Democracy Matters

We missed it as a nation, that moment right after 9/11. When we should have stood up and asked some really hard questions about why someone would hate us so much that they would fly airplanes into our buildings.

Maybe the idea that we have grown up believing, that the United States is a Christian country  Blessed By God, and thats why Muslim nations hate us. Is no more true then the idea that That taller people are smarter then shorter people. The reality is History always has an empire. An empire that starts with good intentions and slowly corrupts from the inside out. And by the time the citizens figure it out, and becoming mad enough to do anything about it, it’s too late.  We are that empire.

Our government acts in our behalf all around the world, and all around the world we leave a trail of bitterness and resentment. We have a history of provoking violence when we don’t get what we want. The way a child throws a tantrum when his mother refuse’s to give him candy before dinner.

The solution is quite simple though, every empire needs a villain. Not much has changed in the last 100 years except that we have moved from fearing communism to fearing terrorism. It’s the same product in a different package. But packaging has come a long way in a hundred years. You can sell anything if you can convince people it will change their lives, and when it doesn’t deny, deny, deny.

“We have gone from Martin Luther King to Bling Bling as if freedom can be reduced to just having material toys”, the wise and far to accurate words of Cornel West. I reject the idea that 5% of the worlds population should have a strangle hold on the worlds money, resources, education, food, medical care, and freedom. And the risk of being called anti-American doesn’t make the fact any less true.

We keep picking Presidents hoping they can change something as if we are just patiently awaiting a saviour. The problem is by the time the public is given presidential candidates to choose, it’s to late. Because those who really want to change the world have rejected politics years ago in order to accomplish their dreams in the private sector. It’s here that they have the freedom to accomplish their goals with out having to worry about opinion polls. Presidents are less like leaders now and more like celebrities. They have stopped setting the vision for American people and have turned into spokesman for the American Brand that is being franchised all around the world. Candidates are nothing more then products, and the one with the most glitter will win.

* ideas inspired by Democracy Matters by Cornel West

Donald Miller // Qoute

“Becoming a Christian might look more like falling in love than baking cookies”

-Donald Miller*

* From Searching for God Knows what, Chapter 10, The Gospel of Jesus, page 155

Status Anxiety

Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton

This is a strong book about the evolution of how status became so important. Botton makes a case that status use to come from faith, but somewhere in the early 1900’s wealth became the benchmark instead. There is also some brilliant pages about the Native Americans starting on page 188, and how their down fall was the fact they were too willing to trade Europeans for gadgets and trinkets.

The book as a whole covers so many subjects that I just gave some quotes below followed by my thoughts.

“There are 2 ways to raise our self esteem. One, we can achieve more. two we can reduce the number of things we want to achieve.” -page 36

In 1946 only .02% of homes had televisions, by 2000 over 98% did. The media has created an artificial pipeline right into everyones home. They control the trends, the wants, and of course our needs.

“There are 2 ways to make a man richer. Give him more money or curb his desires.” – page 43

It seems at the foundation of Christianity is this principle of curbing your desires. It’s not your job title or your tax bracket that defines you. Jesus calls the rich young ruler from a life of status into the endless opportunities of becoming a nobody. But something about the thought of giving away his money saddened his heart.

“The weak were natures mistakes and must be allowed to perish before they could reproduce and thereby contaminate the rest of the population”. -page 68

Social Darwinism has it’s place as a theory among the hundreds of others about how societies should govern themselves. But the danger of social Darwinism is that it believes the death of poor people whether from just or unjust cause, benefits society as a whole. Social Darwinism, does not believe in rewarding failure by providing food, shelter, water, medical care, so on.

I simply can’t support a idea that makes people disposable. Isn’t that what Jesus lived for? The point that all life is holy, it has valve. But that value doesn’t come from the balance on your check book. It comes from the word of God, it comes from a jewish rabbi who turned the status system on it’s head and was killed for questioning the system.

“Maybe the best way to get over our feelings of unimportance, is not by making ourselves seem more important. but rather by recognizing the lack of importance of others.” -239

The New Fire Fox 3 Beta

I just downloaded the Fire Fox 3 Beta for my intel Mac HERE. SO far so good, no crashes or bugs yet, though it has been less then 24 hours. The down side of using a beta release other then the anxiety of it crippling your system. A lot of the fire fox add on’s are not working yet, which is a real drag.

The up side is, it has a nice redesign, it’s running noticeable faster on my work and home computers, and they have of course made some improvements. So if your up to the risk download it and check it out.

Kaiser Chiefs & Cartel

I’ve been digging these two bands lately, check out Ruby by the Kaiser Chiefs. I’ve been singing it for the last 3 days, it’s very catchy.

Then listen to Lose it by Cartel. They have a really unique sound it’s not like anyone I can think of. So here’s some good picks to freshen up your play list..

Vaccinations and Neurological Disorders

There is a new report out of a study that shows a link between kids who have vaccinations and their increased chance of having an neurological disorder. Everything from autism to ADHD. The article is HERE, it’s interesting. I’ll leave my opinion out of it but just say this. You can Google vaccinations and find tons of studies claiming their safe, if you look close enough you’ll find most of those studies are funded and researched by big Pharma companies. This study is not, it was funded by Generation Rescue, a group of families with autistic children. But the research is from SurveyUSA who does surveys for a lot of fortune 500 companies.

TubeTv

I just got done blogging about Tooble, and then I find Tube TV. It does the same function as tooble, search youtube videos and download them. There are some minor advantages. For one it’s a slicker GUI, and it does all your video business in one window. Two, you can search Google videos too, a nice feature.

Important Documents!

Founding Documents

Bill of Rights [download]
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.

U.S. Constitution [download]
United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was adopted on September 17, 1787

Magna Carta [download]
Issued in 1215 The Magna Carta was the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today and is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.

Mayflower Compact [download]
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was drafted by the Pilgrims Atlantic aboard the Mayflower, seeking religious freedom. It was signed on November 11, 1620

The Federalist Papers [download]
A series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution.

The Declaration of Independence [download]
Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were “Free and Independent States”

The Virginia Declaration of Rights [download]
The influential document drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent natural rights of men, including the right to rebel against “inadequate” government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), the United States Bill of Rights (1789), and the French Revolution’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).

Historical Documents

Two Treatises of Government [download}
This worthy work served as one of the underpinnings for the U.S. Constitution. It was produced in 1690 and had a tremendous influence upon the founding fathers. In it Locke clearly explains the need for limiting government.

The Stamp Act 1765
The act required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, wills, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. Once in effect, the tax met with great resistance in the colonies. For over a century the colonists had insisted on their Rights of Englishmen to be taxed only with their consent – consent which could only be granted through their colonial legislatures.

The Sedition Act 1798 [download]
Four laws enacted by the Federalist-controlled U.S. Congress, allegedly in response to the hostile actions of the French Revolutionary government on the seas and in the councils of diplomacy, but actually designed to destroy Thomas Jefferson’s Republican party, which had openly expressed its sympathies for the French Revolutionaries.

Other Documents

John Warner Defense Act [download]
Posse Comitatus Act [download]
Military Commissions Act [download]
The Nuremberg laws [download]

Foo Fighters at the Grammys

Not there best “sounding” performace, but you’ve got to love the orchestra!

Alphabet of Political Freedom

Washington, Jefferson, and the other Founders knew that without enlightened citizens keeping a close eye on their government, the American experiment in freedom would be short lived. The Alphabet of Political Freedom that follows offers short, clear explanations of what free government looks like and the principles upon which it rests.

A: Abraham Lincoln
B: Bill of Rights
C: Constitution
D: Declaration of Independence
E: Equality
F: Federalism
G: God
H: House of Representatives
I: Industry
J: Judiciary
K: Kite
L: Locke
M: Madison
N: Natural Rights
O: Officer
P: Prudence
Q: Qualifications for Office
R: Republican
S: Senate
T: Thomas Jefferson
U: Union
V: Virtue
W: Washington
X: XYZ Affair
Y: Years
Z: Zeal

*from founding.com