My considerations of life: political, social, and individual truths and natures of reality. A rational, objective commentary on current events, my experience, and my vision for the future.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Defending Traditional Marriages
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Genesys Works and abortion
They advocate abortion very actively. I did not agree to support them in advocating abortion, but they required it of me, and I of course refused. I had told them repeatedly that if they turned the question to me that I would advocate the seriousness of the decision, the value of life, and the need to assume responsibility. That is exactly what I did when they turned to me to sustain their pro-abortion recommendation to a student. While they would cite other reasons, this was the actual reason they fired me.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The power to say "no"
Consumers are becoming overwhelmed with the number of accounts, services, bills, and charges going online, each with their own account name and password. Companies are taking advantage of that by extracting unearned or unapproved fees without any recourse to consumers. It is legalized theft, and we need to get the law current enough with technology to stop the theft.
Companies have been an unethical trend of profit by fees without obtaining express consumer approval, which becomes even more problematic as electronic events instantly trigger these fees while paper bills are being replaced by e-bills. A lot of these changes are good, but they are creating a new paradigm where companies get to make money by charging consumers for services which they neither wanted nor needed. Technology has also made it possible to alert consumers to services and charges instantly. We need congress to force companies to immediately let consumers know about charges at least a day in advances of actually charging them, so that the charges may be declined. Consumers must be provided the opportunity to register their email or phone for text messages, so that they may see a pending service and decline it and the charge for at least 24 hours. If a company wants to charge a person for anything, they should obtain express approval for each charge, even if the charges are itemized and scheduled in a signed contract as the contract provisions will kick in if the charges are not met as agreed.
One example (of so many): A company charges a fee automatically via an electronic funds transfer. The consumer is unaware of this charge and therefore also unable to decline the services or charges, or to change the account from which the fees are paid. Even if the consumer had each paper for each summary of automated EFT charge (oftentimes doesn’t even exist in paper form) in a folder which they referred to daily, there would be dozens of automated bills to keep track of every day on top of their every day stresses, work, and other responsibilities. IF the congress could mandate that companies report their billing amount and due dates to a central database for each consumer to access and organize, that only would greatly reduce countless late payments, headaches, frustration, and anxiety for both consumers and businesses. This database would have to be accurate, up-to-date and reliable.
So, the company sends the EFT without the consumer’s immediate knowledge or express approval. The bank then processes the EFT without verifying with the consumer whether the company had the authorization to make that EFT charge, let alone to make any EFT charges at all. The bank accepts the charge without getting the customer’s approval. It then determines that there is not enough in the account and charges an over-the-balance fee, because the consumer did not know to transfer funds to the account to cover the EFT charge. The bank does not ask the consumer if they would accept the fee in exchange for covering the EFT charge. What can the bank do? It can instantly (thanks to technology) send an email or phone alert requesting permission to make the charge. The charge can remain pending until approval is obtained or until the bank declines it.
The power to say “no” is a freedom which protects us from thieves who would not allow us the power to say “no.” It should never cost a cent to refuse a charge or service, but a contract may as a result apply its own fees when that answer violates any part of it. For example, the termination of a contract brings an early termination fee. But that fee came by a consumer choice. In order to charge that fee, I believe that the consumer must be informed that their choice would incur that fee and allowed to avoid that fee by not making that choice. Again, the consumer must have the power to say “no” to ALL fees and services, even if saying “no” to one means that they will not say “no” to the other. They must also have the power to authorize the source of the payment each time. Even with automated bill payment, because the source account may need to be changed and the vendor may change the account or services details. Additionally, the consumer needs to know and approve transactions in the event that charges are not correct.
Technology is greatly accelerated and the law needs to keep up with how it changes our economic landscape or else thieves will destroy us and our economy using legally accepted mechanisms. Technology opens us to so many new connections that it is difficult to keep track of everything, and easy for thieves to take advantage of us. Please create some legislation to protect us from these thieves and protect our power to say “no.”
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Issue of Gays
Friday, February 04, 2011
Racist, Unethical, and Wasteful Hiring Practices
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Lethal Handgun Concealed Carry with Peace, not Fear.
According to our second amendment, every citizen has the federal right to own a firearm; though most of the people I have ever known seem unprepared to safely exercise this right. The states, cities, and private sector are all free to regulate that right as they wish according to their respective jurisdictions. Ultimately, citizens themselves must understand the consequences of the decision to own or carry a firearm (or not). Those who advocate the 2nd, that all citizens should exercise this right, should keep in mind that most people lack the self-control to make rational choices with a firearm on their person. Conversely, the fear of guns ultimately leaves people unprepared and paralyzed in their moments of distress. For those who are unprepared to exercise the right to bear arms, I encourage you to prepare for the responsibility of handgun ownership as a long-term goal.
Additionally, I would like to cover "gun-free" zones. According to the law, unlicensed citizens may not park their vehicle in a school parking lot with a handgun or other firearm in it. Concealed handgun licensed owners may park, but may not carry on a school campus. Concealed carry is not authorized in churches or at sporting events or school events, where people tend to engage in heated and emotional topics and activities. I advocate a re-examination of our laws on these "gun-free" zones, because criminals and "crazies" do not respect these laws.
Put simply, any handgun is lethal and most handguns can easily kill on the first shot. Also, display of a handgun, and even talk about handguns (even in this blog) can cause a disturbance of the public peace, and anger people quickly. The gravity of those facts sets the tone for the responsibility of owning and carrying a firearm. The moment you touch a functional firearm, you accept the possibility that you may have to take a person's life, and if that happens, you must hope that you can sleep every night thereafter knowing that you did everything you could to minimize the risk to everyone, including the assailant. Until you understand the full value of human life and the weight of the power to end it, you should probably avoid owning and carrying a firearm. It is better to live at the mercy of other lethally violent people than take lives which could have been saved, so limit your self-defense to carrying mace or other non-lethal weapons.
There is only one valid place to aim and that is the center of the body (to hit the right target and no bystanders). There is no defense against shooting an innocent bystander so you cannot miss. Warning shots or merely "flashing" the weapon both draw attention to the fact that you are carrying and quickly reduce your odds of survival. They also rely on the use of fear to gain compliance, which breaks down when the bluff is called and no justification exists for using the firearm. Such behavior also creates public panic and increases the chances of police shooting you. When the handgun comes out, you must be able to communicate that you fear for your life or for another's life and the target must soon drop; fire until the threat disappears. Otherwise, you are needlessly escalating the situation and increasing the risk to everyone around. Contrary to popular opinion, the 9mm is as lethal as the .45 (esp. when using hollow point, given no armor), and both will "stop" a person just as quickly. Being much larger diameter and much less massive, the 9mm will not penetrate walls as easily as a .45 (or most others), esp. with the hollow point round, and may be considered safer for indoor defense.
Anyone who assumes control of a lethal weapon must be sure to have great self-control and calming power, regardless of the situation. You must be able to effectively de-escalate situations, so that even if a person is trying to get you furious, you are still calm, rational, and trying to calm them down too. The goal is to avoid conflicts which could quickly escalate to a life of regret for an avoidable loss. If you have to ever shoot someone (may you never need to), you must already be at peace and accept the fact that everyone will look at you very differently for having done so, no matter how justified you were and how well you worked to avoid having to take that crucial action. Consider your history to determine if you have the self-control, peace, and discipline to handle the responsibilities connected with a firearm: 1) Have I lost control of my anger or harmed another individual, even by accident? 2) Do I blame my anger on others or allow others to "make me angry?" 3) Do I live in paralyzing or excessive fear, depression, or anxiety? [clear, rational thought is essential during critical times of conflict], 4) Have I ever gained at someone else's expense? [It is NOT okay to hurt someone just to "get your way," or because "you are right."], 5) Can I effectively calm those who do have the issues mentioned above? The goal is to reduce the need to use a handgun as much as possible. Fortunately, my conflict resolution and de-escalation skills have avoided the need to use lethal force and left me with clear conscience that I am effectively increasing both public security and public peace, and hold no/little responsibility for conflicts.
Ironically, as tough as it is to prepare for carrying a firearm, the choice to NOT carry is even tougher. If you do not carry, you exist in a state where, at any time, an armed criminal may bring great suffering and death upon you and your loved ones. Can you live with yourself with peace of mind and conscience knowing that you chose to allow that great evil to happen? Even after securing peace with allowing evil upon yourself and loved ones, you must also find peace with the effects of that evil upon everyone else; the good left undone, and the sorrow for the losses. Case in point: The recent Arizona shootings may have easily been mitigated if people were concealed carry license holders and were armed. It would have only taken one armed CHL citizen in the area a couple of seconds to identify the shooter and stop the madness. Since every person in the area chose to NOT carry, they effectively also chose to allow all the suffering and death which we have today from that grievious tragedy: they are partly to blame (responsible) for not stopping the evil much sooner.
My experience is that most people have trouble accepting ownership and control of their own anger and fear, let alone the issues of others, and would not at all be at peace with allowing either their loved ones or themselves to be at the mercy of any lethally armed criminal. This leaves them in a limbo state where they cannot chose to either accept or forsake a firearm. My advice to the people who unprepared to carry a handgun is that they should not even own a firearm until they are prepared to use it responsibly. It probably goes without saying that most children are far too immature to carry and that most parents are unable to teach their children sufficient discipline and ethics to do so safely. They have a hard enough time following their teacher's directions, not cheating on tests, obeying their parents, and so forth. Criminals most certainly lack the patience and discipline to responsibly carry and are like children in many respects, selfishly hurting others for their own gain without a second thought about it.
The conditions for taking a life are serious and require the imminent, unavoidable threat to life. It goes without saying that we must do all in our power to prevent this threat from emerging by calming everyone down right NOW. I will emphasize that we need calming peace for EVERYONE beginning RIGHT NOW with all diligence for the rest of our days. But if a person displays a handgun, club, blade, incapacitating chemical, or fighting skills and physical strength sufficient to make you fear for your life or the lives of others, you should utilize a handgun against that person in self-defense, if there are no other effective options available. I advise you to consider non-lethal or even diplomatic means of removing the threat so long as it does not risk anyone's life while at the same time holding potential for being effective.
Though the law currently forbids handguns in most school, I believe that they should be allowed by the law for those who are above 21 years of age and holding a Concealed Handgun License (CHL); many students agree: http://www.concealedcampus.org/. Teachers or students who get frustrated, anxious, or depressed to debilitating levels should not exercise this right. Why should we disarm the good guys, when you can count on criminals and crazies carrying firearms, even on campus. Concealed carry counters the threat of one wacko committing a massacre. In sympathy of the teacher's stress levels, when teachers have to both teach and discipline, both their health and their rational powers quickly dissolve. This introduces the need to separate discipline from teaching, and I would also advocate separating grading from both as well because grades are a source of great stress for both students and teachers. Holding the teacher accountable for the grades of the students is like holding the President accountable for the state of the economy. Both have some influence, but the students, like the economy, are ultimately responsible for making their own decisions. In conclusion, I advise the stable individual to carry concealed with license in order to counter evil, while always looking for problems in order to diffuse them at their earliest stages so as to minimize conflict by engaging peacefully.