A Glimpse of America's Future

Despite the fact that I did not agree with them, Republicans just seemed to be more of an annoyance than a threat to my basic humanity for a long time, but then a man named Ron Paul came along. Old Ron won the CPAC straw poll not once, but twice in a row. In case you're wondering, CPAC is the largest gathering of conservatives and conservative thinkers in the country. It is said that if you want to be a Republican Presidential candidate, you must win the CPAC straw poll at least once, and those who win seem to determine the Republican party's goals and future for a long time afterwards. That being said, I would like to remind people of what Ron Paul's goals are, and why his winning CPAC frightens me.

One of his goals is to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guarantees a woman's legal right to get an abortion if she wishes. He also wants to overturn the Americans With Disabilities Act, enacted by fellow Republican George Bush, Sr., in 1990, which guarantees wheelchair ramps and other forms of accesibility to public buildings, thus granting access to people with disabilities.

But to Ron Paul, that's just too much damn government intervention. Who cares if the founders would have approved of it, if it's not in that gosh darn Constitution, Ron Paul says NO! This is not to say that I am anti-Constitution. It is only to call into question Ron Paul's strict constructionist conception of that document. To put it bluntly, Ron Paul's winning the straw poll could lead to the Republicans creating a sort of apartheid state, where your access to public buildings is not contigent upon your being an American citizen with the same rights as everyone else, but rather upon your ability to walk, your status as a totally able-bodied person.

Excuse me, is this high school gym class, or is this America?

Alex Jones Fraud

Conspiracy theorist and radio show host, Alex Jones, is perhaps best known for starting the theory that the U.S. government was somehow complicit in the attacks of September 11 in 2001. But for many years prior to that, Jones had held various anti-government views. None, however, gained him more notoriety than his 9/11 truth movement. Before 9/11 Alex Jones was an obscure radio host the average person would just call a conspiracy nut. But when 9/11 happened, Alex's fortune changed. Suddenly, he was giving speeches at major universities and making several television appearances. The films he made were viewed daily by millions of people.
When the Obama administration killed Osama Bin Laden, Alex Jones' media empire of fame was in danger of crashing down to Earth. Suddenly, a fake photo of Bin Laden appeared on the internet claiming to be his dead body. The photo was obviously a fake and one of the first websites to debunk it was InfoWars.com. Jones then claimed the Obama administration had created the fake photo even though no media reports confirmed that. Jones, however, has several photoshop experts on his staff who one would think would know how to doctor photo.
So my theory is that Jones, in order to protect his fame and fortune, created the fake photo to keep the 9/11 conspiracy theory alive.

Painful Lessons

Today, when we think of corporal punishment, one of the images that comes to mind is that of the nineteenth-century schoolmaster. But I believe that corporal punishment in schools might be due for a reevaluation. Going to school in the modern era, many children did not feel that they had to respect their teachers, because they knew that the teacher actually had no real power over them. But back in the 1950s, children were less inclined to act up in the class room. Let me just say that I understand why many parents don't feel comfortable with other people spanking their children. That being said, I feel children respect their parents moreso than their teachers in part because they know their parents actually have power over them.

The reason I think teachers should have the right to physically discipline unruly students is because I believe that children should learn to respect adults equally, and I think there is a double standard (perhaps with good reason), but my point is, when a child is under your care, and they are doing something that is either harmful or disruptive to the learning process, that child must know that even though you are not their parent, they have to respect you, too.

Let me just say that if corporal punishment were reinstated, I would demand that the parents be notified, and that there be cameras in the classroom to make sure that the teacher or principal did not go too far. I know that many of you may disagree, but I feel that sometimes, when other children are learning also, and a child is being disruptive, they need to learn, right at that minute, that that behavior is not acceptable. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Excuse me, but I seem to have lost my country...

I saw a video today (linked below) which really disturbed me. It concerned a gathering at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. What happened there is something I think Thomas Jefferson would frown upon, especially in the presence of a memorial to his memory. Four visitors were arrested for doing something that I did not know was a crime in the United States: dancing. To tell you the truth, I don't know if dancing at the capitol is illegal, or if the cops in question just didn't get too many prom dates, and it brought back bad memories. In any case, the cops overreacted, and were physically violent with several decidedly nonviolent individuals. Check out the video below, and tell me what you think. Did the cops go too far, or am I the one overreacting?