I'm thinking about taking titles off.
Via GWA45, we have a Victor Davis Hanson piece about the revisionists and WWII... read it.
There's a lot of crap happening in the country that I want to talk about, but I can't focus enough to write about it. Take the REAL ID act, for example. Aside from the fact that one of the greatest problems in our legislative system is the irrelevant amendment issue... see? Lost my train of thought. I think TV is giving me ADD. I really have noticed a decline in my ability to focus on things since I started watching it more. I've been cutting back to just watching movies occasionally and baseball, though, so we'll see if I fix my brain.
UPDATE: Since this post turned into a pile of crap and I don't feel like editing my 100 minute blather, you can just skip to the bottom and read the bullets for a recap if you don't want to read it all.
Anyway, about the REAL ID act. Aside from constitutionality issues (10th Amendment, anyone...?), it poses a very real security issue. See Bruce Schneier here for more on that.
I feel overwhelmed by the degree of government invasion our lives have realized in the last 25 years. My whole generation grew up accustomed to meaningless and arbitrary restrictions to the point where they do not question them, nor do they understand why I am so angered by them. For example: If you told most people walking on the left side of the hall would result in an automatic reckless walking ticket, they would not question the government's authority to decide that issue for them, and they would comply. I don't remember my point... besides that my generation is a bunch of fucking sheep.
Let me explain something: our legal system is (supposedly) based on the concept of negative law. That means unless you are specifically restricted from doing something--AND the law is constitutional--you can do it. The US Constitution does not follow the same rules, however; it is a description of the powers granted and denied the various levels of government, and all powers NOT granted are illegal to wield. Read the Constitution some time and compare its text to real life and see how far the Federal government in particular has strayed. Maybe I'll do a comparison some day when I have a lot of time and energy. I'll give you a basic clue: the gummint ain't supposta be that big.
How much do you pay in Federal income taxes? I pay jack shit right now because I'm unemployed, but my parents pay 35%. Way back in 1861 the first income tax was passed into law, a 3% tax on individuals with an income over $800 (about $16k now) and 5% on citizens living outside the US. It was never enforced. In 1862 a new tax act was passed into law, 3% on incomes from $800 to $10,000 and 5% on higher incomes. That's 3% on 14,500 to about 182,000 dollars per annum and 5% on the incomes higher than that. Three to five percent. Wow. Those were the fuckin days. Can you imagine having that much of your income back? The only reason a federal income tax was levied to begin with was to pay for a war, and they had been doing just fucking dandy without it for the first 70 years. How far we have fallen. I could go on about taxation for a while.
Oh, and let's revisit an old point: The BoR (Bill of Rights... there's always one that doesn't get it) IS NOT THE THING THAT GIVES YOU THE ENUMERATED RIGHTS. It is an affirmation, a list, that's it. They are innate rights, rights you have simply by existing. Thank fucking God it was put in the Constitution, since many of the states believed it so obvious as to be unnecessary. Also, the list of enumerated rights is by no means complete. It is merely the most important few. How many people do you know that have no clue what their innate rights are? Do you?
Important distinction: right != privilege. Right does not equal privilege for those of you that do not recognize code speak. To say that the BoR grants rights is an oxymoron; rights can not be granted. That which is given can be taken away, and that's not the way it is. You can try, and most people might let you, but be prepared to dodge bullets if you try it with me.
Are people scared of having rights? I think many are, especially in our current societal climate of 'it's not your fault'. No, no, it's someone else's fault. Blame it on the video games! Blame it on the music! Blame it on the guns! The movies! The chocolate! The pizza! Whatever. With all the emphasis on 'self esteem' these days in schools especially (my school didn't have that shit, thankfully), nobody ever takes responsibility for their actions. You don't expect kids to magically grasp calculus without teaching, so why would you expect them to understand personal responsibility and the fact that there are consequences for actions without SHOWING them? There's no "'You fucked up, Timmy,' said the teacher as he reached for the cane..." anymore.
Yeah, I believe in corporal punishment. Not for all things, obviously; if you cheat on a test, I don't think you should be beaten by your teacher. Nope, ripping up the test and writing a big fuckin 0 on your forehead would work fine. But if you mouth off to a teacher, I don't think it's a bad thing to get whacked on the top of the head with a ruler. If you get up in a teacher's face or are beating down some other kid without provocation you should be tossed into a wall a few times. My parents taught me that shit because they were actually good parents and not spineless fucks, indulgent saps, or crack addicted gutter whores or any of those things. Students should respect their teachers, not walk all over them, and they should be smacked the fuck down when they violate the rules, instead of being sent to an administrator (MAYBE) and given detention. I got detention once in HS and all I did was read a book the whole time: totally stress free environment. Big fucking deal. I was embarassed without help from the school because I knew what I did was wrong, but most other kids would just shrug it off and learn nothing.
Gratuitous Heinlein quote:
Eh, can't find it online and I can't find my book so I'll add it later. It's the one about learning and the puppy in Rico's civics class.
My parents didn't coddle me when I did shitty in school; I'm a damn good speller because my father made me work at it until I got them all right. Also he checked my math through 10th grade, helped me study for science, etc. My mother handled the music end of things and helped with projects. They encouraged learning and sports and were willing to shell out money to help me learn or improve myself in some way. They never did any work for me, of course, but they made sure I did my work and learned the lessons about life school contradicts these days. Bad schools + bad parents = socially retarded adults. We're on about the third generation of the evolution of idiot sheeple coming up in schools these days.
New topic...
Why is it so accepted that 'he had a gun!' is a bad thing? BFD. I have... *looks around room* two handguns and three long guns in view. Mosin Nagant boltie, Marlin 336 lever action (loaded), Armalite AR-180B (loaded) with thirteen full 30rd mags in various rigs, Ruger Single Six 22LR revolver, and a loaded 1911 in my back pocket. ...Yeah I got fed up with putting a holster on every time I changed pants so the back pocket works fine, as long as I don't move too quickly or jump around. Three loaded 1911 mags on the bed and a few more spread around the house, one in my pocket. How about 'he had a knife!'? I have... *looks around room again* an open knife drawer with about two dozen knives in it, sundry folders scattered around the room (my Opinels came; they're a little lighter than I imagined, but nice), a CS Kobun on my belt, Marble's boot knife on my belt behind my right hip, and a Gerber AR 3.50 folder in my pocket. I'd have a lot more knives in here but half of my fixed blades are in the basement where I was sharpening them. Oh, I have a sword over there against the wall too, a 'practical' Wakizashi by... CAS Iberia, maybe. I dunno. It's a low level sword but not a cheap POS like most of the production japanese blades.
The point is that the capability to do harm is feared these days. If owning a single gun makes you a murderer in waiting, what am I? I have martial arts training and I study human anatomy for weak points and practice crippling/lethal techniques with bare hands, knives, bludgeoning weapons, and of course guns. Holy shit, I'm the next fucking Jason Voorhees! I even have a machete! What other crap is there? Oh, I wear real boots, boots that turn my feet into SUPER NINJA FLYING MINISTERS OF DEATH! Well, maybe the irrational fear of inanimate object phase hasn't progressed that far, but it will some day. Look at the airlines; instead of the logical arming of pilots and allowing CCW holders to carry handguns on planes, they try to make sure NOBODY gets through with anything more deadly than a quarter. It doesn't even work! My mother brought a carryon soft cooler type thing on the flight to Yellowstone with a medium size paring knife in it on accident, and nobody caught that. It was big enough that I would feel comfortable fighting with it, especially against an unarmed foe. It was sure as shit more capable than a box cutter!
Lost my train of thought... I got distracted by Bigger Than Cheeses comics. Oh well, I've been rambling for like an hour and a half.
To recap:
REAL ID is bad
Gradual violations of basic freedoms are the best way to remove them
Income taxes are insane
Right != privilege
Corporal punishment is NOT abuse
Capability != desire nor intent (to hurt people)
Basically, our society has begun to backslide while claiming that things are better than ever before. More on this in (yet again) a dedicated post later.
...WTF is with the word verification? Fixing the text color issue apparently means I'm a spam risk. Well, whatever, it's no big deal but it's the first time I saw it.
...Yeah, except the fix didn't work. I love it when Blogger gives me bullshit problems for no known reason. Fucking A. Bullets != proven technology, I guess, since they are the things messing up my formatting.