Tuesday, March 22, 2005

A pox upon me ....

so there i was .... filled with vim, vigor, and vitality and trying my best to MAKE someone see things my way.

The very thing i have been so vehement about being the "wrong way to act"in my latest writings is exactly what i was doing MYSELF.

Therefore i must as a matter of principle and holding to my own personal code of conduct publically and sincerely apologize to LaShawn Barber for my actions. They were course, callous and in the light of her heartfelt request totally uncalled for.

I do not wish to ever insinuate that my way of viewing things is the only right way they may be viewed.

I hope that all of us wil continue to see God's guidance in our daily activities and that we may always treat each other with respect and graciousness.

I remain your humble servant.....

THE GEEK

Free Exchange of Ideas Alive and Well ...

Call me crazy but ...

even though i have disagreements with many regarding the tactics and strategies revolving around the Terri Schaivo case one thing i see as a positive in all this is that especially among conservatives is that we are still willing to engage in the free exchange of ideas ... (see LaShawn Barber's site for a great example) even when we disagree with each other for the most part it has been civil and informative and even educational...

for me i am reminded of the old Supertramp song which in part says:

"Now I believe in what you say
Is the undisputed truth
But I have to have things my own way
To keep me in my youth"

"Now some they do and some they don't
And some you just can't tell
And some they will and some they won't
With some it's just as well"

So long as we can maintain civility of words and actions in the free exchange of ideas (agree or disagree with them as we may) our Republic will continue to, as Ronald Reagan so aptly described it, stand as "a shining city on a hill" continually beckoning and drawing all of humanity to share in its light, its warmth, and its sanctuary.

No matter our disparate belief systems so long as we the people remember that it is all of us who are "we, the people" and continue to respect one and all we will not only survive but thrive.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Giving Credence to the Opposition

Lets get the disclaimer out of the way first shall we ...

I am a conservative who believes in very limited government especially as the government has power to control and dictate to me what my personal life and decisions should be regarding myself, my family and personal belief systems. I am also personally a pro-life person who would not choose to terminate anyone's life without their consent or let mine be so terminated. However i do have written documents specifying that if i am unable to live without being totally dependent on either machines or other people to continue living exactly what measures are to be taken and which are not.

Having said that i also realize that MY personal beliefs are just that ...MY beliefs. They are not always the beliefs of any other person and that means that i must also fully protect their belief to do things differently than i would do in order that MY beliefs are protected. To me that is the core tenant of Conservatism ....

I may not like your beliefs, i may think them weird, outlandish and downright crude however i MUST protect your right to have them or else i risk my right to have MY beliefs as well.

Which brings me to the point of having to vehemently disagree with a great many of my conservative friends and persons i admire over the tragic case of Terri Schaivo.

I believe that what many conservatives have been advocating and cheering over the weekend as the unprecedented step of the congress stepping in and changing the rules of law in mid-stream is wrong and will eventually due to the "law of unintended consequences" turn around and bite us back harder then we would ever have thought or desired.

Conservatives have always stood on the unbending principle of "The Rule of Law" and many of us have been very vocal over the last decade in denouncing those of the liberal side in their attempts to circumvent, go around, twist, parse, maneuver and otherwise manipulate those laws and rules into what they wanted.

My friends you cannot have it both ways .... many times i have said those very words to my liberal acquaintances and now unfortunately i must say them to my conservative friends. We are either for the rule of law or we stand for nothing except for what we accuse our opposition of .... an ever-changing notion of whim and popularity and emotion.

The case of Terri Schiavo is not difficult to follow .... nine times within the Court system of Florida it has been tried and re-tried and each and every time the ruling has been the same .... we may not like it but there it is .... under the rule of law. In eager zeal to "right" a terrible wrong (as we view it) many conservatives are being seen as willing to abandon those principles we hold to be true ... and in the course of doing so giving comfort, support, and credence to the opposition that we are no better than they are .... we also are willing to abandon principles of our core beliefs in order to "win no matter the cost" ... the rule of law be dammed.

We as conservatives will not continue to win and change hearts if out of one side of our mouths we scream that the best government is one which leaves personal decisions up to the people involved and out of the hands of an over-reaching government while at the same time using the other side to scream at an even higher level that the Government MUST take this decision out of the hands of the responsible legal guardian and the responsible legal entity (in this case the state of Florida) and change the rules in a completely unprecedented manner and transfer it to a different authority so that we can get the ruling we want (regardless of the consequences down the road).

James Madison said

"The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils. They have seen with regret and indignation that sudden changes and legislative interferences, in cases affecting personal rights, become jobs in the hands of enterprising and influential speculators, and snares to the more-industrious and less-informed part of the community." Federalist Number 44, 1788.

We should as caring, compassionate and principled conservatives try to change the laws we see as wrong or unjust but we should NEVER try to circumvent in unprecedented manners such as are being tried to change rulings arrived at justly just because we do not agree with their outcomes.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Another blow to personal responsibility ....

its all inside ....

No not at JC Penney but rather inside the California State Legislature .... striking another blow to personal responsibility and making it even more difficult for businesses to want to sell their products here or even do business in the state ....

Yes my friends the paragons of public protection are at it again .... all the gory details can be found here ....

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0901-0950/sb_942_bill_20050222_introduced.pdf

Senate Bill 942 which will make cigarette manufacturers responsible for the littering habits of the users of their products.

First the disclaimer ...

I AM NOT A SMOKER. SMOKING IS A FILTHY HABIT. I personally believe that everyone should try to quit, however if someone CHOOSES to smoke knowing the risks (and anyone born after 1956 is well aware of the risks) more power to you, HOWEVER -- DO NOT EXPECT ME TO PAY FOR YOUR BAD CHOICES .... either now or in the future.

Having said that, the idea that somehow the product manufacturer (of any product) is responsible for the disgusting habit of throwing the leavings of the used product away in an illegal manner (we do have laws against littering) is absolutely one of the Top 5 BIZARRE, IRRATIONAL and IDIOTIC to ever come out of Sacramento (if not THE TOP) ... and that's saying something folks.

For those who will say well its just BIG TOBACCO and they can afford it .... I will counter with the argument that this is just the first step down a VERY SLIPPERY SLOPE and that it is is not that far from say next targeting the Candy Manufacturers because John Q Public throws them away in the same fashion at almost as great a rate.

At what point does it become the responsibility of the manufacturer to be responsible for ANY action of the purchaser ... Especially when the manufacturer has no idea which of its ultimate customers is doing said illegal activity. will the state now also go after manufacturers of couches (i saw four discarded along the road i travel to work just this morning) or microwave ovens (two of those on this one stretch) or snack foods of all varieties (too numerous to mention)....

For the past 14 years until November 2004 my family and i and other friends were part of two groups that participated in the Adopt-a-Highway program.

As an aside, i highly recommend this program if you are looking for something worthwhile to do and get a little exercise at the same time. If ever you want to see just how much stuff of all kinds is thrown out of vehicles or left along the side of the road ... take a walk one day and you will be amazed.

The point however, should be to enforce the laws on the ACTUAL perpetrators of the illegal activity. Trying to hold cigarette manufacturers liable for the actions of some (but not all) users of their products would be like trying to hold Ford Motor (or every other automobile company) liable for the medical, liability insurance and related costs of accidents caused by drunk drivers.

At what point is the ACTUAL PERSON doing the illegal activity actually responisible for dealing with the consequences of their actions??

If this bill passes (and with the super majority of liberal members in the California Legislature it probably will pass easily) every business owner will have reason to fear that their business will be next in the hit parade. Lets face it people ... the state needs money and they will do anything no matter how illogical, idiotic or asinine to get it .... COMMON SENSE BE DAMMED FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!!

Please, call or write Governor Swarzenegger; call or write your state senator or assembly member ... the ridiculous-ness MUST STOP before all of us suffer irreversible damage.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

and now a brief word ...

it has been a while since i posted ... mostly due to the combined effects of being away from my computer house sitting for friends, swamped at my regular job with an inundation of work, trying desparately to balance my free time amongst the many volunteer activities i am a part of and an 11-day long severe migraine headache.

Just a brief aside but if you have never experienced a long-lasting headache you have no idea of the pain and inconvenience it causes .... if you are experiencing long-lasting headaches ... PLEASE see your medical doctor or chiropractor ... many thanks to Dr. Del Hatton of Placerville Chiropractic for eliminating MY pain.

So much has happened since i last logged on and i will not attempt to cover it all however i will say that it seems that there is a whole lot of "freedom" happening in the world and while i believe that freedom is a good thing .... there seems to be a movement in the US toward "unlimited and total freedom" without respect to rules of law, societal norms, what is best for society and most importantly what is inherently right or wrong.

I will blog later with more details but let it be known to all who read that there are things happening which have riled me up ....

Beware the "riled up" common man for he is what makes things work or not work....