CellPhoneJabber

Whip-Cream Spring Breaks and Taking Back Morality In America

2007-04-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

It’s been about 2 weeks since the Don Imus fallout, and the discussions, opinions and debates are still strong and going. First, let me say, this is a good thing. In order to find a solution to a problem, there has to be discussion and debate. Once that discussion and debate finds form, real solutions can be suggested, and it takes a whole community in many cases to abide by that solution. Community can be a term here used for more than just a group of houses or a city “community”. In this case, we are talking about the hip hop and rap community. In a bigger scheme, we are talking about the music community. In just a few minutes, I am going to once again talk about the a section of the Corporate America community. I hope to continue to open the discussion about what is happening in America with the youth-generations and what exactly is taking place in schools and in their minds. That is to say, what is happening in the youth community. But first, let’s look back at the Imus issue.
Don Imus has since been let go from both MSNBC and CBS due in large part (and I would venture to say 100%) because of his comments about the Rutgers Women’s basketball team. Whether he should have been fired or not is not where I want to go right now. That decision was made by the appropriate people at NBC and CBS, and Don Imus has to live with the decision they made. Because of his choice words, he is gone. So, where do we go from there? Do we just simply listen to and watch someone else from now on? No, of course not. The words Imus chose to say opened a dialogue between a few different communities, but the main community impacted is the hip hop and rap community. Why? Well, because the words Imus spoke are every day, common language in the hip hop and rap community. H’s and B’s and the N word are found on thousands of songs, many of which are played on mainstream radio. This of course, seems like a double standards, the epitome of hypocrisy. And to make matters worse, the same hip hop and rap artists who use this language and guise it under the context of “art”, are the same people who will speak out against white, well-known people such as Imus. Only after criticism from much of the public and a strict lashing from Bill O’Reilly are the prominent African American community leaders taking a stand against the hip hop and rap community for the lyrics they call “art”. However, this is a good thing, even if it takes a little prompting. The discussion has been started, and now those that continue to be part of the problem will only be exposed more and more. And now, finally, a major player in the hip hop and rap community is coming out and attempting to begin the stand against the offensive lyrics that tear down women, degrade races and promote promiscuity and drug use, (I’ll get to that more in just a few minutes). Russell Simmons is coming out with a stand against 3 specifics words that are used constantly by hip hop and rap artists. He is attempting to get mainstream radio stations and music television stations to ban the N word, H’s and B’s. While it may be a small step, it is a large message from someone with a major voice in the hip hop and rap community. I will be watching closely to see how that plays out and if any of his suggestions are heeded, and if the companies that sign these artists take a stand against it also.
Now, moving on from that, I want to inform you if you are unaware of another troubling trend that many parents, teachers, youth leaders and the adult community in our nation don’t see. If you have seen MTV, you will know exactly what I’m talking about, but maybe not to the extent of which I hope to enlighten you here. Viacom, parent company to MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and a host of other major television stations, is at the heart of this all, although it isn’t the only one. You see, there is a concentrated effort to literally warp the minds of the younger generations. Don’t believe me? Well, let me throw you some statistics that shocked me, and I hope shock you. This generation that is growing up now (pretty much anyone under 20) views an average of 16 to 17 hours of television a week. With that, they see more than 14,000 sexual scenes a year. That’s 38 a day. In music, more than 25 percent of teenage targeted radio segments contain sexual content. Almost 50% of top selling CD’s contain sexual content. During my post-blog commentary, I’ll talk about Acquire the Fire and exactly what that organization is doing in its efforts to fight back against corporate companies who are doing everything they can to earn a buck and the expense of the morals of our children. However, right now I’d like to point out just what Rebecca Hagelin has found. This is from a column she wrote for The Heritage Foundation.
The Parents Television Council did a study during the spring break week of 2007, and in 171 hours of MTV programming, here is what they found.
- 1,548 sexual scenes containing 3,056 depictions of sex or various forms of nudity and 2,881 verbal sexual references. For children/teenagers watching MTV, that equals an average of 9 sexual scenes per hour with around 18 sexual depictions and 17 instances of sexual dialogue.
This is just a taste of what Rebecca Hagelin wrote about in her article. Click here to read the article.

You can read more from Hagelin by going to The Heritage Foundation’s website. Hagelin is Vice President of that company.

So, you see, all this hip hop/rap/Viacom/Corporate America/MTV community stuff goes together. First, we see the issue at hand right now: lyrics in hip hop and rap music. If MTV plays it, children will listen to it, guaranteed. The music videos the hip hop and rap community produce and put out exploit women, promote sex, drugs and alcohol, and degrade not only women but their own race. The companies that sign these artists to records are putting out the CD’s that promote these things as well, and with even fewer restrictions on what they can say. It’s a promotion of a thug-life, one that will lead them no where. I’ve heard the stories and have heard the hopes and dreams. Kids that want to grow up and be like. P.Diddy, be like Suge Knight, be like Jay-Z with the beautiful girlfriend like Beyonce. It’s just like the little kid growing up wanting to play in the NBA. The odds are against them. 1 in over 1 million will get a record contract. But what about the other millions of kids that don’t? They get pulled into a lifestyle that is harmful to our country, to their friends and families and to themselves. All they will ever hear about is the glorified thug life, and that is in large part thanks to the MTV and Viacom execs who only see one thing out of all of it: their wallets and bank accounts growing.
But while we focus on the music industry here, there is another major issue at hand. It still involves these same communities, but on another level. While the promotion of sexual activities, promiscuity and alcohol consumption without consequences is apparent on MTV during their spring break episodes and nearly every night on their channel, there is an underlying theme. They are the props that go into these shows. What the women are wearing. What the guys are drinking. What they are driving. What they are doing, where they are going and who they want to get their haircuts like, look like and be like. Amazingly enough, this is not denied by big-shots and MTV. They knowingly try to brain-wash the younger generation. There are even created terms/phrases for the children they have and are trying to convert to their way of life. Don’t believe me? Industry executives have coined the terms “Mooks” and “Midriffs” A mook is the guy with the tight shirt on to make him look ripped, the guy dancing with the hot, model like girl in the dance club drinking a Rockstar or Monster energry drink, and the guy who would do anything to look cool in front of his friends. The midriff is the girl who has the bad-girl attitude, the “I’ll dress in anything I wanna dress in” mentality, and the girl who flirts with the guy to get back and her best friend for stealing him away in the first place. They are the girls who dress in short skirts, belly-bearing shirts and talk on their cell phone to look cool in the mall. To read another article from Hagelin explaining more in detail, click here.
You see, this is the battle for the younger “community”. This is an exact quote from former MTV president, Bob Pittman. “"The strongest appeal you can make is emotionally. If you can get their emotions going, make them forget their logic, you've got them. At MTV, we don't shoot for the 14-year olds, we own them!" This is a shocking, horrific statement, one that we all need to take notice of. It is a brain-washing technique, and for a prominent corporate company president to say something like this is not only irresponsible, but dangerous.
This all ties in. The Imus situation, the Russell Simons situation, the Al Sharpton situation, the hip hop and rap situation…all of it. It is all a huge controversy, one that we need to be in discussion about and we need to rapidly be looking for solutions. Those of you in the adult community are the ones that have to stand up against these kinds of things. You have to stop letting your children buy this music. You have to be the ones to say no MTV, period. You have to be the ones that don’t let them buy Abercrombie and Fitch clothes, a company that promotes sickening outfits for pre teens. You have to be the ones that aren’t their friends, they have plenty of friends at school. We have to take a stand against everything that is immoral. We can’t let the hip hop and rap artist get away with calling their filth lyrics “art”. Hurt them where it hurts the most…their wallets. Stop buying, stop promoting, stop watching and START LISTENING to what I am saying here….something HAS TO CHANGE NOW! Or else, the “moral” thing to do will be to will be what we see on spring-break MTV…and personally, I don’t want whip-cream covered teenagers that eat cherries of each other’s stomachs leading the way for “morality” in America, but maybe that’s just me. -AJW

Holding Someone Accountable

2007-04-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, April 4th, the Rutgers women’s basketball team made school history by making it to the Women’s NCAA Championship game against power house Tennessee. Despite losing the game, it was a great accomplishment. In the last few days though, their accomplishments have unfortunately been overshadowed. By now many of you have heard the controversy surrounding Don Imus and the comments he made regarding the Rutgers women basketball team. I won’t repeat the words here, as you probably have already heard them and if you haven’t, you can read them on any news site. They were horrid comments, and the punishment fits the crime, as MSNBC has decide to get rid of Imus.
I’ve tried to avoid the racial discussions on Cell Phone Jabber, but I found that the more I read about this story and the more I thought about what is coming up this weekend, the more I wanted to say a few things, and well, CPJ is my avenue for that. Now, some of you who are sports fans may know, others may not. This weekend is the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut into Major League Baseball. He was the first African American player to play in a game that had had all whites in it. His courage embodied what the American spirit is and should be about. He played through death threats. He played through physical threats. He played with teammates who didn’t want him there. He played in front of fans and people who hated him. Yet, through it all…he played. And now, 60 years later, MLB is giving the honor to him as many teams and players are dedicating Sunday night to him through ceremony and through wearing his uniform number, which has been retired from baseball. But that is where this story picks up.
First, a lot has been analyzed about what Don Imus said. The discussion is important, but I wanted to dig into it a little bit more. I wanted to discuss a few things. You see, there is a major, underlying factor to all of this. While what Imus said was disgusting, are we really surprised? It personifies not only what is wrong with attitudes and stereotypes, but unfortunately, it is every day language. Any public school you go to, you can hear this kind of language. Now realize one thing about that last sentence…any public SCHOOL. Honestly, I have become de-sensitized to that kind of language, because I heard it every day from the 6th grade through the 12th grade. If you could go to some of the schools in America and hear just how the kids talk, it would probably floor most of you. Racial slurs and swearing are common, every day occurrences for many, many children. The N word is used as a term of endearment for whites, Asians, African Americans and Hispanics. The B word is a common dis for many kids who don’t like someone else. Dang, darn and crap are not the 4 letter words that 5th graders say when they are frustrated or mad. It is becoming more and more typical for swearing to be an okay form of expression for younger and younger kids. What’s next, spelling tests with swear words?
Second, a lot of people right now are blaming the rap industry. They are blaming the hip hop artists and music industry for promoting and producing the kind of filth that is rapped about. Now, I will 100% agree with this. The stuff they rap about and the horrid lyrics that come from many hip hop and rap artists is not only wrong and hurting our society, but its extremely hypocritical, and I have a strong sense that they don’t understand one bit of history, and if you think that’s not the case you are completely wrong. However, while I agree that the music industry is at the heart of the problem with the language and attitude about racial/ethnic differences and women, I don’t believe they are the only problem. You see, we have to look at how this is all happening? And, as I’ve harped on before, it starts with parenting. Why are parents allowing their children to listen to this music!? Because when a child or student is calling them from the school’s principle office because they are in trouble for swearing at a teacher, they really have no right to be mad. They enabled this. Just recently, there were 5th graders in Indiana who got in trouble for having sex in the classroom during a school assembly, and others were watching! What is happening to our youth? What is happening to the moral fibers of this nation? Again, I am not pinning all of this on the hip hop and rap industry, as I could make just as strong of a case against companies like Viacom who are the ones promoting this behavior, but when is a rapper or hip hop mogul going to step up and take some responsibility for this? They all talk about how they don’t live the life that they rap about and so on and so forth. But one thing is for sure, they are making a living off of people who do, and people who think that life style is a glorified way to live. Video games with the objective being kill the other gang and get as much money as you can, music videos with 20 women in nothing but G-strings near a swimming pool surrounding one man and lyrics that not only degrade women but tear down the African American race. And just as bad are the companies that sign these artists to multi-million dollar deals and promote the awful trash, and then put it under the disguise of “art”. Art is what Martin Luther King embodied. Art was Jackie Robinson playing a game so beautifully, all the while making a statement that the minority could no longer be overlooked. That was art. So Russel Simmons, I hope that you get a clue. 50 Cent, Eminem and Snoop Dog, I hope you get a clue. I hope you watch some major league baseball on Sunday night, and see the tributes to a man who personified what it meant to be a respectable, courageous, amazing human being, and while making a statement, didn’t tear down, but built up. He built up people, he lifted them to a higher place, one we are still seeing today. I don’t imagine Jackie Robinson would be rapping about B’s and H’s. -AJW

Don't Be Surprised, Be Active

2007-02-07T14:01:00.001-08:00

This week, Texas governor Rick Perry bypassed legislature and numerous groups and made an executive order that all 6th grade girls must get the HPV vaccination. Needless to say, thousands of people are upset about this, while at the same time, thousands of people are very happy with the decision from the governor. Now I won’t get into the groups that are and aren’t happy just yet. I want to know more of the whole story before I start speaking for groups and for people. But I do want to get into the discussion of where this all came from, and where this is going.
Honestly, are we really surprised that HPV vaccinations are going to become mandatory? Let’s see here…I hear no up-roar about certain clothing companies making bikinis and 2-piece swim suits for 9 year olds. I hear no up-roar about parents who let their little girls dress like they are Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. I hear no up-roar about the disgusting nature of college-campuses and how much promiscuity goes on there. How come those issues aren’t mainstream? No, that can’t be right to make those issues controversies. We can’t tell 9 year olds how to dress because it might be infringing on their right to express their own style, and college kids are college kids, so how can we tell them what to do? So, we think HPV-vaccinations are bad? I can’t wait to hear the “up-roar” when in the future, there is going to be vaccinations for many STD’s. Then what? Well, the big question right now is all about morality and is this the right thing to do? On one hand, you have those that say of course this is a good thing. If we can prevent a girl from getting an STD before she is sexually active by giving her a vaccine, then of course it should be mandatory. Then you will have those on the other side saying this infringes on a parent’s right to choose what they want for their child. But I think there is a bigger message about all of this, and it is speaking strongly about the world we live in. My question is, why is this even an ISSUE for 13-year old girls!? Not 20 year olds in college…not even 18 year olds who have the right to make that decision of whether to be sexually active or not…this is about subjecting 13-year old girls to a vaccination based on STD’s.
Now, I can already hear the pro-vaccine people’s voices yelling at me. I know, they’ll raise arguments about how this just prevents them from getting the disease later on when they do become sexually active, so why would you be upset about this? I hear the argument of how parent’s are just going to be protecting their child from harm later, and I hear the argument of well they will know about it all soon enough, so why not just give them the vaccination now. I’m sure there will be others that come up in the news and in the public over the next few months as this debate will rage on. And you know what, that’s fine. I am never going to tell people to not question, to not bring up the debates. That’s how we get better as a society. We grow, we shape and form what our values are by going through debate. But, I hope that what I have to say here will at least be a part of the argument.
Anytime you go into a mall, you are going to be surrounded by teenagers. It’s the home-away-from-home for many of them. Really, there are worse places that teenagers could be hanging out and worse things they could be doing. If you are a parent and you know where your child is at, then that’s a good thing, so I don’t know that I am totally against letting your child go to a mall. My objection is what is what is in the mall. We live in a commercially driven society. The problem is becoming more and more obvious…that the commercial industry is driven by sexuality. You know, there is so much protest over the war in Iraq, over union-issues, over breast-feeding on planes…now-a-days there is just about a protest for everything. Here’s my thing…how come I don’t hear any protests about what television stations are allowed to put on TV? How come you don’t see protesters walking outside of Abercrombie and Fitch stores, demanding they take down the open-to-the-public displays of their models advertising their clothing product…WITHOUT any clothes on! How come there is this desensitization of sexuality throughout America, and there are no protests over these things?
Many of you know that I lead a Junior High youth group at the church I go to. The last couple weeks, there has been a big “drama” if you will in the youth group. No it isn’t about boys and girls breaking up or who said what about who and who they said it to. No…it was a bunch of the girls in the group are scared to go to bed at night and are all excited about a certain series of movies. Any guesses? Perhaps you’ve heard of or have had the misfortune of seeing the movies Saw, Saw 2, and Saw 3. Well, if you were in the junior high last week, you would have heard about every part of the movie, so you wouldn’t have had to have seen it to know the details. And so, as an adult voice, you try to convince them otherwise…that the movie is just sick and those kinds of things shouldn’t be as big as they are because they glorify death and sickening events that unfortunately occur in our world. But that wasn’t even a thought for them. You know what the biggest issue was? Who’s parents could they get to take them to see Saw 4 when it comes out. What is GOING on? Why is this the status-quo? What is wrong with us? There is a huge morality movement going on in the United States, and it is headed in the very, very wrong direction. 9 and 10 year olds wearing bikinis…junior highers watching movies that glorify horrific deaths, blood and gore…governors issuing mandatory vaccinations for 13-year olds, vaccinations for STD’s. Why not make it an “option” at 16? Why not make it an option at 18? But it is mandatory for 13 year old girls! Has it really come to that? We have to make it so 13 year olds have to know first hand the dangers of sex, and are going to be getting vaccinations for an STD? I understand that curiosity comes just about that age, for both boys and girls. I understand that questions are going to be there, and that answers need to be available. But they should be available from parents…not from fashion magazines, not from celebrities who want to give their input, not from schools that are publicly funded, and 100% not from our government having to issue a mandatory STD-vaccination to 13-year old girls. Have we become so jaded as a society to not see just how far down the wrong path this is all going? I don’t think half of you know what goes on in high schools and colleges. I wish there was a way to get you to see just how insane it has gotten. I hear the stories, I see it first hand. I don’t know if it’s a choosing of people to not see what is going on, or if our morals and values are really slipping that far downward.
So that raises the last few questions I have right now…where are the parents? What are they telling their kids? Why are bikinis being bought for 9 and 10 year olds, why are glorified murder-movies being allowed to watch by 7th and 8th graders, and why is an STD-vaccination mandatory for children? What happened to the days of yes, 13-year olds have a choice…listen to your parents or get grounded. There NEEDS to be a bigger awareness to these things, and I hope hope hope, that if you are reading this, you will do something about it. Write the companies that sell that disgusting apparel…write the movie companies that make these disgusting movies. Don’t shop at places where they sell both these things. And don’t take NO for an answer. Don’t let them push your children into an age where STD-vaccinations are mandatory, where Saw 1,2,3 and 4 become “classics”, and don’t be your kids friend. BE A PARENT. Be a voice of reason and do what you can to bring morality back to where it should be. I wish I had more time and more space and more energy to go on even longer about how I really feel about all of this, and I wish I had the resources and availability to news-outlets to have a voice to tell people just how bad its getting, but CellPhoneJabber will have to do for now. - AJW

A Wrong Turn Left

2007-01-29T19:28:00.000-08:00

A Wrong Turn Left
It just gets better and better. Many of you know perhaps one of my biggest rants and raves lately is just how absolutely political the college-classroom has become. Taking a shot in the dark, I would almost guarantee at least 75% of college professors vote democratically, and I would go even further to say at least 50% of them have or consistently are using their classrooms as a platform for the democratic agenda. I’ve suggested this before, but now I am almost advising it of you. If you think my numbers are skewed, just try it out. Go to 10 college classes this year with a friend if you aren’t in college, or with your son or daughter, or just go sit in a liberal arts class, a political science class, a history class, just about any class you can imagine. Almost guaranteed the professor will find some way to get their views across. The craziest part? The class can have nothing to do with any sort of political view or politics in general, yet somehow, magically, the platform is constructed and justified in just about any imaginative way you could think up. Believe me; I heard it first hand from a professor at my school. Let me give you some examples of just exactly what I am talking about.
This semester, I signed up for a history class that I am required to have in order to graduate. The class is History 111, and the content base was going to be over the pre-civil war era. So, off to Saturday morning class I went, completely unaware of just how politically motivated and spiteful someone at a publicly, government supported institution could be. Little did I know. The first words out of the adjunct professor’s mouth? A shot at Idaho for being ultra-conservative. Then, some more political bias with some hateful words for George Bush, followed by shots at even God. I don’t think anything conservative based in this man’s mind is an option to even consider as a right, just cause. By the end of the class, I was itching to hop onto my student account and with-drawl from his class and his vile-speak about republicans, Christians and the United States in general. So what you say? The professor may have been biased, but the content of the class couldn’t be, right? Well, considering the text required and main one used in the class was a Howard Zinn work, I got the picture of how this class would be run. (And if you don’t know who Zinn is, check out his Wikipedia profile and you’ll get the overall gist of his views in a toned down manner.) Oh, and this is just the start.
The week before my encounter with that wonderful history class, I learned that a nursing professor had given her students a very interesting assignment. Her students were to attend either the Jesse Jackson or Al Gore presentation, as both of them were in Boise around the same weekend. No alternative speaker with an alternative point of view, either Al Gore or Jesse Jackson. Yes, the 2 far-left former presidential hopefuls. Now, Jesse Jackson, supposed to be here for Human Rights week right? Well, I just wonder what calling President Bush a Chicken-hawk and inserting anti-Iraq war-speak that you get every-day from NBC, MSNBC, CNN and CBS have to do with Human Rights and Martin Luther King, Jr.? When I asked the professor about why, her reasoning did not surprise me. The aim? As far as the Jesse Jackson assignment went, it was to get the students a dose of “diversity” that was “very different from the population in Idaho.” And to the Al Gore side of things? That the environment is a concern for nurses, especially public health nurses. Now this is a nice way of putting it, but I think we know the underlying theme here. Of course the professor stated that the students never have to agree with her view points, but that this was a part of the “higher education excitement and privilege”. BULL. It was a way to force students to hear an agenda, one that is spread every single day on the campus by numerous professors. I could have told you the day Boise signed up to have these 2 men come and speak what the speeches would entail. Sure Jesse Jackson would blanket it with scripture and human rights rhetoric, and make references to Martin Luther King Jr., and the Al Gore concerns about the environment was a nice cover-up to relate the speech to nursing and public health and our community, and it would have been nice if that was the end of it. But did anyone seriously have any doubts what both speeches would be? No, and if you think otherwise then you are lying to yourself. I don’t want to hear about the “diversity opportunity” and “other side of the issue” that the students had by listening to Jesse Jackson. They get the other side every time they turn on their TV and listen to the news. I don’t want to hear about how Al Gore’s concerns about the environment are legit, because they aren’t. The real Inconvenient Truth is that Al Gore is using an environmentalist issue as a political plug for himself, in which he was completely off base, and the general scientific community agrees.
Something that I’m noticing is coming as a surprise to many people is the dating system that the public university seems to be converting to (although it really isn’t a conversion because they are using the same point in time as their measuring device, let me explain.) Many of my text books and teachers now have gone to the BCE/CE dating-system, and don’t acknowledge the traditional BC/AD system that we have used since…forever. BCE/CE stands for Before Common Era and Common Era. So, there they go, trying 2 deny a system based solely on the fact that BC stands for Before Christ. Yet, perhaps the irony of the situation escapes their minds, because BCE and CE are still based on one thing…the Birth of Christ. So, maybe instead of using that system, they should be using the Big-Bang theory system, which states the universe is 4.6 billion years old, so maybe instead of dating my paper 1/1/2007, I should be dating my paper 1/1/4,600,000,000. Maybe that will satisfy them a little more. I mean, if you are going to pretend that calling it the BCE/CE era takes away the focal point of when the date-system it uses started, then why not go all out and just do away with the fact that we are living in 2007.
Hopefully this enlightens any of you who are unaware of just how far left college campuses are going. It is getting out of hand, and the conservative voice on a college campus are becoming few and far between thanks to the success of Anti-Bush propaganda spread by the national media. And my school isn’t even far reaching as some of the “elite” universities, so I would die to know what they are saying there. Oh wait, I do know. “Hate the war, hate the president, global warming, Pelosi is a Goddess, Hillary in ’08, Obama is the savior of the world, and ah yes…Katrina is Bush’s fault”. You know how I know? I listen to the media and my college professors. But, don’t take my word for it. Listen for yourself. But just be careful…if you disagree, you are a horrible human being who doesn’t want to save lives by killing embryos, see the amazing victory we’ve already had in Iraq, and embrace the fact that the USA is the greatest country on Earth in this here year 200…oh wait, this here year 4,623,289,120. -AJW

A Dead Leader, A New Plan

2007-01-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

December 30th, 2006 will go down as one of the most important days in the history of the world. The Iraqi government put to death its former dictator, convicted murderer, and terror minded leader Saddam Hussein. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you are on, I would hope that anyone who understands how humanity works would realize that the fact that Saddam is gone is a great thing. Now before anyone jumps all over me for being pro-death penalty, I want to get this out there right now. The death penalty is one of the very few areas that I tend to stray from the right a little bit. Honestly, I am never sure how I really feel about it, because I try to put myself in someone’s position like a mother or father, and imagining my child being killed, how would I feel about the person that committed the horrendous crime and would I be able to say no, I don’t want them dead. It would be an incredibly difficult situation, one I pray I never have to go through. To be honest, it comes down to my faith.
Many of you know I am Christian, and my reservations about the death penalty are directly attributed to that and that alone, because my hope would be that the person who killed someone would somehow be able to give their heart to Christ while incarcerated, that they would be able to truly have a changed heart. Whether that is possible in a true, evil, murderous person is beyond me, and only God knows the final outcome of any of us. So, back to Saddam. Hearing about his execution, I had very mixed emotions. I usually side on the non-death penalty side, but something hit me when watching the news that night as the minutes passed leading to his execution. I didn’t have those feelings of reservation as I normally would. I thought about the over 1 million people according to many sources that Saddam had killed. Whether he pulled the trigger or not is irrelevant: his words were the trigger. And, on December 30th, the final trigger in the Saddam era was pulled, and the bullet was a rope around his neck. So who is the victor here? Usually in a death penalty case, no-one comes out a winner. However, this is not a usual case. Here we had a man that had terrorized a nation for decades. If you didn’t vote for him in elections, your life was at risk. If you joked about him in an unflattering manner, you jeopardized you and your family’s lives. Everything you said about him was listened to, and reported to someone, and if word got around you were a dissenting voice to him, death was almost inevitable. Here we had a man not afraid to use chemical and biological weapons against his own people in his own country, and he did so. Millions died on his clock. Millions were terrified into living a life of fear and hopelessness all at this man’s hand. That all became impossible for that man to ever do again on December 14th 2003, when, like the coward he really was, Saddam was found in a hole in the ground, whimpering in a corner, unclean and unshaven, scared and hopeless, afraid for his life. Fitting, isn’t it?
So, almost exactly 3 years later, Saddam was hung, with chants around him that mocked him, that insulted him, that ridiculed him. And millions of people almost instantaneously felt a sense of justice, although not comforted. However, for those millions of people, a sense of fear was lifted. Never again could the man that made them live in horror for decades be in charge. He would never kill again. So if you ask me am I for the death penalty? I guess sometimes, I may just be. Moving on.
Last night, President Bush got on national television and outlined the plan to try and make Iraq what we’ve been hoping for since the beginning of the war. Of course, within hours, we had the skeptics coming out and saying why it wont work, how it isn’t different from the current strategy and all the main liberal speak you typically hear anytime after the President opens his mouth. You have Democratic leaders already threatening to cut funding and to do everything they can to make sure that we lose this war. Of course they won’t say that, but it is becoming more and more obvious that the Democrats are playing politics with the Iraq situation, and that a loss would perceivably help them in years to come. You see, they want to come across as supportive and pro military. They want the country to believe they love our troops. But, that’s going to be hard to if they truly attempt to STOP FUNDING them. I have a prediction. Regardless of the outcome in Iraq, the liberal media is going to play this out as a losing effort. They will show the horrific images coming out of Iraq, they will flash the dollar signs and costs of the war in Iraq, they will shove people like Cindy Sheehan in the spotlight, they will let Hillary get the publicity, and all the good that has been done will get nothing. The schools built, the people freed and most importantly, the executed dictator who is the reason behind all this, will not be talked about, unless it is in a negative light. You notice the discussion is not about us taking out an insane terror-minded dictator, but about how well (or how not well) his execution went. Forget the millions of people he tortured and killed, and the families which will never recover because of him. No, the discussion was about his rights and how fairly or not fairly he was treated. And unless the Democrats win the white house in 2008, the if-it-bleeds-it-leads mentality of the media will continue on, portraying just how “bad” the job the republicans are doing is. Bush will be made out as a fool, as arrogant and ignorant of the Iraq situation. Even with a clearly defined plan, a clearly defined objective and a clearly defined motive, we will not hear about it. The Hillarys out there will continue to completely mislead the people that hear them to gain political advantage in their attempt to take over in 2008. If they do somehow win the ’08 bid for the white house, then they’ll be made out to be hero’s and saviors, that they’ll save lives with embryonic stem cells, that they are the ones who will save our sons and daughters from being killed in war and that they are the ones who will keep our economy alive. The media will do a 180, turning into optimists and hopeful, and rejoicing in their victory (even though most of it will be behind closed doors). I hope that we are all smart enough and vigilant enough to understand what is going on here, to understand what is truly at stake. Not just a free country in the middle east. Not just the only democracy in a war-torn area. Not just millions of liberated people, no. We need to understand that support now for our president, for our troops and military, and for what is right is essential in making sure that the world knows we stand for what is right, and what is good, and what noble: that the politics have to be put down, and that there are millions of lives at stake here, ours and our cross-sea allies. If you listen to the Democratic-leadership, you would think we are sending out troops to their death-beds. But, I bet if you ask the troops, they’ll differ in opinion. They know we are fighting a just cause, fighting to protect us here on the homeland, fighting to keep the rights we have intact. You won’t hear it, but I hope everyone who listens to this or reads this sees beyond the political-motivations of the left, and can see that we CAN win. I wonder, do they even want us to win? We are waiting for your support Hillary, Joe (Biden), Michael, Al...oh wait, they aren’t listening. They are busy not supporting right causes, but doubting our military, our president, and most of all, what America stands for: freedom and justice. – AJW

Humbleness and Humility

2006-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

There are 2 traits that I think are in high demand now-a-days, and seemingly low in quantity. The Christmas season is winding down, and those 2 traits tend to be apparent during the holidays. Humbleness and humility: ergo the title of this blog. It’s amazing to people watch during this time of year. I guess I’m going to step out of the political atmosphere for this one, so, I hope you enjoy what little I have to say about the things that follow, and I hope you can take it to heart.
This year was not unique to any other year, as the toys everyone wanted for their children flooded the shelves just in time for Christmas. I will tell you right now, I was standing in line a month ago for 8 hours waiting for my chance at a Nintendo Wii. Now, do I think that is ridiculous? Of course. 8 hours in line for a game system which will probably be ½ the price I paid for it in 6 months... yes, ridiculous, I know. Honestly, it was more for the fun aspect and social aspect then it was trying to be one of the rare Wii owners. I was able to meet some really cool people, and got to hang out with friends for 8 hours, and I had a blast (despite the 35 degree weather). But, I’m sure to the thousands of people that came in and out of Wal-Mart that day and saw the 18 people in line bundled up in coats and blankets, waiting for a game-system, they were probably thinking “you insane people!” That is consumerism at its best I suppose. And that’s all great. If you want to be like I was, crazy for about 8 to 10 hours, then go for it. It was fun.
Now, the fact that people want to stand in line for hours for a gaming system is not what amazes me. I think we should all be over the amazement factor of people doing crazy things to be apart of something big or buy something big. We see it every year. When certain movies come out, people stand in line, dressed full in costume for hours upon end to be the first ones to see the show. When a huge sporting event hits your city, people stand in line for hours upon end to be first in line to get a ticket. And when Christmas time is here and the newest, most technologically advanced gaming system is being released, people will stand in line for hours on end to try and make their child’s/sibling’s/friend’s Christmas even more special. But this is where it breaks down. It isn’t about making Christmas special anymore. It isn’t about doing nice things for people anymore. Christmas is becoming synonymous with the term consumerism. Same with Valentines Day, same with Halloween…pretty much every Holiday has a strong touch of consumerism to it. And honestly, that’s fine. That is America. We work for our money, and we should be able to spend our money as we want, and if that is on holidays for friends and family, that is great! But again, a break down occurs, and that is what this blog is about.
Imagine yourself in the following situation. You go to get in line at a store 10 hours before the release of the newest, hottest gaming system on the market. You want to make your son or daughter’s Christmas amazing this year, so you are going to splurge and are willing to spend the 600 bucks required to be a rare owner of this new gaming system. So, you get in line, and begin the long, drawn out wait. You brave the cold, you grab some hot chocolate, you make some new friends and chat about your families together. Eventually, the time draws near, and you begin to feel your toes again, as everyone is getting up and getting ready to enter the store. Suddenly, someone approaches the line from a car out in the parking lot, and walks up to a few people in front of you. Then, chaos ensues, as the new participant in the situation has pulled a gun and shot someone for their spot in line. Absolutely crazy right? Well, it happened, and more than once this year. Now, granted, the people who should be reading this probably aren’t and probably never will, but let’s bring it down a notch. As I stood in line this year at Mervyns, I got behind a couple, and as they began to process their transaction with the employee of Mervyns, something with the credit card machine began to confuse the woman who was purchasing some clothes. And oh yeah, she was lacking in her proficiency of English skills, which also became obvious after a few seconds. The employee was trying to show the woman she needed to re-swipe her credit card and resign the credit card screen. Honest mistake, right? Well, I could feel the awkwardness of the situation, but, it was an honest mistake. Now, did I want to stand in line for another 60 seconds while they figured out the problem? No, who does. But, it was a mistake, and the situation happened, and we had to deal with it. But, with the woman standing in line behind me, you could tell it was not okay. She began to mumble under her breath and her body language suggested a lack of patience for anything that was going to be annoying to her. After about a minute, they figured out the problem and the issue was resolved. I began to watch people as they interacted during the next few days, and it became apparent that there is a patience problem in America. Anything that stops us from hurrying up and moving on, we seem to be quick to anger.
Okay, so I just gave you one situation that no one would want to deal with, and most people would get irritated with, although I’m not sure why. It happened, and you deal with the situations you are put in every day. It’s called social interaction, and you deal with it. But it is apart of something else. That situation I described is part of something bigger that is very, very wrong in America. Call it lack of patience, call it whatever you like, but it is a prevailing attitude in our country, and for what? I’m talking about the American Dream (and I hate cliché terms, but they are used for a reason). Hurry up and wait. That seems to be the underlying theme for millions of Christmas shoppers. Where is the patience? Where is the gratitude? Where is the humbleness…the humility? Its becoming all about how much you can buy everyone, how much you got, how many stores you were able to get to in 1 day. You know what I think I hear more than anything around this time of year? Complaints about lines at stores, and traffic. Have we NOT learned that EVERY SINGLE YEAR, this WILL happen? Cars will try to make the red-light and get stuck in the intersection, blocking you from your green light. People will crowd and push to try to get the last item on the shelf and then crowd and push to try to get ahead of one more person in line. Airports will be delayed because of the surge in travelers and bad weather during, hello, WINTER. But just stop! Why are we so impatient with everything?
The American Dream sounds wonderful. If we really truly bought it and lived it. Why has rudeness and impatience and consumerism permeated every aspect of our lives? It’s great that so many people give to charities this time of year…but what about the other 11 months when the same people in need get forgotten? It’s wonderful family time is so important to so many people in December and around holidays, but how about the days in between? Maybe I just feel more aware during December and around the holidays, but it seems like we have become a culture of meanness, a culture of no patience, a culture of spite, a culture of us us us, we we we, me me me, and I I I. Maybe this is all a bit scattered, but hopefully my point is being made. There needs to be an awareness that arises, and soon. I want to see a nation of people that are kind to each other, that don’t cuss each other out when driving to the store and the traffic is bad, and that lets the mom with the 2 screaming kids cut in line, and that doesn’t have to be about what new car the family has, and that doesn’t care about the latest break up in Hollywood and what famous person is saying about the other famous person. I would like to see the American Dream that is nice and fluffy and what should be stood for and the American Dream that includes morals that includes patience, that includes kindness…an American Dream that exemplifies humbleness and humility, instead of the American Dream that will fall and if something isn’t changed, will be replaced with what seems to be all anyone is concerned with anymore: $$$. - AJW

This Just In: You Can't Understand a Language You Don't Speak

2006-12-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of non-understanding going on lately: here in the USA, in the U.N., in the Middle East…pretty much everywhere you look, people are screaming, yelling, “talking”, discussing and deliberating. As I sat down to try to write this blog, I had some ideas of what I wanted to write/talk about, but not sure which would prevail. I guess to a certain extent, I still don’t know which direction I am going to go, but I guess we’ll see where each sentence takes me.
Now, as I mentioned, you can’t understand a language you don’t speak. Try it sometime. Turn your television to a Spanish channel, and see how much you understand. Difficult, right? Well, let’s look at this in a different light. You see, there is a sentiment that is creeping up in a lot of places, and that sentiment is one that would have us sit down and talk over tea and bread with say, um, Iran. You know…that little country over across the ocean that has a president that doesn’t think there was a Holocaust and who takes advice about the Holocaust from former KKK leaders and French professors? You know…with that president who publicly has stated he wants to see Israel, “wiped off the face of the map.” Gee, where have we heard that before, regarding the extinction of Jews? I’m trying to remember, can anyone help me out? Oh that’s right, a guy named Hitler, who every child, person and adult knows of if they’ve ever heard of that one war about 60 years ago…you know…World War II? Yeah, that’s the president of Iran. So, if you ask me do I think we should sit down and have “talks” with him, no. He is obviously not speaking the same language, so he won’t understand our “talk”. Now don’t be jumping up and down and screaming and telling me I’m one of the GOP-people who are trigger happy and willing to go to war if someone looks at us wrong. I’m not saying let’s jump into a war with Iran, not one bit. But, unlike the rest of the world who hates the United States, I see the overall objective of the United States, and realize it is actually for the betterment of our world, not to oppress foreign governments and pry into the average daily American’s life, (no, they really don’t care about your phone call to your spouse to pick up milk on the way home from work.) I’m going to try here to get you to see, in as simple terms as possible, the situation so you can understand. There is an organization whose leader has recently come out and more or less, bashed the Bush Administration for its policies and handling of the situation is Iraq, (No, I’m not talking about Howard Dean, although it fits). This is about Kofi Annan, the “leader” (and I use that term lightly, because the word leader implies actual decent leading), of the United Nations. The fact that he is and has been on the Anti-Bush bandwagon for years is not where I’m going. If I wanted to write about that, I’d just go talk to Brian Williams or Keith Olberman (if you don’t know who Olberman is, it’s not really a surprise, he doesn’t get a significant amount of viewers on MSNBC). You see, Mr. Annan is the head of an organization that ultimately, is good in theory. “United Nations”…it even has a nice ring to it. Country’s coming together for the good of mankind, which ultimately and principally, is a good thing. Enter politics. With an outgoing speech Annan eluded to the world taking up for each other. That is to say, countries helping other countries and people helping other people in time of crisis and need. I think that’s the exact definition of the United States over the last 50 years. However, Annan (along with a certain now-majority party) would have you believe the US in the last few years has not done that. It was interesting to read something Annan said in his speech on the 11th.
“Although increasingly independent, our world continues to be divided – not only by economic differences, but also by religion and culture. That is not in itself a problem. Throughout history human life has been enriched by diversity, and different communities have learnt from each other. But if our different communities are to live together in peace we must stress also what unites us: our common humanity, and our shared belief that human dignity and rights should be protected.” Annan goes on in his speech about basic lessons and principles that he hopes to see acted out in the future and that need to happen. Great. We need to be a good world. Glad he recognizes that. Re-enter Iran and their “leader” Mahmoud Ahmandinejad. Enter players such as Osama Bin-laden, Sudaam Hussein, and every terrorist under his rule. You see, it’s all great and nice that we should stress to these people that what unites us is our “common humanity” and our “shared belief that human dignity and rights should be protected”. What would be even greater is if they spoke the same language (literally, and metaphorically). But they don’t. We can’t sit down and talk with them, because no matter how much we try to get them to understand, their radical, fascist ideals and beliefs won’t allow them to. They don’t believe in human dignity or rights being protected. They brainwash their children from the time they are born to learn to respond when reporters ask them who the Jews and Americans are, with “They are pigs”, and “they are infidels”. You see, they want one thing: to see the USA and Israel destroyed, for good. They won’t “talk” with us about it and they won’t deliberate or try to go about it diplomatically. Here is what they will do: bomb our buildings, fly our planes into skyscrapers, shoot our citizens, and God forbid, sneak a chemical or biological bomb into our country…and detonate it. That is what they will do. And the fact that Ahmandinejad wears a tie and tells people he has best intentions at heart is somehow, I don’t know…not too reassuring to me. Let me move on.
The United States is good. There are organizations, far left-outlets and various outspoken people who get a voice now and then that will try with everything in their heart to get you to believe that it is not, and that the United States’ policies are the reasons for the terrorism, mainly in Iraq. Forget those guys walking up to US troops with bombs strapped to their chests and pressing the button. Forget those guys that have the guns and rocket launchers pointed at our troops and pulling the triggers. No, why blame them? I mean, we are just trying to save the people they are putting in danger. However, I truly believe that most people, democrat and republican, believe that the United States stands for what is good: that they do the right thing. The last couple years has seen that view diminish a bit, because you have the people that don’t believe America is good getting the voice, because they have aligned themselves with a Secular Progressive agenda that uses outlets like the media, and that is literally dangerous to America. It is an agenda that is not speaking the same language. You see, when you try to talk to people who inherently believe the USA is not doing enough for the world, who believe the USA is causing terrorism, who believe the USA is Satan…communication can not happen. Therefore, the deeds the USA does for the world get overlooked. The fact that the USA gives out more money to other countries than any other 20 countries combined gets overlooked. The fact that the USA took out a dictator who had murdered thousands and thousands of people and would have done it again gets overlooked. The fact that the USA has liberated literally millions of people during its tenure as world-power gets overlooked. What gets reported and spoken of are the few that would detract from the overall decent, good image that the United States has. A few troops that would torture prisoners, a few senators that would do wrong with their power in congress to harm children, and so on and so forth. The media will show you the horrific images coming out of Iraq, but not the schools being built left and right and the millions of Iraqi’s that show support and love for America. No. Instead, those that don’t speak the language of good, which is typically synonymous with the USA, can’t understand the overall picture. They have bought into a sick and twisted agenda which seeks to change America, and not for the good. They want to legalize people who broke the law to get here, they want to protect and stand up for people who would hurt children and harm YOU. They want to stand up for people who would detonate a bomb that would kill thousands, maybe millions of people in America…and THAT is a language that I can’t understand. No, in fact, it is a language I WONT understand. - AJW

This Wont Be Politically Correct

2006-12-01T14:54:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was great; I apologize for no blog last week! Needless to say the news didn’t stop, and over the last 2 weeks, there has been so much news that I can’t even begin where to think. I didn’t really know how to address the last 2 weeks and keep this blog concise, so I will look at 1 absolutely tragic event that happened this last week in the social/news world.
The New York Police Department shooting on November the 26th is what I want to focus on here. Before anyone says anything, I am not going to attack anyone. I am trying to create questions and conversation about America, about where we are and why this happened. My heart and prayers absolutely go out to the family of the man, Sean Bell, who was to be married on the 27th. My heart and prayers also go out to the officers who were put in this predicament and now find their careers and entire character on the line. I want to take this step-by-step so you know where I am coming from and so we can make this as easy as it can be when talking about it. First, there has to be an investigation, and I completely agree with an investigation. Anytime you have a police shooting, the circumstances for which that shooting occurred should be looked at in detail, as they are with this shooting. Details are already coming out that are entailing what went on and the conditions surrounding how this all played out. The whole story seemed very dramatic and it all happened within a matter of minutes, only complicating the choices the officers would ultimately have to make to pull their weapons and fire upon the car that Sean Bell was in. Now, let’s look at something that I haven’t heard the media or anyone look at in depth. Almost every single time something like this happens, almost every single time, there seems to be 1 or 2 constants. These stories come out every now and then, and of course everyone looks into racism, everyone looks into excessive police force, just about every possible scenario and circumstance is looked at. However, those 1 or 2 constants seem to get lost in the shuffle. What are those 2 constants? Almost EVERY TIME, there is some sort of club/strip-club involved, alcohol, and some sort of illegal use or smuggling of a weapon into those very clubs. Then, when things go awry, everyone is just shocked and amazed that something like this happens. I ask you why? Why are we so surprised that excessive alcohol drinking and drug use leads to poor decisions? Why are we so surprised that this always happens at strip-clubs? Stop and think! When you put alcohol, many times illegal-prostitution and sex, drugs and firearms together, that is an absolute recipe for disaster, and I can’t emphasize that enough. So, as the various people involved in this shooting came out of the club, the shooting ensued. Now why exactly did that shooting ensue? Well, that is what the details of the investigation will reveal, but so far, it sounds as if the car was being used as a weapon. Whether that is true or not is beside the point I am going to make here: I want to look at another aspect of this. Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, came out with this quote about the situation:
“It is not the policy of the police department where a police officer can shoot at a car when the car is being used as a weapon, so at least in that case, it would appear that the policies of police department were broken, but we don't even know that because there were allegations of a gun”.
Regardless of the entire situation that played out here, Bloomberg said something that caused my jaw to just about hit the floor, “It is not the policy of the police department where a police officer can shoot at a car when the car is being used as a weapon.” Is this really, truly the policy of the NYPD? Here’s a question. What happens if a van is driving 50 miles per hour towards one of the sky-scrappers in downtown New York, and it isn’t slowing down. What if inside that van is enough explosives to decimate any building that stands. I would think that would be being used as a weapon yes? Are the police officers not allowed to shoot to kill the driver because it “isn’t the policy of the police department” to shoot at a vehicle being used as a weapon? I know that’s an extreme case, but where does it end? The reports are that the vehicle Mr. Bell was in was being used as a weapon, that he floored it towards the officer, who had yelled to the occupants of the vehicle that he was in fact a police officer. If that policy is truly a policy of the NYPD, then we have a very, very serious situation here. When police officers, who are trained and who put their lives on the line every single day, are not allowed to take matters into their own hands when a vehicle is being driven at them as a weapon, then I tell you this: YOU ARE NOT SAFE. The police can not protect you with the abilities they should be able to, and it is because of political correctness taking over. You may have heard some of the Conservative talk-show hosts say it, and they are 100% right. Political correctness is becoming more and more dangerous to America, and if the police not being able to shoot at a driver who is barreling down at them in a vehicle, or your choice as a parent being taken away to know and have a say in what your children hear in the classroom is where America is headed, then something has to be done. (And yes, I AM going there again if you know right now where I am headed.) The SP agenda is a driving force behind this, along with a certain group that would stand up for the very people who would drive a van into a building to kill you, but were shot by police in order to stop them and would then be criticized and perhaps taken to court because “it isn’t the policy of the police department” to shoot at a vehicle being used as a weapon. Where does it end? Honestly, I want you to ask yourself that, where does it end? Does it end? How far does political correctness go?
There is a bigger theme here. One that is outside of a police shooting, or parents having the right to have a say in what their children learn in school (refer to last blog, Open Minds and a Good Education). It is the anti-Judeo Christian value society that is emerging as more than just a few far-left liberals spouting their Science-is-God views. It is becoming very main stream. Unfortunately, it is becoming “cool” to be a liberal who stands against values that conservatives do. It isn’t even as if the people who stand for this far-left agenda believe in it, but more just to go along with an anti-Bush media and agenda that is seen, heard and read in nearly every media outlet in America. It is this seemingly “intellectualism” view that it’s a good thing to bash on Bush because of his perceived “lack of ability to speak”, and his every-day common language that he uses as a president. It’s becoming cool to not believe in the foundations of which this country was founded on: God. The judicial system, every-day society and just about everywhere you look, there is a literal culture war going on, and it has to be stopped, and soon. Or else, the headline of the future will read as follows:
OFFICERS SUED FOR STOPPING TERROR ATTEMPT: Police went outside of “policy” in saving thousands of Americans.
Sorry if I am not being politically correct…actually, no I’m not. - AJW

Open Minds And a Good Education

2006-11-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

“We should have never gone in there,” and “Yeah, like Fox-News is ‘unbiased’”. While at first glance this may sound like political jargon about Iraq and the perceived notion of Fox-News’ apparent “right” leaning rhetoric and line up, I would advise you to think about another place you may hear this liberal speak. Media outlets? Definitely. Democratic Party convention? Most likely. However, I take these quotes directly from somewhere else. These quotes, (exact quotes by the way) come from an English professor at the college I attend. I won’t get into how much opinion-time she takes in her classes, but I can tell you it’s been mentioned or implied more than once. You know, it’s funny. The Democrats are all about lowering college tuition right now. Now don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be taking out less amounts of loans to pay for school, but I can promise you the agenda behind the agenda is not one they want you to hear about. The public school/education system is a liberal breeding ground, starting in the elementary school system. (Don’t believe me? Read on.)
Lets start at the most obvious level: public universities. Now, as I said, I’m all for paying lower tuition. That would be great. And the Democrats will begin to you tell you a bit of their agenda, but not the whole thing. The goal here is, get more people to college. That’s it right? A solid education is the foundation of a good life. Well, a solid education at a public university is the foundation for a future democrat too. Most college bound students and entering freshman probably haven’t spent a lot of time interested in politics. Again, I say most. However, I would go out on a limb and say 85 – 90% don’t have much of an idea of what party stands for what issues. Here, at a public university, science is god. In my geology 100 class (which almost every student is forced to take in order to graduate), the mere thought of a higher power seems to be completely forgotten or ignored. Not only in the required texts, but not even mentioned in class as a possible theory. Granted, an education setting is probably not the place for faith-based preaching, but the fact that it is not even mentioned once or considered seems odd to me, considering studies show over 80% of America believe in God. So what you may say? One class, which is science based, doesn’t pander to the “religious right”. How about the communication professor who shows the psycho-music video that has made rounds on the internet titled “Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis.” Oh yes, believe it. I’ll post just the chorus of the song:

Keep your Jesus off my penis,Keep your Bible off my balls,Keep your prayers from out my earsAnd your crosses off my walls!You can keep the Virgin Mother,And the resurrection too!Keep your Jesus off my penis,I’ll keep my penis offa you!
You can read the entire text and see the video anywhere on the internet. Just type it into your Google search bar and it will return multiple hits. Then, there are the Liberal Arts professors. Need I say more? So how biased can a college campus be you ask? Example: In my 2nd year English class, the teacher set up a debate on the Bush-Doctrine (again, Google it if you want the text). He allowed us to choose which side we represented, pro or anti. Results? There might have been 7 or 8 of us pro-Bush Doctrine, and close to 25 that were anti. Again, I’m not sayin’ but…I’m just sayin’. Walk around a college campus and take a poll if you must. The Secular Progressive agenda has absolutely taken hold of public universities. How did it happen? Well, because they throw words around like “open-minded” and “good education”, and how can you be against those things? I mean, you are obviously a bad person if you refuse to be open-minded and pro-good education! Well, let’s take a look at what open-minded is. How about this survey handed out recently in a Psychology 101 class (again, a class nearly all freshmen are required to take to graduate.)

Now, if taking a survey in a college class about whether I’ve experimented with the same gender or how my sex-life is going seems a bit ridiculous to me and I am not considered open-minded, then I guess I’m not open-minded. Now, you think this survey is bad at a college-education level? Try this.
In Bill O’Reilly’s new book “Culture Warrior”, he details a survey given to elementary students in a California school in Los Angeles County. A survey was given to students that were between 7 and 10 years old. You want the questions? I’ll give you one, you can read Culture Warrior if you want the whole story. Question 2 of their survey, (keeping in mind these kids are 7-10 years old) was how much they “think about having sex”. Then, of course, the ACLU go on to rule against the parents who found that this was outrageous and explain that parents don’t have the sole right to educate their children on sexual relationships and situations, but again, check out Culture Warrior and O’Reilly gives you the big picture, and gives the SP’s a well-deserved thumping. But that isn’t the point of the blog here. I’m trying to explain something to you, the reader. I see it every day. I hear it in my classes. There is a major, major thing occurring that I don’t think people realize is happening. Let me lay this out for you as best I can.
Education is great. I am not attempting to downplay the importance of learning and going to school, and if anyone says I am doing this to have an argument against liberals then you are completely misreading the whole situation. I am trying to point out to you the road America is going down. I want every person who reads this, every student who reads this, every parent who reads this to see something. There is a far-left agenda, and they start it in the schools. The sexual awareness of 7 year olds is apparently an important thing to the far left and the ACLU. And, it seems that it is important to take surveys in college about if I’ve ever “Kissed or had a sexual experiences with someone of the same sex.” I won’t go into the results of that college-survey that dropped my jaw to the floor as it would yours I’m sure. But this is where we are headed. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and hundreds of other main-stream media/news outlets would have you believe that I am the bad person for being against this, that I am not “open-minded” as I mentioned earlier, and that I must not understand how important it is for young children to be subjugated to these types of surveys. The famous saying for my generation (and younger) is “You are the future leaders of this country.” If that’s true, then I really really hope that the country is ready for something they don’t even see coming, and that many, many parents are funding this left-agenda without even realizing it. I’m fairly confident parents are unaware of what their students are hearing, at least from college professors. And, if you ask the ACLU, they don’t have the right to say what their students hear at their public-elementary schools. If you think I’m way off base here, just go sit in a Liberal Arts class for a week, or a communication class for a week, or read about the ACLU backing the far-left agenda in elementary schools. But, just a fore-warning, there may be music videos that offend you…but how dare you be offended, the agenda is a “good education” and “open-mindedness” agenda! Yeahhhhhhh…… - AJW

A Party of Change...Uh-oh

2006-11-10T02:16:00.000-08:00

Reading and listening are amazing things. Let me first offer my congratulations to the Democrats for winning the house and the senate, (and I really should say the Republicans lost). I’ll admit, Tuesday night/Wednesday early morning were a very hard time for me (as well as I am sure for many Republicans. Although, living in Idaho, the sting was taken away just a bit when the final tally came in and even Luna won out.) It was a sleepless night, and I finally gave up hope on Virginia around 4:30 or 5AM. So, back to this great thing, reading and listening. I woke up Wednesday morning, sour and bitter, and wondering what the heck I would say or do that day, as I knew I would be hearing it from some close friends who are fairly liberal in their mindset. This is my first defeat as a person interested in politics. When I was 20, we won the white house. We’ve held the house and senate for years, and until Tuesday the 7th, I had never experienced political loss. I guess I should understand the process however, of learning from losing, having been an athlete most of my life. You learn, you move on, and put your best foot forward the next game, (which is only 2 years away). So, understanding that, I did my best to put my best ear forward in this case and listen to what people were saying, and my best set of eyes forward to see what people were writing. And it is ringing loud and clear, and jumping off the pages at me.
I want to start off by saying, I want what is best for this country. If the country truly feels that the democratic party is best fit to keep us safe, keep our economy strong and protect our borders and children, then I will do my best to keep an open mind and hear their arguments out and I will vow to be patient and see what happens now that Democrats have the House and Senate. So, moving on from that, I suppose for me to echo what actual well-known conservatives are saying would be pointless. You can listen to them and read what they have to say anytime you want. Therefore, I will attempt to avoid to a certain extent, giving you the right-wing rhetoric you can get from them. What I will do is air my worries and concerns over a few things.
As I said, reading and listening are amazing things. I have been listening to Alan Colmes on the Fox-News Radio online, I’ve been reading what my liberal friends have to say, I have been watching Chris Matthews and really trying to keep an open mind here. I am also reading Ann Coulter’s newest book Godless, Bill O’Reilly’s new book Culture Warrior, and listening to Sean Hannity during the day. And, as it was before the elections, both sides are giving their arguments for what happened, what’s next for the country, etc. This takes me to my list of worries, which I will only talk about the few that are in the forefront of our society and in my mind.
Number 1: Miss-3rd-in-line-for-president.The San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi is suiting up to be the very first woman Speaker of the House. The resounding sentiment that is being said (even by many liberals) is that this is the most far-left person on a nationally-politics level the Democrats could put in that position. The liberals, IMHO, would be smart to decide on someone else to lead the house majority. If Pelosi is selected, Republicans can and should begin making plans for the majority again in 08. Pelosi, who represents the most liberal city in America (where even there, her liberal card doesn’t look as liberal as she is), is in fact a committed far left advocate, (and I want to wish George Bush and the republicans good luck in working with her the next 2 years.) Let’s explore her recent voting history. She voted against cutting taxes by $70 million bucks, she voted against renewing the Patriot Act, she voted against reducing the death tax, she voted against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, (and if you think this is a polar-bear dwelling area, I have a very good friend who lived in Alaska who can tell you different), she voted against making it a crime to desecrate the US Flag, and has voted pro-abortion. Not only that, lets look at just how deep rooted her left-idealism goes. She has marched with the gay-pride/marriage advocates, which I can understand. The democratic platform runs with a pro-gay marriage stance. But I ask you this: Does is stand for no age of consent for minors to enter into a sexual relationship? Because that is EXACTLY who Pelosi marched with, that being the organization of NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association), who want exactly what I just stated. America, this is your new speaker of the house, let’s welcome NAMBLA and ACLU-supported, gay-rights activist and ANWAR protector Nancy Pelosi. You can read about her views on unions (and her usage of them or lack-there of on her own privately owned businesses).
Number 2 (and Number 3, you’ll see what I am saying): There is a movement in America that Bill O’Reilly, fairly and balanced, (no pun intended on the Fox News motto), is exposing for who they really are. Without making this too long, I will tell you some names that may happen to arise in the following months: George Soros, George Lakoff, Al Franken (formally known as Stuart Smalley, and gosh darn it, sorry, some people don’t like you),Bill Moyers, Peter Lewis, just to name a few. I strongly suggest anyone pick up Culture Warrior and read. If you think OReilly is some right-wing nutcase, think again. He stands for what America is all about, and I won’t steal his words so I can prolong my blog, but I will say this: READ HIS BOOK. Bill is exposing this secular-progressive movement in America, and that bring me to my final worry of this blog, number 3: The Liberal Media.
I am in a place where I hear the resentments, opinions and liberal rhetoric every single day of my life: a college-campus, where all these kids hear and see is what NBC, ABC, and CBS feed them: left-slants. Not only do they get it from there, but they get to sit in college-professor platform settings! *Cough* Oh wait, I mean college-education classrooms, (that is a blog I’ll save for later). Every study coming out right now is showing that the 3 major news networks, readily available to homes in America, present a strong, very pro liberal agenda. The latest poll I have seen suggests 77% of the stories run on those stations show a favorable-light towards Liberals, while there is only a 12% favorable-light towards Republicans. Now, to go along with these left-slants, the media promotes this anti-Fox News agenda (which college-kids pick up on), and begin to slam the truly only fair-and-balanced media outlet. Everyone seems to think Fox News is so right wing, conservative-promoting, but that is because they have people who stand up to this Secular Progressive movement in America, which Bill OReilly absolutely destroys in his book. But, let’s look at the main FN Line-up and the anchors that are on there. While you have conservative voices such as Sean Hannity, John Gibson, Brit Hume and David Asman, you have an equal amount of left approaching voices, such as Alan Colmes, Greta van Sustren, Geraldo Rivera, Juan Williams and Shepherd Smith. You see: FAIR and BALANCED. Again, check out Culture Warrior and you will get a good taste for exactly what I am talking about.
So, we move forward. The Dems in charge, and the Repubs fighting for a take-back in 2008. *Side-note* - If you notice, even the liberals that won this year had to take a semi-conservative stance.*End side-note* The resounding sound coming from anchors everywhere is that the Republicans lost this race, the Democrats didn’t win it. Okay okay, I’m done (but in fact, I am just getting started. I love this reading and listening stuff…) - AJW

But That's Just Me...

2006-11-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

Being relatively new to the “political opinion” scene, I am hesitant to start a blog or write blogs for that matter airing my opinion and voice. I know I am setting up myself for a lot of criticism here, but that’s fine. Having said that I am fairly confident in what I know and feel I have heard enough to speak out. I am 22, and we (whether you are republican or democrat) don’t often have a voice, so, I suppose that’s a great thing about the internet. Yes, there is more to the net than just MySpace and Google.
Of course, the hot topic right now is John Kerry’s comments the other day about how he really feels about the troops in Iraq. “You study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq,” Kerry commented. Now, of course the spin that the Democrats are throwing is this new, already famous term “botched joke”. Kerry says the same; that it was meant to be aimed at the president. How in the world do you take those words, and relate that to the president? Regardless of the context, political figures HAVE to know their every word in public will be on tape. So, how does Kerry think the people in service feel about his comment? How degrading! I am getting the feeling John Kerry feels like you can only comment on a war or the military if you’ve been there, (or if you have a son who tragically died in Iraq and now care to camp out outside of President Bush’s property and be a victim’s voice for the Democratic ideals). Well, I guess that leaves out 250 million plus people without military experience.
There is a growing disdain for the GOP. We can thank 2 entities in my opinion, and thank them strongly for this: public universities, and 99% of the media. As a public university student, I have the “privilege” of sitting through lecture halls and hearing professors give their “expert” opinions on things like the war, the economy and just about anything you can have an opinion on. Now granted, people can form their own views about subjects and situations, but I can tell you, (and reassure you parents voting democratic), that your dollars going to your children’s educations are going to professors who use their classroom as a platform (and I dare say a fair amount of time) for promoting the left’s agenda of Bush-bashing, Iraq-war hating, pro-choice, anti-Christianity views. I sometimes feel like I am sitting in a MSNBC or CBS-lead class. (And by the way, the newest poll suggest 77% of the stories on ABC, CBS and NBC are favorable towards democrats, to the 12% that are favorable towards Republicans.) Funny how, on a college campus (where your “welcome to college” pack includes condoms and birth-control info), people bash Bush for attempting to liberate 28million people and stop terrorism before it comes here again, but back Clinton for “getting some” in the oval office.
You see, I am from the generation that for the majority, any political interest began on a horrid Tuesday morning in September of 2001. I think the following month or 2 has been the only time since that day that we haven’t heard left attacks on Bush, (or anyone with a differing view than liberals for that matter).
So, now come the 2006 elections, and the smear tactics are flying. So, lets put all those aside. Who really is better fit to lead this country? Well, here at this college campus that I am writing this from, you would think liberals are going to control the house, senate and in 2 years, the White House, (even here however, the Hillary-era seems a bit far-fetched, imagine that. She would have been smart to play the victim card as the poor wife who was cheated on after the Bill/Monica debacle. The left loves to cast victims of horrible, awful situations in the limelight to gather votes.)
So, from a victim’s own words: “Thank you John Kerry, for dishonoring, discrediting and completely downplaying a close family member’s service to her country. I love that you feel the only reason she was “stuck in Iraq” was because she was a failure everywhere else in her life.”
I don’t know, like I said, I am fairly new to this whole political opinion scene. Maybe it’s just me, but, the thought of a house majority leader who marches with NAMBLA-reps and organizations who want to protect the rights of extremists who want to kill me and you doesn’t sound appealing. The though of a man who calls our service members failures isn’t my idea of excellent representation. I could go on, but that’s just me. I’ll leave the rest to my "right-wing nut job friends" (as the left would have you believe) Sean, Rush, Ann and Bill. But again…that’s just me. - AJW

College Articles Promotes...?

2006-10-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

As I sit here, I am not sure how many people will read this. To be honest, if 1 person does and agrees with 100% of what I say, then I suppose it was more of a venting forum for myself to get words out. My hope however, is that it could be a forum for discussion, and not ranting and raving. What I have to say will probably, for lack of better words, “piss” people off, and fire people up, and get you motivated to yell and scream at the opposing side. I’ll be honest, it will be coming from a right-wing, conservative, the best Christian-I-can-be voice. But if you are reading this, my guess is, you don’t have a voice on a national level, and you can’t be heard on a national level. Hence why I am even starting a “blog”, if you will, like this. A small voice, in relatively small city, to be heard, even if by a few people. Discuss it, counter my arguments, argue with me, whatever you want. But please have an educated, well thought out argument, and don’t just come at me with garbage. There is too much of that in society, and in politics already. And now, I give you the first of what I hope to be many.

10/27/2006
I opened up the college paper here in my hometown. I always know I will be fired up after I read the paper, because it is the voice of our college campus (for the most part), which tends to “lean” left, (and when I say lean, I mean exemplifies what the left stands for). However, I don’t claim that to be true for every student or even every democrat on campus. Many articles aren’t even about politics, but of some sort of social issue in the mainstream media or a relevant topic on campus. This article does fall into that second category, a relevant issue and not so much political. Anyhow, I sat down as I waited for class, and thumbed through to see if any headlines jumped out at me (as there usually are 2 or 3 that give me a sense of what the article will be about), and much to my surprise (or, should I say non-surprise), there it was, the article that I was looking for. The article that jumped out at me and made me cringe, yet again. “Happy Whore-loween”. Now, for some of you, the word “whore” in a college newspaper headline might be what you think I cringed at. But you can guess again. I was cringing because I had a feeling I knew the direction of the article, simply because it is a college paper, produced mainly by college students. So, trying to subside my preconceived notions of what this could be about, I began to read. And just as I thought, I finished the article having a sick feeling of what if junior-highers or high-schoolers read this article? What if respectable adults open this up and read through? It’s no wonder stereo-types form about college campuses and about “our” generation. I say “our” because I hesitate to have any claim in anyway that this is “my” generation. So what was so wrong with this article? Let me type for you the first paragraph of the article, and maybe you can get a general gist.
“Ladies, break out your thigh-highs. It’s nearly that time of year again. You of course know I’m talking about Halloween – the one holiday that legitimizes and even encourages girls to dress like complete whores (aside from Valentine’s Day’s leather and lace attire, but that’s behind closed doors so it doesn’t count.)”
Well, there you have it. That’s what Halloween is about now. Dressing up like “a whore”. No go ahead, really. Halloween “legitimizes and even encourages girls to dress like complete whores.” I’m so glad that Halloween has turned into a dress like a whore day for women. I can’t imagine what most guys are thinking about this holiday now. (But I’ll let the writer of this article voice that opinion for you in just a bit when you can read what she has to say about that.)
What has happened? Just last year, I was talking to a friend of mine in Oregon, and her senior harvest dance’s main theme was “Gangsta’s and ho’s”. What has happened? You know, maybe some huge corporation can capitalize on this? Maybe instead of this just being a once a year thing, they can focus their efforts on kids…yeah! They can create a line of clothing for 10-13 year olds that exemplifies dressing “sexy” and “looking good”. *Cough*, oh wait, there already is one. You see where I am getting? This society has become so incredibly lax about its views on “sexy” and “looking good” and what it means to RESPECT YOURSELF. You know when I really got thinking about this? The other night, watching television. A show that I used to think was finally a breakthrough in reality television even has stooped to a place I didn’t think it would. Granted, the main message of the show is great. Be fit, get in shape, create a healthy lifestyle for you and your family, (yes I am talking about The Biggest Loser). But, towards the end of the commercial, there come 2 model-looking, gorgeous people portrayed. Not just people who overcame obesity. Not just two people who won a game-show. No. These were model looking, abs of steel, flowing hair, tall, blonde, blue eyed people. Of course, people will see them and say, “Hey, I CAN look like that if I lose a few pounds.” Which is GREAT! I HOPE people feel they can look good and feel better about themselves if they lose weight. But what are our motives anymore?
I think the issue runs deeper than just looking good anymore. It’s deeper than what Halloween is about, deeper than a healthy life-style, deeper than even self-confidence when you look in the mirror. It is this atmosphere of sex sells. It is this atmosphere of in order to fit in, you have to dress sexy, you have to try and look like a model. I ask the 95% of you (including me) that aren’t models 2 things: 1. Do you care? 2. Why? And mainly, I direct this in the women’s direction. You see, I am getting mixed messages from society. 1, I hear women who want to be respected, not looked at like toys to be played with by men. I hear them want rights to not have to look like they have to sell their body to get anywhere in society. THEN, I read this article, (written by a woman), and is promoting a one-day-a-year policy to look “like a whore” because they can’t other times of the year. I really don’t get it. Maybe I’ll just let the article speak for itself. Quoting the last paragraph of the article,
“I think ultimately women choose to dress sexy on Halloween is because it’s the only day of the year they’re allowed to let their cleavage protrude while simultaneously allowing their creamy upper thighs to see the light-of-day, or more accurately, the moonlight of All Hallow’s Eve. So remember on this Halloween, ladies, “less is more”. Ask any guy, and after he wipes the drool from his neatly-trimmed chin – he’ll most likely agree.” Sorry ladies, I don’t agree. - AJW