Raptor Pass

I’ve heard a bit about this act before. But today I read an article that talked about how the National Right to Life Committee and other Pro-Life groups are opposing it. That caught my interest since I consider abortion to be the worst cancer on our society, ever. It’s far worse than slavery. So I decided to do some research. Here is the summary of the bill from Open Congress.

4/29/2010–Introduced.Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act or DISCLOSE Act – Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit:
(1) independent expenditures and payments for electioneering communications by government contractors if the value of the contract is at least $50,000; and
(2) recipients of assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) from making any contribution to any political party, committee, or candidate for public office, or to any person for any political purpose or use, or from making any independent expenditure or disbursing any funds for an electioneering communication. Applies the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to foreign-controlled domestic corporations. Treats as contributions:
(1) any payments by any person (except a candidate, a candidate’s authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party) for coordinated communications; and
(2) political party communications made on behalf of candidates if made under the control or direction of a candidate or a candidate’s authorized committee. Revises the definition of independent expenditure to mean, in part, an expenditure that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy. Requires any person making independent expenditures exceeding $10,000 to file a report within 24 hours. Increases the period before a general election during which a communication shall be considered an electioneering communication. Requires corporations, labor organizations, and other covered organizations to include specified additional information in reports on independent expenditures of at least $10,000. Sets forth special rules for the use of general treasury funds by covered organizations for campaign-related activity. Authorizes covered organizations to make optional use of a separate Campaign-Related Activity Account for making disbursements for campaign-related activity. Prescribes additional information to be included in certain radio or television communications by persons (including significant funders of campaign-related communications of a covered organization) other than a candidate, a candidate’s authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registered lobbyists to report information on independent expenditures or electioneering communications of at least $1,000 to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Requires certain covered organizations to disclose to shareholders, members, or donors information on disbursements for campaign-related activity. Authorizes judicial review of the provisions of this Act.

Now, as with most law, it’s written in a way to is hard to understand. After all, if it wasn’t written that way, the lawyers that make up our political system would be out of a job… Anyway, here’s what I understand it means.

1. If you are a company not owned by the government, and you have a contract worth more than $50,000, then that contract will be canceled if you try to send out communications supporting a particular political candidate.
   I don’t get this, the money paid to them is not federal money anymore. So what they do with it is none of the Governments business.
2. If you got bailed out by TARP, you can’t comminucate about political stuff.
   Aren’t TARP funds loans? I get student loans from the Federal Government, does that mean I shouldn’t speak out about things?
3. The second two parts are a little confusing. I think they mainly apply to foreigners. If that’s not true, then it’s a clear violation of our freedom of speech.

If you look at the section below you see the stuff that bothers the NRLC:

Prescribes additional information to be included in certain radio or television communications by persons (including significant funders of campaign-related communications of a covered organization) other than a candidate, a candidate’s authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registered lobbyists to report information on independent expenditures or electioneering communications of at least $1,000 to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Requires certain covered organizations to disclose to shareholders, members, or donors information on disbursements for campaign-related activity.

Basically, if you spend a lot of money to support your favorite candidate by telling people why you like him, you have to report a bunch of information to a bunch of different people. Or you get in trouble. That puts a rather large damper on peoples desire to speak out about things, thus it’s just a tiny bit away from restricting free speech.

It also will force grassroots organizations to publish lists of who’s donated money to their political campaigns. In other words, they are forced to tell their opponents who supports them. Thus opening up their supporters to backlash from their opponents. And don’t think there wouldn’t be backlash. That’s what happened with Propisition 8.

What do you think? Have you heard anything about this that contradicts what I’ve said? I’d love to hear different perspectives. Especially the ones that oppose mine.

Watched all 27 Episodes
Finished watching 06-17-2010

Introduction
Good show! Epic is really the word for it. If you want ridiculous levels of power thrown around, ask for Gurren Lagann. It’s pretty incredible.

A summary of the first part of the show: Simon and Kamina are two boys who grew up in an underground village. Kamina believes that there is a surface above the caverns. The rest of the underground village don’t believe that. Everything changes when Simon digs up a strange little drill bit and a face. Then a giant monster face drops down from the surface. The subsequent fight eventually leads the two boys to the surface and fight for the freedom of humankind.

Pros
The characters. Nearly every character is well defined at the end. None of them are just cardboard cutouts. Some are obviously more developed than others, but even the supporting cast has depth. You don’t see many shows that can do that in only 27 half hour episodes.

The theme of the show is pretty much summed up by: believe in yourself, believe in others, and never, ever give up. There’s also a running theme of being your own person, and not letting others define who you are. All of which is very good for a show that doesn’t have God in it. Add a bit of God to the themes, and you’d have an awesome show.

The plot is pretty standard. Bad alien guys oppressing the good human guys, the good human guys have to overcome the bad alien guys without many resources. The execution of the plot is what sets this show apart. I’d give more details, but I can’t without spoiling it. Suffice to say, they took a rather generic plot and made it unique.

They also avoided the trap of having everyone happy in the end. They actually had main characters die. Most anime shows have everyone somehow survive the entire show. Except maybe one character so that they can have some angst. Gurren Lagann let people die with it helped the plot. And they didn’t do it for the angst.

Cons
This has a PG-13 level of violence. So, if that bugs you, don’t watch.

Some of the women walk around in bikini’s, all the time, as in it’s their daily wear. There are a few shots that make that clear.

There are some rather obvious double entendres. I won’t give details, because they are presented in a way that only people who get it would even notice them. And if you get it, you can ignore them rather easily.

One of the main characters is obviously gay. As is typical with Anime, it’s played for laughs. Nowadays, if you can watch PG-13 levels of violence, you should be able to deal with gay characters. Even if it’s annoying.

Other Stuff
I watched the show on Hulu with the English Dub. It’s the first Dub that I actually like a lot. The voices all fit the characters very well. I don’t see that often, even when I’m watching shows for the first time in English without having seen them with Subs.

Conclusion
One thing this show reminded me of as a Christian, is that we should never, ever give up, we should always seek God, and that when we are seeking God, nothing can stand against us. After all, when we seek God, it’s His power that backs us, and what can stand against God’s power?

A key feature of the show is that the characters go off into big hyperbolic speeches as they fight. Essentially they stand up and say. “Enough of this crap! This is who I am! This is why I fight! I am not going to lose!” Shouldn’t we as Christians say the same? “Enough of this sin! I am a child of God! I live in His power and I fight to save the world! I cannot lose!”

When I was done watching it, I felt energized. There’s something about how they show the characters overcoming the odds that gets to you. So, if you can deal with the cons, then it’s a show I highly recommend. It’s going onto my list of shows to buy.

So, everyone hates taxes, right? Personally, I don’t mind paying the Government what I owe them. As much as I dislike how things may be running right now, the Government still deserves my money for keeping me safe and keeping various things running smoothly.

That said, the current tax system needs to be junked. It’s a giant waste of money that only benefits rich people who can pay people to find the loopholes that let them pay fewer taxes. And it’s a pointless waste of time for those of us with such low incomes, that we don’t pay taxes, and don’t receive much for a refund.

I write this because I just finished filling out my taxes. It took me over an hour, and my situation is pretty darn simple. A single W-2 and a 1098-T. And it took me that long to tell the Feds that they owe me $41, and to tell Oregon that I don’t owe them a cent and they don’t owe me a cent. Plus I had to pay to efile it. Almost half of my Federal refund went to paying to file my state form. And to top it all off, there were a bunch of questions that I’m not sure I answered right. Heck, one way I answered them supposedly gave me $1000 extra. Now, I’m sure that was the wrong way, but still, I’m not 100% sure.

I shudder to think about what it will be like to file taxes when I finally start my own freelancing business.

So, I’m going to write my Congressmen and tell them my story, and this:

Taxes are way to complicated. The current system favors corrupt big businesses and tax preparers. Regular citizens like me are essentially punished for doing our duty and paying our taxes. Our time is wasted by hours of pouring over arcane forms, we miss deductions that could save us hundreds of dollars, and then we end up paying an expert to do it for us because we are afraid of breaking the law by accident. You need to eliminate the current system and replace it with something that everyone understands. This will save millions of dollars for our troubled economy by eliminating mistakes, loopholes, and wasted time. Those millions will then go on to generate more money for us, and more taxes for the Government.

I want it simple enough that I can fill out a single page, sign it, and send it. Then the form is processed, and I either get a refund, or a bill. It should only take me 5 minutes once I’ve gathered my information, even if I am a business.

BTW, if you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you better do it. Two more days… Oh, and TaxAct charges $18 to efile State forms, and TurboTax charges $31.

Update, day after this first posted, the Democrats decided not to be completely stupid. FoxNews story. So, there is still some hope for them.

So, I’ve tried to keep my posts relatively free of partisanship. I dislike all the Washington D.C. politicians, bar a few who actually have the guts to stand by their principles (though, Ron Paul and possibly Coburn are the only ones I know of.) Republican or Democrat, doesn’t really matter to me. What matters is what they do. And neither side has a very good track record as far as I can see. That said, right now, I would love to see the Democratic party die. Or at least see all the Democrats in Washington, (I optimistically believe that there are some Democrat politicians somewhere that actually have good ideas,) get kicked out, preferably of the country. Let me explain.

Our country was founded on the idea of divided powers. Basically, Congress, the President, and the Judaical Branch would balance each other out. Congress was designed to represent the will of the people via votes. In other words, each Congressman is supposed to vote the way his constituents would want him to. This is extremely important to the USA. The Revolution was partially started because the Colonies had to Congressmen in England’s government.

Now, look at the recent political maneuvers in Washington. President Obama has essentially ordered the Democrat party to pass their Health Reform bill no matter what. He has been aided by Pelosi and Reid. Now, they were able to get two different versions passed in both the Senate and the House. The normal procedure is to merge the two bills and vote on the merged bill. Then, if it passes, the President signs it.

Because of the differences between the House bill and the Senate bill, not to mention the public outcry against it, they can’t get enough votes in the House to pass the bill. Normally that would mean the bill would either die or go back to committee. But not with this Democratic Party’s leadership. Instead, they have come up with a way to twist the rules of Congress around so that the House doesn’t have to vote. Let me repeat, the House will not have to vote. Again, no vote.

Remember, the American Colonies rebelled partially because they had no vote. Dictators stay in power because their people can’t vote them out. The ability to vote is central to Freedom. Our Soldiers bleed and die so that you and I can vote. Heck they bleed and die so that citizens of other countries can vote. And yet this President and the other Democratic leaders are going to deny the American people their vote?!

This bears repeating, the leaders of the Democratic party are devising a method that allows them to circumvent having to vote on this bill. A bill that is so unpopular, that they can’t even twist enough of their own party members arms enough to get enough votes for it. So, instead of representing the will of the American people, they just bypass it.

This is totally and completely wrong! The Constitution is very clear on how bills become law. This bypass of the vote breaks the Constitution.

If this goes through, there are two possible end results. Number one is that the Republicans succeed in taking back the government from the Democrats to repeal Obamacare, and/or the Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional. Number two, is that Obamacare is accepted as law. That would mean that the Constitution is no longer the basis of the Government.

Let me repeat, again, if this bypass of the vote works and Obamacare becomes law, the Constitution will become meaningless. It already is pretty much only given lip service, but this would destroy it. The United States of America would no longer be the United States of America. We would no longer have a Government that represents the will of the people. It would simply be a bunch of people playing power games with our lives.

I have to mention that if this was how we were eliminating the evil of abortion, I would still oppose it. After all, if the Government is no longer legitimate, how can they stop abortion?

This is what the Democratic leadership wants to do. Is it any wonder I dislike them, and would like to see them leave the country? To be blunt, the average Joe Democrat should agree with me. We may disagree on many things, but they deserve just as much of a vote as I do. They should not let their votes be taken away by their own leaders.

In conclusion, if you do, or do not, support Obamacare, oppose this method of getting it passed. It would either mean that Obamacare would not stand as law for long, or the end of the USA as we know it.

One of the big reasons people choose to have abortion is that the baby is found to be disabled. Autism is one major example.

Look at the art on this page.

That’s what abortion kills.

So, I just had a wild idea after getting a prayer request email from my churches prayer chain.

The basic idea would be to set up a bug report software system and use it for prayer requests.

Basic use would be, you sign on, click add prayer request, fill out as many of the forms as you want, then it’s posted for people to see. After it’s posted, people can subscribe to it and get updates whenever you update it. And so on. The same kind of stuff that a bug report site has, just tweaked for prayer requests.

What do you think? Would you use it?

Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine

And a transcript here.

So, a friend on Facebook posted a note about this bill that would create federal gun control. That prompted me to do a quick write up on gun control.

Number one, gun control on the federal level is definitely unconstitutional.

Amendment 2 – Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Essentially, since it is necessary to keep our freedoms secure, there should be a ‘well regulated Militia’. In order for that Militia to exist, we have the right to bear arms. Gun control takes away, or infringes on, that right. How are we supposed to have an effective Militia to deter the Government from taking away our freedoms if we have to tell the Government about every single gun we own and can’t buy effective weapons? (Side note, people might think the National Guard fulfills this role, it doesn’t. If people actually started to form the kind of militia the founders imagined, they’d be called extremists.)

So, to put it bluntly, there are no limits on what kind of arms (read ‘weapons’) we can own. The founders imagined a militia that could effectively fight the Government if they had to. At least, that is the way I read it. We can’t do that if we can’t even own a handgun without the Government regulating it.

Another, far more immediate, reason that gun control is a really bad idea, is that it leaves you and me defenseless. Criminals are hardly going to follow the law, the best you can hope for is that it is harder for them to get guns. It certainly won’t be impossible. Whereas law-abiding citizens would be stuck without.

If a criminal invades your home, you can keep yourself and your family pretty safe if you have a gun. But if you don’t have one, then you are in far more danger. Even if the criminal is unarmed, they are likely much better than you at fighting. You need something to equalize the force, preferably something that stops them cold. Gun control would make it much harder for you to defend yourself and your family.

One reason many people support gun control is the number of children who accidentally shoot themselves or others. This is tragic, very tragic. But, it can be ameliorated by educating children on how to handle guns correctly. The way I would do it with kids of my own would be this: When they are under 7, or whatever age is best, show the kids the guns so they know what they look like, then tell them that they cannot touch them at all. Also keep the guns safely stowed where the kids are unlikely to get to them. At 7, or when they are ready, teach the kids how to handle guns safely. Basically, if kids grow up respecting guns, accidents are less likely, and kids are far less likely to use them wrong. Smart parenting.

So, that’s a quick overview of the subject. I’ll make sure to have more research in future posts, if I write more on this subject.

Edit 3-1-2010: Here is a blog post that links to some information about how crime rises as a result of gun bans and lowers when those bans are lifted.

So, a friend of mine recently came out of the closet, and has been trying to convince me that homosexuality is ok. I guess that is why he invited me to the International Day Against Homophobia. So I went to the event page and read the description. And was subsequently annoyed. Here’s what it said:

International Day Against Homophobia is all about raising awareness that being a homosexual is okay. And that being a homosexual doesn’t mean you’re unlike anyone else, that you should be accepted just as everyone else is. Homosexuality is not a sickness, and it’s not contagious: spread the word. Allow homosexuals to feel accepted, to be themselves as everyone else is. Help end homophobia.

also: its been decided that everyone whos attending should wear a plain black shirt, to silently protest the pain homophobes can cause.
and, if you can, write “gay rights are human rights” on your arm, iron it on your black shirt, make it a hat, a poster, etc.
if you have any questions post it on the board, id be happy to answer them.

and please, please, pleaseeee: if you dont agree with what this event stands for then simply dont attend, theres no need for hateful words or unkind actions on here.

So, if you have a rudementry understanding of grammar, you know that ‘phobia’ means something like ‘unreasoning fear of’. Thus, an international day against homophobia should be about stopping unreasonable fear of homosexuality. The people who beat up homosexuals because they are homosexual, the people who hate homosexuals, the people who actually think that homosexuals are dangerous, and other unreasonable fears. Dictionary.com’s definition agrees with this:

ho⋅mo⋅pho⋅bi⋅a
  /ˌhoʊməˈfoʊbiə/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hoh-muh-foh-bee-uh]
–noun
unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality.
Origin:
1955–60; homo(sexual) + -phobia

Related forms:
ho⋅mo⋅pho⋅bic, adjective

Thus, the event’s description is not accurate at all. It really is an event about all about affirming homosexuality. If it had been about teaching people not to be afraid of homosexuals, and not to be violent towards them, I would have had no problem with the event. I probably would not have attended, but it would have been out of disagreement with the reason for the event. As it is, I cannot affirm someones choice to do something that is bad for them.

This brings me to my main point. The homosexual community is misusing the word ‘homophobia’ and it’s dervitatives. And it does so nearly all the time. I have seen ‘homophobic’ used many times, and most of those times it’s used wrongly, generally as a label for anyone who does not accept the homosexual lifestyle. Using it that way is bad, both for the people called homophobic, and for the homosexual community in general.

Here is why. First, on my side of the issue, I don’t want to be called homophobic. If I am accused of that, then I am being called unreasonable and scared. I am obviously none of those things, I am still friends with my friend, thus, not scared. I have researched homosexuality to a certain extent and used reason to form my beliefs, so I am not unreasonable. But, in spite of all that, if I express my disagreement with the homosexual lifestyle, most people will label me as homophobic. Thus, I have a certain reluctance that I have to overcome in order to speak freely. Calling someone homophobic is a form of intimidation, and has no place in a civilized society.

Now, here are some of the reasons it is bad for the homosexual community to use the term. It is a stereotypical label. Just like saying someone is a ‘typical blonde’, or ‘he’s a ghetto kid.’ That kind of language is not something that should be used. Also, as I explained above, it is an intimidation tactic, whether they mean it that way or not. And then it is misused so often that most of the time people who use the term make themselves look unintelligent.

So, if you consider yourself a homosexual or someone who supports them, don’t use the term ‘homophobia’ or it’s derivatives. If you aren’t part of that group, be careful to make sure the term is being use correctly when you see it, and don’t let it intimidate you if want to speak against homosexuality.

So, I just finished reading this book. It’s second in Genesis of Shannara series that bridges Brooks’ Word and Void series with the Shannara world. It’s a tale of several groups of people trying to survive the new demon infested world that resulted from the Great Wars.

There are several things that struck me about this book and the one before it. First is how far Terry Brooks has come as an author. His first book, The Sword of Shannara, was mediocre and a rather blatant rip off of Lord of the Rings. He improved a lot with his next books, but the Genesis of Shannara blows them away as well. Apparently 30 years of experience helps.

Second is that these books do not fall into the same depressing traps that most post-apocalyptic stories do. Most of them have very little hope, just that the main characters will somehow survive. Most everyone else is out of luck, and it’s usually every man for himself. The Elves of Cintra doesn’t do that. Right and wrong, good and evil, are all very clearly defined. And the story is very focused on good versus evil. While good recently got it’s rear whipped, there is still a huge faith in something bigger than the characters. They don’t get their strength only from themselves, they have to have faith in the Word to keep going. That is very refreshing when most sci-fi/fantasy stories usually have the main character only getting strength from himself.

From a Christian standpoint, there are a lot of Christian principles in these stories. People get to choose good or evil. People have to live in faith. You do the right thing, even if it doesn’t help your survival. People take care of each other. Evil is evil, no excuses. And so on. It’s not a Christian story, but it’s about as close as you can get.

So, I highly recommend that you read this series if you like Fantasy. There are a lot of elements from the other books, but those elements are presented in a way that a new reader can enjoy the series without reading the many other books. The first book in the Genesis of Shannara is called Armageddon’s Chlidren, the third is called The Gypsy Morph which is what I am going to read next.