New URLs

I don't know if I have posted these before, but I am looking at a good article on the Dilbert Blog...

I also sympathize with User Friendly,

And if you have seen the movie Office Space, it was based on Milton, a series of animated shorts by Mike Judge...

Ok, back to work...

Power and Authority

Something that I think is sorely lacking in this country is education about our basic rights, the constitution, and the government.
Think about it...
Do yo really know what a government "of the people, for the people and by the people" really is?
And if you do understand what it is, can you tell me why it no longer exists today?

Well, if not, I can certainly tell you...
It is all about "professional politics". We no longer live in a Republic, which is a rule of the people by and through a parliament/senate/etc... We never did live in a Democracy (one person, one vote).
What we have here is called a Plutocracy, or a rule by the rich. Go ahead, guess how much it costs to run for representative, senate, or president...even at the local level, it is insane the amount of money it takes to get into office...
Why do you think the politicians are so in with special interests? They provide the money necessary to get into office.
So now our country isn't ruled by the people, but by the RICH people...which is only like 3% of the population. That leaves out representation for the rest of the 97% of us.
If yo never thought about term limits, now would be a good time. Professional politics is destroying our country. We are being held hostage by special interests and big business. There is little if any real, fundamental difference between the Democrats and the Republicans - they both have their special interests and businesses, but the names change...
Term limits would ensure that people would get ONE shot (maybe two, if we are generous) to do their work in the senate, house, or other political spot...and then it would be someone else's turn...after a while, you would run out of rich people, and then it would change the whole system.
The problem is, of course, that in order for this limitation to be set, we would rely on the current people in power to change it...like that would happen this side of hell...
What people need to know is that the constitution put into place a framework for US (we the people) to create a government. That government has no rights, but it does have authority to exercise certain powers that WE (the people) delegated to it. The government is therefore limited in its scope and application. But over the years WE (the people) have happily let the government take more authority to exercise more power, until we are at a point where we are having basic laws, like the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), which Bush just circumnavigated, leaving us vulnerable to federal troops on our own soil...and having people detained without trial for a suspicion of activity, just ask all the people at GITMO... when did all this become COMMON and tolerable.
Why do we tolerate this? Because we do not understand who really is in charge around here, and that would be US (we the people).
When you wake up and see yourself wanted in connection of having not committed a crime, maybe then you will believe me, but I would hope you would learn about this before it happens to you.
Look into Patriots, Constitutionalists, Sovereign Citizen, Constitutional Erosion, and other things to find out just what it is that is really going on.

UPDATE
It is now November 2008, and what I "foretold" is beginning...
US Troops are now in operation on US Soil.

This Country - Free?

I have been taking part in some fantastic discussions lately on the changes for the worst that our country has taken. This includes the Patriot Act and the National Security Policy. I will post some of these discussions later on.
However, it isn't just the National stuff we have to worry about or the stuff that we see on the news, it is the little things, mostly at the state level, that seem to help along the demise of this once great country.

For instance, the requirement you have to carry in your car a "proof of insurance"...without this proof, you can be charged fines as much as $400 (maybe more in some places) for not having the simple PROOF of insurance...it is worse if you DON'T HAVE insurance...
Here in Utah, they have a database that tracks insurance and registrations. If a registered vehicle doesn't have insurance, they send a nasty note to the owner. Instead, they should be sending someone to verify the information in person, and write a ticket for the infraction. As it is, there is lag time, time that the driver is on the road without insurance.
What ever happened to the burden of proof? Shouldn't the state have to prove that you DON'T have insurance before they can tag you? This database is a start, but it still fails to address the innocence issue.

There are even crimes that you can commit that will get you time in jail ... only, you don't actually have to commit the crime. If the police officer fails to do his/her job correctly, you could be charged with a crime...and with the waning burden of proof, you would have to prove yourself innocent...only, there is no evidence suggesting you are innocent...so you are guilty...it is a cyclical degradation of your rights.

But wait, aren't we innocent until proven guilty? Not any more. Just ask all those people being held in GITMO...they were only suspected of having terrorist ties...nothing proved, no trial, no disclosure of evidence...in fact, they cannot even retain legal services to help in their defense and release...
Can anyone say, "World War 2"? Didn't we do this with the Japanese during the last world war? But at least then we were actually AT WAR...no articles of war have been sworn against any Mid-Eastern country...we are NOT officially at war...

The war on terror is like the war on drugs...it is a war only in action and policy, it is not a real war.
So, think about your life. Next time you get a speeding ticket, and the officer fails to tell you the time and place of your court appearance, you are guilty of "failure to appear" and will have a bench warrant issued for your arrest...you are guilty because law enforcement has failed to do their job.
Or if you do business at some place that is suspected of terrorist ties, then you are suspect as well.
Or maybe if you visit a website that is on the watch list, you will now be investigated for wrong-doing, even though, you didn't do anything.

What is wrong with this country and why aren't we doing anything about it?

Find something, share it

Normally I wouldn't do something like this, but I found something that really works for me, and I am saving money.
In this day and age, you have to save all the money you can, or you will end up in the poor house...
My Power Bill went up, my Gas Bill went up, the amount I pay to fuel my cars has gone up...

So lets take about a way to save about $10 a month. Not a mint, but every little bit counts.
I dumped my old POTS Phone Service (QWest) for Vonage. I looked at several VoIP companies, but I couldn't find one that provided E911 service, would allow me to keep my number, give me $60 and free hardware, and a free month of service.
It was so easy too.

I bought a piece of hardware at Circuit City, it is called a PAP2. At the time I bought it, Circuit City and Vonage were having rebates, a $25 and $100 rebate respectively. the PAP2 cost me $53. So after the rebates (yes, they are a pain sometimes) I will make $60 on the deal.
A friend sent me a link, if I signed up through his link, he would get 2 free months and I would get 1 free month and free hardware.
So I signed up via his link.

I transfered my home number, but you can transfere any number you own, and Vonage took care of the rest. They even gave me a "temporary" number I could use until the number was transfered...and there was NO break in service from QWest to Vonage.

I even hooked up all my home wireing to the vonage adapter by unplugging the POTS line from the house outside at the Telephone Box, and put a phone cord into the PAP2 and into the wall outlet. That simple.

When I finish building my house, I will install an Asterisk server and hook Vonage up to it. Asterisk is a FREE PBX system. This will allow me to turn my single phone line into a home phone system. (A topic for another post)

So, if you would like to save some money, free long distance in the US, Canada, and US Territories, and only $30 a month (including taxes) then drop me a line, or ask a friend who has the service to refer you.

-E

The American Stupidity

For the longest time now I have been following several issues regarding Religion in this country. Knowing about the history of our country has made me realize that we are headed right back for the same mistakes that plagued us before.

Early in our country's history, we had hundreds of people coming over to finally have a little relief from religious persecution. However, the minute they got here, religious intolerance appeared, and you ended up with many problems like burning "heretics" at the stake, and laws like the "Mormon Extermination Order" to indicate how open we were to our newly found "religious freedom".

How could things like this happen in a place that boasts religious freedom, and even protects that freedom from governmental interference?

We went through our own "enlightenment" period, where religions of all kinds were finally accepted, from the most strange and bizarre (like having "prostitute priestesses" who will have sex with you for money to forgive your sins) to the most normal and benign (like traditional Catholicism or Orthodoxy).

Now, we have started our turning again to religious intolerance. Religion is being removed from our schools. Religion is not “bad”, and teaching about religion is not “state supported/enforced” and therefore is NOT against the constitution. I don’t care what anyone says, religion is an important part of our lives. It has been shown in several studies that people who regularly participate in religious activities are happier, healthier, and less likely to break the law. Also, religion is a part of our lives, it is a part of our history. It is the reason for the United States, it is the reason for Utah state...

We have a large contingent of “atheists” here in the U.S. This is fine and good. However, they have decided to fight against those that do believe in God with a “religious zeal” that rivals the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Bible thumping, pulpit pounding Baptists.

One would have to question WHY they are so against the Religious of this country. If they don’t believe in God, why fight against those that do believe in God? What do they get from it? But then, I ask this question of the Anti-Mormons, and have yet to get an answer.

There is no such thing as the “Separation of Church and State”. I have an offer of $$ for anyone who can prove that there is such a thing. It would have to be listed in the Constitution or Bill of Rights, or any of the Federal Laws (in the Federal Register) or in any of the founding documents of this country that have a bearing on the legal system. Find it, let me know, I will pay up.

This punches the atheist argument of the supposed “separation” right out the window. All they are doing is trying to legally enforce “anti religion”. Because their actions are so similar to that of a regularly organized religion that believes in God, they (the Atheists) could be considered to be a religion. Why not? If you can have a religion with prophetess prostitutes, and Atheist Religion isn't so far off. By enforcing their “religion” BY LAW, against the rest of us who DO believe in God, they are violating the First Amendment which specifically prohibits the enforcement of a religion OR the prohibition of religion by the state.

I guess my argument is this; the enforcement of “anti religion” or “anti God religion” is the same as the enforcement of “pro religion” or “pro God religion”.

Several of the arguments come in against the “so help me God” in the oaths of office or in the courtroom, or the “in God we trust” on the currency, or the “one nation under God” found in the pledge of allegiance. So long as these are not enforced by law, i.e. you MUST say the pledge of allegiance or go to jail…you MUST use minted coin or currency to pay for goods and / or services or go to jail…you MUST state an oath with “so help me God” or face penalties…so long as there is no enforcement of these by law, there is no violation of the First Amendment.

The only thing that is being accomplished by the current trend of the Atheists against the Religious is the breakdown of tolerance. When religion is being excluded from our classrooms and from history, how will anyone really know what it is all about? Why did settlers come to America? Why did the pioneers go to Utah? If we cannot tolerate religion in anything "pubic" how can we tolerate it at all?

We will have no tolerance for people or their religion. Atheism may grow, but so will lawlessness and intolerance.

Why do I say that? Think about it…If we completely remove religious influence from the laws of the country, we would be left without laws against murder, rape, child molesting, child porn, robbery, assault, drugs, etc. All of these laws can be traced back to one religious (Judeo/Christian) principal or another.

You wanna say that these things would belong in a civilized society? Why? We were “civilized” back in the 1800s and it was still ok for a 50 year old man to marry a 13 year old woman, many drugs were legal, and stealing was a way of life for those with the bigger guns. In truth, we have these laws because the majority of the citizens in the U.S. are a religious, moral people.

What we should be worrying about is teaching tolerance to this and future generations. The only way we can live harmoniously together in this ever growing civilization is to be able to tolerate the differences that each of us has. Half of learning tolerance is learning about the thing to be tolerated. Religion is one of the most common commonalities that exists. Many people are religious, and some are non-religious. Understanding both these points of view is essential to learning tolerance.

If we can be tolerant and accepting of other’s religious beliefs, or lack of them, we can have a more open mind, and an open mind is never a bad thing.

However, if we continue on the path we are currently pursuing, we will end up like Germany, Iraq, Armenia, Croatia, Somalia, and all those other countries where religion, or absolute lack of it (or intolerance of it) has caused civil wars, mass genocide, and many other problems. This is America, we rely on Religious Tolerance and Freedom. Without it, we are just another problem waiting to happen.