Issue 599 The V.A. sucks?! May 27, 2015

Veterans Affairs (V.A.) has been under the microscope lately.  From breaking the law on spending, to ignoring veterans in need, the V.A. has become something of an eyesore.  But apparently there is more issues which I will list here thanks to a sit down between combat veterans which was featured on The Blaze TV network.  Let us begin.

Some issue in the V.A.:  For one, a veteran who murdered another veteran named Chris Kyle (the guy American Sniper is based on) is still receiving full V.A. benefits.  Yes, that is right.  A murderer in jail is receiving V.A. benefits.  It should not matter if the now convicted murderer is a veteran or not.  The fact is that murderers should be denied any and all benefits while they are in jail despite their prior service.  

Aside from the aforementioned outrage (in my opinion), there are other substantive issues.  Marcus Luttrell (the Navy Seal who wrote the book "Lone Survivor" which became a movie) amongst others had to wait four or more hours to make an appointment, to make another appointment to see a doctor.  Now, does that make any sense?  Keep in mind that Luttrell is well connected due to his fame from his book and was able to get special treatment at a certain point, but he in the sit down on the Blaze was visibly flustered in my view that his fellow vets were being treated in such a manner.  The other veterans in the sit down were also annoyed at such treatment of their brothers and sisters in arms and cited other issues with respect to benefits.  These issues included the fact that soldiers who never saw actual combat getting more benefits than those who actually fought in battle.  Another issue was the fact that soldiers with sleep apnea were receiving more benefits than amputees.  I am sure this is positively pathetic, but to add insult to injury they x-ray soldiers with missing limbs to prove that they are amputees despite having gone to the V.A. on multiple occasions to get replacement legs (this according to the sole veteran with an amputated leg within this group of vets).   But, this inefficiency is apparently purposeful as each State under the Federal government and private groups that partner with them get more funding from this bureaucratic mess, thus making money off the veterans suffering.  This is just wrong.

Conclusion: Things need to change dramatically in the V.A.  It is no longer about helping veterans in my opinion, but instead to make a buck off vets coming home from war and their suffering.  I believe a change is necessary, and that change may need to be drastic.

Issue 598 Abortion Spa's!? May 26, 2015

Everything I discuss here is a rumor, but I think it is important enough to write about.  In this case abortion clinics adding spa's to their lineup of services to remove the stigma/negative feelings of an abortion.  Let's discuss.

The rumor:  As stated, there are those in the abortion industry looking to combine a spa and an abortion clinic into one.  They wish to remove any negative connotations that stem from getting an abortion and thus make it out to be a pampering procedure done during or after the woman gets the full spa treatment.  So get your nails done with a message and then sit spread eagle on the table and have the unborn child killed (aborted).  Yea, when I say it this way, it makes it sound like a really bad idea.

Possible reasoning:  It is in my opinion that if these rumors turn out to be true or at the very least looked into by the abortion industry that it was done solely for capitalist/monetary reasons.  While I myself am a capitalist, and in favor of making money, I have qualms (disregarding my dislike of abortion) about turning a legitimate medical procedure into a basic commodity service that potentially could endanger the mother receiving the procedure.  While the idea of a woman being pampered sounds nice and is designed to make the woman feel more comfortable before and after the medical procedure is done, I see no other benefit than making the abortion procedure look more appealing so these abortionist doctors to make a few extra dollars  Hence my opposition.

Conclusion:  I am sorry, as I feel my opinion is fairly biased on this one.  However, this reeks of the ugly side of capitalism where morals are put on the back burner in favor of a quick self-interested buck.  As such, I hope such an idea/rumor is false, and that this concept is not brought back for such a controversial and last resort medical practice.

Happy Memorial Day. May 25, 2015

I would like to say thanks to all whom have served in the armed forces.  On Memorial Day we remember the soldiers that gave the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country.  They are ordered to march into what can only be described as a living hell hole while we sit safe at home going about our daily routines unawares of the dangers that they defend against.  So I say here, God bless the troops.

Additionally, I would like to say a special thank you to the police officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.  Your sacrifice, I feel, is also recognized on this day as you too defend and protect us, but this time from the evil that hides within the country itself.  God bless the Police

God bless all who serve on this Memorial Day.  Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Issue 597 Crime in a surveillance State May 22, 2015

Imagine if surveillance tech goes off the rails and the police can monitor every move you make and every word you say.  A true panopticon.  What would happen to crime with respect to stopping it?

No place to hide:  Well, it makes every law enforceable.  Reason being is that we cannot hide from these cameras and microphones.  So if you are in an accident, there is no need for your statement and the other involved party as they simply have to watch the video of the accident occurring to know who is at fault.  Shoplifting, forget it.  They will see how much you stuff into your pockets.  Death threats?  The microphone heard you and thus police show up at the door.  Smoking some weed, well they could even possibly smell that with drug sniffers to tell the difference between a cigarette and other illegal substances. Hence no one could commit a crime without being caught which means zero crime from regular people.  But it can get out of control.

Examples of it gone wrong:  Two examples I can think of is hate speech, and political criticism.  Hate speech as I am sure you will agree is distasteful to say the least.  But despite it being a part of your freedom of speech, the government will be able to hear it, and then fine you for it.  And this means any form of speech deemed hateful, including saying someone is poor or off the cuff comments like that person looks impoverished.  Yes they may deem these innocent terms as racist, but if you look at the history of words like illegal alien, migrant, and similar, those depending on the times are deemed hateful as well.  And this can extend to criticism of government if we are not careful.  Thus, free speech, including criticizing the president can become a crime.

Conclusion:  While the benefits are great, the level of abuse is greater.  This gives too much power to one group in society over all other groups.  So if you know your history, this means the death of democracy and freedom as a whole.  So keep an eye out for abuses, for if we do not, we may suffer under the yoke of oppression.

Issue 596 Smart Homes May 21, 2015

Here we are going for a lighter topic than yesterdays.  In this case we are going to talk about some cool stuff going into smart homes.  Let's discuss.

What we have and coming soon:

1. Complete control:  With smart home technology, you probably noticed that everything is controllable from a smartphone or app on a computer.  We know it can control lights, temperature, and alarms, and even cameras in the home, but they even allow you to control your faucets, and even the locks on all your rooms.  So if your child wants to have a party while you are out, you can lock your bedroom door from miles away on the other side of the world.  

2. Smart electrical: Energy efficiency is becoming more and more important, to the point that your home may fully automate energy distribution.  So your home using your alarm system can sense if you are asleep, and shut off bedroom or televisions for you.  It will also know where to rout electricity.  So if you are not using hot water, the electrical system will turn off the part of the boiler or cut off the electricity going to that.  If you are watching television downstairs, and not say the radio (your home will be able to tell the difference) it will rout power away from the radio to save energy.  This is already in the works as the military is currently testing this system for their temporary and permanent bases/camps and it works well with Tesla motors foray into batteries for the home.  As such, solar energy, batteries and other power systems need not become more efficient to generate more power as we will use machines to use the energy collected in a more efficient manner instead.

3. Smart Fridge: Of particular note is smart fridges that can order your food for you.  It will sense what foods you use most, and automatically order them for you from the nearest grocer to be delivered to your home.

4. Smart walls and tables: Never paint a room again, because you'll never have to.  The walls will be able to change color and even have patterns just like what you can do to your computer's background.  This is due to flat screen technology being placed on walls like wallpaper.  This also means you can watch television, or listen to the radio in any room via this tech.  So who needs a laptop when you can simply use this technology on a wall or table to type like you do on your touch screen tablet.  (This is further away, as the technology is still being developed).

Conclusion:  Both the first and second are very near term developments and look set to be the standard for future home building.  These two technologies will continue to evolve as USB technology replaces traditional plugs and thus hooks up every electrical device to the internet and thus the home's electrical grid.  The smart fridge requires radio frequency identification chips (RFID) to replace barcodes, while as stated, smart walls and tables are still in development and honestly need to become accepted over a more flexible, portable tablet pc.  Other ideas include car recharge stations, 3d printers, and dedicated servers so that each home has its own private internet network.  I look forward to how things will continue to change.

Issue 595 ISIL atrocities May 20, 2015

In the Middle East ISIS, now known as ISIL, is committing one atrocity after another.  Here I will list some of those atrocities.

Crimes by ISIL:

1. Committing acts of Genocide:  ISIL is actively seeking out Christians and Jews (and non-sunni Muslims) and killing them off one by one.  This includes the burning of Churches and Temples, with the parishioners still inside. Or lining them up to be shot in the head.

2. Killing children: Some have gone into villages and asked children their faith, knowing they will answer honestly.  Once these children state they are Christian or Jewish, they are all killed.  This happened to one father who was going to say he would convert with his family to save their lives, but the children said they would always be Christian, and thus they made the father watch as they murdered his three children in front of him.

3. Mass killings:  In some cases, ISIL terrorists simply come into town and just kill off every male there.  Other times they simply just kill everyone, including Muslims who are deemed to not be in line with ISIL's version of their faith or those that would try to protect their Christians and Jewish neighbors.

4. Mass Rape:  This is very common as once they kill the men or capture a woman, they will rape the woman before them.  In some cases, these women are still children as young as nine years old.  

5.  Glorified murder:  ISIL will take the heads of their victims (including babies) and mount them on pikes for all to see.  They make videos of them cutting off the heads while the people are still alive.

6. Slavery: Slavery seems to have become common, especially amongst the women.  They price them based on age, and ability.  They sell children as wives (including babies), and older women who they deem useful for house work.  Under their version of Islamic law, the males may do anything they wish to these women including rape and even murder them as they are not deemed people anymore. Women too old or infirm for anything are simply killed.  

Conclusion:  These are the bare bones examples of what they are doing.  As such, this does not even come close to describing the depravity and evil they are carrying out right now.  So the question is, how are we going to stop them?

Issue 594 1st and 2nd Principles May 19, 2015

Now this is about principles.  In this case 1st principles which guide our actions and the 2nd principles which guide our interests.  Let us discuss.

1st Principles:  These are our natural rights, our morals and that which guides us.  So such things as freedom of speech, expression, and to act and do anything so long as it does not harm others are the core component of this.  But this also includes love, compassion, gratitude, and humility.  For these act as the lens by which we exercise our freedoms.  So we use freedom of assembly to get together, and use compassion in that assembly of people to better understand those around us.  We use empathy, acceptance, and attempt to understand each other without being rude or unkind as that would divide us.  It is the same in a relationship.  If we have our lover, we treat them with respect (a 1st principle) or else they will leave us.  Yes I know these examples are simplistic, but these basics of treating others well, and exercising our right without harming others are designed to guide us and our 2nd principles.

2nd Principles:  While 1st principles guide us, 2nd principles are our interests.  So a simplistic example is food.  It is in our interest to get food to eat.  But without the first principles, we would be attacking others for their food.  This is because if we stole from others, we would be violating property rights of the other person (a 1st principle).  But through the lens of 1st principles this also means that nothing should prevent you from growing your own food, sharing it for free or hoarding it if you feel it necessary.  This is because the 1st principles say that the food you own is yours to do with what you please.  Another example is low taxes.  This is a second principle because it too is an interest.  So how can we screw this up?  Simple, by you advocating one group pay more so you do not have to.  This violates fair treatment amongst fellow citizens (the 1st principle is fairness).  But once you put your own interests above those of others and you ignore fair treatment, or as in the case of the food example, their property rights, harmony breaks down and society becomes disjointed.  Basically, without the 1st principles, the 2nd principles would be sought via an ends justify the means mentality, which is a recipe for disaster.

Conclusion:  1st principles guide us, and 2nd principles govern all our interests.   When the 2nd principles go first, then we attack each other, we stop caring because it is all about what we want at the cost of everything around us.  But with the 1st principles firmly in place, we need not fear a thief or mob, for they tell us to respect each other, behave civilly, and listen in an attempt to better understand, and work with others.