What the...

You might want to read these to know what I'm about to rant about:

http://newsok.com/article/3112638/1188314407
http://www.ocolly.com/2007/08/28/osu-stillwater-moves-up-deadline-for-campus-going-tobacco-free/


I need a few minutes on the soapbox. Hope you don't mind. Feel free to argue. Or agree. Or just laugh at the angry white whale screaming in the street. I just need to vent and you made the list of folks that get suffer through it. Sorry for that. That said, here we go...

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What the HELL is up with my alma mater?!?!?!?!?!?

Okay, it was bad enough that they threatened (I haven't heard if they actually went through with it, cause I'm stuck in Texas) to use eminent domain to seize private property for that danged athletic village (which the AV idea is cool, but to use ED for THAT, calling that Village a PUBLIC USE???) and now this nanny state smoking ban in the great outdoors of our beloved campus (except of course for outside the Foreign Student dorms, which opens a whole different can of worms, seriously, OSU will work to save the Okie's and even the Jersey kids, but screw the foreigners???) that I'm just now reading about... (I'm in Texas so news travels SLOOOOOOOWLY)...

Berkley I can see doing that. NYU. Sure. Even the danged ole U of Texas in Austin. BUT Oklahoma Friggin' State!?!?!?!

I love my Cowboy's. Always will. I have Cowboy pride in winning years and ramp it up twice as much in losing years. But today I am struggling not to be ashamed.

I understand the logic on the smoking ban. And as a smoker that wishes he'd never started, I can see the glory in a smoke-free campus. I even understand the temptation to use ED for that property for the Village. But both should be SO quickly trumped by the basic guiding principles of freedom, personal responsibility and personal property...These options should NEVER have been seriously considered by our hallowed institution. This is NOT the behavior that they taught me.

And its NOT 'cause I'm a smoker. This could just as easily been banning caffeine or Oreo's or cats from campus cause some people are allergic to cat dander. Its friggin' ridiculous regardless of WHAT is being banned.

What REALLY blew my mind was reading that they would offer free patches and gum to students. It annoys me that its not for faculty too, but that could just be bad reporting. Regardless, its a BAD idea. Nicotine replacement can be dangerous. Throw on three patches at once and you are darn likely to have yourself a heart attack. Hopefully, won't happen. But if it does. Instant, MASSIVE lawsuit. And a lawsuit OSU should lose. And students aren't always smart. I sure wasn't. I knew great brilliant folks at OSU. None of them is even bordering on being a dumbass, but every damned one of them had their dumbass moments. We ALL know I did. The likelihood of a kid facing medical complications from OSU-supplied nicotine replacement products is HIGH.

And worse still, kid comes in and says, "Okay, I'm a smoker. Pack a day. Gimmie patches." They can't verify that the kid does smoke. So who would want them otherwise? ANY kid facing finals or mid-terms. Any Greek during Homecoming week that's class all day and pomp all night. Any of the dateless freshmen that want to stay up for three straight days playing on-line roll playing games. I knew folks that did all that and would have jumped at the chance for a free, effective stimulant.

Lets be clear, nicotine is a stimulant. And it is a dangerous drug if used improperly. And the first idiot that gets the idea that it'll help him through finals, granted maybe should be expelled from the gene pool anyhow, BUT ... Just a BAD idea. Bad. Bad. Bad. Actionably bad idea.

I love my Cowboys. But damn they are making it hard.

Okay, done venting now. I feel a little better. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm gonna go outside and have a smoke to cool off. After all, at least Texas A&M is still, occasionally, somewhat, kinda-sorta free...except for the parking, but that's another rant.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Don't forget the OSU-Georgia game is on ESPN2 Saturday.

Go Pokes, I guess...

Austin

Gotta love Karma...

Oklahoma must forfeit 2005 football season

By Associated Press July 11, 2007 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma football program must forfeit its wins from the 2005 season and will lose two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years. The penalties, announced Wednesday by the NCAA, stem from a case involving two players, including the Sooners' starting quarterback, who were kicked off the team for being paid for work they had not performed at a Norman car dealership. The NCAA said Wednesday morning it planned to announce its decision about possible sanctions against the Oklahoma football program, more fallout from a case that came to light last year when two players – including the Sooners' starting quarterback – were kicked off the team. In an e-mail sent to media outlets, the NCAA said a 2 p.m. conference call with Miami athletics director Paul Dee, the acting chairman of the NCAA Committee on Infractions, was scheduled to discuss the case. On Aug. 3 – the day before the Sooners began preseason practice – Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops dismissed quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn from the team amid allegations that the players had been paid for work they had not performed at a Norman car dealership. The NCAA subsequently alleged that Oklahoma had failed to adequately monitor the employment of several athletes, including some football players who worked during the academic year. The NCAA said Oklahoma's "failure to monitor" led to the university not detecting NCAA rules violations.

World History as it Really Happened

I wish I could take credit for writing this. But no, just another wonderful, anonymous forwarded message. Enjoy -Auz

World History as it Really Happened

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomad/hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while
they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as "girliemen."

Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided. Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, home interior designers, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter
rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, Marines, and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to actually work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a
business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history: It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it. A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers. And to more liberals just to tick them off.

YEAR ONE

My wife married me a year ago today. Foolish girl. Lucky boy.

Simply brilliant...

What We Call the News | Send To Friends | Funny Animations at JibJab

This Cheese Don't Stink!

Many thanks to Bud Force for taking the time today to introduce my ears to an unexpected and joyfully decadent auditory experience. I'd explain it here, but better still if you
hear this for yourself.

I invite you all to visit:

http://www.richardcheese.com/

Your best bet is to select "Music Bar" and enjoy.

Auz

Boortz Alert!!!

Just a reminder: Neal Boortz will be at the College Station Hastings today at 6 pm to sign copies of his new book, "Somebody's Gotta Say It."

FairTax Update: Prebate News

Good news on the Prebate aspect of the FairTax.

While I do not have the specific details, today on Neal Boortz's show the head of Americans for Fair Taxation spoke of a new wrinkle in the debate.

One of the most common criticisms of the HR 25 is to claim that it will be too expensive to implement, specifically the prebate system. And granted, mailing a check to every American household monthly would be expensive. These arguments ignore the overwhelming numbers of benefit checks regularly mailed by our government currently. They similarly ignore the prevalence of direct deposit and other electronic payment distribution technologies so common in today's society which could cut these costs dramatically.

However, today we learned that a number of financial institutions are actually offering to PAY the Federal government for the ability to distribute this prebate to their customers.

So let's assume that John John's Bank is one of these institutions. And that you have a John John's credit card. So John John's Bank, with your permission, would simply credit your account for the amount of the prebate at the beginning of each month and PAY the Federal government for this privilege. I am still researching this new development, but I believe the same would apply to John John's Bank's checking accounts as well.

Either way, they will pay the government to let them give you the prebate money on the assumption that you'll use their institution to spend the money, which you probably would be doing anyhow. After all, if you have a John John's credit or banking account, you'll be giving them money anyhow. That's where you'd cash the check or sned a payment too anyhow. So everybody wins.

And now, we are not talking about the cost of the government to distribute prebates, but instead about the additional funds the government will GENERATE by distributing the prebate.

I'll keep you posted.

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As a refresher, the Fairtax is a plan (and bill HR 25) to replace ALL Federal taxes (including income, embedded business, and payroll) with a single 23% sales tax on all NEW goods and services. As a part of this plan, a "prebate" would be enacted. This prebate is intended to ensure that no American pays any taxes on the money they spend up to the poverty line.

In other words, if the poverty line (for example) is $12,000 per year, or $1000 per month for a single individual, then that individual will be given the amount of money they'd be asked to pay in Fairtax on that dollar amount, $230 per month. The payment comes at the first of the month so the money is in place to pay the taxes from the beginning. The amount is based on existing, often updated figures from the Department of Health and Human Services. And this prebate goes to every American household, regardless of income. No American would then pay taxes on the most basic necessities of life.

For more information, explained better than I have here visit fairtax.org

How Okie are you?

Check out this quiz from Oklahoma Today. I hit a 174. WAY too low for me.

"How Okie are you?" Quiz