CIA.  JFK.

That is quite possibly the worst decision the U.S. has made in a very, very long time.  Just read in the paper today one judge was trying to prevent being able to "move detainees physically beyond the reach of the Constitution and detain them indefinitely."  We went to a very dark place following 9/11.  And when we revoke the Geneva Convention, we become no better than those we are vowing to defeat - period.  Wherever there is American soil - whether it be here at home, in a foreign embassy, or on a military base - the Constitution applies to everyone there.  Of course it is necessary to take prisoners of war to obtain information on how best to defeat the enemy, but we absolutely cannot do so at the expense of all our morals and values.

Did you know that April 1-7 is Testicular Cancer Awareness Week?  If yer a dude, check the boys.  If yer a dudette, check'em for him!  (Saved my life.)

Good question!  Most importantly, remember that we are obligated to operate under the guidelines of the Geneva Convention, which, for the past eight years, we have almost completely dismissed.  Also, there is such a thing as the Constitution, and more specifically, an idea known as "habeas corpus."  The detainees should be scattered to maximum security facilities around the country, and immediately they should determine whether there exists enough evidence to try these prisoners with some sort of crime (war crime or otherwise).  If there is sufficient evidence, give them the fair and speedy trial to which they are entitled.  If there is not, the only choice is to let them free and do as much as humanly possible to ensure their safety.

I hope your 2012 Presidential bid is worth it!  Actually, no I don't.  I just hope my wife - a damn good public school teacher - has a job next year....

http://charleston.net/news/2009/mar/31/possible_school_cuts_outlined77014/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/03/11/brazil.rape.abortion/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

So yesterday I wrote about the survey that indicated that Americans are going away from religion, especially Christianity.  And more specifically: Catholicism.  Why is this happening?  The above article may be a huge hint.

Imagine you have a daughter and she is nine years old.  God forbid, the unthinkable happens.  She gets raped.  To add insult to an already grave injury, the worst case scenario happens.  She gets pregnant.  With twins.  Besides wanting to tear the rapist limb from limb and jam those limbs down his throat, what do you do now? 

I would imagine the last thing you would want to do is let the pregnancy go on.  Not just because it was caused by rape (because many good people have chosen to keep and love their babies caused by this heinous act), but because your daughter is nine years old.  There is no way the pregnancy would be without significant risks.  Now I'm no doctor, but I would venture to say that the probability of the babies surviving would be relatively low, and if they did they would undoubtedly face countless health issues throughout their lives.  And even more importantly, what about your daughter?  A nine year old is not designed to carry a baby, much less twins.

A group of doctors in Brazil realized this, so they performed an abortion for the little girl, which I would say probably saved her life.  What thanks did they get?  They got excommunicated from the Catholic Church because of what they did.

So you would at least think the rapist would have gotten excommunicated as well, right?  Absolutely not.  Why?  Because "A graver act than (rape) is abortion, to eliminate an innocent life."  I'm not usually at a loss for words, but...wow.  I always believe abortion should be the last option, but in this case, undoubtedly necessary.

Why are people moving away from religion?  You decide.

Voted "Most Likely to be President" in high school.


....still working on that.

Usually daydream about how great it'll be when I take over the world.

Last night Bill O'Reilly reported on a recent survey conducted by ARIS (American Religious Self-Indentification Survey) which showed that between 1990 and today, the percentage of Americans that called themselves Christian dropped from 86 to 76.  Additionally, 20% of Americans now choose to associate themselves with no defined religion, with Catholicism taking the biggest hit in numbers.  The conclusion, therefore, is that today more and more Americans are becoming "Godless" beings and hold no faith to speak of.

I believe that can't be farther from the truth.

On the contrary, I believe we are simply in the midst of a massive redefining of how we view religion in America and around the world.  Perhaps a second Reformation, if you will.  Much like the Reformation of the 16th century, Americans are seeing the obvious flaws with organized religion, including the omnipresent "do as I say, not as I do" mentality of many preachers and churchgoers alike.  So, they choose to not be a part of the hypocrisy and opt to not associate themselves with a certain church. 

Does that then mean they have no faith?  That they are Godless heathens?  Absolutely not.  Just because a person chooses not to go to church every Sunday does not mean they don't share many of the same thoughts, feelings, and faith in God.  They just choose to exercise their religious beliefs in a more personal way.  At home, for example - where God belongs the most.  I can honestly say that I do not attend church on a regular basis, but my kids do.  Not because they have to, but because they genuinely want to.  And that's the way it should be.  Religion should not be force fed down a child's throat on a young age.  Instead they should be given the option to attend church, and they should decide for themselves if that is something in which they wish to participate.  Mandatory church attendance will only go on to cause greater distrust in organized religion later in life.  Church should be a place of fun and togetherness, not a place of "fire and brimstone" where you learn about all the things God doesn't like about us meager humans.

And because I don't go to church, does that mean my family has no faith or belief in God?  Negative.  If anything, I'd say deep down we are much more religious than the individual who goes to church and then leaves the parking lot afterwards and proceeds to lie, cheat, steal, etc etc etc (but it's okay because they went to Church).  Just remember: if you do go to church, take what you learned with you when you leave, and make sure you apply it all throughout the week, not just two hours on Sunday morning...and then maybe we'll see the churches start to fill up again.

Cell phones.  Can you imagine that black market?  Geeky yet gangsta.....

Well, thanks to support from fine folks like yourselves, my wife's fundraising project for her classroom got completely funded, and her kids will be receiving their new books shortly.  The project was so successful, she has decided to place another project online, and this time it is to give her kids what they've been begging for - copies of the Twilight series.  Her school only has so many copies, and since this is one of the few stories her kids will actually read, she would like to have some more so that all that want to read the books have the opportunity.  As always, your contributions (as little as a dollar) are tax deductible and go towards a great cause.  The link is below, and I thank you in advance for your support.

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=231435

In stores.  And on Black Friday.  Mostly because I'm pretty sadistic...

Title: There Was No Father
Rating: PG-13
Place In Timeline: Right before Episode II
Characters: Shmi
Short Summary: Shmi claimed Anakin had no father, but does anyone really believe that?

( WHAT REALLY HAPPENED )

The following is the beginning to a short story that I will soon be submitting to a Biblical story contest.  I'd love to hear what you guys think of the beginning...

Damn the vultures.  Their silent enjoyment of those we have lost mocks our struggle.  For forty days we have been feeding their undeserving bellies.  The height of this hill only makes it easier to see the sickening feast that we have disgracefully provided for them.  Thirty-nine bodies lie, their eyeballs, fingers, and toes already picked away, encircled overhead by those who look forward to our defeat every morning at the hands of the goliath whom the Philistines have chosen to crush our dreams of victory. 

 

( Keep on readin'! )

I don't know if you guys have kept up with this story, but I am referring to the case of an 8-year old boy accused of shooting and murdering his own father and another man who lived with them.  I just saw a video clip of the police officers interrogating the boy - without a lawyer, without his mother - and getting a confession out of the boy after much coercion.  I literally got sick to my stomach seeing this clip, because it is such a huge violation of this child's rights as a victim and as a suspect.  He was not read his Miranda Rights (supposedly), and clearly had no adult to "stick up for him" during the interrogation.  You can hear the fear in his voice throughout the whole event.  He is due to appear in court today, and I hope this case (and I don't even care about his guilt or innocence) is thrown right out the window due to the flagrant violation of this child's rights.