Merry Christmas

I hope you are being blessed by family and friends today. May the Lord our Light shine brightly on you.

Sitting her with my Eldest Niece

I am sitting here showing off my blog to my eldest niece, Jayde. She was upset that she had never been mentioned in a blog, so I am doing it now to show her how special she is to me.

Let's all say "ahhhh" now.


AHHHHH...what a great Dunkle Randy is to mention his niece.

I am an Elitist

I am an elitist and I am proud of it. I really think that I am better than most people. I've worked hard and made good choices and I think that makes me better than those who are lazy and made poor choices. I admire those who have worked harder than me and strive to reach them one day.

My brother also freely admits to being an elitist, much to our mother’s distain. She thinks she "raised us better than that." I'm not sure why we as a society abhor "The Elite." There is actually a double standard in that area. Society coddles children so that they will have good self-esteem and is then disgusted when someone actually thinks that they are better than someone else.

The fact of the matter is, we were not created equally; some of us are better than others. Yes, we are all equal in the sight of the Law and we are all equal in the sense that one man is not inherently better than another man just because of who his father is (i.e., we are not noble by birth, but are noble by deed). However, some people have more talent and more intelligence than others. At 5'4" and two left feet, I am not on equal standing (pun intended) as Shaq to play basketball. We were not created equally to succeed in that arena.

I say all of this to lead that when I saw that I could take a quiz to find out what kind of elitist I am, I jumped all over it. The hardest part of the quiz was actually deciding on certain things. I was torn in my options which means I am probably the other kinds of elitist as well.

From Timbuktu to Tijuana, you know all about world
culture and politics. You've seen it all, and
what you haven't seen, you watched on one of
the "smart people channels." Your
friends tell you that you should run for
governor.
What people love: You've always got a great story
to tell.
What people hate: You make them feel like ignorant
plebians. Sometimes you slip and CALL them
plebians.


What Kind of Elitist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Take the quiz and see what kind of Elitist you are as well.

A Story

For some reason I doubt this conversation ever happened...

German Reporter 1> Did you hear that our intelligence people cracked the secret codes used by Ansar al-Islam organization.

German Reporter 2> Aren't they a group of terrorist?

German Reporter 1> No, they are a group of freedom fighters that uses extreme tactics to overthrow those nasty swine of American Conqureours.

German Reporter 2>Are you sure? I thought that they were being advised by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to be a central agency in the kidnapping and beheading plots.

German Reporter 1> So. Is there a problem with those kinds of tactics? After all, they had to endure an unprovoked attack from those dogs in America. I am writing a story to tell everyone that the codes have been cracked.

German Reporter 2> Wouldn't it be wiser to keep that information a secret? If the terrorist know we can crack thier codes, won't they just change to a new code we can't crack?

German Reporter 1> Ludicrous. They will keep using the same code because it is too hard to get the new code to all thier people.

German Reporter 2> (sarcastically) And of course, they wouldn't have a contingency plan just in case thier codes get cracked.

German Reporter 1> We must do our part to bring down the evil American Empire.

German Reporter 2> I think it is a bad idea...

German Reporter 1> It doesn't matter what you think, the people have a right to know, even if it puts more American troops in harm's way. What do we care? We have to be independent and not pick sides. We have to be nuetral.

Thus, the paper printed the article: German Intelligence Crack Terror Group's Codes

Aieral Survey of my House

As a research project to develop advanced database technology, Microsoft partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey to provide free access to thier vast data store of aerial photos of the United States. It is pretty cool and I
found my house. My house was completed in July 2002 and this picture was taken in March, so all you can see is the foundation of my house. But that is where I live.

It looks very different now with the entire neighborhood complete. I'm not sure how this differs from Google's KeyHole service...but TerraServer is free and KeyHole is a subscription service.

My Art Project

I love the Internet. I am constantly amazed at what kinds of things one will find. Here is a link to a site that allows you to revisit your youth and make cut snowflakes out of paper, minus the scraps.

Give it a spin. By the way, if you really want to marvel, when you preview your flake and it is spinning around, watch the shadows. Outstanding programming...and a web application on top of it.

Two Dogs

Erin and Mihaela left this afternoon with Gary and Hope to go visit Erin's sister ad her family. I will be leaving Thursday to join them. To have room for Erin and the baby, Gary and Hope couldn't take thier dog, Hilly. So, she is staying with me and will travel with me on Thursday.

So, I'm sitting her watching TV in the big recliner and I doze off. I just woke up to loud snoring...both dogs (Hilly and Juliet) are sound asleep...and both are snoring.

You, know, this seemed a lot more interesting before I typed it out...now my own blog is putting me to sleep.

I'm confused...

Have you seen this VISA commericial? A guy is reading a letter from VISA informing him that he can win a refund for all his 2004 VISA purchases. The guy says to his wife "Too bad you didn't buy that much stuff this year". Then, there are flashback to all her purchases and her hiding them from him.

Dutifully, VISA has placed the "fine print" speak ensuring us that "no purchase necessary." HUH?!? Wait a minute, you are telling me that no purchase is necessary to get a refund on purchases?

I know that companies cannot require a purchase for promotions (to require a purchase makes the promotion a lottery and/or gambling scheme that is not permitted in some states). So "no purchase necessary" is a legal disclaimer. But... (hang onto your seatbelts, we are going to use a little bit of logic here) ...if the promo is to get refunds for "purchases" and there is a no "purchase" necessary disclaimer; does that not exclude people who have not made "purchases"? Which really means you must have "purchases" to qualify. Which means this is a lottery/gambling promotion. Which is illegal.

Does anybody else find this confusing?

Thus it begins...

I have predicted that a time of persecution is coming upon us. We, as modern, American Christians have not had our faith tested in the fiery furnace. I am convinved that our generation will not pass without it being weighed in the balance. As a generation, we will be found wanting.

Content in the the comfort of the Constitution, many people with whom I have spoken to about this have disregarded my opinion. Others have warned about the subtle erosion of our liberties and one would have to be blind not notice how the culture (media and government) has been working to eradicate Christianity from society.

Never, though, has the government attacked Christianity with the kid of fervor displayed by this prosecuter. While I am not a big fan of the methods used by the Christians in this story, they did not do anything wrong; the deprived no one of his right to life, liberty or property through the use of force or fraud.

Christians, as we head into a new era it is important to be prepared for how we handle the affliction that will come our way. We must be prepared to "stay strong and play the man" This does not mean we go looking for conflict and strife. As a matter of fact, we should work to avoid the persecution. However, when the time of testing arrives, remember...

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Bored at work? Try this out.

Once again the Internet has provided something extraordinary useful. "What could that be?", you ask. Why...it is none other that than a virtual snowglobe that you can interact with.

What fun. What fun. Check it out. (WARNING: Clicking this link may distract you from work. The owner of this site assumes no responsibility or liability for any time you spend staring at it and shaking it.)

P.S. - The only flaw is that I can't turn it upside down. Drats....

Is it really a good idea to steal from God?

Thieves take Church's Every Possession

Hopefully they got a Bible and will happen upon Malachi 3:7-9

IRS Quote

Logic and the IRS code could get married because they surely are not related to one another.

~Bruce Williams

Missile defense shield test fails

The very anti-american, liberal newspaper, BBC, is reporting that the latest test of the Missile Defense Shield failed.

Big Whoop.

The system is never going to be perfect and some missles will get through the shield. The story reports that it has worked 5 times out of 8 attempts. Sure, that is only 60% of the time, but is that so bad for a system that is under development.

Even if that is the best results that they ever get, I feel safer knowing that only 3 missles out ever 8 that are shot at us may make it through rather than knowing that all 8 will make it through.

I have never understood why there is detractors to this kind of defense system. It is not aggresive in natrue and protects us from rogue countries. I can not think of one reason that this kind of spending on this kind of system would be illegitamate.

Tag Board Removed

I removed the Tag Board because it was making my site have pop-unders. I hate advertising via pop-up ads. I don't like it when I visit a site and don't like it on my site.

Living Christmas Tree

Our good friends invited us to attend something called the "Living Christmas Tree" at First Baptist Church in Montgomery. I didn't know what one was but heard it was amazing. So, we dropped Mihaela off at her grandparents and Erin and I , Chuck and Tracy (hey, you got a mention :)), and Andy and Brandy all decided to go (Tracy and Brandy were the only ones who had attended the event before).

I found out that a "Living Christmas Tree" is a choral performance of Christmas songs where the choral risers are built to look like a christmas tree. The performers stand on the stage and it looks like a tree with little heads sticking up. There are, of course, a lot of perfomers on the lowest level of the tree and it the number of performers decrease as the tree gets taller, until there is only one member of the chorus standing on the top level, right below a star decoration. The tree was beuatifully decorated with floral pieces and lights.

The perfomance is combonation of choral pieces, insturmental pieces, and solos. The lights on the tree were synced to the music to come off and on at certain times and to display certain colors. They also created a music video that displayed on the screen during one song. The event was very well planned out and just top-notch. This really shouldn't have surprised since they have been putting on this performance for 24 years.

They singing was very, very good. They sang some classic songs like "Away in the Manger", some less traditional songs ("Light your World"), and ended with a majestic rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus." Since FBC is the oldest church in Montgomery (founded around the early 1820s) it is a classic Baptist church with only piano and organ accompianment. (They did do thier first song with an acoustic guitar and two soloist that ended the song in a tremendous duet). The organ/piano combonation gave the entire event an air of elegance, grace, and solemenity. My favorite song they did was "Angus Dei."

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and a very uplifting and encouraging performance.

Google's New "Suggestive" Feature

Google Suggest quietly debuted this week on the company's Labs site, which showcases Google features that "aren't quite ready for prime time," according to a message on the site. When a user starts typing a request into the search box, a drop-down menu appears with possible suggestions as to what the user could be looking for. Not sure how useful the feature might be for experienced searchers. For the mundane, though, it should help them find better, more accurate results.

Trying to be Trendy

Well, seems like "tagboards" are the new blog trend. So I decided to try and be trendy and to get myself a tagboard. My efforts to be trendy in the past have always met with failure (*sigh*) because I am a geek. However, like a true geek, I still long to be trendy, so I try and try again...

Now, I just hope that I get a few tags ... *wink*

Christmas Decorations 101

I was driving home from work this evening and the radio mentioned that a wreck on the interstate had traffic backed up at my exit. So I decided to come the back way through town. I noticed many Christmas light displays and one that was so horrendous that it looked as if someone had vomitted up an entire Wal-Mart Christmas display on the front lawn.

OK People. Since it is Christmas time, we needs to cover some basic "decorating philosophy" concepts. First, if you're going to put up decorations, do us all a favor and display them tastefully, or sparingly, or, if all else fails, inside your house.

Here are a few of my Christmas Decorations Pet Peeves:

• Giant inflatable holiday things. (Do you really NEED a 10 foot tall polar bear in a ski hat on your front yard?)
• Icicle lights in Alabama. (C'mon people, you aren't fooling anybody. They don't look anything like icicles (trust me, I've seen icicles), and even if they did, we are in ALABAMA, it's 90 degrees (okay, 60, but still).)
• Front yards that look like they have been resodded with lights. (Watch "Christmas Vacation" and if you can't figure out what is so funny about Clark's decorations, pause the movie, run outside and remove 75% of your lights to get you back to an acceptable level.)
• Some of the lights blink and some are steady. (Choose one or the other or else you are going to give someone a seizure.)
• Dancing Santas. (I don't care if he's wearing sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt, or the traditional santa suit. It is disturbing. It is especially disconcerting if he's got a motion sensor and shakes his hips to "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" whenever anyone walks near him. )
• Mixing Christmas themes. (Please, please make a decision between Santa OR the nativity scene. Don't do them both. I've read the Gospels quite closely and can assure you that Mary rode a donkey, not Rudolph; and it was not Frosty the Snowman who delivered the myrrh.)

Keeping these simple principles of decorating in mind can lead to a wonderful holiday season by all.

Another New Title

The "Saga of the Blog Ttitle Change" continues. The last time I changed my blog title I mentioned I wasn't thrilled about the change. This one is better but it is not perfect yet. I didn't get that "GRRRR!!!" feeling in the middle of being that said, "Yeah!! That's it!"

I do think, however, that my description is just the way I like it.

Blogging for a Year

I have been posting for one year today.

A little celebration is in order.

Happy Blogging to me.
Happy Blogging to me.
Happy Blogging Dear Randy,
Happy Blogging to me.

(slightly offkey)And many more...

One Year Stats:

• I average 4 Posts Per Week
• I have written 50,736 words in 224 entries for an average of 250 words per entry.
• I have had 937 unique visitors come to my website
• They stay for an average of 4 minutes and 14 seconds
• I average 4 visitors a day

Cabinet Changes

So the media is making a big deal out of Bush's cabinet changes. A little bit of research and you can see President Clinton's Second Administration Cabinet changes:

1. Secretary of State : Warren Christopher to Madeleine Albright
2. Secretary of Defense : William Perry to William Cohen
3. Secretary of Commerce : Mickey Kantor to William Daley
4. Secretary of Labor : Robert Reich to Alexis Herman
5. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development : Henry Cisneros to Andrew Cuomo
6. Secretary of Transportation : Frederico Pena to Rodney Slater
7. Secretary of Energy : Hazel O'Leary to Frederico Pena

I only counted those that changed in 1997. Throughout the course of his Presidency, Clinton had 9 of his cabinet positions turn-over, some multiple times. So why are the changes in President Bush's second cabinet such a big deal?

Social Security Privatization - Is it the only reform option?

I know I said I was getting a new soapbox, but I have to stay on this topic as it appears to be a big part of the President's second term agenda. Today I would like to address some issues that the AARP made as they were strongly opposing the idea of privatizing Social Security. According to them, the President's plan would do two things:

1. Damage the most successful government program in history
2. Abdicate on a promise made to future retirees

My answer to their first objection is that I think that any government program that promotes dependence on government is a failure at its core objective. Since Social Security is the most popular and politically invincible government program, it is the core of the welfare state. This means that Social Security is the most successful government program only if you believe that it is government's duty to provide for you. If you think that you have the responsibility to take care of yourself, then Social Security is the most disastrous of all government programs.

As to their second objection, no compassionate person wants to just cut Social Security without ensuring that promises that have been made will be promises kept. However, it is irresponsible to continue to make the promise to future generations by taking part of their paychecks each week when everyone, including the AARP, knows that at some point in the future the program becomes unsustainable. I believe that people who are currently paid out of Social Security and people who are somewhat near to retirement age, should have thier needs seriously considered as we discuss Social Security Reform. After all they have made choices with the knowledge that Social Security would be there for them.

However, when more people under the age of 35 believe in UFOs than expect Social Security to pay them retirement benefits, it is ludicrous to try and say that we have to ensure that Social Security can pay all future retirees. I for one, would rather opt out now, cut my losses on monies I have already paid it, get to keep and invest my future earning the way I see fit, rather than to continue to pay for something I will never be able use.

Privatize Social Security
In his 2004 Republican Convention Acceptance Speech, Bush laid out his goals for Social Security. He said, "We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account -- a nest egg you can call your own, and government can never take away." Since his re-election, plans have started to surface to reform Social Security.

• For instance, you have Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who would allow for privatized accounts, but would also raise payroll taxes to pay for the transition costs. According Robert Novak's editorial, this is the plan we need to keep an eye on because it is the only one with a chance to succeed.
• Another popular bill is New Hampshire Senator John Sununu's bill. His is your basic, run-of-the mill privatizing plan with higher percentages one would be able to send to the private account and no way to pay transition costs.
• Here are a couple of articles by Thomas Sowell on privatizing Social Security:
• Article 1
• Article 2

Abolish Social Security
Of course, privatizing Social Security is not the only option, we could also abolish it. No one in congress dares mention that option for fear of losing their job. However, abolition is truly the best scenario for many reasons.

At its very core Social Security is based on an immoral philosophy that it is OK for government to use force to take money from one segment of the population to give to another segment of the population. However, rarely do you hear discussions about the morality of Social Security in Washington DC. Federal money is presumed to be owned by no one, and is, therefore nothing more than a common pool of cash to be handed out by government. Anyone who has a job, though, and sees the difference between their gross pay and their net pay quickly realizes that the money is not free - it does not come from some leprechaun sitting at the end of a rainbow. Rather, the money comes from individual Americans and is redistributed in two different ways.

First, Social Security blatantly takes money from workers and gives it to retirees. These retirees have no right (i.e., moral claim) to the money (i.e., they didn't work to earn it); rather, the program simply robs some people for the benefit of other people. Secondly, Social Security redistributes the responsibility for caring for the elderly from individuals and families to the state.

These two forms of redistribution generate results that one would should really expect. When one takes from workers, then there is less reward for labor, so there is less incentive to work (and less incentive to prepare for one's own retirement). This means that Social Security leaves workers less ready for retirement.

There are also moral overtones when one shifts the responsibility for the care of the elderly to the state. While I recognize the fact that caring for different generations within a family can be difficult and even unpleasant, the intergenerational ties that are formed during that process are among the most important sinews of community. I could go off a tangent here about how our modern day society has forgotten its elderly and thus has forgotten its history and its heritage. Those who have lived long lives acts a moral compasses to younger people ensuring that lessons learned in the past are not forgotten. Social Security weakens those social links and makes it very difficult for a family to offer better care for its more vulnerable members. Thus, by denying younger workers the ability to achieve a higher return throughout their working lives, Social Security actually leaves younger workers with less money to share with their parents and older relatives.

One can clearly see then that Social Security faces a dual crisis. On the practical side, it is going under. On the moral side, it is robbing Americans, weakening family ties, and destroying community bonds.

The main problems with privatization is the outrageous transition costs and the fact that privatization does not fix the moral problem associated with Social Security, just the budgetary ones. Privatizating the system sustains government's role in Americans' retirement. Politicians would still mandate savings, regulate plans, and otherwise intrude in the retirement system. This solution still avoids confronting the basic moral wrong of using force to ensure that existing taxpayers fund current retirees.

Most retirees believe that the government is obligated to them because they have paid into the system and need to get their return. Compassionate people understand why they feel that way and sympathize with them, but that doesn't justify the continuation of an immoral system.

Even though those currently receiving Social Security benefits were victimized by previous generations, is it morally justifiable for them to victimize succeeding generations of innocent people? In the conflict between current taxpayers and current retirees, do not those currently paying the bill have the stronger moral claim? Truthful answers to these questions suggest only one clear answer to what to do with Social Security.

The simplest and most just solution is the complete abolition of Social Security. Eliminate the bureaucracy, taxes, and benefits. Get rid of everything. Nothing should be left. And it should be done immediately, with no transition payments or anything else.

This is obviously a tough-minded, unsympathetic approach, but the moral, political, and economic crisis presented by Social Security calls for a tough solution. The protests would be overwhelming, but we need to look at the issue from the standpoint of three different groups - young workers, old workers, and retirees.

1. Young workers below a certain age, probably in their 40s, depending upon income level, would benefit the most from an immediate dismantling of Social Security. They would have no complaint, since they would see an immediate raise of 7.5% in their paychecks. Hopefully, their employers would give them the 7.5% of their salary that is budgeted for their position that their employer pays resulting in a net 15% wage increase. They would be able to invest this sudden raise and with 20+ years to see their investment substantially grow.
2. Workers older than the break-even point could still invest but would lose on net(i.e., they would have gotten more money from Social Security than they will by investing since they have lost the important time component needed in long-term investing).
3. Retirees, those currently relying on Social Security benefits, would lose the most (though some would actually have received far more than they and their employers had "contributed").

I, of course, am concerned with the latter two groups. It would be immoral not to have a plan to deal with them. So, how would they cope with the loss of income on which they had counted?

1. First, they could rely more on their children. Us younger people would be saving on taxes and earning a greater return, allowing us to fulfill our moral obligations to our parents. There will be a hurdle as it may take some effort to recreate that ethic in young people.
2. Secondly, private charities should take on a greater role where the financial needs are serious. When the government drops its 15% tax on people's incomes, it would free up money for charitable giving. Also, the 15% tax break would encourage economic growth that itself would yield more revenues available for charity in the future. I have faith in the American people that those elderly left in need would undoubtedly be considered a priority by many philanthropic organizations. I assure you that new charities with the sole purpose of assisting former Social Security recipients would spring up.
3. Finally, able-bodied seniors might choose to remain in or return to the workplace. Even today, some older Americans prefer to work, despite the financial disincentives created by Social Security (benefits are reduced as income is earned). They welcome not only their pay but also their interaction with others in the workplace, including young people.

Conclusion
Social Security is hailed by many in government and outside of government as the best and most successful government program. I'm not sure I like their measuring stick because I must wonder what could be worse and more evil than a program which:

• takes workers' money, making it harder for them to provide for themselves and their parents
• weakens family and community ties
• discourages work and saving
• makes people more dependent on government
• imposes enormous losses on workers in the name of security
• creates enormous doubts about its own survival
• risks potential intergenerational war as the system slides towards insolvency?

If this is what is considered a successful government program, then I have to wonder what people who think this way would consider to be signs of failure.

When Social Security was enacted in the United States in 1935 a mistake was made that everyone is paying for. Instead of trying to fix this monstrosity that is built on an evil foundation, we should just rid ourselves of it. Then, as Americans have done in the past, we should act compassionately and creatively (on a voluntary basis) to ensure that anyone who meets with adversity due to this extreme measure are provided for. Tinkering with Social Security is not enough. Privatization proposals which preserve a role for government, while offering a vast improvement over the current system, don't go far enough in righting the immoral, socialist nature of the program. The only completely right answer is the abolition of this evil system.

Small Group Regroups

After being away from one another for the two weeks because of the Holidays, the small group regathered at our house last night. Things are really going well with the group, which is good. I have led two or three other groups in the past without much success, but this group seems to be gelling.

Last night we were joined by a new small group member who really liked the group and will probably come back. She was in a group last year, but her group took a break over the summer and then never regrouped. She was out the week we all stood up and introduced the groups, so didn't know what her options were. One of our other group members invited her, and she decided to come check us out. We had a new couple join church yesterday and they are probably going to come to our group next week. We may also get another family who was in the same group as the lady who joined us yesterday. They are going to come visit as well.

Anyway, we covered the letter to the church in Thyatira last night and had a great discussion as we contemplated the question of, "How do you strike a balance between a generous and forgiving love and a proper intolerance for heresy and sin in the church?"

Week 8 - "The Adulterous Church: Thyatira"

• Teacher Notes

Retitled my blog

After a little less than a year of blogging (5 days until my 1 year anniversary of blogging), I have discovered that everyone and his dog titles his blog something to do with "Rambling", "Random", and/or "thoughts." I thought I was being witty when I titled my blog and now I see was commonplace and mundane. I despise being commonplace and mundane...so I have changed the title and the description.

I'm not sure I really like this title either, but it is better than the old one.

Church under FIre

The body of Christ is facing more and more legal persecution by the Government. According to an article by the Agape Press, a pastor of Texas church is being sued after following the Biblical mandate to disassociate rebillious members who willfully and spitefully live a life contrary to the teachings of scripture. Pastors should not have to fear legal action when discipling members of thier fold. While I do not believe that there should be "a seperation of church and state," proponents of this philosophy must follow the phrase both ways. If churches have no place in the government, then the government has no place in the church.

I have a strong feeling that this will not go well for the church and that the government will find it liable and grant the litigant some monetary compensation for her "suffering." Unfortuantely, I think American Christians are wimps and will bow to the pressure of Government influence and stop fulfilling thier duty to call members to repentance and deal out discipline when necessary. I pray that I am wrong and that churches and pastors will continue to do what is right, no matter the pressure.

Baby sits herself up

Erin just called to tell me that Mihaela sat herself up, although Erin did not witness the feat herself. Erin was doing some housework and on one pass through the living room, she noted that Mihaela was playing on her stomach. Then, as she passed back through the living room, Mihaela was sitting up. So, unless the dog sat the baby up, she must have sat up on her own. Yeah!!!

Now, we will see if she will do it again or when we are in the room!