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April 30, 2005
Separation of Church and US Air Force Academy
Well, I guess this is where I say, "Here we go again."
An article in the Casper, Wyoming Star Tribune this morning has me a little upset...and here it is:
Group alleges religious harassment is widespread at academy
Apparently the non-Christian or non-Christian professing cadets are feeling that they are under pressure by those that wear their faith a little more publicly on their sleeves.
As a graduate of the Air Force Academy's predecessor at West Point, I can tell you that faith does play a large part in the development of our junior military leaders. While I'm almost 21 years removed from my departure from my "rockbound Highland home" I just don't recall having these kinds of problems. At West Point, there are now three chapels devoted to providing religious services to the three major faiths (Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish) and I'm sure provisions for some of the smaller religions followed by the post's population. This is no different than the hundreds of facilities operated by the Department of Defense here or overseas.
What is at issue here again is a problem with people simply getting along with others...and perceptions of discrimination based on religious preference. I would like to say that there are going to be many other instances in the lives of the "persecuted" that have nothing to do with religion in the next 60-70 years of their lives. They're going to be discriminated against because they are too outspoken, they don't have the same kinds of recreational "toys" to share with others (to garner favoritism), and any other myriad of standards set by those that judge them. That's just the way life goes. I'm living it where I am. While it does anger me, I have come to realize that's just the humans choose to interact with each other.
To solve this issue, I would recommend that the Air Force Academy simply continue on the path it's on...suggest that those that have stronger faith understand that evangelism probably does not have a role to play as part of the day to day life at the Academy, and to treat others as they would like to be treated themselves. Being honest with myself, I truly doubt that the issue is one that is worthy of national interest. We have much larger issues to tackle!
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 08:18 AM | Comments (5)
April 24, 2005
And from the Class Warfare Section...
Since I've been a little lax in posting here...I'll try and get a lot done today. Now from the Class Warfare Section...
Working Wages Slide, While Business Lines Its Pockets
Another work from what I'll have to assume is a well-intentioned academic doing nothing more than listing the problems and providing no solutions whatsoever. Well, unless you want to talk about robbing from those achievers that are making the money and giving it to the people that are actually getting the work done. Unfortunately, I tend to believe that people are in fact getting paid what they're worth. A tragic consequence of our loss of "pulling oneself up by their bootstraps" mentality.
A smart, hard working person will never go hungry in this country. I feel confident in making that statement, as I believe that I'm living proof of it. I haven't lied, stolen or cheated my way to my comfortable lifestyle, but what I can say is that I've always been one to look for the next opportunity. I have not been risk averse when it comes time to try and improve my lot in life. I've done my research and then applied my assets prudently along the way. Bottom line is that it works.
Now how do we try and improve the lots in life of those that aren't necessarily as fortunate to have the smarts, ability to take those prudent risks, and find their piece of the American dream?
1. The rates and policies of taxation in this nation are ridiculous for the results we seem to achieve. Programs that show little or no progress in ameliorating the ills they were intended to solve, continue year after year. There seems to be no "metrics" being used to measure the effectiveness of many of our social and economic programs.
2. The manner in which we're taxed leaves far too many loopholes for the rich and white collar criminal to slip through. My recent posts for advocating the "Fair Tax" approach to collection a national tax remain solid. If you want to learn more about Representative Linder's House Bill, go to www.fairtax.org. Conceptually, I fail to see any problem at all with the way this tax program works. The part that probably could use some support though is how we "sell" it to the American people and corporate America. One of the key factors of this tax would be the resulting dropping of costs of good and services. As we now pay many "hidden" taxes to those that produce good and services, we would expect the cost to consumer to drop accordingly. The proposed 23% tax rate that you'd pay at the register should be met with a 20-30% drop in the cost of the items you're buying. Corporations must understand that they'll have to drop prices to make this work...this isn't a way for them to increase profits. If we need to do something with the IRS, perhaps we need to make them economic watchdogs to prevent what would amount to price gouging.
3. Rather than focusing on inflating self esteem in our youth, we need to champion the heros of the past that seemed to achieve in spite of their situations. There are any number of people that have risen from poverty or come from other nations to claim their piece of the American Dream. Rather than constantly crying about the "haves" trying to screw the "have nots" at every turn, let's talk about about what makes the "haves" succeed. If you want to get better at anything, you need to look at those who have achieved in the past. What is it that made them rise above the rest? And how can we copy that success? I can spend plenty of time crying in my beer...but wouldn't it make more sense for me, if I wanted to be successful, to find out how Adolph Coors makes money off the sales of beer?
See y'all on the high ground.
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 11:30 AM | Comments (5)
It's About Security - Stupid
Borrowing from the Clinton playbook...it's not about the economy this time. The issue with illegal immigartion is about security, both homeland security and the security of the LEGAL citizens of this country.
An 18 month old Houston boy was shot and killed by a member of the criminal drug organization known as MS-13 when a drug deal his father was involved in went bad.
For those of you not in the know, MS-13 is one of the Central/South American drug gangs that has ties to international terrorism and Al Qaeda. To have these illegals running around in crime syndicates is bad enough...allowing them to have ties to groups like Al Qaeda just ratchets up the necessity for closing our borders to ILLEGAL immigration. Whether you're coming to this country to pick lettuce or peddle narcotics, you're going to have to get here illegally or face the consequences.
While I'm sure that the vast majority of illegals entering our country every year are certainly not murderers, rapists, or drug cartel kingpins...they are being used to mask those that are. In order to ensure that we can sleep easier at night, I think it's the duty of this administration to take bold and drastic measures to force all immigration to follow a tried and true process. It will allow us to protect our citizens by knowing exactly who is entering our country...and implement deterrents for those that decide to sidestep the process.
See y'all on the the high ground.
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 10:50 AM | Comments (7)
The Pledge of Allegiance Altered
I'm still sitting here just a little stunned after reading the following story. Apparently it wasn't just the students that heard this over the intercom who were stunned...
Altered Pledge of Allegiance Stuns Students
When the principal, who normally lead the school in the morning pledge, wasn't in the building, an eighth grade guidance counselor (why we have one of those on the staff is somewhat beyond me anyway) decided to use a version of the Pledge she'd altered. In order to be more "inclusive" she changed the time honored pledge by substituting "one nation, under your belief system" instead of "one nation, under God." The guidance counselor cited that she felt compelled to make her changes in honor of the 6th anniversary of the Columbine massacre.
Much to my surprise parents were absolutely up in arms over the change and have been hounding the school's principal and administration. This gives me reason to believe that things aren't as bad as they seem...but this story still causes me some troubles. Let me see if I can use my time honored tradition of outlining my "speaking points."
1. What are we doing by hiring such "free thinkers" out there in academia? If these "people" are hired to teach our children a set and approved curriculum, why do I often hear stories about teachers somehow injecting their own personal beliefs into the education process. I think we need to be a little more directive with some of these free spirits...if they want to add their personal politics, they can teach at the college level.
2. What should the consequence of this action be? I would think that perhaps that the same guidance counselor should be forced to apologize to the entire school over the PA system for her lapse in good judgement. There has to be some consequence, but calling for her head probably isn't the right reaction for this indiscretion.
3. Parents need to strongly influence their local boards of education to adopt and STICK TO approved curriculums that are indicative and supportive of their local values.
4. People need to be just a little more cognizant of how this country was established and recognize that it WAS founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic. That doesn't mean that everyone necessarily needs to be baptized...and attend compulsary services. What it does mean though is that we have to always remember that history is just that. It cannot and should not be changed to be politically correct.
5. Those that would claim offense to the mention of God need to understand that I'm equally offended with their lack of acknowledgement of a higher being. I can thank MajorBaby for reinforcing beliefs I learned as a child...feeling her kick before she was born, the blessed event, and the past two years have been something to remember and cherish. There has to be a God, good stuff like her doesn't happen by accident.
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 08:37 AM | Comments (7)
April 15, 2005
Homespun Symposium XVIII
After a short hiatus from the symposium topics...here's #13 in the continuing series to be answered by members of the Homespun Bloggers. This week's question asks:
How has blogging affected your life?
I would have to say first and foremost, it's given me an outlet for my writing. Believe me or not, I was blogging long before that's what it was called...and software packages like Movable Type, WordPress, and Blogger hadn't even been thought of. Yes, I used to craft web pages the old fashioned way, in MS Notepad. HTML tags were fewer back then and basically it was a royal pain to get your point across. Thanks to technology and enlightened software engineers, they've created the media of choice for me...the blog.
Next I'd say that blogging allows me to vent when I need to vent, crow about the good things (or at least what I consider to be good) when I have something to crow about, and most of all...to get people to think. While I'd like to believe I do have some powers of persuasion, even if I get someone thinking about an issue that they probably never took time to noodle through, I've done my job. Raising the level of the average Joe is something that we as bloggers have to have some credit in doing. The blogosphere has recently come to light in many different areas: politics, health care, social issues just to name a few. While the mainstream media sometimes seems to play a little fast and loose with facts, the blogosphere goes to great pains to police itself. Just remember what happened to Jeff Gannon.
Finally, I've "met" some pretty neat folks out here in the b-sphere! Bunker, Dagney, Wallace and all you others that visit my blog from time to time or write in a way that entertains me and makes me think, my hats are off to you. If it weren't for the blogosphere, Homespun Bloggers, and the powers of electronic mail, my life would be much different.
See y'all on the high ground! Signing off from Central Texas!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 11:59 AM | Comments (2)
April 14, 2005
Americans for Fair Taxation
Well, it sure would appear that I'm not the only one barking up this tree. I've always said, "The major difference between rich people and poor people is the stuff that they can afford to buy." A taxation system based on consumption would therefore be FAIR (although MajorGramps always tells me that life wasn't). If you spend a lot, you pay a lot. If you spend on the 'necessities' of life, you pay nothing.
As I'm about to get busy on 2004 taxes, okay you caught me. As I'm about to get busy on filing my automatic extension for my 2004 taxes, I ran across this website through an article posted on the WorldnetDaily.com.
It would appear that there is legislation working its way through the process that would eliminate all federally mandated taxation in favor of implementing a flat 23% tax on everything you buy. As for life's necessities, there is a rebate of 23% of whatever the going rate for poverty is in this nation. According to 2004 figures, this is over $18,000 for a family of four in the Continental US. Figures for Alaska and Hawaii are somewhat higher.
As I'll probably kick my 2004 taxes down the road until August, can you imagine how much nicer life could be if April 15th were just another day?
While I still think that the federal government is picking my pocket (since I'm responsible and have something in it) to put money into less responsible peoples' pockets, I'm all for leveling the playing field and moving on with life. Based on information on the Americans for Fair Taxation website, it certainly does sound as if we'll have the money to continue funding current programs AND put more money into the hands of the American people. The more they have, the more they'll spend.
Your thoughts, as always, are most welcome!
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
UPDATE
Frequently Asked Questions about the FairTax
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 11:51 AM | Comments (4)
April 08, 2005
Strikeouts For Troops
Busy here today, but there's plenty of news to report and comment on. Several weeks ago, it might have sounded like I was down on Major League Baseball with my post about Barry Bonds and his continuing negative press campaign he seems compelled to pursue. Nothing could be further from the fact. While I still would rather play baseball or softball, I still enjoy watching the game. Am I tickled that these guys are making the kind of money they are...absolutely not! I'd leave my cubicle in a heartbeat to play the game for the salary I make right now. Having said all that, let's get to the meat of the story.
I just surfed across a story that makes me smile and reconsider that ballplayers may be a money grubbing lot. Barry Zito, pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, has created a foundation of sorts where major league pitchers will donate $100 for every batter they strike out this season. The money will be donated to Walter Reed Army Hospital, Bethesda Naval Hospital and other military hospitals caring for our war wounded. To date, Barry's been on the mound for three strikeouts...but that's just one game. My understanding is that he's attempting to get his fellow pitchers to join him with this effort. While a small contribution compared to their salaries, it's a move in the right direction.
Barry, if you're reading this, you might want to consider pulling together your fellow sluggers and doing the same for home runs!!! It might help your public image.
If you want to learn more about Strikeouts for Troops, visit them at:
Strikeouts for Troops
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 08:46 AM | Comments (3)
Better Be Nice to Your Kids....
It didn't take long for this first post-Schiavo case to make it into the news. You might want to follow this link to a story on WorldNetDaily to check things out before reading any further...
Granddaughter yanks grandma's feeding tube
No matter what your opinions were in the Schiavo case, this has to make just about anyone mad. Let's go over the facts of this case:
1. Grandmother has surgery to repair a relatively simple heart ailment.
2. Following surgery, her granddaughter decides to place her grandmother into hospice care after surgery.
3. The same granddaughter uses a financial power of attorney to buffalo a legal beagle on the hospice's staff and orders removal of all "artificially delivered nutrition." Grandma's feeding tube is pulled.
4. Other family members, closer to the grandmother beg the "evil granddaughter" to allow them to care for the patient. These family members successfully petition the hospice to re-introduce a feeding tube to provide grandmother nutrition and water.
5. Evil granddaughter petitions a probate court (don't ask me what powers a probate court has over the living...) for total guardianship of her grandmother. Recently re-inserted feeding tube is pulled again.
6. Hospice legal beagle is off for the weekend and won't return until the following week. This is at the same time Grandma is wasting away like Terri Schiavo.
"This is happening in hospices all over the country. Patients who are not dying – are not terminal – are admitted [to hospice] and the hospice will say they are terminally ill even if they're not. There are thousands of cases like this. Patients are given morphine and ativan to sedate them. If feeding is withheld, they die within 10 days to two weeks. It's really just a form of euthanasia."
For those of you that focused solely on the Terri Schiavo circus, you're now seeing the second and third order effects of that debacle. It is not for us to decide the fate of the elderly, the infirmed, or the handicapped...I think there's a much higher power that accepts and relishes that responsibility.
Can't we simply ensure that those in need and in bad shape endure the minimum amount of pain and suffering until that time? My grandfather is going to be 97 years old this November...and he's going as strong as ever. Has he ever had any medical problems...sure, our bodies start developing troubles just like any mechanical device as it puts on miles or operating hours. Thankfully modern medicine has brought us to the point where we can extend the life and the quality of it much longer than in previous generations. To start using "legalese" and poorly established precedents to take away the final decisions of patients like Terri, grandma and others simply isn't right.
People shout from the mountaintops, "Don't play God." I think he'd agree with them. We feed, clothe, and shelter our fellow man until his final moments...and then we return the body to the Earth afterwards with the requisite amount of respect.
Sadly from the high ground...
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 08:01 AM | Comments (4)
April 07, 2005
Back to the Minuteman Project
Okay, I've held my tongue long enough. Try as I might to let this story slide, I just can't. At the risk of this becoming an anti-immigration blog (which it's not), I'll have to address the issue of the Minutemen in Arizona.
Here's my reference story from Netscape to give you just a little background...
Minuteman Project Volunteers Face Probe
I guess the "big story" is the fact that we might have embarrassed an illegal that was slipping through our all too porous border. A group of three Minutemen encountered a Mexican gentleman, offered him food, water, a t-shirt (with some ill-advised humor on it) and some money.
The Cochise County sheriff's department looked into the incident and has told Minutemen organizers, that the incident isn't a problem. Apparently other investigators want to find some wrong-doing and the investigation continues.
On the other side of the border, "migrants' rights activists" are concerned about problems with the Minutemen. While they're dismissing this voluntary force policing the border....they're also staying away in large numbers. By the end of the month, temperatures in southern Arizona will be heading for summertime peaks. Maybe that will help plug the holes.
Now where's the analysis of the problem here....
1. The Border Patrol is upset because these volunteers are tripping sensors along the routes into the US.
With the numbers of illegals who enter along these routes without the Minutemen being there...what's the problem if we have people out there to discourage, document and report with "eyes on the targets?" All the reports I've read state that even with the "high tech" solutions out there, there simply aren't enough Border Patrol agents to "round 'em all up." If the Minutemen are willing to be spotters for agents...why can't they just say "thank you" and do their jobs in apprehending?
2. The migrants' rights groups South of the Border are getting upset by the potential for vigilante violence. Hells bells, have you ever seen some of the soccer riots in Mexico City during a big match? Are we not going to play soccer there anymore? Any gathering of people can "potentially" do anything! Be it bad or good, but people still have the right to peacefully assemble in this country last time I checked. If the Mexicans are so worried about their citizens encountering Minutemen, they are most welcome to post their own set of sentries.
3. I think that this effort is mostly a way to bring the issue of illegal immigration to the front page of the American press. I think that if we've learned nothing from the tragic events of 9/11/2001, we should have realized that it is the responsibility of the federal government to tenaciously seek out those people that are here illegally. Short of placing troops on the border, the Coast Guard on our coastline, and our Air Forces in the skies protecting air infiltration...we need to get a handle on this problem before we see a mushroom cloud on the horizon when looking towards a major American city, hear a news story of a terrible outbreak of smallpox that can be traced to people moving through an airport, or reports of our food industry and water supplies being tainted with some form of bacteria we cannot handle.
See you on the high ground folks...just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to GET YOU!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 10:22 AM | Comments (12)
Denzel's One of the Good Guys
A couple of days back I received one of those forwarded emails from a friend in Kuwait telling a story about Denzel Washington's visit to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam Houston in the San Antonio area.
The story goes that during a visit to Fort Sam Houston last December, Denzel Washington was visiting the wounded and recovering soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, helping officials to distribute Purple Hearts and other decorations...generally one of America's celebrities on a morale tour. No doubt, troops appreciate visits like this, I know that I certainly would given that kind of situation. Anyone that could bring some excitement to a ward would be a welcome visitor.
Part of the tour included a visit to Fort Sam's "Fisher House." For those of you that are unfamiliar with them, these are places the Army has established for families that want to be close to loved ones during periods of extended recovery. They're somewhat akin to a highway motel, but much "homier." Rented at the cost of $10 a night, it helps keeps a family's expenses down probably at a time where that's exactly what they need. Most often, they're occupied by parents of ill children that are undergoing extensive treatment requiring long hospital stays. Now with the war going into it's third year, these traditional families are now competing with families of returning war wounded. Denzel understood this completely (actual) and whipped out his checkbook, asked the price tag for building and outfitting one of these places, and made a donation on the spot (somewhat fictional account).
Denzel Washington make large donation to Fort Sam Houston Fisher House
As you'll read, the whole story isn't true. However, there are enough real facts about what Mr. Washington does and is likely to do in the future to make me think he's one of Hollywood's good guys! Poke around about him and you'll find this out for yourselves.
Thank you Mr. Washington and may you enjoy continued success!
See you all on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Posted by MajorDad1984 at 06:59 AM | Comments (2)
