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April 29, 2007

Sigr

Here is a great commentary on victory and religion in our lives --- watch the YouTube video filmed during Ostara 2007 Easter celebration:

Sigr


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Posted by keg at 9:28 PM

April 23, 2007

Veterans Affairs and Proper Burials

Last year, I spoke about how Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed fighting for the US in Afghanistan, was denied by the US government a proper cemetery headstone.

At the time, I wondered if the Veterans Affairs office was doing this due to incompetence or maliciousness.

Evidently, they were being malicious.

From today's announcement: "Settlement in Americans United Lawsuit Comes after Discovery of a Pattern of Bias Against Minority Faith".

The Bush administration has conceded that Wiccans are entitled to have the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, inscribed on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced today.

The settlement agreement, filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, brings to a successful conclusion a lawsuit Americans United brought against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in November.

The litigation charged that denying a pentacle to deceased Wiccan service personnel, while granting religious symbols to those of other traditions, violated the U.S. Constitution.

It this case, the bias against this particular faith came straight from the top:

Americans United's attorneys uncovered evidence that the VA's refusal to recognize the Pentacle was motivated by bias toward the Wiccan faith. President George W. Bush, when he was governor of Texas, had opposed the right of Wiccans to meet at a military base in that state. Bush's opinion of Wiccans was taken into consideration when making decisions on whether to approve the Pentacle.

Sgt. Stewart and other government Wiccans can now have proper burials:

In addition, the VA will make markers bearing the pentacle---an encircled, intertwined five-pointed star---available to the families of Stewart, Birnbaum and others who request them.

AU noted that the VA's list of 38 approved symbols for government gravestones, markers and plaques includes emblems for Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Humanists and members of the Eckankar, Serbian Orthodox and United Moravian faiths.

Now, we just need to get the Hammer of Thor, Mjolnir, approved!

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Posted by keg at 3:31 PM

April 17, 2007

Virginia Tech: Guns and Defense

While details are still emerging from yesterday's tragic events on campus, there have been a variety of reactions in the news and articles expressed in the media.

According to Steve Pavlina, there are several common reactions to these types of events:

Interpretations and reactions to such events are heavily culture-bound. In the USA the popular media typically encourages us to react roughly as follows:

* Drop into a fear-based state of consciousness. "Oh my goodness. Would you look at that!"

* Feel shock, disgust, or outrage. "Somebody ought to do something about that."

* Experience reassurance the situation is being handled. "I see cars with flashing lights and people in uniformed clothing."

* Do nothing. "Glad that's over. What's on TV next?"

And I have already seen news articles from other countries saying that these types of events only happen in America, because of America's glorification of violence.

Even yahoos in this country have started coming out of the woodwork with finger pointing:

* Dr. Phil blames video games.

* Ken Hamm blames evolution and atheism for the school shooting.

* And some, of course, are questioning Virginia's "lax" gun control laws.

Unlike the first two, the gun control argument is not a joke. There are many people who feel that if there are no guns, then we will all be safe. In fact, it is now somewhat ironic, and very unfortunate, that Virginia Tech itself recently successfully lobbied to prevent the licensed concealed-carry of firearms on public college campuses in Virginia.

Virginia Tech alumni Aaron quotes Tech University spokesman Larry Hincker on the bill's defeat:

I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.

I wonder if Larry now realizes the tragic and foolish consequences of defeating that bill. By not allowing citizens to lawfully be able to defend themselves against killers like Cho Seung-hui, events like Virginia Tech and Columbine will only proliferate, since the killers will have the weapons and know that their victims do not. Note that these mass-killing events occur in "gun-free" zones, such as schools and universities. In fact, reports say that Cho chained shut the doors of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech so that the students and faculty could not escape. Since he knew that no one else would have a gun, and thereby fight back, he could leisurely have his way with the victims.

From an editorial after last summer's shooting at Virginia Tech, graduate student Bradford Wiles comments in an editorial "Unarmed and Vulnerable" on not being armed during such an event:

On Aug. 21 at about 9:20 a.m., my graduate-level class was evacuated from the Squires Student Center. We were interrupted in class and not informed of anything other than the following words: "You need to get out of the building."

Upon exiting the classroom, we were met at the doors leading outside by two armor-clad policemen with fully automatic weapons, plus their side arms. Once outside, there were several more officers with either fully automatic rifles and pump shotguns, and policemen running down the street, pistols drawn.

It was at this time that I realized that I had no viable means of protecting myself.

Finally, here is a great episode of Penn and Teller on Gun Control. Pay particular attention to the issue of gun-free zones at about 19 minutes.

There is also a segment of the community who says that you should not have guns also because if you need help, just call the police. After all, the police are there to help you. You also hear this sort of advice from "experts" about car-jackers ("just give them your keys"), hijackers ("just sit in your seat"), and rapists ("just lie there"). In other words, don't fight back.

Forensic psychologist Helen Smith comments on this phenomenon:

Have you noticed that most of the tips you get in recent years for how to survive a violent crime involve an accompanying psychological maneuver of first trying to make you feel impotent? And instead of suggesting remedies to overcome this impotence, these survival tips usually just tell you to give the criminal what they want. But what they typically don't say is that you can get killed using that approach also.

And as we saw with 9/11, and with the students and faculty at Virginia Tech, depending on "someone else" to show up and help you does not always work.

We cannot know what would have happened if someone had tried to fight back against Cho. But we see the result when we prevent the possibility of anyone fighting back. Draconian gun control will only remove the guns from the hands of law-abiding citizens---it will not prevent the Cho's of the world from having them and using them. Moreover, as we have seen at Virginia Tech, the results of preventing citizens from defending themselves and their loved ones will only be tragic.

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Posted by keg at 4:15 PM

April 14, 2007

Kurt Vonnegut

By now, you probably have heard that Kurt Vonnegut has died.




While I was not a big fan of his writing style, he did influence a lot of people and was regarded as one of the greatest contemporary American novelists.

Here is a link to one of his award-winning short stories, "Harrison Bergeron".

Also, he had a great quote when interviewed by In These Times:

That said, do you have any ideas for a really scary reality TV show?

"C students from Yale." It would stand your hair on end.

Posted by keg at 12:18 PM

April 11, 2007

Most Dangerous and Livable States

Two interesting lists are The 2007 Most Dangerous States and The 2007 Most Livable States.

Most Dangerous U.S. State (rank = 1): Nevada
Least Dangerous U.S. State (rank = 50): North Dakota

Most Livable U.S. State (rank = 1): New Hampshire
Least Livable U.S. State (rank = 50): Mississippi

Virginia ranks # 36 on the Most Dangerous State list (well below average, where a higher ranking is worse) and # 12 on the Most Livable State list (well above average, where a higher ranking is better).

Where does your state rank?


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Posted by keg at 8:14 PM