Editorial Page

if you wanna know my stance on a certain subject mail me.

Chris tackles:
Most recently:
War 8-15-00
Selling Out 3-31-00
NRA 11-3-99
Chain Stores 11-3-99
Track Housing 11-3-99
Gays
Religion
Kosovo
Columbine
Overpopulation
being natural
Unabomber Manifesto
Budget Priorities
Affirmative Action
The Real Problem With America Is...
 

War
a word on war: war is silly, stupid, and should be avoided, but when war does happen, well... war isn't a game...when i first heard that there were rules in war i was taken aback. later i realized the logic behind it. if we destroy the infrastructure of a given enemy then we leave them unable to recooperate after the war is over, this can be seen as being bad for all parties involved; including the victors. however i feel that war should not be taken as a game. war has brutal and wide-spread consequences. women and children will be killed in horrible ways. all the more reason to avoid war. if we make war more 'civilized' then it is closer to being acceptable. anything that makes war acceptable is retarded - including rules. finally i say that when war happens we should give it a chance to work the problems out. there is an article called "give war a chance" which outlines why war can, in certain instances solve more problems, with less loss, than attempting to have premature peace. when a cease fire is called prematurely it will come when nothing has really been solved and thus just give the opposing sides a chance to regroup and remarshal their troops. as a result even more people will die. this is just one of many examples given by the author of the article. i think i agree with him.
this is not to say i agree with war. if you remember i started by saying, in essense, that war is retarded; even white. war shows humans being both the most human and the most inhumane. war is the best and worst of mankind. i think war should be avoided at all costs. war is so beyond reason that to employ reason within war would be unreasonable.

"Selling Out"
What is selling out? To this author selling out is giving up or changing your moral or other values for money. A classic example would be an indie artist who, for whatever reason, condemns big record companies. Then when the opportunity presents itself, signs to a major record label. Basically, to me, it means being a hypocrite because that's where the money is. If Chuck D, a prominent black leader in the music industry, signed to a major record label I would NOT label him a sellout. This is where I think some extremists go wrong...to me, as long as he hasn't changed his views and continues to fervently speak about against the "man", as he currently does, then he can't be considered a sellout. For this reason Rage Against the Machine, who are signed to Sony, are not sellouts. They use Sony's label to make albums, yes. But they don't change their message or tone down what they are trying to say in order to keep within the corporate structure. The day they do is the day they sellout. What is another example of selling out? Sadly I feel that Run DMC has in a sense sold out. Not in the worst way, mind you, but they have. How did they earn this dubious distinction in my book? By having Kid Rock as a guest. Because Kid Rock is the latest fad in the music industry Run DMC decided to use him in their latest album. In this respect they are changing their music to fit the times. A worse case of this would be changing the kind of music you perform based on the current fad. The ultimate example of this would be the Beastie Boys turning into a boy band. Ha! Fat chance, but if they were to do this, other than in jest, they would be committing the ultimate of sellout sins.
Are you a sellout if you're on the radio? No. Are you a sellout if you have a hit album? No. Are you a sellout if you sign to a major record label? No. Unfortunately there are some who answer yes to all of the above; they're called KDVS employees.

NRA
also see. i'll make this one quick.
Amendment II (dubbed by the NRA as 'the right to bear arms'):
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."
that about sums it up. among other reasons the NRA are off their rocker is the simple fact that this amendment was written in 1791 and assumes that 'a well regulated militia' is 'necessary'...this is no longer true. owning a .22 is fine by me, but needing a .44 caliber automatic shooting 100 rounds per second is retarded...a bit of hyperbole, but you get the point. stutter (vern) and i talked about this on the last radio show (10-29-99). there are many reasons people shouldn't be allowed to have guns the size of their hands or the size of their bodies. .22 caliber rifles and average sized handguns are the only things i would allow...for sport, hunting, etc. read the second amendment again and then retort.

Chain Stores
it's easy to fall prey to the convience and consistency offered by chain stores...of course they suck, but they are easy. like anyone else i do shop at them, though. they're not personal, they're not pretty, they're too big, they too easily out compete smaller stores. they are good for the economy for lots of reasons, but they are bad for our culture...socially and probably morally too. people don't talk anymore and that sucks. i wish i had a local market that i went to where the owner was well known by his customers and we chatted every once in a while as i purchased my goods...the same goes for barber shops...with super cuts and great clips and other such places under-selling all the local barbers in cities it's no wonder no one cares anymore. it's all about getting your goods or services and then leaving. there is no personal interaction anymore and i think chain stores add to this...thus i don't like chain stores.

Track Housing
in sum - they are ugly and usually replace fields or trees - this is bad. BUT they are cheap housing for those whites, um i mean people, trying to get out of the city - this is good. maybe they offer a nice community environment too? i don't know. when i pass them i cringe, but i'm not entirely sure why.

Overpopulation:
we're overpopulated in case you didn't know. don't have the exact figures, but lots of damn people are starving and living in america you wouldn't know it as well as someone living in south america or africa, but it's true lots of people are hungry. i don't have much to say about this subject...it kinda speaks for itself, but some don't realize how serious it really is...i've heard many theories and numbers about this topic and believe me this earth doesn't have much more to give us...we need to stop polution and reverse what it has done so far. we need to start killing each other to get the population down too...if you are compelled by that last line you worry me. check here for more on something relating to this topic. what can be done is probably the hardest question that comes to mind when i think about this subject and that's one reason i don't really have much to talk about - what can be done? zero population growth from now on, mandatory? maximum offspring limit? shit i don't know whatever we do it's going to take a long time...unless of course this latest boris yeltsin talk is really as bad as it could be...wwiii would do something for overpopulation, but not in the way i'd like...the plague re-visited certainly would too. shit i don't know what can be done...i know it's a big problem, but with problems this big i usually just say fuck and try to forget about it...it's sad, but the problem is about as big as possible.

Drinking and Drugs:
as a freshman i made it very clear that i hated drinking and drugs...perhaps to shield myself from advances in these categories. now i have become more 'lax' when it comes to drinking for others, but as for me - i ain't drinking, ever. reason one: it doesn't taste good, everyone cringes when they drink, except the few well practiced drunkards, my point: if it doesn't taste good why drink it? to be social is about the most retarded answer you could give and if you give that answer my respect for you has declined. if you have ever seen me at a party where i know people (and thus am less inhibited) you know that drinking is not needed to have a good time, nor is it needed to be social. the one reason i can understand (since i am mr. reserved around people i don't know) is that drinking lightens you up...this i'm sure it true so you better take down a shot before your job interview and every first date you have...well now you are dependent and thus an alcoholic...good for you. if you drink to fit in or loosen up i think it's gay and you're not as strong a person as is possible, but there are worse things too...as for drugs - same thing but worse, in most cases you are seeking an alternate reality...you want to be relaxed when life is stressful, life at home sucks so you smoke a joint, whatever, i really can't see any admirable cause for doing drugs...at all. period.

On a lighter note: "being natural such as armpit hair, no deodorant, dreads etc.":
i don't have anything against people from santa cruz. arm pit hair: major turn off if you are trying to make yourself appear attractive to me. if you are a guy it's okay (not sure why there is a double standard, but i'm willing to accept it) if you are a guy who shaves it...more power to you. if you are a girl who doesn't shave it, fine with me, but don't expect to getting any action from me anytime soon (disclaimer: unless you are super hot and stuff...basically i reserve the right to have a girlfriend with this unattractive aspect to her character). no deodorant: fine with me. personally i don't always wear it, but if you are a girl i'd encourage having a nice girly smell once in a while...it's really nice. dreads: fine with me until they smell really badly. one thing that isn't 'natural' is having dreads with trinkets and beer bottle caps in them...you laugh, but i've seen it...it's sad because it doesn't seem to serve any purpose, unless you are falling down a cliff and someone puts a giant magnet over your head...they might help you from falling i guess, maybe, whatever. i try to say 'to each his own' in as many cases as possible, but it's hard when your hair smells and weighs more than your head.

Colorado crap:
so the death toll is up to 25 i hear. that's great. i'll spare arguing that the incident itself is a bad thing...if you don't agree you are dumb. someone asked what should be done, and who is to blame. what should be done? perhaps a better question for us is what can be done? we could all write letters to our local representatives, senators, and the president. how much will that help...one person=not at all, but eventually i hope people will get so fed up by it all that hordes of people will start writing to their representatives on all levels and things will change. how can the gov't change what's going on? my long term answer is education. i have a copy of that ten pager here if you care (wherein i spell out why education is the key to solving problems in the long term). more immediately what should the gov't do? well first off the only gov't branch designed to respond to long-term problems is the judiciary branch, but i don't see them doing anything...after all they don't execute and they don't write laws so they can't do too much to prevent actions (unless you feel that stiff penalties prevent, but for this case even the most stiff penalty - death - did not deter the idiots from killing 25 kids). congress and the president won't really act on the incident unless it affects their chances at re-election and so forth, thus the public must be outraged before the gov't goes through the trouble of acting. if by some miracle they do act what course of action do I believe would be best? some one needs to take charge i think...someone with balls, not hillary and not bill, but for lack of a leader who won't scare the rich and who the poor will actually follow i'll choose bill clinton...he's gotta make a real effort to let people know that he's fed up with it (which means several speeches, not just one where he goes through the motions...lots where he really talks about it) and that he's doing something about it, that something being implementing after school programs, more shrinks in schools (can't believe i'm saying that), more accountability for teachers AND parents. i saw some special report comparing us with japan and germany schools...when one us couple was asked why they don't go to the pta meetings they said they had bowling on wednesdays...fuck you your kids are going to die because you bowl....well it's not that bad, but you get the point. of course money needs to be spent on implementing all this crap, but i'll pay the taxes for it. the polls show that most americans want lower taxes and more 'entitlements' ... yet another reason everyone should be required to take economics before they get out of high school. we have the lowest taxes of all the industrialized countries. we're spoiled. we don't vote as much as we should (49% in 1996). it goes on. back to colorado...i think this is just another sign of everything else that i mentioned, and if you read the education paper...everything i mention there too. my answer is that we are all to blame...how many people have done anything after hearing about this besides say that it really sucks or maybe even cry or maybe even think 'what if that were my kid' well next thing you know it could be your kid, and even if you kid goes to beverly hills high and chances are it might not happen you should still care that it is happening elsewhere...you should still care that tibetans are being oppressed and slaughtered in what was once their own country...you should care that 25 kids were killed in colorado and you should do something about it...tell a friend, write a letter, call a representative. get off your ass and do something about it...there is some quote from a holocaust survivor that goes something like this: 'when they came after the gays i didn't do anything because i'm not gay, when they went after the blacks i didn't do anything because i'm not black, when they went after the jews i didn't do anything because i'm not jewish, when they went after the catholics there wasn't anyone left to do something for me.' you get the point, if you don't you're dumb.

College:
not sure what i'm being asked to write here, but i'll comment on college so far. so far it's helped socially. it brings up conflict which is good because then you learn how to deal with it. as for the academic part, i've always thought an internship type thing would be a lot better...an apprenticeship program or something teaches you how to be a political analyst better than reading lots of books...although you need that too. for some careers skipping college and going to a vocational school would be better...i think...i won't list any because none come to my half asleep mind right now. you meet plenty of people and it gives you time while you are in your prime to have fun and have lots of sex and stuff. going to college is a good idea, but there could be ways to make it better...i think classes should be more hands on...more field trips and stuff, i know for some marine biology courses and the like, students are taken to the ocean and observe actual fish...what an idea. of course this isn't possible for all majors, but i think more hands on work would be good maybe just a day shadowing someone that does something in your major...it would be nice. classes should be circular too...it's less imposing that way. college is good. one problem i have is the expectations some place on college...people often refer to parties, pizza, beer, chicks, being liberal, etc. as fixtures of college life - just because i'm in college doesn't mean my living room needs to be littered with  pizza boxes or anything else for that matter. i understand the spirit of the idea, but don't take it too far and don't take it to places it shouldn't go...like beer cans all over the floor...i'd rather have naked girls on the floor, no really i mean that being in college doesn't mean you have to live in a slovenly state. i'm tired.

Kosovo:
war solves all our problems i don't see what the minority is worried about...we tried so much and that damn hitleresque guy wouldn't give in...down with him! i think though that we should use troops, forget using those pussy bombs...that's just wimping out! i think most americans have their head in the right place because the polls show that most of us righteous americans approve of the war. and clinton knows that cuz who else wakes up and gets that poll report 4 times a week to make sure he's doing a good job? well besides that supply side gaylord ronald. i'd say that bombing should be the first step in resolving problems. and i'm glad we haven't gotten involved with other countries doing the same types of things...it's smart to only attack kosogay. even though some african countries like sudan and other great nations like china (tibet) oppress people i'm glad that we have chosen to ignore them. kosogay is the worst offense of all so we should bomb the hell out of them. If you have taken me seriously this far then go suck an egg. Kosovo is a breach of common diplomacy.

GAYS:
they suck! No - of course not, unless they want to...living with Christian crazys I am constantly hearing about questions of whether gayness is choice or not...whether being gay is okay or not...what the bible says about it etc. shut up you dorks...of course it's okay and I don't give a hoot if it's a choice or not. Whether it be by genetics or choice there isn't anything wrong with wanting to boof someone of your own sex - it's not for me, and as long as you practice regular coaxing rituals (e.g. asking me out on a date rather than grabbing my ass) I don't got a problem with it - I'll deal with it like I would if a girl I didn't want to go out with asked me out - by saying "no way you stupid bitch!" just kidding obviously. One of my neighbors even said that being gay is like alcoholism - it is partly a choice and partly genetic - you are predisposed to drinking, but you still have a choice of whether you drink or not...this may be true, but must we use alcoholism as an example? jeesh, let's be realistic - i've heard of a lot more drunkards killing innocent people than a really horny gay person. As for gays in the military - let's be logical - there is obviously no way they are going to be able to perform nearly as well as heterosexual men - because heterosexuals are stronger and better - ha! what a freakin' joke...just use your head please.

RELIGION:
wow! what is religion? a system of belief of a deity...so my bible (dictionary) says, it also says it's a doctrine accepted on faith...hmmmmm. i accept that everything will turn out for the best...that indeed is faith. here's the bottom line - cuz i could go on for a while with this one, especially being surrounded by christians, self-proclaimed jesus freaks, and having an ex-girlfriend who soon became a mormon and now is pregnant and married - so i hear. The bottom line is that I really believe AND practice a "to each his own" philosophy - of course i practice this to certain extents, but whatever floats your boat so be it. If religion makes you a better person, then right on. If it makes you feel guilty for looking at a girl, looking at porn, masturbating etc. - then fuck it! oh my god - if there was anyone that said you can't do any of these things then i would surely separate myself from that person, or do it anyway...and if i felt guilty for doing them then i'd damn them to hell! how dare they make me feel guilty...the truth is - it's not only the guilt factor that pisses me off - it's also that i am very grounded in reality - philosophers out there are going crazy now over 'reality' - but what i mean is this: I am very strongly attached to that which i can see, feel, hear etc. - what about love you ask? for the love of god is the greatest feeling one can experience! blah blah blah...i'm one of those people who want to see my efforts being recognized, and when people say that all i have to do is 'give myself to god' and i will experience true love etc. etc. i don't buy it...when they say that i must sacrifice certain sins (e.g. lust) in order to eventually go to heaven and live with god or whatever the hell is supposed to happen up there, i say i'm taking my chances with what i have here....live life down here like i want to...hopefully abiding by certain moral laws that I set for MYSELF...and then when i die if 'god' wants to accept me then so be it...the point is that i don't need religion and a two thousand year old book to tell me what i should and should not do, what i should feel guilty about doing etc. why should i have religion - a set SYSTEM of belief to tell me what standards i need to live my life by...i believe (and this has not been completely thought out so i reserve the right to withdraw this statement and crawl back into my hole) that religion is for the masses - the meanest of people as Hobbes might say - the dumb people, the people that maybe don't have great role models, don't have a moral code of their own etc....i've got my own moral code - it doesn't coincide with everyone else's, it doesn't please all, it doesn't abide by our society's laws, but as long as i stick to my moral code i'll be fine with myself. as Mike D of the Beastie Boys says - 'Be true to yourself and you will never fall'...others have said the same in better, more eloquent, more euphonious ways, but for me that will suffice. I'm the only one that has to live with what i've done for the rest of my life (except of course murder etc.) - "I'm my own man - I make my own rules!" Basically if you need religion to guide you - so be it. As for the spiritual side - the god part...there very well maybe a god - there probably is some kind of 'force' if you use the george lucas idea, but what impact it has on me - i don't know...if you know feel free to call me collect and tell me all about it. either way i hope i never get so into something that i am a slave to it.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
One argument: okay we (white americans) made a mistake in the past, but let's stop racism now by eliminating affirmative action. My response: fuck you. Um I mean: only when it benefits you do you take this high and grand view of equality for all races. The fact is that my people (americans - although probably none of my ancestors) have oppressed the minorities for as long as they have been here and it's about damn time we repay them with some special treatment. Rebuttal: I haven't personally ever oppressed anyone so I shouldn't be a victim of what people in the past did. My response: neither should they - the fact is that they are economically oppressed and can't afford the education, tutoring, SAT help courses, AP tests etc. that you are most likely able to afford. They are not able to afford these things because of the system that we have set up, a system that offers no reason for economically oppressed people to act. The system was built by rich people and is run by rich people and it is nearly impossible for minorities to change this. Another stupid argument: they always have the chance to go from rags to riches so I shouldn't have to take care of them - every person has to look after themselves. Marine philosophy: if there is a fallen american soldier the platoon doesn't leave him behind, instead they pick up the fallen american and help him recover etc. I rest my case.

BUDGET PRIORITIES
Many people when bitching about the budget usually focus on the high defense budget. I think that our defense budget is way too high in relation to our educational budget, but understand why this is so. We are the international leviathan, i.e. we are the world cops. Because it's our responsibility to make sure that demagogues like Hitler never come to power again we also must pay the price by having the most powerful military and thereby maintaining our world power status. I also think though that putting more money into our education will greatly increase our status as both a world military power and a world industry power. I've gotta say that education truly is the foundation of our state and people should realize this.

UNABOMBER MANIFESTO
That guy is crazy why would I ever read his stuff? I've always said that you can learn something from everyone. Marliyn Manson, for example, I feel has a lot of interesting ideas and makes a lot of valid points concerning our society. The Unambomber too has plenty of valid points and just because he lived in a shack without electricity or water in Montana for many years doesn't mean that his points aren't valid. I even can agree with him when he says that violent actions may need to be taken when dealing with a revolution. Although it is possible to have a revolution without violence sometimes it may be needed. It's not my method, but then again you don't see a great following behind me now do you... Some say that violence doesn't accomplish anything - MLK was a very firm believer in this. Even Malcolm X, who at first preached "by all means necessary" later felt that violence wasn't an option. I however feel that violence has proven to be effective and will remain an effective political process for some time to come.

THE REAL PROBLEM IS...
That damn Clinton guy! No. That Gingrich guy? Nope. The guy with big ears? No again. "The Man"? Nope. More than likely it's YOU. No that can't be - it's never my fault! It's the system, those rich white guys are always oppressing me! To a certain extent I agree, but not completely. Assuming you are moderately educated (which you probably are if you have a computer and have enough leisure time to read this crap) then the problem is you not acting and making your representatives accountable for their actions (or lack thereof most likely). For the rest of you that aren't educated then the problem is education - after all Erasmus even said "the only way to reform is through education." A wise man indeed. Education after all, I feel, will solve many (if not all) of society's problems - crime, drugs, apathy, anger directed toward the government, education (obviously), most importantly - economic inequality, and even the welfare problem (for those of you that think it's really a problem). As an aside - welfare is an extremely small expenditure compared to defense, social security and other programs so don't believe the propaganda that makes an otherwise non issue into an issue. Economic inequality - in the 90s the top 1% of the population are receiving 60% of the newly created wealth (so much for those new jobs and the burgeoning economy the government is bragging about lately!). The top 1% also makes nearly the same after taxes as the bottom 40% of Americans combined! Since the late fifties the middle class has been declining steadily and drastically - obviously our country was founded on the middle class and without it we will perish. Education has been proven to increase your chances of greater wealth (that's why we're all in college now). Even if you don't make more money, you will at least be educated enough to educate others, vote toward reform, write your representative etc. Education also is slightly liberalizing - which is what we need now. Crime - education, so the statistics and logic, show that when people are more economically stable they are less likely to be involved in crime. Also with youngster crime on the rise it stands to reason that when the educational system is reformed and offers a more accepting/rewarding environment for those kids more challenged then they will be less likely to resort to gangs, crime and drugs. Lastly apathy will be lessened because people will know what they can do about the shitty situation the country is in. "The foundation of any state is the education of its youth" - Quote from wall inside The Library of the Congress.