Isaiah 60
His house.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Guns.
I find it necessary to chime in on this whole gun debate after the tragedy at Sandy Hook last month, and the ensuing rush to opportunistically enact gun controls in American society.
Everyone (mainly, but not exclusively the left) jumped all over Wayne LaPierre of the NRA for even suggesting that schools have armed guards on duty throughout the country, but the thing that I find most interesting is the blatant hypocrisy coming out of Washington D.C.
David Gregory, moderator of Meet the Press, however, conveniently failed to mention that he sends his children to a school staffed with 11 security guards, all presumably armed, in the nation's capitol. The President's children also attend the school, so there is a Secret Service presence at the school as well. So why did Gregory mock LaPierre's suggestion? Are his children, Hollywood's children, or anyone else's children more precious than yours? Why should there be a double standard?
Another hypocritical thing is Jamie Foxx (I love you, man. But I gotta go there.) popping up in the ad after starring as a bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino's new film "Django Unchained." If he feels so strongly about the subject, he would forfeit all of his proceeds from the film to a charity of his choice, such as to rehabilitation for victims of gun violence, or to supporting victim's families of gun violence. I don't think it's going to happen.
People want to blame violent television shows and movies.
People want to blame violent video games.
Maybe a "culture of violence" does exist to some extent, but I do not believe that is the culprit.
Rome had gladiators, and children didn't go around hacking each other to pieces or thrusting spears through each other for sport before committing suicide.
In many ways, society as a whole is just depraved, evil, and perverted, and this is the ultimate copycat crime for some sick, twisted reason with 24 hour news networks and internet news sites who are willing to give these people the infamy they desire after going down in a suicidal and homicidal hail of gunfire.
I do not blame guns any more than I blame cars for drunk driving accidents.
Another major issue, unfortunately (even still, in 2013) is the stigma, ostracization, and ignorance surrounding mental illness. Even still, television shows and movies portray people with mental illnesses as something less than human, and unnecessarily often something to be feared. Veterans returning home after enduring and witnessing some jarring things during long deployments in the field with PTSD? They're "unstable ticking time bombs." Name-calling, stigmatization, and cashing in on trite stereotypes to sell tickets to cheesy movies isn't going to help. Paying attention to mental health services and encouraging our friends and loved ones to seek help will.Things like Schizophrenia, PTSD, or Bipolar Disorder are not contagious, nor will you catch them from someone else sneezing on you, or from sharing the same glass as someone else.
The list of injustices is long and unacceptable in this, the supposed Information Era.
Where is all the information?
There is no other explanation.
People's spirits are sick, and as a result, society is dysfunctional.
It's happened before.
Malachi 4: 5-6
Everyone (mainly, but not exclusively the left) jumped all over Wayne LaPierre of the NRA for even suggesting that schools have armed guards on duty throughout the country, but the thing that I find most interesting is the blatant hypocrisy coming out of Washington D.C.
David Gregory, moderator of Meet the Press, however, conveniently failed to mention that he sends his children to a school staffed with 11 security guards, all presumably armed, in the nation's capitol. The President's children also attend the school, so there is a Secret Service presence at the school as well. So why did Gregory mock LaPierre's suggestion? Are his children, Hollywood's children, or anyone else's children more precious than yours? Why should there be a double standard?
Another hypocritical thing is Jamie Foxx (I love you, man. But I gotta go there.) popping up in the ad after starring as a bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino's new film "Django Unchained." If he feels so strongly about the subject, he would forfeit all of his proceeds from the film to a charity of his choice, such as to rehabilitation for victims of gun violence, or to supporting victim's families of gun violence. I don't think it's going to happen.
People want to blame violent television shows and movies.
People want to blame violent video games.
Maybe a "culture of violence" does exist to some extent, but I do not believe that is the culprit.
Rome had gladiators, and children didn't go around hacking each other to pieces or thrusting spears through each other for sport before committing suicide.
In many ways, society as a whole is just depraved, evil, and perverted, and this is the ultimate copycat crime for some sick, twisted reason with 24 hour news networks and internet news sites who are willing to give these people the infamy they desire after going down in a suicidal and homicidal hail of gunfire.
I do not blame guns any more than I blame cars for drunk driving accidents.
Another major issue, unfortunately (even still, in 2013) is the stigma, ostracization, and ignorance surrounding mental illness. Even still, television shows and movies portray people with mental illnesses as something less than human, and unnecessarily often something to be feared. Veterans returning home after enduring and witnessing some jarring things during long deployments in the field with PTSD? They're "unstable ticking time bombs." Name-calling, stigmatization, and cashing in on trite stereotypes to sell tickets to cheesy movies isn't going to help. Paying attention to mental health services and encouraging our friends and loved ones to seek help will.Things like Schizophrenia, PTSD, or Bipolar Disorder are not contagious, nor will you catch them from someone else sneezing on you, or from sharing the same glass as someone else.
The list of injustices is long and unacceptable in this, the supposed Information Era.
Where is all the information?
There is no other explanation.
People's spirits are sick, and as a result, society is dysfunctional.
It's happened before.
Malachi 4: 5-6
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Scout Law
A Scout is:
Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
and
Reverent.
Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
and
Reverent.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Mind Warp.
Luke 19: 1-10
I just wanted to take a few moments to discuss something interesting.
(I am not advocating for the recreational use of MDMA. This is in reference to the medicinal, clinical use of the drug for treatment of serious psychological issues that are treatment-resistant to drugs that are in currently in use for the condition. Don't do drugs.)
The mind-warping effects of brainwashing through the media, PTSD, and Dementia.
When you pick up any newspaper, turn on just about any TV channel, or visit just about any website, and find yourself chained to myriad cases involving mentally ill people committing heinous homicides, molestations, mass murders, serial killings, rapes, and engaging in all sorts of deviant and violent behavior, it begins to have an effect on the psyche. Not just mine, but yours as well.
In the day program that I attend, we do an exercise called "Psychodrama," which is essentially role-playing.
At the end of the exercise, we use a grounding technique by stating our names and the current date, just so that no one walks out of the room confused as to who they are and what date it is.
It is a similar concept.
Not that I begin to believe that I am these persons, but I begin to internalize some of these labels attached to some of these individuals. Even though I have little to nothing in common with them.
"I guess I am weird."
"I guess I am jacked up."
Not "I am quirky," or "I am unique."
I am not the Batman shooter.
I am not Jared Loughner.
I am not the V-Tech shooter.
I am not the Elmo dude.
I am not Michael Jackson.
I have never done, nor will I ever be capable of doing the acts that these individuals are accused of, or have indeed committed.
It is just not who I am.
Period.
End of story.
In fact, under any actual scrutiny, the evidence points in the total opposite direction in all cases.
I do indeed suffer from Bipolar Disorder, Dementia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ADD, and Autism.
I may indeed get a little mixed up, triggered (internally, from my own speech or thoughts, or externally), or anxious from time to time, and I have made my mistakes, but I am not violent in any stretch of the imagination, and my intentions are pure.
Also, I am no longer a child.
The way the news coverage goes these days, it would appear that I have committed some heinous crime, or that I am the worst person on the face of the earth.
If you believe this, you have been successfully brainwashed.
There is nothing wrong with me except brain damage, trauma, and what you already know.
There is no "there" there.
Why all the rubbernecking over absolutely nothing?
Monday, November 19, 2012
Word Up.
1 Timothy 5:1-2
3 John
1 John 2:18-29
What crazies look like.
What David Petraeus Did Right.
Sometimes it is difficult to keep things in a proper perspective.
He was a great general but obviously a flawed man, and I wish his family the best.
Friday, November 2, 2012
The "Platform"
This is how I feel.
How do we jump-start the economy, create jobs, and just plain make things better for the average person?
Not much has changed.
Reforming the tax code is a big step. Hiking taxes on the wealthy isn’t going to do anything to create jobs. By eliminating most loopholes and deductions (making sure everyone pays their fair share, and replacing the mortgage interest deduction with the Remortgage America Plan), and having a flatter, fairer system in which there are lower marginal rates for everyone, and raises revenue in the process, there will be job growth. Especially when you put money into working people’s pockets like the Remortgage America Plan does. Pumping demand into the private economy will indeed create jobs with lower taxes. Corporate taxes need to come down by at least 10 percent, and preferably more. We need to mitigate the bleeding of our jobs going overseas.
Oil subsidies should be shifted over toward only the safe development of domestic natural gas resources.
What is the panic over climate change if not much time is left?
Our debt can be eliminated, banking can be fair, and our dollar can be strong with legislation like the Monetary Reform Act. We can even save at *around $250 billion dollars in interest payments annually on the debt that we currently shoulder. It would also help to see that wealth would be more evenly distributed throughout society, and less concentrated in the hands of wealthy financiers. No more quantitative easing, or printing money out of thin air to “prime the economy,” which does very little more than debase our currency and make the average man poorer. Some people actually make money off of this process. The amount of money in circulation should increase proportionately with the increase of the US population.
The better mousetrap has been around for almost two decades.
Why not take it out of the packaging?
The big banks need to be broken up, for the stability of the banking system, and Glass-Steagall (or an updated version) needs to be re-instated.
Derivatives need to be regulated, as Dodd-Frank attempted to tackle, but it made it more difficult for small banks to make loans.
I support an Infrastructure Bank, which would operate on a public/private partnership basis, to get work done on our crumbling infrastructure. Projects that need cheap long-term loans or loan guarantees to get off of the ground, but that would end up with dedicated revenue streams to severely defray the cost of the operations.
As far as college education is concerned, I’ll just say this:
If you want to be a History teacher, Psychologist, or Political Science major, there is no reason why difficulty with Algebra or advanced mathematics should hold you back from reaching that goal.
The purpose of college is to prepare you for your career after graduation.
Part of the reason college costs so much is because too often we are forced to buy courses that have absolutely no relevance to our chosen field of expertise.
Does anyone have a logical explanation for this?
One of my childhood friends has been saying it for years, and I will quote his words here.
“College is a scam.”
Or let me amend, “College is broken.”
The Citizens United case was devastating, and stated that people with money have more speech than people who don’t, and can even drown them out. Unlimited funds from anonymous donors will flood the airwaves with misleading and even false claims about candidates. In other words, if you have money, you can pretty much say whatever you want. The donors may even be from overseas. The influence of big money in our politics is developing into a monster. Sooner or later we are not going to have elections; we are going to have auctions. It’s a dire threat to our republic.
I changed my mind on abortion because I found it not to be scriptural, but even though I found that to be the case, that doesn't mean that my opinion backs a calling for an outright ban on the practice. There is a historical reason for this. The most effective way right now to decrease the number of abortions is to change hearts and minds on the topic with a powerful message. I feel it is just if a woman's life is in jeopardy, but I do not feel comfortable making the decision for someone else.
I also do not back a total stripping of funding for Planned Parenthood, but Mr. Romney and I disagree on this topic. (Clarification: Things like life-saving cancer screenings are different than free contraception. Contraception should be included in people's personal health plans, and not paid for by people who do not approve of their personal choices.)
I back a full and total repeal and replacement of President Obama's health care legislation.
I do not support an individual mandate in any shape, form, or fashion.
If I change my mind on a topic, there tends to be a good reason.
I back legislation mandating equal pay for women.
I encourage a spirit philanthropy and benevolence amongst the wealthy..
I believe Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are the best choice for the future of this country.
How do we jump-start the economy, create jobs, and just plain make things better for the average person?
Not much has changed.
Reforming the tax code is a big step. Hiking taxes on the wealthy isn’t going to do anything to create jobs. By eliminating most loopholes and deductions (making sure everyone pays their fair share, and replacing the mortgage interest deduction with the Remortgage America Plan), and having a flatter, fairer system in which there are lower marginal rates for everyone, and raises revenue in the process, there will be job growth. Especially when you put money into working people’s pockets like the Remortgage America Plan does. Pumping demand into the private economy will indeed create jobs with lower taxes. Corporate taxes need to come down by at least 10 percent, and preferably more. We need to mitigate the bleeding of our jobs going overseas.
Oil subsidies should be shifted over toward only the safe development of domestic natural gas resources.
What is the panic over climate change if not much time is left?
Our debt can be eliminated, banking can be fair, and our dollar can be strong with legislation like the Monetary Reform Act. We can even save at *around $250 billion dollars in interest payments annually on the debt that we currently shoulder. It would also help to see that wealth would be more evenly distributed throughout society, and less concentrated in the hands of wealthy financiers. No more quantitative easing, or printing money out of thin air to “prime the economy,” which does very little more than debase our currency and make the average man poorer. Some people actually make money off of this process. The amount of money in circulation should increase proportionately with the increase of the US population.
The better mousetrap has been around for almost two decades.
Why not take it out of the packaging?
The big banks need to be broken up, for the stability of the banking system, and Glass-Steagall (or an updated version) needs to be re-instated.
Derivatives need to be regulated, as Dodd-Frank attempted to tackle, but it made it more difficult for small banks to make loans.
I support an Infrastructure Bank, which would operate on a public/private partnership basis, to get work done on our crumbling infrastructure. Projects that need cheap long-term loans or loan guarantees to get off of the ground, but that would end up with dedicated revenue streams to severely defray the cost of the operations.
As far as college education is concerned, I’ll just say this:
If you want to be a History teacher, Psychologist, or Political Science major, there is no reason why difficulty with Algebra or advanced mathematics should hold you back from reaching that goal.
The purpose of college is to prepare you for your career after graduation.
Part of the reason college costs so much is because too often we are forced to buy courses that have absolutely no relevance to our chosen field of expertise.
Does anyone have a logical explanation for this?
One of my childhood friends has been saying it for years, and I will quote his words here.
“College is a scam.”
Or let me amend, “College is broken.”
The Citizens United case was devastating, and stated that people with money have more speech than people who don’t, and can even drown them out. Unlimited funds from anonymous donors will flood the airwaves with misleading and even false claims about candidates. In other words, if you have money, you can pretty much say whatever you want. The donors may even be from overseas. The influence of big money in our politics is developing into a monster. Sooner or later we are not going to have elections; we are going to have auctions. It’s a dire threat to our republic.
I changed my mind on abortion because I found it not to be scriptural, but even though I found that to be the case, that doesn't mean that my opinion backs a calling for an outright ban on the practice. There is a historical reason for this. The most effective way right now to decrease the number of abortions is to change hearts and minds on the topic with a powerful message. I feel it is just if a woman's life is in jeopardy, but I do not feel comfortable making the decision for someone else.
I also do not back a total stripping of funding for Planned Parenthood, but Mr. Romney and I disagree on this topic. (Clarification: Things like life-saving cancer screenings are different than free contraception. Contraception should be included in people's personal health plans, and not paid for by people who do not approve of their personal choices.)
I back a full and total repeal and replacement of President Obama's health care legislation.
I do not support an individual mandate in any shape, form, or fashion.
If I change my mind on a topic, there tends to be a good reason.
I back legislation mandating equal pay for women.
I encourage a spirit philanthropy and benevolence amongst the wealthy..
I believe Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are the best choice for the future of this country.
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