In the latter days of the Roman Empire standards of the people and the government could be seen to be changing. Rome was broken into two primary classes of people, the have’s and the have not’s. Those who had wealth and position acted as if the whole world existed for their entertainment and enjoyment, while those who did not have wealth struggled daily to serve those who had it or connived and schemed for ways to get money. Slavery had been set aside not so much because it was morally reprehensible, but more because it was just too expensive and was a drain to the coffers of the rich.

There was a fighting class of Gladiators who fought in the right but contrary to popular convention it was not usually to the death. That would deplete a group of individuals who required a great deal of training and represented tremendous investments by their owners and handlers. But it was clear evidence of the public’s need and lust for bloody entertainment. In the end the best of these Gladiators could earn their freedom through their performance and wealthy women enjoyed being bred to these warrior studs either for begetting of children or just for the glory of having ridden a wild horse and survived.

Morality and disease were rife as women would lay with virtually any man for almost any reason. Entertainments like prostitution and market shows degraded women but let them feel the power of having emotional and sexual mastery over the men who were watching. Men and women engaged in public parties in which the participants got drunk or high on drugs and engaged in public sex with multiple partners, sometimes at the same time. At the end of the day there really was no morality to speak of and people did whatever they pleased. Government made no conscientious effort to change these behaviors as most of the Equestrian class was deeply engaged in behavior that was in many ways more debauched and more depraved.

Politically public office was no longer a function of public service, but more about money and power. Politicians mismanaged the country and their financial and public policies doing more damage than good. Offices in effect were bought by the candidates and the public showed an absolute absence of the ability to hold their representatives in local and state government. Essentially they habitually lied to the people and did more to assure their own comfort and entertainment while passing laws that did little more than cripple the countries people and industry. Taxes were high and for the most part confiscatory and people paid more for the depravities of those in government receiving little or nothing that made their lives better. Nero and Calligula would certainly be proud.

Today we have all of these things including public broadcasts of what is as close to Gladiators battling on Spike television. One can only wonder how long before one of these animals kills his competition, and then how long before the people watching demand to see it again? These started as staged matches in wrestling with people who definitely needed profound levels of therapy, but who still managed on occasion to retain their humanity. Now you watch the promos and you see one fighter just cold cocking another for no apparent reason. They serve no purpose in society other than the beat the absolute crap out of each other to entertain the spectators. The operative question has to be, which is more profoundly sick in the head? The ones who pound each other int dog food or the ones who enjoy watching it happen?

As to the decadence and moral condition of the country one can only decide within ones self whether to participate in the decent into madness or keep your peace ad stay above the fray. Sex has become the tool by which women with little value in their lives subdue men who are slaves to their own penis. Looking at women today one has little to look forward to in the way of well mannered, wholesome, and responsible when it comes to finding a partner, but is rather forced to accept that she’ll likely have been around the park like a horse and carriage with enough different riders to keep her partying active when she’s not on her back. There are exceptions, but they are rare and they are far between. And lest one consider that men have any upward edge on this description of the fairer sex, they also lack morals, restraint, and the good judgment to appreciate the difference between to worthwhile women and the useless ones. It is not gender exclusive and it is as common as air.

George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and clearly the people of the United States have shown that they are not only unable to learn these lessons, but that they are bound and determined to do all they can to ignore them in pursuit of their self absorption. What is described above may indeed be a description of the Roman Empire as it careened toward its own destruction, but also a clear representation of actual events and practices that are at work today. One can select each and every point of what brought their society to its knees and what happened on the way to final destruction, and find a parallel in todays political, financial, social, and moral behaviors. It becomes an inescapable destiny when people place their own self indulgence ad self interest before that of the society as a whole. It doesn’t even matter what faith you have or lack, because it is an imperative of societal survival to make sure that what destroys others be avoided at all costs. In the end it seeks that people find that there are indeed things more important than themselves.

When I see the stories about Governor Blagojevich, I can’t help but wonder what has he done that isn’t said or done by politicians every day?

Why isn’t the election of Barack Obama a factor of buying the office by raising three times the amount of money any previous candidate has made and eclipsed any information about the competition by eclipsing the media coverage?

What is it that distinguishes what happened with Rep. Charlie Wrangle that he can own properties and hide income without paying taxes, and then get away with it by simply saying he forgot?

How is it that an Edward Kennedy can kill his date and get away with it without even so much as a trial?

How is it that Caroline Kennedy can be considered as the Senator replacement from New York as a function of her Camelot associations without any reckoning regarding qualification?

Has political correctness, outcome based education, and the accompanying social engineering programs made society better or more happy? It would seem to many that these kinds of programs have done more to destroy the social fabric.

How is it that the Senator and Congressman who primarily caused and protected Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up until they collapsed should have profited most by their corruption and walked away without any responsibility or culpability?

Who was actually responsible for the present financial crisis that has touched the U.S. as well as the world?

Who has increased the national debt from 2 trillion dollars in mid 2008 to over 7 trillion dollars in the beginning of 2009?

After trillions and trillions of dollars in expenditures, what has actually been improved that couldn’t have been more efficiently improved through market based actions taken much earlier in the crisis?

And if you are willing to look at government on a daily basis, the abuses are committed every day by the political elite. There’s no need worrying about global warming or the financial crisis, but rather worry about the decline and destruction of the American nation because the people have descended into the self same behaviors and mentality that was a major part of Rome’s destruction. If there was ever a people that was just too stupid to smell the roses and realize what they are doing to their own country, this is it and the time is short. By Rome’s time table we are in the same century of demise and destruction.< ><-->

Today, Microsoft released two security bulletins describing vulnerabilities that affect Windows and components that ship with it.

With just months to go before the first pitch financial issues at the Winston-Salem Ballpark Project have led to the owner, Billy Prim, to ask for $16 Million to cover shortfalls due to a 65 percent increase in the stadium cost. The project original set at $22.6 million is now projected at $38 million with partner Andrew Filipowski, divesting himself out of the project.

Earlier in the week, Facebook users began reporting receiving spam messages such as “You look just awesome in this new movie” or “You look so amazing funny on our new video” that tried to dupe them into clicking on a link.

Outlook 2007 Demo: Customize your calendar

Did you know that the views in your Outlook 2007 calendar are fully customizable? For example, you can view your days and weeks in increments of 5 minutes, 60 minutes, and a variety of periods in between. You can adjust the view of your calendar according to your work week and work day; for instance, you can display Sunday through Thursday and show a normal day as being 11 in the morning to 7 PM.

Outlook 2007 Demo: Customize your calendar

As an example of misuse by a program member and what would be a unlicensed use by the end user I happened across this post on CraigsList.com where a MSDN member is selling copies of his program software.

Reporting
Mike Flannery CHICAGO (CBS) ― President-elect Barack Obama and his inner circle fear that some voters expect him to turn around the economy, wind down the war in Iraq and, perhaps, cure cancer — all by the Fourth of July.

They know they must manage and lower those expectations, CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports.

A top economic advisor to Obama had a glum warning for the rest of us Thursday morning: Neither the job market nor the stock market will be turning around any time soon.

“This might be a long haul,” said Robert Reich, who was President Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor. “2009 is going to be a very hard year. Some economists say we won’t be out of this for two years, others are saying it may be three, or four, maybe five years.”

Now on Obama’s transition team, Reich worries about what happens after the new president is sworn in Jan. 20.

“We all have to be very careful about the expectations that we are putting on this man, our president-elect,” Reich said. “If we all assume it’s going to be the first 100 days, we’re going to be disappointed.”

The man who was Obama’s chief campaign strategist is moving to lower expectations, too.

“We are inheriting an array problems unlike any president has faced, maybe since Franklin Roosevelt in 1932,” David Axelrod said. “It’s not going to be easy, not going to be quick.”

Rick Jasculca worked for President Jimmy Carter, President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton. He said Obama will need every bit of his skill as a communicator.

“If people see you reaching across the aisle and they see you making progress – going forward rather than going backward – I think people will give  you the benefit of the doubt,” Jasculca said.

Added Axelrod: “One of his great strengths is he is never too high, he’s never too low — he’s very focused.”

That’s why some called  him “No-Drama Obama.” That has changed a bit, since the president-elect and his Chicago-based team of political operatives have begun to bring on board veteran Washington politicos.

Now there are stories quoting unnamed sources who claim, for example, that Obama’s team is frustrated with Hillary Clinton’s delay in taking the job of secretary of state. They’re not happy with those stories.

“This is a great example of when there’s a vacuum, the vacuum gets filled with a lot of speculation and hyperbole,” Axelrod said. “No one is frustrated. No one is anguished. She’s obviously a talented public servant and someone who’d enhance any team.”

Transition aides said late Thursday that Obama plans to nominate Clinton for secretary of state formally after Thanksgiving.

EXCLUSIVE:

President-elect Barack Obama will not move for months, and perhaps not until 2010, to ask Congress to end the military’s decades-old ban on open homosexuals in the ranks, two people who have advised the Obama transition team on this issue say.

Repealing the ban was an Obama campaign promise. However, Mr. Obama first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus and then present legislation to Congress, the advisers said.

“I think 2009 is about foundation building and reaching consensus,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The group supports military personnel targeted under the ban.

Mr. Sarvis told The Washington Times that he has held “informal discussions” with the Obama transition team on how the new president should proceed on the potentially explosive issue.

Lawrence Korb, an analyst at the Center for American Progress and an adviser to the Obama campaign, said the new administration should set up a Pentagon committee to make recommendations to Congress on a host of manpower issues, including the gay ban.

“If it’s part of a larger package, it has a better chance of getting passed,” he said.

The Obama transition team did not reply to a request for comment.

The incoming administration is well aware of how President Clinton botched the same issue 15 years ago. Shortly after taking office in 1993, the president ordered the Pentagon to rescind the regulation that excluded gays.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans, and some leading Democrats, including then-Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn of Georgia, objected. Retired military officers and a number of pro-military conservative activist groups joined the fight.

Mr. Clinton backed off. Congress ended up enacting the ban into law as part of U.S. Title 10 which regulates the military.

As a compromise, the White House and congressional leaders wrote a new policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Under it, gay service members must keep their sexuality private or face expulsion. About 12,500 people have been discharged under the policy.

Today, gay activists cite national polls that show public sentiment, unlike in 1993, support removing the ban.

Mr. Sarvis expressed optimism that Democratic gains in the past two elections make it “more likely” Congress will let gays serve openly.

“I think the congressional results are a factor in our optimism,” he said. He added that no vote count has been taken.

Delaying the congressional vote a year would give the White House time for consultation, but it would also let ban proponents organize and possibly sway public opinion, as they did in 1993.

Obama

“Homosexual activists are overconfident because they have not yet seen a counterforce emerge as occurred in 1993,” said Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Media Institute at the Media Research Center, an organization that seeks to balance perceived liberal bias in mainstream news coverage.

“But as the threat grows stronger, we will see groups forming and the resistance building,” he said. “Americans go about their business and are not activists until they have a Pearl Harbor moment. That has yet to happen, but it will.”

He added that most Americans “are unaware that gay activists have the military in their gun sights.”

Mr. Obama’s gay-ban pledge was not a major campaign issue. However, he provided a policy statement to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay rights group, pledging to repeal the exclusion and to invite back service members discharged under the law. He also said that he wants the Pentagon to school military people on how to treat gays.

“The eradication of this policy will require more than just eliminating one statute,” he told the group, in a statement posted on their Web site. “It will require the implementation of anti-harassment policies and protocols for dealing with abusive or discriminatory behavior as we transition our armed forces away from a policy of discrimination. The military must be our active partners in developing those policies and protocols.”

The law states that open homosexuality in the ranks would be detrimental to combat unit readiness.

“The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability,” the law says.

Ban proponents say removing the restriction would hurt recruiting by discouraging conservative, religiously oriented youths from signing up.

“It’s true that many in the military have looked the other way and served alongside people they know are into homosexuality,” Mr. Knight said. “But that is with the ban in place. Open acceptance would change the atmosphere entirely. If fraternization is a problem now between men and women, imagine the conflicts with openly gay officers who no longer have to be reticent.”

Mr. Sarvis said not to look for the debate to begin until late next year or 2010.

“What’s the reality for the new administration?” he said. “Financial crisis. Economic upheaval. Health care reform. Environmental challenges. Where does ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ fall in all this? I would say it is not in the top five priorities of national issues.”