It's Lonely Outside the Box

25 Things About Me

2009-02-05T01:31:00.005+08:00

In no particular order:

1. I'm six-feet, 3/4 of an inch tall (but I tell people 6'1").

2. I have two pets: an Australian snake-neck turtle
and a rose Chilean tarantula. (Separate tanks)

3. I used to think I was phobic of spiders,
but I'm starting to think now I'm just normal.

4. I've been in Taiwan since July 3, 2001.

5. They've got some really big, really fast spiders here
that scare the crap out of me.

6. I married the first local girl I met.

7. I'm not proud of too many things,
but my marriage is definitely one of them.

8. I have two children, who come really close to being classified as pets.

9. I got my daughter's name, Tosnia, from my favorite movie.

10. I lived on a hog farm during my high school years.
(FYI, pig shit has a rather sweet taste to it.)

11. I was Prom King, though I was shocked as everyone else
when my name was called.

12. I have a thing for zombies, Spartans, and the Samurai.

13. My wife is going to be ticked when she sees I referred to her as a local.
She grew up in Australia.

14. I've got a really strong stomach.
(I watched Two Girls, One Cup while eating my dinner.)

15. However, I do get the "heebie jeebies" failry easy.
I watched a guy get bot fly worms pulled out of his back (and they're HUGE)
and that left me with the creeps for days.

16. I love horror films, but only one has truly scared me
and that was The Blair Witch Project.

17. I thought the ending to The Sopranos was brilliant.

18. My love for semantics started about 10 years ago with trying
to figure out the difference between courage and bravery.
Go ahead. Give it a try.

19. I don't care for golf, baseball, gambling, beer, or chick-on-chick action.
Think what you will.

20. I'm incapable of "chit-chat".

21. My favorite children's book is THE DOT by Peter Reynolds.
I highly recommend it.

22. I have 3 heroes: Thurgood Marshall, Hugh Thompson, and Bill Hicks.

23. I'm allergic to pistachios, cashews, and macadamia nuts.

24. Over this past election process,
I found out that I'm much more conservative than I realized,
and that most "conservatives" are not so conservative.

25. I think the word "acquaintance" should be used more often,
because I try to take my friendships seriously.

Acceptance Speech

2008-11-06T10:45:00.002+08:00

I know he's got it in him.

I would have loved it if he went up to the podium, leaned into it, and said,

"Can.........You.............Dig it!"

And then gone back to his usual white self.

My Day at the Hospital

2008-08-26T16:54:00.005+08:00

What did you do last week?

Get anything removed from your body?

No?

Then your week was probably better than mine.

Not complaining though. It's not malignant.

Whew!

A Question

2008-02-11T16:03:00.000+08:00

This was sent to me by a friend who lives in New York.
I'll try to answer it, but I'm also going to ask a few of my friends
who probably have a bit more insight into this than I do.

Hey Rob,

The other day, a thought crossed my mind, and I was trying to figure this out,
and maybe you could help me understand it.

As you know, presidential campaigns have begun already in the US,
and plenty of dirt has been thrown. Often I hear the Republicans declare Democrats and Liberals as "God-less" or "lacking in moral values."

Ironically, the recent headlines seem to find many GOP involved in infidelity scandals (Robert Livingston, David Vitter, Randall Tobias). At the same time, the Republican Party seems to be able to cater to the Big Business capitalists, such as Big Oil, Big Pharmaceuticals, the Military Industrial Complex, Tobacco Companies, etc. Many of these Big Businesses are engaged in industries and practices that are often contradictory to Christian values.

For example,- Pharmaceutical companies lobby against the establishment of an Universal Healthcare System in the US. (I'd think Jesus would favor UHS.) They also make birth-control pills, condoms, etc which are typically not favorable to Church teachings.-

The Military Industrial Complex's contradiction to Christian ideals should be
self-explanatory. In addition, the US is heavily in a budget-deficit because of the war-machine.-

Big Oil could possibly be the top polluter of the global ecology.

I just find it hard to believe that conservative Christians share in the same core values as business interests.

So my question is this:

How are the Republicans able to court these two very distinctly different,
and often contradictory groups?

My own thought on this leads me to believe that it comes down to 2 things:

Gay-rights and abortion.

But it just seems that it's too naive to accept that these 2 issues could cause
most conservatives to overlook the other conflicting ideals.

So, if you could, help me understand how this came about.

Thanks, LH

Semantics Lesson #5: PRIDE/PROUD

2007-05-06T14:47:00.000+08:00

As most of you should know I spend a lot of time thinking about the meanings of words that we find important in our culture. My previous posts on semantics have covered Know & Belief, Trust & Faith, then Bravery & Courage, followed by Compassion, and my last one was about Incorrect Usages.

With this new one I'd like some help.

I'm not content with how we use the word PROUD.

Like most of our words, it has too many uses. I have found that when that is the case, then the word loses its value. And those values are important as they help us each and every day to be better people. (Does that sound as corny as I think it does?)

My problem with PROUD is that I don't think it should be used in reference to other people. I believe it should only be used to describe how you feel about yourself. Once I started thinking about it, it made no sense to me that a person could feel PROUD about another person's accomplishments. Unless, of course, that person helped the person in some way to attain those accomplishments, but even then you are proud of what YOU did, not really what the other person did.

Here's the problem, I don't know what to call the feeling that one gets upon witnessing someone else's accomplishment.

Let's say your father saves a young boy from drowning. He's a hero, etc.

What we're used to is saying that we are so PROUD of him.

I want to change that, but I'm not sure what to.

Admiration?

It doesn't have the same weight to that PROUD has, does it? But maybe it should. After all, words are just what we make of them. They only have the power that we give them. But that's not to belittle the power that they do have, and is why I make such efforts to be aware of them and their actual and intended meanings.

Any thoughts?

What Philosophy Do I Follow?

2007-04-09T11:31:00.000+08:00

You scored as Existentialism.

Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism:

You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.

(At least I like to think so.)

“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world,
he is responsible for everything he does.”

“It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.”

--Jean-Paul Sartre

“It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.”

--Blaise Pascal

More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Existentialism

90%

Kantianism

65%

Justice (Fairness)

55%

Hedonism

50%

Utilitarianism

50%

Strong Egoism

35%

Nihilism

25%

Apathy

Divine Command

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
created with QuizFarm.com

My Criticism of Christianity

2006-12-20T00:23:00.000+08:00

I'm sorry for the delay with this post, but I have tried to write it on three different occasions and was never happy with them. I'm now to the point where I'm just going to write it and deal with the rest in the comments section.

Here's what prompted this post:

"How would you describe the activities of Christians over the past 1700 – 1800 years?
From the grand scale acts to the every day ones,
Christians have a lousy track record."

It's important to point out that my criticism, and judgment, of Christianity isn’t done from a comparison standpoint. Rather, I hold them to their own standards and beliefs. I don’t see the point of comparing Christians/Christianity to the Mongols. To my knowledge, the Mongols never made the claim that forgiveness, compassion, and love were the staples of their religious beliefs.

If you reread my statement, you'll notice I asked for a description.
I said nothing about being the worst.
That would be a comparison.

Here's my (hopefully brief) description of the history of Christianity.

Unfortunately, the Crusades, the Inquisitions, and the Witch Trials are mentioned so often that they are now treated as cliches. However, that doesn't change how horrendous they were. If you haven't done any research on them, you certainly should.

Something else that I hold Christians responsible for is the founding of the United States. Everyone knows that Christians love to argue that they are the ones who founded the U.S. and I agree with them. It makes sense to me since Christians were (and are) the overwhelming majority of the population.

However, what needs to be acknowledged is that America would not be what it is today without the eradication of one race and the enslavement of another. Of course, you don't see any Christians putting a claim on that.

As Frederick Douglass said,

"For all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst.
I have ever found them the meanest and barest, the most cruel and cowardly, of all others.
It was my unhappy lot to belong to a religious slaveholder."

With this example, you can see that I don't only hold the Church accountable,
but the individual people as well.

World War II is another example. I know most view it as a non-religious war, but I don't.
Hitler's campaign was Christian based. Watch Triumph of the Will sometime.
(If you're in town, you may borrow my copy.) Hitler catches a lot of grief,
but he couldn't have done a thing without the help of a lot of Christians.

I also hold Christianity accountable for what it's done to our culture.
And it has done plenty!

Women

They haven't been equals since day one.
They were taken out of the picture with the Holy Trinity.
Just look at it. The FATHER. The SON. And the HOLY SPIRIT???
What does common sense tell you? You have a father, a son, but no mother?
Of course it used to be that way, but the good church took care of that,
and women have been paying the price ever since.

Also, the wise old woman was turned into a crone (witch)
and it has lasted over the centuries.

Nature

What will most likely be the end of us was started by the Church and has only gotten worse.
I'm referring to a complete lack of reverence for nature.

John 6: 28 - 29

28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

This one really pisses me off. (Eehhhh, they all piss me off.)
Imagine a world where Christians were actually required to do good in order for them to be good. Wow, I think I'd actually like that world, but instead we have this one. It's ridiculous that faith is the only requirement.

It should be about DEEDS.

Heck, even the Ten Commandments mostly tell you what NOT to do, rather than what to do.

Odds & Ends

My friend, Ryan, used this example in an attempt to support Christians,

"In the case of Christians, I think that they more than compensate for this annoying tendency with their charitable activities. I mean, if I get lost in Africa one day and am dying of thirst, I hope I come across a church."

Naturally, I disagree.
Not with the "being lost in Africa part", but seriously, when is that ever going to happen? (Knock wood.) Instead, a small but common example that I'd prefer to use is when my wife went on line into a chat room to find help for her problems with pregnancy. Not medical problems, but more along the lines of depression.
All the women in that room were talking about how great it was to be pregnant, etc. and when my wife tried to bring up her problem she was ridiculed.

THAT has been my experiences with Christians.

"with their charitable activities."

I've grown up surrounded by Christians my whole life and I can't think of a single one who did charitable work. I do know someone who works at a charity foundation. One of the rare foundations where most of the money (over 85%!)
actually makes it to the people who need it. That person is my mother and she's not even a Christian. (She recently came to the conclusion that she's a deist.)

Ok, that's as short as I can keep it.
We'll go from here.

Dance Fever!

2006-11-28T00:23:00.000+08:00

We've been having a pretty serious, but well-mannered, discussion with my previous post, so I thought I'd lighten things up a bit and put a smile on your face. Here are a couple of videos of my son, Gabriel. He's only around 15% Mexican, but it comes through anyways.

Enjoy. (Don't miss the last wiggle.)

Dance Fever Pt 2

2006-11-28T00:12:00.000+08:00

Sympathy for the Devil

2006-11-05T19:48:00.000+08:00

An apology for the devil: it must be remembered that we have heard one side of the case. God has written all the books. – Samuel Butler

I came across this quote a few weeks ago and I just can't get it out of my head.

I've been viewing the story of the Judeo-Christian God from an outside perspective and I can't get past that God comes off as a tyrant. That Adam and Eve were slaves, and that original sin wasn't sin, but rather, free will.

Which makes Lucifer........a hero?

I now find it quite easy to picture Satanists (or people who were smeared as such) not as the people in dark robes, virgin sacrifices, etc. committing acts of evil, but as people who were worshipping free will.

Lord knows that Christianity (or Islam, or Judaism) is no bastion of free will.

There's a (somewhat) short story by Neil Gaiman called Murder Mysteries.
It's in his book, Smoke and Mirrors, which is a collection of short stories.
I highly recommend it. It too led me to these thoughts.

Why isn't it possible that Lucifer didn't approve of God's controlling ways?
I've always had a hard time in believing that someone was "just evil".

It's very similar to the Lost Gospel of Judas, which make far more sense than the version we're given in the actual Bible. It all reminds me of when I was around 10 and my father sat me down to explain, as best as he could, about all the different types of religions. I walked away from that conversation thinking, "None of it makes any sense."

And there's just so much ridiculous propoganda coming out of God's camp.

God is Love

That's just what Satan wants you to think.

He works in mysterious ways.

What a bunch of hooey.

Really, these are all just thoughts, but in the end,
how bad can a guy with the nickname of "Lucy" be?

Opinion vs Belief

2006-10-07T02:06:00.000+08:00

This post is a loose continuation from the previous one, so make sure to read that one first.

I have been thinking about the differences between opinions and beliefs for some time now, but a comment by Sherril helped me come closer to a conclusion (sort of, for now).

Opinions require no support. Beliefs do.

You think the Beatles are the best ever and I think the Rolling Stones are.
Sure, people debate this all the time, but there's no real winner.
There is no "right or wrong". There can't be, because they're opinions.

But now let's try this, you think there's a god and I don't.
No way around this one. One of us is right and the other is wrong.

I realize that I've simplified an incredibly complex issue, but that doesn't change that one of us is wrong and the other is right. The trick is to be open to the possibility that you just might be the one in the wrong.

Timmer stated, "I would add that I believe open-mindedness is not simply being open to the possibility that the other is in the right, but it is even respecting the other's opinion/belief system for what it is to that person...and for what it is in general."

It's the part after "but..." that I want to address, because I disagree with it.
To me, that falls under being polite.

It reminds me of a time back in the States when I was discussing the film American History X with some co-workers. I was explaining why I didn't like and a girl piped up that she did like it. If I remember correctly she said, "I thought it was good." So I asked her why. She paused and then said, "I don't know, I just do." I then told her, "That's fine, but please understand that there's no reason to respect what you think."

Going back to what Timmer wrote, I'm getting to the point in my life where I disagree with being tolerant, with being respectful of other people's beliefs (or their system) simply because they have them. I have no problem with a person being entitled to their opinion, but it's not the same for their beliefs. They've got to back those up, or they don't count.

Being Open-Minded

2006-09-30T07:24:00.000+08:00

Sorry I've been away for a while. We've been super busy around my household.
We brought Tosnia home (she's doing fine), we moved into out new apartment (which is a mess), and my brother came to visit (he just graduated).

I've got a ton of things I want to go over, but I recently had a discussion with someone that made me rethink what it means to be "open-minded". To me, being open-minded is one of those things that everyone thinks they are and it seems pretty easy to understand.

However, as usual, I see it differently.

I think most people see being open-minded as willing to listen to someone else's point of view. To be fair and give the other person a chance to share their side.

That's not being open-minded. That's being polite.

The key to being open-minded is being open to the possibility that the other person is (God forbid!) correct. Now that you don't see in most discussions, much less in an actual debate or argument.

So, for those of you out there (and I've got a couple of you specifically in mind) that consider yourself to be open-minded, are you sincerely open to the possibility that one, or several, of your beliefs could in fact be wrong?

The Origin of Tosnia

2006-08-25T00:46:00.000+08:00

I've been asked more than a few times where I got the name Tosnia, so here's the story....

It all started with a man by the name of Scott Rosenberg.

He wrote the script for my favorite movie.

That movie is

Things to do in Denver when you're Dead.

By no means am I saying it's an incredible work of art. However, like the majority of my favorite movies, what it did was help me on my way to being a better man.

And Denver did that for me the most.

And like most great things in my life, it's impact didn't hit until I had watched it for a third time. What hit me so hard was how the main character, Andy Garcia, tried so hard to do the right thing throughout the film. And he did it with such passion.

His character opened my eyes to what it meant to have honor.
(The movie about honor that truly blew me away was Rob Roy with Liam Neeson.)

Don't misunderstand me. It's not like Denver made me want to have certain qualities. Rather, it made me aware that I had those qualities, but I hadn't been embracing them. I hadn't been nurturing them.

Andy Garcia's character inspired me to start doing so.

By the way, Andy Garcia's character's name in the film is Jimmy "the Saint" Tosnia.

So if any of you happen to run into Scott Rosenberg, tell him "thanks" for me.

Free WiIl Continued

2006-08-10T04:54:00.000+08:00

Ryan,

you wrote, "We all have free will; we have the ability to make any choice. However, most of us prefer not to think before we act. Rather, most of us let others think for us or merely react to circumstances."

I have to disagree with "most of us prefer not to think before we act."

Prefer implies an act of choosing, but you and I both know those people didn't "choose" to be like that. It's simply how they are.

Now the question is, why are they like that?

My answer would be because that's how they were raised.
And to me that means, to a degree, a lack of Free Will.

Joe,

no, I didn't say life was inevitable by using that KKK example. I said that that was why he believed what he believed.

Let's try again by using the example of your grandfather.

If I understand you correctly, your grandfather laid out his "choices" (I say options), be a good husband and father or be a lousy husband and father, and "chose" the latter. Then, at another point he "chose" to leave his family over staying with his family.

I'm sorry, but I just can't see that being the case.
It makes no logical sense to me.

My first guess would be that he was reacting to his situation.
And I refuse to call that Free Will.

Let me try a different angle with my (lack of) Free Will argument.

I believe that everything comes from something.
That it is impossible for something to just appear.

So, with that belief, then even a person's decisions must come from somewhere.
Whether it's from genetics or conditioning (most likely both), they must come from somewhere.

Why do I prefer vanilla over chocolate?

That has to be genetic.

Why do I like full-figured women over less curvy ones?

My theory is that is comes from my ethnic side (I'm one-third Mexican.) which makes it genetic.

Why am I an Atheist?

I feel that I was born this way, but I have to acknowledge the conditions under which I was raised, which were very liberal and secular (though I did go to Catholic school off and on up to 10th grade.) What I mean by "born this way" is that I believe I would still end up with pretty much the same beliefs that I have now no matter how I was raised, but I suppose everyone feels that way (if they bothered to stop and think about it. Wait, I suppose I should say, if they were able to stop and think about it.)

Then there are more complicated "choices" like Why did I move to Taiwan?

Maybe I'm over-simplifying it, but the move made sense to me. Now, where did that sense come from? From my upbringing? I would think so. From whatever sort of intellect I was born with? That too, probably.

I realize people don't like to think that their decisions are not theirs and they certainly don't like to think of themselves as "flesh robots", but I do think I have some valid points. I may take back the "flesh robot" example, but most likely I will just change it a bit. I still think there's something to it.

Mostly, out of all of this, I want to make sure I'm clear that what I mean by a lack of Free Will is that the decisions we make are under some sort of influence at all times and from all different kinds of sources.

Does that mean we are all "pre-programmed"?

Well, I'm in no position to say yes or no to that, but for now I'll say that I believe we are to a degree. And some of us more than others. And in some areas of our thinking we are more so than in other parts.

Also, when people sit around and discuss "destiny", this is what they really should be talking about. And if I had to "choose" between one or the other, I have to go with the flesh robot option. I have no choice.

It's a GIRL!!!

2006-08-05T00:42:00.000+08:00

Tosnia Newton Neddo was born at 9:55pm on Aug. 4

(Newton is my father's name.)

Ryan and Joe, I've been bouncing a reply to your latest comments around in my head but it'll be a couple of days before I can get around to posting it. Please do check for it, though.

Ok, back to the hospital.
Have a great weekend everybody!

Free Will

2006-07-28T13:13:00.000+08:00

I think about Free Will a lot.

At this point in my life I have to say that I don't buy it. In all fairness, I also think a lot about women's beach volleyball, so what do I know?

But seriously, think about it. What is there in your life that you freely choose?

How about your favorite movie? Book? Hell, even ice cream? Favorite things are pretty important things. They help define us, but there's no act of choosing.

It reminds me of the old saying, "You don't have a sense of humor, it has you."

Of course, a discussion about Free Will always comes around to God.

Is a belief or a lack of a belief in a deity any different?

I ask you theists out there, when did you lay out your options and then proceed to choose which deity to believe in? Why that particular one over all the others?

And even better, if we truly mean Free Will, can you right now choose a different one? That is Free Will, isn't it? The ability to choose? Go ahead, give it a try.

My guess is you'd have the same result as I would if I tried to actually choose to believe in some sort of supreme being.

I look throughout my life and see so very few moments where I was in control of the "choices" I made.

I realize most will disagree with me, but I just don't see Free Will out there. While I'm not a staunch believer, I will say that I'm leaning towards the "We're all flesh robots" line of thinking.

Oh yeah, one more thing about the religious aspect of this topic. I do not call being forced to choose between believing in a God or going to Hell a choice. Sure, they are options, but it's no choice. It's bullshit is what it is.

Children First

2006-07-21T00:24:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,

I'm inviting you all to check out my new blog, Children First.
It's dedicated to childhood development.

The vast majority of it will consist of my own ideas,
though I will share what I believe to be helpful from articles and books I read.

My ideas are pretty much that, my ideas.
That means I haven't had very many opportunities to challenge them,
so for those of you whose opinions I respect (you know who you are)
please come by and do you best to challenge me.

I hope to see you there!

MYHERITAGE.com

2006-07-18T16:37:00.000+08:00

My friend, Sherril, over at Sherril's Myriad of Musings, has a post on this.
I thought it'd be fun, especially with the serious discussion we had last week, to give it a try.

Now, here's me. I'd like to say that it's my favorite picture of me, but that wouldn't be entirely honest. It's the only picture that I like of myself. I'm incredibly unphotogenic. I'm not kidding.

Here's who they said I look like. I don't see it, except for the nose.
My wife is plenty happy, as Richard Gere is tops on her list. I still don't see it.

Working in the resaurant business for over 10 years I certainly was told time and time again that I looked like certain people. This guy was one of the most common, and definitely my favorite. I guess I can see a little resemblance, but he doesn't have my stupid smile. Oh, in case you don't know, that's Warren Beatty. (Mind you, none of these next 3 pics did the site match me with.)

I was also often compared to Jon Cryer
He's best know as Ducky from Pretty in Pink.
I tried to keep this one from spreading.

The next most popular comparison was with Matthew Broderick. Eeeh, I don't see it at all, but I did have a guy I worked with once tell me that he was flipping through People magazine while waiting at the dentist's office and he turned that page and said, "What the hell is Robert doing in People magazine?!?" He read the caption and it was this goober. I still don't see it.

I decided to try a different picture at the site.
I tried to find one that was decent enough.
Not easy to do, believe me. I finally settled on this one.

Now, I know I make a hell of a hot woman,
so that made me pretty curious who they'd match me up with.

I must say I didn't see it coming.

NOT AT ALL.

And I hate soccer.

(Sherril, thanks a bunch for the tips on posting pics. It helped a ton.)

The N Word (Parental Advisory)

2006-07-11T09:16:00.000+08:00

Back when I was in my late teens and early 20's, I used to be the guy that would get all bent out of shape whenever one of my (white) friends would use the word "nigger". There was a standing rule to not use that word in my presence.

Something happened though.

When I was around 26 or 27 I came home very late from work one night and my roommate wasn't home, so I had the house to myself. After cleaning up I sat down on the couch to watch some TV and wind down before going to bed. I was feeling just fine.

As I was flipping through the channels I ran across one of the Friday the 13th films. The first or second one, I think. Of course that creeepy music (ch, ch, ch, ch...) was playing and it immediately creeped me out. I went from totally relaxed to looking over my shoulder and out the window. I was completely paranoid. And I hated it. I hated that something so silly had such control over me.

The next day though, it really got me thinking.

It got me thinking about what else has such control over me. I don't mean something like cleavage (wait, hold that thought...), but rather things that I'm not aware of. I don't remember how I came to the actual thought, but I do remember realizing that the word "nigger" had a powerful hold on me, as well as most other people.

I decided then that I was going to change that.

I started doing a lot of thinking about the word and some experimenting with it also. (Safely) I quickly came to understand that the word only has as much power as we give it. Something like the mind over matter deal, where I don't mind it, so it doesn't matter. Sure, the word has a horrible history, but it's still just a word. To me, it's the intent behind the word that is offensive, not the word itself.

One experiment with the word that I think gave a different and valuable perspective was with a mullato kid I waited tables with. Black people weren't too common in our restaurant, but they did come in enough to earn a reputation as very poor tippers.

I was sat a table of four blacks. I noticed it and walked towards that back where we all wait, getting things ready, and I said, half under my breath, "Great, I just got sat niggers." (Please, remember, I don't actually feel that way.) Around me were 3 white servers and the mullato kid, Matt.

Nobody said anything, but of course I could feel the tension.

I walked over to Matt. I told him, "Listen, I know the word offends you, but here's something I want you to think about. When I use the word I am referring to a specific class of people. Yes, they are of African descent, but it is not a general term. The slur is earned.

But this part is more important, when I said that word those other servers turned around and looked at you. They wanted to see if you were offended. But I ask why? I have never once thought of you as a nigger. You're educated, well mannered, and very likable. Anyone who ever thought of you as a nigger is an idiot. Not for being rascist, but for being ignorant.

Ok, it's been a few hours since I wrote the above. I could go on and on, but I don't think it's necessary. To me, we need to be mindful of the things that offend us. Is there a real reason or are we just reacting to it?

I have no place in my life for people who use the word casually.

The people who actually use it as an insult to a black person, well, I don't consider them a racist. They're just trying to hurt that person and they're using a word that probably will.

As for me, I no longer use the word, but I do think it has a place. I do think there are niggers out there. Just like I think there is white trash out there. And assholes. Each one has it's own specific definition. At least for me they do.

Maybe this sums it up best. I will not teach my son to simply never say the word "nigger". I do not condone the encouragement of ignorance. I will explain to my son that that word is highly offensive too a great many people. I will explain to him the history of the word. (Yes, I do own the book Nigger - The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word) I will explain to him that if he so chooses to use that word, there could be any number of consequences for it.

And I will explain to him that the word only has as much power as he gives it.

(Of course, I suppose the first word I should cover with him should be "chink".)

Peace out, niggas. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

A Clarification

2006-07-04T12:55:00.000+08:00

I've been browsing, with some perusing, through the usual blogs that I do so with. They're a nice mix of opposing opinions and such. Of course there are plenty of 4th of July posts. Something that caught my eye on a couple of blogs is the old

"This is America; if you don't like it, you're free to get the hell out."

I suppose what separates myself from people with this attitide is that I believe if you are not happy with something about America, then the beauty of our country is that you can try to do something about it. And then, if I agree with you, I'll try to help your cause. If I don't, then I'll try to counter it.

True, I'm the one usually on the dissenting side, but I also love it when some one disagrees with me. That's when learning and self-improvement begin.

I'm just so damn tired of the ones who don't understand the importance of it.

Semantics Lesson #4: Incorrect Usages

2006-06-28T23:50:00.000+08:00

This lesson is about words that people misuse all the time.
It drives me nuts.

We'll start with some easy ones.

Unique

As every one knows, unique means "one of a kind".
Therefore, you may NOT put the words very or really before it.
It's impossible for something to be really one of a kind.

Word that should be used instead: Special.

Ballistic

According to dictionary.com, here are your choices:

Of or relating to the study of the dynamics of projectiles.
Of or relating to the study of the internal action of firearms.
Of or relating to projectiles, their motion, or their effects.

I realize why it's misunderstood, the ballistic missle and all, and I have to admit it doesn't actually annoy me as much as the others I'm posting about, but I do find it amusing when someone says they're going to go "ballistic" and I instantly think, "You're going to be under the power of gravity on somebody?" (I do realize that this is probably only amusing to me.)

Word that should be used instead: Explode.

Nimrod

I used to read comic books and in an issue of Spider-man a villian was introduced, for just that issue, as NIMROD. He quickly got his butt kicked and was never heard from again, but it got me wondering why they would give a character a name that meant "dummy" or "idiot".

So, I looked it up.

Nimrod was originally a who, not a what. He was, according to the Bible, a mighty hunter and king of Shinar who was a grandson of Ham and a great-grandson of Noah. The dictionary I looked it up long ago said nimrod meant a mighty warrior or a great hunter.

So that got me wondering how on earth it ended up meaning almost the exact opposite. Thinking about it off and on over the next few years I finally came up with the answer. Bugs Bunny! Or more precisely, Elmer Fudd. (Note: While dictionary.com does have this explanation, I did come up with on my own several years ago. Before the internet!) Remember how Bugs would call Elmer a "nimrod"? I think it was actually, "Ya, nimrod." Since people didn't actually know what the word meant, they just assumed that it meant idiot, since that's what Elmer is.

So the next time someone calls you a "nimrod", say thanks!
(Not that they'd have a good reason to call you one. This is for just in case.)

Word that should be used instead: Idiot

Peruse

It means the opposite of what you think it means.
Yes, that's right, it means to read something thoroughly.

Words that should be used instead: Browse or skim.

Mistake

When you do something you know is wrong, that is not a mistake. It drives me nuts every time I see a celebrity get busted for something, and then go on about what a "mistake" it was.

Words that should be used insead: Error or misjudgement.

Anxious

This is the word tops them all. People please, it means to be uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter, or basically, to be worried.

Word that should be used instead: Eager.

I think there are a couple more, but this will have to do for now.
Let me know if you have any to add to these.

Perfect

For something to be "perfect" it must be without flaw. It is a very strong word.
How many times do I have to hear, "Oh, this new ______ is PERFECT!"
I'm willing to bet there's something about it that you'd want to change.
Even if it's minor thing, it doesn't matter. It's NOT perfect.

Word that should be used instead: Ideal.

Always

Out of all the words on this list, I'm probably being the pickiest with this one.
With that said, you still are not allowed to say "almost always".
It's either always or it's not.

Word that should be used instead: Usually.

Know

The odds of you "knowing" something are actually quite small.
As I defined in further detail with my first Semantics Lesson,
the word "know" is the strongest of all words. It means you cannot be wrong.
For myself, I feel comfortable saying that I know two plus two equals four.
Beyond that it starts getting a little iffy.

Words that should be used instead: Believe or certain.

The History of Oil

2006-06-21T23:57:00.000+08:00

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted much lately.
I've been busy (which is to really say I haven't organized my time very well lately.)

I did run across a couple of video clips that I think you will love.

http://getintheirface.blogspot.com/2006/06/robert-newman-video-history-of-oil.html

The first clip is 45 min long. It's worth every minute, so find the time.

The second one is only a little over 7 mins.

Sorry I don't know how to post the clips myself.
One of these days I'll figure out how to do it.

The Whole Family

2006-06-12T04:36:00.000+08:00

Here's the first pic ever that has the whole family in it.
(You do need to look a bit to find Baby "T".)
Still not quite getting the hang of posting pics.

What I've Learned

2006-06-10T19:15:00.000+08:00

I've learned that...

There is no such thing as a promise.
It’s simply a way to try to convince someone to believe you.

If you get what responsibility is about, actually get it,
then everything in your life will fall into place.

I'm most often uncomfortable at parties, but it took awhile to notice that and even longer to figure out why. The reason is that I am literally incapable of “chit chat”. If you are up for a meaningful conversation, then I’m all ears (and mouth!). If it’s mindless banter you’re looking for, then look elsewhere.

The most interesting people at parties are found on the edges of it.

What is the meaning of life? To have a purpose.

If you are blessed with a smile, use it. It is one of your most powerful tools.

I absolutely love discourse, good or bad. I usually have to settle for the latter, since the other is nearly impossible to find. However, I refuse to end with "We'll just have to agree to disagree."

If becoming a parent doesn’t make you a better person, then you’re doing it wrong.

I need a calculator to count my blessings, but I’m probably most thankful for my wit with my passion being a close second.

Life is about perspective, but you have to experience it.
To simply be told that Chinese kids are starving just doesn’t work.

Very little in life is done by choice.
It’s mostly your life’s conditionings & genetic programming.

There is no problem that is too big, because all you do is break it down into smaller ones.
Break it down, break it down, break it down.

My wife and I came to this realization together: When it’s all over and done with, we hope we don’t want to do it all over again the same way. To us that means we didn’t do it right. If done right, we’d want to try something new the next time around.

I am a tolerant person, and working on being more so,
but there’s one thing that I cannot and do not abide for even a moment, and that is a bully.

If you have the ability, then you also have the responsibility.

It's important for me to be very particular about what I say, and then I do my best to stick to it. If I’m not able to, I apologize and try again.

”Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself” is horribly misunderstood.

It’s not what you like; it’s why you like it.

It can always get worse. Always.

I don’t believe in punishments, only consequences.

Just cause I’d do it differently doesn’t mean I regret doing it in the first place.

Love (as an emotion) has very little to do with solving anything.
Understanding, however, has to do with everything.

I judge a person’s character two ways: How they do everyday things and when they have power. I asked to be judged the same way.

I teach my students how to think, not what to think.

If you get why The Pina Colada Song is amazing, I bet you've got a great marriage.

There is no such thing as an ugly person, only a lazy one.

There is no such thing as a guarantee.

If you are going to bet, the best bets are waged upon oneself.

You truly can make a difference, but it’s most likely going to be done one person at a time.

Improvising and adapting are essential to life. You can’t be successful without them.

To be able to forgive, you must first understand.

If there is one thing that will ensure my marriage working, it’s what my mother indirectly taught me, and that is a wife lasts only for the length of the marriage, but an ex-wife is there for the rest of your life.

The odds of a man getting rich are slim if he takes proper care of his family.

Contrary to popular belief, character is not built. Rather, it is revealed.

No matter the situation, all parties involved have responsibility in what happened,
although not necessarily in an even amount.

It is impossible to be insulted without consenting to it.

Is it nature or nurture? It seems obvious that it’s both, but nature comes first.

Someone once told me, “Every child has the potential to be a genius.”
I completely disagree with that.

I don’t believe in being happy, but rather in feeling good. Am I happy at this very moment?
No, but I do feel really good about my life and the direction it's heading in.

It's important for a person to have a relationship they care about, a career that is important to them, and make a difference in some way.

Figuring out if you’re in denial is the same as checking if you’re crazy. If you wonder if you’re crazy, then you’re most likely not. So when someone suggests that you’re in denial about something and you say you are NOT, then it’s not looking too good for you.

Most people’s actions are simply based on because they can,
rather than should they be doing that.

You haven’t truly experienced something (anything from reading a book, seeing a movie, to jumping out of a plane) until you’ve experienced it at least twice.

It’s actually not so bad teaching an old dog new tricks, what's nearly impossible is to get it to change or improve it’s old ones. (And yes, I'm really talking about people.)

Life is not about making plans. It’s about being prepared and having goals.

I find the world a very gray place but I do believe in one certainty:
You are either making the world better or worse with everything that you do.

When giving advice use the approach of trying to help, rather than simply trying to be right.

There is nothing more that I believe in than “I only matter in how I affect others.”

A major part of growing up is forgiving your parents for the mistakes they made with you.

The key to life is self-actualization, or maybe the best way to put it is to know yourself.

Periodically, you should write your thoughts down.
It’s the only way to see what you’ve learned anything at all.

The Law is the LAW!

2006-06-01T03:09:00.001+08:00

I'm sure at least a few of you also received this chain email. I received it from a distant cousin who I had just gotten in touch with after not having spoken to her in years. This is what I replied with. The actual chain mail is in black and my comments are in red.

Hello V-, I want to sincerely thank you for including me in your list of people who receive your emails. I thoroughly enjoy different perspectives. The more the better!

I hope it's ok that I respond to this email. (I was asked in it what I thought.) I don't mean to offend anyone with this; I simply wish to share another perspective. And I stipulate up front that my perspective very well could be wrong. However, I don't mean to imply that I'm simply reacting. I have spent an enormous amount of time researching and speculating on topics such as this. It certainly is one of my favorite things to do.

And please keep one thing in mind.

I think people get to caught up in "who's right and who's wrong" in these types of disagreements. All I ever try to do is to present an idea worth thinking about. And that's all I ever ask of anyone else.

Anyways, with that said, here we go.

So Be It! THE LAW IS THE LAW!

So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words "under God" to be on our money, then, so be it. And if that same government decides that the "Ten Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it. And since they already have prohibited any prayer in the schools, on which they deem their authority, then so be it.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.

I'm glad this was noted because it should be made clear as to what our laws are. The United States is a secular country. That means the U.S. has a policy in place to avoid the entanglement between government and religion. Rather, ethics and reasoning are meant to be used.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions. Wishful thinking on this one.

I would like to think that those people have the American Publics' best interests at heart.

Now, I'm reading a sardonic attitude into all of these "so be it" comments. Maybe that's unfair of me but it seems like a safe assumption since most of us have long realized that the people who "serve" us do not do so with our best interests at heart. They serve those who paid their way. As for us, they say what is necessary to get re-elected. (Of course I am aware that there are a few who are exceptions despite my blanket statement.)

BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot Post His Commandments in Government buildings, Who has said you can't do these things? No one that I know of. What has been said is that the government cannot endorse a religion. I don't believe the Government and it's employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.

If this were taken seriously it wouldn't be such a bad idea. There wouldn't be such a gray area. Holidays could then be made that represented our country as a whole, such as a day off for elections, days off for certain birthdays, etc. Then at those particular holidays students could learn more about the reasons as to why they are so important for our country. It's a good idea for that reason but also because Christmas stopped being about the birth of Christ a loooooong time ago. It's far too commercialized now. Maybe not in your home (and I certainly hope that's the case), but giving a child a toy gun or a Barbie for x-mas does not celebrate Jesus' birthday in any way whatsoever. If Christmas and Easter and all the rest of them stopped being a national holiday, then maybe they would go back into the homes and people would be better for it.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter.
After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays.
After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting
home for the "Christmas Break."
After all it's just another day.

I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter. It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct". In fact.... I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day....

What do you all think????

If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions and begin, once again, to represent the 'majority' of ALL (what?) of the American people.

Here's the other part of what America is based on that is either not known or simply misunderstood. We are a republic (for which it stands...), not a democracy. Sure, we use a democratic process to elect our officials, but in an official democracy a representative is expected to obey the mandate (command) of those who elected him. It would be the law and this whole debate would be a moot point. However, since we actually are a republic, the elected representative is free to act as they wish.

I do acknowledge that the U.S. has developed into more of a democracy, but, unfortunately, that's mostly due to politicians campaigning on what incites people and, even more unfortunate, it's also due to that the American people (as a whole) are poorly educated (and I don't mean simply having a degree, but rather actually knowing things). Ben Franklin was quoted in response to being asked what kind of country the U.S. will be "A Republic....if you can keep it!" He knew what was in store for us.

SO BE IT........... Please Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you in our country!

The statement above disturbs me. I am not a Christian (and before you say, "No, really?!?" I would like to share a story with you. I went to Catholic school on and off growing up. In my 7th grade religion class a priest came in to discuss some things with us. I don't remember all that we talked about but one thing always stuck with me. He said that if he were to ever testify in court he would not put his hand on the Bible. Of course we were all shocked and asked why. He said that as much as he believes in the Bible, it should not determine the worth of his word. His word is his word and that's that. The point of bringing this story up is that even if I were a Christian I would feel the same way about this subject we disagree on.) but I do have my beliefs and I believe in them strongly. In fact, I believe in them so much that I do not need them to be displayed anywhere. Actually, I guess I do "display" them but it's in how I live and no where else. That statement disturbs me because God shouldn't be in any country. He should be in the hearts and actions of those who believe in him. Does there really need to be more than that?

'Amen' and 'Amen' These are definitely things I never thought about but from now on, I will!
And I will be sure to question those, in government, who support these changes. At the top, it says "I hope this makes its way around the USA several times over!!!!!" Let's see that it does. Keep it in your mailbox and resend it whenever someone new comes along.

The most popular argument for prayer in schools and such wasn't brought up surprisingly. I will do so since I'm sure that many will think of it upon reading this. People have said to me that our country is based upon a constitution that was written by our forefathers, and that constitution was based on the Christian god. This is another example of not knowing our country's history. Many of those forefathers, like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and, yes, George Washington were deists. Deism does vary, like all beliefs, but for the most part the belief is based on a God who did create the universe and all within it, but who stopped at that. He made no interventions in it's growth. So knowing that those founding fathers held that belief, it's impossible for me to believe that they would want God involved with our government. (Other notable deists are/were Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Abraham Lincoln, and possibly Mark Twain. He was either an atheist or deist.)

How American Am I?

2006-05-26T16:30:00.000+08:00

You Are 46% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it.
But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over.
On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead...
And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

Yeah, I guess that's about right.

I definitely didn't like the most of the options that were given, but what the hey....

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2006-05-23T10:00:00.000+08:00

I'm trying to figure out how to post multiple pics.

This is harder than it looks.

This pic is my stone cold stare.
Beat that, Steven Seagal!

This pic is for my gay readers out there.

Buying My Compassion

2006-05-20T14:08:00.000+08:00

There came a time when I understood that there are no truly altuistic acts. Upon realizing that, I decided to use the selfishness part of what seemed to a completely giving act to my advantage.

Meaning to use it to help better myself as a person.
(Does that sound as corny to you as it does to me when I write it?)

Downtown Kansas City (Missouri side) doesn't really have that many bums or beggars.
However, I would run into one on occassion.

I was walking with my (ex) girlfriend doing some window shopping, when a bum asked us for some money. He wasn't nasty at all about it. I started to reach for my wallet and I felt my girlfriend's hand tighten on my arm. I gave the man $5, which he seemed quite pleased about.

Once he left my girlfriend started scolding me for wasting my money. I said, "The money wasn't for him. It was for me." Naturally she didn't understand. I explained, "I'm aware that money will probably do that man no good, but that's ok. I didn't give it to him for his benefit and I certainly didn't give it to him to make myself feel good about it. (Which reminds me of something*) Simply put, I gave him the money so that I don't become jaded. I don't want to become one of those people who completely ignores others in need. I'd rather take a chance on that one person out of 10 actually needs the money."

Maybe a better explanation is that I realized that if I said "No" at that time, it would be easier to say it the next time, and then even easier to say it the time after that. The next thing you know I'm not even looking at the person who's asking, I'm saying "No". I didn't want that to happen. It's important to me to think about and acknowledge the decisions I make.

Since that first time, have I given somebody money that I wished I hadn't? Of course, one guy in particular, but that's ok. Like I tell my students, everything has its good and its bad side.

The good side was one night, while heading to my car, a middle-aged black women asked my for one dollar so she could come up with enough to buy some bread and milk for her family. She seemed sincere. I gave her $5. It was the little gasp as I gave it to her that conviced me that she really needed it and I was really thankful that I had stopped to listen to her. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe she ripped me off, but that's ok. I've still got my compassion.

*(Earlier, as I was writing, I was reminded of Oprah's Do an Act of Kindness Day [or something like that]. I've heard that people, inspired by Oprah, have walked into a coffee house and paid for everyone's coffee or another person gave the toll collector at a toll on the highway a 20 dollar bill and told them to pay for as many people that it will cover. I find those acts incredibly annoying, mostly because the act doesn't really help anyone. Everyone who benefited those acts already had the money. Sure, they might feel good about someone doing that, but the person it truly makes feel good is the person who did it. Unfortunately, that's about all it does.)

Why 9/11 Happened

2006-05-17T23:12:00.000+08:00

This is the second part of a paper I sent out on the 2nd anniversary of 9/11. If I were to do it again, I would probably change its tone a bit, but other than that I stand by it.

Obviously I can’t say I know for sure why the WTC was attacked, I’m just going to share with you what I’ve learned, and what I think, then you can take it from there.

For those of you who have no real idea of why Muslims (allegedly) attacked the WTC, I ask you, “Have you seen the movie True Lies?” I’m willing to bet that you have, and if so, then you should be aware of one very important reason. (Even though it was an “Arnold” film, there was something to learn from it.)

In the movie, do you remember why the Islamic terrorists were setting off nukes in the U.S.?
They wanted U.S. presence out of Saudi Arabia.
I use this as an example that the attack shouldn’t have been a complete surprise.

Now, let’s go over the major reasons why 9/11 happened.

The big one is our involvement with Palestine, or more precisely, the state of Israel getting control of it over the actual Palestinians. This happened back in the middle of the last century. This is also tied into our continued support of Israel. (Which I, personally, have a serious problem with.) When fighting the Israelis, the Palestinians know where each and every gun, bullet, tank, helicopter, and jet (you get the idea) come from. Then you add our billions of dollars of support (That’s billion, with an S!) to Israel and maybe you can begin to understand their frustration and hatred.

Another reason is our presence in Saudi Arabia. I want you to imagine someone putting something of theirs in your yard. How would you feel? Exactly. And we’re just talking about your yard. For Muslims, Saudi Arabia holds the most sacred place on earth, Mecca. Now the infidels (an unbeliever with no respect to a particular religion) come into Saudi Arabia and plant their bases on this land. Some people argue that we’re justified because the Saudi government gave us permission. However, that government doesn’t represent its people anymore than Saddam’s did. (The Saudi government is just as bad to its people, but it’s our “ally”, so you don’t hear anything about it.)

Our “foreign policy” in Afghanistan is yet another reason. Some may say that our involvement there was altruistic (unselfish concern for the welfare of others) but if that were so, why did we leave the Afghanis as soon as the Russians were defeated? We left a country that was in ruins to warlords who were more than happy to take advantage of the situation. So when the Taliban comes along wanting to clean things up, whom else were they to turn to?

Those are the main reasons, plain and simple.

There are plenty of other “smaller” ones but I don’t really want to go on and on about the CIA’s involvement in the Middle East. It’s tedious enough reading about it, much less writing about it.

However, I will try to explain in as simple a way as possible as to why our government is so involved in the Middle East, or any where else in the world for that matter. Turmoil is far easier to manipulate, to take advantage of than peace and order. It really is that simple. And why does our government want to take advantage of these other countries? I imagine that there are several reasons, but the most significant reason would be on behalf of corporate interest. It does, after all, have the most influence on our government. Nothing else comes even close.

I also want to cover some of the reasons why they didn’t attack us.

It was not about their jealousy of how we live and what we have. They can’t relate to our lifestyle at all. Something like $25 million dollars was offered as a reward for information about the whereabouts of bin Laden. The Afghanis had no understanding of that much money. Eventually the reward was changed to a flock of sheep.

It is not because they’re “evil”. Evil is just a word we use when someone does something really bad and we can’t (or refuse to) understand why it happened.

It isn’t because they consider us all sinners over here. They may actually feel that way (and they would be at least partially correct) but if we kept to ourselves I don't think they would bother us in the slightest.

And that’s the root of the problem.

Just because we do some good things concerning other countries, that doesn’t give us the right to manipulate things in our favor. We are constantly professing our love for freedom, but we only hold that true for ourselves. The world sees us as a hypocrite and the only thing worse than dealing with a hypocrite is being betrayed. Personally, I feel betrayed by my government. And I don’t mean the Bush administration. I stopped seeing a difference between parties and administrations a while ago. (Though the Bush admin is especially embarrassing.)

Americans need to start realizing that our government is considered the number one terrorist state by the rest of the world. The government’s actual definition of terrorism (as established by the Reagan admin) is “calculated use of violence to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological in nature.” By that definition, we are terrorists. (Since we, as citizens, are responsible for the actions of our government) For that matter, if it weren’t for terrorism, we’d be a huge colony of the Great Britain Empire right now. Of course, we called them “Freedom Fighters”.

Again, I could go on and on but this should be enough.

Like I said, I wrote this back on the 2nd anniversary of Sept. 11. I compiled all of this. I didn't forward it along. I didn't cut and paste it from another source. I did it. This was my way of honoring the victims of 9/11. I don’t call them “innocent” because we are all responsible for our government. However, in no way did they deserve to die. And the way to begin to prevent it from happening again is to take responsibility, not by a “war on terror”.

Islam 101

2006-05-13T23:23:00.000+08:00

This is a paper I compiled back on 9/11/03. It's in two parts. The first is Islam 101 and the second half is "Why 9/11 happened." I am posting the first half right now and other half in a couple of days.

I will try to keep things precise, brief and easy to read. I want everyone to be able to appreciate reading this, not only the people who “get into” this sort of thing. There may be parts of this that would offend people’s beliefs or simply how they see things. In no way am I wanting or trying to offend someone. However, I will say that I am trying to challenge people to think about what they believe in and what they think they 'know'.

That was the part that most impressed me about Musab.

And for those of you who don’t know who Musab is, he is a converted Muslim who I lived with for 3 or 4 months. Those months happen to be during when Sept. 11th happened.

And most importantly, in writing about this and trying to attain some understanding, I don’t want anyone to think I’m saying that the 9/11 attacks were justified. I was quite impressed that only one person suggested such a thing in your replies to my question “Why were we attacked?” from a year ago. (Ironically, it came from the last person I thought it would.) This is about understanding. I have found, particularly over the past two years of teaching, that a problem can’t truly be fixed until you understand it first. So let’s try.

Let me paint a picture of Musab. He is a white Canadian from a lower-middle class. He’s no dummy, but I wouldn’t classify as him as highly intelligent either. He used to be addicted to gambling. He was a violent person, who resorted to violence when he couldn’t argue his point rationally. And he was raised as a Christian and considered himself one. (Compared to myself, I was raised Catholic but never considered myself one.) What I learned to respect the most about Musab was that he never relied on just faith. In all my questions to him I never once got “faith” as an answer. It was quite refreshing. Musab would always have a logical and reasonable answer. I find that most religious people, when questioned, usually respond with the “for the Bible told me so” answer. Musab uses the Qur’an, but it’s not blind faith. When the Qur’an says something, he studies further into it to see why it says it. It’s never simply “because the Qur’an says so”. My favorite “logical answer” is when I asked him why he converted from Christianity.

It goes like this.

Is God omnipotent? (Having unlimited power)

Most would answer “yes”.

Is God perfect? (Without defect. Picture a circle. A circle is perfect, or it’s not a circle. If you put the thinnest of lines through a circle it ceases to be a circle by definition.)

Again, same answer.

Here’s the catch. It’s not possible, by definition, for God to be both.

Christian faith is based on God being a trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.(Could someone please explain to me what the Holy Spirit is? And please don’t tell me “It’s kinda like the Force in Star Wars.”)

The problem is that Christ is acknowledged as being an actual man. And, by definition, “man” is imperfect. So, for Christ to be God also, that would make God imperfect as well. And the Muslim belief is based on God being perfect. Perfect can never stop being perfect. Then what happens is that Christians end up breaking the 1st Commandment. (Shame on you if you need this! “You shall have no other gods before me.”)

Now, since most of you reading this are Christians, I expect you to disagree with this. For me, though, it made perfect, logical sense. It was the first time ever for me where I had a discussion with a religious person and it ended that way. I have brought up this issue with a few Christians but I haven’t been satisfied with their answers. I encourage any of you to share your point of view on how Islam sees Christ. I am always looking to learn more.

Like I said, I expect most of you to disagree but I do hope it spurs you to think. Musab constantly is challenging his religion, his beliefs. Not only does he dig deeper into this own religion, but he also compares it to others to make sure he’s still on the right path. I think that’s great. Most people I see only stay inside their box. No questioning, no challenging.

If there is a God, I can’t believe he’d be pleased with that.

I assume most of you, if not all of you, know the 5 Pillars of Faith of Islam by now, but just in case, here they are:

Saying the shahadah: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
You say this when you accept Islam. Then it can be said regularly.

Five ritual prayers a day: they must face Mecca and cleanse themselves before praying. If they do anything to make themselves impure during prayer (sneeze, pass gas), then they must go and cleanse themselves again and start over.

Observe Ramadan: a holy time where they don’t eat, drink, smoke or have intercourse between sunrise and sunset to remind themselves of the importance of being aware of what they eat, what they say and what they do in everyday life.

Charity: they must donate 2½ percent to help others.

The Hajj: those who are capable must make the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once.

If someone who calls himself or herself a Muslim does not adhere to these 5 rules, then another Muslim can validate him as a non-Muslim. I loved hearing Musab’s stories of going to the Mosque (their version of a church) in Taipei and reprimanding (which is putting it lightly) the ones in charge. The beauty of the stories was his full explanation of what they were doing wrong. Every time he finished I understood his position clearly and usually agreed with it from a logical standpoint.

Now for a couple of things you might not have known.

Muslims cannot have any images of God.

No idols, painting, drawings, sculptures, absolutely nothing. What I appreciate is the reasoning behind it. Since God has no real image, it is sacrilegious to worship anything that portrays an image of Him.

It would still be true if Christianity is the correct religion. Growing up Catholic, I have seen countless pictures and statues of Jesus. While all were similar in their image, none were identical.

Which one is the true image?

All the images I saw were all white men. It’s (easliy) argued that Jesus was a man of color. If so, then all the images I’ve seen are false idols, by definition.

Islam is “a peaceful religion”.

Yes it is, but there’s an important part being left out. It’s only peaceful when its left in peace, which if think about it, is true of most, in not all, religions. That includes myself also, for that matter. I abhor senseless violence, but if I’m being oppressed then you’ve got a serious problem on your hands. Islam teaches tolerance and respect for individual decisions, but it doesn’t teach pacifism or absolute nonviolence. “Turning the other cheek” isn’t a part of their belief system, and from what I’ve seen it isn’t much of a part of the Christian belief either.

The reason why women cover themselves is related to why Muslims are not supposed to drink, or even be in the same room with alcohol. It’s about temptation. Women are supposed to cover to avoid tempting other men. It can be discussed deeper, but that’s the point of it.

However, you may ask what’s the point of “covering” (a thin towel draped over the top her head) when her face and some of her hair are exposed? It’s possibly because of a misunderstanding or not taking it seriously enough. I’ve read that some women cover to identify themselves to others. I personally think that’s a good idea, but that’s not what covering is about. It’s about reducing the temptation of men. Alcohol is avoided because of temptation, also. It’s not said that alcohol itself is bad, just that bad things can come with it. (As we all know) So, in order to avoid it, alcohol is prohibited.

There’s more to all of this but I think I’ve hit the main points.I think the reason why I appreciate Musab as much as I do is that for the first time I didn’t feel as if I was listening to a hypocrite. He practices what he preaches. Does he make mistakes? Of course, I saw them happen, but he always tries to make amends and be a better person for them. I find that to be a rare quality, unfortunately.

Battleground God

2006-05-13T00:28:00.000+08:00

Battleground Analysis

Congratulations!

You have been awarded the TPM medal of honour! This is our highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.

The fact that you progressed through this activity neither being hit nor biting a bullet suggests that your beliefs about God are internally consistent and very well thought out.

A direct hit would have occurred had you answered in a way that implied a logical contradiction. You would have bitten bullets had you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. However, you avoided both these fates - and in doing so qualify for our highest award. A fine achievement!

How did I do compared to other people?

321291 people have completed this activity to date.
You suffered zero direct hits and bit zero bullets.
This compares with the average player of this activity to date who takes 1.39 hits and bites 1.11 bullets.
7.67% of the people who have completed this activity, like you, emerged unscathed with the TPM Medal of Honour.
45.80% of the people who have completed this activity took very little damage and were awarded the TPM Medal of Distinction.

Try it yourself here, if you dare. http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/god.htm

(Thanks, Timmer)

My Political Persuasion

2006-05-09T14:40:00.000+08:00

You are a
Social Liberal
(71% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(25% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

The only problem with this test is that I based my answers on how we currenlty live, whereas I would have liked to have answered them as how we should be living.

How Nerdy Am I?

2006-05-09T06:31:00.000+08:00

Your Score Summary

Overall, you scored as follows:

95% scored higher (more nerdy), and
5% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool.

Semantics Lesson #3: COMPASSION

2006-05-08T01:30:00.000+08:00

Compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

This definition, from Dictionary.com, is okay, but I'd like to take it a step further. I'll remind everyone (all four of you who come here) that these "semantic lessons" are all about improving yourself. Aiding in being a better person.

By my definition, the picture to the left would not be compassion.

Maybe it's "caring" or "sympathy", but here's the catch to my definition of "compassion".

It's hard as hell.

Look again at that picture above. Who wouldn't feel sorry for that child?
It's easy. There's no work or effort involved.

For me, true compassion is when you have every right to hate someone.
Every right to nail them to the wall for what they did, and you don't.

If you've seen Grosse Point Blank, then you've seen one of my favorite examples. When Martin (John Cusack) has a run-in with the old high school bully at his 10 year reunion, I expected him to beat the hell out of him. I sat there, just waiting for it to happen. And just when I thought he was going to cream him, he didn't. Rather, he "reached out" to him. He asked him what the real problem was, because there was no "issue" between them. So, what was really the problem? Then the bully opened up to him and explained how he wrote poetry. (Ok, admittedly that sounds kinda stupid when I write it out, but it worked for me in the movie.)

Anyways, the point is that it got me thinking about what compassion really is. It made me realize that, even though compassion has to do with emotions, one can still be cerebral about it. Compassion should be putting aside one's emotions and thinking about what can really help.

A Peek Into My Mind

2006-05-04T00:17:00.000+08:00

I'm working on a fairly big post right now, but it's been a week since I last posted, so I wanted to post something. This one is a bit of a quickie. It's just a few random thoughts I've had over the years that some might find a bit funny, others may find (more than) a bit offensive. Hey, that's what I'm here for.

I would say around 10 years ago I happened to catch just a few minutes of this man on TV who was on trial in California for abducting a little girl (around 7 to 8 years of age I think). Sadly, she had been found dead. (Don't remember where or how she was killed. Strangled, I think.) I'm pretty sure this is the case that a well-known law came out of it. (So well-known I've forgotten the name of it. Megan something maybe?)

Like I said, the man was on trial. He was being questioned, and while I don't remember if it was the prosecuter or defense that was asking the questions, or what exactly was asked, I do remember what his answer was, "She asked me to kill her. She said she wanted her father to stop touching her."

Needless to say the father, who was in the courtroom, started to climb over people trying to get to this guy. He was pretty pissed.

I sat there, looking at the TV, with my jaw on the floor.
I thought, "You see! It's crap like that that gives pedophiles a bad name!"

Then there is a more recent time, when I caught an Oprah episode where she had guests who have BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder), which is when they think they are hideously ugly, even though they are far from it. One of the guests was this young man who was handsome by most people's standards, albeit a tad feminine. He was explaining how he was popular in high school and athletic. He had received a scholarship to attend a fairly prestigious dance school. He then proceeded to explain how he eventually had to quit going to school because of all the mirrors. He was obsessed with looking at himself (because he was so ugly) and he coudn't concentrate on dancing. Then it eventually turned into such a problem he couldn't leave the house.

As he was telling his story, they (the cameras) showed his parents in the audience. First they showed his mother, who was, of course, crying. Then they showed his father, who was crying also. I sat there, watching the father, wondering what was going through his head. I figured it was something like, "Damn this disorder! If it wasn't for that, my son.....could have been.....a dancer!!"

Then there was the very recent story about Ben & Jerry's ice cream getting into some trouble due to the insensitive name of a new flavor. When I first read this, without reading the actual name, I have to be honest and say that my first thought was, "What moron tried to get away with Niggers & Cream?!?"

Challenging Your Beliefs

2006-04-26T23:57:00.000+08:00

This is about an experience I had a few months ago. It happened towards the end of a two and half hour conversation I had with a couple of Mormon missionaires one rainy evening. It's probably not what they wanted to happen to me after putting so much time into me, but I think I'm better person for it nonetheless.

I had asked them how one comes to believe in and accept Christ as their personal savior. One of them (the more dominant one) explained that if I just went home and sat/knelt down and prayed to him, honestly prayed to him, that Christ/God would answer me in some way.

I actually took a moment to imagine what that would be like. It scared the hell out of me.

I pictured doing this prayer. Then the next morning God would have left me a sign, something like having the Book of Mormon (which I had received that night from the missionaries) appear in my bookbag after having placed it on my bookshelf.

When I truly imagined that happening, it scared me to no end. The reason being is because it goes against everything I believe in. I go to a great effort to make sure my beliefs are based on logic and reason. If that were to happen, it would go against that logic and reason and would shake the very foundation of my belief system.

That's a very scary thing to think about happening to yourself.

I'm really thankful this experience happened though. (Not the Book of Mormon appearing in my bag, which thankfully did not happen.) I'm sure it has occurred to most of us what it must take for us to change our beliefs, but I don't think most people actually take it to the extent of it not just happening, but how it would happen.

Because of this experience I'm much more empathetic to others now. I used to not understand, when discussing religion, why some people couldn't see/understand/"get" the logic and reasoning of my points. Now I realize we have this "barrier" between discussing something and actually applying it to our beliefs.

I don't expect much, if any, replies to this. It's mostly food for thought.

(Please note, this is not about my beliefs being correct and others being wrong. It's simply about what it truly means to question or challenge your own beliefs.)

CRAP! I'm "it"!!

2006-04-20T14:26:00.000+08:00

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Waiter at Houston's
2. Pre-school Teacher
3. Pizza Delivery Driver
4. Carnival Erector (True, it was only for one morning, but how often do I get to use the word 'erector' ?)

Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. House Party
2. Searching for Bobby Fischer
3. She's Having a Baby
4. Thighs Wide Shut

Four songs I could listen to over and over:

1. Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
2. Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons
3. Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
4. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

Four places I have lived:

1. Kansas City, KS
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Abilene, KS
4. Taipei, Taiwan

Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. Scare Tactics
2. West Wing
3. The Office (BBC or NBC)
4. Penn & Teller's "Bullshit!"

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Perth, Australia
2. Hong Kong
3. Singapore
4. Somewhere in Mexico (I forget the name, sorry.)

Four web sites I visit daily:

1. USA Today
2. Crooks & Liars (Mostly for their video clips. I rarely read anything on there.)
3. IMDb
4. YouTube

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Cow's Tongue (The way my grandma or mom makes it.)
2. Butter Chicken (It's an Indian dish and it is divine!)
3. Bulgoki Roll (I look forward to it every other week when we go to Costco.)
4. Duck (I pretty much like it however it's cooked or whatever it's cooked with.)

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. I hate to be corny or lame, but
2. I can't think of anything I'd rather
3. be doing right now. I'm pretty much doing what
4. I'd rather be doing. If pressed to say, I guess I'd rather be
on the set of Thighs Wide Shut 2: The Second Cumming.

Which Philosophy Do I Follow?

2006-04-17T20:47:00.000+08:00

You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism:
You choose the meaning and purpose of your life. (You're damn right!!)

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world,
he is responsible for everything he does.

It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.

--Jean-Paul Sartre

It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.

--Blaise Pascal

More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Existentialism

100%

Justice (Fairness)

70%

Utilitarianism

50%

Kantianism

40%

Nihilism

25%

Strong Egoism

20%

Hedonism

20%

Divine Command

Apathy

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
created with QuizFarm.com

Which Religion Am I?

2006-04-17T09:15:00.000+08:00

You scored as atheism. You are... an atheist, though you probably already knew this. Also, you probably have several people praying daily for your soul.

Instead of simply being "nonreligious," atheists strongly believe in the lack of existence of a higher being, or God.

atheism

88%

Satanism

79%

Paganism

71%

Judaism

67%

Buddhism

63%

agnosticism

63%

Christianity

29%

Islam

25%

Hinduism

17%

Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)
created with QuizFarm.com

I'm irked that I scored 29% on Christianity.
What the hell did I answer to deserve that!

Semantics Lesson #2: BRAVERY & COURAGE

2006-04-16T14:55:00.000+08:00

Actually, it's not.

I realize that the actual definition of courage is "The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution."

But here is the definition of bravery, "Possessing or displaying courage."

I find it somewhat amusing, and a bit odd, that "bravery" is essentially "courage". And, of course, I disagree with it.

One of my favorite questions to ask when discussing semantics is "What is the opposite of courage?" The answer is almost always "cowardice". Then I ask, "But what is the opposite of bravery then?"

Here's what I think, and as always it's fairly simple. (Because that's the point.)

Look at the picture above once more. That's bravery. Bravery is an act one does where they might be physically hurt.

Courage is the opposite, in a similar way that trust is the opposite of faith. Courage is an act one does where they risk the judgement of others, but is in no danger of being physically hurt.

Of course a person may have both at the same time, and there is one catch to both: One must be afraid while doing the act. Both bravery and courage require overcoming one's fear. Without fear, then it's simply being intrepid or fearless.

As I explain to my students, courage is far more important than bravery. Being brave is great but it's courage that helps make the world a better place. To put a finer point on it, here's the opposite of courage: conformity.

(Think about it for a bit. I'll post more on this, but in the comments section.)

Semantics Lesson #1: KNOW & BELIEF, TRUST & FAITH

2006-04-10T15:22:00.000+08:00

Since I started teaching back in the fall of 2001, I have found the meanings of words, or "semantics", to be incredibly important, and fascinating as well. The importance is not only in my teaching, but in my every day life as well.

I'm going to start my Semantics 101 lesson with the most important words of all: Know & Belief.

KNOW is quite simple. It is for something to be a fact. It cannot be wrong, ever.

My example is, "I know 2 + 2 = 4." It's a fact. Nothing will change it.

Or another way to look at it is, you cannot possibly be wrong.

Obviously this limits how and when a person can use "know". That is the idea. It forces one to be far more careful than what they're used to being.

A common mistake with "know" is something like, "I know my mom is going to love this gift." Sorry, but one cannot "know" this. It's perfectly fine to be sure or certain, those are based on beliefs, but it's possible that your mom won't love that gift, so that prevents you from "knowing" it.

Which leads us into BELIEF. (This is where it gets touchy.)

Belief is automatically broken down into two different parts.
It's split into "trust" and "faith". These two are opposites.

TRUST is to believe in something because it has been earned. I believe that my friend will repay the money that I loaned him. Why? Because he has earned my trust throughout our friendship. It's possible to say that trust is based off of what makes sense to you, but you need to make sure that your "good sense" has earned your trust!

FAITH is to believe in something even though it hasn't been earned. It is to believe in something that has no logical proof or material evidence. To take it a (necessary) step further, it is to believe in something that has evidence to the contrary. (To me, the most impressive (ingenious?) thing that organized religion has done is to have turned "faith" into a positive thing.)

Also, it's my theory that many (most?) people confuse faith with hope.

So, when you state that you have a belief in something, it's important to check whether that belief is based on trust or faith.

Obviously plenty of people are going to disagree with me about these definitions, but please don't miss the point of them; that a 10 year old can understand them and that they help you to be a better person.

James Lipton Questionnairre

2006-04-07T07:38:00.000+08:00

Well, first of all I had to find out who Jim Lipton is. Mostly out of curiosity, I suppose. I googled him and found celebatheists.com. Pretty interesting site. I never would have guessed that Barry Manilow was one.

Anyways, here's the questionnairre.

What's Your Favorite Word: My favorite word with an important meaning to me, or simply the sound of the word? I suppose sound, so that would be doom and jiggaboo. (Some spell it with one g's but I prefer two.)

What's Your Least Favorite Word: Whatever. (No, really, it's "whatever". Want to drive me up with wall with a display of stupidity? Reply with "whatever" to one of my points.)

What Noise Do You Love: I know it sounds corny, but nothing beats my son's laugh. Up until his birth, my favorite sound was breaking glass.

What noise do you hate: Nothing comes to mind.

What turns you on: Any woman taller than 5'10" turns me on. I don't care if she has a hunchback.

What turns you off: Being close-minded.

What Profession would you like to attempt: Actor or defense attorney.

What Profession would you hate: Any sort of corporate position or the military. Any job that requires that I have to do what I'm told with no questions asked.

What is your favorite curse-word: Crap or shit for everyday stuff, mutherfucker for the times I'm really pissed.

If God exists, what would you like to hear him/her say when you arrive: "Way to stick it to the Man, brother!"

If upon my arrival to heaven God said, "It's you and a bunch of Mormons!", then my reply would be: Mutherfucker!!!

A Conversation

2006-04-03T14:10:00.000+08:00

(Based on an actual event.)

A co-worker, Foxy Brown (not her real name), asked me what I thought about gay marriage. Before I had a chance to reply she showed me some clippings from a newspaper her mother had sent her from back home. She said she had spent quite a long time talking on the phone with her mother the previous night. Her mother had asked her about what she thought of it. She explained to her mother that she wasn't crazy about the idea but that she had a difficult time imagining going up to one of her gay friends and telling them that they couldn't marry
someone they love. I told her I'd take a look at the clippings and get back to her.

The clippings were letters written to the newspaper in response to an article that I believed endorsed the right for gays to marry. The overall tone of the letters was in defense of having a belief that others thought to be intolerant. Personally, I try not to fault people for their beliefs since most likely those beliefs are simply the result of their parents upbringing. However, I have to say that when someone attempts to impose their beliefs on others then that, by definition, is intolerant. I don't think that's so much my opinion. I'm just following the definition but I'm sure it will offend some. No one ever likes to see themselves in a negative way. I do apologize if this does offend some.

So, I mentioned my thoughts of the clippings to Foxy, as well as my beliefs about gay marriage, which are quite simple. I believe that freedom applies to everyone, not just the majority. That's it. Does that mean will there be occasions that I'm not happy with someone else's "freedoms"? Of course. This is where someone would use the example of the Klu Klux Clan or something similar. That they should have the right to their beliefs as long as they don't force them onto others. I agree with that, but the Clan doesn't worry me. I'm far more concerned with more prevalent beliefs (some of the bloggers here scare the hell out of me), but I'm not about to deny someone the right to them as long as they don't directly effect me. (I will, though, challenge those beliefs every chance I get.)

Foxy asked me the usual questions that people ask when discussing gay marriage.

Where does it stop? Do we next allow bigamy? Then polygamy? What about marrying animals?

To the bigamy and polygamy my response is "Sure, why not?" I have no justification for going up to someone and saying that what they and two (or more) other people consent to do is wrong and they cannot do it. At least in this example.

As for the animal question, I didn't even want to address it. I know Foxy didn't ask it seriously but many people do. And because of that I should at least try and address it, however ridiculous the question is. I'm not saying that there aren't people out there who want to marry animals. I'm saying the comparison of the two is embarrassing. It goes right along with people being afraid of a homosexual looking after/being with children. It shows the (limited) thinking that many people have about homosexuals. I fully admit that gays don't help themselves whenever they have a parade but that's beside the point. It demeans them when there is no reason to do so, other than having a different belief or "lifestyle" than the majority's.

Foxy then asked, "Ok, but where does it stop?"

I said, "Fair question and I'll give you an answer that scares the hell out of most conservative I know."

"I don't know. I don't know where it stops."

'I agree that by allowing gays to marry we are going down a road that could have dangerous consequences but I doubt it. Or at least I'm not concerned about it in the slightest."

"But let me ask you a fair question in return."

"And the potential consequences of the answer scares the bajeezus out of me."

"Here's my question: Where does imposing one's beliefs onto others stop?"

"The scary part of that question is that we already know the answer. History is full of examples. The most notable are the Crusades and the Nazis but there are countless examples. It's easy to forget that if gays are not allowed to marry, we're not just forcing one group's belief onto another group that denys them a right, but that we're having the government do it and that's a dangerous thing to do. So I hope you will understand that I'll take my chances with a couple of homos wanting to get hitched."

And that's it.

Again, I apologize to those who are offended by what I've written but I have found it necessary to take the risk of offending those whose only history book has been the Bible. The vast majority of atrocities in history are because of religious beliefs. I'm not blaming today's Christians for those acts, but I do say that they should ask themselves what separates them from those in the past besides time. Just something to think about.

I leave you with this quote that has inspired me.

"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up."

Damn Chain E-mail Questionnaire

2006-03-28T23:11:00.000+08:00

Most of you should be familiar with this chain e-mail. I have received it several times.
It drives me nuts. I guess I should be so hard on the person who came up with this list
of questions. It's just that they're so lame. Oh well, here are my responces to them that
I sent out, plus a little more.

1. What time did you get up this morning?

Do you really care what time I woke up?
Every person who has received this email is someone who(m) I care about
in one way or another, so I don't have a problem saying that I don't give a
rat's ass what time you woke up. (Unless you really wanted to talk about it,
then I'm here for you of course.)

2. Diamonds or pearls? (My God, this question is worse the #1!)

Same answer.

3. What was the last movie you saw?

In the theaters? Syriana. Good movie.

A few questions about movies that I'd rather be asked are:

What's your favorite film?

Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead

What's the last good movie you've seen?

Eternal Sunshine on a Spotless Mind

What are some movies that you like to recommend to people?

Diggstown and Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels

Which movie(s) had a profound effect on you?

My favorite movie, of course, and also Fight Club.
It hits me with its depth every single time I watch it.

Any favorite movies that are "guilty pleasures"?

No, because I'm proud that Road House is in my Top 20 of favorite films!!!

4. What is your favorite TV show?

On my favorites list are:

West Wing
Seinfeld
Friends
WKRP
Newsradio
The Office (BBC)

As for current shows, my wife and I like Alias but this latest season (#4)
has been really lame. We're planning on checking out Lost when we have time.

5. What did you have for breakfast?

Same answer as question #1.

How about:

What's your favorite food? Or Death Row Last Meal?

Over the past couple of years I've come to understand the importance of being 'hungry'.
Sure I have a favorite meal (my grandma's cow's tongue, mmmmmm) but if you wait
until you actually feel the pangs of hunger, then every meal tastes great.

6. What is your middle name?

Same as #1 again, but just in case you're absolutely dying to know Wellington.
(And if you weren't dying to know, then why did you ask?)

7. What is your favorite cuisine?

Cuisine? Who uses the word "cuisine"??

8. What foods do you dislike?

Celery! Stinky Tofu!! (actually just the smell, go figure) Red Bean anything!!!
Mushrooms! (unless they're fried and come with a dip) Green Bell Peppers!

9. What is your favorite chip flavor?

Same as #1.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?

Not a bad question, unfortunately I don't really have one right now.

Let's try:

What are your favorite groups or artists?

At the top of the list are:

Jeff Buckley (may he rest in peace)
Paw (disbanded)
Elliott Smith (may he also rest in peace)
Everything but the Girl (haven't heard from them in a while)
Afghan Whigs (disbanded)

It really isn't in a band's or artist's best interest to make my faves list.

And then there's:

What are your favorite CDs?

Gentlemen - Afghan Whigs
Dragline - Paw
Amplified Heart - Everything but the Girl
Grace - Jeff Buckley
Good Will Hunting Soundtrack - Mostly Eliott Smith, but the rest is good too.
Tomorrow the Greener Grass - The Jayhawks

11. What kind of car do you drive?

Same as #1

12. Favorite sandwich?

I love a good sandwich, but one isn't jumping out as a favorite. Maybe PB&J with bananas.

13. What characteristic do you despise?

I won't say that I despise any, but ones that frustrate the hell out of me?
Well, the king daddy of them all would be denial and a close second would be being close-minded.

14. Favorite item of clothing?

Same as #1

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

I've never been one for vacations.
I'll go anywhere that has clothes that fit me.
(Taipei is NOT the place to shop if you're bigger than 5' 9".)

16. What color is your bathroom?

Wow, this is sooooo the SAME AS #1!!!

17. Favorite brands of clothing?

Anything that's loose in the crotch and tight on the buns.

18. Where would you retire to?

Retire? Even if I ever wanted to "retire" I doubt that will be an option for numerous reasons.

19. Favorite time of the day?

Don't have one. On second thought, just when I get under the covers to go to bed.
Another would be when I first start the daily crossword.
(This is before I know it's going to kick my ass or not.)

20. What was your most memorable birthday?

I guess my 7th (I think) when Max got knocked out cold during the bashing of my pinata.
An ambulance came. Pretty cool.

21. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Women's college or beach volleyball. (Call me what you want, I like what I like.)

What about:

Favorite sport to play?

Basketball with a bunch of 5' 8" Chinese guys.

22. Where were you born?

Biloxi, Mississippi.

23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you?

I don't know and I'm not going to put any thought into it.
If you have the desire and the time to send it back. If you don't, no hard feelings.

24. Person you expect to send it back first?

This is answered with #23

25. What fabric detergent do you use?

Christ! I thought the "bathroom color" question was bad!

26. Coke or Pepsi?

Neither, I've always prefered Root Beer or Dr. Pepper.
I've never understood the popularity of Coke or Pepsi.

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Used to be a owl but as I've aged just a bit it has swung the other way.

28. What is your shoe size?

I'll bet my son that the originator of this email is a Bush-believer.

29. Do you have any pets?

Unfortunately my Columbian Leaf turtle died a while ago,
but my Chilean tarantual, Jeepers, has been around for about 3 years now.

30. What did you want to be when you were little?

I remember distinctly when I was 10 and a friend of my parents asked me what
I wanted to when I grew up. I wanted to be either a bounty hunter or a herpetologist.
(Not what you think. It's the study of reptiles.)

Here are a few more questions that I prefer to answer.

The classic:

If you could have lunch with 3 people from history, who would they be?

Thurgood Marshall, Bill Hicks, and George Orwell

Are phobic or simply have a great fear of something?

I'm phobic of spiders but not so much that I don't own one to try and work on it.

Can you tell me something that I don't know?

I bet you didn't know that the word 'peruse' really means to read something thoroughly.

What do you like about yourself?

Well, there's when my pants are loose in the crotch and tight across the buns....
But I also like that if I think long enough on something I will usually come up with
an answer or solution that most will agree upon.

What are your pet peeves?

Oooooh. I can't stand when people leave far too big of a space between themselves
and the car in front. As for here in Taipei, every now and then someone will cut in line like it's
no big deal and that sends me through the roof.

Do you collect anything?

I collect quotes, hardback children's books and recently I've been building a pretty decent collection of political documentary DVDs, though I didn't originally start out purposely collecting them.

Thomas Friedman

2006-03-27T01:07:00.000+08:00

The more I read Thomas Friedman's work, the more I like him.

Here's an article of his from the NY Times back in Jan. of 2003.

"Let's start with one simple fact: Iraq is a black box that has been sealed shut since Saddam came to dominate Iraqi politics in the 1960's. Therefore, one needs to have a great deal of humility when it comes to predicting what sorts of bats and demons may fly out if the U.S. and its allies remove the lid. Think of it this way: If and when we take the lid off Iraq, we will find an envelope inside. It will tell us what we have won, and it will say one of two things.

It could say, 'Congratulations! You've just won the Arab Germany - a country with enormous human talent enormous natural resources, but with an evil dictator, whom you've just removed.'

Or the envelope could say, 'You've just won the Arab Yugoslavia - an artificial country congenitally divided among Kurds, Shiites, Nasserites, leftists, and a host of tribes and clans that can only be helf together with a Saddam-like iron fist. Congratulations, you're the new Saddam.'

In the first scenario, Iraq is the way it is today because Saddam is the way he is. In the second scenario, Saddam is the way he is because Iraq is what it is. (Very interesting point.) Those are two very different problems. And we will know which we've won only when we take off the lid. The conservatives and neocons, who have been pounding the table for war, should be a lot more humble about this question, because they don't know, either."

Now, here's one more recent, in Dec. of 2005.

"To me, the real intelligence failure was how broken Iraqi society was. It was so much more decimated than the CIA understood or were telling the U.S. government. Those guys had memories of an Iraq fo the fifties and sixties, not the Iraq that had been battered by eight years of Iran-Iraq war, Gulf war I, ten years of sanctions, and then an invasion. I knew this was going to be hard. Believe me, it didn't take any genius to know that. You just needed to have a basic acquaintance with the Middle East and the history of Iraq to know that. And that's always been my issue with the Bush administration. My issue is not that this isn't important. No, I think it is important. It's that I thought it was important and hard, and they thought it was important and easy."

Good Question(s)

2006-03-26T07:50:00.000+08:00

Where Did We Come From?

Whether you believe in evolution or creation, let’s set that all aside, and go back before the world was created or evolved. That could be thousands or billions of years ago, whatever you believe (although there is a definite time which means that someone’s wrong and the theory of relativism – what’s true for you may not be true for me – is false, but that’s another topic for another time).

We all agree that at one point the world did not exist. So what was there before the world began? How did the world begin? How is it that people have such differing opinions or beliefs on how it came into existence?

Let’s say that it began with a speck and exploded or collided or whatever you want to say happened and the earth was created. That’s all fine and good, but let’s take a look at that speck. Where did that speck come from? Since the world had a beginning, didn’t that speck have a beginning too? If that speck had a beginning, where did it come from? Another speck? Or is it possible that there is a higher power that created that speck, which in turn created the world?

However you decide to believe the world came into existence, I don’t see how it’s possible to deny that something was created in order to create the world (or the world itself was created). And if something was created there had to be a creator.

Let’s also take a look at humans and how they came into existence. So, let’s say that they were not created in the “Garden of Eden”. Let’s say that they evolved from something.

Where did that something come from? Did it just all of the sudden come into existence? Don’t you think that it was created and once again, if it was created does that mean that there must be a creator?

And if we did evolve, how come we don’t see evolution happening now? I don’t ever see apemen walking around. I know that this is supposedly a slow process, but if the world has been around for billions of years, shouldn’t there be some other species inbetween apes and humans? And if we do evolve then why is there the need to procreate? When did procreation start? Is it weird that we were born, but our ancestors “evolved”?

These are all questions that I don’t understand. Questions that evolution does not answer for me. Questions that lead me to believe that there is a creator that has created the universe and the life that exists.

How do you answer these questions? -Jennifer

Hi Jennifer! I'm assuming you're the same Jennifer from before. Thanks for coming back.

As for your fair and reasonable questions, I like to think that I am a fairly intelligent person and pretty well read and because of that my short answer is "I have no idea."

I have always been a bit curious how some people (I'm not necessarily referring to you) are so comfortable being so absolute in their beliefs. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm just a man. How I'm supposed to have any idea about how this world, universe, etc. formed is beyond me.

At this point in my life I have no beliefs about how the world came about. Please remember, I don't commit to a belief until I'm as certain as I can be about it. That, naturally, leaves me with very few true beliefs. That doesn't mean that I don't think there are probabilities, though. Like when a friend recently asked me if I believe in ghosts.

I said, "No, but I think that they're possible, if not likely."

I've noticed that most people think either you believe in something but if you don't, then you deny it's existence. I don't agree with that.

I think your deduction through your questions is quite logical. I have no problem at all with someone who ends up believing in a god because of it (though I would rather believe in the possibility of a god). My problem lies in ending up believing in a Christian god because of those questions.

I realize that I won't make any friends with this (my blog has its name for a reason), but I don't see how it's possible to believe in Christianity without suspending reason and logic. (That's a post for another time when I have the time.)

Upon reading your comment for the umpteenth time I'm left with these questions,

Why is it so necessary to believe in some god?
Why isn't it enough to live your life the best as you can?
If there is a god, why isn't that good enough for him?
If it isn't good enough for him, then why is that ok with you?

I hope these are as fair, reasonable, and logical as yours are.

What Kind of Intelligence Do I Have?

2006-03-23T10:19:00.000+08:00

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language.
You explain yourself well.

An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.

You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.

A master of creative phrasing and unique words,
you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.

You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

How Logical Am I?

2006-03-23T10:06:00.000+08:00

You Are Incredibly Logical

(You got 88% of the questions right)

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic

You think rationally, clearly, and quickly.

A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

How Liberal/Conservative Am I?

2006-03-23T09:29:00.000+08:00

Your Political Profile

Overall: 30% Conservative, 70% Liberal

Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

What's My Political Persuasion?

2006-03-22T08:21:00.000+08:00

You Are a "Don't Tread On Me" Libertarian

You distrust the government, are fiercely independent, and don't belong in either party.

Religion and politics should never mix, in your opinion... and you feel opressed by both.

You don't want the government to cramp your self made style. Or anyone else's for that matter.

You're proud to say that you're pro-choice on absolutely everything!

What political persuasion are you?

Is Bush the Worst President Ever?

2006-03-21T09:24:00.001+08:00

This post was originally written in April of 2004. Some parts are obviously dated.
This is a response to a chain email that one of my (few) conservative friends passed along to me.
Here we go.

Bob, I love this shit. I think it puts things in perspective sometimes. -Joe

Some claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They complain about his prosecution of it. One person recently claimed Bush was the worst president in U.S. history.

Let's clear up one point: We didn't start the war on terror. Try to remember that terrorists started it on 9/11. Let's look at the "worst" president and mismanagement claims.

Franklin D. Roosevelt led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us, Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.

John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.

Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.

So far we have lost 600 soldiers, an average of 300 a year. Bush did all this abroad while not allowing another terrorist attack at home.

Worst president in history? Come on!

Hey Joe, thanks for the chain letter. I’ll take a shot at it. -Robert

(Here is my reply.)

We didn’t start this war; the terrorists started it.

I hate to be the one to point this out but Sept. 11th was a retaliation for decades of our manipulation in the Middle East. I can’t believe people still believe that these “terrorists” just decided to pick a fight with the U.S. because they hate “our freedom and what we stand for”. (By the way, what do we stand for?) There is far too much information out there now to continue with this.

Roosevelt led us into WWII. Germany never attacked us, Japan did.

To compare the war in Iraq and WWII is laughable. Japan and Germany actually had an alliance, whereas there was no connection between Iraq and the Taliban, much less an “Axis of Evil”. Another major difference is that Europe wanted us to get into the war. Wasn’t that way this time a round. However, there is/was an interesting argument that I've run across. In Brigadier General Smedley Butler's book, War is a Racket, he argues that it is unnecessary to go to war in Europe. It's actually a quick read and a good one at that. Check it out.

Truman and the Korean War.

I don’t know a thing about the Korean War, but I will remedy that in the future soon enough.
(I have to say I liked MASH, though.)

J.F.K. and Vietnam.

Kennedy didn’t start Vietnam and he was attempting to pull out when he was assassinated. I will say that his charisma and his death have made him one of the most overrated presidents, but certainly not the worst.

Johnson and Vietnam.

There’s no denying Vietnam was a disaster. You’d think Bush might have learned a thing or two from it about foreign affairs. Two years later, apparently not.

Clinton and Bosnia.

I can’t say for sure but my understanding of this is that Clinton actually did have the U.N.’s consent. It was to stop the ethnic cleansing in that region. The leaders of it are being tried for war crimes right now. Please keep in mind, I'm no Clinton supporter, even though many assume that if you disagree with Bush, then you must be a Clinton lover. I am curious to find out what the criticisms are of Clinton sending the troops into Bosnia.

Bush and Iraq.

You want perspective? There never was, now or in the first place, a case for war with Iraq. Forget what’s going on currently, Bush knew from the start that there were no WMD in Iraq. I read a book published in ’02 by two former UN weapons inspectors who claimed as fact that Iraq had no such weapons. I find it impossible to believe that the CIA and Bush were not aware of this.

Was there a connection between the Taliban and Hussein?
Did he supply them with weapons and financial help?

Hussein for years has worked to crush fundamentalist Islam within Iraq. If he were to give any aid to al-Qaida, it would be used on him first. Again, the CIA and Bush were more than aware of this.

As for the last two years: “Bush has liberated two countries.”

Maybe he has, maybe he hasn’t. It’s more likely a case of the citizens of those countries trading one set of problems for a whole new and just as bad set of problems. What I would like to know is what does liberating those countries have to do with our “war on terrorism”?

“Has crushed the Taliban and crippled al-Qaida.”

If that’s the case, then why are there terrorist alerts? Why are flights being canceled? That statement is far from the truth.

“Put nuclear inspectors in N. Korea, Libya, and Iran without firing a shot.”

If only that last part was left off, I might go along with it. Instead the author shows their true goal, manipulation. No shots??? Were we using spitballs and water balloons in Iraq and Afghanistan?

“And captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.”

Hussein was a dictator. You can call him a terrorist, since he used terror to control his people but he never used it with us. Actually, we called him an ally up until the time when the first Bush saw an opportunity to try and get re-elected. You know it as the Gulf War.

Is he the worst president in history? I’m not educated enough (for now) to make that decision. However, I don’t have a problem saying that he is one of the worst and that he is a liar. I don’t hesitate to say that he is beneath me in intellect and in knowledge. I am more than comfortable saying that he is a manipulator and a fraud. Though I have read enough to feel confident about my beliefs about Bush, you really only have to watch and listen to him to have the same beliefs. Set aside your emotions and judge him for what you see, for what he does. It's not difficult to see once you honestly look for it.

Results of My World View

2006-03-14T20:51:00.000+08:00

Your World View

You are a happy, well-balanced person who likes people and is liked by others. You question whether many conventional views on morality are valid under all circumstances. You are essentially a content person.

Sometimes, you consider yourself a little superior. You are moral by your own standards. You believe that morality is what best suits the occasion.

What Is Your World View?

Wow! I have to say I'm impressed how accurate this one is, even the "superior" part. (Hey, I work on it by remembering my favorite Abraham Lincon quote. I'm a work in progress, bear with me.)

Who Would Have Guessed?!?

2006-03-14T14:20:00.000+08:00

You Are 80% Open Minded

You are so open minded that your brain may have fallen out! Well, not really. But you may be confused on where you stand. You don't have a judgemental bone in your body, and you're very accepting. You enjoy the best of every life philosophy, even if you sometimes contradict yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

Obviously these sort of "tests" aren't too reliable, but I certainly would agree that I'm open minded. However, I'm confident that the people who know me, who interact with me in my personal life would agree that I am far from being "confused on where I stand." As I've explained previously I go to great efforts to be certain of my beliefs, so I'm sure of where I stand. I do, though, fully admit that I could be wrong. Beliefs are not facts, which means by definition they are fallible. I understand that and acknowledge it, unlike many others that I run across here.

It only takes a minute or two. Take the test and let me know what you get.

My Problems with Potter

2006-03-13T23:14:00.000+08:00

This has nothing to do with the religious complaints that I’ve read about elsewhere. To me, this is far more important and has actual merit. Also, I’m sure Harry Potter is not the only book to do this, and it’s certainly possible that some of my childhood favorites (Chronicles of Narnia, for example) are guilty too, which is why I shall reread them before reading them to my own children. However, HP undoubtedly has the most influence.

I should also note that I have not (yet) actually read any of the HP books. I have seen the first 3 movies, and this paper is based on the first, which, to my understanding, held true to the book. As always with something that I write and voice my opinion about, please correct me if I am wrong or have misunderstood something.

My problem with HP is that basically it, to put it bluntly, is every child’s wet dream. I find nothing redeeming whatsoever about the story. It simply caters to what a child wishes for, and not at all to what a child should learn from such adventures.

Here are my examples.

At the start of the story Harry is under the care of cruel guardians. Nothing new or original there, but it does perpetuate the image of a parent, or guardian, as one who is unkind or callous, or even evil. Of course, in the story, HP’s aunt and uncle actually are cruel, but how many guardians (of any kind) are really like that? What it ends up doing is that the next time the child (having finished this book) is feeling oppressed or abused, because they were told to do their chores, or finish their homework, will picture themselves as HP, and their parents as the enemy. It would have been nice if J.K. Rawlings had actually come up with not only a creative and entertaining way for HP to leave his home, but also a positive and constructive one.

The next is when, after HP is "rescued" from his home, he finds out that not only is he a wizard, but a famous one at that. Simply what every child would want to find out about themselves. There’s nothing valuable or productive about it.

Then, when at school, he receives a package. It’s a magical cloak. Fancy that. And most importantly, he didn’t have to earn it. Again, every child’s wish, that everything will simply be given to them.

Next up is the part where they’re learning to ride the broomsticks. When the teacher has to take the hurt student to the doctor the class is told that anyone who flies while she is gone will be kicked out of school (or at least some kind of severe punishment, I can’t remember exactly). So what happens? HP flies to save the hurt student’s item (some orb that changed colors) when Malfoy tries to break it by throwing it. HP is seen flying by Professor McGonagall and HP thinks he’s in trouble. But of course he is not. Rather, he is rewarded. Again, every child thinks what they are doing is for the best and this reinforces that. It’s nice to think that breaking the rules for the right reasons will work out for the best in the end, but that happens so rarely, it’s unfair to encourage a child to do so.

And, lastly, the grand finale. It was made perfectly clear to all the students that they were absolutely not allowed to go to a certain part of the school. So, naturally that is where HP and friends end up going. And again, for the "right" reasons. And again, what happens when it’s all over with? HP gets a slap on the wrist (if that) and then is rewarded to the delight of all. The point of this is that it is essential to a child’s growth that they learn that a very important part of life is about (or at least should be) earning what they get and that there are consequences to their actions. HP offers absolutely nothing constructive to a child’s development whatsoever. If anything, it hinders it.

And sorry, but I can’t go along with “at least they’re reading something”. To me, that’s like saying, “at least they’re eating something” as they stuff themselves with candy.

What Happens Then?

2006-03-08T14:40:00.000+08:00

(It might help to read the post just below this one, including the comments, before continuing here.)

Jennifer wrote, "Obviously this view is based on Christianity so if you do not believe in Christianity than you may not believe in God, heaven, hell, etc… If you don’t believe in all of this stuff than it doesn’t apply to you. Or does it? Just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it’s not true (I know you are aware of this). So my question is, what happens if you don’t believe in all of this and when you die it just so happens that it was true, what then?"

There are many reasons why I don't believe in a God, and even more for why I don't believe in Christianity, but it all can be summed up in my answer to this question. It's out of my hands.

What I mean is that I come to my beliefs (or lack of) by a simple, though not necessarily easy, process of what makes sense to me. Now, once something makes sense to me (or not), I'm stuck with it until something else is presented to change my mind. Until that happens there is no other choice for me. I cannot "change my mind" or simply "choose" to believe in something that makes no sense to me. If I asked you (any of you) to believe in Santa Claus right now (assuming you don't ;> ) could you?

So, if God is going to hold it against me for not doing something which is basically impossible for me to do, well....that's out of my hands. And I can live with that, or burn in Hell too for that matter.

Couple of Oldies

2006-02-24T03:47:00.000+08:00

I'm going to be out of town for a week, so I'm posting a couple of old posts from my old blog. Have some fun with them and I'll see you when I get back.

My blog doesn't have the title it has for nothing. I'm here to offer an opinion, a point of view that most people aren't going to see, won't agree with, or even find offensive. But please take note that anything I post has been thought through thoroughly. (Say that three times!) That doesn't mean I can't be wrong, but I go to a great effort to make sure I'm as reasonable and logical as I can possibly be. I hope it shows.

This here is a post from another blog that I check out from time to time. It fit right in with what I have recently posted. I want to make it clear that I am not judging the mother as a bad parent, nor am I saying anything about the boy. He sounds like a good kid. However, I am criticizing this particular parenting "style" as I find it unfair and unhealthy.

My son in sunday school, I found out that my son who is not athletically inclined, was able to answer all the questions and then some! This was partially due to what he is learning in homeschool. Another thing that really touched me was when the teacher said, that he said something real profound that blew her away. That tells me that it isn't just knowledge in his mind, but the Holy Spirit giving him understanding of the scriptures. It is one thing to 'know' scripture, but another to have heart knowledge. My son accepted Christ at 4, and really understands the truths in scripture . To see God working in his heart has been a pleasure for me. This morning, he started asking questions about children waiting to be adopted. He asked why they didn't have parents, and was very emotional about it. He had tears in his eyes and said they should have parents, and where did they come from if they didn't. I explained to him some of the good reasons, then some of the bad such as parents who abuse their children. The tears welled up, and he said. "Mommy, if it weren't for Adam and Eve sinning, there wouldn't be bad parents like that!" "I wish they would have never done that!"..Then I asked him how did God fix that problem? Then he said.."I don't know?" Remember Jesus dying on the cross, he said, "Yes, I know". I said, he fixed that problem, and God is giving us the choice to accept forgiveness or not. So, you can believe Jesus did that, or not, and you can choose to receive the gift of forgiveness for your sins. He said, "Yeh, and if you don't choose Jesus you will go to hell". I told him yes, but we also follow Jesus because we love him, and want to have a relationship with God. He said he knew.I remember about 2 years ago he cried while watching a commercial about children starving in Africa. I really believe he has the gift of Mercy.Before becoming a parent, I prayed for our first born to be a son, and for him to decide to follow Jesus at an early age. God has so graciously answered my prayer in more ways than I could imagine. He has a huge heart for others, and has been a rock for his brother who has autism. They have an unbelievably close bond. Maybe, some day my child will be involved in a ministry like 'The Samaritan's purse' helping poor children all over the world. Honestly, like any parent I was hoping his bend would be athletics, and God would use him that way in whatever circles he is in, but you know God is using him now in the circles he is in. And, will use him and his gift of mercy to bring God glory somehow. Who knows, it may be helping children who don't have parents, or working for 'samaritans purse' some day!

I'm sure the mother has nothing but the best intentions, but I have a serious problem with what she has written. "

"Mommy, if it weren't for Adam and Eve sinning, there wouldn't be bad parents like that!"

Teaching a child to believe this is incredibly irresponsible. It misdirects where the responsibility really lies; with the parents of the "bad" parents. We are all products of our upbringing and genetics, regardless if there were an actual Adam & Eve. I cannot agree with a parenting philosophy that teaches children to place responsibility any where other than where it belongs.

"Yeh, and if you don't choose Jesus you will go to hell."

Whoa. Jeez, if you put it like that, where do I sign up??? Any rational parent should understand that if in order to get your child to do "the right thing" (also known as "what you want") you have to beat them, then that's wrong. Oh, it probably will work in the short run, but it's wrong because it teaches all the wrong things. Why is God held to any other standard? I acknowledge the possibility of a god but there's no way (in Hell) that that's how it works. And the poor kid, whose first significant lesson on why you do/choose something, is not because it's the right thing to do, but rather because he will be punished if he doesn't.

"My son accepted Christ at 4..."

Really? Really?? To be completely fair to your son I trust you allowed him to choose freely to accept Christ, right? You didn't threaten to kill one of his brothers, did you? I mean, the whole "burn in hell for all eternity" pretty much makes the choice a no-brainer for a 4 year old, right? It's probably asking too much that you actually presented him with options when he made his "choice". You know, go over the major religions and explain why people believe in them and why others don't. What? Too much for a 4 year old? No kidding, and so is choosing Jesus as your personal savior. It's insulting to your God, whose greatest gift to your son is free will, that when your son had his moment to "chose", his only choice was a Hobson's choice.

"I prayed for our first born to be a son, and for him to decide to follow Jesus at an early age."

This part isn't necessarily a parenting criticism, rather an honest question: How exactly does this work? Correct me if I'm wrong, but free will is a major part of Christianity, right? If so, how does God make the son "decide to follow Jesus"? If so, how is it acceptable to Christians that your God says he values free will but then turns right around and says "Choose me or burn in Hell!!!" Technically those are two options but I don't consider them actual choices. I'm confused by this, so if anyone can offer an explanation I would appeciate it.

In the end, I just feel sorry for this kid. He's not living his own life. That, and I feel sorry for my son because he has to grow up and deal with the results of the parents in the world today.

What's a "Terrorist"?

2006-02-23T12:51:00.000+08:00

I usually don't post other people's work but I thought this was interesting. I'm always up for someone else's perspective.

Dad ... what's a terrorist? By David Campbell April 23, 2004

Surely even a child can understand the difference between good and evil.

Dad ... what's a terrorist?

Well, son, according to the Oxford dictionary a terrorist is "a person who uses violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims". Which means that terrorists are very bad men and women who frighten ordinary people like us, and sometimes even kill them.

Why do they kill them?

Because they hate them or their country. It's hard to explain ... it's just the way things are. For many different reasons a lot of people in our world are full of hate.

Like the ones in Iraq who are capturing people and saying that they'll kill them if all the soldiers don't leave?

Exactly! That's an evil thing called "blackmail". Those innocent people are hostages, and the terrorists are saying that if governments don't do what they want the hostages will be killed.

So was it blackmail when we said we'd attack Iraq and kill innocent people unless they told us where all their weapons were?

No! Well ... yes, I suppose. In a way. But that was an "ultimatum" ... call it "good blackmail".

Good blackmail? What's that?

That's when it's done for good reasons. Those weapons were very dangerous and could have hurt a lot of people all over the world. It was very important to find them and destroy them.

But Dad ... there weren't any weapons.

True. We know that now. But we didn't at the time. We thought there were.

So was killing all those innocent people in Iraq a mistake?

No. It was a tragedy, but we also saved a lot of lives. You see, we had to stop a very cruel man called Saddam Hussein from killing a great many ordinary Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein stayed in power by giving orders that meant thousands of people died or were horribly injured. Mothers and fathers. Even children.

Like that boy I saw on TV? The one who had his arms blown off by a bomb?

Yes ... just like him.

But we did that. Does that mean our leaders are terrorists?

Good heavens, no! Whatever gave you that idea? That was just an accident. Unfortunately, innocent people get hurt in a war. You can't expect anything else when you drop bombs on cities. Nobody wants it to happen ... it's just the way things are.

So in a war only soldiers are supposed to get killed?

Well, soldiers are trained to fight for their country. It's their job, and they're very brave. They know that war is dangerous and that they might be killed. As soon as they put on a uniform they become a target.

What uniforms do terrorists wear?

That's just the problem ... they don't! We can't tell them apart from the civilians. We don't know who we're fighting. And that's why so many innocent people are getting killed ... the terrorists don't follow the rules of war.

War has rules?

Oh, yes. Soldiers must wear uniforms. And you can't just suddenly attack someone unless they do something to you first. Then you can defend yourself.

So that's why we attacked Iraq? Because Iraq attacked us first and we were just defending ourselves?

Not exactly. Iraq didn't attack us ... but it might have. We decided to get in first. Just in case Iraq used those weapons we were talking about.

The ones they didn't have? So we broke the rules of war?

Technically speaking, yes. But ...

So if we broke the rules first, why isn't it OK for those people in Iraq who aren't wearing uniforms to break the rules?

Well, that's different. We were doing the right thing when we broke the rules.

But Dad ... how do we know we were doing the right thing?

Our leaders ... Bush and Blair and Howard ... they told us it was the right thing. And if they don't know, who does? They say that something had to be done to make Iraq a better place.

Is it a better place?

I suppose so, but I don't know for sure. Innocent people are still being killed and these kidnappings are terrible things. I feel very sorry for the families of those poor hostages, but we simply can't give in to terrorists. We must stand firm.

Would you say that if I was captured by terrorists?

Uh ... yes ... no ... I mean, it's very difficult ...

So you'd let me be killed? Don't you love me?

Of course! I love you very much. It's just that it's a very complicated issue and I don't know what I'd do ...

Well, if somebody attacked us and bombed our house and killed you and Mum and Jamie I know what I'd do.

What?

I'd find out who did it and kill them. Any way I could. I'd hate them for ever and ever. And then I'd get in a plane and bomb their cities.

But ... but ... you'd kill a lot of innocent people.

I know. But it's war, Dad.
And that's just the way things are. Remember?

Ad Hominem?

2006-02-19T10:19:00.000+08:00

My understanding of "Ad Hominem" is it's when one attacks a person's character to avoid discussing the issues.

I think I have an example of it, but I'm not positive. It's a continuation of the dialogue from below. I will repost it from its beginning.

Again, this first quote is my comment to a blogger's post on his dislike for the attention that Cheney's shooting incident has been receiving.

"I read about a doctor in Texas who said, "If it's a hunting accident before 11am, then it's most likely stupidity, but if it's AFTER 11am then it's more often than not alcohol." Is it not reasonable to suspect Cheney had more than the "one beer" he has admitted to drinking? That certainly makes sense as he didn't visit his friend in the hospital and no one was notified for 24 hours (from my understanding). That sounds like the need to sober up. I'm not picking sides, just trying to be reasonable."

His reply: "Mr Neddo said: "I'm not picking sides, just trying to be reasonable." Sure, there may have been booze involved. But reasonable? Maybe just a bit partisan since you say on your blog: "I don't mind being described as liberal." AND you like "Left Wing" oops I mean "West Wing." Aargh! You're a liberal. :-O"

"Even if I were partisan, which I don't believe I am since I'm on no one's "side", it's not reasonable to think that Cheney was possibly inebriated? (I don't mean dead drunk though.) I take no joy in saying it but I find your reactions very partisan, which only leads to being unreasonable and even dishonest. Sorry, but you're argument for why I'm "a liberal" doesn't work for me. If so, then am I also "a conservative" if I like 24, even if it's not my favorite show? I don't consider myself a liberal because I don't know the criteria for being one. I've asked all kinds of people to try and explain it to me but most don't get past "eehhhhh..." I call myself an athiest, a father, a teacher, and a husband because I believe I understand those, but beyond that I'm not comfortable labelling myself.

As always, I hope this all seems reasonable.
And thanks for reading my 100."

His latest reply: "Mr Neddo, of course I am partisan. Everyone is. Fence-sitters simply want their cake and eat it too and probably didn't know how to play cowboys and Indians in school. We called them spoil-sports, wet-blankets or part-poopers but really some were just shy wallflowers and others simply snobs."

Please remember that I originally posted about a possible reason why there is an interest in Cheney's shooting incident. Yet, it turned into what you read above. I don't believe I turned it that direction, but conveniently enough it's off the original topic. Talk about partisan.

Also, if "partisan" is simply the same as "bias", then I agree that no one can avoid it. However, if that is the case, then am I only allowed to comment against what I agree with or comment for what I normally disagree with? That seems to be my only choice according to the blogger above, even though he doesn't hold himself to the same criteria. Am I off on this?

And just for some closure, there was another comment by another person who asked this: "How in the hell is it "reasonable" to assume that Cheney was drunk based solely on the fact that it was after 11 am? Am I missing something here? "

Here is my reply: "I don't mean to assume, just suspect. It's been said that the majority of hunting accidents after 11am are due to alcohol, Cheney admitted to having one beer (and in my experiences when someone admits to something there's usually more), and Cheney made no public appearances for 24 hrs. No going to the hospital to see his friend, no nothing, just stay at home and have dinner from what I understand. That does sound suspiciously like someone letting the alcohol wear off. Plus you throw in his meds for his heart and the odds are increased.

To me it seems reasonable, but maybe I'm wrong.

I find the irony funny that there are so many specific minded people complaining about the coverage of the incident, but there are a couple of stories this past week that are far more damning for the administration. I'm sure they're quite thankful that Whittington took one (a bunch actually) for the team.

A Voice of Reason

2006-02-18T15:03:00.000+08:00

I've decided to concentrate on pointing out what's unreasonable in the world we live in, but I think it's important to first go over what "reasonable" and "unreasonable" are. From my point of view at least.

"Reasonable" by definition is basically staying with the realms or boundaries of common sense and/or fairness.

I prefer to use examples. I think they can be a bit clearer.

I have heard the argument that one reason abortion should be illegal is because think of all the scientists, doctors, and basically people who could help our society in a positive way are being killed. (Please note, my criticism of this argument is not an argument for abortion.)

The problem with this argument is that it ignores the obvious, which is that abortion also kills the type of people, like criminals, drug users, etc., who would contribute negatively to society. (And I would argue that there are far more people in the latter group than the former.)

To me, this is unreasonable.

A positive example is my best friend. He has been my best friend for over a decade and yet he is everything I am not. He is conservative, a Catholic, and a Republican. I asked him a couple of years ago what he thought about gay marriage. He said that because of his beliefs he thinks a gay lifestyle is sinful, but he said they should be able to be legally married. It's not his place to impose his beliefs on anyone else. I found that very reasonable.

One of my favorite examples that I use with my students is this one. After I had compiled my 9/11 paper I had a response that said this,

"I find you borderline treasonous..."

I replied with, "How is my paper boderline treasonous?"

The response was, "It is borderline treasonous and again, I think once you gain knowledge of World Economics and History you will understand what I mean by that."

Maybe I'm wrong, but I find this unreasonable. To accuse someone of something as severe as treason and then to back it up with essentially nothing does not work for me. To accuse someone and then not be able to explain it or justify it is unreasonable. (And don't get me wrong, I'd love to take Econ 101, but that's not happening anytime in the near future.)

An example that occured just recently was when I posted a comment at another blog. This blogger's post was complaining about the press and attention that Cheney was getting for having shot his friend.

Here is my comment:

"I read about a doctor in Texas who said, "If it's a hunting accident before 11am, then it's most likely stupidity, but if it's AFTER 11am then it's more often than not alcohol." Is it not reasonable to suspect Cheney had more than the "one beer" he has admitted to drinking? That certainly makes sense as he didn't visit his friend in the hospital and no one was notified for 24 hours (from my understanding). That sounds like the need to sober up. I'm not picking sides, just trying to be reasonable."

His reply was,

"Mr Neddo said: "I'm not picking sides, just trying to be reasonable." Sure, there may have been booze involved. But reasonable? Maybe just a bit partisan since you say on your blog: "I don't mind being described as liberal." AND you like "Left Wing" oops I mean "West Wing." Aargh! You're a liberal. :-O"

I find numerous things to be unreasonable with this response but the one I think I can explain the best is the West Wing comment. Is it too unreasonable to ask for a comment more along the lines of

"You claim to be non-partisan but you also claim to be liberal and you state that The West Wing is your favorite show. Is in not fair of me to assume your partisan? That you are biased? After all that show is known for it's left view on politics."

I would find that a reasonable response, as opposed to the disparaging comment he posted.

My answer to that comment would be

"Convincing you that I'm non-partisan would be extremely difficult. Mostly due to that you seem far too partisan to see any other way than your own. However, that doesn't really matter. What matters is the point I raised. Is it reasonable? Fair? I believe so, and the way you brushed it off shows to me that your the one being unreasobnable and certainly partisan."

My actual reply is this:

"Even if I were partisan, which I don't believe I am since I'm on no one's "side", it's not reasonable to think that Cheney was possibly inebriated? (I don't mean dead drunk though.) I take no joy in saying it but I find your reactions very partisan, which only leads to being unreasonable and even dishonest. Sorry, but you're argument for why I'm "a liberal" doesn't work for me. If so, then am I also "a conservative" if I like 24, even if it's not my favorite show? I don't consider myself a liberal because I don't know the criteria for being one. I've asked all kinds of people to try and explain it to me but most don't get past "eehhhhh..." I call myself an athiest, a father, a teacher, and a husband because I believe I understand those, but beyond that I'm not comfortable labelling myself.

As always, I hope this all seems reasonable.
And thanks for reading my 100."

100 Things About Me

2006-02-17T22:41:00.000+08:00

1. I am a self-diagnosed obsessive-compulsive.

2. I have a phobia of spiders...

3. but the only thing I truly fear is not being around to raise my children.

4. I am incapable of "chit chat", which makes it difficult for me at gatherings.

5. I swore off lying back in the fall of 2001.

6. Since then I've lied approximately 9 - 10 times.

7. I'm what I call a "born athiest". When I was around 10 I remember
my father explaining many of the different religions to me. Even
then I thought, "none of that makes any sense to me."

8. However, for over a decade I thought I was an agnostic.

9. Then, a couple of years ago a friend explained to me the two
different types of atheism, and I realized I was one of them.

10. I believe every significant problem on this earth can be
traced to overpopulation.

11. I think I'd make a hell of a trial lawyer or actor.

12. The Blair Witch Project scared the crap out of me.

13. I collect hard back children's books.

14. I also have a pretty impressive collection of political/documentary DVDs.

15. Cruel Crime & Painful Punishment is the book that got me hooked on history.

16. It is rare that I remember any part of my dreams.

17. My favorite food is cow's tongue prepared by my grandmother or mother.

18. I don't gamble.

19. I don't do drugs.

20. I don't like beer.

21. But I love a Tanqueray & Tonic with a splash of Rose's.

22. I have no respect for golf.

23. I have 3 heroes: Thurgood Marshall, Hugh Thompson, & Bill Hicks.

24. I have never had a one-night stand. (Dammit.)

25. I believe semantics are imperative to getting the most out of life.

26. I inherited from my father the quality of being honest "to a fault".

27. It's been only the past couple of years that I've been
able to use it correctly.

28. I try not to look at things as right or wrong...

29. but rather as reasonable or unreasonable.

30. When in doubt get me something with peanuts in it.

31. I have fallen "in love" twice.

32. Neither time involved my wife.

33. And I'm very thankful it happened that way.

34. I believe that the only thing that matters in life is how you affect others.

35. However, I believe that the most important thing in life is to figure yourself out.

36. When I was around 10 or 11 I wanted to be a bounty hunter
or a herpetologist. (Not what you think, it's the study of reptiles.)

37. I absolutely hate the feeling of being unprepared.

38. Of course there are things in my past that I am sorry for
and I would do differently, but the only regret I have at
this point in my life is having my son circumcised.

39. My interest in semantics all started with my effort
in trying to define "courage".

40. I don't believe in aliens, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

41. The world became a bit clearer for me the day I found out
that "what cleavage is to men, power is to women".

42. I think the Pina Colada Song is extremely underrated.

43. I used to think that it was impossible for to be offended.

44. Then I was proven wrong by a Mormon missionary.

45. I believe to get the most out of life one has to:

46. Have a relationship that one cares about.

47. Have a career that is important to them.

48. Make a difference in some way.

49. I believe the death penalty should be illegal.

50. I think the problem with "Liberalism" is that it
requires immense responsibility.

51. The problem with "Conservatism" is that it ignores that
people will always push the boundries. Always.

52. I'm fascinated with the Samurai and their way of life.

53. When I meet a man I determine whether I can take him or not.

54. When I meet a woman I determine whether I would sleep with
her or not. (Or did I get these reversed?) (Please keep in mind
that both of these are done near subconsciencely.)

55. I was Prom King.

56. It's incredibly frustrating for me to be the passenger
with a passive driver.

57. I'm allergic to pistachios and cashews.

58. After having waited tables and bartended for almost 10 years,
I don't miss it at all.

59. I have a really long fuse.

60. But when I lose it, watch out. (That one is from my mom.)

61. I don't understand the popularity of soda over water or juice.

62. The rare occasion I do drink a soda it's Dr. Pepper or Root Beer.

63. My obsessive-compulsiveness is as much of a blessing as it is a curse.

64. My favorite movie is Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead.

65. It was the beginning of me coming to realize the man I wanted to be.

66. A close second is Fight Club.

67. My favorite book is 1984.

68. My favorite board game is RISK.

69. I love finding out about new conspiracy theories.

70. I don't think Michael Jordan is the best basketball player ever.

71. I do think Larry Bird is the best up to this point in the game.

72. The best actor I have ever seen is Dustin Hoffman.

73. My favorite is Christopher Walken, but he has worn himself a bit thin.

74. I don't think democracy works, due to #10.

75. I'm often mistaken for a Canadian.

76. I take it as a compliment.

77. The Office from the BBC is my favorite sitcom.

78. The West Wing is my favorite non-sitcom.

79. I'm leaning towards supporting the adage that people are basically good.

80. It's the sorry state of parenting in the world that screws them up.

81. However, it's not really the parents fault.
It's pretty much impossible to keep up with the world nowadays.

82. I don't mind being described as liberal.

83. I do mind being labeled "a liberal".

84. I have a non-sexual crush on David Hasselhoff.

85. All I ever try to be is the voice of reason.

86. After coming to understand the responsibilities that
friendships require, I now take them very serious.

87. Which is why I have cut back on my friends.

88. I can't get enough of dystopian novels.

89. That's because, sad to say, I see so much of it in our own world.

90. The more I read about the Founding Fathers, the more
I think they just might actually have had our best interest in mind.

91. I've tried, but I can't do anything just for the money.

92. I have three tattoos.

93. The only thing I'd change about them is to make one bigger.

94. If our next baby was going to be a boy,
I was going to name him "Demothenes".

95. However, it's 90% likely to be a girl, so you're just going
to have to wait about 6 months for her name.

96. I never thought I'd see the day, but I agree with Dan Quayle
about what he said concerning the show "Murphy Brown".

97. See! I'm not completely liberal.

98. I'm a sucker for Top 100 Lists of about any kind.

99. Pride is an uncomfortable feeling for me, but nonetheless
I have no problem saying that my marriage is what I am most proud of.

100. As I get older, I appreciate the importance of gratitude more and more.
Thanks for reading this.