I Do Not Pity da Fools

During my average day, I meet a lot of people, each in a unique set of circumstances. Just like the rest of the nation, they don't agree on many things. But the most common sentiment I've seen is an obsession over the price of gasoline. With the price posted at every gas station we see, it is hard to avoid. Of course, people must always have a place to hang their blame. For some, its the big, evil oil companies. For others, it's those danged A-rabs. For even more it is the government. Some say the government is too involved in gasoline production and distribution. For some, the government needs to get out of the way. But I'm not going to swim in that pool today. In fact, I refuse to part in the gasoline "crisis" whatsoever. Today I would just like to share with you some of the people I've spoken with that have complained about the price of gasoline. There is the guy about my age, Willy, who spends most of his time off work in front of his huge rent-to-own big screen television, either watching new Red Ray movies or playing one of his video game consoles. He has an extensive library of movies and games for his Playbox 3 and Xstation 180. He sometimes browses the Internet on his new sweet Dale computer. He can even use his oPhone to browse the Internet anywhere he goes. He goes to Stardollar's for his morning coffee and likes lunch at the Olive Grove or a Chinese buffet. He buys his girlfriend lots of nice things, like expensive clothes, perfumes, and jewelry. They go out and party a few times a week at nightclubs with lots of alcohol. He drives a 6000SUX sports car with custom wheels and a great sound system. Then there is the middle-aged housewife Anne. Of course, with some toxic injections and some butt fat injected into her lips, she looks more like 25 than 45. Her clothes are always trendy and stylish, the local pinnacle of modern high fashion. Nothing but the best deisigner handbags and shoes would ever accompany her premium wardrobe. She has raised her two kids, Liam, aged 14 and Kira, 9, in her own image. Liam already has his first car picked out and Kira spends all her time texting all her BFFs (that's "best friends forevers") on her cell phone. Not to be outdone by the Joneses, her house has character grade hand-scraped hardwood floors and travertine tile. She has stainless steel appliances, granite counters, and a three car garage. It's the biggest house on the block with a side lot and a beautifully watered and fertilized lawn they have manicured by award-winning landscapers. She has been worshiping the Goracle and pays atonement for her sins by purchasing carbon credits and the latest green products. She only buys organic food and cleaning products. She hauls around her kids in her giant SUV with the DVD players in the seats, GPS, OffStar, heated and cooled beverage holders, and satellite radio. She enjoys dining out, fine wine, and quiet evenings with her husband. Then there's Gus, who, after retiring from his job in the big city, bought a house on the lake and small farm with a log cabin. He keeps himself geared up for hunting and fishing year round. Of course, he only buys the gear given a top rating by his rugged manly magazines. His bass boat has sonar, radar, and as much beer as a bar. He always uses the latest technology and techniques to make sure his prey does not escape its inevitable place on his trophy wall. He takes an annual hunting trip out west for big game and an annual deep sea fishing trip. His freezers are full of meat, his fridge full of beer, and his days full of lesuire. He has a hunting truck, a lake jeep, and a town truck. Now, here's where I get hostile. Of course, the above examples are sterotypes, not real people I know. I could illustrate the same point with cold hard facts, like how the average consumer unit in America spends more money on entertainment ($2376 per year) than gasoline ($2227 per year). Even better, I could contrast our gas expenses to our tax burden ($6488 per year). In America, we spend billions of dollars on the most trivial conveniences. I hope the price of gas brings about a change of national spending habits. Put down your cell phones, big screens, and designer clothes. Stop buying your young kids cell phones, portable DVD players, and iPods. Eat some rice and beans. Buy a house within your means, if at all. Maybe crack your windows instead of running the A/C when it's 80 degrees out. Maybe stop driving like a maniac. Not only would you save money by doing all these, the world would be a happier, safer place. Until you sacrifice some trivial conveniences to pay for that higher gas bill, don't expect any sympathy from me. Just shut your mouth and spend your money more wisely. In fact, if everyone (especially our government) would do that, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

The End of Education

I have an unbelievable investment opportunity just for you. I can get you $350 per month for most of your life. All you have to do give me $8000 per year for the next thirteen years. But before you get your payoff, I'll need $15000 per year for four more years. Then you'll be set for most of your life. Probably. This is not your garden variety financial investment either. I will need to meet with you seven hours per day during the entire duration of the investment period. Also, there will be a lot of material for you to study at home. Don't mind that you have to give me a total of $160,000 and wait 17 years for any return on your investment. Trust me, this is the most important investment you can ever make. But there's a possibility that the return won't be as good as I promise. In fact, the investment could fail entirely. If the investment starts to falter, all I will need to fix it is more of your money. I know this pitch sounds to good to be true, but please just mail your cash to my home address. Or just e-mail me your credit card number. That sounds crazy doesn't it? Just as crazy is the repeated mantra of educators, administrators, parents, and especially politicians is that our children are our most important investment. It's not a small investment. In fact, we spend a total of $100,000 per pupil for public K-12 education. During that 13 year indoctrination, the pupil is taught above all that this education is not enough and they must spend $60,000 of someone's money (rarely their own, either borrowed or given) on their real education. After their real education, they can make $350 per month more than high school graduates. What are we really getting for our investment? The way I see it, our education system is out of sync. We are pushing education on a younger and younger crowd. If you want your kid to be a Harvard Law grad, you've got to get him in the right preschool or your kid will never make it. Then, since our high schools are failing, we push advanced concepts on pupils at a younger age. Once the pupil gets out of high school, colleges require them to take two years of curriculum that will review what they should have learned in high school. So we are teaching what used to be high school curriculum to middle schoolers and college students both. For example, when I went to SMSU, I was required to take a Physical Education/Health class. I have the textbook from that class. I also have the textbook from Mrs. Smith's health class in middle school. You know what? I learned more in Mrs. Smith's class than I did in college. I am amazed that every shortcoming of our education system has the same universal solution. Our kids are dumb because we don't spend enough money of education. Test scores down? Give us more funding. Kids unprepared for college? Give us more funding Kids misbehaving? Give us more funding. Teenage pregnancy? Give us more funding. Football team can't win? Give us more funding. Teachers having sex with students? Give us more funding. No wonder our kids are irresponsible with money. In a capitalist economy (which I'm not saying we have), the value of an item is directly proportional to its scarcity. What is the result of decades of pushing education? Not too many years ago, a college diploma was really something rare and important. It was only within the grasp of the rich or the truly talented. Now with grants and loans, any idiot can go to college (and believe me, they do). They wear their robes and get their paper but are really in the same position as high school graduates a generation ago. At this rate, my kids will probably need a bachelor's degree to flip burgers and a doctorate to be a trucker. Now, those who know me are saying, "Of course he would say that. He's a dropout. He's just rationalizing his own failures." Well, yeah. I am. But that's not the point. I'm not opposed to education. In fact, I feel it really is the most important investment you can make. But what are you getting when you fork over your $160,000? An education or a diploma? Did you get more knowledge or a piece of paper for your wall? I really never learned anything from my professors in college. All my learning came from the texts. I gleaned knowledge from the coursework, then a haughty liberal professor would tell me what I should have learned from the texts. Not suprisingly, we wouldn't usually agree. So, if the goal of education is to get diplomas, the status quo is working perfectly. But if the goal is more knowledge, understanding, and enlightenment, don't waste your time and my taxpayer money. You will not be taught how to think, you will be told what to think. You can get your diploma without corrupting your mind, but you will find it a great struggle. That struggle will follow you into your workplace and torment you the rest of your life. Some of you will crack. Your priciples and beliefs will collapse under something I was taught to resist in preschool: peer pressure.

Who Has the Power?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. — That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Most people are familiar with the first part of this quotation. I'd wager that much fewer are familiar with latter portion. Government exists to preserve our natural state of being. Simply, a government ensures we are born free to pursue happiness. How do you think our government is doing with that task? Are we all born? Are we all free? Are we hindered in our pursuit? It is a myth that America is a young country with a 230 year experiment in democracy. In fact, when the Declaration of Independence was written, Americans already had 200 years of experience in democracy. The colonists were on their own. No kings came to America. Any governors or magistrates in the colonies answered to the colonists first. Thomas Jefferson didn't just wake up one day and invent freedom. In fact, the Declaration of Independence is really a list of injuries and usurpations that violated 200 years of colonial freedom. Since then, our federal government has become much more of a tyrant than any king. Tocqueville forsaw this. No king ever made 2000 pages of regulations on importing produce. No king ever taxed people for making money. No king ever tried to ensure a life of leisure for his elderly subjects. No king ever dictated how we build our buildings or automobiles. No king ever regulated sugar content of ketchup. No king ever regulated how much water we are allowed to use in a toilet. No king ever strived to make the entire planet cooler. As one observes the current Presidential election, the issues at hand have little to do with the job of the President. Watching the news it would seem that the President's job is to pay my mortgage, fund my retirement, manage my economy, provide my health care, set the price of gas, set my wages, decide who can marry, study stem cells, and teach my kids just to name a few. These are not executive tasks. They are not federal tasks. Most are not governmental tasks at any level. Congress should make law, Presidents should enforce law, courts should interperate law. These powers were separated so no single branch got too much power. Unfortunately, all three branches have too much power so none of them seem to care. So we live in a modern democratic despotism where the federal government has embraced us in its powerful grasp, bending our will through petty rules and noble causes. How have we come to this? Where does the federal government get this power? The consent of the governed. The President has assumed control of our pocketbook because we gave it up. We don't want to make decisions and sacrifices ourselves, so we look to the government to make universal decisions and sacrifices. Why sacrifice my cell phones, cars, computers, televisions, or anything else so I can pay my bills and save for retirement? To keep our cheap little trinkets we have sacrificed things much more important: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Religion of Peace

"Fighting is enjoined on you, and is an object of dislike to you; and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know." -Koran 2 (The Cow):216

Every time militant Islam makes the news, the media are quick to point out that the supreme majority of Muslims are not crazy militants. Even right wing radio hosts like Hannity and Rush do that. You'll often hear them qualify the percentage of crazies with a random percentage. I commonly hear 95%. Even if this percentage is true, let's do some math. What is 5% of 2 billion? Is it a lot? What is .5% of 2 billion? Is that still a lot? Sorry, I suck at math. Help me out here.

Actually, the reason for this post isn't my poor math. It's because I believe that history shows that Islam is far from a religion of peace. In fact, the holy texts of the religion themselves show otherwise.

First, let's look at the history of the prophet (strange to have a prophet without prophecy) of Islam, Mohammed. While Jesus lived a life of peace without sin, Mohammed had a life of more excitement. Jesus taught us to bless our enemies. Even while he was on the cross, he prayed for those who were killing him. How did Mohammed treat his enemies? Before Islam, the Muslim tribes were feuding amongst themselves. Each tribe worshipped their own pagan gods. Mohammed saw religion as a force to unite these tribes and make a nation through warfare.

He started by attacking Meccan caravans in January and March 623 A.D. As the newly ordained Muslims went into battle, Mohammed cried, "By him who holds my soul in his hands, anyone who fights for me today will go to paradise." They stole their goods and ransomed prisoners. Those who did not get ransomed lost their heads. Sources of dissent were assassinated in Medina, which became a Muslim stronghold. Following a failed offensive against Mecca, Mohammed retreated to Medina. There the Muslims held off a force of 10,000 against them. Following the seige of Medina, he discovered an insurrection brewing amongst the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayza. Those of that tribe who did not convert were beheaded and the women and children were enslaved. After a two year truce, the Muslims sacked Mecca. At least this time the only innocent civilians it can be proven he killed were ten people who made fun of him. After taking these two cities, Muslims controlled almost the entire Middle East within a decade.

Mohammed's military conquest is found in religious and historical texts. If he were alive today, would Mohammed, the founder of this religion of peace, fit in the 95% of peaceful Muslims or the 5% of militant Muslims? It is important to understand that while most Muslims may not be militant, their history and their holy texts instruct them to be. Just like the quotation from The Cow above, war is a part of Muslim history and religion. No matter how many Muslims despise violence, Allah knows best.

Let's take a Christian analogy. There are billions of people who say they are Christians. The Great Commission tells us to take the Gospel to all the nations of the world. But what percentage of Christians are full time missionaries? I'd say 5% to .5% would be a good percentage. While I am not a missionary, if one came to me asking for money or shelter, I would give it to them. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to go on an occasional short term mission trip myself. I just don't feel God calling me to pack up my wife and move to the wilderness and take the Gospel full time to foreigners. I feel content letting others fight that war while I support them here at home and witness to those around me. In fact, missionaries are heroes, especially when they give their life for what they believe. That describes the 95% of Christians who are not full time missionaries.

I submit to you that the 95% of peaceful Muslims are just like the 95% of Christians who are not missionaries. They may not be on the front lines of the war, but they give plenty of support at home and witness to others in order to expand their cause. So, do not let your mind be muddied by the tyranny of the media. Know your history and make up your own mind.

How Clean Is Your Brain?

"Brainwashing" is an interesting term. Think about that word for a moment. It is the act of washing your brain. The term originated in China, describing the Communist re-education of the opposing population after they took power. The Chinese introduced this system to captured American and U.N. troops during the Korean War. Prisoners were commonly deprived of sleep, food, water, and social interactions. Once tired, hungry, thirsty, and alone, the captors would then offer relief in exchange for their professed loyalty. To those soldiers that did so, the only thing that mattered was a bed, a meal, a drink, and going back to their fellow prisoners. It did not matter that their captors are the ones starving and isolating them. Their loyalty was just a meal ticket. They did what was necessary to survive.

Another aspect of brainwashing was to place guilt upon the prisoners. The Communists wanted them to feel responsible for the war itself. By controling information, the captors could feed the prisoners whatever lies they pleased. They would blame the prisoners for taking part in a war in which they didn't belong, demanding confessions of war crimes and human rights violations that never happened. They would accuse U.N. troops of terrorizing Korean women and children in the dead of night. They would blame the captives for the poverty and starvation of their people. They would do all this to place a huge burden of guilt upon the POWs.

It is interesting to note that the primary Communist goal of brainwashing was to get opposition to sit down and shut up so they could go about their business of global domination. You see, if your prisoners are broken and brainwashed they are easier to guard. Fewer guards meant more soldiers on the front lines. Upon release, many POWs maintained their loyalty toward their captors. For some, it took years to sort out the manipulation and lies they believed from the truth.

Obviously, to be deprived, blamed, and shamed into submission is the ultimate tyranny over the minds of men. Can you, great reader, think of anyone else who has done or is doing the same thing as the ChiComms? Think about it. Here are some hints: