Tornado Experience

May 25, 2011 Posted by zachary

Last night was interesting. Power went out around 5-ish. We had our emergency radio out and listening to the weather news.

I went around the house and turned off all the electronics. We cleared out the cleared out our “storm shelter” (the closet at the end of the hall) and prepped it for our occupation. We let the dogs inside. Kelsie came running in but Diamond took a little more coaxing. She wanted in, but her radio collar has trained her to stay away from the back door so I had to drag her.

We climbed into our “storm shelter” (the closet at the end of the hall) Two adults, four kids and a puppy makes for a very crowded closet. We were in there for about 20 minutes while we listened to the news about the tornado. Once it passed, we climbed out to still no power.

Our home was pretty much fine. So were all of our neighbors. The storm had passed a few miles north of us. There was some small debris in our yard, but we were otherwise fine. (more…)

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Categories: Current Events

Kill the PATRIOT Act

May 24, 2011 Posted by zachary

This is a letter I wrote to my senators after reading that they allowed the PATRIOT Act to continue through the senate without a vote. Senator Tom Coburn voted for the motion. Senator James Inhofe did not vote.

I am disappointed to see that you have allowed the PATRIOT Act to continue through the senate without debate. The fact that the US government saw fit to violate the privacy and due process rights of its citizens is bad enough, but to continue to allow this breach of our Constitutional rights is an even worse infringement against the American people.

I would certainly hope that when it actually comes to voting for this extension that you will vote against it. I am getting sick of every move by this once great nation as it becomes more and more of the totalitarian state that we claim to despise in other countries governments.

It is time to stop treating every citizen of this nation as if they were a terrorist. We need to end the PATRIOT Act, the TSA and the DHS. They are doing nothing but providing the illusion of security at the cost of the privacy and due process rights of the people.

If you have actually suspicion that would convince a judge to issue a warrant against specific individuals of interest, so be it. But do not think that the people of this nation will continue to roll over and have their rights stripped from them.

If you continue to support moves such as you did with the PATRIOT Act, I will be voting against you in the next election and actively encouraging other to do like wise. We need people who honor, support and uphold the constitution, not people who toss it out with the trash. We the People deserve better than that. (more…)

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Categories: Politics and Law

Copyright is Out of Control

May 23, 2011 Posted by zachary

Google CensoredThis is a letter I sent to my US Congressman Tom Cole and my US Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe. Interestingly enough, Senator Coburn was the only one who had “Intellectual Property” as one the possible issues. Representative Cole was the only one with an editable subject line.

I am writing to you today about the “PROTECT IP” act and ACTA that is currently circulating the capital these days.This bill would grant sweeping power to the government and private interests to suppress speech and destroy innovation in the information technology sector. To this I must ask the following:

What benefit does the average person get from expanding upon the already bloated Copyright laws in this nation? What benefit does a small time musician, writer, independent film producer or independent game developer get from these expanded “protections”?

As an independent game developer and an independent writer, I see no benefit to being granted sweeping authority to suppress speech, especially when I do not have the resources to exercise the authority granted to me. As an independent creator, I do not even have the resources available to exercise the authority granted to me under the DMCA. So again I ask, what benefit do I get out of these expanded “rights”? (more…)

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Categories: Politics and Law

Government Welfare: Theft or Charity?

May 15, 2011 Posted by zachary

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread (Genesis 3:19; King James Bible)

And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. (Mosiah 4:16; Book of Mormon)

As Latter-day Saints, we have an obligation to care for those who are in need. To this end the Church has established a number of programs to assist those in need. Chief amongst these is the Fast Offering program. Every month, the members of the church fast for 24 hours and take the funds that would have been used to purchase food for those meals and donate to the Fast Offering program. This money is then used to help those who do not have money to get food for their families and pay for other things. Other notable programs are the Perpetual Education Fund and the church Humanitarian Relief.

However, even with these funds available, those who are in need are still required to do all they can to provide for themselves. For as God commanded Adam after the Fall, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” This commandment holds as true today as it did then. We are obligated to provide for our own needs. (more…)

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Categories: Economic Liberty

Wally Hates Paywalls – Goes One Step Further

May 12, 2011 Posted by zachary

Someone at the Tulsa World needs to actually read the comics section of their paper. Yesterday’s Dilbert Comic Strip was about paywall systems such as the one the Tulsa World recently introduced.

Wally Kills the Pay Wall

It is so strange that the big wigs at the Tulsa World don’t understand how adding a paywall to their website will not make them any more money. What it is going to do is cost them money and lose them readers.

I am not one to criticize anyone’s political view points (okay, maybe I am a little) but it seems to me that if the Tulsa World is losing money it is not because of a lack of a paywall. I think the issue is with their overtly Liberal  bias in their news reporting in an ever growing Conservative state.

Creating a paywall is not going to suddenly make those Conservative news readers want to read their news. It will move them faster to competing news sources like the Daily Oklahoman that actually understands the need to freely distribute the news to the people.

So come on Tulsa World, get rid of the paywall already.

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Abortion and the Right to Life

May 11, 2011 Posted by zachary

About a month ago, a man I admire, Danny Ledonne, wrote a blog post about why libertarians should support a woman’s right to seek an abortion under any circumstance. As he points out, this is a contentious issue that the Libertarian Party has punted on.

Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. (Libertarian Platform 1.4)

In Danny’s defense of a woman’s right to seek an abortion, he uses what he admits to being an imperfect analogy of an unwelcome house guest:

If I am the owner of a property, I decide who is welcome and who is not.  If an unwelcome person persists in remaining on my property (an “intruder”), I have the right to use every means up to and including deadly force to remove this person from my property.  Naturally, I am going to seek out non-violent means to resolve this conflict first, however at some point if the person refuses to leave my property (“like it or not, I am living in your dining room for the next nine months”), I may choose to use physical confrontation to remove this person.  You see where I am going with this; if a woman has self-ownership over her body, then clearly she is the sole decision-maker as to whom is welcome inside her body.

Now I have a problem with this. This analogy, while written in good faith, is not an accurate representation of pregnancy or abortion. (more…)

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Categories: Personal Liberty

Re: Abortion and Libertarians

May 10, 2011 Posted by zachary

About a month ago, a man I admire, Danny Ledonne, wrote a blog post about why libertarians should support a woman’s right to seek an abortion under any circumstance. As he points out, this is a contentious issue that the Libertarian Party has punted on.

Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. (Libertarian Platform 1.4)

In Danny’s defense of a woman’s right to seek an abortion, he uses what he admits to being an imperfect analogy of an unwelcome house guest:

If I am the owner of a property, I decide who is welcome and who is not.  If an unwelcome person persists in remaining on my property (an “intruder”), I have the right to use every means up to and including deadly force to remove this person from my property.  Naturally, I am going to seek out non-violent means to resolve this conflict first, however at some point if the person refuses to leave my property (“like it or not, I am living in your dining room for the next nine months”), I may choose to use physical confrontation to remove this person.  You see where I am going with this; if a woman has self-ownership over her body, then clearly she is the sole decision-maker as to whom is welcome inside her body.

Now I have a problem with this. This analogy, while written in good faith, is not an accurate representation of pregnancy or abortion. (more…)

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Categories: Moral Issues, Politics and Law

Seek an Education That Glorifies God

May 9, 2011 Posted by zachary

O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God. (Alma 37:35; Book of Mormon)

And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and by faith. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118)

Latter-day Saints are commanded to learn wisdom and gain an education. We are to seek out the best institutions of education available to us. Not only are we to seek an education, we are to seek one that glorifies God and builds on our faith in him. (more…)

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Categories: Personal Liberty

Taxation and Its Role in a Free Society

May 9, 2011 Posted by zachary

Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21; King James Version of the Bible)

Taxation is a contract between the people and the government stating that the people are willing to part with some of their income in support of programs and services offered by the government with the idea that these programs and services provide a public good.

It is often the case with unjust leadership to break this contract and use taxation as a means to unjustly enrich the people in power and their friends while also oppressing those who are seen as enemies. (more…)

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Categories: Economic Liberty

Elections Should be Free and Equal

May 9, 2011 Posted by zachary

I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free in deed; and the law also maketh you free.

Never the Less, when the wicked rule the people mourn.

Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil. (Doctrine and Covenants 98:8-10)

We oppose laws that effectively exclude alternative candidates and parties, deny ballot access, gerrymander districts, or deny the voters their right to consider all legitimate alternatives. (Libertarian Platform 3.6)

As a Latter-day Saint, we are asked to vote for honest people who reflect our values and ideals. How are we to do so when those people are blocked from being on the ballot? Many states have laws that restrict the formation of new parties and make campaigning more costly for those who are not in favor with the government. (more…)

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Categories: Political Liberty
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