First, I must apologize for my absence. My computer screen is broken so I have been without for a while (which is not all bad). Soon I will get back to writing.
Considering my computer issue, I have also been subjected to no other source of information, other than TV news and Talk radio. Neither source provides enough real information to make a complete analysis of any topic. So, rather than going off half cocked, I will ask some basic questions that, for me, came to mind when listening to local news reports.
BP..
Is BP responsible for paying Florida for advertising that the oil has had no effect on most of its beaches?
Did BP do anything to drive busines away from Florida?
Did the media portrey massave oil slicks on all of the gulf beaches, even though the mass majority saw no effect at all from the spill?
Should areas who have been economically devistated by the perception of the disaster look toward BP (who did nothing to spread fear) or the media who showed us every drop of oil that touched a grain of sand?
Arizona..
Did the federal government just tell a state that it was not their place to enforce federal laws?
If the fed starts passing laws matching state laws will it become illegal for the states to enforce them?
Is this a pathway to total federal control over the states?
If the federal government has laws that protect states, but refuses to enforce them, while preventing the states from enforcing them, what should the states do? What can they do? How can they protect themselves if the Fed binds their hands?
I am going to look into these and other questions and you are free to shoot me your answers or maybe even ask better questions. So, until I get this screen fixed, consider the possibilities.
PS: I cannot see my screen so if there are errors in my writing, ignore them... Or, close your eyes and post a response of equal length and tell me how hard it is for you!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
God, Freedom and America
As I wheeled myself out of the Ambulitary Care Unit and toward the pick up point in front of the James Haley Veterans Hospital, I started to come to a realization that I did not like.
My surgery was very basic, a soft tissue removal from my left foot. I will be back on my feet in a week or so, however, many at the VA are not so lucky. They are bound to their wheelchairs for the rest of their lives.
Rolling through the halls, I noticed the civillians looking away, acting as if I did not exist. I don't know if it was guilt or something else but people were very uncomfortable with my presence. I had two bum shoulders and a seriously bandaged foot, and no offers for help. I had to use short strokes in turning the wheels of my chair and it really hurt.
The designated pick up point was overrun with first timers who had no idea what to do so I decided to go down hill to the SCI (spinal cord injury unit) where my wife could pick me up without waiting for the crowd. It was there where I found God. Not that I did not know him already but it is at the SCI where he lingers with those who had given the most to protect our freedom. You see, many of our veterans have lost the use of their legs, arms and even their ability to speak. In my mind, a lifetime of painful memories and no way to share them or replace them with better ones, is far worse than giving ones life.
Now that I've gained a "Criple's eye view" into the souls of the speechless vets, I understand that, if not for God, they would have no one to talk to at all. Only faith keeps these fellows going. When you are at eye level with these guys, you cannot look away. You are forced to read their eyes and hear the longing for a simple conversation from the heart of a broken soldier.
I saw the local news guy talking about how the supreme court, along with the Constitution, has given every American the right to posess a firearm. He was so wrong! It is God that gives us our rights, all of them. It is our military who puts everything on the line to protect those God given rights. Then, it is our Constitution which prevents our government from taking our God given rights away from us.
Read your Constitution and look for anywhere where it gives us any rights. Our founders were careful to state that our rights were "inalienable" and each amendment points out what rights cannot be taken from us.
The point is.. You have your rights because God gave them to you. You keep those rights because American soldiers sacrifice their own on your behalf. So if you pass by a Soldier or a Vet, and you choose to ignore him rather than look him in the eye, what does that make you? Please, for God's sake, thank them! I don't care if you simply look them in the eye and smile or you reach out and hug them, just show them that they have not given everything for nothing.
My surgery was very basic, a soft tissue removal from my left foot. I will be back on my feet in a week or so, however, many at the VA are not so lucky. They are bound to their wheelchairs for the rest of their lives.
Rolling through the halls, I noticed the civillians looking away, acting as if I did not exist. I don't know if it was guilt or something else but people were very uncomfortable with my presence. I had two bum shoulders and a seriously bandaged foot, and no offers for help. I had to use short strokes in turning the wheels of my chair and it really hurt.
The designated pick up point was overrun with first timers who had no idea what to do so I decided to go down hill to the SCI (spinal cord injury unit) where my wife could pick me up without waiting for the crowd. It was there where I found God. Not that I did not know him already but it is at the SCI where he lingers with those who had given the most to protect our freedom. You see, many of our veterans have lost the use of their legs, arms and even their ability to speak. In my mind, a lifetime of painful memories and no way to share them or replace them with better ones, is far worse than giving ones life.
Now that I've gained a "Criple's eye view" into the souls of the speechless vets, I understand that, if not for God, they would have no one to talk to at all. Only faith keeps these fellows going. When you are at eye level with these guys, you cannot look away. You are forced to read their eyes and hear the longing for a simple conversation from the heart of a broken soldier.
I saw the local news guy talking about how the supreme court, along with the Constitution, has given every American the right to posess a firearm. He was so wrong! It is God that gives us our rights, all of them. It is our military who puts everything on the line to protect those God given rights. Then, it is our Constitution which prevents our government from taking our God given rights away from us.
Read your Constitution and look for anywhere where it gives us any rights. Our founders were careful to state that our rights were "inalienable" and each amendment points out what rights cannot be taken from us.
The point is.. You have your rights because God gave them to you. You keep those rights because American soldiers sacrifice their own on your behalf. So if you pass by a Soldier or a Vet, and you choose to ignore him rather than look him in the eye, what does that make you? Please, for God's sake, thank them! I don't care if you simply look them in the eye and smile or you reach out and hug them, just show them that they have not given everything for nothing.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Gun Control?
The recent SCOTUS decision regarding gun bans and the 14th amendment, along with the tragic murders of two Tampa police officers last night, has driven me to reconsider my position on certain things. I realize this may come as a shock to my right wing brethren but I am ready to support a ban which could drastically decrease the number of innocent Americans being killed at the point of a gun.
Mayor Daley, of Chi-town, made a great case for a ban when he pointed out that 100,000 Americans are shot each year and eight die each day from gunshots. From that I decided to look into Chicago's crime statistics. I found that more than 77% of violent deaths, including domestic murders, shared one key ingredient. I also found that the same ingredient played a large role in forced robberies and personal crimes.
To know that, in the case of robberies, we could have prevented deaths for all but 4% of the victims by simply placing a ban on the specific cause of those death, it helps me put aside my concerns regarding the constitutionality of the ban. In fact, I am willing to forget that little part of the Constitution and enforce a Nationwide ban that would serve to put a stop to the vast majority of crime around the country.
Yes, it is time to put aside your own reservations (as freedom loving conservatives) and stand up for a complete and total ban on African Americans! What did you think I was going to say, ban guns? That would only invite new crimes. The fact is that Blacks commit more crimes than whites. It's true, in Chicago, only 4% of the murders committed during robberies are by white guys. At the same time, more than 77% of all gun crimes in Daley's little corner of Heaven were initiated by the squeeze of a black man's finger on a trigger.
Now back to reality.. For you morons who think that it is okay to forget the second amendment in order to quell crime, you are wrong! For any twisting of evidence that you can show me which gives some level of credence to your theory that gun bans lower violence, I can show you indisputable evidence that banning colored people would have a far greater effect. Let me say that BOTH IDEAS ARE RIDICULOUS!
I know for a fact that guns are no more responsible for crime than the color of a fellow's skin is. People pull triggers, not skin color, and triggers never pull themselves. There is a violent culture out there that has been adopted by the majority of young, poor urbanites. Most of them are black but that is a result, not a cause.
The left has proven to me that they can significantly change the political and economical landscape through social movements so why don't they spend some of that energy in changing the cultural landscape the same way. It is the left that glorifies the "gangsta" lifestyle, it is also the left that celebrates a culture of ignorance on MTV, BET and other social outlets. Seriously, they've convinced kids that capitalism is evil but murder is cool, WTF?
Mayor Daley, of Chi-town, made a great case for a ban when he pointed out that 100,000 Americans are shot each year and eight die each day from gunshots. From that I decided to look into Chicago's crime statistics. I found that more than 77% of violent deaths, including domestic murders, shared one key ingredient. I also found that the same ingredient played a large role in forced robberies and personal crimes.
To know that, in the case of robberies, we could have prevented deaths for all but 4% of the victims by simply placing a ban on the specific cause of those death, it helps me put aside my concerns regarding the constitutionality of the ban. In fact, I am willing to forget that little part of the Constitution and enforce a Nationwide ban that would serve to put a stop to the vast majority of crime around the country.
Yes, it is time to put aside your own reservations (as freedom loving conservatives) and stand up for a complete and total ban on African Americans! What did you think I was going to say, ban guns? That would only invite new crimes. The fact is that Blacks commit more crimes than whites. It's true, in Chicago, only 4% of the murders committed during robberies are by white guys. At the same time, more than 77% of all gun crimes in Daley's little corner of Heaven were initiated by the squeeze of a black man's finger on a trigger.
Now back to reality.. For you morons who think that it is okay to forget the second amendment in order to quell crime, you are wrong! For any twisting of evidence that you can show me which gives some level of credence to your theory that gun bans lower violence, I can show you indisputable evidence that banning colored people would have a far greater effect. Let me say that BOTH IDEAS ARE RIDICULOUS!
I know for a fact that guns are no more responsible for crime than the color of a fellow's skin is. People pull triggers, not skin color, and triggers never pull themselves. There is a violent culture out there that has been adopted by the majority of young, poor urbanites. Most of them are black but that is a result, not a cause.
The left has proven to me that they can significantly change the political and economical landscape through social movements so why don't they spend some of that energy in changing the cultural landscape the same way. It is the left that glorifies the "gangsta" lifestyle, it is also the left that celebrates a culture of ignorance on MTV, BET and other social outlets. Seriously, they've convinced kids that capitalism is evil but murder is cool, WTF?
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