I had a comment on one of my recent blogs, and as I read through it, I had to tell myself, this guy has it going on.
We are a nation that thrives on fear. If we are not afraid of something, we are not happy. This has been going on for as long as I can remember, and I am getting damn old.
I remember having the "nuclear war" drills. Everyone get under your desk, and cover your heads. I remember laughing even then, thinking, "and this is going to save me from being blown to smithereens, how???" We were afraid of the communists then, and guess what, we are still afraid of the communist.
We are now afraid of terrorist. We are afraid they are going to disrupt our lives, and so far, for one bleak day in September of 2001, they did. But let's look at what a terrorist is really trying to do. They are trying to instill fear, to make us change our lives, and boy did they do it. I think the more appropriate response on 9/11 would have been for every person to go to the airport, and get on a plane, and go somewhere. Show everyone, that no matter what you do, we are not afraid of you. But, wait, that is not what real Americans do. We run and hide.
And, as I look at my other posts, there is a fear of something in every one of them. We are afraid of the gays, so we ban gay marriage. We are afraid of sex offenders, so we have a list we can put them all on. It doesn't matter that the things we do have no effect on what we are trying to protect ourselves from, we still have to try.
So my advice to you, Mr or Mrs America, is quit wetting your pants, and stand strong. You don't need to be afraid. Or at least, that's as I see it.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sex Offender Registration
*In my best Helen Lovejoy Voice*
"Won't someone think of the Children"
Yes, I know that is the outcry of everyone that thinks the sex offender registration is a good idea. It doesn't matter what rights are trampled on, it doesn't matter what we do to anyone Else's life, as long as we think of the children. After all, you gotta keep an eye on them there sex perverts. They are lurking everywhere, behind every tree, just waiting to grab our kiddos and run.
And we also know, from reading the reliable (cough) news reports that 3000% of them there sex perverts, once they got a taste of them children, will want to do it again.
Ok, most frivolity aside.... 3000% is an exaggeration, but then again, the numbers that are reported are an exaggeration too. We are told that over half of the people arrested on a sex crime, will offend again. If you listen to the reports, it is the highest rate of recidivism of all crimes. But they are not quite right. The actual number is between 8 and 13% and has one of the lowest recidivism rates. And for the record, the sex offender registration list does nothing to lower that number. The reason being, the people most likely to re-offend, do not register anyway. So we end up with a lot of people out there, who have made a mistake in their life, who are trying to put themselves back together, and have to go down somewhere between every quarter and every year, and register. And who is on that list? The worst of the worst? Not hardly.
There is one person on the sex offender list, because he was in a hotel room, having, um, relations with his bicycle. The made used her master key, and walked in on it, and there you have it, he is on the list.
Another person is a priest, in Northern Colorado... now wait, he wasn't one of THOSE priests. He was jogging at 3:00AM on an enclosed track, and got too warm, so he took his clothes off. He's on that list.
This is not to mention all the guys who were underage themselves, had an underage girlfriend who led them on, then called rape when their parents found out. They are all on that list too.
So I ask you, just exactly who are we trying to protect? The children, or our own self-righteous bigoted ideas that we are actually doing something. I think you know how I see it.
"Won't someone think of the Children"
Yes, I know that is the outcry of everyone that thinks the sex offender registration is a good idea. It doesn't matter what rights are trampled on, it doesn't matter what we do to anyone Else's life, as long as we think of the children. After all, you gotta keep an eye on them there sex perverts. They are lurking everywhere, behind every tree, just waiting to grab our kiddos and run.
And we also know, from reading the reliable (cough) news reports that 3000% of them there sex perverts, once they got a taste of them children, will want to do it again.
Ok, most frivolity aside.... 3000% is an exaggeration, but then again, the numbers that are reported are an exaggeration too. We are told that over half of the people arrested on a sex crime, will offend again. If you listen to the reports, it is the highest rate of recidivism of all crimes. But they are not quite right. The actual number is between 8 and 13% and has one of the lowest recidivism rates. And for the record, the sex offender registration list does nothing to lower that number. The reason being, the people most likely to re-offend, do not register anyway. So we end up with a lot of people out there, who have made a mistake in their life, who are trying to put themselves back together, and have to go down somewhere between every quarter and every year, and register. And who is on that list? The worst of the worst? Not hardly.
There is one person on the sex offender list, because he was in a hotel room, having, um, relations with his bicycle. The made used her master key, and walked in on it, and there you have it, he is on the list.
Another person is a priest, in Northern Colorado... now wait, he wasn't one of THOSE priests. He was jogging at 3:00AM on an enclosed track, and got too warm, so he took his clothes off. He's on that list.
This is not to mention all the guys who were underage themselves, had an underage girlfriend who led them on, then called rape when their parents found out. They are all on that list too.
So I ask you, just exactly who are we trying to protect? The children, or our own self-righteous bigoted ideas that we are actually doing something. I think you know how I see it.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Revolt in America
OK, so I may get a lot of flack over this, and I may make a lot of people mad. But I have thinking about this for quite some time, and I think it may be time for a Revolution.
Don't get me wrong, I love America, and I am proud to be an American. But geesh, enough of the political bullshit that is ruining this great country. Let me explain though why I think it is time.
We were founded on the basic premise of government by the people and for the people. But that isn't what is happening. We have government by the party for the party, whichever party seems to be in office. The very basic freedoms that we hold dear, are continually at stake. Basic principals such as gun ownership are being used as soapboxes for both sides. One party touting that we hold the right to have as many guns as we want, and the other side pushing for laws to infringe upon that freedom. This is not how our government was supposed to work.
Government was supposed to be individual freedom above all. The federal government was to have very little to do with our daily lives, and instead focus on the nations interaction with other nations. Then the State governments were to focus on one states interaction with other states, and finally local governments focus on our interaction with other people. What we have is the federal government trying to be all up in our faces over health care, gay marriage, gun ownership, and the list goes on and on. We as individuals send a lot of money to Washington in the form of taxes, and they can't even do their jobs right. If I did my job as poorly as the federal government... well the state would be supporting me in the form of unemployment.
So, what do we do.... let me say I am not yet ready for a violent revolution, although it may come to that someday. Right now, we need to fight for our freedoms, and look for candidates for office, that will say fuck you to the party and vote what the people want. With that said, I did vote for Obama last time, and will probably vote for him again, but I think he is letting us down, and not in the way the republicans think. I don't believe he is pushing us towards socialism, but he is letting us down.
So Rise up Mr and Mrs America. Let's run candidates that are not rich, that can't afford to run million dollar campaigns, but know what you and I go through every day. Only then, will this country again become a nation by the people, for the people. Or at least, that's as I see it.
Don't get me wrong, I love America, and I am proud to be an American. But geesh, enough of the political bullshit that is ruining this great country. Let me explain though why I think it is time.
We were founded on the basic premise of government by the people and for the people. But that isn't what is happening. We have government by the party for the party, whichever party seems to be in office. The very basic freedoms that we hold dear, are continually at stake. Basic principals such as gun ownership are being used as soapboxes for both sides. One party touting that we hold the right to have as many guns as we want, and the other side pushing for laws to infringe upon that freedom. This is not how our government was supposed to work.
Government was supposed to be individual freedom above all. The federal government was to have very little to do with our daily lives, and instead focus on the nations interaction with other nations. Then the State governments were to focus on one states interaction with other states, and finally local governments focus on our interaction with other people. What we have is the federal government trying to be all up in our faces over health care, gay marriage, gun ownership, and the list goes on and on. We as individuals send a lot of money to Washington in the form of taxes, and they can't even do their jobs right. If I did my job as poorly as the federal government... well the state would be supporting me in the form of unemployment.
So, what do we do.... let me say I am not yet ready for a violent revolution, although it may come to that someday. Right now, we need to fight for our freedoms, and look for candidates for office, that will say fuck you to the party and vote what the people want. With that said, I did vote for Obama last time, and will probably vote for him again, but I think he is letting us down, and not in the way the republicans think. I don't believe he is pushing us towards socialism, but he is letting us down.
So Rise up Mr and Mrs America. Let's run candidates that are not rich, that can't afford to run million dollar campaigns, but know what you and I go through every day. Only then, will this country again become a nation by the people, for the people. Or at least, that's as I see it.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Gay Marriage
So, I have been following the gay marriage / proposition 8 debate for a while now. Since I want to marry my partner of over 10 years, I figure this has many ramifications to my life.
I noticed that one of the arguments that the conservatives have against gay marriage is that it is harmful to heterosexual reproduction. Well let me say, your argument does not hold water.
First of all, for it to harm reproduction, it has to have an effect on reproduction, or the people involved. Since, in my experience with the gay culture, none of these people would be reproducing anyway.... HOW EXACTLY DOES THAT EFFECT REPRODUCTION????
I mean, come on now. Even if I am never allowed to marry my wonderful partner, I would not be reproducing anyway. I don't like girls that way. I seriously doubt I could even get an erection to happen with a girl. So how does that effect reproduction.
Maybe they are all just afraid that if we allow gay marriage, then all the straight people will suddenly become gay and no one would be procreating. Since I seriously doubt that would happen, they have nothing to worry about.
Or maybe, they are all afraid that if we allow gay marriage, then God would come down and strike us dead for allowing such things to go on. Well, if he hasn't done it yet, I doubt that letting us marry would cause it. And since some of the most atrocities committed nowdays are committed in His name, well you get the point.
Anyway, I think we should all live and let live, and not worry about what someone else is doing. At least, that is how I see it.
I noticed that one of the arguments that the conservatives have against gay marriage is that it is harmful to heterosexual reproduction. Well let me say, your argument does not hold water.
First of all, for it to harm reproduction, it has to have an effect on reproduction, or the people involved. Since, in my experience with the gay culture, none of these people would be reproducing anyway.... HOW EXACTLY DOES THAT EFFECT REPRODUCTION????
I mean, come on now. Even if I am never allowed to marry my wonderful partner, I would not be reproducing anyway. I don't like girls that way. I seriously doubt I could even get an erection to happen with a girl. So how does that effect reproduction.
Maybe they are all just afraid that if we allow gay marriage, then all the straight people will suddenly become gay and no one would be procreating. Since I seriously doubt that would happen, they have nothing to worry about.
Or maybe, they are all afraid that if we allow gay marriage, then God would come down and strike us dead for allowing such things to go on. Well, if he hasn't done it yet, I doubt that letting us marry would cause it. And since some of the most atrocities committed nowdays are committed in His name, well you get the point.
Anyway, I think we should all live and let live, and not worry about what someone else is doing. At least, that is how I see it.
Starting Thoughts
There is so much going on this world. Politics, religion, problems in schools, problems with the justice center. there is so much, and all we ever see is the journalists eye. We read things that are slanted to the left or to the right, just depends on who is paying the bills for that media.
I am a simple man. I have no political, or other ties. I just look at things that are happening, and ask myself the question.... ARE THESE PEOPLE ON DRUGS!!!!
This blog is kind of a continuation of a piece I used to write for a local newspaper in Alamogordo NM. I don't know if anyone will read this, or what their thoughts might be, but still I have to try. Somehow I want my voice to get out there, as the voice of reason in a very unreasonable world. Hope you all enjoy
I am a simple man. I have no political, or other ties. I just look at things that are happening, and ask myself the question.... ARE THESE PEOPLE ON DRUGS!!!!
This blog is kind of a continuation of a piece I used to write for a local newspaper in Alamogordo NM. I don't know if anyone will read this, or what their thoughts might be, but still I have to try. Somehow I want my voice to get out there, as the voice of reason in a very unreasonable world. Hope you all enjoy
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