Seems 2 me...

Welcome to the cradle of American Democracy...Now put up your hands!

2006-07-14T15:59:00.000-04:00

Following the seemingly unrelated robberies and murders of 2 relatively high profile men in DC and a handful of armed robberies on the National Mall, (not the one with the stores, the one with the big rectangular pond) the chief of DC's police has declared a state of crime emergency. According to La Shawn Barber, this is third time in only 4 years this has happened. It leads me to another issue La Shawn Barber touches on which is something I'm rather perturbed, but up til now, was unaware of. DC's handgun legislation. Currently there is a ban on possessing a handgun (concealed or non-concealed) in DC unless you are a law enforcement officer. I'm inclined to tweak a quote and say "When it is criminal to have guns, only criminals will have guns." Leading us to the outcome that the only people we've left with guns are the ones we wanted to take them from in the first place. This is like making it illegal to lay a hand on your child with the intent of discipline to prevent child abuse. The only people misusing corporal punishment are the ones who are going to beat their kids regardless of what the law says. In '03, right across the Potomac River in Virginia (a state where you can carry an unconcerned weapon and you can conceal with a permit) the homicide rate was 5.52 per 100,000 people, in DC the previous year(Where only cops and robbers have guns) then number was 45.8 per 100,000. (Numbers gleaned from La Shawn's post on the same topic). You don't have to be the brightest crayon in the box to do the math. Many have argued, certain members of the supreme court included, that the right to bear arms is for the raising of an organized militia, AKA the army, and not for private citizens. I ask why it was enacted at all. There is clearly going to be an army, there already was, and the founding fathers were not fools, they created a cabinet position for the department of defense (Dept of War at its time of inception). They knew there was going to be no issue with making sure the army could arm themselves. The militia they were referring to was to protect the people from the government and if it ceased to serve the people. That hardly applies here, but it makes it clear that there is to be an individual right to own and operate firearms. Compounded with the statistics, DC's legislature is foolish to keep this up. Citizens legally possessing guns protects them, protects anyone around them, and protects anyone who a criminal thinks could be carrying a gun. My parents still live in Va (near DC) and I hate to think of them in DC at night.

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." -Benjamin Franklin

and now, for something we think you'll really enjoy

2006-07-13T21:37:00.000-04:00

As my profile says, I have a passion for the film. I'm going to elect to take this post to bring you either smiles or tears, if you're like me, it will be a little of both.

Coming in the future:

Rocky Balboa: So named because they can't figure out the roman numeral for...where the hell did we leave off? I can't remember if the number was which movie it was or the copyright date...XXIIVCM...something like that. In this one, Rocky is a resturaunt owner, now alone (because depending on how you look at it either Adrian died of cancer or Talia Shire was smart enough to run in terror.) He gets back in the ring, keep in mind, Stallone turned 60 last week. I'd say his opponent will leave him eating through a tube, but that seems to be the case to begin with.

Rambo IV: Yup further proof that Planet Hollywood is not the moneymaker that it seems. Here, Rambo (who if you missed the Rocky comment is 60) will go and rescue his kidnapped daughter while befriending a young soldier wrongly accused of war crimes. Let me just say, bravo on having a kid at your age Sly. I just wonder if he's gonna trade the M-60's for Matlock.

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Spiderman 3: There is potential here, they're bringing back some old goodies (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco, all proven their mettle in the previous 2 movies. I am moved to tears however when the new villians will be played by Thomas "I love my man-date" Hayden Church of "Sideways" and Topher Grace of "That 70's Show." I like both these actors, but there is no way they are comic book villians. Grace will be playing Venom, spiderman's most clear archenemy, the very polar opposite of him and the character is massive. I can't see skinny Eric Foreman pulling it off. The movie has some serious potential though.

The Guardian: I'll admit I'm a bit bias on this one, but how can any movie about Coast Guard aviation not be great. Starring another "70's Show" vet Ashton Kutcher, I'm a little worried but he pulled his weight in "Butterfly Effect" so I can give him the benefit of the doubt. Playing his mentor, Kevin Costner makes me hope this time will be a little more successful then his last film where water was his costar. I've heard mixed opinions so far based on the trailer but we shall see...

Transformers: Another one I'm a little torn on. If it's done right, it could be an epic movie, but Micheal Bay has such a bad history in my book. I hated what he did with "Pearl Harbor," and I'm not ready to trust him yet. On the good side however, they are working with the Air Force and using several Air Force folks (my buddy included) as extras. Jeremy get's vaporized, you can't beat that.

Snakes on a Plane: Sam Jackson accepted this movie based on no more then the title and demanded it be changed back when it was altered. After principal filming they began shooting again to add a number of scenes including one where Sam Jackson says "I want these motherfucking snakes off my motherfucking plane." Anything beyond that is gravy. The basic premise is that an assassain puts tons of snakes on a plane to kill someone putting all the people on the plane (Federal Agent Samuel L. included) in danger.

My Name is Bruce: This is way off on the horizon but with a love for Bruce like I have, it's important to speak to his future. The premise is not a new one. He is mistaken for his Evil Dead/ Army of Darkness character Ash and called to defend a small Oregon town from a monster. Lord, please, make this movie as it ought to be.

If this get's popular (if anyone is even reading) I may keep it up, let me know.

Topic De Jour: Access to heaven

2006-07-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

During the comments on another blog I found myself commenting on a topic I have spoken with many people for many hours on. Who goes to heaven and am I worried? As I see it, I'm not sure if there is and I'm inclined as in most cases to believe what I see. The issue came down to the afterlife and whether death is so horrible. I pride myself in being able to immerse myself and work a debate in such a way as to speak from the rules of logic the other side is using. (In many cases you can't argue unless you're willing to pick a battlefield.) I want to make one thing clear, I have no negative feelings whatsoever against the people I argue with. If I dislike someone, I simply disregard them. The fact that I make these arguments at all proves I respect the people I'm arguing with enough to believe that they will give a different view the thought it takes to make a thought out argument back. The following is excerpted from comments on Spunky's Homeschool page.

Spunky: I am a logic lover myself John. My degree was in Computer Science and I have studied quite a bit of math and logic. It drives my children nuts actually. You presented two scenarios,1)Admission to heaven is only for those who accept Jesus and thus, any serial killer who accepts Christ on their death bed goes to heaven but people like Ghandi go to Hell...Or)Jesus recognizes people for the good they do and not the faith they carry, and I'd like to think I will be welcomed. Either way, I'm going to be in good company. You present two extremes. What about the women who has had multiple abortions, is she a serial killer or a benevolent mother full of compassion? How about Truman was he a mass murderer or a hero? In your second scenario you say God judges us by our "goodness". What is good enough. Surely, God is not so arbitrary that he would not leave us stranded to determine this on our own is He? Only to find out after death that we fell short. You are correct on one point. All are indeed welcome. From the littlest to the greatest. Our God is not arbitrary. He holds everyone to the same standard. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that He is risen from the dead you shall be saved. It removes all the guess work about who is good enough and who isn't.

Me: I was saying that either God decides that only people who accept Jesus into their hearts as their one true savior go to heaven, no matter how good or bad their life is. Hitler could potentially be in heaven based on this if he were to accept Jesus into his heart with his last breath, while the people who, no doubt, selflessly loved everyone, but are not Christian go to hell, simply because they were raised in a country where they were inclined to "back the wrong horse."

God looks at how you lived your life, did you live it with love in your heart trying to help others and whether you followed the teachings of Christ without following him. If you live your entire life without breaking a single commandment but do it for reasons other then Jesus, you go to hell. Either way, I think I'll be in good company, there were many good, kind atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims in history.

I know I don't have any readers yet, but if you are there, what do you think?

More fun with Duke lacrosse

2006-07-12T20:14:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that two things that top my list of "Goddamn that pisses me off" are false rape accusations (what gave me all the trouble at college), and playing the race card. The award for World's Biggest Irritant goes to *drumroll* The Duke Rape accuser!!! If her name was publicized I'd be willing to engrave the name plate...Come on....Say it on the news....Along with her phone number.... Let me make one thing clear before I go any further. Rape is horrible and I do not instantly think any woman who claims she was raped is a liar. I think THIS one is a liar. After months of waiting (trust me, those months are spent sleepless and sick with worry) these young men are continually being subjected to what is increasingly becoming a farce. For starters, there is a new piece of exculpatory evidence. The stripper/escort's phone records show that a one minute call to her escort service (at this point it's unclear who's it is, but it seems reasonable that her escort service would be the one called on her phone.) To compound the whole issue, one of the young men was convicted of assault in Georgetown for almost punching someone and scaring him...The charge would have been thrown out based on a first offense rule of some kind or another, but because of the charges raise in Durham they elected to pursue it. I love that based on an arrest and charges that were clearly improperly raised and pursued, he gets another conviction. Isn't justice fun? Let's look at the evidence shall we?

Exculpatory Evidence:

Cell Phone Call (circumstantial)
Original Testimony of Accuser's friend
"History" of accuser (previous rape charges as well as DUI)
Evidence that 2 of the Accused were elsewhere at time of alleged Rape
Only Semen found belonged to her "driver/boyfriend"
No sign of forced sex in any hole
no DNA on her of accused

Damming Evidence:

Accusers inconsistent story (at one point she said she had not been raped, then said it was 20 men, then 2, then 5, then 3)
Other stripper's story after she received a favorable bail for an unrelated crime from the DA trying the case PERSONALLY
The Photo ID's of defendants (selected from a picture group of ONLY players on the Lax team.)

It makes my head hurt that this is still not over. There was no Tox test when she was rape kit checked, and that is suspicious alone. I want to see this woman humiliated, and I want to see her sued for every penny spent on lawyers, traveling, and anything else anyone can come up with from this case. I also want to see the assault charge expunged for the young man who was just convicted (he never would have been charged if she hadn't made the accusation.) It's times like this I wish I were a Christian so I would be comfortable knowing she would go to Hell.

Hey, it's me!

2006-07-12T19:07:00.000-04:00

So here's how it starts. Nobody's actually reading this but I will make this post to kick things off and so anyone who is curious can look here and get a good idea of what they've gotten themselves into. R3ALITY BIT3S is clearly not my real name, it's John, as if that were any less anonymous. I was raised in an Air Force family and moved on to become a Coast Guard aviation man. I have had some ups and downs on the way from one to the other, but I stand here a man. I'm 23, I love my job, most of the time, especially when I get to fly. I've been all over the country in my youth and as an adult I've covered much of it. I've lived in Seattle, Texas, North Carolina, and Currently Florida, and that's just since the CG. Before that I was in Spokane Washington, Kansas, San Antonio, Upstate NY, North Dakota, and Virginia. I did some time at College studying Biology and/or Criminal Justice but had some problems and made the decision to leave. I will no doubt discuss those issues later, but for now, I left College, spent a couple months at home with the parents and then off I went.
Now comes the part that will or will not get people in the seats. WHAT I THINK. I am something of a conservative in most respects but I think political parties are like religions, nobody agrees with me completely so I refuse to pick one that is kinda the same, and accept that they're misrepresenting me. I am something between agnostic and atheist. I was most interested in Genetics and Evolution during my time in High School and College and those concepts are both too perfect to be completely random, but at the same time I refuse to accept that there can be a completely all powerful being based solely on that. Needless to say I have some turmoil on this issue. I do, however, have a relative disdain for organized religion. I think it takes people who believe in God and gives them a "cookie cutter" trying to trim away the beliefs that don't quite fit. If you believe in something, don't just let the closest religion to it change you because they've got free wafers and grape juice. I carry this to my political beliefs. I stick pretty close to Conservatism, (thanks Mom and Dad) but anything that feels to me like religious pandering goes out the window. Here is a rough outline of reality as I see it, (other then Bit3ing) and you can figure out the rest as we go.

Civil Liberties - I am no fan of the ACLU but they do the right thing from time to time, if something is clearly right to me I will stand behind it.
Religion - Leave me alone and you can worship a turnip, not my problem.
Abortion - Never come up...but as far as I'm concerned, even by the Bible's standards, life starts when the "lifeblood flows" which I think is 4 months in...so there you go, before that, do what you want...Hell after that I don't much care.
Immigration - In theory, it's a good thing, but you do it legally or I support hunting you down like a dog and send you home. I do support learning the language before you come here (which I think is a requirement for it anyway) and I will stand by that.
Affirmative Action - I am white, I will STILL speak frankly about what I think when it comes to race relations. If you disagree, feel free to say so, if not, feel free to say so. That stated, I consider it insulting and patronizing to act as if a person cannot accomplish just as much as any other person with some hard work.
War - I'm no fan of sending soldiers to die, (being one myself to a degree) but I think that there's a time and a place to put a boot to the head.

Beyond that, ask and ye shall recieve, or wait for me to post about it and ye shall receive. I will accept any view that's different from mine in direct relation to how much sense it makes. I try to look at things logically, anything beyond logic comes thinking, and that's where I get rusty.