Rick's Political Blog
My Favorite Sites
2006-03-09 - 3:15 p.m.
Stayin' Alive... 2005-06-18 - 9:22 p.m.
Check out my son Tom's graduation pictures...
2005-06-15 - 10:30 a.m.
Okay folks, I'm really and truly done here now. please find my new home
HERE Goodbye D-land Rick
2005-02-17 - 8:27 p.m.
Dear Diaryland,
I've become very a-political of late. The past election pretty much snuffed all passion and politic out of me, and I've not really had the luxury of time to be all that attentive to the events of the world to offer any real insightful punditry.
No, I've been really busy with school. I'm in 3 classes this semester, in fact, as I'm writing this I've just completed a lab for my micro-processor class. Yes, I can write assembly code now, and I'm learning C++.
Since I've been so bold to take 3 classes, while working full time, while being a husband, while being a father, while taking on greater responsibilites at work; I've not been able to write, or even spend any significant time on the internet at all except for professional purposes.
The little bit of spare time I do find is spent either sleeping or with my family.
Cheryl and I are doing much better. About two months ago, I let it all out. I told her everything about my feelings. 10 years of some pretty intense stuff came flowing rather freely. I don't remember much of what was said, but I do remember the theme: basically that I'm tired of being married and single, and if she ever threatens me with divorce again.... she'd better be serious.
She's been very serious about our relationship ever since. There's even some romance happening.
Tom was accepted to Ohio University in Athens.
David is gearing up baseball.
Katie is a hottie, and I have boys calling the house constantly.
Rick... is still Rick.
Rick
2005-01-17 - 9:14 a.m.
Hey,
I'm here. Just not feeling like writing at the moment. I need to have something gnawing at me to get me to write, and right now I'm feeling groovy.
Rick
2004-12-23 - 11:57 p.m.
Take off you hosers, take off… to the great white north… it’s a beauty way to go.
We are totally snowed in. I have 12+ inches of snow on the ground. We spent much of today shoveling.
It’s a forgone conclusion that we will have a white Christmas. I’ve not seen this much snow since I was a wee lad.
Tom, Dave, and I had to shovel out the driveway today. Here in Dayton, snow in excess of a few inches is rare; in fact it is rare to get more that an aggregate of 6 inches in a year.
Cheryl left Tuesday to see her mom in Louisville KY, and got snowed in there. She drove 5 ½ hours to get home today. A trip that is normally takes 2 ½ hours.
Winter is only 2 days old, and I’m already ready for spring.
Arg.
2004-12-19 - 10:58 p.m.
Well, its official; my first wireless entry. Here I sit in my living room watching my new copy of The Return of the King, typing to my hearts content. Anyone ever notice how unbelievably long the end credits are?
I didn’t have a laptop until yesterday, and my IT guy got it set up with a wireless modem, so I went to Best Buy and got a LinkSys wireless router… and I’m in heaven.
The updates have been scarce because I’ve been seriously unplugged. I’ve hardly even watched the news since the election ended.
I love writing, I really do, but I really have lost the taste for it since, well since people have abandoned reason for partisanship.
My mother was here over the weekend, and as usual we got into our yearly political/religious argument. Her whole thing with me is not my Christianity per se’, but rather my belief that she and others whom do not believe as I do are “wrong”. She feels that in and of itself is wrong, but comes short of saying that she thinks “I” am wrong, but only says she disagrees, and we have differences. Come on Mom… grow a pair… tell me what you think.
I know she thinks I’m wrong, and I drove her nuts today trying to get her to admit it, but she can’t because then she would be the hypocrite.
We disagree, but neither one of us is wrong? Indeed one of us has to be. Perhaps we could both be, though I doubt it. I’m very confident of my faith, but what I don’t understand is her fear of coming out and saying that she thinks something is wrong. She is vehemently pro-choice, has a great deal of contempt for what she perceives to be Christianity, and yet will not call it wrong; only that it’s different. I would not be offended if she did.
I’m a little more offended at her saying I’m different. The kids on the short bus are different.
Well, I should be off to bed. I got work in the morning, and my annual review is in the afternoon. And then… two weeks of vacation.
Rick
2004-12-01 - 2:13 p.m.
I dislike all polarizing debate. Am I guilty?
Yes, sometimes I get too passionate, and I regret some things I say (just ask
Neo) but I always apologize. I dislike it when I see conservatives do it just as
much as the opposite. I was debating on whether or not to
respond to karmazov, but it’s hard to know where to start. The exchange left me
thinking about people's perception of things. I could write a book
refuting the charges this person makes, but I really don't have the time. One
thing that is evident to me is this person has a serious problem with those whom
he or she disagrees with. His/her tone is very shrill, patronizing,
condescending, and from out of left field for that matter. So I’ll respond in
general because it's important (I think) to talk about. The reason I bring my family and
friends into
this
debate is because karmazov seems to dismiss all
conservatives/republicans as prejudicial and homophobic by default. I hope this
is not truly the case. Having been a conservative republican for over 20
years (formerly being a liberal democrat) I see little other than demagogy and stereotype to support the charges. I know
they’ll say, “conservative Christians hate gay people” but that simply is not true. We
disagree fundamentally about what homosexuality is. To not understand that shows
considerable ignorance about Christians in general. Unfortunately, there are
many who call themselves "Christians" who don't understand that. But I also find it hard to
believe that Christians are ever going to demand gays be imprisoned, tortured,
or thrown to the lions.
Remember, it was the church that championed civil rights for both race and
gender in the past, so it’s unfair to cast those of faith and conservative
thought in such a light. It’s obvious that having 11 states
vote to ban gay marriage was very polarizing. I’ve written at length regarding
my position on this issue Please
CLICK HERE to
read that and please read. It's long, but it's a good one. After
reading this all should have a good idea on where I stand on things, and why. I (or anyone else I know) do not hate
anyone that is gay. It seems to be the talking point (not karmazov specifically,
but of hard left wingers in general) that those who think homosexuality is wrong
for whatever reason are "haters". I don’t like to draw lines like that
between groups of people, but as a Christian, I disagree with the gay lifestyle,
and therefore I don’t believe that “same sex unions” is what God intended.
So? It’s my opinion based on my faith. I
see the world through what I believe to be God’s perspective. It’s my right to
believe that way. It’s my right to vote that way. If I were gay, then it would
be my right to believe and vote that way too. Ironically, it seems those I speak
of are "becoming what they've beheld" in that they are becoming "haters"
of those who believe differently than they do. Very becoming from the party of
diversity and tolerance. This is one of those ironies I truly enjoy. Nevertheless, I would learn to live
with the outcome of the election if it had gone the other way. It’s called
democracy. As Americans we deal with it when things don’t go our way.
I've dealt with it before, and I'm sure I'll deal with it again. Back to Condi; Neo is right, It’s
about the tasteless comics… nothing more. And liberals and conservatives alike
should condemn them, and that was what I was trying demonstrate. But I still think there less outrage in the press about it
because she’s conservative. Nevertheless, I think it’s a stretch
to label
one with her resume as incompetent; even in her role as National Security
Advisor, in which I believe she lead admirably. To say she was incompetent in
that role is subjective to political ideology, and in my opinion is not rooted
in any fair analysis of her tenure as NSA. The only place I hear that kind of talk about her is in the left side
of the blogosphere, plus there is a rumor that George Tenet is going to label
her as such in his upcoming book. That may not even be true. Finally, karmazov said, "Christophobia? That’s a new one.
But you’re right, I am terribly afraid of Christianity, given all the atrocities
committed by its most zealous fanatics over the last 2,000 years. " This is another one of those "sweeping
generalizations" I talk about so frequently. It's true that many leaders have
used the name of Christ politically to get what they want. Some still do. Some
do it with good intentions, others with bad. The oppression of the
Lutheran movement by the Catholic church was indeed an
atrocity. The Spanish inquisition was indeed an atrocity, and the
list goes on. But to condemn an entire religious system because of the poor
judgment of a few is like saying all gay people are just like
Jeffrey Dahmer.
It would be good look at the behavior
of other religious groups, or even other political groups before rushing to
judgment on Christians. Consider this: The murder and enslavement of
Christians in Muslim countries, specifically Sudan. The persecution and imprisonment of
Christians in China, North Korea, Vietnam. 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazi
Party. Stalin's murder of thousands of German
soldiers after their surrender in Stalingrad. My point is that there are plenty of
evil people in the world. Christians are not the only guilty party.
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