Jesse Jackson is a racist.

Racist (n):

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

I made a claim in the comments of this post that upset at least one person. I maintain that Jesse Jackson has done more to hurt the ideal of racial equity than David Duke ever could. To a lot of people that position is ridiculous but when you stop to think about it, it does make sense.

David Duke is marginalized by his very adherence to the idea that non-white races are inferior. The only people who take him seriously are those already in agreement with his ideals/point of view. He reaches a very small audience that is getting smaller as time goes by. Jackson, on the other hand, is embraced by politicians, media, and populace and so his word reaches a much wider, and much more receptive audience. He uses his position, in words anyway, to denounce racism but his actions have done more to reinforce racist thought than anything Duke could have ever done.

The first thing Jackson does that's harmful is to almost immediately jump in on any situation involving blacks and label it as a race issue regardless of whether or not race is even a factor. One recent example is Jackson's calling out of the media for using the word 'refugee' during/after Katrina. Jackson wanted them to be called 'displaced persons' because he claimed that calling them 'refugees' was racist. Since the word refugee literally means someone who is searching for refuge there is NO racial connotation to the term. This kind of grandstanding by Jackson is drawing attention away from legitimate cases of racist behavior and turning Jackson into "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." It's getting to the point that Jackson won't be able to label a definitive case of racism and be taken seriously. He is marginalizing himself and, by extension, his cause over time.

The primary mistake by Jackson though is in his approach to blacks in general. He thinks that reparations are owed to the black community. He repeatedly asserts that black Americans are incapable of bettering themselves without some from of outside help. What kind of message does this send to people? This kind of self-defeating tripe demeans the character and strength of blacks everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Jackson is doing this on purpose. I believe that he honestly wants to make things better and his intentions, sometimes anyway, are completely altruistic. His actions though are doing more to eat away at the foundations of racial equality than the vocal supremacist groups could ever do.

To sum up, Jackson is doing a phenomenal job paving the road to hell but failing us all with his short-sighted attempts at addressing racism. We have to get past the point where someone's skin color makes a difference. As long as people like Jackson and Duke, as well as programs like affirmative action, constantly reinforce the idea that the cellular levels of melanin in someone's skin matters we will NEVER achieve the ideal that people like Dr. King worked so hard to bring about.

Back on the playground

Someone explain to me how it's bad thing when those on the right call lefties traitors or terrorists but it's okay for people on the left to call others names, mock their choice of fiction, or even where they live? Can you say hypocrisy?

I got into a discussion yesterday on this post. I asked questions. I made assertions. At no time did I label anyone. Yet I am called a troll. I am spit upon. One poster has no comment about anything I said but makes fun of a novel I have listed as a favorite and the fact that I live in Kansas. I'll repeat that. This person didn't have ONE SINGLE STATEMENT about anything other than me personally. How is this not hypocritical? If you can only call names or attack the person instead of the argument how can you possibly think you have any grounds to complain when you are treated the same way? If you disagree with someone that's fine. If you have a rebuttal for an argument they've made that's fine. If all you can do is mock the person then why do you even bother? That's not debate. That's not discourse. That's heckling.

I have never understood this mentality where people feel if they yell loud enough then something they don't like or want to hear will just go away. These are the people who are so concerned with protecting free speech, until someone disagrees with their point of view. Some of the people responding to my comments went so far as to state they would simply ignore anything I said from that point forward. How do you expect to make any meaningful progress in this country if your response to disagreement is the equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears and screaming, "I can't hear you!!!" till they leave you alone. This accomplishes NOTHING. These people aren't looking for progress. They aren't looking for accomplishment. They're looking for reinforcement of their own worldview and that's it. If your convictions need constant reinforcement from those of a like-minded view then you really don't believe in your own assertions. If you require reassurance that you're right then you didn't really have faith in your opinions to begin with.

There were a couple of reasons I started this blog. The first was to put down in words some of the things I thought. The other was the fact that many times what I wanted to say in response to someone else's post was far too long to politely put in a comment. This is not, as was called in the above post, a right-wing blog. That's so painfully obvious that I'm not going to even bother responding to that claim. If you want more info on where I stand on things you can see here. Those are not right wing beliefs. They are not left wing beliefs. They are common sense beliefs reliant on the fact that we are each responsible for ourselves and our choices. This is not a political viewpoint I have. It's a way of life. I chose to start posting. I chose to comment on the above post on Bitch's site. And then some of you chose to act like a playground bully instead of adults. You'll have to forgive me for not respecting your response and treating it with the contempt it deserves.

The Right to Die

Given the recent noise made about the Federal government interfering with an Oregon law as well as posts such as this I decided to weigh in on this subject.

The two situations above aren't exactly the same but the underlying principle is. Does someone have the right to make a choice that will be harmful or fatal to themselves? There are those who say that we must intervene when someone does this even if only "for their own good." They would say that we have a moral obligation to step in and prevent these people from "acting on impulse" or when "not in their right mind." While I can understand why people would feel that way it is still the incorrect response. The arguments they'd put forth for getting involved, when all is said and done, boil down to the idea that the person intervening knows better. This is, far and away, the most arrogant, self-serving pile of garbage I've ever heard. Our country is based on the idea of individual liberty. On the principle that every person is free to make choices for themselves and are responsible for the consequences of those choices. The moment we started letting the government get involved "for our own good" we began to see the erosion of that ideal.

The Feds extortion(and that's what it is) of doctor's in Oregon is just one more example of how far we've wandered from the Dream that is America. A bit of background for ya: Oregon has passed a law, twice now, that allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medications to terminally ill patients that request it. The doctor does not, and in fact cannot, administer the drugs themselves. All they can do is prescribe and, typically, observe in the home when the patient decides the time is right. The Federal government has decided to threaten the doctors since they can't do anything about the actual law itself. They have stated that they will revoke licenses and consider fines or criminal prosecution for any doctor who prescribes such medicine. So to be perfectly clear: the voters of Oregon have passed a law allowing this activity. The Federal government cannot overrule the states own law in this case and has decided to intervene in a dirty, underhanded fashion. Nice to see our elected officials hard at work.

The second of the two situations is similar only in that the person involved has decide that he will no longer pay massive medical bills to artificially prolong his time on this earth. His feeling appears to be that when it's his time there's no Get Out of Jail Free card that will grant him any extra time. He's decided to face this on his own terms and leave something behind for his children other than piles of medical bills. This would appear to be a clear-cut case of someone making a choice for themselves that no one can say anything about. Unfortunately this logic seems too much for some to grasp.

Both of these situations hinge upon the idea that we are all responsible to make our own choices. The problem is that too many people don't, or won't, trust others to be able to make their own decisions. They don't believe that the common man is enlightened enough to make those calls. This attitude is why we end up with laws about wearing seatbelts or against suicide. The people who advocate this kind of interference in other people's lives are usually the first ones to say, "Somebody should do something" or "There ought to be a law." This point of view is not based on logic or freedom. It's based on emotion. Their blatant meddling in other people's lives allows them to feel all warm and fuzzy because they did something to "help someone who wasn't able to help themselves" while ignoring damage they are doing to the idea of personal freedom.

If you feel that people cannot be trusted to make their own choices then you are no different than every petty dictator and despot that ever lived. You are just another tyrant trying to inflict your values and decisions on me and mine. Stop meddling and leave people to choose for themselves. Your motives are irrelevant. To borrow and old saying, there's a very hot place with a very well-maintained road leading to it that you are helping pave.

RenFest Goodness

I'd forgotten how much I truly enjoy RenFest. Turkey legs, Scotch eggs, and mead oh my. First time I'd ever worn a kilt and will NOT be the last. Those suckers are so comfortable there's probably a law against it. Get outside and it's barely 40 degrees outside and it's bit chilly but as the day warmed up it was much more comfortable than it would have been walking around in my typical jeans and sweatshirt.

Got to see a great act called The Limey Birds. Check these ladies out people. Funny, talented, and GORGEOUS!! Go buy their CD's. This is how they make their living and they are very, very good at it. Their timing was incredible and their ability to improv was spectacular. I hope they come back next year.

There was one major downside to going in a kilt...well, two actually. It gets old having to field the same "What are you wearing under that kilt?" question and then got pulled out of a crowd to be in the "Best Kilt" contest they were having. I'm just not big on being up in front of the crowd. Here's a pic of myself and my two buds that went with this year. The women we went with were conveniently absent from all photos so you're stuck looking at us. I'll let you guess which one I am. Anyway it was a great time and I highly recommenend attending any RenFest near you. If the Limey Birds are there you are ORDERED to attend. Trust me, that's on order you'll be glad you followed.

Serenity: Part Two

Well, I said I would revisit this topic after the movie had been out a bit so here I am.

I did enjoy this movie but I am very, VERY upset with Whedon right now. Far and away the most interesting character in the Firefly series was Shepherd Book. A minister of a peaceful religion who knows about firearms, the wounds the make, and somehow carries enough clout to get immediate medical treatment when Serenity was captured by an Alliance cruiser. What is his story? Where did he come from? Who is he? We'll never know now because Whedon KILLED HIM!!!! What in the world was he thinking? And then to kill of Wash as well? Why didn't you just blow up the gorram ship with all aboard and make a clean sweep of it.

My frustration over those deaths aside it was, all in all, a fantastic movie and I would like to see them do a sequel that maybe has some flashbacks to better explore Book and why he and Inara weren't onboard at the beginning of the movie. Are you listening to me Whedon? That's a Las Vegas sized, neon-lit HINT!!! Listen to the Mindwyrm for he is wise.

Belief

There's a meme that's been running around lately about points of belief and then I was listening to NPR and they ran a segment called "I Believe..." so I will take that as a sign from an unspecified deity or deities who may or may not exist and may or may not resemble this.

I believe that you, and you alone, are responsible for choices you make. Not your parents, not your friends, not society, not the government, not people who died hundreds of years ago.

I believe that you are guaranteed certain rights according to the Bill of Rights and Constitution but one of those rights is NOT the right to not be offended. You also do NOT have the right to force your beliefs on me and mine. If you don't like what I believe that's fine but don't try to make me put my beliefs aside just because you can't handle anyone believing anything other than what you do.

I believe that you are responsible to care for yourself and your family. If you are not in a position to do so then work harder to get yourself there. Do NOT expect the government, and by extension me, to bail you out.

I believe that the government is NOT to be a social conscience. Programs like welfare and Medicare are nothing more than forced charity and I, for one, am tired of being told that I HAVE to contribute for programs that I do NOT agree with.

I believe that politicians have lost sight of the fact that their jobs were to be public service, not service to their own pocketbooks.

I believe that what I own is mine. It is NOT on loan from the government to take back anytime they wish.

I believe that the right to bear arms has no limitations. If you can afford it then you can buy it and carry it. I believe that any laws restricting the purchase or carrying of weapons is unconstitutional.

I believe that the facts tell the story in regards to the complete and utter ineffectiveness of gun control laws when it comes to curtailing crime.

I believe that those who view the government as the Great Caretaker are either too lazy to care for themselves or feel that we are incapable of making our own choices so the government has to step in for our own good. I believe that is the MOST insulting attitude to see in a politician anywhere.

I believe that the extremists who hate America and everything it stands for will not stop attacking us if we try to ignore or appease them. They have never needed a reason to attack us other than our continued existence and success which is a slap in the face of their belief systems.

I believe that it doesn't matter who you sleep with as long as they're a consenting adult. This also means that it's none of the governments business if you decide you want to get married. If a church decides they don't want to perform the service that is their right but as it is a personal decision the government should have no say in it whatsoever.

I believe that if you choose to commit a crime then you are a criminal. You have forfeited any claim upon the rights guaranteed a law-abiding citizen. This means, no cable TV, no weights, no three hot meals a day, no conjugal visits, no dignity.

I believe that as long as people such as Jesse Jackson and David Duke insist on doing nothing more than reinforcing the differences between people we WILL have racism. If you emphasize someone's color, even if you think it's for a positive reason, you are merely entrenching racism that much more.

I believe that it doesn't matter what color you are or what country you're from as long as you're willing to work hard to succeed then you will do so.

I believe that if you immigrate to a country then you should learn the language of that country and NOT expect the citizens of that country to change themselves and their government to suit you.

I believe that if you enter the country illegally then you are a criminal. You are not an example of the American Dream. You are not someone to be glorified. You are to be found and deported.

I believe that if you enter the country legally then I will welcome you and your family with open arms. You have shown enough respect for yourself and your new home to abide by the regulations that govern your migration.

I believe that the US of A is the greatest country in the world. Period. End of story.

I believe that the UN is a useless drain on resources of many, many countries.

I believe that a terrorist is just that. Not a 'freedom fighter' or an 'insurgent.' They are spoiled children lashing out because they can't have their way and if that means they have to kill thousands of innocent people they don't care.

I believe that as long as people insist on ignoring fact and instead relying on their opinions to form public policy we will continue in the negative, socialist direction this country has been going for decades.

I believe that as long as we are more concerned with the self-esteem of our children as opposed to their education we will see more and more public schools graduating un-educated people unable to compete for anything other than "Do you want fries with that?"

I believe that those who resort to emotional arguments or name-calling do so because they cannot refute the logic behind the points their opponent is making.

I believe that there are many people out there who will label me a cold, heartless bastard instead of addressing any of the points I made above. I believe if you are unable to have a rational discussion about it then don't bother with the names. I've been called much, much worse and the name-calling didn't bother me then either.