Phoenix’s Ban On Text Messaging While Driving Proves To Be Unenforceable And Largely Pointless

March 5th, 2008 (Visited 106,896 times)

Phoenix’s Ban On Text Messaging While Driving Proves To Be Unenforceable And Largely PointlessWhen I heard of this ban last year, I thought it would be a lot like the seatbelt law. Except even more useless. Seatbelt laws do save lives in some cases (where the accidents would be helped and not hindered by wearing a belt), but enforcing them is almost impossible unless the driver is pulled over for something else and still too stupid to buckle up to avoid the ticket.

The local paper had some feedback from Phoenix officers who have been tasked with enforcing this. I have to agree with their experience so far, I don’t see how it can be done without crossing the line.

Only a handful of drivers have been cited under Phoenix’s ban on text messaging while driving, largely because of a loophole that makes the ordinance nearly impossible to enforce.

Backers of a similar proposal that would make it illegal to text while driving throughout the state have lauded the nation’s fifth-largest city as a leader in efforts to curb unsafe driving.

But since Oct. 20, when Phoenix’s permanent texting ban took effect, officers have cited only three motorists, according to police statistics obtained by The Arizona Republic Tuesday. Police did not have details on the citations.

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The War We All Lose - What Happens When The Internet Brings Us The Unpatriotic Parts Of The War

March 4th, 2008 (Visited 78,895 times)

United States Military - David Motari - Setting A Terrible ExampleI hate our occupation in Iraq and I’ve never really done much to hide that. I’m not anti-war at all, but you actually have to declare war, and we haven’t done that. When our administration seems to toe the line that much, it makes it seem as if there are ulterior motives. Additionally, there are “bad guys” out there far worse than Hussein was. There’s also this “Bin Laden” guy I hear we’ve been looking for before we got so busy with all that Iraq stuff.

If the economy, illegal immigration, and healthcare are really such big issues (and they are), many Americans beg for an answer as to why an Iraqi occupation is so much more important than remaining solvent, let alone prosperous.

Ramblings aside though, one of the main reasons I hate this “war” is because America can’t speak out the side of its mouth anymore regarding goodwill and democracy.

For every heartfelt soldier out there reporting via Youtube about their experience and expressing the humanity they try to bring to the situation.

We get videos like THESE.

*** WARNING: These videos contain extreme violence and cruelty on behalf of US Soldiers or US-Paid “Consultants” - Watch at your own risk ***

What spurred this story was reading about David Motari (the US Marine pictured up top), the man suspected to be the person in the below video who hurls a young dog off a cliff. If the act isn’t enough, you can even hear the dog squeal as it lands in agony. Motari is rumored to be working for Blackwater according to some comments/speculations.

What’s more.. a history and human face is given to David Motari when you read about his sister Kathleen’s pride in her brother’s service. While she doesn’t explicitly say it involved her brother, she tells a charming anecdote about US Marines frightening a civilian who works for tips:

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Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite? Screw That! I’m More Worried About Them Trying To Mate With Me!

February 21st, 2008 (Visited 85,552 times)

Don’t let the bed bugs bite!Every now and then you see, read, or hear something that just makes you completely stop and ask yourself whether or not what you just heard is true.

In my case, it was this:

Male bedbugs mate by piercing through the female’s exoskeleton, bypassing her evolved genitalia and depositing his sperm directly into her womb. Female bedbugs have evolved something like a second set of genitalia to accommodate this practice, known as Traumatic Insemination.

Traumatic Insemination

According to Wikipedia:

Traumatic insemination is the mating practice of a few species of insects wherein the male pierces the female’s abdomen with his genitals and injects his sperm through the wound into her abdominal cavity. The most widely recorded example is that of Cimex lectularius, the bed bug.

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“Beating A Dead Horse” Gone Literal - Shocking Images of Chinese and Philippine Horse Fighting - Equestrians and Animal Lovers Beware…

February 19th, 2008 (Visited 33,022 times)

Not to long ago, I published a piece on Guillermo Habacuc Vargas’ art exhibit featuring a chained dog as it died on the exhibit floor. Actual and malicious animal abuse isn’t something that gets as much attention as it probably should, but it’s something that still can manage to shock those of us who’ve seen almost everything on the net.

In this case, it’s horses fighting to the death, for sport, in areas of China and the Philippines. I came across this earlier and couldn’t help but want to spread this. Horses are amazingly adept and intelligent creatures and to see them brought down to this basic of a level is terrible.

Here is some more information:

The crowd roars its approval as the chestnut stallion sinks his teeth into the throat of his opponent.

The terrified victim rears up on his hind legs and veers away in a desperate bid to escape, but it is no use.

Blood is pouring into his eyes and he can no longer see. His right ear is torn and bloody.

Fight club: Goaded into a frenzy by a mare who is ‘in season’ and chained nearby for up to six hours, stallions battle for ’sport’ in the Philippines

** Warning: The images below are violent and possibly unsettling **

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Stay-At-Home Dads.. Oops I mean Servers. Why should they be at home instead of a REAL job like a REAL Server?

February 5th, 2008 (Visited 25,024 times)

As a parent, you get used to instructional books that teach children about such things as how babies are made, emotions, and other mature themes in children-safe formats. Bright colors, ambiguous wording, and lots of smiling reassuring people help nail the point down.

With Super Bowl XLII recently passed, we’ve had a chance to see some crazy, random, and funny Super Bowl commercials. A lot of the time we think to ourselves that, if other advertising were as funny or unusual, that we’d welcome it more.

StayAtHomeServers.com does a pretty good job there. They put a fake reporter in an Onion-style parody web video. They make it seem as if they’re attacking stay at home dads. Why would a REAL server be at home when it should be in the office working like other servers?

Here are a few hilarious pictures from the online book aimed at helping children understand why kids may laugh at them for having a stay at home server. As a parent, I own several books that look almost IDENTICAL but cover different ideas. If you’re equally intrigued, check out the site.

Book Link: “Mommy, why is there a server in the House?”

Offices are why big people get grumpy and say bad words

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