Life, the Universe, and Everything.

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.

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.

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.
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