As the news reports roll in about Exxon Mobil's 2005 earnings, more and more individuals and advocacy groups are calling for a "windfall profits" tax that would curtail excess profits such as those made by Exxon. It is a very bad idea, and it would hurt most those the argument claims to want to help: the American working class. The price at the pump is only the first place that would be affected. As you know, taxes on a corporation are passed onto the consumer in the form of higher cost, a co...
The governor of West Virginia ordered all coal mines within the state shut down until their safety could be evaluated in light of four tragic accidents that left 16 dead since the beginning of the year. While it sounds good to many who have suddenly become causeheads against underground mining despite being almost completely ignorant of the practice, it is yet another example of political correctness run amuck and of the error of acting mainly on emotions. You see, apparently in the issuance ...
Never get your facts from Hollywood. Remembering that it is an entertainment, not an information medium, we should never confuse the two. Hollywood has a long and storied history of getting the facts entirely wrong. I discovered the truth about one of Hollywood's time honored propaganda films as I read the Aphrodite Jones story of the life of Teena Brandon, which was allegedly chronicled in the movie "Boys Don't Cry", which netted worthy actress Hillary Swank her first Oscar. Jones is sympath...
Cindy Sheehan's indignance got validity today; validity it DID NOT deserve, when the Capitol police apologized for her removal from Tuesday evening's State of the Union Speech. Ms. Sheehan has spent the intervening time insisting that her first amendment rights were violated and that she would sue the US government (meaning, you and I). She ignores the rather obvious fact that, had the government had a compelling interest in usurping her free speech rights, she would long ago have been shipped o...
I am not a universalist. Far from it. I believe the belief in universalism to be, essentially, a faith in nothing, as the very word faith implies a belief system that provides definitive answers. In fact, my being a Christian has its genesis in evangelical circles. I have even worked the phones for the Billy Graham crusade (on two separate occasions, no less). But I gradually became disenchanted with the "Amway" aspect of evangelism (and the numerous people who would ask you how many people y...
On someone else's blogs, the discussion turned to a disagreement with the views expressed by another blogger on her thread. It made me think of my views on the topic. When I came to JU, I had initially wanted to blog primarily on religion. But I found that, not only are religion topics not highly read unless you're pretty controversial or it's good enough to get featured, but I take harsh criticism of my religious views pretty personally, so it's not a good "side" of me to be throwing to the ...
As many of you know, I am an activist against the abuses of the Child Protective Services system, known by various names in various states. But along with my laundry list of grievances, I have an equally long laundry list of solutions. What follows is at least a portion of those solutions. 1. End mandatory reporting, anonymous reporting and the quota system: The mandatory reporting system is a good example of a concept that looks very good on the outside, until you take a closer look. Wh...
Quick! What do "Brokeback Mountain", "Fahrenheit 9/11", and "the Blair Witch Project" have in common? Outside of being "independent" films, it would seem, not much. But the truth is, they all reaped the rewards of a largely deceptive promotional campaign, with BWP essentially being the trendsetter in that regard. When "the Blair Witch Project" was released, the producers of the film heavily used the internet. They created a mythology around the nonexistent "Blair Witch", and they had the...
I found an interesting link today in my daily research. The link is to the grounds for terminating parental rights in various states ( Link ). While the majority of the reasons listed in the statutes were reasonable at a certain level, I found two to be questionable, at best: Been the major cause of: the failure of the child to be enrolled in school as required by law; or the child's absence from the child's home without the consent of the parents or guardian for a substantial length o...
Link As readers read a heartwrenching story about a young boy who had been separated from his mother by Hurricane Katrina and wanted a happy Christmas, readers were moved to tears. They contributed money to help the child and others profiled by the paper, who would otherwise have no Christmas. While it was a moving story, it was entirely a work of fiction, thought up by caseworkers for Child Protective Services in Brazoria County, outside of Houston to increase collections for their ann...
As Child Protective Services workers are given more and more authority, an objective look at the evidence reveals an unquestionable pattern of abuse of their power, and of the United States Constitution and various state constitutions. While I could compile a list of the way their policies and procedures abuse the power, I will concentrate on two areas of policy where the abuse of power is encouraged and fertilized: Mandatory reporting and the quota system. Mandatory reporting is the not so o...
While I do not endorse the practices of former Senator Josephy McCarthy in "outing" communists in America or in destroying lives in the ensuing witch hunt, I find it frightening that the hammer and sickle of the failed Soviet Empire is beginning to march its way down Main Street, USA. I find it more frightening the WAY it is happening; not through the Democratic process but through the workings of several individuals who are coming to prominence in the media and attempting to completely SUBVERT ...
I am reprinting here a story of the Christine family, who have struggled against Child Protective Services in the state of Oregon. While I do not necessarily approve of all of their actions, I understand them as desperate REACTIONS against a totalitarian state: When Dreams Become Nightmares February 25, 2002 Ever have a dream where life was just perfect? That everything you did and said was the epitome of grace and everybody was kind and supportive? Ever have a dream just li...
As many of you know, I am currently studying to become a paralegal. I am in the early stages, but am progressing through it at a reasonable pace. On my two entrance exams, I scored an average of 98 (96 on 1, 100 on the other), and today I took the tests on my first two courses. The first test resulted in a 95, due to a stupidity error on my part. The second test, however, netted me a perfect 100. So here I sit, two courses down and a 97.5% average on those courses. That'll probably go down...
Recently, I wrote an article about how the left was unconcerned with several episodes of domestic spying. It was aimed at the left, to the exclusion of the right, who is equally culpable, for a reason. You see, the left has expressed complete outrage over the information that phones of suspected terrorists were wiretapped under FISA law without warrants (but, according to many sources, with judicial oversight). The left was right to be concerned, and is right to ask that the facts of the case...