Are They Really That Bad?

People just don't like gays and lesbians. People are afraid that they'll screw up their kids and mess up society. The main arguement against gays is that the Bible says that being gay is wrong. People feel that they have to protect their children from the gay man or woman next door. I have a neighbor who has a son that's been gay since I was little. His son had gay friends. I even bought a couple of comic books from the son. They didn't screw me up or turn me gay. I don't feel like all the angaist against gays are necesary. People don't want a gay or lesbian couple to get married. So what!!! That's between the couple, the ministor that married them, and God. If you live in America every man, woman, and child has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Same sex marriages are not going to hurt our children or our society.

Immigration: The Companies and Politicians

Immigration is a big issue right now. Yet it shouldn't be. There are several politicians that are trying to pass new immigration laws. Why? We already have laws against illegal immigration in place right now. There isn't a need for new ones. The ones that are currently in place just need to be enforced. People are also complaining about all the jobs that illegal immigrants are getting. These illegal immigrants aren't stealing them or just stumbling over them. Companies both big and small are hiring illegal immigrants. People get mad when an illegal immigrant is working at a warehouse, doing construction work, or cleaning up somewhere. People should get mad at the companies that hire them. Illegals can't work if a company or business doesn't hire or rather "hire" them. I'm not saying that its right for illegals to do what their doing. What I'm saying is that illegals can't do what they do without help. I have two coworkers, one from England and one from India, that immigrated here legally. They went through the hassle of the INS and immigrants from Mexico and South America should too. Enforce the laws that are already in place and go after the companies and business's that are hiring illegal immigrants.

My Evening Life as an Umpire. Part 1

I umpire baseball and softball for boys and girls ages 5 -12. I really enjoy being an umpire. I like what I do and I like interacting with the kids. What I don't like are coaches and parents that don't know the rules for their respective age group or the rules of baseball period. How can a person be the coach of a team and not know the rules. My job is to enforce the rules. Not teach the rules. I don't mind teaching the rules if the coaches will listen. I had a coach yesterday take a little girl out of the game because she was hurt. This coaches pitcher was about to pitch the ball while the girl was still off the field in the dugout. The rule states that if play continues while an injured player is off the field that player must remain out for the rest of the game. I'm thinking about reminding the coach of the situation when the other umpire says I ought to go ahead and remind him. I call time before the pitch and reminded the coach that if play continues that his player would be out for the rest of the game. He asks if he could have time and I said sure. When his player came back out on the field he said the me and the other umpire didn't have to be so ruthless(I've been called worse!). We said that we were following the rules and that's why I came to remind him. Its the coaches responsibility to call time for his player. I said that I came to remind him because his player would have been out for the rest of the game. The coach said that we didn't have to do what we were going to do because they were 9 & 10 year old girls. I told the coach again that I came to him to remind him of what would happen and gave him the opportunity to call time. He still felt that we were wrong for following the rules. I gave the coach time to get his player back on the field and I'm the bad guy. I didn't have to do it as the rule doesn't say that I have to remind a coach due to the fact that he/she should know. Know the rules coaches.

Video Games: The New Threat to Our Youth? HA!

Violent video games. I play'em. I've played all kinds of video games since I was in the 4th grade. I haven't gone out and commited a violent act based on a video game. I've played violent and gory games from the original Wolfenstein to Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas. Many of my friends have played games far worse and they haven't gone on to commit violent acts. Two teenagers ages 14 and 16 took one of their father's rifles, went to an overpass, and began shooting at cars on the freeway below. The teens killed 3 people and injured a few others(I don't have the exact details). When the teens were asked why they did it they said that they saw it in Grand Theft Auto. The parents of the teens and one of the victums parents sued Rockstar. They felt that the video game maker was to blame for the teens killing 3 people. Regardless of whether they saw the violence in the game or not they still have common sense. Common sense should have told them that killing people in a video game, thats not real, is not the same as killing people in real life. Unless the video game specifically tells people to go out and commit violent acts it and its makers should not be held accountable. Parents need to be a little more involved in their kids lives and know what they're playing. Video games have ratings on them just like movies and CD's. Kids and parents need to be more responsible.

Music Filler

One thing that I don't like about the music industry is the practice of putting filler songs on CD's. This practice is especially bad among hip hop and rap music. An artist will have a CD with 18 track on it. Out of those 18 tracks the artist will have say.....2 songs for the radio. Aside from those 2 there will be anywhere from 1 to 5 other songs worth listening to and even those won't be great quality songs. An 18 track CD will have anywhere from 3 to 7 tracks of any quality. That sucks bad. The music industry wonders why so many people are downloading music. Artists need to get back to producing quality music. Not crap that's thrown together professionally. The sad part about this is people keep buying this crap. If someone makes an 18 track CD why can't I get 18 quality tracks. Don't you?

Whose Side is He On?

Why is it that religions of peace have followers that exibit so much violence? This has gone on since the beginning of time. I won't go into history today in order to keep things current. The President of the United States appeared on TV and said that God was a deciding factor in his decision to go to war(this is not word for word). Muslim leaders have stated that Allah is behind them and that he will help them fight and kill the western nations. God and Allah. One and the same. Where and when did He give man the right to fight and kill each other? The Arabs fight against the western world in the name of Allah(God) and the Western world is currently fighting muslims in the name of God(Allah). Which side is God/Allah on? Could it be that the devil has tricked both the westerners and the muslims?

Conflict

I have to say that I am very conflicted with not only America but the world as a whole. I'm going to stick with the good ole USA for now and talk about dictators. Before I begin I'd like to say that I do not hate America. Saddam was a bad man. He was a dictator and he ruled ruthlessly and in some cases inhumanly. Yet history shows that the American government help to empower him. He was always a dictator and a ruthless man yet we helped him. When he used chemical weapons our government was fine with it. When he had numerous people murdered our government was fine with it. Our government supports and has supported numerous dictators "evil regimes" throughout history that have gone on and done the same. Iran, South Vietnam, South Korea, Afghanistan, South Africa, the Colombian drug cartels, al-Quida, and the list goes on. How can we tout democracy while at the same time let a Saddam rule? The argument can be stated that it is in the best interests of the US control these leaders and you can make a case for that. You can't be vocal about a dictator that you support. But you can't tout democracy and support a Saddam at the same time yet we do both. What are your thoughts?

My First Post

I want to use this blog to express my views on various topics such as history, music, current events, etc. Questions and comments are always welcome. My first topic will be about voting. This will be short but I'll have longer ones in the future. Are we as Americans informed enough to vote, do we understand what the people that we elect into office are supposed to do, and do we understand the different levels of government are supposed to do? Like I said earlier, this topic is short and may not be all that clear but I'll create longer and more detailed ones in the future.