Balloon Boy's Parents Should Be Prosecuted for Making Their Children Lie for a Publicity Stunt
Yesterday afternoon, the nations attention was focused on a loose helium balloon in Colorado. A six year old boy was allegedly aboard this saucer shaped balloon that got loose and was streaking through the Colorado skies.
All major news stations had live coverage as cameras tracked the balloon and rescue teams were dispatched. When the balloon finally landed, sixty miles away in a farm field, there was no boy aboard. Hours later, the boy was found hiding in a box in the attic of his house.
Later that night, when questioned by Wolfe Blitzer of CNN, the Boy said that he was hiding in the attic "for a show". Later in the interview, the boy's father became very defensive and indignant when Wolfe Blitzer asked why his son said that we were doing this for a show. Here is a link to a related article with 2 embedded videos.
In today's upside down world, parents are proud to teach their children to lie for TV reality shows. Some may call it acting or posing, but those are euphemisms for deception.
This family was on TV reality show about wife swapping twice. The father also has produced films of dangerous storms, while "storm chasing" in his car with his young son.
Most TV reality shows promote the superficial false values of popularity (self promotion), thrill seeking, selfishness, fame, money, pleasure, sex and beauty.
IMHO, the parents of these children are guilty of child abuse because they are damaging the spirit and soul of their children by instilling false values in order to exploit them for their own selfish reasons.
This just in: The entire family appeared of 4 morning news shows including Good Morning America and the Today Show. These unbelievable videos show the boy getting sick in the middle of the interviews with his family. The host appears concerned about the young boy's health while his parents are more interested in the TV interview. The host then has to prompt the 6 year old's mother to pry herself away from the TV camera to take care of her child.
Amazingly, after that interview, the Family appeared on the Today show, where the young boy vomited again. Here is a link to an article with 2 more embedded videos.
Showing posts with label family values. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family values. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Character and Candidates
John Edwards is often touted as a brilliant trial lawyer. Hillary Clinton has been called the smartest woman in the world. I often hear Obama supporters touting his Harvard education and high level of intelligence as one of the main reasons for their support. While it is true that education and intelligence are desirable qualities, they only play a minor role in my voting decision. Intelligence is not, in and of itself, a virtue. Intelligence, knowledge, and education can be used for either good or evil. While education, knowledge, and intelligence can help a good man make more informed decisions, they can also be used by an evil man to carry out diabolical plans. What is most important to me is the character of a presidential candidate. Character is what separates good men from bad men, bad men from evil men, corrupt men from honest men, loyal men from traitorous men, selfless men from selfish men, faithful men from philanderers, humble men from conceited "show-offs", modesty from vanity, and ethical men from scoundrels.
Today's society places much emphasis on improving our bodies and our minds. Most people admire people of great intelligence, beauty, strength, and coordination. For the purpose of "full disclosure", I am compelled to admit that I have none of these characteristics, so I may be suffering from a case of "sour grapes". However, I believe that these physical and mental assets are nice, but in my mind, they are trivial when compared with good character. I do not admire talented singers, dancers, actors, athletes, Nobel laureates, engineers, doctors, scientists, philosophers, and intellectuals for those accomplishments in and of themselves. However, I am very impressed with a humble man who knows right from wrong and strives to improve his character and instill good character in his children. To do so without expecting reward, popularity, or recognition, shows the kind of character and humility that I greatly admire. Humility is a character asset. Our character is the essence of who we are. Character is a window into our soul. If you believe in an eternal soul like I do, our character, the essence of our soul, is the only thing that we will take with us when our spirit leaves this world upon our death. In the grand scheme of things, there is nothing more important than character.
Last week I read about an elite government microbiologist, Bruce E. Ivins, who committed suicide after an investigation implicated him in the 2001 anthrax terror attacks. Ivins apparently mailed anthrax laced envelopes, which threatened US senators and dozens of other innocent people with that deadly disease. Ivins received undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a doctorate in microbiology, from the University of Cincinnati. Ivins was a highly educated and intelligent scientist, but this did not stop him from carrying out an evil plan that led to the death of 5 people. It is believed that Ivins' altruistic motive for this horrific crime was to aid in the development of a vaccine against anthrax. Often diabolical crimes are carried out with an "ends justifies the means" altruistic motive. Ivins suffered from a defect in character that led him to perpetrate this horrific act, not a lack of education or intelligence.
In 1975 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , the president of Iran, took his entrance exams placing 132nd out of 400,000 at Iran University of Science and Technology. He earned an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and returned for his masters and earned a doctorate in traffic and transport engineering and planning. Despite these intellectual accomplishments, Ahmadinejad denies the Jewish holocaust in Germany, calls for the destruction of Israel, and seeks world domination through Islamic Jihad, in which he intends to kill or convert all non-Muslims. Ahmadinejad has twisted altruistic motives because he believes that this scenario will bring about everlasting world peace. Again, this "ends justifies the means" scenario is not compatible with our American cultural values based on Judeo-Christian ethics.
The Christian minister and civil rights leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, said: "Judge not by the color of one's skin, but by the content of one's character". Reverend King did not ask us us to judge people by their education, intelligence, looks, physical fitness, or other physical or mental characteristics. King directed us to judge people by the content of their character. Reverend King acknowledged the importance of judging of one's character.
These days, "judgment" seems to be a dirty word. We are told not to be judgmental, however, good judgment is essential to our health, happiness, prosperity, and safety. We all must use good judgment when choosing our friends, our spouse, our doctor, our pastor, our associates, and our president. We must use good judgment when purchasing a house, car, and investments to ensure that we do not get swindled. We rely on judgment to determine if we are safe and make the appropriate corrections to minimize our risks. Often we rely on generalizations and stereotypes to steer us away from danger or trouble. Generalizations and stereotypes are often true and a valuable tool in making judgments that we make every day. For example, we may not walk through a ghetto alone at three A.M. We may not purchase a major investment from a shabbily dressed person. We teach our children not to talk to strangers. We may not seek marriage counseling from a divorced counselor. We may not ask a convicted felon to "house sit" for us. We may not choose to date a known drug addict or alcoholic. We may not hire a known prostitute as our babysitter. In most cases, judging the character of the people that we deal with is more important than judging their intelligence and/or education. We all constantly make judgments based on people's personal appearance, past behavior, family background, criminal record, and other generalizations and stereotypes. Generalizations and stereotypes are often true because past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior and family background and associations has a great deal to do with our character.
Character assets, sometimes called spiritual principles, that I admire include: humility, self discipline, love, forgiveness, patience, faith in God, faithfulness to family, loyalty to country, friends, and associates, self-sacrifice, selflessness, honesty, and integrity. These spiritual principles are taken from the Judeo-Christian values that our American culture was founded upon. These are the principles that inspired our Declaration of Independence that is based on our self evident, inalienable rights granted to us by God, not government. These are the same principles that inspired civil rights leaders in the '60's to end segregation and pressure the government to pass civil rights legislation. These are the traits that I look for in friends, associates, and presidential candidates. Character is usually instilled in children by their parents, family, teachers, and spiritual leaders. Children who are born and raised by a loving mother and father and who have a strong faith in a loving God, are more likely to be instilled with good character.
Although Barack Obama is highly educated and intelligent, I believe that he lacks good values, character, and good judgment. Barack Obama is the product of an alcoholic polygamist father who abandoned his family when Barack was only two years old. Barack's mother left him to chase her dreams, traveling the world while Barack attended high school, leaving him with only his grandmother to look after him. Of course it is only a stereotype and generalization but children who are abandoned by their parents often have resentments which lead to lifelong psychological and spiritual problems. Knowing a person's family and upbringing is often helpful in judging that person's character. Obama's parents were both college educated. His mother was considered an intellectual and traveled the world as an anthropologist. His father left the family to study at Harvard and later on went back to Kenya where he died in an auto accident, when he was driving drunk. Both parents were highly educated, however, they both put their ambitions and pleasures ahead of their child. Although Barack Obama himself is highly intelligent and educated, did his spiritually vacuous parents leave him with a character deficit?
Also, Obama chose to join the Trinity Church in Chicago which is based on radical "Black Liberation Theology" . Black liberation theology is based on Marxism and Black Theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent God as being for oppressed blacks and thus against white oppressors. Obama was married in Trinity Church by Reverend Wright. He had his children baptized at Trinity and has attended Trinity with his wife and young children for sixteen years. Obama has called Reverend Wright of Trinity Church his friend and mentor. Reverend Wright is a highly educated man with two masters degrees and a doctorate degree. How can it be that Reverend Wright preaches that the US government purposely infected black Americans with the AIDS virus, that the US government plays a role in illicit drug use in the black ghettos, that the US is responsible for the 9/11 terror attack, and he preaches the words "God Damn America" from his pulpit at Trinity Church of Chicago? Could it be that this highly educated spiritual leader is himself suffering from moral and spiritual deficit?
Obama donated $25,000 to Trinity Church prior to his bid for the presidency. I think that Obama used Trinity Church and Reverend Wright to make political connections to further his political career. Obama has recently disowned Trinity Church and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright after Wright's racist and Anti-American statements from the pulpit became widely publicized. I think that Obama's longstanding relationship with Trinity Church and Reverend Wright reflects on his character and judgment. Obama's sudden disowning of his friend and mentor, Reverend Wright, who he had a twenty year relationship with, speaks for his lack of loyalty.
Another negative association of Barack Obama is the admitted domestic terrorist Bill Ayres. Bill Ayres is an anti-American radical who has admitted to bombing police stations and government offices. There were no casualties, only property damage in those attacks. He and his wife performed these terrorist acts as members of a radical group called the Weather Underground during the '60's and '70's as protests against the Vietnam War. They avoided conviction because their case was dismissed on the technicality of an improper search and the evidence was not allowed in court. As recently as 2001, Ayres has been recorded as saying that he had no remorse for his role in the bombings in the '60s' and 70's, he only regrets that he did not do more, because they were ineffective. Obama has recently admitted to being friendly with Bill Ayres. He said that their children went to school and played together. They spoke at several panels together. Also, William Ayres held fundraisers for Obama that helped launch his political career and Obama has been a guest in the Ayres' home. Ayers is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. Although Ayres is currently a respected professor at a prestigious Chicago university, clearly Bill Ayres is a man of high intelligence but low on character. Obama's association with him gives us a window into Obama's character.
Another shady associate of Obama is convicted racketeer Tony Rezko. Rezko has been recently convicted of giving cash and campaign contributions to several Illinois politicians in exchange for lucrative contracts for low income housing projects. Rezko contributed a quarter million dollars to Obama's political campaigns. Obama has since donated some of that money to charity, after Rezko was indicted. Rezko was also involved a in a real estate deal with Obama. Obama bought land adjacent to his newly purchased home from Rezko's wife, at three hundred thousand dollars below market value. Obama did nothing illegal, but he had to have known that Rezko would expect political favors in the future in exchange for the land deal and campaign contributions. This is exactly what Rezko got convicted of, getting lucrative housing contracts from politicians that he helped install in office with contributions, bribes, money laundering, and racketeering. Obama was selling his political soul to the devil by accepting contributions and favors from Tony Rezko. This too speaks to Obama's character and judgment.
In today's day and age, much value is placed on popularity, good looks, youth, education, wealth, diversity, and physical and mental talents. Also, I am seeing parents, schools, universities, the media, the arts, the medical community, and even churches endorsing a philosophy that says feelings, self esteem, fitting in, and being cool are paramount. Today's culture is teaching that any form of judgment and moral restraint is wrong, oppressive, and prejudicial. All forms of diversity are celebrated, especially if they are in conflict with traditional American values. On the other hand, little attention is payed to the universal spiritual principles that our great country was founded on, and that define us in the eyes of our Creator.
The separation of church and state is vital to our society. Just as we have a separation of powers within government (executive, judicial, and legislative), both government and our Judeo-Christian values are needed to keep one another in check. Judeo-Christian ethics, separated from and balanced by a secular government, is how our unique American culture is defined. The "Ten Commandments" are the root of our secular laws. Mitt Romney best describes this in his "Faith in America" speech.
All forms of diversity are not necessarily compatible with American culture. Islamic "Sharia law" is not compatible with American law due to its lack of women's' rights, punishment by amputation, lashing, and stoning. Sharia law also considers the act of homosexuality a capital crime. Atheistic values are also not necessarily compatible with our unique American culture. If atheism, Sharia law, and/or a hodgepodge of random spiritual beliefs become the majority, we will lose our unique American culture and the freedom, wealth, strength, and civil equality that it has brought to our nation.
Nearly one third of Muslim students in England believe it can be acceptable to kill in the name of religion, according to a survey published yesterday. It also found that 40 per cent want to see the introduction of Islamic Sharia law in Britain, 40 per cent think it wrong for Muslim men and women to mix freely together, and 33 per cent want to see a worldwide Islamic government based on Sharia law. Clearly this culture is not compatible with western culture. If this trend continues to grow, western culture in Britain will be threatened as a result of encouraging this form of diversity.
If we are to survive as a free, wealthy, and strong nation, we must return to the the principles that our nation was founded on. These values are what keeps our people free, prosperous, and strong. If our individual and collective character decays, we will become apathetic about choosing men of character to lead us. In fact, we will choose leaders based on how cool and popular they appear. If this happens, it will lead to deceit, manipulation, corruption, anarchy, and decay of the once great American democratic republic. Freedom without moral restraint is unsustainable and will lead to anarchy. Sanctuary cities and selective enforcement of immigration laws are glaring examples of the beginning of anarchy in America. When anarchy becomes widespread, it will lead to widespread violence and poverty. In an effort to squelch the violence and poverty that anarchy breeds, a totalitarian government may rise to power. Character and spiritual principles must trump education and intelligence when choosing our leaders if we are to preserve our unique American culture and survive as a great, free, and prosperous nation.
Today's society places much emphasis on improving our bodies and our minds. Most people admire people of great intelligence, beauty, strength, and coordination. For the purpose of "full disclosure", I am compelled to admit that I have none of these characteristics, so I may be suffering from a case of "sour grapes". However, I believe that these physical and mental assets are nice, but in my mind, they are trivial when compared with good character. I do not admire talented singers, dancers, actors, athletes, Nobel laureates, engineers, doctors, scientists, philosophers, and intellectuals for those accomplishments in and of themselves. However, I am very impressed with a humble man who knows right from wrong and strives to improve his character and instill good character in his children. To do so without expecting reward, popularity, or recognition, shows the kind of character and humility that I greatly admire. Humility is a character asset. Our character is the essence of who we are. Character is a window into our soul. If you believe in an eternal soul like I do, our character, the essence of our soul, is the only thing that we will take with us when our spirit leaves this world upon our death. In the grand scheme of things, there is nothing more important than character.
Last week I read about an elite government microbiologist, Bruce E. Ivins, who committed suicide after an investigation implicated him in the 2001 anthrax terror attacks. Ivins apparently mailed anthrax laced envelopes, which threatened US senators and dozens of other innocent people with that deadly disease. Ivins received undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a doctorate in microbiology, from the University of Cincinnati. Ivins was a highly educated and intelligent scientist, but this did not stop him from carrying out an evil plan that led to the death of 5 people. It is believed that Ivins' altruistic motive for this horrific crime was to aid in the development of a vaccine against anthrax. Often diabolical crimes are carried out with an "ends justifies the means" altruistic motive. Ivins suffered from a defect in character that led him to perpetrate this horrific act, not a lack of education or intelligence.
In 1975 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , the president of Iran, took his entrance exams placing 132nd out of 400,000 at Iran University of Science and Technology. He earned an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and returned for his masters and earned a doctorate in traffic and transport engineering and planning. Despite these intellectual accomplishments, Ahmadinejad denies the Jewish holocaust in Germany, calls for the destruction of Israel, and seeks world domination through Islamic Jihad, in which he intends to kill or convert all non-Muslims. Ahmadinejad has twisted altruistic motives because he believes that this scenario will bring about everlasting world peace. Again, this "ends justifies the means" scenario is not compatible with our American cultural values based on Judeo-Christian ethics.
The Christian minister and civil rights leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, said: "Judge not by the color of one's skin, but by the content of one's character". Reverend King did not ask us us to judge people by their education, intelligence, looks, physical fitness, or other physical or mental characteristics. King directed us to judge people by the content of their character. Reverend King acknowledged the importance of judging of one's character.
These days, "judgment" seems to be a dirty word. We are told not to be judgmental, however, good judgment is essential to our health, happiness, prosperity, and safety. We all must use good judgment when choosing our friends, our spouse, our doctor, our pastor, our associates, and our president. We must use good judgment when purchasing a house, car, and investments to ensure that we do not get swindled. We rely on judgment to determine if we are safe and make the appropriate corrections to minimize our risks. Often we rely on generalizations and stereotypes to steer us away from danger or trouble. Generalizations and stereotypes are often true and a valuable tool in making judgments that we make every day. For example, we may not walk through a ghetto alone at three A.M. We may not purchase a major investment from a shabbily dressed person. We teach our children not to talk to strangers. We may not seek marriage counseling from a divorced counselor. We may not ask a convicted felon to "house sit" for us. We may not choose to date a known drug addict or alcoholic. We may not hire a known prostitute as our babysitter. In most cases, judging the character of the people that we deal with is more important than judging their intelligence and/or education. We all constantly make judgments based on people's personal appearance, past behavior, family background, criminal record, and other generalizations and stereotypes. Generalizations and stereotypes are often true because past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior and family background and associations has a great deal to do with our character.
Character assets, sometimes called spiritual principles, that I admire include: humility, self discipline, love, forgiveness, patience, faith in God, faithfulness to family, loyalty to country, friends, and associates, self-sacrifice, selflessness, honesty, and integrity. These spiritual principles are taken from the Judeo-Christian values that our American culture was founded upon. These are the principles that inspired our Declaration of Independence that is based on our self evident, inalienable rights granted to us by God, not government. These are the same principles that inspired civil rights leaders in the '60's to end segregation and pressure the government to pass civil rights legislation. These are the traits that I look for in friends, associates, and presidential candidates. Character is usually instilled in children by their parents, family, teachers, and spiritual leaders. Children who are born and raised by a loving mother and father and who have a strong faith in a loving God, are more likely to be instilled with good character.
Although Barack Obama is highly educated and intelligent, I believe that he lacks good values, character, and good judgment. Barack Obama is the product of an alcoholic polygamist father who abandoned his family when Barack was only two years old. Barack's mother left him to chase her dreams, traveling the world while Barack attended high school, leaving him with only his grandmother to look after him. Of course it is only a stereotype and generalization but children who are abandoned by their parents often have resentments which lead to lifelong psychological and spiritual problems. Knowing a person's family and upbringing is often helpful in judging that person's character. Obama's parents were both college educated. His mother was considered an intellectual and traveled the world as an anthropologist. His father left the family to study at Harvard and later on went back to Kenya where he died in an auto accident, when he was driving drunk. Both parents were highly educated, however, they both put their ambitions and pleasures ahead of their child. Although Barack Obama himself is highly intelligent and educated, did his spiritually vacuous parents leave him with a character deficit?
Also, Obama chose to join the Trinity Church in Chicago which is based on radical "Black Liberation Theology" . Black liberation theology is based on Marxism and Black Theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent God as being for oppressed blacks and thus against white oppressors. Obama was married in Trinity Church by Reverend Wright. He had his children baptized at Trinity and has attended Trinity with his wife and young children for sixteen years. Obama has called Reverend Wright of Trinity Church his friend and mentor. Reverend Wright is a highly educated man with two masters degrees and a doctorate degree. How can it be that Reverend Wright preaches that the US government purposely infected black Americans with the AIDS virus, that the US government plays a role in illicit drug use in the black ghettos, that the US is responsible for the 9/11 terror attack, and he preaches the words "God Damn America" from his pulpit at Trinity Church of Chicago? Could it be that this highly educated spiritual leader is himself suffering from moral and spiritual deficit?
Obama donated $25,000 to Trinity Church prior to his bid for the presidency. I think that Obama used Trinity Church and Reverend Wright to make political connections to further his political career. Obama has recently disowned Trinity Church and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright after Wright's racist and Anti-American statements from the pulpit became widely publicized. I think that Obama's longstanding relationship with Trinity Church and Reverend Wright reflects on his character and judgment. Obama's sudden disowning of his friend and mentor, Reverend Wright, who he had a twenty year relationship with, speaks for his lack of loyalty.
Another negative association of Barack Obama is the admitted domestic terrorist Bill Ayres. Bill Ayres is an anti-American radical who has admitted to bombing police stations and government offices. There were no casualties, only property damage in those attacks. He and his wife performed these terrorist acts as members of a radical group called the Weather Underground during the '60's and '70's as protests against the Vietnam War. They avoided conviction because their case was dismissed on the technicality of an improper search and the evidence was not allowed in court. As recently as 2001, Ayres has been recorded as saying that he had no remorse for his role in the bombings in the '60s' and 70's, he only regrets that he did not do more, because they were ineffective. Obama has recently admitted to being friendly with Bill Ayres. He said that their children went to school and played together. They spoke at several panels together. Also, William Ayres held fundraisers for Obama that helped launch his political career and Obama has been a guest in the Ayres' home. Ayers is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. Although Ayres is currently a respected professor at a prestigious Chicago university, clearly Bill Ayres is a man of high intelligence but low on character. Obama's association with him gives us a window into Obama's character.
Another shady associate of Obama is convicted racketeer Tony Rezko. Rezko has been recently convicted of giving cash and campaign contributions to several Illinois politicians in exchange for lucrative contracts for low income housing projects. Rezko contributed a quarter million dollars to Obama's political campaigns. Obama has since donated some of that money to charity, after Rezko was indicted. Rezko was also involved a in a real estate deal with Obama. Obama bought land adjacent to his newly purchased home from Rezko's wife, at three hundred thousand dollars below market value. Obama did nothing illegal, but he had to have known that Rezko would expect political favors in the future in exchange for the land deal and campaign contributions. This is exactly what Rezko got convicted of, getting lucrative housing contracts from politicians that he helped install in office with contributions, bribes, money laundering, and racketeering. Obama was selling his political soul to the devil by accepting contributions and favors from Tony Rezko. This too speaks to Obama's character and judgment.
In today's day and age, much value is placed on popularity, good looks, youth, education, wealth, diversity, and physical and mental talents. Also, I am seeing parents, schools, universities, the media, the arts, the medical community, and even churches endorsing a philosophy that says feelings, self esteem, fitting in, and being cool are paramount. Today's culture is teaching that any form of judgment and moral restraint is wrong, oppressive, and prejudicial. All forms of diversity are celebrated, especially if they are in conflict with traditional American values. On the other hand, little attention is payed to the universal spiritual principles that our great country was founded on, and that define us in the eyes of our Creator.
The separation of church and state is vital to our society. Just as we have a separation of powers within government (executive, judicial, and legislative), both government and our Judeo-Christian values are needed to keep one another in check. Judeo-Christian ethics, separated from and balanced by a secular government, is how our unique American culture is defined. The "Ten Commandments" are the root of our secular laws. Mitt Romney best describes this in his "Faith in America" speech.
All forms of diversity are not necessarily compatible with American culture. Islamic "Sharia law" is not compatible with American law due to its lack of women's' rights, punishment by amputation, lashing, and stoning. Sharia law also considers the act of homosexuality a capital crime. Atheistic values are also not necessarily compatible with our unique American culture. If atheism, Sharia law, and/or a hodgepodge of random spiritual beliefs become the majority, we will lose our unique American culture and the freedom, wealth, strength, and civil equality that it has brought to our nation.
Nearly one third of Muslim students in England believe it can be acceptable to kill in the name of religion, according to a survey published yesterday. It also found that 40 per cent want to see the introduction of Islamic Sharia law in Britain, 40 per cent think it wrong for Muslim men and women to mix freely together, and 33 per cent want to see a worldwide Islamic government based on Sharia law. Clearly this culture is not compatible with western culture. If this trend continues to grow, western culture in Britain will be threatened as a result of encouraging this form of diversity.
If we are to survive as a free, wealthy, and strong nation, we must return to the the principles that our nation was founded on. These values are what keeps our people free, prosperous, and strong. If our individual and collective character decays, we will become apathetic about choosing men of character to lead us. In fact, we will choose leaders based on how cool and popular they appear. If this happens, it will lead to deceit, manipulation, corruption, anarchy, and decay of the once great American democratic republic. Freedom without moral restraint is unsustainable and will lead to anarchy. Sanctuary cities and selective enforcement of immigration laws are glaring examples of the beginning of anarchy in America. When anarchy becomes widespread, it will lead to widespread violence and poverty. In an effort to squelch the violence and poverty that anarchy breeds, a totalitarian government may rise to power. Character and spiritual principles must trump education and intelligence when choosing our leaders if we are to preserve our unique American culture and survive as a great, free, and prosperous nation.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Why Are Our Politicians Leading Us To Hell-in-a-Hand-basket?
Why are our politicians unresponsive to the public? How come they are constantly trying to convince us that they will solve the same old problems that they themselves have caused? Does it seem like this country is headed in the wrong direction? Why is this happening and what can we do? The answer is that our lawmakers are not being held accountable by the public. Today's culture considers it wrong to be judgemental if no laws are broken. America has lost its moral compass. The people who write the laws are experts at using the law to their advantage, especially if they are not held morally accountable.
Our politicians have found new ways to become corrupt while still working within the constraints of the law. For example, an alarming number of congressmen have family members who work for companies that benefit from legislation before their relative in Congress. For example, Congressman Murtha has a brother who sits on the board of directors for 10 different defense contractors. Congressman Murtha is the chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, and authorizes defense contracts that benefit his brothers firms. Murtha is one of the most outspoken anti-war congressmen in the Congress. This is the perfect cover for him to hide behind while he funnels hundreds of millions of dollars towards his brothers businesses that produce the machinery and weapons of war.
Also, as many as ten percent (some sources claim 25%) of congressmen have a family members being paid as a lobbyist by a company or country that benefits by pending legislation before congress. Congresswoman Barbara Boxer's husband's business, that involves trade with China, is booming. She is among the wealthiest people in the congress due to her husband's business dealings and favorable trade policies that the congress has approved with China.
Another legal form of corruption that high government officials engage in, is working as lobbyists themselves after leaving government office. Former secretary of state, Madeline Albright, now works as a registered foreign agent, as a lobbyist for the United Arab Emeritus. President Clinton has been hired to give speeches for the UAE. He was payed fees of over a million dollars per speech by the UAE. Are Clinton's words actually worth that much or is the UAE actually buying his influence?
Another outrageous congressman is William Jefferson. Congressman Jefferson was the target of a two year investigation which culminated when investigators found 90,000 in cash in the congressman's home freezer. The congressman was charged last year with racketeering, soliciting bribes for himself and his family, fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. His brother and sister were also indicted on related charges. The congressman is fighting the case, claiming that he was set up, and that the subsequent search of his congressional office was illegal. Congressman Jefferson has remained in office for nearly two years since he was in indicted on these charges and is planning to run for re-election in November. Congressman Jefferson has used technicalities in the law to have evidence suppressed, and has a good chance of beating his case legally. In my wildest imagination, I can not come up with a rational explanation for Jefferson to have 90,000 dollars hidden in his home freezer. Especially since two men have already been convicted of bribing the Congressman.
Why is this man still in office? How can this man run for re-election. The sad truth is that he will probably win the election and hold on to his congressional seat in November because of a practice called gerrymandering and public apathy. Gerrymandering is the practice of mapping out congressional districts so that they are either predominantly democratic or predominantly republican. This practice usually insures that an incumbent candidate wins in congressional elections. Both parties support the practice of gerrymandering because it helps the lawmakers retain their seat regardless of the general approval of the voters. Since democrats usually vote for democrats, Jefferson will probably get re-elected because his congressional district has been mapped out in such a way that the residents are probably 90% democrat. Gerrymandering is clearly an unfair, unethical practice, but it remains in practice because it benefits the people who write the laws.
What is most astounding to me, is that there is no outrage from the public about these obvious cases of conflict of interest that impact on our nations national security and political system. The public is either asleep at the switch(not paying attention) or have no moral compass of their own and are unable to distinguish right from wrong. Or worse than that, they have been taught that passing judgment is wrong. If no laws were broken, who are they to judge. But these are the people who write the laws, they must be held accountable to the universal spiritual principles that our country was founded upon. Few people are holding our lawmakers accountable and the vast majority of the public just does not care. Just like the law-makers are ignoring their moral obligation to serve the public and carry out their duties in a fair, honorable and selfless manner, the public is ignoring their moral obligation by not holding them accountable to high moral and ethical standards.
Where is the outrage. The above issues are much more important to the country than holding a congressional investigation on baseball players who take steroids. But the steroid investigation and most of the highly publicized business of this congress, serves as a distraction. Why am I the only one who sees through all of these obvious distractions? Why am I the only one who is outraged by the obvious conflict of interest of many of our top lawmakers? The reason is that much today's popular culture has been so confused, they no longer can tell right from wrong, good from evil, moral from immoral. They are completely incapable of holding our leaders' feet to the fire because they have been taught that all forms of moral restraint is wrong. They have given our political leaders "Carte Blanche" when in comes to immoral and unethical behavior as long as they are convinced that their intentions are good and that they really care about them.
This first became clear to me when President Clinton was disbarred and impeached for lying in a court disposition and suborning perjury. This case involved Clinton having sex with a 21 year old intern (Monica Lewinsky) while Clinton was at work as president in the oval office. Clinton then lied in a court disposition about the incident, lied in a TV announcement specifically about the incident and urged Miss Lewinsky to lie in court. Clinton was not held accountable by the US Senate and was allowed to complete his term in office. Clinton left office the following year with an extremely high approval rating. This is when I first realized that our nation was in trouble. Not because of what the president did, but because the public and the Senate were apathetic, and did not hold him accountable. They justified his behavior and subsequent cover-up by saying that it was no big deal, he just lied about sex.
Today's politicians are not held accountable by the public. In today's popular culture, our moral standards have become blurred and watered down. In a world where boys are dressing like girls, girls are dressing like hookers, suburban teenagers emulate the gang-banging hoodlums of the ghettos, and obscene rap music is on the top ten hits list, how are we able to judge our legislators and hold them accountable? Our culture is too interested in demanding freedom of expression or speaking out for causes that they know little about. They rally behind popular catch phrases that make them feel good, like save the whales, save the planet, 'make love, not war', down with greedy corporations, no war for oil, 'Bush lied, people died', no tax cuts for the rich, AIDS awareness, gay pride, sexual freedom, freedom of expression, etc. Unfortunately they have little understanding of the importance of character and integrity or the unintended consequences of the causes that they support. They can't see how they are being used by the very politicians and special interests that they think are on their side. There are fewer and fewer people that are informed enough or motivated enough to hold our politicians accountable.
Human nature dictates that if nobody is holding you accountable, you will probably do something selfish, greedy and wrong if you are not restrained by moral and ethical standards. Once upon a time, most of us went to church on Sunday to remind us of this aspect of human nature. Today, Christianity is mocked and ridiculed because it is considered judgmental and restrictive. While everyone is having a good time letting it all hang out, the politicians and their associates are taking advantage of the public's gullibility. As they rake it all in, they recklessly destroy the future of a nation that took over two hundred years of hard work, perseverance and moral restraint to build. If we don't hold our politicians ethically and morally accountable, they will lead us all to hell-in-a-hand-basket.
Our politicians have found new ways to become corrupt while still working within the constraints of the law. For example, an alarming number of congressmen have family members who work for companies that benefit from legislation before their relative in Congress. For example, Congressman Murtha has a brother who sits on the board of directors for 10 different defense contractors. Congressman Murtha is the chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, and authorizes defense contracts that benefit his brothers firms. Murtha is one of the most outspoken anti-war congressmen in the Congress. This is the perfect cover for him to hide behind while he funnels hundreds of millions of dollars towards his brothers businesses that produce the machinery and weapons of war.
Also, as many as ten percent (some sources claim 25%) of congressmen have a family members being paid as a lobbyist by a company or country that benefits by pending legislation before congress. Congresswoman Barbara Boxer's husband's business, that involves trade with China, is booming. She is among the wealthiest people in the congress due to her husband's business dealings and favorable trade policies that the congress has approved with China.
Another legal form of corruption that high government officials engage in, is working as lobbyists themselves after leaving government office. Former secretary of state, Madeline Albright, now works as a registered foreign agent, as a lobbyist for the United Arab Emeritus. President Clinton has been hired to give speeches for the UAE. He was payed fees of over a million dollars per speech by the UAE. Are Clinton's words actually worth that much or is the UAE actually buying his influence?
Another outrageous congressman is William Jefferson. Congressman Jefferson was the target of a two year investigation which culminated when investigators found 90,000 in cash in the congressman's home freezer. The congressman was charged last year with racketeering, soliciting bribes for himself and his family, fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. His brother and sister were also indicted on related charges. The congressman is fighting the case, claiming that he was set up, and that the subsequent search of his congressional office was illegal. Congressman Jefferson has remained in office for nearly two years since he was in indicted on these charges and is planning to run for re-election in November. Congressman Jefferson has used technicalities in the law to have evidence suppressed, and has a good chance of beating his case legally. In my wildest imagination, I can not come up with a rational explanation for Jefferson to have 90,000 dollars hidden in his home freezer. Especially since two men have already been convicted of bribing the Congressman.
Why is this man still in office? How can this man run for re-election. The sad truth is that he will probably win the election and hold on to his congressional seat in November because of a practice called gerrymandering and public apathy. Gerrymandering is the practice of mapping out congressional districts so that they are either predominantly democratic or predominantly republican. This practice usually insures that an incumbent candidate wins in congressional elections. Both parties support the practice of gerrymandering because it helps the lawmakers retain their seat regardless of the general approval of the voters. Since democrats usually vote for democrats, Jefferson will probably get re-elected because his congressional district has been mapped out in such a way that the residents are probably 90% democrat. Gerrymandering is clearly an unfair, unethical practice, but it remains in practice because it benefits the people who write the laws.
What is most astounding to me, is that there is no outrage from the public about these obvious cases of conflict of interest that impact on our nations national security and political system. The public is either asleep at the switch(not paying attention) or have no moral compass of their own and are unable to distinguish right from wrong. Or worse than that, they have been taught that passing judgment is wrong. If no laws were broken, who are they to judge. But these are the people who write the laws, they must be held accountable to the universal spiritual principles that our country was founded upon. Few people are holding our lawmakers accountable and the vast majority of the public just does not care. Just like the law-makers are ignoring their moral obligation to serve the public and carry out their duties in a fair, honorable and selfless manner, the public is ignoring their moral obligation by not holding them accountable to high moral and ethical standards.
Where is the outrage. The above issues are much more important to the country than holding a congressional investigation on baseball players who take steroids. But the steroid investigation and most of the highly publicized business of this congress, serves as a distraction. Why am I the only one who sees through all of these obvious distractions? Why am I the only one who is outraged by the obvious conflict of interest of many of our top lawmakers? The reason is that much today's popular culture has been so confused, they no longer can tell right from wrong, good from evil, moral from immoral. They are completely incapable of holding our leaders' feet to the fire because they have been taught that all forms of moral restraint is wrong. They have given our political leaders "Carte Blanche" when in comes to immoral and unethical behavior as long as they are convinced that their intentions are good and that they really care about them.
This first became clear to me when President Clinton was disbarred and impeached for lying in a court disposition and suborning perjury. This case involved Clinton having sex with a 21 year old intern (Monica Lewinsky) while Clinton was at work as president in the oval office. Clinton then lied in a court disposition about the incident, lied in a TV announcement specifically about the incident and urged Miss Lewinsky to lie in court. Clinton was not held accountable by the US Senate and was allowed to complete his term in office. Clinton left office the following year with an extremely high approval rating. This is when I first realized that our nation was in trouble. Not because of what the president did, but because the public and the Senate were apathetic, and did not hold him accountable. They justified his behavior and subsequent cover-up by saying that it was no big deal, he just lied about sex.
Today's politicians are not held accountable by the public. In today's popular culture, our moral standards have become blurred and watered down. In a world where boys are dressing like girls, girls are dressing like hookers, suburban teenagers emulate the gang-banging hoodlums of the ghettos, and obscene rap music is on the top ten hits list, how are we able to judge our legislators and hold them accountable? Our culture is too interested in demanding freedom of expression or speaking out for causes that they know little about. They rally behind popular catch phrases that make them feel good, like save the whales, save the planet, 'make love, not war', down with greedy corporations, no war for oil, 'Bush lied, people died', no tax cuts for the rich, AIDS awareness, gay pride, sexual freedom, freedom of expression, etc. Unfortunately they have little understanding of the importance of character and integrity or the unintended consequences of the causes that they support. They can't see how they are being used by the very politicians and special interests that they think are on their side. There are fewer and fewer people that are informed enough or motivated enough to hold our politicians accountable.
Human nature dictates that if nobody is holding you accountable, you will probably do something selfish, greedy and wrong if you are not restrained by moral and ethical standards. Once upon a time, most of us went to church on Sunday to remind us of this aspect of human nature. Today, Christianity is mocked and ridiculed because it is considered judgmental and restrictive. While everyone is having a good time letting it all hang out, the politicians and their associates are taking advantage of the public's gullibility. As they rake it all in, they recklessly destroy the future of a nation that took over two hundred years of hard work, perseverance and moral restraint to build. If we don't hold our politicians ethically and morally accountable, they will lead us all to hell-in-a-hand-basket.
Friday, July 4, 2008
My Views On Homosexuality
First I would like to say that it is a deception to try to convince the public, including school children, that homosexually is a normal and positive behavior. It is not normal behavior. No parent wants their child to be a homosexual. When a parent finds out that their child is homosexual, even the most loving, open-minded parents are usually disappointed.
Many homosexuals feel some sort of resentment that they were cheated out of a normal life through no fault of their own. Often they over-react with "in your face" public displays of homosexuality, sado-masochistic displays, completely inappropriate behavior in "gay pride " parades and the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. I find these public displays inappropriate and offensive.
Families are the foundation of a healthy society. In recent times we have been seeing the breakdown of the intact nuclear family due to teenage pregnancy, divorce, single parents, remarriage and blended families. By gays insisting on gay marriage, it only serves to dilute the importance of the intact family even more. It is clear that children do best on average when brought up in an intact natural family with both of their biological parents. The black population has a 70% out-of-wedlock birth rate, the Hispanic community has a 35% rate and the white community has a 20% rate of out-of-wedlock births. The crime and poverty level of the children brought up in these homes is proportional to their family status. Children from families, with both a mother and father, do better. Their is no question that an intact family benefits children and thus the entire future of our society.
Nobody cares what homosexuals do in private, but most people feel that homosexuality is nothing to be proud of. It is an unfortunate condition, and I have sympathy for homosexuals. But flaunting and glamorizing this abnormal condition is disingenuous and sends the wrong signal that homosexuality is something that should be celebrated and embraced. Many teenagers who may have some propensity toward homosexuality are being encourage to experiment with it. That is wrong. They should be encouraged to get married, have children and keep their family together.
By in large, homosexuals are not discriminated against and make more money on average than straights do. For the most part, most homosexuals are law abiding productive citizens and stay out of trouble. Homosexuals are free to live their lives the way that they choose.
We are all dealt a different hand in the card game of life and we all have our challenges and strengths. Homosexuality is a challenge and should not be confused with a strength. To ask our children to celebrate, embrace and experiment with homosexuality is wrong. We should accept and tolerate homosexuality, but not celebrate and embrace it.
There are also many other far more abnormal, negative, harmful and destructive sexual attractions and behaviors. These behaviors include, pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, desire to rape, and sexual addiction to prostitutes or child pornography. The unfortunate people afflicted with these abnormal sexual desires must not give in to their strong desires or they and their victims will suffer severe consequences. I am not equating these criminal behaviors to homosexuality. But these people are also powerless over their abnormal attractions through no fault of their own. They have my sympathy but not my approval. They cause horrible suffering and must be prevented from acting on their desires. The difference is that garden variety homosexuality is between consenting adults and is not criminal.
Gay activists claim that gay teenagers have a suicide rate four times higher than normal kids. They blame this on intolerance and bullying. The media, schools, and universities think that by normalizing homosexuality they will reduce bullying and thus reduce gay suicide rates. The truth is that all people with psychological disorders have high suicide rates. Homosexual activists have successfully lobbied mental health authorities to remove homosexuality form the list of mental disorders. However, I feel that homosexuality is a disorder, and health officials were bullied into changing its classification, just as the activists are now bullying the public to accept gay marriage.
The psychiatric profession is quite subjective. There are no blood tests, cultures, CT scans, ultrasounds or other diagnostic tests used to determine a disorder or to prescribe the proper treatment. Most diagnoses are opinions only and have no medical data to back them up. Psychiatric medications are often prescribed in a trial and error fashion. They rely on feedback from the patient to adjust dosages or change medications. The psychiatric community has changed the classification of homosexuality based on nothing more than opinion and pressure from activist groups.
The whole idea of gay marriage is put forth so that gays can prove that they are normal, just like everyone else. Unfortunately they are not in a very important and obvious way. A marriage between two men or two women will not produce any children. The whole point of marriage is to provide the best possible environment to raise children. This is why marriage is given tax benefits and children are tax deductions. Our tax codes are used to encourage behavior that is beneficial to our society, such as tax breaks for business development in enterprise zones(depressed communities), tax credits for solar and wind power, and tax benefits for families to raise our next generation of children.
In my opinion, the only time homosexuality is harmful, is when it is presented to children and the public, as a normal, acceptable lifestyle to be proud of, it is not. That is a deception put forth by today's homosexual activists, schools, universities, the arts and the mainstream media. They do this under the banner of diversity. All forms of diversity are not necessarily positive, normal and healthy. Today's popular culture is celebrating many forms of diversity that are negative, abnormal and unhealthy. Some examples are the gangster culture, teenage promiscuity, casual sex, rap music and satanism which mocks Christianity. In today's popular culture anything that is abnormal, weird, negative or wrong is considered cool. Homosexuality is actually being portrayed as cool by today's media and the arts. At the same time, the intact monogamous family is considered square. They are sending out the exact wrong message. By condemning the Boy Scouts, the military and the Catholic Church, and supporting gay marriage, gay activists seek to blur the line between what is healthy for our society, and what is destructive. Today's children are being so confused that they no longer can tell the difference between right and wrong, good from bad, strengths from weaknesses and normal from abnormal. It is no wonder that we are seeing our families, values, cultural strengths and society decay before our very eyes.
This is my heartfelt opinion and I believe that many good hearted straight people feel the same way.
Many homosexuals feel some sort of resentment that they were cheated out of a normal life through no fault of their own. Often they over-react with "in your face" public displays of homosexuality, sado-masochistic displays, completely inappropriate behavior in "gay pride " parades and the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. I find these public displays inappropriate and offensive.
Families are the foundation of a healthy society. In recent times we have been seeing the breakdown of the intact nuclear family due to teenage pregnancy, divorce, single parents, remarriage and blended families. By gays insisting on gay marriage, it only serves to dilute the importance of the intact family even more. It is clear that children do best on average when brought up in an intact natural family with both of their biological parents. The black population has a 70% out-of-wedlock birth rate, the Hispanic community has a 35% rate and the white community has a 20% rate of out-of-wedlock births. The crime and poverty level of the children brought up in these homes is proportional to their family status. Children from families, with both a mother and father, do better. Their is no question that an intact family benefits children and thus the entire future of our society.
Nobody cares what homosexuals do in private, but most people feel that homosexuality is nothing to be proud of. It is an unfortunate condition, and I have sympathy for homosexuals. But flaunting and glamorizing this abnormal condition is disingenuous and sends the wrong signal that homosexuality is something that should be celebrated and embraced. Many teenagers who may have some propensity toward homosexuality are being encourage to experiment with it. That is wrong. They should be encouraged to get married, have children and keep their family together.
By in large, homosexuals are not discriminated against and make more money on average than straights do. For the most part, most homosexuals are law abiding productive citizens and stay out of trouble. Homosexuals are free to live their lives the way that they choose.
We are all dealt a different hand in the card game of life and we all have our challenges and strengths. Homosexuality is a challenge and should not be confused with a strength. To ask our children to celebrate, embrace and experiment with homosexuality is wrong. We should accept and tolerate homosexuality, but not celebrate and embrace it.
There are also many other far more abnormal, negative, harmful and destructive sexual attractions and behaviors. These behaviors include, pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, desire to rape, and sexual addiction to prostitutes or child pornography. The unfortunate people afflicted with these abnormal sexual desires must not give in to their strong desires or they and their victims will suffer severe consequences. I am not equating these criminal behaviors to homosexuality. But these people are also powerless over their abnormal attractions through no fault of their own. They have my sympathy but not my approval. They cause horrible suffering and must be prevented from acting on their desires. The difference is that garden variety homosexuality is between consenting adults and is not criminal.
Gay activists claim that gay teenagers have a suicide rate four times higher than normal kids. They blame this on intolerance and bullying. The media, schools, and universities think that by normalizing homosexuality they will reduce bullying and thus reduce gay suicide rates. The truth is that all people with psychological disorders have high suicide rates. Homosexual activists have successfully lobbied mental health authorities to remove homosexuality form the list of mental disorders. However, I feel that homosexuality is a disorder, and health officials were bullied into changing its classification, just as the activists are now bullying the public to accept gay marriage.
The psychiatric profession is quite subjective. There are no blood tests, cultures, CT scans, ultrasounds or other diagnostic tests used to determine a disorder or to prescribe the proper treatment. Most diagnoses are opinions only and have no medical data to back them up. Psychiatric medications are often prescribed in a trial and error fashion. They rely on feedback from the patient to adjust dosages or change medications. The psychiatric community has changed the classification of homosexuality based on nothing more than opinion and pressure from activist groups.
The whole idea of gay marriage is put forth so that gays can prove that they are normal, just like everyone else. Unfortunately they are not in a very important and obvious way. A marriage between two men or two women will not produce any children. The whole point of marriage is to provide the best possible environment to raise children. This is why marriage is given tax benefits and children are tax deductions. Our tax codes are used to encourage behavior that is beneficial to our society, such as tax breaks for business development in enterprise zones(depressed communities), tax credits for solar and wind power, and tax benefits for families to raise our next generation of children.
In my opinion, the only time homosexuality is harmful, is when it is presented to children and the public, as a normal, acceptable lifestyle to be proud of, it is not. That is a deception put forth by today's homosexual activists, schools, universities, the arts and the mainstream media. They do this under the banner of diversity. All forms of diversity are not necessarily positive, normal and healthy. Today's popular culture is celebrating many forms of diversity that are negative, abnormal and unhealthy. Some examples are the gangster culture, teenage promiscuity, casual sex, rap music and satanism which mocks Christianity. In today's popular culture anything that is abnormal, weird, negative or wrong is considered cool. Homosexuality is actually being portrayed as cool by today's media and the arts. At the same time, the intact monogamous family is considered square. They are sending out the exact wrong message. By condemning the Boy Scouts, the military and the Catholic Church, and supporting gay marriage, gay activists seek to blur the line between what is healthy for our society, and what is destructive. Today's children are being so confused that they no longer can tell the difference between right and wrong, good from bad, strengths from weaknesses and normal from abnormal. It is no wonder that we are seeing our families, values, cultural strengths and society decay before our very eyes.
This is my heartfelt opinion and I believe that many good hearted straight people feel the same way.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Don Imus, Aging Hipster or Racist?
Don Imus is back in the news again with charges of racism leveled against him. This is what he said on the radio:
Wolf: "Defensive back Adam 'Pacman' Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys. Here's a guy suspended all of 2007 following a shooting in a Vegas night club."
Imus: "Well, stuff happens. You're in a night club, for God's sake. What do you thinks gonna happen in a night club? People are drinking and doing drugs, there are women there, and people have guns. So, there, go ahead."
Wolf: "He's also been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005."
Imus: "What color is he?"
Wolf: "He's African-American."
Imus: "Well, there you go. Now we know."
The attack on Imus is wrong on several levels. Since Imus's crack about "nappy headed hoes" last year, Imus went on Al Sharpton's radio show and apologized profusely. He apologized to the the girls basketball team at Rutgers personally. Last fall, Imus got a new radio show on WABC in New York. Imus hired a new staff, including many black people in high paying jobs, for the production of his radio show. On his new show, Imus talked about issues concerning blacks in a typical liberal fashion, portraying blacks as victims in a racist society. He has talked about how police racially profile blacks for harassment and arrest. In other words, Don Imus went out of his way to appease the black activists that he knew were listening to his every word, waiting for a chance to pounce on him for racism. Imus has been walking on eggshells since the Rutgers incident in an effort to appease Al Sharpton and other race-baiters.
The comment Imus made was clearly an attempt at sarcasm, in order to illustrate that Pacman Jones was being harassed and profiled by police because he was black. Of course I don't believe that the police profiled Pacman Jones. Pacman has an extensive criminal history for drugs and violence leading back to his high school and college years in addition to his six arrests since he has been in the NFL. He has been arrested for brawls in strip clubs and violence against women. Don Imus was trying to portray Pacman as a victim of police profiling and also to appease the likes of Al Sharpton.
The greater problem is that Pacman Jones is embraced by so many fans who celebrate the gangster culture that he demonstrates in his personal life. Just like the gangster culture has taken over hip-hop music and the clothing industry, the gangster culture has now become mainstream in professional sports. Many professional athletes have multiple children with different women. They are lauded as "players". They sport hip-hop hair styles and wear gangster like clothing. Look at clothing that men are wearing these days. They are either wearing a sports outfit, often with the name and number of athletes who act like low-lifes off the field, or they are dressing like hip-hop gang-bangers, or they wear a black tee-shirt that displays a negative image and the unsavory name of a band. All three groups are proving to be negative role models.
The celebration of evil in our society is being hastened by the media, arts, sports and clothing industry who are catering to the lowest common denominator in our society. Don Imus is part of the problem. Not because he is a racist, but because he embraces the gangster culture. Imus was trying to be cool, and "hip-hop like" when he used the phrase "nappy headed hoes" to describe girls on the Rutgers basketball team over a year ago. Unfortunately, it is hard for a sixty-eight year old white man in a cowboy hat, to pull this off and still be believable. Had these remarks come from a younger man with baggy pants and tattoos on his neck, notice would not have been taken. In this recent incident, Imus embraces and sympathizes with a criminal football hero who he falsely depicts as a victim of unfair police racial profiling. In both instances (Rutgers' girls and Pacman), Imus was embracing today's twisted popular culture and it was misunderstood as racism.
After the first incident, Sharpton staged token protests against record labels that promote rap and hip-hop music that contain lyrics that encourage drugs, violence and demeaning of women. If Al Sharpton and his ilk truly want to help the downtrodden, they would condemn Pacman Jones and the fans that worship him for his extracurricular activities. They call it "street cred", and it helps celebrities gain popularity. Instead of being rewarded for "street cred", these "bad-boy celebrities" should be condemned and run out of the business. Perhaps that would send a positive message, but that is not likely to happen because the sports industry, entertainment industry and clothing industry, use these misguided celebrities as "cash cows" ready to be milked. There should be rage against what Don Imus said, but the rage is misdirected. Imus should be condemned for coming to the defense of the criminal celebrity, Pacman Jones.
Wolf: "Defensive back Adam 'Pacman' Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys. Here's a guy suspended all of 2007 following a shooting in a Vegas night club."
Imus: "Well, stuff happens. You're in a night club, for God's sake. What do you thinks gonna happen in a night club? People are drinking and doing drugs, there are women there, and people have guns. So, there, go ahead."
Wolf: "He's also been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005."
Imus: "What color is he?"
Wolf: "He's African-American."
Imus: "Well, there you go. Now we know."
The attack on Imus is wrong on several levels. Since Imus's crack about "nappy headed hoes" last year, Imus went on Al Sharpton's radio show and apologized profusely. He apologized to the the girls basketball team at Rutgers personally. Last fall, Imus got a new radio show on WABC in New York. Imus hired a new staff, including many black people in high paying jobs, for the production of his radio show. On his new show, Imus talked about issues concerning blacks in a typical liberal fashion, portraying blacks as victims in a racist society. He has talked about how police racially profile blacks for harassment and arrest. In other words, Don Imus went out of his way to appease the black activists that he knew were listening to his every word, waiting for a chance to pounce on him for racism. Imus has been walking on eggshells since the Rutgers incident in an effort to appease Al Sharpton and other race-baiters.
The comment Imus made was clearly an attempt at sarcasm, in order to illustrate that Pacman Jones was being harassed and profiled by police because he was black. Of course I don't believe that the police profiled Pacman Jones. Pacman has an extensive criminal history for drugs and violence leading back to his high school and college years in addition to his six arrests since he has been in the NFL. He has been arrested for brawls in strip clubs and violence against women. Don Imus was trying to portray Pacman as a victim of police profiling and also to appease the likes of Al Sharpton.
The greater problem is that Pacman Jones is embraced by so many fans who celebrate the gangster culture that he demonstrates in his personal life. Just like the gangster culture has taken over hip-hop music and the clothing industry, the gangster culture has now become mainstream in professional sports. Many professional athletes have multiple children with different women. They are lauded as "players". They sport hip-hop hair styles and wear gangster like clothing. Look at clothing that men are wearing these days. They are either wearing a sports outfit, often with the name and number of athletes who act like low-lifes off the field, or they are dressing like hip-hop gang-bangers, or they wear a black tee-shirt that displays a negative image and the unsavory name of a band. All three groups are proving to be negative role models.
The celebration of evil in our society is being hastened by the media, arts, sports and clothing industry who are catering to the lowest common denominator in our society. Don Imus is part of the problem. Not because he is a racist, but because he embraces the gangster culture. Imus was trying to be cool, and "hip-hop like" when he used the phrase "nappy headed hoes" to describe girls on the Rutgers basketball team over a year ago. Unfortunately, it is hard for a sixty-eight year old white man in a cowboy hat, to pull this off and still be believable. Had these remarks come from a younger man with baggy pants and tattoos on his neck, notice would not have been taken. In this recent incident, Imus embraces and sympathizes with a criminal football hero who he falsely depicts as a victim of unfair police racial profiling. In both instances (Rutgers' girls and Pacman), Imus was embracing today's twisted popular culture and it was misunderstood as racism.
After the first incident, Sharpton staged token protests against record labels that promote rap and hip-hop music that contain lyrics that encourage drugs, violence and demeaning of women. If Al Sharpton and his ilk truly want to help the downtrodden, they would condemn Pacman Jones and the fans that worship him for his extracurricular activities. They call it "street cred", and it helps celebrities gain popularity. Instead of being rewarded for "street cred", these "bad-boy celebrities" should be condemned and run out of the business. Perhaps that would send a positive message, but that is not likely to happen because the sports industry, entertainment industry and clothing industry, use these misguided celebrities as "cash cows" ready to be milked. There should be rage against what Don Imus said, but the rage is misdirected. Imus should be condemned for coming to the defense of the criminal celebrity, Pacman Jones.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Teenage Pregnancy: Shameful or Cool?
I read an interesting article today about teenage pregnancy in a small town high school in Massachusetts. It is about 17 teenage high school girls, all under 16, who made a pact to all get pregnant, so they could raise their babies together. They thought it would be "cool" to get pregnant in high school.
The high school provides day care for their babies so they can remain in school. The problem with liberal policies is that they usually encourage the behavior that they are trying to discourage. Due to the "sex education" classes and encouraging pregnant teens to remain in school by providing "day care", they are normalizing and encouraging teenage sex and pregnancy. I have been a lone voice in saying that stigma and shame needs to be used to discourage teenage pregnancy. Instead the opposite is true, it is considered "cool" to be a pregnant teen these days. Tonight, for the first time, I heard a commentator on a cable news show, echo my sentiments. By providing day care and sex education, they are sending the kids a signal that it is OK to have sex and get pregnant in high school.
As I have written in previous articles, the movie "Juno" normalizes and minimizes teen pregnancy as just a small bump in the road of a cool teenager's life. The publicity that teen actress, Jamie Lynn Spears got after she got pregnant, also helped glamorize and make teenage pregnancy acceptable and even desirable to many teens. Government social programs also encourage this behavior with many programs that are designed to help pregnant teens, but actually encourage and enable teenage sex and pregnancy. Their parents won't mind so much because the baby food, doctors visits, diapers and babysitting will be paid for by government programs. I wonder if the parents of these girls were as nonchalant about their situation as the parents of Juno in the movie.
Click hear to read the article entitled "Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High"
The high school provides day care for their babies so they can remain in school. The problem with liberal policies is that they usually encourage the behavior that they are trying to discourage. Due to the "sex education" classes and encouraging pregnant teens to remain in school by providing "day care", they are normalizing and encouraging teenage sex and pregnancy. I have been a lone voice in saying that stigma and shame needs to be used to discourage teenage pregnancy. Instead the opposite is true, it is considered "cool" to be a pregnant teen these days. Tonight, for the first time, I heard a commentator on a cable news show, echo my sentiments. By providing day care and sex education, they are sending the kids a signal that it is OK to have sex and get pregnant in high school.
As I have written in previous articles, the movie "Juno" normalizes and minimizes teen pregnancy as just a small bump in the road of a cool teenager's life. The publicity that teen actress, Jamie Lynn Spears got after she got pregnant, also helped glamorize and make teenage pregnancy acceptable and even desirable to many teens. Government social programs also encourage this behavior with many programs that are designed to help pregnant teens, but actually encourage and enable teenage sex and pregnancy. Their parents won't mind so much because the baby food, doctors visits, diapers and babysitting will be paid for by government programs. I wonder if the parents of these girls were as nonchalant about their situation as the parents of Juno in the movie.
Click hear to read the article entitled "Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High"
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Walk of (No) Shame
Today I heard a local radio talk show host talking about a TV commercial that she was ashamed of watching when she was watching TV with her young son. It is for "AMP Energy Drink" and the commercial highlights, promotes and helps normalize, casual sex, the one night stand, homosexuality and under age drinking to the point of blacking out. All of this is done in a college setting. Unfortunately, this is the reality on many college campuses today. I found a video of the commercial on youtube. Click on the link or the embedded video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rBLNRgT3YQ
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