Before I go…

As a final act before I'm gone for the rest of the month, I edited and posted the video of my white belt level 1 & 2 tests on YouTube.  The video is here.  Also, several of you asked me about a FaceBook page; my new account is up, although Google apparently hasn't found it yet.

I hope you enjoyed Independence Day, and have a great July!

—
Jason C. Diederich

Happy Independence Day

Just a few days after Iraq’s National Sovereignty Day, we have American Independence Day. I think it’s appropriate that the two holidays are so close together.

Anyway, I want to wish everyone happy Independence Day–it looks like I’ll be out of town until almost the first of August. I do have a request for anyone who reads this–if you spend the rest of the year as some sort of “hyphenated-American,” try putting it aside for just this one day. Stop dividing everyone you meet by color, gender, or whatever else it is you’re hyphenating… and just be an American.

You might even find you enjoy it! I hope it becomes a habit.

I Was Wrong About Torture

I have often said that the trouble with the "torture" debate has been that "torture" has never been adequately defined.  I don't know anyone who actually endorses "torture" as a policy, but we disagree about what actually constitutes an act of torture.  By the standards of many liberal politicians, bikini-waxing businesses should be closed down.  As it turns out, I was incorrect: a thorough examination has been made, as even the New York Times reports: waterboarding is NOT an act of torture.  Of course, the Old Grey Lady can't help but refer to it as a "brutal" tactic, anyway–since that perjorative still hasn't been legally defined:

$2000.00 Rule

To assist in keeping my finances straight, I've implemented the $2000.00 rule: I check my bank accounts every payday; anything over $2000.00 in my checking account is moved to savings, and anything over $2000.00 in savings is moved to debt payment (or eventually, investment).  If my total expenditures for the last 30 days are under $2000.00, I have that amount available for personal puchases.

On Atheism and Morality

Point: Atheists cannot be moral.

Morality must be derived from a higher authority than the actor. Without a higher authority–God–from which to derive a code of morality, then each person must define a “moral code” for themselves. This reduces “morality” to essentially acting according to what is one’s own nature, anyway. If morality is simply acting according to one’s own nature, then no one could be anything except moral, and morality becomes meaningless.

This is not to say that atheists cannot behave in ways that society considers “good,” only that they cannot be defined as “moral” people.

Parental Authority? Freedom of Religion? Nonesense, You’re the Property of the State!

A Minnesota judge
ruled that 13-year-old Daniel Hauser would be forced to undergo unwanted chemotherapy treatments which were contrary to his family’s religious practices. When his mother left the state rather than comply with the unconstitutional ruling, federal law enforcement was dispatched to bring them back–even though no crime had been committed.
Young mister Hauser has now undergone his second court-mandated chemotherapy treatment–to loud applause from the media.

The message: you have no right to your own beliefs. You have no right your own children. You have no right to your own body. You belong to the State.

Fascism? Yes, we can.