25-Year Sentence for Medication

http://www.reason.com/news/show/123589.html

Richard Paey was sentenced to 25 years in a Florida prison for possessing too many opiates. Prosecutors in the case said he was an addict; that no person could consume that many opiates and he must be selling them. The prosecutors in the case admitted they did not have any evidence that he was selling drugs, they just assumed it because he had so many. Due to the high profile nature of the case he was pardoned by the Governor of Florida (Charlie Crist). He had served 4 years and quite a few days in solitary confinement.

On a rather ironic and perverse note, when he got to prison the doctors gave him more drugs than he was taking when he was arrested. The prosecutors, who weren’t doctors, said he couldn’t possibly be using that many drugs for medical purposes. And the doctors in the prison said he needed more drugs. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know how much drugs he really needed, but he’s the patient he should decide that with his doctor.

He said something very poignant in the interview with Reason magazine.

“I was convicted because the prosecutor hammered away at the jury that I was an addict and that my doctor was a pusher. I was sort of blindsided when the prosecutor started to make that argument—that I was nothing more than an addict. I can’t think of a worse slur to attach to a person.”

“I can’t think of a worse slur (addict) to attach to a person.” I began to think in modern society he’s probably right. Not because there aren’t worse people than addicts. If someone calls you fat, lazy, stupid, a nigger, or a kike they have no more power over you than what you give them. However there are certain labels that the user can use that do have power, addict being one of them. If someone calls you an addict and they can convince the right people of that they can take your rights away. It’s sad that in America the term addict, which is basically a sick person, is now synonymous with criminal.

Zero-Tolerance = Intolerance

Intolerance:

1. lack of toleration; unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds, etc.
2. incapacity or indisposition to bear or endure
3. abnormal sensitivity or allergy to a food, drug, etc.
4. an intolerant act.

Zero-tolerance policies fit the second definition of intolerance. Zero-tolerance: the “incapacity or indisposition to bear or endure.” Fear-mongering and prejudice has led to more and more zero-tolerance policies ever since I was a kid. Schools now have zero-tolerance policies for violence, guns, racism, sexual harassment, alcohol, and drugs.

Now you might be saying that these things are very bad and should not be tolerated. This is true, but you have to have clear cut policies. Here’s what effects zero-tolerance policies can have.

http://www.usatoday.com/educate/ednews3.htm

A 14 year old girl was sentenced to 5-months in a military style boot camp for bringing alcohol to school. This was her first offence and she was also an honor student. You can Google “zero-tolerance policies” to look up other incidences. And remember, those are just the ones that make the news.

When I was in high school, there was a student at a middle school that was suspended for saying “I’m going to kill you” on the school bus to another student. People in town talked about it a lot. I remember saying things like when I was a kid. I remember having people say things like that to me. I didn’t want them suspended.

Here’s a story from Reason magazine about a man who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for using prescription drugs to treat his own pain.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/123589.html

The prosecutor in the case said he was an addict and not a patient. They said he couldn’t possibly have as much drugs as he had for personal use and must be selling them even though they had no proof he was selling drugs. When he went to prison the doctors there ended up giving him more drugs than what he was convicted of possessing. I’ll talk more about this case in another post. He was later pardoned after serving four years.

We’ve become a zero-tolerance society. Mess up once in your life and you pay for it until you die.

Follow Up: A Sales Tax Solution

I was thinking more about the “Fair Tax” idea and another benefit occurred to me. It would help those in debt. By taxing earnings debtors pay taxes no matter what. If you tax their spending they would have more incentive to save money. Of course people always have an incentive to make more money, but it’s usually easier to cut expenses than to get a raise. Well not just debtors would have more incentive to save money, but also anybody else. This would definitely help people in America who are in debt.

Current Scenario 1:

$30,000 income
$20,000 expenses
- $7,500 taxes on income (25% income)
$2,500 to pay off debt

Fair Tax Scenario 1:

$30,000 income
$20,000 expenses
- $5,000 taxes on expenses (25% expenses)
$5,000 to pay off debt

Scenario 1 shows how people will probably spend less. Look at Scenario 2 after cutting $5000 in expenses. Scenario 2 shows how people have an incentive to cut expenses.

Current Scenario 2:

$30,000 income
$15,000 expenses
- $7,500 taxes on income (25% income)
$7,500 to pay off debt

$5,000 in more savings (100% of debt reduction)

Fair Tax Scenario 2:

$30,000 income
$15,000 expenses
- $3,750 taxes on expenses (25% expenses)
$11,250 to pay off debt (125% of debt reduction)

$6,250 in more savings (125% of debt reduction)

Pro:

• People would have more incentive to save money
• People in debt could pay off their debt faster by earning more through cutting expenses

However I did come up with a major con of the system. People are more inclined to save money up front than to save money in the long run. People are all about instant gratification. Every time they would buy something they would see that 25-30% or so tax. Most people would probably rather only see their taxes once or twice a month rather than everyday even if it would save them money to get it regularly.

Con:

• People would rather have instant gratification, lower prices up front instead of lower cost in the long run.

A One Check Entitlement

Charles Murray, a member of the American Enterprise Institute, has a new book out called “In Our Hands : A Plan To Replace The Welfare State.” In it he argues that all social programs (Welfare, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicair, Food Stamps, etc.) should be done away with and instead be replaced by a $10,000 a year, tax-free, check to each person living below the poverty line. I haven’t read the book and I haven’t computed the numbers, but I think the main idea is solid.

Just give each person living below the poverty line a check for $10,000 a year, sounds good. Of course the poverty line could be adjusted to something reasonable, and we could have a reasonable progressive policy where the less you make the more you get. Just average it at $10,000 per year per person living below the poverty line. This would eliminate bureaucracy, promote freedom, and people could decide for themselves how best to spend their money. They might spend it on buying a new car to get to work, taking some classes, saving money for their retirement, sending their kids to a better school, or taking a few days off a week to find a better paying job.

I have a suspicion some of you are saying to yourselves, “You can’t do that, people might spend the money on beer and cigarettes.” I would say that is elitism. Basically the idea is that people, in this case the poor, are generally stupid and the elite, this case the bureaucrats, need to decide what’s best for them and tell them how to spend their money. More freedom is always good as long as it doesn’t impose on another’s freedom.

I highly doubt many would want to go along with this idea. There’s an old expression, “If there’s a shipwreck, at least I own the wreckage.” Making people give up their own power to pass it on to individuals is always difficult, even if their power is for the purpose of helping those individuals.

No IRS: A Sales Tax Solution

Conservative radio talk-show host Neal Boortz co-authored a book with Congressman John Linder called the “Fair Tax Book.” In it they spell out reasons to dismantle the IRS, income taxes, and every other tax and impose a 23% national sales tax on all consumed goods. I have not read the book and don’t know all the details of this proposal, however I can give some pros and cons to basing the entire tax system on a sales tax.

Pros:

1. Less fraud in the tax system.
   
2. No filing taxes.
3. Simplified tax code.
4. People who do not usually pay taxes (illegal immigrants, prostitutes, drug dealers, tourists, strippers, anyone with good tax lawyers) would all pay their fair share of taxes through this system.
5. When politicians say they need to raise taxes everyone would have to contribute, not just the top 1%. New programs would be more debated and would have to be universally accepted.

Cons:

1. Possible creation of a black market.
2. Some of the ultra-wealthy might live as misers and avoid paying taxes.
3. Retirees would have to pay taxes during consumption when they already paid taxes on earning the money.
4. Growing pains in the system, before-tax prices would immediately.
5. Individuals would have a hard time selling things by themselves.

There are probably other concerns, but I think the cons can be addressed. There are black markets now, and law enforcement could deal with that. If the wealthy don’t spend their money, they’re not necessarily avoiding the taxes; eventually the money would get spent. Retirees could get a waiver. Anyone collecting social security could simply pay a lower tax and over time it would be phased out. We could phase in the tax and cut existing taxes in proportion to raising the sales tax. Individuals could just send off taxes every year. Tax evaders are already prosecuted, we could refocus investigations. Or, we could just say that only new goods and services get taxed. I believe Boortz’s plan calls for that. I’ll have to read the book to double check.

This “Fair Tax Plan” should be considered. According to Congressman Linder he has introduced the bill in Congress and it has received over 50 co-sponsors. The idea is popular and maybe it should be. If I read the book I’ll report more on it. You can buy it from Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Tax-Book-Saying-Goodbye/dp/0060875496/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in

Crazy Ron Paul Supporters

Yesterday the American Thinker magazine posted an article about Ron Paul on their website.

The article is titled “The Ron Paul Campaign and its Neo-Nazi Supporters”. You can view it here:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/11/the_ron_paul_campaign_and_its.html

I always knew he had a loyal fan base, but these people are just fanatical. Now he has received support from some vile characters. Some of Ron Paul’s more vile supporters include:

Pat Robertson: conservative who ran for President in 1992, 1996, and in 2000. He has a history of racist and anti-Semitic remarks.

Don Black: a neo-Nazi who founded Stormfront.org. He gave Ron Paul $500. Ron Paul’s campaign has not reported that they have given it back. Stormfront has a link at the bottom of their homepage to Ron Paul.

Will Williams (aka ‘White Will'): one of Paul’s top Tennessee Internet organizers. Used to be the southern coordinator of William Pierce’s National Alliance Party, the largest neo-Nazi party in the U.S.

David Duke: former KKK leader and Presidential candidate. His website http://www.whitecivilrights.com repeatedly has posts to about Ron Paul and fundraising links.

Alex Jones: radio talk show host and leader in the 911 “truth” movement. Ron Paul has appeared on Alex Jones’s radio show five times.

This article was written after radio talk-show host Michael Medved posted this letter on townhall.com:

Dear Congressman Paul:

Your Presidential campaign has drawn the enthusiastic support of an imposing collection of Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Holocaust Deniers, 9/11 "Truthers" and other paranoid and discredited conspiracists.

Do you welcome- or repudiate - the support of such factions?

More specifically, your columns have been featured for several years in the American Free Press -a publication of the nation's leading Holocaust Denier and anti-Semitic agitator, Willis Carto. His book club even recommends works that glorify the Nazi SS, and glowingly describe the "comforts and amenities" provided for inmates of Auschwitz.

Have your columns appeared in the American Free Press with your knowledge and approval?

As a Presidential candidate, will you now disassociate yourself, clearly and publicly, from the poisonous propaganda promoted in such publications?

As a guest on my syndicated radio show, you answered my questions directly and fearlessly.

Will you now answer these pressing questions, and eliminate all associations between your campaign and some of the most loathsome fringe groups in American society?

Along with my listeners (and many of your own supporters), I eagerly await your response.

Respectfully, Michael Medved

That post received over 500 comments from Paul supporters. They included:

• "Your own Zionism is slipping, Medved! Why should anyone disassociate from 9/11 Truthers?"
• "I suggest you take off the tin-foil yamika (sic), your brain is fried."
• "You will do anything to smear this good man to try and safeguard US policy in Israel."
• "Hey Medved. Tell your AIPAC handlers to be nervous. You are failing miserably."
• "It's patently obvious why you don't support Dr. Paul: He's not hand-picked by AIPAC and the Likud Party."

Here’s an article by the American Thinker that shows how Ron Paul supporters reacted to the mentioned article.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/11/reactions_to_ron_paul_campiagn.html

Ron Paul needs to address these concerns, block these racist sites from linking to his, denounce these supporters, and comment on his more appalling quotes. If these concerns are not cleared up I think it would be justifiable if the Republican Party threw him out.

By the way, I would find it flattering if some of his more crazy supporters posted similar comments to this post.

Compared to What?

This is a follow-up to my “Making An Argument” post. A few months ago I was watching John Stossel’s special entitled “Stupid in America.” It was about the educational crisis in America. He was interviewing a man from some action group that was trying to convince people that America needs more private education through school vouchers or something. I don’t remember all the details. Anyway, Mr. Stossel said something like, “You know most people in America are happy with the schools their kids go to.” The man replied, “Compared to what?” His point was that Americans are comparing their “good” schools to “bad” schools.

Most school systems in America are good compared to say San Diego where only 25% of students graduate on time. It’s a “frame of reference” problem. People don’t have a proper frame of reference to compare against. They’re comparing schools to other American schools. They for the most part don’t have experience with private schools or other countries’ schools like France or Belgium. In France they subsidize private education and it’s only $500 to go to a private school. Belgium has a school voucher system where public funds go to private schools based on how many students are enrolled. Both countries also have public schools.

This “frame of reference” problem exists in most places. Europeans think they are taxed fairly because they don’t know what it’s like to live in a country with great prosperity and relatively low taxes like America. Canadians think their healthcare system is fine because they don’t know what a private system is like in America where we have the best quality healthcare in the world. Americans don’t know what a real quality educational system is because we don’t know what it’s like to go to school in Belgium where the average student learns to speak several languages.

I don’t really know how to overcome these problems. I suppose with global 24-7 news like CNN, Fox, BBC, and the Internet people from all over the world can learn about systems in other places. However, media professionals, and non-professionals, are really only concerned about what goes on in their back yards. There’s an expression in news rooms, “news is what happens to my editors.” Editors are usually only concerned about their neighbors, hence low coverage of minorities, lower-income people, and foreign countries. When they do report news that affects these groups it is usually in relation to how it affects us. For example, Fox News seems to be the major source of news on Iran, however they only report things about Iran that relate to America. How are they a threat to us? Are they killing American soldiers in Iraq? Stuff like that. Not about how they are treating their own citizens. The world didn’t seems to really care how Hitler was treating his own Jews until he started invading other countries and threatening his neighbors.

First we need to start caring about others, report about what’s happening to others, and then we can learn from others. Doing this helps others and us.

Iraq the Model 4th Year Anniversary

Omar and Muhammed at Iraq the Model are celebrating their 4^th year anniversary at blogging. Theirs is a great blog. Reading it really helps you understand what is going on in Iraq from an Iraqi perspective.

Making An Argument

The most controversial topics in society today are between groups of people who do not come to an understanding of what they are arguing about. Attacking the definition is one way to win an argument. For example, say you are pro-choice. You can argue that abortion should be legal because it is not a baby when it is in the womb. When a pro-life person argues that is a baby you can counter-argue that it is just a fetus and does not have a soul or whatever else. When there is an argument it is best to come to an understanding of the foundation of what you are arguing about.

I was thinking about this when I was watching Michael Moore on Oprah a while back. He was arguing for a national health care system. I am against such a system. My argument to him would just be a simple question. “Name one country in the world that has a national health care system that is run effectively.” I felt this would be a reasonable question. Then I realized he would say Canada or even Britain have great health care systems. I wouldn’t know how to respond to someone who would say that.

How to Learn Something

This is a personal, non-political, post. I was reflecting last night on a conversation I had from a professor in college. Before I tell you about that conversation let me tell you about what a math teacher told the class in high school.

She said there’s no excuse not to finish your homework and get every answer correct because you should be able to spend as much time as possible to get the right answer. If you can’t figure it out just keep grinding away at it until you figure it out. This concept of learning has been applied throughout much of my life. In college Physics we had to do homework assigned on the Internet. It would take forever to come up with the correct answers, if you couldn’t get it right you lost points. The last job I had had a similar mindset. They just set me in front of the computer and told me to figure out the problem. If I asked too many questions, which was very few, they got irate.

The main thing I learned from the professor in college I mentioned above was as follows. I went to his office hours to get help on a program I was writing, it was a computer science class. I was trying to explain to him the problem I had. He asked, “How long did you spend on this?” I said, “A couple of hours.” He asked, “What do you normally do when you can’t figure out a problem?” I told him I just read the book or kept trying random things until I got the right answer. He got irritated and asked why I didn’t just go to a teacher’s assistant for help. He pointed out that it would only of taken a TA 5 minutes or so to explain the answer versus the hours I spent wasting my time. I had an epiphany.

Like I said, many people in the world, maybe even most would rather you take all day to figure something out than take five minutes out of their day to have them help you. This mindset is pervasive throughout education and business. Teachers would rather deduct points on homework and tests than help you with a problem and bosses would rather you spent all day figuring something out than ask someone the answer.

John Bolton on Bhutto

This article is from Reason magazine:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123460.html

Bolton, amongst other things talks about Benazir Bhutto. I’ve done some reading and she doesn’t seem to be the best friend to democracy. There were corruption allegations under her administration and she is called “Chairperson for life”. When I have more time I’ll try to research her a little more, it’ll take some work.

The Future of This Blog

Sorry I didn’t blog yesterday or over the weekend. I had to go home and see my mother over the weekend and I was busy at work on Monday. I will try to blog more, I have a lot to say. Here are some upcoming things you can look forward to on this blog:

• A book club
• A study on the media preoccupation with America’s and Israel’s human rights abuses
• A few posts about freedom of speech
• A few posts about vice crimes (drugs, prostitution, and gambling)

I hope you look forward to reading them as much as I look forward to writing them.

Bhutto in Jail Again

http://publiuspundit.com/2007/11/all_hell_breaks_loose_in_pakis.php#trackback

Publius Pundit has the coverage. Looks like the world will have to keep fighting for democracy in Pakistan. I won't criticize America's involvement with Musharraf, but it looks like we should of been a little more critical.

School Shooting Coverage

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

- Thomas Jefferson

This quote hails true even today. In the age of mass media it is difficult to filter out useless, false, or misleading information. I found an article on MSNBC.com.

10 Myths About School Shootings: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/

I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened and I remember full well the hysteria surrounding it. Preachers, politicians, parents, school administrators all saying they had answers and solutions. Some may have had their points, but almost all missed the facts. In 1999, the Columbine school shooting took place. That year 12 students were murdered in schools in America, all at Columbine. One teacher was murdered at Columbine also. That same year 12 students died playing high school football. During that year you had about the same chance of being murdered on a school campus in America as being struck by lightning.

Of course most people did not share these statistics, and those that did were condemned for downplaying the tragedy. On a similar note, during the early 1990s the murder rate in America dropped 40% while the reporting of murders rose 600%. All this is outlined in the book “Culture of Fear” by Barry Glasner.

This week another school shooting took place in Finland. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21669167/

Here are the basic myths regarding school shootings.

1. All shooters fit a profile. There are no profiles for school shooters. They range from rich to poor, gifted to remedial, bullied to popular, and the like.

2. They just “snap”. Most shooters show signs well before the shootings take place. They plan their shootings, buy weapons, and tell others about it.

3. No one else knew about it. The shooters almost always tell somebody about their plans. Sometimes those plans don’t make it to adults or law enforcement professionals.

4. He hadn’t threatened anyone before. There are almost always threats to someone. Most threats aren’t acted upon, but all should be taken seriously.

5. He was a loner. Not all school shooters are outcasts. Some are actually quite popular.

6. He was crazy. Only 1/3 of attackers had ever seen a mental health professional, and only 1/5 were actually diagnosed with a mental disorder.

7. If the school had only had more security. SWAT teams, metal detectors, video cameras, and ID badgers don’t deter school shooters. If someone is determined to kill someone they can do it.

8. He never touched a gun. Most school shooters have access to guns, usually from their home. The Columbine shooters bought their guns illegally.

9. The school did everything they could to help them. Some attackers seek out help from administrators and law enforcement, but many feel they are ignored. Many school shooters target principals and teachers.

10. School violence is rampant. School violence is a major problem, but like I said school shootings are very rare. Assaults and other violence in schools have dropped in half in the past decade.

It would do our world good if the media would keep things in perspective, not sensationalize, and tell the truth. There are two constants throughout history; things always get better, and the people living always think things are getting worse. I plan to do a lot of entries about the media. You can look forward to that.

Note: Look how MSNBC titled the piece about the Finland school shooting.

“Nine dead in rare school shooting in Finland”

I doubt they would of titled it that had it of been an American school.

Criticize Iran, Not Fox News

I just searched YouTube for videos about Iran. I typed in “iran atrocities.” Almost all of the videos were titled “USA Terrorist Crimes.” I had to scroll to the bottom to find a video from Iran showing the atrocities of the Mullahs ruling Iran. You can find it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwR51TtfIIk

If you type in “Iran” you get the first two videos just being tourist photos. The third is called “Fox Attacks: Iran” which is a montage of clips from Fox News Channel talking about possible war with Iran. The following is listed under the short description:

Open Letter: http://foxattacks.com/iran Sign the open letter to the major television networks urging them to NOT follow FOX's lead to another war. The video shows the evidence of how they are repeating the same distortions and fear mongering they did before the Iraq war.

Instead of attacking Fox News for their coverage of Iran, maybe it would be better to take my advice in my article "How to Avoid War" which I posted yesterday.

Bhutto Released

Pakistan has released Benazir Bhutto from house arrest. You can read about it here.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3p2ocNnD3Sc&refer=home

Maybe my bloging helped. Nah, I don’t think anybody read it since my posting and her release. My blog is new and doesn’t get any traffic yet. I’ll keep at it though.

Remnants of Slavery

Slavery is arguably the darkest chapter in American history. To be honest one of my ancestors owned over a hundred slaves. I felt guilty about this for years, and maybe in some way still do, but I’m not my ancestor. Unfortunately there are elements in modern society that either is slavery or are remnants of slavery, or promote that slavery or the remnants.

I was watching the news a few months ago and they were interviewing a young black man that lived in a dangerous community. He was a pretty typical youth and he was talking about what he was doing to avoid gang life. He said something very poignant. He said that gang life is just like slavery because you have to do whatever the gang leader says to do. If you don’t do what the gang leader says you can be beaten or killed. There are other parallels to slavery in gang life including drug dealing. Most of the gang members involved in the drug trade make below minimum wage and have to work when they are told. You can read about this in the book “Freakonomics.”

I began thinking about other aspects of modern society that have parallels to slavery. One such thing is pimping. Pimps are basically slave owners. They get their hos and tell them when to work, how much to charge, who to sleep with, remove them from their friends and families, and take away their identification including driver’s licenses and credit cards. That sounds a lot like slavery to me.

So remember that:

Gang leaders = slave masters
Pimps = slave masters

There are other aspects of modern society that are remnants of slavery. If you have seen the movie “Antwone Fisher (http://antwonefisher.net/)” you know what I am talking about. That is based on the true story of Antwone Fisher who was an orphan raised by the State and was verbally, sexually, and physically abused growing up in foster care. In the movie his psychiatrist says that his abuse is a direct result of slavery. The woman who beat him unconscious learned that from her family that learned it from the slave masters that beat them.

It is a shame that in 21^st century America that gang banging, pimping, and even child abuse are celebrated in some circles, even in the black community. These celebrations include gangsta rap, songs like “P.I.M.P.” by 50 Cent, and stand-up comedians joking about beating their kids senseless.

There are other elements in society that are a possible result of slavery, although most are not celebrated. These things include illiteracy, child molestation, and medical problems. Illiteracy is still a major problem in the black community and the problem has been passed down throughout the generations. Fantasia, the winner on American Idol, declared that she was illiterate and said that it was a trend in her family. Antwone Fisher was also molested as a child. Slave masters raped and molested their slaves and it is conceivable that those slaves became victimizers themselves. Heart disease is a major problem in the black community. During the passage from Africa to America the slaves with the highest blood pressure were the most likely to live.

I really don’t know how to solve all these problems, but I do know that America needs honest debate about it. Many feel slave reparations are a good idea. I am personally against slave reparations. Mainly I’m just afraid I’m going to get rich one day and then people will be asking me for money. But anyway, the problems facing America, specifically the black community, will take more effort than just giving away money, although slave reparations should be considered.

Bhutto Under Arrest in Pakistan

Publius Pundit has the coverage here. Benazir Bhutto, opposition leader in Pakistan, has been placed under arrest following Pres. Musharraf declaring marshal law.

Here is a quote from Bhutto:

The United States, Britain and much of the West have always said the right things about democracy in Pakistan and around the world. I recall the words of President Bush in his second inaugural address when he said: "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you." It is dangerous to stand up to a military dictatorship, but more dangerous not to. The moment has come for the Western democracies to show us in their actions, and not just in their rhetoric, which side they are on.

It is time for the United States to stand up for democracy. We must keep our representatives accountable. Hopefully if/when Pres. Bush says something about this they won’t say he’s “saber rattling.”

You can find out more about Bhutto here.

How to Avoid War

I’ve been watching television a lot lately and I’ve been seeing a lot of political pundits talking about how they think President Bush is trying to instigate a war with Iran. They say he is “saber rattling.” First of all an example of saber rattling to me is when you say publicly that Israel should be wiped off the map or when you force everyone listening to your speech to chant “Death to America.” That’s saber rattling. Giving speeches about how Iran should not have a nuclear bomb and pointing out their human rights abuses is not. That’s just telling the truth.

Anyway, I really don’t want to go to war with Iran. That would be a huge problem. I heard one pundit, I think from Air America, say that if “You like the war in Iraq, you’ll love the war in Iran.” Here’s how we can avoid war with Iran.

1. Imagine we do go to war with Iran and that it’s just like the war with Iraq if not worse.
2. Imagine how upset that would make you.
3. Then imagine how much protesting you’d do, speaking out against the war, boycotting, sanctions you’d be for, and voting for officials against the war.
4. Then take all that energy from things listed in step 3 and actually, right now, protest the dictatorship in Iran, speak out against the regime in Iran, boycott companies that do business with Iran, encourage sanctions against Iran, vote for representatives that support democracy in Iran, and generally just support the peaceful switch of Iran to a democracy.

If 10% of all the people who would protest a war with Iran would do those things we won’t have to go to war with Iran in the first damn place.

Note: You can replace “Iran” with any dictatorship in the steps mentioned above.

Girls: Wear More Fucking Clothes!

Maybe it was just how I was raised, but a lot of girls these days aren't wearing enough clothes. Don't get me wrong I like mini-skirts and all, but some girls are just going too far. I'm not saying women should wear burkas, but just have some respect for yourself and others.

I remember when I was in the 7th grade we had to wear a P.E. uniform. They gave us these little shorts that everybody hated, even the girls. But, when summer rolled around that year all the girls started wearing really short shorts, even shorter than the gym shorts. That's when the baggy clothes phase started for boys and the short shorts phase started for girls. Now things have just gone too far.

All generations have tested boundaries of decorum. From bikinis, mini-skirts, tube tops, sagging pants, and the like. There's really nothing wrong with that, but there is a time and place for everything. It became OK to wear bathing suits on the beach. That was fine, but now it seems that anything goes. Every time I go to a bar or a club I see girls wearing ultra-low tops and ultra-high skirts. I see thongs sticking out, I see asses hanging out of shorts, I see shorts rolled down 2 and 3 times, I see all sorts of things.

Not only are girls dressing more revealing, but now they're acting like strippers. Now I like strippers, but I like going to a strip club to meet them. Now all I have to do is go to a night club and I can see girls dancing around poles, girls making out with each other, and lap dances. Then the next day I can go to a website and see all the pictures. And don't get me started on "Girls Gone Wild."

Then there are parties organized by the clubs. A big thing now is "Pimps & Hos" parties. That's where men dress as pimps and the women dress as whores. Next they’ll have parties where the white people dress as slave owners and the black people dress as slaves. Or where Germans will dress as Nazis and Jews will dress as concentration camp inmates.

Now it seems that some girls are using any excuse to dress slutty; Halloween, when it’s unseasonably warm, when they go to the club, when they go to the beach, and soon it will be Mother’s Day, Tuesdays when it rains, and Jesus’ Birthday.

I know there are women out there that agree with me. I was actually talking to a stripper once who was going off about how much she hated Joe Francis (founder of Girls Gone Wild). I don’t believe we should outlaw this type of behavior, but we should have the decency to self-regulate ourselves in public. To be honest it is the mothers that are encouraging this behavior. They’re the ones that are buying their daughters these clothes, letting them wear makeup at a young age, buying them sexy Halloween costumes, and the like. I believe in a way these mothers want to live vicariously through their daughters in much the same way men live vicariously through their sons by encouraging them to play sports.

Now this isn’t really all the girls’ fault. Men are the ones that promote, profit, cheer, and encourage this behavior too. Every time we take a picture of a girl doing something crazy, every time we yell out “Show us your tities,” ever time we buy a copy of “Girls Gone Wild,” every time we sponsor a “Pimps & Hos” party, and every time a bouncer gives preference to the girls waiting in line that look and dress the sexiest. We also get off on having our girlfriends dress like that because it makes us feel macho.

I’m not calling for laws or regulations; I’m just saying that individuals need self-restraint, both men and women. Individual rights are the most important thing guaranteed to us by God, or whatever you want to believe, but we have a responsibility to decency and self-respect. And remember with the Internet and mass media these days pictures don’t go away. And as a programmer I can tell you it will be possibly one day very soon to be able to upload a picture of someone and search through all the images on the Internet and have it return pictures of that person. Las Vegas casinos use this technology in face-recognition software.

Those pictures of you chugging beer, or wearing a bikini, or walking around without your clothes on, or whatever could come back to haunt you.

So for your own good girls, wear more fucking clothes!

A Rise to Censorship

Censorship tactics can be a wide variety of things. They range from outlawing, editing, book burning, and even terrorism. Here are examples of each:

Outlawing: Germany and other countries outlaw the swastika, “Mein Kampf”, Nazi propaganda, and Holocause denial.

Editing: The American FCC restricts what can be shown over the airwaves in primetime. This includes radio edits of popular music, shortening movies to run in the time allotted, and changing dialog in movies to be more “age appropriate”.

Shouting people down: These include incidents at Emory University where David Horowitz, Columbia University where the Minutemen, and Bill Maher’s show “Reel Time” where all interrupted.

Book burning: Nazi book burning rallies in Nazi Germany during the 30s and 40s. These started on college campuses organized by Nazi student organizations.

Terrorism: Death threats to authors like Salman Rushdi (author of the “Satanic Verses”, a book perceived to condemn Islam) and the murder of Theo Van Gogh the director of a movie condemning the treatment of women under Sharia Law.

There are other forms of censorship of course, but the aims are always the same. To limit opinion and silence perceived objectionable thought. The goals are the same, the reasons can be different. According to the American Library Association (ALA) in 2000 there was a total of 6,364 challenges to American libraries to remove objectionable content. Note: it is estimated 1 in 5 challenges is reported to the ALA.

• 1,607 were challenges to “sexually explicit” material
• 1,427 to material considered to use “offensive language”
• 1,256 to material considered “unsuited to age group”
• 842 to material with an “occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism”
• 737 to material considered to be “violent”
• 515 to material with a homosexual theme or “promoting homosexuality”
• 419 to material “promoting a religious viewpoint.”
• 317 for nudity
• 267 for racism
• 224 for sex education
• 202 for anti-family

These challenges occurred in school libraries as well as public libraries.
There has been epidemic lately of attacks on freedom of speech. Some people don’t want to even recognize the opposition opinion. They don’t even want to give it the time of day for an honest debate. An example of this is when the Democrats refused to have their Presidential debate on Fox News. They basically sent the message that Fox News and their opinions is not worth giving credence to.
The next step is to decide that the “other side” is damaging and needs to be silenced by “any means necessary” which can include the censorship tactics above. The censorship does not have to be state imposed. Individuals and other institutions can enforce censorship on others as well. It would not surprise me in the least if I turned on the television one day and the news was talking about how a major American university, probably an ivy league school, has banned a speaker after student disapproval. Then some time later a bunch of students will of raided a library or the book store and stole books and magazines they object to and have a book burning in the quad. I hope I am proven wrong.

Here are some links:

Horowitz at Emory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SrFXdkjbdY
Minutemen at Columbia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuNXmy0e5fc
Nazi book burning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_j4c7Bop
Banned Books List (ALA): http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm

Recommended books:

Fahrenheit 451
1984

Hello World!

It is tradition when you learn a new programming language that your first program spell out "Hello World!" to the screen. I thought that would be an appropriate title for my first blog post. I don't know how much I'll write or how often. We'll have to see. Here are a couple of rules for the blog:

1. I do not give out my real name or anything identifiable about me. This is to protect my own privacy.

2. I have disabled comments to avoid dealing with trolls. If you would like to leave a POLITE email you may. If the email is threatening or offensive I will post it in full including your email address on this blog. Don't test this rule. If you disagree with me or have constructive criticism or want to point out a factual error you may. Just be nice.

That is all for now, if I think of anything else I may add that.

What you can expect from this blog:

I am a neo-Libertarian so you can expect political beliefs around that. I will also talk about other things from time to time. We'll have to see. This is my blog and I can write whatever I wish. I do however plan not to commite libel, harassment, or threats against anyone.

Here is a list of planned posts:

1. I just started a new job and I may talk about it, my new apartment, and things going on in my life.
2. I plan to do a study on how the media covers America's human rights abuses as compared to other governments (especially totalitarian ones).
3. Will talk about the rise in brown shirt tactics of radicals on the left and right who want to censor and intimidate everyone who disagrees with them.