OJ Vs. The Law

Regardless of whether or not OJ is guilty of armed robbery as he has been charged, he is wrong in his actions.

If we are to believe the biggest escaped-in-the-open lying murderer of our time, he was simply trying to get back some memorabilia that was stolen from him. When he heard the goods were in a Las Vegas hotel and he was conveniently in town for a wedding, he went to the room where the goods were supposedly stored and attempted to reclaim them.

There are problems here, several of them:

• Did he file a police report when the items went missing? When someone as *ahem* important as he loses personal memorabilia, it is a wise thing to file a police report, just in case.
• Did he think his version of vigilante justice would make sense to anyone besides his own, twisted self? There are many things we have the freedom to do in America, but dispensing our own justice when the law of the land has been broken is not one of them.
• Did he think that anyone would believe him? At all?

For a Christian, we are told that God reserves the right of vengeance to Himself. By acting out our own vengeance we rob God of His perfect justice which He’s stored up in His storehouses for dispensing on that day He has ordained for each of us. God has given the responsibility for certain applications of justice to earthly systems of authority based on the individual responsibilities of each of those systems. To parents He gave the reward and punishment of their children. The the church those inside the church. To the various municipal authorities each their own based on their defined areas of responsibility. But each derives it’s authority from it’s own authorities and ultimately from God Himself, the final arbiter and judge.

When two people not under the authority of the church and willfully unrepentant are at odds, generally the responsibility for justice, punishment and restoration falls to the civil courts and judicial system. Such is the case of OJ. If we are to believe his tales, he is still in the wrong for seeking to dispense his own form of gang justice.

Does he think he is a law unto himself? With the same smug smile he showed so self-righteously throughout the murder trial last decade, he is the epitome of the post-modern relativist morality. What is right for him is right for him, and others rules and laws make no difference to him. He does as he pleases and answers to no man for his deeds or thoughts.

As he skated the conviction and wounded justice so many years ago, he may now fall for pride.

The Fed’s Role In Maintaining Wall Street Stability

CNBC’s Mad Money host Jim Cramer went off on the Fed a few weeks ago over its actions in response to the market uncertainty and spike in interest rates coming off the bust of the sub-prime loan market (loans to customers with bad credit ratings.). The clip is very entertaining. Cramer’s solution is cut the discount rate/open the discount window (from what I gather, and I could be wrong, the feds offer short-term loans to banks trying to cover gaps in their money supply and Cramer is saying the interest rates on these loans should be cut to make it easier on these banks.).I believe a number of problems exist with this proposed solution, though. First, banks and investors assumed the risks by extending loans to these people with bad credit. Therefore, the Fed has not responsibility to bail them out.

Further, the Fed’s job is to maintain the long-term stability of the market by managing inflation. When they make decisions today, they are not trying to affect today’s market. Rather, they primarily try to affect the market two to three years from now. Therefore, for the Fed to take action today to affect today’s market is to sell out the long-term stability of the market.

Most moves to solve the problems, including some already taken, will include an influx of cash into the market. This influx, while maybe allaying some fears and propping up the market today, will increase inflation over the next year or more.

Further, investors have a short-term memory. A Fed bailout will alleve many risk-takers of having to bear the consequences of their lending habits. With Wall Street’s already short memory, lenders will soon be out assuming more high-risk loans.

The resilience of the stock market is, in large part, a result of the risk takers of society being free to work their magic. Soon, many who hit the bottom in the past month will be back on the street again. This is, in part, the beauty of a free market. It is also the bane.

It is not the Fed’s job to take the fall for Wall Street as lenders jump onto another passing train. The Fed should not intervene.

See “The Fed’s Alibi” for more commentary on the subject.

While You Were Sleeping

The enviro-wackos and green-commies won big over the weekend. The result: Cars will cost more to buy and maintain, draconian government will continue to grow, and stupidity will continue to thrive.

The Detroit Automakers lost in state court a “trial of experts” in which they hed tried to establish legal precedent against strict environmental  regulation by states. Reading the comments by two winning attorneys, I am struck by a few things:

• A judge thinks they can understand the intricacies of technology and innovation and control its progress. As I’ve postulated before, the current government and resulting business climate in America is stifling to to innovation, and to force or coerce innovation results in shoddy design and poor quality. This does not excuse the reticence of Detroit to actually innovate as long as they can keep the lines to their dealerships to buy already shoddy cars for way too much money, but we’re focused on the government problem right now.
• Lawyers are a sharkish and unloyal breed. One of the commenting attorneys quips ”
  

  Vermont, California and the other states have crafted new rules that will force the US automakers to catch up. They should start now, by firing their lawyers and hiring more engineers.

  I’ve got nothing against unloyal lawyers, but the smug superiority embodied in this response, the idea that “I know best” is thick and ugly.

• Unions are now an ugly blight on America. One particularly difficult problem is that of unions. Nearly all useful and necessary worker change supported by the unions has been enacted and codified in law and precedent, unions exist now to protect the lazy, the incompetent and their own power structures. The WSJ article on this ruling briefly mentions that the automakers are now in negotiations for a new union contract. I’m all for paying an employee what they’re worth and for caring for employees. That is the responsibility of the business and should be a sign of a good employer, not regulated by the government and used as a screen, hiding bad employers.

I’m all for companies innovating and making their cars more efficient and safer.

The problem is that coercing innovation does not work. Environmental regulation is misguided at best and evil at worst, focusing on the wrong thing and exacting a toll greater than the benefits that can be attained just by common sense and practicality. And government is not the answer now, it has not been in the past, and what evidence do we have that it will be the answer in the future?

Don’t Look For The Original

We know they’re crazy.

Pathos

I listened to several recordings of people caught in the pathos of the incidents surrounding the 9/11 attacks. The disparity between those who were leaders and those who were led as sheep was appalling.

There was the flight attendant, Ms. Ong, on American flight 11 who calmly assessed the situation and dealt with what she could, calling American Airlines reservations from her cell phone while locked in the cabin facing two stabbed flight attendants, one stabbed passenger, mace, and a locked cockpit door. Ms. Ong is a hero. She did not end up saving any lives, but she did her job, standing by her post, remaining calm, and doing what she could with what she had to try and fix what she could of the situation.

[Warning: These recordings are disturbing, the last one is very disturbing]

There was Kevin Cosgrove who began calmly, telling the 911 dispatcher his location, number, and who was with him, asking that the firefighters be directed to his location. But as the call progresses he begins to panic as he feels his future slipping away. Repeatedly shouting that he is too young to die, he berates the 911 operator, screaming that she bring in fire departments from as far as Ohio in his desperate attempt to foment his rescue. I cannot blame him, judge him, or even critique him for his desperate pleas, I have not faced death as he did. I can only assume that circumstances he is in would break many people, utterly. But you can hear the desperation in his voice as he looks for rescue. His is a voice of hopelessness. He is not ready to meet his maker. He isn’t ready to leave his wife, who he’d just called and told he was on his way out of the building when the second building (his building) is hit. You hear him scream as the building begins to fall, and you know he will soon meet God.

[Video was removed from youtube]

No one is too young to die. It is reasonable to see a young person and assume that they have more life before them than the person in the retirement facility down the street. But we have neither the knowledge nor the control to promise that child will not die in an accident today and that retiree might live for 20 more years, or more. God decides for each our time, we are expected to live our time to its fullest for Him. No more, no less. It is not for us to judge ones readiness to die, but to judge those who kill. God has given government the right of protection and justice, our government has rightly and righteously pursued the perpetrators of this terror.

For Mr. Ong as for Mr. Cosgrove, and for all those people for whom evil has proven fatal, we fight. Whether they died in fear or in courage, whether they were in the towers, at the pentagon, or among the heroes on flight 93. Whether they are American, or the huddled fear-ridden peoples of the middle east who have been terrorized for millenia longer than any of us in the west have.

More On Kozol’s Partial Fast

I last wrote about Jonathan Kozol’s partial fast in protest of the ESED. Another blogger wrote this parody of his experiences… 

Jonathan Kozol’s Diary: Day 68
Slept well last night, rather better than the poor, inner-city children who will attend a rundown, decrepit school this morning with rats in the halls, raw sewage in the bathrooms, and poorly lit corridors that hide the corruption brought on by six years of the Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind Act.

Got in the car and tuned in NPR, which had the latest news on the Congressional hearings on reauthorization of NCLB. The poisonous essence of this law lies in the mania of obsessive testing it has forced upon our nation’s schools and, in the case of underfunded, overcrowded inner-city schools, the miserable drill-and-kill curriculum of robotic “teaching to the test” it has imposed on teachers, the best of whom are fleeing from these schools because they know that this debased curriculum would never have been tolerated in the good suburban schools that they, themselves, attended.

I used that yesterday, but it’s still goooood. ☺

Stopped at Denny’s for the Lumberjack Slam®. Sent the third buttermilk pancake back for the demoralized teachers living in a state of siege, as well as the pressure to conform to teaching methods that drain every bit of joy out of the hours that their children spend with them in school.

Read more HERE.

We Will Never Forget…

…that one of the most urgent issues facing out nation is the war on terror.

6 years ago we were forced to face our mortal enemy, pulled from our drugged sleep we blinked and saw the image of fear.

It is not just America which faces an extinction of it’s current freedom, but the entire world.

In America we have a choice coming soon as to the leadership of this our nation, the election of a President.

It is a safe generalization that there is one party which is invested in the defeat of our nation and one that is invested in the victory of the entire world.

Never forget that in your hands rests the choice between life and death.

I will never forget .

More Gender Roles Musings

My English critical thinking class seems to be in the full swing of the gender roles discussion; it is our first essay! This follows a rhetorical analysis paper we did on an excerpt (from “Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality) about what is ‘masculine’ and what is ‘feminine’ in North America and the social schemas of man and woman; authored by Aaron Devor (published 1989). I honestly have no issues with his writing because it is well organized with an introduction, arguments, body defining ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ and a conclusion. He makes real observations and sound contrasting between the gender roles but it is with his conclusion that I have issue as it is far too short. He takes all of time to set the reader up properly and he concludes that the gender schemes are a matter of, “systematic power imbalances based on gender discrimination.” While I can tolerate his lack of articulation with such a huge idea, and agree with him, I believe I better sum it up with (keep in mind I’m writing it to context):

“In conclusion America was originally established as a patriarchal system in which male attributes were valued more than women attributes and because of this women have been wrongfully discriminated against. Still to this day in the 21st century America witnesses to the discrimination of women in the workplace, politics, civil rights and religion because of the gender schema placed on each sex. While there is still more work to be done in releasing ourselves from these gender schemes we must appreciate how far America, and even the world, has come and it is important to look back over the past to see what successes have been made.”

With that said I will jump to the classes’ interaction on this topic. As the except was analyzed in groups you got the feeling that people were mostly in agreeance with Devor but couldn’t quite seem to associate with what he was stating. For example, we could all agree that ‘masculine’ was being powerful, of prowess, forthright and ‘feminine’ was subdued, polite, and reserved but we couldn’t agree to how that actually applied to today. Devor’s writing would have us believe that the sexes are still in competition to one another versus both sexes complimenting one another. The teacher seemed a little concerned we weren’t getting the message as each student spoke up and explicitly or implicitly stated the gender roles have been blended and blurred. Followed was a student’s comment on how old the except was, “Near twenty years,” and how old Devor’s references were, some thirty years old which was agreed makes a big difference in context. I could see the light shining through slowly that everyone wasn’t buying the line. And then it finally hit me and I put in my voice.

“It isn’t that what is ‘feminine’ and what is ‘masculine’ has changed, as if that was the problem all along, it that’s as a society we value both gender roles more equally. Rather than these roles being in competition for value they are viewed today as complimenting one another and thus more equally valued.”

With this you could tell the final nail was sunk into the coffin of any hopes to bemoan the fact that there is such a thing as ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’. Many of the students followed with agreeance in their own ways. The African man piped up and said in his thick accent, “Yes, because with my parents my mom stayed home and cared for the children while my dad worked and fed the family. But it is not like that anymore, because in my family at the end of the month I ask my wife, ‘What bills are you paying and what bills am I paying’?” The teacher voiced her opinion that she was unsure of this fact and readmitted the question testing to see if we were sure the gender roles are more equally valued. Again more students reaffirmed what everyone and myself had been saying. I brought up the example of the show, “Queer Eye For The Sight Guy,” in which men favorably take on ‘feminine’ traits of manners, communication, thoughtfulness, etc and this is far more accepted today. It is also far more acceptable for women to reject men forthright and state their opinions.

Class was coming to a close and our teacher had to hand out the essay one topic. As I packed my items away I listened to her describe the coming writing task. We are to take Devor’s writing and compare it to one of today’s TV shows and see if his observations have remained true. Immediately this took me as very odd. I’d think an honest essay would examine whether or not Devor’s except is applicable at all to today, not some TV show. So I said my thoughts, “That seems a little odd in that Devor’s except is an honest examination of the ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ genders in real life in North America but TV shows are purely an exaggeration of life. This assumes that TV shows actually represent real life today, which is not true as they take the highlights and make a show about it; like Seinfeld.” She replied quickly, “But that’s a comedy what about ‘Gray’s Anatomy’?” Hoping I’d think that was more real. However, I rejected that and replied, “When I was becoming an EMT I was in an ER room and it was extremely boring and the coolest thing that happened that night was a kid came in with a broken arm,” the classroom laughed as I continued, “and there was no such thing as adulterous affairs, arguments, gun shot wounds all in one shift. It is exaggerated and so are ‘reality shows’.” She couldn’t reply to this as we in a previous class discussed how fantastical shows such as Survivor were because of all the editing.

Luckily for the teacher time was up and we were all ready to leave and she dismissed us with the promise to continue this in the next session. Nevertheless, I believe I made a sound argument for not using TV in such an analytical essay. So we shall see, if she will not change her mind I will use such shows as, “Sex In The City” and “Will And Grace” to illustrate how much American has changed. Therefore, in conclusion it is not about the wiping away of what is ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ the argument that we should be discussing is how each is valued. The fact is there is male and there is female and they are both different and similar and both are needed to complete the circle of life within a family and community. I believe America and other societies, should be more dynamic in their blending of the genders but still respect the fact that we are man and woman. An example of this is in my own house, I often will do the house chores while my wife will tend to her business. I have no problem with it and nor does she. I don’t feel any less masculine nor does she feel any less feminine. There are many example of this in our marriage yet I remain the husband and she remains the wife with love and respect.

The ESEA Circus Act

The U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor is holding hearings on the “Miller/McKeon Discussion Draft of ESEA Reauthorization.” Everyone has something to say about the law, so the hearings have morphed into a circus, including some of the most entertaining acts.

Announcer: “And so to your right, ladies and gentlemen, we have the epitome of flaming rhetoric, author Jonathan Kozol who has gone for 67 days without eating!”

Kozol: “This morning, I am entering the 67th day of a partial fast that I began early in the summer as my personal act of protest at the vicious damage being done to inner-city children by the federal education law No Child Left Behind, a racially punitive piece of legislation that Congress will either renew, abolish, or, as thousands of teachers pray, radically revise in the weeks immediately ahead.”

September 10, The Huffington Post

Texas: God’s Country, November 18th, 1999

My girlfriend will enjoy this post, for in her veins flows strong the thick blood of Texas. My mother’s family will enjoy this as well, for not only does their blood flow thick with Texas, but several of them are alumni of Texas A&M as well. But I did not write it for them. I write this for heroes, those who give their all. Not all heroes are supermen and women, not all heroes wear uniforms (though heroes are found in the uniform of the US Military in greater concentration than anywhere else), but all heroes value life.

I have not appreciated the spirit of a college, having attended a working-class school and not really participated in any of the trite, feel-good ceremonies the liberal leadership proscribed as being inclusive and enlightening. Being around my aunts and uncles I have vivid memory of them displaying the college cheer of Texas A&M and the explaining the tradition of the 12th man. This was but a taste. Now I have cousins who attend at Texas A&M, Corpus, and I feel an affinity which perhaps brings me closer to that great state. God has brought into my life a beautiful woman who hails from that state and I feel closer still. So as I’m perusing the blog world today I follow from the 4simpsons (very funny) through a commentor named Timothy to his own blog, which is new to me. Reading the top post and playing the video (view below) I learn of the story of the bonfire tradition and the tragedy of November 18th, 1999, when the logs fell.

All types of people can be found in all places, but in some places a particular spirit flows stronger than others. In Texas it’s the spirit of community. Ironically, or perhaps not, Texas is a land of rugged individualism, the lean lonesome cowboy of yesteryear, quintessential icon of the southwest. The settler pushing the envelope of western civilization, braving the terrors of the trail, the homestead, the farm and the ranch miles from any neighbor. It is among those who are comfortable in their own individuality there is found the best sense of community. A paradox, but one I can vouch for in my own life. Codependent people make poor neighbors, for themselves, and for those around them.

It is in this paradox of community that Texas has bred its sons and daughters to be strong and brave, free of the fetters of dependent mush so common among the pantywaist liberal mush pervading so many communities these days. And so when a few energetic, promising youth fell with the logs and died painful deaths, the school never forgot. From our small perspective futures were cut short, but in the grand scheme, through the eyes of God their days were complete. But that leave us, the community, the friends and the family to remain behind, mourning the fact that it may be a long time before we see them again. Hopefully we are assured that we shall see them again in glory.

Such is the case of Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr. Timothy is reportedly seen in the stack directing rescuers to others who are buried in the stack from his position above the ground. In the pictures one can see his legs are twisted in an unnatural position and when he finally allowed the rescuers to extract him after assisting them in finding at least 5 other injured, he was taken in to emergency surgery. He was opened and it was found that his internal organs were in such a mess as to be unrecognizable even to the skilled physicians operating on him. He was taped back together and put on life support where he remained only long enough to see his family one last time. He knew he was dying. He directed that life support be removed asking why he should fight for a few more days of life when he could go home and see Jesus right away.

“So teach us to number our days”~Psalm 90:12

Timothy is a hero. And he is not forgotten.

Another great tradition of Texas A&M is that of the 12th man. The 12th man embodies the concept of knowing who your family is and being willing always to stand, when called or when needed, beside them. Your family may be blood, relatives, or it may be community. Each and every Texas A&M student and alumni I have talked to has impressed me with their firm belief that where they called upon to suit up and stand on the field as the 12th man of the Texas Aggies football squad, they would not shirk their responsibility. Each and every Aggie fan I know takes this responsibility with a nearly holy sense of pride. It is not the ability, it is the willingness. It is doing what one must when one is called to do it that makes a hero. Especially when one is called beyond the normal call of duty.

I’m glad God made Texas.

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