Baseball vs. Girlfriends

AJ and I were watching my slumping Mets getting pounced by his redhot Red Sox. And we wondered what it would be like to meet in the World Series.

(00:44:48) AJ: we will both be wrecks
(00:45:01) Me: yeah, i'm taking two weeks off from internship, work, ecf, church, school, and showers

But then he makes a good point.

(00:46:35) AJ: haha i hope for their sakes...we don't have g/f's then

And thus I make the following "Would you rather" question:

Would you rather have five straight years where your team wins the World Series every year without a girlfriend? Or would you rather have five straight years with a great girlfriend, but your team finishes in a disgusting last place each year?

We both laughed and were about to quickly answer one way, but then we could easily have went the other way. To this point, we are both speechless, and wondered how sad it was that we were actually considering it.

But then I think to myself: I wonder how many other guys (if you're not a baseball fan, you do not count as a guy right now) would struggle with this question.

That Smell

I preface this story by suggesting you all go to facebook and take a look at the picture in my profile. With this and the David Hasselhoff picture in my last one, I am sad to say that it is not my own genius to post them up. My roommate and bud, AJ, has my password saved on his computer because for some reason, I have trusted him with it (and many other things) for the past three years of my life. He breaks it for things like this, and contrary to what you may think, the laughter he causes lets me trust him more.

When he nudged me to check my facebook, I knew he had done something. My first reaction was Why take down that GREAT Hasselhoff picture? I then planned on quickly removing whatever madness he took up there, but when I saw the new picture, I began to laugh hysterically in the workplace. Quickly realizing my yelp, I quieted down and could not stop laughing for the next 15 minutes. I began to shiver and hold my hands to my face, so I would not be surprised if others thought I was crying. I even pulled the I've-got-something-in-my-throat-so-I-am-coughing-but-no-way-I-am-laughing-at-something move.

I laughed so hard in fact, that I had to pee. And that's where the real story begins.

After coming from the bathroom, I received a message from one of the producers asking me to work on some video equipment for a taping she needed to do. I said Sure! and rushed down to get the materials. As I sat in the edit station waiting for the video to load up, I started to notice something. It was a smell -- an ungodly smell. The last time I had smelled that was in the men's restroom of New York City public schools. It stenched up the place.

And then I realized, I had just gone to the bathroom. Did I leak? I remember doing the after-pee shake quite effectively. But with three hours of work left to do, I could not afford another embarassing moment in front of these coworkers (Read my post - Palms).

So I did another move. I moved my fingers down to my crotch as if I were fixing my belt (how it was supposed to be fixing my belt - I DO NOT KNOW!). And then I would lift my fingers to my nose to smell it -- it was there. Repeat. Smell. That smell was there again. It was me!

But wait! Even when I did not do the finger-to-crotch-to-nose routine, I smelled it. So maybe when I was smelling my finger, I was not really smelling my finger, but smelling the air around it. No chances! I reached into my bag and put in 5 pieces of Eclipse breathmints into my mouth and ran into the bathroom to apply deodorant. Hopefully, making other scents stronger, I could balance the smell of piss from my pants. On the way back, though, someone shouted: What the fuck is that smell??? The good news? I was nowhere where he was standing.

Mission accomplished. Until I began speaking to my producer to which she replied, "Yih, do you really need that many breathmints? I can barely breathe here."

Because I Love You

SPIDERMAN 3 TEASER TRAILER!!!

525,600

And I ain't talking about measuring them in love.

Because I am an intern, they shoot me from available computer to available computer till the available computer is well -- no longer available. For the most part, I have been pretty lucky to stay in my secluded pod where only the quiet anchors hang out.

But today, my computer was taken over and I was sent down to the large news room that all the CNN tours get an overhead look at. Sidenote: It honestly baffles me on a daily basis trying to understand why people would pay 20-25 dollars for a thirty minute tour of people like me chatting on gmail. The fact that it is happening in more than one CNN bureau cracks me up as well.

In any case, I was working on writing this podcast with Ali Velshi. When I finished, my producer asked me to print it out. Now normally, the default printer in my usual computer requires one click and done. I expected it to work the same in this new computer, but before I knew it -- I saw the printing process shoot up 10,000 pages per second. Before I knew it, I had sent almost 600,000 pages to the printer. I searched through my local printers to try to cancel the job and I think I did the job.

Bottom line is -- I have no idea if I did or not. The worse case scenario -- which is still possible -- is that it went down to the headquarters main system printer in Atlanta. 600,00 pages to slow down the work progress of "the most trusted name in news."

At that point, I pulled a Peter Griffin amidst the oblivious New York workers, yawned, stretched, and slid myself away from the computer desk.

But I bet somewhere a few hundred miles away, someone is standing over a printer yelling: Who the f*ck printed 600,000 pages?!?!?!?!!?

Minor League Manager's fit

"I don't think I ever lost total control, though it may look like it," Mikulik told the Asheville Citizen-Times on Monday.

Senior Syndrome

Entering my last year of college, something hits you like a brick: you'll never face anything like this again. Add on to that the fact that I could wind up in Omaha or Baghdad next year, what I do on the 1 train really does not make a difference.

Outside of my family, most people I know in my life, whether they be the boys I've hung out with since 5th grade or the close friends I've made at Emory, will not be with me. And my family has already seen the worse and the best of me anyway.

And in the midst of my boredom with my work, I have developed a few hobbies.

1) Singing out loud...really loud on the train. I whisper and I shout. I act like a hopeless romantic and a raging idiot. But with headphones on and eyes shut, I'm oblivious to anything except the 20,000 fans of screaming pre-teens with fake blood tears and metal mouths, accompanied by the fathers they do not want to be seen with.

2) I dance in the middle of Manhattan to these songs. As Baz Luhrman says in his masterpiece, "The Sunscreen Song," - "DANCE!" And dance I shall. Nothing beats dancing than with an unbrella in a soft drizzle amongst tourists. So I rock like Van Halen. And I twirl like Brian Litrell from BSB. And when there's really no one looking, I do the hokey pokey (I need to retain some dignity).

3) I smile to everyone. This has by far been the most challenging. I can already hear every Southerner say to him/herself, "By Billy Bob, I think he's got it!" But I'm not talking about the southern hospitality, smile to everyone and tip your cap, as you walk down the street kind of smile. I'm talking about a confident, beaming, almost flirtacious smile. I'm trying to develop a swagger about my life, and the results are quite entertaining. The men who tower over my 5'6" frame feel a little insecure. The women blush like they did for Jonathan Taylor Thomas (JTT!!!) in '94, Leo Dicaprio in '97, Colin Farrell in '01, and who is it now? I'm so off in this screaming girl pop culture thing.

No matter what I do to act like a complete idiot, however, there is the same the result. Cause at the end of the day, people look at my CNN ID, my button down solid shirt, my ironed slacks, my finely combed hair, my fresh odor, my leather shoes, and a beaming confidence. And despite the other oddities of "Say it ain't So"s and "Hip Hip"s, I am somehow more normal than the average subway rider.

I do have doubts with acting this same way back in the college campus though. But hell, I'm a senior! So who cares!

Typical Monday

I need a break from my job. I need a break from the news.

My job requires me to read 90% of the NY Times (including the other sections), the Wall Street Journal, conservative blogs, liberal blogs, cnn.com, foxnews.com, and everythign in between. And this is all in my free time.

During work, a television props itself by my computer with a little bit of lou dobbs, and way too much wolf blitzer. Scattered in between my gmail conversations (please add me to your list: yleecnn@gmail.com), I make investigative phone calls to Wal-mart, insurance companies, and congressmen.

Exciting and empowering at first, I now thirst for something different. So for the first time in weeks, I've stopped reading the Times and anything else for that matter. People may think that I'm simply boycotting the Times for their investigative stupidity on Friday for leaking national secrets. But I am simply tired.

Most of us are waist deep in this thing called the adult-life with our jobs at law firms, insurance companies, media outlets, and hospitals. So I'm sure I'm not the only one that just wants to throw these "career" plans into the backseat and shove the "dream" speech out the window, or at least trade these things in for a recliner, a 6-pack of beer, and watch Season 2 of Lost.

There is nothing that speaks Office Space more than the college student during summer time.

Bill, Please

You are in love. Okay, I get it.

With one party promoting an end to gay marriage and another party promoting a rise in minimum wage, I have my own bill to propose.

There should be a new age minimum for when people get married. What should that age be? How about when I stop caring.

I know this is a little absurd for me to propose, but I want to speak out for all of us out there who either denying the fact that we're growing up or can barely find a girlfriend/boyfriend, much less a wife/husband.

In the past 18 months, I know at least 5 people who got married. Their age ranged from a year younger than me to two years older than me. I look forward to another two more, but the summer is not even over yet.

Have your sex. Watch your reruns in underwear. Consolidate your loans together. Get a mortgage. Argue about your kids' names. Deal with your in-laws.

I am going to write a letter to my senator regarding this. If there's anyone who is against marriage at any age...it should be Senator Hillary Clinton.

Drunk Fatty

So this is what being an adult is like. So this is why every male adult I see has a beer belly.

Got a random email in my work mailbox about an hour ago -- saying there is a hawaiian themed party for all cnn and other turner employees. It sounds kind of corny, and I do not know many people here to begin with. I thought I'd make some new friends and may even converse with the few that I already do know.

When I got up there, there was at least 200-300 people already grooving to overplayed 1990s pop music. Then I realized I knew 0 people out of those people, so I opened a sigh of disappointment.

And then the crowd parted like the Red Sea. And in front of me was a buffet line.

I rushed towards it, and there it was. Five different types of suishi. Ribs. Pork. Egg Rolls. Dumplings. Chicken Kabobs! Salmon Kabobs! Shrimp Kabobs! Could life get any better? I submit that it cannot.

I then realize after my fourth trip up to the buffet line, that I had no one to stand next to when eating. I have become the sad co-worker that knows no one, but everyone else knows as the quiet guy who just eats by himself in the corner, pretending to talk on the cell phone.

I do not really care. But then I see another glorious revelation. I walk over to get a drink of water to wash down the food. But next to the Cokes and the Dasanis, I see wine. I realize I am not 21, but I also realize that I am the only person under 21. So I test the waters. May I have some wine, please? He's says no problem. And I sip the wine for the next few minutes. But in between sips and kabobs, I see someone with a bottle of beer.

No freaking way. So I run back over to the bar and ask if they have beer. Amstel Light or Heineken? Sweet!. Amstel Light, please.

Chug. I guess I'll have a Heineken. Heineken, please

A couple of glasses of wines and couple of beers later, I find myself in la-la land. I was only hoping the kabobs were enough to keep me sober.

I get back, stumbling to my desk. My boss jokes if he should take breathilizer test, and we laugh. But by the time he tells me that I can go at 6:15, I realize that I am starting to feel the alcohol both in my stomach and in my mind.

So I spend my time trying to sober up by drinking water, watching the mets game, and writing this blog. Meanwhile, the network's correspondents and producers walk by me, wondering why I'm still there. Dedicated young man, they think, as I type furiously into my computer.

But now, I think I can make it to the train station without falling over. I have finally realized that after college, the American population becomes nothing more than inefficient, fat, lazy, drinking people trying to relieve their own stress.

If I do not make it to the train station, however, what a way to go.

EDIT: 2 hours and sober...What the hell was I thinking? It is a horrible way to go. Who wants to go drunk in between the sweat of a fat man on the 1 train and the dirty of the platform?

Random funny drunk thought: "Why does every breast look bigger when tipsy?"

SW comments

SW comments on "Money Talk" - post on minimum wage:

"while it's no secret that Republicans and budgets rarely equal good intentions, i do have to say the economics are not as cut and dry as we would like to think. more than cutting jobs, both small and big businesses would make more of their workers part-time, the consequences of which would mean both that the two dollar an hour difference would make no difference in total income because of the reduction in hours, and that a lot of workers would lose full-time benefits, like the ever-important healthcare, which for a worker with a minimum pay job can be much more important than 2 dollars/hr. there should be a focus on guaranteeing healthcare and child care for those who need it, followed by an all around revitalization of the economy to create more of a demand for jobs (which generally leads to higher wages).

and you are right - estate tax breaks? pssh, why not give the rich free pony rides while you're at it..."

I love it. SW offers a comment that is both intelligent and critical. And I totally agree with her that it is not cut and dry. If it was, there would be no two sides. And she is totally right that even if minimum wage does go through, many times it comes not only at the expense of other workers, but also at the expense of themselves, but giving up benefits like healthcare.

But that leads to another reason why these Republicans have left a huge distaste in my mouth. In 1997, which was the lst time the wage was increased from $4.75 to $5.15, it was proposed by Democrats and finally passed when Republicans "bargained it to tax- and health-insurance related issues." What does "related issues" mean? Cut the health-insurance.

This year, they offer a counter offer under the same light. They counter with an increase to $6.25 (which is about right for a minimum after inflation), but paired with reductions in overtime pay and tax cuts for businesses.

Though we're not talking about health insurance cuts this time around, overtime pay is one of the more essential entities in a lower class family's living. Cutting overtime pay for them is like cutting a piece of their salary in many cases.

In terms of tax cuts for businesses, I'm for it. But if the Republican party has shown us anything, it will probably be businesses who must be worth at least 300 billion dollars, with a chance of light showers, fraud, and criminal conspiracy, ending up in a lifetime of prison for the CEOs.

WA Comments

WA comments on "ABC and the Apocalypse" - Soccer post: "Ah Sweden, the liberal's Camelot. Who watches soccer anyway? It's un-American. \m/

And I respond with what David Letterman said two weeks ago:

"Are you excited about the World Cup? Of course not. You're Americans."

Good Link

Guess Who Said This Quote: Ann Coulter or Julio Franco?

Letter of Recommendation

Exactly three months ago, I asked my journalism professor to write me a letter of recommendation for the summer internships I was applying for. I took two classes with him, but I got an A in one and a C in the other. I did not know how he would react, but he graciously agreed. A few days later, he asked me to pick up the sealed envelope in his mailbox. When I went back to my room, I do not know what took over me, but I broke his vote of confidence by opening it and reading it.

Pay close attention. This was his letter of recommendation:

3/20/06

To Whom It May Concern:

I can recommend Yih-Kang Lee as an earnest, hard-working young woman who welcomes constructive criticism and has the ability to learn from it. She took both my magazine and news writing classes at Emory University. As a three-time author and former writer at Business Week, I raise the bar high in my classes. No matter how high I raised it, Yih always stretched herself to meet my high standards. She was among my top students in both classes.

What impressed me most was how much progress Yih made during her first class with me. Her writing was weak when she entered the course, but she took my critiques to heart. No one worked harder in mastering the techniques of news writing. By the end of the course she was an A student. In magazine writing, she was the only sophomore among a class full of juniors and seniors. Not only did she hold her own but scored one of the few As in the class.

Yih was never a wallflower. She has an active and engaging mind, and she thought deeply about all we talked about in class. Nor was she shy about joining any discussion. But she was never impolite, always listening intently and giving opposing arguments their due.

Class wasn’t the only venue Yih strove to improve her writing. She has worked at Emory magazine. Now she plans to turn her class work for me into an article that could be published professionally. I have ever confidence she will succeed.

Despite Yih’s many extracurricular activities, her class work never suffered. She showed a mature ability to juggle many balls at the same time without dropping any. She would be a valuable addition to any rigorous fellowship or endeavor.

Yours truly,

MY PROFESSOR'S NAME

Lecturer

Journalism Program

Emory University

I hope you did not laugh too hard. So what did I do? Now I face a predicament. I needed to send the letter of recommendation. To change the "she"s to "he"s would be a breach of confidence and another form of plagiarism. To confront my professor about it would not only be embarassing for both parties, but it would also let him know that I opened the signature-sealed envelope. To not do anything about it was to turn in an incmoplete application.

I was going to confront him the next day. But two hours before the meeting happened, I received a phone call from CNN, who then promptly told me that I had been accepted. Thus, my meeting with my professor wound up being, "Thank you for your guidance. I got an internship at CNN."

I thought that was the end of the story. But it was not.

As I'm in the middle of one internship, I am in the middle of applying to several more. And guess what they need in my application. Yep -- a letter of recommendation. Considering I have had a limited number of journalism professors in Emory, I decided to email him again. I thanked him for his previous help and asked for another copy of the letter through email. I hoped that he would catch his mistake and send me a revised copy, where I, am in fact, a male.

He did not notice. He sent the same letter of recommendation to me.

This time around, I have more options. Unlike the previous predicament, I had the right access to open the attachment to print. Therefore, I just sent him an email with the following:

"Thank you for your quick replies. But I think the recommendation you sent is wrong. Though it does have my name, some of the "information" is inaccurate."

I now await his reply. I now await a more awkward teacher-student relationship than Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate.

But at least this time around, my gender will be corrected.

Money Talk

I have just about had it with the Republican party. Yes, I am frustrated with the majority of politicians, but mainly Republicans. And it isn't because of their stances on the Iraq War. (Because honestly, Kerry and co. should just shut up about this "date" thing. I feel like he's overcompensating for his lack of well...ANY viewpoint in '04). And yes, immigration and global warming stances from the Repubs is irritating.

But when it comes right down to it, what affects me and you the most is the bottom line, the loose change, the mula. And once again, they fail me.

In a battle to increase the $5.15 minimum wage rate, the Republican-controlled Senate voted down the proposed bill that would have raised it for the first time in nine years. It would have been raised to $7.25. At $5.15, a full time worker would make $10,712 a year. That makes it fall a slightly lower than one grand above the poverty line and 6 grand below the poverty line in a family of three. People are living on the edge and yet once again, they are ignored.

So what is the argument of the Republicans? They have a couple. Let's knock off the foolish one first.

They say that most of the people receiving minimum wage are part-time teenage workers who do are really only working for expendable income. Though they make a solid percentage of that population, they largely ignore those in which this is not the case. How do I know? For one thing, my mother was one of them. And it has only been the commitment of her, despite broken English, that has raised her pay to slightly above double digits. And if she lived by herself on that, it would still not be enough. Add on to that her coworkers that I have met in the past 15 years, and the statistics that point to people who have to take two minimum-wage jobs...what do you get?

What does it matter? No one notices them.

Now, let's see the Republicans' better argument. They say, as well as the National Federation of Independent Businesses, say that many small businesses will have to cut jobs if the minimum wage increases. Thus, it will hurt the people Democrats are trying to help. Point well taken. But at the end of the day, businesses have to be smart (which they are doing) and fair (which they are not doing). 10 grand per person is not enough to live on, and I'm sure everyone making these rules knows that. We are not calling for a raise in minimum wage every year, but without it going up or down based on living conditions or inflation, it is long overdue. We have to wait for Congress to get their hands out of their pockets. But Republicans believe that you're on your own, and as long as government is there to subsidize big business and suck up to corporate power, it's great.

Do you want to see what makes Republicans even more repulsive? They vote for their own pay raises, going up $165,000 a year (in the midst of a costly war, high gas prices, and increasing interest rates). Yet, they do not seem to believe that a person is worth 7 dollars an hour. If they had it their way, a person should not even be worth 5 bucks.

And one more thing. Republicans are pushing an estate tax reduction bill (along with gay marriage bans - two things that polls show citizens are not even putting in the top 10 of things they care about right now). This bill rewrites estate tax rates in 2010 and beyond. How? The idea is to repeal a tax on people who inherit multimillion-dollar estates. Altogether, that would have saved the wealthiest 1% $652 billion between 2012 adn 2021.

So...So...Wait. they want to give themselves a raise. They want to give 652 billion dollars away, but only to those who already own a 10 million dollar estate. But they will not raise the minimum wage by $2.10? With inflation, it should at least go past 6 dollars.

For a political party that prides itself on its "morality," this is a disgrace. I am disgusted and ashamed.

Palms

My name is Yih-Kang Lee and I have hyperhidrosis. For those who do not know, it is a condition characterized by abnormally increased perspiration, in excess of that required for regulation of body temperature. Layman's terms? I have sweaty palms.

Sometimes, it can be caused by anxiety, but most of the time, it is independent of the temperature and emotional state. I just have to play it by luck.

Which leads me to today.

One thing at the place I work for my internship is that there are beautiful women all around. Think about it. I am in a building surrounded by female reporters and anchors who are not only intelligent, but in order to be on television, they are generally young, beautiful, wearing eye-pleasing business attire (total turn-on), and have a demeanor that demands your presence.

After all these years of higher learning with collegiate girls who squeal around each other and pretend to be sluts, I have finally met real women that demand my respect. In some sort of sick way, they remind me of the crushes I used to have of my junior high school and high school teachers. You think this is sick? Then you are probably a woman. Every straight man you know has had some sort of fantasy of one of their teachers.

In any case, I was in this recording room working with some equipment, and one of the correspondents walk in. O...my...gosh. White blouse, brown skirt, black heels. Nothing revealing. Nothing inappropriate. I do not know how to describe it, but I hope that every male reader has their imagination running wild, so that we can at least connect on that level.

But then my producer introduces me to her, and she takes her hand out in a shaking motion. Trying not to act too nervous, I swiftly reach out my hand to shake hers and that's when we both knew it. I suffered from hyperhidrosis. Squish, squish, squish. The salty sweat permeated her skin and mine, and unlike B-rated porn movies, this was not sexy. Very much like C-rated porn movies, this was very disgusting. Her eyebrows clenched a split second before she took her hand away from mine, and went on with business. I shook my head in disgust and wiped my hand on my slacks.

On the train ride back, I stared at my right hand, and repeatedly whispered to myself: Dammit, you failed me again!

The Hispanics on the 7 stared at me.

Sorry

Sorry to my four readers as I have flip flopped between being a 5-post-a-day blogger and a once-every-four-weeks type blogger. But this time, it is not my fault. I am starting to realize how hard it is to live a fully functional life without a personal computer. That is not to say I did not live a content life, but just not a fully functional one. I just received the AC Adaptor in the mail, and I am still waiting on the battery.

I have decided to abandon the Coulter analysis for two reasons. First, I have fallen behind with taking notes without a computer, so there is no way I can meet my deadline of this Saturday of when I have to return it. I think my goal of thoroughly reading and critiquing a work that had received so much criticism has been reached. And more importantly, I have decided to abandon this analysis because no one was reading it because of its length. Haha.

I promise I will go back into my regular blogging rate once I receive my battery in a few days.

Bang Bang

A Commentary on Ann Coulter's Godless - Ch. 2 - "The Passion of the Liberal: Thou Shalt Not Punish the Perp"

One of the hard things about critiquing a political piece is that readers always want to classify you as one or the other. Are you with me or against me? After the critique on Ch. 1, many thought I was a closeted liberal. Their LibDar (as opposed to GayDar) went off, after seeing my CNN credentials, my love for the NY Times editorial board, and my discomfort with Southern evangelism. So allow me to throw you a curve ball.

There are actually a few things in chapter 2 I agree with. But once again, her good ideas are poorly supported by contradictions and a play of words, so that anyone who did a little extra research on what she says realizes the issues are a lot grayer than she makes it.

But I'll begin with the good.

The topic sentence of the chapter is all you basically need to read: "The Left's most dangerous religious belief is their adoration of violent criminals." Powerful. She then answers the FAQ from a typical liberal: What if innocent men are executed? The death penalty does not deter, so why do it? Why are we the only modern democracy so primitive to have the death penalty? Why is the punitive system racist? Prison is worse than death, so why have the death penalty?

Naive and legitimiate questions that I have heard not just from liberals. I know many conservatives who have trouble stating a position on the death penalty, as they are trying to stay true to their pro-life debate carried over from the abortion debate. To not play God in one respect, but to play God in another is a weird switch for many, not just liberals.

But I do not blame them. I blame it on Denzel Washington and the Oscar-nominated Hurricane. I blame it on Tim Robbins and the Oscar-winning Shawshank Redemption. I blame it on the Apostle Paul. We are told these long tales of redemption from murderers to prophets. We are told of the determination of the wrongfully accused. These things seem to be able to happen to anyone, so we are affected.

Nonetheless, inspiring stories and the faults of a human-made punitive system are not the norm. So to destroy and undermine the entire police department because of Rodney King would be absurd. To no longer trust the judicial system because of OJ would be irresponsible. So to forfeit the death penalty because of Denzel Washin...I mean, Rubin Carter would be teh act of a fairy-tale maker. The Left, and I would argue, much of the younger American public, has a naive fear of the "what ifs" that it practically leaves our system helpless and handicapped.

Answering these questions, there were actually some good responses from Coulter. If prison is so much better than death, why are people on death row scratching and clawing themselves away from the chair?...Most blacks kill blacks and most whites kill whites, so if we did punish more blacks, are we not valuing the lives of black victims and their families?...Murder rate has soared each time we have eased on the punitive system...With all this talk wasting the taxpayer's money on prisons, what about your senator's office or the EPA or FEMA?

Not saying that I agree, but they are thought-provoking answers for tough questions.

But then she heads into some muddy waters where I agree with her, but wait? You're contradicting yourself. She injects the name Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the ultimate Savior of the liberal's plans to bring the nation to demise in crime. But with Rudy's get-tough policies with New York, he singlehandedly changed the face of America. Having lived through Mayor Dinkins' run, Giuliani's, and now Bloomberg's, she without a doubt has a case. Before Giuliani, the streets of Times Square had more porn shops than hot dog stands. But now, it has morphed into my favorite place in the world. Crime has gone down at a pace so drastic that New York City has transformed its very reputation. Proof? Look at movies 15-20 years ago that took place in NY (Ghost, Coming to America), and look at the cosmopolitan look it has now.

But she is not making a lot of sense. While President Clinton does not deserve the props for changing the face of crime in New York, why does Giuliani deserve the props for changing America? As we all know, New York is an anomoly from the rest of America. Canadians have more in common with America than New Yorkers do. She does mention the increasingly Republican Congress, but Giuliani becomes royalty in this chapter. Which suggests another question. To declare Giuliani and a Republican shining on a hill is a little misplaced, considering his views for gay marriage and for abortion - two issues she continues blasts liberals for throughout the book.

Coulter spends much of the chapter reviewing through Supreme Court cases she subjectively handpicks and bringing up the usual subjects of Tookie Williams, Mumia, Sacco and Vanzetti, etc. But as we all know, she does not bring up the doubts or controversy that surrounds each case, but instead, explains them as clearcut cases. She has little confirmation on these facts, considering the actual events themselves happened years before she was born or when Reagan was not punching a wall, saying "Reagan! SMASH!" (Family Guy reference). Though she calls Tookie Williams the Lance Armstrong of deranged shotgun killers, she devalues the presence and power of him winning the Nobel Peace Prize. That was another of many examples throughout the book in which she picks and chooses information to value and information to claim useless.

While I agreed with Coulter that many Americans are living a fairy tale life that tries to ban many punitive solutions, she proposes too much of a trigger-happy-Dick-Cheney-shoots-friend-in-the-face-oops philosophy. There is a line between liberals and others who live the fairy tale and those who have a greater love for justice than she ever will. It is not so much that people like me want to free murderers or Enron executives. I would be the first to tell you that if someone killed my mother, I would want him to die in the most painful way possible. But for the purposes of my own closure and the purposes of justice, I want to make sure it was the deserving person. So if there is reasonable doubt or if the facts do not match up, we will take advantage of the entire justice system America has to offer, not just the "verdict-and-sentence" portion. For me, justice is not punishment or relief of punishment. Justice is getting things right.

After all that I have said of her being a false prophet, it was funny to see her end off her second chapter with a motivational and touching story regarding Brian Nichols and his converstion through Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. Coulter even told it in a touching way. Her final paragraph says:

"Smith turned him from a beast to a fellow sinner, still deserving of punishment, but also of forgiveness. This phenomenon, utterly unknown to liberals, is what's known as a miracle. That's how a real religion responds to rapists and murderers. In the liberal religion, there is no grace, only lies and deceit, some of it everlasting."

First of all, I would like to point out that Nichols, though turning himself in, still pleaded not guilty, which seems in direct contradiction to the character Coulter portrays in her book. But more importantly, her understanding of the Christian religion is once again skewed. She presents the idea (as do many others) that forgiveness and grace should be withheld until the murderer turns from his ways. The very gospel of Jesus Christ speaks to the exact opposite. The Bible says that He died for us even while we were still sinners. His grace, love, affection, and guidance was and is with us even when I constantly reject his love and hijack his glory.

All in all, I do not really think that how people stand on this issue is not directly related to whether or not they are liberal or conservative (though there are correlations). The way that I look at it, do you identify yourself more as the victim or the suspect? This is not to say that you have or will commit a crime, neither does it mean that will be the recipient of one. But because of the way society looks at you and the way we look at ourselves, it tells much about who in a crime story we identify with. For many, committing a crime like murder or rape may seem so far from their consciousness that to punish and put them to death would not even be an issue. But ask them about white-collar crime, and it becomes a little bit touchy, for that same person is able to see the road he or she may take that could lead there.

As for myself, I do not know. I am anti-death penalty in the same way I am anti-abortion. Though I'm pro-life through and through, I will keep quiet on the issue and try to look at it from both sides as thoroughly as possible. Kill someone? I will offer you grace. Kill my father? I will push the button myself. Terrorize Podunk, Mexico. I'll share the gospel with you. But give me a loaded gun as I'm in front of a helpless Osama Bin Laden. And you know what I'll do?

Bang...Bang...

MTA Infactuation

I walk down the platform pretending to read the paper, but I am looking for my soulmate. I thought I found her, but she's a he. And then you brush up against me. I look up, thinking it is a Hispanic guy. Not because Hispanic guys have the propensity to push me. But because it was the 7 train.

I see you. You are no Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson. But thank God for that. Are you shorter than me? Yes...one point for you. Or is it one point for me? What do you wear? Not too provocative, but not too "lou tou" - Chinese for old-fashioned/tacky/ish. You have a sweet regular face. Some people always frown for their regular face and others have a freakish smile. But you look normal. Not boring as it is mysterious. In a normal way.

I sit down. You sit next to me. Why? Are you thinking the same things that I am thinking? How do I keep looking at you without looking like I am looking at you? An attractive lady sits across from me, but I am not attracted. I want you to know that I find you more beautiful than the Revlon model could ever be. But I don't even know your name, let alone know if you can speak English.

I want you to say something interesting, so I could comment. I want you to say something about my shirt, my bag, my CNN ID, my hair, my bad breath. It doesn't matter. I want to strike up this conversation before we reach Junction Boulevard. I want to ask you out and tell you I have no money to take you out. So instead, we just ride the train back and forth through the night, talking. We would be catching up on the 21 years of separation. I want to take you home to my parents. I want to eat your food. I want to rub your shoulders. I see that we have arrived at Flushing, the last stop.

And you leave.

I snap out of it and continue pretending to read the paper.

Subway Diet

I had a randon conversation with AJ the other day. And I was telling him about the Subway diet that I've been on. You know...the Jared diet. With the 6 grams of fat per meal. It's fun. But one of the hard things about any diet are the late nights, as you're searching for food.

I stare in the fridge and see a Klondike bar. Mmmm, Klondike bar, I say. AJ then suggested that I should make myself a Klondike Subway sandwich.

So now each time I'm in Subway, I think about order a 6-inch Klondike sandwich on Wheat. It gets me smiling each time.

CNN Update

Monday - AV, the reporter I worked with was still overseas giving a talk, so my producer and I hung around. The boredom was thick. So we worked on writing practice scripts for the show. At the end of the day, it was simple. KISS. Keep it simple, stupid! Trying to write like a print journalist (blame Emory's journalism program for that), I realized I needed to write it in layman's terms, without ever using a word like...layman. So try to keep it short. Try to keep it facts. Try to keep it funny. Much harder than most people would think.

Tuesday - AV was back. And we were packed with work to do. With 7 hits through the day (hits are spots that the reporter would show up for from 30 seconds to 5 minutes), we were running all over the place. I had to do all the research for one of these 3 minute hits. And for the most part, I just cruised along, researching and talking to Wal-mart, Home Depot, and other big companies. And then I sent in my report, pretty much staging the entire conversation happening between anchor and reporter. And when it went on air, it was first of all, really cool to hear my own work being talked about and presented on television. Besides the ownership factor though, a bit of holy-crap-shit fear kicked in. I realized that this was being broadcast nationally, and I was talking about some of the biggest companies. One misstep in research or editing mistake might have meant my job. But it all went well.

Wednesday - somewhat of a slow day besides making props. Literally making them. 4th grade Art class came in helpful.

But the main highlight of Wednesday was when I was waiting for an elevator to go up. Suddenly, I see three bodyguards come into the elevator lobby with me. What the hell? ran through my head and suddenly, Benjamin Netanyahu (former Israel PM), showed up. He gave me a nod. I do not know what I did but I could barely open my mouth. I did some movement with my head and I can only hope it was a nod as well.

Back in Action

Death sometimes comes on an idle Tuesday on our way to Sociology 101. And then, there are times when death is often cheated, or at least, death is on an extended sabatacle. And in those moments, there is nothing you can do except count every moment in a blessing. At the end of the day, you don't weep or bawl. You simply smile and say, "Quite a run at it, boy!"

Long story short and devoid of any more overly dramatic allegories, my computer died on me two days ago. As some may know, I have often treated my laptop like a Bangkok prostitute, tossing it around from my chair to the desk, from the top of the bed to the bottom of my roommate. So it was no surprise when a permanent dimple appeared (one of the keys fell out). It was also no shocker when it lost its ability to feel (keypad broke). And finally, I had to put it on life support 24/7 (battery broke and had to hook up to AC adaptor all the time).

But the other day, as I was about to pump out five more posts on my blog(s), everything had went dead. Panic, shock, and denial are more likely than not the first reactions, as I pumped all of my energy into reviving the thing. For the next thirty minutes, I found myself unhooking and hooking every wire in its body to see some sort of life. Darkness.

So I did what every respectable person would do. I prayed to His Father (I called Dell). I wanted to see if there was any hope for revival, but He said that He could only bring him back on a limited basis (batteries were no longer being made), and that it would cost at least 60 dollars. His suggestion to me: Get a new one. Ouch.

I slept on it for a day and when I was about to adopt, my colleague told me about the black market (Ebay). I never trusted the black market, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Within an hour, I went through the perils and dangers of noisy markets and bidding (Ebay.com) and came out with an AC adaptor and battery to revive my baby for under 100 dollars.

So now I await the penecillin for my laptop's resurrection. Till then, I use my sister's laptop, and it does not feel right. The keypads are not as spacious and sweaty as my own. The screen is full of makeup instead of the scratches mine has. And even though other external qualities are the same and may even be better, the inside is just not the same. The way she runs, the way she sings, even the faces she makes...they are just not the same.

For now, this will have to do. And for those who care, I am two days behind in my blogging. So sorry if I have the physical energy to write as much as I have intended to write.

Cats to compete in reality TV show in NY

Check out this story

Cats to compete in reality TV show in New York
By Sarah Coffey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ten cats in search of owners will spend the next 10 days in a New York store window, their every move caught on camera for a reality TV show on which they will compete for best sleeper and mouse-catcher. The show is the creation of a petfood company and will be shown on cable channel Animal Planet, as well as on the Web site www.MeowMixHouse.com where viewers will be asked to vote off one feline contestant each day. The cats, chosen from shelters around the country, will compete for loudest purr, most prolific sleeper and who can catch the most toy mice. Kitties who get the boot will be
adopted into permanent homes. Meow Mix, owned by Del Monte Foods Company, hopes
the show will promote cat adoption -- as well as their products, which will be the only thing on the menu. Passerby taking a gander though a specially rented storefront on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan can watch the cats lazing about a luxuriously outfitted cat-sized house that
includes scaled-down sofas, beds, a fish tank (with fake fish), kitchen and a porch, all put together by an interior designer. "It's a Disney World for cats," said Meow Mix's Ryan Reed,
in charge of ensuring the cats are well-cared for and well-behaved. Volunteers from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are also on hand to attend to
the needs of the kitty stars. Enjoying their final day of obscurity Monday, the cats seemed unfazed by attention from visiting media -- most of the cats were asleep on the set, which will be unveiled to the public Tuesday. A cat named Sam, from Dallas, Texas, stood guard on the
home's welcome mat while Romeo, a Los Angeles native, lazily stretched out his six-toed paws before swatting a toy. In the tradition of reality shows, the company will hire the top cat as "Feline Vice President of Research and Development," responsible for taste testing and product
feedback. Biographies of the cats play up their personalities, but in reality, they're all pretty mellow, if not a bit dazed from all the attention. "In real life they're all very sweet," said Meow Mix's Keith Fernbach. "But we try to give them a personality for TV."

MUST SEE TV! FOX NEWS AND ANTI-EVERYTHING PHELPS-ROPER

Good job to conservative blogger Michelle Malkin for posting this on her blog. Good job by FOX News for putting this on the air. GREAT job to Fox News host, Julie Banderas for the way she was in this interview.

Awkward Farting

So I'm in my boxers and reading some headlines on my compter, while sitting on the sofa. My butt is literally squished the leather seating, and I feel a fart coming on. Instead of leaning to one side to allow the fart to freely release itself, I decide to laziliy let it go while still on the sofa.

What ensues is a fart with no where to go. Instead of going back and rising while scraping my back, it has to go forward, and travels out of where my pant legs are. Thus, the hot air flies by my testicles.

It tickled. And I laughed.

Sorry for those who I just made puke.

Instant Message Programs

Easily one of the funniest videos I have ever seen.

Props to Asian Men Who Rant

ABC and the Apocalypse

So I'm watching the first soccer game on basic TV in the 2006 World Cup. And they could not have chosen a better matchup. Iran vs. Mexico. My dilemma is that I do not know who to root for.

If Mexico wins, both the 7 train and the entire Southern US border will rock hard enough to produce an earthquake resembling the Holocaust. Meanwhile, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be so pissed off that he may push the button for his nuclear weapons in disgust. With the earthquakes and the nuclear warfare that will ensue, we will then have the Apocalypse. there must've been a typo with 6/6/6 and missed it by a few days. Not to mention the goalie will probably be killed.

If Iran wins, they will be one step closer to Iran's premiers to watch the games at Germany. Not a good thing considering Iran's regime denies the Holocaust ever happening, and Germany has made such a denial, and even mention of the old Facist regime illegal. The tension that ensues would make Aaron Spelling jealous.

And I do not even want to know if US wins the World Cup. I'm going to root for Sweden from now on.

The Person Behind the Muslim

"I am, a woman cracked by multiple migrations. Uprooted so many times she can connect nothing with nothing." - Meena Alexander

"It was dismantled; my Muslim identity was teased out like code from a DNA strand. One piece of code does not tell you the whole story, but it is the only one placed under the microscope for investigation." - Anar Ali

Both quotes from a beautifully written op-ed called The Person Behind the Muslim

False Prophets

A Commentary on Ann Coulter's Godless - Ch. 1 - "On the Seventh Day, God Rested and Liberals Schemed"

"They exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator...Therefore, God gave them up to the passions of dishonor; for their females exchanged the natural use for that which is contrary to nature." - Romans 1:25-26

That is the DaVinci code way that Coulter begins her rant of liberals, equating liberalism with heathenism and liberals with those who are eternally damned to hell. By comparing liberal theology that has been imposed in every aspect of American society to correct and good theology that has its based in Judeo-Christian beliefs, Coulter does more than make fun of or point out the faults of liberals. She essentially makes it a battle between good and evil, angels and demons, right and wrong.

This is no shock considering that has been the conservative narrative that has helped them win every election they've won in the past century. After the Russians, they needed a new enemy to regain the office, so that was where the terrorists came in. But terrorism was the vague word used to describe the Muslim and Arab nations of the world. And through this Dirty Harry cowboy and Indian narrative, they were able to portray themselves as the hero of the West who was simply trying to live ruggedly and through hard work, find themselves in a comfortable life. Every relationship that occurs between America and another nation is simply a work of neighborly love rather than an attempt to rape, pillage, and destroy. War has only happened through the provocation of others. Right now, since conservatives are trying to portray the Iraqis as our friends and the Iranians as our enemies, it is hard to tell the difference. So we must pick a new enemy. An enemy that poses the most direct challenge for them now as the midterm elections are coming. An enemy known as liberals.

Her initial point is a good one as she points out, "Liberals love to boast that they are not 'religious,' which is what one would expect to hear from the state-sanctioned religion." While liberals may deny it and instead, exalt themselves to be objective citizens that play no favoritism, they are every bit as subjective as conservatives. They are every bit as corrupt as conservatives. They have their own set of beliefs that constitute the way they accept or deny others into their social and political circles. To Coulter, their sacraments include abortion, holy writ is Roe vs. Wade, clergy are public school teachers, churches are government schools, and the creation myth known as evolution. While there are many faults in her little rant (she usually gets into the most trouble in her rants), the intial point is a good one. My problem is not with her statement that liberals is in a twisted way, their own religion. My problem is not with the fact that liberals have won many battles in American society (though conservatives have won the same if not more). My problem is not with her feeling so strongly about her own conservative beliefs. My problem is with her use of defining liberalism to evil, a belief system without morals or God, while defining conservatism to good, a belief system that knows no selfishness or corruption. She not only believes that if Jesus were here on earth, he would not only be a proud Bush supporter and registered Republican voter; she believes that Jesus is Bush and quite possibly, Bush is God.

The gist of this first chapter is pitting conservatism in the red corner - where Jesus is - and liberalism in the blue corner - where sex, violence, and drugs reign. By using Christianity and conservatism interchangeably, Coulter is contrasting liberalism with Christianity more so than liberalism with conservatism, while not questioning the faults conservative policies have with Christian tenets.

Her first bone to pick is with environmentalism. She writes, "The core of Judeo-Christian tradition says that we are utterly and distinctly apart from other species. We have dominion over the plants and the animals on Earth...Environmentalists want mass infanticide, zero population growth, reduced standards of living, and vegetarianism...The core of environmentalism is that they hate mankind...We believe in invention and creation; they catalogue with stupefaction the current state of our diminishing resources and tell us to stop consuming."

I assume she was referring to Genesis 1:28-29, where God tells Adam to fill the earth, subdue it, rule the fish of the sea and the birds of the air...everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every plant for food. Well done, Coulter. You have read your Bible, but even Lucifer is better bible scholar than C.S. Lewis. One of the sad things of today's Christians is that they like to pick and choose verses out of the Bible to justify their beliefs and actions. But if Coulter only read a few lines down, she would have seen the following in Genesis 2: 15, where God takes Adam to the garden to "work it and take care of it." When the two verses are put side by side, God clearly supports omnivores and he has given us the right things in this world to survive. But he also charges his people with the power and responsibility to take care of the beautiful world that He has created. It is not merely birds and manitees that his children should care for. It is God's creation that we should fully respect in the same way that we were put as stewards over our money and talents as well. Liberals not proponents of zero population growth, but like any good parent, we would like to give our children a gift of an environment that provides safety and beauty, not black gas and a rising number of endangered species. As much as couples want to have children, they want to be sure that their children grows up in a healthy environment. So do liberals hate mankind? I would argue that conservatives in their lack of responsibility, do not have the right to make that claim. And in terms of a reduced standard living, liberals are only asking for something small such as the wisdom and responsibility to throw your trash into the blue recycle bin. In our day and age, everything else is counted as icing on the cake.

When she says that liberals also "deny the biblical idea of dominion and progress, the most ringing affirmation of which is the United States of America," I am not sure which biblical concept she is speaking of, especially when they come at the expense of other people in the form of sweatshops, et al. If she wants to talk about progress, we see Jesus making great progress in his ministry through his miracles and on his way to the cross. But in his progress, he seemed to have the patience and love to stop in crowds and individually go to people who needed his love and affection at the expense of his schedule and progress.

Another ludicrous statement exclaims, "Environmentalists' energy plan is the repudiation of American and Christian destiny, which is Jet Skis, steak on an electric grill, hot showers, and night skiing." Since when did night skiing have ANYTHING to do with Christian destiny?

Coulter's next point in her chapter makes hypocrites of liberals by saying, "Liberals are more upset when a tree is chopped down than when a child is aborted." When speaking of abortion, her naivete comes up time and time again by drawing a picture of thousands of hippies who celebrate each time an abortion occurs. If she has ever been in many abortion clinics, I am sure she will find many would-be mothers who irresponsibly throw away the life of their future children, but she would also see many more mothers who has seen that as the hardest decision they have ever had to make, and through circumstances that others do not choose to understand, she makes them. Liberals are not upset for the tree that is chopped down, but for mankind that has to suffer the losses of a tree being chopped down for the sake of building a game room. Liberals are also not celebrating when a child is aborted, but are facing the realistic circumstances of a fallen world that no law that bans it will solve. Though I am not a supporter of abortion, I believe Coulter and the conservatives' wishful thinking will not solve much more.

The remaining parts of the chapter are mired in contradictions and poor research from beginning to the end. At one point, she believes that our world has begun listening to the "lies" of Julia Roberts and George Clooney simply because of their beauty: "Today's worship of physical perfection is more grotesque than Hitler's notion of the Aryan." Yet, her next sentence is: "Ugly feminists impotently rail against 'sexist men'." Coulter also constantly asks liberals why they must save Tookie Williams and Mumia Abu-Jamal over unborn children, withotu providing the controversial history of Williams and Mumia. For those who do not know, Williams was a leader of the Crips gang and was executed for several murders. During his time in prison, however, he began to make changes in his behavior and became an anti-gang activists on Death Row, while renouncing his gang affiliation and apologized for his past activities. Nonetheless, Coulter would not accept the ability of a person's behavior to change. In her constant reference to Christianity, she once again forgets the adulteress that Jesus saves by asking the potential stoners, "May the one who has no sin cast the first stone" and that was even before the adultress agreed to change. If Coulter understood the role of grace in her faith, which is what the entire Christian religion is based on, she may have seen the situation a tad differently. In the case of Mumia, he was also on death row for killing a cop. But the controversy ensued when three of the prosecution's eyewitnesses discredited their own testimony stating that they lied about Mumia because they were threatened, coerced, or made promises by the police to get them to give false testimonies about them. The truth is still questionable, but it seems that Coulter's trigger happy finger would rather push the button on possible innocent citizens and apologize for it later. For someone who claims to be such a huge American patriot, she has forgotten to read one of our basic tenets in the judicial system: Innocent until proven guilty.

Coulter summarizes liberals as people who "subscribe to a platform that essentially consists of breaking the Ten Commandments" by commiting adultery (Clinton), lying about adultery (Clinton), covetousness, killing the unborn, and stealing from the middle class (rich) and giving it to teachers (poor). First of all, she makes synonyms of public school teachers and college professors, a gap so wide that it is like comparing apples to gorillas. Secondly, did Coulter forget murder (Iraq), lying about murder (Bush), and misuse of God's name (making synonyms of God and a political belief system)? As for adultery and lying about it, why don't Christians get a divorce rate lower than everyone else at above 50% before Coulter makes that statement. And finally, has Coulter forgotten the two most important commandments - Love God and Love your neighbors, for the entire Law comes out of these two, as Jesus says.

So do conservatives love? Or let us start with whether or not Ann Coulter loves. What about this quote by Coulter?: "This is something else that can't be taught in government schools: Muslims' predilection for violence," or "At least the crazy Muslims get funding from Saudi Arabia for their madrasses." Her religious superiority without noticing her own imperfection makes her the ultimate breaker of the commandments.

Once again, I am not trying to reverse her argument into saying that liberals are good and conservatives are evil. Instead of flipping, I intend on clarifying that both are politically suffocating stances that have their virtues and their vices. But to identify one with Christ and the other with Lucifer is where she goes wrong. And if this is the basis for the entire book, I will have a long two weeks ahead of me.

One more quote from Coulter: "The stupidest of college students become journalists, churning out illiterate attacks on dissidents of the liberal religion." To back up her statement, she uses three examples in the past five years that have misquoted the speaker. Through three examples of misquotations, Coulter devalues the entire profession. A profession that had the power to make Indonesia and India and Katrina known to the world, so that help could be provided. A profession that singlehandedly destroyed McCarythyism (an era she rejects similar to Iran rejecting the Holocaust). A profession that has improved the social conditions of thousands because of the power of their words. A profession that she rejects simply because of her own illiterate attacks on the dissidents of the conservative religion.

In the same way that she began her first chapter with a passage from the Bible, I will end my first chapter's commentary with one as well:

"Then the Lord said to me, 'The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusions of their own minds." - Jeremiah 14:14

Okay, Coulter! Put Em' Up

The talk of the town is still Ann Coulter. And it is driving up her book sales, which makes some of us wonder if she is really the venomous author in her books. Or maybe she is a blonde, female version of William Hung, with enough mareting genius to make her the new Simon Cowell.

So here was my dilemma. As noted for a few posts ago, "Ann Coulter is a Bitch," I am not particularly fond of her ideas or the way she decides to convey them. But without reading her actual book, I do not have the authority and legitimacy to say anything about it. Therefore, I needed to purchase the item, but if/when I did so, I would have contributed to supporting her, both in fame and in sales.

I thought I could find an alternative route to this problem by camping out at Barnes and Noble and read the entire book in the store. Afterwards, I would be able to come home, declare my journey into the lion's den, and critique it against conservatives who are too busy protesting for their rights to be exempt from tax than to read their own material.

But I could not do this for two reasons. One is the marketing genius of book stores because the cafe environment forces you tow ant to sit back and enjoy your reading. Nonetheless, there is so much limited seating that you find yourself stuck on the floor, leaning against a stack of home and gardening books old ladies are trying to find. Secondly, there were so many notes that I was taking in response to the claims Coulter makes in her book that I would rather type them out in the comfort of my own home.

Yes, I bought it. But I intend to return it in the 14-day policy. But amidst the guilt of cheating the book store system, I will take the money back and donate it to an organization or missions project or something to use it for some good.

As posted in her weekly column for Universal Press Syndicate and can also be found on her website, www.anncoulter.com, she makes one genearl point, but I plan on attacking two of them before I even read the book. First, she jokes about the fact that her book will probably be found in the dark trenches of your local bookstore:

"The main problem with "Godless" is that I had to walk through the valley of darkness to find it. You will have to push past surly bookstore clerks, proceed past the weird people in the "self-help" section, and finally past the stacks and stacks of Hillary Clinton's memoirs. If all else fails, ask for the "hate speech" section of your local bookstore. Ironically, if you find "Godless" without asking for assistance, it's considered a minor miracle."

Contrary to her jokes, the book was not only displayed outside the glass window, but it was also in the new arrivals section next to all Dan Brown books, sidelining the consumers waiting online to buy coffee. And this is NYC we're talking about, the liberal headquarters itself.

Secondly, she note that the book is not so much about liberals than it is about liberalism. A good point to note, she says that not all liberals practice their religion just like not all Christians practice theirs devoutly. Put by playing around with words, she is still essentially attacking liberals when attacking liberalism in the same way that an attack towards Christianity is an attack towards Christians. "Jesus did not raise from the grave" is equivalent to telling your Christians that your life and the belief system that surrounds it has been a waste.

Coulter has 11 chapters in the book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism, each of which i intend to read, analyze, and provide a commentary on in eleven separate posts on this blog within the span of two weeks.

Enjoy!

"Missouri Breeder Beaten With Dead Puppy"

Just thought you guys might enjoy this story.

A St. Peters woman angry that her new puppy had died pushed her way into a dog breeder's home and repeatedly hit the breeder on the head with the dead Chihuahua, the authorities said. The woman, 33, went to the home early Wednesday and tried to get another puppy, but the fight ensued, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The police said they were considering burglary and assault charges against the woman.

Paris Hilton's Video Genius

Paris Hilton has kept the E! Channel in business with enough clips of drunkeness. She was the only bright spot in the horrid (not horror) film, House of Wax, though it was not because of her acting. There is nothing like watching the blonde dimwit die with a big stick through her head, not in it. And we cannot forget the other video. Yeah, that one that made Pamela and Tommy's video look like Citizen Kane.

But unlike these three videos, she has a new video out...a music video, featuring her first single set out to be released next week on radio (though I heard it today on Z100) called "Stars Are Blind." Surprisingly, the raggae infused single is not too bad. It is a cross between Jessica Simpson and Gwen Stefani, though closer to the latter. And at some points, I might even have to argue that in terms of catchiness, it is better. Of course, I have only heard it a couple of times through the radio and YouTube. And if I can predict the future through the radio's past actions and the world's obsession with the wannabe diva, we will be hearing this song over the summer more than we heard Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" in 1997.

The music video, on the other hand, is not the greatest work of artistry. Basically, she finds herself in a leopard bikini frolicking in the beach with Fabio's cousin. They play in the water and hold each other, while she takes gasps of air to sing a few lines in the song. Through the black-and-white setting, the director and Paris attempts to give Hilton legitimacy, but viewers are too distracted by the fact we're seeing a Paris Hilton music video to care about legitimacy. Near the middle of the song, it switches to a color sequence with Paris Hilton, looking all virgin-like, groping two trees. So be careful next time you're in the beach and you see a few trees because that may not be sunburn.

The actual singing does not say much about Paris, since it did not required almost anything, except near the end of the song, where she barely sings the word "love" at an octave up, closely resembling Carl Lewis' ugly rendition of the national anthem last decade. The lyrics are a whole other story. It is no shock that Paris' lyrics were not anywhere close to Bob Dylan, but I think the Swedish guys who do Britney's and Backstreet Boys' lyrics could have done better.

"Those other guys all wanna take me for a ride,
But when I walk they talk of suicide,
Some people never get beyond their stupid pride,
But you can see the real me inside,
And I'm satisfied"

and then my favorite:

" If you show me real love baby,
I'll show you mine."

Maybe this is all a good thing. As proven my the Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out," Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping," and the aforementioned Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," songs like these may be so overplayed that we will never see from them or hear from them ever again. If everything works out perfectly, we could help our trade causes as a nation by trading her to Germany, following David Hasselhoff's footsteps. Maybe in return, they could give us the World Cup.

Money Quotes and Good Perspectives

With all this talk about the Iraq War, and whether or not to leave the soldiers in or not, I thought the NY Times did a fabulous job today of having two columnists give opposing viewpoints. But what differentiated today than most other days from most other papers was that these op-eds that called for the removal of troops or the sending of more troops were not based in some Michael Moore or Limbaugh bullshit. Both articles were based on the human need for life and love to exist. They literally speak to the human soul. What I also love about these pieces is that they both do not play the he said, she said game. The blame game lies with the public, with us, with the viewers, and with those who do nothing but abstain ourselves from guilt. Politics are second in importance in their arguments. Instead, it is about nothing more than the love for human life.

Conservative argument: Savagery's Stronghold by David Brooks
Liberal argument: Other People's Blood by Bob Herbert

Speaking of NYTimes, Thomas Friedman wrote an interesting article a few days about called, "A Well of Smiths and Xias," which talks about the enormous diversity in the American public school system. His money quote is the following:

"America is still the world's greatest human magnet. We are not the only country that embraces diversity, but there is something about our free society and free market that still attracts people like no other. Our greatest asset is our ability to still cream off not only the first-round intellectual draft choices from around the world but the low-skilled-high-aspiring ones as well, and that is the main reason that I am not yet ready to cede the 21st century to China. Our Chinese will still beat their Chinese."

And another money quote is regarding sports. One of the top reasons for why ESPN columnist, Bill Simmons, believes the Mavs will win: BAD KARMA for the Heat. Mainly the following:

"Pat Riley: Took the Knicks to Game 7 of the Finals in '94 and the conference semis in '95, then stabbed their entire fan base in the back by jumping ship to their archrival (in especially sleazy, underhanded fashion). Bring up Riley's name to any diehard Knicks fan -- they react like Jennifer Aniston finding out that the Pitt-Jolie kid was born two days before "The Break-Up" came out. They can't handle him.
(BAD KARMA RATING: 9 out of 10)

Pat Riley, Part II: Stole the team from Stan Van Gundy, then apparently had him whacked -- we haven't seen the Hedgehog since. Just a crazy turn of events. Combined with what happened with the Knicks, Riley's bad karma almost can't be calculated. Still, I'm going to try. (BAD KARMA RATING: 19 out of 10)"

Great work, Simmons!

Was I Too Harsh?

A reader and another friend, AD, comments on my post about calling Ann Coulter a "bitch." Here is what he had to say:

"Dude, first of all, I know it's not a stretch to say that someone is "prettier" than Bill O'Reily, but pretty is not the adjective I'd use to describe a woman with an adam's apple biggger than mine.But that being said, I think the biggest danger for a christian reading that post is to not drop to the same level (okay, maybe it's hard to drop to the SAME level, but I mean generally not to forsake your own morals when condemming her's). I think the problem w/ people like Ann Coulter is that she lacks the basic understanding to view the world out of her lens of pure black and white. She can't see the grays that make people's behaviour complex, so when she doesn't agree with something, she tries to condemn it. That's the type of attitude that led of the Crusades, McCarthyism, the Holocaust, etc. But when we attach labels like "bitch" to a person for their viewpoints, we're dropping into that same, very dangerous, mentality. Be carefull bro. I think I'm still finding out that grace doesn't only apply to sinners, it applies to pharisees too (and that's the hardest part)."

Ouch. He got me by calling me straight out on what I was doing. These are my readers. These are my friends.

But in defense, I will go back on the offense to criticize that same comment. The reader accuses me on being stooping down to the level of an Ann Coulter by going back into name-calling and warns me of its effects, while finishing it off with our need for grace. I will agree with the essence and motive of his comments.

However, did the reader not open up his comment by refuting my comment on a woman whom I deem is pretty and calling her someone with an "atom's apple," essentially someone who could possibly be a man? He goes on to criticize Coulter for much of the same things that I had said, except much more eloquently, and even puts her in line with the atrocities of Hitler and the Holocaust, McCarthyism, and the Crusades. Not to mention you called her a Pharisee for icing on the cake. And in Sunday School 202, we learn that Pharisees are the only people who Jesus did not have a liking for.

I am not sure about you, but what is worse? Women, if you really had a choice. Would you rather be called a bitch or a man? Better yet, would you rather be called a bitch or Hitler? How about a Pharisee? At least in my second to last paragraph in the post, I had given a spin to the word, "bitch," by citing Coulter as a talented writer in humor and speech. He does no such thing. Did a simple word, "bitch," outdo every other good thing I wrote about her, from her genius to her looks to the fact that I have agreed with her views in the past.

And to top it off with a word of grace...is like the final dart one needs to shoot in order to bring a loudmouth Christian back down to earth. So...touche. But was your comment of warning for us not to call each other "bitch" motivated by "grace"? I believe not. It was motivated by a sense of "pride" if anything because of your warnings that we dare not stoop to their level. If grace were at work, the comment would speak less about the very personal and individual incentives of offering grace, but instead, would speak to the beauty and genius of God's creature who sadly took a wrong turn somewhere like the rest of us. Grace is motivated by love and love is motivated by grace, but love is nowhere to be found in the comment. "Grace" has about as much substance in the comment as "bitch" has meaning in a rap song.

Nonetheless, forgive me for my poor choice of words. I must learn to love. I must learn to offer grace. So, I still do thank you for the comment. But there is the mess of humanity and the mess of Christian accountability. Even in the effort of holding each other accountable, we often fall while doing it.

Ann Coulter is a Bitch

Yes, I also believe that bitch is a curse. I say curses only in two cases. One - I have been saying curses a lot recently and it has become second nature. Two - I say it when I mean it.

I have not been saying curses recently.

For those who do not know, Ann Coulter is a conservative author who recently published Godless: The Church of Liberalism. She has a pretty strong following in the conservative base. Call her a prettier, younger, savvier, non-TV O'Reilly. I will say that I am an avid reader of Ann Coulter's columns, more so than ESPN's Bill Simmons. I enjoy her writing, laugh frequently, and though I don't always agree with her, there has been times where I do.

But with the release of her book last night, she describeda group of September 11 widows who backed the Democratic Party as millionaire "witches" reveling in their status as celebrities.

"I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much," Coulter writes.

As a New Yorker, seeing the attacks myself 3-4 blocks away that Tuesday morning, I am shocked by the comments of Coulter.

In a joint statement, the widows responded by saying, "There was no happiness in telling our children that their fathers were never coming home again. We adored these men and miss them every day."

Rightfully so, NY Senator Hillary Clinton responds by calling Coulter "vicious" and "mean-spirited."

"Perhaps her book should have been called 'Heartless,'" the senator added. "I know a lot of the widows and family members who lost loved ones on 9/11. They never wanted to be a member of a group that is defined by the tragedy of what happened."

The catfight continues when Ann Coulter responds, "Before criticizing others for being 'mean' to women, perhaps Hillary should talk to her husband who was accused of rape by Juanita Broaddrick and was groping Kathleen willey at the very moment Willey's Husband was comitting suicide."

Well done, ladies. Bring out the mud and jello while you are at it.

At the end of the day, I will stand by my comment that Ann Coulter is and forever will be a BITCH in my book. And I mean that word in two ways.

First, she is a bitch in the common sense of the word. Who would dare call the widows of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks as people who liked to see their own husbands die. I do not know what kind of sick imagination Coulter finds herself living in, but she should not impose that same imagination to other people's reality. Once again, this is another example of a self-obsessed political pundit who cannot sympathize with others and simply because they attack something that she believes in does not give her a right to say that those attacks come out of naivety and selfishness rather than research and a fight for justice. Standing in clear sight of those towers and the live images forever ingrained in my mind, I cannot imagine anyone making those statements.

Secondly, she is a bitch in a funny, respectful sort of way. If any of you have seen Thank You For Smoking (which was a great movie, by the way), you will clearly understand the parallel that I am about the draw. Aaron Eckhart plays the protagonist as a chief smokesman for a big tobacco company. He becomes the lovable and sick genius that makes money off of others health deterioration, and if you do actually hate him at the end of the movie, you can atleast applaud softly, grin, and shake your head in respect. At one point, Eckhart says, "It doesn't matter if I proved myself right or not. As long as I prove you wrong, then I'm right." In any case, I see Coulter most like him because she is in every way utterly perverted and insensitive, but a complete comical genius, fully loaded with biting humor.

Does it really surprise you or even her, by the 1/10000000 chance that she's reading this post, by me calling her a "bitch"? She purposely released her book on the date 6.6.6 for a reason. She named it Godless for a reason. If there was ever an Anti-Christ, I would not be surprised if she was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed writer.

CitiBank's Blunders

Luckily, because of my job working for the business sector of CNN, I realize a lot of things happening that I did not know. For example, because of a new law passed by Bush, interest rates for college loans will go up nearly 2% at the end of the month. So if I do not want to spend an extra couple thousand dollars in the next 10-15 years, I will simply have to make a phone call and them to do this thing called "consolidate." That is not what this post is about. But it is the background for me making a call to Citibank and consolidate by 5-figure loan balance.

Call 1

Sam answers the phone. He asks for my telephone number and my name to pull up the records. He pulls it up. And as he is asking me for other questions, I say I need to ask him a few questions regarding the rules of loan consolidation. They are actually rather simple, basic questions that I was double-checking on, but after each time I asked it, there would be silence on the other end. And I would say, Hello? He would say, Yes I'm here. And I would repeat my question, and silence again. Then, after the fourth team, he will say, Let me check with my boss. I asked him three questions. That happened three times and lasted 20 minutes. I hung up on him.

Call 2

Ronald answers the phone. Much nicer guy and seemed to actually know what he was talking about. He began to ask me for my telephone number and my name to pull up the records as I think to myself that the hang up and redial strategy was amazing. He puts me on hold. I ask him, Are you there? And he comes back and says, Yes, but we are having technical difficulties. One second, please. I wait on hold for 10 minutes. He hangs up on me.

Call 3

Marie answers the phone and she is another jovial operator. I tell her the situation and she begins to do the same method. She says, Hmm, that's never happened before. I'm having technical difficulties. I say to myself, Not again! She tells me, happily, that she is clearing it up. So as we wait, she jokes around with me to relieve the stress I have after the previous 2 phone calls. I even have time to ask her the preliminary questions I had for the first operator, and she answers them very well. One part of the computer system begins working and she sees my name - Yih-Kang Lee. She says, Hmmm that is interesting. Could you confirm your name for me? I say, Yih-Kang Lee. And then she says, Oh Good!! I thought you gave me the wrong social security number. I was thinking to myself, he speaks great English. He cannot be Yih-Kang Lee. I think to myself, You fucking bitch, but I act nice. She then tells me that she is continuing to have technical difficulties and I should hangup and call again. Biting my teeth after her racist comment, I do so.

Call 4

Ronda answers the phone and she does not sound happy at all, but neither does she sound angry or sad. She was more like a robot. But in literally 118 seconds (I counted because if it took more than 10 minutes, I was going to complain to the head of CitiBank), I was done.

FoxNews vs. CNN

A reader and friend, KB, wrote the following:

"Did you know that Aaron Brown got better ratings than Anderson Cooper does now? And that CNN fired Brown to bring in Cooper to appeal to the younger demographic, yet Cooper's ratings in that category have fallen even more than the overall ratings have in comparison to Brown? I read that the other day and this post reminded me of it." -KB

Thanks for the comment. And by the way, I really do appreciate all the readers on blogspot or xanga, though not everyone comments. But now I will comment on KB's words.

That is actually a very interesting fact that I never knew about. It seems as if CNN bit themselves in their back and they did not even know it. But before we hail Murdoch as king, I must clear up one misconception.

Even though actual numbers show FoxNews beatin CNN in almost every show, except for maybe Larry King and Lou Dobbs, they are actually not beating CNN. In every show except for the O'Reilly Factor, CNN actually leads in ratings from the demographic age group of 24-55, which is the key demographic for sponsors. So in that sense, CNN is winning. This does mean that many viewers come from the older, more conservative generation and the young people in high school and in college. The latter fact is a little shocking. So who is winning? Looks on how you see it.

But one thing is still true. Bill O'Reilly is kicking ass. Not just Paula Zahn's ass. But everyone's ass. Though I will comment on something else related to this. Notice that O'Reilly is the only show beating CNN in all demographics. Also notice that CNN only beats FoxNews in every show for actual numbers, except for King and Dobbs. What is the link between these three anchors except that they are old and famous? They are all very opiniated and controversial in what they say. It seems that in our age that celebrates diversity and individualism, this is another sign of our conformist ways, where we are afraid to stand up and stick out for the world to see. Instead, we are quickly becoming a bunch of bandwagoners who rarely think for our own. We wait for a big name like O'Reilly or King to say it, using that as permission for us say what we believed in the first place.

I hear many people complain about the lack of objectivity in news today. The only reason that subjectivity is winning in the world of news is because those who are making the money and can survive on the air are those who are being the least objective. And how do they make the money? Because people like YOU watch them.

This is not a conservative or a liberal rant. I only ask us to think for ourselves. I may have leaning towards CNN because I work for them and a liberal slant because heck, I grew up in New York City, but when it comes to who wins out in this battle, I could not care less. Because at the end of the day, I am still an unpaid intern.

Haditha and Conservatives

For those who have been stuck in a box, there is a major investigation in the killing of two dozen innocent Iraqi citizens by US marines. There are too many links to this, so if you want to learn more, just type in Haditha on Google search. Not only has the marines come under much fire, but even more is on Bush and his administration, because the argument is that situations like this are inevitable in a long war that has lost much of its meaning.

In any case, that being the background, read this comment by conservative radio host, Rush Limbaugh attacking the liberals and the media (synonymous? sure, I won't go into that):

"This Haditha story, this Haditha incident, whatever, this is it folks, this is the final big push on behalf of the Democratic Party, the American left, and the Drive-By Media to destroy our effort to win the war in Iraq. That's what Haditha represents — and they are going about it gleefully. They are ecstatic about it ... Folks, let me just put it in graphic terms. It is going to be a gang rape. There is going to be a gang rape by the Democratic Party, the American left and the Drive-By Media, to finally take us out in the war against Iraq. Make no bones about it," - Rush Limbaugh, said Monday.

I am not sure why he is making that argument. The fact is...there is conflict in this story. There is drama in this story. This story is what makes news. If this had happened during Clinton's administration, you can be sure it would be in the news. I am beginning to wonder if conservatives could stop crying about this matter as an attack from the liberal media and own up to being...GET THIS WORD............WRONG!!!

This is almost as sad as a black person going into a delicatessen without seating and say, "Why won't you give me a seat? Is it because I'm black?" The complaints that are made are invalid and irrelevant.

The bottom line is that the Haditha matter is wrong. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Seven Train Madness

One of the great perks of my internship despite it being unpaid is that the hours allows me to take the train right after rush hour ends. By taking public transportation after 9am and then again after 7am guarantees me a seat on the train and in many cases, enough room for me to stretch out my legs.

But in the midst of the muggy, gloomy, rainy days of New York, there was no surprise that today was not going to be one of those stretch-my-legs-out-and-stare-at-the-ceiling type days.

Long story short, the tracks on the 7 train was going through some construction, which meant that that the usual schedule of things was all thrown out of whack and there would be an increased density in the cars. Within five minutes of the ride, the train was packed to the point where I no longer had room to read the paper, so I put it away, and thought to myself...Well I'll just squeeze myself like this for the rest of the ride.

As the train stops at the next train station, however, I look at the window and I see a group of possibly 20 people lining up for each door. And everyone in the train thinks to themselves, "There is no possible way you're fitting in here." Sure enough, five of them squeeze themselves in, and we think to ourselves, "Sorry, you others. Looks like you'll have to wait for the next one." But then, another 5 fit in, then 10, then 15, till all of the original 20 are in. And since this happens within the span of 90 seconds, another 10 has lined up and they are utterly determined to get into that train. And then do.

To the point that now I am a fetal position, forgetting about my newspaper, my bookbag or my cd player. I was just making sure that my shirt wasn't going to be ripped out. Safety at that point, was the last thing anyone of us would worry about, because we could not move anyway. All we cared for was some air.

Was the worse over? Of course not. The 7 train is not known for much, but it has been made famous by former Atlanta Braves racist closer, John Rocker, for the comments he made about no one being able to speak English on the train. Though we were all mightily offended, every New Yorker knew it was for the most part, true. At one point, many people joked that when the people on the 7 train heard this, they said, "Que?" (But it would be the same as talking about someone else's family. If you are not in that family, it does not matter how true your statements are. You just do not make them).

In any case, I am trapped with others like a can of sardines, and at that point, I see below me and someone has curry. I do not know why you bring curry on the train, but she did. And this sweet Indian woman did not understand what kind of stench she was giving to the rest of the train. So not only were we gasping for air, but we were gasping for fresh air. And in NY, we have low expectations for fresh. At that point, I was so desperate that I smelled another woman's perfume and shampoo, and pretty much breathed down her neck, literally, for the rest of the ride.

She may think I'm a pervert and a lawsuit will be coming in soon, but at this point, I just do not want to deal with anything "curry" for at least a week.