Christian Libertarianism

In my brother's blog he writes in one of his posts, "Many people do not understand how I can be a libertarian and a conserative Christian," and then goes on to explain some of his difficulties. I find it humorous that two brothers, raised with same set of values, can come to totally different conclusions on this matter. Personally, I don't see how a conservative Christian who truly understands the nature and being of God can be anything but a libertarian. I have never found true libertarian principles to be at odds with any Christian principle. This is because, as I my brother correctly stated in his post, that the foundations of freedom and liberty are rooted in the word of God. Our Founding Fathers, true libertarians and true students of the scriptures understood this very clearly. It is no accident that the Declaration of Independence declares that,

"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."

All Christians should understand that life was created by God and all life comes from God. When God created Adam and Eve He made them master's of their own destiny. God could easily have removed the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from the Garden or in some other way prevented Adam and Eve from eating of it. However, without the ability for them to choose to follow God's rules, they would not be people freely serving Him, but no more than slaves. God didn't want slaves, but sons and daughters. So, God gave Adam and Eve stewardship of the life He created to them. (cross reference this thought with Jesus' parable of the Stewards in Matthew 25:14-28)

This is an important concept because out of that stewardship of the life God gave us, all other Rights can be derived. First, man has a Right to defend his life from being taken from him through the use of force or fraud. When a person takes a man life through the use of force, we call that murder and everyone with sense understands that murder is morally repungnant. Secondly, man exchanges part of his life for wages; therefore his money and those things he purchases with his money (his property) are representations of his life and thus man has an unalienable Right to pursue and protect his property. If somebody has their possessions forcefully taken from them, we call that stealing and most people understand that stealing is wrong. It is never truly justified to take that which doesn't belong to you. This is philosophy is what makes slavery so awful. Slavery forces one man to work (i.e., exchange a part of his life for some other resource/property) but the gains from that work (the resource or property he would have earned) are given to another person. This philosophy is where I make my moral stand against the income tax. The income tax uses force (the threat of jail) to remove wages you have earned by exchanging a portion of your life for some money from your paycheck.

It is important that I note here that I believe (like many liberals do) that is absolutely morally imperative to aid the poor, help the needy, take care of widows and orphans, et.al. However, that is my own personal duty. I must choose to live virtuously by giving my time and my money to helping others. However, if I were to try and force you to give your money and time to help someone else, that would not be a virtuous (I would be stealing from you) act on either my part or on yours. Christian compassion is all well and good, but using the State as means of accomplishing this removes the virtue from the help AND prevents the Christian and the Church from fulfilling their obligation. Government (because it is an entity that uses force to accomplish its goals) is not society. Families, churches, and community groups are society. They are morally obligated to make conscious sacrifices to ensure that people's needs (physical and spiritual) are met. The Government may be able to meet physical needs, but it can not meet spiritual needs. Without meeting the spiritual needs the source of the problem causing the physical needs can never be truly fixed. Thus, by fixing the physical needs, the symptom is treated, but not the cause.

Anyway, that was a tangent. Back to the subject on hand. Libertarianism is not anarchy. Libertarians understand that a small, well-defined government is necessary to protect man's Rights to his life and his property. Our founders articulated this principle in the Declaration of Independence as well:

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"

All my political beliefs start with these two axioms. Any supposed conflict between my political philosophy and my Christian philosophy shows a lack of comprehension of one of the philosophies. In my mind, a Christian can not separate his politics from his Christian life. There can be no separation of church and state in the heart of man...therefore, there can never be a separation of church and state in the entity that derives its powers from man.

Things sure have changed

Well, since we have Mihaela, things have changed. I am really, really busy now. I didn't even notice I had not blogged since Thursday. O well...priorties have shifted...

WorldNetDaily: U.S.: Al-Qaida now leads insurgency in Iraq

WorldNetDaily: U.S.: Al-Qaida now leads insurgency in Iraq

That's funny...I thought there was no connection between Saddam Hussien and Al-Qaida. According to what I heard, the war in Iraq was fought for oil and had nothing to do with the War on Terror. Hmmm...guess whoever reported that must have made a mistake. I will now sit and hold my breath as I expectantly wait for the follow-up report explaining there actually was a link.

Gas is so high

First, let me say I live in Alabama, so my gas prices don't even begin to compare with people in California and Illinois are paying. However, man...are gas prices high or what? $1.64/gallon down here...9 cents below the national average of $1.73. I was reading this article where the AG of Florida is "not satisfied" with the answers he got from oil company executives about the high prices. There are probably lots of other people who would like a rational explanation as well.

First, before we begin, it is crucial to understand the Econ 101 concept known as the "Law of Supply and Demand." For those of you who are products of government education, you may need to read this tutorial first (if you actually graduated knowing how to read).

Now, let's actually look at some facts. First, according to this graph gas prices are really still better today than they were in the late 70s/early 80s. Sure, if you compare just the dollar amounts (avg. $1.45 in 1981 to $1.73 today) we are paying a higher amount. But, when you actually adjust today's price (i.e., remove the 23 years of inflation), you will notice we would be paying an average of $0.60 cents in 1980. ..or if you go the other way... we would be about $2.40. I think you would agree that any record must account for inflation to be a legitimate comparison.

So, since we have busted the myth that "Gas prices have reached an all-time high," let's discuss why gas prices are increasing. There are several factors that account for that...most caused by Watermelon (the perfect metaphor to describe the Green Party with its deeply Marxist philosophy hidden underneath a thin environmentalism facade), busy bodies. As I have said in the past, "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs." Our so called environmental activist seem to have forgotten this axiom of life.

See, there hasn't been a new oil refinery built in the United States since 1979 (lasts paragraph of article). The NIMBY mindset along with punitive environmental laws keep new refineries from being built. The situation is even more stark. In 1982 there were about 260 refineries in the US. Today there are about 160 according to this table provided by the Dept. of Energy. This makes it tough to meet demand. When demand exceeds supply, then prices go up. Now, in theory, the increased prices help the suppliers to spend more to meet the demand. However, in this case, the anti-capitalistic environmental types prevent the suppliers from creating the resources to meet the demand (i.e., build more refineries) or they make it too expensive to justify the cost (i.e., the prevent upgrading existing equipment).

Most people don't realize that when a new environmental law gets written, many times companies are "grandfathered in," allowing the company to operate under the old law until they build a new plant or upgrade an existing plant. The cost to upgrade with the increased price to meet the more stringent pollution requirements makes it less appealing to upgrade existing equipment. Technology would allow less refineries to make more gas. However, that technology does not allow for the pollution requirements to be met cheaply. Now the new equipment does make less pollution than the old equipment...it just doesn't reach the artificially set standards set by law. So instead of having more gas and less pollution, the companies maintain old equipment that actually produce less gas and more pollution than if they would be allowed to upgrade. But the Watermelons don't really care about the environment or mankind so much as they care about destroying the capitalist and the individual. However, that is a topic for another day.

Besides the refineries, we also have the problem with "special blends." Some cities/states have mandated that only gas that is mixed or created a certain way is allowed to be sold in that city. This means when those cities gas supplies begin to run low, that our already stressed out refineries have to shut down, re-tool for that blend, and then manufacture it. Now, while they are creating a supply for that city, they are not creating a supply for everybody else. After an adequate reserve for a single city has been established, the refinery shuts down again, retools back to the normal blend, and begins creating gas for everyone else. BTW, the blends are more expensive and some cities blends are not compatibles with other city blends...so it is not even like the refinery could just make one blend and ship it everywhere for a higher price.

So, we have fewer refineries and more blends helping increase the cost of gas. We also have the price of oil. For those who are unaware, there is a coalition of oil-producing countries (OPEC) that have created a commitment to one another to all sell oil for the same price. OPEC has set the price of oil at $38/barrel. Because of (yep...you guessed it, environmentalism) we can not drill for oil in places in America that we know that have oil. We could drill and sell our oil for about $30/barrel. This would drop the price of gas down to about $1.15/gallon. We won't even mention the jobs that would be created and the economies that would be ignited. Instead of depending on other countries, we could sustain ourselves...Except for those darn Greenie Babies.

Bottle, Bath, Bed Technique

We had a visit from Ms. Crystal tonight. She goes to church with us and delivered dinner (a mexican salad) and a Southwestern pasta salad with shrimp for lunch tomorrow. She took time to hold Mihaela and stayed for about an hour visiting. Crystal and Freddy (her husband) have been kind of mentoring us through the entire process. They went through fertility treatments for 10 years before deciding to adopt. They had a private adoption, though, about three years ago. Anyway, we were talking about Mihaela's sleeping habits and she suggested this very popular technique that is good to get babies in the habit of going to bed and going to sleep.

Basically, give the child a bottle. THen bath them. Finally put them to bed. We are trying this techniques this evening. We fed Mihaela at 7:00 PM and kept her awake the rest of the evening, not an easy feat. We then fed her at ten and Erin has bathed her. Mihaela is already very tired and should go right sleep in her crib. I don't know how this will affect her next two feedings, so we will see if this is working for us. We may need to adjust the times.

Personally, I like the idea of forming habits now that we can stick with her later. Check back tomorrow for how it all worked out.

Mihaela Update

Well, Erin and I picked up Mihaela from AGAPE on Friday afternoon. We met at 3:00 PM to get her, but before they could let us see her, we had to meet with the head of AGAPE and go over some paperwork where we learned about Mihaela's history. We also went over the adoption agreement that we have with AGAPE as well get briefed on the remainder of the process.

Finally, 45 mnutes later (and let me tell you it was a long 45 minutes) we were taken to the waiting room and Mihaela was brought into us. Erin held her for a number of minutes before reluctantly giving her to me. She was then passed to Ma and finally to Pap-paw who sat down and rocked her in the rocking chair crying his eyes out. She was finally given back to Erin and Buddy (the head of AGAPE) led the staff and us in a prayer over Mihaela. We drove home and a little while later Gary and Hope came over. Hope stayed overnight and took care of Mihaela the first night.

Saturday was a big day for Mihaela. Her Aunt Brooke, Uncle Bill, and four cousins drove down from Huntsville and spent the day here. Not a moment passed that she was not in someone's arms. She was passed aroud and around and around. Everyone was very excited about baby Mihaela. Morgan (age 5) was a little confused about adoption. She asked me about when Mihaela had come out of Aunt Erin's tummy. I tried to explain that Mihaela had come out of another person's tummy but that she wasn't going to be able to take care of Mihaela so she had asked us to it for her. I tried to explain it like sharing...but I still think she is confused. Bill, Brooke, and the kids left about 5:30 to head back to Huntsville. Thus, for the first time, it was me, Erin, and the BABY...our family, alone for the first time...

Saturday night went pretty well. Mihaela went to bed at 11:30 PM and I slept in the guest bedroom so that I could hear her. I got up with her at 2:30 AM to change and feed her. She was back asleep by 2:45. She then woke up about 5:30 AM and I got up with her and changed her. Erin then fed her while I went back to bed. Erin stayed up with her. I ended up getting up about 8:30 AM and we started getting ready for church.

Sunday was just as busy as Saturday (it seemed). We did not go to first service or to class, but showed up in time for second service. From the moment we walked in, we were attracting people like a magnet attracts metal filings. People were swarming around us. We introduced Mihaela at the beginning of Service and she was prayed over by one of our Shepherds. Worship just rocked. I couldn't stop crying as we praised. I was so filled with joy. After service we stayed for lunch at church and to participate in an "emergency" shower that several of the ladies had thrown together. Man, it was an awesome sight to see the outpouring of love from our congergation. They did not know for long about the shower or the need, but they responded. There were two long tables overflowing with gifts. It took Erin 1 and 1/2 hours to open them all. We were so grateful to all who participated.

We stayed in the rest of Sunday and started trying to get a routine down for Mihaela. Sunday night did not go nearly as well as Friday and Saturday. I was up a good deal more. Since I am a night owl and Erin is a morning person, we are trying to arrange it so that I take care of her at night and Erin takes care of her in the morning. It is an arrangement that makes sense to us and appears to be working.

Monday was a good day. We stayed at home all day long. Then, Gary and Hope invited us over for dinner. We accepted because we had to go get some stuff at some stores that were over on their end of twon. So we packed Mihalea up and drove into Montgomery. We took her to the two stores we needed to go to and got the things we needed. It was amazing how many people stared at us.

Last night was better than Sunday night. I wanted to put Mihaela down about 11:30, but she was wide awake. So I rocked her for about half-n-hour. Then I put her in her bouncy seat and turned the vibrator on. This usually (if you can call three days of observations usual) puts her to sleep. But she stayed wide awake cooing and smiling and just having a great ol' time. We watched "Live with Emril" and learned how to make some cheesecakes. She just really liked the show. She finally nodded off and I put her in her crib. She woke up at 3:00 AM for her middle-of-the-night change and feeding, which I attended to. She woke up again at 4:30 feeling a little gassy, so I gave her some Mylocon to settle her little tummy. She then slept until 6:00 AM.

I got up with her and lo...changed my first "stinky." I made it through without wretching or even dry panting. Right as I was finishing up her diaper change, her Mommy shows up to take over the feeding. I went back to bed. I was awaken an hour later so that I could run some errands this morning.

Anyway, as you can tell it has been a busy past couple of days. Erin and I are adjusting well to the change and are learning the nuances of Mihaela. We are both so excited. This just feels right. I praise God for his perfect timing to put her in our lives. She is truly beautiful and truly our daughter.

Volleyball Match 9

We played the Prattville Church of Chris Team 1 last night for Heaven Bowl 2. We lost again. They had a great server who took us the bank. The first game I was out of the rotation when he served and I was a wreck because I couldn't do anything. We lost the first game 25-15. The second game I was in the middle-front when he served. I let the backrow try to return his serve a couole of times, and then I moved the middle back person back to the baseline and I took the middle. He smoked me...kind of. He sent me several serves that I got under and got up in the air (but not over the net). Our team is used to one hit volleyball so had a little difficulty getting the second hit. Finally, I got a couple back over that we then lost to side outs. Anyway, we finally broke his serve.

Current record: 4-5

(No volleyball Monday night. Next Thursday the game has already been forfieted by the opposing team...that will give us a 5-5 record for the season. Play-offs start the week of the 29th).

New spelling of Name

Well....it appears as if Erin wants to respell the name of the baby girl. I spelled it the now correct way, and Erin had me change it. Now, she wants to go back to the original spelling.

Mihaela Hope

We apologize for any confusion.

Decided on a Name

We have decided a name for our new daughter. It was a gut-wrenching decision to make in such a short amount of time. After, this name sticks with a person all thier life. It has to be good.

Like many couples, we had dreamed of the names of our children. We had planned the names and memorized the names. However, when the time came to actually use the name...we balked. So Erin and I and her parents spent a couple of hours last night pondering names.

However, after all the switching and trying different combinations, we gave this name to our social worker today for the paper work...

Mahaela Hope

Mihaela (mah-hay-la) - Romanian and Slovene feminine form of the Hebrew name Miyka'el which meant "who is like God?".

Ann Coulter: The reign in Spain falls mainly on the lame

Ann Coulter knocks it out of the park in this week's editorial.

Some Quotes:

"No matter how many of our European allies may surrender to the terrorists, America will never be alone. This is a country founded in a covenant with God by people who had to flee Europe to do it."

The Democratic candidate wants to represent godless Europeans. The Republican candidate wants to represent Americans. As Winthrop said: "The eyes of all people are upon us."

This is a MUST READ!!

BIG Adoption Update

Yesterday at 4:00 PM my wife came to visit me at work to "discuss something very important in person." She then asked me why February 19 was an important date. I said I had no clue. She then told me that that was the day our daughter had been born.

YES...that is right...we are getting a baby!!!

Tomorrow (Friday, March 19, 2004) at 3:00 PM CST, we go and pick up our baby daughter.

PRAISE GOD!!!

FRENCH aPEASsment philosophy at work

Howard Dean is placing responsibility for the terrorist attack in Spain at the feet of Bush. Basically, he asserts that if Bush wasn't fighting terrorism in Iraq, then the Islamic terrorists wouldn't have struck in Spain. Typical appeasement mentality to think that "We can't try to kill terrorists. If we do, they might kill more of us." This is the same kind of thinking that has given us a nation of selfish brats. A child throws a temper tantrum, so parents seeks to appease the baby and give him what he wants. What does the child learn? Throwing temper-tantrums get me what I want. Now, we have people who say if we don't punish the terrorist for thier attacks, then they will stop attacking. Right, just like the kid will stop throwing temper tantrums. Anyone with a bit of logic (and experience with children) will see the abusrdity of that. No response to terrorist attacks only leads to more attacks...while a swift spanking...makes terrorist think a little bit more before the next attack.

Not Diverse Enough

Friday, after everyone else left work, we rolled-out a new website for work. This was a whole big change in philosophy because not only did we include a public internet site, but we added an extranet that contains protected content for our faculty and staff of our schools. We also created a intranet for our employees. Jonathan handled most of the work for the internet site, David worked out most of the extranet, and I designed the intranet.

Everybody loves the new looks and really likes the content of the intranet. I did recieve one (and only one) complaint though. The picture (above) was placed on the home page of the intranet. The colors in the background were the inspiration for the look (oranges and blues). However, I have been asked to replace the picture by the Director of Legal and Human Resources with a picture that shows more diversity. They think the picture of two white business men shaking hands "sends the wrong message." Now, of course, I was very polite and will change the picture. However...I have better things to do than think about the diversity of a picture that is only available to the 50 people who work in my department. No one else will see it. What is up with that? Maybe if people stopped paying so much attention to race and gender than they wouldn't be so important. For crying out loud....its a phot...on a website...to enhance the look. It is not a statement of anything else. When will people stop being so dang sensitive and think everyone is out to put them down? GET A LIFE PEOPLE!

The French aPEAssers are Threatened

France has recieved a credible threat of violence from an Islamic Terrorist group.

This must shock them...after all...they are not participating in the War on Terror. It just goes to show that the terrorist don't care if you are an appeaser...they will attack you.

I just love it when a plan comes togather...

CNN Reports that it has obtained evidence that Al-Qaeda purposefully intended to manipulate the Spanish election to replace the current administration with a Socialist administration that would be less aggressive on the War on Terror. This has prompted Bernard Walschots to observe that "Al-Qaeda or its affiliates have toppled a democratic government for the first time..."

It is indeed a dark day for democracy when the enemies of a country can affect a win in thier favor. Americans take heed. Be watchful, be wary, but most importantly keep your powder dry.

Volleyball Match 8

We played our first Match of three games...and still lost. We lsot the first game 25-20. THe second game, I was the second server and my serves were on. I served 9 in a row that were basically unreturnable. We won the second game 18-25. The third game, I got cocky and started me as the server and hit the ball out...DOH!!! We lost the third game 25-19.

Current Record: 4-4

Al-Qaeda Wins Major Victory

Four days after Spain experiences rush-hour bombings by Islamic terrorist with ties to Al-Qaeda, the Spanish people voted the Popular Party out of office and replaced it with the Spanish Socialist Party. One of the main platforms of the Spanish Socialist Party promotes distancing Spain from the U.S. and to bring their troops home from Iraq. This is not to say the Spanish Socialist Party is somehow in league with al-Qaeda. But it is clear that one of the things the Islamic Radicals wants to do is to exploit divisions in the West. Those divisions widen as Spain will now join the European Axis of Weasels: Germany, France, Belgium and other appeasement-oriented countries.

Maybe you think I am overstating the issue. However, a quick look at the logic would show otherwise. One week before a Spanish election, a man who has been bold and eager in his support for the International War on Terror (spearheaded by President Bush) is enjoying a seeming insurmountable lead in the polls. Then. BOOM!!! The terrorists attack, killing 200 people and injuring 1500. The people go to the polls and vote against the leader who has supported the war and replace him with a person who thinks appeasement will work. Clearly, then, the terrorists are going to consider this to be a major victory. How could they not?

The problem with a philosophy of appeasement is that it is a short term solution. Sure, the Islamic Terrorist are not going to attack the appeasers right now while they are engaged in a war with those who are courageous and bold enough to stand up to them. However, the long term goal of the groups behind the terrorism is global domination. That is, all nations will be ruled by a theocracy based on Islam. So, let us suppose that the terrorist actually win and the US capitulates and becomes a Dar Al-Islam (i.e., a country under Islamic rule) instead of nation of laws. How long until Germany, France, and now Spain find themselves battling the Islamic Terrorist to maintain their identity? Will they then continue to appease them and just willingly give up the control of the EU to the mullahs and shahs? At what point will they stand up and say that the philosophy and social order mandated under Islam is backwards, out-dated, and just plain not as good a the Judeo-Christian philosophy and culture of the West?

The Islamic terrorist are not trying to kill us and destroy us because we steal their oil, inhabit their lands, economically beat them down, or any of the other asinine reasons you hear about the "root causes" of terrorism. The Islamic terrorist are trying to kill and destroy us because our philosophy & culture is diametrically opposed to their philosophy & culture.

Since this is a culture war, the policies of appeasement and isolationism will not work in the long run. Sooner or later we will have to use force to protect our ideas. The question, then, is do we protect them now when the enemy is pretty much isolated to one location...or do we wait and protect them later after the enemy has strengthened its position by acquiring more and more countries? Personally, I say you kill the rattlesnake in the field before it lays eggs and moves into the house...

China to scrap 4,000 year old tax

A 4,000 year old tax in China is being exterminated according to this article. Now if we could just get our telecommunications tax cut that was designed to pay for the Spanish-American War...

This is the trouble with government, it never knows when to stop something. It amazes me how "temporarty measures" morph into permancy. For instance, the withholding of the income tax from paychecks did not begin until 1942 and was sold to the public as a temporary idea to fund WWII. When the war was over, the withholding would cease and the process would return to individuals paying thier income tax in one lump sum annually. WWII has been over for 60 years now...withholding is still with us. Hmmmm...why could that be?

911 days after 9/11 - Spain reports 192 Dead, 1200 Wounded

Some people thought the War on Terror was over. Americans have created for themselves an illusion that the global war on terror isn't really a war. That complacent notion blew up along with 10 bombs on trains carrying Spanish commuters yesterday on their way to work in Madrid. Yesterday, starting at about 7:40 AM, 10 backpack bombs exploded aboard commuter trains; all within a 15-minute span. Police also detonated three more bombs. Meanwhile, police found a van with detonators and an audiotape of Koranic verses near where one train started its commuter run.

Who could have done such a deed? Spanish officials first thought that it was the work of the Basque terrorists , a seperatist group in Spain. After all, these bombings took place only three days before Spain's Sunday general election. However, a London-based Arabic newspaper said that it had received an e-mail claiming responsibility in the name of al Qaeda. "This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," said the e-mail. Another letter was faxed to Reuters by an Al-Qaeda-backed group. They referred to the attack as "operation death trains." The attack occurred 911 days after September 11th. Another letter was faxed to the Associated Press office in Cairo warning that America was next. That's right; Al-Qaeda says America is next.

Imagine, if you will, with me for a minute. Could this kind of attack be perpetuated on American soil? And if so, where? Well, New York has a huge subway system carrying tens of thousands of people to work a day. What about the Northeast corridor or in Chicago where tens of thousands of people also commute by rail? Maybe Boston (the BIG DIG looks like a really good place to drop a few bombs to me) or maybe Washington DC's subway system?

The fact of the matter is that the War on Terrorism is the biggest issue facing America right now. No matter how much it pains me to say it, tax cuts and social security reform (my two pet issues) don't even come close to being as important as the War on Terror. There are people out there who want to kill us and take away our freedoms. What good is the end of the income tax if our country is ruled by Islamic Fascists?

Currently there are four candidates running for office of the President. Let's take a look at how each one would respond to this threat. We will look at them by starting with the one who will more than likely get the least amount of votes and end move up from there.

First, the Libertarian Candidate, Aaron Russo, doesn't have much about the war on Terror on his website. However, he is clearly against the War in Iraq. He believes in true isolationism. Now, I am a conservative-leaning Libertarian. Many of the Libertarian's party planks are ideas and values that I hold dear. However, I must split with the party over this very important issue. The fact is we are under attack from Islamic Terrorist and we have a war to fight. Even if we pull our troops out of every country and bring them home (practically impossible), this would not appease the terrorist and they will still attack us. This means, then, that we can either fight that war on our soil when the terrorist get here...if we can find them. OR, we can pre-emptively strike and destroy their training grounds, collapse their financial support, and dispose of leaders of countries who let terrorist work in that country against us. I say it is better to put the fire out of your neighbor's house than wait until your house is burning to take care of the problem. Remember, a friend of my enemy is also my enemy. Sure, this is a hard line approach and may seem bully-ish. However, the lives of Americans, my friends and my family are at stake. It would be irresponsible and childish to ignore a problem of this magnitude because it "offends your sensibilities", upsets some other people who are not in danger, or because this actions makes us "look like the policeman of the world." I voted for Harry Browne in 2000. I vote for Libertarian Candidates in local elections and have been doing my part to get my congressman (but not my Senators) replaced with a Libertarian. For me to vote for Mr. Russo just because of his party affiliation is not right. He is wrong on the most important issue and must not be supported.

Secondly, we have the former Green party candidate (he is running as an independent this year...I think), Ralph Nader. In true "watermelon" style (i.e., green on the outside, red on the inside...meaning he disguises his purely socialistic beliefs as "saving the environment"...he is nothing more than a Commie), Nader wants the UN to handle the war on Terror. I don't know how the UN can fight the War on Terror since nations that support terrorism and terrorist activities are part of the UN. The UN is clearly an anti-American organization and I don't think it is wise to trust them to defend our lives and our freedoms. We need to take care of ourselves...so he should not be supported (of course, Nader is the anathema of everything I stand for since he is an avowed Socialist...but I don't care about any other issue).

Now, as we actually get into Candidates with a chance of winning, we need to examine the Democratic Party's front-runner John Kerry's views...before they change again. Kerry is on record saying that he sees the War on Terror as "primarily an intelligence-gathering, law enforcement operation." This is a dangerous view, in my opinion, because this was the mindset that dominated our handling of terrorism before 9/11. This view assumes that, even though terrorism is awful, it is an endurable tragedy that can be prosecuted after the fact, like a home invasion or a murder. This temptation is understandable but dangerous. Fighting a war, especailly one like the war on terror that is often in the shadows, is expensive and hard. It's not surprising that many Americans would like to return to the "good ole' days" when terrorism was something that happened to other people--in Israel or somewhere far away. But that vacation from history ended on September 11.

Finally, we can analyze how the Republican Candidate, President George W. Bush would like to handle the War on Terror. This is the easiest because we don't have to examine theories and speeches...we can actually look at actions that he has taken. Bush is the one who declared the War on Terror. Under his leadership America has driven the Taliban out of Afghanistan, freed Iraq from the death-grip of Saddam, convinced Libya to cease their WMD programs, and has changed the face of the Middle East. He has made it clear that America will seek out and destroy our enemies. We will not be bullied by cowards who will send others to kill in the shadows. We will defend ourselves and our way of life. We will bring liberty to the oppressed. We will not rest until the scoundrels have been pulled from their stinking spider holes and caves and made to answer to the world for their despicable acts.

The facts are clear. The War on Terror is the most important issue for this election cycle. We have four candidates with four different views. You can choose the candidate who thinks we should huddle up in our own little world and maybe the big, bad guys will just go away and we will not have to be bothered by the mess (Russo). Maybe you want to choose the candidate who thinks we should turn the defense of our sovereignty over to "the global government" (Nader). Or maybe the man for you is the one who says that this is all a law enforcement problem; someone who, if he does manage to catch these Islamic predators with his glorified police force, will then turn them over to some international tribunal for trial (Kerry). Personally, I am going to choose the man who has proven that he will use the American military and whatever other resources are available to him to hunt these terrorists down and kill them (Bush).

As I go, I leave you with this truly libertarian axiom:

Use wisely your power of choice!

Volleyball - Match 7

We lost this match. Like Monday's Match, earlier this week, we had 4 people not show up. The three better than average players that didn't come on Monday and then one of the poorer players was not there while another average guy showed up. We did pretty well against the team, First Baptist. They had one server who had an ugly, ugly spin on his ball. It was wild and even difficult to get back up for us two good players...our less than good players couldn't touch it. In both games, we were with them point-to-point until his turn to serve...and then they rushed to the head.

Game one ended at 25-16 and game 2 ended at 25-19.

Current Record: 4-3

Quote - Man, I wish I were this articulate...

I ran across this quote that I had saved some time ago. I really like it want to share it with you.

The government says to the citizen: "Your earnings are not exclusively your own; we have a claim on them, and our claim precedes yours; we will allow you to keep some of it, because we recognize your need, not your right; but whatever we grant you for yourself is for us to decide." ~ Frank Chodorov [Bio]

Response to "Annual Report to the Enemy"

My brother wrote an article in his blog about America giving up its sovergnity to the UN. Its actually worse than he thinks.

Some Americans actually think that our Constitution is the supreme law of the land. That may not be so. There have been federal court rulings which state that treaties duly ratified by the Senate can have a force under law that is superior to that of our Constitution. This means that all of our treaties to all nations, in some manner, reduce your freedom and liberty. Currently, there are some treaties coming before the Senate that are not in our best intrest. More importantly, though, there is a move afoot in the Senate to use a procedural tactic to get treaties ratified without a recorded vote.

Now, if our Senators are going to bind us, the people, to treaties that are superior to the constitution...we need to make sure we undersatnd who we are giving authority to. Take, for example the UN's Universal Declaration of Human RIghts, which gives the freedom of religions, speech, and press. The UN document also gives the right to life, liberty, property, and personal security. This all sounds good and just like our Bill of Rights, until you get to Article 29(3), which reads: "These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations."

So, there you have it...your right to life, your right to liberty, your right to own property and to think as you please, your right to express your opinions and to gather peacefully with others are all gone ... eliminated ... if your exercise of those rights doesn't disagree with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

We can rewrite the entire human-rights declaration in one sentence. "You guys can do whatever it is you want to do, unless it interferes with what the government is trying to do." This is a far cry from our Founding Fathers (note: I refuse to use the politically correct term of Founding Framers) who saw that life, liberty and property come from God, not government. This means that only God can take those rights away. Government can not take away something it never gave.

Anyway...when you go to the ballot box this year, try to remeber which group of people you want to give authority over your freedoms to. Personally, I don't want to fall under UN rule...

Thomas Sowell: 'Gay marriage' confusions

You will notice that I haven't written any "Ramblings" about the gay marriage controversy. Well ... Thomas Sowell has written the best column I've read on the subject.

Volleyball - Match 6

We played again tonight and I was worried about the game. I knew from talking to people on Sunday that we would only have 6 players, our 4 worse players and our 2 best. Our other 4, two really good and two that are average had other obligations. I was hoping for an easy team...but had resigned myself to the assured defeat. One of our bad players rarely hits the ball when it comes directly to her...she swings and misses. The other "unexperienced" woman hits the ball well and has good control...but is not aggressive and does not move around on the court when in play. We have a man who is in his mid-50s (our oldest player) who is a lot of fun, but can't seem to get the bumping technique down depsite 3 years of me trying to teach him. He hits the ball with hands, right behind the thumbs, instead of extending his arms and letting the ball hit the flat part of his forearm. Because of this, he has no control and the ball will richochete in all kinds of directions.

Well, despite the handicaps, we still won...due to a forfiet. The other team had 7 guys and only 1 girl. The rules require that at least two guys and two girls are on the court at all times. Even though they officially lost, we played anyway. They beat us 25-14 and 25-20. It was still fun...I got two really good spikes in...that impressed the other team. For some reason people don't expect a 5'4" guy to be able to block and spike...appearances can be decieving.

Current record: 4-2

Federal Spending Plan

The Heritage Foundation has a created an excellent proposal to actually control spending and cut programs. The plan is very fair and well-balanced.

Scope Creep

In application development we have a term called "scope creep" that refers to the slight, almost unnoticable expansion of a project. Erin and I experienced "scope creep" today.

I convinced Erin that I really needed the weed-whacker and the blower vac. We decided that I could use the money I earned working for Joe in February to get the equipment. Well, we went to Lowe's Home Improvement to purchase the tools I wanted and get some paint so Erin could stencil the nursery. We also wanted to get some TurfBuilder with Weed Control to put on the lawn.

We picked up the weed whacker and the blower. Amazingly enough, located right next to the tools were ClosetMaid products to hang the tools on the wall. Now, our garage is a mess and we have been talking for just under two years about organizing it. We decided to pick up the hangers so that the tools would be off the floor and not contribute to the mess. We then walked by the entire ClosetMaid Garage display and saw the shelves and other hooks. We decided, since we were there and were going to hang up the tools, we might as well get a couple of shelves, a couple of ladder hooks, and other accessories and do the whole garage.

I then remembered that my drill had burned out and we would need a new one to hang all of the stuff up. So we went and picked up a drill. This prompted Erin to remember that she wanted to hang a flag out on the brick column so I had to go get some lead anchors and a masonry bit. I then remembered the TurfBuilder, so we walked way back to the other side of the store to get it. Of course, we found it, but needed a broadcast spreader to distribute it on the lawn.

Finally, an hour and $450 later...we walked out of Lowe's and went home.

Now, we just had to put up the shelves and organize and clean up the garage. We pulled Erin's car out of the garage and moved all the junk to the center of the garage. Prior to having the very nifty shelves, we had an old coffee table with a plastic set of shelves setting on top of it with all the junk. Well, I proceeded to hang the new shelving unit in the same place. This consists of installing a horizontal bar in the wall with screws. This bar should go into studs...however, we were on a short wall and the studs were not they typical 16" apart. The bar only had holes every 8" and I could only line one of the holes up with a stud. I used wall anchors for the other 4 screws because we were not going to be putting 600lbs on the shelves anyway. After the bar went up, then 5 other bars, called standards, drop vertically down from the horizontal bar. These contain the slots to put the shelves. I attached them to wall by 2 screws each using wall anchors. We then placed the shelves brackets onto the standards and hooked the shelves onto the brackets. The shelves did not fit exactly right, so I had to cut some wires away to make them fit. We got two 6' shelves up and Erin started putting stuff on it while I went to go hang some of the other organization equipment we had purchased.

Well...one of the the things that Erin found was a box. She was about to put it on the shelf and I said, "There is no need to put that on the shelf, it goes in the attic." We then looked it over where our attic pulls out and noticed that we would not be able to un-fold the ladder because the shelves we had just put up were in the way. DOH!!!!!!

After much discussion, it was decided to take the shelves down and put the entire set-up on another wall. We took everything back off the shelves. Dismounted all of the hardware and moved to another wall. However, it was ok because the other wall did have studs in all the right places and I was able to mount the horizontal bar and all of the standards into studs. We re-hung everything and put the shelves back on and loaded them up with garage junk. I then installed the tool holder, the hose holder, the ladder brackets and a few other items. I stopped before putting up the weed whacker holder and the blower holder.

We left the house at 1:45 to go to Lowes...I stopped and cleaned everything up at 9:00 PM. Man, am I exhausted.

New Auditorium

Well, we finally got financing for our new auditorium at church. Supposedly, we begin building in April. So, I've made a little "wish list" of sound, light, and video equipment that I think the chruch should buy to make the auditorium truly complete. This is just a draft and I welcome any feedback about it. I'm sure I will have to tone it down for monetary reasons...but hey...if you don't dream big and ask for a lot...you end up getting sub-quality work. If you dream big and ask big...you may not get everything you want...but you usually get more than you would have really expected.

Spring is in the Air

Spring hath arrived down here in central Alabamie. On Thursday, the trees were bare and as I drove home from work yesterday, I noticed they had blossomed. I'm not a botanist, so I don't know which trees are blossoming, only that they are very popular down here. The blossoms are white flowers and they make a sphere on top of the tree. It looks like rows of sno-cones before they have been flavored.

Also, I had to mow the lawn today. The weeds are growing with ferocity. I guess, maybe, tomorrow, if I am up to it, I will go to Lowe's and get some Scots Weed Killer and Turf builder and lay it down on my lawn. I've done such a horrible job on maintaining the lawn. Oh, sure I keep it mowed, but there are a lot of weeds and not a lot of grass. The edges are overgrown and it just doesn't look healthy. It bugs my wife. Everyone else on the street is very conscionous about their lawns, so ours sticks out like a sore thumb....instead of a green thumb!!! (What a great play on words...Man, am I riot of what?)

Anyway, part of the problem is I really lack the necessary equipment. We bought the cheapest lawn mower possible and it only mulches or side discharges. I need a rear-bagger so I can pick up the clippings. Gary (my father-in-law) gave me a 13 inch electric weed-eater that is just awful. I spend more time stopping and pulling cord than I do actually weed-eating. It is so old that you can't buy replacements anymore, so I have to wind cord myself as well. I don't have an edger. I don't have a blower/vac and have broken 3 brooms sweeping up clippings...and haven't yet gone to buy another one. The bugs (ants especially) just tear the lawn up as well. I know, I know...we need to get our lawn sprayed...but the sprayers want a pot of gold to do it. Finally, our little garden-display area has the ugliest plants/bushes in it. However, to replace them is such a time-consuming (and, of course, wallet-consuming) project.

Erin really says she wants me to fix it up and make it look good, but whenever I start to go on-and-on about needing the right tools, she thinks I'm exaggerating and makes fun of the size of the lawn. Ok...it is a small lawn...we live in a garden home...they aren't know for their exspanive yards. However, whether its a small lawn or a large, multi-acre plantation...you must have the right tools to do the job. Maybe I can convince her of this fact this year.

Border Guards Prevent Amish Man's Return to U.S.

An Amish man, returning to the US after visiting his sick father, has been denied access to the US due to changes in border security rules and procedures that were designed to keep terrorists out of the US. Some sects of the Amish believe that photos are "graven images" and are prohibited from having their photos taken. Needless to say, this makes it very difficult for them to carry around a photo id.

The Border Patrol used to waive the photo requirement for the Amish, but, with the absorption of the INS into the Department of Homeland Security, that "border policy was altered."

To be frank, this is ridiculous. An "Amish Terrorist" is as likely as an "Amish Science Fiction Author." One must wonder if they load their buggy up with explosives and steer their horses into buildings? One would think that a short investigation would determine if a person is truly Amish or and Islamic terrorist dressed up like an Amish trying to get past border patrol. Of course, if you were an Islamic terrorist, which of these things do you think would be easier:

• Grow an Amish looking beard, purchase some Amish garments, buy a horse and carriage and learn to drive it. Practice the accent and the nuances of the language.

OR

• Buy a counterfeit driver's license that any teen in America can get

Only a politician or a bureaucrat could think that revoking the waiver of the photo id requirement for a small sect of religious people whose beliefs do not allow them to meet to the requirement makes this country safer.

To the Dept. of Homeland Security: Wake up you bunch of jerks and do the right thing. Let this man be reunited with his family. Get a life!

He who controls the remote, controls the household

Remote sharing is a hot topic in any household. A husband who is a servant lets his wife control the remote...which is the way it has been in our household for many years. However, Erin has started having to jockey for the remote. Not with me, though...it seems there are some shows that Juliet wants to watch and she won't let anyone else touch the remote.

Volleyball- Match 5

The stakes were high as we entered into the match with a 2-2 record. A loss here would put us on a losing season. We warmed-up with fervor and focus, taking extra time to work with some of the less than skillful players on their passing technique. We lined up and prayed with the other team and then I configured us. There were 4 guys and 2 girls, three really good players, 2 average, and poor. Right as we were about to start, another girl walked in (our worse player). One the other guys, quickly reconfigured us to include her and chose, what I thought was a bad set-up.

We won the first game 25-18. I made one minor adjustment to the setup in during the next break and we played our second game. We won that one 25-20. The team we were playing was a whole lot of fun, laughing, kidding, and joking with us. This is what church volleyball is all about...fellowship with fellow believers.

Current Record: 3-2

ASP.Net

Well, with David (the programmer who works for me) leaving on Friday I've been getting a crash course in ASP.Net using C# to script. I'm basically having to learn two languages in a week so that I can support the applications he has written, as well as write new applications that integrate with his. We've been clipping along nicely and I've learning a lot of techniques. I wish I had set us up some time to do this kind of work before.

Basically, we are applying the Extreme Programming style with two of us sharing one computer. I tell David what I'm trying to do and he helps me do it and offers tips. He is amazed at how much code we have written. I am learning by writing a new app...that is the best way for me to learn. We are almost 1/3 of the way done and have only been coding for two days.

Don't get me wrong, it ain't easy. I am completely drained and wore out. My eyes have trouble focusing on the computer at night...but I feel a lot more confident about ASP.Net and how to code in it. The test will come next week when I finish the project up myself. I expect a slow down because I will have to a lot more research and make a lot more mistakes...but the head start we got this week will make it worth.

Bill Pryor Critics

Some tight wingers are just as upset as the liberals at the recess appointment of former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor because he order Judge Moore to comply with the federal court order to remove the Ten Commandments Monument from the Alabama Judicial Building. They believe that Pryor had to choose between his Lord and his political career, and that he chose his political career.

Now, living in Alabama and working in downtown Montgomery, I think I have some "hometown" insight. I have met Bill Pryor, shook his and hand and spoke to him briefly. First, then, let me say, there is not a man serving in politics in Alabama with a greater faith than his. He is a man of God and always strives to do what is right. When I spoke with him, I sensed the presence of the Spirit living and have certainly seen him tackle tough issues with fairness, wisdom, and humility. Bill Pryor is the only politician that I've heard call into the local talk shows and share his insight and take questions (when it is not an election year and without being hounded for months/years by the host). He will take the tough questions head-on and does not have to hide from the public because he has done the right thing.

He is the most non-partisan politician I know. He has prosecuted Republicans who have broken the law with the same ferocity that he had Democrats. He has refused to use his position to bully Democrats with the threat of prosecution, even though he has been asked to. He has the heart of a teacher and is always willing to explain how he reached his conclusion in a clear and articulate way. He does not rush headlong into judgment based on his ideals. He follows the law. That is part of his character.

When the Ten Commandments situation was occurring here (a block from where I work...I can actually see the back of the Judicial Building from my office window), Attorney General Bill Pryor continued to follow the law, despite his personal beliefs. Whether we agree with the law or not, maturity demands that one follow the proper recourses before abdicating the law and engaging in civil disobedience and revolutionary actions. I applaud Judge Moore for standing up for his convictions and taking the consequences of those actions. I believe (as I am sure Pryor does...though he has never shared his personal belief publicly on the issue) that indeed the State has the right to determine for itself if it wants the monument in the building or not. However, since Judge Moore took the case to the Federal Courts, as an officer of the court and as mature, reasonable man, Bill Pryor had no choice but to enforce the court order. To do otherwise would have gone against his character and would have been travesty to him.

I think Bill Pryor will make an excellent appellate judge. His ability to set aside his own personal convictions and follow the law is a rare sight in the courts these days. He is well-educated, extremely intelligent, an outstanding legal researcher, and a man above reproach. I wish the Senate had not used illegal means to keep him from coming to a vote so he could have his life-time appointment that he deserves. However, I am sure his one year appointment will only continue to build the case that this is Judge who is capable, articulate, and wise. Maybe the next Senate will not have the power to use procedural rules to override the Constitution...or maybe Republicans will actually grow a pair and fight back.

Volleyball - Match 4 - "The Heaven Bowl"

We played Prattville Church of Christ tonight in our annual "Heaven Bowl" game. The church that wins obviously has God's favor and will be the church that goes to heaven (guests: Please, note this is very "tongue-in-cheek"). Well, we lost to them...for the 4th year in a row.

First game was good and tight we lost 25-20. The second game we were ahead 14-12. We had a bad set-up and even though they had an easy server...she served to 24 points before a side out. We won the next point and then lost the next one...ending the game 25-25. The sad thing (to me) is that we have the talent to play and beat them...but since we allow everyone who wants to play, play and we keep everyone in the rotation...then some of our less talented players make the difference. However, it was still a lot of fun and both teams enjoyed themselves.

Current record: 2-2