1. Universal Health Care: Free Healthcare is a crock of shit, and here are some things that I learned about it from the Cato Institute.
I. There are 800,000 Canadians, 900,000 Britons, and millions of Europeans who
cannot obtain healthcare in countries with universal healthcare. This is due to rationing on a large scale and high costs.
II. Cancer patients in the United States are more likely to survive than cancer patients in Canada, Australia, or most of Europe.
III. People in the United States go without healthcare coverage for very short periods of time.
IV. Countries with more effective Universal Health Care are a result of incorporating market based ideas (such as competition). However, they result in big government deficits.
V. Countries with Universal Health Care are unable to get access to state of the are medical technology.

Michael D. Tanner's Study on this issue is Here, and I would recommend that you read this.

2. Guns: I believe that gun ownership should be legal because it's not only practical, it's also constitutional.
I. Parts of the United States that have the strictest gun control laws (Washington D. C.) have higher crime rates than those with Right-to-Carry laws (Lafayette, Louisiana). Other examples include Los Angeles, CA (strict gun control = high crime) & Asheville, North Carolina (Hardly any gun control = hardly any crime); as well as London, England (strict gun laws = High crime) & Finland (hardly any gun laws = hardly any crime).

The Cato Institute's Gun Control study is here

3. Drugs: I personnally think that doing drugs is inane and stupid; but making them illegal has caused far more problems that it has solved. What's worse is that prisons are being used to detain non-violent people while letting the truly rotten scoundrels out.
I. The ammount of people who smoke Marijuana in Alaska is far lower than that of the rest of US mainland.
II. The drug war has resulted in no-knock raids that have varying rates of mistaken identity.

The Cato Institute's Drug War study is here

Will be updated tomorrow...

Today's update isn't much for now, but:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/andrew-davis/h alloween-fright-barr-scares-mccain

Previous Datatrack

1. TXM: Does anybody remember Kevin Nuut's attempt at a NG competitor? It was all the rage back in 2002 to 2005, but now it just stagnated inspite of the redesigns and Kev-Nuu's ramblings. Plus, I'm willing to bet that Camp North will just end up like TXM (read as: Popular for a while only to lose relevence and stagnate).

2. Penn & Teller: I don't see why people would want to watch Lost or Dexter over their Bullshit show when BS is funny, informative, and has both sides of the topic. I agree with pretty much every episode and would like them to do episodes on the following:
Socialized Medicine
Louisiana (it's not the best state in the union, but it's my home.)
The Iraq War
Anti-Semitism
Animation
DDT (Fun fact: The ban on DDT was authorized by a Republican.)
Canada (They should have Jim Byrnes and Garry Chalk do this one.)

3. Oddworld: They haven't made a new one of these since Stranger (which I haven't played), and chances are they went under by now. I heard that Oddworld Inhabititants (the company behind the series) was making Squeek's Oddysee, but didn't hear anything else about it.

4. Normal Bob Smith: Sure the way the man dresses may be considered outlandish, and yes some of his stuff may be derisive towards religious people. However, I seldom hear anyone rebuke his arguments without trash talking the man's character, and he's one of the few satirists who is still enjoyable.

5. The Daily Show: This show I never really cared for. When you really think about it, it's just another take on the Tonight show, only not funny. While Jon Stewart is a great actor, he isn't that great of a comedian. Not to mention that there are better comedy shows out there.

6. X-rated cartoons: What's with the fuss over these? X-Rated cartoons have existed since 1929 when Max Fleischer created one for Little Nemo creator Windsor McCay as a birthday gift. Hell, Ralph Bakshi used to make them during the 1970s before he decided to make Wizards. Sure, the Japanese have a near-monopoly on them since either the late-80s or the early-90s, but at least those animes have actual stories when compared to most American adult fare.

7. Online Gaming: I usually steer clear of this outside of Space Invaders Extreme and that is due to previous experiences with Tachyon: The Fringe and Dungeon Siege. I prefer the split-screen action of older multi-player games over the online stuff anyday. Plus, the animosity that permiates the online gaming world is just pukeworthy.

8. Flash tutorials: There have been some well-made tutorials that have been made over the years, but I'd like to see some that cover anatomy, proportions, various poses, etc. I'd wish those who say they care about animation would stop bitching about videogame parodies, sprite movies, and whathaveyou and make a few fucking tutorials instead. Of course I'd make a few myself, but I'm not up to par when it comes to artistic skills.

Even though I think Political Satire is oversaturated, here's a little something I drew weeks ago.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showt hread.php?t=128326&page=5
(It's at the latest post)
Things you should know about this:
1. I "crapped" this out just for the hell of it.
2. The anatomy sucks when compared to the studies I have done.
3. I don't like the major candidates, and would like Bob Barr to win this one.

Datatrack Four is here

1. Obama and McCain Supporters: What is with these guys? It's funny how it's perfectly acceptable to diss on one of the candidates; but when someone from the opposing side disses the other, the previous guy gets offended. I do not like either one of them and the previous post explains it quite well.
Update: http://www.lp.org/blogs/andrew-davis/t he-republican-case-against-the-republi can-party
I say "Let them eat shit!"

2. Notorious: Is it just me, or is he just a whiny little bitch who is unable to make the front page and takes his frustration out on others? Judging from his cartoons, he's in no place to criticize the likes of Egoraptor. Why? Simply because his cartoons are boring and bring nothing truly new to the portal. Maybe if he stopped bitching about Alvin-Earthworm, Hentai Flash, etc.; and actually made something worth watching then maybe I wouldn't look at him with such disdain.

3. The Parody Rangers: I liked the first two Rangers toons, but the third was nowhere near as funny due to its unneeded fanboy references and internet gags. The Movie so far was a cheap laugh here-and-there, but it was pretty boring. It makes you wish that Kirbopher didn't cancel TTA.

4. Grand Theft Auto and its clones: Ugh, I think that the idea of running around town, killing people, stealing shit, and what have you has gotten lame by now. If GTA in New York wasn't enough, now we'll have it take place in England, Miami, Los Angeles, Chinatown, New Orleans, Shreveport, Bangladesh, Lemuria, and so on. At least No More Heroes had a plot even though it's closer to the Legend of Zelda.

5. New Transformers Cartoons: I haven't seen Animated yet since I stopped watching Cartoon Network at least eight years ago. However, I'm getting sick of people bitching about how they changed the looks of Optimus and Megatron for umpteenth time. Here's the mindset of this type of TF fan:
Megatron to Galvatron: That's Ok.
Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime: That's Ok.
Bumblebee to Goldbug: That's Ok.
Optimus Prime to Powermaster Prime: That's Ok (Fun Fact: Peter Cullen was Tank in Challenge of the Go-bots, Murky in Rainbow Brite, and Vengar in Dungeons and Dragons).
When Optimus Prime is a Gorilla voiced by Garry Chalk (From the X-Files); Megatron is a T-Rex voiced by David Kaye (From GI Joe and he's now the Animated Optimus); Scorponok is a real scorpion voiced by Paul Dobson (From Mega Man); Silverbolt is a wolf-eagle fuzor voiced by Scott McNeil (also from Mega Man); Inferno is fire ant voiced by Jim Byrnes (From War Planets); and Rampage is a Transmetal crab voiced by Campbell Lane (also from War Planets): Whoa, you can't do that to my beloved Transformers!
What do I think of them? They're in need of serious life re-evaluation.

6. The "A Personal Message to NG" meme: I'm starting to get tired of these, and this is from someone who avoids them all the time. Honestly, it's not right to take a title like that and trivialize it just for shits and giggles. It's not only (unintentionally) insulting, but annoying as hell.

7. The Voice Acting Club/Alliance: I know that a lot of people use these forums to get voice actors for their flash movies, but I'm ripping on them again. The vast majority of these VAs suck major ass when compared to real professionals like Jon St. John, and any flash they get to do gets high scores regardless of the flash cartoon's actual quality. Here's hoping that they end up in the next All Fads Die collab.

8. The Best Page in the Universe: Even though Maddox hardly updates his site anymore, I rarely see anybody rebuke his arguments without resorting to the mother of all logical fallacies: Argumentum ad Hominem. Plus, I give him credit for having the balls to trash enviromentalists, conservatives (his taunt at Bill O'Reilly is boss), and anyone/anything else that pisses him off.

Bob Barr on Supreme Court Judges.
http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/
time-to-appoint-judges-dedicated-to-co nstitutional-liberty

I think that those who support the two major candidates just need to shut the hell up.

The Cato Institute on Doctor Licensing
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pu b_id=9640

Proof that more government is Not the solution.

These two links I found are worth reading because you, the reader, will learn something new. Not to mention, the Barr for President site is Here.
Update: http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/
alternative-voice-needed-in-final-deba te

For all of you who support Obama and/or McCain; here's some facts that will make you shit yourselves.
Both Obama and McCain support warrantless wiretapping.
Both Obama and McCain voted for the Wall Street Bailout.
Both Obama and McCain support the Iraq War and military action against Iran.
Both Obama and McCain voted for tax increases, along with Governor Palin and Senator Biden.
Both Obama and McCain Oppose domestic Oil drilling and support subsidies to alleged alternative energy (which has been debunked over and over again).

Here's the last one I did: here it is.

1. McfretN: With the upcoming return of Ben Spurgin; I think it's time for the man behind Combat Instinct to get back in the Flash portal again. It has been three years since CI: Unregulated and I think its time for him to work on the Brutality sequel or a remake of Combat Instinct. With his 3D and Photoshop skills, he could be kicking incomprehensible ammounts of ass if he were to do that.

2. VG Parodies and Sprite movies: I don't mind these as long as they have the following characteristics:
I: Made fun of a game that hasn't been done before.
II: Have inventive humor or plots.
III: Fun to watch.
Otherwise, I could care less about them (and this is from someone who is a Randy Solem fan). As for those who trash these regardless of quality, all I have to say is this: Shut up and Get Bent! Hell, many of the sprite movie/vg parody haters are in no place criticize the very medium that annoys them.

3. 4Chan: I avoid this site like Chlamydia and have a low view of its userbase (which consists of assholes and retards as one guy on a forum I used to go to said). Sure, I don't mind hentai, but there are better sites for that than 4Chan. What's even worse is that it's polluting other websites including this one. Therefore, it would be best that it were shut down.

4: I-Mockery: While Rog and Dr. Boogie still kick major ass, Protoclown and Max Burbank, on the other hand, have gone down the shitter to the point where I start questioning their creativity, intelligence, and sanity. While I do like Max' "Hey Dork" section and Proto's "Tales from the Longbox" column to an extent; I doubt that they were funny to begin with. As for the secret Pickleman game; I'd wish that Rog, Pox, and whoever else would hurry up with it. Oh, and bring back Costume Critic (I enjoyed it and wish more people would visit that).

5: MySpace and other, similar websites: I normally hate these sites, even though I have a Facebook page (I blame ZombiePimp for that). I don't see the point of these sites and know one website that thinks that they should be shut down.
I'm ok with this site's web log system and the incremental upgrades, but I don't want social networking taking attention from the main focus of NG: Flash cartoons and Games.

6: Dexter on Showtime: I don't see the hype behind this show even though I do like the idea behind it. After watching a bit of it; I wasn't impressed with it and turned it off. Plus, the show's fans are starting to annoy me a bit. I'm sticking with Penn & Teller: Bullshit! because those two know how to entertain and debunk.

7: Project Freetown: This series is definitely worthy of being in the Top Ten Flash of all time because it would be a diservice to not only RTil, but all of Newgrounds. Hell, Metropolis Circuit is in my favorites even though it lagged a bit on my old IBM. It's kind of sickening to see the likes of the Metal Gear Collab get a higher rank than this. Besides, if RTil keeps this up, he could have the next big thing and match the likes of Ralph Bakshi, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones.

8: SNK/D4 Enterprise: No offence to Tom and the staff, but I'm tired of SNK. Just how many times they can recycle the same fighting game engine, characters, Run-&-Gun engine over and over again until somebody decides to subject them to the ridicule treatment? They haven't had anything remotely original since 1994 and I'd rather play the upcoming Illvelo, Sin & Punishment 2, and the new Punch-Out over the latest King of Fighters or Metal Slug 7.

1. "Awesome" Fan Flash: I do not want to see anyone but Egoraptor making these. While many of the ones he made are funny (except for the Awesome Center and Crossing remakes); the fan made ones are boring, cheap, and unfunny (e.g. Awesome's Creed, Irod Bad, and both of the Brawl Taunts shorts). I don't mind video game parodies, but only when they're inventive or well-thought out.
Worst Offenders: the aforementioned Awesome's Creed, Irod Bad, and both of the Brawl Taunts shorts.

2. Sketch comedy collabs: It's true that these have great animation, but that cannot compensate for crappy jokes. This only worked for Blamformers, The Metal Gear Funnies, Skittles & shits, and Skittles & Dicks.
Worst Offenders: Nin10Doh! and The MGS Flash Collab.

3. Flash that relies on internet fads: Ugh, I don't like it when people use fad jokes as flash material. Those who use "Shoop-da-whoop", The "O Face" Smiley, or anything they got from 4Chan (which I avoid like Chlamydia), YTMND, YouTube, or whatnot have creativity as bad as the latest MadTV/SNL episodes and should be treated as such.
Worst Offenders: Super Mario Hyadain & anything Kirbopher did after Mario RPG: Rawest Forest.

4. Parody Videos: While I did like Konquest of the Kamidogu and Knox's Mortal Kombat; I steer clear of these simply because they aren't very funny. Plus, ]{ombat, Knox, and Bezo knew when to quit.
Worst Offenders: Transformers Bastardized & Naruto Super Dub

5. Excessive use of Filters: As I said in a previous rant called Thoughts on my Mind, I don't like it when a Flash cartoon has so much effects to the point where you need a PC that has the power of Six X-Box 360s in order to watch it in high quality. I understand that you want to wow the audience, but sometimes dumping assloads of effects is not necissary. Besides, nobody cares about special effects when your content is dog shit.
Worst Offenders: SMBZ Episodes 5 and 6.

6. Flash that has voices done by members of the Voice Acting Club/Alliance: While the likes of Egoraptor, Kirbopher15, Baron Von Brunk, The Reel Splatter crew, Cailen Denton, RTil (even though his profession is animation/art), the Zirbes bros., Chris Zito, and the NG Staff are worthy of the professional title; the vast majority of the voice actors on those forums aren't good when compared to the aforementioned guys, or the likes of Ian Corlett, Bernard Eckhardt, Scatman Crothers, Buster Jones, Susan Blu, and Jessica Calvello for that matter. I think Rtil was right when he said "Good Mic =/= Good voice actor."
Worst Offenders: Both of the Brawl Taunts shorts.

No, I am not supporting either Obama nor McCain. I think that Obama is a clueless dipshit who will just be like Ray Nagin on a bigger scale; while McCain is a warmonger. And here's some things about the two that you Don't know:
I. Barack Obama voted for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and said in one interview that he supported military action in Iran. Apparently, his dipshit supporters are in denial.
II. Sarah Palin, McCain's VP, supported Tax Hikes on Oil and gas; and tried to fire her in-laws.
III. John McCain is opposed to the use of Torture on Prisoners of War (not that's a bad thing), and voted on the recent bailout (which is really bad).
With that out of the way, I'll tell you my reasons for Supporting Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party:
1. They Support Tax Cuts and Fiscal Responcibility.
2. They are opposed to the use of torture.
3. They oppose the PATRIOT Act, FISA, and any legislation that violates the US Constitution.
4. They support ending the Iraq war and are for free trade.
5. They are opposed to sealing the US-Mexico border.
6. They are opposed to the welfare system, which should be called the unfair system.
7. They have supported Social Security reform (read: optoin to opt out).
8. They have Supported Legal gun ownership. (You should see what the National Rifle Association has to say about McCain, it will surprise you.)

Here's the link: http://www.lp.org

The hurricane hasn't done much to my part of Louisiana, except for an oak tree that got blown over. Not to mention my connection was out for at least six hours. To all of my fellow NG Users from Louisiana, my condolences go out to you regardless if your home was destroyed or not.

I've already mentioned this before, but now I'm going to go into detail on the topic of independent games. As much as I like some of the mainstream stuff, there's a fair share of games made by smaller companies (Grasshopper Manufacture, G.Rev, Wayforward Interactive, etc.) that depending on the situation; get noticed or left behind. After reading Egoraptor's review of Braid for X-Box Live; I decided to do something similar to other little-known games.

1. Rosenkreuz Stilette (German for "Rose-Crossed")
When compared to Mario clones, Mega Man clones are few and far between. Then came a company called ERKA:ES with this game which combines Mega Man gameplay, CastleVania Aesthetics, and Germanic themes (as in most of the game's characters have German names). You play as Spiritia Rosenberg, a magical girl with a different wardrobe than most, to stop Count Michael Sepperin and his daughter Iris.
2. No More Heroes
This may be somewhat of a mainstream game, but damn it, it's a blast to play. Sure, there's GTA 4, but the concept behind that has been run into the ground by now.
3. Cho Aniki Mura
Ghosts 'n Goblins meets the homoerotic space shooter Cho Aniki (Japanese for "Super Big Brother"), with a ninja who resembles Naruto's Kakashi.
4. Thunder Force 6
It took forever, but at least Technosoft let Sega work on it. Thunder Force started in 1983 as a free-roaming Xevious-clone, and was then followed by three Sega Genesis sequels. The last official release of the series was first released on the Sega Saturn, and then followed by the PS port in 1998. Then there's Broken Thunder, but that was incomplete when that was released.
5. Kamui
This can be summed up as a Rayforce clone with some pretty inventive boss fights of any vertical shooter out there. Rather than move your ship's reticle over the enemies on the ground, you hold down the thunder key (X is the default) then release when you have enough energy. Unlike most shooters, you have both a lifebar and ship stock. However, even on easy, you will still get plastered by enemy fire if you aren't careful.
6. Ether Vapor
Ether Vapor can be summed up as Axelay with more perspectives and plot development (even though there's no English translation at the moment). Not to mention it's the only space shooter with gamepad stick support.
7. Es
Here's one game that's intense, fun-looking, and also cool-looking. I can't wait for the completed version.

There are lots more out there, but It would be impossible to cover them all.

*Note: This is nowhere near complete at the moment, but I'll continue when I can.