For those who think we don't know what we are getting into

We just picked up a baby boy who turns 14 days old today that we are adopting. Last year we adopted a baby girl who turned 15 months old last week. Some people have expressed discontent with our decision becuase it is difficult to take care of two children so close in age. While it is difficult, it is managable.

This, however, would probably not be managable:

• Identical quadruplets
• 3-months premature
• 15-month old brother.
  

Five children under the age of two. I think these people could use some prayer.

If you outlaw knives...

Before this turns into a "Daddy Blog," I better post some kind of outrage or something. Here is an outrageous story for you:

A group of doctors in Great Britain are calling for the banning of some types of kitchen knives because of their dangerous nature.

This is something I would expect The Onion to do...but, reality is stranger than satire. Just remember, it only takes about 10 years for the ludicrous ideas of Europe to move across the ocean and be bantered about by the idiots over here. Buy your kitchen knives now before you are required to have a FBI background check and a mandatory waiting period to purchase the proper utensil to open a watermelon.

A week of firsts

Noah had a doctor's appointment today, so I took the afternoon off to watch Mihaela. We had a lot of fun together and had a day of firsts. I put her in her swimming suit and filled up our little wading pool and she had her first experience swimming. At first she was a little nervous but gradually warmed up to the idea of the pool and then had a lot of fun with "water play."

Then, when I took her out I set her on our porch while I went to dump the water out of the pool. Mihaela then stepped on the grass and walked over to me. She has been avoiding grass. She has been scared of it, crying anytime it touches her. This week she has been gearing herself up for walking on grass by walking to the edge of the patio and setting one foot down on the grass. She would then pull it back. She has been very tentative. Then, today, she just steps out on the grass and walks on it.

Another adorable thing she has picked up this week is hand-holding. She has been walking, but hasn't wanted to hold your hand when she walks. On Monday, she grabbed hold of my finger while we were walking. She has since learned that she can grab a finger and then lead us where she wants to go. On Tuesday I said, "Hey, let's go to the store." She walked over to me, grabbed my finger and led me to the garage door. It was so cute.

She is such a big girl.

First Day

We had our first full-day home with Noah. He was really sweet and pretty easy to handle. I was pretty nervous last night with feeding him and changing him because he is so small. So, Erin got up with both times last night. I got up early with Mihalea and fed her breakfast. As we were walking to the bathtub for her morning bath, I heard Noah awake in his room. I went in and got him up, changed his diaper and changed his clothes. Woah. It was...nerve-wracking. I was so afraid I was going to snap him in two.

After successfully changing him, I went and fed him. I struggled through the first ounce, but discovered a great technique that worked well for both of us for his second ounce. He went back to sleep and I bathed Mihaela.

Erin woke up and I made breakfast for us. Then, Erin went out to pick up some stuff that we needed for him while I stayed home and took care of both children. It was pretty uneventful. I was able to juggle both children's needs...although I was very tired when Erin came home. The only incident occurred when, immediately after changing Noah's diaper, I needed to change Mihaela's. So, I picked him and walked into Mihaela's room and she waddled behind me. Well, I needed two hands to take care of Mihaela, so I did the only logical (in my mind) thing and I put Noah in Mihaela's crib. BIG MISTAKE!!! She went ballistic. Crying, screaming, pointing at her crib. It was a tough diaper change. Afterwards, I took him out of her bed and we all just sat on the big chair. I loved on her and reassured her that her bed was her's.

Anyway, tomorrow it is back to work and Erin is on her own during the day. After my little 3 hour stint, I know that she is in for an adventure.

He's Home

Well, we picked up our baby today. We have changed the name we had originally picked out to:

Noah Asher

We arrived at the AGAPE offices at 12:45 for our 1:00 meeting. We met with the social workers at 1:00 and went over all the paper work. The foster mother was supposed to have the baby at the office at 1:30. However, the foster mother had a delay and wasn't able to get there until 3:00. So, that's when we met Noah.

He is very handsome...and very, very small. I'm afraid I am going to break him. Anyway, I have to go to the store and get some Dreft and some different bottles than what we have. We also have not figured out a really good solution to block the morning sun from streaming through our beautiful, arch-window into the nursery.

Got lots done...Tying up loose ends

Well, 3 other couples from our Small Group came over last night to help us get the room ready for Asher. We had to clean out the garage a little bit to make room for stuff that was in the office. My computer is now sitting in the living room and all our files and paperwork is outside in the garage. I feel like real white-trash right now because I had to cart a bunch of junk we need to get rid of to the backyard. Trash in my back yard...yeauch. I'll get some help next week to get it to the dump.

The girls painted a dresser drawer set. The guys helped us lug stuff around. Then, a few of us put the crib togather. Everything went fine except one piece of one of the drawers on the crib was broken. We have ordered it and it is on its way.

We got help bringing all the infant stuff that we just put in the attic back down. Now all we have to do is find places for everything and do some odds and ends cleaning. Basically, though, we are ready for him to come home. We are so excited and can't wait.

Thanks to all our small group who helped us out. You guys rock!!! You are the best.

The Hunt for the Crib

Since we are getting a son on Monday, we need a crib to put him in. Our little Ladybug is too little to go to a big girl bed, so she still her crib. Erin immediately jumped on the internet and started shopping. It did not take her long to find the crib she wanted. Unfortuantely, we could not order one online becuase it would not be delivered before Asher comes home. So, we went to the manufacturers website to see if we could find a local store that had one in stock...and we did...BCF

The bad thing is that we don't shop at BCF. Erin had a very bad experience there last year. It was raining and Erin had the baby when she went inside. There were no carts available and Erin saw a manager standing by the door. She inquired about getting a cart and the manager said they were all outside and then told Erin she would have to go back out in the rain and get one herself if she wanted one. This made Erin very angry and she walked out and hasn't been back since and bad-mouthed BCF to all her friends. This was kind of a last straw thing there as we had encountered bad, but less severe, customer service problems there in the past.

Thus, we encounter a Dileamma: Do you go get the crib you have chosen at the only place in town that has it or do you choose something else just to refrain from going to a place that has mariginal to bad customer service? Well, we decided to at least go look. We went and looked at cribs then Thursday afternoon after our visit with the birthmother.

We looked around and found it. Also found some other that we liked. We decided, though, not to purchase right away. We were meeting some small group friends for dinner at the mall so we went there and checked out some cribs at the mall. We didn't like any of them. We met our friends and ate dinner and then we all drove back to BCF where we met another couple from our small group who have a truck (we need someone to haul the crib).

Well, all four ladies start ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all the cribs and talking home decorator stuff. They finally decide on a crib that is different than the one we picked out online. We find the lady in charge of the baby area and ask for assistance. We show her the crib and she goes looks it up on her computer. It says there is one in stock and one in shipping. Well, the one in stock is the floor model. The one in shipping will probably arrive June 3 she tells us.

This of course, is not acceptable, so we tell her we need the crib by Monday because we are picking up a baby that day. I ask her to call the stores in Birmingham and see if they have one. She calls the first store in Birmingham. They don't have one either. As she is getting ready to call the second store, we ask if we can buy the floor model. She says they have a policy against selling the floor models and calls the second store in Birmingham. They don't have one either.

Erin is devastated. This is the crib she wants. They lady then looks at M-bug that I am holding and asks, "Are you guys adopting another baby?" I said, yes ma'am. She asked the baby's gender and I said a boy. She asked, did you just find out? I replied yes, that is how it works in adoption. She then said she would make an exception and sell us the floor model. It was moments from closing time on Thursday and asked us to come back on Friday.

So, I went back yesterday afternoon with A & B, and their truck. We walk back to the cribs and find the stock boys. They say that the lady left instructions with them that we could have the floor model. We start to take the stuff out of the floor model ehn the stock boy informs us that the truck is being unloaded and asks if we want to wait and see if the crib is on the truck. We say sure. They go look and come back with an affirmative. God provides.

Anyway, I call Erin and tell her an elaborate story where the lady went to lunch but instructed her people that if we came, they were to give us the floor model. I explained that while she was gone some other customers came and the employees, not knowing they weren't us, gave them the floor model. Erin was hot. After letting her rant for a very brief time, I let her in on the fact that we were bringing a brand new one home...then her fury was instantly re-directed. My ears are still burning...

Anyway, she laughed about it a few minutes later...

The Visit

Yesterday we went to Birmingham to visit the birthmother of Asher. We were nervous because we were told that she requested the visit so that she could be reassured of her decision. Well, we thought that meant she was not completely sure that she wanted to give her baby up for adoption. All our fears were eased though, when we learned from talking to her that she wanted reassurance that she had chosen the right family for Asher; it was never up for reconsideration that she would give him up.

Asher's birthmother is a very sweet, kind, and gentle woman. The visit was very good and we left feeling better about the whole thing. We are getting really excited about bringing him home on Monday.

So Anxious

Erin and I are so anxious right now as we wait. Asher's birthmother signed the paperwork on Monday terminating her rights. From what I understand, Alabama law gives her a 5-day window in which to reconsider her decision. We are on pins and needles waiting for those 5 days to be up.

We are driving up to Birmingham tomorrow to meet with the birthmother. Our social workers says that usually serves to re-enforce to the birthmother that she is making a good decision. We are, of course, nervous about the meeting and anxious about her reconsideration period.

God sends waves of peace through me every so often, as if to say, "I sent this boy to you. You did not seek this out, I sought you out. Remember, I am faithful."

Saturday is five days. It can not come soon enough. I think I can make it through Sunday knowing that we can pick him up on Monday. Please pray with us and for us as we wait...

Lion, Witch and Wardrobe Trailer

Click here to see the trailer for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie that comes out this December. This is going to be awesome. I teared up a little bit watching the trailer because it sis so powerful. The CGI rocks, the music is awesome, and the entire thing looks like they did a truly epic job.

Picked a Name

We picked out a name for our son:

Asher Lane

Asher means "Blessed, Happy". The name comes from the Bible. Asher was Jacob's eigth son; his mother was Zilpah, Leah's handmaid. It is also my paternal grandmother's maiden name.

Lane is my maternal grandmother's maiden name.

"Can you help us out?"

Well, big family changing news: We were chosen by a birthmother to adopt her little boy that was born on Friday, May 13.

Now, first of all, I need to remind everyone the we adopted Halo last year and she is only 15 months old. Erin and I had been talking about getting geared up to adopt another child, but were planning on waiting until August to tell our adoption agency to keep thier eyes out for a child for us. Halo will be 18 months in August and we figured with the usual 1 to 2 year wait, then she would be 2 and half to three and half when we adopted our second child. Well, once again we learn that God's timing is not our timing.

Instead, we got a call yesterday from Buddy, our case worker. Buddy says, "Hey, can you help us out?" Now, usually, when someone says, "Can you help me out?" we think sure, do you need a couch moved? Maybe you need a ride to the airport. I get lots of these calls for PC troubleshooting...maybe a printer is not printing or something. The most likely scenario in our minds is that Halo's birthmother wants another set of picutres. BUT....no, it is "Can you help us out and adopt a little boy to take care of for the next 60-70 years?" We, of course, say "Yes." God is calling us to service, who are we to refuse.

So, while not everything is final yet, it looks like we will pick up our son on Monday, May 23. We will have a 15 month old girl and a 2 week old boy. Oh my. How much work is that going to be? The birthmother wants to meet us on Thursday. She has signed over her rights, but has five days to reconsider. The baby is in foster care during this time. Pray for the mother to do what is best for her baby.

We will keep you up-to-date.

Internet Quiz: Are you drawn to the light or dark side of the force?

I am Hans Solo, "a lovable rouge maverick, a little bit woo, an a little bit way. Beneath all that scroundal schtick, I am essentially good."

Take the quiz.

"REAL ID", REALly Bad IDea

On Tuesday night the Senate passed the "REAL ID" legislation that was bundled with an Iraq spending bill. For those who don't know, The REAL ID Act (text of the bill and the Congressional Research Services analysis of the bill) establishes uniform standards for state driver's licenses, effectively creating a national ID card. Americans overwhelmingly reject national IDs in general, so Congress used the Iraq spending bill as a cover to once again place yet another unfunded mandate on States that wrestles even more liberty from the hands of individuals. And I thought that Republicans were supposed to be federalists.

While I have many theoretical and philosophical problems with a National ID card, I want to talk about some of the practical problems we can expect to have to deal with. As a database engineer I feel I have a unique perspective on this.

Any National ID card system would have to be made up of at least 2 major components and 2 systems.

1. The physical card that contains information about the individual (name, address, photograph, physical description, birthday, etc...) is the first component. The legislation requires that the card include a "common machine-readable technology" (i.e., barcode, magnetic strip, or a RFID chip) as well as requires anti-counterfeiting technology. To truly be national, these technologies will need to be standardized and agreed upon by all the states. Can you imagine trying to get 50 technologist to agree that one kind of technology is better than another?
   
2. Besides the actual physical card, there would need to be a database somewhere that contains all of the same information. This database would need to be accessible by tens of thousands of people and other systems (such as all 50 states' current driver's licencesing systems). The two major systems would have to be able to interact with this database.
   
1. There has to be a system for checking the card data against the database. The database will have to be available to people who need to verify the cards, otherwise it is useless.
   
2. There has to be some sort of registration procedure that verifies the identity of the applicant and the personal information, puts it into the database, and issues the card. Also, there must be a way to change that information (mistakes happen, from data entry errors to fraudulent information provided).

"So what?" you say. Well, that fact is that we have to understand the weaknesses of each of these modules. Any one of these components can fail.

1. Most obvious is that the cards can be counterfeited. Yes, I know that the manufacturers of these cards claim that their anti-counterfeiting methods are perfect, but there hasn't been a card created yet that can't be forged. Nor will there ever be. It is a fact of technological life that all technologies have flaws that can be exploited. All you can really do is try to make the cost of exploiting the technological flaw greater than the benefit of the exploit. If the benefits of breaking that technology are great enough, you will have people expend the necessary resources to break the system.
   
   Identity theft is already a big problem; if there is a single ID card that signifies identity, forging that will be very beneficial to crooks. I guarantee that there will be a great premium for stolen IDs just like stolen U.S. passports are worth thousands of dollars in some Third World countries. Biometric information, whether it be pictures, fingerprints, retinal scans, or something else, does not prevent counterfeiting; it only prevents one person from using another person's card. Of course, there is always the human component. How do you guarantee the person verifying the card is paying attention. How many times have you had a store clerk actually compare your credit card signature to your driver's license? How do underage teens get by using cards that clearly belong to someone else?
   
   
2. The database can and will fail. While I am sure that proper precautions will be taken to guarantee against hardware failure (redundant locations, replication, etc...) there are conceivable scenarios where the entire tele-communications infrastructure will fail making that data inaccessible.
   
   Add to that fact that large databases of information always have errors and outdated information. I maintain databases of students, courses, and personnel for 30 institutions that serve about 100,000 students a term. This is small compared to what the REAL ID database would need to be to handle. Anyway, we are always finding dirty data. Some of that is data entry errors. Sometimes it is incomplete information. Sometimes the information given was fraudulent. We try to have validations, checks and balances...but even then, we don't always catch errors. Then, as standards evolve and data definitions change, the old data no longer conforms. I can see these problems being magnified 100 times in this system. How many of you have had to deal with a company to try and get some information in their database changed about you? Hours and hours on the phone. Then, some peon says he has updated the info, but the next time you call or whatever, you find the old info still there. Then you find out that it may take weeks and weeks for a company to replicate changes to all of its different databases. If ID cards become ubiquitous and trusted, it will be harder than ever to rectify problems resulting from erroneous information.
   
   Let's investigate for a moment the very real risk that the information in the database will be used for unanticipated, and possibly illegal, purposes. Any of the tens of thousands of users of the database can use the information in the database for illegitimate purposes. There is no technological mechanism available that can protect information from the unethical and unscrupulous people. As a moral person, I see myself as a data steward. I am entrusted with protecting and using that data appropriately. I don't have to; I choose to. It is ludicrous to imagine that all the people who would have to have access would hold the same moral standards concerning the data that I do.
   

   In this country, there isn't a government database that hasn't been misused by the very people entrusted with keeping that information safe. IRS employees have perused the tax records of celebrities and their friends. State employees have sold driving records to private investigators. Bank credit card databases have been stolen. Sometimes the communications mechanism between the user terminal -- maybe a radio in a police car, or a card reader in a shop -- has been targeted, and personal information stolen that way.

3. There are insecurities in the registration mechanism. It is certainly possible to get an ID in a fake name, either with insider help, with forged source documents, or through ineptness of the issuing personnel. There have been cases where motor vehicle employees were issuing legitimate drivers licenses in fake names for money. Two of the 9/11 terrorists were able to get drivers' licenses even though they did not qualify for them.
   
   Most important, the database has to be interactive so that, in real time, authorized persons may alter entries to indicate that an ID holder is no longer qualified for access -- because of death or criminal activity, or even a change of residence. It is important to remember that the Great Wall of China was never breached but that China was attacked due to bribery of a gate guard. An interactive database has as its gatekeepers, people.

While I could talk about the potential privacy encroachment and the totalitarian potential of national IDs, my main objection to the national ID card is that it won't work practically. It won't make us more secure.

Daddy Time

Erin had an open house at school last night (whoever heard of an open house 1 week from school ending...), so it was Daddy Time on Monday night (so Erin could clean her classroom) and last night. We had so much fun, but I have realized that our little M-Bug is not a little baby anymore. No, our quiet, cuddly baby has become a very lively, little person. So, of course, I have to be lively as well, which is fun, but tiring after a long day at work.

She has this new fascination with going outside. She will stand at the back door or the back window and point outside while giving us a gutteral "uh-uh-uh" sound. When I take her outside she wants me to blow bubbles. Then she wants me to walk her around the yard (she will not touch the grass...at all...loves to be outside, hates the grass...) While I am carrying her around the yard, she will point in the direction she wants me to go, and lean her body in that direction, bob her head and say "duh." I feel like I am nothing but a horse to her. She will direct me to the gate and then to the front yard and then to her stroller so we can go for a walk. Why is called "taking the baby for a walk" when she gets to ride in the stroller and I do all the walking?

I must admit, I was looking forward to her walking because I thought it would get her to the real fun, interactive age. Since she has become mobile, she seems to be developing so rapidly and we are having a blast. She loves to read and turn pages. She will point to pictures and say something with a very "matter of fact" tone. Stacking is a wonderful hobby right now, she tries to stack everything. If it can't be stacked, then hopefully it get be put in a containor or removed from a containor. Anything that has a switch to turn music on and off rocks. She enjoys rolling and throwing balls. Also, she adores rough-housing. She will run at me "tyrennasaurous rex" style (head down-arms behind her) and that means, play rough. So we wrestle on the ground, tickle, and hug. It is so much fun. It usually turns into hide-and-seek. I crawl rapidly away and hide behind a piece of furniture or a around a corner. Then yell, "boo" when she come upon me. She will cackle and then point in another direction for me to go hide.

While this current age (15 months) is so much fun, it also seems a lot harder than I expected it to be. I didn't really realize how awkward an age this is for her because she is big enough to walk around and play do some things for herself, but too young to know what is safe and what is not. Also, she knows what she wants and asserts herself, but doesn't know how to talk and communicate clearly what she wants. She will point to something and give a loud shriek as if to say "Give that to me, now!." The shriek is the same no matter if she really wants something or just wants something because I have it. I don't like it at all. The shriek is demanding and disrespectful, two traits we don't her learn. While I understand that she has no other way to communicate, I feel this enoromous need to withhold whatever she is yelling back from her until she can ask for it in a more appropriate manner; which isn't going to happen because she doesn't know how to say to please and how to ask politely. (She does know "thank-you" and will say it when you hand her something). So, I've been handing her things that are OK for her to have while gently and patiently saying, "Please, Daddy can I have the object." Any other advice would be appreciated. Of course, sometimes I don't know exactly what she is pointing at so I give her the wrong thing. This frustrates her. She will shake her no and swing her arms to knock the offending thing out of my hand, then repoint in the direction of what she wants and shriek some more. I'm not sure how to handle this. I don't mind her shaking her head no to me, but the knocking things out of my hand is not right.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this to get into an "annoyances" post. Just thought I'd share a little bit about my precious little Ladybug and how much fun we have had the past couple of nights. BTW, tooth five has breached the hull and can be seen and felt (very sharp).

Back to you, Bob...

Funny User Story

After my last post, I thought you might like a funny user story. I had one of the girls in the office call me because she was having difficulty opening a MS Access file because she couldn't find it. I asked her where the file was on the network, browsed to that directory and saw the file did exisit. I opened the file and everything appeared ok. So I closed the file and proceeded to walk her through opening it, and she still couldn't see it.

Now, I admit, I am bad at phone support. I prefer to be face-to-face with the person so I can watch them. I tell her I'll be right over to help her out. Her office is on the otherside of the building, so it takes a couple of minutes to get there.

When I step into her office she bashfully looks over her computer and says, "I tried to call you to tell you I figured it out, but you had already left your desk. Thanks for coming over, though."

"Oh, good." I say, "I'm glad you figured it out. What was wrong?"

Cutting her eyes low to the ground to prevent eye contact, she reveals with great shame that she was trying to use Excel to open the file. We laugh off the foolish mistake.

I like it when users don't take themselves or the computers so seriously.

Stupid User Story

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people come to me and ask for help, but don't want to take my advice. Usually, these people have already devised what they think is a solution and just want me to reaffirm what they have already decided. I see my job as to know what the best way to use which technologies to solve which problems. It can get really funny when a non-techie will then argue with me about what the best solution is.

Last week one of my user's came to my office and said she wasn't feeling well, so, she was going to go home. Unfortunately, she has a large project due in two days that she had been working on and needs to take her work home with her. The problem, she continues, is that her laptop does not have a floppy drive and she needs to get the file off of our network drive. She requests one of our thumb drives to use.

I explain that all of our thumb drives are already checked out and being used and we don't have one available for her (I've since ordered 6 more), however, I remind her, your laptop has a CD-burner on it and you can just save the file to it. Meanwhile, I reach under my desk and grab the spindle of CDs that I keep there and hand her one.

She looks at me with deflated eyes, much like a teeny-bopper who has heard that she can't go to the party with all the cool people, and says, "A CD is not big enough."

"Yes, it will be. A CD holds about 650 Megs of data." I respond.

"This will not be big enough to hold my file. I either need a floppy drive for my laptop or I need one of those thumb drives." she retorts.

"A floppy drive holds a little over 1 meg of data. That means that a single CD will hold the same amount as about 600 floppies. The largest thumb drive we have right now is only 512 megs...meaning a CD will hold about 125 more megs than a thumb drive. I am sure the CD is big enough." I calmly explain.

Not wanting facts to get in the way of her true mission, she begins to get agitated and says, "I know this CD will not hold my file. I need something else."

"I'm sure the CD will hold it. Besides, a CD is the biggest thing we have to transport files," I answer, becoming increasingly annoyed, after all, I am supposed to be the expert. Why won't people listen to me?

"I said it will not fit. I want a thumb drive." she demands. Now, this gets right under my skin. If you come to me for help, don't get all uppity and start demanding solutions your way.

"As I've already explained, a CD is bigger than thumb drives we have and they are all already checked out to other people. There are none available. That means you are not going to get one today." I patronizingly explain. It's like talking to a three-year old. My tone then changes to teacher mode, "When you are ready to transfer your file, I will help you burn it to the CD if you haven't done that before. It is really easy and you will pick it up real quickly."

"Well, that's not good enough!" (Temper Tantrum appears to be starting), "It won't fit on a CD. I know it won't."

I know that I need to check the file size myself, so I ask her where the file is on the network and what its name is. I browse to the file and it is all of 17 MB. I also notice that it a Quark file. I look to her and say, "Your file is only 17 megs, it will easily fit on a 650 meg CD. However, I'm little concerned. Did you get Quark Express for your home machine?" She asked me about installing Quark on her home machine a couple months ago and I said we didn't have enough licenses and had not given her the CD. That is one of the reasons we had purchased the laptop for her.

"No," she says, "I'm taking my laptop home."

At this point I want to jump over my desk, grab her by the shoulders and shake her while screaming, "You are an idiot, wrapped in a moron and then deep-fried in stupidity."

Instead, I advise her to just save the file to her 40 gig hard drive on the laptop. To which she replies, "Yeah, that will be big enough. I should have thought of that. I guess I don't need you after all." And off she went, back to her own little world, oblivious to the fact that she knows nothing, and still thinking a thumb drive is bigger than a CD.

Yes, she is a blonde.

Spyware Removal Guide

I have been doing a lot of Spyware removals lately so I wrote myself a little document that helps me ensure I've followed all the steps and what-not. I have also distributed it to family members, friends, and clients so that they can clean up the Spyware themselves.

I'm thinking I could almost go into full-time business just cleaning Spyware off people's machines. Anyway, download my guide if you are interested.

Teacher Fired for Not Changing Grade

A teacher in Georgia has been fired for insubordination when he refused a direct order to raise the grade of a football player that had fallen asleep during his class.

The controversy surrounds a disconnect between the teacher's syllabus where he explains that the rules in his class are that if a student wastes time or sleeps then the student will earn a zero for assignments or labs completed on that day. The 23-year veteran has been enforcing this policy in his classroom for more than a decade with no compaints from school administrators.

The problem, though, is that the district's school board has policy prohibiting teachers from reducing grades as a form of discipline.

Article

I am proud of the teacher for standing up for his beliefs. Erin has had several cases where she has been ordered to raise grades and has not felt like she had the freedom to disobey, even though she disagreed. I often wished at those times that we did not need her to work so that she could stand up and for what is right, despite the consequences.

I think that the board policy is out-of-line because it removes control of the classroom from the teacher. Secondly, a classroom is designed to train children for work. Sleeping on the job, even if you get your work done on-time and correctly will get you fired. Your behaviour will affect your job despite your work. The classroom should accurately reflect that.

ROCKIN'

Stryper (the Christian Rock Band of my youth) is releasing its first new album since 1990. SWEET!!!!

Argument Against the FairTax

As regular readers are aware, I am very much in favor of the National Retail Sales Tax, also known as the Fair Tax. However, to be fair, I am including an article today from Bruce Bartlett where he lists several reasons why they National Retail Sales Tax is a bad idea. He makes some good points and raises some issues that I believe will need to be addressed.

That said, it is important to recognize that there will never be a flawless tax system. The nature of taxes goes against the nature of individuals. Most people will innately seek ways to reduce their tax liability so as to keep as much of their own money as possible. Government, though, does need some taxes to perform its duties. The difficult part of government, then, is discovering the best method to collect the taxes needed that is least oppressive to the individual citizens.

Our current tax system is broken. Besides being very evasive into the private lives of the citizenry, it is not fair. There are so many loopholes and exceptions that even the IRS can't decide how to compute what a person's tax liability is. The poor don't pay income taxes while the rich hire CPAs and tax lawyers to discover ways to pay less. The middle class (that's me and you) get stuck working very hard and handing over 25% of that money to the government for it to waste.

Our current tax system is not only broken, it is also morally wrong. The using of force to remove any money from a person's paycheck before they even get it is a form of slavery. God created man and gave him life (this is our inalienable right to life). God endowed man with the freedom to choose what to do with that life (this is our inalienable right to liberty). Each individual person is the master of his own destiny. Now, as a person pursues his destiny, he invests his life to learn skills. He then enters into a contract with other men in which he will exchange his skills and his time (i.e., a portion of his life) in return for some of the other guy's property (i.e., a paycheck, money). When government swoops in and confinscates a portion of that property it is in actuality confiscating a portion of the workers life. In other words, the worker has involuntarily worked for the benefit of the government instead of the benefit of himself. Isn't that the definition of slavery. Slavery is when one person is forced to work while the fruits of that labor go to another person. The income tax does just that. You work, but some politician any Washington collects the fruit of that work. That is wrong, wrong, wrong!

Then, when you take into consideration that our income tax is progressive it becomes even more reprehensible. One of the basic values of our nation is that all men are created equal and should be treated equally before the law. In other words, the government should not give individuals special consideration when enforcing the laws based on ethnic origin, gender, religion, sexual preference, intelligence, height, weight, hair color, eye shape, baldness, or any other trait, including ability to generate income. To make people who work harder, chose to learn certain high-valued skills, or whatever pay more in income taxes is to not treat the individuals equally.

All people who benefit from government should pay some part of it. A flat-rate, applied to everyone is perhaps the most fair way to do an income tax (except an income tax is morally wrong). Because I think an income tax is morally wrong, whether it is a flat-tax or a progressive scale, and I think that there is a legitimate need for the government to collect taxes, then I support the National Retail Sales Tax, despite the problems raised by Bruce Bartlett. However, I will support any reform method to fix our broken, unfair, oppressive, and immoral tax system.