 

Is it All Just a Waste of Space?

With all this doom and gloom being broadcast through the airwaves it got me thinking if perhaps an alien race could be listening in an laughing at us. For all we know we could be the laugh stock of the galaxy. Granted they couldn't be all that far away since the radio waves haven't had enough time to travel all that far, but still there is a chance. 

Even if we aren't being spied on by little green men, it still does beg the question, are we alone in the universe? I think it's rather daft of us to believe we are it because if we really are the pinnacle of creation then either a supernatural being or the laws governing random chance goofed along the way. There has to be something out there that is more intelligent and more advanced then us. 

To illustrate this point I think we need to look at some incomprehensible numbers. In the Milky Way Galaxy alone there are an estimated 200 - 400 billion stars perhaps more. For the sake of argument I'm going to go with the higher estimate and say there are at least 400 billion stars. Now there is an estimated 125 billion galaxies in the known universe based on Hubble's predictions. Now if you multiple that out you get an estimated 500 sextillion (that's 500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) stars in the known universe and if each of those stars could have 8 or more planets around them. You can see where the chances increase for life to exist out there. And remember this is a pretty conservative estimate. 

Dr. Frank Drake who is a retired professor from the University of California, Santa Cruz developed an equation to basically find out how many contactable civilisation there are in a known galaxy, this became known as the Drake Equation. The equation basically takes all the factors needed for a civilisation to develop and then tries to work through all the factors logically. It works to a degree but since we don't really have all numbers right now everything is just a big guessing game. The best current estimations state that there are 2.31 contactable civilisations in the Milky Way. I think that number is probably very low since I highly doubt there are only 3 or 4 planets that support intelligent life out of trillions of possibilities.

So why is it so many humans think we are it? I know most religions state we were created by some sort of supernatural being and never mentions anything else (although I could be wrong, my scope on world religions isn't excellent). But who says creation stories are subject just about human beings? Many of these stories have been changed so much over the course of time anyways that things very well could be taken out of context. 

But if for some reason we are it, the only intelligent life ever to surface in the billion of years the universe has existed then I think we need to either question everything we know about science or rethink religion...either way it's pretty concerning because if we truly are it then the universe is nothing more then a enormous waste of space.