Dave Easterly’s Bravo Sierra Blog

So “What’s going on with Dave?” you might ask.. or “Why I’m not an Atheist Anymore…” (Reposted from a Facebook Note originally written August, 2009)

(Reposted from a Facebook Note originally written August, 2009 – includes updates/corrections)
Well, I have friends (new and old), co-workers, and family asking me lots of questions about everything that’s going on. I haven’t updated my blog at davideasterly.com/blog/ for a long time and there has been a LOT happening of late. So I’m just going to put it all out here for everyone to see and leave it at that.

First, I’ll address the health stuff. I’ve had migraine headaches pretty much my entire adult life. They used to be infrequent – one or two a year for a long time. But over the last year or so they have increased in frequency, severity, and duration. Right now I’m having one or two every week rather than every year and they have also significantly increased in both duration and severity. They’re absolutely, cripplingly debilitating and I’ve been working with my doctor to try to get some relief. It’s been affecting my work, my band, and most importantly my family life. For example, when my teenage son Robert was up for his summer visit I had a migraine so bad that I lost the greater part of a day that could have been spent visiting with him. And when I have one of these headaches, the least bit of light is brutally painful so rather than me helping my wonderful wife Carrie with the raising of our little boy Kash or helping around the house, they wind up having to take care of me and things that need to be done get left by the wayside. I hate the idea of having to depend on someone else to take care of me when I’m supposed to be looking out for them. These fucking headaches are ruining my life and if they were something I could grab hold of, I would throttle the life out of them without mercy.

But there’s been progress! My doctor prescribed an MRI scan of my head before choosing a specific treatment path and the MRI came back with no abnormalities. That means no aneurism, no tumors, no other reasons to worry about life-threatening illness. My doctor had previously prescribed a pain reliever for the interim until the MRI came back and now that it has (i.e. results have come back – ed.) she has prescribed a migraine-specific medication (Imitrex, I think?) (Imitrex was correct. – ed.) and we’ll see how that works. In the meantime, if I’m a little grumpy or you see me wearing sunglasses inside, you probably know what’s going on, now. Anyway, that’s what’s going on with my health. So thanks for all the kind words, notes, and prayers. I’m very blessed to have such awesome, wonderful, caring friends and family. I love the whole bloody lot of ya.
(UPDATE – A combination of medications HAS been very effective in reducing the frequency and severity of the attacks. They still happen but they are far less severe than at the time of the original post. – ed.)

That brings me to the second major point – and it involves one of the most profound changes in my entire adult life. For MANY years – way more than a decade – I have been an open and vocal atheist. I was not always an atheist, as some of you know. If you read my last note I did on Facebook back in February (at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=49701807033&1&index=0), you’ll see a few things… Especially with numbers 23 and 24. I’ll quote them here for convenience:

23) I’m an atheist not because I wanted to be but because I was dragged kicking and screaming to the realization that all the stuff I had believed growing up was based on lies. I went from being a bible-readin’, devout pentecostal fundamentalist Christian at the age of 16 to reluctant atheist around the time I turned 30.

24) If I were to take up a new religion, I think I’d want to worship the Norse pantheon like Thor and Odin. That way, battle and drinking mead would be tax-deductible acts of worship!

So let me break it down for you if you care enough to still be reading this far down…

I’ve always felt like I had a spiritual side and I thought in my youth that christianity was the answer to my spiritual needs because I didn’t KNOW there was any alternative. Of course I was aware of the existence of Judaism, Buddhism, Shinto, and so on but I was raised being told those were “wrong” and that anyone that didn’t believe in and submit to the “one god” was really going to burn in this miserable place called Hell. But as I got older I found myself turned off by people who “put on” on “took off” their religion as a matter of convenience. Their faith was a pastime, not a lifestyle. I saw far too much of that hypocrisy and it drove me away from christianity and the church. The jealous nature (no room for anything BUT this one god) and the contradictory message of a “loving” god who would also knowingly send people to this burning, torturous pit with this ex-angel named Lucifer who was now called “The Devil” seemed irreconcilable with what I felt deep inside to be right. But then again, torture has seemed to always hold a special appeal for the god of (and the descendants of) Abraham – jews, muslims, and christians. But I digress… I’m wandering far off my point here.

The contradictions, the lack of any answers better than “it’s god’s will” to the difficult questions, and the hypocrisy of so many of its adherents drove me not only away from church but to the position of agnostic and ultimately to atheism. But all the while I felt a void in my life and I was in a spiritual wasteland, starving for some sort of fulfillment that was nowhere to be found.

And so I spent many years “in the desert,” if you’ll forgive the borrowed phrase. I still had a very specific set of values that were important to me. I still felt inclined towards conservatism, but with a definite lean towards social tolerance (which I had been incorrectly programmed to believe meant “liberalism”) and libertarian philosophy. I still believed in family, honesty, hard work, decency to my fellow man, morality, honor, and justice. And I didn’t need the threat of a fiery hell or the promise of an eternal paradise in the afterlife to want to adhere to those values. And I will admit I have had far too many failings in adhering to those values at time but I own my failures as openly as I do my successes.

But I was still in the desert and I had a gnawing emptiness that I couldn’t figure out how to fill. In February when I wrote that earlier note, I thought I was joking when I wrote ” If I were to take up a new religion, I think I’d want to worship the Norse pantheon like Thor and Odin.” At the time, I had NO IDEA that anyone ANYWHERE still practiced that ancient religion! But I began to grow curious about HOW to revive that faith – where to learn more of the way it was practiced in antiquity. Lo and behold, I found that not only was that particular faith NOT dead, but it was a growing and vibrant community!!

I sincerely believe now that even though I thought I was being a little “tongue in cheek” in that earlier note, before I knew Asatru existed I was feeling the call of the Gods of my forefathers.

I read and I researched and the more I learned the greater my curiosity grew. Then I saw that some people that claimed to practice that religion were also racial separatists, neo-nazis, and other undesirable scum. I was DEEPLY disheartened. Then I came across a group called the Asatru Folk Assembly at http://www.runestone.org/. Here were people who explained that not all people who worship Odin and the other Gods and Goddesses were racists, and they DENOUNCE racism and its adherents. They explained that the ancient practitioners of this faith intermarried with, traded with, and otherwise associated with peoples of ALL races and faiths. The racists, the neo-nazis, and the “aryan nation” types that claimed Odinism as their faith were just like the pretenders that drove me away from christianity all those years ago! And to compound the relief, I came to understand that the true “Aryans” were “Proto-Indo-Europeans,” a.k.a. PERSIANS! If anything, they should be worshiping the gods of the ancient Persians (the modern day Iranians) and NOT the Gods of the ancient Norse/Germanic peoples. So I contacted some folks from the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) and I had many a lengthy email conversation with several folks, but especially with Cat and Mike Ellis.

My questions answered, my worries addressed with answers FAR BETTER than “it must be god’s will,” and with the understanding that I was undertaking a huge new set of obligations, I cast of the old skepticism and doubt of atheism, walked outside, declared myself a free man descended of noble ancestors who more than a millennium ago had honored and worshiped the Gods and Goddesses of Asgard and Vanaheim — The Aesir and The Vanir. I proudly claimed my heritage and my birthright as a son of these Elder Kin, and swore an oath to live my life by the examples they had given in their own actions, and the wisdom contained in the lore of the people of pre-christian Northern Europe. I became an Asatruar – a believer in Asatru, which mean “belief in/true to the Aesir.”

So if you were wondering what was with all the “Hail Odin!” and the Thor’s Hammer and the axe around my neck and such, now you know. I reconstruct to the best of my ability the way my ancient ancestors worshiped before christianity was spread into the Northlands.

So to dispel the myths, lies, and misconceptions that the clueless will likely disseminate, here are a few points:

* Astruar practice the native polytheistic Heathenism that was indigenous to Northern Europe in much the same way that Native Americans still practice THEIR native Heathenistic religion. Not only are we NOT devil worshipers, we don’t even believe in the existence of a “devil.” Christianity is a native religion for people of the Middle East, and I have no familial tie to the desert peoples of the Arab lands.

* Asatruar are not racist, separatists, nazis, aryan nation, or anything remotely similar. People who hold those views that claim to be Asatru or Odinists are no different than the christians who hold those views – hypocrites and liars.

* Nobody converted me to Asatru. Nobody knocked on my door, left an annoying pamphlet on my windshield, or a placed tract hidden inside a book I bought at the store. I will never try to push my faith on someone else and I expect the same courtesy in return.

* My Gods and Goddesses accept me as I am. I don’t need “saving” or “redemption” because there is nothing wrong with me (or you, for that matter!) to make me subservient to anyone, including any deities. My Gods expect me to be honorable and decent and moral. Heathen does not mean “without morals.” They expect me to stand on my own two feet and be a man, not a slave – especially not to them.

* I believe in what we call “The Nine Noble Virtues,” which are Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industry, Self-Reliance, and Perseverance. This was fundamentally the same as my personal code of conduct before I ever found Asatru. I believe these values resonated with me because they are deeply hereditary.

* We don’t have a “Bible,” so to speak. We have many different sources from which we try to learn more about the Gods, including the Lore as recorded in the Sagas, the Eddas, and I especially rely upon the Havamal as I’ve begun my journey into a broader, more spiritual life.

If someone has questions about my awakening into the Folk Way of my Ancestors, I will be happy to answer questions to the best of my ability. But I must admit that I am a neophyte in this way of life (I don’t like calling it a religion because it’s so much more than that!) so there are many things I am still learning. If someone doesn’t like that I have found this new and wonderful thing to fill the spiritual void in my life because it IS so very different from what most people practice, I understand. But the problem lies with that person and not with me. I will not treat anyone differently from the way I always have. If you change towards me, then you must look within yourself to find the reason. If you cannot accept this “new and improved” Dave, the loss is yours. I will still respect those around me that are christian, catholic, protestant, mormon, atheist, agnostic, or pastafarian as I always have. You do not have to reciprocate but if you fail to, it will be a sign to me that perhaps I made a poor choice in befriending you. We have a concept that many people would relate to “karma” called Orlay (örlög), and we create it through our actions and or choices we make. I do not wish to entangle my örlög with the intolerant any more than I wish to entangle it with other evil.

I love my family, my friends, and those who have been there for me throughout the years. I do not wish this to sever me from ANYONE, but if it does then it will not be my choice. I am still the same old me I was before writing this missive. I have simply “come home” to what was ALWAYS waiting for me – the faith of my revered ancient Ancestors. If you see me differently, I hope it is for the better rather than the contrary.

With love and respect,
Dave

Blast from the Past…

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Jerome put this little gem on classmates.com… I don’t know whether to hug him or kill him. Either one would be difficult considering he’s a couple of thousand miles away. Brings back memories, though… that was my very first kit of Ludwigs. They were later stolen and sold by a “friend” in Alabama who turned out to be an utter douchebag. Ah, the memories….

The Christmas Day Tragedy

So I think it’s safe to say pretty much everyone knows about the events that happened just North of here on Christmas day… An 11 year old girl named Sage and her 12 year old brother Bear were sent walking in the middle of a snow storm 10 miles to their mother’s house after their father and uncle got their car stuck in a snow drift. The temperature when they set out on the 10 mile hike was in the mid-20s with a wind chill in the low single digits. They found the boy about 11 hours later in a rest area bathroom about 5 miles from where he and his sister started walking, delirious and suffering from hypothermia. A few hours later his dying sister was found partially buried in snow. She had turned back after a couple of miles and wanted to go back to the car but her brother wanted to press on so they went separate ways. The father and the uncle got the car unstuck and did what anyone would expect them to do… They turned around and went back home rather than going after the kids to pick them up and drive them the rest of the way to their mother’s or make sure they had arrived safely. Then after finding out they hadn’t made it to their mother’s they waited another FIVE HOURS to call for help.
Oh? That _ISN’T_ what you would have expected?!? Here is the timeline as reported by our local fish wrapper…

A timeline to tragedy

Dec. 25

9 a.m. – Vehicle became stuck in a snowdrift along West Magic Road, less than a mile from the Idaho Highway 75 turnoff, according to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office.

10:30 to 11 a.m. – Children start walking, according to their uncle and passenger, Kenneth Quintana.

12 to 1 p.m. – The vehicle is unstuck, according to Quintana.

1 to 2 p.m. – Children’s mom, JoLeta Jenks, calls Aragon saying kids haven’t arrived, according to Quintana. Aragon and Quintana drive back to where the children began walking and go on foot to look for them, according to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office.

7 p.m. – A friend of Jenks calls police saying the kids are missing. A Blaine County deputy and a snow plow head out to look for the kids, but they too become stuck after hitting a snow drift and slide off the road, according to the BCSO.

8:30 p.m. – Blaine County Search and Rescue set up on West Magic Road, one mile from the Highway 75, with one vehicle and two snowmobile teams, according to the BCSO.

Also, Quintana says he and Aragon stop their search for the children and meet up with police.

9:50 p.m. – The male child, Bear Aragon, is found in a Bureau of Land Management bathroom, near the intersection of West Magic Road and the Magic Dam Road in Camas County, 4.5 miles from where he began walking. He had hypothermia and was wearing only long underwear, having discarded his jacket, pants and shoes.

10:20 p.m. – Search dogs are deployed to look for the female child, Sage Aragon. The plan was to search from where Bear Aragon was found, back east towards Highway 75, after the boy told authorities he and his sister split up and she walked back to her dad’s car.

Dec. 26

2 a.m. – Sage is found unconscious and hypothermic next to a barbed wire fence on the south side of West Magic Road, mostly covered in snow and barely visible. She was wearing a down coat, black shirt, pajama pants and snow boots, according to the BCSO.

4:15 a.m. – Sage is pronounced dead at St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, according to the BCSO.

They also finally arrested the worthless uncle who was an accessory to this cruel act of murderous neglect. Just coincidentally, he was also busted with meth. Whodathunkit?

Now I’m never one to advocate the intervention of government in family affairs, BUT… When an agency exists – whose sole purpose it seems is to destroy families and wreck lives with an efficiency and prolificacy that may only be rivaled by the state-sponsored terrorist organization know as the IRS – that goes by the Orwellian name of “The Department of Health and Welfare” fails as COMPLETELY and UTTERLY as they did for Sage and Bear then one of two things clearly needs to happen. Either we abolish this worthless farce of an agency and send its tax-feeding reprobate “employees” in search of gainful work doing something OTHER than wrecking decent families while ignoring to the utter disinterest of those they’re supposed to “protect” reports of neglect that I suspect they received in abundance about this messed up family OR the public needs to DEMAND accountability for this agency to ignore the warning signs about families like this one that put their drugs or drinking or whatever before the well-being of their children.

Here’s what I had to say in the comments section of the local bird cage liner’s website after the arrest of the worthless and equally culpable uncle:

So has anyone at the Times News or the prosecutor’s office checked to see if there have been reports about neglect with Health & Welfare about these children? I would almost GUARANTEE that there’s a file as thick as business end of a Louisville Slugger of reports from teachers or others more concerned about the well-being of these children than their biological tissue contributors (i.e. people not worthy of being called “parents”). It is sad and unfortunate that these poor children had to be born to “parents” without enough sense to know that you don’t send a child out in an Idaho winter storm wearing nothing warmer than PAJAMA PANTS. We all know that the most likely reason they didn’t care enough to go FORWARD and make sure the children arrived safely at their destination was that there was something far more “important” (at least to them) waiting at home for the two men in that car, we just don’t know if it was in a bottle, a pipe, or a pill. I wonder when the last time this “good employee” passed a drug test was? Being in jail is too good for these people. I say jack up the jail and put them UNDER it.

We’ll see tomorrow if they actually pass it through their censors…

(UPDATE: As expected, my comment didn’t make it through the censors even though several later comments WERE posted.)

The ‘War On Terror’ Is Bullshit.

Yeah, you heard me right. It’s complete and utter bravo-sierra. Now, I’ll explain WHY.

Terrorism is a horrible, awful thing. Thousands of people have died needlessly because of it. It needs to be stopped but it will take a long time before that happens. But why is it that the government doesn’t do anything to stop it?

“But… The war… Afghanistan… Iraq… ” some people will say. And _THERE_ is where the bullshit comes in. You see, what the Military Industrial Complex powered war does is create MORE terrorists, fuels MORE radical religious extremism, and gives those who preach and promote anti-American political propoganda disguised as religion even MORE followers. So by fueling these fires, Halliburton, Raytheon, and the rest of the M.I.C. are ensuring _years_ of more war and ever greater profits. This war isn’t against terrorism, it’s against ending the flood of our tax dollars upwards to the well-connected and the powerful.

Do you remember when America was “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave?” It seems now that we becoming more and more the “Land of the Tasered and Home of the Perpetually Terrified.” Are we, the American people, so TRULY so ignorant that most of us don’t see how our freedom – freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, protection from unlawful search and seizure, every man being equal under the law and entitled to due process, habeas corpus, etc. – is being stripped away layer by layer? Are we so afraid of terrorists that rather than do the SMART thing and secure our borders and have a strong DEFENSE here at home, we would rather put young men and women at unnecessary risk by sending them to be EASIER targets for those who would seek to harm Americans? That, to me, is the very definition of cowardice. If you are SO scared that you’d rather “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here” but you would rather send someone else to do the fighting then I have only one way I can fairly describe you. You are chickenshit.

I say bring every one of our soldiers HOME. Let them be with their families and raise their children. Let them defend and secure our borders. And if someone attacks us on our own soil, you better believe I’ll be heading down to Red’s for as many boxes of ammo as I can afford to fight right besides those valiant men and women in uniform. And I’ll do it as a private citizen who is NOT afraid of terrorists. If you are afraid, then the terrorists have already won your heart and your mind. You are a lost cause. I know this argument will not convert anyone who is already swayed by the fear-mongering of our government to fund the Blackwaters and Carlyle Groups and other war profiteers under the guise of phony patriotism and the “War on Terror” and I don’t care. I have no use for people so easily deceived and cowering in fear. But if you are sick of the fear-mongering, are tired of you tax dollars going to billionaires in return for their campaign contributions, are disgusted at the constant erosion of your liberty to “keep you safe,” and _REALLY_ support our troops then stand up WITHOUT FEAR and join me in declaring the “War on Terror” what it truly is. Bullshit. Bullshit to further the the neocons’ agenda of an authoritarian state with perpetual war and perpetual profits. And IT… MUST… END!

Patriotism is not blindly supporting the government, people. It is telling the truth even if it is unpopular or hard to hear. But the goal of terrorism is to cause terror, and I refuse to give in and be afraid. If this war were truly about ending terrorism we’d have 100,000 troops scouring every cave and spider hole looking for Osama bin Laden rather than policing the streets of Baghdad and Tikrit. If the Bush administration truly “supports our troops” then why are private security mercenaries being paid TEN TIMES more than our soldiers? If the terrorists hate us because of our freedom and prosperity why does the government pursue a path of making us less and less free while bankrupting not only us but future generations? Why do we have a hypocritical government that condones and uses torture and secret prisons while overthrowing “brutal dictatorships” elsewhere in the world?

I am an American Patriot and I defy anyone to question the sincerity of my patriotism. But I am also an ANGRY American because the America we have today is far removed from the America in which I grew up. I love my country, I love freedom and liberty, and I still think there is hope for America to pull itself out of this horrific slide into tyranny. But we have to stop being afraid – afraid of terrorism and afraid of our own government. I reject these fears. They are both tricks to enslave our minds and sap our will and I refuse to be deceived by the greedy and the power hungry forces currently in control of the government.

Are you with me or are you chickenshit?

Calling All True Patriots!

In light of many recent events in the mass media that ignore the atrocities committed by the members of the CFR and their World Bank/IMF controlled military-industrial complex I feel compelled to speak my mind. War profiteers will never opt for peace when the endless flood of blood money flows so freely from the fountains of Washington D.C. and London. The constant erosion of our Precious Liberty and National Sovereignty to satisfy the Globalist agenda of the Council on Foreign Relations to make our Nation a member state in their New World Order can no longer be tolerated.

The Globalist Elitists are the minority. WE are the ones not fooled by their shiny wrappers and slick corporate media image and WE ARE MANY! We grow tired of a controlled news media and long for the return of true and honest journalism. We are weary with lies and empty promises and we seek the truth from leaders of integrity and honor. We no longer sit idly by and think there is nothing we can do because we have SEEN that we are NOT alone. We have a voice and that voice grows louder each day as more and more Free Thinkers, Lovers of Liberty, and True Patriots join us in unison. Our battle cry is “Liberty, Justice, and Peace for all!” And the pillars of the usurpers’ palaces are beginning to shudder and tremble. The mouthpieces of the Establishments dare not face us on the battlefields of Logic, Reason, and Common Sense and try to lure us instead into the quicksand of Innuendo and Marginalization. We must not let them lead us to the low ground where they might drown us in accusations of “Conspiracy Theorist” and “Isolationist” but rather force them to come to us. Come where we have fortified ourselves with walls of Truth and Fact and armed ourselves with Respect for The Rule of Law and Egalitarian Equality.

We do not align ourselves with a single man, but rather with a set of Principles and Ideals that made our Nation great. These Principles and Ideals are the ONLY road back to Greatness and we are thankful to have a man leading the way. But should he fall by the wayside our march will NOT be deterred. Our patriotic devotion and love for freedom will not wane. And we will no longer feel alone and powerless for we now all march side by side and shoulder to shoulder with a common goal and a uniting cause.

You will not stop us. You will not be able to ignore us any more. We are coming… AND WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!

On vacation!

I’m taking this whole week off work and spending some more time with my son, Robert. Since Robert came up to visit, we’ve seen live music, gone to the movies (at Edwards in Boise – a _real_ theater, as well as the crappy theater here in Twin Falls), watched the Boise Hawks play baseball, watched the Boise Burn play arena football, eaten lots of good food including Robert’s first sushi, played basketball together, and loads of other fun. And now I actually have a whole week off to spend with Robert so I think we’re going to go camping, play some more Quake, see the Simpson’s movies, and lots more.

Economics, Immigration, and Movies?

Economics

Let’s talk about Ludwig von Mises. “Who is Ludwig von Mises and why should I care?” you may well ask. Well, that is fair enough of a question. Ludwig von Mises was an economist. Boring stuff to most people, I know… but here’s a sample of what you could learn from him:

The usual terminology of political language is stupid. What is ‘left’ and what is ‘right’? Why should Hitler be ‘right’ and Stalin, his temporary friend, be ‘left’? Who is ‘reactionary’ and who is ‘progressive’? Reaction against an unwise policy is not to be condemned. And progress towards chaos is not to be commended. Nothing should find acceptance just because it is new, radical, and fashionable. ‘Orthodoxy’ is not an evil if the doctrine on which the ‘orthodox’ stand is sound. Who is anti-labor, those who want to lower labor to the Russian level, or those who want for labor the capitalistic standard of the United States? Who is ‘nationalist,’ those who want to bring their nation under the heel of the Nazis, or those who want to preserve its independence?

Interventionism, An Economic Analysis (1940)

Sure makes a lot of sense to me. Mises was born in the Ukraine to Jewish parents, studied in Vienna, Austria and eventually fled Austria to escape the persecution of Jews by the Nazis. A picture of von Mises hangs in the office of Ron Paul and Ron Paul actually published a piece about von Mises in 1984 entitled Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View. So much for those who would claim that Ron Paul is antisemitic. Just because Ron Paul would let Israel solve their OWN problems rather than just funneling billions of dollars in weapons and other aid to them every year doesn’t make him antisemitic. The Israelis are a smart lot. Let them sort it out on their own so that we can take care of our own here in America.

Immigration

Speaking of taking care of our own here in America, let’s talk about immigration. Let me tell you a story recently related to me by a dear friend of mine. A relation of his is closely acquainted with a person who works on legal issues for immigrants here in Idaho. The story goes something like this:
An agricultural businessman decided he needed to make sure his farming endeavors remained profitable so despite the legal imperative not to do so, he hired a whole crew of immigrants to work his fields. A common business arrangement for migratory agricultural workers is to work in exchange for room and board for most of a season and to not get compensated monetarily until the end of the season once the crop has been sold so the farmer actually has the money to pay the laborers. This particular group found themselves working for a less than scrupulous farm owner, and the room and board conditions they were provided with were not much better than an internment camp – dirt floor bunk houses with no running water or other sanitation facilities, infested with spiders, rats, and other unpleasant things. They were poorly fed and overworked to the point of exhaustion. At the end of the season the crew was rounded up and told they were making one last supply run before everyone got paid. Everyone piled into the truck, although it would seem unlikely they could haul supplies when the truck was already full of people. They were then taken deep into the desert. They were put out at gunpoint. Immigration and Naturalization Services then received a call telling them where they could find a whole truckload of illegals out in the middle of the Idaho desert. They were never paid for their entire season of labor and the farm owner did indeed have a profitable season.

This story is played out time and time again every year here in America. It’s true and it is heartbreaking. By leaving our borders open an unprotected, THIS is what we are allowing. And that is why the current administration keeps trying to revive their horribly flawed immigration legislation – because their friends in the agricultural community cannot abuse the migrant workers to profit if they are forced to enter the country LEGALLY and therefore have to be paid as a documented (i.e. earning minimum wage or better and paying taxes) worker. Do not believe the lies that say that secure borders are about racism and keeping the workers out because they take our jobs. It is imperative to preserving human rights and human dignity that migrant and agricultural workers be treated fairly and compensated in accordance with the law. To ensure this, we should only require one thing – that they cross our border legally. We _SHOULD_ make it easier for them to enter the country through legitimate legal channels. We _SHOULD_ ensure that if they intend to enter our country to work then they are properly documented by requiring them to have a valid passport. It should be as simple as this: A Mexican migrant worker comes to the border checkpoint. He presents his valid and genuine Mexican passport. He declares his intent to enter the United States to do seasonal agricultural work. His passport is stamped with a short-term laborer permit that expires at the end of the season. He is assigned (on the spot) a Tax ID Number that MUST be used for any and all employment while in the U.S.. He enters the country unmolested, legally able to work, and protected from the abuses described in the story above by existing labor laws. If he violates the terms of his laborer permit he is deported back to Mexico no questions asked. If he is employed by a farmer who does NOT report his employment status then he is deported back to Mexico and the farmer who employed him illegally PAYS FOR THE DEPORTATION EXPENSES no questions asked. Farmers found guilty of laborer abuses (illegal child labor, pay below minimum wage, unsafe conditions, hiring undocumented workers, etc.) are fined and that money pays for the improved border security. If it costs me a dollar more for my gallon of milk or oranges are a quarter more each, I’ll live with that because I’ll know that it wasn’t made cheaper as a result of human trafficking.

Movies

I also wanted to mention the movies… This is strictly local rather than national or global in scope but it’s something that really sticks in my craw. I’ve written about this before but I have to get it off me chest once again. In our piss ant little town we have 5 movie theaters with something on the order of two dozen screens total. You might think that’s pretty good for a little desert town of just 35,000 people. The catch is that they’re all owned by the same people – it’s a monopoly. I’ve ranted about this before, but I think it’s time to do something about it. If you were in a proper movie theater and right in the middle of a big action scene like a car chase or a super battle the movie was spliced in such a way that it completely disrupted the show, everyone would start booing, throwing popcorn at the screen, and demanding their money back. Well, that happens ALL THE TIME at our theaters here in Twin Falls – all except for the booing, flying popcorn, and demands for a refund. People around here have apparently begun to just accept less-than-amateurishly spliced movies because it’s “normal” at a Roper-owned theater. And it’s not spliced to fix a broken reel of film. It’s to force 5 or 10 more minutes of ADVERTISING down your throat. That’s right. Our movies are interrupted for COMMERCIALS! We’re paying $9 to have our movie experience ruined by amateur film splicers and unscrupulous theater owners. Here is what I’m asking everyone in Twin Falls to do: Write down or commit to memory all the businesses that advertise during these “intermissions” and then write, call, or email them and tell them that you will actively AVOID their goods and/or services and seek out their competitors instead because their advertisement ruined your movie experience. I also intend to petition a REAL theater chain like Edwards, Carmike, or AMC to open a theater in Twin Falls to eliminate the Ropers’ monopoly (and put an end to their manipulative and uncompetitive practices) and I invite you to join me.

GREAT NEWS!

And, I’ve saved the very best for last! My son Robert will be here on Sunday!!! He’s flying in to spend a WHOLE MONTH with us! I am excited and happy beyond words!

New Hampshire Debates – Was there a clear winner?

Well, look at the results nationwide from vote.com:

This shows Ron Paul with TEN TIMES MORE VOTES than the nearest competitor! While I may disagree with Ron on some social issues like abortion and gay marriage, I think his “personal liberty with personal accountability” approach would do far MORE for our future freedom than any other candidate. His stand on gays in the military (from the earlier debate) was the most logical – “If there is homosexual behavior in the military that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. But if there’s heterosexual sexual behavior that is disruptive, it should be dealt with.
So it isn’t the issue of homosexuality. It’s the concept and the understanding of individual rights,â€? he said. But he went so far as to say “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a decent policy. I don’t think gays should have to hide their homosexuality just like straights don’t have to hide their heterosexuality, so “coming out” or someone being openly gay when they enlist should NEVER be a grounds to exclude someone from serving their country. So while I am more socially liberal, I find Ron Paul’s _true_ conservatism a welcome change and believe it will be the best hope for a better future for our nation and ALL of it’s diverse people.

CNN’s poll doesn’t show as wide a gap, but the message is similar:

Results for Idaho were similar:

And last but not least, for my district. No real surprise here. We all know how the Mormons look out for their own, so LDS candidate Mitt Romney had a stronger showing, but still nowhere NEAR Ron Paul:

(All results come from vote.com and cnn.com and are the property of their respective owners. Use of information from their sites is for reporting my own personal observations and is fair use under current copyright laws.)

Farewell to the hate filled and judgmental Jerry Falwell

I don’t know where to begin… As I kid I watched Jerry Falwell on TV. I heard him talk about how, basically, anyone who disagreed with him was headed for a fiery Hell. Me, being an impressionable kid who had been raised to be superstitious and trust so-called “Christians,” was willing to buy what they were selling so I sided my views with what I heard coming from him and Billy Graham and Jim Bakker. It didn’t feel quite right because what I’d read about that Jesus guy indicated to me that he loved everybody – even the homosexuals and the godless Atheists and the unrepentant sinners. But if Jerry and Billy and Jim were saying that The Almighty hated sin and hated all these other things, I figured I just must have been wrong and they were right because they were learned men of their faith and their scriptures. But it still didn’t feel right to me. As I got older and I began to question things more and more I began to question the faith I had put in all the things I’d been told since childhood and eventually my faith couldn’t survive under the burden of the real world, factual evidence that pointed to if not the non-existence of a God, then at least his abandonment of and disinterest in “his creation.”
I’ve been an Atheist for a lot of years, but I hold absolutely no ill will towards those people who insist on telling me that I’m headed for Hell. But these “loving Christians” seem to easily forget the lessons of their supposed example, Jesus. Let me first clearly and without doubt clarify my position on this: Jesus is a factual historical figure who was a philosophical and political leader, but in no way do I believe in his divinity, spiritual powers, virgin birth, miracles, or any other superstition surrounding this man. But what he was if the writings about him hold any grain of truth at all is a good role model – a model of tolerance and peacefulness (minus the little outburst when the wrecked the moneychangers’ tables in the temple), of teaching good ideas like “love thy enemy” and “blessed are the peacemakers,” and accepting everyone for who they are rather than what they’ve done or been (prostitutes, fishermen and tax collectors were all equal in his eyes, for example). I see none of those traits in ANYONE in a prominent position on the right. The religious right spew hate and vitriol in the same league as Ann Coulter and are right up there with the Klan when it comes to tolerance of those different from themselves. They turn a blind eye to torture and abuse in the name of “security.” And I see a lot more of the religious right calling for us to attack more people than to forgive them. And Falwell epitomized the closed minded, unyielding, exclusionary and hypocritical type of “Christianity” that seems to have been in vogue for the last couple of decades. Ghandi had it right when he said he’d become a Christian as soon as he met one.
As I’ve stated clearly many times, I’ve been an Atheist for a lot of years but I believe that no one has the right to force their views about religion and morality on others – neither for nor against. I wholly believe that people who are religious SHOULD be allowed to pray in school, in public, or anywhere they please but that no one should ever be FORCED to participate in something contrary to their beliefs. But that means that EVERYONE gets the SAME rights – Muslims and Buddhists and Satanists, Wiccans, and so on and as much as it pains me even the cults like Scientologists, et. al.. The greatest problem I see with religion as a political force aside from the Constitutional requirement of separation of Church and State as understood from the First Amendment is that both of these forces are often self-blinding when it comes to reason, logic, or letting petty insignificances like “facts” or “the truth” get in the way of them sticking to their dogmatic guns.

In science it often happens that scientists say, “You know that’s a really
good argument; my position is mistaken,” and then they actually change
their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really
do it. It doesn’t happen as often as it should, because scientists are
human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot
recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
— Carl Sagan, 1987 CSICOP keynote address

Farewell, Jerry. If you were right about the afterlife (something I sincerely doubt), I am willing to bet that you’ll be keeping all the other dangerous religious extremists company in that fiery Hell you scared me with as a child.

Current events in a nutshell

My $0.02 on things that are going on today:
1) I _hate_ being sick! I’ve been sick for two weeks and I’m tired of it.

2) What happened at Virginia Tech is tragic and horrifying. Almost equally scary is the fact that these unfortunate events will quickly become both political fodder and a profit center for those low enough to capitalize on this sad occasion. Look for a commemorative coin or similar schlock soon. The anti-gun left will surely make political hay to try to curb the 2nd Amendment, the anti-gaming right-wing wackos will try to connect this to him having played CounterStrike or Halo, and everyone will lose focus on the real issue that we fail to take care of mental illness in our country. Look for the “religious” right to blame it all on Satan.

3) I’m sick and tired of teenie porn and penis enlargement commercials being on TV at night. If you want to subscribe to “Skanks Gone Crazy” videos, that’s what the internet is for. If you’re insecure about the size of your manhood, don’t buy these stupid pills, potions, and lotions that only enlarge the bank accounts of the scumbags who sell them. Do what men have always done before – buy a Corvette, a giant jacked up 4-wheel drive, or a Porsche to compensate. Of course, the reason these douche nozzles are making enough money to run TV commercials are because there are people stupid enough to buy these things but can’t AFFORD a ‘Vette. I’m not a prude and I’m all for the RIGHT to acquire these things if you are an adult (even if they’re just modern-day snake oil) but I don’t want to see these commercials while watching a cartoon in my living room. If I want pr0n I can get it on Pay Per View.

4) Alberto Gonzalez is being thrown under the bus to draw attention AWAY FROM the White House. People are acting like they’re shocked and surprised because a Bush appointee appears to have compromised credibility. When will people learn that almost anyone directly associated with Bush will have 3 consistent traits – Incompetence, absence of credibility, and blind loyalty to the White House. It takes a special kind of person to blind themselves to things like logic, indisputable factual evidence, and obvious deception and conniving in order to become “a loyal Bushie.”

5) I believe as strongly as anyone that we should support our troops. We should do things like provide them with decent medical care. We should have a disability system that fairly and consistently provides for them after they are wounded rather than denying them when they need our support the most. We should equip them with properly armored vehicles and the best equipment available. And most importantly, WE SHOULD BRING THEM HOME TO REUNITE THEM WITH THEIR FAMILIES! You know… all those things the Bush administration and their ultra-right, ultra-hypocritical “base” haven’t done. If you have a “Support our troops” sticker on the back of your Cadillac Escalade or Chevy Suburban then YOU, TOO are a damned hypocrite. Why not drive something that _doesn’t_ put a wad of cash in the Saudis’ coffers and another RPG or AK-47 in the hands of Al Quaeda each time you stop at the pumps? Aren’t you really supporting _their_ troops more than our own?

6) America’s war in Iraq is over. We had it won and THEN we lost by staying too long and now it’s become a civil war of Sunnis vs. Shiites. When you bring democracy to the Middle East all you are doing is letting the dominant theological force become the governing majority. That’s _still_ a theocracy because they haven’t quite figured out how the whole “majority rules with minority rights” balance is supposed to work. To them, the minority are “not orthodox” or “infidels” and the only way the know to deal with those things is to oppress or kill them. And of course the oppressed minorities look upon the majority as being “apostates” or “disciples of evil” so they’re morally obligated to blow them up with car bombs in public places. This isn’t unique to the Muslim nations, though. Look at Northern Ireland (Protestants vs. Catholics) up until recently or Sri Lanka (Hindus vs. Buddhists) or Uganda (indigenous Animists vs. the “Christian” Lord’s Resistance Army who abduct, rape, and murder _children_ in the name of the church). When was the last time someone abducted, raped, and murdered a child in the name of Atheism?