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February 24, 2005
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black...
Wow...Has Everybody But Me Forgotten Germany's Past?
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 07:06 AM | Comments (1)
February 23, 2005
HomeSpun Bloggers Symposium XIV
Keeping up with my Symposium responses...this week HomeSpun Bloggers pose this question:
What moral obligations, if any, do Sudanese emigrants, now in the United States, have to aid those who remain in Darfur?
Wow...not that it's not an important topic, but I suppose that it's been somewhat overshadowed by some of the recent headlines.
From what I've just read about the situation in the Sudan, it does sound like a terrible problem is going under-reported. In the same report, it would sound as if the United Nations does have peacekeeping forces on the ground...but clearly, not enough to enforce the rule of law.
What I would say that the Sudanese emigrants do have an obligation to do is to raise the level of awareness to make the problem much more well known and to compel the United Nations to ramp up their efforts there to stop the madness and genocidal actions of the Arabs? Based on my new understanding of the situation, I think that UN should be the lead agency...and if requested, we should support with troops and humanitarian aid.
Whether Sudanese emigrants have a moral obligation or not, I don't know. I don't believe that my ancestors had any moral obligations after arriving here to Germany of the late 1800s.
This was a tough one!
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 10:13 PM | Comments (3)
February 19, 2005
"Well, allow me to retort!"
Yes indeed, I'm quoting Jules Winnfield, that great American movie character portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction...but it sure seemed like the right thing to say in response to Nate over at his blog called "Common Sense."
Here's Nate's original post, "Dammit Joe"
My response follows in it's entirety if you choose to read more...
Nate...
"using payroll taxes"
That is your money...and my money. Most people don't really think about the witholding as being part of their salary, but you really should.
I believe Mr. Lieberman and others are simply considering alternatives rather than turning a blind eye to a problem.
While some in Congress argue there is no problem, I'll look to the former savior of the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton and his estimation of the situation late last decade. I know that he and I certainly don't share much common ground, but I've believed for quite some time that there's a fundamental problem with the Social Security system.
If the Republican Party found the money, time, and resources to provide each American family a new home (1 bedroom per child and 1 per "couple) and the keys to a hybrid SUV to every American citizen of driving age...the Democratic Party would complain about the color of the tiles in the bathrooms and the interior of the hybrid SUVs.
I think that it's time to put political affiliations aside and start solving problems that are good for the country...not just the RNC or DNC.
Capische?
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 06:52 PM | Comments (2)
February 17, 2005
Figures Lie and Liars Figure
Not to go back and beat a dead horse...but I just happened to run across this little tool on the Web. Allegedly, it will help you compare the standard benefit as promised by the FDR incarnation of social security vs. the one proposed by President Bush in his State of the Union address.
Social Security Benefits Compared...
Go back and look at the address on that web page...is anyone actually surprised that President Bush's plan takes a beating here?
Here are two key things that this calculator DOES NOT address...
1. There isn't enough money coming in anymore to pay for the benefits for the retiring population. It was great when you had over ten workers supporting one retiree's benefits, but we've gone upside down on this one. It's time to let the engines of industry help grow the money we'll need for the future. (I just wish the government would get out of the retirement game altogether. Investing isn't THAT hard to get right...)
2. The calculator does not address the fact that when you die, that's all there is. The payments stop...and your family doesn't receive any more benefits. Under the Bush Plan, what you pay in is yours to keep, spend to the last penny, OR leave to your heirs as part of your estate. I'm all for a plan that allows me to keep more money in my name...and that I can pass on to the next generation in the form of an inheritance or an endowment.
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2005
Immigration Court...Appearance Optional
Well, that's the way it would appear at least in Harlingen, Texas where about 88% of the illegal aliens apprehended fail to appear for the day in court with the immigrataion officials.
Don't believe me? Check out this story from "The Monitor."
Immigrants Fleeing Justice? No, say it isn't so Jose!
Follow me to read the rest of my opinion on this gem. I'm sure you can probably figure out what direction I'll be heading.
Well, let's see if I remember the process correctly.
1. You're apprehended trying to illegally enter this country.
2. For lack of better terminology we "book" you and give you a court date. (Yeah, kind of like a traffic ticket!)
3. We let you go for 6 months.
4. You report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Court to plead your case.
5. Maybe we let you stay in the country...maybe we send you home.
Now if you were willing to enter this country illegally in the first place, why would anyone think that these lawbreakers would abide by this law...and follow the procedures above?
Okay...here's MajorDad's solution to this problem...
Get some of the old Voice of America and Radio Free Europe assets we used to have and blast this message into Mexico...not only will it be heard by the Mexican nationals that choose to flagrantly violate our borders, but also those other nationalities that choose to use Mexico as their "hopping off" point.
"Attention all potential criminals contemplating illegally crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Today we have completed the deployment of a series of barriers both physical and electronic to discourage you from entering our country illegally. These fences, walls, and sensor systems will pick up the body heat from anyone over the age of 3 years old. You cannot enter our country undetected.
Having tripped these sensors, we will do our level best to dispatch the appropriate authorities to take you into custody immediately and incarcerated for a period of no less than 3 years at hard labor.
If we cannot take you into custody, we will dispatch aircraft that will mark you with an indelible ink that will penetrate your clothing and turn your skin a bright orange color that will prevent you from being able to move without being noticed inside the United States. At this point, you will undoubtedly be reported by a citizen of the United States, arrested, and incarcerated at hard labor for no less than 3 years.
If you think that you will not be turned in, think again. At midnight tonight, every tip that leads to the capture of an illegal alien will be rewarded with a $500 bounty.
The United States is still open to legal immigration. If you have come to Mexico in order to sneak into our country...it's time to think again. If you are Mexican and want to sneak into our country...it's time to re-evaluate your strategy as well. The American Consulate in Mexico City remains open to accept applications for LEGAL IMMIGRATION and WORK VISAs on a case by case basis.
The United States is closed to criminals.
We now return you to your regular programming that consists of extremely bad soap operas, silicon based, peroxide blonde actresses in skimpy outfits, and masked luchadors (wrestlers)."
If this sounds harsh...it's time for Mexico and the nations that are running their people off to the point where they see the US as their only hope need to take better care of their citizens. Obviously they're not doing such a bang up job!
See y'all on the high ground...with the flood light and the guard dog!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 11:36 PM | Comments (2)
February 13, 2005
Gmail Anyone?
Interested in trying out the new free, crazy huge storage, email system?
I've got 50 invitations to hand out...
Let me know if you'd like an invite and we can get you onto Gmail!
It's awesome!
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
MajorDad1984@gmail.com
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2005
Homespun Blogger Symposium XII
As a member of the HomeSpun Blogger network of writers, here's Week 12's topic.
During last year's presidential election, some people began talking about reinstating the draft. Most conservatives, such as myself, simply saw it as an effort on the part of liberals to distance young people from Bush. Many conservatives have responded to the issue by insisting that there won't be a draft. Yet, I think another question deserves consideration. Do we have the right to insist and expect that the war against terror will not require a draft? The draft was an important element in the winning of the first two World Wars. The war on terror is another global war. What gives our generation the right to expect to abstain from the same duty our grandfathers and forefathers were called to?
Ooh! I like this topic and believe it or not, I've got an opinion on it!
Do we have the right to insist and expect that the war against terror will not require a draft?
No, I don't believe that we have the right, as citizens to have any expectation or guarranty of freedom against a draft in this country as we continue to fulfill the promise the United States made to the world when President Bush told the American people upon commencement of hostilities against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in October 2001:
"We will not waver, we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail."
For the time being, the all-volunteer military is meeting the needs it was intended to. While it's true that the National Guard and Reserves are having difficulty, I believe that is due to another problem. As far as the Army and Marines coming up short in recruiting in recent months and the Air Force and Navy having recruiting surpluses this is quite telling. We are indeed in the middle of a war AND the nation's youth have finally realized it too.
In order to keep the military capable of performing the expected and anticipated missions, the ranks must remained filled to a suitable level. If young men and young women are not volunteering to fill these ranks, perhaps we need to tap the men and women at the Selective Service System and get them moving on putting the plan into action. However, we have a problem Houston...young women within the draft age windows are not currently registered!!!
We will have to address this issue before moving forward with any kind of draft resurection. Will Americans support drafting their young women to fill gaps in the volunteer force?
The second part of the question is:
What gives our generation the right to expect to abstain from the same duty our grandfathers and forefathers were called to?
At nearly 43, I'm not sure that I necessarily have a dog in this fight. If they get to the point where they're pulling me into the active force, you might want to wonder where this is all going.
As far as those members of Generation X and Generation Y that are squarely in the sights of any moves by the Selective Service System, I'm uncertain. I believe that there should be much more patriotic and civic duties performed by children/young adults today. I see a large majority of these generations (and my own as well) being very self absorbed and interested in personal gain rather than any collective progress to be made by our society. I wish that there were some way for ALL American "kids" to serve at either at the local, state or federal and military service level before continuing any education past high school. This interim period could be used to help break the apron strings, get used to doing things like paying bills, being responsible for getting themselves up and off to work on time, and introducing them to the reality of the world where all the self-esteem oriented programs they've left behind in academia simply don't exist anymore. Upon a success 2-4 year period performing civic duties, then they would be "eligible" to enter their undergraduate studies program.
But back to the question of the draft...I believe that our nation has done the right thing by establishing an all volunteer force, but if the current trends continue I believe that we'll have to resort to some sort of draft to fill gaps in recruiting. Freedom isn't free...and if there aren't people willing to pay the price, we'll have to draft some that will.
The future of the National Guard and Reserve seem to be in limbo to me. If this force is unwilling to deploy to fight and win our nation's wars (like it says in their mission statements) perhaps we need to consider dropping them from the force...and simply plus up the active components of our military. I completely understand the issues the Guard and Reserves are going through...it's been a long time since this component's been called up and expected to serve as long as they have and in active combat theaters like they have. We've experienced a significant paradigm shift over the past four years...and one that isn't likely to shift back to the "good old days" any time soon.
Any draft we impliment will have to have clear cut timelines and "exit strategies" associated with it. Once the threat is reduced to a level that is manageable by an all volunteer force again, we should move back to it quickly.
On the other hand, I think that children of privilege quite often shirk their civic duties and responsibilities. Maybe a draft is something that could level the playing field between the "haves" and "have nots."
See y'all on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 09:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Just Say No to Crack!
And just when you thought everything that could be legislated had...here comes Virginia!
I've heard of schools that are more than willing to provide a length of clothesline to serve as a belt for first offenses.
Laughing my butt off on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 08:17 PM | Comments (1)
Useful Things
Who says MajorDad never gave you anything useful?
Here are a couple of services that are providing a CRAZY, HUGE amount of email and email storage space for absolutely free!
United Email Systems (3 Gigabytes)
Google Mail or Gmail (1 Gigabyte)
These are accessible anywhere in the world from any web browser out there. Might be something you could use if you do a lot of traveling and have to use public terminals for your web access.
Click on United Systems to start your "sign up" process...and if you're interested in Gmail...send me an email. It's by invitation only, but I have 50 invitations burning a hole in my pocket.
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
MajorDad1984@gmail.com
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2005
Reflecting on the State of the Union
After nearly a week of thinking about what our president said in his State of the Union Address, the following passage stuck in my mind...
"It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists."
I have a problem with this part of the speech and here's why!
1. There are jobs in this country that Americans won't take because they're able to receive benefits for NOT taking those kinds of jobs. Our other social programs are creating jobs for immigrants...rather than our citizens.
2. This program will only tell us who is entering or leaving our country if the other several thousand miles of border are sealed by fences, landmines, large hairy, mean German Shepherds, Dobermans, or Rottweillers and EVERYONE entering this country actually comes through an approved point of entry. The problem of illegal immigration isn't one we find in San Diego/Tijuana, Tucson/Nogales, El Paso/Juarez and the other large and small border crossing points. It's in those deep valleys that run from south to north in our Southwestern States. It's over the high Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista, Arizona...it's in the desolate desert where we share a border with Mexico.
3. See my response above for smugglers of drugs, human misery, or terrorists and their material. Until I see some more details to this program, I'm not really in favor of it at all.
I think that the key to this whole issue is that there are jobs that Americans could be taking "in a pinch" rather than throw in the towel and be satisfied with whatever federal, state and local assistance would come to their doorstep.
While I've never walked a mile in the shoes of someone that lived from paycheck to paycheck...or used food stamps, I have to believe that I've got what it takes to avoid taking handouts, even for short periods of time. I think that you have to practice the way you play. If you're willing to go "half speed" and accept the handouts, then you're starting a bad habit.
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2005
Okay, I'm Confused...
I just got done listening to President Bush's 5th State of the Union address to a joint session of congress and millions of people watching on television.
I think that he did a fine job letting people know about his vision (never do get to specifics in a State of the Union address) for the next four years.
One of the centerpieces of his speech was his proposed reform for the Social Security system. I'm a complete believer in the establishment of personal savings accounts that will be passed on from generation to generation...and grow at a much larger rate than the current social security funds that simply pass along to the government and not a worker's family when they pass away. I'm one of those government workers that is enrolled in the "Thrift Savings Plan" where 13% of my pay (because I want to contribute that much to MY OWN RETIREMENT) goes into any of five different funds. I've been participating in it for nearly 10 years...and I've saved quite a chunk of change. This money, plus my pension, plus social security should make for quite a comfortable retirement for MajorMom and myself.
What I thought kind of disingenuous of the Democrats that moaned and groaned when President Bush explained why the problem of Social Security should be fixed now. I'm not going to add a link for you to follow to read what I'd like you to read...but I would encourage you to go to your favorite search engine...and enter the following words and press the search button.
Enter: Clinton "Social Security"
Just like that...and read about the plans and concerns that President Bush's predecessor had to say about the state of Social Security and the fact that it is/was/might be headed for a train wreck some 40 years into the future. For some reason, I would believe that the Dems would have been applauding at some of these words.
In any event...I'm interested in hearing what you might think about the issue of Social Security or any of the issues that the Democrats seem to want to hold so near and dear when they're in power and in control, but turn their backs on when the Republicans might actually make some headway in solving.
See you on the high ground...I'll be the one playing with the "time value of money" calculations...
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 09:38 PM | Comments (3)
Homespun Blogger Symposium XI
Do you think that the elections in Iraq vindicated President Bush's
decision to invade Iraq?
Well, I'll have to put my bottom line answer to this week's question
right up front.
I don't know yet. We all won't know for quite some time I believe.
(That's a couple of years for you impatient Americans that want
EVERYTHING RIGHT FRIGGING NOW!)
We are operating in a region where time isn't measured in days, weeks,
months or even years. We're working in a part of the world where
decades are considered winks of the eye....centuries getting closer to
a measure of time that is understood.
The problems that have plagued the Middle East have been there for
hundreds and thousands of years. This is not a new problem; it's just
an interesting twist on an old one! Probably the most recent twist
was the way the lines were drawn carving up the old Ottoman Empire at
the end of World War I. Throughout the Middle East, the League of
Nations got it wrong and we've pretty much been on the receiving end
ever since. In its present configuration, the "League" ain't making
much forward progress in the region either. Surprised? So, let's
just say that one day of free voting alone isn't going to change
thousands of years of history quickly. With time, the vote will be
seen as the first step in a journey in the right direction.
Secondly, we're going to be hounded from now until the cows come home
about when American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq. Again, it's
far too early to even discuss a withdrawal when the Iraqis barely have
a government in place and a constabulary force capable of enforcing
the rule of law. In the absence of Saddam's iron fist, chaos has
ruled with various factions trying to fill the power gap. Until the
Iraqis can enforce the law of the land, I don't believe we're
overstepping our bounds. I agree that we should stand ready to turn
control over to Iraqi forces as they prove their mettle, but we should
also stand ready to show them what well led soldiers are capable of
doing too. As we dissolved the previous regime's military (not unlike
taking away the toys of the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht at the end of
WWII) it will take time to ensure that Iraq places the right people in
the right positions of authority to prevent a military coup in the
near term.
Finally, the Iraqi people that have lived under a monarch, under an
empire, and under a military dictatorship for so many
years...democracy and freedom are probably VERY STRANGE to them. We
take for granted the many rights we are guaranteed under the
Constitution. This Sunday was the first time the Iraqi people have
voted in a "real" election in a generation! It is guaranteed that
nobody will receive 100% of the vote this time, like Saddam had done
in the past.
So let's let this question simmer on the back burner for awhile before
we make our final call on this.
Do I believe that we're on the right track with Iraq? Absolutely.
Do I wish we could find the missing WMD? Of course.
Do I think we need to continue to crack down on illegal and unsanctioned proliferation of WMD? No doubt!.
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
New and Interesting Ways to Pick Your Pocket!
Now this is what I like to hear...congressmen conspiring to take more of the money I earn out of my pocket. Check this sh*t out!
It Worked to Finance the Spanish-American War
Why don't we just go to this length? All our employers can pay our ENTIRE salaries to the federal government...and then they can send US what the state doesn't need, what the local governments don't need....and we can all live at the same economic level!
Gee, that would really boost productivity, wouldn't it?
Puzzled on the high ground.
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 10:32 AM | Comments (1)
