This issue comes to light now as it appears that some churches (actually a VERY LARGE number) in California and the Mormon Church in Utah have taken great pains and made large contributions of money and man-power to support Prop 8 (Gay Marriage Ban) in California. Also, throughout this campaign there have been church leaders supporting or opposing one candidate or another. Now, there is an outcry of foul-play because churches that are tax-exempt are not supposed to be involved in political activities.
Some history on churches and taxes:
In 1953, Congress changed the tax code, specifically 501(c)3 to allow churches and other non-profit organizations to apply for and receive an exemption from paying federal taxes. The IRS website gives this little summary of the relevant code:
"To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates."
It seems clear from the tax code that a church receives special benefits from the federal government (tax exemption) and, in agreeing to that benefit, agrees that is will not "attempt to influence legislation" and "may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates."
Now we come to the crux of the issue - should churches that violate their agreement with the Federal Government by making themselves "action organizations" in a campaign or legislative action be put in jeopardy of losing that tax exempt status? Or should the government look the other way - even though those churches have clearly violated their agreement?
There are numerous sides to this argument, and I'll lay out a few here:
1. Some people argue that 501c3 is simply a way for the government to silence churches. They also argue that church speech is protected by the 1st Amendment and that the government should not be able to silence or inhibit its political speech with a tax code.
2. Others agree that 501c3 is a way for the government to silence the church but recognize that churches gain something by agreeing to it - tax exemption. These people argue that churches SHOULD NOT register as tax-exempt organizations and therefore would not be subject to the political speech restrictions. They also use the Bible to support this position with the "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's" bit.
3. Still others argue that BECAUSE churches DO violate their agreement under 501c3, they should lose their tax exempt status.
After reading up on the arguments, I agree with both 2 and 3. Churches that ask for special benefits from the government should be required to comply with the restrictions placed on receiving those benefits. There is no requirement that a Church register as tax-exempt and forfeit its speech rights - it is completely voluntary. Therefore, IF a church wants to go beyond its religious talk and venture into the realm of political influence and campaigning, it should not ALSO ask the government for tax-exemption.
In Argument 1 the church wants its cake and wants to eat it too. It wants the benefits of the tax-exempt money without strings. The government has no obligation to support churches - at all. If a church doesn't want to play by the government's rules for tax-exemption - then it shouldn't want to be tax-exempt.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Tax Exemption vs. Free Speech
Now That Your Candidate Has Lost...
To all of those of you whose candidate did not win,
Now that your candidate is out of the running and a new President has been elected by the States (because we all know the President is not elected by the people, but by the States), you all have a choice to make. Will you stand by your new President? Will you support him? Will you put aside all of your misgivings and doubts about the guy who did win and stand behind the leader of your nation?
Or will you continue to fight for your lost cause? Will you complain about how the election was stolen? Will you continue to post pointless slander about him and his character?
Now is the true test of your Patriotism. Your true colors will now come out. You can stand with your country, or you can stand against it. It's time for a fresh start, take the opportunity to find out what is GOOD about your new President and the direction he will take the country. Of course, you and I will never agree with him on everything he does, but we will always support his decision - because it is the decision of the nation. If we don't like what he does in the next four years, then we have the choice in four years to change it.
So, let's suck it up, move on, and make the best of what we have.
"The king is dead. Long live the king!"
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Electoral College Time!
Usually, around election time, the big hubabaloo is about the "electoral college" and how it either IS or IS NOT democratic and un-American. Usually by now, I'm so tired of explaining and discussing it that I just give up. This year, however, there has been little talk about it at all! So, now I have to bring it up.
**For those that don't know, the electoral college is really how the President is elected - our poor little votes really don't mean much. What happens is this: Each State has its own system, but generally, each State takes the vote of its citizens and tallies them up to see which candidate gets the most votes. Then, that State turns around and sends its delegates to a National Convention and they cast the votes for the State. Each State is allotted votes by the population of the State. Now, sometimes some delegates get frisky and vote for the "other" guy, but generally that is considered a "no no" and is definitely a career-ender.
So, why does the electoral college matter? Although most citizens think that the US is a democracy where everyone's vote counts equally, its not - its a Representative Republic which means we vote for people to represent us - we don't vote directly for anything at the Federal level. This is actually a GOOD thing for those of us in States with small populations because without the electoral college our piddly little votes wouldn't mean anything. Now, instead of meaning nothing, they just mean VERY VERY little. If it weren't for the electoral college, the five biggest cities in the country would really by the ones to elect the President - because they have more votes than the rest of the country combined. If you weren't part of one of those cities, you'd be SOL.
So, rejoice that the vote of your State at least counts for something, because without the electoral college, it wouldn't mean diddly.
**For those that don't know, the electoral college is really how the President is elected - our poor little votes really don't mean much. What happens is this: Each State has its own system, but generally, each State takes the vote of its citizens and tallies them up to see which candidate gets the most votes. Then, that State turns around and sends its delegates to a National Convention and they cast the votes for the State. Each State is allotted votes by the population of the State. Now, sometimes some delegates get frisky and vote for the "other" guy, but generally that is considered a "no no" and is definitely a career-ender.
So, why does the electoral college matter? Although most citizens think that the US is a democracy where everyone's vote counts equally, its not - its a Representative Republic which means we vote for people to represent us - we don't vote directly for anything at the Federal level. This is actually a GOOD thing for those of us in States with small populations because without the electoral college our piddly little votes wouldn't mean anything. Now, instead of meaning nothing, they just mean VERY VERY little. If it weren't for the electoral college, the five biggest cities in the country would really by the ones to elect the President - because they have more votes than the rest of the country combined. If you weren't part of one of those cities, you'd be SOL.
So, rejoice that the vote of your State at least counts for something, because without the electoral college, it wouldn't mean diddly.
Fear Not! - (borrowed from some other blog - but couldn’t have said it better myself!)
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&blogID=443740961&Mytoken=FFC70260-86FF-4D0F-854990105D9FF1BB28576431
FROM INFIDEL:
"We are taught from our birth to fear - to fear the hot stove, the long fall, the big dogs, leaning back in chairs, putting things in our mouths - and most for good reasons. But, along with these reasonable fears, we have been taught to fear monsters, boogey-men, evil probing aliens, demons, devils, ghosts, and things that go "bump" in the night. Our parents play on these fear, and even reinforce them because they are physical consequences for bad behavior or not doing what we are told, "Go to bed, or the boogeyman will get you," and "Stay in bed or the monster under your bed will grab your foot," and "Don't go outside after dark, or (insert Monster XYZ) will get you and eat you!" Many parents use these fears to keep us away from harm or from doing things that are against our best interest. As we grow up, we grow out of most of these fears - we realize that the boogeyman doesn't exist, that there are no monsters under the bed, and those things that go "bump" in the night are nothing to worry about.
However, spiritually, emotionally, many people remain captive to fear - fear of Hell, fear of demons and "spiritual warfare," fear of Satan and his minions that roam free, causing death, destruction and pain. And who is the "parent" reinforcing these fears that should have been tossed out with the Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause? The "parent" is the church, a religious "holy" book, or childhood religious belief. And why do the leaders or beneficiaries of these religions continue to play to those irrational fears? For the same reason our parents did - to keep us in check or to get us to do something: tithe, be good, "witness," and whatever else they want you to do. Fear of Hell is no reason to believe in anything, fear of Satan is as irrational as fear of the evil witch in the spooky house down the street. Ghosts, demons, monsters don't exist - neither do the "big" monsters of god and satan. People need to grow up, emotionally as well as physically, and shed the cloak of fear that was placed over them as a child. Take responsibility for your own security, safety, and decisions and don't let some fictional childhood belief dictate what you do or give you something to blame for bad behavior.
Being free from the binds of religion and irrational belief leads invariably to a reduction in fear of life, allowing people to live more and fear less. Sure, there may be no god there to "save" you from anything, but honestly, he wasn't going to save you in the first place, so once you realize that no super-natural being is coming to the rescue, you can start to rescue yourself. On the bright side, because there is no benevolent god to protect you, there is also no mean, evil, powerful satan or devil out to get you. The "forces of evil" are in your mind and its never to late to let them go and start living without fear.
At one time, I believed in those scary irrational things, so I am in no position to judge anyone who still does. It took me all of 20+ years to rid myself of most of those irrational beings and forces that plagued my thoughts and strummed the strings of fear. Now, without those chords being played, I am more secure, more confident, and more capable in everything I do. I don't rely on any supernatural forces to come to my aid, and I also don't worry that any supernatural forces are working against me. Every encounter is on equal footing - mano a mano.
Instead of fearing what is waiting for us around the next corner, or worrying about what is silently sneaking up from behind, we can concentrate on the present situation, evaluate it rationally and make the best decision - not based on fear, but rather, based on our experience and understanding of capabilities. When we are weighed down with the beliefs of forces beyond our understanding and well beyond our power to affect, we become the prey - hunted by whatever we fear and stalked by the shadows that move around us. Prey attracts predators - and the REAL predators in the world recognize that fear and use it to their advantage. When we drop the fear, we have the choice to be the predator if we so desire, recognizing the fear in others, seeing who the prey are and either going after them, watching over them to render aid when its necessary (which they will probably take a sign from their god), or just letting everyone deal on their own. Because we are no longer the prey, we at least have the choice."
FROM INFIDEL:
"We are taught from our birth to fear - to fear the hot stove, the long fall, the big dogs, leaning back in chairs, putting things in our mouths - and most for good reasons. But, along with these reasonable fears, we have been taught to fear monsters, boogey-men, evil probing aliens, demons, devils, ghosts, and things that go "bump" in the night. Our parents play on these fear, and even reinforce them because they are physical consequences for bad behavior or not doing what we are told, "Go to bed, or the boogeyman will get you," and "Stay in bed or the monster under your bed will grab your foot," and "Don't go outside after dark, or (insert Monster XYZ) will get you and eat you!" Many parents use these fears to keep us away from harm or from doing things that are against our best interest. As we grow up, we grow out of most of these fears - we realize that the boogeyman doesn't exist, that there are no monsters under the bed, and those things that go "bump" in the night are nothing to worry about.
However, spiritually, emotionally, many people remain captive to fear - fear of Hell, fear of demons and "spiritual warfare," fear of Satan and his minions that roam free, causing death, destruction and pain. And who is the "parent" reinforcing these fears that should have been tossed out with the Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause? The "parent" is the church, a religious "holy" book, or childhood religious belief. And why do the leaders or beneficiaries of these religions continue to play to those irrational fears? For the same reason our parents did - to keep us in check or to get us to do something: tithe, be good, "witness," and whatever else they want you to do. Fear of Hell is no reason to believe in anything, fear of Satan is as irrational as fear of the evil witch in the spooky house down the street. Ghosts, demons, monsters don't exist - neither do the "big" monsters of god and satan. People need to grow up, emotionally as well as physically, and shed the cloak of fear that was placed over them as a child. Take responsibility for your own security, safety, and decisions and don't let some fictional childhood belief dictate what you do or give you something to blame for bad behavior.
Being free from the binds of religion and irrational belief leads invariably to a reduction in fear of life, allowing people to live more and fear less. Sure, there may be no god there to "save" you from anything, but honestly, he wasn't going to save you in the first place, so once you realize that no super-natural being is coming to the rescue, you can start to rescue yourself. On the bright side, because there is no benevolent god to protect you, there is also no mean, evil, powerful satan or devil out to get you. The "forces of evil" are in your mind and its never to late to let them go and start living without fear.
At one time, I believed in those scary irrational things, so I am in no position to judge anyone who still does. It took me all of 20+ years to rid myself of most of those irrational beings and forces that plagued my thoughts and strummed the strings of fear. Now, without those chords being played, I am more secure, more confident, and more capable in everything I do. I don't rely on any supernatural forces to come to my aid, and I also don't worry that any supernatural forces are working against me. Every encounter is on equal footing - mano a mano.
Instead of fearing what is waiting for us around the next corner, or worrying about what is silently sneaking up from behind, we can concentrate on the present situation, evaluate it rationally and make the best decision - not based on fear, but rather, based on our experience and understanding of capabilities. When we are weighed down with the beliefs of forces beyond our understanding and well beyond our power to affect, we become the prey - hunted by whatever we fear and stalked by the shadows that move around us. Prey attracts predators - and the REAL predators in the world recognize that fear and use it to their advantage. When we drop the fear, we have the choice to be the predator if we so desire, recognizing the fear in others, seeing who the prey are and either going after them, watching over them to render aid when its necessary (which they will probably take a sign from their god), or just letting everyone deal on their own. Because we are no longer the prey, we at least have the choice."
Monday, October 20, 2008
Caching Monday Madness!
Caching Monday Madness!
For awhile now, we've been heading out with friends on Monday after the kids are in school, and finding some local geocaches. Usually, we find about 7-10 on an average caching day. Today was no exception. Since we've been in Montana (since February), we've found MOST of the geocaches in the Missoula area. Now, we are having to go find some of the harder caches and ones that are further out from us because the pickings have become slim nearby. Today, we ventured to the south of Missoula, up Pattee Canyon to snag some caches that were cluttering up our maps.
The typical "finding" of a cache depends on what type and what kind of location its in - but generally its something like this:
"Out in the Woods Cache"
1. Drive as close as possible.
2. Get out and determine if the cache is a "park and grab" or one we actually have to go venture to. If its a park and grab, we park - and grab it - quick and easy.
3. If we need to venture out to get the cache, we determine if the cache is big enough to hold stuff or is just a micro - if big enough, we bring the cache bag - if not, we don't.
4. Once those things are determined, we grab the necessary gear (hiking sticks, bag, water, etc) and get moving.
5. Typically, the GPS is decent at homing us in nicely on the vicinity of the cache. Sure, after we get nearby, there may be a bit of drunken bee dancing, but not too much - and less now with the internal GPS compass.
6. We spot the typical cache hiding places, find the container, and sign the log.
7. Continue to next cache.
"In the City Cache"
1. Park nearby
2. Because they are micros, we leave the bag
3. Check everything metal for keyholder caches, and check everything else for velcro'd bison capsules.
4. Sign log and move on.
Today however, things were a little different. Our GPS's (ours and our caching friends') were extra-jumpy. From the get-go, they would generally point in the right direction, but would periodically jump around - giving us different directions to go, overshooting the cache areas, and just generally acting funny. Even after I calibrated the compass, mine still did it more often than usual. I was even beginning to get worried that something might be wrong with my GPS. But, the fact that it wasn't just my GPS indicated that perhaps it was something else - which was comforting. Towards the end of the day, we came up with a plausible idea that perhaps some solar flares had occurred and messed with the magnetic fields, throwing off the GPSs AND the compasses. We decided to check the Space Weather site to find out.
As it turns out, there were no solar flares today that would have interfered with the GPS satellites or compasses - in fact, there haven't been any sun spots for awhile now. But, interestingly enough, there WAS a situation that could have caused a disturbance in the magnetic forces. As it turns out, the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field shifted South a bit for a period of time, opening a hole in the protective magnetic field of the Earth from the constant solar winds and allowed some solar winds to get through - possibly screwing with GPSs and compasses. Now, with that in mind, consider the fact that the Earth is statistically long overdue for a polar magnetic shift - and what the implications of that are. But that is for another blog.
All in all, it was a great day of caching - we found everything we looked for and added another nine caches to the "found" pile! One of the caches today was a puzzle cache that required us to solve a Karuku - I'd never heard of a Karuku before this. i guess we learn something new every day. Woot! I love this sport. Now, we have to get rid of some nagging caches that are mucking up my pretty map of smilies. Also, we need to plant some caches up on Blue Mountain before the snow falls. busy busy busy.
For awhile now, we've been heading out with friends on Monday after the kids are in school, and finding some local geocaches. Usually, we find about 7-10 on an average caching day. Today was no exception. Since we've been in Montana (since February), we've found MOST of the geocaches in the Missoula area. Now, we are having to go find some of the harder caches and ones that are further out from us because the pickings have become slim nearby. Today, we ventured to the south of Missoula, up Pattee Canyon to snag some caches that were cluttering up our maps.
The typical "finding" of a cache depends on what type and what kind of location its in - but generally its something like this:
"Out in the Woods Cache"
1. Drive as close as possible.
2. Get out and determine if the cache is a "park and grab" or one we actually have to go venture to. If its a park and grab, we park - and grab it - quick and easy.
3. If we need to venture out to get the cache, we determine if the cache is big enough to hold stuff or is just a micro - if big enough, we bring the cache bag - if not, we don't.
4. Once those things are determined, we grab the necessary gear (hiking sticks, bag, water, etc) and get moving.
5. Typically, the GPS is decent at homing us in nicely on the vicinity of the cache. Sure, after we get nearby, there may be a bit of drunken bee dancing, but not too much - and less now with the internal GPS compass.
6. We spot the typical cache hiding places, find the container, and sign the log.
7. Continue to next cache.
"In the City Cache"
1. Park nearby
2. Because they are micros, we leave the bag
3. Check everything metal for keyholder caches, and check everything else for velcro'd bison capsules.
4. Sign log and move on.
Today however, things were a little different. Our GPS's (ours and our caching friends') were extra-jumpy. From the get-go, they would generally point in the right direction, but would periodically jump around - giving us different directions to go, overshooting the cache areas, and just generally acting funny. Even after I calibrated the compass, mine still did it more often than usual. I was even beginning to get worried that something might be wrong with my GPS. But, the fact that it wasn't just my GPS indicated that perhaps it was something else - which was comforting. Towards the end of the day, we came up with a plausible idea that perhaps some solar flares had occurred and messed with the magnetic fields, throwing off the GPSs AND the compasses. We decided to check the Space Weather site to find out.
As it turns out, there were no solar flares today that would have interfered with the GPS satellites or compasses - in fact, there haven't been any sun spots for awhile now. But, interestingly enough, there WAS a situation that could have caused a disturbance in the magnetic forces. As it turns out, the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field shifted South a bit for a period of time, opening a hole in the protective magnetic field of the Earth from the constant solar winds and allowed some solar winds to get through - possibly screwing with GPSs and compasses. Now, with that in mind, consider the fact that the Earth is statistically long overdue for a polar magnetic shift - and what the implications of that are. But that is for another blog.
All in all, it was a great day of caching - we found everything we looked for and added another nine caches to the "found" pile! One of the caches today was a puzzle cache that required us to solve a Karuku - I'd never heard of a Karuku before this. i guess we learn something new every day. Woot! I love this sport. Now, we have to get rid of some nagging caches that are mucking up my pretty map of smilies. Also, we need to plant some caches up on Blue Mountain before the snow falls. busy busy busy.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Bad - in a good way.
So me and my beautiful wife were talking today about the upcoming election and how neither candidate is good for the country. She expressed the opinion that Obama may actually be good for the country in a bad way - which took my by surprise, but her reasoning makes sense and here I've tried to articulate her epiphany with my words:
I don't support Obama, but I support McCain even less. However, it has recently been made clear to me that Obama coming into office may in fact be the best thing for the country as whole - in the long run. I expect that Obama, with a heavy democratic Congress, will pave the way for a very liberal United States.
The US is set up to run slowly - not efficiently. The power is divided between three groups - the Congress, the President, and the Judiciary. Before anything can get done, every group has its own input and any of the groups can completely shut down the process - or at least slow it down quite a bit. This, coupled with the inherent turn-over rate in Congress and the Executive, keeps the country from becoming TOO MUCH anything. It keeps the conservatives from establishing a federal religion and it keeps the liberals from turning us into a socialist/communist state. For the last 200+ years, its worked, more or less splendidly. Now, the Democrats have the perfect opportunity to change all that!
The Republicans have done way too much to this country to stay in power. The Patriot Act, gas prices, national debt, and the economy are all death blows that will, almost without a doubt, sink their ship in this election. Now, the fact that Congress is already controlled by the Dems and that they are already planning to quickly use the Executive to move massive liberal programs into existence after January 20th, the country is in for radical changes in the next four years. 95% of the changes will be bad.
Which is great! Why? Because the American people, lazy little sheep that they are, have been fat and happy for far too long. They aren't paying attention to the election and they aren't paying attention to who is in power and what they are going to do to us. We should expect socialized healthcare, firearm bans, and numerous other programs designed to take from the rich and give to the poor - wealth redistribution (which leads quickly to socialism and communism). Gas prices will go up, liberty will go down, taxes will go up, and services will be degraded. And eventually, the country will feel the pain. Good.
The Republicans have already lost so much of the good will of the public that they are hemorrhaging uncontrollably and will (hopefully) not be able to recover. When the country gets stung by liberalism at its finest (Democratic President and Congress), it too will fall out of favor - leaving a political void that could be filled by a new party. Hopefully, that new party will redevote itself to the words of the Constitution and the founding ideal of the Fathers of this country - Liberty. Freedom to speak as we wish, freedom to believe in what we want or to not believe in anything at all, freedom to be free FROM religion - especially in any and all government agencies or government funded programs - and the freedom to be comfortable that "big brother" isn't listening or watching our every move.
Hopefully, the country can recover from the historical two-party system without bloodshed - and maybe, in an ironic way, Obama and the democrats could be the catalyst for that recovery - not through their liberalism, but through the cataclysmic failure of it.
I don't support Obama, but I support McCain even less. However, it has recently been made clear to me that Obama coming into office may in fact be the best thing for the country as whole - in the long run. I expect that Obama, with a heavy democratic Congress, will pave the way for a very liberal United States.
The US is set up to run slowly - not efficiently. The power is divided between three groups - the Congress, the President, and the Judiciary. Before anything can get done, every group has its own input and any of the groups can completely shut down the process - or at least slow it down quite a bit. This, coupled with the inherent turn-over rate in Congress and the Executive, keeps the country from becoming TOO MUCH anything. It keeps the conservatives from establishing a federal religion and it keeps the liberals from turning us into a socialist/communist state. For the last 200+ years, its worked, more or less splendidly. Now, the Democrats have the perfect opportunity to change all that!
The Republicans have done way too much to this country to stay in power. The Patriot Act, gas prices, national debt, and the economy are all death blows that will, almost without a doubt, sink their ship in this election. Now, the fact that Congress is already controlled by the Dems and that they are already planning to quickly use the Executive to move massive liberal programs into existence after January 20th, the country is in for radical changes in the next four years. 95% of the changes will be bad.
Which is great! Why? Because the American people, lazy little sheep that they are, have been fat and happy for far too long. They aren't paying attention to the election and they aren't paying attention to who is in power and what they are going to do to us. We should expect socialized healthcare, firearm bans, and numerous other programs designed to take from the rich and give to the poor - wealth redistribution (which leads quickly to socialism and communism). Gas prices will go up, liberty will go down, taxes will go up, and services will be degraded. And eventually, the country will feel the pain. Good.
The Republicans have already lost so much of the good will of the public that they are hemorrhaging uncontrollably and will (hopefully) not be able to recover. When the country gets stung by liberalism at its finest (Democratic President and Congress), it too will fall out of favor - leaving a political void that could be filled by a new party. Hopefully, that new party will redevote itself to the words of the Constitution and the founding ideal of the Fathers of this country - Liberty. Freedom to speak as we wish, freedom to believe in what we want or to not believe in anything at all, freedom to be free FROM religion - especially in any and all government agencies or government funded programs - and the freedom to be comfortable that "big brother" isn't listening or watching our every move.
Hopefully, the country can recover from the historical two-party system without bloodshed - and maybe, in an ironic way, Obama and the democrats could be the catalyst for that recovery - not through their liberalism, but through the cataclysmic failure of it.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Smells Like Desperation
Smells Like Desperation
Recently, (ok, for the past six months) I have been receiving numerous email about Obama and all the crazy shit he is said to have done or said. Among them:
1. Obama is a Muslim who won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Obama was sworn into office on the Koran.
3. Obama holding a telephone upside down.
4. Obama wants to change the National Anthem.
5. Obama is, or could be, the Anti-Christ.
6. Obama isn't a natural born citizen.
7. Obama hides his birth certificate.
A quick check on these stories clearly shows that there are blatant lies.
After awhile, I began to wonder why there were so many patently false anti-Obama emails and rumors going around and not nearly as many McCain ones. At first, I thought that it was just that the people who are my email contacts were conservative Republicans and would obviously not send anything that goes against their candidate. Then, I decided to dig a little deeper, thinking maybe people on the Democrat side were doing the same thing and I just wasn't getting them because I'm not on their contact lists. So, I went to Snopes.com - a fair repository for finding out the truth behind sooooo many email and internet rumors and falsehoods - and did a little comparison of rumors about Obama and McCain. Here are the results:
Obama
36 total claims about him
21 are 100% false
4 were classified as true
7 had parts that were both true and false
4 were of indeterminable veracity
McCain
9 total claims about him
4 are 100% false
3 are true
2 were of indeterminable veracity
A little analysis:
Obama has garnered 4x the number of rumors as McCain. Over half (21/36 = ~58%) of the claims made about Obama are flat-out lies. For McCain, less than half (4/9 = 44%) were lies. Only 4 of the 36 claims about Obama were true (~11%) whereas 3/9 were true for McCain (~33%).
It seems to me that the Conservative side of this contest is sensing defeat and has pulled out all of the stops to try and slow Obama and the Democrats down. Increased smear and slander tactics, whether approved of by the campaign or not, are tell-tale signs that the campaign in question is heading downhill and sees their loss on the horizon. It stinks of desperation and foul-play.
Some people have tried to convince me that if I vote for someone other than one of the two Party Candidates (McCain or Obama), I'm throwing away my vote because no on else has the chance to win. I will concede that the person I am voting for (Ron Paul) doesn't have the slightest chance in hell of winning. However, that doesn't make my vote for him irrelevant any more than any other vote for a candidate in a state where the result is practically a foregone conclusion (ie. Washington State which will most definitely vote for Obama). In fact, by this logic, anyone voting in New York State or California who doesn't vote for Obama has also "wasted" their vote. Logically, if "Voting for a person who cannot win = wasted vote; then voting for McCain in Washington State or California = voting for Ron Paul in Washington State or California because neither can win."
In reality, it is not a waste because I am voting for the best man for the office. I am voting based on my views in comparison with his views and I am voting in hopes that a future third party candidate will see that there needs to be a viable choice other than the Democrats and Republicans. We will never have other options unless we first make it clear that we WANT other options. Continually voting for the "lesser of two evils" only guarantees an "evil" outcome. Slowly, but surely we will choose the lesser evil into oblivion. Why not take a stand now for the "good" choice? Even if it means losing today, it at least holds out the hope of winning tomorrow. By voting for the best man, my conscience is clean, and my ideals were not compromised by voting for the "lesser of two evils."
Not much will change in America, regardless of who wins. If Obama wins (which I have a sneaking suspicion he will, based on the desperation being displayed by the Republican Party and its supporters) the Assault Weapon Ban will become permanent (until it is challenged in the Supreme Court) - so, get your assault rifles while you still can. If McCain wins, there will be little if any change from the way things are now. Honestly, the President has little to do with the ultimate course of the country. He has little power of his own and only acts to speed up or slow down the processes of Congress. So, do we want to get where we are going faster or slower? THAT is the question this election decides.
Recently, (ok, for the past six months) I have been receiving numerous email about Obama and all the crazy shit he is said to have done or said. Among them:
1. Obama is a Muslim who won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Obama was sworn into office on the Koran.
3. Obama holding a telephone upside down.
4. Obama wants to change the National Anthem.
5. Obama is, or could be, the Anti-Christ.
6. Obama isn't a natural born citizen.
7. Obama hides his birth certificate.
A quick check on these stories clearly shows that there are blatant lies.
After awhile, I began to wonder why there were so many patently false anti-Obama emails and rumors going around and not nearly as many McCain ones. At first, I thought that it was just that the people who are my email contacts were conservative Republicans and would obviously not send anything that goes against their candidate. Then, I decided to dig a little deeper, thinking maybe people on the Democrat side were doing the same thing and I just wasn't getting them because I'm not on their contact lists. So, I went to Snopes.com - a fair repository for finding out the truth behind sooooo many email and internet rumors and falsehoods - and did a little comparison of rumors about Obama and McCain. Here are the results:
Obama
36 total claims about him
21 are 100% false
4 were classified as true
7 had parts that were both true and false
4 were of indeterminable veracity
McCain
9 total claims about him
4 are 100% false
3 are true
2 were of indeterminable veracity
A little analysis:
Obama has garnered 4x the number of rumors as McCain. Over half (21/36 = ~58%) of the claims made about Obama are flat-out lies. For McCain, less than half (4/9 = 44%) were lies. Only 4 of the 36 claims about Obama were true (~11%) whereas 3/9 were true for McCain (~33%).
It seems to me that the Conservative side of this contest is sensing defeat and has pulled out all of the stops to try and slow Obama and the Democrats down. Increased smear and slander tactics, whether approved of by the campaign or not, are tell-tale signs that the campaign in question is heading downhill and sees their loss on the horizon. It stinks of desperation and foul-play.
Some people have tried to convince me that if I vote for someone other than one of the two Party Candidates (McCain or Obama), I'm throwing away my vote because no on else has the chance to win. I will concede that the person I am voting for (Ron Paul) doesn't have the slightest chance in hell of winning. However, that doesn't make my vote for him irrelevant any more than any other vote for a candidate in a state where the result is practically a foregone conclusion (ie. Washington State which will most definitely vote for Obama). In fact, by this logic, anyone voting in New York State or California who doesn't vote for Obama has also "wasted" their vote. Logically, if "Voting for a person who cannot win = wasted vote; then voting for McCain in Washington State or California = voting for Ron Paul in Washington State or California because neither can win."
In reality, it is not a waste because I am voting for the best man for the office. I am voting based on my views in comparison with his views and I am voting in hopes that a future third party candidate will see that there needs to be a viable choice other than the Democrats and Republicans. We will never have other options unless we first make it clear that we WANT other options. Continually voting for the "lesser of two evils" only guarantees an "evil" outcome. Slowly, but surely we will choose the lesser evil into oblivion. Why not take a stand now for the "good" choice? Even if it means losing today, it at least holds out the hope of winning tomorrow. By voting for the best man, my conscience is clean, and my ideals were not compromised by voting for the "lesser of two evils."
Not much will change in America, regardless of who wins. If Obama wins (which I have a sneaking suspicion he will, based on the desperation being displayed by the Republican Party and its supporters) the Assault Weapon Ban will become permanent (until it is challenged in the Supreme Court) - so, get your assault rifles while you still can. If McCain wins, there will be little if any change from the way things are now. Honestly, the President has little to do with the ultimate course of the country. He has little power of his own and only acts to speed up or slow down the processes of Congress. So, do we want to get where we are going faster or slower? THAT is the question this election decides.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
And so it begins, again...
And so it begins. Today was our middle-est daughters 20th birthday party and it was a doozy! She had some friends over for a sleepover and right now they are downstairs watching a Little Mermaid movie right now. I say that this is the beginning because it is the point that I can trace our oldest daughters childhood waning and her adolescent-hood waxing.
Amber turned 10 the year after I got back from Iraq and she was trying to get out of control. She wasn't there yet, but she was getting to be a handful. For her 10th birthday, we implemented some "controls." Rather than become ultra-strict and overbearing, we decided to give her a little room to grow. We got her a cell-phone and a computer and we let her explore the wide world of the internet with fewer controls. Some would say that that was a bad idea, that we should tighten down and keep her shielded from all the badness in the internet world. Well, thats not how I see it.
Once she was hooked into the internet world, with her online friends and personality, she could no more abandon it than she could cut off her own hand. That gave us the ultimate power to take away or restrict her access to get her to do what we needed her to do - and it continues to this day. She will very quickly change her attitude or adjust her behavior if her online world is on the line - so to speak. Same with her cellphone.
Of course, we still monitor her every movement online (and off) from a distance. Its like we have a UAV watching her while we let her explore the world on her own. At the first sign of trouble, we're ready and able to step in and take care of it. Also, we've able to see where she's going and what's ahead - so we can advise her in that regard. But she still has the freedom to figure things out and explore her world.
So, now, a little over two years later it has finally happened - she has her first "boyfriend." Oh, she's had plenty of online boyfriends, but none that she's ever met in real life. We've known about "Josh" - name NOT changed to protect the innocent - for a little while, and we also know that it probably won't be the last one. But today, for the first time, we have met Amber's "boyfriend."
Earlier today, one of her girl friends came over and they all (Amber, her sisters, her friend, and the dog) went to the park. Well, why they were gone, we checked her MySpace page and found that she had a plan to meet Joshua at the park. No big surprise. What was a surprise was that she brought him home.
When he came into the living room, the first thing he mentioned was our decor - which has a bit of a war-like theme (we have posters and artifacts from various wars and conflicts the country has been involved in). I think he commented on our WWII poster of Iwo Jima. So, right off the bat, he gets bonus points for being smart and nerdy. Then, he seems nice and says his "Pleases" and "Thank Yous" like a gentlemen. Also, he was able to identify the Blackhawk model on our computer hutch. Apparently, at dinner he was holding hands with my daughter - thats not exactly kosher.
But, he stayed most of the day at our house and even asked his mom to come over to meet us. Which she did. She was very nice and we all had a good conversation. Joshua seemed reluctant to leave. Later, I found out that he had asked Amber to go see a movie sometime. Now, I need to decide whether or not she is ready. She's 12, what could happen? Hell, they couldn't even go see a PG-13 movie - what's below that? G? I suppose they could go see Wall-E - is that still in theaters? Maybe we could ALL go to a movie, and we'd be sure to sit behind them a few rows.
Honestly, the kid is a little bit too good. I know my daughter, she can be a pain, and she can be controlling. I almost want to warn HIM about her. "Run! Josh! Run! Before its too late!" She is wise, and dangerous, beyond her years.
And so it begins, again.
Amber turned 10 the year after I got back from Iraq and she was trying to get out of control. She wasn't there yet, but she was getting to be a handful. For her 10th birthday, we implemented some "controls." Rather than become ultra-strict and overbearing, we decided to give her a little room to grow. We got her a cell-phone and a computer and we let her explore the wide world of the internet with fewer controls. Some would say that that was a bad idea, that we should tighten down and keep her shielded from all the badness in the internet world. Well, thats not how I see it.
Once she was hooked into the internet world, with her online friends and personality, she could no more abandon it than she could cut off her own hand. That gave us the ultimate power to take away or restrict her access to get her to do what we needed her to do - and it continues to this day. She will very quickly change her attitude or adjust her behavior if her online world is on the line - so to speak. Same with her cellphone.
Of course, we still monitor her every movement online (and off) from a distance. Its like we have a UAV watching her while we let her explore the world on her own. At the first sign of trouble, we're ready and able to step in and take care of it. Also, we've able to see where she's going and what's ahead - so we can advise her in that regard. But she still has the freedom to figure things out and explore her world.
So, now, a little over two years later it has finally happened - she has her first "boyfriend." Oh, she's had plenty of online boyfriends, but none that she's ever met in real life. We've known about "Josh" - name NOT changed to protect the innocent - for a little while, and we also know that it probably won't be the last one. But today, for the first time, we have met Amber's "boyfriend."
Earlier today, one of her girl friends came over and they all (Amber, her sisters, her friend, and the dog) went to the park. Well, why they were gone, we checked her MySpace page and found that she had a plan to meet Joshua at the park. No big surprise. What was a surprise was that she brought him home.
When he came into the living room, the first thing he mentioned was our decor - which has a bit of a war-like theme (we have posters and artifacts from various wars and conflicts the country has been involved in). I think he commented on our WWII poster of Iwo Jima. So, right off the bat, he gets bonus points for being smart and nerdy. Then, he seems nice and says his "Pleases" and "Thank Yous" like a gentlemen. Also, he was able to identify the Blackhawk model on our computer hutch. Apparently, at dinner he was holding hands with my daughter - thats not exactly kosher.
But, he stayed most of the day at our house and even asked his mom to come over to meet us. Which she did. She was very nice and we all had a good conversation. Joshua seemed reluctant to leave. Later, I found out that he had asked Amber to go see a movie sometime. Now, I need to decide whether or not she is ready. She's 12, what could happen? Hell, they couldn't even go see a PG-13 movie - what's below that? G? I suppose they could go see Wall-E - is that still in theaters? Maybe we could ALL go to a movie, and we'd be sure to sit behind them a few rows.
Honestly, the kid is a little bit too good. I know my daughter, she can be a pain, and she can be controlling. I almost want to warn HIM about her. "Run! Josh! Run! Before its too late!" She is wise, and dangerous, beyond her years.
And so it begins, again.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
End of the World - Large Hadron Collider
Well, the LHC goes online for real tomorrow (or rather, today), sometime while I'm sleeping. So, if the world ends when they do, I guess this is it. Hope you all had a good run and...
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
But, in all reality, I don't think anything that bad is going to happen, just like nothing bad happened when we tested the atomic bomb - even though there was the possibility that it could set the entire atmosphere on fire.
So, I guess I'll see you all in the morning.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
But, in all reality, I don't think anything that bad is going to happen, just like nothing bad happened when we tested the atomic bomb - even though there was the possibility that it could set the entire atmosphere on fire.
So, I guess I'll see you all in the morning.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Actions of a Declining Nation
As a Soldier, I have sworn to "Support and Defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..." Up until this point, most of my attention has been focused on the "foreign" part - terrorists, insurgents, etc - but recent turns of events have raised the flag for me, and others, to start paying closer attention to the "domestic" part of that oath.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/27695244.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/30/police_raids/index.html
It seems that the Republican National Convention has turned the City of Minneapolis into a pseudo police state where dissent or even the intent to protest the convention is grounds for detainment by the police and house using the threat of deadly force to back it up. How is it that our country has strayed so far from its roots that its citizens sit back and pay no heed when this happens to fellow Americans?
Typically, I am supportive of the police and I understand that in the general course of their business they must deal with all sorts of crazy and irrational people who may or may not be a physical threat. On a traffic stop, they don't know - but when they are pre-emptively raiding a house because the people inside might be considering a protest of the RNC, maybe bringing the assault rifles and SWAT gear is a bit much.
In all honesty, why would any law-abiding police agency even consider such Orwellian strategy to keep peace at a political event? I don't think they would. This kind of Policing only rings true for the Ultimate Big Brother - the Federal Government. And, it turns out that the raid was indeed in cahoots with the FBI.
After reading the story and seeing the video of one of the raids (there were at least four), I must express my outrage and disappointment that this is happening, is not being given much air-play in the media, and will probably be swept under the rug within the week. U.S. citizens have been detained and their property seized illegally by the government - that is the ultimate betrayal of the ideals and foundations of this country.
I think there is still time to save the country from tyranny through peaceful means, but that time will not last forever. If we do not do something within the next 2-3 generations, the power to maintain our freedom peacefully will have been stripped by the heavy hand of the government, and the only solution will be violent revolution. I don't want that for me, and I don't want that for my children or grandchildren, so the time to fix the problem is now.
The Federal Government, under the (probably) well-meaning, but less-than-watchful eye of the President has, since 9/11, taken extreme measures to ensure the "security" of its citizens. It has done this through increased domestic surveillance and the suspension of Constitutional rights for many foreigners and even some U.S. citizens. At this time, the people need to open their eyes, realize that nearly all of their elected leaders have supported and continue to support the idea that "security" is greater than liberty, and throw them out of office. Our political leadership must be cleaned up soon, or the country will be lost. Any politician that does not actively oppose increased restrictions of liberty and supports de-arming the population should be immediately removed from office by any and all legal means available - recall elections or impeachment. If that's too much work, then at the next election, they should be voted out.
When we vote bad politicians out of office, we need to vote good politicians INTO office. The problem with that is that neither of the two major parties have any interest in good politicians unless they agree to support their bad policies. That means that the people must vote in candidates from parties that are not Republican or Democrat. That means breaking with the tradition most Americans have of voting for only members of the party they belong to (which they only belong to because their parents belonged to it) and thinking outside of their own little world. Regrettably, I don't think most Americans will do that because most Americans are lazy.
Unchecked, the laziness of todays parent's will either lead to enslaved great-grandchildren or a bloody revolution. I take no comfort from the fact that I will not be around for either.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/27695244.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/30/police_raids/index.html
It seems that the Republican National Convention has turned the City of Minneapolis into a pseudo police state where dissent or even the intent to protest the convention is grounds for detainment by the police and house using the threat of deadly force to back it up. How is it that our country has strayed so far from its roots that its citizens sit back and pay no heed when this happens to fellow Americans?
Typically, I am supportive of the police and I understand that in the general course of their business they must deal with all sorts of crazy and irrational people who may or may not be a physical threat. On a traffic stop, they don't know - but when they are pre-emptively raiding a house because the people inside might be considering a protest of the RNC, maybe bringing the assault rifles and SWAT gear is a bit much.
In all honesty, why would any law-abiding police agency even consider such Orwellian strategy to keep peace at a political event? I don't think they would. This kind of Policing only rings true for the Ultimate Big Brother - the Federal Government. And, it turns out that the raid was indeed in cahoots with the FBI.
After reading the story and seeing the video of one of the raids (there were at least four), I must express my outrage and disappointment that this is happening, is not being given much air-play in the media, and will probably be swept under the rug within the week. U.S. citizens have been detained and their property seized illegally by the government - that is the ultimate betrayal of the ideals and foundations of this country.
I think there is still time to save the country from tyranny through peaceful means, but that time will not last forever. If we do not do something within the next 2-3 generations, the power to maintain our freedom peacefully will have been stripped by the heavy hand of the government, and the only solution will be violent revolution. I don't want that for me, and I don't want that for my children or grandchildren, so the time to fix the problem is now.
The Federal Government, under the (probably) well-meaning, but less-than-watchful eye of the President has, since 9/11, taken extreme measures to ensure the "security" of its citizens. It has done this through increased domestic surveillance and the suspension of Constitutional rights for many foreigners and even some U.S. citizens. At this time, the people need to open their eyes, realize that nearly all of their elected leaders have supported and continue to support the idea that "security" is greater than liberty, and throw them out of office. Our political leadership must be cleaned up soon, or the country will be lost. Any politician that does not actively oppose increased restrictions of liberty and supports de-arming the population should be immediately removed from office by any and all legal means available - recall elections or impeachment. If that's too much work, then at the next election, they should be voted out.
When we vote bad politicians out of office, we need to vote good politicians INTO office. The problem with that is that neither of the two major parties have any interest in good politicians unless they agree to support their bad policies. That means that the people must vote in candidates from parties that are not Republican or Democrat. That means breaking with the tradition most Americans have of voting for only members of the party they belong to (which they only belong to because their parents belonged to it) and thinking outside of their own little world. Regrettably, I don't think most Americans will do that because most Americans are lazy.
Unchecked, the laziness of todays parent's will either lead to enslaved great-grandchildren or a bloody revolution. I take no comfort from the fact that I will not be around for either.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wii Fit Miffed (Part 2)
So, we finally managed to get our hands on a Wii Fit. I figured it'd be fun to have and, heck, maybe even be useful for motivating me to get in a better shape. So, first I have to input my info and take a balance test. Then, the Wii Fit tells me I'm completely uncoordinated and has the gall to ask me whether I trip a lot when I'm walking! Really? Insults right off the bat? Is this some sort of mind game???
Then, I play some of the games and it tells me that a third grader could do better. So, I had to play and play until I finally broke out of the insults category into the "You did ok" category.
Bastard Wii Fit... I hope there are some awesome games that use the board in the future!
Then, I play some of the games and it tells me that a third grader could do better. So, I had to play and play until I finally broke out of the insults category into the "You did ok" category.
Bastard Wii Fit... I hope there are some awesome games that use the board in the future!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Religious Beliefs Research Study
On a scale of 0-7:
0 = "Plead the Fifth" - (If you don't know what it means, you can't use it!)
1 = "Strongly Disagree"
2 = "Disagree"
3 = "Somewhat Disagree"
4 = "Neither Agree nor Disagree - Utterly undecided"
5 = "Somewhat Agree"
6 = "Agree"
7 = "Strongly Agree"
Comments after each response are encouraged but not required.
Overall...
1. The Bible is the Word of God.
2. The Bible 100% accurate and infallible.
3. The Bible is literal.
4. The Bible is allegorical.
5. In the history of the world, religions have done more good than bad.
Specifically...
1. The Creation story is literal - that's how the world was made.
2. The Adam and Eve story is literal - they were the first people.
3. Adam and Eve sinner and that sin was passed down to their children and so forth (concept of original sin).
4. The God of the Bible is the same God throughout the Bible (unchanging God).
5. The God of the Old Testament was a loving, caring God to all mankind.
6. Jesus "changed the rules" of the Old Testament.
7. People should still live by all of the super-strict laws of the Old Testament (specifically, the ones in Leviticus).
8. Its ok for modern believers to pick and choose which "rules" follow because times have changed.
9. The Earth is only between 5000-8000 years old.
10. You have doubts about your faith.
11. Evidence is less convincing than faith.
12. Everything the Pope says is as good as the Word of God.
13. If there were no religion, you would be a bad person and do bad things.
14. No amount of "evidence" would sway your faith.
15. Jesus existed as a flesh and blood person.
16. Jesus died and rose again.
17. Jesus sacrificed himself to forgive everyone of original sin, current sin, and all sin.
18. But, you have to accept Jesus as a personal savior in order to be eligible for the forgiveness.
19. Once you have been "saved," you can't be "unsaved."
20. Even if you aren't sure about God and Jesus, it's better to believe based on the "better safe than sorry" principle.
21. Even with all of the religions in the world, you are 100% sure your religion is the right one.
22. And you are willing to stake your eternal soul on it.
23. Your God values faith over logic (eg. when faith and logic are irreconcilable, your god would rather you choose faith).
24. Your God would rather you claim belief in him, even if you are unsure, rather than put off making a decision until you have more evidence.
25. Personal spiritual experiences are conclusive evidence of God.
0 = "Plead the Fifth" - (If you don't know what it means, you can't use it!)
1 = "Strongly Disagree"
2 = "Disagree"
3 = "Somewhat Disagree"
4 = "Neither Agree nor Disagree - Utterly undecided"
5 = "Somewhat Agree"
6 = "Agree"
7 = "Strongly Agree"
Comments after each response are encouraged but not required.
Overall...
1. The Bible is the Word of God.
2. The Bible 100% accurate and infallible.
3. The Bible is literal.
4. The Bible is allegorical.
5. In the history of the world, religions have done more good than bad.
Specifically...
1. The Creation story is literal - that's how the world was made.
2. The Adam and Eve story is literal - they were the first people.
3. Adam and Eve sinner and that sin was passed down to their children and so forth (concept of original sin).
4. The God of the Bible is the same God throughout the Bible (unchanging God).
5. The God of the Old Testament was a loving, caring God to all mankind.
6. Jesus "changed the rules" of the Old Testament.
7. People should still live by all of the super-strict laws of the Old Testament (specifically, the ones in Leviticus).
8. Its ok for modern believers to pick and choose which "rules" follow because times have changed.
9. The Earth is only between 5000-8000 years old.
10. You have doubts about your faith.
11. Evidence is less convincing than faith.
12. Everything the Pope says is as good as the Word of God.
13. If there were no religion, you would be a bad person and do bad things.
14. No amount of "evidence" would sway your faith.
15. Jesus existed as a flesh and blood person.
16. Jesus died and rose again.
17. Jesus sacrificed himself to forgive everyone of original sin, current sin, and all sin.
18. But, you have to accept Jesus as a personal savior in order to be eligible for the forgiveness.
19. Once you have been "saved," you can't be "unsaved."
20. Even if you aren't sure about God and Jesus, it's better to believe based on the "better safe than sorry" principle.
21. Even with all of the religions in the world, you are 100% sure your religion is the right one.
22. And you are willing to stake your eternal soul on it.
23. Your God values faith over logic (eg. when faith and logic are irreconcilable, your god would rather you choose faith).
24. Your God would rather you claim belief in him, even if you are unsure, rather than put off making a decision until you have more evidence.
25. Personal spiritual experiences are conclusive evidence of God.
Kid Free Days!
First Day of School!
Woo hoo! Today was the first day in roughly forever that all of the kids have been in school ALL day! The quiet in the house during the school day was deafening. It's amazing how much more time is in the day without all the arguing, fighting, whining, begging, and general kid-ness in it!
Amber went to school first and I think she was the most nervous because she was starting middle school. It was really her first experience in the "move around from class to class" environment. She made some friends and I think she will do fine. I think she will get a little overwhelmed when all the work starts to be assigned in earnest. But, she'll be fine in the end.
The hardest part about Emily and Carmen's school is the traffic. The city had been working last school year on the street that the school is on. They crept closer and closer to the school, and then, right at the end of the school year, they closed off the main intersection. It was timed perfectly so that they could work on the roads right next to the school during the summer and be all good to go by this fall. It didn't happen that way. I don't think they did much work at all during the summer and so now, the main road to the school is all torn up. This drives all of the traffic down our little road to get to the school. So now, instead of it being safe for the kids to bike to school, they have to deal with twice as much traffic! Crap.
Also, the school lets Carmen out of class 30 minutes before Emily, effectively screwing up the pick up schedule. We can pick Carmen up, come home, wait 10 minutes, or go pick Carmen up and wait at the school for 30 minutes. Crap. Oh well, it works out in the sense that all the kids are in school all day anyway!
So, here's to kid-free days!
Woo hoo! Today was the first day in roughly forever that all of the kids have been in school ALL day! The quiet in the house during the school day was deafening. It's amazing how much more time is in the day without all the arguing, fighting, whining, begging, and general kid-ness in it!
Amber went to school first and I think she was the most nervous because she was starting middle school. It was really her first experience in the "move around from class to class" environment. She made some friends and I think she will do fine. I think she will get a little overwhelmed when all the work starts to be assigned in earnest. But, she'll be fine in the end.
The hardest part about Emily and Carmen's school is the traffic. The city had been working last school year on the street that the school is on. They crept closer and closer to the school, and then, right at the end of the school year, they closed off the main intersection. It was timed perfectly so that they could work on the roads right next to the school during the summer and be all good to go by this fall. It didn't happen that way. I don't think they did much work at all during the summer and so now, the main road to the school is all torn up. This drives all of the traffic down our little road to get to the school. So now, instead of it being safe for the kids to bike to school, they have to deal with twice as much traffic! Crap.
Also, the school lets Carmen out of class 30 minutes before Emily, effectively screwing up the pick up schedule. We can pick Carmen up, come home, wait 10 minutes, or go pick Carmen up and wait at the school for 30 minutes. Crap. Oh well, it works out in the sense that all the kids are in school all day anyway!
So, here's to kid-free days!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Never the Same
Its never the same when you put it on paper. Even though the images are clear in my head, the black and white words just cant convey the feelings that they are meant to express.
It began with a reunion of sorts, I think it was like a family reunion, but there were also people from my work. Many of the Soldiers I had worked with were there, as were some family members. My wife, Sarah, was there as well - everyone was having a good time. The night was nearly over, and as I recall, we had had a good time.
As the evening drew to a close, we happened to find ourselves outside of a bar, or maybe a club, or maybe even a combination club, bar, pizza place. The music coming from it was loud and popular, instantly drawing our attention, even from the parking lot across the street. From the outside, it appeared as though there might have been strippers behind the frosted, hazed windows and the diffused yellow light seemed to illuminate their every smooth curve as they gyrated behind them. When strippers are that close, it's difficult to keep Soldiers away, especially after they've had a drink or two.
Imagine our disappointment when we entered the establishment to find it nearly deserted except for the one or two employees putting the chairs up on the tables, apparently ready to close up for the night. There was a bar, but there were no strippers. The illusion of strippers came from an set up in front of each window where mechanical devices, like robots, were dressed with flowing clothing to hide their otherwise sharp edges and angular frames. They appeared to dance when they were turned on and viewed from somewhere other than the side. From the bar, extra windows had been added inside to shield the patrons from the mechanations of the strippers. Each of the robot "strippers" even had a tip jar at the base of her window. After a few drinks, the illusion would be nearly complete.
Not willing to leave empty-handed, one of the Soldiers asked the manager to take a group photo of our weird reunion and she obliged - either to get us to leave, or just because she was a good person, who knows? While our photographer climbed up onto the bar to get a higher angle, we huddled our group together in the center of the main floor of the bar and looked up at the glassy eye of the camera. Too many things (I wouldn't call them thoughts because they were just images) flashed through my mind in the moments before the flash - the dead, unblinking eye of the camera, how the glow of the LCD eerily illuminated the face of the photographer like a ghost, that the music had died ushering in a stark, absolute silence, how each flash seemed to be the only light in the room, causing everyone to move in stutters in the darkness, to be illuminated soon after by the next flash - like a strobe. It just seemed to be bodies stuttering this way and that, smiles that became sneers in the dark and tattoos that came alive - menacing the watcher.
Eventually, the reunion must have broke up but the blinding flash bulbs in my mind seem to have wiped out whatever happened after them.
Then, I was standing outside, in the middle of small city. It was dark and raining, a slight chill rode the air. The buildings around seemed familiar and old. I had grown up in this city, and I think my mom may have worked in one of the nearby buildings. An empty fountain dominated in the center of the brick courtyard where I stood. It was getting on towards winter, and the fountain was empty. There were few people walking around, and they all seemed to hide in their long jackets or rain-coats. They weren't my concern either, and I'm sure I looked to hiding as well. I must have just gotten off the phone with my wife who was working late nearby (but I didn't know exactly where - except that she was warm and dry high up in her building, perhaps even overlooking the courtyard where I stood). It wasn't often she worked late, and I wasn't worried - we had just spoken on the phone and all was well. I had about an hour or so to kill.
An hour was not enough to go anywhere and do anything productive, besides, at 9 o'clock at night, there isn't much productive to do. I relegated myself to wandering the nearby area, exploring the urban environment and seeing where it would take me. I ventured to the back of the red brick courtyard toward a building I thought I might have been in before. As I approached the glass door which led to the entry-way, I was certain it would be locked - it was night after all. But, a small tug on the door and it swung open, the warmer air wafting out seemed somehow stale. As I stepped into the dimly lit entryway, I was overtaken by a sense of nostalgia - I had been here before, but I couldn't place when or why. In front of me stood the metal doors of an elevator and to my left, a narrow passage of stairs. I had a bad feeling about the elevator, so I started up the stairs, led by a sense of dark familiarity. The lights on the landing flickered as approached and passed under, but this too, seemed familiar. From the small landing, I could see down into the empty courtyard. The rain had picked up and puddles were forming. I continued up the stairs under the flickering lights.
At the top of the stairs was a set of double glass doors. Beyond them, a dimly lit hallway. Surely these doors would be locked. A slight cold draft gently pushed one door out towards me before the weight of the door became too much and it shut again. I stood there for a moment, feeling the pull to go in, but sensing a foreboding too. I looked through the glass to see what might be causing either feeling but recognized nothing. The doors led to an entryway beyond which a hallway ran away from me and then turned. Closed doors marred the smooth walls of the hallway - offices perhaps? Framed pictures hung in the hallway, and they seemed familiar. From outside the glass doors and from this far away, I couldn't make out any more than that they appeared to be of people, and they looked old. The ones I could see best were black and white, and seemed slightly out of focus. Curiosity got the best of me and when another draft pushed the door open towards me, I slid my fingers in to catch it before it could shut again.
Once inside the dark entryway, it felt colder. A window open somewhere could have been causing the draft and dropping the temperature - but it must have been a big window, because it was cold. I started down the hallway, wanting to examine the pictures more closely. I glanced at first few pictures, which were faded and yellow with age. The paper behind the glass was curing at the edges. I know the people in them looked familiar, but I couldn't place them.
I was startled when my phone rang, the loudness of it in the quiet was almost painful. I reached into my pocket and pulled the phone out, pulling out with it a cloth tape measure (where did that come from?). Momentarily, the trance of familiarity and foreboding was broken as I heard my wife's voice again. She would be off earlier than expected, perhaps a half hour.
"That's great, so I'll see you soon."
...
"No, it's fine, I'm just exploring whatever buildings are open."
...
"It's weird, these pictures are so familiar, but so old, where am I? What the? What is this? This is us - you and me - its so old..."
I had slipped back into the trance again. My hand fell away from my ear, as did the phone. I could hear my wife, talking, questioning, but so far away. I had been walking down the hall, talking on the phone, when I saw another familiar picture. It too was yellowed, and somewhat blurry, but the faces were undeniable - I was looking a picture of myself and my wife, taken at the bar. It couldn't have been THAT long ago, and how did it get here? The cloth tape measure had unraveled and was dragging on the floor behind me as I held the end in my hand with the phone. The picture of us was blurry and almost seemed to have a life of its own under the flickering fluorescents. Seriously unnerved at this point, I moved back towards the entryway to reexamine the other pictures. Now they were placeable too - all of the pictures in the hall seemed to be from that bar, and they all seemed to be of that renunion we had. But, the angles were wrong for having been taken by one camera. Some were close-ups, the wriggling tattoos, the strobes illuminating decomposed flesh, the mechanical strippers in the background peeling back their silky coverings and emerging from behind their frosted glass. Each picture seemed alive in the alternating dark and bright lights. My heart raced and I was on the edge of panic as I continued down the hall, remembering another exit at the end of the hallway. With the last corner in sight, I remembered my phone, I could hear my wife from a thousand miles away, and I could hear the panic in her voice. Had I been talking? What had I been saying?
I found myself looking at the ground, back down the hall, away from the last corner, was a piece of my cloth tape measure. I needed to gather it up, so I could put it back together. I walked back to it and picked it up. Then I saw another small yellow piece of tape, the 24" to 28" strip further away and I went to it too. As I picked it up, there was another, closer, but still I had to follow it. Somewhere deep in my mind, I knew I was being led - but by what and where to? And why did I NEED the pieces of the tape measure? I could hear my phone screaming at me - so far away, but so urgent - to get out, that I was scaring her, to forget the tape measure, to run, escape! Now! Something in her voice broke through the trace, the pictures, the smell of death was so close - for a moment I had control. I bolted towards the last corner, the exit. Bits of tape measure appeared on the floor in front of me - one after the other, they littered the floor, begging me to pick them up - just one more piece! Then another.
It was the screaming that stopped me from bending over to pick them up. It was in my head, it was in my phone, it was so close and so far away. The pictures flashed by and were talking to me, their lips moving without sound - or was it the lights. I ran, crashed around the corner, my feet kicking through piles of yellow tape measure, measurements flying ahead of me, behind me. The pictures were screaming soundlessly, the light buzzed ferociously. Finally I saw the exit door, and was grimly certain it WOULD be locked. In slow motion I ran, seeing the rain fall outside the glass, seeing the stairs slick wet with it. Thinking it wouldn't give, that I would be trapped, I hit the door without slowing down - and crashed through as the door swung easily open. I stumbled out onto the stairs, down the stairs, into the street. Then I started walking. My heart raced and when I glanced back, I saw the door I had just come through close gently on the quiet, dimly lit hallway. But the pictures still moved.
I put my hand back to my ear to speak into my phone, but it wasn't there. In my mind, I remembered setting it down on the pedestal, beside the picture of us. I turned again towards the door, and dreaded, feared and ached to go get my phone. I knew right where it was - down the hallway, on the ledge. And I started back.
It began with a reunion of sorts, I think it was like a family reunion, but there were also people from my work. Many of the Soldiers I had worked with were there, as were some family members. My wife, Sarah, was there as well - everyone was having a good time. The night was nearly over, and as I recall, we had had a good time.
As the evening drew to a close, we happened to find ourselves outside of a bar, or maybe a club, or maybe even a combination club, bar, pizza place. The music coming from it was loud and popular, instantly drawing our attention, even from the parking lot across the street. From the outside, it appeared as though there might have been strippers behind the frosted, hazed windows and the diffused yellow light seemed to illuminate their every smooth curve as they gyrated behind them. When strippers are that close, it's difficult to keep Soldiers away, especially after they've had a drink or two.
Imagine our disappointment when we entered the establishment to find it nearly deserted except for the one or two employees putting the chairs up on the tables, apparently ready to close up for the night. There was a bar, but there were no strippers. The illusion of strippers came from an set up in front of each window where mechanical devices, like robots, were dressed with flowing clothing to hide their otherwise sharp edges and angular frames. They appeared to dance when they were turned on and viewed from somewhere other than the side. From the bar, extra windows had been added inside to shield the patrons from the mechanations of the strippers. Each of the robot "strippers" even had a tip jar at the base of her window. After a few drinks, the illusion would be nearly complete.
Not willing to leave empty-handed, one of the Soldiers asked the manager to take a group photo of our weird reunion and she obliged - either to get us to leave, or just because she was a good person, who knows? While our photographer climbed up onto the bar to get a higher angle, we huddled our group together in the center of the main floor of the bar and looked up at the glassy eye of the camera. Too many things (I wouldn't call them thoughts because they were just images) flashed through my mind in the moments before the flash - the dead, unblinking eye of the camera, how the glow of the LCD eerily illuminated the face of the photographer like a ghost, that the music had died ushering in a stark, absolute silence, how each flash seemed to be the only light in the room, causing everyone to move in stutters in the darkness, to be illuminated soon after by the next flash - like a strobe. It just seemed to be bodies stuttering this way and that, smiles that became sneers in the dark and tattoos that came alive - menacing the watcher.
Eventually, the reunion must have broke up but the blinding flash bulbs in my mind seem to have wiped out whatever happened after them.
Then, I was standing outside, in the middle of small city. It was dark and raining, a slight chill rode the air. The buildings around seemed familiar and old. I had grown up in this city, and I think my mom may have worked in one of the nearby buildings. An empty fountain dominated in the center of the brick courtyard where I stood. It was getting on towards winter, and the fountain was empty. There were few people walking around, and they all seemed to hide in their long jackets or rain-coats. They weren't my concern either, and I'm sure I looked to hiding as well. I must have just gotten off the phone with my wife who was working late nearby (but I didn't know exactly where - except that she was warm and dry high up in her building, perhaps even overlooking the courtyard where I stood). It wasn't often she worked late, and I wasn't worried - we had just spoken on the phone and all was well. I had about an hour or so to kill.
An hour was not enough to go anywhere and do anything productive, besides, at 9 o'clock at night, there isn't much productive to do. I relegated myself to wandering the nearby area, exploring the urban environment and seeing where it would take me. I ventured to the back of the red brick courtyard toward a building I thought I might have been in before. As I approached the glass door which led to the entry-way, I was certain it would be locked - it was night after all. But, a small tug on the door and it swung open, the warmer air wafting out seemed somehow stale. As I stepped into the dimly lit entryway, I was overtaken by a sense of nostalgia - I had been here before, but I couldn't place when or why. In front of me stood the metal doors of an elevator and to my left, a narrow passage of stairs. I had a bad feeling about the elevator, so I started up the stairs, led by a sense of dark familiarity. The lights on the landing flickered as approached and passed under, but this too, seemed familiar. From the small landing, I could see down into the empty courtyard. The rain had picked up and puddles were forming. I continued up the stairs under the flickering lights.
At the top of the stairs was a set of double glass doors. Beyond them, a dimly lit hallway. Surely these doors would be locked. A slight cold draft gently pushed one door out towards me before the weight of the door became too much and it shut again. I stood there for a moment, feeling the pull to go in, but sensing a foreboding too. I looked through the glass to see what might be causing either feeling but recognized nothing. The doors led to an entryway beyond which a hallway ran away from me and then turned. Closed doors marred the smooth walls of the hallway - offices perhaps? Framed pictures hung in the hallway, and they seemed familiar. From outside the glass doors and from this far away, I couldn't make out any more than that they appeared to be of people, and they looked old. The ones I could see best were black and white, and seemed slightly out of focus. Curiosity got the best of me and when another draft pushed the door open towards me, I slid my fingers in to catch it before it could shut again.
Once inside the dark entryway, it felt colder. A window open somewhere could have been causing the draft and dropping the temperature - but it must have been a big window, because it was cold. I started down the hallway, wanting to examine the pictures more closely. I glanced at first few pictures, which were faded and yellow with age. The paper behind the glass was curing at the edges. I know the people in them looked familiar, but I couldn't place them.
I was startled when my phone rang, the loudness of it in the quiet was almost painful. I reached into my pocket and pulled the phone out, pulling out with it a cloth tape measure (where did that come from?). Momentarily, the trance of familiarity and foreboding was broken as I heard my wife's voice again. She would be off earlier than expected, perhaps a half hour.
"That's great, so I'll see you soon."
...
"No, it's fine, I'm just exploring whatever buildings are open."
...
"It's weird, these pictures are so familiar, but so old, where am I? What the? What is this? This is us - you and me - its so old..."
I had slipped back into the trance again. My hand fell away from my ear, as did the phone. I could hear my wife, talking, questioning, but so far away. I had been walking down the hall, talking on the phone, when I saw another familiar picture. It too was yellowed, and somewhat blurry, but the faces were undeniable - I was looking a picture of myself and my wife, taken at the bar. It couldn't have been THAT long ago, and how did it get here? The cloth tape measure had unraveled and was dragging on the floor behind me as I held the end in my hand with the phone. The picture of us was blurry and almost seemed to have a life of its own under the flickering fluorescents. Seriously unnerved at this point, I moved back towards the entryway to reexamine the other pictures. Now they were placeable too - all of the pictures in the hall seemed to be from that bar, and they all seemed to be of that renunion we had. But, the angles were wrong for having been taken by one camera. Some were close-ups, the wriggling tattoos, the strobes illuminating decomposed flesh, the mechanical strippers in the background peeling back their silky coverings and emerging from behind their frosted glass. Each picture seemed alive in the alternating dark and bright lights. My heart raced and I was on the edge of panic as I continued down the hall, remembering another exit at the end of the hallway. With the last corner in sight, I remembered my phone, I could hear my wife from a thousand miles away, and I could hear the panic in her voice. Had I been talking? What had I been saying?
I found myself looking at the ground, back down the hall, away from the last corner, was a piece of my cloth tape measure. I needed to gather it up, so I could put it back together. I walked back to it and picked it up. Then I saw another small yellow piece of tape, the 24" to 28" strip further away and I went to it too. As I picked it up, there was another, closer, but still I had to follow it. Somewhere deep in my mind, I knew I was being led - but by what and where to? And why did I NEED the pieces of the tape measure? I could hear my phone screaming at me - so far away, but so urgent - to get out, that I was scaring her, to forget the tape measure, to run, escape! Now! Something in her voice broke through the trace, the pictures, the smell of death was so close - for a moment I had control. I bolted towards the last corner, the exit. Bits of tape measure appeared on the floor in front of me - one after the other, they littered the floor, begging me to pick them up - just one more piece! Then another.
It was the screaming that stopped me from bending over to pick them up. It was in my head, it was in my phone, it was so close and so far away. The pictures flashed by and were talking to me, their lips moving without sound - or was it the lights. I ran, crashed around the corner, my feet kicking through piles of yellow tape measure, measurements flying ahead of me, behind me. The pictures were screaming soundlessly, the light buzzed ferociously. Finally I saw the exit door, and was grimly certain it WOULD be locked. In slow motion I ran, seeing the rain fall outside the glass, seeing the stairs slick wet with it. Thinking it wouldn't give, that I would be trapped, I hit the door without slowing down - and crashed through as the door swung easily open. I stumbled out onto the stairs, down the stairs, into the street. Then I started walking. My heart raced and when I glanced back, I saw the door I had just come through close gently on the quiet, dimly lit hallway. But the pictures still moved.
I put my hand back to my ear to speak into my phone, but it wasn't there. In my mind, I remembered setting it down on the pedestal, beside the picture of us. I turned again towards the door, and dreaded, feared and ached to go get my phone. I knew right where it was - down the hallway, on the ledge. And I started back.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Victory for Terrorism
Random House, a major book publisher in the US, has cancelled a contract with author Sherry Jones because her book, "Jewel of Medina," might have offended some Muslims. The book is a historical novel about the life of A'isha, the 12th wife of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/08/16/news/local/news04.txt
This is a clear victory for Islamic Fanatics and terrorists because they have managed to censor the free-speech of someone else, and negatively impact the literary career of someone simply through the fear of how a minority of Muslims MIGHT react when offended. A small minority has dictated the choices made by a major book publisher. Islamic fanatics have managed to instill enough fear in not only the population, but also publishers to make them think twice about publishing something that may be offensive to "Muslims."
If Ms. Jones decides to publish the book herself (ie. through Lulu or some other self-publisher), I would buy the book simply BECAUSE Random House caved to possible pressure.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/08/16/news/local/news04.txt
This is a clear victory for Islamic Fanatics and terrorists because they have managed to censor the free-speech of someone else, and negatively impact the literary career of someone simply through the fear of how a minority of Muslims MIGHT react when offended. A small minority has dictated the choices made by a major book publisher. Islamic fanatics have managed to instill enough fear in not only the population, but also publishers to make them think twice about publishing something that may be offensive to "Muslims."
If Ms. Jones decides to publish the book herself (ie. through Lulu or some other self-publisher), I would buy the book simply BECAUSE Random House caved to possible pressure.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Woot! I cracked my own 128-bit WEP encrypted network!
You may not care, but I do! (And yes, I know that WEP is soooo outdated now, but still...)
This is using a stock Asus EEE PC 8G with stock drivers.
I installed Backtrack3 on a 1gig USB drive and booted up with it.
My Asus is my first Linux experience and all of the information I used is from this page: "http://ryanunderdown.com/2007/02/12/cracking-wep-using-backtrack/"
I had to modify some of my commands for whatever reason, but it wasn't too hard after some Googling to get more effective commands.
I have no specific knowledge of Linux operating systems or hacking networks. I set up a network with a DLink Router using 128-bit WEP encryption.
I hacked my OWN network, not anyone else's.
I did notice that until I made one of my computers re-connect to the secure network, I was not picking up any arp (ivs) packets that I needed in order to decrypt.
One problem I had (have) is that after I successfully cracked the password, I couldn't figure out how to get my wireless device out of monitor mode. I simply reset the computer and input the password to make sure it worked. I thought that by quitting kismet it would come back, but it didn't. Stopping and restarting it also didn't work.
The website listed above is a great, simple run-down of how to do this, and below are the specific commands I used to accomplish the crack.
Open Kismet
Select ath0
Press "s" to arrange networks
Press "P" to arrange by # packets
Press "L" to lock the channel on selected channel
Press "enter" on network to get name (SSID) and MAC (BSSID) and Channel (1-11)
Press "c" to make sure you have clients on the network in question
Use airodump to capture IV packets (the ones with password info)
type "airodump-ng --ivs -w /root/Desktop/ --channel"
this will put two files on your desktop (-01.ivs & -01.txt) ; these files are capturing the ivs packets you need to decrypt the network password
Associate wireless card with aireplay for packet injecting
type "aireplay-ng -1 0 -e -a -h ath0"
-1 = type of attack = fake AP authentication
0 = delay in attack
-e = SSID (name) of Access Point
-a = (Access Point MAC)
-h = WIFI CARD MAC
ath0 = wireless interface ID
Start Packet Injection
type "aireplay-ng -3 -b -h "
When you have about 250-500k IV packets (not total packets) you can move on.
Using aircrack
TYPE "aircrack-ng -s /root/Desktop/-01.ivs"
This will bring up a network list to crack - pick the one you want
This will analyze the packets and look for the passwords in the ivs files
This is using a stock Asus EEE PC 8G with stock drivers.
I installed Backtrack3 on a 1gig USB drive and booted up with it.
My Asus is my first Linux experience and all of the information I used is from this page: "http://ryanunderdown.com/2007/02/12/cracking-wep-using-backtrack/"
I had to modify some of my commands for whatever reason, but it wasn't too hard after some Googling to get more effective commands.
I have no specific knowledge of Linux operating systems or hacking networks. I set up a network with a DLink Router using 128-bit WEP encryption.
I hacked my OWN network, not anyone else's.
I did notice that until I made one of my computers re-connect to the secure network, I was not picking up any arp (ivs) packets that I needed in order to decrypt.
One problem I had (have) is that after I successfully cracked the password, I couldn't figure out how to get my wireless device out of monitor mode. I simply reset the computer and input the password to make sure it worked. I thought that by quitting kismet it would come back, but it didn't. Stopping and restarting it also didn't work.
The website listed above is a great, simple run-down of how to do this, and below are the specific commands I used to accomplish the crack.
Open Kismet
Select ath0
Press "s" to arrange networks
Press "P" to arrange by # packets
Press "L" to lock the channel on selected channel
Press "enter" on network to get name (SSID) and MAC (BSSID) and Channel (1-11)
Press "c" to make sure you have clients on the network in question
Use airodump to capture IV packets (the ones with password info)
type "airodump-ng --ivs -w /root/Desktop/ --channel
this will put two files on your desktop (-01.ivs & -01.txt) ; these files are capturing the ivs packets you need to decrypt the network password
Associate wireless card with aireplay for packet injecting
type "aireplay-ng -1 0 -e
-1 = type of attack = fake AP authentication
0 = delay in attack
-e = SSID (name) of Access Point
-a = (Access Point MAC)
-h = WIFI CARD MAC
ath0 = wireless interface ID
Start Packet Injection
type "aireplay-ng -3 -b
When you have about 250-500k IV packets (not total packets) you can move on.
Using aircrack
TYPE "aircrack-ng -s /root/Desktop/-01.ivs"
This will bring up a network list to crack - pick the one you want
This will analyze the packets and look for the passwords in the ivs files
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
New Hole!
So, today my oldest daughter added a new hole to her head. I took her out to get her nose pierced. She's been asking for one for awhile now, and I have had no real objection to it. Then she started asking for a "Monroe" piercing (high on the upper lip, like Marilyn Monroe's mole). I think those look kinda silly. So, I compromised. I let her get the nose piercing in exchange for not asking for the "Monroe." For me, its a trade of something I don't mind (the nose piercing) for something I do (the "Monroe"). We both win.
Originally, we were going to have the job done at the "Claire's" in the mall, like we did with her ears, but when I did a little research, I found that those places (mall piercing places) aren't exactly renowned for their sterility and experience. People who get piercings there are more likely to develop an infection. So, I did some research for body piercing places in the area and picked out a place called "Painless Steel Tattoo."
When we arrived, the guy in charge was friendly and asked all the questions we expected - age, ID, and parental consent. The store was well lit and exceptionally clean. Then we filled out the paperwork and Amber picked the stud she wanted (clear/white). Then we waited.
After a few minutes, she was called into a back room where Amber was told what to expect and what was going to happen. She was a little nervous, but handled it well. Soon enough, the piercer had stuck the needle through Amber's nose, twisted it around, and cut off the excess. Amber barely flinched.
Then she started talking about a tattoo. The answer to that one is "no." Why? Because tattoos are forever - if you don't like it, too bad. Piercings can heal up if you grow out of them.
Originally, we were going to have the job done at the "Claire's" in the mall, like we did with her ears, but when I did a little research, I found that those places (mall piercing places) aren't exactly renowned for their sterility and experience. People who get piercings there are more likely to develop an infection. So, I did some research for body piercing places in the area and picked out a place called "Painless Steel Tattoo."
When we arrived, the guy in charge was friendly and asked all the questions we expected - age, ID, and parental consent. The store was well lit and exceptionally clean. Then we filled out the paperwork and Amber picked the stud she wanted (clear/white). Then we waited.
After a few minutes, she was called into a back room where Amber was told what to expect and what was going to happen. She was a little nervous, but handled it well. Soon enough, the piercer had stuck the needle through Amber's nose, twisted it around, and cut off the excess. Amber barely flinched.
Then she started talking about a tattoo. The answer to that one is "no." Why? Because tattoos are forever - if you don't like it, too bad. Piercings can heal up if you grow out of them.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Almost done with Summer!
Summer is about over. After weeks of too much fun in the sun, it is nearly time for the kids (and myself) to get back to the grindstone. Thankfully all of the kids will be in school!
Last week, we went back to Spokane to drop off David and Lana and to have a little family reunion. Everything went well, except the eating - we had wayyyyyyy too much junk food.
The first day we left home on a breakfast of huckleberry and raspberry milkshakes. We had lunch from Little Cesears in Spokane and then a lunch-dessert at ColdStone Creamery because D&L hadn't ever been there! I had a nice raspberry sorbet. It was refreshing. It was small and still very filling. Every time we go to Coldstone, it feels more like a meal than a dessert.
Our next course of business was to go to mom's house and let the kids go for a little dip. They swam for about an hour before D&L were picked up. Next we had to get to a lunch at Northtown Mall (Chilis?) with Grandma Bettie.
We had a nice lunch with her on her birthday. We gave her a new cell phone as a present because she is always traveling between Newport and Spokane, and Montana and Walla Walla - she's a real traveler!
We went back to Grandma Betsy's (with the pool) and chit-chatted with the other family that was in town for the reunion (and was staying at the house too). Then we all went to dinner at Red Robin. I have never eaten at more restaurants in one day than that day.
In the morning, SA made a big breakfast and fed the army that was staying at the house. She made biscuits, gravy, sausage, pancakes and eggs for everyone. It was nummy.
Then we went to the reunion where we re-met a bunch of other relatives and hung out at the park. SA was able to talk us out of a $250 ticket for driving on the grass while we were loading up the Jeep with tables and chairs while picking up. Go her!
Back at the house, we continued the chit-chat and entered into the story of "Aud" as told by Grandma Betsy. It was long story, full of flash-fowards and flash-backs - much like the TV show "Lost." At some point, Bill managed to offend a cousin by quoting a passage from the "Book of Aud" about "pelvis's and clits." It actually took longer than I thought it would. Meanwhile, the kids swam.
A favorite game of the kids in the pool is one where I try to hit them with the little colored balls. I have to admit, it IS fun to whap the kids on the head with a ball.
Those kids will play in the pool whether its cold or hot. It was hot the first day and cold the rest. I was happy not being in the water. SA went for a late night cool-off the first night.
On Sunday, we were planning to leave, but the kids wanted to stay longer - so we stayed an extra day. We took the girls out geocaching and then to the mall where we picked up some extra school-clothes and let the kids blow their allowances. Amber picked out some shirts and hair extension (pink) from Hot Topic and Wet Seal and Emily got something from Hot Topic as well. Which reminds me, I need to go deduct that from her allowance.
I think we also went garage saleing at some point and picked up some other school clothes. We got Amber this dress that is pretty awesome. Maybe she'll wear it to her first day of Junior High - it'll give her an instant first impression the school will never forget.
We stayed up and played some Texas Hold 'Em with Bill, Betsy and Uncle Jeff and, in the end, set Betsy up with a pair of 8's in the hole and then stacked the deck with 8's on the flop - just to see her reaction. Then we played it through. Betsy would raise and others would call or raise in turn. It was getting to be a big pot. Once we came down to it, Bill mentioned the "rule change" whereby Four-Of-A-Kind is worthless. The look was priceless.
That night, we heard that Alyssa's baby was in some trouble at the hospital and so we tried to help them and get a message to Chris at Basic Training. We also introduced Aunti Lin and Cousin Shannon ("Princess Cool" according to Carmen) to geocaching when we placed (with permission) our "Bookmarks the Spot" cache in Grandma Betsy's front yard.
On Monday, we packed up our stuff (and some of the stuff Grandma Betsy was trying to get rid of), and headed out. On the way out of town, we tried to get ahold of Alyssa again to see how the baby was doing and to see if we should come visit, but we couldn't get ahold of her. We stuck around and hit some geocaches all down Division. Then we headed home - hitting caches along the way, including one at an old train bridge in Saltese, MT.
SA talked to Alyssa on the phone and found out that her baby didn't have dead bowels, but instead has Ecoli. Strange enough, this is GOOD news because Ecoli is easier to live through than dead bowels.
Finally we made it home and were immediately greeted with enthusiasm by Aurora and Stormy. Whew. One more trip and we're done for a few weeks.
Last week, we went back to Spokane to drop off David and Lana and to have a little family reunion. Everything went well, except the eating - we had wayyyyyyy too much junk food.
The first day we left home on a breakfast of huckleberry and raspberry milkshakes. We had lunch from Little Cesears in Spokane and then a lunch-dessert at ColdStone Creamery because D&L hadn't ever been there! I had a nice raspberry sorbet. It was refreshing. It was small and still very filling. Every time we go to Coldstone, it feels more like a meal than a dessert.
Our next course of business was to go to mom's house and let the kids go for a little dip. They swam for about an hour before D&L were picked up. Next we had to get to a lunch at Northtown Mall (Chilis?) with Grandma Bettie.
We had a nice lunch with her on her birthday. We gave her a new cell phone as a present because she is always traveling between Newport and Spokane, and Montana and Walla Walla - she's a real traveler!
We went back to Grandma Betsy's (with the pool) and chit-chatted with the other family that was in town for the reunion (and was staying at the house too). Then we all went to dinner at Red Robin. I have never eaten at more restaurants in one day than that day.
In the morning, SA made a big breakfast and fed the army that was staying at the house. She made biscuits, gravy, sausage, pancakes and eggs for everyone. It was nummy.
Then we went to the reunion where we re-met a bunch of other relatives and hung out at the park. SA was able to talk us out of a $250 ticket for driving on the grass while we were loading up the Jeep with tables and chairs while picking up. Go her!
Back at the house, we continued the chit-chat and entered into the story of "Aud" as told by Grandma Betsy. It was long story, full of flash-fowards and flash-backs - much like the TV show "Lost." At some point, Bill managed to offend a cousin by quoting a passage from the "Book of Aud" about "pelvis's and clits." It actually took longer than I thought it would. Meanwhile, the kids swam.
A favorite game of the kids in the pool is one where I try to hit them with the little colored balls. I have to admit, it IS fun to whap the kids on the head with a ball.
Those kids will play in the pool whether its cold or hot. It was hot the first day and cold the rest. I was happy not being in the water. SA went for a late night cool-off the first night.
On Sunday, we were planning to leave, but the kids wanted to stay longer - so we stayed an extra day. We took the girls out geocaching and then to the mall where we picked up some extra school-clothes and let the kids blow their allowances. Amber picked out some shirts and hair extension (pink) from Hot Topic and Wet Seal and Emily got something from Hot Topic as well. Which reminds me, I need to go deduct that from her allowance.
I think we also went garage saleing at some point and picked up some other school clothes. We got Amber this dress that is pretty awesome. Maybe she'll wear it to her first day of Junior High - it'll give her an instant first impression the school will never forget.
We stayed up and played some Texas Hold 'Em with Bill, Betsy and Uncle Jeff and, in the end, set Betsy up with a pair of 8's in the hole and then stacked the deck with 8's on the flop - just to see her reaction. Then we played it through. Betsy would raise and others would call or raise in turn. It was getting to be a big pot. Once we came down to it, Bill mentioned the "rule change" whereby Four-Of-A-Kind is worthless. The look was priceless.
That night, we heard that Alyssa's baby was in some trouble at the hospital and so we tried to help them and get a message to Chris at Basic Training. We also introduced Aunti Lin and Cousin Shannon ("Princess Cool" according to Carmen) to geocaching when we placed (with permission) our "Bookmarks the Spot" cache in Grandma Betsy's front yard.
On Monday, we packed up our stuff (and some of the stuff Grandma Betsy was trying to get rid of), and headed out. On the way out of town, we tried to get ahold of Alyssa again to see how the baby was doing and to see if we should come visit, but we couldn't get ahold of her. We stuck around and hit some geocaches all down Division. Then we headed home - hitting caches along the way, including one at an old train bridge in Saltese, MT.
SA talked to Alyssa on the phone and found out that her baby didn't have dead bowels, but instead has Ecoli. Strange enough, this is GOOD news because Ecoli is easier to live through than dead bowels.
Finally we made it home and were immediately greeted with enthusiasm by Aurora and Stormy. Whew. One more trip and we're done for a few weeks.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Adventures in Vacationing (Day 1)
The first day of our vacation was really more of a set-up day. We drove from Missoula, Montana to Spokane, Washington - not a far drive. On that trip, we learned that the Army poncho we had on our gear in the roof basket might be problematic. It was nice to keep out any rain and bugs, but the corners couldn't be secured well and flapped around, smacking the top of the Jeep.
We rolled into Spokane in the mid-afternoon and first drove up to Aud's (recently decreased Grandmother) house to check on the Estate Sale and see how Bill was doing. He was snoozing, but his motion detector fish gave us away with a rousing chorus of something I can't recall.
Then we entered the "gym" and stared in awe at the wonder of it. The huge room was full of five yard sales worth of other people's crap. It appears that a fully enclosed space is perfect for garage saleing during any weather. Why not take advantage of such a perfect space??? It appears as though many neighbors have. We browsed around, tried desperately to keep the kids from snatching anything up, and chit-chatted for awhile.
After breaking away from the never-ending-sale, we went to our favorite local pizza place - Pizza Rita - for some decent pizza and visiting with past co-workers.
Pizza Rita is a funny place because its like a black hole. Once you work there, you always come back. It pays too well (or at least it did in the days of $1.25 gas) to quit for a different job - especially with tips; but it doesn't pay enough to really get ahead at any point - and there is definitely no future in it. Its like purgatory, with free (or reduced) food.
After that, we took the pizzas back to Grandma Betsy's and Bill's house and ate up. We chitchatted for awhile while the kids played in the pool. Eventually, it turned into a game where I would try to throw balls at the kids. They like games like that for some reason.
All of our talking made them miss going to see Ben bowl - too bad. Finally, we put the kids to bed downstairs and after awhile, we went to bed as well. Needed to get a good night's rest for the upcoming vacation.
We rolled into Spokane in the mid-afternoon and first drove up to Aud's (recently decreased Grandmother) house to check on the Estate Sale and see how Bill was doing. He was snoozing, but his motion detector fish gave us away with a rousing chorus of something I can't recall.
Then we entered the "gym" and stared in awe at the wonder of it. The huge room was full of five yard sales worth of other people's crap. It appears that a fully enclosed space is perfect for garage saleing during any weather. Why not take advantage of such a perfect space??? It appears as though many neighbors have. We browsed around, tried desperately to keep the kids from snatching anything up, and chit-chatted for awhile.
After breaking away from the never-ending-sale, we went to our favorite local pizza place - Pizza Rita - for some decent pizza and visiting with past co-workers.
Pizza Rita is a funny place because its like a black hole. Once you work there, you always come back. It pays too well (or at least it did in the days of $1.25 gas) to quit for a different job - especially with tips; but it doesn't pay enough to really get ahead at any point - and there is definitely no future in it. Its like purgatory, with free (or reduced) food.
After that, we took the pizzas back to Grandma Betsy's and Bill's house and ate up. We chitchatted for awhile while the kids played in the pool. Eventually, it turned into a game where I would try to throw balls at the kids. They like games like that for some reason.
All of our talking made them miss going to see Ben bowl - too bad. Finally, we put the kids to bed downstairs and after awhile, we went to bed as well. Needed to get a good night's rest for the upcoming vacation.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Adventures in Vacationing (The Bottom Line)
For the past week-ish, we've been on vacation. We started by going to Spokane to visit family and get ready for the gruelling days to come. Five days in a Jeep with five kids is bound to be stressful. Add onto that all the "fun" we planned and the stress levels are elevated.
Our plan was to drive to SeaTac and stay in an Econolodge that we reserved online - we got a great deal ($89 for two nights!) so we made sure it was centrally located between Seattle and Tacoma - our primary destinations.
The day after Spokane was to be a drive day. Once we arrived in western Washington, we would get our hotel and maybe do some Geocaching.
The second day was our Seattle day. Our primary mission was to take the kids to the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle. After that we wanted to hit the wharf and the Pike Street Market.
Day Three was geared towards checking out all the animals at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and then spend the evening (until sunset) at Ocean Shores, playing in the Pacific. Then, it was back to the hotel.
Day Four was a travel/attraction day. We wanted to hit Mt. St. Helens in the mid-morning, early afternoon and then get to Multnomah Falls, Oregon before nightfall so we could enjoy it in the light. We would then drive until we got tired and sleep at a rest stop.
Day Five was the wrap-up. We would head back to Spokane, visit some people we missed the first time through and then head home.
It was ambitious, but possible.
Bottom line: All fun things were accomplished and all family members are still alive - mission successful.
Pictures and details to follow... stay tuned!
Our plan was to drive to SeaTac and stay in an Econolodge that we reserved online - we got a great deal ($89 for two nights!) so we made sure it was centrally located between Seattle and Tacoma - our primary destinations.
The day after Spokane was to be a drive day. Once we arrived in western Washington, we would get our hotel and maybe do some Geocaching.
The second day was our Seattle day. Our primary mission was to take the kids to the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle. After that we wanted to hit the wharf and the Pike Street Market.
Day Three was geared towards checking out all the animals at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and then spend the evening (until sunset) at Ocean Shores, playing in the Pacific. Then, it was back to the hotel.
Day Four was a travel/attraction day. We wanted to hit Mt. St. Helens in the mid-morning, early afternoon and then get to Multnomah Falls, Oregon before nightfall so we could enjoy it in the light. We would then drive until we got tired and sleep at a rest stop.
Day Five was the wrap-up. We would head back to Spokane, visit some people we missed the first time through and then head home.
It was ambitious, but possible.
Bottom line: All fun things were accomplished and all family members are still alive - mission successful.
Pictures and details to follow... stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Controversial(?) Survey
I received this as a MySpace bulletin. I don't really do the "bulletin" thing, but these questions do deserve answering and even debating if necessary. So, a bulletin is not the forum for them - but a blog is!
1. Would you do meth if it was legalized?
No. Meth is toxic and will kill you. Life is short enough, why try to shorten it?
2. Abortion: for or against?
Against. Once a baby is conceived it IS a baby and should be protected with the same rights and laws that protect everyone else. That includes protecting it from its mother. If killing people because they make life inconvenient were legal, there would be a lot of dead people.
3. Would our country fall with a woman president?
No. There is no reason a woman can't do the job as well as a man. There have been numerous female world leaders who have done phenomenal jobs.
4. Do you believe in the death penalty?
Some people have rejected the laws and rules of society and, as such, have forfeited their right to live within it. The death penalty should be reserved for murder, rape and other heinous crimes.
5. Should marijuana be legalized?
Yes, it should. It is less harmful than alcohol and less addictive than cigarettes. The government could make a substantial amount in taxes if it were legalized.
6. Do you believe in God?
What god? Any god? Some higher power of some sort? Not really. I don't think that humans are at the top of the evolutionary ladder, but I don't believe in any of the religions of the world either. We don't know much much more than we DO know. And for any person or group to think they have a lock on truth - or reality - makes them more delusional than those who continue searching for the truth of reality.
7. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Yes, it should be legalized, it was illogical to make it illegal in the first place. People are people - regardless of race or sex. Does it matter who you love?
8. Do you think its wrong that so many Hispanics are moving to the USA?
Hispanics are welcome to move to the USA if they wish. It is the illegal part of many movements that I disagree with. The immigration policies should be changed to make it easier for those who want to work here to do so. We need the manual labor they are willing to provide and they need the money we are willing to pay. Its a win-win situation, we just need to ensure that the immigrants are here to work and not do us harm.
9. A 12 year old girl has a baby..should she keep it?
That is a decision to be made by her and her family. If she and they reasonable believe that they are capable of raising the child, there is no reason for them not to. They must consider the ramifications of their decision ahead of time, but it is still their decision.
10. Should the alcohol age be lowered to 18?
I think it should be lowered. The drinking age is largely unrelated to the age that most people start drinking. Lowering the drinking age would de-mystify alcohol to some extent. Countries that have lower drinking ages have a greater level of alcohol responsibility and fewer incidences of children being stupid with alcohol.
11. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Once the area is secure and relatively stable and the Iraqi Security Forces are capable of defending their own soil, we will have completed the job and should leave. Until then, it is our problem to solve. We can't run around and do a half-assed job of killing terrorists - we have to complete the job.
11. Assisted suicide is illegal..do you agree?
People should have a humane method of ending their lives if they so choose. After counseling and an evaluation, the person should be allowed to choose how they live their life - or end it.
12. Do you believe in spanking children?
Yes, corporal punishment is required for teaching discipline to children. When it progresses further than discipline into angry abuse, it is no longer authorized.
13. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Yes. The flag is symbol of the country, not the country itself. I can do more good with a million dollars than I can with one flag. Hell, if I got a million dollars to burn a flag, I'd buy ten more. AND, I'd even burn a flag for FREE! Flags that have outlived their useful life and are raggedy and torn and supposed to be burned as the proper method of disposal.
14. A mother is declared innocent after murdering her 5 children in a temporary insanity case, Do you agree?
She is not innocent. Clearly insane, but not innocent.
15. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
I have no reason to fear the judgment of others. Most people who would judge are Christians and so, by judging, they invalidate their own beliefs. Win-win!
1. Would you do meth if it was legalized?
No. Meth is toxic and will kill you. Life is short enough, why try to shorten it?
2. Abortion: for or against?
Against. Once a baby is conceived it IS a baby and should be protected with the same rights and laws that protect everyone else. That includes protecting it from its mother. If killing people because they make life inconvenient were legal, there would be a lot of dead people.
3. Would our country fall with a woman president?
No. There is no reason a woman can't do the job as well as a man. There have been numerous female world leaders who have done phenomenal jobs.
4. Do you believe in the death penalty?
Some people have rejected the laws and rules of society and, as such, have forfeited their right to live within it. The death penalty should be reserved for murder, rape and other heinous crimes.
5. Should marijuana be legalized?
Yes, it should. It is less harmful than alcohol and less addictive than cigarettes. The government could make a substantial amount in taxes if it were legalized.
6. Do you believe in God?
What god? Any god? Some higher power of some sort? Not really. I don't think that humans are at the top of the evolutionary ladder, but I don't believe in any of the religions of the world either. We don't know much much more than we DO know. And for any person or group to think they have a lock on truth - or reality - makes them more delusional than those who continue searching for the truth of reality.
7. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Yes, it should be legalized, it was illogical to make it illegal in the first place. People are people - regardless of race or sex. Does it matter who you love?
8. Do you think its wrong that so many Hispanics are moving to the USA?
Hispanics are welcome to move to the USA if they wish. It is the illegal part of many movements that I disagree with. The immigration policies should be changed to make it easier for those who want to work here to do so. We need the manual labor they are willing to provide and they need the money we are willing to pay. Its a win-win situation, we just need to ensure that the immigrants are here to work and not do us harm.
9. A 12 year old girl has a baby..should she keep it?
That is a decision to be made by her and her family. If she and they reasonable believe that they are capable of raising the child, there is no reason for them not to. They must consider the ramifications of their decision ahead of time, but it is still their decision.
10. Should the alcohol age be lowered to 18?
I think it should be lowered. The drinking age is largely unrelated to the age that most people start drinking. Lowering the drinking age would de-mystify alcohol to some extent. Countries that have lower drinking ages have a greater level of alcohol responsibility and fewer incidences of children being stupid with alcohol.
11. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Once the area is secure and relatively stable and the Iraqi Security Forces are capable of defending their own soil, we will have completed the job and should leave. Until then, it is our problem to solve. We can't run around and do a half-assed job of killing terrorists - we have to complete the job.
11. Assisted suicide is illegal..do you agree?
People should have a humane method of ending their lives if they so choose. After counseling and an evaluation, the person should be allowed to choose how they live their life - or end it.
12. Do you believe in spanking children?
Yes, corporal punishment is required for teaching discipline to children. When it progresses further than discipline into angry abuse, it is no longer authorized.
13. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Yes. The flag is symbol of the country, not the country itself. I can do more good with a million dollars than I can with one flag. Hell, if I got a million dollars to burn a flag, I'd buy ten more. AND, I'd even burn a flag for FREE! Flags that have outlived their useful life and are raggedy and torn and supposed to be burned as the proper method of disposal.
14. A mother is declared innocent after murdering her 5 children in a temporary insanity case, Do you agree?
She is not innocent. Clearly insane, but not innocent.
15. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
I have no reason to fear the judgment of others. Most people who would judge are Christians and so, by judging, they invalidate their own beliefs. Win-win!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is paramount to the liberty of the nation. Without liberty, the nation is nothing but another failed dictatorship. Freedom of speech means the freedom to oppose illegal and immoral actions of the government without fear of reprisal by that government. If the First Amendment was ever to be compromised and people were to live in fear of their government, the fate of the nation would be doomed.
The First Amendment prohibits the Congress, the lawmakers, from allowing the nation to fall victim to any religion. Many of the Founders abhorred religious trappings and understood that a nation founded on a religion has no foundation at all. They also recognized the right of the people to practice any religion (or none at all) they desired, without repercussion from the government.
Because of the First Amendment, people are free to speak their mind, express their views and do so without worrying about being stopped by government agents. People are free to publish their complaints and grievances and not be hunted down by the government for it. There are limits to those freedoms – they can't threaten the President with physical harm, for example. But, within reason, people are free to speak as they deem fit. People can gather together (assemble) and protest against the Government peacefully – and the Government is required to not only allow it, but to protect it.
No one has a lock on the First Amendment. No religion is better than any other, and no opinion has a greater right to be said than any other. It's the First Amendment that protects the right of the Christian to wear the cross, the Jew to wear the Star of David, the Pagan to wear a Pentacle, and any other people to wear their religious symbols. The First Amendment protects the right of the people to wear shirts that others may find offensive – a picture of Mohammed with a bomb, a profanity laced "Fuck You You Fucking Fuck" shirt from Mardis Gras, all the shirts on "T-shirt Hell" (which, if you haven't seen them, they are funny as hell). Everyone has the same right to offend everyone else. Christians wearing crosses are no better, and have more rights, than Pagans wearing Pentacles.
Does everyone have to like the opinion or offensive shirt someone is wearing? No. Is there anything they can do about it if they are offended? Not in a public place where everyone is equally free. But, if someone goes into Wal-Mart with a shirt offensive to Wal-Mart, the store has the option of exercising its right not to allow that person to shop at their store with their offensive shirt. Every business has the right to refuse service to anyone. That is their right. At that point, the offensive shirt wearer (and for visualization purposes, lets say this offensive shirt is obscenely anti-religion – Mohammed with a cross up his ass and Jesus [on that same cross] hiding a stick of dynamite in Mohammed's turban; there's a little guy with a huge nose throwing Kosher salt on the holes in Jesus' feet; at the bottom of the shirt it says, "Jesus and Mohammed, sitting in a tree…" with little music notes around it.) could be asked by Wal-Mart to take off or cover up the shirt or leave the store. If the shirt-wearer wants to shop at Wal-Mart, he/she would cover up the shirt. If the shirt-wearer felt like flexing his/her right to wear the shirt, he/she could choose to leave and no patronize Wal-Mart.
So, that's the first, and most important, Amendment. As long as the government respects that Amendment, there is hope left for the nation. So, we move on to WHY the government must respect the First Amendment – the answer to that is the Second Amendment.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The Founding Fathers knew that a government must allow the people it governs to be the ultimate deciders of their futures. Not the government. The purpose of the Federal Government is not to control the people, but to protect them against those that would restrict and reduce their rights – and ultimately enslave them. The primary offender against the Constitution is, ironically, the Government whose primary purpose is to uphold it. Bit by bit and piece by piece the government wants to take away the rights and liberties of the people in the interest of "security" – and we all know what Franklin said about security and liberty. This is where the Second Amendment comes into play.
"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." Thomas Jefferson
The people are empowered to resist and thwart the attempts of the government to enslave them by force if necessary. The Second Amendment gives the people (the "individual" [See the recent SCOTUS Heller ruling]) the right to keep (to have) AND to bear (to CARRY) arms (weapons). Keeping and Bearing arms meant more to the Founders than we give them credit for. Some argue that arms should simply by used for target shooting or hunting. But, the Founding Fathers said nothing about sport shooting OR hunting. The purpose of the Second Amendment was to provide the people with the means to resist and overthrow a corrupt government. When the Second Amendment was written, there was no question as to what was protected by it. It protected the rights of the people to have and carry the weapons of their choosing – it was not restricted by capacity or capability. If the purpose of the Amendment was to give the people the means to resist a standing army, they had better have weapons comparable to that army. This is why restricting weapon types (such as no machine guns) is probably going against what the founders had in mind. For the moment, assault weapons are no longer banned and you can go buy an AR-15 if you want (and probably should if you ever want one). Once the democrats take control of the Executive Office, I suspect assault weapons will once again be banned. Do I think that the people should have nuclear weapons in silos in their back yards? No, I don't. Those are weapons of mass destruction, not suitable to even a militia. But, I digress.
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." Patrick Henry
The secondary purpose of the Second Amendment is to provide the people the means to resist others who would do them or their family and friends harm. Like it or not, there ARE bad guys out there who wouldn't think twice before killing or robbing you or your family. In fact, there are bad guys out there – in every single town and city – who are actively hunting for their next victim. Be it robbery, murder or rape, someone will be attacked today. No one thinks it will be them, but it could be. The statistics regarding violent crime (particularly against women) are staggering. Approximately 1 in 8 women will be the victims of forcible rape at some point in their lives – so, think of eight females you know and the odds are that one will be raped at some point. Scary. For me, I have four daughters and a wife (for a total of five females) – and I will take every precaution to keep them out of those numbers. Again, I digress.
Hunter or Hunted? Wolf or Sheep?
Throughout the world, crossing every species of life on the planet, there are Hunters and there are the hunted. Predators and Prey. In the dark of night, prey looks for a place to hide and sleep through the night, while the predator looks for to hunt and kill. Lions and gazelles, owls and mice, fish and smaller fish, flogs and flies – from big to small, life consists of hunters and the hunted. Homosapiens have "evolved" (somewhat) beyond the simple hunter/hunted mentality – but not very far. Homosapiens still have the hunter/hunted mentality, but we suppress it and pretend that everyone is equal. Wolves are predators, sheep are prey. In the wild, wolves hunt, kill, and eat. In society, they are no different.
Society's wolves are the bad guys, they break into houses and steal your stuff, they rob you on the street, they mug the pizza delivery guy, they beat their spouses and children, they go into malls and kill random people, and they do bad things to other people – open a newspaper and you will find stories about the wolves. Wolves hunt sheep, who are the average citizen who goes about their day like everyone else. They go to work, they get groceries, they walk in the park, they go to baseball games, they get their mail – all the usual things everyone does. A wolf sneaks up on an unsuspecting sheep, kills it, eats it, and the sheep nearby run away scared for awhile, then they forget about the wolf again and go about their business. What keep the wolves for massacring and eating all the sheep? The sheep-dogs. They are those people who have taken an active interest in protecting the sheep because they choose to ignore the wolf threat and go about their business. Within the borders of the US, the sheep-dogs are mostly police officers; outside the US, the sheepdogs are the military members keeping the foreign wolves at bay.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine
However, there is no reason the sheep HAVE to be sheep. They can choose to augment the low percentage of sheep-dogs by arming themselves in accordance with the laws of their State and choose to be ready and available to stop wolves when necessary. The people have the choice to be sheep, or to be wolves, or to be neither. But, its easier to be a sheep and to be protected than to be responsible for themselves.
Why do *I* Carry?
1. First and foremost for the purpose of defending myself, my family, my property against any illegal assault by another person or animal.
2. To defend the life or well-being of someone else.
3.As a Soldier, I've sworn to Support and Defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.
4. To promote awareness of "good" people with guns by making it less of a shock to see an average everyday person with one.
5. A right not exercised is a right that will be lost."
My wife has a T-shirt that says, "Fuck You, You Fucking Fuck" and she is more than welcome to (and has) worn it out in public. Are people shocked? Yes. Are they offended? Sometimes. Regardless of the feelings of others, she has a right to wear it because of the First Amendment. Can she be asked to leave private business because of it, or to cover it up? Yup, she can, and has. Does she have to support those businesses that choose to infringe on her rights to free speech? Nope. The same applies to a person who legally carries a visible firearm. Might they be harassed because they make the sheep nervous? Yep. Might they be asked to leave or cover up their gun? Yep. Do they have to patronize those businesses that make it a point to infringe on their rights? Nope.
Actually, MANY people carry firearms, but the vast majority carry concealed. Some states allow it, others don't. Many States have taken it upon themselves to make this "right" a privilege by requiring a concealed weapons permit for people who want to carry a firearm without disclosing its presence. Most States, however, support the right of the people to bear arms and only place restriction on the concealment of them. Most State Constitutions also contain some language that supports the right of the people to bear arms. Most States also do not have language in their State laws that apply to the carry of plainly visible weapons – and some even require that weapons BE visible. But they also know that most people WON'T carry openly, because it may be uncomfortable to others.
Do I think I'm going to be mugged soon? No. Do I think I will be at the right (or wrong) place and time to prevent a crime? Maybe, maybe not. But, along those lines, do I think I'll be in a car accident? No, but I wear a seatbelt. Do I think my house will be robbed while I'm away? No, but I have door locks. Do I think I'm going to die soon? No, but I have life insurance. Do I expect to pull someone's disabled vehicle out of the road today? No, but I carry a tow cable. Do I expect to jump someone's battery? No, but I have cables. Coincidentally, I used BOTH my tow strap AND jumper cables today - good thing I had them. Some things I do because there is the possibility that something MIGHT happen.
Carry concealed to protect yourself, your family and those around you. Carry open to protect yourself, your family, those around you, to make a statement that guns are not bad, that rights are worth exercising, and that liberty and security are paramount to making sheep comfortable and helping them forget about the wolves at the door.
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is paramount to the liberty of the nation. Without liberty, the nation is nothing but another failed dictatorship. Freedom of speech means the freedom to oppose illegal and immoral actions of the government without fear of reprisal by that government. If the First Amendment was ever to be compromised and people were to live in fear of their government, the fate of the nation would be doomed.
The First Amendment prohibits the Congress, the lawmakers, from allowing the nation to fall victim to any religion. Many of the Founders abhorred religious trappings and understood that a nation founded on a religion has no foundation at all. They also recognized the right of the people to practice any religion (or none at all) they desired, without repercussion from the government.
Because of the First Amendment, people are free to speak their mind, express their views and do so without worrying about being stopped by government agents. People are free to publish their complaints and grievances and not be hunted down by the government for it. There are limits to those freedoms – they can't threaten the President with physical harm, for example. But, within reason, people are free to speak as they deem fit. People can gather together (assemble) and protest against the Government peacefully – and the Government is required to not only allow it, but to protect it.
No one has a lock on the First Amendment. No religion is better than any other, and no opinion has a greater right to be said than any other. It's the First Amendment that protects the right of the Christian to wear the cross, the Jew to wear the Star of David, the Pagan to wear a Pentacle, and any other people to wear their religious symbols. The First Amendment protects the right of the people to wear shirts that others may find offensive – a picture of Mohammed with a bomb, a profanity laced "Fuck You You Fucking Fuck" shirt from Mardis Gras, all the shirts on "T-shirt Hell" (which, if you haven't seen them, they are funny as hell). Everyone has the same right to offend everyone else. Christians wearing crosses are no better, and have more rights, than Pagans wearing Pentacles.
Does everyone have to like the opinion or offensive shirt someone is wearing? No. Is there anything they can do about it if they are offended? Not in a public place where everyone is equally free. But, if someone goes into Wal-Mart with a shirt offensive to Wal-Mart, the store has the option of exercising its right not to allow that person to shop at their store with their offensive shirt. Every business has the right to refuse service to anyone. That is their right. At that point, the offensive shirt wearer (and for visualization purposes, lets say this offensive shirt is obscenely anti-religion – Mohammed with a cross up his ass and Jesus [on that same cross] hiding a stick of dynamite in Mohammed's turban; there's a little guy with a huge nose throwing Kosher salt on the holes in Jesus' feet; at the bottom of the shirt it says, "Jesus and Mohammed, sitting in a tree…" with little music notes around it.) could be asked by Wal-Mart to take off or cover up the shirt or leave the store. If the shirt-wearer wants to shop at Wal-Mart, he/she would cover up the shirt. If the shirt-wearer felt like flexing his/her right to wear the shirt, he/she could choose to leave and no patronize Wal-Mart.
So, that's the first, and most important, Amendment. As long as the government respects that Amendment, there is hope left for the nation. So, we move on to WHY the government must respect the First Amendment – the answer to that is the Second Amendment.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The Founding Fathers knew that a government must allow the people it governs to be the ultimate deciders of their futures. Not the government. The purpose of the Federal Government is not to control the people, but to protect them against those that would restrict and reduce their rights – and ultimately enslave them. The primary offender against the Constitution is, ironically, the Government whose primary purpose is to uphold it. Bit by bit and piece by piece the government wants to take away the rights and liberties of the people in the interest of "security" – and we all know what Franklin said about security and liberty. This is where the Second Amendment comes into play.
"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." Thomas Jefferson
The people are empowered to resist and thwart the attempts of the government to enslave them by force if necessary. The Second Amendment gives the people (the "individual" [See the recent SCOTUS Heller ruling]) the right to keep (to have) AND to bear (to CARRY) arms (weapons). Keeping and Bearing arms meant more to the Founders than we give them credit for. Some argue that arms should simply by used for target shooting or hunting. But, the Founding Fathers said nothing about sport shooting OR hunting. The purpose of the Second Amendment was to provide the people with the means to resist and overthrow a corrupt government. When the Second Amendment was written, there was no question as to what was protected by it. It protected the rights of the people to have and carry the weapons of their choosing – it was not restricted by capacity or capability. If the purpose of the Amendment was to give the people the means to resist a standing army, they had better have weapons comparable to that army. This is why restricting weapon types (such as no machine guns) is probably going against what the founders had in mind. For the moment, assault weapons are no longer banned and you can go buy an AR-15 if you want (and probably should if you ever want one). Once the democrats take control of the Executive Office, I suspect assault weapons will once again be banned. Do I think that the people should have nuclear weapons in silos in their back yards? No, I don't. Those are weapons of mass destruction, not suitable to even a militia. But, I digress.
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." Patrick Henry
The secondary purpose of the Second Amendment is to provide the people the means to resist others who would do them or their family and friends harm. Like it or not, there ARE bad guys out there who wouldn't think twice before killing or robbing you or your family. In fact, there are bad guys out there – in every single town and city – who are actively hunting for their next victim. Be it robbery, murder or rape, someone will be attacked today. No one thinks it will be them, but it could be. The statistics regarding violent crime (particularly against women) are staggering. Approximately 1 in 8 women will be the victims of forcible rape at some point in their lives – so, think of eight females you know and the odds are that one will be raped at some point. Scary. For me, I have four daughters and a wife (for a total of five females) – and I will take every precaution to keep them out of those numbers. Again, I digress.
Hunter or Hunted? Wolf or Sheep?
Throughout the world, crossing every species of life on the planet, there are Hunters and there are the hunted. Predators and Prey. In the dark of night, prey looks for a place to hide and sleep through the night, while the predator looks for to hunt and kill. Lions and gazelles, owls and mice, fish and smaller fish, flogs and flies – from big to small, life consists of hunters and the hunted. Homosapiens have "evolved" (somewhat) beyond the simple hunter/hunted mentality – but not very far. Homosapiens still have the hunter/hunted mentality, but we suppress it and pretend that everyone is equal. Wolves are predators, sheep are prey. In the wild, wolves hunt, kill, and eat. In society, they are no different.
Society's wolves are the bad guys, they break into houses and steal your stuff, they rob you on the street, they mug the pizza delivery guy, they beat their spouses and children, they go into malls and kill random people, and they do bad things to other people – open a newspaper and you will find stories about the wolves. Wolves hunt sheep, who are the average citizen who goes about their day like everyone else. They go to work, they get groceries, they walk in the park, they go to baseball games, they get their mail – all the usual things everyone does. A wolf sneaks up on an unsuspecting sheep, kills it, eats it, and the sheep nearby run away scared for awhile, then they forget about the wolf again and go about their business. What keep the wolves for massacring and eating all the sheep? The sheep-dogs. They are those people who have taken an active interest in protecting the sheep because they choose to ignore the wolf threat and go about their business. Within the borders of the US, the sheep-dogs are mostly police officers; outside the US, the sheepdogs are the military members keeping the foreign wolves at bay.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine
However, there is no reason the sheep HAVE to be sheep. They can choose to augment the low percentage of sheep-dogs by arming themselves in accordance with the laws of their State and choose to be ready and available to stop wolves when necessary. The people have the choice to be sheep, or to be wolves, or to be neither. But, its easier to be a sheep and to be protected than to be responsible for themselves.
Why do *I* Carry?
1. First and foremost for the purpose of defending myself, my family, my property against any illegal assault by another person or animal.
2. To defend the life or well-being of someone else.
3.As a Soldier, I've sworn to Support and Defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.
4. To promote awareness of "good" people with guns by making it less of a shock to see an average everyday person with one.
5. A right not exercised is a right that will be lost."
My wife has a T-shirt that says, "Fuck You, You Fucking Fuck" and she is more than welcome to (and has) worn it out in public. Are people shocked? Yes. Are they offended? Sometimes. Regardless of the feelings of others, she has a right to wear it because of the First Amendment. Can she be asked to leave private business because of it, or to cover it up? Yup, she can, and has. Does she have to support those businesses that choose to infringe on her rights to free speech? Nope. The same applies to a person who legally carries a visible firearm. Might they be harassed because they make the sheep nervous? Yep. Might they be asked to leave or cover up their gun? Yep. Do they have to patronize those businesses that make it a point to infringe on their rights? Nope.
Actually, MANY people carry firearms, but the vast majority carry concealed. Some states allow it, others don't. Many States have taken it upon themselves to make this "right" a privilege by requiring a concealed weapons permit for people who want to carry a firearm without disclosing its presence. Most States, however, support the right of the people to bear arms and only place restriction on the concealment of them. Most State Constitutions also contain some language that supports the right of the people to bear arms. Most States also do not have language in their State laws that apply to the carry of plainly visible weapons – and some even require that weapons BE visible. But they also know that most people WON'T carry openly, because it may be uncomfortable to others.
Do I think I'm going to be mugged soon? No. Do I think I will be at the right (or wrong) place and time to prevent a crime? Maybe, maybe not. But, along those lines, do I think I'll be in a car accident? No, but I wear a seatbelt. Do I think my house will be robbed while I'm away? No, but I have door locks. Do I think I'm going to die soon? No, but I have life insurance. Do I expect to pull someone's disabled vehicle out of the road today? No, but I carry a tow cable. Do I expect to jump someone's battery? No, but I have cables. Coincidentally, I used BOTH my tow strap AND jumper cables today - good thing I had them. Some things I do because there is the possibility that something MIGHT happen.
Carry concealed to protect yourself, your family and those around you. Carry open to protect yourself, your family, those around you, to make a statement that guns are not bad, that rights are worth exercising, and that liberty and security are paramount to making sheep comfortable and helping them forget about the wolves at the door.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Religion
Religion
I don't like religion, any of them really. I think most are crutches for the lazy-minded who latch on to whatever best fits their lifestyle and then permit themselves to stop thinking about what may or may not be beyond this life. The best teach not of gods and unicorns, but of how to live better yourself. The worst promote hate against other people based on beliefs – much like people used to promote hatred of other people based on skin color. Religions have been the cause of untold wars and more deaths than could be imagined. Torturing is common in religious wars. What's worse than a religion? It's followers. Especially those hypocrites who claim to believe in any particular religion and then either only follow the parts they like, or are only followers in their words – where their actions rarely reflect their "beliefs." Even Jesus (who very well have been a great teacher and moral advisor, but was not the son of any god – I have another view about Jesus, but that is for another day) taught about how the Christian god hated hypocrites and those who were only "warm" in their religious practices. Every religion has its hypocrites, and they are easy to spot.
Many churches and faiths in the United States claim that this is a Christian Nation because the majority of the people claim "Christianity" as their faith. Here's a newsflash – most of those people DON'T follow their "faith" and I suspect many also don't even believe in it – or even think about it for more than a few minutes on Sunday. Some people claim this nation was founded to be a Christian Nation – also wrong. Read the Jefferson Bible if you think Jefferson really was a Christian. Most Christians claim to be Christians because they were raised and told they were Christians. Most probably couldn't articulate what exactly makes a Christian a Christian – but they are sure they are one.
Even among the hard-core Bible believing, heaven or hell, Christians there are numerous things they can't agree on about the Bible. I guess the Bible wasn't made to be understandable by everyone – in fact, before the Gutenburg Printing Press, the commoners couldn't even READ the Bible, much less understand the intricacies in it. They relied on the Church to tell them what it said, and they pretty much had to believe whatever drivel the pastor put out.
I'll bet most people can't even name all the different sects of Christianity there are. Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that there can be so many different ways to read the Bible that even Christians aren't always sure what denomination they are? And don't even start in with the Catholics; purgatory? Buying your way into heaven? The Pope is always right? Even when he disagrees with other Popes? Does the Catholic god really change his mind that often? Please. Most rational people will understand that it makes no sense.
I think that most pastors are actually moderately intelligent people who have simply decided to turn off their thinking processes when it comes to religion. They may think hard and critically about politics, war, the newest best-seller, their finances, family, and all the other stuff in their lives – but when it comes to religion, the doors shut, the thinking turns off and anything that may threaten to contradict whatever irrational beliefs they have is not allowed to be processed. But, somewhere, deep in their psyche, where they never dwell for any longer than a few moments, the truth hides – they doubt, I think they all do. They doubt the Bible, they doubt god, they doubt faith, they doubt what they say is the truth. I think all pastors, preachers, Bishops, and religious leaders doubt the truth of their own sermons, and something I wonder if they hate themselves for doubting. Undoubtedly, few will admit their doubt.
But anyway, back to hypocrites. There are so many in the Christian faith that its impossible NOT to be a hypocrite. They can't follow all the rules, so most pick and choose the ones that are easiest to follow and call it good. That is a bad Christian. The ones that try to preach to others are the worst – especially the ones that just do it out of the blue because they feel a need to spread the word about how you have to believe the Bible and do what it says or you go to hell. I do believe that the Bible says something about pulling the plank out of your own eye before going after the sliver in someone else's. That means, clean up your own house before criticizing mine.
I also think its great how the hard-core Christians have made it so everyone either falls into their Flock (like good little sheep) or are Satanists. There is no middle ground. Even if you don't believe in their protagonist or their antagonist they rationalize it by saying that you have been fooled or tricked by their "bad guy." Soooo, by that reasoning, if all of you don't believe in my fairy-tale god, and my boogie man who lives under the stairs, you have already fallen into the devious boogie man plan and are doomed to an eternity of Ed, Edd, and Eddy cartoons. Mwhahahaha! … Now, isn't that stupid?
Let's move onto Mormons. I have no problem with Mormons as people, they are welcome to their beliefs that are just a bit sillier than the average Christian. Not only do they believe are the Christian hype, they also believe in Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. And they believe in magic tablets that only one guy in the whole world was allowed to read and understand. Given to him in private by an angel named Moroni. Just goes to show you, people are gullible and will believe whatever you want them too. Whoever started the Mormon religion was a damned genius. First, take all of the woman-hating pieces of the Bible (subservient property essentially) and then add in that you can have as many as you want to serve you! And, who cares how young they are, just have at it! Brigham Young? Or Bring'em Young? Coincidence? I don't think so. Shall we delve further into the Mormons? Sure, why not?
*There are families and marriage in Heaven. I'm pretty sure the Bible says the opposite.
*Jesus was a polygamist – wait, that probably IS true!
*Only 144,000 can be saved – then why do they keep trying to recruit more? Doesn't that lower their odds of getting in?
*Levels of heaven – isn't paradise paradise? How can there be different levels?
*No coffee, no drugs, no tobacco, no hot drinks – what exactly counts as a drug? Hot coco? Caffeine? Tylenol? And how many Mormons are super-hypocrites because of these?
*No black priests (up til 1978 – at which time god changed his mind about them), no women priests (yet, god could still change his mind about them too).
*Multiple worlds – wait, this one actually makes sense too. Anyone who really thinks that this is the only planet with life on it is crazy. Millions, billions of stars out there, and only ONE develops intelligent life? That's just stupid – even statistically.
*Special underwear – how special IS it???? Like Superman tights "special"? Or (as Carlos Mencia would say) Dee Dee Deee brown stain "special"? Apparently it protects the mormons against evil – like me.
*Polygamy – having lots of wives was great for the first Mormons, not so much anymore (at least not officially – god changed his mind again). Actually, polygamy is only officially not sanctioned because Utah wanted to become a state. So, apparently the benefits of belonging to the United States are more important than following the word of god. Nice, I'm sure that'll win points in heaven.
*Women can only be saved through a husband. Therefore, the women NEED to be married to be saved – AND, they are pregnant for eternity. That has to suck.
*The Mormon Jesus came about because Mary and god "got busy." Literally.
And on and on and on…
Damn, only through Christians and Mormons. I could go on with the other gazillion religions, and maybe someday I will, but for now, those two are perfect examples of how religion is lazy and thoughtless.
Religions cause wars – always have and always will. That's just a fact. Religious cause one man to kill another because they believe different things about what no one can really speak of with any certainty. Religions were started by the cavemen who wanted to know what ELSE was out there. The cavemen actually used their brains MORE than the modern religious person. At least they had to come up with their own ideas about what was out there, rather than having it forced into them by their parents.
Children are indoctrinated from an early age with what to believe and what not to believe. Many parents are very protective that their children not be exposed to any ideas that aren't part of THEIR beliefs. Why? Isn't the strength of their religion, its ability to convince young minds, enough on its own? Shouldn't it be clear that their religion is the true one? Why should my neighbors worry that I may tell their little girl that there is NO boogie man under the house waiting to burn them alive if they don't go to bed on time or eat their peas? If there really WAS such a monster, wouldn't *I* be worried about it too?
The good news is that reality doesn't care if you've been baptized in oil, water or dog doo. Reality doesn't care if you don't like it. Reality doesn't need you to believe that its true. Reality won't threaten you with eternal pain for not believing in it and it won't offer bribes of eternal bliss for believing. Reality doesn't care if you disown it, if you worship other gods, any gods, or no gods – it doesn't care. Reality exists and is unchanging, regardless of whether you accept it or not. And reality doesn't play favorites or exclude anyone. Reality is the same for men, women, children, babies, blacks, whites, greens, pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, and any other color. Reality is the same for not only people, but for dogs, cats, mice, gnats, and dragons. You don't have to believe in reality to get the same thing as everyone else does. Reality doesn't ask for money to raise a building. Reality won't tell you to kill those who disagree, hell, it won't even tell you to try and win converts. Reality is so far beyond the ego of man that it doesn't even notice when millions die in an earthquake. Reality won't even bat an eye when the people of this planet destroy themselves and become extinct.
Someday I'll go into what *I* believe, but not today, today is just a rant against religion and all the suffering it has caused and continues to cause every day. Let me be clear, I DON'T KNOW reality for certain. I just have theories.
I don't like religion, any of them really. I think most are crutches for the lazy-minded who latch on to whatever best fits their lifestyle and then permit themselves to stop thinking about what may or may not be beyond this life. The best teach not of gods and unicorns, but of how to live better yourself. The worst promote hate against other people based on beliefs – much like people used to promote hatred of other people based on skin color. Religions have been the cause of untold wars and more deaths than could be imagined. Torturing is common in religious wars. What's worse than a religion? It's followers. Especially those hypocrites who claim to believe in any particular religion and then either only follow the parts they like, or are only followers in their words – where their actions rarely reflect their "beliefs." Even Jesus (who very well have been a great teacher and moral advisor, but was not the son of any god – I have another view about Jesus, but that is for another day) taught about how the Christian god hated hypocrites and those who were only "warm" in their religious practices. Every religion has its hypocrites, and they are easy to spot.
Many churches and faiths in the United States claim that this is a Christian Nation because the majority of the people claim "Christianity" as their faith. Here's a newsflash – most of those people DON'T follow their "faith" and I suspect many also don't even believe in it – or even think about it for more than a few minutes on Sunday. Some people claim this nation was founded to be a Christian Nation – also wrong. Read the Jefferson Bible if you think Jefferson really was a Christian. Most Christians claim to be Christians because they were raised and told they were Christians. Most probably couldn't articulate what exactly makes a Christian a Christian – but they are sure they are one.
Even among the hard-core Bible believing, heaven or hell, Christians there are numerous things they can't agree on about the Bible. I guess the Bible wasn't made to be understandable by everyone – in fact, before the Gutenburg Printing Press, the commoners couldn't even READ the Bible, much less understand the intricacies in it. They relied on the Church to tell them what it said, and they pretty much had to believe whatever drivel the pastor put out.
I'll bet most people can't even name all the different sects of Christianity there are. Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that there can be so many different ways to read the Bible that even Christians aren't always sure what denomination they are? And don't even start in with the Catholics; purgatory? Buying your way into heaven? The Pope is always right? Even when he disagrees with other Popes? Does the Catholic god really change his mind that often? Please. Most rational people will understand that it makes no sense.
I think that most pastors are actually moderately intelligent people who have simply decided to turn off their thinking processes when it comes to religion. They may think hard and critically about politics, war, the newest best-seller, their finances, family, and all the other stuff in their lives – but when it comes to religion, the doors shut, the thinking turns off and anything that may threaten to contradict whatever irrational beliefs they have is not allowed to be processed. But, somewhere, deep in their psyche, where they never dwell for any longer than a few moments, the truth hides – they doubt, I think they all do. They doubt the Bible, they doubt god, they doubt faith, they doubt what they say is the truth. I think all pastors, preachers, Bishops, and religious leaders doubt the truth of their own sermons, and something I wonder if they hate themselves for doubting. Undoubtedly, few will admit their doubt.
But anyway, back to hypocrites. There are so many in the Christian faith that its impossible NOT to be a hypocrite. They can't follow all the rules, so most pick and choose the ones that are easiest to follow and call it good. That is a bad Christian. The ones that try to preach to others are the worst – especially the ones that just do it out of the blue because they feel a need to spread the word about how you have to believe the Bible and do what it says or you go to hell. I do believe that the Bible says something about pulling the plank out of your own eye before going after the sliver in someone else's. That means, clean up your own house before criticizing mine.
I also think its great how the hard-core Christians have made it so everyone either falls into their Flock (like good little sheep) or are Satanists. There is no middle ground. Even if you don't believe in their protagonist or their antagonist they rationalize it by saying that you have been fooled or tricked by their "bad guy." Soooo, by that reasoning, if all of you don't believe in my fairy-tale god, and my boogie man who lives under the stairs, you have already fallen into the devious boogie man plan and are doomed to an eternity of Ed, Edd, and Eddy cartoons. Mwhahahaha! … Now, isn't that stupid?
Let's move onto Mormons. I have no problem with Mormons as people, they are welcome to their beliefs that are just a bit sillier than the average Christian. Not only do they believe are the Christian hype, they also believe in Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. And they believe in magic tablets that only one guy in the whole world was allowed to read and understand. Given to him in private by an angel named Moroni. Just goes to show you, people are gullible and will believe whatever you want them too. Whoever started the Mormon religion was a damned genius. First, take all of the woman-hating pieces of the Bible (subservient property essentially) and then add in that you can have as many as you want to serve you! And, who cares how young they are, just have at it! Brigham Young? Or Bring'em Young? Coincidence? I don't think so. Shall we delve further into the Mormons? Sure, why not?
*There are families and marriage in Heaven. I'm pretty sure the Bible says the opposite.
*Jesus was a polygamist – wait, that probably IS true!
*Only 144,000 can be saved – then why do they keep trying to recruit more? Doesn't that lower their odds of getting in?
*Levels of heaven – isn't paradise paradise? How can there be different levels?
*No coffee, no drugs, no tobacco, no hot drinks – what exactly counts as a drug? Hot coco? Caffeine? Tylenol? And how many Mormons are super-hypocrites because of these?
*No black priests (up til 1978 – at which time god changed his mind about them), no women priests (yet, god could still change his mind about them too).
*Multiple worlds – wait, this one actually makes sense too. Anyone who really thinks that this is the only planet with life on it is crazy. Millions, billions of stars out there, and only ONE develops intelligent life? That's just stupid – even statistically.
*Special underwear – how special IS it???? Like Superman tights "special"? Or (as Carlos Mencia would say) Dee Dee Deee brown stain "special"? Apparently it protects the mormons against evil – like me.
*Polygamy – having lots of wives was great for the first Mormons, not so much anymore (at least not officially – god changed his mind again). Actually, polygamy is only officially not sanctioned because Utah wanted to become a state. So, apparently the benefits of belonging to the United States are more important than following the word of god. Nice, I'm sure that'll win points in heaven.
*Women can only be saved through a husband. Therefore, the women NEED to be married to be saved – AND, they are pregnant for eternity. That has to suck.
*The Mormon Jesus came about because Mary and god "got busy." Literally.
And on and on and on…
Damn, only through Christians and Mormons. I could go on with the other gazillion religions, and maybe someday I will, but for now, those two are perfect examples of how religion is lazy and thoughtless.
Religions cause wars – always have and always will. That's just a fact. Religious cause one man to kill another because they believe different things about what no one can really speak of with any certainty. Religions were started by the cavemen who wanted to know what ELSE was out there. The cavemen actually used their brains MORE than the modern religious person. At least they had to come up with their own ideas about what was out there, rather than having it forced into them by their parents.
Children are indoctrinated from an early age with what to believe and what not to believe. Many parents are very protective that their children not be exposed to any ideas that aren't part of THEIR beliefs. Why? Isn't the strength of their religion, its ability to convince young minds, enough on its own? Shouldn't it be clear that their religion is the true one? Why should my neighbors worry that I may tell their little girl that there is NO boogie man under the house waiting to burn them alive if they don't go to bed on time or eat their peas? If there really WAS such a monster, wouldn't *I* be worried about it too?
The good news is that reality doesn't care if you've been baptized in oil, water or dog doo. Reality doesn't care if you don't like it. Reality doesn't need you to believe that its true. Reality won't threaten you with eternal pain for not believing in it and it won't offer bribes of eternal bliss for believing. Reality doesn't care if you disown it, if you worship other gods, any gods, or no gods – it doesn't care. Reality exists and is unchanging, regardless of whether you accept it or not. And reality doesn't play favorites or exclude anyone. Reality is the same for men, women, children, babies, blacks, whites, greens, pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, and any other color. Reality is the same for not only people, but for dogs, cats, mice, gnats, and dragons. You don't have to believe in reality to get the same thing as everyone else does. Reality doesn't ask for money to raise a building. Reality won't tell you to kill those who disagree, hell, it won't even tell you to try and win converts. Reality is so far beyond the ego of man that it doesn't even notice when millions die in an earthquake. Reality won't even bat an eye when the people of this planet destroy themselves and become extinct.
Someday I'll go into what *I* believe, but not today, today is just a rant against religion and all the suffering it has caused and continues to cause every day. Let me be clear, I DON'T KNOW reality for certain. I just have theories.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
busy busy busy
Busy busy day! Woke up somewhere around 10am! A good, early start! I proceeded to continue to write a paper for school (and finished it in the evening - although it turned out to be five pages instead of thee).
I took the kids outside and played kickball for 18 innings! It was hot, very very hot. For the record, Emily won, Amber came in second, then Illyana, then Carmen and poor David was dead last. I think David lost so badly because he's used to playing kick-ball at school where no one can catch for crap. Half of his times up, he kicked it up into the air where it was easy to catch. Towards the end he figured out how not to suck, but it was too late. After everyone was done, we came in. I smelled bad.
Then, I put together my new Surco Safari rack for the Jeep! Really, its for the kids because without it, they have less room. Now we can throw all of our gear up on top and leave space inside for children. It was super easy to put together - I hope it doesn't fall apart because it was TOO easy (and I just screwed it up). I even put the mesh web on it! The adapters for the Jeep should come tomorrow and I can put it on. Yay!
I also put Sarahann's water bottle on her bike, replaced the pedal on David's bike, and chopped down a dead spider-filled tree!
Sarahann's ass-cake got rave reviews and now she has an order for another one this weekend! She could go into business! But, for now, we'll keep it on a word of mouth basis
Today she made a Jell-O cake because we want to get rid of the Jell-o. Did you know that Jell-o is made from hooves? Yeah, icky. And also not good for you. We'll use what we have and then look for a substitute. But, the cake was awesome!
Tomorrow we're going Geocaching! Going to break our record. I think we need 18 (after checking, we need 17), but we're going for 20 or more.
I took the kids outside and played kickball for 18 innings! It was hot, very very hot. For the record, Emily won, Amber came in second, then Illyana, then Carmen and poor David was dead last. I think David lost so badly because he's used to playing kick-ball at school where no one can catch for crap. Half of his times up, he kicked it up into the air where it was easy to catch. Towards the end he figured out how not to suck, but it was too late. After everyone was done, we came in. I smelled bad.
Then, I put together my new Surco Safari rack for the Jeep! Really, its for the kids because without it, they have less room. Now we can throw all of our gear up on top and leave space inside for children. It was super easy to put together - I hope it doesn't fall apart because it was TOO easy (and I just screwed it up). I even put the mesh web on it! The adapters for the Jeep should come tomorrow and I can put it on. Yay!
I also put Sarahann's water bottle on her bike, replaced the pedal on David's bike, and chopped down a dead spider-filled tree!
Sarahann's ass-cake got rave reviews and now she has an order for another one this weekend! She could go into business! But, for now, we'll keep it on a word of mouth basis
Today she made a Jell-O cake because we want to get rid of the Jell-o. Did you know that Jell-o is made from hooves? Yeah, icky. And also not good for you. We'll use what we have and then look for a substitute. But, the cake was awesome!
Tomorrow we're going Geocaching! Going to break our record. I think we need 18 (after checking, we need 17), but we're going for 20 or more.
Ass-Cake!
So, the other day, we were all out shopping and happened by the book store. In the bargain section there were some books about making cakes - cute, special cakes. Now, Sarahann is a great cake maker (even did professional level cake for a wedding once) and she is very creative. She looked at the cakes in the book and said, "I can do that." And I had no doubt she could. But, I like to have my cake - and eat it too! So, I picked out a cute (risque?) cake and said she should make it. It was a cake that looked like a nice round butt with some cute little panties on and a small little whip. She took that as a challenge. So, today she whipped one up. I must say, I'm thoroughly impressed. The cake looked fantastic (until we took a bite out of the poor girls ass). Lucky, I took a pic or two for posterity. Maybe next time, I'll have to pick a harder cake!
Pretty tasty - if I do say so myself. You may all drool now - at both the cake, and the awesomeness of my wife. Just be sure to wipe it off the keyboard before you type again.
Pretty tasty - if I do say so myself. You may all drool now - at both the cake, and the awesomeness of my wife. Just be sure to wipe it off the keyboard before you type again.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Independence Day!
Today is the day that we celebrate the birth of a nation. On this day, 236 years ago, the thirteen original colonies began the struggle for independence from Britain - from religious persecution and from monarchical tyranny. Since that day, many patriots have fought, and many have died, to preserve the liberty provided for us by the Constitution. Today is when we celebrate the sacrifice of patriots and we salute those who continue to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
While we eat BBQ and watch fireworks across the country, other Soldiers and service members are in harms way in Afghanistan, Iraq and over 120 other countries. While we set off pretty bombs to burst in our air, some of them may actually have real bombs bursting in their air. It is because of the service members that we enjoy the freedom we take for granted. By some calculations, there is one active duty service member for every 180 citizens. In essence, the responsibility to protect and defend the freedom and liberty of everyday living for 180 people in this country rests on the shoulders of ONE Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, or Coastie. So, as you remember those who fight for you today, who drive down IED lined roads, who hear the whistle of the incoming mortar rounds and the heavy thudding explosion that follows, who are too familiar with the whip-crack a bullet makes as it zips by, make sure you do what you can to be in one of those service members "Top 180."
**
On a lighter note! Today is also my anniversary! I love that mine and my wife's anniversary is today because we also get the best turn out for our parties! Everywhere we go, people shoot off fireworks for us! Some places even hold parades in our honor - and we aren't even there! It's always so nice to have our love appreciated and admired by so many!
Today, we decided to relax a bit. The kids brought us breakfast in bed to start the day. We stayed home, played in the yard, on the slip and slide, set up the net and played some volleyball, horseshoes, catch, and whatever other cool games were in the bag!
Tonight we went to a fireworks show at the mall. There were every some parachutists who jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and landed nearby. From what I hear, it was better than most at the mall - and it WAS very good. But, as a comparison, it was only about half as long as the shows at Fort Carson. But, thats not really a FAIR comparison because Fort Carson is an active duty military installation and the fireworks shows there are bound to be the best.
I will say that Missoula (and Montana) is less restrictive in regards to fireworks because even as I write this at 12:33 am (on the 5th of July now), the house is still reverberating with the random fireworks displays put on by whoever has fireworks left. My wife compares it to Beruit. In Colorado, after the official fireworks were over, there were very few extras (because you aren't supposed to have fireworks there).
For the record, my favorite fireworks are the simple big flashes of light followed by the heart thumping BOOM.
Video...
While we eat BBQ and watch fireworks across the country, other Soldiers and service members are in harms way in Afghanistan, Iraq and over 120 other countries. While we set off pretty bombs to burst in our air, some of them may actually have real bombs bursting in their air. It is because of the service members that we enjoy the freedom we take for granted. By some calculations, there is one active duty service member for every 180 citizens. In essence, the responsibility to protect and defend the freedom and liberty of everyday living for 180 people in this country rests on the shoulders of ONE Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, or Coastie. So, as you remember those who fight for you today, who drive down IED lined roads, who hear the whistle of the incoming mortar rounds and the heavy thudding explosion that follows, who are too familiar with the whip-crack a bullet makes as it zips by, make sure you do what you can to be in one of those service members "Top 180."
**
On a lighter note! Today is also my anniversary! I love that mine and my wife's anniversary is today because we also get the best turn out for our parties! Everywhere we go, people shoot off fireworks for us! Some places even hold parades in our honor - and we aren't even there! It's always so nice to have our love appreciated and admired by so many!
Today, we decided to relax a bit. The kids brought us breakfast in bed to start the day. We stayed home, played in the yard, on the slip and slide, set up the net and played some volleyball, horseshoes, catch, and whatever other cool games were in the bag!
Tonight we went to a fireworks show at the mall. There were every some parachutists who jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and landed nearby. From what I hear, it was better than most at the mall - and it WAS very good. But, as a comparison, it was only about half as long as the shows at Fort Carson. But, thats not really a FAIR comparison because Fort Carson is an active duty military installation and the fireworks shows there are bound to be the best.
I will say that Missoula (and Montana) is less restrictive in regards to fireworks because even as I write this at 12:33 am (on the 5th of July now), the house is still reverberating with the random fireworks displays put on by whoever has fireworks left. My wife compares it to Beruit. In Colorado, after the official fireworks were over, there were very few extras (because you aren't supposed to have fireworks there).
For the record, my favorite fireworks are the simple big flashes of light followed by the heart thumping BOOM.
Video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05J4DMcNxQ0
