Mad Man's Rambling

There is a war -- with no army, no homicide, no mass destruction, but a war nonetheless -- going on inside the United States of America, tearing this country apart. There are two sides, two factions, two competing forces in this war: on one side, there are the-have, and on the other side, the have-not. On one side, there stands, higher, loud and proud, 1% of the population who control 34.6% of the total wealth; and on the other side, there stands, lower, quieter and not so proud, 80% of the population who control a meager 15% of the total wealth. This war, like every other wars, will settle somehow, with a winner and a loser. In a war of this uneven, the loser will most likely be the have-not. However, unlike any other war, the loser will never rest, they will resiliently fight until the bitter end. There are no bloodshed in this state of the war, but eventually it will be inevitable. How do we, as civilians of this society, solve this conflict without resorting to violence?

Hey you! Yes, you there behind the computer screen, reading these lines out of boredom and too many free time you don’t know how to waste, I’m talking to you! Do you know how it feels to be alive and well? It is truly a privilege, I’ll tell you. What is your first thought when you wake up every morning? It is probably, “What should I eat this morning?” Or “Should I wake up and go to work? I’m too tired from last night’s hangover.” Well if that sounds like you, you are one of the luckier humans on this planet. You see, there are thousands of children on the streets of Brazil, whose thoughts every morning would probably be, “How do I survive this one more day?” They scavenge for food in the trash bins every day. They sleep every night in abandoned houses that no one wants to live near. And they are constantly on the run away from hit squads, whose sole purpose is to hunt them down for a bounty. Did I say “hunt” and “bounty”? Yes I did, your eyes didn’t deceive you and neither did I;

Flag-burning heated LSU It's been on the news for several days now: a LSU graduate and part-time instructor tried to burn the USA flag, only to be stopped by a concerning and patriotic crowd, or angry and hostile mob, depends on which side you're on. His reason is, as he put it, to protest against the arrest of another student in a prior flag-burning incident.    Video: the confrontation at LSU, May 11 2011 -- and a pretty lopsided one at that too. I need to give you a little background on this story first: there is a student called Isaac Eslava who stole a car, cut down the flag at the LSU War Memorial and burned it down to the ground and sprayed paint on public property, causing around $400 in damage in the process. To top that off, he allegedly did all of that to protest against the killing of Osama bin Laden, too. Needless to say, many people felt satisfied and deserving that Isaac was arrested on May 5. Not Benjamin Haas, a graduate and part-time instructor at LS

1. Life is suffering. 2. Even if you are happy right now, 1 is still true. 3. Your happiness is short-lived. 4. You see, the only reason why Life gave you happiness is to take that away from you. THAT is suffering. 5. Therefore, try your best not to be happy. 6. Wear dark clothes. 7. Don't smile. 8. If you have to smile, smile brightly. 9. Absolutely no laughing. 10. Sleep little but tight. 11. Be difficult to yourself, easy on others. 12. Choose a profession that you enjoy doing. 13. Spend 10,000 hours doing that work, again and again and again. 14. Become one of the best in your fields. 15. You are still far from being the best, don't get excited about that. 16. Make just enough money to live comfortably. 17. Use public transportation. 18. Choose a girl that you are comfortable with. You don't have to love her. 19. Marry her. 20. Respect her and trust her. Trust her completely. 21. Do her a favor everyday. 22. You see, that is lov