tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193681992009-02-21T11:35:07.659-05:00Hello and welcome to my blog. I have finally set it up, something that I was thinking of for ever. You will find thoughts, comments, droppings of wisdom as against pearls, words of drunkenness and more. I do not care for being politically correct. You might find things you always wanted to say but did not or find things that you find so awful that you might want to punch me.Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1139039552699132972006-02-04T02:46:00.000-05:002006-02-04T02:52:32.700-05:00

This is a fascinating debate on abortion, its impact on women, moral issues and related public policy between William Saletan of Slate and Katha Pollitt of The Nation. It is a must read and I would urge each one of you to read it. Articulation and moderation is rare in such an issue. The article helps my thinking to be a lot more clear on the issue.

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1139039132628654602006-02-04T02:39:00.000-05:002006-02-04T02:45:32.630-05:00

You must read the posting of Inpolitico on all the silly bills that were introduced in the Indiana Legislative Session this year. Her comments are hilarious and absolutely accurate. You can read her comments and list of bills here and here. She has done a very good job of identifying good and silly and listing them. I used to think that politicans are meant to serve the interests of people who

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1139038725617336702006-02-04T02:37:00.000-05:002006-02-04T02:38:45.620-05:00

I have never liked rap except some old stuff when rebels used to be actual rebels. Now they are marketed rebels who are marketed to attract a certain section of the youth. The image is more media and record industry created than anything else. The funniest part is people still fall for it. I don't think the record and music industry is at fault. If there are people dumb enough to fall for it, why

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1139037687963619902006-02-04T02:11:00.000-05:002006-02-04T02:21:27.976-05:00

It often strikes me how people shirk their personal responsibility and choice. After that, whenever they realize that some personal habits might be harmful , they rush to the courts to seek compensation which they often receive. I don't that is fair to the system or to themselves but hey easy money is easy money especially if you have greedy trial lawyers running around persuading prospective

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138941234885114502006-02-02T23:22:00.000-05:002006-02-02T23:33:54.906-05:00

The previous post reminded me about a film I had seen a few months back. It is called 'The Mission' and stars Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson. The film is set a few hundred years back in Latin America and is about two missionaries fighting for the rights of South American Indians against Spanish colonial landowners. It is one of the most thought provoking and engrossing films I have

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138936099941844842006-02-02T21:58:00.000-05:002006-02-02T22:08:19.943-05:00

The damn Christian fundamentalists are at it again but thankfully it does not affect us. This time it is about a gay actor and activist, Chad Allen (Couldn't they at least come up with something new? It is becoming boring now.) who plays the lead role in "End of the Spear". The film is about the true story of five American missionaries who were killed in 1956 by an indigenous tribe in Ecuador.

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138935330512055282006-02-02T21:47:00.000-05:002006-02-02T21:55:30.530-05:00

Apparantly, 20% of the people in the US are libertarians, distinct from conservatives and liberals. Since as we all know there is no option for us, this group splits up and votes Republican or Democrat depending on other issues. There was a time when the Republicans used to come closest to being libertarian; not anymore. The current Republicans are worse than the Democrats; there is nothing they

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138673100803073682006-01-30T20:56:00.000-05:002006-01-30T21:05:00.803-05:00

I am a beer lover though I tend to lean towards non-American ones and micro-brews exceptions apart. I have often tried to figure out how often beer stays on shelves. Do they get replaced after their expiry date is over like other products? But the thing is they (at least most of them) have no expiry dates mentioned on their labels. There have been times I have opened a bottle of beer, taken a sip

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138672539942991962006-01-30T20:49:00.000-05:002006-01-30T21:26:36.850-05:00

Here is a nice editorial on Alan Greenspan. While there are some who judge him harshly depending on their economic and political perspectives, I think history will judge him most favorably. Presiding over two of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history is a feat by itself apart from inflation being at low levels. The recessions have been short as well. However, it is not that well

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138672055024413052006-01-30T20:39:00.000-05:002006-01-30T20:48:38.770-05:00

Here is an excellent kind of the patriotism I was earlier talking about. As we all know, Bush has displayed thorough indifference to the law as we know it. It is almost as if he has chosen to do whatever he wants including using presidential power to the extreme right from torture to domestic spying. Rules might be for other presidents, definitely not for him. I am sure some of you will be aware

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138593003860401972006-01-29T22:41:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:50:03.863-05:00

This is an excellent article by David Ignatius of The Washington Post on the World Economic Forum held at Davos every year. He talks about how business is now the biggest driver of social change. It is one of the processes that works the best. He wishes that other systems worked as well. According to me, the business sector does a fine job of identifying incentives and getting them. They are

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138592334297464862006-01-29T22:38:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:38:54.296-05:00

"A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals." Spiro T Agnew

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138592291814870522006-01-29T22:36:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:38:11.813-05:00

"An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows." Dwight D. Eisenhower

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138592021652338302006-01-29T22:20:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:33:41.666-05:00

This relates to a recent post by The Indianapolis Star columnist RiShawn Biddle on Expresso. I thought it was extremely interesting and thought provoking and I completely agree with him. What he says is basically it would do Indiana and Hoosiers a whole lot of good if they ventured out of their state for education, work or just cultural experience. The exposure and experience would change them in

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138591035333428092006-01-29T22:10:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:17:15.333-05:00

I think patriotism is a great and essential feeling to have while jingoism is not. There is an important distinction between both the feelings. No country in the world is all good or all evil. It is not black and white but mostly gray just like us human beings. Also, people make the country, not its policies nor its politicians. While I don't like people who are jingoists and think theirs is the

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138590584868363912006-01-29T22:08:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:09:44.870-05:00

I will put up some random thoughts of mine on this issue as and when they come to me. I personally think each of us can try in our own small way. One can even join government services, the judiciary and the armed forces to make our own contribution. I like to believe that the vast majority of us are not corrupt or crooked. For some reason, so many of the ones we elect are. It would be great to

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138589621608307442006-01-29T21:42:00.000-05:002006-01-29T21:53:41.753-05:00

This is the beginning of a few posts on patriotism and the like. I saw an Indian film which was rather good. It was not so much about patriotism but more about how we tend to bitch about the current state of affairs but essentially, it is our choice too. We elect our politicans and in some sense, let them do what they want as against holding them responsible for what they have and have not done.

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138497966340767962006-01-28T20:21:00.000-05:002006-01-28T20:26:06.340-05:00

I was reading some thing about Thomas Hobbes the other day and I came across some quotes from 'Leviathan'. I have reproduced the ones I liked best. "Another doctrine repugnant to civil society, is that whatsoever a man does against his conscience, is sin; and it dependeth on the presumption of making himself judge of good and evil. For a man's conscience and his judgement are the same thing, and

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138497427983465992006-01-28T20:05:00.000-05:002006-01-28T20:18:32.153-05:00

I saw 'Hostel' last night and I am not sure if I have recovered fully from it. The film is presented by Quentin Tarantino (whatever that means) and directed by Eli Roth. It has a lot of blood and gore and sometimes you wonder what is going on. I am a fan of Quentin Tarantino and have liked almost all his movies. Did I hate the film? No. Did I love it? No. I am somewhere in-between. It is not a

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138496682069536332006-01-28T19:56:00.000-05:002006-01-28T20:04:42.070-05:00

I am so glad 'Brokeback Mountain' is doing so well. It really is a great movie. It has gorgeous scenery and a very subtle but beautiful love story. It is doing extremely well even in the red states and the heartland. More power to 'Brokeback Mountain'. It is a wonder those dam idiots from the Christian right wing has not made an issue out of it. You can read here how well it is doing and how the

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138495690823880672006-01-28T19:47:00.000-05:002006-01-28T19:48:10.823-05:00

A lot of people I know who hated the idea of a Republican running the state of Indiana are changing their views. Some of them are Democrats who are quite favorable to Governor Mitch Daniels and his policies. 'My Man Mitch' is trying very hard to go for Indiana. It is a different reasons Democrats and members of his own Republican Party are opposing him for pure political reasons. What I find

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138495611791162862006-01-28T19:46:00.000-05:002006-01-28T19:46:51.793-05:00

I always read Charles Krauthammer's columns in The Washington Post or otherwise. He leans to the right quite a bit but he is an outstanding writer. There are times when I disagree with him more often than not but he is definitely one of the more principled conservatives. His recent column in The Washington Post was about his brother and his passing away. It is one of the most emotional pieces I

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1138495540027281852006-01-28T19:45:00.000-05:002006-01-28T19:45:40.026-05:00

Yes, I know it has been a while again since I have blogged. Life has not been the best lately. Work has been keeping me extremely busy (thankfully!!) and I have been coming home pretty late as well. Work has also helped me keep out of trouble and not indulge in self-destructive tendencies as I am prone to during my lows. I did manage to drink my ass off over the last few weeks. I guess when

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1136939661023345222006-01-10T19:25:00.000-05:002006-01-10T19:34:21.026-05:00

George Will is one of the best conservative commentators/intellectuals. He never minces words and says it for what it is even if it means criticizing the current crop of pseudo-conservatives. There are very few of them anymore, another one being David Brooks. There are times I do not agree with them but their erudition and the breadth of their knowledge, especially George Will leaves you stunned.

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19368199.post-1136939101075351302006-01-10T19:14:00.000-05:002006-01-10T19:25:01.086-05:00

This is some what related to my earlier post. Some thing I have never understood: Why do peaceniks, protesters and liberals protest against soldiers/members of the armed forces? Are they that ignorant that they don't realize that soldiers follow orders? If a soldier disobeys orders to go to war, he/she is normally court martialled. I think there is a legitimate right to protest but protest

Gilgameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12089650261552893603noreply@blogger.com0