Unemployment form... why does it have to be confusing?

As someone who has recently been laid off (biting my tongue... got to remain professional), I have had to fill out the Unemployment Insurance application. Being the computer savvy person that I am, I went to do it online. Seems easy enough, right? I mean, Christ, what all do they need to know? Employment and salary history, and that's about it, right?

Well, yes, that is about it, but of course being something tied to the government, they had to make it so confusing. "How?" do you ask?
For starters:
They say you must enter any pay due to you from unpaid vacation hours. OK, this makes sense, and right there on my paystub is the vacation hour balance. Great! I'll just enter that number and be on may way. But NOOOOOOOO!!!!

It also asks for a date range. A date range for vacation that I will never take... REALLY?

I don't enter date range as it makes no sense to, and I figure I can leave it blank and I'll continue. Oh, but NO! I try to continue and it says that I MUST enter a date range. Once again, I'm staring at the screen thinking "A date range for vacation that I will never take?... WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I'm baffled, and of course clicking on any help link does nothing but raise my blood pressure. I then Google it, and find that in California, you really don't need to enter the upcoming vacation pay as it's not considered income. So, I end up leaving it blank. I continue to forge through and enter my past year's salary by quarter. Becomes really fun when you've had a pay raise occur mid quarter. Now, is it me, or is it fucking nuts that I have to tell the people my quarterly income... the SAME people who have received from my employer ABOUT ME what my pay has been down to the penny? Oh well, I'll play their game, and will fill out all the details they ask for.

I send it off, thinking all is done correctly.

But NOOOOO! It gets better!

I receive an email from HR of my previous employer stating that I had entered the wrong company as my employer. I'm staring at the email in disbelief! I mean really? I entered the wrong company? Every fucking day for almost 2 years I stare at the sign on the front of the building with the company's name, and somehow I entered the wrong company name? I then look at what the email has provided me as the correct company name, and it's nowhere near what I entered. It appears that the company name should be the name of the place your paycheck comes from. WHAT??!??!?!? I mean, WTF?!???!?!

Unfucking believable!

What really gets me is that the the neanderthal's that conjured up the unemployment application are probably still employed, and making more money that I'll ever see.

People against gay marrriage.. WTF??!?!?!

It just never ceases to amaze me when people get so upset about gay marriage. I mean, really? Personally, for all I care, a person can go marry a goat! I'm serious!!! Why? Because if a man were to marry a goat, it would have ZERO affect on me! If it has no effect on me, then why give a shit?

Yet we have all these people getting all bent out of shape because there are gay people out there who would like to have the right to get married. I guess a lot of the resistance comes from the Christians who think it is immoral. To that I've got two words... FUCK YOU!. If your're a Christian, and are abhorrently against same sex people gettng married, then you know what? Then don't marry someone of the same sex!

However, just because YOU don't think it is right, does not make it wrong for anybody else! I think it's wrong that these extremist Christians have their heads so far up their ass that they can't even think straight, BUT, I am not going to do anything to make it illegal for these idiots to have their stuck up, outdated, and stupid ideas, as that is their right. Isn't that what America is really about? As was once said, "I may not like what you say, but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it".

So, if two adults, who happen to be gay, want to get married, THEN LET THEM! BIG FUCKING DEAL!!! Of course the Christians get their panties all bunched up over this because they believe it goes against God's will. SO WHAT? It's YOUR belief, NOT everyone elses, so leave everyone else the fuck alone! Just because you believe that the bible says something does not automatically make it right!

If you are going to say that whatever the bible says is true, then stick to it. I guess anyone who ever worked on Sunday should then be put to death (Exodus 31:15). So let me ask you this... what day do you want the mass executions to commence? Probably most people in America have worked on Sunday... shame on you... off to the execution you go! Hey, I didn't right this shit, but there it is in the bible, so off you go!

Oh, and by the way, are you going to be selling your daughter into slavery? Says that too in the bible, Exodus 21:7-11. I guess we could setup a special section in eBay for this. I mean, what the heck, might as use our advanced technology to help spread God's will, right? Not sure what a fair price would be though. Perhaps we can rely on the ol' supply and demand scheme.

So, bottom line is this... if you want to cling to the bible for some sort of eternal bliss, or meaning of life, then fine! By all means, do that. If that's what it takes for you to feel fulfilled, then go for it. However, KEEP YOUR STUPID BELEIFS OUT OF OTHER PEOPLES BUSINESS!!! You have NO right enforcing YOUR beliefs on others... PERIOD!!!

By the way, this whole rant came to be after reading about Jane Pitt's letter against gay marriage. So, if you want to see idiocy at its finest, just Google that.

Power of prayer... are your f**king kidding me???

Recently on a site I visit regularly there was a thread going on about a person who was in an accident, and was basically on the verge of not making it. Thankfully, he pulled through, and appears to be on the road to recovery. However, when I read through the thread and saw things said by many people, I could not help but to think "WTF!!!!!". The things said that got me going were:
"The Lord at work through the power of prayer"
"God is GREAT and the power of prayer does work"
"There is MUCH POWER in Prayer"
"we have an awesome God to thank"

You have GOT to be kidding me!!!

I mean, really, "power of prayer"????

Gee, you know what? Maybe if god was so great, and influential on us, then perhaps the accident that caused all these grave injuries would not have occurred in the first place!

Oh, but I suppose these people would say "Well, nobody was praying before the accident, so obviously god would have nothing to do with it".

Hate to burst your bubble, but god (assuming there is one), has NOTHING to do with what happens to us on earth!

How can ANYONE believe that prayer works, and going beyond that, go to the extent to say "power of prayer"?

Where's the power of prayer when a child goes missing, and hoards of people pray for a safe return, yet the child turns up dead, and brutilzed by some monster of a guy? Or when countless people will pray for the recovery of a person in the hospital, and they die anyways?

Of course when this occurs, the delusional people will say something like "Oh, the lord works in mysterious ways, and I guess he wanted that person so badly, so he took them."

REALLY? And the only way for god to take a poor innocent child off this earth was to have them kidnapped, brutalized and then killed by a monster? What the hell kind of sadistic god is that?

Gee, I don't know, but if god wanted to take a child, wouldn't having them pass away peacefully in their sleep be much better?

People, give it up already! There is NO power of prayer!!!

Now if praying somehow soothes you, and brings you comfort and peace, then by all means keep it up. In this sense, praying to some would be like meditation to others. But when you make the insane statement that prayer is powerful, and helps with the recovery of a person as god answers the prayer, then you are fooling yourself.

People pray all the time for things, and it really gets me when THE ONE TIME something they pray for finally occurs, they run around saying "See! I KNEW prayer works!". Yeah, right! It would be like me praying for rain every day, and FINALLY the day arrives when it DOES rain, and then I say "See! My praying worked!".

Yeah, no shit Sherlock! Of course BY CHANCE, it WILL rain SOME DAY! Just like, BY CHANCE, a person will pull through a difficult time, and heal.

In my view, praying is nothing more than a nice gesture. I mean, if I was gravely ill, and someone told me that they would be praying for me, I would simply say "Thanks". Why? Because it's a nice gesture, and why on earth would I choose to be upset over something that is being put out to me in a loving way. Of course, in my heart, I would know that the prayer is totally useless, but I would also know that the person who feels differently than I about it is at least being supportive.

So for all the people who prayed for the person after his tragic accident, I'm thinking: "How great that there were so many supportive people with kind hearts to be hoping for a good recovery! We need more caring people like these!"

But "power of prayer"? Nope, sorry, aint buying it.

Atheists and morals

The one thing that really gets my goat is when I hear a religious person say that without religion, a person would have no morals. We are therefore much better off in this nation having religion.

Give me a f**king break!!!

You know WHY atheists have morals, and know right from wrong? It's from something called common sense!

Common sense would dictate that ones actions should be done to not only please yourself, but to also NOT harm others. An atheist would realize that we all must coexist, and so why do things that might result in hate, or retaliation from others. An atheist also realizes that man has urges that are at times destructive, and therefore can feel good about overcoming them.

Also, to say that being religious provides morals is ridiculous, as one just needs to look at how many priests having committed rape, or religious nuts who have bombed abortion clinics, at times killing innocent people. Yeah boy, those religious imposed morals sure helped there, huh?

As I've said many times before, and will say again... if one wants to have a religion, then more power to you! If believing in what you have faith in brings you peace, happiness, compassion, or whatever else it is that you seek, then great! Have at it. There are many intelligent, compassionate, religious people out there that are good to have within our society. It's the idiots that point the finger at us atheists as if we are evil that really gets me going, and to whom I'm addressing these rants to.

We are NOT a Christian Nation!!!

Some people will insist that the founding fathers were Christian, therefor the constitution is a Christian document.

This makes no sense to me, as what does one's belief have to do with the documents they write? It would be like an atheist writing a children's book, and even though the book is written for children to enjoy, and nothing else, it is none-the-less an atheist book because it was written by an atheist.

Sorry, but this makes no sense to me.

But as it turns out anyways is that at least several of the founding fathers were not even Christian in the first place.

The key founding fathers are Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

Several of the these peoeple considered themselves to be deists or held beliefs very similar to that of deists.

American Founding Fathers who were especially noted for being influenced by deism include Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Cornelius Harnett, Gouverneur Morris, and Hugh Williamson.

Other notable Founding Fathers may have been more directly deist. These include James Madison, John Adams, possibly Alexander Hamilton, Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine (who published The Age of Reason, a treatise that helped to popularize deism throughout America and Europe). Elihu Palmer (1764-1806) wrote the "Bible" of American deism in his Principles of Nature (1801) and attempted to organize deism by forming the "Deistical Society of New York.

Then there's the fact that god is not mentioned in the constitution. Not only that, but it was stressed that the government would not have any influence on the people's religious beliefs, as they wanted freedom of religion. So, if we are suppose to be a Christian nation, with the constitution enforcing such religion, then how can there also be such a significance on freedom of religion?

I suppose someone grasping at straws to validate their Christian view could bring up the fact that the pledge of Allegiance mentions "under god".

However, this is ludicrous as the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a LONG time after the constitution was formed. Not only that, but the original Pledge of Allegiance had no mention of god, and was:
"I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

The "Under God" phrase was not officially incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.

I suppose a desperate person could then state that our currency has "In God We Trust", thus making us a Christian nation.

However, "In God We Trust" first appeared on a United States coin in 1864 during strong Christian sentiment emerging during the Civil War, then became the official U.S. national motto after the passage of an Act of Congress in 1956.

So there you once again have some religious zealots dreaming up the phrase and throwing it onto our currency many, many years after the forming of our nation.

Why is it so important for some Christians to say that we are a Christian nation in the first place? Are they that insecure in their beliefs that they need to know that the entire nation is on their side?

What's far more important than being a Christian nation is being a nation of no particular religion! Isn't this truly in line with what our founding fathers had in mind? Did they not stress the importance of complete freedom, be it freedom of speech, a fair trial, or freedom of religion? To say we are a Christian nation is to totally negate the original concept of what our founding fathers had in mind.

So, enough with this Christian nation crap! We are a nation formed to have the freedom of religion, whatever that religion may be, or to even be an atheist!

Moon conspiracy idiots

Might as well touch upon these lunatics (no pun intended) while I'm on the conspiracy trend here.

There are actually people out there that truly believe that we never went to the moon! No sense hashing through all of their so called "evidence" as this can all be located on the WEB with a Google search. Let me just say though that every bit of their "proof" has been put to the test and shown to be, if anything, proof that we DID go to the moon.

Now, don't get me wrong, as I think it's good that people are willing to question things, and not take everything at face value. But the moon conspiracy people are holding onto their beliefs regardless of all the data that goes against their belief.

It's as if they think that the United States one day awoke and then launched a rocket to the moon with 3 astronauts, and succeeded over night. Well, not quite guys! It took us in the neighborhood of 10 years to develop the technology to get there! Being 52 years old myself, and growing up in the era of the space race, I can attest to this fact.

Since the Russians put the first satellite, Sputnik, into space back in 1957, the space race began. The United States then launched its first satellite in 1958. The first human in space was by the Russians in 1961, soon followed by Alan Shepard of the United States. From that time on, the United States was feverishly making strides to get into space, and get to the moon. Many space craft were launched, and were improved upon from the old Mercury/Gemini days on up to the Saturn V. Finally, nine years after the first American in space, we landed on the moon.

So, this is not something that occurred over night. It took many years of development, and several lives (Many Russian cosmonauts, and 3 Americans that were killed during an Apollo 1 test).

Some will think that we did not have enough technology back in 1969 to accomplish such a feat. However, we are really talking basic telemetry here, and even the archaic computers back then were capable of this.

Some will then say that we never went to the moon back then because we are not going there now. That's ridiculous, and a look back into history will plainly show why we stopped going, and a look into our present mindset will show why we are not going now.

Going to the moon proved to be VERY expensive, but we were determined to beat the Russians to the moon, and fulfill president Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade (1960's). Once that was achieved, we went back a few more times, but it became apparent that once the drive to get there was gone, and the financial obligation became too much, we ended all trips to the moon. Then the space shuttle was developed to replace the expensive, aging Saturn V rocket, and our focus became one of using space travel for scientific gains.

So, it's not for lack of technology that we don't go to the moon now, as much as it's just not financially feasible.

Certainly is an interesting notion that we perhaps never went to the moon, but I firmly believe that we did, and so far there is NO evidence pointing to the contrary!

The 9/11 conspiracy crackpots

It never ceases to amaze me the crap some people will adhere to. Case in point is all this talk of the 9/11 attacks being a planned government job instead of a true terrorist attack. Give me a break!!!

There was a show on recently that discussed these crackpots, and on it were one of the people responsible for the film "Loose Change" which "documents" the 9/11 conspiracy. Just gotta love it when the guy says "Oh yes, many people saw a commercial airline flying towards the Pentagon at a very low altitude and fast speed, but nobody really knows what flew into the Pentagon.".

Gee, I have an idea, perhaps what flew into the Pentagon WAS THE COMMERCIAL PLANE PEOPLE SAW FLYING TOWARDS IT!!!

Sheesh!

There's no point in me rehashing all of the fictional content of Loose Change, and all of the bogus "science". For instance, one thing they will point out is that as the building collapsed, you can see what appears to be small explosions blowing out of the side windows. They then go on to say how this must be from the explosives that were planted there in order to bring down the building. Uh, yeah, OK. Gee, don't you think that a collapsing building, especially of that magnitude, would be forcing out A LOT of air as it crushed the floors? And just where is that air going to go? Oh, gee, maybe it will find the path of least resistance AND GO OUT THROUGH THE WINDOWS! DUH!!!

Oh, but gee, I'm sorry, I'm using logic there, just as so many scientists, engineers and experts have done in the past in explaining the tower collapse.

It's actually good to see people questioning the government, and looking at all the possibilities. I also have to say that the film Loose Change appears to be a very well made film, especially when you consider that it was made by a high school student. Good work indeed. However, it is pure fiction the way it presents the "evidence". A well made film, but none-the-less gets people to view the incident in the wrong light. It's like the JFK film by Oliver Stone. It's very well made, and pulls you into the plot and keeps you entertained, but many of its content is pure fiction! There is no magic bullet, even though the film will lead you to believe otherwise. Pulling off 3 shots in the allotted time is VERY doable, and Oswald was indeed an expert marksmen, yet he is not shown that way in the film. A good film, but many liberties were taken with the facts. Just as Loose Change, many of the facts are twisted and false conclusions are drawn just to show the audience a slanted conspiracy viewpoint.

Now, let's just say for the sake of argument that our government wanted to create a false terrorist attack in order to get us into a war with Iraq. Would they have needed to create an attack as devastating as the 9/11 attack? Couldn't they have simply planted a few bombs under a bridge someplace, blown it up, then yelled, "Oh my god, look at what those terrorists have done. Now we just have to go in after them."

But no, instead they choose to not only take down ONE of the twin towers, but BOTH of them, and using 2 commercial airliners to boot. And as if that wasn't enough, they then launch an airliner into their own building, the Pentagon! Oh wait, there's more. That's apparently not enough, so they also had plans to send yet another plane into the capitol. That one missed it's mark though due to the brave people aboard it.

Oh yeah, right, this makes complete sense. Again... SHEESH!!!!!!!

Sometimes things really are as they seem, especially when it is so painfully obvious. In this case, planes crashed into the twin towers, causing intense heat due to the jet fuel, enough to weaken the steel and bring the buildings down. The resulting collapse of the twin towers damaged building 7, and even though it was not hit by any planes, sustained enough damage to also collapse. Then a plane flew into the Pentagon, and another into a Pennsylvania field due to the actions of the people on board.

That's it!

If only these conspiracy people would spend even one tenth as much energy that they spend on this conspiracy crap and put it into something useful. Perhaps looking into how another terrorist attack can be thwarted, or in finding Bin Laden.