Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
American Culture: Its Worth Preserving.
Its painful to see that we as the people of the United States of America are not allowed to value, celebrate our own obvious and unique culture of exceptionalism because an extreme minority in this country considers it racist, bigoted, undeserving..... Let me destroy each of those claims...
Racist:
Every culture is founded on tradition of its past of what has worked for the people of that particular area whether it be a culture of war, a culture of trade, or a culture of isolation. But the common theme among all cultures is that they all are founded by people of like minded, like skinned.. There is nothing racist about a culture wanting self preservation even if that means a natural desire of a white man/woman, a black man/woman, or a brown man/woman choosing to value their own.
Bigoted:
Every culture wishes to maintain the status quo. Every culture how ever advanced and how ever changed through time, seeks to ultimately hold on to what they consider their heritage. Respect must be given if Respect is to be received. Bashing Americans for wanting to keep the United States about the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Apple Pie, blemishes of our past not withstanding, every culture has scares from their past and skeletons in their closet and has no moral high ground to look upon another culture with a turned up nose or with snub noses.
Undeserving:
The United States of America is less than 300 years old.. But what other country on the face of planet Earth can anyone think of that has brought to the rest of the world so many status quo changing, life altering, and just flat out advances in human civilization? Imagine life without the assembly line? The Automobile? Flight? Healthcare Advances? Imagine a world that never saw the King of England humiliated and defeated! Imagine a world that never saw the Declaration of Independence, and the subsequent Constitution of the United States of America.. We tore ourselves in two to destroy the culture of slavery when many nations in 2015 still deploy the practice.
Are we a perfect nation? Of course not, we are imperfect human beings. Are we racist for wanting to keep American Culture? Absolutely not. Are we bigoted for wanting to keep other cultures out and demanding assimilation? Absolutely not. Is America Undeserving of being proud of its Culture and the many ways we have been exceptional? HELL NO!
Racist:
Every culture is founded on tradition of its past of what has worked for the people of that particular area whether it be a culture of war, a culture of trade, or a culture of isolation. But the common theme among all cultures is that they all are founded by people of like minded, like skinned.. There is nothing racist about a culture wanting self preservation even if that means a natural desire of a white man/woman, a black man/woman, or a brown man/woman choosing to value their own.
Bigoted:
Every culture wishes to maintain the status quo. Every culture how ever advanced and how ever changed through time, seeks to ultimately hold on to what they consider their heritage. Respect must be given if Respect is to be received. Bashing Americans for wanting to keep the United States about the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Apple Pie, blemishes of our past not withstanding, every culture has scares from their past and skeletons in their closet and has no moral high ground to look upon another culture with a turned up nose or with snub noses.
Undeserving:
The United States of America is less than 300 years old.. But what other country on the face of planet Earth can anyone think of that has brought to the rest of the world so many status quo changing, life altering, and just flat out advances in human civilization? Imagine life without the assembly line? The Automobile? Flight? Healthcare Advances? Imagine a world that never saw the King of England humiliated and defeated! Imagine a world that never saw the Declaration of Independence, and the subsequent Constitution of the United States of America.. We tore ourselves in two to destroy the culture of slavery when many nations in 2015 still deploy the practice.
Are we a perfect nation? Of course not, we are imperfect human beings. Are we racist for wanting to keep American Culture? Absolutely not. Are we bigoted for wanting to keep other cultures out and demanding assimilation? Absolutely not. Is America Undeserving of being proud of its Culture and the many ways we have been exceptional? HELL NO!
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
2015 Kentucky Governor General Election Q&A
Back in May, I put up a Kentucky Governor Primary Election Q&A post for the benefit of the voters of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. All GOP and Democratic Party candidates were solicited and invited to participate by answering the same set of questions and have their responses side by side posted in a single post so that people still undecided can have an opportunity to see what their answers to non mainstream media sponsored questions were. Unfortunately none of the GOP candidates nor the Democratic party candidates responded...However, Independent candidate Drew Curtis, Fark.com Creator out of Lexington saw my impassioned pleas for participation on social media and decided that he would participate even though my initial attempts did not include him..
The Same Invitation to participate in this blog post was again offered to GOP candidate Matt Bevin, Democratic Party candidate Jack Conway, and Independent candidate Drew Curtis.. Deja vu, Drew Curtis was the only candidate to respond with his answers to questions asked. Without further ado...Here are Drew Curtis's answers to once again non mainstream media questions from a common man like me. Please Enjoy and share this with your friends and family on Social Media.
1) As the State of Kentucky continues to see problems with drugs such as heroin continuing to claim lives and create headaches for law enforcement, many claim that the "War on Drugs" is to blame, many claim
that we arent spending enough on enforcement, what do you see as the solution?
"This is without a doubt one of the most difficult problems facing Kentucky. If it were easy to fix we'd have a solution already.
I'm still exploring this issue but so far I'm considering solutions along the following lines:
- Massachusetts is working on a pilot program to work on a similar problem in their state, I'm keeping an eye on how well it works but I'm hopeful.
- Decriminalizing addiction. I realize this is vague statement but we need to reach addicts in order for them to receive treatment, we should not treat them as criminals"
2) The Commonwealth of Kentucky for its entire existence has always seen the eastern part of the state particularly the south east portion typically known as the coal fields of Kentucky wrought with poor economic conditions even during the height of the coal industry, do you see more government or less government intervention as a solution here and what do you have planned to ease burdens in this part of the state?
"Eastern Kentucky is hungry for technology. As the only candidate for Governor who has personally built broadband networks and is a computer programer, I am intimately familiar with technology. Eastern Kentucky shares a similar geographic profile to Boulder Colorado - however turning communities into tech hubs requires more than just running broadband out to them (although it is a good start).
I am a strong proponent of less direct government intervention - I would prefer the private sector provide and implement solutions. Government should assist when and where it is needed. "
3) During the last 12 months, the nation has seen attacks on our Law Enforcement over the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri Baltimore, Maryland, and in New York. As Governor and chief executor of laws in this state, what will you do to ensure that moral and support stay high with local and state police?
"I don't have any solutions at hand for this but I would like to ensure moral and support for law enforcement. I welcome anyone who has working implementations to contact me so we can take a look together"
4) People believe that the Governor should be viewed as any other elected position as a servant to the people. Do you believe that the Governor should be holding more local public meetings with the people so that they can be given their voice for him to hear?
"Yes - strongly. Although this can be accelerated by being more open online as well. As an Independent Governor I will have an open door policy. Ideas from both parties are welcome. "
5) Education costs in this state continues to rise along with other schools in every state in this country. What will you do as Governor to lead on suppressing that rise in cost?
"I do not have a solution for this at this time. However there is no additional money available for anything. I am asked often if I support free community college tuition and pre-K education. The answer is yes but Kentucky doesn't have the ability to finance either of those for the forseable future. Leadership from both parties has left Kentucky's finances in shambles. The only news here that is relevant to the question asked is that money isn't available to increase spending. "
6) The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution reads. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people." What will you do as Governor to ensure that the Federal Government doesn't continue to encroach on the rights of the people of the Commonwealth?
"This is actually somewhat complicated depending on what we're talking about. Let's examine a few examples:
- Laws preventing gay marriage were ruled unconstitutional. This means all laws state and federal were thrown out. State laws cannot mandate something that has been declared unconstitutional. As a result, county clerks must issue marriage licenses.
- When state and federal laws conflict, a state official must defend the state law against the federal law. Currently state law allows the growing of hemp. Federal law says growing hemp is illegal. If push comes to shove, a Governor must fight to preserve the law that allows hemp to be grown. Period.
- Acquiescing to a federal law or mandate does not relinquish the right to go against it later. The EPA has mandated new regulations on emissions to be met by 2030 (along with a billion dollars in investment in Appalachia which I strongly approve of). Currently it appears that Kentucky is going to easily be in compliance with this mandate. However, our agreement to comply - for now - with Federal guidelines does not mean that we will always choose to continue to comply in the future should things change down the road. We are not giving up our right to challenge EPA guidelines in the future."
7) With so much on the plate of Law Enforcement in the state, what do you consider to be priority in order to maximize the effiency of the Law Enforcement and ensure maximum freedom and liberty for the citizens?
"I am open to suggestions on how to implement this from both Law Enforcement and the public. As luck would have it, everyone wants an effective and efficient law enforcement. Given that we have a common goal, I believe we stand a good chance to make improvements everyone will like."
The Same Invitation to participate in this blog post was again offered to GOP candidate Matt Bevin, Democratic Party candidate Jack Conway, and Independent candidate Drew Curtis.. Deja vu, Drew Curtis was the only candidate to respond with his answers to questions asked. Without further ado...Here are Drew Curtis's answers to once again non mainstream media questions from a common man like me. Please Enjoy and share this with your friends and family on Social Media.
1) As the State of Kentucky continues to see problems with drugs such as heroin continuing to claim lives and create headaches for law enforcement, many claim that the "War on Drugs" is to blame, many claim
that we arent spending enough on enforcement, what do you see as the solution?
"This is without a doubt one of the most difficult problems facing Kentucky. If it were easy to fix we'd have a solution already.
I'm still exploring this issue but so far I'm considering solutions along the following lines:
- Massachusetts is working on a pilot program to work on a similar problem in their state, I'm keeping an eye on how well it works but I'm hopeful.
- Decriminalizing addiction. I realize this is vague statement but we need to reach addicts in order for them to receive treatment, we should not treat them as criminals"
2) The Commonwealth of Kentucky for its entire existence has always seen the eastern part of the state particularly the south east portion typically known as the coal fields of Kentucky wrought with poor economic conditions even during the height of the coal industry, do you see more government or less government intervention as a solution here and what do you have planned to ease burdens in this part of the state?
"Eastern Kentucky is hungry for technology. As the only candidate for Governor who has personally built broadband networks and is a computer programer, I am intimately familiar with technology. Eastern Kentucky shares a similar geographic profile to Boulder Colorado - however turning communities into tech hubs requires more than just running broadband out to them (although it is a good start).
I am a strong proponent of less direct government intervention - I would prefer the private sector provide and implement solutions. Government should assist when and where it is needed. "
3) During the last 12 months, the nation has seen attacks on our Law Enforcement over the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri Baltimore, Maryland, and in New York. As Governor and chief executor of laws in this state, what will you do to ensure that moral and support stay high with local and state police?
"I don't have any solutions at hand for this but I would like to ensure moral and support for law enforcement. I welcome anyone who has working implementations to contact me so we can take a look together"
4) People believe that the Governor should be viewed as any other elected position as a servant to the people. Do you believe that the Governor should be holding more local public meetings with the people so that they can be given their voice for him to hear?
"Yes - strongly. Although this can be accelerated by being more open online as well. As an Independent Governor I will have an open door policy. Ideas from both parties are welcome. "
5) Education costs in this state continues to rise along with other schools in every state in this country. What will you do as Governor to lead on suppressing that rise in cost?
"I do not have a solution for this at this time. However there is no additional money available for anything. I am asked often if I support free community college tuition and pre-K education. The answer is yes but Kentucky doesn't have the ability to finance either of those for the forseable future. Leadership from both parties has left Kentucky's finances in shambles. The only news here that is relevant to the question asked is that money isn't available to increase spending. "
6) The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution reads. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people." What will you do as Governor to ensure that the Federal Government doesn't continue to encroach on the rights of the people of the Commonwealth?
"This is actually somewhat complicated depending on what we're talking about. Let's examine a few examples:
- Laws preventing gay marriage were ruled unconstitutional. This means all laws state and federal were thrown out. State laws cannot mandate something that has been declared unconstitutional. As a result, county clerks must issue marriage licenses.
- When state and federal laws conflict, a state official must defend the state law against the federal law. Currently state law allows the growing of hemp. Federal law says growing hemp is illegal. If push comes to shove, a Governor must fight to preserve the law that allows hemp to be grown. Period.
- Acquiescing to a federal law or mandate does not relinquish the right to go against it later. The EPA has mandated new regulations on emissions to be met by 2030 (along with a billion dollars in investment in Appalachia which I strongly approve of). Currently it appears that Kentucky is going to easily be in compliance with this mandate. However, our agreement to comply - for now - with Federal guidelines does not mean that we will always choose to continue to comply in the future should things change down the road. We are not giving up our right to challenge EPA guidelines in the future."
7) With so much on the plate of Law Enforcement in the state, what do you consider to be priority in order to maximize the effiency of the Law Enforcement and ensure maximum freedom and liberty for the citizens?
"I am open to suggestions on how to implement this from both Law Enforcement and the public. As luck would have it, everyone wants an effective and efficient law enforcement. Given that we have a common goal, I believe we stand a good chance to make improvements everyone will like."
Friday, September 11, 2015
14 Years Ago.....
14 years ago today.. I was a resident of Keene Hall on EKU's campus... I had woken up that day and heard of a plane crash in NYC... It was just a normal day for me...Grudgingly getting up...Getting a shower and then going to my first class..But clearly by the time I got there... Chaos had broken out on Manhattan Island.. Still not knowing quite what happened, I seen students acting hysterically crying....talking really fast....Just visibly disturbed over something...My first class was in a computer lab and no one was actually doing classwork but everyone was on different websites looking at what was going on...Not even the instructor was interested in teaching... Finally an announcement was made that all students would be excused from attending anymore classes for the rest of the day. After learning about what had actually happened with the Twin Towers with the Pentagon and in that Pennsylvania Field... I felt just numb I guess...I really didn't feel scared per say...But I felt just empty because whether it was because I was an Army brat growing up or because of some instinct....I knew that things were going to change and it wasn't going to be for the better. I WAS RIGHT!!!
Thursday, September 10, 2015
#September11th Eve Thoughts
On this eve of the 14th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks.. I have some thoughts..Im sure there will be those that agree and disagree alike.
I am left with the question of, When is enough going to be enough?.. How many more of our finest men and women in our Military need to die, come home maimed, and forever altered before we decide that we have gotten our so called "revenge" for the attack 14 years ago...
I am left with the question of, When is enough going to be enough?... How many more of our constitutional civil rights are we going to have to forfeit in order to feel "safe"...to feel "protected"....to feel "secure".....
I am left with the question of, When is enough going to be enough?... How much more debt do we need to pile on before we understand that we are following the path of the former USSR..of Rome...That global military occupation and imperialism has brought down once great nations and brings unattended consequences to be paid later down the road....
I am left with the question of. When is enough going to be enough?... How many more US House of Representatives, Senators, and Presidents are we going to elect before we understand that electing the same people and the same type of politicians over and over will not allow us to properly move on from the events of that horrible day 14 years ago...
We continue to lose more of our soldiers, we continue to lose more of our constitutional rights....we continue to go into debt....and we continue elect the same fear mongering war hawk type politicians....
WHEN WILL ENOUGH BE ENOUGH???
I am left with the question of, When is enough going to be enough?.. How many more of our finest men and women in our Military need to die, come home maimed, and forever altered before we decide that we have gotten our so called "revenge" for the attack 14 years ago...
I am left with the question of, When is enough going to be enough?... How many more of our constitutional civil rights are we going to have to forfeit in order to feel "safe"...to feel "protected"....to feel "secure".....
I am left with the question of, When is enough going to be enough?... How much more debt do we need to pile on before we understand that we are following the path of the former USSR..of Rome...That global military occupation and imperialism has brought down once great nations and brings unattended consequences to be paid later down the road....
I am left with the question of. When is enough going to be enough?... How many more US House of Representatives, Senators, and Presidents are we going to elect before we understand that electing the same people and the same type of politicians over and over will not allow us to properly move on from the events of that horrible day 14 years ago...
We continue to lose more of our soldiers, we continue to lose more of our constitutional rights....we continue to go into debt....and we continue elect the same fear mongering war hawk type politicians....
WHEN WILL ENOUGH BE ENOUGH???
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Thursday, September 3, 2015
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