Morning Coffee (11)

Morning. Nothing good about it today, just "morning." I slept well last night though, with a little help from Tylenol "Sleepy Time" and some Nyquil.

Weather's a bit colder today, but still dark and sort of rainy. I hope it rains.

Israel is apparently developing some nifty weapons using nanotechnology. One weapon is a "bionic hornet" that can track down, photograph, and even kill those dirty terrorist types. Another is a glove that gives it's wearer "bionic strength." Pretty interesting stuff; they plan on having prototypes available in three years. That's just around the corner. Personally, I'll be very interested to see how this sort of thing works out. Hizbollah pretty much fought Israel to a standstill, so I can see why the Israelis are looking for alternative methods. They expended huge amounts of ordnance, and while they did a great deal of damage to Hizbollah's infrastructure, they didn't defeat them in any sense of the word. Even if we call the 34-day war a draw (which is a fair assessment), Hizbollah has gained a huge amount of credibility. They're the only Arab "power" (they're not really a nation) to have really bloodied the nose of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Interesting stuff here.

Not really profession related, but this immigration debate is getting out of hand. I don't understand why it's so difficult. If you have the word "illegal" in front of your status, as in "illegal immigrant" then it makes it pretty clear to me. Doing something illegal makes you a criminal, right? If you're a criminal, you typically lose rights, not gain them. I understand that we need these people to do jobs than none of us elitists will do, but if they want rights, then they should have to do things according to the law. How am I supposed to want you here if you cannot respect my country's laws? Some podunk town in Nevada passed a law that makes it illegal to fly any foreign flag by itself or above the US flag when flied together - the latter is a violation of the US Flag Code anyway, but not enforceable anyway. This law will be beaten down by the 1st Amendment, but I see their point. When you have 11 million illegal immigrants flying the Mexican flag during rallies, it sort of gives you the impression that they really aren't interested in attaining a legal status. You could almost argue that this illegal immigrant thing is a form of colonization. I see nothing wrong with granting visas, and granting citizenship to people who want it and meet the qualifications. But letting people break the law, doing nothing to stop them, and saying that we should allow them to do so AND give them rights commensurate with a citizen, is ludicrous. This nation is/was a nation of immigrants. I've never heard it referred to as a nation of illegal immigrants. Opine if you wish.

Word of the Day: Dotage (noun): Feebleness of mind due to old age; senility.
On This Day in History: Elizabethan era begins in England as Elizabeth I succeeds Mary I as Queen (1558). She would rule until her death in 1603. Vespasian, one of the great Roman emperors, was born (9CE).

"Yes, testosterone-sodden young men too unattractive to get a woman in this world might be desperate enough to go for 72 private virgins in the next." - Richard Dawkins in "Religion's Misguided Missiles"

Everyone have a safe and good weekend. If you need me, you know where I'll be: home doing nothing. See you Monday.