4th of July Weekend

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Jonathan
on July 3, 2008
in Opinion and Politics
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This is another Summer holiday where families and friends will be getting together, having cookouts, and attending fireworks shows (or lighting up their own fireworks).  It’s always a good time, but somebody invariably gets hurt in a roman candle fight or bottle rocket war.  Although fireworks safety is a legitimate topic, that will not be the meat of this post.

What does the 4th of July mean to you?  Is it what I’ve just described?  Good for you - you enjoy time with your family and friends and good clean fun.  I will be participating in activities like that as well, and I look forward to them.  However, that is not what this holiday means to me.

Rather than referring to it as ‘the 4th of July’ or simply, ‘the 4th’, I’d rather refer to it as Independence Day.  You may ask, "Why did you title this post as the 4th of July then?"  My response would be something to the effect of enabling you to find it.

Independence Day (July 4, 1776) is when the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress and adopted to set our country Independent from the rule of any other.  King George wanted nothing to do with that - he wanted America to fall under his rule and continue to be British colonies with people that served him.

British Parliament began taxing the people in the colonies to pay their debt for the Seven Years’ War.  That is where the "No taxation without representation" slogan came from, and it expressed the views of many colonists.  Great writers such as Thomas Jefferson began arguing that Parliament was the legislature of Great Britain only, and that the colonies had their own legislatures.  The only connection to British Parliament was their loyalty to the crown.

And so it began that the Declaration of Independence was written.  It was something the people wanted.  The king had issued a proclamation of rebellion in response to Congress’ second petition to the king for his help in addressing colonial grievances.  This petition was sent in hopes to avoid bloodshed, but the king basically set rules and laws in motion to punish anyone exhibiting ‘rebellious’ or ‘traitorous’ actions.

Now I’m starting to get too deep for my own good, but this is some very interesting research, if you’re willing to search it out for yourself.  You can, however, get a really good idea of what was going on, and why American wanted independence from Great Britain by simply reading the Declaration.  The signers knew they were basically signing their death warrants, but they believed the cause of freedom for this great country was worth much more than their own lives.

Supreme Court Rules on Handgun Ban

Published
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Jonathan
on June 27, 2008
in Politics
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Anyone that follows gun news at all has known about the case before the Supreme Court about the gun ban in Washington, DC.  Basically, the law stated that if you owned a handgun, it had to be disassembled and unloaded when it was in your home.  This way, they can ensure that you’re defenseless if you’re attacked while in your home by those who didn’t comply with the ban.

But I digress.  On Thursday the Supreme Court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional.  They ruled that the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution actually means what it says - that you and I as individuals have the right to keep and bear arms.  They said that what Congress did when they drafted the amendment was "to codify a pre-existing right, rather than to fashion a new one."  That right is one guaranteed by God as the basic right to self-defense.

A couple of things are disheartening to me about this case, however.  They took no position on on whether it was right or wrong for the federal or state governments to regulate guns.  Also (and this bothers me most), the ruling was barely in favor of the Constitution, with a 5-4 vote.  In other words, 4 of the Supreme Court justices who took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States ruled that it didn’t mean what it actually says and wanted to take away our best means of self-defense.

The four dissenters completely ignored the ideas behind the 2nd Amendment.  They ignored what great men said about our ability to defend ourselves, not only from burglars and other bad guys, but from our own government.  Maybe that is what they are afraid of…

Strange Looking Clouds…

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 23, 2008
in Outdoors and Photography
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IMG_5459 I went outside this morning to do a couple of things and I noticed these clouds in the sky (click on the image for a bigger photo).

Did you ever play that game as a kid where you tried to find shapes in the clouds?  You could find dolphins, rabbits, and even houses if you used your imagination.

These clouds just look wicked though.  I don’t know what it is about them, but if you look closely you can see different fiery creatures in them.  Maybe my mind was just bent that way at that moment for some reason.  Now those images will always be found in this photo.

Al Gore’s Energy Consumption

Published
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Jonathan
on June 18, 2008
in Opinion and Politics
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algore_feature_bo Al Gore continues to show more and more hypocrisy.  According to a Tennessee Center for Policy Research article, his power consumption has risen over the past year, in spite of his ‘green’ renovations.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner seems to be more about making money by scaring everyone into going green rather than truly going green himself.

I’m ashamed that he is a Tennessee native.  This global warming alarmist is about as anti-American as they come.  He’ll fly around all over the place in his personal jet emitting more greenhouse gases in a month than you or I would in an entire year.  The fact that he couldn’t even carry his own state in his presidential bid speaks volumes.

Just shut up already, Al.

Banshee 1.0 Released

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 17, 2008
in Computers
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For Linux users everywhere, Banshee 1.0 has been released!  At home I run Windows XP, but I also run Ubuntu 8.04.  I’ve always loved Linux, and I love how far it’s come.  It’s products like Banshee that are pushing it along and making it more accepted in the general public.  Not all that long ago, Linux was still mostly for the geeky types, but more mainstream type applications are making it easier for a regular home user to use with ease.

I’m going to download and install it tonight on my Linux box at home!

Snow Hill Beekeepers

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 17, 2008
in Family, Outdoors and Photography
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Over the past several weeks, my dad has gotten into honeybees. He’s bought a few books, built a few hives and learned as much as he can about them. They’re actually very amazing creatures! From how they pick a queen and take care of her, to how they do a dance to show the worker bees where the flowers are, and how far away they are, they’re truly something.

Dad found a swarm in a tree where they’ve been making honey. He cut the tree above where most of their comb is, and put a hive on top of that. He also bought another hive with a swarm already in it.

I’ve tasted some of the honey myself, and it is really sweet and tasty. I know, honey is honey. But this was as fresh as it comes.

I spent a few minutes yesterday taking some pictures of the hive, and Dad started playing with the bees while I was down there, so you’ll see a picture with one of them getting honey off his finger. Enjoy!

My Mom’s Blog

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 16, 2008
in Family
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My mom has started a blog - her first.  I’m sure she’ll be writing about all kinds of things going on with her and my dad, their church life, and of course their grandkids.  Go on over and take a read!

Tim Russert Died of Heart Attack at 58

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 14, 2008
in Philosophy/Religion
. 0 Comments

Everyone knows who Tim Russert was.  He was NBC’s political icon.  If there was political news, Tim Russert was there.  He is probably best known for his role as host of Meet the Press on Sunday mornings.  I’ve only had the chance to watch the show a handful of times as I’m either in church or on my way there when it airs.

Tim Russert died on Friday, June 13, of a heart attack.  He was on the job recording voiceovers for Sunday’s show when he collapsed.  He was rushed to the hospital where efforts to revive him failed.

I’m not that well informed on what kind of person he was.  I’m not even sure of his political views.  So I can’t say whether he was a good man, or if he was an anti-American liberal.  So I won’t get into all of that in this post.

What this news does make me think of, however, is the suddenness of death.  One minute you’re alive, and the next you’ve slipped off into eternity.  It kinda makes you think about how you really want to live your life, and how you want to be remembered.  It forces you to consider the legacy you’ll one day leave behind.  It urges you to make the right choices while you’re able to make them.  It makes you ponder what is really important in life.

I’m sure his family misses him dearly.  Let us take the time to think about how precious life really is.  Let us remember that life is not forever, and we only have the promise of this very moment - we have no promise of tomorrow.  Remember that we may not have a chance tomorrow to make that life-changing choice.

Helping With Another Garden

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 11, 2008
in Outdoors
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Becky and I spent some time last night helping our pastor with his garden. Some deer had gotten into it, and some of it needed to be replanted. So we loaded up the tiller and headed that way.

The first thing we noticed were the trees that had been blown over from the storm the night before.  First of all, there was a branch that broke off one tree right next to their house, but didn’t hit the house.  In the other end of the yard, there were two trees that had been blown over into the woods.  It wasn’t until later that we saw several other trees in the woods that had been blown over.  These didn’t break…no…they were uprooted.  There was a line of trees - it’s almost as if a miniature tornado swept through there.

Anyway, we started working in the garden and as I was running the tiller through it, I noticed how rich the dirt was.  I think it’s the first time I’ve ever been jealous of somebody else’s dirt.  The dirt where I have my garden is rich, but this was much richer.

We only got enough dirt worked up to plant 3 rows of corn, and I worked up a little patch of dirt in the yard at the edge of the garden for their 8 tomato plants.  At that point it was too dark to do any more, but we were pleased with what we were able to accomplish.

Office Worker Goes Nuts

Published
by
Jonathan
on June 9, 2008
in Video
. 0 Comments

Some say it’s staged, others say it’s real. I don’t really know of a good way to verify it. It looks real to me, though. My biggest question is, “Where were all the real ‘men’ the whole time this went on?” Somebody should’ve stopped it much, much sooner.