Silly laws breed disrespect for laws – Wi-fi logs for 2 years?

I read yesterday that a bill in both the Senate and the House will compel ISP’s and wi-fi users to keep usage logs for two years. There is no distinction between public and private wi-fi’s. Which basically means that I’ll have to keep traffic logs of my home network for two years. I don’t even know if that’s technologically possible with my wireless router.

This proposal is ridiculous and unenforceable. First, the shear amount of data that would have to be parsed would probably make it harder to track child predators than it is now. Second, since it covers voice over IP (VOIP) communicate it amounts to wire tapping without a warrant. I’m sorry but when “nanny-state” legislators pass laws that are perceived as unreasonable to the average law-abiding citizens, average law-abiding citizens begin to lose respect for the rule-of-law and their governing bodies. This is one of those unreasonable proposals. I can tell you right now that I won’t comply with this silliness.

Here’s a letter that I sent to one of my Senators:

Senator Cornyn,

About S.436. Are you serious? I would expect this feel-good, unenforceable legislation from the Democrats. But come on, from so-called conservative Republicans? Did the Republicans become “Nanny state” politicians while I wasn’t paying attention.

This bill will do nothing that it’s designed to do. Due to the vast amount of data it will only make it more difficult to track down child predators. Additionally, it will put more burden, and therefore, more costs on small businesses and individuals like myself who simply have a wireless router in my home. As far as I can tell there’s absolutely no provision in my wireless router to capture logs for more than a few hours let alone two years. I don’t like it and I’m angry with you for supporting this unreasonable legislation. When the government starts making silly laws the people start losing respect for the government and their laws. This is one of those proposals. Since this could be interpreted to cover “voice over IP” telephone communications it also amounts to illegal wiretapping.

Instead of putting the burden on me for crime fighting please just punish the ones committing the crime. Please reverse your course and come down on the side of the rights of the individual to be free from obtrusive government intervention and unreasonable record keeping.

Regards,
Jim Rector

We’ll see how he responds. I’ll report back when he does.

Thomas Jefferson – The Prophet

In light of the present financial crisis, it’s interesting to read what Thomas
Jefferson said in 1802:

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Like the gas prices – Don’t get used to it

I just paid $1.46/gal. for gas to fill up my Chevy Blazer. I loved paying around $20 to fill it up compared to over $60 a few short months ago. If you figure five fill ups in one month that’s $200 bucks added to my bottom line for just that one vehicle. What a way to stimulate the economy!

If you, like me enjoy this, don’t get used to it. Barack Obama is putting together his ‘environment’ team and has chosen Steven Chu as Energy Secretary. This does not bode well for those of us who believe it’s better to have cheap energy and think going after our own resources is the right thing to do.

Consider these quotes:

“Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,” Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.

And, considering that around 50% of our electricity is generated by coal, this comment by Mr. Chu is very troubling:

“Coal is my worst nightmare”

If the Obama administration, along with a complicit congress restrict the use of coal at all you’ll see your electricity rates jump 300-400%. Would you like your light bill that’s now $100 to be $400? Not me. How about $8/gal. gasoline? Shame, shame. The great thing about this country is that were NOT Europe. This is America and the great thing about this country is that since our inception we’ve been DIFFERENT from every other country and I want it to stay that way.

I encourage everyone to contact their Senator, especially if their Republican and encourage them to block this appointment. We don’t need enviro-wackos in the highest pinnacles of our government.

(HT/Armchair Energist)

Ok, after some more research I have to give Steven Chu some props for being for nuclear power. But I still don’t want someone who thinks gasoline needs to be $8/gal.

Our Republic is an Oligarchy

The definition of Oligarchy:

From the Greek for ‘rule of the few’, this is a form of government in which power is centralised in the hands of an organised élite and is used for their social and/or economic benefit. Their power is maintained by force or by the shaping of the law to restrict the people and/or remove any need to consult them or be accountable to them. Many of the monarchies established in Europe during the Middle Ages began as oligarchies, with one family eventually gaining ascendancy over others.

Based on our “elected” representatives actions of the last few weeks I think our Constitutional Republic is almost dead. No longer do our elected officials listen to us. They simply do what they want. Take Diane Feinstein for instance. She gets 91,000 calls about the bail-out bill with 85,000 telling her to vote no. Her response:

Feinstein to 85,000 Callers: “You’re Confused”

During this evening’s Senate vote, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) took the podium to explain her position on the proposed bailout package. In her statement, she explains that she received 91,000 calls and emails, with 85,000 of them opposed to the measure. Even armed with the knowledge that 93% of her constituents passionate enough to contact her office pleaded for her to vote “nay”, she votes in favor of the bill, claiming that “there is a great deal of confusion out there” and these people “don’t understand” the situation.

Sounds more like Oligarchy to me. 99% of our “representatives” in Washington don’t give a flying rat’s behind what we think unless they’re up for re-election. Even then, they simply give us lip-service to get elected and then go on doing their own thing. We need to punish them when they do this by not ever voting for them again.

What can we do? Well, in the near term quit voting for these guys and gals. End the mindset that they have to have a “D” or “R” after their names or you’re throwing away your vote. The only way to change this broken system is to change the way we approah voting. Sure, a third party may not win for many years to come. But, in the process a few ’safe’ incombants may get knocked off. They’ll know our displeasure. I wrote both my Senators and Congressman and implored them to look at Dave Ramsey’s Common Sense Approach to solving this current crisis. I also stated that I would never vote for any politician who vote yes to this pork-laden, economic sell-out plan. Well, John Cornyn just lost my vote. I’ll be looking at any non-democratic opponent he has. If they meet my criteria, they’ll get my vote. Plan and simple. The same goes for Senator Hutchison when she’s up for re-election, or runs for Govenor. No vote from me for her. Finally, even though he probably won’t get my vote anyway, if Congressman Nick Lampson votes yes, he will have sealed his fate with me.

I encourage folks every where to hold these guys accountable and put your vote where your mouth is.

Couple of different views – Palin

Ok, It’s no secret that I’m somewhat impressed with Sarah Palin. The issue of whether a woman can serve as VP or President for that matter, is not cut in stone or black and white in my book. In my previous post I tend to agree with what Dr. Mohler says on the issue. There are a few folks that I respect and love (In the case of my son, Richard.) that have a different take than I do. That’s ok. So in support of balance I commend their posts on the subject to you.

First, my son Richard is very settled on the issue. In his post What does “conservative” mean anymore? It seems a fluid concept to me… he states his belief and position very succinctly. One statement that I need to think about further is this….

I was saddened by a response to a blog I read a few days ago where an individual stated that a woman should put God before her husband, which of course “gives her some allowance to go against her husband,” in the event “God is telling her” to do something her husband does not approve of. Friends, if we have set our minds on loving God and doing what he commands, then we cannot ignore His created order. Yes, women are ultimately accountable to God for their actions, and not their husbands. But this Biblical concept does not stop here! It means furthermore that they will give an account of their obedience to His commands, one of which is to submit to their husbands!

I agree with the statement and think that it applies to children as well. What I’m not settled on is that it totally applies in this situation.

I also respect Richard’s pastor Voddie Baucham. In his post Did McCain Make a Pro-Family VP Pick? He raises states his thoughts that VP is “Not a Pro-family Job” and her pick is “Not a Pro-family Message.” He gives me something to think about in the quote…

Are we really saying that we want to completely erase the distinctions between men and women.  Do we really believe that it is good for our country to promote the view that women are merely men who happen to be biologically capable of having children (when it does not interfere with career advancement, of course)?  I don’t think so.  What do we do with the Bible’s admonition in Titus chapter two?  Are Christian conservatives saying that Paul’s instructions concerning women’s duty to be “keepers of their homes” has somehow been overturned in light of recent discoveries?  Or are we saying that pro-family means one thing when we’re in church, but something else when we’re trying to beat the Democrats?

Lastly James McDonald has a thought provoking post, Voting in Faith, where he makes that case that voting requires prayerful consideration in the dichotomy of voting based solely on principle vs. voting on a combination of principle and strategy. Here’s his statement that makes me think…

The Bible says in Romans 14 that anything not done in faith is sin. Could it be that two Christians could vote in faith but vote for different men? Could one vote on what he believes to be principle, for a candidate he knows will not win, and do so in faith? Can another believer vote in a strategic fashion, recognizing his choice is not “perfect,” but represents some of his most important values, and has a chance of winning? Can this one vote in faith as well?

All good men who I respect greatly. To be honest I have no idea at this point who I’ll vote for except that it won’t be Obama. I rest in the fact that a sovereign Gods sets up our leaders and takes them down.

Former Dem Voting for Palin

A great post from a former Democrat why she’s voting Palin for VP. A Vote for Sarah Palin by Suann Therese Maier.

Note: This does not mean I’m voting McCain/Palin. It’s just a thought provoking post. However, I’ll never vote for Obama/Biden.

Palin – Like or Not?

Putting aside whether Sarah Palin should be a stay-at-home mom or not, I think it’s a brilliant political strategy. Even with the latest revelations about her family she’s energized most conservative who were luke warm at best over John McAmnesty McCain. Instead of restating things I’ll point you to a couple of blog posts. The first over at Right Wing News is an post by John Hawkins titled The Top 7 Reasons Why Palin Was A Brilliant Choice For VP. I especially like point 3:

Palin has particular appeal on the Pro-life issue: Palin isn’t just pro-life; she talks the talk and walks the walk. She didn’t consider aborting her child with Down Syndrome and when her 17 year old daughter became pregnant with a child and decided to keep it, she supported her, which stands in stark opposition to Obama who famously said, “I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

Another is point 5:

The #1 charge the Left has launched at Palin, that she’s inexperienced, better applies to their own candidate for President. Palin is more qualified to be the President than Barack Obama, so you just have to smile every time some liberal says, “She’ll be a heartbeat away from the presidency.” I mean, can’t the exact same thing be said about Obama? I mean, what if something happened to Biden and we had Obama in charge and…oh wait, the “heartbeat away” candidate is on top of the Democratic ticket.

Another post is by Al Mohler titled An Unexpected New Motherhood Debate. I think these three paragraphs sum up the thoughts of a lot of Christian social conservatives:

…………Do I believe that a woman can serve well in the office of Vice President of the United States?  Yes.  As a matter of fact, I believe that a woman could serve well as President — and one day will.  Portraits of significant men of history hang on the walls of my library –but so do portraits of Queen Elizabeth I of England and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The New Testament clearly speaks to the complementary roles of men and women in the home and in the church, but not in roles of public responsibility.  I believe that women as CEOs in the business world and as officials in government are no affront to Scripture.  Then again, that presupposes that women — and men — have first fulfilled their responsibilities within the little commonwealth of the family.

Is this kind of public role what most women want?  Clearly not, and for that I am honestly thankful.  The tasks assigned to women within the home are monumental.  The maternal role is crucial, and the vast majority of women find their greatest fulfillment in this role — and for good reason.  In the roles of wives and mothers women do what no one else can do so naturally and so well.

Though I might have some religious convictions around the role of motherhood vs. working when I look at the alternatives I can’t see many better choices.

Republican Party of Texas – Scary

In 2002 my proudest political moment was to serve on the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Platform Committee. I actually felt like I was doing something constructive. In 2004 My wife and I were incredulous at the venom towards grassroots delegates at the state convention that simply wanted Republicans to be Republicans. We realized then that most of the state party leadership were corrupt RNC “yes men” ( or women) who labeled you un-loyal for daring to question their wisdom. We basically decided that that would be our last convention.

I’m saddened to see the shenanigans that took place this year by the party State Chair Tina Benkiser. I won’t regurgitate it here but point you to these links:

http://www.rightintexas.com/2008/06/where-do-we-go-from-here.html
http://www.rightintexas.com/2008/06/just-when-you-thought-it-couldnt-get.html
http://www.rightintexas.com/2008/06/abuse-of-power-rpt-style.html
http://www.rightintexas.com/2008/06/gatekeeper.html and
http://www.newswithviews.com/Stang/alan53.htm

You will see that the party leadership violated the rule of law and suppressed the opposition using gross violation of procedural protocol. What a waste. I’m sickened by actions that would have made Hitler, Lenin, and Marx proud.

Oh well, just a rant. Another example of the Republican party leaving the folks who built it behind.