The Second Republic of China

Ousala “ass hat” Aleem

2007-12-13T05:59:00.000-08:00

Ousala “ass hat” Aleem as I will refer to him has made a successful business of filming violent crime and putting it on the internet. As I sat on my love seat last night watching The O'Reilly Factor I saw what I think is one of the most despicable misuses of “journalism” I’ve ever seen. This piece of garbage receives phone calls from criminals letting him know where to be so they can be filmed committing crime. He calls this journalism. I call it bull shit!

When pressed by the morality of the issue he simply replied “other people make money off of crime.” This may be true but not everyone is an accessory to the crime. This piece of shit actually knows what is going to happen before hand and feels no moral obligation to report it so the police can intervene. To me that’s crime number one! Second, they played footage of the guy actually getting into a car that had just been stolen to continue filming the crime in progress. To me, that makes him a clear accessory to the crime. He is knowingly getting into stolen property.

This human garbage should be put in jail for a very long time. Every crime that he uploads onto his website should result in a count of accessory. It’s been a long time since I’ve been seriously pissed off about what I see in the news but this is simply one of the worst things I’ve seen. This is a perfect example of a human being that brings absolutely nothing positive into society. These are the people that should be removed from our society.

There is a line between being a journalist and being part of the machine that will bring our society to its knees and I think Mr. Ass Hat’s time would be better spent stopping crime in his Crime riddled urban city than actually glorifying it for his own profit.

Sex Offender Websites

2007-12-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

I’m sure that I will make enemies with this post but I feel that this is a hot topic that really centers itself on the core of what’s wrong with our county. Websites that give you the exact location of registered sex offenders are becoming very popular but for several different reasons.

Most people look at these sites so they can keep an eye on their neighbors which they feel will allow them to make every effort to keep their children safe. I can understand this thought process but I can’t validate it or use it in my own day to day life. This is my issue with protecting your children by having this knowledge. The people who follow the system and register know they are being watched and are obviously complying with their agreement to register in their area. The people who are the most dangerous are the ones you don’t know about. Statistics show that most child molesters are someone within the family circle or a close trusted friend of the family. Out side of that, the next majority are neighbors that you would tend to trust to watch your kids. So the people on the websites know they are there and the people who haven’t been convicted are looked at with a blind eye. All you are going to accomplish by knowing where these offenders live is paranoia. I keep a cautious eye on every person who interacts with my children. By doing this I feel I will help my children remain safer in the community.

The second reason for this site is to use it as a weapon. Here is my thought on that. I often say that a child molester should be exterminated upon sentencing. I can’t have my way so I’ve learned to understand that the people listed on these sites have paid their penalty and are complying with the law. We do not have a right as a law abiding society to single these people out, ridicule them and harass them into leaving. All you are doing is driving them into another community with more children. It’s a statistic impossibility that you can successfully drive away all of the known offenders in your area, let alone any of the unknown offenders.

Lastly it’s also important to understand that not every person on these sites is a child sex offender. Many of them have been found guilty of different levels of offense. A person gets a little tipsy at the X-Mas party and makes the wrong advance and ends up on a list. These sites don’t always lay out the rhyme and reason for the crime so it’s not fair for us to judge the severity of the crime with out own forced punishment.

I still think that any child offender should be exterminated but that isn’t going to happen so it’s important that you do more for your family and don’t be apathetic and lazy when it comes to protecting your children. Be wary of every person who comes into contact with your child. If you do this then obsessing over these sites won’t be necessary. Ultimately it won’t help you.

Bernie Ward and Child Porn

2007-12-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Given the extreme liberal views of the San Francisco media it’s likely that no one has heard of this story and I had to go to the conservative Fox News website to gain further details on it. The underlying issue with Bernie Ward is that he is a journalist who was arrested for accessing websites that knowingly contain child pornography. It sounds like an open and shut case. Surely the police can determine if your IP accessed specific sites. Well… yes they can.

However, Mr. Ward is not claiming innocence or that it wasn’t he who did it. He is claiming that he was writing a book about hypocrisy in America. What?? What does child porn have to do with the hypocrisy in America?

Here is the definition of hypocrisy “the false claim to or pretense of having admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings”

For as long as I’ve been alive, the U.S has had strict standards on what they feel is child porn or child endangerment. So, in order for there to be any hypocrisy there would need to be evidence that the people who write the laws are above the law and it would be widely accepted that those leaders would be allowed access to child porn without fear of prosecution. I’m sure things happen on a higher level than I can't conceive but I highly doubt that any member of Congress, the Senate or the judicial system would knowingly be allowed to practice such behavior without suffering the consequences. After all, this is the government not the diocese.

I add to this the question: “why would you need to access child porn to speak about hypocrisy?” If any high ranking member of the government was involved, I highly doubt it would be advertised on these sites. So, viewing the porn was not necessary even if the defense is legitimate. All this does is fuel the fire. The more page hits these sites get, the more material is posted. It’s simply supply and demand and it puts our children in danger.

I feel that Mr. Ward is looking for an easy way out under the guise of “journalism” and in this case it doesn’t add up. In best case scenario Mr. Ward made a terrible judgment call when accessing these sites and in worst case he needs to go away for a long time. Given the atmosphere in San Francisco I’m sure it will go under the rug and not be heard about again but for the sake of our children I feel that a conservative approach is best. When in doubt, (and in my eyes there is little doubt) lock them up and lose the key!

Show the world the book being written and then provide legitimate proof as to why you would need to access porn to write your book or accept that you are a sick man and reap the consequences. I hear convicts love guys like you in prison! Should be fun…

First Rise in teenage births since 1991… and it’s our fault people!

2007-12-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

The trend in teenage birth rates has been declining since 1991 but in 2006 that trend went up 3% in the age group of 15-19 year old females. That’s 42 births per 1000 teens in that age group. That’s a staggering fact and one that is easy to explain in my eyes.

The phrase “abstinence” is not in a teenager’s vocabulary and whether it comes down to lack of education, peer pressure or just laziness, our children are having children at an alarming rate!

Somewhere as we grow into adults we forget the things we used to do and the feeling of out of control hormones so we think “my kid isn’t doing that, I taught them well.” You forget that you were doing it and if you weren’t you’ve put your head in the sand by thinking that your kids will do as you do. This isn’t the case and statistically the proof is in the pudding.

Before you raise the race, economic status or religion flag, most statistics will show that this isn’t one segment of the population. It’s a world wide epidemic and it’s up to modified thinking and modified parenting to stop it. Simply teaching abstinence in today’s schools, churches and family circles is not enough! Most churches will stick to planned parenting or abstinence as their main method of teaching adolescence about sex and most schools will give a distorted view and propagate THEIR agenda on your children so in my eyes, sex education belongs to the parent(s), not society.

So you have two options. Teach and preach nothing but abstinence and risk the chance of your child not growing up well adjusted, getting pregnant or even worse; contracting a life long or life threatening disease. Second, you can be a responsible, understanding and an open minded parent and understand that your children will make their own decisions, mistakes and learning experiences and educate them on abstinence, protection and then you can stress the value behind valuing their own bodies and making smart decisions about who they choose to be with.

Education begins in the home and that’s one thing the government cannot take away from us. Teach your children and lead by example. If you shelter them and make sex sound bad it will only enhance their curiosity and they will jump head first without being given the mental tools they need to make a smart decision.

The bottom line is: teens have always engaged in sexual activity and they always will. I’m not saying “give in and encourage your children to have sex.” I am simply saying that educating them is the key to limiting disease and pregnancy in teens. Teach them about sex, teach them to be responsible about sex and you’ll likely see a decline in the number of teens having sex.

School 1967 vs. School 2007

2007-12-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

I didn’t write this but I wish I knew who did because they have a firm handle on what is wrong with our country today. I don’t make a habit of passing on E-mail trash but in this case I thought it was relevant for our times and thought everyone might get a laugh about it. I’m sure it’s in heavy E-mail rotation right now but hey, I thought it was funny and yet sadly very accurate.

Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1967 - Vice principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lockdown, the FBI is called, Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors are called in to assist traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. They are charged with assault and both are expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1967 - Jeffrey is sent to the principal's office and given a good paddling. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra state funding because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some Aspirin to school.
1967 - Mark shares Aspirin with the school principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from School for drug violations. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high-school English.
1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. U.S. Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover Independence Day firecrackers, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.
1967 - Ants die.
2007 - Homeland Security and the FBI are called and Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. teams investigate parents, siblings are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.
1967 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in federal prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.

Foul language from children and respecting the elderly

2007-12-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

While visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday a peculiar conversation came up about children using curse words and the conversation took an interesting turn. I thought I’d share it to gain insight on what other’s think.

This is my take on it. I use the occasional curse word in my every day vocabulary and when in need of an expressive word I usually go to the old bag of tried and true blasphemous phrases. When it comes to my children the old phrase “do as I say and not as I do” just doesn’t work. I cannot expect my children to act any differently than I do so my feeling on the matter is this: if my kids smack their fingers with a hammer, I fully expect to here a curse word, just like they would hear from me. It’s acceptable in my household and it’s understood. After all, any word can be used in a negative and derogatory manner so in effect ANY word can be a curse word, not just the accepted vocabulary of Ozzy Osbourne.

However, there is a limit to my generosity and I draw this line at using this verbiage in a negative and disrespectful manner to other people. Therefore, I feel that I am teaching my kids when to use this type of language and when to show respect to others. My kid cannot call me a foul name out of anger because I wouldn’t disrespect them in that manner. Along with this, they are also being taught social acceptability which is something that most kids are not being taught by their parent. They understand that going into public with a ‘potty” mouth is not socially something they should do because it falls below the nominal level of respect that every person deserves.

Now this is where the debate grew interesting. I simply stated that I teach my children respect based on the respect they receive and not the age of the person they are dealing with. The offended member of my family (in their late 50’s and by no means the oldest in the conversation) stated that ALL elderly people deserve respect (presumably based solely on age.)

I take extreme objection to this misnomer and I politely advised that I don’t feel that elderly people deserve a blank pass in the respect department just because they are older than me. Let’s look at this example. My child is walking down the side walk and an elderly person knocks them to the side so they can pass by because they are in a hurry and what they are doing is surely more important than what my child is doing. Has that person shown any respect to my child? Absolutely not!

My child is being taught not to disrespect but to ignore and walk away from that person because they don’t deserve any more of my child’s life than they’ve already taken. After all, if a person disrespects another person then they don’t care what that person thinks anyway so getting in their face to show disrespect back will likely fall on uncaring ears.

Respect is given on a nominal level and then more is earned or taken away depending on the situation. There is a point when you walk away from a person disrespecting you and there is a time when you need to stand up and fight your fight. To me this is not a case of bravado. It’s a case of standing up for the way you should be treated. If my children learn to walk away from those who disrespect them and to stand up when needed then I feel that I’ve improved my case for father of the year!

I think the “blank check” mentality simply boils down to poor parenting. My way of teaching my children is involved, some what complicated and time consuming. The easy way out is to say “Everyone deserves respect son” because it takes no effort to say and requires no further instruction.

I welcome any feedback on this some what touchy topic.

Why do my tax dollars have to go to pay this idiots salary?

2007-12-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

We have apparently resolved every possible issue with every health crisis in the known galaxy because acting (and I mean that loosely) Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson has decided to attack... yes Santa Claus.

World wide, Santa can't smoke, in Australia Santa can't say Ho, Ho, Ho and now in the U.S. Santa has a weight limit. Seriously, this has been taken to a whole new level of stupid!

I quote, "It's really important that the people who kids look up to as role models are in good shape, eating well and getting exercise. Santa is no different."

Mr. Galson clearly puts more value in the way a person looks than he does the way a person acts. Santa embodies what every person should be. The spirit of Santa gives to others and spreads cheer and a feeling of togetherness across the world. I personally think this personality trait is much more important than the fact that the average Santa weighs in at 250 lbs.

If we took the Surgeon General's advice, our children should be idolizing all of the perfectly built athletes that are filling their bodies with steroids or the "Hollywood" crowd that starve themselves to get that perfect look; just because they look healthy! It's absurd! There are the people our children shouldn't be looking up to.

If Santa were a real human being he would have a legitimate case against the government for having his human rights violated. He's being forced not to smoke by the government, he has no freedom of speech and now he is in danger of being banned from society because he is fat. All of these are restrictions of his fundamental right as a human being.

The fact that I have two blog posts about Santa is stupid in its own right but it's a great example of what is wrong with our government. Why is this guy even giving thought to Santa when the HIV crisis is at a all time high. You'd think he would be spending his time making sure all of the drugs on the market are safe. Oh yah, that's not really happening is it?

A little thanks and a little SROC rhetoric

2007-11-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Recently my significant other/ better half signed my blog up on a link referral site and I’ve gotten a lot if interesting reviews. For those of you who are reading this blog from that site, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read and review my blog. However, I’ve received a lot of interesting comments about the title of my blog “The second republic of China” so I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a bit of an explanation.

The SROC is my take on the state of our county and my view of WW3 and how it will eventually consume the U.S.A. I won’t go into detail on this because I cover it thoroughly on my website. It doesn’t take too long to read but if I put it all here then I wouldn’t have a need to needlessly spend $10.00 a month for my own cool website.

Since I seem to have viewers who are interested in reading my blog (either out of shock, distain or secret agreement) I am committing myself to post more often than I have been. I’m sure I can come up with a ton of things that irk me in the coming months!

Again, thanks for reading.

Ho, Ho, Ho = No, No, No

2007-11-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

If you believe in Santa, want your kids to believe in Santa or you don’t it’s easy to see that our PLANET had slumped to a new low due to ever growing strictness of American political correctness and I for one am calling for a moratorium on beating down Santa for saying “Ho, Ho, Ho” since 1823 when Clement C. Moore wrote “A visit from St. Nicholas. In 1823 “ho” was not a slang statement for the seedy females out there.

Why in the world should we tarnish the ideals of Santa by giving more importance to those who would be offended? If someone is offended by this they are either a person who resembles the slang term or they are looking for a big payday.

Seriously it’s stupid and a travesty that people worry more about something like this than they do about real issues that the world community needs to deal with.

I’d put money on the fact that I will hear about someone placing a lawsuit against a department store because their Santa offended their sensibilities! Sad, just sad!

Aqua-Dots linked to date rape drug!

2007-11-08T09:47:00.001-08:00

Sadly it seems like my blog has been focusing more on child safety than it has been on the political crisis our country is in but I believe the safety of our children is important to the success of this country and when we allow those who import into our county the ability to put our future in jeopardy, it needs to be in the forefront of the American consciousness

What does a child’s toy and a date rape drug have in common? Well in the case of Aqua-Dot, they are one in the same; both manufactured with gamma hydroxy butyrate which is commonly used to sedate women before being raped.

However, when ingested by kids, it can cause, seizures and even death. This is dangerous and is a design flaw of the company and a blatant oversight by the manufacturing company (undisclosed) located in China.

What’s worse is, the Canadian distributor Spin Master Toys has publicly stated that their product is sold in over 40 countries and they have no intention of pulling their product from their shelves, citing that it is up to those countries to do it.

If one child is injured or dies the Board of directors and it’s shareholders should all be criminally and legally liable for allowing it to happen.

I tried to locate contact information for Spin Master toys but their URL has been taken down…no wonder!

The Green And White Machine

2007-11-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

All great causes come with an underlying responsibility to work towards the greater good. At least, this is how I think anyway. When does a non-profit group who is trying to help; cross the line between revolutionary and gimmick? In my eyes, it crosses the line when its ideals cease to offer a solution that is viable, necessary and worthy of investment. Does this make the group “bad” or just in poor taste?

The “One Laptop Per Child” organization wants to put a laptop in the hands of every child in the world. Nobile idea but nonetheless it does nothing to help the greater good when the majority of the children they wish to help don’t have enough food to eat let alone have electricity or internet access to connect to the world. I’d really like to ask those who harbor this vision of they really think allowing these 3rd world children the ability to learn on a computer supersedes their ability to eat. It’s a simple concept. You can’t start somewhere in the middle and work in both directions until you’ve fixed the problems with the world. You have to start at the lowest point and work up. Stop the genocide, HIV infection and starvation of these countries and then worry about getting them into the “Google” world.

Now for those of you who say, “Every charity can’t work on the same thing” YES THEY CAN and that’s what it will likely take to rid the world of the starvation and disease that plagues these countries.

Along with this, the charity touts that it has created the “$100.00” computer yet it ask for a donation of $200.00 to purchase a computer for a starving child. I tend to wonder why the $100.00 computer costs its donators $200.00. Who’s making money in this non profit company? A search of the site did not yield any information outside of the cost for shipping.

I really understand the idea behind this and I honestly feel it’s a noble idea but on a deeper level I feel that it’s fruitless and will not drive the impact that they hope it will.

Blasphemy Halloween style: Part two

2007-10-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

I have indirectly received some criticism on my previous post about Christians celebrating Halloween. Although that person apparently chose not to voice their opinion on this blog I would like to clarify my position on the matter.

If you are Christian (by Christian I mean, Baptist, Catholic or any other person who believes in a Dogma religion) and you celebrate Halloween in any way you are NOT doing the right thing. Halloween is a Pagan holiday and flies in the face of everything that Christianity stands for and I am offended as a practicing Pagan that any Christian would degrade our most sacred holiday by turning it into some corporate bullshit. We Pagans can’t help that you choose to commercialize Christmas by spending billions in trivial non-important Christmas gifts and non secular decoration but seriously, if you think Paganism is so evil then why in the hell would you want any part of our Holidays.

Unfortunately for Christians the leaders in the Catholic Church chose not to overlap any Christian holidays with Halloween so there is not legitimate reason to have any celebration. Well there is “all souls day” but hardly a cause to dress your kids up, give them candy and party. So either create some bogus holiday that’s loosely related to ours (like Easter and Christmas) or leave our holidays alone!

So dress your children up, give out candy (thus contributing to child obesity) and have a good time. Just realize that being a “back sliding Christian” is not a costume, it’s just the way you are. So, if you celebrate Halloween and you call yourself a Christian then maybe you need to check your beliefs and values.

I had no intention of taking my discussion of this to the level I have and in the future, if you take offense to anything I say. I openly welcome debate and I’d love to hear some devoted Christians try to validate the celebration of a Pagan tradition.

Irresponsible corporations and our children’s safety

2007-10-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

Consumer International just released their list of the worst products sold in America for 2007 and I wish I could say I’m shocked about the press release! Out of the four products awarded, three of them are directly targeting our children and the fourth indirectly targets our children.

Mattel, which is the world’s largest toy manufacturer, had to recall 21 million toys this year. We were told that these recalls were related to China and their manufacturing methods (mainly involving lead paint.) However, in September Mattel quietly admitted to the fact that a large part of the issue was design flaw and now claims responsibility for 11 million of the 21 million recalls. Statistics are still not available for the amount of families adversely affected by these “design flaws.”

The Kellogg Company which is one of the worlds largest cereal suppliers has been under fire this year for over promoting and using colorful cartoon characters to push their sugar laced products to our kids. I’m a hard supporter that parents have the final say in what their children put into their mouths but it’s ridiculous that the Kellogg Company was forced to make changes to their advertising policies only after litigation was pursued against them. However, it seems as though little is being done at this point. With obesity on a scary rise with adolescents, it’s not only up to the parents to control what their children eat; corporate responsibility must be taken to ensure that the children are protected and the proper foods are being sold.

It’s scary to think that parents who try to feed their children wholesome and nutritious and clean foods may be part of an even deeper seeded misdeed. The Coca-Cola Company which is one of the worlds biggest water bottlers has been “outted” when it comes to their Dansani bottled water. Not only is it the only bottled water that has sodium added to it, it’s basically the same water that comes out of the kitchen tap. The company will tell you that they are not doing anything illegal but I doubt they could deny being shady about the whole deal. Water is water and it’s up to us to determine if we want to be duped by big business into believing that their water is any different.

Now this last one is just down right scary because any person with kids have all wished for this but in reality, would never really want it. Sleeping pills for kids! Takeda Pharmaceuticals introduced a drug and advertised it in the U.S. as a “back to school” item which is outside of federal regulations and allowed them to advertise the drug without warning (“stupid” parents who would actually use the drug) about the numerous side affects. In my opinion this is low down corporate abuse and is dangerous.

I know this is a lengthy post but to me it’s sad that these companies get away with this and the small consumer groups trying to protect the children of the world get little air time in return. These issues need to be at the forefront of our consciousness because our children and being taken advantage of and put in danger. Since our government is doing little in the way of cleaning up these messes, it’s up to us as parents to be consumer advocates and to research any toy, food or drug we give to our children! Realize that the government isn’t here to protect and in all honesty, it’s not their job. It ultimately comes down to the decision making of the parent!

Blasphemy... Halloween Style!

2007-10-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

According to Yahoo news and the NRF, the 2007 Halloween holiday will bring in an estimated 5.07 billion…yes, billion dollars which is second only to? Christmas! 36 million Americans plan to take part in this year’s goulash festivity.

With an estimated 2.1 billion Christians in the world it’s fairly obvious that they will make up a large portion of the 36 million Americans who will take their children trick or treating, dress their dogs up, attend a Halloween party or decorate their house for the holiday.

Now Halloween isn’t like Christmas. There are no Christian implications such as Yule to spark such a large turn out. With Christmas you not only have the Christians celebrating the birth of Christ, you have the Pagans celebrating Yule. It’s two fold and obviously big business pays off big on both groups. That’s another topic for another day though.

So, why now would a good God fearing Christian celebrate a completely non secular holiday steeped in Pagan tradition? Is it the simple fact that all holidays are now corporate holidays or is just another case where people pick and choose what they want to believe in when it suits them? If you ask 10 Christian families if they will celebrate Halloween in any way you will likely give a 5/5 split.

You don’t see the Pagans embracing Christian holidays. No, you see them celebrate their own holidays. It’s easy to ridicule people for not believing what you believe but it’s hypocritical of all Christians who do so and then take advantage of other’s traditions when they fly in the face of their religious beliefs.

Whether you are Christian, Pagan, Jewish or any other faith, either believe in it, practice it and forgo traditions of other faiths or stop trying to convert those that don’t think the way you do.

It only makes you look like a hypocrite!

The “Bitter Pill” is easily swallowed by NBA athlete

2007-10-27T18:24:00.001-07:00

You get beat, you get beat bad and you go home to watch the rest of the post season on T.V. Who are you? Rasheed Wallace, that’s who! So now it’s a new year and you just finished your pre-season; what do you do? You make an ass out of yourself and make the league that you represent look even worse than it already does. You bite the hand that feeds just to make yourself look better, if it makes you sound bitter and stupid.

Let me add now that I am not a fan of basketball at any level of professional, college or even high school level. It’s generally an irrelevant sport and I spend none of my time watching it. However, I am a sports fan and cannot get around reading and watching highlight about basketball. As most people know, recently the NBA has been hit hard by violence on and off of the court and even more recently they have been hit by the “corrupt referee” bug in the worst way. The league is at a low point in the U.S.A not to mention with the rest of the world and is basically only standing in front of the N.H.L at this time.

So, Mr. Wallace speaks out and insinuates that the N.B.A wanted the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-offs due to the extraordinary play of their top star LeBron James. This is a direct accusation and publicity that the sport doesn’t need. Biting the had that feeds will generally not affect a business as large as this but it does put a bad taste in the fans mouths and for some one like me who doesn’t watch it only ensures that I made the right decision to follow other sports.

On a side note, Mr. Wallace also made reference to pro wrestling which has sort of “come out of the closet” over the last 10 years. He compared his sport to the WWE and related it to the scripted outcomes of pro wrestling. For one, I will admit to wrestling as my “dark secret” and I recall seeing Mr. Wallace in attendance at a recent WWE event (which he referred in the article as WWF.) If I were the WWF; I’d make sure that Mr. Wallace doesn’t get any more complementary front row tickets the next time they are in town.

To me, it seems like the “bitter pill” was an easy one for Mr. Wallace to swallow when he less than gracefully bowed out of the playoffs last year. In my opinion, the NBA needs to take a look at the people they allow to represent them and make harsh decisions on how they will allow their players to bring them down. Far too often in sports the fun is being taken out of the game but in a lot of cases they allow the athletes on their payroll to disgrace and bring their business down.

Why are we blaming athletes for teen steroid use?

2007-10-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Does anyone actually care about steroids? Is it up to the athletes to be role models to the youth of America by maintaining a clean drug free life style? How many professional athletes use Anabolic steroids? At this time I couldn’t find any statistics that covered all professional sports but it’s obvious that the number is very high given the recent cases in the media.

A scary statistic is that 5% of teenage boys and 2.5% of teenage girls have used some type of anabolic steroid. Is this the fault of the processional athlete? Not likely, the teenagers using these drugs are doing so to obtain an edge or keep up with their peers. Don't think they they are so far sited that they really think they have to keep up with the pros while still at the middle school level.

Given the fact that most athletes are generally on some type of prescription steroids it doesn’t make sense that the athletes that are the product of the environment should be blamed for the fact that teenagers are using. After all, if by chance they excel in their sport and become professional athletes they will be called upon to use steroids to heal their bodies faster.

Sports are big business in America and all over the world. Big business always wins and this is no exception. Why? People enjoy seeing bigger, faster powerful athletes. Football, baseball, MMA and professional wrestling will always have some form of legitimate steroids use and a sub culture of people who abuse them. It's human nature to be addicted to power and steroids can provide that power in one form or another for most addicts of the drug.

I watched a segment on Fox news about the growing rate of catastrophic injuries in High School cheer leading. I can be reasonably concluded that with the enhancement of this sport, steroids will follow close behind.

Ultimately it comes down to the parents and the coaches to teach the difference between acceptable use of steroids for heeling the body and being part of the sub culture that uses the drugs simply for enhancement reasons. In most cases there is an underlying mental reason for the decision to use such drugs and it isn’t up to the athletes to find this underlying reason, it’s up to the parents to seek the proper medical attention in efforts to help their children.

Detachment parenting has gone along way in putting a bridge between kids and their parents but this is a simple case of not paying any attention. It’s easy to see steroids and easier to see their affects. I personally find it hard to believe that a parent that truly cares and pays attention to their child can overlook the symptoms and results of steroid use. Face the facts and realize that steroids are not just a professional athletes drug! Face the fact that the professional athlete should not be a hero to your children. You should be the hero and the mentor to your children. Then and only then will our kids understand what is right and wrong.

Greenhouse gas or Al Gores flatulence: make your stand!

2007-10-25T12:14:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I’m starting to get really tired of hearing all of the debate about global warming. I’ll admit; I watched “An inconvenient truth” and it scared the hell out of me. The thought of all those polar bears being stranded in the Artic Ocean just doesn’t sit well with me. I also watched “The day after tomorrow” with scientists touted as being more realistic than anyone wants to imagine.

But more and more it seems like the science behind these movies seems to be less based on science and more based on political agenda. Now Al Gore has denounced running for office and says he’s found a higher calling but the political back structure to all of this seems to be unending. He was given the Nobel Piece prize when his work is full of statistical inaccuracies and flat out falsities. The retort to all of this is? "There are thousands of facts and a few inaccurate statements don’t diminish the body of work." Even if this film has 1000 facts it would have to average 11 facts per minute. Again, this argument doesn’t hold water.

In a book called “Cool it” the author, Lomborg states that the Polar Bear population is on the rise which lends itself the fact that scare tactics are being used to pressure the world's governments into taking hastily measures to clean up the environment when it’s possible that these measures could hurt the environment even more.

In the 70’s the big cause was global warming due to a hole in the Ozone layer. We’ve corrected that to a point where the hole is now too small and it’s no longer working the way that it should. One of the true facts that Al Gore likes to talk about! This should be cause for concern and should open the debate that the ecosystem in which we live in is very complex and until we get a serious commitment from the greatest minds in the world we will not be able to determine what is best for the planet as a whole.

So I stand here and say, what’s worse; noxious carbon being put into the air by automobiles or the flatulence of one Albert Gore?

Let's Attack Cuba

2007-10-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

As if it wasn’t enough for the Bush administration to pick the “democracy” battle with several Middle Eastern countries it seems that it’s time for Bush to turn his sites a few miles south of Florida.

Just like the throw back jerseys are all the rage apparently “throw back ass kickin’s” are on the verge of a come back. Just as many say the Iraq war resembles Vietnam, Bush wants to mirror the Bay of Pigs debacle. Both ended with the U.S.A leaving with our collective tails tucked between our legs.

Under the heading of “democracy” Bush gave a speech (the first time in thee years) urging Cuba to take advantage of Castro in failing health. Never mind the large group of devout Castro supporters still actively in power in Cuba and Hugo Chavez which will surely take issue with a democratic Cuba.

So my point? Why do we assume that democracy is the only way to live and that anyone living outside of it is somehow living an inferior existence? Are they so far beneath us that it’s our duty to change their way of living? How long did it take for the Soviet Union to see any benefit from the U.S. going in and changing their way of life?

Oppression is obviously not the way anyone wants to live and change is usually for the better but when a society comes in and forces change and then walks out without seeing the changes come to fruition isn’t the society in effect becoming the dictator.

As some point change needs to be affected by the people for the people. A revolution is necessary at times and it’s understandable that people die in a revolution. In some cases, revolutions fail and dictatorships reign strong.

However, when a “superior” society comes in and changes a way of life by force it often causes just as many deaths. Why is it our place to change the world when in fact, most of the world looks at our democratic society as a broken one? Shouldn’t we be more worried about fixing our own ills before we can focus on the worlds?

This will inevitably escalate and cause further stress on our economic and military balances. Mark this day as the beginning of the Bush/Castro conflict.

The right to freedom of speech and the right not to hear it

2007-10-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

It seems like most individuals feel that “rights” are absolute as long as those rights are the sole ownership of that individual. The last few years have gone a long way to make people feel like their rights have been stomped on by our friends in Washington but in the same sentence the phrase, “it’s my right” has been uttered more and more and a daily basis and the voices seem to be getting louder.

When do my rights end and your rights begin? Who has the right to limit rights and why is everyone claiming offense when some one exercises their right? For this post I’ll be focusing on the right to speech (also pertaining to the right to protest.)

Although many opinions are outside of what is considered normal and most people would find them out of touch with today’s politically correct baseline, the person who has formulated that point of view still has the fundamental right to express their opinions in public or private; no matter how offensive it could be to others. If not, we are allowing a restriction of the bill of rights and when we make a decision that one opinion doesn’t deserve to be heard we ultimately open ourselves up to having our own opinion restricted.

What ever happened to open debate? If you offer up an opinion that I think is fundamentally, spiritually or politically incorrect I’ll retort with my opinion and in most cases an agreement to disagree will be the end result. At least there is a result and everyone had their chance to be heard. But today, we cry out for criminal or civil court cases to be brought against those who offense our sensibilities. Little or no attempt is made to observe, consider and accept or reject an ideal. It’s the “my way or the high way” mentality that puts us in jeopardy because sooner or later someone will come along who feels strongly that you shouldn’t be allowed to express your personal opinion.

People who perpetuate racism, sexism and anti-government ideals should have their day on the soap box just like everyone else. In my opinion, the banning, persecution and PROCECUTION of any non-violent protest should be immediately eliminated. Civil retort and debate should be the platform of reformists in this country. Conservative, liberal, left wing, right wing, fundamentalist, extremist and everyone in-between has a basic right to speak what they believe, even if it’s to the determent of others. After all, absolute is absolute!

Even if the protest is taken into the churches, a noose is strung up or people dressed like dead soldiers lay in the streets, if it’s kept non-violent then it’s all part of the civil liberties that we all feel belong to only those who share our points of view.

Ultimately it’s up to use to sway the opinions of those we disagree with and it’s almost impossible to do so when that person feels pressed against the wall and they aren’t being listened to. Those who feel they are being listened to tend to listen too.

I implore everyone who reads this to find the time to write back. I welcome criticism, complements and offer up my tendency to debate for your reading pleasure. I practice what I preach and will not restrict posts on my site as long as they remain on topic and have some point to make.

Please Stand By...

2007-10-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you for viewing my blog. In the coming days you’ll see more posts by me. Right now I am working on getting the right look between my blog and my website. I’m doing no promoting of this blog at this time so if you come across it feel free to book mark it and check back soon. If not take a moment to read my theory at www.secondrepublicofchina.com