Sean Taylor, Safety for the Washington Redskins passed away on Tuesday, November 27th, a day that I will never forget.  I will never forget the SuperBowls that I got to see the Redskins play and win in my time.  I will never forget every year that we have made the playoffs.

      I will never, however, forget this day for a much more important reason.  Sean Taylor was taken from his friends, family and fans far too early and for no reason.  Sean Taylor was on pace to become the greatest safety that the NFL has ever seen.  Even more than that, Sean was on track to become one of the greatest fathers, team mates and overall men that the world has ever seen.

     There are so many things that happened too soon in this situation.

     Sean was taken from all of us far too soon.  I'd say somewhere around 60 years too soon.

     Sean's condition deteriorated too soon.  We all only had one night of very troubled sleep, or I'm sure in the case of his actual family, no sleep at all.  I for one was not at all prepared to wake up to the news of his death.

     Sean's team mates, family, friends and even his fans were forced to concentrate on football again way too soon.  For once in my entire Redskins-loving life, I truly did not care about a game that they played.  It was just too soon.  I couldn't watch a game where Sean wasn't flying around all over my screen knocking running backs and receivers all over the field.

     Sean's fellow defensive players were not ready to line up 11 on Sunday.  They proved it by lining up 10.  This wasn't a stupid move and this wasn't unnecessarily sentimental.  Trust me when I say that all 10 of them felt the 11th man lined up next to and behind them.  Sean's place was just too huge and influential to easily fill that void.

     My brain is leaking in thoughts of how we can fix our team far too soon.  I am slowly but surely coming to terms with all of this but I wish our year could just end right now so that everyone can have the time to heal and reflect on what is truly important.

     Sean Taylor's early departure has forced everyone to focus on what is truly important in this world and unfortunately the Redskins themselves are not immune to this.

     Sometimes things happen that people need more than 5 days to recover from and this definitely qualifies.

     Sean, we miss you more and more each day and every football game that we watch or attend is going to seem totally empty for a while.  I can't even imagine how much worse it is for your friends and team mates to line up every week and look across the field, expecting to see 21...

     It's hard to play the game with heart when your heart is entirely broken.

-The Butcher.

[[ Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ]]

(( We will always miss and remember you Sean Taylor [1983-2007] ))

     What time is it?  That's right, it is 'Random Music Review Time'!  Hooray.

     My last two reviews have been, admittedly, in some way biased due to the fact that I was invited to said events by at least one of the bands involved.  Granted, I expected all of my readers to still realize that my reviews were brutally honest and gave a true account of the events that took place...

     ...Regardless, here is my newest review.

*   *   *

[[ Unit 7 Drain ]]

     When I first moved to Albuquerque at the age of 19 (8 years ago, for you who are keeping count), I had come here from Las Cruces and truly believed that Albuquerque was the pinnacle of all music scenes because, well, I had just left Las Cruces.  If you don't understand that statement, then you need to spend a week or two in Las Cruces.

     One of the very first bands I saw in this city was Unit 7 Drain, formed in 2000, and was immediately impressed with them.  Since then, I have probably seen this band some 20 odd times, give or take and am, generally, equally impressed on every occasion that I can attend one of their shows.  I have also had the pleasure of meeting several members of this band and really have nothing but good things to say about the people that they are.  I also believe that they have a very good work ethic as a band and have gone above and beyond when it comes to promoting themselves and being in the public eye.  The problem I have is that ever since the first show I saw, I haven't seen a whole lot of progression in this band.

     As so many of their bios point out, Unit 7 Drain can really only be described as "rock".  There aren't a whole lot of comparisons that I can make.  They are well formed in that genre and never really spill over into any other.  Harry and Ella generally sing in dulcet tones that keep the rhythm going while occasionally breaking through to a rougher level and making things accelerate, as it were.  Not much to say there, really.  Pretty much every time that I have attended a Drain concert, the vocal levels have been so low that the myriad of instruments involved have almost entirely drowned them out.

     I should point out that this is quite an accomplishment.  I may just be making this up in my own mind, but I seriously think that Unit 7 Drain have been using the exact same equipment for the last 7 years.  If I am wrong then I invite them to call me out on that, but every time I see them I see the same mediocre equipment that just doesn't stand out.  Don't get me wrong, I am not calling them cheap or trying to tell you that they suck because they don't have ridiculously expensive, stand-out equipment like some bands use to cover up their mediocrity.  I am merely pointing out that their equipment seems to be a very sore point in an otherwise talented band.

     Every instrument, from bass to keyboard, seems to blend together in a "we didn't do a sound check" sort of way.  The bad thing is, Drain usually does a very concise and exact sound check, so I know they can't blame it on that.  I know this may all sound a bit harsh but I am a local music reviewer and after 7 years on the scene, I just expect such a prominent band to have invested more than just their time.  Buying equipment sucks, I know, but sounding like an 8 track player during a performance sucks way more.

     The other gripe I have is that regardless of how great their unity may be, none of the members stand out.  Ever.  I do appreciate when a band is "tight" and can stick together throughout an entire set, but sooner or later your audience expects a solo or...well, some sort of stand out performance from someone.  Let me explain again that I am a local reviewer, so when I review bands I am far more concentrated on how well you entertained and interacted with the crowd than I am how closely your performance matched your demo recording.  When you are playing Tingley or Journal, I promise I will start listening more closely to how well you executed...for right now, I just want you to give me a reason to see you again.  And, well, when no one in the band moves more than two or three inches during your entire set...I just don't feel that motivated to move to what you are playing.

     And therein lies the problem.  Unit 7 Drain is very, very talented.  Their recordings are fantastic.  If you ever have a desire to purchase one of their CDs, you should definitely follow up on it.  I have a Unit 7 Drain CD and have heard almost every song that they have via the internet and have never been unimpressed with the tunes that they come out with.  Great stuff, really.  I, for one, would never release a review about Drain without telling you that you should support them and even grab a CD or two of theirs.  Unfortunately, I will release this review, saying plainly that Unit 7 Drain needs to stir themselves up on stage, probably invest in better equipment (or mix their sound better), and quite honestly, I believe that they need to mix up their music itself.  I do love what they have done so far, but it has come to my attention that every time they come out with a new song it seems suspiciously a lot like their last 50 or so that they wrote.

     I love you Unit 7 Drain, but I think it's about time to take a seat and think about where you are headed musically and, if this is what you all truly want to do, professionally.

<< unit7drain.net // myspace.com/unit7drain >>

*  *  *

[[ The Old Main ]]

     There are two things that I think are truly lacking from the Albuquerque scene:  Bars that support actual bands (not DJs and shitty Hip-Hop crap) and the much needed Jazz performers.

     The Old Main is a step closer to solving this problem.  They are rockabilly.  They are jazz.  They are somewhere in between while still being true to a somewhat hardcore root.  They are fantastic.  Strangely, on MySpace, they describe themselves as Rock/Alternative/Americana.  I disagree so intently with that except for, perhaps, Americana in a way...but, hey, it's not my band I guess.

     Before I get too far, let me explain right now that what this band does so well is to make you move around.  Hell, they accomplish this even if you don't want to.  This is a big thing to me since I go to every show thinking about how I am going to review them, not how I am going to jump around.  Yeah, I know, that sounds really lame but I am entirely serious about my writings and therefore am generally a little focused and boring at most shows.

     The members of this band have so many things going for them that I find it difficult to formulate them in any order, so let's have a little bulleted fun and make a quirky little list to follow along with:

     * They play impeccably while remaining animated and intense all the way through their lengthy set.  I would love to give individual props to either Rod, Zoltan or Mojo, but I can't.  They are equally fanatic and just absolutely bleed energy on stage.

     * Their entire set is well written, played and thought out.  If you don't believe me than go ahead and head to their myspace and you can hear a great deal of their set.  This music is awesome and has been sorely missed in this scene.

     * They love their crowd.  I was a little worried at times that they would jump down and make out with one of us.  Really...they were in constant eye contact and making every effort to involve us in the experience.  I'm pretty sure that is what music shows are supposed to accomplish, but unfortunately it's rare these days to have a band actually do so.

     * Um...Zoltan is straight up fucking crazy.  Yes, this is a good thing.  Just go to their show.  You'll understand.

     I don't have a whole lot more to say.  I could easily write two to three more paragraphs gushing all over these guys, but I see no reason.  They are good.  They are worth your time and if there is ever a door charge, than they are worth your money.  Visit their site, go to their shows and buy their shit if you have any spare cash.  They deserve your support.

<< theoldmain.com // myspace.com/theoldmain >>

*   *   *

     So there you go true believers, another Butcher music review in the books.  I hope it leads you all out to the bars to support some of these folks.  I look forward to the comments, hate mail, death threats, etc...

     Until next time,

-The Butcher.

[[ Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ]]

     And now for everyone's favorite thing to complain about...

     A brand new music review from The Butcher!  Yay!  Let us take a moment to pre-write a bunch of complaining nonsense.  Yes, bands of whom I am not writing about, I am speaking to you.  For the rest of you:

     Sit back and enjoy.  Or stop reading my blog.  Either way, let me explain to you, in the most sincere way possible, that I truly, truly do not care what you think.

     I thought long and hard about the way that I would write this review.  And believe me when I say, that what I really mean  is that I drank an unbelievable amount of beer and thought long and hard about how I should sober up and actually write the review I promised.  You see, two weeks ago I was approached by my good friend Dave about me attending his band's (Sycorax's) first show and reviewing their band.  I was excited, as usual, because the only thing I like more than drinking beer and listening to live, local music is writing about said music.  I also genuinely enjoy receiving the ridiculous flack that I receive due to the reviews that I post.  So I jumped into Dave's car on friday expecting a fun night of drunken, punk music driven debauchery and I was most definitely not disappointed.  After watching this heavy and hard driven line up, I decided the easiest way to review all four bands that night was to write an all encompassing review and simply seperate each performance with an ellipsis, making it very easy for the reader to differentiate between each band...you know, without all the thinking and stuff.

     So let us begin with that lame writing staple that I will be using throughout.  Ellipsis, that is your cue.

*  *  *

[[ Sycorax ]]

     I will not bother explaining the overly scientific definition of what a syncorax actually is.  I prefer that my readers have to Google it, just as I had to.  Needless to say, it is very obscure and absolutely reaks of the strangeness that I have come to know through my friendships with the members of this band.

     I already knew several things about this band, prior to their opening show, that made me jump to several conclusions before going to see them.  I feel a need to list these things now:

     * They have, as far as I know, only been a band for about 3 months.

     * They have, as far as I know, only had a drummer for about 3 weeks.

     * They have, as far as I know, some of the strangest minds of this century.

     Those very unconfirmed facts should already impress you.  These guys approached their musical creation with only one goal:  Make music A.S.A.P. and then go blow people's brains into the wall with a fast and furious set, just so that people will know that we are on the scene.

     This may sound sophomoric and perhaps a little ridiculous but believe me when I say:  it worked.

     Sycorax did far more than I expected, and this is coming from the friend that was invited to review them.  I truly expected a phenomenal meltdown on stage.  Perhaps something that conjured images of a garage band practicing on a high school budget.  Well, that's not what happened.

     The songs are very well thought out and executed.  Keep in mind that the longest song in their set, I believe, clocks in at around one minute and fifteen seconds.  I spoke to them afterwards and have learned that this is definitely something that will change and they wanted me, and everyone else, to realize that this is the roughest of rough drafts.  This is their test show, so to speak.

     The vocals were outstanding, and I am not just blowing smoke up their pretty little skirts.  What I saw was two people, whom I already know to be very talented musicians, executing meter and measure as well as any other band in this scene.  They were always on cue.  The drums, considering Gary has only been with them for about 3 weeks, only suffered during the first song (however, in all fairness, they all struggled through the first song -- chalk it up to first show jitters).  After that song, the drums were just as in sync as the guitars and vocals and I was truly entertained.

     Bottom line?  I was entertained, and that to me is the entire purpose of striking out onto the live music circuit.  I seriously want you all to remember the name of 'Sycorax' and see where they are 9-10 months from now.

     I guarantee they will not fail to impress.

*  *  *

[[ The Unemploid ]]

     This review is, by far, the hardest one for me to write.  I am STILL not entirely sure what to think about this band.  Yes, they are talented.  Yes, they are tight as fuck.  Yes, they have very well written and performed songs.

     What was so strange to me is the way their set didn't seem to mesh together.

     Throughout my schooling and my study of writing I have been taught to sandwich anything bad in between two examples of the good.  So here is my strongest effort:

     The Unemploid are very well rehearsed and executed.  The lead singer commands attention while the remainder of the band never truly disappoints in the same field.  The rhythms, lyrics and pacing of each song were catchy and made me want to keep listening.  I most definitely would go to see any show these guys put on.

     The problem?  Well, the set was incredibly strange.  The first three songs seemed very pop punk and unusual.  They conjured images of a punk band trying to implement other genres into an already perfect sound.  I am sorry to say that I was too lazy to  meet with the bands afterwards and get set lists, but I will just call "The Second Song I Heard" a little too poppy.  I actually believed I heard a bit of post-modern-swing/SKA genre in it, i.e. Mighty Mighty Bosstones. 

     That's enough of the negative, because after those first three songs, The Unemploid blew my brains out.  It was crazy.  It seriously felt like they were messing with me the entire time.  The ridiculous energy and carnage that they placed on that stage afterwards was a glorious thing.  I was moving without knowing it.  I was impressed with every stroke of the guitar, every beat of the drum and every half scream-half sing that escaped from the lead singer.  Really.  This band kicked my ass all over the place while simultaneously making me do that stupid audience thing where I am singing words I don't even know -- because I've never heard the song -- but the shit is just too catchy to not sing along -- because...

     Well, fuck...you know what I mean.  You all have done it too.

     Bottom line?  The guys are excellent and deserve a top spot in the scene.  I just wish I knew what the fuck was going on in those first ten minutes.

*  *  *

[[ Adam don't Care ]]

     This is perhaps the easiest review I have ever had to write.

     Adam don't Care is exactly what I expected them to be.

     I had only heard their stuff briefly, through others, and wasn't entirely familiar with their music before the show.  However, I knew that they were a very well established band.  I also knew that they were very proficient at touring and were generally well accepted in every city they visited.

     What did they do?  Well, they came on stage and pounded shit out with incredible execution that rings true of most bands with million dollar sound crews and record executives behind them.  Seriously.  Crisp and clean as fuck.  They have also obviously been working on their set for some time and ironing out any wrinkles because there was no song in their set that I thought, "Huh...that could be cleaned up a bit..."

     I absolutely have to throw this side note into this review:

     AdC is compromised of, quite possibly, the nicest fucking people I have ever met in my entire existence on this god forsaken planet.  These guys are genuinely nice and respectful to everyone.  No bullshit.  No glamour.  No ridiculous ego riding bullshit.  They were talking and hanging with everyone and going out of their way to make the people around them feel comfortable.  I know you all would just love to believe that they were riding my proverbial cock because they knew I would be writing about them, but I only spent a short period of time speaking with any of them.  What I am talking about is how they reacted and treated everyone else.  If anyone left that show not knowing who AdC was, it is probably because they were really, really drunk and don't remember the entire night.

     Back to the meat of the story...

     Well, shit.  I have no idea what else to say.  The guys stink horribly of professionalism and I am glad I got to see them play.  I look forward to their next show and am glad that they know the true meaning of being a local band:

     Be ready.  Be damn good at what you do.  Be as hard as you can.

     And most of all, be genuinely good guys who respect the scene you are in.

     The bottom line?  These guys know their place and they love every second of it.

*  *  *

[[ .45 Caliber Sluts ]]

     I am going to begin this review with the actual words that passed through my brain when I heard the first five minutes of this band's set:

     "What the fuck?!?",

     "Who the hell?!?", and...

     "How did I miss this before???".

     Let me preface this entire article by saying, plainly, that I was apparently not listening to these guys very well the last time that I heard them.  Well...actually, in all fairness, these are NOT the same guys that they were before.

     There is a rumor, and perhaps nothing more, going around that the .45 Caliber Sluts were not entirely satisfied with my last review because I wrote them off as a side note and, well, never even mentioned their names.  I still believe that there was nothing wrong with that.  When I think back to that show, I STILL can not even remember the Sluts making any impression on me.  Perhaps my fault.  Perhaps theirs.  It totally doesn't matter because...

     ...Where did your new bad-assery come from and how long have I been missing out?

     This, I know, will be the review that everyone thinks I am just sucking the balls of the band and writing nonsense based off the members that I know.  For those people, allow me to point out that I only know the drummer and before this show I had completely forgotten that he was even IN the band.  The other three I STILL don't know.  I never even spoke to them after the show.  Hell, they were the headliners and I was ready to leave and get drunk by that time.

     The .45 Caliber Sluts are an absolutely, ridiculously, unbelievably impressive mesh of dark rock and thrash punk.  They are fast and furious while still being well thought out and beautifully orchestrated at the same time.  Their so called "Warm Up Song" that they played first actually outshined the entire rest of the set.  The decision to have them headline was a last minute one and confused some people, but to me it was the best decision of the night.

     It has been six days since I have been to this show and I am still not entirely sure I can come up with something that the Sluts did wrong.  I am not joking.  Execution?  Meter?  Measure?  Stage Presence?  Drive?  All outstanding.  Plus, I don't think I have every laughed harder than when they played a hilarious cover of The Rum Fits' "Free Drinks".  Just for the record, they decided to rename it "Fat Chicks" and to be very crude and inexcusably vulgar about it.  It was beautiful.  My kind of humor.

     I am not in the habit of kissing the ass of any band.  I never have been.  I have always been in the habit of saying primarily good things about any local band that has the balls to get out there and play, making our city a more interesting place with a better music scene.  But this band needs absolutely none of my flattery.  I write this because they impressed upon me in the way very few bands do and I am already re-writing my schedule to include some of their upcoming shows.  No shit.

     The bottom line?  The .45 Caliber Sluts are pumped and absolutely brimming with talent.  They aren't going anywhere and here is to hoping that you will be around to see them. 

*  *  *

     That's it folks.  No more ellipsis.  Hope you enjoyed and I, as always, hope that you will get your asses off the fucking couch to go see these and other bands that are constantly breaking their backs to support an already dying music scene.  Most of these shows are free or very, very cheap so you have no excuse.

     I love Albuquerque...I just can't fucking stand the scene.

     So let's fix it.

-The Butcher.

[[ Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ]]

And yet there is very little for me to behold, after all the pain and misunderstanding I have had to live through. 

Many places and persons throughout these hollowed grounds have experienced a place I shall never know.

And you can, and shall, continue to see and bestow a place that is varied and misunderstood.

Where do we draw the line?  And where do we stop the strife?

My God sees a land unlike yours.  He, and or she, sees a land that show you all of the wrongs.  I pray for your death.  I never see your side -- or life.

We murder on impulse.  You struck us for over 3,000, while we make our way to your inner grounds.  We mourn our dead while we murder your children.  Our bombs wreak of vengeance.  Our bullets scream with anguish.  I want to see you dead although I have never seen your eyes.  I hope they're black.

I hope you die.

Streaming crimson is the only color I see in the painting of my mind.

I was hurt.  I misunderstand you.  I don't care.

Do you even think of us when we die?  Do you expect us to care in turn?

Where does the line draw itself and we turn inside and see the line?

I will never understand you, as long as you understand yourselves only by murdering my brethren.  And you will never believe in yourselves as long as we survive on the same planet.

So fuck you.  I will not become you.  I will kill you if the chance arises, but you have brought that upon yourselves.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     I am 35% Native American.  This statistic not only means nothing but is completely over utilized and ridiculed for the same reason.  Native American is quite a ridiculous notion.  No one, not one person, is actually a Native American in the way that we choose to define it.  I know that I will be attacked for what I am saying but I seriously don't care.  Anyone willing to do their research of human evolution will realize that proclaiming native inhabitant of any land mass is completely subject to ridicule.

     Native Americans have got to stop proclaiming a human right towards the land that they proclaim.  So called Americans have also got to stop proclaiming a right to the land that they begot.  This land that you all so "proclaim" is nothing more than a mass of dirt that you stake your flags in.  You have no right, you have no purpose.  This is a broken portion of Earth that has no owner and you are ALL immigrants.  Don't any of you dare say that this land belongs to you.  It does not.  Native Americans immigrated into this land.  Spanish people immigrated into this land.  Europeans, although the last, had every right as well to immigrate into this land.

     Was it right, the way that the Europeans handled their immigration?  Probably not.  I don't care.  Can you all stop holding a grudge?  Apparently not.

     The borders that we have created, and worse, the reservations that we have created are human made lines of segregation.  We should have all just been Americans, but no one was happy with that.  The fact that we have whites, blacks, indians, asians (and whatever) fighting over a closed boundary land is completely idiotic.  We are arguing over how we can keep Mexicans out of our melting pot of stupidity while we should be arguing over why we think we are allowed to segregate ethnicities to begin with.

     To every stupid person out there that still sees colors when they see another person I offer you this challenge:

     Cure cancer, create world peace, see your brethren as who they are instead of what color they are and THEN find an absolute reason why we should shut down other cultures because of distant history.

     None of my generation created the problems you are so mad about.  Are you seriously so void inside that you have to find a reason to hate your neighbor?  If so...

     ...Go start your own country and see if there are no racial casualties.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     Millions upon millions of years ago two objects broke free of the asteroid belt of our solar system and collided.  This event is the only reason that you and every human being on the planet exist.

     Dinosaurs were the major players of our planet for over 168 million years.  They were evolutionary masterpieces and proved what pure and unadulterated power truly is.  Each and every species of dinosaur was custom made by evolution to take full advantage of their surroundings and their prey.  The brontosaurus was the giraffe of the age, growing unusually long necks in order to survive when there was limited foliage allowed for grazing.  The stegosaurus grew literal weapons on it's entire spinal column in order to protect itself while also being lucky enough to have a 500 pound spike bat for a tail.  The Tyrannosaurus Rex was the ultimate killing machine.  It's legs grew and shrank proportionately for what was required for killing it's prey.  It's head deformed to such a degree that the only purpose it served was to kill it's prey in one strike.  Keep in mind, all of these beasts had unbelievably small brains.

     What is my point?  Well that collision in the asteroid belt I spoke of earlier produced a fateful piece of shrapnel.  A piece of galactic rock larger than the state of Rhode Island.  That piece of death shot directly towards Earth and obliterated almost all life from our planet.  The only reason we exist is because of an absolutely incredible chain of events that wiped the dinosaurs out while still allowing enough life support for very small burrowing mammals.  The majority of these mammals were also wiped out, but as we know, you only need one male and one female to create an entirely massive population.  Yes, my friends, Adam and Eve were rodents.

     I have said this before, but I love saying it, so I will say it again:  Everyone that does not believe in evolution is a total and absolute moron...or they are brainwashed.  Either way, I don't care.  The only people that make me laugh more are the ones that believe that the Earth and dinosaur fossils are no more than 5,000 years old.  Good job guys.  Keep lowering the IQ bar for our future generations.

     We have proven evolution in so many ways that it can no longer even be argued against.  My favorite example is dogs.  Less than 500 years ago, there was one major breed of dog.  The breed?  Wolves.  We domesticated wolves and immediately started breeding different pairs of wolves from different sectors of the planet to make new and interesting breeds.  The breeding was slight for a while but within the past 150 years we have created a staggering amount of breeds of dog.  Dogs have far surpassed the evolutionary level of any other species alive.  Today there are over 800 breeds of dogs.  We have genetically mutated some breeds so far that they are hardly recognizable as dogs anymore.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, inter-breeding is evolution and on top of that, all of these species' main attributes sharpen and accelerate the more that they are purebred.  Another pure example of evolution in action.

     Cats are my second favorite example.  Nature did this one though.  Cats are so ridiculously adapted to their particular environment and prey that there is no way around it:  they have evolved to be perfect weapons.  If you were to create the perfect predator, you would end up with the cat.  It is well known that every different breed of large cat has different jaw structures.  Those structures are built to wrap around the esophagus of their chosen prey.  Their hunting habits are hard wired into their brain so well that parent cats do absolutely no training for their children.  Kittens of every breed instinctively know how to stalk and hunt, even if they are abandoned early by the parent cat.  The last example for cats is the fact that their bodies have actually evolved by themselves to grow camouflage meant to hide them for their respective environments.

     My third favorite example is us.  There were so many breeds that came before us that were almost us you can no longer say that we were a divine creation.  To say so is to be completely ignorant and ignore every single bit of evidence known to man.  It is finally the time, people, that we have to admit that, even though there may have been a larger god-like force that set the universe into motion, this force most definitely did not blink the Earth into existence and create the human race as we know it.

     We are just lucky.  We were all lucky enough to have had two galactic bodies smash into one another and destroy our predators in order to allow us to evolve.  If you still want to fight the god card and tell everyone around you that science is wrong, then you are probably also the ones that will be standing on top of skyscrapers awaiting the next asteroid to wipe you out...

     ...While the rest of us are surviving underground.

-The Butcher

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     So there is this guy, Ron Huckabee, who is a total douchebag.

     And he is running for President of the United States of America.

     Why is he a douchebag?  For the same reason that many, many Americans are douchebags.  He does not believe in the science of evolution.  What is his argument?  He claims that the evolution from monkeys to humans is completely impossible and ridiculous and he also finds it more likely that humans can de-evolve into monkeys.

     Ok, Huckabee, even though I'd rather just spend the next few moments chuckling at your name and hair, I suppose I can slap you around a bit too.  The science of evolution does not make a plain and basic statement like, "We are evolved monkeys."  No scientist has ever said that we share a direct lineage with monkeys.  As a matter of fact, the majority of them claim that we share more in common, genetically, with cats.  The basis of the science of evolution is that we are all built from the same genetic stepping stones and that there is absolutely no denying that we all started from the same "goo".

     I am also sure that you are one of those people that believes that the Earth is 5,000 years old and that the dinosaur fossils are even younger, or as some radicals believe, that they are fake.

     This man (?) is a GOVERNOR for god's sake (an Arkansas governor, however, which makes it a little easier to handle).  How can you proclaim to be an intelligent leader of this free world and then do absolutely no research into an absolute science?  I don't care about the millions of half-wits that choose to believe in myth over science...

     ...But I absolutely refuse to look up to one as my leader.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     An unbelievably awful musician sells 10,000 copies of his so called album in less than a month.  A 13 year old child gets four million views of his online video about him imitating a light saber flailing jedi.  News stations begin using blogs as sources for their "factual" stories.  The average MySpace user believes that they learn more from their "friends" than they do in school.

     Yes, the internet is a truly awful thing.  What can we possibly do to stop this rampant de-evolution of our children?  What could possibly stop this trainwreck that we call the information age?  Perhaps we could, I don't know, raise our children.

     There is a lot of talk lately about how the internet is going to lead to the mental degradation of our children.  There is even more talk proclaiming that the internet will break down the industries of news and education as we know it.  There are even groups that think online courses taught in college are detrimental and dangerous to our college students.  The majority of the people saying such things are incapable of speaking to their own children, or anyone else for that matter.  The remainder of those with such views are owners of television stations and people involved in newspaper circulatories.

     I was kind of a geek throughout my life, but I always knew that social interaction was more important than the silly nerd games that I was so interested in.  It can be argued that if I had been more involved in the geek side of things, I may have been the next Bill Gates.  What a horrible thing, huh?  I know SO many parents that would hate for their children to grow up to be the CEO of pretty-much-everything-on-the-planet.  But I am not arguing that point, what I am arguing for is a balance between the two.

     Any parent that believes that they should restrict their child's access to technology is doing far more harm than they can even imagine.  The reason the generation before me is losing it's grip on reality is because they never took the time to keep up to date with what my generation was accomplishing.  The irony is thick when you realize that members of their generation are the ones responsible for the explosion of technology to begin with.  I bet the brainless jocks of the '60s are a little upset that the puny nerd in math class is now more capable than they could ever dream of being in several lifetimes.

     The problem is nothing more than narrow-minded thinking.  If your child is overweight, lazy, stupid and sits on his MySpace 24/7 while completely ignoring the world around him/her, than it is YOUR responsibility as a parent to do something about it.  When I was growing up, I used to attend "over-nighters" at my local computer center doing pretty much nothing but being a geek.  I can't think of too many memories in my life that were as great as the time I spent there with my friends.  Yes, I said it - my friends.  You see, those events to me were a way to socialize and be geekified with 20-30 other individuals as geeky as me.  And in between those sessions we were completely normal.  We were outside ALL the time, we exercised ALL the time, we spoke to girls ALL the time.  My god, we even went on dates.  I know, weird, right?  Who would have ever thought that computer geeks could do such things?

     Well, unfortunately, nowadays most of them can't.  My group was different because we did this when the internet was a geek thing.  Perhaps 1% of the nation even knew or experienced it.  There were no pretty pictures or stupid friend finding sites.  Hell, there were no "sites" period.  We were the pioneers and we only thought it was cool because the rest of you did not exist yet.  The world wide web has become an excuse not to live, an excuse to ignore how much life sucks.  We never used the internet for those purposes.  We loved the internet because it was geeky...and, well, that is pretty much it.  We still loved girl chasing and parties WAY more.  We never lost focus on what or who we were.

     And as I pointed out before, if that is happening to your child, friend, spouse, or possibly even you than you need to take a step back and realize that it has nothing to do with the "evil internet".  This behavior is obviously already hard coded into the individual.  Someone needs to slap the shit out of said person and explain what the real world really is.  The entire world should embrace technology and the information age.  All of us should soak in the sunshine that is the "new age" of rapid expansion and technological advances.  Hell, we should even be striving to be a little geeky...

     ...We just need to be doing it in the real world, with our real life friends.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     Guys, are you tired of not knowing whether your girlfriend is a true football fan or if she is just watching to make you happy and/or to look cool?

     Well, here you go...have her take the following quiz:

-----------

1: Are you a Dallas Cowboys fan?

a) No, they are the worst thing to happen to football.

b) No, but they are a good team and I respect their achievements.

c) Yes, because I have been following them my entire life.  I will die with Dallas.

d) Yes, they are just the coolest. Romo is a sexy beast.

2: Your team has a 0-5 record, do you:

a) Give up entirely because this is obviously a rebuilding season.

b) Shrug it off and tell everyone how little it will take to stay in the playoff race.

c) Get pissed and demand a quarterback/running back/wide receiver change, etc…

d) What the hell does 0-5 mean?

3: The defense just lined up in a dime package, are they:

a) Playing it smart and zone covering a pass offense.

b) Showing a fake look in order to play a trick blitz.

c) Uncertain of the offensive run/pass play.

d) Dime package? Is that a drug reference?

4: Your team's divisional rival's season winning record is tied with your teams, do you:

a) Make voodoo dolls of your rivals and choke each one during their games.

b) Follow each and every one of their games religiously hoping they all get injured.

c) Piss and moan about the situation every day of your life.

d) Have someone explain what a divisional rival is and then say, "Why does that matter again?".

5: Your team enters overtime and loses the coin toss, do you:

a) Hope that the other team is dumb enough to choose to defend.

b) Blame the gods above for your immensely bad luck.

c) Proclaim loudly that the thrower is a professional coin tosser and fixed the whole thing.

d) Ask your boyfriend, "What the hell is going on? Isn't the game over?"

6: Your quarterback just threw an interception, in a tied game, during the two minute warning, you:

a) Threaten suicide.

b) Start spouting random reasons why your quarterback needs to retire.

c) Throw whatever is in your hand at the television, knowing very well that it accomplishes nothing.

d) Say, "Oh, that was bad, wasn't it? Was it? What just happened?"

7: You are attending a game viewing with a friend who loves your team's rival, when their team scores you:

a) Punch them in whatever body part is convenient.

b) Remind them about how much their team completely sucks.

c) Tell them to "Shut the f**k up…".

d) Continue your conversation about whose quarterback is sexier.

8: Your team just performed a trick-play during a punt and ran it for a first down, you:

a) Scream loudly, dance and spill the majority of your beer.

b) Sit back in awe with your jaw on the floor.

c) Say, "I totally knew that was coming. My team rules."

d) Say, "What? I thought they were supposed to kick that? This game makes no sense."

-----------

     If your girlfriend answers D to any of these questions than she is officially full of shit.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

[[ No, I did not rip this from some lame website, I created it - rip it off as you see fit ]]

     The biggest night in sports in 33 years.  The biggest achievement of any single person in the sports world since Hank Aaron.  How can you possibly want to tarnish that?  I hate baseball, people, but what was achieved tonight is far larger than your petty hatreds and conspiracy theories.

     At 9:57pm mountain time (my time), Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run of his career, effectively receiving the torch from the previous holder, Hammerin' Hank Aaron.  The moment was spectacular and well deserved.  I say only one thing is response to the people that hate on Bonds:

     Steroids are rampant in the MLB and I can't recall seeing the last guy that was challenging the home run record, much less breaking it.

     I have done more research on Bonds in the last week alone than I have ever done on any baseball player ever, and what I realized was this:  Bonds has been an absolutely incredible player.  He is not only well deserving of a Hall of Fame induction, he is more than deserving of this record and the many more homerun milestones he will achieve in his career.

     I am looking forward to seeing where A-Rod stands in 6 years and I look forward to Bonds' heartfelt video captured  message to whoever breaks his record, whenever that may happen.  I enjoyed this night immensely and believe that the spirit of sports is alive and well more than ever.

     Whatever you believe, whatever you support, this night holds very special meaning.  Stop your hating and jealousy and just enjoy what has occurred.

     Bonds, you deserve this night.  Finally, after over 100 days of bullshit, you can have your moment in the sun.  Enjoy it.

     I know I have.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     So the jokes goes:

     Santa, the Easter Bunny and a Steroid Pumping Skater come to an intersection at the same time.  Who has the right of way?  No one.  Because none of them fucking exist.

     Jake Brown, an X-Games contender that JUST broke a record by completing a 720 in the suicide sport that he owns, also managed to fall an estimated 48 feet straight down onto hard plywood and suffered only minor injuries.  The man, in my opinion, is the Iron Man.  He is not human.  He is the pinnacle of what we watch sports for.  The fact that he is still alive is a true testament to the astonishing level of chance that every sport consists of.

      Tonight, against my better judgement, I watched the completely worthless baseball game between the Giants and the Athletics because I thought I might witness history.  What did I witness?  Pure, unadulterated boredom.  This game sucked more than anything I have seen in some time.  Probably because it was baseball.  And baseball sucks.

     On my favorite sports show of all time, Rome is Burning, I listened to him and his coherts bash the X-Games as nothing more than a stunt driven freak show.  They compared the athletes involved to nothing more than Evil Knievel jumping a bus for $500 a pop at carnivals.  This is probably the most insulting thing I have ever heard, not only as a casual skater but also as a sports fan.

     I look forward to the X-Games every year and I watch the competition religiously.  Why?  Because these people still embrace the true meaning of sport.  They strive for fun, entertainment, friendly competition and true athleticism.  When was the last time you heard about a skaterboarder or a BMX champ taking the needle?  Pumping the "clean"?  "Supplementing their workouts with flax seed oil"?  Never.  When was the last time the X-Games were rocked with controversial subjects such as one of them pulling a gun on a stripper or using their mansion to kill puppies?  Never.

     Calling these amazing athletes "stuntmen" instead of athletic freaks is not only insulting, it only shows how unbelievably ignorant you can be.  The unbelievable effort that it takes to even learn how to skateboard is unfathomable to most people, much less mastering it, which requires decades of dedication in order to even attempt.  The risk of injury in the X-Games is far greater than that, even, in the NFL.  No one in today's sport can even suggest that they run the risk of free falling 48 feet from the air and desperately trying to survive it.

     Rome, you're my boy and I love your show, but the next time some jack ass on your show decides to call out the X-Games contenders as non-athletes (while you're busy reporting on golfers as true sport contenders) why don't you go ahead and make them perform a 180 varial heelflip nosegrind into switch stance...

     ...and then drop them off of a three story building.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     Bush approvers and people with enough food on their plates love to point the finger to one ridiculous statistic:  The economy is steadily growing.  Why would I even have the balls to challenge such a thing?  Because they use cherry picked statistics to make a horrible situation into a good one.

     While the current administration supporters love to throw around the fact that our current employment rate is rapidly cycling upwards, they completely fail to point out the very significant fact that the majority of those new jobs pay a far lower yearly rate than what is currently considered "poverty pay".  For a family of two adults and two children, the poverty level is set at $46,000.  The average "new made job" for Americans, in that category, pays an average of $28,000-$32,000 a year.  Now, before you start your argument about how that is not that big of deal, please go back to fifth grade and study the law of averages.  The law of averages will show you that because the average pay, in this case, is $30,000, that means that around 40-50% of these people are making a great deal less than $28,000 a year.

     Americans love to ignore the reality and love to take hold of the convenience of math ignorance.  That figure shows that a great deal of these people are making around $18,000-$20,000 a year.  A BARELY liveable income for one person, much less four.  The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.  Why?  Because we don't even remotely care.  Most Americans, these days, that want to hold a mortgage and car payment while maintaining a respectful lifestyle can expect to need to make atleast $58,000 a year.  Can you do that?  If you can't, than you are not worth the air that you breathe.  Or so our government says.

     Republican, Democratic, I don't seriously give a shit.  All I know is that we have not had a president or an administration in quite a while that actually cares about us, the American people.  Caring and supporting the rich (hello, George W.) does not make you a leader of "the people".  That makes you a selfish, incorporated, worthless prick-shit of the "better half".  I cannot help but to go back to what I have been saying for the past 15 years:

     What happened to the protesters?  What happened to the true patriots?  Guess what people?  Every generation since the '60s has been entirely worthless towards growth in this country.

     You rich people can suck on our countries proverbial balls.  You will fall sooner or later because people like me will make sure of it.

     You poor people need to take to the streets.  Nothing ever gets resolved unless you initiate.  Do you want to live in the crap life that you live through every day, or would you rather rise against and make sure the administration hears your collective voices?  Turn off your MTV, ABC, NBC, Who-gives-a-shit-BC and do something.  Fight the ridiculous notion that you are intended to be shut down and maybe a change will occur.

     This country has gone from radicalists to pacifist victims so quickly that I can't even comprehend what has happened to us.

     What is it going to take for the majority of us to march on Washington?

     Perhaps you need them to start segregating poor and rich people....

     ....Would that ring a bell?

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

     One of the great sports (and human-driven philosophical) questions of our time is this:

     Why, after a phenomenal trick of physical aptitude, do athletes point towards the theoretical heavens and say, "Thank You!" while the opposite is never true?  Have any of you ever seen an athlete, after a phenomenal trick of ineptitude, point towards the theoretical hells and say, "F*** You!".

     I highly doubt you have.  And if you claim that you have, I am sure that you you can show me an athlete that has never played the game again since.  The point that this enables is a rather deeply striking one.  Everyday occurrences, that are quite ordinary when looked at in a broader picture, are constantly claimed to be miraculous or an act of god.  Everyday evil occurrences are never villified...until they reach a far broader audience.

     When 9/11 occurred, it was quite consistently proclaimed that 'God had turned his gaze' or that 'Satan had risen again'.  When almost 3,000 people die, it's relatively easy to put an all-encompassing veil over the entire thing.  Similiar ignorant statements were offered over the acts of Columbine and Virginia Tech.  Keep in mind that the majority of the people saying this rarely ever see such acts.  In all honesty, most of them speaking such unhuman blasphemies are Americans that have lived blessed lives known by very few.

     I read, every day, about hundreds of people dying in third world countries due to these 'acts of Satan'.  I read these and I get angry.  Not at the suicide bombers.  Not at the insurgency.  Seriously folks, do I still have to find a reason to be angry at those factions anymore?  That anger is always there.  Who I get the most angry with are the people that, on an every day basis, ignore what is going on in the world as long as it does not affect them.

     The birth of our universe is a mind blowing event.  It is something that we should be deeply involved in, but we are not.  We are not involved in it whatsoever because the mass majority would rather tie everything up in a pretty little ribbon.  God, Satan and the everlasting war of good versus evil.  Not the complexity of a violent universe still plagueing us with uncertainties and random acts of craziness.

     A very large majority of this planet would never even think to blame 9/11, Columbine or Virginia Tech on people.  Yes, people.  These consist of the same type of persons that believe sporting events and winning the lottery is entirely based on an act of God.  Take into account that for every person that wins a Super Bowl or wins the Powerball, there are 31 teams that don't and over 100 million people that waste their money, respectively.  In your eyes, does this mean God is losing?  I don't believe in any of this nonsense and never will, so I am merely proffering the question, ultimately expecting an intelligent response.  Which I know I will not get.

     I have heard so many accounts of people reporting "miracles" within these national tragedies that we have endured.  People that lived through 9/11 even though they were covered with 5,000 tons of concrete and rubble.  These are seen as miracles.  To me, saying that should be seen as a truly heartless and mean spirited thing to say.  Almost 3,000 people died that day...innocents.  Calling a few dozen rescues a "miracle" is equal to saying that those people were not nearly worth as much of God's time.  Nobody, even once, proffered the very level headed notion that physics and chance ultimately saved these peoples' lives.  There are accounts of people falling from airplanes without functional parachutes and bouncing over 3 times on the ground before...standing up.  No death but also no miracles.  Just incredible luck and chance.

     It is even more infuriating when people claim that their survival in massacres such as Columbine or Virginia Tech were "miracles".  They are implying that the insane rampage of 1 or 2 kids because of mental illness had some sort of divine purpose.  A person willing to kill is inheritently evil, yes, but not because of some divine power.  They have mental issues and their paths are as random as can even be conceived.

     On an even deeper level, people that believe in a "divine hand" in worldly events, must therefore believe that the mass and minor extinctions that have plagued our world and galaxy for hundreds of millions of years, are obviously because God (and/or Satan) did not want them to prosper in any way, shape or form.  What this is called, boys and girls, is human egotism.  To believe that we are adept and above the forces of nature and the very substance that created us is ridiculous and narrow minded.  The prospect that we control our fates is inconceivable.  Either way you look at it.  If you believe in a "hand of god", you therefore relinquish entire control of your own life.  You will die, regardless of your efforts in this plane of existence.  If you believe in fate, same thing.  If you believe in controlled chaos, as I do, well...sorry to say:  same thing.

     Perhaps we, as intelligent beings, should focus more on pride in our own accomplishments.  When I achieve something spectacular, I say to myself, "Good job...that was excellent work."  I can't even recall saying, "Oh, that had nothing to do with me, that was the big man in the sky."  Such a statement would reek of The Invisible Spaghetti Monster syndrome.  If you don't understand that, Google it.

     I believe...no I know that until we begin to take pride in our own accomplishments instead of pointing towards "the heavens" we will never achieve our true potential.  As I have pointed out several times in my blog, I am a deist.  I do truly believe that there is a force higher than us.

     But I am pretty sure it's not officiating Colts games.

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))

(( Open your mind instead of shutting others down.  The only people I know who are even trying to do that anymore:  www.nasa.gov ))

     A friend of mine recently posted a rather thought provoking bulletin about the ridiculous way that our nation handles the "drug epidemic".  I have not been able to remove that post from my mind and believe that a discussion should be raised about it, thus:

-----------------------------

     We truly are a prozac nation.  We love to think that only government controlled substances are the only thing that makes our habits right.  We have done with drugs what we have done with almost everything else - we have proclaimed loudly and with an iron fist that the only good drugs are the ones we allow, and in most cases, create.

     I am an absolute advocate for the legalization of marijuana, and no, I absolutely do not smoke it, ingest it or receive it's effects in any way.  I think potheads are about as desirable in our community as hippies.  And god do I hate hippies.  That, however, does not allow me to do anything in the way of removing their freedoms from them.  Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol in every way.  If you do not believe that or if you think you have proof against that fact than you probably need to shut up because you are wrong.

     The recent explosion of fatalities attributed to alcohol intoxicated drivers slamming into their unsuspecting victims is phenomenal and scary.  Alcohol is literally a poison to the human body.  According to the way our body handles it, alcohol is not even supposed to be imbibed.  The feeling of inebriation you experience through drinking is your body reacting to a low grade poison being introduced to your system and also the experience of your body being slowed and retarded by the introduction itself.  Alcohol is not good.

     Oh by the way, I drink.  I love beer.  I love the taste of it and I think the effects are pretty cool, but that does not allow me to give it a clean bill of health as a substance.  The reason alcohol is prevalent in our society is because people were willing to fight and die for it's legalization.  On a national timeline, prohibition was almost non-existant.  A short lived "fad" if you will.  We shut that nonsense down faster than you can say, "Bartender, may I have another...".

     The other reason marijuana will never succeed the way alcohol did is because we villianized it to no degree.  Alcohol never had an ad campaign directed against it.  The main reasons marijuana was made illegal are:  racism, public fear, corporate profits and senators striving for career advancements.  This is not conspiracy theory.  This is a largely known aspect of our national growth.  The History Channel reports these facts for god's sake. 

     This article is not about the legalization of marijuana.  This article is about how ridiculously Americans handle drugs of any sort, while still happily ingesting every chemical supplement your doctor can throw at you for your "depression", "anxiety" or ... well, idiocy, as I see it.

     The American people are never happy and when they are, whatever is making them that way shortly becomes illegal.  Cocaine used to be the most prevalent drug in our free market.  It was used in everything from cough syrup to vitamin supplements.  Cocaine was great!...or so we thought.  Americans took this crap in every way possible - ate it, snorted it, injected it (the most popular, by the way) and even smeared it on themselves in a cream form.  Cocaine was the balls.  Until, one fateful day, that it started to (*ominous music time*) make black people crazy!!!  Oh my god, what was the average white middle class American to do when they realized that cocaine was actually creating a society of brain hungry, rapist, crazed black people?!  Well, we should listen to our congressman (it was a long time ago, politically correct didn't exist ladies) about the dangers and immediately banish it from society, of course.  Yay, cocaine is illegal now.

     By the way, cocaine is undeniably difficult to mass produce.  The chemistry involved is unfathomable to the average person.  The illegalization of cocaine and the surge of drug fears created by the Reagans made the market very difficult to maintain.  Because of this crunch on the market, crystal meth was mass produced in order to offset the losses.  Basically, we as a people, under our governments fear mongering ways, created the record breaking surge of crystal meth production.  Crystal meth is complete shit.  It is by far the absolute worst thing to hit the streets in some time.  Well, besides one substance...

     Cheese.  Yah, seriously, you heard me right...Cheese.  Cheese is the new thing, a mixture of Tylenol PM (I am not joking) and low grade heroin.  We have also created this market in our own way -- by crushing the market of heroin.  Heroin was also widely utilized and actually accepted for some time before we realized it was making people pretty much useless.  In all fairness, the government didn't need to create a whole lot of fear mongering on this one.  Heroin is just plain stupid.  But now the heroin manufacturers have realized that Cheese is a great way to keep the flow going.  The stuff is the deadliest illegal substance known to man right now.  The death rate is astonishing and the reasons should be fairly obvious:  sleep medication mixed with heroin...what could go wrong?

     The point?  We've created these markets.  Again, this is not some sort of conspiracy theory.  That is exactly what prohibition did with alcohol.  We stomped it down and it grew into a beast that we could no longer control.  We tried to remove alcohol from our society and the production actually surged.  It stopped being corporately controlled and became a free for all to see who could take the market back over.  It embolstered the mafia to such a degree that they grew exponentially and came to control around 30% of the countries market and government.  Again, not conspiracy theory -- just pure fact.  We all know this, we just do not like to think of the way it really occurred.  We like to think that everything we have done as a nation has in fact helped our society.

     In the meantime, we are a nation of drug users.  We love drugs.  Your average 30 year old black, white, asian, pink, purple, flamingo, what-the-hell-ever American is a drug user.  The only difference between them and the "evil ones" is they take theirs in pill form.  The myriad of prescribed drugs that we take do mind blowing things to us.  Everyone in America is now depressed, anxious, bi-polar, suicidal or just stressed out...

     No shit?

     When did that become abnormal?  News flash folks:  when you stop being a kid, life starts to suck a little bit.  Responsibility kicks in, bills have to be paid and you just basically have to accept the fact that it's time to grow up.  Apparently we don't want that.  What we want is a cabinet full of pills that make the entire experience easier.  We are the new generation of mind-altered weirdos.  Our parents did copious amounts of narcotics in order to cope...and so do we.  Taking brain ripping pills to deal with your life is not any more excusable just because you have a prescription.

     We are hypocrites.  I enjoy taking "shots" of a green tea mixture sold at my local health store because it wires me for sound.  This stuff is like liquid crack.  Coffee is old and busted, green tea shots are the new "dope".  I can seriously take 1 1/2 ounces of this substance and be geeked for over 8 hours (side note: geeked means hyperactive).  Will this substance be up for illegalization next?  No?  I understand that green tea is healthy and cocaine is not, but when were we allowed to tell people that they are not allowed to be unhealthy?  If that were the case, McDonalds would be the new controlled substance.

     I have known many functioning drug addicts in my life.  I don't condone their activity but I absolutely have no right to confront them on it until it begins to affect their lives.  I do not believe that those people deserve to serve 3 years in prison because a police officer found out that they were doing drugs.  The argument that we have to stop these people *before* they do something bad is completely asinine.  It conjures visions of us wanting to be able to detect "pre-crimes".  It conjures visions of fascism.

     The bottom line is that our "war on drugs" has created a market that is so large and uncontrollable now that there is no hope to curb it.   Which is funny, because we are just barely getting started on proving that we can do the same thing with terrorism...

-The Butcher.

(( Michael L. Nielsen -- blog.myspace.com/miketheunited ))