Thomas Jefferson is surely rolling in his grave right about now. He wouldn’t believe, as I hardly can, that the Texas board of education has removed him from their textbooks. There was this part in the books that asked students to explain how Thomas Jefferson and others influenced later revolutions with their Enlightenment thinking. But because Jefferson advocated a separation of church and state, the board decided it would be better to include John Calvin in his place. They took this man, who authored the Declaration of Independence, and removed him from their history book because they didn’t like that he wanted church and state to be separate. What. A. Bunch. Of. Morons.

What of this quote from Jefferson regarding the separation of church and state?

“The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg . . . . Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error.”

I don’t get the rational behind this textbook decision. You don’t have to get rid of Jefferson to prove you are religious – I am very religious, and I’ve always had a profound respect for the man. Thanks to the separation of church and state, my church was founded and allowed to thrive. At that time, there was no state run church that threatened to squash dissenters who held different beliefs. Ironically, but luckily for Texas, people can believe what they want and put whatever they want into textbooks. Maybe they should thank Jefferson that their brand of Christianity doesn’t offend some all powerful religious state, prompting a little holy war.

It really is a shame that we still fall victim to viewing history without considering how circumstances have changed. That some arrogant school board members can presume that their ideas of what is Christian excludes the possibility of appreciating Jefferson’s ideas is just pathetic. All I know now is that I will look very carefully at what my child’s school teaches before I let him step foot inside. I won’t have people like this teaching my kids. I will be responsible fore teaching him religion and values, and I’ll expect his school to teach him what this nation was founded upon. If that includes Enlightenment theory, separation of church and state, science, etc, then all the better. Better that my child accepts or questions Thomas Jefferson’s ideas with his own little reason than there be no mention of Jefferson at all.

That’s an aside from my reason for writing this post,though.  I just read what Hillary Clinton said about the drug violence in Juarez and all along the border – that the U.S. shares the blame for what is happening because of our demand for drugs.  I agree with her.  I think her point is very logical, but when I read down through the comments, I could hardly believe some of the things I saw.

Let me say first that this article came from a website called “One News Now“, a site that I have been receiving regular email updates from for a while now.  I gradually got the impression that this site was a so called “Christian site” because many of the views were extreme right and often referenced clergy from various Christian churches.  I read the articles as I would read any other, knowing the source from where they came.  I rarely read the comments to these articles.  I think today was the second time I have ever done so.

It was pretty incredible reading comments that immediatly discounted what Clinton had to say because of her character, family, or political affiliation.  A lot of these commenters made the argument that this liberal, anti-American, witch Hillary Clinton was selling out her country and blaming other country’s problems on our people.  Many interpreted her comments as though she said we deserve all the blame for Mexico’s drug woes.  That we should not hold the people of Mexico responsible; it’s all our fault.  Then they proceeded to insist that were the borders completely sealed off, we would be isolated from the drug problem.  Build a wall, it seems, and our drug problems would be over.

I am no big fan of Hillary Clinton, but what she said was right on.  Can we deny that there is HUGE demand for drugs in the U.S.?  Absolutely not.  Where there is huge demand, will supply not find its way to meet it, one way or another?  Absolutely.  How then can these people say that we are not at least partially to blame for this crisis?  This is not an issue to be politicized.  It is simply confronting a problem that is responsible for the deaths of I don’t know how many people in Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere, and having the courage to admit that we helped create that problem.

By admitting this, nobody is saying that we are blaming the American people for Mexico’s problems.  That’s just political crap that acts as a distraction.  The truth is that we must start fixing it by cleaning up the demand end.  Yes, we should do other things like securing the border to stop drugs from coming in.  We should continue to cut away at the branches, but we have to attack the root with much more force.  That’s the long term solution.  It’s a hard fight against a lot of druggies, but it’s the lasting solution.  Mexican drug lords will continue to satisfy our insatiable demand, and when their government gets in their way, they won’t roll over.  Too much drug money is at stake for them.

One commenter said that it is very un-Christian to say that we should wash our hands of Mexico’s problems.  I agree with her.  Work needs to be done on both sides.  Let’s not let the fact that the statement was made by a liberal like Hillary Clinton get in our way of seeing it for what it is.  That is, if you are one of those naturally inclined to disagree with her, like many of us are.

Tags:Mexico, Hillary Clinton, One News Now, Mexican drug violence

Something that I have struggled to understand though, is the fierce loyalty that many people have for this man.  None of them knows how his presidency will unfold, yet they act as if The Savior Himself has just assumed the country’s highest office.  I suppose such loyalty is admirable, but he hasn’t done anything yet.  He has given hope for sure, but as the next four years unfold, I will need more than that to shower him with the praise that so many others do.

I understand that everybody shows excitement or anticipation in different ways.  Personally, I will offer my loyalty to the new president and then observe and process what I see before I offer praise.  I never have been the type to fall over myself trying to catch a glimpse of some public figure.  Instead I try to ask what it is that inspires such wild reactions in their followers, and if it is admirable, then maybe I can model myself after it.  But that “something” has to be admirable. 

In Obama’s case, he has some big promises to keep; a big mess to fix.  He’s not a rock star because he has promised to enact change – he will be deemed worthy of my admiration when he shows me he will uphold the constitution at all costs, strengthen moral values as much as he is able, and keep the promises he has made to reform broken Washington.  Even then I won’t be tripping over my feet to see him as tears fall from my eyes, but I will respect him.

The bottom line for me is that he is our president and he has my support.  But great presidents have proven themselves by actions in tough times.  Promises are ok, but we demand more now that Obama has assumed the office.  As far as I’m concerned, the honeymoon is over and it’s time to bring that change.

Tags: Barack Obama, President of the United States, Obama change, American president Obama

A few months have passed since I was forced to get a new computer because of the laptop death.  I wondered then if it was the right decision to ditch the name brands and build my own system a la PC Laptops – without the ridiculous mark-up of course.  I also made the decision at that time to upgrade to Vista, a logical conclusion since it comes with most new systems anyway.

The last few months have been filled with price remorse-free bliss and a good share of satisfaction with the new operating system.  I bought all my parts at Newegg.com, a website whose experience is second to none.  I was able to do all my research for every single part on that site as a result of the huge number of experienced builders who contribute their recommendations and warnings to the comment section of each product.  Newegg had all my stuff here and in fine condition within a few days.

Vista, so far, has not disappointed me at all.  I have come across a few obstacles that took a little searching on the internet for answers, but I have always found what I needed.  I am used to the interface, and it’s much better than XP, in my opinion.  Maybe someday I’ll run across some big bad problem like Apple warns of, but that day has not come yet.  I’m a happy user.

So my conclusion is that building a desktop didn’t take a ton of research and time, so I’m glad I did it and came out with a high quality machine at a mid-quality price.  It truly is not that complicated if you put in a little research beforehand.  You’ll have the advantage of knowing exactly what is inside your case and being able to better troubleshoot any problems.  It’s also just nice to know things like this work.  Maybe that’s just a thing of mine, I don’t know.  Also, I don’t believe Vista is the monster it has been made out to be.  I think it just has a bad rap.

So you can count me as a satisfied Newegg customer and Vista user.  Next come the complexities of the laptop, but that may take a while longer.

Tags: Windows Vista, Newegg.com, PC Laptops, Computers

I congratulate the people of California for speaking out against gay marriage.  Were I a California resident, I would have voted Yes on 8 like so many others did last week.  But I am not a California resident.  I live in Utah.

This morning I read in the newspaper that some guy from americablog.com wants to boycott Utah because the LDS church encouraged its members in California to give of their time and money to help pass the ban on gay marriage.

Wait a second.

How many people in California were forced to vote Yes on 8?  I probably couldn’t count the number precisely because the answer is: not one person.  Is the church giving money to a cause the same as that church casting a ballot?  No.  The church did not cast a ballot, but the residents of California did.  The church spent money in attempt to pursuade some people to vote a certain way.  That’s what churches are for when it comes to grave moral issues.  So now we’re to believe that because this church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, then the whole state of Utah, affiliated or not with the church, is to be boycotted?  Is this their attempt at revenge?

If americablog.com and its like need an organization to take the brunt of its post election anger, then I suppose that the LDS church and consequentially Utah, are easy targets.  But please, if you are going to start boycotting states, then start with California.  They cast the votes that passed the proposition, and they should be held accountable for thier honorable actions.  Thank goodness that the LDS church made its opinion known, but at the end of the day, they only had power to talk, not vote.

But really, if you want to destroy the Utah brand, then you are welcome to come here and try.  While you are here, you should get to know some of us “haters”.  We won’t spit on you, harass you, or demean you.  We won’t bring out the signs that say you are scum, that you are a moron, that you are a Chriso-fascist, or even that we think your sacred buildings should be burned to the ground.  In other words, we won’t do any of the things that have been done to us in past few weeks.

You’re welcome to come and ski our powder though.  I’m sure you’ll conclude that Colorado never really looked that good after all.

Tags: Proposition 8, gay marriage, Mormons, boycott Utah, protect marriage amendment

Luckily enough, even though not on DVD, somebody has posted the whole show on YouTube in nine parts.  I’m reposting it here for everyones viewing pleasure.  Enjoy.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Tags: Disney, Halloween, Disney’s Halloween Treat

I’m going to try to make it a point to write short reviews/recommendations  of the books I read, if only to test my own comprehension.  I tend to forget the easily forgettable.

So while I didn’t like how ‘A Farewell to Arms’ ended, I can’t say it was a forgettable book.  Can anything by Hemingway be forgotten completely?  This was my first ever read of one of his books, and I’ll say that it was somewhere between good and great.

The author’s preface (this was the author of the compilation – not Hemingway), said something about how Ernest Hemingway made American Literature what it is today.  I don’t know enough, nor have I read enough to know exactly what made his style so revolutionary, so you’ll forgive me when I say that that quality of the book went over my head.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good – just that I am not familiar enough with styles and times to know the difference between Hemingway and Harper Lee.

If you saw the movie ‘In Love and War’ that came out sometime in the nineties and starred Sandra Bullock and Chris O’Donnell, then you’ve seen the part of Heminway’s life that inspired him to write this book.  It is a novel about love, death, and war in the time of World War I.  I love reading about World Wars and other battles, and I guess there’s also a side of me that likes a good romance, so I was satisfied on both ends with this book.  There’s no in-depth coverage of the war, so those out there who find war facts as boring as dirt will not be forced to endure a battle narrative.  It does provide a good backdrop though.

I won’t give away anything, but I will recommend it.  If anything, just to read one of the most important novels of our time.  I do think you will find a page turner and a worthwhile read.

Oh and if you are interested in buying a good copy of this book along with three other Ernest Heminway classics in one volume, Barnes and Noble sells a very inexpensive series of hardback novel compilations.  They are usually toward the front of the store by the discount books.  It’s nice that they’re sold for such a good price, but it’s also a sad commentary on our reading choices these days.  The trash novels cost twice as much as these four or five in one volumes of hardbound classics.  But that’s another day’s post.

Tags: A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway, classic books, books

Our boys at Real Salt Lake just couldn’t pull out the dubya against Saprissa of Costa Rica on Wednesday.  It was an entertaining game, especially the two shoving matches, but the excitement wasn’t enough to get any of our players to take a shot on goal.  There was a lot of dancing and a few chip shots in front of the goal, but few shots.

So I’ve decided that if we are going to go out in these international friendlies, then we should do it with style.  If we’re going to put in our benchwarmers to give them experience, let’s put them in to face somebody big.  I know it is hard to get big teams to come to Salt Lake, but I’ll bet it could be done with a lot of persuading.  I wouldn’t have been nearly as disappointed with a loss against the likes of Roma or Bayern Munich.  Sure, they might shut us out 10-0, but wouldn’t it be more exciting than Saprissa?

The efforts to get Real Madrid to Salt Lake should be extended to other powers of Europe or South America.  The pathetic attendance at Wednesday’s game would be turned around in an instant if we were told that Del Piero was coming to town.  Now that would be a game.

I do have to give credit to whoever organized the firework show after the game.  It was excellent.  It was my first time seeing a firework show with music in the background.  I know – I have just now experienced living.

Better luck to RSL in regular league play.

Tags: Real Salt Lake Soccer, Soccer, Saprissa, 24 of July fireworks, Alessandro Del Piero