September 22nd, 2009: Plaxico Burress Raw Deal

Plaxico Burress started a 2 year prison sentence today. Sadly, justice is not blind because Plaxico Burress got a raw deal as he was sentenced two years for a crime that would typically have been given very little, if any prison time. Burress had a gun which he ought not to of had. This was discovered after his firearm discharged in his own pocket and he injured himself. The NY authorities decided to make an example of Burress in terms of their strict gun ban.  So, instead of the typical light sentence to someone who did not intend to hurt anyone in his crime, the book was thrown at him. He had no prior record and this helped him none. Sure, the sentence was correct in the letter of the law, but not within the spirit of the law.
 

This whole idea of using a single person to make an example of absurd. Burress is no more guilty that the countless other who did the same crime. Yet, because of his celebrity status he was given a harsher sentence to be made an example of. You might remember this same injustice being made of Martha Stewart in her insider trading case. I would also point to the Michael Vick case, but that has less of an argument.
 

On the flip side, Celebrities either are on one extreme or the other. If the book is not thrown at them, then they get little at all. Dante Stallworth was convicted of DUI Manslaughter, yet he received only 20 days in prison. How can a man get 2 years for carrying an illegal firearm yet another get 20 days for taking a person’s life? In terms of celebrities, it is a very clear example that Justice on this earth is not just.

September 17th, 2009: Racist!

Do you disagree with healthcare? Racist! How about the rising level of debt the US is taking on? Racist! You hold up a sign on the National Mall? Well if it’s not for one of those anti-war rallies, you’re clearly a racist. Joe “You Lie!” Wilson? If you don’t think he is a racist, you are a racist too! Jimmy Carter says you’re a racist. Paul Krugman says you a racist. According to many on the left, the only logical reason a person would oppose the President’s agenda is because they have racist tendencies.

Let me be clear, there still is racism in America today. There are people who did not vote for President Obama not because they opposed his policies but rather because they opposed his skin color. There are people today who are enraged that a black man occupies the White House today. Yet, the vast majority of people who oppose the President’s policies do so without race being a factor.  They oppose him because they believe his policies hurt themselves, their families and America as a whole.
 

People on the left, and a lot of people on the intellectual right, don’t understand these people. It is in that same vein when Obama said that people in the heartland “cling to their guns and religion.” They aren’t as much intellectual as they go with their gut. They live by principles, and when those principles are breached, they get concerned. In order not to awake this sleeping giant, you have to go about reform in the same way. It’s often noted that America is a center-right country, but it is really more of a traditionalist country than holding to the left of the right.
 

This is the only realm where Americans can say “Don’t let the Government get their hands on my Medicare.” They don’t want what they have changed. People would rather keep their health care coverage now rather than buy this new health care plan Obama has. Obama is trying to push a lot of reform. It was bound to have resistance. I don’t care if Obama was black, white or alien, that is just the way it works.

September 11th, 2009: Remembering 9/11/01

On September 11^th, 2001 my life changed. I knew no one in the attacks. In fact, I never heard of the World Trade Center buildings until the day of those attacks. It was a normal day for me, I was in the 11^th grade, and line most school age children, I was in school. It was the second class of the day, English, which always was my least favorite. It was taught by Ms. Dobson, a crazy African-American woman who claimed to be a Christian, but I don’t think she was. It was from her I first heard the wisdom, “Men want a lady in the street and a freak in the bed.” Usher would repeat that line later. The next year, Dobson was fired for hitting a parent. Point is, this lady was a bit crazy. In fact, our great school librarian, Ms. Stone, was going from room to room and saying we need to turn on the news now.
 

This happened in schools all over America. It did not happen the way it did in most places in Ms. Dobson’s room, she turned it on, and there was a picture of the 1^st World Trade Center building after being hit. Dobson left it on for about 30 seconds, and she said the following, “We need to get back to class, watch it on the news tonight” Her tone was that it was a minor event. I trusted her judgment at the time, though I wanted to see more. Thus, unlike most people, I did not see the 2^nd plane hit the 2^nd tower live.
 

It would not be until my later classes that I understood how important these attacks were. What 9/11 did for me was take an international perspective. Often we hear the terms “pre-9/11” or “post-9/11” mindset” thrown around. For me, it is a lot more than that. Funny enough, it would be just after the 9/11 attacks that I would really start to follow politics. I grew up in a family that never talked about world events, never talked about politics. Thinking about it, I grew up one of the strangest kids ever. The typical side was my relationship with my father in regards to sports. We bonded like my father and son in Cleveland through the Cleveland Browns and Indians. Other than that though, I was secluded to my own introverted world of math, reading and sports.
 

In my high school years I found Rush Limbaugh on the radio one day during the summer. I found him interesting and I started to listen to him every day.  It’s a funny link, but from 9/11 I went to Rush Limbaugh and from Rush I went to politics in general. By the time I graduated from high school, I knew that I wanted to be involved in the College Republicans at RIT.  While at RIT, I figured out I wanted to go into politics.
 

Why do I point of my career path on an anniversary of such a tragic day? I just wanted to show another perspective in how a major event changes our orientation. Events that happen in your teenage years are usually those which influence you the most. It’s hard for me to see an event that shaped my worldview more than 9/11. My thoughts and prayers go out to the affected 9/11 and my thanks go out to our military to fighting the good fight 8 years after this declaration of war by our enemies.

September 1st, 2009: Bob McDonnell Thesis Problem: Family Values is the Real Issue

The issue of what Bob McDonnell wrote in his thesis at Regents University in 1989 has been drawing heat over the past few days. What Bob McDonnell wrote was odd in 1989, and it is radical in 2009. McDonnell claims his views have evolved, and I am sure they have, to some degree. Still, let’s consider the source. This was a thesis done at Regents University, a Conservative Christian university. The Chancellor of the University is none other than Pat Robinson himself

What people fail to notice is how the Christian worldview of women in the workplace and the worlds view have diverged over the last 50 years. I would point to things such as the council of biblical manhood and womenhood as a Christian response to feminism. They don’t believe that the advances of feminism as a whole have been a good thing. I agree with them. While some things that the feminist movement has done are good things, such as equal pay for equal work, as a whole they are a negative on the culture.

The contrary worldview is that men and women are different, and they have different roles. While the roles are different, it does not mean that one sex is greater than the other. A huge problem with the feminist movement is that it has made women who stay at home looked down upon. This ought to not be looked down upon, but rather praised, especially those mothers with young children.
 

 If you want to make it far running for elected office today, you can’t make it clear that you have these views. I don’t know if McDonnell holds these views or not, but he is responding to them well. As someone not running for office, agree a lot with what McDonnell said in 1989. I have not read the entire thesis, so I won’t agree with it all, but unlike most, it furthers my support for McDonnell, not diminishes.