The Garbled Epoch

Anyone recognize this guy? Yes it's good old' Pat Robertson from the 700 Club. Why in the heck would I show you a picture of him? Well... Because of his recent suggestion of the US "taking out" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Below is going to be a transcript on what the man said and here is a video report of what the man said:

"ROBERTSON: There was a popular coup that overthrew him [Chavez]. And what did the United States State Department do about it? Virtually nothing. And as a result, within about 48 hours that coup was broken; Chavez was back in power, but we had a chance to move in. He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

Many Latino news reports are calling Robertson a "ultraconservative religious leader" and are obviously in an uproar about the comments said last Monday. But what are American's saying. What is the left saying and what is the right saying? What are you to take away from this?

Robertson recently today released this statement saying that he really didn't mean that we should assassinate Chavez.

"I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should 'take him out.' And 'take him out' can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP [Associated Press], but that happens all the time,"

That is true, Robertson has been misinterpreted by the AP on a few occasions including the 2003 spat about when some people thought that Robertson was asking Christians to pray for some of the supreme judges to retire. Many thought he was asking people to pray that they would get sicker, many questioned his interpretations on our judicial system but all in all, he was simply saying that there were judges getting to a point where they could no longer function in a judicial capacity.

So we know that Robertson has been misinterpreted before but what about this time? I don’t really know if he can back out of this one. All I do know is that as a Christian, he shouldn’t have said the first part of that controversial statement. The whole “You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it.” statement might be true, but you know what? He’s a televangelist first, a politician second. This places Christians in a bad light. If maybe he had worded it differently, done something to suggest it might have only been a joke etc… but no, there’s almost no way around that statement.

Sure, Chavez might not be the greatest thing for Venezuela, but really do we have to run the entire world? Do we have to become so active in the world, that if we see a political leader that might be trouble for us we “take him out”? Thank God that the Bush Administration is backing away from these statements. The left would have a field day with that kind of material.

My finishing note is this. Muslims and Communisms together!?!?!!? Where the heck does he get that from!? Communism is strictly against religion because in a perfect society religion isn’t necessary because that illumined perfect state is already there. So that statement kind of made me laugh. Yet, that combination would be kind of scary.

All in all very interesting how everyone is jumping down his throat.

Last year my mom signed me up for this class that greatly impacted my life. Without it I doubt that I would even dare to write about the subjects I do. Every Monday I sit down at 12 o'clock and enter into a world of debate, politics, religion, sports, computers, etc.... We discuss anything and everything. There are a few things that people need to know. 1. How to carry on a conversation. 2. How to speak in public. 3. How to debate. All are three very different things which sound the same. I am looking forward to this year because I had to learn number three last year. Now, I believe that I am able to present my writing in a more clear precise manner. However this is what I ask of you.

Do I present the material that you read in a clear precise manner?

If yes, then please inform me of subjects you'd like to hear about.

If no, then please inform me of ways that I might make my writings more clear and what you'd like to hear about.



Now this week I had to do homework before I go to class which starts tomorrow. I had to read Walden Two, and answer certain questions in my notebook. You know the basics, what are the basics of ethics and morality in Walden Two... what do they feel about history in Walden Two... etc... But more on those questions later, let me first BRIEFLY explain Walden Two.

Walden Two was written by B.F. Skinner a psychologist who believed that man is a product of the environment he is placed in. That man is nothing more than a complex machine that can be culturally, socially conditioned. Walden Two, based in the late 1940's after WWII, is about a utopian society that a psychologist named Frazier created. This place, ironically, believes in the same thing that the author believes, that man can be conditioned to be good.

After awhile of reading this book I can only come to one, personal conclusion. I HATE IT. The idea that man is basically nothing more than a machine, programmed by nothing other than his society is just BULLCRAP. I will admit that society plays a role in a persons life, but man is not just a simple machine! Humans simply cannot be conditioned out of the evil that plagues us. It is a part of us just like our desire to do good is a part of us.

There is a struggle for good and evil in the world that man must realize. Our desire to do good, because that is what humans were created to do. It was only when we did mess up that evil came into this world and it is something that we can't get rid of on our own.

Culturally this is a dangerous thought, that man can be programmed because it imposes the belief that man is something like an animal or computer. It doesn't place the amount of relevance on humans that we are due. We are sentient beings aware of our existence and capable of free though. If we believe Skinner, then murder isn't something evil, its just evidence of a failure of society, and not the man's failure. I'm sorry but I don't like the idea of being a robot.

That’s my ranting for today. I'm very P.O.'d at Skinner. So much for briefly.

So many things are going on in the world around that there's always some sort of important story getting thrown out the door. Today it turns out that there was another European diaper fiasco. I don't know why these people freak when they see a diaper. I can understand the first diaper scare, as mentioned by me last Monday, but this is just plain crazy.

People. The cat is out of the bag. World domination is being planned by infants across the world. The evidence is clear, we just have to know how to read the signs. First we see men joining their ranks in an attempt to “be on the winning side”. Then, there’s the United State’s Transportation Security Administration cracking down on the infantile terrorist cells in America. But to top it all off, we now have clear and direct evidence that they are packing in their own diapers.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let’s talk about another system, mainly political. The Iraqi Constitution was delayed this week due to their disagreement on two issues. Federalism and the Islamic Law.

In regard to the Islamic law, they have agreed on one issue; that no law would be made to contradict the Koran. However, many are afraid that Islam's Sharia law will continue to impose severe restrictions on the women in Iraq which to many would see as a step back in the movement of democracy in Iraq.

So let's hope that true democracy will be attained.

On another note, I still owe you all my thoughts on Intelligent Design (that is if you all want them).

So this past week has been filled with interesting news releases and such. A few were too good to pass up and you all might find them interesting....

Man Answers To His Three Wives

I'm sure that when Melvyn Reed was nervous when he went under the blade for a triple bypass. But nothing I'm sure was scary than waking up and seeing his three wives waiting for some answers. Bigamy didn't look so good after that I bet for this man. I originally read this on Wednesday from MSN, but was unable to find that exact same article so enjoy that one.

The Diaper-clad Stalker

Slightly disturbing... and definatly makes you go hmmmm. This man roams North England asking women if they know where he could find, "...any baby changing facilities around here?"

France's Father-Son Pig Squeal Contest has a New Winner

I love how the French think of us as stubborn mules... and this is how I see most of them. A giant stuck-up pig and there's the biggest of them all.

Baby Terrorist

Fear has gone to far. Yet oddly enough this brings a laugh in my life. It turns out that some infants aren't aloud on US flights due to their names. Evidently The Transportation Security Administration has a fear of toddlers.

Gamer's Gameover

It appears that this is game over for this man after a 49 hour game session ended him up in the ground pushing up daisy. Must have been the Bawlz, or maybe these games are getting a little too realistic.

More to come soon! As I am writing this, the Iraqi's Constitution Draft Committee has failed to meet their deadline. Expect my thoughts on this in a little bit as well as my political view of the Inteligent Design debate.

The one thing that I have dread and wanted to happen is upon me. The one thing that makes me smile and feel sick to my stomach all at the same time is here. My senior year. This is the last year I will have at the "schools" I go to. The last year I will be a part of my youth group and the last year I will have to be called a high school student

Many times we in society place a certain responsibility or value on titles like Dr. or Mr. All it does is give one a title, it isn't a description of the man's character, not who the true man is. Same with "high school student" and "college student". Many place more responsibility on the college student thinking they are of better character because the have aged to that point. Not true, for it is the high school student that makes the college student.

Which leads me to my point. My high school career if you will. What kind of college student am I making myself? What kind of man am I because and what man will I leave behind? Will I leave behind a mark of things that will pass away or continue on? Where is my compass pointed? Towards my generation, or myself? I know where my heart is, but which way is it striving?

When I leave I want to leave behind a mark that will last. I want to make an impact upon those I met, and I want them to impact me. As Jeff said last Wednesday (ironically I had begun this post that very morning) "suck the marrow out of life." Yes that is quoting Robin William's character in "Dead Poet Society" which I have come to love for so many reasons.

Carpe Diem...
Seize the day...
Look at things with a different perspective...
Strive for greatness...
Walk your own walk...

All are great lessons to be learned. I hope though that I can continue to learn them each day and even in my example lead others to do the same. I hope that I will be remembered. I know that deep down inside every man women and child has a few basic needs. The basic necessities of life i.e. water, food; but a man also needs a purpose and acknowledgement of his existence from his peers, and that he is making a difference. And I pray to God that I'm doing just that.

So enough about me. I can't wait to focus on some of the interesting social political phenomenon going on in the world around me this very era. We are entering a new saga in this journey we call life and I am thrilled, and at times scared, to witness. More about that next post though. For now, I'm off to bed.

So now comes the actual post. David is starting another blog. This one will continue to be my main one, I just will have 2 ones that people should be reading. One on politics and the world around. The other will be a journal about my thoughts on faith.

All I have to do is think of a name.

And yes, I have another entry coming soon, expect one before late tomorrow.