Racism 101

Recently I was talking to one of my many neighbors and sadly I can't even remember what the actual conversation was or what the comment I made was that prompted the comment but this very nice older lady stopped what she was ranting about and told me "That was a very rude thing to say, you are a very racist individual." Now being called this by a middle aged white woman certainly came out of left field, but the plain and simple fact is that she is right. I am probably one of the most racist people you will ever want to meet.

Now anyone who knows me well and has met the wonderful woman I have been happily with for 15 years will probably be astounded by this statement and I am very sorry if I have shocked people, but I am indeed a card carrying member of the Racist Party. Now if anyone is still reading after that shocker, sit right down and let me illuminate on the meaning of them there words.

Decades ago, I read a book by an author whose name escapes me now (Sci-Fi nuts and students can help me out with the name and the book the quote is from) who said that the concept of racism among the various people of Earth was ludicrous since there was only one race of humans on the whole world. He did go one to say that the Race of Humanity could be broken down into three sub-races; these being Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid. His premise was the only way that one could be racist is if they hated on whales, dolphins, monkeys or (insert favorite alien species here).

Well, I completely agree with him/her. Which is why I can claim to be a racist, because I really don't like the human race. I once wrote in a short story that Mankind was the only real mistake that God ever made. In my opinion he would have been a lot better off going with Apes or maybe Dogs.

Don't get me wrong, there have been and still are some amazing examples of just how great mankind can be. People that have changed the world and our lives for the better. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. Again, I am not saying that the majority of mankind is evil or deserve to be destroyed. The truly horrible ones are just a small a minority as the really good ones. The real problem is the huge majority left.

Every single problem from pollution in our air and water to our governments being broke can be traced back to one thing, greed. People everywhere in every single country don't care about tomorrow as long as their tanks are full of gas and their 72" Flat Screen High Def TV set has enough juice to show them the latest dancing with the stars episode. Never mind that coal plants are putting out enough CO2 to choke a planet and spent nuclear fuel rods are simply sitting around in concrete barrels.

People want free health care and cheap goods, but they don't want to pay taxes so the government spends more and more money that it doesn't have. People want it all and they want it now, hang the environment and all the "other people."

So you can see why I consider myself a true racist. I just don't like the human race very much. I see so much potential in all of us and it drives me crazy to see so many people wasting it. "They can be a great people...they want to be" is one of my favorite quotes from a great movie. (an official BB H'ray to the person who actually can tell me where the quote is from) Let's stop wasting our potential as a race and start being great.

Evolution VS Creationism

Now before I get going here let me make a statement that is probably going to truly cheese off a lot of people, but bear with me for the explanation. There is no known Scientific evidence to support the existence of a Supreme Being who created the heavens and the earth and made man/woman in his own image. Yes there is plenty of historical evidence to support the fact that many of the people, places and events portrayed in the Bible happened, but nothing to suggest a divine hand was involved.

The belief in a higher power that guides us and helps up is driven purely by faith. (I won't go into my own beliefs here. Anyone that truly knows me knows my faith and my beliefs.) Because people have faith, they see the proof of God all around them in everything from a tree frog to a blue whale. Their beliefs give them all the proof they need and all the proof I need.

Now all of that said, what does it have to with the title of this blog? Simple, once again many different organizations are pushing to have Creationism taught in public schools alongside (Actually most would prefer INSTEAD) of Evolution. This is causing the usual stink about separation of church and state plus just a smidgen of freedom of religion. Now my brother in Arms and Faith recently wrote a really excellent blog on School Prayer that deals with that subject much more eloquently than I could so we will move on.

Here's the thing. I am all for teaching Creationism in Public Schools with one caveat. Wait for it! I am all for teaching the THEORY OF CREATIONISM right alongside the THEORY OF EVOLUTION. The dictionary defines Theory as : a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena or an unproved assumption. Despite the fact that most people and most teachers "preach" that Evolution is a FACT, it's not The TOE is simply the widest accepted idea because it's assumptions fit observation the best. It is not a Scientific Fact and prolly never will be until someone invents a time machine and sits through the whole shebang from day one.

Now Creationism as a Theorem is on about as solid ground as Evolution. (Okay the idea that a lot of people have that the universe is only thousands of years old is quicksand, but besides that.) Creationism is not religion nor is it universally accepted. Hells, the various and sundry Sects of Christianity can't even fully agree on it. It is simply an attempt by scholars and researchers to use the available data to explain the universe around them. So why shouldn't it be taught alongside other scientific Posits? Toss them all in and let everyone decide for themselves which one is right.

Hell no, we shouldn't have gone.

A good friend of mine has already covered this subject in his most excellent Blog but I like redundancy and am somewhat repetitive so I am going to fling in my $20.00 worth. (Used to be 2 cents but inflation got a hold of it. The topic is Libya or What The Fudge Are We doing?

I was okay when we hit Afghanistan because like most everyone else I was royally cheesed off after 9/11. Sure it was a knee-jerk response to the death and destruction, but I felt it was a justified response. I was NOT okay with the attack on Iraq. Even to my limited experience with military and political situations, I could see that this was just some ill-advised ploy by the powers that be. (As an aside here, let me state as an American, I was sorely disappointed with our propaganda mills. Hells in my Daddy's day if the US had gone to find "WMDs" and there weren't any, we'd still have darned well found hundreds of the buggers. Shows you just how incompetent old Dubya was.

Now we are leading the front on an attack against a SOVEREIGN nation to help the forces that are REBELLING against the Legal government. Sure it's not a very nice government and is led by a Madman but it is still the legally appointed government. Last time I checked, fomenting and aiding rebellion in an attempt to overthrow any nation's government was a distinct no-no but here we are firing missiles and such to stop the government from defending itself.

Now people argue that KaDAFFY is a crazed, megalomaniac with a list of delusions longer than my right arm. They argue that he has, will and probably commit horrible crimes against his people and these people would be right. However, he has currently committed no crimes against the US or committed no over acts of violence against us. We have no justifications for launching an UNPROVOKED attack against Libya but we have. What ever their reasons or justifications, the Rebel forces at work there are the "legally" in the wrong so why are we supporting them?

You can bet if "dissidents" in say New Zealand (Sorry picked the most unlikely place I could that still has people in it) suddenly decided that they didn't like the way things were going and staged an armed rebellion, no one in NATO or the UN would be rushing in to enforce a no-fly zone. We'd be supporting the government in any way possible. The same goes for any of our "friends" in the world.

The plain and simple fact is, we and the rest of the countries active in this WAR are doing this because we don't like Daffy and his ilk. We would love to see a more PC and friendly government take over in Libya. (Sure history shows this won't happen, but hey hope springs eternal) Daffy offends us and maybe scares us a little so our government leaped on the band wagon to try and get rid of him. Hey we did it in Iraq and look how well that turned out.

I like Obama and generally support him, but this is easily one of the dumbest things I have seen any president pull off. Starting a 3rd war when we are still fighting two other disastrous ones is stupid. Obama has promised that America's lead in the attacks will only last for a few days, but already that is showing signs of being a lie. Most countries don't want to take over and the few that do, no one wants to be in charge. So now, we are stuck in yet another war. Come on folks, lets just call this all a really bad deal and bring everyone home.

Illegal People

Okay this is probably going to peeve off a bunch of people, but I have never let that stop me in the past so I am just going to say my peace and dodge whatever slings and arrows that come my way.

I just finished reading an article posted on FB which decries the usage of the terms "Illegals" and "Illegal Aliens." The article and many of the respondents seem to think that it is harsh, cruel and dehumanizing to call people who travel to our shores without the legal right to do so "Illegal Aliens." Many take the stance that these people have done nothing illegal or against the law and are simply here without the consent of the US government.

Okay last time I checked, if someone is doing something that is contrary to the laws of a nation is doing something illegal. If you walk into a bank and pull out a gun to rob the place, you are committing an illegal act. If you cross the borders of the US without permission, you are committing an illegal act. These people are not "displaced persons" or "undocumented." They are, in every sense of the wording, "Illegal Aliens."

Now many argue that these people are coming here to escape from the horrors of their home countries and to make better lives for themselves and their families. All well and good, but do it legally. People from every country and every walk of life come to America every year and become legal citizens. Yes the process is difficult and takes a long time sometimes, but they do it. Illegal Aliens flaunt this process, avoid the responsibilities of becoming a legal citizen and basically mock all of the people who work so hard to do it right.

The argument that their existence in their home lands is so horrible that they have to make a new life here is another dodge. If your home is terrible, stay and fix it. Make your land a better place not run away to avoid the problem. No problem was ever fixed by running away from it. Stay where you are and fight to make things better for you, your family and everyone else.

Another argument is that America was founded on immigration so we should let all of the people who wish to immigrate do so. The only problem with that is, like every other nation in the world, we are a nation of limited resources. Because of its massive size, America has substantially more room and resources than most nations, but we still have limits. This is another reason to make anyone who wants to immigrate here work for it.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the vast majority of Illegal Immigrants are bad people or a threat to the American Way of life. The US is massive cultural melting pot and is in no danger of being "over run" as some potty mouths like to claim. I don't feel like these immigrants are "ruining our country." I just feel like it has to be acknowledged what their status is.

Whether you like it or not. Whether it hurts your oh so politically correct feelings, Illegal Immigrants are breaking the law. By simply being here in the US, they are criminals. They are not Undocumented Workers and they aren't, for the most part, Refugees. They are Illegal Aliens. No amount of fancy rhetoric or verbal rumba will change that.

So there you go. Yell at me, call me insensitive or a racist, but the truth is the truth.

Showing some respect to teachers.

When did being a teacher become a bad thing? When did teachers become one of the "privileged?" The Union debates going on in Wisconsin has turned into some sort of mental fungus that is rapidly spreading across the nation. People making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year are pointing to teachers as the source of all the budgetary woes befalling the nation. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who makes $137,097.00 a year is accusing teachers and unions of ruining his state with their salaries and other benefits. He is being backed by two BILLIONAIRE brothers who would like nothing better than to see salaries of $70,000 a year cut in half and all the teachers benefits taken away.

Now, just for a moment, lets take a look at the sheer stupidness of all of this. We have a man who makes twice as much and you can bet has way more benefits than these hard working people teaming up with men whose anti-union/anti-middle class attitude is well known by anyone who can read. This should have sent up red flags across the board. The Press should have been crying foul. The common person across the nation should have been shouting from the rooftops against this injustice. Has that happened? No.

Instead, we are bombarded with press reports calling the teachers "elitists", "privileged", and "uncaring." We hear people from the Senate on down talk about how teachers make to much money and their benefits are too high. And even worse, for the most part, the American people seem to be buying this load of Horse Kark. Instead of standing by these people who help educate our children, we rail against them while dancing on the end of the strings being pulled by the Haves of the nation.

Now God knows I am no financial whizz. I can do basic math up to long division, but could never balance my own check book. Thats one of the reasons I married an accountant. I can't speak for how great the benefits received by our teachers are today. (When I was teaching they sucked, but that was a long time ago.) However, I can do math, so lets take a look at the "massive salary" most teachers receive every year and how far that goes.

Most news reports I have seen quote the average teacher salary in Wisconsin at about $70,000 a year. Now I am guessing that is gross not take home, but let's run with that figure for now.

+$70,000.00 Take Home Salary
-$12,000.00 House Note
- $6,000.00 Car Note
- $4,800.00 Utilities
- $2,400.00 Food
- $2,400.00 Gas
- $4,800.00 Clothes
- $3,600.00 Credit Cards/Loans
- $6,000.00 Misc.
Total remaining from net= $28,000.00

Hm, seems like a lot doesn't it, but not really. First of all, those figures are way low end estimates based off a single person living by themselves whose spending and expenses are on the lower end of average for an American. Most of the expenses I listed are probably closer to half again as much for most Americans.

Now If you add in say two kids that just adds even more massive expenses to the pot. School fees, uniform fees, clothes, shoes, computers, more food than is really decent since kids eat like horses. Kids are expensive and a lot of people have them.

Add to all of that, God help you if you have to replace a water heater or get the plumbing fixed. Once had to shell out $3000. to get a drainage pipe fixed and recently payed $1.400. to get my truck fixed. When you add all of these things in, $70,000. (which is not net pay) doesn't seem like a lot of money.

I am fond of pointing out that my Daddy and Momma never made a lot of money but somehow managed to raise three kids and keep us fed and clothed. So it is possible to survive on smaller salaries. Course I am also quick to point out that we never lived in a house with central heat and air and our clothes were generally hand me downs from the next one up. (Ever had to wear one of your sister's shirts to school and you are a guy?)

These teachers who work hard to educate and guide our kids can make do with less. Hell anyone can. But ask yourself this, would you want to? Would you want to be forced to not give your family what it needs just to survive because people who make a hell of a lot more money than you order it? I doubt it because I know I wouldn't.

So get off the hate band wagon, folks. Fight for these people not against them. "There but for the Grace of God go I" is a quote that should stick in your minds because your profession might be next.

Dangerous radicals or What Would Jesus Do?

A friend of mine just shared an article that showed one man's view on why Evangelicals hate Jesus, then posted his own excellent blog on the subject and the whole thing got me thinking about religions and radicals. With all the chatter that is going on these days about the "Ground Zero" Mosque (Which isn't at Ground Zero) and whether or not Muslims are "being cooperative enough with law enforcement agencies." (Funny I remember reading similar musings written during the McCarthy Era disasters.), Radical Movements and such are an hot subject for everyone that can type and post.

So like I said before my mind started wandering, it got me to thinking about one of the most famous radicals in all of history. A man with teachings went against the accepted norm and whose actions continuously angered both the officials of his own people those of the occupying nation. A man who, when they finally couldn't deal with his insurrection any more, was put on trial before a Kangaroo court (Wait no Kangaroos there, ummm Lizard court?) and executed for his "crimes." I am, of course, Speaking of Jesus of Nazareth.

Now before I go any further, let me try and attract as many people as possible so I can peeve off a greater number. Whether you believe that Jesus was the Son of God, sent to Earth to help us see the right path to Heaven (which I do) or simply that he was a nice guy who tried to teach us to just be a little nicer to each other, it is pretty much a certainty that this man did live and die. I leave whether or not he did all the things that the Bible says he did up to wiser minds (Any of those out there), to me the fact that he existed and taught is all the proof I need.

Okay now that I have a hold of Christians and Non-Christians, lets get on with the message which is simple and eloquent. Jesus and his followers were a bunch of Radical Freedom "Fighters" who struck so much fear into the hearts and minds of the period's leaders that they had to shut him up before he did any more damage. His radical teachings took, as most really good ones do, all the teachings of his fore fathers and pushed them in an entirely new direction. Hells, if he was alive today he would probably be labeled a "dangerous terrorist" and have a price on his head.

Have I offended anyone yet? Well, I'll keep going to make sure. Everyone has this image in their head of Jesus as the kind and gentle shepherd that tended the souls of man and taught us the way of peace. This image is accurate but it doesn't go nearly far enough. Jesus also had no problem raising heck whenever necessary as is shown when he cleanses the Temple of Money lenders and such. He understood that sometimes you had to make a little noise to be heard.

In the end, Jesus' "radical" ways were mostly of the peaceful kind. He wanted to fix the "system" not destroy it. Sometimes I wonder if, since when he walked the Earth he walked it as a man, He had any idea the incredible changes his simple teachings would cause.

People are always pointing out all of the negative things that have come about through humans' interpretations of his teachings. The Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition are just two of the hundreds I could quote. The various "versions" of his teachings that have come about because of the translation and retranslation of the Bible, have given groups lots of leeway over the centuries. Heck, even the time of his birth was conveniently moved several months by man to attract more followers to the fold.

Jesus never wanted us to be complacent. He wanted us to stand up for our faith and our fellows. Being "Meek" does not mean being a door mat so if something calls for a little "radical" action then step up. At the same time remember that Jesus always tried to respect the ways and attitudes of those around him so try to show tolerance to those who's beliefs might be different from yours. "Judge not lest ye be judged" is still a truism today as it was so long ago.

it's just my opinion folks, take it or leave it

I got an email from someone today who asked me (In so many words) where I got off "forcing" my beliefs and attitudes on other people. Now I will admit that this person severely confuzzled me. I really don't see how posting anything on a site where people have to actively search for and then actually read all the way through can be seen as forcing someone. Just for the sheer sake of argument and to give me something to write about, let's ignore the confusion and plunge straight ahead. It's more fun that way.
Before cable TV and 24 hour "news" programs that started giving us people like Beck and Hannity, if a madman hopped up on his soapbox in the middle of a park or sidewalk, the few people that saw him tended to ignore him. These folks tended to be grungy and a little ripe. The person espousing his views couldn't "force" his opinions on anyone. Hells if Glenn Beck had started his diatribes in 1810, no one would have looked twice at him.
These days, places like Faux News and all the others of it's ilk give "commentators" a soapbox seen by millions of people around the world and gives their comments and attitudes a sense of gravity because of the location. People become convinced that if they see it on one of these news channels, then it has to be news. Never mind that shows like Beck's aren't news, they are simply one man's beliefs and attitudes.
So with the dozens of cable newshows with segments like that on them and dozens more available from the web, I fail to see how my column which I freely admit is just my opinion. (Well researched and decently written but still just my opinion) I don't pretend to utter pronouncements from the Gods like the Oracle of Delphi, nor do I claim to have all the answers. These words and all the other non-fiction I write are simply me putting my thoughts out there to hopefully make someone go Hmmm.
What it boils down to is this. If you don't like what I write, don't read it. Hell, if you really don't like what I write put down your own words to dispute me. In the end (pun intended) opinions and it doesn't matter where they come from are like the old saying involving opinions and anuses. Right or wrong, everyone has one.

Where does your freedom end and mine begin?

By now pretty much anyone who listens to, watches or reads the news knows what the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan is and what it's members are doing. Outrage over their picketing of Military and other funerals with horrendously offensive signs has been plastered pretty much everywhere. Most people feel, and rightfully so in my opinion, that these people should be dragged somewhere and put out of our misery.
The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision has ruled that the WBC is within their rights and protected under the 1st Amendment while they picket. They argued that the grief and pain caused by these micro-minded morons is simply a side effect of their freedom of speech. And the very disturbing thing about this ruling is that I agree with it.
Before I go any further, let me assure you that I feel what the WBC is doing is MORALLY wrong. They take the teachings of the Bible and pervert it into something hateful. "Judge you not, lest ye be judged" and my personal favorite about Sin and Stones is completely ignored by these hate mongers as they wave their signs in front of processions and outside of funerals. I personally feel that "Hanging is too good for them...They oughta be cut into little bitty pieces and buried alive." (Special Hoorah to the person that can tell me where that quote is from.)
That said, we aren't talking about morals here. The government cannot and should not produce laws and rulings that dictate morality. We are talking about individual freedoms given to every citizen of this great country no matter their beliefs. We are talking about Laws that protect everyone not just a chosen few and the WBC is well within their rights and the laws doing what they are doing.
A wise man once said, "No one follows the laws of the land more than those that wish to abuse them." WBC members never break the law at these demonstrations. You can bet that they will always be the prescribed distance away, standing on public property and following the letter of the law exactly while they brandish their hate on a stick. You can bet that if you check, you will find that all of their permits and permissions are signed, notarized and filed in triplicate. You can bet your last round of ammunition that whatever they needed to do to legally do what they are doing has been done.
Everyone has the right to exercise their First Amendment rights no matter how offensive someone else finds it. No one has the right to say, "Well I don't like what you are saying, so you can't say it." If we start doing that even with these idiots, then it is a very steep and slippery slope downwards from there.
Our country, despite all of its faults, is still the greatest country in the world with more freedom than most other nations dream of. However, these freedoms and rights have to apply to everyone no matter what or they are meaningless. If you find what the WBC is doing and believe me I do, organize your own groups and travel to where they are picketing and wave signs in their faces. Show your support to the families insulted by these people with letters and blogs. Make your protests as legal as theirs, but do everything you can to peeve them off.
In the end, it all boils down to freedom and the law. Until the WBC breaks the law, they have the freedom to say what they believe. It is offensive and stupid, but it is their right. We don't have to like it or respect them, but we do have to accept that.