Political Experimentation with Blog Writing

I'll try something a little different today. Instead of waiting until 5 PM to write up a blog entry, I'll keep Wordpad up all day. Then I'll just type up something when it comes to mind.

ZARQAWI IS DEAD

In case you haven't heard yet, Al Zarqawi was killed by air strike. My response:

Been hearing a lot about this one today.

Disposing of him so he doesn't cause any more harm makes me happy.

Nonetheless, the large amounts of pleasure that people take over someone else's death saddens me, even if that person did horrendous, evil things. I get the feeling that some people feel this event justifies the actions of the US since 9/11 and will push them further onto more atrocities because of this "accomplishment."

And writing the above, I just had a thought about how politically strategic this successful strike is, with the 2006 elections coming up later. . .but that's just my cynical side.

THEMS POOR KIDS NOT SMART 'CUZ OF THEMS TEACHERS

A couple months ago, a conservative guy I met through a political discussion group lectured the list on the poor academic performance of minorities. The fellow took up the typical working class argument that black people didn't do well academically simply because they didn't have the motivation to work hard enough, like he did. It didn't have to do with money or the bad neighborhoods or anything like that, and he supposedly had the statistics to prove it.

Well, a recent study provides some weight on my side of the argument. Unfortunately, both of us suffer from using statistics that are localized to a certain area. . .at least, he never provided me with his statistics, and I could only find ones for a local area.

JOB SEARCHING

Didn't do much for the job search today. Just went downtown to take a Microsoft Office PowerPoint (TM) tutorial. Completed the intro and advanced to the second or third lesson in the intermediate section. All the information overwhelmed me by then.

If I don't have an assignment or job by next week, I'll probably go back to take more of the tutorial. Microsoft Office PowerPoint (TM) looks like a good skill to have.

Sadly, though, even going through the tutorial, I will only have a limited knowledge of the program. Only by taking on PowerPoint (TM) projects, whether they be for pay or not, will start getting down the options available and how to do them all. I guess that's the old Catch-22 situation: hard to get a job without the PowerPoint (TM) experience and hard to get the PowerPoint (TM) without a job.

Ugh.

SOMETHING CONCERNING ME

The fiancee and I moved here to Chicago about three weeks ago. We had been out of town one weekend. A friend visited us another weekend. I went to church one Sunday and had a short conversation with someone that ended abruptly and unsatisfactorily.

I'm concerned that we haven't made any new friends yet. I guess being focused on a job search, procrastinating and setting up house in the apartment kind of takes away from friend making time. Still. . .I would like a friend or two.

Maybe something more upbeat will happen tomorrow afternoon when I begin my job search networking.

POLITICAL BLOGGISM

Bloc's Blog: Yesterday, I found a rightist conservative blog. Today, I find a leftist poltiical blog. It doesn't challenge my views, but it does add to them.