Rights and Freedoms

In this day and age, too many Americans take for granted the freedom they have to live each day the way in which they deem fit. The current generation is too far removed from World War II and the Greatest Generation to understand the true meaning of freedom. The events of 9/11 should have served to unite America, and give a wake-up call to those who believe freedom is a right instead of a privilege. And, indeed, in the month or two after the attacks, America did come together in a great outpouring of patriotism. But in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent mismanagement of the war, many on the far-left have come to see the U.S. as a war-mongering nation bent on subjugating other nations for oil and national security. They use divisive and hateful rhetoric to push their point across. They see no method as too extreme if it will convey their message and persuade others to join their cause. But at the heart of their movement, their intentions, their heart-attitudes, these people believe that man is basically good and that left alone, man will choose the right way. But what is this right way, These people would tell you that it is what ever you think is the right way. It's the psychological theory of relativity, there is no fundamental truth. Everything can be right or wrong depending on the point of view. This view, while embraced by those on the far-left, is contradicted by the very same people. You can believe what you want to believe is right so long as it lines up with what they believe. This pattern of logic and thinking has led them to decry American military efforts in Iraq as murderous. Some of them would even go so far as to put the U.S. military on par morally with Al Queda and the Taliban. These people would see the U.S. withdraw from Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, Guantamano Bay, Germany, and anywhere where the U.S. has a military presence. They believe that the world is best left alone from the "policing" of the U.S. They don't understand that this "policing" has directly and indirectly been the leading cause of a lack of military conflict within American borders is over 180 years. I'm talking about the War of 1812. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the attack on 9/11 were attacks on our borders, but because of the actions of the brave leaders of our country, FDR and George W. Bush, the U.S. stood up to the evil that confronted her and hit it squarely in the chin. The far-left groups think that if America minds its own business, no one will try to hurt us, no one will still harbor hate in their hearts toward the U.S. This kind of thinking pervades through the minds of the far-left groups and has begun to grow upon the members of the Democratic Party. Politics aside, this kind of thinking can and will only lead to more and worse attacks on this nation unless, people like you and me stand up for the truth, stand up for moral absolutes, stand up for democracy and freedom, stand up for our military, no matter where they might be stationed, and lastly stand up for our president whether he be a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. This generation needs to see America for what she really is, a place where one can find life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness as the Founders planned it. Regardless of the outcome of the election, the mindset now embraced by the far-left, which they are completely free to have, is dangerous to the future of America. One can only pray that God will continue to protect and bless this great nation.

The Beauty of the Ipod and All Things Apple

The Ipod is a wonderful gadget that almost everyone can enjoy. It's so simple and easy to use, and it can hold so many songs that you couldn't listen to them all if you played it straight for 20 days. Apple really did strike a gold mine when they launched the first Ipod. Because the Ipod was so great, I decided to get a Macbook, and I have decided that I will never go back to a PC ever again. Windows is just an inferior product when compared to Leopard, except when gaming is concerned. However, that weakness in the Apple armor has been fixed with the new Macbook's that were just released. Which is one thing that gets on my nerves, a new version or model comes out every six months or so, and I never feel like I have the cutting edge technology. It's not just computers that do that either, everything technological from stereos, to cellphones, to tvs, to even game systems, sometimes. I guess that just goes with the territory, and I suppose it could be worse. The companies could release a new product ever three or 4 years like Microsoft does for Windows and then have a host of problems and glitches like Vista. Which brings me back to the beauty of Leopard and Mac computers. They hardly ever crash or freeze, and when they do, a simple restart fixes everything. I guess I got the blue screen of death too many times as a child, but I just do not like Microsoft Windows. But I also want there to be a sizable majority of PC users out there so hackers and computer geeks keep on making their viruses for PC and not Mac.

Well I'm not trying to advertise for Mac here, but it's hard not to when the competition is simply undermatched when pitted against a better, quicker, sleeker computer.

Global Warming

Does it exist? Is it currently happening? These questions are being asked right now by scientists, politicians, and everyday people all of the world. No one really knows for certain whether or not global warming truly does exist, and I tend to gravitate towards the cautious side when considering this issue. Although they may be right, the politicians, namely the Democrats, but a sizable portion of the Republicans, including John McCain, the media, and Hollywood have all jumped on the environmentalist bandwagon and have proclaimed that global warming will destroy the earth and all its inhabitants unless we repent from its ways and reverse our patterns of behavior of the past 100 years. They also insult and deride any who disagree with their view as if the issue is closed to debate. However, I think the issue carries considerable weight. We have been cutting down tropical rain forests for many decades, and deforestation can be affect an ecosystem and the environment in profound ways. The burning of hydrocarbon fuels like coal or oil over the past 50 years has released immense amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, but no one really knows how much the atmosphere or the ocean can hold of CO2. The environmentalists would like to see the abandonment of the burning of fossil fuels as the main source of energy. Whether or not that would destroy the world economy, they don't care. My view on this issue is that it doesn't matter whether or not the CO2 is affecting the atmosphere, the U.S. needs to wean itself off of foreign oil and thus become energy independent. This process comes to fruition through the construction of nuclear power plants, increased offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and on the east coast, increased drilling in Alaska, particularly in ANWR (a position that has overwhelming popularity in Alaska), the research of new and better technologies for renewable resources such as biofuels, ethanol (not the horribly flawed corn-based ethanol currently in use), decreased car used, better conservation of energy in the home and in the workplace. A combination of all of these actions will help bring about energy independence within a decade if implemented on a nation-wide scale, and will put us in a better position to correctly determine the causes and effects of global warming.

My First Post

This is my first post, and I'm new to the blogging world, but here we go.

I'll start by saying that I intend to use this blog to say what's on my mind. I don't mind if you don't agree with what I think, so hate comments won't offend me. That being said, I consider myself a social and fiscal conservative and a foreign policy hawk. I voted for McCain on absentee ballot because I'm in college away from my place of residence. I think that an Obama presidency will put this country on the road for disaster, and I might consider moving to another country after I complete my schooling should he win. My political views are directly correlated to my religious views. I am a member of the PCA church and believe that every single word in the Bible is God-inspired and true. Jesus Christ is the only way to get to Heaven, and apart from him and his sacrifice, we are dead in our sins. I believe in absolutes, namely that there is good and there is evil.

That being said, my first two months in college have been fantastic. The college experience is completely unique, and it is one that everyone should if they have the means to do so, should experience. The relationships forged during this time will last a lifetime, and the education one obtains will signficantly improve his or her chances at getting ahead in life.

One of the better tv shows on right now is The Office. Some may say that The Office's quality has gone down is recent seasons, and I would agree with that in regards to season four. However, I think the writers have picked up the slack this season, and I think it'll be very good. I've liked what I've seen so far, but I don't think it will top season three. A friend of mine commented that season four was more about trying to push the story line rather than trying to be funny, and I would agree with that statement. When writers veer from what made the show the success, then dissatifaction will arise. No matter, I will still watch The Office until it goes off the air simply because I love watching Jim mess with Dwight.

When I was home on fall break last week, I applied for a job at Apple. I'm really hoping to get this job for a couple reasons: I've never had a retail job before, and I think it would be a good experience and a resume builder; I want to get a new ipod soon because my old thirty gig is all filled up, and I have videos and tv shows I want to put on it. If that falls through, I have a few backups that I can rely on. One is a construction job that would be some manuel labor which doesn't bother me. The other is a summer job which does nothing for me currently.

I just began reading the third book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Poulini (I don't know if I got his last name right) entitled Brisingr. I'm about 400 pages into it, and it's fairly good. I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but except for a few fight scenes in the beginning, it has been a little slow. However, I'm not worried; I expect the action to pick up.

Well, that's all for this post. Hopefully, I'll remember to post on a regular basis.