9/11 Memorial Scheduled to Open at Ground Zero this Monday, September 12th

Swiftly approaching the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the long-awaited 9/11 Memorial is about to be available for public viewing. The key feature of this tribute will be cascading waterfalls peacefully pouring down the two reflecting pools found inside the original "footprints" of the Twin Towers, with each footprint surrounded by 2,983 names of the victims of the attacks, engraved on bronze panels.

A artists rendition of how the "footprints" will look

More details/footage about the memorial can be explored by viewing the video/article found on this page:

http://origin.ny1.com/content/911_tenth_anniversary/911_top_stories/146403/wtc-memorial-ready-for-public-unveiling

You need passes reserved in advance to view the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero, which can be secured online at 911memorial.org. The passes are free, and over 300,000 people from every state of the Union, as well as visitors from 65 different countries have already reserved their tickets. It is interesting to me that this memorial is such a draw globally, especially living so near NYC.

Also, I advise everyone to be safe and vigilant this weekend as "credible" terrorist threats to New York City and Washington D.C. have been reported and seriously considered by the highest levels of the U.S. Government. Please, report any suspicious activities to authorities.

With that said, do enjoy your weekend, from wherever it is you are reading.

I am affectionately and respectfully your humble servant,
  Publius

Is the U.S. Spending Its Tax Dollars On The Wrong Programs?

July 29, 2011 Clip: New Rule – It Gets Better

As promised, we return to this video to discuss other points Maher brought up (starting especially around 3:20 into the video). Are we spending too much of our tax dollars in the wrong places? It does appear that way too much of our budget goes to our wildly-bloated military. Of course, I want the U.S. to be safe, but the amount of money spent on our defense dwarfs that of any other nation. It's overkill.

Additionally, it is clear that the "War on drugs" cannot ever be won decisively. It is a massive waste of money, the main cause of gang violence on our streets, and a terrible distraction from other crimes worth fighting and investigating.  Why commit such a considerable segment of our law enforcement resources to a lost cause, when  these individuals can be better stationed guarding the streets against murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists, for example? (More on that in a separate post)

Shouldn't more funding go towards bettering education, healthcare, and creating jobs with green energy industries? I feel that, regardless of what Conservatives say, they will tax the hell out of us. They always want smaller Government until they are in charge, so don't believe the hype. So, if we're going to be taxed to hell regardless, shouldn't we put that money towards programs that will improve our standard of living, rather than buying the military new, multimillion dollar toys, and fighting wars that cannot be won?

What do you guys think?  Leave your thoughts,  and I'd especially like to hear from Europeans and others from outside the United States that have experience with more Socialist-leaning governments than ours. I understand that no system is perfect, and Europe has its problems as well. I'd like to hear the pros and cons from your point of view.

I am affectionately and respectfully your humble servant,
 Publius

Milestone: 150 Followers

Well, just made it to 150 followers. This post is published to commemorate that. Thank you everyone, and here's to more followers and ever-more-incisive meditations from Yours Truly in the future.

I am affectionately and respectfully your humble servant,
Publius

Hurricane Irene... I Guess God Decided We Needed More Coastal Destruction

Religious people will probably tell you that the reason for this potentially very destructive Hurricane coming up the east coast of the U.S. is because "It is part of God's plan". Hmmm... Would somebody please explain to me why the perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God feels that it is a good idea to send a destructive hurricane to destroy our homes and kill many of us?

"Hmmm... You know what the east coast of the U.S. hasn't had in awhile? A devestating hurricane. Let's make that happen."

God works in mysterious ways, of course. Nothing like a perfect, all-loving, super logical being to "mysteriously" and randomly throw destructive obstacles in our human ant-farm. It couldn't just be naturally occurring weather patterns. Nah, it couldn't be.

Thoughts? Queries?


I am affectionately and respectfully your humble servant,
 Publius

Bill Maher: "If hypocrisy was uranium, they (Conservatives) would power the planet"... Are Americans Closeted Socialists?

July 29, 2011 Clip: New Rule – It Gets Better

Do the American people really secretly love socialized programs? As Bill Maher demonstrates in this clip of a recent segment of "New Rules", certainly many of the detractors (Often Teabaggers and other conservatives) of Socialized programs and "big government" ignorantly and/or hypocritically denounce such programs, while shamelessly taking advantage of them. If we don't love big-government ran programs, then we certainly often happily rely on them.

What do you guys think?  Leave your thoughts, both American and international opinions are welcome! 

(We will revisit this video in the next post to tackle a separate issue raised by Bill Maher.)

I am affectionately and respectfully your humble servant,

Publius

*For those who can't view the embedded video, here's the link to it:
http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/index.html

Living in a Post 8/5 America: The Day Nicki Minaj and Her Left Nipple Betrayed Us All

What are we going to do now? Nicki Minaj's left nipple has been exposed on public television. How can we, as Americans, possibly move forward from this? Somebody must apologize for this scandalous demonstration of state-of-the-art plastic surgery to the American public.

ABC says in a statement: “We are sorry that this occurred.”

Damn right, you're sorry. How am I going to erase the image of this woman's nipple from my memory? How are babies that saw this nipple going to recover from the trauma of thinking that were about to be fed, only to remain tragically malnourished? How are we supposed to explain to our children that you need bags of saline to make a titty look that hard and perky? What about all the 11-year-old boys that were playing hookie from school that day, only to see their first fake titty? These are the pressing questions that we must now answer, unfortunately, in this post 8/5 America.

God forbid someone sees the nipple on that synthetic titty!

Luckily, we have the Parents Television Council to save the day. Refer to this timely and necessary statement from the organization, "For the umpteenth time in recent memory a morning news show has included inappropriate content for children and families. Instead of asking for forgiveness, they need to stop apologizing and implement the five second delay that so many Americans have been calling for."

Indeed. God forbid the American Public has to endure the devastation of  yet another fleetingly-visible nipple. This must end NOW.

My heart goes out to all the families who were innocently hoping to enjoy a wholesome performance from Young Money artist Nicki Minaj, only to be horrifically betrayed by her exhibitionist, left knocker on that fateful morning. This blog stands as a testament of your courage during these trying times.

8/5/2011... We will never forget. 

Solemnly yours,
Publius

"Geronimo! Enemy killed in action!"... More details about the moments before Osama Bin Laden's extermination are made public:

This doesn't exactly fit the specific topics of this blog, but it is peripherally related and very interesting, regardless. This video report from CNN discusses some of the intimate details of the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound by the U.S. Navy SEALs. It includes details of how they entered the compound, who they encountered on the way (and dispatched of the sorry bastards), and finally, how they exterminated that pesky insect Osama Bin Laden. It also discusses the President's reaction immediately following  the declaration of Bin Laden's death, as well as other interesting details.

I'd like to commend the U.S. Navy SEALs for their bravery and efficiency in this mission. To my readers... Enjoy, and share your thoughts!



IF the video isn't working, as I think it might not for some of you, here is a direct link: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/08/02/exp.tsr.todd.bin.laden.raid.cnn?

Sorry for the technical difficulties!

I have the honor to be your faithful servant,
Publius